My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 133: Capture
Li Yuan slowly put away the documents in his hand, without even looking at the county magistrate. He looked at Huangfu Zhao again.

His expression was calm.

"No one can stop a sage from doing what he wants to do, no one dares not do it, and no one can escape it."

"It's the same question as before, what do you think I should do, sir?"

"Or do you want to see for yourself?"

Li Yuan handed the document to the old man Huangfu.

Huangfu had been an official for many years, and it took him many years to climb to his current position. He was always shrewd and experienced, but when he looked at the incredibly powerful and confident Li Yuan, he felt an indescribable fear in his heart.

The governor had no grudge against them, and even if he wanted to establish his authority, there was no reason for him to do so by targeting everyone. Therefore, the thorough investigation of the mines must be genuine.

Without the emperor's order, the governor would never have crossed those powerful clans, so it's true that the emperor ordered the governor to investigate thoroughly.

In that case, whether the prefect has evidence of wrongdoing or not is irrelevant.

Huangfu Zhao's lips trembled as he wiped away his tears. "My lord, this really isn't our fault!"

"What can we do if Shangguan insists on doing it?"

"It's not that we haven't tried to offer advice; we even considered submitting a petition, but our rank is too low."

Once Huangfu Zhao spoke, no one dared to pretend anymore. They all burst into tears, recounting their hardships.

Li Yuan listened calmly to their story, but he knew in his heart that the matter had been accomplished.

Even for a prefect, getting things done in the prefecture is not easy. Without the help of the officials below him, he can't do anything, and he might even have trouble gathering troops to leave the city.

Li Yuan sighed deeply.

"How could I not know your plight?"

Li Yuan looked at his attendant in the distance and gestured to him. A moment later, someone came over with a candle. Li Yuan then carefully burned the document in his hand. Of course, Li Yuan didn't just have one copy; he had several copies made and kept them in his study.

The officials watched in astonishment as Li Yuan burned the document bit by bit.

Li Yuan burned the documents before looking up at Huangfu Zhao.

“Old man, the matter of the mines is the will of the Sage, and it cannot be disobeyed. It must be thoroughly investigated, and not a single detail can be overlooked. But this is not a big deal for you. The Sage is the most benevolent. As long as you do what he has entrusted to you well, not only will you not be punished, but you will all be rewarded.”

"I've just arrived here and I'm not very familiar with many things."

"Father-in-law, what do you think we should do?"

Huangfu Zhao suddenly snapped out of his daze, straightened his body, and said righteously, "My lord!! We have long wanted to capture these disloyal and treacherous scoundrels who are hoarding minerals!! Now that we have the Emperor's decree, what do we have to worry about?"

"We will do this now. Within two days, we will find all the illegal mines, arrest the criminals, and bring all the evidence and evidence before the magistrate!"

"Alright, I will leave this matter alone. You all can proceed with boldness. The Sage is watching closely, so we cannot be negligent."

"Rest assured, Your Excellency! We would never dare to be negligent!"

Li Yuan simply dismissed them, and the officials left in haste. Li Yuan didn't follow them, nor did he send anyone to accompany them.

Steward Liu stood beside Li Yuan, looking somewhat worried. "Master, are these people capable of handling this matter?"

"Haha, don't worry, no one can do it better than them."

Li Yuan only said one sentence before planning to go back to find Lady Dou. He left all the matters outside to the officials.

After being persuaded by his two sons, Li Yuan gradually changed his mind.

In the past, he only wanted to make more friends and have more people become his allies, but Li Jiancheng's words made him realize some things. Even if he wanted to make friends, he should focus his attention on the people in Guanzhong, not outsiders.

The powerful families involved here are mostly from Hebei. The powerful families from Taiyuan are too lazy to come here for small-scale operations; they have big businesses to do.

The powerful clans outside Guanzhong and Longxi had some prejudices against them. No matter how much they tried to win them over or show them goodwill, what could they possibly gain from them?

Li Yuan didn't heed Li Xuanba's words about popular sentiment, but he did heed the examples Li Jiancheng cited.

Is Yang Su's reputation good?
Was Yuwen Shu's reputation good?

Is Zhao Yuanshu's reputation good?

