Chapter 162 is confusing
Zhao Xing doesn’t know what’s going on in Bianjing.
After getting up the next morning, he practiced martial arts in the yard and had breakfast. Shi Jingbo came to see him.
"I pay my respects to Your Highness!" Shi Jingbo saluted.
Zhao Xing waved his hand and said: "You came here now, but what clues did you find?"
"Your Highness, in addition to the poisoning that killed County Magistrate Zhang and his family, a steward who was responsible for purchasing the kitchen was also poisoned and died. After their autopsy, they found that the poison poisoned by the steward and Magistrate Zhang's family should be the same."
Shi Jingbo looked a little haggard. He also learned about the assassination of Zhao Xing last night. He was afraid that he would be implicated, so he stayed up all night last night and interrogated the servants of the Zhang family in person.
"So the steward poisoned him, and then he committed suicide out of fear of guilt? Have you found out who instigated it?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I am still investigating, but according to the servants in Magistrate Zhang's house, the steward usually asks the cook to prepare meals and leave some for him because he is in charge of the kitchen purchases. Therefore, the steward was poisoned. It could also be an accident." Shi Jingbo said, looking at Zhao Xing's face carefully.
"That is to say, you have been searching all night and there are no clues at all, right?" Zhao Xing said lightly.
"Your Majesty..." Shi Jingbo was at a loss for words. After asking more than 20 servants of the Zhang family, it was already dawn.
He was worried that Zhao Xing couldn't wait any longer, so he could only bite the bullet and come over to report the progress.
"This matter will be investigated personally by the Guhui Society, so you don't have to worry about it. You go back and have a good rest, and then you will be responsible for measuring the land. If you do well, you will be the magistrate of Yangwu County. ." Zhao Xing said.
As for the consequences of not doing well, Zhao Xing didn’t say anything, but Shi Jingbo also understood.
"Your Highness, I don't need to rest. I will personally take people to measure the fields." Shi Jingbo said.
"Shixian Cheng worked tirelessly and devoted himself to his duties. I am very pleased. I will wait for your good news." Zhao Xing said lightly.
Shi Jingbo bowed and left with a heavy heart.
As soon as he left, Sanshui said: "Your Highness, Commander Yin is here."
"Let him in." Zhao Xing said.
In order to facilitate Yin Hanzhang's access to the East Palace, Zhao Xing asked him to hold the position of commander in the East Palace Forbidden Army.
"I pay homage to Your Highness!" Yin Hanzhang walked into the room, knelt down on one knee and said, "I failed to discover the assassin in time, which frightened Your Highness. I am guilty of death."
"I don't want to hear this." Zhao Xing He said coldly: "What clues are there about the death of Zhang Xiuting's family?"
"Back to Your Highness, according to my investigation, a steward of the Zhang family who was responsible for purchasing was also poisoned and died, and that steward had previously owed Yang A gambling house in Wu County had more than one hundred taels of silver. Apart from that, there was nothing unusual about the manager recently. So I checked the situation of the gambling house and found..."
"What did you find?" Xing frowned.
“That gambling house was opened by the Ding family in Yangwu County.” Yin Hanzhang said.
"If I want to finish it all at once, what is the background of this Ding family?" Zhao Xing asked.
"The Ding family is a branch of Princess Yong's natal family." Yin Hanzhang said.
"Why are you related to King Yong again?" Zhao Xing frowned.
Now he suddenly felt that this matter was a bit confusing.
At first glance, the answer to this matter seems to be ready to come out.
He was most suspicious of King Yan, but now all clues pointed to King Yong.
Based on King Yong's performance, he is obviously a fool. Such a person should not have the guts to assassinate him.
Could it be that King Yan had already made preparations to blame King Yong after the failure?
No!
Zhao Xing quickly denied this speculation. Judging from the assassination process, the people behind the scenes launched it in a hurry. It was impossible to think of and implement it in such a short period of time and put the blame on Yong. king.
Could it be that King Yong really did it?
Zhao Xing was silent for a while and said: "Keep an eye on the movements of Prince Yong's Mansion and Prince Yan's Mansion. If there is any disturbance, you must report it in time."
Prince Yong and Prince Yan They are all members of the clan, and they cannot be touched without evidence.
Even my father would not agree.
"Yes!" Yin Hanzhang saluted and retreated.
"It's getting more and more interesting." Zhao Xing murmured.
…………
After receiving Zhao Xing’s order, Shi Jingbo summoned the officials of the third class of the county government.
According to his initial plan, he would report Zhang Xiuting so that he could become the magistrate of Yangwu County.
At that time, I will discuss with the landlords and squires in Yangwu, and each family will give him some hidden land to pay him.
Because there is not much hidden land, the landlords and gentry will not be severely punished, and everyone is happy.
Who knew something like this would happen.
It's okay to say that Zhang Xiuting's family was killed. When the officials knew about the assassination of the prince, they would be furious. Now that the county magistrate is dead, how can he, a county magistrate, bear the official's anger.
The only one who can save him now is Prince Zhao Xing.
And if Zhao Xing can save him, he must express himself.
For the sake of his own life, Shi Jingbo also became ruthless.
He generally knew the situation of hidden fields in Yangwu County, and directly led people to measure the fields of the families with the most hidden fields.
After getting the news, those families rushed to find Shi Jingbo and secretly promised many benefits, hoping to get Shi Jingbo to be accommodating.
