Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 250: Extremely Conscientious
The atmosphere inside the main hall of the Pingyang Prefectural Government Office was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Chen Ye sat down with an air of authority in the seat that originally belonged to Prefect Liu Chang. The armrests of the large armchair were carved with intricate cloud patterns, and the plaque with the bright mirror hanging high behind him looked particularly ironic in the dim light.

His fingers tapped the armrest intermittently, each tap like a heavy hammer blow to the hearts of the kneeling officials of Pingyang Prefecture.

The main hall was lined with elite soldiers of the Beijing Garrison, dressed in black armor and wielding long swords. They were all expressionless, and the iron-blooded aura emanating from them made these pampered officials feel weak in the knees and dare not lift their heads.

Sun Mao, who had just been temporarily appointed as acting prefect by Chen Ye, was standing to the left of Chen Ye, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and the back of his official robes was already soaked with sweat.

Looking at his kneeling colleagues below, he felt a wave of fear mixed with a sense of relief.

Fortunately, I was quick-witted and didn't follow those two idiots, Liu Chang and Zhang Mang, down a dark path. Otherwise, I would probably be one of those headless corpses lying on the ground right now.

"Are you all mute?" Chen Ye finally stopped knocking and spoke calmly. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears. "I'm asking a question, and no one is going to answer?"

Upon hearing this, the officials kneeling below trembled even more violently.

"This humble official...this humble official dares not!" A seemingly higher-ranking official spoke tremulously; he was Li Yuan, the Prefectural Magistrate of Pingyang Prefecture.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the matter of the granary has always been solely controlled by Prefect Liu... no, by the traitor Liu Chang. We... we are truly unaware of it all!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Lord Li is right!" someone immediately echoed. "Liu Chang is all-powerful in Pingyang Prefecture, and he's so arrogant and self-willed that we can't get involved at all! Your Excellency is wise!"

In an instant, the hall was filled with cries of injustice and attempts to shirk responsibility, with everyone pointing the finger at Liu Chang, who had just been beheaded.

Since the dead cannot speak out, shifting all blame onto a dead person is the most common and effective way to escape punishment in officialdom.

Chen Ye watched the group's performance with a cold eye, his mind perfectly clear.

"Completely unaware? Covering up everything?" He repeated these words, a hint of amusement in his tone. "So you're all a bunch of innocent people who've been deceived?"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

Chen Ye didn't say anything more, but picked up a booklet from the table. It was a detailed list of Pingyang Prefecture officials that had just been found in the government archives.

He opened the booklet and slowly scanned its contents.

“Zhou Tong,” Chen Ye suddenly called out a name.

A thin official kneeling in the crowd trembled violently and hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "Your humble servant is here! Your humble servant is here!"

"You are the head of the Household Registration Office, in charge of the land, taxes, and cash disbursement of Pingyang Prefecture, right?" Chen Ye asked casually.

"Yes...yes." Zhou Tong's voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Very well." Chen Ye closed the register and threw it on the table with a thud. "Then let me ask you, since you say you know nothing about the granary, I'd like to know how the mountains of grain piled up in the western granary were recorded in your household register?"

"This..." Zhou Tong's face turned deathly pale instantly.

"Is it recorded as having been opened to distribute grain to disaster victims? Or is there no record of this batch of grain in your household registers at all?" Chen Ye's voice suddenly turned cold. "Or has this batch of grain already been converted into silver on the books and ended up in someone's pocket?"

Zhou Tong was sweating profusely and couldn't utter a single word.

Because this problem is too fatal!

To say you didn't know would be dereliction of duty! As the head of the household affairs department, how could you not know how much grain was in the granary?
If they knew about it, then the problem is even bigger! Knowing there was grain but not releasing it, watching the people starve to death, that's complicity!

"So show me the account books." Chen Ye's tone left no room for argument.

Zhou Tong lay on the ground, his body trembling like a leaf, uttering incomprehensible sobs. He dared not reach for any account books.

Chen Ye shifted his gaze from him to the others: "And you? Can anyone tell me how this account was done?"

The officials in the hall fell silent, each lowering their heads even further.

"It seems you won't learn your lesson until you see the coffin," Chen Ye sighed, then shouted towards the outside of the hall, "Guards!"

"Present!" Two burly elite soldiers from the Beijing Garrison strode in.

"Drag this Zhou Tong, the head of the household affairs office, out here and give him eighty strokes of the cane right here in front of the main hall! Beat him until he tells the truth!"

"As ordered!"

Two soldiers lifted the limp Zhou Tong up like a chick and dragged him outside.

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!" Zhou Tong finally broke down, letting out a pig-like scream. "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Chen Ye waved his hand, and the two soldiers stopped in their tracks.

"Speak, I am listening."

