Wang looked at Xia Daohua's dazed face and couldn't help laughing:
"Oh, it's my fault, why am I telling you this?
Actually, I just want to give you a reminder.
I know you're soft-hearted, but in times of crisis, we still have to make an example of someone. We absolutely cannot let our softness harm the people of this city.
Don't blame me for being cruel and ruthless."
Xia Daohua suddenly realized what Wang meant.
Could it be that in Wang's heart, I am still a kind-hearted person?
It seems that Wang's patience with those guys who fanned the flames has reached its limit, and she is planning to make an example of them.
I just wonder which foolish chickens will be killed in the end?
Xia Daohua soon found out the answer.
The owner of Zhangji Grain Store and his entire family were imprisoned and their property was searched. Several senior managers were also detained. All of Zhangji's assets were confiscated, and all the grain in Zhangji's grain warehouse was confiscated.
Songji Grain Store and Wuji Grain Store had close ties with Zhangji, so they were also imprisoned for a period of time. They were released only after paying a fine of 5,000 taels of silver and 10,000 dan of grain.
Liuji Grain Store was fined 3,000 taels of silver, ordered to close and reorganize, and the grain was confiscated.
Zhouji Grain Store was fined 1,500 taels of silver and required to pay 5,000 dan of grain to atone for its crime.
Chenji Grain Store was fined 500 taels of silver and required to hand over 3,000 dan of grain to atone for its crime.
Zhouji and Chenji were the two grain merchants that suffered the least losses this time.
Especially Chen Ji,
Originally, its scale was second only to Zhangji and Songji, and slightly stronger than Wuji. The four companies basically monopolized the grain business in Jixiang County.
Zhouji is a rising star, and its strength is still far behind the other four companies. In the past, it could only do small businesses that they looked down upon.
At this time, Zhangji, Songji and Wuji had all suffered heavy losses, and Chenji began to tremble.
However, because of the lesson of the Zhang family, the head of Chenji was very cautious and did not rush to expand. Instead, he carefully observed the situation and did not dare to offend County Magistrate Yang and Wang again.
The land of Zhangjiadun was taken over by County Magistrate Yang in a swift and decisive manner as official farmland, and then distributed to refugees for cultivation.
County Magistrate Yang posted notices at the city gate, Caishikou, and several busy places to publicize the new policy:
Cultivating government land is tax-free, as long as a certain proportion of grain is paid as rent.
Migrants who have worked in the fields for three years and have no bad records can settle down locally.
For refugees who settled in the local area, a portion of the official land could be allocated to them as permanent land.
A month later, the relief grain from the imperial court arrived, along with the grain allocated by Wang Shi from the Wang family. The refugees were properly resettled, and the various infrastructure projects overseen by County Magistrate Yang gradually entered a phase of contraction.
The city walls, reservoirs, canals and trenches have all been built almost completely.
Apart from the need for manpower in road construction and a few workshops, most of the refugees have been settled as new farmers in Jixiang County.
Afterwards, while drinking tea with Wang, Xia Daohua found out that Zhang Ji and Liu Ji had relied on the steward under the King of Huai'an for support and no longer took County Magistrate Yang and Wang seriously.
Not only did he obstruct the efforts of County Magistrate Yang and Wang to mobilize grain to appease the refugees and refused to cooperate in selling grain, he also secretly bribed some local tyrants and let them mingle with the refugees. When Xia Daohua was abducted and Wang was short of grain, he incited the refugees to cause trouble.
This practice deeply offended Wang.
Wang had originally promised Magistrate Yang that she would put aside the tactics used in past family infighting and not use them lightly.
But since these ignorant grain merchants dared to stop County Magistrate Yang from governing and even dared to use such despicable means, Wang had no scruples.
Once Wang made a move, how could a small emerging business like Zhang's be her rival?
Although Wang didn't elaborate on what means she used, Xia Daohua could figure it out just by thinking about it.
When Zhang Ji's entire family was imprisoned, they must have been completely stunned.
Not to mention that Zhang Ji had done a lot of illegal things. Even if they were innocent and clean, since Wang Shi had planned to deal with them, how could they leave any loopholes?
However, the steward of King Huai'an who accepted the money from the Zhang family would not offend the county magistrate Yang and his wife, the Wang family, who came from aristocratic families, for the sake of a small merchant in a small place like Jixiang County.
You know, aristocratic families are very difficult to deal with.
Furthermore, these aristocratic families that control certain regions are on par with princes and nobles in status.
Things like intermarriage are inevitable.
Who would offend their powerful and influential relatives for a small ant that can't see the situation clearly?
Behind County Magistrate Yang and his wife stood the Yang family and the Wang family. Even the King of Huai'an would not easily offend these two.
And how could a steward of the King of Huai'an, even if he was a little frivolous and arrogant, bring himself to suffer such misfortune for a small merchant who was trying to curry favor with him?
In addition, County Magistrate Yang and Wang acted efficiently and clearly listed the evidence one by one, with both human and material evidence, making the entire case flawless.
Even if the case is brought to the emperor, the couple will be in the right!
How could the manager possibly support Zhang Ji?
Not long after Xia Daohua and Wang had tea, they saw the scene of the county government selling Zhang's female relatives.
Among them was Liu, who was sharp-tongued, eloquent, and quite disrespectful to Wang in her words.
However, Liu no longer had the former brilliance and cleverness. She looked very haggard. It was probably because it was difficult for her to wash and groom herself in prison, and her clothes were very dirty and torn.
Xia Daohua turned away, unwilling to look anymore.
Liu and her underage children might not have been directly involved in the crimes, but since they enjoyed the family's benefits, they naturally couldn't be left unscathed when the family committed crimes or encountered problems.
Although the Zhang family was the "chicken" chosen by Wang to be killed as a warning to others, they were not innocent.
Hoarding goods to profit from them is itself a criminal offense.
What's more, the Zhang family has a history of occupying people's land, setting traps to frame farmers, and forcing their families to be broken up.
There is even the evil act of forcing women of good character into prostitution.
All Wang did was to suddenly throw out the evidence he had collected privately, and swiftly sent all the relevant people to jail, leaving no time or opportunity for the Zhang family to bribe their way out of the crime.
In fact, they were not wronged.
Wang's move shocked the officials and merchants of Jixiang County.
Many who had originally planned to trip up County Magistrate Yang also stopped their actions. After all, this incident showed that even if County Magistrate Yang was a good guy, Wang Shi was not an easy person to deal with.
What's more, County Magistrate Yang did not seem to hesitate at all when lending it to Wang for his errand.
After all, these two are a family.
No matter how different they appear on the outside, they are all equally ruthless and tough to mess with deep down.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
Good night, sweet dreams, see you tomorrow. ^_^
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