It was not a big trouble, and Cai Yanqing explained the whole story in just a few words.
He couldn't give any more advice.
All he can do is to keep doing it like this.
If he hadn't met Zhang Fei here, he might not have told Zhang Fei.
“It’s difficult!”
Cai Yanqing looked at Zhang Fei's carriage going away, and couldn't help but sigh, frowning slightly and said: "I didn't expect them to act so quickly."
Zhuo Qun smiled bitterly and said, "There are many such cases. They are effortless and can be arranged in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. But for the Royal Court, handling such cases will only make them feel like a nobody. Why not? If they fight like this, the Royal Court will not be able to hold out for long."
Inside the car.
The happiness and touching moments that Wu Lei and his wife had brought to us before were now completely gone.
Zhang Fei saw that Xu Zhiqian was full of sorrow and didn't say a word. Her mood also affected Gao Wenyin, making Gao Wenyin uneasy. He gently held Xu Zhiqian's hand, "This kind of thing is within our expectations, isn't it?"
...
...
Xu Zhiqian was startled, raised her eyelids slightly, glanced at him, and said, "I know, I just think that maybe Sima Xueshi is right."
Zhang Fei asked with great interest: "How so?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "Why is it that whether it is Master Wang or us, we always feel that we can't move forward? It's because we have the huge mountain of finance pressing on us, so that even a small move can affect the whole body.
Take the salt households for example. In fact, Prefect Cai also wanted to reduce their burden. However, if his burden was reduced, fiscal revenue would be reduced, and he would be blamed by his superiors. He could turn a blind eye to this.
So, I think even if Wang Xueshi wants to reform, he should first reduce fiscal expenditures and lighten the burden on the people, so that the reform can be successful. "
At this point, she pursed her lips again, "But this is impossible. Mr. Fan thought so at the beginning, but he failed in the end."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "But you overlooked one thing."
Xu Zhiqian glanced at him and said, "You're not talking about us, are you?"
"yes!"
Zhang Fei nodded.
Xu Zhiqian said: "We can arrest corrupt officials, but the cause of this incident is not entirely the corrupt officials, but the court. If we turn a blind eye, it would be a crime of dereliction of duty, but if we enforce the law strictly, it would be aiding and abetting the tyrant."
Having said that, she quickly shut up.
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Have you forgotten that we can also judge that the court has violated the law?"
"ah?"
"You won't forget that the first time we worked together as a couple, we sued the imperial court."
"But this is different and this will have financial implications."
"That's a financial problem, not ours. Ours is a judicial problem. Why does the court support so many officials?"
".?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "But if the law is strictly enforced, the salt households should also be sentenced to death."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Whether it is a death sentence or a not guilty verdict, we have to wait until the trial to find out. This is why we are here."
Xu Zhiqian smiled and nodded.
Police station.
But a woman was seen kneeling on the ground, holding tightly onto the sleeve of a Royal Policeman with both hands, crying out, "Royal Policeman, I beg you, please spare my husband this time, we will never dare to do it again, please."
The royal police said, "I'm so sorry, we are just following orders. It's not up to us to decide whether to release the person or not. We have to wait for the royal court to make the decision."
The woman hurriedly said, "Can you please let my husband go back to make salt first? If he can't deliver the salt in time, my whole family will be finished!"
The Royal Police were speechless. If they could release him, they would have done so long ago.
inside the house.
Cao Dongdong paced back and forth and said, "Xiao Ma, who on earth did you catch? Why is he crying so much and never stopping?"
Ma Xiaoyi turned his head and said regretfully: "I don't know either."
As he said that, he turned his head and looked at a royal police officer standing in front of him and said, "Ou Jun, didn't you tell that woman that her husband may not be guilty yet? She still has to wait for the royal court's verdict. She can cry then!"
Ou Jun said: "Ma Dui, you don't know that the salt households have to pay 120,000 kilograms of salt to the court every year. If they fail to pay enough, they may lose all their wealth."
Ma Xiaoyi was shocked, "Is it that serious?"
Ou Jun nodded, “You can’t owe the court anything you owe!”
Ma Xiaoyi felt that this was too much, and said to Cao Dongdong: "Yanei! Why don't we release the salt farmer and let him go back to make salt."
Fu Shichun said: "This won't do. The country has its own laws and the family has its own rules. If we let him go and he runs away, the responsibility will be ours."
"What do you say?"
Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi looked at Fu Shichun at the same time.
Fu Shichun hesitated for a moment and said to Ou Jun, "Ou Jun, go tell that woman that this man cannot be released for the time being, but we will explain their family situation to the Royal Court, and the Royal Court will definitely consider it. Let them trust the Royal Court. If they don't know about the Royal Court, let them go and ask around."
Cao Dongdong reacted immediately, "Yes, yes, that's it. Remember, don't say it too obviously, but hint at it. You've been with me for so long, you should be smart enough to do this."
Albert Ou understood and said, “Don’t worry, Superintendent. I know what to do.”
After Ou Jun left, Cao Dongdong said to Ma Xiaoyi, "We have caught both the perpetrator and the evidence in this case. Hand it over to the procuratorate immediately. Let's go there and argue."
