Qi Bainian looked at Miao Shaohua, who was standing on another ship, and roared, "Madam, are you crazy!"
Miao Shaohua glanced at Qi Bainian, ignored him, and faced the people on the dock.
"The first crime is selfishness, corruption, collusion with the Tu and Lu families in Jiangcheng to seize the private property of the people, and competing with the people for profit and with the country!"
Wow!
As soon as Miao Shaohua finished speaking, everyone gasped in surprise.
Miao Shaohua said she would expose Qi Bainian's three major crimes, but this one crime alone was enough to send Qi Bainian to hell.
Competing with the people for profit!
Competing with the nation for profit!
The Tu and Lu families looked at each other, unable to sit still any longer.
It's one thing to compete with the people for profit, but to compete with the nation for profit...
Princess Yuan Yun and Minister of Works Luo Mingyi are sitting on the boat... If this gets to the emperor's ears, after a thorough investigation, who can be found to be clean?
Qi Bainian said, "Madam, are you being threatened? If so, blink."
Miao Shaohua's eyes widened.
Upon hearing this, the people nodded in agreement, their faces filled with disbelief and incredulity.
"How could Lord Qi possibly embezzle our private property? He only does things that benefit the people!"
"Exactly! Once this third wharf is completed, Jiangcheng's economy will be able to catch up with Changsui!"
"I don't believe Lord Qi is guilty; Madam Qi must have made a mistake!!"
"Could it be that the couple had a fight?"
Miao Shaohua was unimpressed, having anticipated the people's reaction, and calmly took out a booklet.
"Qi Bainian has done a lot of things that benefit the people, some of which are genuinely beneficial to the people, but others have enriched himself while benefiting the people!"
"He grew up on the charity of many families in Jiangcheng. He takes advantage of this and plays the emotional card with you. He does good deeds for you first, and once you completely trust him, he colludes with the Tu and Lu families to do all sorts of things to swindle you!"
"The ledger I have here is a copy of Qi Bainian's. It not only contains records of his bribery but also the income from some projects!"
“Over the years, he has needed me to maintain stability and relations with the Miao people. He was unsuspecting of me, and everything I said is true!”
"This is Qi Bainian's first crime!"
"If one suffers, all suffer." Seeing Qi Bainian in a difficult position, Lu Yuan sneered and said loudly, "Madam Miao, your Miao family ultimately values Miao Shang more than Lord Qi!"
Upon hearing this, Tu Qianhu's eyes lit up. Following Lu Yuan's lead, he shifted the focus of the argument, saying, "I've long heard that after Lord Qi put aside his own family for the greater good, not only did his marriage become strained, but even Old Master Miao wanted to take revenge on Lord Qi. Lord Qi is truly suffering. He upholds justice with an iron fist, yet he is misunderstood and framed by his own family!"
The Miao family patriarch puffed out his beard and said sternly, "How dare you speak so arrogantly! It's none of your business to interfere in the affairs of my Miao family, nor is it your place to discuss my son, Miao Shang!"
Tu Wanhu observed the expressions of the people, seized the opportunity, and raised his arm to shout: "Regardless of whether Miao Shang's surname is Miao, Qi, or something else, all I know is that he is a heartless and wicked villain. What is wrong with Lord Qi killing him?!"
"Lord Qi is right!"
"Lord Qi did a good job killing him!!"
"Lord Qi is a good official; this must be a slander by the Miao people!!!"
The people's emotions were immediately stirred up.
Seeing this, Qi Bainian looked aggrieved and sighed, "Madam, I am also very sad about Miao Shang's matter, but precisely because he is my brother-in-law, I cannot protect him when he makes a mistake."
Qi Bainian gently shook his head, moved, and said, "Although Miao Shang is my family, all the people of Jiangcheng are also my family!"
Qi Bainian had a kind and gentle appearance to begin with, and when he was moved, his expression brought tears to the eyes of many soft-hearted people.
"Lord Qi is alright, I'm here for you!"
"Even if this matter escalates to Changsui, Lord Qi has done nothing wrong!"
"That's right, apart from Lord Qi, Jiangyang County can't find another good official like Lord Ma!"
"Stop acting!" Miao Shaohua shook her head, glanced at Qi Bainian with a mocking look, then looked at the people and said sternly, "Qi Bainian's second crime is the indiscriminate killing of innocent people and the slaughter of civilians!"
“Miao Shang did make a mistake, and he was not the only one in Jiangyang County to use civilians’ heads to cover up the crime.”
"But the idea of using civilians' heads to settle scores was Qi Bainian's idea!!!"
boom!
Compared to the shock of hearing about the first crime, this time it was as if the entire dock was about to explode.
Zhao Cheng and Yuan Yun exchanged a glance, both slightly surprised by the news.
They knew Qi Bainian was a hypocrite and a fake saint, but considering that he had grown up on the charity of the people of Jiangcheng, they couldn't believe he would do something so ungrateful and repay kindness with ingratitude.
If what Miao Shaohua said was true, Zhao Cheng felt he should reflect on his actions afterwards.
I still overestimated the bottom line of human nature.
Upon hearing the second charge, many people became agitated.
Their thoughts were similar to Zhao Cheng's. Even if Qi Bainian's claim that the people of Jiangcheng were his family was just a slogan, there was at least some genuine emotion involved.
Qi Bainian might compete with the people for profit.
It's also possible that they might occasionally take advantage of ordinary people for their own selfish desires.
But how could they possibly commit the massacre of Jiangcheng's people and then hand over the heads of those people?
That's absolutely impossible!
The people didn't believe it.
I can't believe it.
"Madam Qi, you've gone too far! How dare you accuse Lord Qi of such a crime?!"
"You're trying to drive Lord Qi to his death!"
"Miao Shaohua, are you mocking us Jiangcheng people? Are you saying we've worked together to raise an ungrateful wretch?!"
"Lord Qi, Madam Qi is too cruel! Divorce her!"
Qi Bainian gestured for everyone to calm down and said, "Everyone, don't get too excited. This kind of thing can't be resolved just by asking. Where's the evidence?"
Miao Shaohua said, "How could there possibly be evidence for such a thing?"
Qi Bainian suppressed a laugh and said, "Then, Madam, if you bite people like this, you're no different from a mad dog."
“There is no evidence, but there are witnesses,” Miao Shaohua said immediately.
Qi Bainian's face darkened.
Miao Shaohua glanced triumphantly at Qi Bainian and addressed the people, saying, "Back then, Qi Bainian wasn't the governor of Jiangyang County; he was just the assistant governor. He relied on his academic achievements to serve as a civil official. In the competition for the governorship, his military merits were inferior to those of the then-captain, so he made a fuss about suppressing pirates and came up with this inhumane idea!"
"At that time, his core team consisted of four people besides Miao Shang. Now, two of them were executed along with Miao Shang, but there are still two others. One has been transferred from Jiangyang County to serve as an official in another county, and the other was imprisoned for a crime many years ago. I can name both of them and find them!"
"Fellow villagers of Jiangcheng? Would you like to hear their names? They've been separated from Qi Bainian for so many years, I don't believe they would protect Qi Bainian because of the friendship they had back then!"
Seeing the surprised looks on the faces of the people, Miao Shaohua looked at Qi Bainian and smiled.
"Lord Qi, would you like to hear their names?"
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