Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 271 Overturning the Rat's Nest
After days of thorough investigation, the investigation and interrogation of officials in Bianzhou is finally coming to an end, and a large group of convicted officials and their families has been identified.

From Yuan Fu, the prefect of Bianzhou, down to him, the number of these convicted officials and their families involved reached nearly two thousand! This was before any large-scale fabrication or implication was carried out; it only included the officials who committed the crimes, their immediate family members, and relatives and friends who were indeed involved in the case.

In reality, regulations are regulations, but ultimately, it is people who exercise power. In the process of exercising power, there will always be some room for these people to make their own judgments and choices, and it is impossible to completely comply with the rules.

Especially in a prosperous place like Bianzhou, where money and grain converged and people intertwined, there were too many scenarios and channels for the monetization of power.

It is extremely difficult for a person to remain pure and upright in this environment. Therefore, since the Kaiyuan era, most of the governors and prefects of Bianzhou have been incompetent, except for Ni Ruoshui and Qi Huan, who governed with integrity and strictness, and were praised by the people and officials.

To put it bluntly, Yuan Fu is just a mediocre person who relies on his family's influence to get by, ambitious but incompetent, lacking ability yet full of ideas. Even if he had spent his days sleeping in the prefectural government office after entering the prefecture, he would have caused less damage to the prefecture's affairs than he has now.

It was precisely because of his frequent arbitrary orders that the officials in the prefecture were able to issue commands and act arrogantly. The frequent interactions between officials and the people inevitably led to a large number of cases of abuse of power and corruption.

When those cunning officials get angry, they can squeeze water out of a stone. In Bianzhou, a place that is already full of lucrative opportunities, one can only imagine what might happen.

Yuan Fu, on the other hand, was fond of using force to govern the people, but he was lenient with his officials. As a result, he single-handedly turned Bianzhou into a paradise for corruption and bribery in a short period of time.

The officials in Bianzhou were mostly involved in crimes, and some long-standing problems were also exposed through Pei Zhouxian's vigorous investigation.

With so many people involved, the amount of embezzled funds involved is naturally an astonishing figure, roughly estimated to be over 500,000 strings of cash.

It should be noted that Yuwen Rong's household registration system, implemented over several years, only increased the imperial treasury's revenue by a mere 800,000 strings of cash. Of course, this increased poll tax was paid annually and could be used for long-term expenditures within the imperial treasury. However, Pei Zhouxian's investigation of corruption in just one prefecture yielded such a large sum of money, which is naturally a remarkable achievement.

The 500,000 strings of cash were only the cash that could be estimated. The other stolen goods were not estimated, so they were only counted and recorded. Valuable but insignificant items such as gold, silver, jewelry, spices, and rare goods needed to be packed up and sent back to the capital for a more detailed inventory by the Ministry of Justice.

The final amount of embezzled funds may be several times greater than the current statistics, and this will be used as a data standard for sentencing the officials involved.

Besides the money and valuables they could take with them, these convicted officials each possessed a vast number of mansions and properties, the value of which was immeasurable, but all of which were highly coveted and lucrative assets.

Some corrupt officials, or those not from Bianzhou, or those who intended to develop their businesses elsewhere, would also transfer their ill-gotten gains to other places to engage in other businesses.

For example, Liu Sihu from Bianzhou, whom Zhang Dai knew, used his ill-gotten gains to buy a house in Luoyang. His wife and children lived in Luoyang, and he planned to settle in Luoyang after his term of office was over in order to seek opportunities for career advancement.

However, he doesn't need to worry about that now; he'll probably have to devote himself to the development of Lingnan next.

The estates and fields outside the city belonging to these disgraced officials will be reclaimed by the prefecture and used to compensate households for their land arrears. Bianzhou is a narrow town, and many registered households have insufficient land allocations or no land allocations at all. Now that idle land has been cleared out, it is natural to distribute it to them as soon as possible to invest in production and increase tax revenue.

These corrupt officials seized a total of several thousand hectares of land. In other words, several thousand households in Bianzhou lost their land and livelihoods due to their greed, while simultaneously renting land from these officials and suffering multiple forms of exploitation and oppression.

As for other properties such as residences, shops, etc., they cannot be moved. If they are left to be run by the government, most of the officials in the prefecture have already been arrested, and there is no one to properly manage them. Therefore, the only option is to sell them on the spot and convert them into illicit money to be sent to the capital.

After the case was concluded, Pei Zhouxian sent his subordinate Zhang Dai to invite him to the prefectural government office. He handed him two scrolls of documents: one was the IOU for 30,000 strings of cash that Yuan Fu had previously written to him, and the other was the land deed for a shop in the North Market of Luoyang.

"What does Your Excellency mean by this?"

Holding up the shop deed, Zhang Dai looked at Pei Zhou with a surprised expression and asked a question.

"I used your money, goods, and fish to enter the prefecture the other day, promising you wouldn't lose everything. But after entering the prefecture, you lost both your money and goods, so I must give you some compensation. This stolen property was acquired by the prefect, and I have now ordered my family to redeem it for five thousand strings of cash. This is my compensation to you. Are you satisfied?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Zhouxian casually offered an explanation.

"This, this is too much! I am already deeply honored that the magistrate has invited me to work with him, and besides, those money and goods were originally intended as gifts to the people of the state..."

