Two days passed in a flash, and now it was the day he had agreed to meet Zhang Jun.
On this day, Yang Chengye arrived at the Jiaxing Prefecture Government Office as scheduled.
In the public hall, Zhang Jun wore a Qilin-patterned military officer's robe, with a long-winged black gauze hat on his head, and an icy expression.
Wang An in a official robe was standing below, while a newly appointed teacher sat at the desk in the corner, writing something down.
Zhang Jun's guards and the yamen attendants stood on either side of the hall, while Shen You, dressed in prisoner's attire, knelt below.
The courtroom was silent, with not a sound from the judges' bench, and even the dropping of a needle could be heard. Today was the day of sentencing. If Yang Chengye couldn't find out the real culprit behind the grain relief case, then Shen You would be framed as the murderer who privately exchanged the grain relief, and according to the laws of the Song Dynasty, he would be sentenced to death.
"Slap"
Zhang Jun slapped the wooden block and shouted: "Bring him up!"
Majestic...
As soon as the voice fell, Yang Chengye, dressed in formal attire, walked in slowly.
Yang Chengye has seen the Imperial Envoy!
Yang Chengye stood in the public hall and bowed slightly to Zhang Jun.
"Yang Chengye, the three-day deadline has passed, if you can't find the real culprit, you should know the consequences!"
Zhang Jun said coldly to Yang Chengye.
"Second brother, you shouldn't have come!"
Shen You whispered to Yang Chengye.
"Director Zhang!"
Yang Chengye said, "The case of the relief grain is confusing and unclear. Zhao Tou, who was escorting the relief grain, and two other captives were killed, and even the teacher in charge of collecting the grain went mad."
"Yang Chengye, what do you mean by these words?"
Zhang Jun furrowed his brow and asked Yang Chengye.
"May I ask His Honor the Prefect a few questions?"
Yang Chengye remained calm and composed, casting a glance at Wang An.
Zhang Jun nodded and said: "Okay, as long as you can crack the case, go ahead and ask."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chengye turned around and looked at Wang An.
"Lord Wang, you are in charge of collecting grain and silver. As far as I know, the merchants have already handed over the grain and silver in full. The grain has arrived, but where is the silver now?"
When Yang Chengye asked the question, Wang An was suddenly startled. How did he bring up this matter? However, he didn't worry about it and instead gave Zhang Jun a wink.
Cough cough
Zhang Jun coughed and said: "This point can be proved by this official, the silver collected by Lord Wang has been handed over to this official."
"Not true!"
Yang Chengye said: "According to what I have learned from my visits, the various merchants donated a total of 80,000 guan, while Master Wang spent only 10,000 guan on antiques and jade. I wonder where the remaining 70,000 guan went?"
Upon hearing this, Wang An suddenly shuddered and his face turned pale, while Zhang Jun also stared at Wang An with piercing eyes.
Wang An stood up with the support of the table and said, "Yang Chengye, now is the time to investigate the disaster relief grain case, but you are talking nonsense, what is your intention?"
Yang Chengye withdrew his gaze and said that he had spoken these words in order to make Zhang Jun have misgivings about Wang An, now that the goal has been achieved, he will no longer entangle.
"Director Zhang, I have investigated the case of relief grain clearly."
Yang Chengye looked at Zhang Jun and said confidently.
"Oh?"
Zhang Jun withdrew his gaze from Wang An and looked at Yang Chengye again, asking with interest: "Then tell this official."
Yang Chengye said: "The real culprit in the case of disaster relief grain is Jiaxing Prefecture Wang An and Jiaxing Chamber of Commerce President Gu Cong."
"It was these two who conspired to swap the disaster relief grain in order to frame Shen You and achieve their ulterior motives."
"Slap"
Wang An slapped the table and shouted: "Yang Chengye, don't spout nonsense!"
Yang Chengye sneered: "Whether I am talking nonsense or not will be known soon."
Yang Chengye paused for a moment and then said to Zhang Jun: "Lord Zhang, I'd like to call a witness to the stand."
"Alright, pass it on!" Zhang Jun immediately gave the order.
As soon as Zhang Jun's voice fell, a man wearing a scholar's uniform, with a bamboo hat on his head and a layer of gauze covering his face, came forward.
"Who comes?"
Zhang Jun looked at the newcomer and asked.
Someone took off his bamboo hat and revealed a slightly tired face.
Seeing the face of the newcomer, Wang An was suddenly shocked and shouted: "Zhou Tai? How is it you?"
Yang Chengye looked at Wang An and asked: "Is the Magistrate very surprised?"
In response to Yang Chengye's question, Wang An pretended not to hear and shouted at Zhou Tai: "Aren't you crazy? Why would you...?"
Zhou Tai stared at Wang An and said: "If I weren't crazy, wouldn't I also be hanged like Zhao Si?"
"Slap"
Zhang Jun slapped the wooden table and asked: "Who is Zhou Tai?"
Zhou Tai bowed to Zhang Jun and replied: "Sir, I am the instructor of the prefectural government office, responsible for handling documents."
At this time, Yang Chengye said: "Mr. Zhang, there are four people involved in the case of disaster relief grain, they are Zhao Si, the head catcher, Zhou Tai, the teacher, and two catchers."
"Now that Zhao Si, the leader of the captors, and two of his men are dead, only Master Zhou Tai is left alive. It would be best for you to hear from him how this whole thing happened."
Zhang Jun sat up straight and said: "This official is all ears."
"Your Honor, on that day, Wang An summoned all the wealthy households and merchants in Jiaxing to donate money and grain for the refugees. This matter was originally not unacceptable, and the wealthy households and merchants also donated money and grain one after another. A total of 800,000 copper coins and 1 million dan of rice were collected."
"Originally, these grains should have been used to aid refugees, but Wang Anwang and the Chamber of Commerce Director Gu Cong saw that Jiaxing grain prices were high, so they conspired to sell the rice at a high price."
However, they were worried that the refugees would expose this matter. Gu Cong then came up with a plan, which was to openly repair the plank road while secretly transporting grain through other means, using rice mixed with sand to exchange for disaster relief grain, and letting Shen You, the high-ranking official, take the blame.
At this time, Shen You asked Zhou Tai: "Master Zhou, I have no grudges with those two people, why do they want to frame me?"
Zhou Tai cupped his hands and said to Shen You: "Shen Da Guanren, when the refugees arrived, you didn't hesitate to give up the official salt business, a big deal, to persuade the wealthy merchants of Jiaxing to donate money and grain. Moreover, you took out all your savings to buy medicine to help the refugees. Your actions make Zhou certain admire you."
"But you have come out on top in one move, and now your prestige in Jiaxing City and among the refugees is unmatched for the time being, making Wang An feel like a fishbone stuck in his throat."
"At the same time, your business is spread across various industries, although not as good as Gu Cong, but also considered second in Jiaxing. Especially with your recent wine shop business, you have suppressed all the other wine shops in Jiaxing city to the point where they can't even lift their heads. Gu Cong's wine shop has almost been deserted, leaving him resentful."
"If they succeed in their plan, you will face imprisonment and be executed by dismemberment, then Wang An will have the opportunity to take over all your property and transfer it to Gu Cong after the incident blows over."
At this time, Shen You finally understood that he had fallen into the trap set by Wang An and Hou Guocong, and was immediately frightened out of a cold sweat.
"Zhou Tai!"
"Then how did they openly repair the plank road and secretly transport the grain through Chen Cang, exchanging it for disaster relief grain?"
