Hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, which were full of sarcasm, the county magistrate was also very frightened.
Just kidding, who in the Ming Dynasty isn't afraid of this Crown Prince?
Those in official positions, in particular, understood even more how terrifying this Crown Prince was.
So the magistrate continued kowtowing, and turned to the still somewhat bewildered constable, scolding him:
"You insolent brat, come and kneel down right now..."
The constable seemed to have realized the seriousness of the situation. When Zhao Qingzhu's identity as the Crown Prince was exposed, he knew that today might be the end for him.
At this moment, he immediately knelt down on the ground with a thud, repeatedly kowtowing and saying:
“Your Highness, I was blind and did not recognize you. I have offended you. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Zhu Yunwen looked at the constable kneeling on the ground begging for mercy and continued in a mocking tone:
"You weren't acting like this just now. What? You immediately adopted this attitude after learning who I am?"
If they didn't know my identity, wouldn't they just pin me down and give me a good beating?
Hmph, you lackey, you really know how to abuse your master's power. Now that this has happened, it's impossible for things to end well.
"I'll give you a good look at the way your officials and bureaucrats behave in Shacheng, and see just how rampant and chaotic they really are."
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, the county magistrate trembled even more. He knew that Zhu Yunwen would not let the matter rest. Zhu Yunwen did not waste any words and went directly into the county office to begin an investigation.
After all, traveling incognito is no small matter. Since he discovered that there was a problem in Shacheng, Zhu Yunwen would naturally not let such an opportunity pass and would definitely investigate it thoroughly.
It just so happens that Sand City will be chosen as the first place to be targeted during this inspection of the world.
So Zhu Yunwen ordered the county magistrate to bring out all the accounts, all the tax records, and all the things the local government had done, so that Zhu Yunwen could check them one by one.
You don't know until you investigate, and sure enough, a lot of problems were exposed.
Putting aside everything else, just considering the local development alone, the county magistrate received a considerable amount of kickbacks.
This kickback was easy to spot, since Zhu Yunwen frequently traveled to various places and was very familiar with local prices.
However, the county magistrate's approval of certain construction projects often involved significantly higher expenditures.
The amount offered was at least higher than that of county governments in other places.
For example, one that Zhu Yunwen had previously seen was the construction of an official school.
Previously, Mo City also had a school built, and it was even better than the one in Sha City. However, when looking at the cost of Mo City's school, it only used 100,000 taels of silver.
However, upon arriving in this sand city, they spent 150,000 taels of silver.
Unfortunately, Zhu Yunwen had previously visited the official schools in Shacheng, and they were not as good as those in Mocheng.
The two cities are not far apart, so theoretically the cost of living and the prices of various goods should be similar.
However, it only cost 100,000 taels of silver to build a good official school in a certain place.
If one place is repaired slightly worse, it will cost an extra 50,000 taels of silver.
If there's nothing fishy going on, then it really doesn't make sense.
So Zhu Yunwen looked at the magistrate of Shacheng and said:
"What's the deal with this extra 50,000 taels of silver? It's probably more than 50,000 taels more, isn't it? And the school isn't very well built either; the quality is probably substandard. Are you trying to fool the imperial court or the local people?"
Hearing Zhu Yunwen's blunt words, the magistrate of Shacheng County stammered an explanation:
"Your Highness, no... no money was spent. Every penny was spent in the right places. There was absolutely no wasteful or excessive spending."
"If you think I'm a fool, you'll have to confess honestly, and I might be able to treat you leniently. But if you don't, I won't be so kind."
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, the magistrate of Shacheng naturally realized that he could no longer fool the emperor.
Who is this person in front of me? He is none other than the grandson of the Ming Dynasty, a man who is high above and like a god.
Could he really be fooled by a mere magistrate of Shacheng? Obviously not. Therefore, the Shacheng magistrate could only grit his teeth and cautiously say:
"Your Highness, this... I did indeed receive a small bribe, a thousand taels of silver..."
He had barely finished speaking when Zhu Yunwen slammed his hand on the table:
"Nonsense."
The magistrate immediately kowtowed and said:
"Forty thousand taels of silver! Forty thousand taels of silver! Your Highness, spare my life! This sinful subject did indeed embezzle forty thousand taels of silver in these projects. I beg Your Highness to show leniency. I am willing to return all the money and accept any punishment..."
Zhu Yunwen's face was gloomy before he slowly spoke:
"Forty thousand taels of silver? You are utterly despicable! Do you know how much benefit and how much better the people's lives would have been if all of that forty thousand taels of silver had been used for local development? Yet you used it for embezzlement. It's simply hateful."
The magistrate of Shacheng County trembled and dared not utter a single rebuttal, only repeatedly admitting his mistake and confessing his guilt.
Since Zhu Yunwen had already decided to use the sandstorm as a scapegoat and wanted to make an example of it, he naturally wouldn't show any mercy first.
So Zhu Yunwen spoke directly:
"Guards, drag him away and behead him at Cai Shitou."
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