Zhang Dai hadn't expected the old man to be so particular, actually remembering this matter, so he felt embarrassed and wanted to refuse. "Just accept it. Yan Gong once said that one cannot treat ordinary people, and now we see that this is indeed true. You have done a lot of good deeds in the state, and consumed a lot of resources. Having some property to maintain your expenses can also supplement your salary. Oh, by the way, you don't have a salary yet, so keep it."

Pei Zhouxian waved his hand again and said that although he had a lot of misfortunes, he was also very capable. In his early years, he became very wealthy by trading and manufacturing goods on the frontier as an exile. His family is still running similar businesses, so they are very wealthy. He doesn't care about a few thousand strings of cash and has no reason to take advantage of a junior.

"In that case, I thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai no longer stood on ceremony and cheerfully put away the land deed.

His trip to the east had indeed cost him a great deal, and the effects of the flying money reform were still unknown. He could no longer freely touch his aunt's secret stash of money. Therefore, apart from the several hundred thousand strings of cash that the Princess of Yunyang had entrusted to him, he was practically penniless. It would be good to have a side business to support his daily expenses.

"What is the current situation regarding the sale of stolen goods within the state?"

After putting away the land deed, Zhang Dai couldn't help but ask another question.

Although he invited wealthy people in the state to buy those stolen assets, he did not get involved in them afterward, nor did he engage in any shady practices such as bid rigging or collusion.

He only needed to lease properties from these wealthy households; how much they paid was their business. He didn't need to interfere to show off his background and methods, lest he leave any handle or hidden dangers.

Zhang Daifan's actions are always driven by long-term goals and careful consideration; they are never simply about money. Money itself doesn't mean much to him, but it does matter if it directly or indirectly impacts the well-being and needs of many others.

“These corrupt officials are well-versed in local customs and market practices. They have seized all the beauty industry, and they sell it off quickly at fair prices.”

After speaking for a while, Pei Zhou looked at Zhang Dai and asked, "This matter is temporarily concluded. I need to go to another region to continue my inspection. The affairs here will be handled by my servants, and we await the arrival of a prefectural official from the imperial court. How many more days will you stay here? If you remain here, remember to keep a low profile and be cautious, and avoid causing any trouble!"

His official title was Henan Provincial Inspector, and the personnel he needed to investigate were not limited to Bianzhou; other prefectures and counties were also within his scope of investigation. Given the current situation within Bianzhou alone, he dared not be careless regarding the personnel in other prefectures and counties.

"Rest assured, my lord, I know what's important. I will just make some more arrangements for the weaving workshop, and then I will return to the capital with the Duke of Bohai. I will not linger here any longer."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai quickly stood up and said, bowing deeply to Pei Zhou, "In that case, I will take my leave now and visit you again when I return to the capital!"

Over the next few days, the ill-gotten gains of the corrupt officials were quickly sold off and sold to their respective owners. These wealthy merchants and residents of Bianzhou were already quite powerful, and even without Zhang Dai's involvement, they were very interested in those properties. Now that they had the opportunity to acquire them, they naturally wouldn't miss it.

Zhang Dai then toured various inns and shops, and after careful selection, finally chose more than a dozen inns and shops along the Bian Canal, which stretched for more than ten miles along the banks and included a series of functions such as warehousing, transportation, and residence. The newly expanded weaving workshop was also located here.

In fact, Zhang Dai also wanted to transfer the cargo fleet here, since Bianzhou was far superior to Caozhou in terms of both geographical location and supporting facilities.

Previously, it was because of Yuan Fu's presence and the friendly attitude of Li Daosui, the governor of Caozhou, that he chose Caozhou as the key to personnel matters. But now that Yuan Fu has been completely eradicated, Bianzhou is naturally more suitable.

However, considering Li Daosui's face, some courtesy should be shown, especially since the cargo ships in that fleet were all allocated and donated by him. It would be too undignified to just leave like that. For now, they should at least help Caozhou transport relief supplies for a while, and make adjustments later when the disaster situation has eased.

While he was arranging related matters, Gao Lishi was also busy. His trip to the prefecture was not related to official business, but rather to supervise the matter of the monument commemorating Consort Hui's merits.

Yuan Fu had no intention of stopping the construction of the stele, and with him embroiled in legal trouble, the matter naturally faced no further obstacles. Gao Lishi's task was simply to investigate whether the accounts of Consort Hui's merits were true and whether the stele's construction would disturb the people of the prefecture; the answer, of course, was no.

With Gao Lishi's visit to the temple, the event naturally had to be expanded. On the day the monument was officially erected, prominent figures from the prefecture gathered at Xiangguo Temple, and eminent monks from the region came to perform rituals and offer blessings, making it a lively affair for several days.

With the erection of the stele completed, it was already nearly May, and Zhang Dai prepared to return to Luoyang. His grandfather had even arranged for him to participate in the imperial examination in preparation for becoming a formal official.

At the same time, an official dispatched by the imperial court to escort the convicted official and his family, along with all the stolen goods, also arrived in Bianzhou. This official was Cheng Ruoshui, son of Cheng Boxian, the Left General of the Thousand Oxen, and who served as the Military Advisor of the Left Golden Guard.

(End of this chapter)