The prince is more stable

Chapter 379: The picture shows the dagger
The stage when official struggles become increasingly apparent often begins with an audit of accounts.

The accounts of bad people cannot withstand scrutiny; if they are, there is always something wrong. Throughout history, the evidence used to implicate officials has almost always been found in public accounts, and once found, it is always conclusive and cannot be overturned.

Zhao Xiaoqian's original plan was to have another fight with Liu Qianliang and the others, and try to squeeze more money out of their pockets through peaceful means.

After all, Duke Zhao was very poor and needed money everywhere when he came to Zhending Prefecture. The money he got from corrupt officials was the easiest to use and he had no psychological burden to spend it.

However, with the intelligence sent by Xiao's father and son, the Liao Kingdom was ready to use force against Zhending Prefecture, and time suddenly became urgent.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't have time to argue with Liu Qianliang and the others, so he had to cut the Gordian knot and quickly deal with this group of people, then turn around and concentrate on dealing with the Liao army.

The person who checked the accounts was sent by Zhao Hao. After noticing that something was wrong in the officialdom of Zhending Prefecture, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately sent a letter to Zhao Hao, asking him to send someone he trusted to check the accounts.

Before everything is clear, Zhao Xiaoqian cannot send a letter to Zhao Xu and ask the court to send people to investigate. The situation is too complicated and there are too many variables. At this time, the only person he can trust is his biological father.

These people sent by Zhao Hao were under the guise of servants of the Prince of Chu's Palace, but after Zhao Xiaoqian met them, he found that they looked very unfamiliar and he had never seen them in the Prince of Chu's Palace before.

But it didn't matter. Zhao Hao was a bit mysterious, and Zhao Xiaoqian had gradually gotten used to it. He believed that Zhao Hao would not cheat him. Although these people came from unknown sources, they were trustworthy.

The audit was carried out in the government office, so it was impossible to hide it from anyone.

The next day, Liu Qianliang, Zhou Shen and others immediately heard the news of Zhao Xiaoqian's audit.

The news shocked them to death and the whole gang was in an uproar.

In the morning, Liu Qianliang hurriedly left the government office with a pale face and returned to his residence.

Not long after, Procurator Wang Shenxian, Director of the Ministry of Justice Zhou Shen, Director of the Ministry of Justice Fang Xi, Director of the Ministry of Transportation Li Zhenglian and others gathered in Liu Qianliang's residence.

In the remote side house, Liu Qianliang's pale face had not improved, and his eyes were filled with fear and doubt.

The other officials also had grim expressions, pursed their lips and said nothing.

After a long while, Zhou Chen slowly said, "Something is not right. I'm afraid this Duke Zhao is not of the same mind as us."

Liu Qianliang didn't know if he was trying to comfort himself or was genuinely confused. He frowned and said, "He accepted the money and beauties we gave him. Besides, he was just checking the accounts. It shouldn't be that serious, right? Are we overthinking it?"

Zhou Chen sneered, "'Just' checking the accounts? Judge Liu, aren't you too naive? Can the public accounts of Zhending Prefecture be checked? There are more loopholes in the account books than a sieve. If we check them, who among us here can escape?"

Zhang Lan, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards, also felt that something was wrong, and a look of panic appeared on his face.

"Over the years, the imperial court has allocated military rations and salaries to me and my brothers... Well, in short, we can't let him investigate, or something terrible will happen!"

Procurator Wang Shenxian said calmly, "Everyone, please be patient and don't panic. We must first understand why the Duke of Zhao suddenly wants to check the accounts."

"Did we do something wrong, or did we not give him enough? Or maybe he was just not on the same page and is now going to attack us."

"Once we understand the cause, we can deal with it. Misunderstandings have their own solutions. If our efforts are not enough, we can increase them. If he is a true enemy, then there is no need to be polite to him."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present looked at him.

Wang Shenxian said frankly, "Am I wrong? We all know what we have done in Zhending Prefecture over the years. If the court really has evidence, they can kill us a hundred times."

"If the Duke of Zhao really intends to deal with us, there will be no way for you and me to survive. In this case, we might as well take the initiative and kill him. Then, we can create an accident and report it to the court. Maybe there will be a glimmer of hope."

As Wang Shenxian spoke, a ferocious look appeared on his gentle and elegant face, making him look like a madman at the end of his rope.

Everyone was silent, and then everyone's expression gradually became ferocious, just like Wang Shenxian's.

One madman quickly spread the infection to a group of madmen.

In the calm, murderous intent arises.

…………

The backyard of the government office.

Zhao Xiaoqian crossed his legs and looked at Liu Qianliang with a leisurely smile.

Liu Qianliang's expression today is different from usual. If the smile on his face when facing Zhao Xiaoqian before was just fake, his smile today can be said to be ugly, uglier than crying. From the perspective of acting, Liu Qianliang's expression management is a failure.

"Check the accounts?" Zhao Xiaoqian looked puzzled. "Yes, I ordered them to check the accounts. Is there any problem?"

Liu Qianliang's smile became even more distorted: "I just want to ask the county lord why he suddenly checked the accounts..."

Zhao Xiaoqian pointed at him and smiled more naturally than he did. "See, you're worrying too much, aren't you? I've just taken office. Wouldn't it be reasonable for me to check the public accounts of Zhending Prefecture?"

"I'm not afraid to offend you, but who knows what the previous prefects and officials did with the public accounts? If I don't check the accounts, I'll be the one to take the blame. Do I look like someone who would take the blame?"

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him curiously as he spoke: "Could it be that there are serious flaws in the official accounts of Zhending Prefecture?"

