kingnovel Chapter 1148 What people need most is life.
Chapter 1148 What people need most is life.
After talking with Jiang Zhiming, Shen Zheng handed him the letter and invited him to stay for dinner.
He said, "I can't accept this," and then turned to instruct the driver, "We'll go tomorrow."
That evening, Shen Zheng hosted a banquet at a restaurant, inviting Jiang Zhiming and a group of government officials.
The officials all knew that Yu Zhengqing was going back to the capital, so they loosened their grip considerably and kept pestering him to drink, expressing their reluctance to part with him.
After a few rounds of drinks, Yu Zhengqing suddenly remembered a seemingly important matter.
"I have not yet exchanged greetings with Lord Shen." His eyes were clear as he raised his wine cup to Shen Zheng: "Lord Shen, this cup of wine is our handover toast."
Shen Zheng smiled, stood up, and clinked her wine cup with his.
"Ding--"
The wine rippled, its surface shimmering.
The wine in the cup was drunk in one gulp. Yu Zhengqing then refilled his cup, raised it to Xu Yunyan and said, "Little Xu, I am here on behalf of Wang Huai'an to hand over the reins to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere froze for a moment. The officials immediately understood Yu Zhengqing's meaning and quickly stood up, raised their cups, and said, "Lord Xu... oh no, Manager Xu! We look forward to working with you in the future!"
Xu Yunyan stood up with a smile.
As they clinked their glasses, he said, "I am new here and would appreciate your guidance, esteemed officials."
The moon is bright and the stars are few; a night breeze begins to rise.
......
The following day, Yu Zhengqing and Zhuang Zhiyun began packing their luggage, while Shen Zheng went to the government office to review past files and interview government officials to gain a better understanding of the government's affairs.
Before sunset, Xu Yunyan found Shen Zheng with a thick stack of account books.
Shen Zheng was dizzy from looking at the files, and when she saw the account book in his hand, she felt a headache coming on. She asked, "What kind of old accounts are these?"
Xu Yunyan placed the account book on the table and pushed it half an inch toward Shen Zheng. "I have roughly calculated Huai Gongwang's assets today. Would you like to take a look? Or... shall I read it to you?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng's headache, backache, and swollen feet disappeared. She even felt like running a few laps around the study.
"You read it!" Shen Zheng pushed the ledger back to Xu Yunyan.
Raiding houses and stuff... of course, it's more fun when you open blind boxes.
Xu Yunyan seemed to understand her thoughts, picked up the first ledger and said, "The amount estimated by this official is generally 10% to 20% lower than the market price. When the actual settlement is completed, the actual amount will be more than that."
Shen Zheng liked Xu Yunyan's conservative nature, and upon hearing this, she became even more anxious: "Read it quickly!"
As the account books were opened, Xu Yunyan's financial report followed: "The Huai family's residence, farmland, and shops are valued at a total of over twelve thousand taels..."
"How much?!" Xu Yunyan had barely begun to speak when Shen Zheng interrupted him in surprise: "Twelve thousand? How much land and shops does Huai Gongwang own that are worth twelve thousand? And that's just his assets in Liuyang Prefecture?"
Xu Yunyan turned the account book to Shen Zheng: "Please take a look, sir."
Shen Zheng eventually looked at the account books herself.
I don’t know, I’m scared.
"He also owns two houses in Liuyang Prefecture. Are they under private contracts, or are they held by distant relatives on his behalf?"
"Private contracts" refer to transactions between buyers and sellers of houses that are conducted privately without going through the government office to obtain a property deed. This not only saves on the "land and house tax" incurred during the transaction but also avoids the watchful eyes of the government office.
However, the drawbacks of signing a private contract to buy a house are also obvious. If the seller refuses to acknowledge the contract after the transaction, the buyer will end up losing both money and the house.
However, for officials who accept bribes, signing private contracts is the best way to avoid risks, and the "seller" usually dares not renege on the agreement.
"Holding the shares on behalf of a distant relative" is even simpler. The person holding the shares on behalf of the bribe-taker is a distant relative of the bribe-taker, making it very difficult for the government to trace the bribe-taker back to the bribe-taker.
"Both houses are under private contracts." Xu Yunyan took out the contracts from his pocket and said, "One was obtained through bribery, and the other was purchased privately by Huai Gongwang. In addition to these three properties, he also owns a hundred acres of fertile land in the suburbs and six prime shops in the city."
Shen Zheng clicked her tongue in amazement.
The real estate in Liuyang Prefecture alone amounted to 12,000 taels of silver. It's clear that Huai Gongwang has indeed accepted a lot of bribes over the years.
Then consider Jiang Zhiming, who only has three hundred taels of silver in hand.
It's true... there's no harm without comparison.
Thinking it over, Shen Zheng turned the ledger back. "Continue reading."
She wanted to hear just how fat Huai Gongwang really was.
"More than thirty rare parrots, totaling 21,000 taels; a number of jewelry pieces, totaling 3,600 taels; a number of antique paintings and calligraphy, totaling 23,000 taels; 12,450 taels of cash; and other miscellaneous items, approximately 3,700 taels..."
As Shen Zheng listened, she silently picked up her pen and began to write out addition formulas for calculation.
But before she could calculate it, Xu Yunyan had already begun to summarize: "A total of 75,750 taels. If we add another 10%, the actual value could very well exceed 80,000 taels."
Eighty thousand taels.
Huai Gongwang had only been in Liuyang Prefecture for three years.
An average county town can collect between 60,000 and 100,000 taels of tax revenue per year.
This means that during his three years in Liuyang Prefecture, Huai Gongwang directly embezzled the entire county's annual tax revenue.
For local officials who have neither family connections nor real achievements, this is practically the ceiling for corruption.
Shen Zheng felt no joy at the confiscation of her property; her mind was filled with thoughts of "how to explain this to the people."
If the people of Liuyang found out, would they... still trust the imperial court and the officials in the prefecture?
Shen Zheng was somewhat uncertain.
She was still holding the pen, but her fingertips were getting whiter and whiter.
A drop of ink hung on the tip of the brush, about to fall but she didn't notice. It was Xu Yunyan who reached out and grabbed the brush tip, placing it back on the inkstone.
Shen Zheng stared intently at the account book and said in a hoarse voice, "Eighty thousand taels is really too much, especially since... this is just his family property in Liuyang Prefecture."
Xu Yunyan remained silent for a moment, then took out a booklet from a pile of account books and said in a low voice, "I think it would be best not to tell the people the specific amount in this announcement. Although it is deception, you have just taken office and the government has experienced a turmoil. The people's hearts are really not going to be shaken."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng paused for a moment, then began to ask herself what the "truth" the people wanted to know was.
Is it "how much silver did the corrupt official embezzle?"
Or is it "Where does the money of corrupt officials come from?"
Or, "Will I or my children experience unfair treatment in the future?"
Or, "Can the money that was embezzled actually be used back on us?"
Shen Zheng felt that these were the truths that the people wanted to know.
She weighed these truths on the scales of her heart, comparing their relative importance.
Looking at her in silence, Xu Yunyan suddenly began to recount her experiences of the day.
"I went to the bird market today and met many of the people who came to observe the trial yesterday. They said to me... Lord Xu, we are not afraid of corrupt officials being corrupt, but we are afraid that corrupt officials will be corrupt and no one will care, and that our children will want to study but have no way to do so. My lord, for the people, the amount of bribes that Huai Gongwang accepted is just a number. What they need most is a life."