Eat the whole family? I emptied the storehouse of the Marquis' Mansion and married the crippled

Chapter 307 True Account Book

Xuetuan understood what Ye Jintang meant. It sniffed the account book and took small steps towards Zuo Yongqing.

Zuo Yongqing was so scared that he didn't dare to move, for fear that he would be bitten by the big cat in front of him.

Xuetuan sniffed Zuo Yongqing carefully, then sniffed the account book in Ye Jintang's hand, and then began to search carefully in the county government office.

The small county government office was not enough for Xuetuan to run around, and soon it sat in front of the treasure pavilion in Zuo Yongqing's bedroom and meowed at Ye Jintang.

Ye Jintang did not step forward, but asked the guards to go forward and search carefully.

"I am an official appointed by the court after all. It is inappropriate for Your Majesty to search my residence so casually. If something is found, it would be fine. But if nothing is found, how can I face my colleagues in the future?"

Zuo Yongqing, who was trying to remain calm, was so frightened that his hands began to tremble when he saw Xuetuan squatting in front of Duobao Pavilion. However, he still looked innocent, hoping that Xiao Mo would believe him.

"Master Zuo, don't worry. If nothing can be found, I will clear your name. If something can be found, then you can just pray for the best."

The guards under Xiao Mo were all trained and carefully selected. They had some understanding of the mechanisms, so they were naturally extremely careful when searching the treasure chest. However, after searching for a long time, they found nothing and did not find the mechanism to open the secret door.

"You guys move the Duobao Pavilion away and knock on the bricks on the back wall to see if there is a cavity."

Ye Jintang's words made Zuo Yongqing's legs go weak.

When he was designing the darkroom, he thought it couldn't be the same as others, but he didn't expect that it would be seen through by a young man at a glance.

It was too late for him to stop it. The guards moved the Duobao Pavilion away, and someone came forward and knocked lightly on the wall and immediately heard that the sound was wrong.

"The back of Duobao Pavilion is empty."

Several guards stepped forward together and immediately found the mechanism of the secret room.

When Zuo Yongqing saw that the situation was not right, he turned around and tried to sneak away when no one was paying attention. However, as soon as he stood up, he was pinned to the ground by the guards who had been staring at him.

"Master Zuo, didn't you say you were innocent? Then why did you run away?"

Zuo Yongqing's scalp tingled when he saw Xiao Mo smiling. He knew that the situation was hopeless and now he didn't ask for anything else as long as he could save his life.

The guards quickly found the real account book from the dark room, and at the same time, box after box of silver was carried out.

At first, Xiao Mo thought that in a poor county like Yunliang, even if Zuo Yongqing embezzled taxes, the amount would not be large. After all, this place was too poor, and no matter how much money he tried, he would not be able to get much.

But when he saw more than a dozen boxes of silver being carried out, he finally lost his composure.

"Master Zuo, you are really amazing. You can actually make so much tax money in such a small Yunliang."

"The tax silver that Lord Zuo embezzled is not just this amount."

Ye Jintang took out an account book without a name on it and handed it to Xiao Mo.

The account book clearly recorded the extra tax silver of the entire Yunliang County every year. A large part of it was transported to the capital and handed over to Imperial Noble Consort Dehui, while Zuo Yongqing only kept 10% for himself.

"I was wondering how a small county magistrate could be so bold as to blatantly collect more taxes. It turns out that Imperial Noble Consort Dehui is backing him up."

Xiao Mo looked at Zuo Yongqing with a smile, and at this moment he wished he could tear him into pieces.

"The huge amount of silver in the Imperial Concubine Dehui's treasury must have come from the extra tax silver collected from all over the country. I don't know how many ordinary people's families were ruined by her doing this."

"The conscience of Imperial Noble Consort Dehui has long been eaten by dogs. How could she care about the lives of ordinary people?"

Xiao Mo immediately ordered Zuo Yongqing to be detained. He selected a trustworthy adviser from among his advisers and asked him to temporarily take over the post of Yunliang County Magistrate. He also ordered him to pass down that the grain tax collection in Yunliang County would be the same as that in other counties and that there would be no special treatment.

As for the excess tax silver, all of it will be confiscated.

Xiao Mo's swift and decisive actions inspired the people around him. If others heard that Zuo Yongqing was a subordinate of Imperial Noble Consort Dehui, they would probably be very scared and would not dare to touch him.

But it was really gratifying that Xiao Mo dealt with Zuo Yongqing in this way for the sake of the people of Liming before he arrived in Ningchuan City. They all felt that they were following a wise ruler and that all the hardships they had endured along the way were worth it.

However, the counselors did not know that Ningchuan Prefecture was thousands of miles away from the capital, and who would pay attention to a small county in Yunliang? By the time Imperial Noble Consort Dehui discovered it, Xiao Mo had already taken control of the entire Ningchuan Prefecture.

"Zuo Yongqing, do you know which other counties or cities in Ningchuan Prefecture, besides you, would collect extra tax silver and give it to Imperial Noble Consort Dehui?" Ye Jintang suddenly asked.

Feeling hopeless, Zuo Yongqing lowered his head slightly and showed no intention of speaking.

"According to the laws of the Qin Kingdom, those who embezzle tax silver shall be executed immediately. If you can make amends, perhaps you can be spared. As for whether you can survive, it depends on how much you know. If you are just a small fry and have no use value, the prince will naturally not care too much about your life."

Zuo Yongqing, who had been listless just now, immediately perked up after hearing what Ye Jintang said. She naturally wanted to survive.

"Sir, do you keep your word? If I can really give out the others, will the prince spare my life?"

Zuo Yongqing glanced at Ye Jintang and then at Xiao Mo. He was filled with anxiety. If there was a chance to survive, he naturally didn't want to let it go.

"Mr. Ye's words are what I mean. Just tell me what you know. If it is useful to me, it is not impossible for me to spare your life."

After getting Xiao Mo's accurate answer, Zuo Yongqing no longer hesitated and immediately told him everything he knew.

It turned out that in addition to Yunliang County, there were more than 20 counties in the entire Ningchuan Prefecture. The officials in the city were the minions of Imperial Noble Consort Dehui. For the sake of their future careers, they had been collecting money for Imperial Noble Consort Dehui.

Raising taxes on grain is just one of them. In some larger cities, other taxes will also be imposed.

Listening to Zuo Yongqing talking about the tax situation in Ningchuan Prefecture, Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo both fell silent, and for a moment they didn't know what to say.

When they were in the capital before, they only felt that Imperial Noble Consort Dehui held political power and was thinking all day long about paving the way for Xiao Yi to become emperor. However, they did not know that Imperial Noble Consort Dehui already had connections everywhere.

She could reach out to such remote areas as Ningchuan Prefecture. As for those relatively wealthy counties and cities, she was afraid that they had already become tools for Imperial Noble Consort Dehui to make money.

The two men exchanged glances. Ningchuan Prefecture was even more dilapidated than they had imagined. It had only been dilapidated on the surface before, with few farmlands, many wastelands, and a harsh climate. Now it seems that these were all minor issues, and the corruption within was the real headache.

If most of the people in Ningchuan Prefecture are Imperial Noble Consort Dehui's followers, then if Xiao Mo gives an order in the future, probably no one will carry it out.

Xiao Mo wants to resolve this matter, but he is afraid that he will suffer in the future.