Qing Yao

Chapter 227 The Impartial and Unyielding Lord Zhao

Lord Zhao's uncle and father-in-law are definitely not rebels and must be released. Otherwise, according to Lord Zhao's logic, even if his nephew-in-law is not a rebel, he is still a relative of a rebel and will not pass the formal trial.

How can someone become a governor, viceroy, or magistrate if they fail the formal review?

If you can't even take care of your own relatives, you might as well not be an adult!
Release them! Release them immediately!

Since Zhao An himself couldn't get involved in this matter, he ordered General Hou to secretly release Ding Ping aside. As for his uncle's opium addiction, Zhao An thought it best to tell his wife, Wan Qing, first, and let her decide whether to go home and tell his parents and grandfather.

His nephew-in-law shouldn't be too talkative.

Zhao An was well aware of the dangers of opium, but at present, the general public was not aware of these dangers and simply regarded opium smoking as a form of leisure and relaxation.

Or rather, in most people's eyes, opium is just cigarettes, and there is no such thing as a drug.

The British sell in China, and they also sell in their home country.

The real reason the Qing court decided to ban opium was not because opium made the Chinese people the "sick man of East Asia." The more the Han people, who made up the vast majority of the population, were considered "sick men," the more at ease the Manchu rulers, who ruled China as a "small ethnic group."

The fundamental reason is that the annual trade surplus of more than 20 million taels has turned into an annual trade deficit of 10 million taels.

If it doesn't make money, then let's fight.

Unexpectedly, the foreign devils not only had powerful ships and cannons, but also understood military strategy and human nature. As the war progressed, they even wanted to support the Han people in their anti-Qing and restoration efforts, which completely shook the foundation of Manchu rule.

As a result, the Qing government was so frightened that it quickly surrendered and signed a treaty. Ironically, the tobacco tax became the largest source of revenue for the Qing Dynasty, successfully prolonging the life of the crumbling Qing government.

It has to be said that the truth of history is quite ironic.

Ding Ping is Old Ding's second son. He has the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) and is in his prime. He will return to Zhejiang next year to take the provincial examination. As his nephew-in-law, Zhao An certainly hopes that his uncle-in-law can successfully pass the provincial and metropolitan examinations.

This means that the microloan gang has gained another key member.

However, Zhao An could not accept Ding Ping's habit of smoking opium. If Ding Ping could not get rid of this bad habit, even if he passed the imperial examination, Zhao An would not bring him into the core organization. At most, he would be considered an outer member.

The school, which was perfectly fine, was suddenly turned into a "prison." Vice Principal Ma and Director Tong were completely dumbfounded when they received the note sent by Principal Zhao.

A higher-ranking official can have absolute power, especially when it comes to instructions from a respected principal in the eyes of all faculty and staff.

Left with no other option, Vice Principal Ma had to comply and organize the staff to temporarily clear out the classroom desks and chairs to use as prison cells.

Soon, the first batch of prisoners were sent over.

Vice Principal Ma and Director Tong looked at the prisoners again and again, but they couldn't connect them with traitors at all; at most, they were just "social personnel."

More and more prisoners were brought in, and soon more than a dozen classrooms were closed, probably housing several hundred people.

Judging by this situation, there probably won't be enough classrooms.

Moreover, it's obvious to the naked eye that these so-called "traitors" are not true; among them are two friends from outside the community whom Vice Principal Ma knows.

The two friends also saw Vice Principal Ma and shouted for him to rescue them. This put Vice Principal Ma in a difficult position, because those soldiers were not under his command. He didn't have the authority to rescue them.

If I don't help, we've known each other for years, and we're like brothers. It would be too unrighteous to just let someone die.

Just as they were having a problem, the principal arrived, personally escorting a group of prisoners.

Director Tong went over to speak with the principal first, implying that the prefectural school was the location of an academy, and that academies were used to teach and educate students, so it was inappropriate to convert it into a prison for detaining criminals.

"What's wrong with that? The academy is a place of education; what's the difference between educating students and educating criminals?"

Zhao An didn't take it seriously. He was a supervisor of education in Jiangsu Province, and there were no senior masters in the province now. Which of the scholars and officials in the provincial education office would dare to interfere with his affairs?

Suppressing the gangsters and criminal elements was an important task assigned by the governor. Even though the scope of the crackdown was too broad and it was too disruptive to the people, and there were bound to be innocent people wronged, it was not something that local officials could say too much about.

Vice Principal Ma also arrived at this moment. He didn't dare to question the principal's decision, but instead inquired about how his "friend" had been arrested as a traitor.

"Which two people are you talking about? Let me ask. If it's not serious, just give them a fine and let them go."

Zhao An would definitely give face to his loyal subordinate; there aren't many sensible and understanding subordinates like Vice Principal Ma these days.

Vice Principal Ma quickly told him the names of the two people. After hearing this, Zhao An nodded and called Sun Rui over to inquire about the two people. He learned that although the two were key members of the criminal gang, they were at most minor leaders, so it didn't matter whether they were arrested or not.

A favor.

On the spot, a note was written ordering Vice Principal Ma to go to the classroom where the two men were being held, bring them out, and have each of them pay a fine of fifty taels of silver and leave.

They then ordered the soldiers to separate and detain the members of the criminal gang from the prostitutes, gamblers, and other people they had arrested along with the gang members.

"A customer of prostitutes pays three taels, a gambler pays five taels, and as for the others, they are fined two taels each. Those who really have no money are locked up for two days before being released."

Zhao An appointed Director Tong to lead several school officials to collect fines at the prefectural school's accounting office. No receipts would be issued, but each person who paid the fine had to write a voluntary payment agreement to ensure that they would not try to overturn the case after being released.

Just after this matter was arranged, Magistrate Zheng of Jiangdu arrived in a sedan chair, looking very anxious and worried, because Magistrate Zheng had come specifically to plead for Lord Chen.

To put it bluntly, Magistrate Zheng was the protector of Chen Gong, the gangster boss. However, at this moment, Magistrate Zheng only knew that Chen Gong's property had been confiscated by the soldiers and that all of Chen Gong's family members had been arrested, but he did not know where Chen Gong himself was.

He guessed that he had probably been caught and taken to the academy, which is why he thought of saying hello to Professor Zhao.

"I heard that Lord Zhao ordered the arrest of Lord Chen? To be honest, this Lord Chen has some connections with this county. Could Lord Zhao, for the sake of this county, perhaps try to make this a small matter?"

Unable to figure out what Chen Gong had done to cause this disaster, Magistrate Zheng made the decision to make Chen Gong bleed profusely on his way there.

It means offering several thousand taels of silver to gain Lord Zhao's forgiveness, regardless of the offense, so that it can be downplayed and forgotten.

"Chen Gong has committed the capital offense of treason. Is Lord Zheng trying to plead for a rebel? Even if Chen Gong is not a rebel, Lord Zheng, as an official of the imperial court, is trying to plead for a criminal. This not only crosses the red line of the Qing Dynasty law, but also violates the principles that an official should have!"

It's not that I'm disrespecting Lord Zheng, but as the Imperial Inspector of Grain Transport, I must be accountable to the court and the people. Even if it costs me my official position, I resolutely refuse to handle cases based on personal connections. Lord Zheng, please go back to where you came from; I won't see you off!

With an iron-faced and impartial expression, Zhao An finished speaking and turned to leave, leaving Jiangdu County in a daze: If you don't handle cases based on personal connections, why did you take my money during the prefectural examination?
(End of this chapter)