Looking at the ministers most favored by the sage, those with the worst reputations were actually the ones most valued and loved by the sage. These people had bad reputations and were disliked by powerful clans, but did this prevent them from being promoted and making a fortune? In times of peace, one should strive to rise in rank and establish merit. If chaos is about to arrive, then one should strive even more to rise in rank! The higher the rank, the better, as it will make everything much easier in the future. Even if it offends some people, it doesn't matter, as long as one's hometown and old friends remain stable.

Li Yuan's thinking was thorough, but the mine owners in Loufan were in deep trouble.

The officials had barely stepped out of the residence when they began arguing about investigating the mining operations.

They all wanted to go by themselves.

Firstly, they all have criminal records and want to clear their names through this incident. Secondly, there are many benefits to investigating others; you can't just confiscate everything you find, can you? There's no such logic in the world; those who do things always want to keep something for themselves.

Huangfu Zhao was quite angry and interrupted them, "Stop arguing!"

Only after he spoke did the officials calm down.

Huangfu Zhao was furious. "What kind of time is this? Are you still thinking about competing for credit and rewards?"

"The sage is watching!"

"We are all on the same boat now. If the boat capsizes, we will die together. There is no room for argument or delay. Each family should attend to its own affairs, and the rest of you should cooperate fully. Immediately gather the local militia and launch a swift attack. Do not let a single person escape!"

Huangfu Zhao remained calm, knowing what the most urgent task was. Everyone took on their assigned tasks and then quickly set off.

Huangfu Zhao didn't have a moment's rest. He quickly summoned the scholars and began writing down the crimes of the mine owners outside.

Anqu Mine.

There is a small canal here, and the iron mine is located on the left side of the canal.

This iron mine is much larger than the Qu family's mine.

There were more than sixty samurai supervising various places, and countless others were working there. To the right was a huge manor where the mine managers lived, while to the left was a huge stockade with extremely high walls topped with spikes. This was where the miners lived and were imprisoned.

The warriors took turns standing guard, while most of the people were inside the manor, drinking and having fun with the owners.

The person in charge here is a young man surnamed Liu. He is from Hejian and comes from a prominent family. His branch of the family has relatives in Loufan and has acquired many mines through this relationship.

This young man is not considered an important member of the family. He committed a crime when he was young, which made it difficult for him to pursue an official career, so he was sent here to manage the family's business.

Although this place is a bit remote and there's not much to do, the good thing is that he's free and unrestrained, with no one to control him, so he can do whatever he wants.

There's not much to do; everyone helps with everything, big or small.

Just as the young man was drunkenly joking with everyone about how many women he had seduced the day before, a commotion broke out outside. Everyone was stunned, and before they could react, they saw a large number of local soldiers rushing in, knocking down servants along the way.

The samurai were taken aback, because they had to drink with the young man and their weapons were not on them; most of them were unarmed.

The young man was also startled awake, and everyone quickly got up.

However, the local militia had already surrounded them. A moment later, the local magistrate, with a dark face, strode into the area.

Upon seeing the village head, the young man breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with disdain.

Don't let his official position fool you; in the eyes of this young man, he's worthless. His family has high-ranking officials of the third or fourth rank, while you, a mere ninth-rank official, aren't even worthy to carry his shoes. He rebuked him, "Magistrate Sun! What are you doing? How dare you lead people into my family's estate? Aren't you afraid of death?!"

Sun Xiangzheng strode up to him, took something out of his pocket, and began to read it aloud to the crowd.

"Liu Jizong has been illegally mining the Anqu iron mine, failing to pay taxes for three years and eight months, hoarding crossbows and armor, and enslaving people. The evidence is now conclusive, and he shall be arrested in accordance with the prefect's order!"

"Catch me!"

Liu Jizong's eyes widened. "The prefect wants to arrest me? How is that possible? Guards! Throw him out! Throw him out!"

But the warriors around him had already gone weak in the knees after hearing those words.

At this moment, no one dared to resist, and all remained silent.

Sun Xiang walked up to Liu Jizong with a smile. "Mr. Liu, were you trying to resist just now?"

"you"

"Take it!!"

(End of this chapter)