Jinyi Town Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 767

Early the next morning, Li Hanjiao sent someone to pass a message to Mr. Cao in the south of the city, asking him to go to the government office to talk about it.

The magistrate had an invitation, Master Cao didn't dare to neglect, and came to the back office of the government office in a hurry.Li Hanjiao and He Liu are waiting for him in the back office!

When Master Cao saw Li Hanjiao, the official parent, he turned his head and bowed: "Student Cao Guanzhi, meet the magistrate!"

Li Hanjiao said: "If you want to worship, you should first worship my grandfather. This is the Prince Shaobao of the Ming Dynasty, the Zuo Dudu of Jinyiwei, He Liuhe Shaobao."

Cao Guanzhi is just a small rich man from a small place.Hearing the names of Jinyiwei Zuo Dudu and Prince Taibao, a thick layer of sweat broke out on his head in fright.

He hurriedly kowtowed: "I met He Shaobao."

He Liudao: "Cao Guanzhi, you claim to be a student in front of the magistrate, it seems that you have a reputation?"

Cao Guanzhi replied: "Ah, the student is a scholar in the Shunde Mansion Examination in the second year of Wanli."

He Liudao: "Oh? He's still a scholar. Why didn't he pass the exam after winning the scholar?"

Cao Guanzhi replied: "Students have little talent. After being selected as a scholar, they took three provincial examinations and failed in Sunshan. Gradually, they lost their desire to take official careers and imperial examinations, and took care of the property left by their ancestors at home."

He Liudao: "Oh. The fame of a scholar is also fame. You can be regarded as a person who has read a lot of poetry and books. Why did you deceive more than 500 ignorant people in the south of the city to open up wasteland for you?"

How dare Cao Guanzhi lie in front of Jin Yiwei Zuo Dudu?He rattled his head and said, "He Shaobao, the student was also obsessed with money for a while, so he listened to his brother-in-law and used a few golden beans to deceive more than 500 people."

He Liu smiled and said: "Oh, you confessed it outright. Tell me, how did you use golden beans to deceive the people?"

Cao Guanzhi said: "To reclaim the 600 mu of wasteland, the wages are always 20 taels. My brother-in-law told me that the common people are the most stupid and cheapest. He gave me a plan, which only costs [-] taels of silver. He asked me to find a gold nugget of one tael and melt it into thirty golden beans the size of soybeans. Every five days, I threw one into the wasteland. The common people occasionally picked it up. Golden beans, you thought that piece of wasteland was a cornucopia! Naturally, I was greedy, and in order to pick up golden beans, I worked for nothing."

Li Hanjiao said angrily: "What a trick! More than 500 pure and good people actually made you look like a monkey, playing around like a monkey!"

Cao Guanzhi said: "Students have done bad things and are willing to be punished."

He Liu shook his head: "According to the law of the Ming Dynasty, it is not illegal for you to throw golden beans into your own wasteland. How about this, you make up the wages of the common people for the past few months, and this matter will be over. I and you Li Zhifu will not hold you accountable anymore."

Cao Guanzhi nodded hurriedly: "Yes, I will pay them back when I go back."

He Liu asked casually: "By the way, you said just now that it was your brother-in-law who gave you this idea? What does your brother-in-law do? He thinks quickly."

Cao Guanzhi replied: "My brother-in-law's name is Ma Sanyou. He used to serve as the Seventh Rank of Dongchang in Dongchang. Six years ago, he resigned from office and returned to his hometown, and settled in Shunde Prefecture."

When He Liu heard the words "six years ago", his heart skipped a beat.Six years ago was the year He Shizhong was assassinated!
He Liu asked again: "Oh? The seven-rank general servant of the East Factory would not be exchanged for a fifth-rank magistrate. It's so good, why did he resign?"

Cao Guanzhi replied: "He told me that it is difficult to be an official, and it is even more difficult to be an official in Dongchang. If you don't pay attention, you will lose your head. It's better to go home and become a rich man."

