Chapter 41: The Officialdom

  Yang Shiqin and his entourage arrived at the Governor's Mansion inside Kunming City, where the eerie atmosphere in the mansion did not escape Yang Shiqin's eyes.

  "Be careful, it's likely that things have taken a turn for the worse. This old man is getting on in years and wants to make it through his term as governor without any more trouble. The case against Yiliang has come at an inopportune time. He's lost his temper, so we'll need to be careful what we say later."

  The Yang family is still a commoner, although Yang Shiqin has the title of Kunming Tuanzhang, but this is not an official position in the regular way. This Kunming Tuanzhang is a civilian team, but it was also obtained by spending money. He Lao Fuzi has been an official for over 30 years and is a regular imperial examination scholar. The difference in status between the two is still quite large.

  As the steward of the Yang family, Ding Baojun also knew the weight of the Yang family. In Yunnan Prefecture, the Yang family was formidable among the common people, but in official circles, they were not so effective. If it weren't for Big Brother's generous use of silver, how could the Yang family have their current status?

  "Alright, you guys talk then, I won't interrupt easily!"

  After a while, the two of them followed the servant into the core of power in Yunnan and Guizhou, the Governor's Mansion of Yunnan and Guizhou located at Cuihu Lake in Kunming.

  "Yang has arrived, let's go! Let's take our seats!"

  He Changling, sixty years old, was no longer in good health. This governorship of Yun-Gui might be his last post. He had hoped to complete the nearly forty years of his official career quietly and peacefully, but unexpectedly, he encountered one misfortune after another at the end.

  First, there was the ethnic conflict in Yunnan, then the massacre case in Yiliang. This time, he invited Yang Shiqin over, originally intending to have him persuade the Hui and Han people who were engaged in bloody fighting to stop, but just as they had prepared a banquet, another massacre case broke out in Yiliang.

  "Lord He, do you have something on your mind? Don't worry about the western regions, Yang has some influence among the ethnic groups in Yunnan and it's not difficult to persuade those Hui and Han people who are fighting over small personal gains."

  The more He Changling got angry, the more Yang Shiqin felt at ease. If he didn't get angry, it wasn't a big deal; but if he really got angry, it meant that this matter had worried Old He.

  "Now, the Han-Yi conflict is a small matter. A big case has been filed on the Yiliang side, and the entire family of Zhou Shiqing, a scholar from Yiliang, was slaughtered. If this gets out in the capital, my old man will be roasted over an open flame."

  "Zhao Dasao's whole family in Yiliang was slaughtered, this is also a retribution! Although he held an official position, in Yiliang, apart from not meddling with personnel matters, he did many things that harmed the heavens and reason. Such a person has died, what's the point of reporting it to the imperial court? Can't you just let it go?"

  Yang Meng's handling of the Zhou family has already been told to Yang Shi-qin by Ding Bao-jun, and He Chang-ling is covering up the Zhou family case, which is the purpose of Yang Shi-qin's visit.

  "How could this be said? Zhou Shi Qing was an official, his whole family was exterminated, and I, as the governor, concealed the report. Wouldn't that be helping to spread evil influences?"

  He Changling was diligent in his official duties, and it wasn't easy for him to deceive the imperial court.

  "This thing is just what I'm clear about, shall we eat and chat at the same time?"

  The more Old He spoke like this, the greater Yang Shiqin's opportunity became. Once Zhou Shiqing's old foundation was exposed, he would likely be shocked.

  "Was it you who did this?"

  He Changling was not muddled, and the Yang family's power was more than enough to kill a scholar-official like Yi Liang.

  "You're trying to frame me? Let's eat and chat, I'll tell you about this Yiliang Zhou Da Shuigou, and then you can make your decision later!"

  Yang Shiqin thought to himself, this thing really wasn't done by me, although the old man also had this idea, but was preempted by his son.

  "Then I'll listen to what you have to say, Yang. If it doesn't sound good, then the matter on the west side will be entirely up to you."

  Two people with their own concerns, after sitting down at the table, are not focused on the delicious food, but rather on solving their respective troubles, which is the purpose of them gathering together.

