Chapter 182 Trial
"A mere few million taels of salt tax is not worth the prince's personal trip to the south of the Yangtze River. Moreover, Prince Fu is the emperor's brother. The problem lies in the southeast."
Zhao Yushu paused, and Wang Xiu squinted his eyes and said nothing, unable to see any problem.
"The southeast is the richest place in the world, but it is too far from the two capitals. The Red Lotus Cult started an uprising in the south and is now approaching Qiantang. If Qiantang is in trouble, Jiangning is not far away, and the entire southeast will be in chaos. The tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty will be reduced by 60%, and the Tang Dynasty will be in danger."
Wang Xiu still didn't speak.
"At this time, the southeast cannot be in chaos. Half of the salt tax is the limit that the court can tolerate. Money is a small matter, but if the people in the southeast have second thoughts, it will be a big deal. To put it bluntly, the emperor is far away, Boss Wang."
Wang Xiu's expression finally changed: "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you have been in Jiangning for too long, the prince is too far away from you, and you have too many thoughts."
"I am loyal to Your Highness!"
Zhao Yushu closed his eyes. It was almost time. He had to go. If he continued talking, what if this guy tied him up and took him to find the prince? The Shadow Stepping Step would not work in broad daylight.
"That's all I have to say. Gang Leader Wang, please think carefully. There are only six days left."
"Please tell His Highness that I will deliver what His Highness wants in less than six days!"
Zhao Yushu paused, nodded, walked out of the courtyard and disappeared into the crowd.
The joy of accident!
Finding out that the Beggars' Sect belongs to the prince is the main task, but Gang Leader Wang's last sentence revealed a lot of information. This grandson actually has changed his mind!
So, what does the prince want? Zhao Yushu knocked his head. He probably would have to be a night owl in the next few days.
Walking on the street, Zhao Yushu suddenly found himself in a state of having nothing to do. Things had happened too frequently in just two days, and he had to deal with them at an astonishing speed. Now it seemed that all he had to do was wait for the Wangjiang Tower banquet in six days to defeat everyone else.
But what will he do after he has defeated all the other heroes? Will he team up with the princess to force the prince away, and then get another half of the profit for the academy? Will he finally find a chance to kill Wang Shaolin?
Now that the water in Jiangning has become a turbid pot of porridge, shouldn't my purpose also be slightly changed? No, should I add a little bit?
The few random words he said in front of the Beggars' Sect leader seemed to have touched something, and he could make use of it if he had the chance.
I strolled back to the Taoist temple out of boredom. Wu Jianxian was not there, and neither were Senior Brother Sun and his wife. The most outrageous thing was that even A Yao was missing. Only Miss Wanqing was left hiding in the room.
"Mr. Zhao, why did you come back by yourself?"
Wanqing greeted him, and Zhao Yushu suddenly felt as if he had missed something.
"Shouldn't I come back by myself? Or rather, who do you think I should come back with?"
"Uh, didn't you go to the Duke's Mansion to attend the trial?"
Oops! Forgot something important!
Zhao Yushu slapped his thigh. Last night, the prince wanted to transfer Wang Yan to the Duke's Mansion, and asked everyone to go and listen today. But maybe because they slept too late or were interrupted by old man Wuxi in the morning, they turned around and forgot about it. They were busy causing trouble for a few beggars.
Zhao Yushu ran all the way to the Duke's Mansion, and was politely led in by the guards after he gave his name. No matter how much resentment the people inside had towards him, he still had to do a good job on the surface.
"Mr. Six, you have come only at this time. Could it be that with such a beautiful woman beside you, you can't wake up from the night of spring?" The prince sitting in the main seat joked with a smile. It seemed that he already knew that Wanqing had run to his place for refuge.
"I am sorry. I really overslept. I wonder how much I missed?"
"It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. My stubborn brother insisted on completing the paperwork procedures. He just brought Wang Yan here. Someone, please show Mr. Liu a seat."
