PNB Chapter 124 Kill them all?
Chapter 124 Kill them all?
Mo Ye looked indifferent when he heard this: "It's good that someone is causing trouble. I'm just worried about having nothing to do, so I'll go take a look."
"Huh? Where did the puppy come from?" Xiaoyu saw the little cutie jumping around excitedly.
"Its name is Cutie, and a villager gave it to your sister." Mo Ye stretched hard.
"This little puppy has short legs and it looks like it can't run fast. I'll carry it and walk with it." Xiaoyu also seems to like this gray puppy very much.
They rushed to the county government office and saw several pot-bellied businessmen still shouting.
"Brother Huo, what's going on?" Xia Qin looked at the businessmen in confusion and asked Huo Jinying who was standing beside him.
"Miss, don't mention it. These people are merchants from Jinghai County. They fled to other places when the Japanese pirates came. Now they have come back and said that some merchants owe them money for goods."
"Then we should go find the merchants who owe us money and goods. Why are you making a scene here? Are they unwilling to pay us back?"
Huo Jinying smiled bitterly, "The merchants these people are talking about are all people who have connections with the Japanese. Were they not driven away to the Japanese bandits a few days ago? How could they be left alive? Xiaoqi, Yanwen and Yanwu have explained for a long time, but they won't listen and just want goods and money."
After hearing this, Mo Ye thought, aren't they here to cause trouble? He looked at the merchants who were making trouble and said pointedly, "These people are very brave. They ran to the county government to make a fuss about this matter."
As the Lord of the Mansion, Xia Qin naturally could not ignore it. She walked forward and asked in a serious voice: "You guys said that those people who colluded with the Japanese owed you money and goods. Do you have any written evidence?"
Several merchants stopped when they heard Xia Qin's question. One of them, a middle-aged merchant in a brown robe, asked back, "Who are you?"
Yan Wen, who was explaining to him, said, "This is the governor of Jinghai County, the eldest daughter of Duke Weiguo, Mu Jinyanmu Fujun."
The middle-aged merchant took a look at Xia Qin and said with some contempt, "So it's Lord Mu. I'm sorry, but Lord Mu is not wearing his official uniform so I naturally can't recognize him. We were just looking for you."
"That's fine," Xia Qin said immediately, seeing that many people had gathered around to watch the fun. "Since this is a serious matter, let's go to the lobby of the county government office to discuss it."
Several merchants exchanged glances and followed Xia Qin and Gongsun Xin into the lobby.
Gongsun Xin was also accompanied by an old man in his fifties or sixties.
After sitting down in the lobby, Xia Qin asked again: "For the things you are talking about, there must be some evidence like documents, right?"
The middle-aged merchant hesitated for a moment and replied, "My Lord, when the Japanese pirates attacked, I was busy fleeing and didn't have time to leave the deed behind."
When Xia Qin heard this reason, she immediately found it funny. The Japanese pirates didn't attack suddenly. Besides, it was impossible for two merchants to suddenly flee while discussing cooperation.
She smiled and asked the other merchants: "You guys were also busy fleeing and didn't have time to sign the contract with the other party?"
"Yes, yes, that's right." Several other merchants responded without hesitation.
Xia Qin looked at these merchants like monkeys in a circus: "Chongchuan County has been occupied by Japanese pirates for some time. Do you still remember the goods and silver owed to you by these merchants who colluded with the Japanese?"
The middle-aged merchant who led the group immediately replied, "Of course I remember!"
"That's fine," Xia Qin stared at several merchants and suddenly became very serious. "You are busy escaping the famine, but these merchants who are dealing with the Japanese are not in a hurry. They have accounts of their incoming and outgoing goods."
"Write down the amount of goods and money they owe you. If they match, we'll give it to you. But what if they don't match? Gongsun Xin, is there any explanation for this?"
"Those who use trickery to deceive officials or private individuals to obtain property are charged with theft," Gongsun Xin answered simply. "Depending on the amount of money defrauded, they may be fined silver, exiled, or executed. In addition, during times of war, those who defraud government property will be punished more severely."
