Wind rises time and space gate

Chapter 482 The truth of the matter
The man saw the blade approaching, flashing a heart-stopping white light. Thinking that he was going to die here today, he closed his eyes reluctantly.

The man holding the knife saw that he was still pretending to be deaf and mute at this moment. He was originally just trying to scare him, but now he was really trying to stab him with all his strength.

Seeing that the tip of the knife was about to pierce into the flesh, there was a "ding" sound and something heavy hit the knife.

"who!"

"You and me!" Zhang Zhi pointed his toes on the branches and flew over. He kicked the man and the knife away, and then stepped forward to help the middle-aged man who fell to the ground.

Seeing that there was hope of being rescued, the man hurriedly ducked and hid behind Zhang Zhi.

Several thugs helped the accomplice who was holding the knife up, and they glared at Zhang Zhi, "Who are you? How dare you interfere in our master's affairs!"

Zhang Zhi frowned. They and their master came here from the capital, hiding their whereabouts and keeping a low profile, not wanting to get involved in other people's disputes. No matter who is right or wrong, they don’t want to attract attention.

He turned to look at the man.

The middle-aged man seemed to sense that Zhang Zhi didn't want to meddle in other people's business. He was so anxious that he almost cried. He clasped his hands and begged Zhang Zhi again and again.

Zhang Zhi relented for a while, "If I have something to do with the government, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to torture me in private."

"We are..." Before the man could finish his words, he was pulled back by his accomplice and swallowed back his words.

Looking at Zhang Zhi, they were a little wary of the kick he just made, but seeing that he was alone, they said fiercely: "I advise you to mind your own business." After saying that, several people surrounded Zhang Zhi and the man. .

Zhang Zhi also put on a posture, "I don't want to meddle in other people's business. I just happened to see it."

Seeing that Zhang Zhi refused to listen to his good and bad words, and looked like he was minding his own business, the man holding the knife gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and said, "Up!"

Several people rushed towards Zhang Zhi.

"Be careful!" the middle-aged man reminded anxiously. Zhang Zhi pushed him aside and greeted him. The two sides soon came to blows.

As a result, two more people flew into the forest. It turned out that Zhao Guangyuan saw that Zhang Zhi had been away for too long, so he ordered two people to come and check.

Zhang Zhi was overjoyed and said, "Come and help!"

The two people who came had no time to ask in detail. Seeing that there were five or six people on the other side and Zhang Zhi alone, they joined in. With Zhang Zhi's skill, the other party was no match for him, but when one of his own was surrounded, he couldn't stand idly by.

Soon, those people were suppressed and beaten by Zhang Zhi and the others.

"Just wait!" The few people finished their words, glared at the middle-aged man hatefully, and then fled.

"We'll wait." Zhang Zhi replied to the backs of several people without pursuing them. Take the middle-aged man back to Zhao Guangyuan.

"Thank you so much for saving your life."

Zhao Guangyuan nodded lightly, and seeing that he didn't say why he was being hunted, he didn't ask. We met by chance and was about to wave him away.

As a result, the man hesitated.

Zhao Guangyuan, Zhang Zhi and others kept looking back and forth with their eyes, and their eyes fell on the dozen tall horses again.

Zhao Guangyuan didn't say anything, letting him look at him, but didn't chase him away. Zhang Zhi said that the person chasing him might be someone from the government, but he didn't know who he was, but he was chased by people from the government.

I'm afraid I'll cause a lot of trouble.

The man hesitated, squeezed his hands, then tightened them again, his eyes tangled.

Zhao Guangyuan looked at him with great interest. As a result, Zhao Guangyuan was not disappointed. As he expected, the man begged him.

The man plopped down and knelt down in front of Zhao Guangyuan, "Please help me!"

"You seem to be provoking someone from the government." Zhao Guangyuan said calmly.

The man was startled. Before he spoke, the noble man knew that he had offended someone from the government?
Sure enough, he was right about looking at people! These people are his nobles! Moreover, when the man in front of him mentioned the government, he looked calm and relaxed. Either he had someone to rely on, or he was in a high-ranking position!
"Please help me!" The man kowtowed to Zhao Guangyuan in a real and very loud manner this time.

"The villain's name is Liu Shiyu, from Linzhao Zhutou County..."

Liu Shiyu, a native of Zhutou County, runs a brick kiln at home, which is medium-sized. The business is not bad, but he also does quarrying business. After the spring, he received a large order from the county government to dig canals and build dams. , directly ordered all the bricks and stones for his house.

