My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 132 Figure it out
Inside the government office.

Li Yuan sat in the high seat, and almost all the county and prefectural officials were present, sitting on either side according to their rank.

Li Yuan was preparing to take action against those private mines.

If this were in Xingyang, Li Yuan wouldn't need to summon everyone; a single order would solve many problems. But Loufan is different. He's a newcomer, and his foundation here isn't solid. Although he's won over quite a few people and gained some understanding of the various regions, he hasn't yet reached the point where a single order can uncover illegal mines.

Another very important reason is that the officials here are not very clean either.

The previous governor indulged in lavish feasts, and these people naturally followed suit. They must have been aware of the affairs of those mines, and not only were they aware of them, but they were also direct participants and beneficiaries in many matters.

When Li Yuan summoned everyone, they didn't think much of it. After the prefect arrived, he first went to various places to investigate the situation. Now that he wanted to gather everyone to discuss important matters, it was normal.

Loufan County is currently facing a host of problems, all of which require the governor's advice.

After everyone took their seats, they exchanged pleasantries. Compared to Xingyang, Loufan was much smaller, with fewer officials but plenty of lucrative opportunities. Everyone could afford meat, so the relationships among them were quite good, unlike the discord that existed in Xingyang.

Xingyang has too many county towns, some rich and some poor, and many officials, some from prominent families, and some who just got lucky during the suppression of the rebellion. In addition, there are local powerful families pulling in different directions, so many conflicts have accumulated among the officials. Even when they gather in front of the prefect, they are all sarcastic and unfriendly.

The harmonious situation in Loufan was actually not a good thing for the prefect.

The group exchanged pleasantries warmly. Long before Li Yuan arrived, they had already made preparations to ensure that Li Yuan could not find any fault with them.

Every new official takes office and wants to establish his authority. None of them wanted to be used by Li Yuan to establish his authority, so they could only support each other and get through this crisis together.

Li Yuan arrived quickly, and everyone hurriedly rose to pay their respects.

The current prefectural magistrate of Loufan has the compound surname Huangfu and the single name Zhao.

This man was quite old, much older than Li Yuan. He had a long beard and a kind and amiable appearance. He was highly respected in the county, and everyone gave him face. These past few days, when Li Yuan went out, he was the one who accompanied him.

Li Yuan sat in the superior seat, looked at the old prefect, and asked with a smile, "Old man, was the matter we discussed yesterday read aloud to everyone?"

Huangfu Zhao was too old to be addressed by his courtesy name or by his title, so Li Yuan addressed him as "Old Man".

Huangfu Zhao quickly opened his eyes. "It's a confidential matter. How could I dare tell anyone without the magistrate's order?"

Li Yuan shook his head. "There's no need for that. They'll have to do it sooner or later anyway. We've already discussed it, so we should just inform them."

Huangfu Zhao bowed his head and agreed.

Li Yuan looked at the officials, and his expression became serious.

"I have gathered you all here today for an important matter concerning the county."

"Neither the issue of conscripting laborers nor the requisitioning of grain has been progressing smoothly within the prefecture."

"I have a few ideas."

Li Yuan did not mention the mining issue, but instead formally announced his appeasement plan.

The first thing to do was to reward filial sons and elders. These were routine practices. From the emperor to local officials, they would occasionally implement such benevolent policies to appease the people.

Everyone agreed with this, as the situation in Loufan was very unstable. These unruly people dared to defy the officials, and if they were not appeased, it could easily lead to serious trouble.

Then, Li Yuan began to talk about recruiting laborers to redevelop wasteland and repair damaged roads.

This is quite rare. It's not that there are no precedents, but very few people do it this way. Usually, they just hint to each county to gather laborers and do some minor corvée work at their doorsteps, getting the job done without spending any money.

Recruitment is only conducted when projects require crossing county boundaries or involve a massive amount of work.

Huangfu Zhao nodded, showing no sign of objection, so no one said anything more.

