"Of course I know," Qin Wanru replied.
Chu Zhongtian then recounted the whole story in detail.
Because of the exorbitant profits in the salt trade, successive dynasties established a department to oversee salt production, transportation, sales, and anti-smuggling activities.
The Salt Transport Commissioner's Office of Linchuan County was in charge of supervising Mingyue City.
The Salt Commissioner, the most prestigious of all, was a coveted position coveted by countless officials.
However, since the Chu family has been in charge of the salt industry in Mingyue City for thousands of years, one usually needs the Chu family's approval to become the salt transport commissioner.
To some extent, these salt transport commissioners were either members of the Chu family or close to the Chu family.
However, in official circles, few officials are not corrupt when it comes to welcoming and seeing off guests.
Every salt commissioner and his deputies and subordinates would more or less pocket a cut of the profits.
The Chu family patriarchs could only turn a blind eye to this, firstly because the officials were close to the Chu family, and secondly because it was an unspoken rule in officialdom, as was the case in the Salt Transport Bureau and other departments.
Furthermore, after leaving their posts, these officials at all levels of the Salt Transport Commission either rose to the central government or were transferred to local areas to become high-ranking officials, forming a huge network within the court, where a single move could have far-reaching consequences.
If the Chu family dares to say anything, they will offend an extremely terrifying force.
Over time, the deficit in the salt transport commissioner's treasury accumulated to an astronomical figure over several hundred years.
In the past, they could hide the truth by doing various accounting tricks, but by Chu Zhongtian's generation, the numbers had become so large that they could no longer be concealed by accounting tricks.
"So all the money the Chu family has earned over the years has been used to cover the deficits accumulated in the Salt Transport Bureau's treasury over hundreds of years?" The color drained from Qin Wanru's beautiful face.
Chu Zhongtian gave a bitter smile: "Not bad."
"Why should we, the Chu family, have to make up for the money embezzled by previous salt officials?!" Qin Wanru's face was full of anger. "Why should the Chu family make up for the deficit caused by the corruption of previous salt officials?!"
Chu Zhongtian said in a deep voice, "Just because our Chu family has always been able to occupy Mingyue City, a fiefdom rich in salt and iron, do you think that the Chu family can hold onto such a lucrative piece of land simply because of the merits of our ancestors? It's not because of the protection of those officials over the years that our Chu family has been able to maintain this place."
“Normally, it wouldn’t have been this troublesome before, but in recent years I’ve sensed that the emperor is preparing to take action against our Chu family. I have to prepare for the worst and make up for the deficit in the salt transport department’s treasury. At least we need to make sure it looks good on paper so that we can withstand the court’s investigation.”
Chu Zhongtian paused and continued, "That's why I'm confident enough to withstand the pressure from both the Emperor and Prince Qi and remain neutral. We have countless court officials backing us! They least want anything to happen to the Chu family; otherwise, none of them will escape!"
Qin Wanru suddenly had a thought: "The account book that you solemnly handed over to Chu Yan last time, which you said was about accounts with business partners, now seems to be evidence of corruption by officials of the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office throughout the ages."
Chu Zhongtian nodded: "That's right. As long as that account book is not lost, no matter how much the Emperor or Prince Qi tries to deal with our Chu family, our Chu family will be fine!"
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