Wei Shang had some government affairs to deal with, so Evan Zhao and Liam Wei left the main room together.
The two stood in the corridor. Liam Wei smiled gently and said, "Ado, follow me."
Evan Zhao agreed, and went with Liam Wei to a study room on the east side of the prefect's mansion. The room was square in shape, with nothing else except a low table, a futon, and a few lamps.
The most eye-catching thing is the three bookshelves placed against the wall, and the bamboo slips and wooden tablets piled on the shelves. In addition, there are several wooden boxes placed next to the bookshelves, which contain ancient books and classics handed down from previous dynasties, the earliest of which can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period.
Evan Zhao was no stranger to this study room, as he spent most of his time here when he was a mascot.
After entering the room, Liam Wei went straight to the bookshelf on the right, took a bamboo slip from the third shelf, opened it and handed it to Evan Zhao.
Evan Zhao looked down and saw the following words written on it: Anyone who takes out weapons, armor, ironware, or copper coins from the border will be punished by death. In serious cases, the entire family will be executed.
"Nathan Zhang has the title of a senior official, so he can pay off any common crime. But when it comes to the Xiongnu, he has no chance to escape. He wants to frame Aduo, but he doesn't know that his own life is already in danger." Liam Wei said.
Evan Zhao was stunned for a moment.
He knew that Liam Wei would not speak without a purpose. Could it be that this County Magistrate Zhang was really doing business with the grassland?
"It's not him, it's the family behind him." Liam Wei said with a smile, "But it's no different from him."
Nathan Zhang was recommended to the court by Guan Fu, but he served as an official under Wei Shang. Long before he took office, his family background had been thoroughly investigated.
The Zhang family had Guan Fu as their backer, and their family land exceeded 1,000 hectares. During the reign of Emperor Wen, they paid grain to the government, were granted titles and exempted from military service, and accumulated a fortune of more than 10,000 taels of gold. This also made them more and more daring, and they secretly signed contracts with merchants and went out of the border to do business with the grasslands.
Nathan Zhang was sent to the border county as an official, and he might have intended to provide protection for these merchants. Unfortunately, the imperial court appointed him and he was sent to Yunzhong County, directly under Wei Shang's nose.
"The Zhang family's business with the grasslands is mostly horses and fat sheep, and most of the transactions are in exchange for silk." Liam Wei took out another bamboo slip and handed it to Evan Zhao, "But there is also information that they exchange copper coins for cattle and sheep, and the quantity is not small."
Evan Zhao looked down upon the money from peas and refused to accept any, but on the grassland he accepted everyone who came.
In the Western Han Dynasty, ironware was the exclusive property of the Han Dynasty. The weapons used by the Xiongnu were mostly bronze, and even some bone, except for the ironware looted from the border counties.
The imperial court strictly prohibited the sale of iron to the Xiongnu and other Hu peoples, and prohibited the export of copper coins to the grasslands. One important reason was to prevent the Xiongnu from modifying their weapons. The imperial court could turn a blind eye to the export of silk and satin to the Xiongnu. However, daring to export copper coins to the grasslands was tantamount to aiding the enemy!
The evidence was irrefutable, so Guan Fu had to find a way to distance himself from the matter, not only to rescue the person, but also to avoid being implicated.
Wei Shang did not want to alert the enemy, so he wanted to keep Nathan Zhang for the time being and use Zhang's clues to find out which tribe on the grassland the copper coins and ironware flowed into. But Nathan Zhang committed suicide, so he could not blame others. Besides, the matter had already been figured out. If the Zhang family was executed, Guan Fu did not want to be implicated, so he could just arrest those illegal merchants and the matter could still be investigated.
"If you pay copper coins to the Xiongnu, you should be beheaded and your entire family should be exterminated."
Liam Wei closed the bamboo slips, and his gentle smile actually became a little brighter.
"Extermination of the entire clan?" Evan Zhao was slightly stunned.
"Aduo, there is no room for softness in this matter. You must know that eradicating all evil is the right way to deal with things." Liam Wei sighed and patted Evan Zhao's head as he did when they were children.
Evan Zhao realized that what Liam Wei said made sense and was teaching him a lesson. He calmed down and said seriously, "Thank you, Third Young Master."
"Aduo shouldn't be so estranged from me." This was the second time Liam Wei said something similar.
Evan Zhao's expression remained unchanged, and he continued to stand upright and salute.
He offered the methods of raising cattle and sheep and taming cattle in exchange for the protection of the Wei governor. However, the development of the matter was different from what he expected. In this case, the other party provided protection and wanted to beat Nathan Zhang to the ground, which was a real favor.
To Wei Shang, this was just a piece of cake. Nathan Zhang was no different from Evan Zhao to him. But Evan Zhao could not ignore this favor.
When Evan Zhao stood up, Liam Wei patted his head again and said with a smile: "You are still as stubborn as when you were a child."
Evan Zhao grinned and did not raise any objection to this matter.
He knows his own temper, to say he is stubborn... is indeed a bit so.
"If the Third Master has no other instructions, Evan Zhao Zhao Dang will take his leave."
Liam Wei did not keep him, but said that there were still things to be arranged and he must arrive in Shaling County before noon tomorrow.
"I know that Ado exchanged grain for his fellow villagers. If so, we should inform the villagers about Nathan Zhang's incident."
Evan Zhao nodded.
"If a thief arrives first, there is no need to be tolerant."
Translated, if Nathan Zhang sends someone, don't be polite, just kill them all. No matter who it is, even if it's Nathan Zhang himself, with him around, there's no need to worry about getting into trouble.
