Chapter 50 Confiscating the house
Chapter 50 Confiscating the house
The two guards looked at Niu Peng as if he were an idiot and didn't respond to what he said.
Nowadays, robbers in the mountains rob secretly, but government officials can rob openly. They are all gangsters, so is there anything wrong with following the most promising one?
They are all robbing silver, so can this silver be divided into noble and humble?
Guo Zhuang was very considerate. He found a piece of cloth to stuff Niu Peng's mouth and twisted his chin at the same time.
This is the unique skill I learned in the police station.
The two guards secretly gave a thumbs up.
Afterwards, it was time to go back home and deal with the aftermath.
At the same time, Prefect He ordered the yamen runners to post official documents in the city, saying that the prefecture had seen through the evil plot of the Lotus Sect and captured several bandit leaders...
There was an official notice posted to reassure people. Even though there were still remnants of the Lotus Sect in the city, they did not dare to act rashly after knowing that the government had been prepared and had captured Zhao Xiong and others.
After all, it was only because of Zhao Xiong, the local tyrant, that they could cause trouble in the city.
Without Zhao Xiong, they wouldn't even be able to capture the county government office.
They can only mess around and lose their manpower.
Magistrate He did not return to the government office first, but went to the county government office.
This was once the home base of the Zhao family for three generations. If there are still hidden dangers, they must be in the county government office.
Therefore, he came here to take charge to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Arriving at the back hall of the county government office, Magistrate He called Magistrate Wu, Dianshi Li, and Xu Qing, accompanied by his two major bodyguards.
On the way here, Xu Qing met two guards.
They were brothers, the elder one was surnamed Wang, the younger one was surnamed Ma. They were all lay disciples of the Great Chan Temple, which was a holy place of the Chan sect in the world and also a powerful tyrant in northern Zhili, with connections in both the black and white worlds.
It’s just that the current emperor favors Taoism, the influence of Buddhism has declined, and the Dachan Temple is not as famous as before.
Big meetings are held for small matters and small meetings are held for big matters. This has been the case since ancient times.
Guards Wang and Ma waited for Prefect He to start talking about business, and walked to the door on their own initiative to prevent outsiders from getting close and eavesdropping.
In the hall, only Prefect He and three others were discussing matters.
It was said to be a discussion, but in fact it was a division of the spoils.
Magistrate Wu already understood the approximate outcome of the battle, and his face was filled with unconcealed joy.
The greatest credit must go to Prefect He, but he was not bad either, having received secondary credit. At the same time, County Magistrate Wu also knew that this was a favor from Xu Qing.
"Treason is a serious case, and the whole story must be explained clearly. This matter is of great importance, so this prefecture will personally conduct the trial." Prefect He set the tone.
Xu Qing knew very well that there was no way Zhao Xiong would fall into the hands of the county government.
Even whether Zhao Xiong lived or died, and what to do, had to be decided by Prefect He.
"Wu County Magistrate."
"The subordinate is here."
"This time you braved the arrows and stones and defeated the bandits. This government will commend you for your achievements."
"Thank you, sir."
"Li Dianshi."
"The humble position is here."
"Your contribution is in the eyes of this government, and I will find an opportunity to help you get rid of your status as a slave. There happens to be a vacancy for the river inspection position in Jiangning River. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be yours."
Li Dianshi was so happy that he immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude.
In fact, the influence of the river patrol in the county is not necessarily stronger than that of the Dianshi. But there is one advantage: he controls the customs duties, has his own government office, and is a ninth-rank official.
However, the Dianshi had no rank and no path for promotion.
After becoming an inspector, although he was a military officer with a low status, far inferior to that of a civil official, he had the possibility of promotion and, more importantly, he was able to get rid of his lowly status.
To achieve this, the greatest difficulty is not merit.
Merit is just an excuse to get things done and is a secondary condition.
The real core is to have people in key positions in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel in order to operate in this way.
Xu Qing knew that this was hush money from Prefect He, and also a demonstration. They could let you go up or down, and it also showed the strong network of Dongzhou Academy.
In addition, this river inspector is also Zhao Xiong’s brother-in-law.
Zhao Xiong committed a crime, and the other party must be involved.
That's why Magistrate He said there was such a vacancy.
