allonlinenovel Chapter 302 I am now the most awesome imperial envoy!
Chapter 302 I am now the most awesome imperial envoy!
Chapter 302 I am now the most awesome imperial envoy! After chatting with Yang Shaofeng for a few more minutes, Lan Yu turned his gaze to the commander of the Leopard Guard: "The front thousand households of the Leopard Guard are dispersed to various government offices in Dengzhou, the left thousand households are dispersed to various government offices in Laizhou, the right thousand households are dispersed to various government offices in Qingzhou, and the rear thousand households are dispersed to various government offices in Jinan."
"Every single government office, whether it's a prefecture or a county, including the provincial government office in Jinan, and even the office of Vice Chancellor Wang Guangyang, is hereby ordered to allow entry but not exit. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."
"Send messengers to notify the garrisons in Dengzhou, Laizhou, Qingzhou, and Jinan that they shall be on high alert from the moment they receive the order. Except for the orders of flags, the tiger tally of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, and the tiger tally of this Vice Commissioner, no other orders shall be heeded. All soldiers are prohibited from leaving their garrisons. Anyone who disobeys the order shall be executed."
"Order the Pingshan Guard of Dongchang Prefecture and the Rencheng Guard of Yanzhou Prefecture to each send a cavalry unit of one hundred households to Zhaoyuan for service. Anyone who fails to do so within fifteen days shall be executed."
Yang Shaofeng stared blankly at Lan Yu.
Is this saying the most murderous things in the most relaxed tone?
Lan Yu glanced at Yang Shaofeng, chuckled, and said, "What are you looking at me for? The flag in your hand can also control the troops of the Shandong Guards. That thing is more effective than the tiger tally in my hand."
Are flags really that awesome?
Why don't any directors or screenwriters make a film about the flag? They just keep making films about how powerful the imperial sword is.
Those directors and screenwriters must be completely incompetent!
Just as Yang Shaofeng was inwardly complaining, Lan Yu added, "You are now an imperial envoy, and even more powerful than the imperial envoys in plays."
Upon hearing Lan Yu's words, Yang Shaofeng immediately perked up.
Flagship is awesome, right?
The Imperial Sword is awesome, right?
I have them all!
I am now the most powerful imperial envoy!
With his last lingering doubts completely dispelled, Yang Shaofeng simply had Xu Zheng dragged from the prison to the main hall of Zhaoyuan County. Then, he slammed the gavel down and shouted, "Xu Zheng, do you know your crime?!"
Xu Zheng knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling as he said, "Your Honor...I confess my guilt!"
Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "Since you know you're guilty, then honestly confess all the crimes you've committed."
Xu Zheng looked up at Yang Shaofeng, then lowered his head again. "This guilty official... since June of the first year of Hongwu, when the court allocated grain to Zhaoyuan to relieve the drought... later he gradually became bolder and started to resell plowshares, just like Penglai County... I know my crime and beg Your Highness for mercy!"
As Xu Zheng confessed to all the bad things he had done, even the "well-informed" Yang Shaofeng felt somewhat bewildered.
They really know how to play!
Those who added bran to grain were considered conscientious; those who were unscrupulous added sand directly. At least three ounces of sand were added to one pound of grain because sand weighs down the grain. To make the grain appear as if it hadn't decreased in weight, the officials would add an extra ounce of bran.
What's a little extra tax under various pretexts? Officials would simply send their distant relatives or servants to open brothels, pawnshops, and other similar establishments. They even dared to lend money at interest rates in the pawnshops.
For officials, things like taking goods from warehouses to resell, or actively contacting gentry in Jiangnan to open brothels in their jurisdiction were all routine operations.
They weren't even willing to use the slightly more sophisticated tactic of buying cheap goods at high prices.
As for the merchants who resell plowshares, that's even more absurd.
According to Xu Zheng, the merchant who bought the plows came to his door the day after the plows allocated by the imperial court arrived in Zhaoyuan. He managed to intimidate Xu Zheng, the magistrate of Zhaoyuan, with just a few words.
Look, the plows allocated by the imperial court have just arrived, and the little one has followed. What does this mean?
This shows that I have powerful connections. Otherwise, how could a mere merchant like me know the time it would take for Litou to reach Zhaoyuan?
Who is behind the small one?
Ha, I dare to say this, but Magistrate Xu, do you dare to listen?
Look at Qu Mingjie, the magistrate of Jimo County; he doesn't ask about these messy things.
As for what the young man would do with these plowshares?
What's it to you!
You just need to say whether you want to sell or not. If you dare to sell, I will give you the cash immediately, and you don't need to worry about anyone coming to check later.
If you don't sell, I'll turn around and leave immediately. As for whether you'll be impeached or whether an imperial censor will come to Zhaoyuan, that's hard to say.
Then, that idiot Xu Zheng sold the plow.
According to Xu Zheng, the situation was similar in many counties of Dengzhou and Laizhou. Some people had doubts, but after verifying with Qu Mingjie, the magistrate of Jimo County, they were told that the merchant was indeed someone of great importance, which dispelled the officials' concerns.
"Take Xu Zheng back to the jail and keep him under guard."
Yang Shaofeng first gave an instruction to Lame Wu, and then instructed the commander of the guards of the Imperial Son-in-Law's Mansion: "Immediately gather the brothers and come with me to Jimo."
Before the commander of the Prince Consort's mansion could respond, Lan Yu, who was sitting to the side listening to the proceedings, stood up and said to Yang Shaofeng, "Come on, I'll go with you."
After leaving the Zhaoyuan County government office, Lan Yu looked directly at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Do you suspect that the magistrate of Jimo County has a problem?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "If the magistrate of Jimo is not a problem, then the magistrate of Jimo is too stupid. But judging from Xu Zheng's confession, this magistrate of Jimo is obviously not stupid. He probably knows something."
Lan Yu nodded, and then followed Yang Shaofeng without saying a word, heading towards Jimo County with him.
……
When Yang Shaofeng and Lan Yu arrived in Jimo County with the Imperial Son-in-Law's personal guards and a thousand elite cavalrymen from the Leopard Guard, the county magistrate Qu Mingjie was sitting in the main hall of Jimo County drinking tea.
Upon seeing Yang Shaofeng and Lan Yu, Qu Mingjie greeted them with a smile, saying, "Prince Consort Yang, I have been waiting for you for quite some time."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback, and said in a deep voice, "Did you know I would come?"
Qu Mingjie chuckled and said, "Since Prince Consort Yang has been promoted to Prefect of Dengzhou, he will come to Jimo County sooner or later, won't he?"
Just as Yang Shaofeng was about to ask another question, Lan Yu chuckled and ordered his personal guards, "Drag this bastard down and break his legs first."
As Lan Yu finished speaking, the guards beside him immediately rushed towards Qu Mingjie behind the desk in the main hall.
Lan Yu turned to look at Yang Shaofeng, clicked her tongue twice, and said, "You can't do it like this."
Pointing to Qu Mingjie who had been dragged down, Lan Yu continued, "If you give someone a little kindness, he'll think you're weak and easy to bully, and then he'll spout all this nonsense to confuse you."
"If you let him intimidate you, he'll dare to lead you by the nose."
"So don't waste your breath on them. Break both their legs when you see them, and then question them after that."
Just as Lan Yu was "instructing" Yang Shaofeng, Qu Mingjie's two legs had already been broken by Lan Yu's personal guards, and he was screaming in agony.