Chapter 358 You are talking about the sky of Kyoto, this is Shu
The person who sneaked in in secret was very familiar with the structure of the post station. He cut melons and vegetables without making much noise along the way, knocked down the people Zhao Zhongquan brought from Kyoto, and quickly went upstairs.
In the room where Zhao Zhongquan was, a man in black slowly approached with a sharp blade in hand: "Master Zhao?"
"Master Zhao, are you asleep?"
The person lying on the bed opened his eyes wide in fear, but could not make any sound and could not move.
The man approaching with a knife walked to the bed, raised the sharp knife high and stabbed it hard!
Bang!
Blood spurted out and splattered, staining the window paper. The man who was used as a scapegoat died with his eyes wide open.
The man in black lifted the quilt to confirm the occupant of the bed. A brazen voice rang out from outside the door: "Did it work?"
The man in black said disdainfully, "It's Zhao Zhongquan."
The man in black withdrew his hand from Zhao Zhongquan's neck and said coldly, "He's dead."
"Burn down the post station when you retreat, and return to report to the Governor."
Flames shot up into the sky and soon engulfed the entire post station in flames.
The man in black left as silently as he came, and the flames that spread and exploded in the darkness caught people's eyes like a brand, which also made Zhao Zhongquan, who was hiding in the dark, turn pale.
Xu Yu asked quietly, "Master Zhao, do you see clearly now?"
Zhao Zhongquan trembled violently uncontrollably. When Song Liu helped him down from the tree, his feet suddenly went weak and he fell directly to the ground.
Xu Yu scoffed silently upon seeing this, then landed lightly behind Zhao Zhongquan and said calmly, "Sir, do you still think I'm exaggerating?"
If Xu Yu had not rescued him in time, Zhao Zhongquan would have been dead by now.
No one can remain indifferent after watching a life-or-death crisis pass by.
Zhao Zhongquan gritted his teeth and said, "Bai Chengren!"
"I am the head of the imperial envoys appointed by the Emperor! How dare he be so audacious!"
"Master Zhao, you are talking about the sky in Kyoto. This is Shu."
Xu Yu looked at Zhao Zhongquan, whose eyes were filled with anger, with pity and sarcastically said, "The officials in Shu are not following the emperor's orders."
Listen to the current people who strictly abide by the law, and you won’t be able to eat luxuriously or wear good clothes with your annual salary.
Listen to the prince's words differently.
Thinking of the extravagance and debauchery of the Shu officials headed by Bai Chengren, and the words he heard in a private house not long ago, Zhao Zhongquan's eyes gradually became dim.
"Your Highness, you took the trouble to save my life. I think you didn't just want me to see how many monsters and demons are hiding here."
"What do you want me to do?"
Xu Yu was very pleased with Zhao Zhongquan's tact and said with a smile, "Master Zhao is a straightforward person."
"To be honest, sir, I have some account books about the illegal salt trade in Shu, and every word of them is related to the one in the East Palace."
"It's a pity that I'm a criminal, my words carry little weight, and even if I bring out some of the things I've learned, it's hard for people to trust me. So I'd like to borrow Lord Zhao's hand and mouth."
Bai Chengren and his party followed the prince's lead and were also worried about the salt rebellion.
Therefore, as soon as the imitation of the prince's handwriting was delivered to Shu, these people immediately went to the place specified in the secret letter to sell the large amount of illegal salt on hand, and also racked their brains to stuff a lot of silver into the place specified in the letter.
Xu Yu also gave a reason in the letter that was hard to doubt: all evidence was destroyed before the imperial envoy arrived, which naturally included the account books showing that the officials in Shu had colluded with the prince for many years and used their power to sell private salt.
These ledgers are very important.
But if a sharp blade wants to hurt someone, it must also choose a suitable executioner.
Zhao Zhongquan was the executioner chosen by Xu Yu.
Zhao Zhongquan was indeed an old fox. He understood Xu Yu's intention in just a few words: "Is your target the crown prince?"
Xu Yu smiled lazily: "No."
"My target is the Xu family's enemies."
No matter if it is the almighty Crown Prince or the unprepossessing peddlers, anyone who is involved in the bloody past must pay the price for it.
Zhao Zhongquan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He closed his eyes and said, "Are you willing to hand over the account book to me?"
"certainly."
"Otherwise, why would I save the lives of useless people?"
Xu Yu ignored the dark expression on Zhao Zhongquan's face and said slowly, "These things are hard-earned. Your Excellency won't change his mind and surrender to the Eastern Palace with them, right?"
"There are countless ways to humiliate someone. Why did you choose the most cruel one to use on me, my Lord?"
Zhao Zhongquan glared at Xu Yu with red eyes, angrily saying, "The Crown Prince is immoral and unethical. Harming the people is unkindness. With such a character and mentality, how can he be the crown prince of this country?"
"Even if there aren't the account books you mentioned, when I return to Kyoto to see the emperor, I will definitely expose the crimes in front of the entire court!"
Xu Yu ignored Zhao Zhongquan's anger, flicked his fingertips and said, "If that's the case, then I'm relieved."
"Song Liu."
"Young Master."
Xu Yu pointed at Zhao Zhongquan, who was still unable to stand up. "There was a fire at the post station. I think people will be here soon."
"Pack up for Lord Zhao, it's time for us to go back."
Song Liu carried a small box and whispered, "Yes."
Half an hour later, Zhao Zhongquan, who had changed his appearance, followed Xu Yu and mounted his horse. He avoided the people who came to the post station to put out the fire and galloped in the opposite direction of Gongyuan Salt Field.
At the same time, Shu was safe.
After hearing Ling Chu's words, Sang Zhixia narrowed her eyes in an ambiguous manner. "Are you saying that the land deed someone tried to sell today doesn't look right?"
Lingchu placed the land deeds next to Sang Zhixia's hand and whispered, "I think these are suspicious. Boss, please take a look."
There was a thick stack of land deeds on the table. After flipping through them, I unexpectedly discovered that the locations of these lands were all connected together, as if they had been specially arranged.
If it is in a place like the Northwest, where the land is vast and the population is sparse, and there are few mountains and hills, it is not uncommon to have wide plains and large tracts of arable land.
This is the terrain of the northwest, and it should be so.
But Shu is different from the northwest.
The terrain here is very undulating and the cultivated land is scattered and messy.
From the first day we bought arable land until now, most of the land we see is scattered here and there, with few connected pieces.
Sang Zhixia spread out the deeds one by one on the table and said without looking up, "Bring me paper and pen."
The tip of the pen was dipped in ink, and a map was drawn according to the location marked on the deed. What appeared before my eyes was a mountain that sloped down from halfway up the mountain.
Before buying the land, Sang Zhixia asked the shopkeeper and found out that there were more salt farmers than farmers in Ancheng.
The arable land that has been organized and is somewhat decent is all in the hands of wealthy families.
Salt chaos is bitter.
But no matter how great the suffering is, it will never fall on the rich and powerful.
Which landlord would sell this entire piece of land that has obviously been carefully managed?
How come I didn’t hear anything?
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