Looking at Liam Wei's smile, Evan Zhao was 100% sure that Nathan Zhang was dead and there was no possibility of escape.
After leaving the prefectural mansion, Evan Zhao took a look at the sky and rode his horse to the military market.
When we entered the market, we found it was even more lively than the last time the market opened. The crowds were bustling and jostle. A rough estimate was that the number of merchants was at least doubled. Especially at the end of the street where livestock were sold, there were so many people that there was almost no place to stand.
The cattle and sheep that the strong servants had brought had already been sold out. The merchants who bought the bullocks and fat sheep were all smiling, calculating how much they could earn after reselling them. Even if the cost was 20% higher than expected, as long as the goods were safely transported to Chang'an and nothing went wrong on the way, they could still make a lot of money.
The merchants who were a step slower watched their cattle and sheep being led away, and they all beat their chests and stamped their feet in regret. They were even more upset when they saw that the cattle and sheep were all strong and healthy.
It's just a few carts of millet, why should I hesitate?
Now, while others are eating meat, I can’t even drink the soup!
"One step slower!"
Unfortunately, there is no way to regret it.
This batch of bullocks and fat sheep have all been sold, and Evan Zhao will not come to the military market again in the short term. There are still a small number of cattle and sheep in the livestock farm, all of which are breeding cattle and sheep selected by Xiong Bo. It is impossible to sell them before the next batch of cattle and sheep are released.
No matter how envious the merchants were, they just couldn't catch up. No matter how much they talked, the strong servants could not turn cows and sheep into something for them.
With no business to do, the merchants had no choice but to disperse and buy livestock elsewhere.
After most people had left, Evan Zhao led his horse forward. Looking at the corn and soybeans he had exchanged for the cattle and sheep, he couldn't help but smile and was in a good mood.
"Go pay the taxes first." After roughly estimating the amount of grain traded, Evan Zhao decided to pay the rent and taxes first and return to the county as soon as possible.
With the help of Wei Taishou, Nathan Zhang could not escape death, but he could not do nothing. Who knows if the new county magistrate will have a sudden whim and do something weird again.
In any case, it is always better to be cautious. For Evan Zhao, who has just started his career, the smaller the loss, the better.
Upon hearing Evan Zhao's instructions, Jianpu immediately harnessed the cart.
Having learned from previous experience, they specially brought enough pack horses, rented several carts and a lot of horses from the city, and hired seven or eight men to transport the grain back to the county.
Evan Zhao wrapped his short jacket tightly and walked in front of the team, leading his horse. He was not a fool like Gavin Zhang, and he would never ride a horse in the military market, so as to be knocked off the horse and carried out of the market.
After leaving Yunzhong City, the team continued to move forward.
The cart was loaded with large bags of grain, and the wheels ran over the remaining snow on the road, leaving several clear tracks. Suddenly, they encountered a snow pit, and the driver was caught off guard, and half of the wheel suddenly sank into it.
The convoy had to stop temporarily. The men put in some effort, whipped their whips and pushed together from behind the cart, and finally pulled it out.
As the speed could not be increased, it took half a day to reach Shaling County. Fortunately, this place was not too far from Yunzhong City, there were no bandits, and the wolves were killed by Liam Wei, so the road was relatively peaceful.
As they got closer to Shaling County, a horse suddenly galloped over. About twenty steps away, the man on the horse suddenly pulled the reins and jumped off the horse.
"My dear, Henry Hu has sent his servant to fetch you."
"Henry Hu?"
"Some villains destroyed the land and were caught by Xiong Bo on the spot. They have confessed their crimes and are willing to identify their accomplices. Now they have been taken to the village and detained at home. Henry Hu ordered his servant to report to you that most of these villains are from Shaling County, and several of them are from the countryside."
From Shaling County?
From the countryside?
Evan Zhao clenched the reins tightly, his heart sank little by little, and his expression was cold.
"Ji Bao." Evan Zhao called.
"Here you are." A strong servant walked out of the convoy.
"Go and ask the three elders, the stingy man and the patrolmen to tell them that there is a thief in the village and he has violated the criminal law."
Ji Bao took the order and rode away at full speed.
The Han Dynasty followed the Qin Dynasty's system of prefectures and counties. Below the county was the township, and in the township there were the three elders, the steward, and the patrol. The three elders were responsible for educating and urging the villagers to farm; the steward was responsible for hearing lawsuits and collecting taxes; the patrol was responsible for catching thieves. To deal with thieves, it was necessary for these people to be present. This opportunity could also be used to see if any of them had colluded with the county magistrate.
Thinking of what Liam Wei had said before, Evan Zhao no longer hesitated.
"Ji Xiong."
"I am here."
"Escort the grain cart slowly. I'm going home first."
"promise!"
After everything was arranged properly, Evan Zhao spurred his horse and galloped home.
With the seal in hand, Nathan Zhang can unscrupulously smear and accuse him of crimes. Before, he was alone and worried about the revenge of his family, so he had to shrink back and had no place to use his strength. Now with the strong thigh of Wei Taishou, who is afraid of who? !
At that time, Henry Hu and Xiong Bo were discussing countermeasures.
The two men agreed that none of those who had surrendered to the county magistrate and helped him seize Evan Zhao's property should be kept alive.
The reason why Xiong Bo kept a thief was not because he was kind, but because he wanted him to go to the village to identify those greedy people who were ungrateful and only cared about money. If family members and neighbors knew the inside story but concealed it, or even had the intention of taking advantage of the opportunity, they must be dealt with together.
Now that you have done it, you must do it thoroughly and not leave any trouble!
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