Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Page 675

Chapter 1197 Zhao Kuo Was Arrested and He Still Has a Trial (No. 20 Ninth Update)

The wages of avarice is death.This principle is universal, no matter ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign.

From the officials' point of view, being an official is certainly satisfying, but what's next?

With power, do you want to use power to seek some benefits for yourself?

Many times, it's just such a small crooked thought, and then everything is irreparable.

Some things cannot be started, and there is no turning back at the beginning.

Zhang Xiaodong is such a person. He may have come here with the desire to plead for the people, but now, he has become a corrupt official who colludes with Lu Yu and uses usury and various methods to oppress the people.

After Lu Yu left, Zhang Xiaodong immediately found his confidant.

You tell me to go down to that inn tomorrow, arrest that Li You and others, and say that my lord will interrogate him in person, why do you interfere with the normal debt collection activities!

This confidant also knew the ins and outs of the matter, he hesitated at the moment, and said softly: Sir, His Majesty's parade will pass by our Juchao City recently, and this Li You seems to be an official again, so he clashed with him at this time , will it be bad?

Zhang Xiaodong sneered, and said: "What kind of status is your Majesty, how could he enter Juchao City in person?"Besides, as a scholar of the palace, I am also a student of the emperor!

As for the others, what can he do to me if I am acting legally?Wait until tomorrow to find out the identity of Li You, if he is a big one, just give him a warning and let him go.If there is no big background, hehe, then he is dead!

When Zhang Xiaodong spoke, there was a fierce light on his face.

As the saying goes, cutting off a person's fortune is like killing his parents. For Zhang Xiaodong now, he feels that Li You is killing his parents!

Silent all night.

The next day, after Zhao Kuo woke up, he finished dressing and washing under Tian Wan's service.

Later, while Zhao Kuo was eating breakfast, Mao Sui also sent two documents to Zhao Kuo.

This information is about Zhang Xiaodong, Juchao City Order. Judging from the information, Zhang Xiaodong was born in the academy, graduated from the academy seven years ago, and then was sent to a local office, step by step to the Juchao Order. of this location.

The other piece of information is very interesting. It was discovered by Nightingale after sorting it out. It contained a lot of black information about the collusion between the Lu family and Zhang Xiaodong.

Zhao Kuo frowned more and more, and couldn't help but said: Since Nightingale already knew about this matter, why didn't he report it sooner?

Mao then wiped the sweat off his cheeks, and said: "Return to Your Majesty, Nightingale's local spies are also members of the Lu family, so they specially concealed it and did not report it, and the minister has already dealt with it."

Zhao Kuo snorted heavily, and said sternly: "The nightingale is my eyes and ears. If all the nightingales in the whole country are like this, then what is the difference between me and a blind man?"Don't underestimate this matter, I will give you two years to basically eradicate this phenomenon!

For Zhao Kuo's reprimand, Mao Sui certainly had no reason to justify it, and immediately responded: Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely complete the task!

In recent years, Mao Sui's energy has been mainly focused on the Seleucid Empire, North Korea and other enemy countries, as well as the land that the Han Kingdom has just opened up or is about to open up. Relatively speaking, it is relatively negligent in the country.

But after this incident, it is conceivable that there will be a wave of self-examination within Nightingale.

After Zhao Kuo reprimanded Mao Sui, his expression gradually became serious, and he said lightly: "It seems that there is indeed a big problem in this Juchao City. You should go and transfer people from outside the city."

In order to ensure Zhao Kuo's safety, there is an army waiting quietly outside the city.

Mao Sui immediately took orders.

Tian Wan on the side watched this scene quietly, a trace of admiration slowly emerged on her pretty face.

For Tian Wan, she certainly agrees with Zhao Kuo's eradication of the bullies in this city, and even thinks that her husband is really handsome in this matter.

While talking, Zhao Kuo also finished his breakfast, so he stood up and said to Tian Wan: Madam Huang, let's go shopping in the city later.

For Zhao Kuo, this matter is said to be over, but it cannot end so simply.

He even hoped to be able to take a walk in the next Juchao City to see how the city had been poisoned.