After all, official positions in the imperial court are very scarce, and there are countless people waiting in line for the position. How can it be so easy to come across a vacancy and it just happens to be your turn? There is a hole for every carrot, and if you pull out the carrot, there will naturally be a hole.
He Zhifu waited for Li Dianshi to thank him, and then continued: "I will personally interrogate Zhao Xiong, but the confiscation of his property will still be handled by you. In addition, the arrangements for filling the vacancy of the patrol inspector will cost an estimated 2,000 strings of cash. You should find a way to make up the difference."
"I obey your command." Li Dianshi understood that this property confiscation was a lucrative job, and it was Prefect He who gave him this job considering that he might not be able to raise the money to buy an official position.
He is truly an honest and upright official!
As an old slave, he was grateful to Qingger from the bottom of his heart.
Only those who work hard can win!
It seems that all his hard work in this life was done by his mother. Otherwise, how could he win without doing anything?
In fact, a few hundred strings of cash would be enough for an ordinary ninth-rank official. The key point is that the patrol blocked the merchant ships. The low commercial tax in the imperial court does not mean that the patrol master and his subordinates do not take bribes. These are two different things.
Jiangning Prefecture is a direct-controlled prefecture with a developed economy.
The rivers and water transport are full of silver.
If you become an inspector and are a little ruthless, you can make back your investment in one or two years.
But you still have to keep working on it, otherwise you won't be able to stay in that position for long.
The higher-ups don't like you, so they send you to check on the fish pond with just a piece of paper, and it's an inspection tour. You can't complain!
Prefect He is in charge of the general direction, while the specific deployment is the responsibility of Li Dianshi.
Of course, as Magistrate He's confidant, Guard Wang had to follow in to search the property.
Guard Wang did not touch the Zhao family's gold, silver, property, land deeds, and house deeds, but Dianshi Li was not allowed to look at or touch the important papers.
Confiscating property is also a complicated matter, and the government office has special clerks who are responsible for counting the property.
Xu Qing naturally followed.
As for how Magistrate He would reward Xu Qing, the previous oath had already guaranteed it, and there was no point in talking about anything else.
Anyway, we’ll see you later!
...
...
"Sir, the Zhao family's wealth, land, shops, calligraphy, paintings, antiques and cultural relics add up to 1,800 taels."
"It's less." Li Dianshi said in surprise.
He needed two thousand strings of cash to make up the money needed to buy the official position.
Even if you embezzle all the money, it won’t be enough.
Xu Qing said, "The Zhao family was originally a well-known local tycoon. Three generations of them have been the chief constables of this county. They have been running the business for decades. I'm afraid they have more than 1,800 taels."
The clerk coughed lightly, tiptoed to Li Dianshi's ear, and whispered, "For the remaining money, you take 2,000 taels, the county lord takes 500 taels, and the prefectural lord takes 800 taels. The rest is for our hard work."
"I took more than the eldest master and the Lord of the Mansion. Isn't that inappropriate?" Li Dianshi asked Xu Qing in a low voice.
Xu Qing nodded: "We won't take this money."
He looked at the clerk and said with a half-smile, "The position of Dianshi in this county will be vacant soon."
The clerk's expression changed and soon he showed joy.
Xu Qing said slowly, "Uncle, our family has a piece of blue and white porcelain from an earlier generation. I heard that it is worth at least three thousand strings of cash, but it's hard to find a buyer who knows the value of it."
Li Dianshi looked confused, wondering where the blue and white porcelain came from in his house.
The clerk suddenly realized: "Could it be that this is an antique that Master Gu accidentally left in the house? Master is really blessed."
After hearing what the clerk said, Li Dianshi was half confused and half awake.
Could it be that I really have this piece of blue and white porcelain at home?
Because the house now belongs to Li Dianshi, any blue and white porcelain that really exists also belongs to him, the owner of the house.
As for whether Mr. Gu’s descendants will come to ask for it?
Just kidding, the old man’s descendants all died young.
If there really are members of the Gu family from the side branch coming to make trouble, it would be the same as someone in the hall suing me.
The clerk continued, "My family runs a pawn shop, and I know a lot about antiques. How about I go over tonight and take a look at it? If it's really an antique, I'll give it three thousand strings of cash."
"Okay, thank you." Xu Qing made the decision for Li Dianshi.
In this round of transactions, Li Dianshi got the money from the confiscation of property, but he did not embezzle any of it, so there was no evidence against him.
(End of this chapter)