Xia Qin understood that in the Great Xia, the crime of fraud was included in the crime of theft, and the punishment was not light.
"Okay, give them paper and pen, and write down the names of the merchants who owe you money for goods, the types and quantities of goods owed, and the amount of silver. I will send someone to verify it immediately!"
When several merchants heard Xia Qin's words, they were obviously at a loss. They froze in place for a moment. They didn't move even when the doorman brought them paper and pen. They all looked at the middle-aged merchant who was leading them.
"Lord Mu!" the merchant said righteously, "Those merchants who colluded with the Japanese are no longer with us. If there was no record of it at the time, wouldn't we be wrongly accused?"
"What's your name? What business do you do?" Xia Qin asked in a deep voice.
"The common people, Yuan Tao, make a living by dyeing cloth and making clothes."
Xia Qin said with a gloomy face: "From what you said just now, I don't need to verify it. Just based on your empty words, I want to give you the goods and silver confiscated by the government?!"
Another merchant was obviously feeling guilty, and quickly came out and said, "Master, those merchants only owe us some goods, we don't want all of them."
"Again, I will ask someone to verify it myself. You guys go back and wait for the news!"
Xia Qin waved her hand. Although Yuan Tao looked unhappy, as things had come to this point, he could not argue any further. He bowed and led the merchants out of the hall.
As soon as they left, Gongsun Xin introduced the old man who had just been brought in: "My Lord, this is Mr. Pu, who used to be the secretary of the governor of Jinghai County and is very familiar with the situation in Jinghai County."
Xia Qin sighed inwardly, the group of people brought by Mo Ye are indeed capable and have strong execution ability. They got into the state so quickly and were much more meticulous and professional than herself.
Gongsun Xin asked, "Mr. Pu, do you know these merchants just now?"
The old man whispered back, "Just now I wanted to remind you and Gongsun Juncheng that Yuan Tao is not an ordinary merchant. He is the cousin of Yuan Tan, the governor of Yangzhou. He is not only a merchant, but also the largest merchant in Chongchuan County, with hundreds of acres of fertile land at home."
Xia Qin smiled and commented: "It seems that Yuan Tao is relying on the relationship between him and the governor, so he wants to take advantage of him."
"Then you think it's simple," Mo Ye walked in as he was talking. "Although the governor is in a high position and has great power, Uncle Mu is now a first-rank Duke of Wei. You and Brother Jin Yu are also people that His Majesty values. Since he is a businessman, how could he be so ignorant and inconsiderate?"
"Mo Ye, what do you mean?"
"It must be someone in the court who is instigating this. However," Mo Ye was also somewhat puzzled, "It seems meaningless to use such a small matter to stir up trouble."
Xia Qin thought about Yuan Tao just now and couldn't help but speculate: "Perhaps, they want to make a fuss about this little thing and make some big news?"
"My Lord, what does big news mean?" The question mark appeared on Gongsun Xin's face again.
Xia Qin explained simply: "That's right, they want to make a big move that will affect the entire Jinghai County. This person may want to use this incident to bring up the fact that we sent officials and merchants who had ties with the Japanese to the Japanese pirates, and then use this as an excuse to make a fuss?"
Mo Ye smiled and said, "The Japanese pirates have not been eliminated yet. Military merit is more important than anything else. What you said is not a problem. Since they have jumped out, we might as well go with the flow and solve these troublemakers at the same time."
"You mean, kill them all?" Xia Qin said subconsciously.
"Xia Xia, you..." Mo Ye smiled helplessly, "You are exactly the same as Brother Jin Yu. Jinghai County is just being settled, so it's better to see less blood."
"Tsk~" Xia Qin glanced at Mo Ye, then turned back and asked Gongsun Xin, "County Secretary, is there any official position suitable for Mo Ye among the prefect's subordinates? It would be best if it was a position where he could be with me every day and stay in the hall safely, so that he wouldn't say it was inappropriate to be here."