But it was about his own life. How could Shi Jingbo be willing to do so, so he refused directly and unselfishly.
On normal days, even if these landlords and gentry did not dare to directly confront the government, they would use various means to stop it.
But now that His Highness the Crown Prince is in the city, how can they have the courage?
In the evening, Shi Jingbo dragged his tired body and drove back to the city.
I fell asleep leaning on the carriage halfway.
The carriage arrived at the county government office. Seeing that there was no movement, the chief attendant said: "Master, we have arrived at the county government office."
"Well..." Shi Jingbo woke up, rubbed his eyes, and got down Got the carriage.
After some briefing, I met Zhao Xing.
"I pay my respects to Your Highness!" Shi Jingbo saluted.
"No courtesy." Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "You came to see Gu, but what progress has been made in measuring the land?"
"Your Highness, today I will personally lead people to measure the land. There are more than 2,200 acres, but there are actually more than 3,100 acres, of which nearly a few hundred acres are hidden fields," Shi Jingbo said.
"Well done." Zhao Xing praised him and said, "I heard that many landlords and squires came to find you. What did they say?"
"They promised me some benefits and wanted me to do the survey. At that time, I showed no mercy," Shi Jingbo said.
"Very good, I have recorded your contribution." Zhao Xing nodded slightly.
"This is all my duty. I dare not take credit." Shi Jingbo said.
"If you have merit, you will be rewarded. I know this well, so don't say more. I have something else to entrust you to do." Zhao Xing said.
"Your Highness, just do as you ask." Shi Jingbo said respectfully.
"Tomorrow you don't have to go and measure the fields. You can summon all the landowners and squires in Yangwu and tell them that as long as they check themselves and hand over the hidden fields, let's forget about it. If anyone is still lucky, Once found, they will be severely punished," Zhao Xing said.
Although Zhao Xing wished that all those who hid their land would have their homes confiscated and their families exterminated.
In this way, you can not only get a lot of money but also acres of land.
But this simply doesn’t work.
Asking the landowners and gentry to hand over their hidden acres is tantamount to cutting their flesh.
Although it hurts, there are still people who are willing to hand it over when forced.
But if it is found that there are hidden acres, the family will be confiscated and the clan will be exterminated, which will inevitably arouse the resistance of the landowners and gentry all over the world.
Therefore, it is impossible for Zhao Xing to really kill these landlords and squires.
This is also what the landlords and gentry rely on.
If you are honest, stay. If you are dishonest, don't blame him for being rude.
To put it simply, it means to win over a group and kill a group.
…………
“Your Highness, Your Highness.”
Zhao Xing opened his eyes drowsily, looked at Sanshui doubtfully, and said, “What happened? ”
"Your Highness, Duke Wei is here." Sanshui said.
"Huh?" Zhao Xing was startled when he heard this, and he suddenly woke up and said, "Call someone to help me wash up."
Cao An came over at this time. Apparently his father already knew that he had been assassinated. news.
When Zhao Xing finished washing up and came outside, he saw Cao An and Rong Xian, who were tired of their travels.
"Meet His Highness the Crown Prince." The two of them saluted.
"Without courtesy." Zhao Xing waved his hand and asked, "Why are my uncle and deputy commander here?"
"Your Majesty learned that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was assassinated and was very anxious. He specially ordered ministers to come and escort His Highness back to the capital." Cao An said.
"I still have something to do, can I wait for two days?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Your Highness, His Majesty's decree is to escort His Highness back to Beijing immediately!" Cao An said.
Hearing this, Zhao Xing knew that there was no need to discuss. Looking at Cao An's posture, he was afraid that he would be kidnapped.
"Looking at my uncle's tired appearance, it is obvious that he has not rested during the journey. Uncle, you go down to eat something and rest for a while. I will make some arrangements and then I will go back with you." Zhao Xing said.
“Yes!” Cao An agreed after a slight hesitation.
After Cao An and the others left, Zhao Xing asked Sanshui to find Wang Anshi and give him some instructions.
Yangwu County definitely needs someone to keep an eye on it, and Wang Anshi is the most suitable candidate.
In order to ensure Wang Anshi's safety, Zhao Xing also left Sheng Changwu to lead the Imperial Guard to protect him.
After daybreak, Zhao Xing followed Cao An and the others on their way back to Bianjing under the protection of thousands of forbidden troops.
Cao An traveled all night and night when he came. When he went back, he considered Zhao Xing and did not travel all night. He did not return to Bianjing until the afternoon of the next day.
After entering the city, he escorted Zhao Xing directly to the palace.
Zhao Xing originally thought that he would be scolded when he saw his father and empress.
Unexpectedly, his father saw him and just pulled him to look at him excitedly.
Obviously Cao Qin said when he sent someone to report the news, the prince would be fine.
After Cao An saw Zhao Xing, he immediately sent someone back to Bianjing to report the news, but the officials were still worried.
It wasn’t until I saw that Zhao Xing was fine that I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Father, your unfilial son and minister have made you worried."
Zhao Xing looked at his father's haggard face and knelt down.
"You..."
The official wanted to scold Zhao Xing, but finally sighed, helped him up, and said, "It's okay. Your mother and concubine are worried. You go Take a look at them."
"I'm going over there, Father, take a good rest, don't be too tired," Zhao Xing said.
"Well, go ahead." The official nodded.
Zhao Xing bowed and retreated.
"It's said that Si Tianjian is coming," the official said.
(End of this chapter)