signingbooks #189 - Not a cent
#189 - Not a cent
Gao Yuan then made a final decision:
“Therefore, Six Doors Commander Qi unfortunately died from being struck by lightning, and was not killed by the Taiping Dao.”
Lü Yao wanted to speak several times but stopped.
He was very clear that he was just a martial artist, and he simply couldn't argue with these scholars when it came to reasoning.
This made him have no choice but to close his mouth in anger.
Gao Yuan continued:
“Has the Taiping Dao raised the banner of rebellion?”
“On the contrary, they are saving the people and eliminating the epidemic, and the government should reward them greatly.”
“Especially last night, they restrained the disaster victims, did not commit any offenses against the people, and respected you, me, and other officials.”
“If they were rebelling, would they act like this?”
The officials were silent after hearing this.
At this moment.
Vice Prefect Wang Xun asked:
“Lord Prefect, what about the Yang family?”
It would have been fine if it was just the extermination of a merchant's family.
But the problem was that behind the Yang family was Han Guozhang!
The officials all wanted to see how Gao Yuan would decide.
Gao Yuan said:
“The Yang family, along with Garrison Commander Lei Yu, Assistant Administrator An Liangbi, and others, are rebelling!”
“This matter has been premeditated for a long time.”
“The Prefectural Office had already received a report from Qiu Zhuo, the magistrate of Taiyang County, saying that the Yang family was privately hoarding hard crossbows with the intention of rebelling.”
“Unfortunately, this report was secretly withheld by An Liangbi in order to cover up for the Yang family.”
“When the plague broke out, the Yang family monopolized medicinal materials, maliciously spread the plague, and suppressed those who were treating the epidemic, intending to destroy the foundation of my Great Qian.”
“From last night to today, countless people have exposed the crimes of the Yang family, and the Yang family has even secretly sold medicinal materials to the rebel army in the neighboring Yangzhou.”
“The evidence of their rebellion has been completely confirmed!”
The officials stopped and couldn't help but show surprise.
This Gao Yuan was completely disregarding Han Guozhang's face.
Only Feng Tian said loudly:
“Lord Prefect is right!”
“The Yang family was the mastermind behind last night's rebellion!”
“Lei Yu and An Liangbi were accomplices, trying to seize Qingzhou's military power and launch a rebellion.”
“Fortunately, I discovered it early and decisively killed the two traitors, stabilizing the morale of the army in time, which prevented a catastrophe in Qingzhou!”
Of course, Feng Tian supported the Yang family's rebellion.
Only in this way could his betrayal of his colleagues last night be justified and he could make great contributions.
Otherwise, he would probably lose his head.
Feng Tian would not allow anyone to question him, and immediately swept his cold eyes across the audience:
“Could it be that you are accomplices in the Yang family's rebellion?”
“Otherwise, why are you still unwilling to stand up and expose the Yang family's evil deeds?”
“I will never let go of accomplices in treason!”
As the last sentence fell, Feng Tian's body had already exuded bursts of killing intent.
The officials were stimulated by the killing intent, and coupled with their guilty conscience, they couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
They had received a lot of money from the Yang family on weekdays, and they had done a lot of things for the Yang family.
If the Yang family was defined as treasonous, then they... would really become accomplices!
Gao Yuan naturally knew what everyone was thinking.
He said lightly:
“Everyone, the Yang family has been exterminated, and even if they rebelled, they have already been brought to justice.”
“And this matter is not suitable for expansion, the top priority is to stabilize the situation in Qingzhou and the morale of the people.”
“Qingzhou wants to be stable, but it cannot be without the assistance of you all.”
When the officials heard this, their eyes lit up.
They understood what Gao Yuan meant.
The meaning of the first sentence was that the Yang family was dead, and there was no way to prove anything, and no accomplices could be identified.
The meaning of the second and third sentences was that although Gao Yuan had some evidence, he did not intend to expand the case to the officials of Qingzhou, and he could ensure that all the officials were safe and sound.
The officials were naturally happy with this result.
Immediately, they looked at each other, and then said:
“We will respectfully follow Lord Prefect's instructions!”
At this time, they looked at Gao Yuan with more respect and flattery.
Because their weaknesses had already fallen into Gao Yuan's hands, they could only be controlled by Gao Yuan in the future.
As for Han Guozhang's anger...
If the sky falls, there are taller people to hold it up.
That anger would first burn on the body of Prefect Gao Yuan, and it would not be their turn.
Gao Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
This was the result he wanted.
Only in this way would he not be emptied like yesterday.
From today onwards, he would become the rightful head of the prefecture!
Now there were no more problems in Qingzhou.
What Gao Yuan was worried about was whether the imperial court would pass the test after his memorial was submitted.
His gaze turned slightly to the outside of the window.
Shenlu Peak in the distance towered into the clouds.
Gao Yuan knew that perhaps he should go to the Great Virtuous Teacher to discuss it carefully to prevent accidents.
……
Shenlu Peak.
The Taiping Dao headquarters.
People came and went here, and everyone was busy.
After the great victory, there were too many things to deal with.
The statistics of casualties, the pensions for martyrs, the inventory of spoils, and so on, a lot of things simply could not be finished.
The Yellow Turban soldiers in the headquarters had been busy all night without being able to close their eyes, but they were all radiant.
This great victory was of great significance.
From then on, the Taiping Dao's reputation spread far and wide, and it was highly respected by the world.
And everyone present also knew that they would inevitably receive rich rewards.