  "Zhou Shi Qing deserved to die, he kept a large number of slaves and killed them at will; He kidnapped young boys and girls, beautiful women, and sold them into brothels; He privately cultivated opium and sold it, affecting five provinces including Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Such a person's death is also a great joy, why does Lord He care about such a murderer?"

  This week, the Zhou family was also destroyed for a reason. The good history of Yiliang was sentenced to prison for selling opium and murdering good people. Zhou Shiying felt that something was wrong, so he wanted to take his family's assets and leave Yunnan. Those servants who acted as human traffickers lost their support, how could they not betray?

  Yang Shi-qin's words made He Chang-ling's eyebrows jump, these things were unknown to him. Yi Liang Dian Shih was selling opium and went to jail, he knew this clearly, but did not expect that Zhou Shi-qing's case would also be related to Yi Liang Dian Shih.

  "Is it true that Yiliang Dianshi sells opium for Zhou Shiqing?"

  The whole story of Yiliang's history is all gathered here, the number of opium sales is astonishing, unexpectedly, the mastermind behind it is actually Zhou Shiqing, a wealthy and influential man from Yiliang.

  "That scoundrel Yi Liangdian, although he's an official, the things he does are what a servant of the Zhou family would do: selling opium, kidnapping and trafficking people, forcibly occupying land, oppressing the poor. These two master and servant have done all sorts of evil deeds. It's fortunate that Yunnan is rid of these two scourges!"

  "How dare they be so wicked? Bringing calamity to the people of Yunnan?"

  He Changling was also considered a clean official. What Zhou Shiqing and Yi Liang Dianshi did was unacceptable to him.

  "It's not just that, I've taken over the Zhou family's fields. Do you know how much rent the Zhou family pays? And how much tax they pay to the imperial court every year?"

  The Yang family's account house has already figured out the Zhou family's affairs, and the taxes paid on their vast land are very few. What makes Yang Sizhen most indignant is the rent of the Zhou family's fields.

  "It's not good for the government to get involved in land rent issues. The Zhou family is said to have tens of thousands of hectares of good farmland, and their annual taxes shouldn't be small, right?"

  He Changling's stay in Yunnan was too short, and apart from Yang Sizheng, a local gentry, he didn't know many others. This Yang Sizheng was the previous governor-general who had specifically instructed him to get along with the local gentry of Yunnan; otherwise, what kind of person would Yang Sizheng be, and what connection would he have with this governor-general?

  The Zhou family's land rent was 95%, but the straw and rice bran, tenants could keep them. In Zhou Shiqing's words, these tenants ate rice, which was a waste of food. One mu of fertile land, two seasons a year, only 400 kilograms of grain, tenants' hands, except for leaving seeds, all were left with rice bran.

  The Zhou family's estate, with its vast fields and numerous mountains, paid only a fraction of the taxes it owed. The official records showed that they owned over a thousand mu of land that couldn't be exempt from taxation, but in reality, most of their lands were registered as abandoned fields from previous years. As a result, the Zhou family evaded a large amount of taxes, which were then shifted to the shoulders of the common people of Yiliang. In recent years, cultivating one mu of fertile land in Yiliang was not as profitable as farming one mu of mountainous land elsewhere!

  Mentioning this, it's also related to the history of Yiliang. This official operated in Yiliang for many years and directly emptied the county magistrate Jiang Yuange, levying land taxes and oppressing the people, which is also an extreme case.

  "This is all thanks to Old Yang and Jiang Yuanguo, if he hadn't taken down the Dian Shi, I wouldn't have been able to get such a great deal, easily obtaining the Zhou family's estate?"

  Yang Shi-qin had said enough, but He Chang-ling was so angry that he rolled his eyes. His reputation as a clean official for over 30 years was almost ruined. If this matter were to be reported, he, He the Grand Governor, would definitely not be able to escape the charge of dereliction of duty.

  The court relies on taxes to survive, and Yiliang Dianshi and Zhou Shiqing are in cahoots, making cases under their own jurisdiction. This toilet lid will be borne by He Changling.

  "What a pair of murderous talents! Under the bright sky and in broad daylight, they actually dared to commit such evil deeds, deceiving the imperial court and oppressing good people. They truly deserve to be killed!"

