Only then did Sun Piyang nod in satisfaction. He slammed the gavel and said loudly, "Bring in the criminals!"
Following Sun Piyang's words, the four people from the Zhou family were pressed forward and knelt in a row. Sun Piyang slammed the gavel and yelled loudly, "Look at these. These are all the evidence of your crimes." As he spoke, he waved the testimonies in his hand.
"The testimonies of 16 people. Your crimes are unpardonable!"
The four of them were already trembling. Hearing Sun Piyang's words, Zhou Cang was the first to kneel and crawl a few steps. He said loudly, "Sir, I know my crimes. I am willing to confess. Please be lenient!"
The other three were stunned. Wasn't this Zhou Cang's confession a little too fast?
The four of them had been locked up separately for the past few days and were feeling uneasy. Now that they heard Zhou Cang's words, they couldn't help it anymore. They hurriedly crawled forward and said loudly, "Sir, we are also willing to confess!"
Fiercely slamming the gavel, Sun Piyang said loudly, "What are you arguing about? If you keep arguing, I'll let you all roar in court first!"
The four of them immediately quieted down. They all knelt back down and didn't speak anymore.
"One by one. Zhou Cang, you speak first!" Sun Piyang looked at Zhou Cang and said loudly.
"Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I am the warehouse manager of the Zhou family. All these years, the Zhou family's illicit salt has passed through my hands.
The Zhou family's illicit salt business began to flourish about ten years ago. "
"At first, it was a few hundred thousand catties. Now, it's about a million catties every year."
"All of the illicit salt in Hejian Prefecture is basically in the hands of the Zhou family. Because of the Changlu Salt Works, most of the illicit salt north of Hejian Prefecture is transferred out through the Zhou family."
Sun Piyang nodded and asked in a low voice, "Then where did the illicit salt go?"
"Sir, it was all transferred to the Qian family of Hejian Prefecture." Zhou Cang didn't dare to hide anything and quickly answered.
"Sign and stamp!" Sun Piyang nodded and let the scribe beside him sign and stamp Zhou Cang's name.
Then, Sun Piyang asked the other three people. The three of them also corroborated Zhou Cang's words from different angles.
The accountant told him about the money transactions and even provided him with an account book that he had recorded in private.
The appearance of this piece of evidence silenced everyone present. Yao Renji had already collapsed to the ground.
"Sir, this is the account book of the Zhou family bribing the officials of Cangzhou!" The bailiff handed an account book to Sun Piyang.
Sun Piyang nodded and opened the account book. The first name listed was Yao Renji.
Ever since Yao Renji took office, the amount of bribes the Zhou family gave Yao Renji increased every year.
From ten thousand taels a year when he first took office, it had increased to fifty thousand taels this year.
Below them were the other officials of Cangzhou. From the accounts, the Zhou Clan spent more than a hundred thousand taels of silver on the officials of Cangzhou every year.
"They're really rich!"
Sun Piyang sighed. He turned to look at Yao Renji and said with a smile, "Yao Renji, you've really impressed me. How much is Cangzhou's annual tax? How dare you take so much money? Aren't you afraid that money will bite you?"
Sun Piyang shouted the last sentence. He really didn't expect that Yao Renji would dare to take so much money.
"Sir, this is not all of the money. The salt field ambassador of Changlu Salt Works is Yao Renji's brother, Yao Renkang. Yao Renkang takes twenty percent of the illicit salt from Changlu Salt Works every year.
In fact, the Zhou family has been bribing the salt field ambassador for more than ten years. "
"Those who take the money and do the work will stay. Those who don't take the money and do not do the work will soon be transferred away."
Sun Piyang sighed. Such a big case would definitely involve the capital. Although the Qian family was backed by the Marquis of Xining, they couldn't just rely on the Marquis of Xining.
The Qian family was a gentry. With money to pave the way, it wouldn't take much effort to bribe some officials.
"Let them sign it!" Sun Piyang sighed and said in a low voice.
Now that things had reached this point, it was no longer something Sun Piyang could control. He couldn't suppress it even if he wanted to.
"Someone, detain Yao Renji and all the officials of Cangzhou. This official will be overseeing Cangzhou for the next few days. All matters will be temporarily decided by this official.
This official will report this matter to the imperial court. "
Sun Piyang didn't interrogate Zhou Feng. At this point, it was meaningless to interrogate Zhou Feng.
"Eunuch Wang, Qianhu Xing, now that things have reached this point, the Changlu Salt Field should be in chaos. Speed is crucial in war. You guys should also set off!" Sun Piyang said to Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi after the court was dismissed.
"Alright, let's split into two groups. One group will capture the Changlu Salt Field Ambassador, Yao Renkang. The other group will capture the Transport Envoy, Yu Youguang."
Wang Zhong and Xing Shangzhi nodded in agreement. Then, the two of them went their separate ways.
Sun Piyang didn't stay idle either. After returning to his room, he wrote a memorial and wrote all the details of the case. Then, he sent people to the capital quickly. What he needed to do now was to wait for news from the capital.
At this point, Sun Piyang couldn't continue with the case.
If he wanted to continue, he would need the imperial court to send a high-ranking official. At the very least, it would have to be at the level of a Cabinet Grand Secretary.
This time, the Qian family was involved. Moving the Qian family would definitely involve many people in the imperial court. There might even be high-ranking officials.
In fact, Sun Piyang hoped that things would end here. If things really got out of hand, the entire Hejian Prefecture would be unstable.
Capital City, Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.
Zhu Yijun sat on the Dragon Throne and sized up the old man in front of him. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
However, with Hai Rui's standard of living, it wasn't easy for him to live to over 70 years old. His vitality was really tenacious.
It was rare for someone in this era to live to 70 years old!
"Your Majesty, why are you looking at me like this?" Hai Rui asked when he saw Zhu Yijun staring at him.
Hai Rui's body was very thin and weak. He was wearing the official robe of the Minister of Communications, which made him look a little big. However, the old man's eyes were very clear.
When he spoke, he was also full of energy. In general, his body was still considered healthy.
"I have long heard of your name. Since I met you today, I naturally have to take a closer look," said Zhu Yijun with a smile.
"My reputation is not worth mentioning!"
Hai Rui shook his head and said with a serious expression, "It's nothing compared to the well-being of the people in the world.
I submitted a memorial a few days ago, asking Your Majesty to restore the legal system of Taizu. I wonder if Your Majesty has read it? "
Zhu Yijun was stunned. After transmigrating for so long, this was the first official who dared to ask if he had read his memorial!
Hai Rui was indeed worthy of being Hai Rui.
"I have read it. After reading it, I thought about it for a long time and didn't sleep for a few nights."
Speaking of this, Zhu Yijun sighed. "How could I not know about Daming's problem? But many things are affected by a single move!"