Zhao Yushu was very familiar with the interrogation place. He played Assassin's Creed here late last night. Of course, he had to pretend that he was not familiar with it now.
The seating arrangement was the same as last night, except that the fat monk and Governor Li opposite were not there, and were replaced by a few assistant officers.
Wang Yan was brought in. He looked different from the calm he had when he first met him. His hair was disheveled and he had heavy chains on his hands and feet. He was escorted by two Jinwu Guards and thrown into the hall.
Zhao Yushu glanced at Princess Li Tong out of the corner of his eye. Hmm, she still had that expressionless look on her face.
"Wang Yan, do you recognize me?"
"I, the guilty minister Wang Yan, greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Wang Yan knelt on the ground, his long hair covering his face.
"You are a veteran minister of two dynasties. I will not torture you, and you should not lie to me. How about that?"
Wang Yan kowtowed twice and said, "I will never dare to deceive Your Highness."
"Okay, the Imperial Counselor Huo Cheng has written a letter to you, accusing you of embezzling 1,764,200 taels of silver while serving as the Salt and Iron Commissioner. Do you admit your guilt?"
Oh wow, this Counselor is quite interesting, there are both decimal and integer numbers. It turns out that Wang Yan, who was embezzling money, still issued an invoice to you.
Wang Yan raised his head slightly: "I don't recognize you."
"Oh?" The prince leaned back slightly and said, "Whatever you want to say, just say it. If you really have any grievances, I will take care of it for you."
"May I ask, Your Highness, my residence has been confiscated, my family members have been arrested, and the total value of my land and shops is 1.7 million taels?"
The prince's face turned cold and he did not answer.
"May I ask again, Your Highness? Every penny of the salt tax sent to the court is recorded and matched with the salt certificate from the court. There has been no difference in the past ten years. Where did the corruption come from?"
The prince narrowed his eyes and said, "You are talking about official salt."
Wang Yan smiled and said, "I am a guilty minister, and I am in charge of the official salt."
Zhao Yushu also wanted to laugh. This prince was a bit funny. Official salt had to be mined with a salt license from the court. You could only get a few kilograms of salt if you were given a few kilograms of license, and then you had to take the license to the government to sell the salt for money.
But if you asked me to pick ten catties and I 'accidentally' picked eleven catties, what should I do? The government will naturally not take the eleven catties from you, so that's fine, I can sell the remaining catty myself.
The court said, it is not allowed to be sold. Okay, I will not sell it publicly, I will sell it secretly, as long as I bribe the Salt and Iron Envoys. The nearly half of the salt tax that everyone shares is actually the income from private salt.
Everyone knows this, but I won't admit it openly, so what can you do?
"Lord Wang, confiscating private salt is the job of the Salt and Iron Envoy." The prince's face trembled slightly, and he seemed a little angry.
"I have reported the illegal salt I have confiscated every year."
"what about others?"
"I, your Majesty, have not seen any other smuggled salt."
"Ha, hahahaha, Wang Yan, ah, Wang Yan, you are really something." The prince laughed angrily. From a legal point of view, Wang Yan is almost impeccable. If you have evidence, then you can do it. If you don't have evidence, no matter how much you say, I will not admit it. You can just chop me down directly.
"Li Tong, I remember that Wang Yan was recommended by Prince Fu." The prince's smile faded and he changed his target of attack.
"That's right. Ever since I can remember, my father has recommended countless ministers to the court. His Majesty once issued an edict praising my father for selecting talents for the country. His loyalty is commendable."
What I mean is that my father recommended many people, and your father personally approved it. It is unreasonable to put the blame on us.
"How does Wang Yan get along with Prince Fu on a daily basis?"
"Father, the king strictly abides by the duties of a subject and does not have too many personal relationships with outsiders."
"That's strange. I have received several letters, and this is not what is written in them." The prince raised the letter in his hand with a bright smile.