Zhou Tong was thrown back to the ground, crying and wailing with tears streaming down his face, "My lord, it's not that I didn't want to report it! It was Liu Chang and Prefect Li Mu who jointly ordered that the granary in the west of the city be designated as a forbidden area, and no one was allowed to approach it. The accounts were also managed by their trusted confidants. I... I had no right to inquire about it at all!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Chen Ye's eyes revealed no emotion. "Since you have no right to ask, then I'll ask you again: how did Liu Changping's embezzled silver become legitimate through your household registration office's accounts? Don't tell me you don't know."

Zhou Tong's crying stopped abruptly, and all the color drained from his face.

This young imperial envoy was frighteningly meticulous; every question he asked hit him right where it hurt.

"Looks like you still don't want to talk." Chen Ye lost his patience. "Drag him out and beat him!"

"No! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Zhou Tong completely gave up resisting, lay on the ground, and told everything he knew like pouring out beans.

He explained everything clearly, from how Liu Chang embezzled public funds by fraudulently claiming official land, to how he colluded with wealthy merchants in the city to resell grain from the official granary at high prices, and to how he falsified accounts to deal with inspections from above.

As he recounted his story, the faces of the officials kneeling below grew increasingly grim, because Zhou Tong's confession implicated them to varying degrees.

Chen Ye listened quietly without interrupting him until he finished speaking, then slowly asked, "Who exactly are these wealthy merchants in the city you mentioned? Who is the leader?"

“It’s…it’s Wang Delin, the richest man in Pingyang! Master Wang!” Zhou Tong said without hesitation. “Most of the money shops, cloth shops, and rice shops in the city belong to his family! A large portion of the silver that Liu Chang embezzled was laundered through the Wang family’s money shops! The Wang family was also the one leading the resale of government grain!”

Wang Delin?
Chen Ye memorized the name.

He knew this was the real big fish.

Officials like Liu Chang were merely pawns on the surface; the real power behind the scenes, controlling the economic lifeline of Pingyang City and profiting immensely from this disaster, lay with these local tyrants.

"Very good." Chen Ye nodded, then looked at the two soldiers, "What are you two standing there for?"

The two soldiers were taken aback, somewhat puzzled.

"I told him to speak, and he did! But I also told him to take the beating, and he has to take it." Chen Ye's voice was cold and ruthless. "Knowing but not reporting, aiding and abetting evil, may be spared the death penalty, but cannot escape punishment. Beat him!"

"Yes!"

This time, the soldiers did not hesitate at all and dragged Zhou Tong, whose face was ashen, out.

Soon, the dull thud of wooden planks striking flesh and Zhou Tong's heart-wrenching screams could be heard outside the hall.

The sound sent a chill down the spines of all the officials in the hall.

This imperial envoy really doesn't play by the rules!
Chen Ye's gaze swept over the officials below the hall again, this time with a chilling undertone in his voice: "Now, who else wants to tell me what they know?"

"Or, does anyone want to go out and chat with Steward Zhou?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than one of the officials couldn't hold back any longer and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Excellency, spare my life! I am guilty! I am willing to speak! Last year, Zhang De of the Construction Office falsely reported 30,000 taels of silver under the pretext of repairing the city wall. Of that, 10,000 taels went into Liu Chang's pocket. I have the original receipts for the falsified accounts he made!"

"My lord! I must also report this! It is absolutely true that Yuan Lei, the clerk of the military office, is privately selling military equipment, selling standard weapons from the treasury to bandits outside the city!"

"And..." In an instant, the entire lobby transformed into a large-scale scene of whistleblowing and denunciation.

In order to protect themselves, these former colleagues who used to call each other brothers and collude with each other now turn on each other without hesitation.

Chen Ye watched all this indifferently, instructing the clerk beside him to record each person's confession.

He knew that from this moment on, he had completely turned the officialdom of Pingyang Prefecture upside down.

The old order has been broken, and he will establish a new one.

Just as chaos erupted in the main hall, Feng Xiao, a captain of the Beijing Garrison, walked in from outside and came to Chen Ye's side, reporting in a low voice: "Sir, ten porridge distribution points have been set up in the city as you instructed, and they have begun registering and distributing porridge to the refugees pouring in from outside the city. In addition, our men discovered a secret room when they searched Liu Chang's mansion. Inside, in addition to a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, there were also some... letters."

As he spoke, he presented a stack of letters.

Chen Ye took the letters and opened the first one.

The contents of the letter made his pupils shrink sharply.

The letter came from Prefect Li Mu, who clearly instructed Liu Chang to strictly guard the city gates, appease the wealthy households, and let the refugees outside the city fend for themselves, lest they be allowed into the city to avoid causing unrest and disturbing the Holy Envoy's peaceful cultivation.

Holy Envoy?

Another holy envoy!
Chen Ye's heart sank, and he immediately opened the other letters, most of which were correspondence between Liu Chang and Wang Delin, the richest man in Pingyang.

The content is shocking.

They not only resold government grain at high prices, but also organized people to lure young and strong migrants from outside the city to work as laborers in the mines outside the city under the guise of recruitment.

Those mines were hell on earth. The refugees were treated like livestock and their daily food consisted of only a bowl of spoiled porridge. Any resistance or lack of strength would result in a brutal beating.