Thinking of this, Zhao Kuo secretly sighed in his heart. When he came here yesterday, he felt that this Juchao City was good everywhere, but under this bright and beautiful surface, the people of Juchao City were so oppressed by the collusion of officials and gentry. awful!

So, don't just look at the surface of everything!

But what Zhao Kuo didn't expect was that he had just left the gate of the inn with Tian Wan and his entourage when he was surrounded by a team of yamen servants.

Zhao Kuo frowned, and said lightly to the group of yamen servants: What does this mean?

A petty official at the head cupped his hands with a smile on his face, and said: My lord, I heard that you stopped Mrs. Lu from collecting debts from Fan Zeng yesterday?

As soon as Zhao Kuo heard this, he immediately knew why the other party came, and said calmly: "Why, is it that the government in Juchao City has now become Lu's lackey?"

The battle of these dozen or so yamen servants was not trivial, and it immediately attracted many people to stop and watch from afar, and Zhao Kuo's words reached the ears of these people.

Although no one applauded, judging from everyone's expressions, it is obvious that many people agree with Zhao Kuo's words.

Hearing this, the little official's gaze also changed, and his expression couldn't be maintained any longer. He sneered and said: "Maybe this lord has forgotten that this is Juchao City, not a place where you can show your prestige!"Now that we are living in the nest, Mr. Zhang Xiaodong invites you, you should come with us!

Zhao Kuo laughed, stopped Mao Sui behind him from wanting to reveal his identity, and said lightly: Well, let me go and see what the lobby of the Juchao Ling is like!

So, surrounded by more than a dozen yamen servants, Zhao Kuo and his party slowly walked towards the lobby of the Juchao Order.

After the yamen servants left, the onlookers breathed a sigh of relief, and finally dared to speak.

Tell me, what will happen to this matter?

Who knows?This lord seems to be a powerful one too, maybe lord Zhang can't do anything to him.

Hmph, you don't understand this, do you?Mr. Zhang is from the academy. As the saying goes, he is a disciple of the Son of Heaven. No matter how great this lord's background is, how can Mr. Zhang be bigger?If you ask me, this lord is afraid that something will happen!

Forget it, don't you know if you go and have a look?

In the small town, this kind of gossip spreads quite quickly, so when Zhao Kuo came to the lobby of Juchao City, he found that there were actually many people waiting here.

In all fairness, the lobby of this Juchao City looks quite simple, and there is no extravagance and waste, but Zhao Kuo did not change his impression of Zhang Xiaodong because of this.

The answer is also very simple. This Zhang Xiaodong looks like a typical middle-aged fat man with a big belly and a clear image of an unscrupulous rich businessman.

Zhang Xiaodong's gaze scrutinized Zhao Kuo for a while, and then fell on Tian Wan who was beside Zhao Kuo.

When seeing Tian Wan's peerless face, Zhang Xiaodong's eyes lit up obviously, and he didn't move his eyes for a long time.

Zhang Xiaodong's confidant at the side couldn't stand it any longer, coughed and said: My lord, is the court going to be held?

Only then did Zhang Xiaodong come back to his senses, and slapped the gavel forcefully: "Come here, tell the plaintiff, Mr. Lu!"

With Zhang Xiaodong's order, the Lu family steward who had confronted Zhao Kuo yesterday immediately walked in and saluted Zhang Xiaodong: I have met Mr. Zhang.

Zhang Xiaodong nodded, and said very seriously: You Mr. Lu said yesterday that you obstructed your normal debt collection, but this person?

Lu's steward glanced at Zhao Kuo, and hurriedly said, "Return to Mr. Zhang, it is this person."Originally, we followed the loan contract with Fan Zeng, and we used his wife to pay off the debt if he couldn't pay back the money.Unexpectedly, this person who called himself Li You stood up and said that if our Lu family messes around, he will give us a good look, and ask the adults to make decisions for our Lu family!

After listening to these words, Zhang Xiaodong turned his gaze to Zhao Kuo, and said sternly, "Are you Li You?"Report your name, native place and occupation!