He Liudao: "Oh? You asked your brother-in-law to come to the government office. I have been in Jinyiwei for many years, and I often deal with people in Dongchang. Maybe I am an old acquaintance with him."

Cao Guanzhi took the order and left.He Liu ordered a few guards in brocade clothes who were close to him: "All of you, follow him quietly."

He Liu and Li Hanjiao were waiting for Ma Sanyou, the former seventh-rank servant of Dongchang, in the back office.But the left could not come, and the right could not wait. After an hour and a half, several guards in brocade clothes escorted a middle-aged man in his 40s into the back office.

The leading warrior cupped his hands and said, "Master Liu, Cao Guanzhi told this guy that you want to see him, Master Liu. After he heard this, he tried to escape through the back door of his house. We caught him!"

He Liu said to the middle-aged man, "You are Ma Sanyou?"

Ma Sanyou replied hesitantly: "Exactly, exactly."

He Liu asked: "Did you work as a slave in Dongchang?"

Ma Sanyou nodded: "Yes. The younger one has served in Dongchang for ten years."

He Liu sneered: "They say they don't do bad things and are not afraid of ghosts calling the door. Why are you running away? Could it be that when you were working in the East Factory, you did something outrageous?"

Ma Sanyou said tremblingly, "No, no."

Li Hanjiao said angrily, "Then why are you running?"

Ma Sanyou rolled his eyes and replied: "I gave my brother-in-law such a bad idea to deceive the common people. I am afraid that the government will blame me, so I..."

He Liu's warriors: "Where's Cao Guanzhi?"

Li Shi replied, "It's in custody outside the government office."

He Liudao: "Bring it up!"

Not long after, Lishi brought Cao Guanzhi to He Liu.

He Liu asked, "What did you tell your brother-in-law just now?"

Cao Guanzhi replied: "I just said that the left governor of Jinyiwei, Mr. He, wants to see him and let him come to the government office."

He Liu turned his head and asked Ma Sanyou: "Ma Sanyou, when you heard my name, He Liu, you were about to run away, heh, I'm afraid it's not because of Jindouzi's guilty conscience, but because you have done other outrageous things, right? "

Ma Sanyou's brains turned quickly, and he explained: "Ah, Jinyiwei and Dongchang have always been at odds. Of course I would be afraid when the sixth master of Jinyiwei came to me. I was scared out of my nerves and broke my mind. That's why I wanted to run away." .”

He Liu sneered: "Jinyiwei and Dongchang are at odds? Do you know that the current governor of Dongchang, Wang An, is my best friend! He is also my grandson's godfather! The factory guard is now a family!"

Ma Sanyou said: "Master Liu, when I was working in Dongchang, the admiral of Dongchang was Mr. Zhang Jing and Mr. Zhang. At that time, Dongchang and Jinyiwei were incompatible."

He Liudao: "Oh? This explanation is reasonable. Let me ask you, what did your family do before?"

Ma Sanyou replied: "The villain's father is a small landlord in Shunde Mansion."

He Liu asked: "Small landlord? How many acres of land did your father have before?"

Ma Sanyou replied: "There are hundreds of acres of fertile land."

He Liu continued to ask: "Then how many acres of land do you have now?"

Ma Sanyou fell silent.

Li Hanjiao said from the side: "Grandfather, I'll find out if I go to check the land book of the government office."

At the critical moment, Cao Guanzhi sold out his brother-in-law without hesitation: "He Shaobao, Governor Li, there is no need to check any land books. Let me tell you, my brother-in-law has a total of [-] mu of fertile land under his name."

Turning his head, Cao Guanzhi persuaded his brother-in-law again: "Three friends, you bought the extra [-] mu of land with the money you saved from your salary when you worked in Dongchang. It's either stealing or robbing. What are you afraid of?"

(End of this chapter)