As this was not enough, the whole family invited their in-laws and relatives, and hired dozens of workers to burn the bricks and stones required by the government day and night.

Although the price given is extremely low, it only earns enough to feed the family. But because it was a major event that benefited the country and the people and benefited future generations, the old parents at home gave orders to do it even if it didn't make money, so the family was very motivated.

As a result, he was summoned by the county government a few days ago and asked to sign something. He glanced at it and looked at the account above, which was a little strange, and asked if he had remembered it wrong. His family did not provide so many masonry materials, and the price was not this.

Unexpectedly, the other party glared at him and said that he had seen it wrong.

He returned home suspiciously. The next day, someone came to the yamen again and said he wanted to borrow his family's account book to reconcile the accounts with the yamen.

He kept a secret and said that the account book was not with him and that his family had taken him to Shishan.

As a result, before he could figure out what was going on, the old father and brother who were watching the quarrying on the other side of Shishan were arrested by the county government. After he went to the county government office to inquire about the situation and stuffed a lot of money, someone gave him a hint.

Only then did he learn that the accounts done by the county were different from his family's accounts. Now that he saw it, he wanted to take his family's account book.

He had no choice but to go home to get it. As a result, the county government refused to let anyone go. This time, even his wife and children were arrested.

"The little curse swore that there was no account book in the house, but they still didn't believe it."

"Are you going to silence me?" Zhang Zhi said.

Liu Shiyu trembled all over.

Zhao Guangyuan's brows furrowed more and more as he listened. Wei Zuo looked at him with a solemn look on his face.

"You mean, you originally sold an ordinary red brick for eight cents a piece, but the county government only gave you three cents, but they recorded twenty-five cents in their account?"

Liu Shiyu nodded, "My family's business in the countryside usually sells eight cents a piece, which is a very thin profit. Three cents is not even enough to make material money. We have to pay the workers' wages ourselves. And the amount is extremely small. big."

Liu Shiyu vaguely felt that something was wrong here. But before he could figure it out, the Yamen had sent people to arrest his family and force him to hand over his account book.

When he handed over the account book, the Yamen refused to let him go, insisting that he had secretly kept a copy and forcing him to hand it over.

Wei Zuo, Zhang Zhi and others all understood and looked at each other secretly. Regardless of whether this person had hidden a secret or not, the county government was sure that he had a hidden secret, so they chased him outside the city.

It would be a good thing if you can get the secret ledger after chasing him. If you can't get it, you can deal with him privately.

It's better to silence him or die without any evidence.

As for his family members, they may not survive just like him.

Zhao Guangyuan thought of this and winked at Zhang Zhi, "Go and intercept those people."

Zhang Zhi was stunned and quickly understood, "Yes." He ordered three or four people and followed him. Liu Shiyu took a look and kowtowed to Zhao Guangyuan again, "Thank you, noble man, thank you so much, noble man!" He didn't know whether he was happy or sad, but he burst into tears.

Zhao Guangyuan looked at him intently, "So, where did you hide the account book you kept privately?" He glanced towards his chest.

Liu Shiyu was stunned, but he didn't expect that the noble man in front of him was sure that he had something to hide. He didn't hide it, "I hid it in a secret place."

"No one knows but you?"

Liu Shiyu nodded.

"Then your death will be in vain." Zhao Guangyuan said coldly, "Your family's death will also be in vain."

Thinking about the situation of his family members who were imprisoned in the county government office, Liu Shi was heartbroken and shed tears.

"Because my family had a small amount of money, we used the money to pay off the corvées. We also thought that this would be beneficial to the country and the people, and we also wanted to do something good for the county and the village. Since the beginning of spring, the whole family has been running around day and night. Stop it, the kilns at home haven’t stopped working. They haven’t made a penny and just paid for it. I never thought that..."

I never thought that the hard work would be thankless.

Not only that, but now the official wants his life and the life of his family.

Everyone present listened to his cry and felt the same, shaking their heads and sighing. If they fail to meet him today, this person may have drank Meng Po soup and been reincarnated at this moment.

"Tell me everything that happened here, in detail, and tell me which other companies are in the same situation as you, what items the county purchased from them, and what prices they were, tell me one by one. to me."

Liu Shiyu glanced at Zhao Guangyuan, wondering whether he should say something or not.

Originally, he just thought that these noble people seemed capable and was willing to give up some money to let them help rescue his family, so he also told them part of the truth. But now we want to involve others?

Liu Shiyu hesitated.

"We could have ignored this, but you begged us." Zhao Guangyuan said calmly.