Liu Qianliang's cheeks twitched violently. It was more than just a "slip", it was simply a black hole in the universe, my husband!

The mass of all material in the world is conserved, and the same is true for money.

The more officials embezzled, the larger the holes in the public accounts. The more they embezzled, the larger the holes. Consequently, public accounts were never checked, and the various excuses they used to barely maintain a balance of income and expenditure would fool even a fool, making it impossible to justify their claims. Liu Qianliang said cautiously, "To be honest, my Lord, the two hundred thousand taels of silver I gave you last time was also...expended from the public accounts."

The meaning of the words was very implicit, but Zhao Xiaoqian understood it.

What I mean is that you also accepted bribes, and they were paid from public funds. We are tied together, and if you check the accounts, you will eventually get yourself into trouble.

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "No problem. I'll find a way to settle the two hundred thousand taels in the public account. It's very simple."

Before Liu Qianliang could even breathe a sigh of relief, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately said, "But I have no obligation to cover for what you did in previous years. You took the money, but I have to bear the blame. That's not right, right?"

Liu Qianliang was startled, his heart suddenly filled with anger, but he still held back his anger and whispered, "Duke Zhao, you can't do this..."

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his eyebrows and said, "Officials from the Imperial Court and the Ministry of Personnel and Revenue come down every year to audit the accounts. Are you aware of this?"

"……Know."

"I just took office this year. Next year, the court will come down to investigate and find that the accounts are not right. You mean, I will take the blame for this? Given your morality, there must be more than millions of taels of mistakes in the account books, right? I only took 200,000 taels of silver from you, but I have to bear the blame for millions of taels..."

"Judge Liu, your abacus beads are about to fall on my face. I'm a noble Duke of a royal family, and my official rank is so much higher than yours, and you're actually planning to make me take the blame. Ha, who gave you the courage?"

Zhao Xiaoqian sneered, and his eyes were no longer kind and friendly. They gradually became sharp like a knife, piercing Liu Qianliang's face.

At this moment, he has torn off his previous disguise.

I'm tired and don't want to pretend anymore.

I have too much to do and don't have time to waste on you scum.

Cold sweat dripped down Liu Qianliang's forehead.

After all, I still underestimated this young man. The reason why the government valued him so much was not because he was a relative of the royal family, but because he was really smart, scheming and capable.

The local officials thought that they could bribe him with 200,000 taels of silver, shut him up, and make him join the gang, so that they would be in collusion from then on. However, they didn't expect that the man would not buy it at all.

Yes, the account is calculated very carefully. Two hundred thousand taels of silver, but you have to take the blame for millions of taels. No one would be willing to do this, right?
What's more, he is a relative of the official family, and his vision and knowledge are many times better than theirs. Why would he leave such a dirty stain on himself for a mere 200,000 taels?

Liu Qianliang was silent for a while, then whispered, "If the Duke thinks the money is too little, we can discuss it. We can add more."

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes lit up: "Oh? More money?"

"Add money, that's good! I like hearing this. All the conflicts in the world are because of not adding money. As long as you add money, there is nothing that cannot be negotiated."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled particularly brightly, and the approachable Duke Zhao of the past returned.

Liu Qianliang also laughed: "Yes, let's increase the money. Duke Zhao is not an ordinary person. A mere 200,000 taels is simply an insult to you. How about this, I will take charge and give you another 1 million taels?"

Zhao Xiaoqian was overjoyed: "Really?"

"Really!" Liu Qianliang nodded seriously.

"Okay, okay! Now that we've come to this, if I continue to hold on to this, it would be too much. Judge Liu, don't worry, I will have the audit stop right away. If anyone from the court comes to investigate..."

Liu Qianliang said tactfully, "I will nominate a few warehouse officials and chief clerks to take the blame. I will never implicate the Duke of the County."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled brightly: "I like chatting with smart people, Judge Liu, you are a smart person."

Liu Qianliang also laughed, his smile even brighter than his: "No matter how smart this humble official is, he is not even a fraction as smart as the county lord."

The two looked at each other and laughed, both of them laughed happily and heartily, but when their eyes met, the spark was fleeting.

The room was clearly filled with laughter, so loud that it was almost shaking the roof down, but for some reason, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped, as if falling into an icy cave.

In the cold air, an invisible and suffocating murderous intent slowly gathered.

"I will go back and raise the money. Within three days, I will send one million taels of silver to the Duke."

Zhao Xiaoqian said happily: "Go ahead, I'll wait for your good news."

Liu Qianliang stood up and said goodbye, slowly leaving the room.

As the door closed, Zhao Xiaoqian's smile gradually faded. After thinking for a moment, he called out to Chen Shou who was outside the room.

"Get ready. Liu Qianliang and his gang might become desperate and attack me." Zhao Xiaoqian said in a deep voice.

Chen Shou was stunned. He could hear the two of them laughing and talking happily in the house just now from outside. They were chatting so harmoniously, so why did they turn around and start to chop each other with knives?
Seeing Chen Shou's puzzled expression, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "It's normal that you don't understand. You're not an official. No matter how harmonious the conversation is, if you can't agree on the content, you have no choice but to turn against each other."

"Liu Qianliang dared to attack the prince?" Chen Shou said in disbelief.

"Didn't I just say, 'A cornered dog will jump over the wall,' understand? My actions have made them feel like they have no chance of survival. Killing me might give them a glimmer of hope. If I don't die, then they will. If it were you, what would you choose?"

Chen Shou gritted his teeth and said, "These killers are so bold! I'll make arrangements right away!"

(End of this chapter)