The Prodigal Son

The next day, Qin Yu and his men left the village with Chen Bao and his men.

Before leaving, Qin Yu gave Manager Mi thirty lashes and warned everyone, including Manager Mi, not to tell anyone that they had been here.

On the way back, Lü Si sidled up to Qin Yu, his face full of smugness, and asked, "Do you think this counterfeit money case might be related to the Shi family?"

"..."

Qin Yu's face darkened. "You've really gone mad with your cultivation!"

"What do you mean by 'going mad'?" Lü Si sniffed. "Think about it, those counterfeit coins were made so realistically, an ordinary person definitely couldn't make them! Although I have no evidence, I have every reason to suspect the historian!"

Yang Jichun was speechless. "Young Master Lü, you look down on the Shi family too much! With the Shi family's wealth, would they even care about the meager profits from counterfeiting copper coins?"

"Who can say for sure? Who would complain about having too much money?"

As Lü Si spoke, he gestured towards Qin Yu with his lip, "Does he have little money? He can't possibly be interested in the pittance I have!"

KO!

Yang Jichun, the top scholar, was defeated in the competition by a single sentence from Lü Si.

Faced with Lü Si's words, all eloquence became pale and powerless.

A day and a half later, Qin Yu and his group returned to Jiankou County.

Upon arriving at the county government office, they learned that Pei Du had already led his men to Jiankou County the day before.

Upon hearing this news, Qin Yu was overjoyed.

This is wonderful!

Since Pei Du has come in person, I can have a good chat with him.

"I have met Physician Qin."

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Pei Du quickly stepped forward and bowed.

Qin Yu reached out and patted Pei Du's shoulder with a kind smile: "Don't be so formal, call me your mentor!"

"..."

Pei Du's face stiffened slightly, and he forced himself to change his address: "My mentor!"

"Yes, that's right!"

Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, tell me what you found out! After you're done, I have something very important to tell you!"

Hearing Qin Yu speak so seriously, Pei Du felt a bad premonition and looked at Qin Yu warily: "This can't be good, can it?"

Based on his understanding of Qin Yu, when Qin Yu was this serious, it was most likely not a good thing.

Who knows, this bastard might even be trying to use this opportunity to screw me over!

"If they find out, it's a good thing; if they don't, it's a bad thing!"

Qin Yu invited Pei Du to sit down, "Tell me what you found in Haizhou first!"

"good!"

Pei Du composed himself and began to tell Qin Yu about what they had found out.

Pei Du did say quite a lot.

However, in summary, it's pretty much the same as what Ding Che said.

The illegal salt trade was also rampant in Haizhou, with collusion between officials and merchants, the encroachment on salt flats, and the occupation of salt fields.

In any case, Haizhou has all the problems that have been found in Yuanzhou.

There are also some things in Yuanzhou that haven't been discovered yet, and some in Haizhou as well!

Currently, the most serious problem of illegal salt production in Haizhou is found in Yutian County.

This place was once a source of tribute salt for Yutian.

The problem of illegal salt production in Yutian was even more serious than in Linhai County.

The entire Yutian region, from officials to ordinary people, was almost entirely involved in the illegal salt trade.

Moreover, due to its unique natural conditions, the salt produced in Yutian is generally of better quality.

The finest salt was called white jade sand, which was once known as Yutian tribute salt.

Local officials, salt officials, and salt merchants seized control of the former tribute salt fields. To cover their tracks, they named this high-quality salt "White Jade Sand."

This kind of white jade sand can sell for two hundred coins per catty in high-end restaurants in Haizhou!

Even more extreme, in order to highlight the high-end nature of the salt, a small amount of gold powder is added to the white jade sand, which is called gold jade sand.

This kind of golden jade sand is only supplied to specific people. Currently, they have a list of a small number of people who consume golden jade sand, and Shi Jia is among them.

The current governor of Haizhou must be aware of the rampant illegal salt trade in Yutian, but he has chosen to turn a blind eye. In recent years, some illegal salt dealers have been arrested, but they are all minor figures, just to report to the court.

Furthermore, based on what Pei Du has found so far, he strongly suspects that the previous governor of Haizhou did not die of illness, but was likely poisoned because he refused to compromise his principles.