Ma Xiaoyi nodded and said, "I understand."
This case made him feel very upset. As a Royal Police officer, he sought justice, but he felt that there was no justice in this case.
Procuratorate.
"I told you, the police station is full of young people, what do they know? Now they have caught the perpetrators red-handed. Isn't this deliberately making things difficult for us?"
Chen Qi said angrily.
After Su Che read the salt merchant's confession carefully, he asked, "Go and investigate first to see if Huang Tong's confession is true. If they don't sell illegal salt, can they survive?"
Chen Qi sighed, "I have asked about this before, and it is most likely correct. The salt money given to them by the imperial court is not much, and they have to make do with it. In addition, the losses are also borne by them. If they don't sell some private salt, they can't support their family at all."
Su Che said: "Go check first, this is the rule."
Wang Shen suddenly said: "If so, we need to think about whether we should sue!"
Su Che frowned and thought for a while, then said, "The police department has caught the perpetrator with evidence. Whether it's true or not, they must be prosecuted. Otherwise, illegal salt will inevitably spread."
Chen Qi said: "But many salt farmers rely on private salt sales to make a living. If we cut off their livelihood, it may cause dissatisfaction among the salt farmers."
Su Che frowned and said, "But if we do nothing, they will definitely get worse. Covering up like this is not a long-term solution. The imperial court must give an explanation on how to deal with this matter."
Chen Qi and Wang Shen looked at each other with a hint of frustration in their eyes.
In fact, the key to this case lies with the Royal Court, not the police station or the procuratorate, because the person was caught red-handed and there was no need for charges. The evidence alone was enough to sentence him to death.
It all depends on how the royal court decides.
In fact, Zhang Fei had already made preparations before he came, but his plan was to try the cases of Zhong Yan and Lu Shen first to establish his authority.
In this way, we will be able to handle such cases with greater ease next time.
However, there is always a devil that is one foot taller than the road. The two men have not arrived yet. The key is that they are not criminals and cannot be hurried. You want to use them to establish your authority, but in the end they are just testing you to see what kind of person you are.
This made Zhang Fei really speechless.
Fortunately, he had arranged in advance for Li Bao to send people here to investigate the situation of the salt administration here.
Big Dog quickly brought him the information.
"The annual cost of salt is 45 strings of cash, and we have to pay 120,000 catties of salt. Wow, this means that one catty of salt is worth less than half a cent!"
Zhang Fei calculated that the court only paid 0.4 wen per catty of salt from salt households, but the price of official salt was 45 wen per catty. The profit was more than a hundred times. Even after deducting the profits of merchants, it was still dozens of times!
No wonder the imperial court was so nervous about the salt administration. It really was a domino effect. This was the goose that laid golden eggs!
Big Dog said, "Forty-five strings of cash a year is actually enough to support a family, but most of the time, it's not even enough to pay back the cost of the salt."
Zhang Fei was surprised and asked, "Is this true?"
Big Dog said: "This kind of thing is commonplace. The court president just calculated the profit. That belongs to the court. Shouldn't the salt official get some from it?"
Zhang Fei wondered: "If the salt households can't survive, they won't be willing to work!"
The big dog said, "There have always been salt farmers running away."
Zhang Fei asked: "How do the remaining salt farmers make a living?"
Da Gou said: "Salt households have to pay 120,000 kilograms to the court every year. Even if there is any surplus, they cannot sell it to others but only to the court. If they encounter bad officials, they will directly take it at a lower price or even not pay at all. But once the salt households make trouble, they will also have a headache.
Many smart salt officials withheld part of the salt cost, and turned a blind eye to the salt households hiding private salt. The court had no idea how much salt was produced, and it was up to the salt officials to report more or less. Those who wanted money would do so, but those who wanted political achievements would still buy the salt from the salt households at a very low price to fill the treasury in exchange for political achievements.
Today, the salt administration of Hezhong Prefecture, in simple terms, is that the government collects salt from the people and sells it to the merchants. Salt making is a private activity, but salt households can only sell salt to the court. The merchants there first take money to the border to buy salt notes, and then bring the notes to the government here to exchange for salt, which is then sold to various places.
However, the salt policy basically changed every few years and was not fixed. The main reason was Western Xia. Once a war broke out with Western Xia, the imperial court would directly take back all the salt and use labor to make and transport salt for free in an effort to maximize the profits from salt.
Relax a little more in peacetime.
“You really know how to have fun!”
Zhang Fei couldn't help but laugh. This wasn't just cutting the roots of the leeks, this was removing all the soil. "That's not how you cut leeks!"
"What do you mean, President?"
"nothing."
Zhang Fei was startled, and asked the big dog, "What's the situation outside now?"
Big Dog said: "This is by no means an accident. It is most likely arranged by someone. Now everyone is holding on to their private salt. It depends on how the imperial court will judge. If the imperial court finds the salt households guilty, they may incite the salt households to cause trouble. But if the salt households are found not guilty, they will release a large amount of private salt to resist the official salt. Once there is a problem with the finances, the court will definitely blame them."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
