Chapter 330 Someone is mining privately
"Father."
【Father, I want to go there too. 】
Hearing Lu Xingwan's voice, the Emperor of Great Chu, who had just stood up, stopped and turned to look in the direction of Lu Xingwan.
【I also want to go see what Nachi County looks like every night! 】
[This man is a rare loyal minister in the story. In the story, the second brother was hiding from the encirclement of the third prince, and it was Jiang Pingyue who took him in! ]
After hearing what Lu Xingwan said, the Emperor of Great Chu suddenly became interested in Jiang Pingyue.
After all, this person has been managing De'an County for many years, and he turned a good De'an Prefecture into a De'an County, which is really unsatisfactory.
I had originally planned to reprimand him after meeting him, but I never expected that Jiang Pingyue, as Wanwan mentioned, was actually a rare loyal minister.
He turned his head and looked at Song Qingyan beside him.
Song Qingyan waved her hands quickly: "Your Majesty, please go first. I am tired and will go and rest first."
The truth is that Song Qingyan felt that she was involved in too many political affairs today. Although His Majesty said that he didn't care, as Wanwan said, the Dingguo Marquis's Mansion is now powerful, so she should avoid suspicion.
Just as Song Qingyan was about to leave with Lu Xingwan in her arms, the Great Chu Emperor stopped her and said, "Qingyan..."
Song Qingyan turned around, and the Great Chu Emperor said, "I'll take Wanwan with me!"
[Yeah! Father is the best! ]
"Father." Lu Xingwan said as he rushed towards the Emperor of Great Chu.
Song Qingyan didn't say anything more and just let the father and daughter go.
"Your Majesty, I, the guilty minister Jiang Pingyue, pay my respects to you. May your Majesty be well and safe." When the Emperor of Great Chu brought Lu Xingwan to the front hall, Jiang Pingyue had already been waiting there. Upon seeing the Emperor of Great Chu, he hurriedly knelt down.
After all, the incident between the Emperor of Great Chu and the Imperial Concubine happened in De'an County, so as the county magistrate, he was naturally the first to be affected.
The Emperor of Great Chu has always been a fierce and ruthless person, and Jiang Pingyue was really afraid that His Majesty would punish him.
Unexpectedly, the Great Chu Emperor just waved his hand and said, "Get up! This matter has nothing to do with you."
The Emperor of Great Chu was actually dissatisfied with Jiang Pingyue. After all, the economic situation of De'an County had been declining in recent years. As the county magistrate, Jiang Pingyue must bear the primary responsibility.
Even the Emperor of Great Chu thought about replacing someone else.
But what Lu Xingwan said just now really made the Emperor of Great Chu reconsider the matter.
Logically speaking, Jiang Pingyue is a man who works hard to govern the country and has a clear understanding of major issues related to the rise and fall of the country. He should not be an incompetent person.
Jiang Pingyue knelt down and refused to stand up. He continued, "Your Majesty, in recent years, the population of De'an County has been decreasing, and the economic situation has been getting worse and worse. I used to think that it was just because the environment was not good enough to grow crops, or something else."
"But last year, the Great Chu Kingdom suffered from severe drought for several months. Although it rained a few times after the winter, it was thanks to Princess Yong'an." At this point, Jiang Pingyue bowed in the direction of Lu Xingwan. He was not stupid. The baby of such an age who could be held in the arms of the Great Chu Emperor must be Princess Yong'an without a doubt.
"But after all, there were only two or three rain showers, which didn't really have much effect."
"But the harvest in De'an County this year is better than ever before."
"I have thought about this again and again and I feel that there is something fishy about this matter, so I have investigated it privately. It turns out that someone is secretly mining copper in the mountains outside De'an County."
Jiang Pingyue's words were like a thunderbolt, exploding in the heart of the Great Chu Emperor. He stared at Jiang Pingyue, waiting for his next words.
"I have been investigating privately for several months and finally have some clues, but..." Jiang Pingyue seemed to be in a sad mood when he said this, "The people I sent to Beijing to deliver the letter to Your Majesty all died on the way."
[Is this an impure evil force? My god, Jiang Pingyue is so pitiful. ]
[A person who has been living in De'an County for so many years and now encounters something like this, must have a lot of endurance. ]
"Even my teacher, who was close to me, was assassinated by those people while investigating this matter."
Jiang Pingyue didn't say anything else about the rest.
His only son also died at the hands of those people.
So when Jiang Pingyue heard that the Emperor of Great Chu was going to pass through De'an County on his way south, he was very excited. He could finally report this matter to His Majesty and bring peace to De'an County.
Thinking of this, Jiang Pingyue said.
"I now know that the reason why the population of De'an County has been decreasing in recent years is that many people were deceived into mining in the copper mines and never returned."
"The people were so frightened that they gradually left De'an County."
At this point Jiang Pingyue kowtowed again and said: "Your Majesty, I am guilty. For so many years, I did not discover the existence of this copper mine, which led to the people of De'an County living in misery. It is my fault. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
After hearing what Jiang Pingyue said, the Emperor of Great Chu fell into silence for a long time.
Copper ore is the raw material for minting coins. If someone really mines copper ore privately, one can imagine what the consequences will be.
This matter will inevitably involve an entire industrial chain, and the ultimate goal of this matter is probably to forge counterfeit money.
Fortunately, thanks to this group of assassins, I changed my itinerary and came to De'an County.
If I hadn't encountered this incident today, I would have bypassed De'an County and continued heading south.
[So, this copper mine has been mined for so many years that it has brought down De'an County.]
Although Lu Xingwan didn't quite understand the importance of a copper mine to a country, looking at his father's expression and Jiang Pingyue's willingness to sacrifice his life for the country, he had some guesses in his mind.
This matter is probably very serious.
[Look at Jiang Pingyue, he is only about 40 years old, right? He has white hair. ]
[However, why didn't this matter come up in the storybook before? Could it be that Jiang Pingyue wasn't as sharp back then? Or, what happened back then was different from what happened now, so Jiang Pingyue didn't have the heart to investigate?]
The Great Chu Emperor finally let out a long sigh and looked at Jiang Pingyue sternly: "Have you found out who is the mastermind behind this?"
"I am incompetent," Jiang Pingyue kowtowed again, "I have not been able to find out the identity of the miner, but this force must have some connection with the capital."
"Your Majesty, please help me investigate this matter. This matter is related to copper mines. If someone really made counterfeit coins or used some other means, it would be a disaster for our Great Chu."
Speaking of counterfeit money, Lu Xingwan suddenly came to his senses.
【Counterfeit money? 】
When the Emperor of Great Chu heard Lu Xingwan's words, he hurriedly lowered his head to look at her. Perhaps Wanwan knew something?
[If you mention counterfeit money, then this princess has some clues. ]
[Is this matter related to Cui Wen? ]
[The story says that after the second brother ascended the throne, a large number of counterfeit coins were circulated among the people, and they were counterfeit coins that could be mistaken for real ones. Later, the second brother interrogated Guo Ping, who was the Minister of Revenue.]