Zhao Kuo obviously had already thought up his words, and said lightly: I am a small official in Handan City, and I came here with my wife to visit relatives by chance, and I just drew my sword to help when I saw injustice.

Why Handan?Because Zhao Kuo was born in the country of Zhao, he naturally had a local accent of the country of Zhao when he spoke.

After listening to Zhao Kuo's words, Zhang Xiaodong's eyes lit up, and he felt relieved.

It's just a small official in Handan City, and it seems that he has no background.

Think about it, too, except for someone like me who can become a residence order at such a young age, this Li You is only in his thirties, what else can he be if he is not a petty official?

Zhang Xiaodong's eyes moved to Tian Wan's face again, thinking: This woman is so beautiful, how could I miss it?It's better to find an excuse to put Li You in jail and kill him, and then take this woman as a concubine.

The thing that can impress men the most, apart from money and power, is of course women!

Zhang Xiaodong made up his mind, slapped the gavel, and said coldly: You, Li You, are so courageous!Fan Zeng made a loan document with Mrs. Lu, and it was clearly written in black and white. If it is not completed, his wife will be handed over to Mrs. Lu as a female slave. This transaction is protected by the national law. How can you question it? and against?

Zhang Xiaodong's words can be said to be stern, if it were an ordinary person, he would have already been scared to the ground, but how could this trick be useful to Zhao Kuo?

Zhao Kuo said lightly: Indeed, it is stated in the national law that both parties can agree on the repayment time and interest when they borrow money. Received as slaves.However, the national law clarifies one point, that is, the interest on the loan must not obviously exceed the repayment ability of the borrower, let alone usury.

Today, interest accounts for the vast majority of Fan Zeng's borrowings, but the original principal has become a small part. Isn't this usury?This kind of loan document is not in compliance with the law. Mr. Zhang, as an official of the Han Dynasty and the main judge of the case in Juchao City, don't you even understand such a simple truth?

Zhang Xiaodong obviously didn't expect that Zhao Kuo would refute and point out his mistakes in public, and his momentum couldn't help but stagnate, and then he flew into a rage, and sneered, "Why, are you going to teach me how to solve the case?"Let me tell you, this case is that Fan Zeng needs to pay back the money, which is justified!

Zhao Kuo laughed, and said: "Why, is Master Zhang, as an official of the Han Dynasty, not even obeying the laws of the country, so he just needs to say what is right and proper?"From this point of view, I don't know whether this is the right and right of Mr. Zhang, or the right and right of the Lu family?

After Zhao Kuo's taunting words fell, there was a burst of applause from the crowd of onlookers.

This time, Zhang Xiaodong became even more furious, slapped the gavel forcefully, and shouted angrily: Shut up, sir!

The gavel slapped, and the crowd calmed down, but Zhang Xiaodong knew that he had lost face too.

Needless to say, all of this is of course thanks to Zhao Kuo!

Zhang Xiaodong hated Zhao Kuo so much that it could be said that his teeth were itching, and he stared at Zhao Kuo tightly, wishing to swallow Zhao Kuo in one gulp.

After a while, Zhang Xiaodong said coldly: Li You, as a state official, you know you broke the law and blocked Lu's normal debt collection behavior as a creditor.Today, I am here to sentence you to exile in Lingnan!

After Zhang Xiaodong finished speaking, there was an uproar in the lobby.

Someone even shouted: Faint official!

Zhang Xiaodong was furious and shouted: Who is roaring at the court?Stand up for me!

The yamen servants under Zhang Xiaodong wanted to find someone, but there was already a sea of ​​people outside the lobby, how could they know who was shouting just now.

Zhang Xiaodong took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: That's enough, this case ends here, someone, quickly arrest this prisoner Li You and all his followers, and bring them to prison!

As he said that, Zhang Xiaodong glanced at Tian Wan again, and some meaning in his eyes was clearly visible.

For Zhang Xiaodong, tonight is the time for him and Tian Wan to accomplish their good deeds!