In just a few months, countless displaced people died in the mines.

The letter also subtly mentioned that doing so was not only to extract the last bit of value, but also to offer sacrifices to that holy envoy.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ye's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

This is no longer a simple natural disaster or man-made calamity; it is clearly a premeditated and organized massacre targeting the entire population of Nanhe County!

Chen Ye stood up and ordered Feng Xiao, "Captain Feng!"

"The general is here!"

"Immediately muster five hundred elite soldiers and accompany me to pay a visit to Wang Delin, the richest man in Pingyang City!"

"I want to see just how powerful and influential this richest man is hiding in his home!"

……

The Prince's Mansion is located east of Pingyang City.

Unlike the desolation of other parts of the city, this mansion, covering dozens of acres, was brightly lit. Two imposing stone lions stood at the vermilion gate, and high walls separated the inside from the outside into two different worlds.

When Chen Ye led five hundred armored cavalrymen to the gate of the Prince's Mansion, the overwhelming aura of menace instantly shattered the tranquility of the place.

The sounds of horses' hooves and the clatter of armor echoed through the quiet street, startling the few nearby households that still dared to open their windows into quickly shutting them shut.

"Who dares to make a scene in front of the Prince's mansion!"

The gates of the Prince's mansion burst open, and a squad of servants and guards armed with clubs rushed out. The leader was a burly steward who looked at the menacing army outside the gate. Although he was somewhat surprised, he still maintained an arrogant demeanor.

Feng Xiao spurred his horse forward and shouted sternly, "The Imperial Envoy is handling a case here! Tell your master, Wang Delin, to come out and answer us!"

The steward's expression changed, but seemingly relying on his master's power, he still stubbornly insisted, "What imperial envoy? We haven't received any official documents! Without the master's order, no one can enter!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ye lost his patience.

"Charge in."

He uttered three words calmly.

"Yes!" Feng Xiao had been waiting for this answer. He drew his sword and swung it forward. "Anyone who dares to obstruct me will be killed without mercy!"

"Roar!"

Five hundred elite soldiers from the Beijing Garrison roared in unison, charging directly towards the gate of the Prince's Mansion like a black torrent of iron.

The guards of the Prince's mansion had never seen anything like this before. They could bully ordinary people on a regular basis, but when faced with these elite guards of the Beijing Garrison who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, they were instantly terrified.

"Qiang! Qiang! Qiang!"

The sounds of clashing weapons and screams mingled together; it could hardly be called a battle, but rather a one-sided massacre.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, dozens of guards from the Prince's mansion were cut down to the ground, and the stubborn steward was beheaded by Feng Xiao with a single stroke, his head rolling far away.

Chen Ye dismounted expressionlessly, stepping over the blood-soaked ground, and walked into the gate of the Prince's Mansion.

The interior of the mansion was extremely luxurious, with pavilions, terraces, artificial hills and flowing water, and winding corridors, which were comparable to the mansions of some princes and nobles in the capital.

It would be strange if there wasn't something fishy going on behind the scenes for a businessman to have such wealth.

Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe, with a stout build and a mustache, rushed out of the inner courtyard in a panic, surrounded by a group of family members.

He is Wang Delin, the richest man in Pingyang.

When Wang Delin saw Chen Ye's official uniform and the menacing soldiers behind him, especially when he saw the corpses of the guards scattered all over the ground, his legs went weak.

But he was a man who had seen a lot, so he quickly forced himself to calm down and forced a smile onto his face.

"Oh dear, who is it that has arrived? I am so sorry for not greeting you properly!" he said, bowing to Chen Ye with his hands clasped.

Chen Ye didn't bother arguing with him and simply threw the letter he had exchanged with Liu Chang in his face.

"Wang Delin, do you recognize this?"

Wang Delin picked up the letter, glanced at it, and his face turned deathly pale. Then, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

He knew that his plan had been exposed.

But he was still not giving up, so his eyes lit up and he suddenly pulled out a silver note from his pocket, smiling broadly as he approached Chen Ye, trying to stuff it into his hand.

"My lord, there must be some misunderstanding! I am willing to donate 100,000 shi of grain and 100,000 taels of silver to your army! I only beg you to show mercy..."

"Heh." Chen Ye sneered, not even glancing at the silver note. "Your money and grain were obtained by trading the lives of the people of Nanhe County. I find it disgusting."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and two soldiers behind him immediately stepped forward and pressed Wang Delin firmly to the ground.

"I ask you, who is the holy envoy mentioned in the letter, and where is he?" Chen Ye asked coldly.

"I...I don't know anything about any holy envoy!" Wang Delin was still stubbornly refusing to admit it, struggling desperately.

"Don't know?" Chen Ye's eyes turned cold. "It seems that Master Wang won't shed tears until he sees the coffin."

He then turned to Feng Xiao and said, "Captain Feng, bring all of Master Wang's family members, regardless of age or gender, to me."

"I will obey your orders!"

(End of this chapter)