CHAPTER 319: CHAPTER 313: GOT RICH

The ones who understand you the most, apart from your enemies and friends, are your subordinates.

For example, Liang Hong and County Magistrate Hu.

They confiscated a large amount of gold, silver, copper coins, cloth, colored silk, threads, and food from the Hu Family, along with a box of Five Stone Powder.

Some of these items were unknown even to Mrs. Hu, yet Liang Hong managed to uncover them from the backyard of the county government.

Mrs. Hu watched in a daze, surrounded by her crying children, slowly regaining her senses with tears streaming down, feeling as if she were in a dream.

Nearby, a coffin was placed; inside was the decapitated County Magistrate Hu, a coffin graciously provided by Qiu Wu.

Zhao Hanzhang had expressed her desire not to humiliate the deceased County Magistrate Hu, so Qiu Wu procured a coffin from the coffin shop and placed the body inside, affording them some dignity.

The confiscated items were placed in the center of the courtyard, and as sunset approached, Zhao Hanzhang finally arrived.

Mrs. Hu lifted her head to look at Zhao Hanzhang, staring blankly at her walking against the light, her face blurry and unclear, only feeling a towering presence and a fear gripping her heart. She instinctively hugged the two children nestled at her side.

Zhao Hanzhang stopped in front of a chest, picked up a piece of colored silk, and after a while, sighed, "Was this made by the people of Biyang County?"

Liang Hong bowed and replied, "Yes, the previous year, the County Magistrate said there was an order to contribute two pieces of colored silk from Biyang County. The local weavers spent a year weaving the two pieces, but then the former emperor passed, and the new emperor ascended, so the silks fell outside."

"So this colored silk became County Magistrate Hu’s private property?"

Liang Hong lowered his eyes and said, "At the time, the County Magistrate claimed the silks had been sent to the Governor Mansion."

Zhao Hanzhang sneered, placed the piece of silk down, and proceeded to inspect the other items. After some time, she pointed to the grains and said, "Store all the grains in the treasury, set the gold, silver, and copper coins aside for later use, and record the rest to store in the county treasury."

Liang Hong agreed.

Only then did Zhao Hanzhang notice Mrs. Hu, disheveled and sitting miserably on the ground.

She frowned slightly, glanced at Mrs. Hu with little expression, and said to Liang Hong, "Let the government officials leave the county government backyard. You will assist the Hu Family in managing the funeral."

Liang Hong hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Zhao Hanzhang was about to leave when Mrs. Hu, surprised by her decision, called out to her.

Seeing her turn back, Mrs. Hu hesitated a bit, shrinking her head, and timidly asked, "Will Zhao County Governor kill us?"

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, "I do not wish to involve the family in County Magistrate Hu’s crimes. Once the accounts are settled and all stolen goods entered into storage, you may leave."

Mrs. Hu, somewhat pale, asked, "What if there’s not enough stolen goods confiscated?"

Zhao Hanzhang looked deeply at her and said, "That will depend on your choice, Madam."

Zhao Hanzhang then turned to leave, her face changing again and again, eventually saying, "County Governor, there is another place, where he may have hidden the wealth."

Zhao Hanzhang’s lips curled slightly, but she restored her solemn demeanor as she turned back to look at her.

Mrs. Hu felt the softening in her demeanor and quietly breathed a sigh of relief, after hugging her child, she said, "In the Ma Family’s villa, he often sends things there. The villa was lent to him by the Ma Family for hosting guests, and he’s been using it these past few years."

Zhao Hanzhang looked at Liang Hong, who immediately said, "Yes, County Magistrate Hu often sent things to the villa."

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at the sky and said, "The day is still early; please, County Magistrate Liang, go once more."

Liang Hong: ... It’s practically getting dark, where is it still early?

Nevertheless, Liang Hong still took his people to the villa, searched thoroughly, just in time to encounter the Ma Family also trying to move things inside, which nearly led to a confrontation, but Qiu Wu brought soldiers over to handle it.

The soldiers held torches, and in the light, Qiu Wu’s eyes bore into those people, saying, "The Prefectural Governor said our Governor Mansion’s troops lack just an excuse now!"

Upon hearing this, the manager of the Ma Family hurriedly restrained the rowdy servants and retreated sensibly, allowing Liang Hong and officials to enter.

The county government’s lights were on for half the night, and in just that half-night, Biyang County’s revenue was more than double its annual income.

Seated on a box, Zhao Hanzhang sighed as she looked at the confiscated items, "No wonder it’s said that robbing and searching homes is the quickest way to wealth, indeed."

Fu Tinghan, who had been examining the account books since the afternoon, now felt not dizzy but his eyes sore. He came out and found a box to sit on, closing his eyes to rest, "The most profitable methods are all written in the criminal law. Clearly, this County Magistrate Hu was wealthy because he broke many laws."

"It’s a pity that the law favors the gentry. Even if he commits bribery and abuse of power, according to the law, he cannot be sentenced to death," on this journey, Zhao Hanzhang deeply detested such individuals, not only for their greed and cruelty but also for their inaction, leaving the people to fend for themselves, while pouring boiling water into an already dire situation, furthering the suffering of already struggling people.

Zhao Hanzhang gritted her teeth, "It was too swift to kill him, there should have been a trial first."

Fu Tinghan shook his head, "After a trial, I’m afraid you wouldn’t have been able to kill him."

In his leisure time, Fu Tinghan had flipped through the legal texts of this era and understood the privileges extended to nobles and gentry in the law.

For someone like County Magistrate Hu, sentencing him to death would be truly difficult.

Unless, they could amend the law.

Zhao Hanzhang bowed her head in contemplation, while Fu Tinghan opened his eyes to look at her; their boxes faced each other, thus sitting face to face, "Right now you cannot achieve this; to change the law, you must have absolute control over Ru Nan County."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and seemed deep in thought.

She beckoned Qiu Wu over and instructed him softly, "Send someone back to Xiping and ask Zhao Ju to dispatch two teams to me, I want elite soldiers."

A team of one hundred men, two teams would be two hundred, and being elite soldiers, they could almost sweep through every county in Ru Nan County.

Qiu Wu did not hesitate, responded softly, and stepped back.

Zhao Hanzhang had already formulated her plan, she stood up and said, "Let’s leave and rest; it’s too late, we’ll continue tomorrow."

Fu Tinghan glanced at the courtyard full of treasures, nodded in agreement.

Indeed, there’s not an easy way to finish going through all the documents in the Household Department, and since the money is now in their hands, it’s only surplus and not lacking, which is sufficient.

By confiscating from County Magistrate Hu alone, the county government of Biyang County is now richer, although there may be some collateral damage, given the sheer amount of items confiscated from the villa, and the Ma Family continually claiming that all the villa’s items belong to them, not to County Magistrate Hu.

Perhaps, Zhao Hanzhang did not fully deny this, but it wasn’t possible for her to hand over the items so easily either; her response to the Ma Family was, "Once Mr. Fu has audited the Household Department’s accounts, we’ll know if the items were embezzled by County Magistrate Hu."

But who knows when Fu Tinghan will complete the audit, meanwhile the county government must continue operating, so Zhao Hanzhang bypassed this issue and negotiated with them for grain purchases, "Biyang County has been thrown into chaos by County Magistrate Hu and others, leaving the people destitute. To appease the people, we must first provide relief, and now the county government lacks grain; I wonder if the Ma Family would be willing to conduct a transaction with the county government?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I am willing to buy grain from the Ma Family at a high price to provide relief to the people."