Given this relationship, it is normal for Ge Ruochuan to date Pang Jingxiu, the son of Pang Zhuo and the current Nine Gates Admiral, and finally join the Duke of Weiguo.
"In other words, all the silver you embezzled was given to Duke Weiguo?" Zhao Lin asked.
Ge Ruochuan immediately complained: "Your Excellency, we are collecting taxes according to the imperial decree. The annual maritime tax is just that much. We really haven't embezzled anything."
Zhao Lin sneered, "According to my investigation, Liu Rui's merchant ships alone have an annual income of over a million taels, and they should pay hundreds of thousands of taels in taxes. With so many sea merchants, even if not every one of them makes as much as Liu Rui, the total tax burden should be over a million. Just your Qingyuan province alone pays over a million in taxes annually, yet the combined total for the three provinces is only 340,000. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Ge Ruochuan was speechless. After a moment of silence, he simply threw the can down and said, "This humble official really doesn't know anything about this."
Zhao Lin sneered: "You don't know now. Wait until I confiscate your property and exterminate your entire family, and then I'll see if you know."
Ge Ruochuan said in panic: "What do you want to do?"
Zhao Lin said calmly, "Aren't you all very clear about what I did in Jiujiang? Do you still need to ask me what I am going to do?"
"No, we are officials appointed by the court. Even if we make a mistake, it is the court that should deal with it. It is not your turn as a river governor." Ge Ruochuan shouted.
Zhao Lin was too lazy to waste time talking to him and said, "Arrest Ge Ruochuan's entire family. If anyone disobeys, they will be killed without mercy."
After a pause, Zhao Lin said, "Let them resist once every quarter of an hour."
That means killing one of Ge Ruochuan's family members every quarter of an hour.
Until Ge Ruochuan tells the truth, or his entire family dies.
"Zhao Lin, you are an official, not a bandit!" Ge Ruochuan roared.
Zhao Lin said calmly, "That's why I have to suppress the bandits. You are all bandits, colluding with pirates to assassinate me. Even if I were to speak to His Majesty, I would still be in the right. Or, do you think the Duke of Wei would stand up for you?"
Ge Ruochuan was silent.
He really didn't dare to gamble.
The main reason was that they colluded with pirates to assassinate Zhao Lin and were caught red-handed.
If the Duke of Wei spoke for Ge Ruochuan, Zhao Lin would really dare to attack him.
"How about this, I'll let you go find Duke Weiguo and see if he's willing to help you." Zhao Lin said.
Ge Ruochuan was not happy but shocked: "You, you dare to let me go?"
Zhao Lin said, "Yes. However, to prevent you from not looking for him properly, I have decided to kill one of your family members every day until the Duke of Wei shows up. What do you think?"
“You, you…”
Ge Ruochuan was so angry that he couldn't speak.
It would take at least ten days to half a month to travel from Qingyuan to the capital at full speed. How many family members does he have?
Before he could meet the Duke of Wei, his entire family was killed by Zhang Lin.
"As long as you are not dead, what if the Duke of Weiguo can avenge you, right?" Zhao Lin said.
Ge Ruochuan just felt a chill.
Zhao Lin is simply a lunatic.
It’s not enough for him to take his own people, does he want to drag the Duke of Wei into the water?
Isn't he afraid of backlash?
The Duke of Weiguo is not someone they can compare to.
Ge Ruochuan pondered for a long time, sighed, and said, "Ask whatever you want to ask, sir."
If it were someone else, Ge Ruochuan would still dare to resist.
But Zhao Lin really dared to kill his entire family.
Ge Ruochuan didn't dare to gamble.
Zhao Lin asked, "How much silver do the sea merchants pay you every year?"
Ge Ruochuan said dejectedly, "One million taels."
Zhao Lin nodded. "As expected. Where did the money go?"
Ge Ruochuan said, "I will retain a portion, officials at all levels will share a portion, and the rest will be given to the Duke."
Zhao Lin asked, "What does he need so much money for?"
Ge Ruochuan glanced at Zhao Lin and said, "I don't know either..."
Zhao Lin's face darkened, and Ge Ruochuan quickly said, "The Duke of Wei would never let this humble official know about such a secret matter."
Zhao Lin nodded and said, "How much property do you have?"
Ge Ruochuan sighed.
Zhao Lin is used to robbing people, so how could he let go of his property?
Ge Ruochuan said, "I have about two million taels of silver, and other antiques, calligraphy and paintings, which also amount to about two million taels."
Zhao Lin said calmly, "I'm just giving you a friendly reminder. If the amount you've confiscated doesn't match, every extra ten thousand taels will result in a head."
When Ge Ruochuan was angry, Zhao Lin would threaten his family.
But there is no way, Zhao Lin really dares to kill people.
Ge Ruochuan could only say: "I remember that there are still some properties with my concubine..."
Zhao Lin sent people to confiscate all of Ge Ruochuan's property.
"This guy is really fat, even fatter than Feng Siyuan." Su Yinghan came back excitedly and said to Zhao Lin.
"That's normal. This is a rich place. It can't be compared with the barren place like Jiujiang." Zhao Lin said.
"How much is it in total?" Sudi asked.
Su Yinghan said: "800,000 taels of gold..."
hiss……
Everyone present gasped.
Eight hundred thousand taels of gold, this is crazy!
You should know that Zhao Lin only spent 100,000 taels of gold to celebrate Emperor Chengping's birthday, and Emperor Chengping was extremely happy.
And a mere governor actually had 800,000 taels of gold!
"Where does so much gold come from? Did they dig a gold mountain?" Sudi asked in surprise.
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Don't forget about maritime trade. Aren't there gold, silver, and copper mines on Pirate Island?"
Gong Qiubai said, "All the gold and silver that the merchants brought in through trade were collected by them."
Zhao Lin nodded and said, "Continue."
Su Yinghan said, "Various silver products, silver ingots, silver winter melons, silver boats, etc., add up to at least 10 million taels, which is no less than Feng Siyuan's."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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