Queen Mother, she just wants to lie down

"Hehe, General, you are joking. I am just a canal transport official, what relationship do I have with them?

If the general hadn't summoned me, I wouldn't be here today. "As soon as the clear voice fell, a voice that was very familiar to the He, Chen, Zheng, and Xu families rang out.

As the conversation progressed, two figures walked in from outside, one of whom was the familiar Cai Tian.

Cai Tian was a fifth-rank water transport officer at the local dock, responsible for the transportation of goods and commanding eight hundred water transport soldiers.

He has been in office locally for five years.

Over the years, he has received countless benefits from the He, Chen, Zheng and Xu families, and has long been well fed by them.

In addition, the connections behind the four companies are far beyond what Cai and Tian can compare to.

Normally, he felt very well behaved in front of the He, Chen, Zheng and Xu families.

The reason why He Zhengxiong is so arrogant is that he believes that as long as Cai Tian is there, no matter how much Ma Ziliang troubles them, he can't do anything to them.

But who knew that the trump card that was supposed to be firmly in his hand suddenly went wrong.

"Mr. Cai, what do you mean?" He Zhengxiong asked almost uncontrollably when he saw this.

"Master He, I am a canal transport officer and I am only responsible for the safety and transportation of canal goods.

As for the cases of the several family heads, they are under the jurisdiction of the county magistrate, and have nothing to do with me. Is there anything wrong with what I said? " Cai Tian met his angry gaze and replied calmly.

"You?" He Zhengxiong was shocked and angry.

Not only him, but also Chen Mian who was aware of the situation, the heads of the Xu and Zheng families also looked very unhappy.

Why did Cai Tian, ​​who had been feeding for five years, suddenly change his mind?

Could it be that Ma Ziliang has connections everywhere and has instigated him to rebel?

But Cai Tian received so many benefits from them. Even if he helped Ma Ziliang to bring down several of them, could he get away with it?

"Tsai Yunyun Envoy, the way they look at you is not right, it's like they are looking at a traitor.

Is there some shady deal between you and them?"

The young Yingwei man who came in with him noticed the expressions of both parties and said something jokingly.

The muscles on Cai Tian's face twitched uncontrollably, and his fingers under his sleeves were ready to move.

He received too many benefits from the Chen, Zheng, He and Xu families, and did a lot for them in the past few years.

Everyone's interests are closely linked together. If they fall, it will be almost impossible for him to get away unscathed.

At this moment, a strong murderous intent arose in his heart.

As long as we kill them, behead these nobles who suddenly came to Qingsha, and then get rid of Ma Ziliang.

If he can nip all these hidden dangers in the bud, he might still have a chance of survival.

But when he looked up and met the gaze of the young man next to him, he suddenly woke up with a start.

The meeting between the two a few days ago was still vivid in his mind. He knew that he was simply not capable of dealing with these people.

If he makes any unusual move, not only will he be killed without a burial place, but his family and clansmen will also be implicated.

As soon as he thought of this, all the commotion was suppressed, and he just said dryly:

"General, you are joking. Since I took over the post of the transport commissioner, I have always performed my duties conscientiously and never dared to overstep my authority.

As for benefits, I did receive some, but the main thing is that I had to accept them.

The He, Chen, Zheng, and Xu families are all century-old prestigious families in Qingsha. They are home to many talented people and have considerable influence.

I have no choice but to refuse the benefits they offer me.

However, I have recorded all these things in detail and will hand them over to Lord Ma intact when the time comes.

Then Lord Ma will hand it over to the court.

Apart from that, I have not helped them do anything illegal.”

Xu Xiao, Zheng Qiyun and He Zhengxiong were all stunned and realized that something was wrong.

Not only did Cai Tian stop helping them, he also turned against them and bit them.

The reason why he did this was obviously because he was afraid of the young man next to him.

He called him general and referred to himself as a subordinate.

In other words, this person not only holds a higher official position than him, but can also suppress him.

Could it be that the imperial court was really dissatisfied with them and secretly sent an imperial envoy down?

Is it time to settle the accounts now?

The third master of the Zheng family, who had been trying hard to wink at the head of the family, but the head of the family refused to even look at him, was already filled with despair.

The domineering Mr. He Er and Mr. He San's lips trembled several times, as if they wanted to say something.

As a result, after opening his mouth, not a single word came out.

Even Mr. Chen and Chen Lie, who had come forward and confessed their guilt earlier, felt very uneasy.

The direction of things has clearly deviated from their expectations.

With the previous county magistrates who were exiled and died without reason being exposed, and Cai Tian, ​​the bribe-taker, coming out to testify in person, it was almost impossible for the Chen family to get away with it just by paying a small amount of money.

There is hardly any suspense about what happens next.

Following the testimony of several witnesses, the punishments for the four families were quickly handed down.

Among the male members of the He family who are over the age of fourteen, only two have never committed any crime or violated the law.

Both of them were unfavored concubines, and one of them was studying in a college in another place.

A man who was like an invisible man, was banished to the village to manage some unimportant affairs.

He Zhengxiong's wife, Zheng, has been involved in a total of nine deaths over the years.

As all the male members of the He family who committed crimes were sent to prison, their property was confiscated.

Female relatives who had not committed any crime would not be implicated.

They can take back their dowry with the dowry list, and it is up to them to choose whether to set up their own household or remarry.

Minor children are raised by their mothers.

The punishments for the Zheng and Xu families were similar to those for the He family, except that there were more people in their families who had never committed any crime.

Anyone who has not committed any crime will not be implicated.

The Chen family received the lightest punishment. All of the Chen family members and several people involved in the murder case were sent to prison, while the others were not punished.

The house was not searched, because the Chen family took the initiative to confess their guilt and made great contributions in helping the victims.

When dealing with the cases of the He, Chen, Xu and Zheng families, Cai Tian was inevitably implicated and thrown into prison.

The three officials from other places, He, Xu and Zheng, were just thinking of using their connections to help the three families out of trouble, but they were arrested just as they made their moves.

By the time the entire case was handled, it was already mid-June. Three of the four prominent families in Qingsha had collapsed, and only the Chen family had lost most of its flesh and was barely surviving.

For a while, the whole Qingsha became extremely quiet. Not to mention the playboys, even petty thieves could not be seen.

Soon after this news reached the capital, it was revealed that the Empress Dowager had left the capital incognito.

That is, the confiscation of the four major families in Qingsha was all caused by her.

When she passed by Fu'an, the Feng family, the philanthropist in Fu'an, was forced to donate half of their property, and countless members of the family were sent to prison.

She also dismissed the prefect of Fu'an and confiscated his property.

When she passed by Qingsha, she confiscated the property of the three major wealthy families in Qingsha.

The assets of another company that was not copied also shrunk by more than half.

In just over three months since she left the capital, she had already confiscated nearly 10 million taels of silver for the court.

In a short time, the news of the empress dowager's property being confiscated spread among the people and the court, and the local nobles and powerful people felt insecure.