"That's right. However, I don't know what the situation is between the other family and the county government. We are in the same county, and we will get along with each other in the future. If you can help my family get out of trouble, I am willing to give up all my wealth and give it to you."

Liu Shiyu didn't want to involve others with his own affairs and drag others into trouble, but he couldn't do it yet. And others may have already reached an agreement with the county government.

Wei Zuo and Zhao Guangyuan looked at each other and felt that this man had a pretty good character. His own affairs were his own and he did not want to implicate innocent people.

Zhao Guangyuan nodded slightly when he saw Wei Zuo's eyes asking for instructions.

Wei Zuo then walked to a horse, took a bundle from it and brought it over. He opened it in front of Liu Shiyu, revealing a box inside. When the box was slowly opened, a bright yellow scroll was revealed. .

The dragon pattern on it is clearly identifiable.

Liu Shiyu was not someone who had never seen the world. As soon as the bright yellow light in the box was revealed, his eyes stared blankly, and his eyeballs almost bulged out.

When he came back to his senses, he immediately knelt down towards the bright yellow scroll without daring to raise his head.

Wei Zuo closed the box again with a snap.

"Now do you know what kind of noble person you have met? I dare say that except my master, no one dares to save your family. Even if you are lucky enough to survive and go to Beijing to complain, no one will make the decision for you."

Except my master.

"Yes, yes, the little one has eyes but cannot see the mountain. Please save the little one and his family!"

Originally, I just wanted to give up all my wealth and ask these capable nobles to rescue my family secretly, and then the family could fly away. As a result, I met such a noble person.

So what about the county government? This noble person carries an imperial edict!

It's an angel sent by the emperor!

"Tell me about the corvee collection situation in your county, which merchants you ordered the materials from, how much you ordered, and what the prices were."

"Yes, the little one must tell everything he knows and tell everything..."

From Liu Shiyu's story, Zhao Guangyuan finally knew how each county government balanced the funds allocated for water conservancy projects.

Falsely reported prices and falsely recorded quantities. A piece of red brick with three cents is marked as twenty-five cents, and one hundred thousand square meters is marked as three hundred thousand square metres, which is marked as four hundred thousand square metres. How could it be unfair?

Not to mention that the prince deducted four million, not to mention the various levels of deductions from various states, governments and counties, there would be no problem at all once the account was completed and submitted.

Moreover, each workshop also worked with the county government to make false accounts.

How could those idiots at the Ministry of Accounts find out?

"Master, it's not enough to have the Liu family's account book. You have to get the Zhutou County government's account book."

Zhao Guangyuan nodded, "Rescue the Liu family tonight and get the account book at the same time."

"Will it alert the enemy?"

"They didn't dare to make any noise." The account books were copied and sent back overnight. Arranging for the Liu family to go to a secret place, the county government just thought it was Liu Shiyu who had Jianghu people rescue him overnight.

As for whether the county government will take any measures...

"Can you find other workshop owners to testify?"

Liu Shiyu thought about it. Other workshop owners had never heard of any family members being arrested and taken to the county government, so they probably would not dare to confront the county government. "Yes, there is one family that can. I can contact the rest of them privately and try to convince them."

"Okay. Let's rescue your family that night, and I'll have someone take you to another house to copy the accounts." Zhao Guangyuan hammered his voice.

Zhang Zhi came back after a while and said he had those people under control.

Zhao Guangyuan then ordered to stand up and "go to Zhutou County immediately."

At night, it was quiet outside, and several figures flew out of the back door of a house.

Throughout the night, people came and went in this house, and the lights were not extinguished.

Zhao Guangyuan looked at the Liu family members who were hugging each other and crying, "I will arrange for someone to take you to a safe place overnight. Liu Shiyu is still useful if I keep him, and he will join you soon."

Liu Shiyu's wife hugged her children and followed her parents-in-law with worried eyes. Father Liu was trembling, "Who are you? Can't we go with Yu'er? Will my Yu'er be in danger?"

"We are from the capital, and we are the emperor's people. Don't worry, your family will be reunited soon." Wei Zuo explained from the side.

The Liu family was shocked, and Mrs. Liu burst into tears, "Mom and Dad, we are saved!"

"Don't cry. We'll make some noise soon. We'll send you away right now." Wei Zuo said and handed Liu Shiyu's family letter to them.

At this time, the Liu family showed no resistance and left a family letter for Liu Shiyu, and then left with the people arranged by Zhao Guangyuan.

It wasn't until dawn that Liu Shiyu returned to the house with several copied account books, but at this time, there was a knock on the door.