Chen Yanchuan's eyes watched his nose, his nose watched his heart, his voice and expression were calm:
"This matter was secretly planned in advance by someone, so from beginning to end, only a few grain merchants were sent out. Even the people don't know who the grain was sold to, let alone where it was sent to."
Farmers depend on the weather for their livelihood. If someone buys their grain at a high price and doesn't let them worry about anything, they would be so happy that they wouldn't care about anything else.
"If the grain merchant who had an appointment with us had not shown up last year, I'm afraid they wouldn't have noticed anything wrong."
Emperor Mu Wu snorted coldly.
"If the people don't know, could it be that the local officials don't know anything either!?"
It is also expected that the local officials would definitely be aware of such a big thing and might even secretly provide convenience.
Shen Yanchuan paused.
"Zuo Ci, the magistrate of Qingzhou, was born in poverty, but his private life was quite extravagant and generous."
Emperor Mu Wu narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, "Zuo Ci... I have an impression of this name. If I remember correctly, he was a student of Jiang Zhaoyuan back then?"
"yes."
Emperor Mu Wu had a gloomy expression on his face.
It would be impossible for a county magistrate to live such a life relying only on that little salary. Anyone with eyes could see that Zuo Ci must have had some illegal income in private.
"He took money from those grain merchants?"
Emperor Muwu paused as he spoke, frowning.
"No... In the past few years, the weather was good and the grain price was not high. Those grain merchants spent so much energy to store grain at high prices and even bribed people. After all this trouble, they probably didn't make much money. So they..."
He suddenly thought of something and his heart sank.
Chen Yanchuan raised his head, his eyes were calm, but the words he said seemed to contain sharpness, which made people faintly frightened!
“The purpose of hoarding food may not necessarily be to make money, it may also be… to take lives, or of course, to save lives.”
If a person is poor, he can still survive for a period of time, but if he has no food to eat, he will die within a few days!
It may not be noticeable on ordinary days, but if there is a famine, so much food may not be bought even with money!
The more Emperor Mu Wu thought about it, the more frightened he became.
There are so many things we can do with so much food stored up!
He frowned, "Have you found out who Zuo Ci met and what kind of deal he made?"
Shen Yanchuan shook his head.
"The one who had private dealings with those grain merchants was not him, but his attendant, named Gao Yi."
Emperor Mu Wu was stunned for a moment and was unable to react.
"A personal attendant? That's right. As the county magistrate, how can he come directly? Of course, he has to find someone he can trust..."
"Your Majesty has misunderstood."
Shen Yanchuan spoke again.
"That Gao Yi did not do these things in obedience to Zuo Ci's orders."
"What?" Emperor Mu Wu was surprised.
Chen Yanchuan recalled everything he had heard before and spoke slowly, "Zuo Ci did accept bribes more than once, but after investigation, it was found that they were all given by some wealthy merchants in Qingzhou in order to ask him to do things for them."
Emperor Mu Wu was stunned.
"He was born in a poor family. He passed the imperial examination with great difficulty, but was only assigned a small official position. Although it is said that he is a student of Jiang Zhaoyuan, in fact, the Jiang family has not had much contact with him over the years. Especially Jiang Zhaoyuan, who has students all over the world, a person like Zuo Ci who comes from a poor family is naturally not worthy of his attention."
Emperor Mu Wu nodded, "That's right... If Jiang Zhaoyuan had wanted to help him, he wouldn't have stayed in Qingzhou for so many years."
"Qingzhou is not rich, but as the county magistrate, he has power and can still make money. In the past few years since he took office, he has kept a low profile on the surface, but in private he has been taking bribes and has not missed a penny."
Zuo Ci's little tricks might have deceived others, but they could not deceive the Black Cavalry.
There was no need for Shen Yanchuan to go there in person, as the people below had already thoroughly investigated Zuo Ci's experiences over the years, and even knew how much money he had received.
It is for this reason that Shen Yanchuan came to the palace to report today.
——He came not to prove Zuo Ci’s guilt, but to make it clear that the grain hoarding in Qingzhou was planned by someone else!
"Zuo Ci also knew what those grain merchants did, but he didn't take it to heart."
After all, this kind of thing is very common.
He is busy eating, drinking and enjoying himself every day, so how could he worry about these things?
Anyway, the people and the grain merchants are willing to sell and buy respectively, so what is there to interfere?
So Zuo Ci didn't take this matter to heart at all.
"Those grain merchants also gave benefits to Zuo Ci, but they went through Gao Yi's hands and never even set foot in the county magistrate's office."
In broad daylight, he walked in so brazenly, which was really ostentatious.
No businessman would be so stupid.
As Zuo Ci's long-time attendant, Gao Yi naturally became a key link in this.
Emperor Mu Wu stared at Chen Yanchuan and said, "You are saying this to tell me that Zuo Ci was not aware of the grain hoarding in Qingzhou, and it has nothing to do with the Jiang family?"
Shen Yanchuan smiled.
"Zuo Ci has no relationship with the Jiang family. But the origin of Gao Yi is quite mysterious."
"oh?"
Emperor Mu Wu was a little surprised. What could be so great about a small attendant to a county magistrate?
"What's so special about him?"
Chen Yanchuan nodded slightly.
"This man is very skilled in martial arts. I'm afraid even Zuo Ci doesn't know his true skills. More importantly,..."
He paused, then spoke word by word.
"The Black Knights fought him once and found that...his moves seemed similar to those of Wazhen."
Emperor Mu Wu was suddenly startled:
"What!?"
…
Ye Mansion.
Ye Jingyan has returned to school and has been staying in the Imperial College recently.
Only Ye Chutang and Xiaowu were left at home, and the quietness was a little strange for a while.
It was a sunny day today. The icicles under the eaves were crystal clear. The snow in the yard had just been cleared and mixed with a few dead leaves. From a distance, it looked scattered and interesting.
Ye Chutang stood by the fireplace to warm his hands, then walked to the small couch by the window, sat down, and took out a letter.
In fact, her health has improved a lot in recent days. She no longer feels cold when she goes out, especially in this room which is as warm as spring. Her hands and feet are warm.
However, it has become a habit and I still warm my hands before doing anything.
Ye Chutang glanced out the window and saw a small figure busy making a snowman in the yard.
Xiaowu is full of energy every day. Without her third and fourth brothers to accompany her, she plays by herself.
Ye Chutang curled the corners of his lips slightly, then he lowered his head to look at the letter in his hand.
This is a letter from Shiluan City, signed by Su Peier.
It's been a long time, and I don't know how she is doing over there?
Many thoughts flashed through Ye Chutang's mind, and his slender, white fingers quickly opened the envelope.
There was beautiful handwriting on a thin piece of letter paper.
Ye Chutang lowered her eyes and looked up, her dark eyebrows gradually knitted... (End of this chapter)
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