At this moment, a person suddenly pushed through the crowd, rushed into the hall, and said loudly: "Master Zhang, wait a minute, Xiaomin Fan Zeng, there is an important case to be reported to Master Zhang!"

As soon as Fan Zeng came out, everyone's eyes were immediately attracted.

It was very strange to say that Fan Zeng was obviously one of the parties involved in this matter, but Zhang Xiaodong never sent anyone to find him.

So, what did Fan Zeng do here?

Chapter 1198 Zhao Kuo Proves His Identity for Trial (No.30)

Not only the others were surprised, but even Zhao Kuo was surprised.

After all, from Zhao Kuo's point of view, he really didn't expect Fan Zeng to appear here in time, not to mention that even if Fan Zeng did appear, what can be changed as a mere scholar with him?

Zhang Xiaodong's thought was obviously the same as Zhao Kuo's. After knowing Fan Zeng's name, Zhang Xiaodong was stunned for a moment, and then said impatiently: What else do you want to say about this matter?This judge has already successfully judged the case, there is no room for negotiation, someone will take them all down here!

For Zhang Xiaodong, today's court trial had already severely humiliated him, so he didn't want to wait any longer, not to mention that he still wanted to meet Tian Wan, a beauty earlier.

With Zhang Xiaodong's order, these yamen servants were naturally moved upon hearing the news, but at this moment Fan Zeng spoke loudly again.

Mr. Zhang, the Lu family hid weapons and armor in their manor and wanted to rebel. Could it be that this matter is also indifferent to Mr. Zhang?

Fan Zeng's words were so loud that almost everyone present could hear them, and fell into silence immediately.

Rebellion, no matter in any country, is absolutely taboo.

Zhang Xiaodong was also taken aback, and said in disbelief: What did you just say, can you repeat it again?

Fan Zeng took a deep breath, and said with great certainty: To tell you the truth, I used to work for the Lu family. After a while, I saw with my own eyes that they secretly took up a large number of finished weapons and armor and hid them for themselves.

Just imagine, what kind of thought would there be in hiding weapons and armor at this time?It must be treason!

After hearing Fan Zeng's words, Zhang Xiaodong also fell into hesitation.

This matter is actually something that Zhang Xiaodong didn't know before. If Lu Shi really wanted to rebel, what should he do?

At this moment, another voice suddenly sounded.

Mr. Zhang, don't believe this kid's nonsense, our Lu family has always been loyal to the Han Kingdom, and we absolutely have no intention of rebelling!

Following these words, a road suddenly parted among the crowd, and a middle-aged man walked over with a smile on his face.

Beside this middle-aged man, there are many attendants. Anyone can tell that this is definitely a nobleman with a very high status.

In the next moment, someone in the crowd immediately called out the identity of this noble man.

It's Master Lu Yu who is here!

Unexpectedly, this incident also alarmed Master Lu Yu.

Since it is Master Lu Yu who is here, then this Master Li You may really suffer.

All these whispers in the crowd were heard clearly by Zhao Kuo, but Zhao Kuo was very calm, without any change in the expression on his face.

Lu Yu walked into the hall, made an example to Zhang Xiaodong, and said, "Master Zhang, Lu wants to make a solemn statement here that our Lu family has absolutely no intention of rebelling. The crime of weapons and armor is also because of Fan Zeng. This guy owes money and doesn't want to pay it back. Whoever found it is just an excuse.

After listening to Lu Yu's words, Zhang Xiaodong obviously came back to his senses, and cast a look at Lu Yu, signaling that the other party should feel at ease.

Then Zhang Xiaodong turned his attention to Fan Zeng, and said with a very stern expression: Come on, let me take down this guy who dared to falsely accuse the Lu family!

As soon as Zhang Xiaodong finished speaking, several yamen servants rushed up and held Fan Zeng down.

Fan Zeng struggled, and shouted loudly: "The Lu family's desire for rebellion is well known by everyone. Just check their manor and you will know. Why don't you do this?"

With a straight face, Zhang Xiaodong said coldly: You are just a guy who doesn't pay back his debts. Compared with you, this officer of course still trusts the Lu family more.