  He Changling was furious for a long time before he burst out in anger. Corrupt officials and local tyrants, he had seen them all before. In his more than 30 years of official career, he had seen too many of them. It wasn't that there weren't any who were worse than these two, but under He Changling's rule, this was the first time something like this had happened.

  Such a corrupt case may exist everywhere, but it's another matter to report it to the imperial court. Although the case of exterminating a family is serious, as long as it can be solved, one will still have some merit.

  Concealing large amounts of taxes and deceiving the imperial court, this is not a trivial matter that can be easily dismissed. To say nothing of other things, one would first have to bear the blame for being too lenient with oneself.

  The current court is the time to use silver, Yunnan's copper tax has been reduced for years, due to Yunnan's finances have always been unable to take care of themselves. The salaries and military rations of officials at all levels in Yunnan and 40,000 soldiers are all solved by the allocation of funds from the court and the coordinated rations from various provinces. Although the court does not say anything, the other provinces that allocate coordinated rations are full of complaints.

  If this deception of tax evasion gets out, various provinces will use it as an excuse to stop paying their share of the imperial taxes. Then He Changling would become the enemy of Yunnan officials and soldiers. Without money, even if he secures his position as Governor-General, he'll still be a rat with eight vulnerabilities.

  "It's people like Zhou Shi Qing and Yi Liang Dian Shi who are no great loss when they die. Just punish their families along with them, and who in Yunnan will dare to sympathize with them? This kind of thing, within a month or two, will dissipate like smoke. Let the Yi Liang side be more severe with their words, just treat it as a gentle breeze."

  After saying this for half a day, only this sentence is Yang Shiqin's heart voice, and now it has also become He Changling's heart voice. Yes! At least for the sake of his own last journey, he should do so, let alone that on the surface, this matter is to consider the officials at all levels in Yunnan.

  "Western affairs, you still need to worry about it, Young Yang!"

  He Changling was about to send the guest away, Yang Shiqin had achieved his goal and did not want to be humiliated here, so he nodded in agreement and mentioned the matter of Xiang Yu's bloody battle with Han Xin, then bid farewell and left.

  "This officialdom! It can't be done. No matter how good a person is, once they enter this official circle, they will be melted into a puddle of rotten iron."

  On the way back, Yang Shiqin sighed and said that this is an official of the Qing Dynasty. He Xiangling has a reputation, but he is also a vulgar person who only thinks about fame and fortune.

  Yang Shi-qin just sighed and let the matter drop, but Jiang Yuan-ji received a stern order from the Governor's office. Before the autumn assizes, the entire family of the county magistrate of Yiliang was put to death by torture in the court, proving that the saying "punishment does not extend to high officials" was just empty talk.

  As for the case of Zhou Shi Qing, it was even simpler. After killing the human trafficker, they pretended that nothing had happened. The old and young members of the Zhou family, including all the servants, were buried overnight in a mass grave.

  The taxes of the Zhou family naturally disappeared, and the tens of thousands of hectares of good fields and countless mountains and forests just vanished in the court's files.

  It's not that I don't want to collect taxes, but rather can't. If this precedent is set, the situation in Yunnan will become chaotic. The land tax has always been a mess, and being too serious about it would be asking for trouble without an imperial edict.

  This time, the Zhou family and Yiliang Dianshi's family were destroyed, but only the Yang family benefited. Not only did they get the Zhou family's property for free, but also without having to pay taxes.

  Yang Meng made a fortune, paying off the debts of Yi Liang's family history, and after repeated house searches, he obtained nearly two million dollars worth of goods. As for the Zhou family, they had over three million silver coins alone, not to mention other items that hadn't been priced yet.

  For Yang Meng's drug factory, those 5,000 tons of top-grade Yun Tu were truly a windfall. As long as things went smoothly on Big Brother's side, the value of these 5,000 tons of Yun Tu would far exceed the total amount obtained this time.

  Tang You's stuff is there, personally slaughtered the big cattle of Zhou, also got to collect the fishing line, if it drifts like this, in case it slips off the hook, wouldn't Yang Meng regret it to death?