Divine Envoy Lu Qiannan and several core members stayed in Qingzhou City to handle city affairs and were responsible for distributing talisman water.
Liang Jin and Zhang You were at the headquarters, handling the affairs here.
Zhang You knew that Liang Jin was not interested in gold and silver treasures.
So he took Liang Jin to a few large boxes.
The boxes were opened, and inside were some letters, account books, receipts, contracts, and so on.
“Great Virtuous Teacher, this Yang family really doesn't pay attention to doing things.”
“They actually secretly kept evidence and details of bribing various officials, probably thinking that they could use this evidence to threaten those officials one day.”
“The most excessive thing is that even the annual bribery to their master Han Guozhang is recorded in detail.”
“This Yang family is really bold and reckless, not afraid of death at all.”
Zhang You sighed.
Anyone in a high position would not want their servants to secretly keep evidence of their illegal and disorderly behavior.
If this evidence was discovered, then the Yang family would not know how to die.
Liang Jin smiled and said:
“How could they not be afraid of death?”
“If they were really not afraid of death, how could they hand over these things to save their lives?”
Liang Jin already knew that these incriminating materials were hidden by the Yang family in a top-secret place, which was originally extremely difficult for outsiders to discover.
But last night, when the Yang family was about to be destroyed, the core members of the Yang family revealed this evidence in despair, wanting to beg for their lives.
That was how the Taiping Dao was able to dig out these incriminating evidence.
Zhang You asked:
“Great Virtuous Teacher, should we burn or keep this evidence?”
Keeping these things is very dangerous.
Not only is Han Guozhang involved, but also many court officials, and even the royal family are involved.
Keeping these things, a little carelessness may lead to death.
Liang Jin said:
“Of course, keep it.”
“Although these things seem to be life-threatening charms, they can sometimes become amulets.”
Zhang You nodded:
“Your subordinate understands.”
“Great Virtuous Teacher, rest assured, I have dealt with everyone who knows about this matter.”
Liang Jin picked up the evidence and flipped through it for a while.
He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
This Great Qian Dynasty is really corrupt.
Court officials are not only pursuing power, but also frantically pursuing wealth.
Civil officials love money, and military generals cherish their lives, no wonder the Great Qian will decline to this point.
Zhang You whispered:
“Great Virtuous Teacher, should the Yang family's property... be distributed to the various forces in Qingzhou Prefecture?”
“Prefect Gao Yuan has also hinted to me that he hopes to confiscate part of the Yang family's property.”
The Yang family's wealth was too huge, and Zhang You was frightened when he counted so much money.
He was afraid that such a huge amount of wealth would attract envy, so he hoped to use this wealth to win over the Qingzhou government, so as not to cause trouble.
Liang Jin sneered:
“Distribute? Confiscate?”
“Ridiculous!”
“Is it that my Taiping Dao can't swallow this money? I won't distribute a penny.”
“Whoever dares to covet this wealth, do they want to be the second Yang family?”
Zhang You has been in the officialdom for a long time, and his thinking always stays in the officialdom, which is too limited.
Liang Jin knew that the world was about to change, and even the Hualong Sect on the East China Sea Islands was making deployments to compete for the Central Plains, so how could Liang Jin not prepare in advance?
The Yang family's confidence in possessing a huge amount of wealth lies in Han Guozhang.
And Liang Jin's confidence lies in this plague and countless disaster victims suffering from the epidemic.
Now the plague has overflowed from Qingzhou and has begun to spread in the surrounding states and counties.
The Great Qian Dynasty is incompetent and has not been able to effectively control the epidemic until now.
In that case, wherever the plague goes, it is also within the scope of the Taiping Dao's influence.
If anyone dares to force him, then he doesn't mind raising the banner of rebellion.
“Zhang You, use this money to immediately start secretly building weapons, recruiting troops, and recruiting warriors.”
“Especially the tens of thousands of disaster victims outside Qingzhou City, try to develop them into members of the Taiping Dao.”
“As long as we have enough confidence, then we will not be afraid of any thieves coveting us.”
Liang Jin ordered.
As the saying goes: The Son of Heaven, whoever has strong soldiers and horses should be the one, is there a lineage?
Liang Jin had read the intelligence of the Hualong Sect and the evidence of the Yang family's bribery. He knew that although the Great Qian Dynasty looked powerful, it was actually rotten.
Once it loses its deer, then the world will inevitably rise up and compete for it together.
Zhang You was stunned when he heard this, and then his eyes also showed excitement:
“Your subordinate understands!”
“Your subordinate will definitely handle this matter well!”
Such a large sum of money is enough to raise a large number of people.
Zhang You knew that once their leader, the Great Virtuous Teacher, was fearless, then the development speed of the Taiping Dao would inevitably shock everyone.
Liang Jin nodded when he heard this.
His thoughts were on the distribution of talisman water again:
“Distribute all the stockpiled talisman water, distribute it with all your strength.”
“But remember, only within Qingzhou.”
Now that the plague has overflowed, and most areas of Qingzhou are already under the control of the Taiping Dao, Liang Jin can also let go of his hands and feet to heal the patients in Qingzhou.
Although he despises the enemy strategically, Liang Jin must pay attention to tactics.
Although the Great Qian Dynasty has declined, it is still stronger than the Taiping Dao.
Liang Jin still needs more trump cards.
Accelerating the healing of disaster victims and getting the reward for healing 100,000 people is what Liang Jin should do most.