However, this is just his personal speculation, without any evidence or basis.

So far, apart from the gold and jade sand, none of the things Pei Du has found point to the Shi family.

"Okay, I got it!"

Qin Yu exhaled a breath of stale air, then took out a copper coin from his pocket and handed it to Pei Du, "Take a look at this."

Pei Du took the copper coin, examined it carefully, and looked at Qin Yu with a puzzled expression: "Why are you showing me this?"

"This is fake!"

Qin Yu said expressionlessly.

"What?"

Pei Du's eyelids twitched suddenly, and he quickly picked up the copper coin to examine it carefully.

"This doesn't seem fake, does it?"

After looking at it for a while, Pei Du still couldn't figure out what the problem was.

"That's what makes this fake coin so amazing! From the outside, you can't tell anything wrong with it! But you'll know once you cut it open!"

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, Pei Du immediately drew his sword.

brush!

With a single stroke, the copper coin was split in two.

Pei Du immediately picked up the copper coin and examined it.

Only then did Pei Du realize the problem with the fake copper coins.

"These copper coins were mixed with crude iron and lead, making their weight almost identical to that of the coins minted by the imperial court! Only by carefully listening to the sound of the two coins colliding can one detect a subtle difference! This is definitely not something an ordinary person could have forged!"

Qin Yu spoke to Pei Du with a solemn expression.

At this moment, Pei Du also realized the seriousness of the problem and asked in a deep voice, "Are there many of these copper coins circulating in the market?"

"Based on our information, there should be quite a lot!" Qin Yu briefly told Pei Du about Chen Bao and his wife, then continued, "Therefore, you need to stop what you're doing now, take some men to Zilang County, and investigate the origin of these counterfeit copper coins!"

"good!"

Pei Du agreed without hesitation, "Anyway, the court probably won't continue to let you crack down on smuggled salt anymore. The problems found in Haizhou are enough; there's no need to dig any deeper..."

He had also heard about Sun Min and Jia Dequan's desperate struggle and was well aware of the impact this would have.

That's why he led his men to evacuate from Haizhou and come to Jiankou to find Qin Yu.

The problems that have been identified so far have already had a very significant impact.

If we dig any deeper, the entire officialdom of Haizhou, the salt merchants of all sizes, and even many wealthy gentry, will probably be wiped out in one fell swoop.

Pulling out the radish brings out the mud along with it!

Who knows how many more people will be brought out from this end?

"Even you think that way?"

Qin Yu looked at Pei Du with some surprise.

He's from the Baojing Division!

The precious mirror reflects one's heart and soul, discerning loyalty from treachery for the ruler.

"What else can we do but think this way?"

Pei Du's face was full of helplessness. "I would like to execute all the lawbreakers, but would His Majesty and the court officials agree to that?"

Some things are beyond their control.

They could only follow orders.

"Then it's alright!" Qin Yu smiled. "As long as you have the intention, that's enough!"

"Ugh!"

Pei Du sighed and said self-deprecatingly, "Everyone says they have the will but not the power, but I have both the will and the power, yet I can't use it!"

"You make it sound like you're some energetic bachelor."

Qin Yu teased with a smile, "How about I personally sponsor you a hundred taels of silver so you can have some fun?"

"I……"

Pei Du's face stiffened. "If you're going to tease me, you should think about what you're going to do about this!"

"You don't need to worry about my affairs!"

Qin Yu smiled nonchalantly, "Let's take some people to investigate the counterfeit money case first! If nothing unexpected happens, I should go to Jiangning Prefecture in Fangzhou after the imperial edict arrives. If we find anything, don't make any rash moves here. You can send someone to Fangzhou to contact me."

"good!"

Pei Du nodded emphatically, "Then I'll take my men and head to Zilang County right now!"

"There's no rush, no time like now!"

Qin Yu stopped Pei Du, "It's not too late to have a meal and a drink before you set off! Now that you're here with me, I can't possibly treat you badly!"

"I……"

Pei Du's face stiffened again, staring at Qin Yu with a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "Next time, please just say the first half of your sentence!"