Anyway, it's not their grain that's being produced, so if the emperor were to punish them, it wouldn't be their responsibility. If the governor is willing to do it, then let him do it.

Since everyone agreed, Li Yuan quickly finalized these two matters and asked everyone to complete them as soon as possible.

The crowd was in good spirits. Compared to the previous official, Li Yuan was far more reliable. After taking office, he didn't immediately think about how to make money by exploiting the mines, horse farms, and the Turks beyond the Great Wall. Instead, he focused on pacifying the people and even considered using recruitment to help them.

While everyone wants to get rich, they also hope that their superior is a reliable person.

If another official who only cares about money were to come along, and he were to drive the people into rebellion, then they would probably all lose their official positions.

Once everyone had settled the matter, the officials breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to leave.

Just then, Li Yuan took out a document and placed it in front of him.

"Now that we've finished discussing matters within the prefecture, let's talk about the important matter entrusted to me by the Sage."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and turned to look at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan looked at the crowd in front of him and said, “As you all know, I was temporarily transferred from Xingyang to Loufan. The Emperor sent me here because he has an important matter to entrust to me.”

He picked up the document in front of him and shook it.

"You gentlemen have gone too far in Loufan. Mineral resources have decreased drastically in recent years! His Majesty is extremely dissatisfied with this. The reason he sent me from Xingyang to Loufan to take up my post is to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the men instantly drained of color, and they trembled all over.

The officials exchanged uneasy glances, their eyes filled with fear.

Even Huangfu Zhao stared blankly at the document in Li Yuan's hand, at a loss for what to do.

Li Yuan then looked at Huangfu Zhao and said, “Old man, I have been traveling with you to various places these past few days and I have quite a good impression of your talents. If it weren’t for the imperial edict, I would not have been willing to make things difficult for you all. But as you know, the things that the emperor wants to do must be accomplished.”

"So, what do you think we should do about this?"

Li Yuan never revealed what was written on the thick stack of papers in his hand; he simply asked the question calmly.

Huangfu Zhao was drenched in sweat at this moment.

He stared at the document in front of Li Yuan, unsure of its contents. It might be evidence of their involvement in the illegal sale of state-owned mines, evidence of their acceptance of bribes, or it might simply be a blank sheet of paper.
Huangfu Zhao quickly thought about it. If there was evidence of crimes inside, Li Yuan could directly show the evidence and arrest everyone. These people had no relation to Li Yuan and could not even give him gifts that would satisfy him, so why should he question them like this?

It should not be considered evidence of a crime.

Huangfu Zhao immediately straightened his face and said, "My lord, since this is His Majesty's decree, you should thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Li Yuan's eyes were filled with disappointment.

"I have no grudge against you gentlemen. There is no need for me to intimidate you. Loufan has many things to do right now, and the people are almost on the verge of rebellion. I do not want to frequently change my subordinates and waste time."

Li Yuan picked up the document, glanced at it a few times, and said, "Do you all think I'm just putting on an act? Fine, fine."

"Anqu Mine, Chengdi Mine, Chengbei Dingzi Mine"

Li Yuan read out the names of several mines.

"My lord!!"

"My lord, spare my life!!!"

Li Yuan had only read out three names when the magistrate of Jing Le County could no longer contain himself. He staggered out, knelt down in front of Li Yuan, and almost burst into tears.

Li Yuan didn't really have any solid evidence of guilt. What he had was a document given to him by Li Xuanba. It recorded some cases of mines that were formerly government-run and turned into private mines, or mines that were publicly known and then hidden away. However, it didn't have any specific details, such as who did these things or who affixed the seals. So much time had passed, and it was probably difficult to find such specific documents now.

Locally, such important items are often damaged in a fire or other incident.

Coincidentally, the three mines that Li Yuan had just mentioned were all projects led by the magistrate of Jingyue County. Therefore, when Li Yuan announced these three names in succession, the magistrate immediately broke down.

(End of this chapter)