Chapter 41: Imprisoned for a Year or Two
As the saying goes, it takes another evildoer to deal with a bad person. If the Liangcheng prefect continues to act in the same style as before and is currently sidelined, there is really nothing we can do about these wealthy businessmen.
But now with the addition of Duke Zheng and his soldiers, Duke Zheng's decisive and ruthless methods, as well as sufficient manpower, can naturally control them at will.
Qian Youliang hurried to the restaurant to get food, but he never imagined that what awaited him would be the loss of the food he had deliberately hoarded.
"Your Highness, once we have the food, what should we do with these people?"
These people were naturally the grain donors who were deceived by them with fictitious tribute quotas.
In response to Zheng Yannian's question, Yuchi Shuo did not give a direct answer. Of course, this time he did not look at Gu Feixue as usual.
Instead, he looked at Prefect Liang and asked, "Prefect Liang, in your opinion, how should we deal with these people?"
Prefect Liang was obviously caught off guard by Yuchi Shuo's sudden question.
After thinking it over, he could only answer tentatively:
"I think that since we have the food, we should release these people."
Liang Jianwei had never answered Yuchi Shuo's question before, so he naturally gave a conservative answer.
After all, he also knew that the reason why the rich businessman did not cause trouble during this period was due to the arrival of Duke Zheng and his party.
If Duke Zheng passed away, he would still have to live on his own, and of course he didn't want to offend these wealthy businessmen.
Especially, people from Zong Hao’s faction must not be offended.
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Shuo's eyes darkened, and a sense of majesty instantly enveloped him:
"I originally thought that you would make progress after this incident."
Liang Jianwei was so frightened that his face turned pale and he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I deserve death!"
Yuchi Shuo did not speak again. It was obvious that if Governor Liang did not give him a satisfactory answer, he would lose his official position.
Liang Jianwei also felt wronged. Thinking of the situation in Liangcheng over the years, he said with great sadness:
"It's not that I'm timid, it's just that Liangcheng has long been ruled by Zong Hao. Most of my former subordinates have defected to Zong Hao."
This was the first time that everyone heard the name Zong Hao, even Gu Feixue heard the name Zong Hao for the first time.
She only heard that the prefect of Liangcheng had long been stripped of his power.
However, he didn't expect that the person who dared to go against the prefect was actually only one person, not many wealthy businessmen.
Zheng Yannian was very surprised by the prefect's answer: "How could that be? As far as I know, isn't Zong Hao the advisor of the Liangcheng prefect?"
A legal advisor, a counselor in ancient times, was supposed to assist officials. How come this legal advisor has such omnipotent power in Liangcheng?
Something flashed through Gu Feixue's mind, but it disappeared in a flash.
"Duke Zheng, you don't know that Zong Hao is colluding with many of Liangcheng's gentry and wealthy merchants. He even dared to touch the prefect and even the government officials, yet he left me behind as a scapegoat. Many things are not because I don't want to do them, but because I have no one to help me."
So that's how it is, people go to high places and water flows to low places.
As a legal advisor, Zong Hao colluded with wealthy businessmen and promised them many benefits. Naturally, most of these officials chose to join Zong Hao if there were any benefits.
Even though Liang Jianwei later dismissed Zong Hao from his post, the other party's power in Liangcheng remained at its peak.
"If that's the case, why did you recruit such an ambitious person in the first place?"
Everyone saw that the magistrate Liang's face was filled with shame. "This advisor was recommended by a county magistrate in Liangcheng. Because of his ability to predict the future, I took him under my command."
"Oh? Predicting things like a god?"
Upon hearing this, Liang Jianwei immediately reported Zong Hao's abilities to Yuchi Shuo.
When everyone heard this, they were all surprised.
Predicting the future? Gu Feixue seemed to be witnessing a shamanic performance in ancient times.
Although she has even encountered time travel in this world, isn't it too exaggerated to predict the future?
And it sounds like Zong Hao is still calculating the policies that the court is about to issue.
She didn't know about others, but in her eyes, this was very intriguing.
If the other party really has such ability, why would he be willing to serve under a Liangcheng prefect?
At the very least, he would have to be an official in Jiangzhou. At the very least, he would have been conscripted by the imperial court. Didn't ancient times have the Imperial Astronomical Observatory? It was full of talented people who could calculate the calendar and understand astrology.
However, the other party only committed crimes in this small Liangcheng. Is this reasonable?
But if the other party is incompetent, are the wealthy businessmen in Liangcheng fools? This means that the other party can really predict the policies that the court is about to issue in advance.
Suddenly, Gu Feixue thought of a possibility. She couldn't help but look at Yuchi Shuo, but saw that the other party's eyes flashed slightly, and it was obvious that he also thought of a possibility.
It seems that the person behind Zong Hao is quite powerful and is actually from the imperial court in the capital!
For some reason, Gu Feixue suddenly thought of the incident in which Gu Lang was framed by a villain because he was held accountable for the disaster in Liangcheng.
Could it be that the person behind Zong Hao did it?
Seeing that Yuchi Shuo didn't say anything, Liang Jianwei thought that he had not yet overcome the crisis, so he could only grit his teeth and say:
"I do have a suggestion."
Yuchi Shuo looked at Liang Jianwei and said, "Speak."
"I believe we should release these people first. This is because their hoarding of grain will inevitably arouse public anger, and those who are sensible will not cause trouble again. If anyone dares to cause trouble, it will not be too late to arrest them then."
With the army brought by Duke Zheng, there is no need to worry about not being able to catch people.
Yuchi Shuo obviously didn't care about the attitudes of these wealthy businessmen. He was thinking in his mind at the moment who in the court had repeatedly done harm to Liangcheng.
"Just do as you say. Leave now." He paused, then looked at the Gu siblings and said, "Wait, Gu Feixue and Gu Tingchuan stay."
When only the Gu brothers and sisters were left, Yuchi Shuo did not shy away from Gu Tingchuan's presence and asked Gu Feixue directly:
"What do you think of this?"
Gu Feixue thought Yuchi Shuo was asking about those wealthy businessmen, so her attitude was naturally obvious:
"Of course, those who cause trouble will be arrested. Not only will they be arrested, but they will also be paraded through the streets. Anyone who dares to express an opinion will be imprisoned for a year or two."
Special times call for special treatment. Anyone who wants to cause trouble at this time obviously needs to go to jail to calm down.
Gu Feixue's slightly resentful words made Gu Tingchuan and Yuchi Shuo on the opposite side stunned.
She was afraid her tone might be too harsh, so she said, "Of course, besides that, there's nothing wrong with giving me some money."
Even if these people brought this upon themselves because they were too greedy, the government had no need to cheat these merchants of food. They should just deal with it according to the market price before the disaster.
He who has done his best but still causes trouble should be put in jail. He should be in jail for at least a month before Duke Zheng leaves.
Unexpectedly, this remark was met with a teasing smile from Yuchi Shuo: "You are quite a good person."
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