The money shopkeeper and the Liang shopkeeper who had just bought a little food left together, and it could be seen that they didn't believe that the lawsuit could not be won. Han Xiufeng didn't care either, and then chatted with the official surnamed Yu about going to the capital to surrender, Pan Er knew that this official was called Yu Youfu, and he was not a team leader at all, just a white servant who followed Guan Zhutou to eat, and he brought five or six white servants like Guan Zhutou.

"Uncle Yu, Yang Xin had to eat this bowl of rice, so I simply transferred all the accounts to him, including the tax money we helped the twenty-nine households."

"It's okay to transfer it to him, you are going to the capital to make a confession, and you can't run out of money."

"So I took my pad back first, you don't have it for the time being, one is that his family can't take out so much money for a while, and second, I think about getting it back, you have to find a way to release it to make profits, it's better to let him help manage the accounts. At least he knows the roots, and he is not afraid that he will run away with the money. ”

"He is a talented man, and he can be regarded as having a head and a face, so I don't worry about letting him help manage the accounts, but I am reluctant to let you go." Yu Youfu stood up suddenly, took out a money ticket of 2,000 Wen, and put it in front of Han Xiufeng: "Four children, poor families are rich, this is a little bit of uncle's heart." ”

How could Han Xiufeng ask for this money, and hurriedly said: "Uncle Yu, don't be like this, your family is not rich, so let's keep it." ”

"No matter how poor I am, I can live a life, at least I can open my mouth. You're different, if you have to go so far away, how can you live outside without money? In fact, this is discussed with your Uncle Guan and them, and one of the fishing classes is counted as one, and they all have to help you make up some entanglements, no more and some less. I was thinking that you would take it out when you left, but I couldn't hold back when I was talking about it just now. Yu Youfu forced the money ticket to Han Xiufeng, and after thinking about it, he said with a little embarrassment: "It's not that you don't know, I usually carry a dozen copper plates on me at most." This money ticket is really for you, otherwise I wouldn't have carried so much money with me. ”

"Uncle Yu, how can this be!"

"A little heart, quickly put it away, I'm really angry if I don't put it away." Afraid that Han Xiufeng wouldn't want it, Yu Youfu said expectantly: "Four babies, you are the most prolific and stable in the number of these babies in the yamen." Let's put it this way, you and Uncle Guan are all pointing at you! When you fill in the gap and become an official, we will all go to you, and you can't say that you don't recognize us when the time comes. ”

"Uncle Yu, you don't know what kind of person I am, why do you think I would do such a thing?"

"That's it, the money ticket is collected, and I still have to go to Linjiangmen to go around. The turtle son who stole the money ticket of the son of the Tai family has not been caught yet, and the days of not being able to catch the catch class for a day will not be easy for a day, your Uncle Guan has just been hit by the board, and I don't know who is yelling at the next. ”

"Go, go, it's business."

"Okay, I'm leaving, I've said hello to all the docks, and I'll call you as soon as the Copper King arrives."

……

Seeing Yu Youfu away, Pan Er asked curiously: "Fourth brother, who is the Copper Heavenly King?" ”

Han Xiufeng put away the money ticket and said absentmindedly: "It's the ship that transports Yunnan copper." ”

"The ship that transports copper is the ship that transports copper, why did you become the king of copper again?"

"Those boatmen, relying on the copper ingots of the imperial court, blackmailed wherever the ships went, and extorted the merchant ships on the river. As soon as the ship docked, it would tie the mooring, not give money and not let the boat go, and even throw copper ingots on other people's boats to frame people for robbing copper. Or hit someone's boat, saying that the board of the ship was damaged, and ordered to pay compensation. ”

"There is such a thing," Pan Er couldn't believe it, and asked, "Don't you care about the states and counties along the way?" ”

"I did, but it didn't work." Han Xiufeng shook his head.

"Why is it useless?"

"If the magistrate inquires, the transport officer will countersue that the copper catty was stolen, so the place will have to investigate, isn't this asking for trouble."

"Check it, check it, just track it down to the end, the copper is obviously not lost, and if it comes out, then they are falsely accused."

"What if the copper is lost?"

"But I didn't lose it!"

"Who said no," Han Xiufeng returned to the house, sat down and said with a smile: "You won't believe it if you say it, the copper they shipped has been lost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of catties before it has been shipped." However, the "Household Regulations" also clearly decreed that the transportation officer who shipped the official silver should be responsible for 60 percent of the lost official silver, and the local official who lost the money should be responsible for the remaining 40 percent. If the escort is not delivered, the share that should be responsible accounts for half of the loss. Anyway, if you lose it on your territory, you will be responsible. Yunnan copper was shipped to the capital to mint money, and it was no different from official silver. Do you say that the magistrate is willing to take care of it, but dare to take care of it? ”

"No matter what's okay, you're going to pay them for their copper?" Pan Er asked stupidly.

"Hmm." Han Xiufeng nodded.

"But where is the lost copper?"

"Yunnan is poor, it is said that most of the taxes in the prefectures and counties have never been confiscated, leaving many shortfalls, and the copper transportation is the most bitter and tiring messenger, so every time the copper transportation envoy is entrusted to the officials with the most deficits. The feudal division will directly deduct the freight, and if it is not enough to make up the shortfall, it will deduct the copper catties that are about to be shipped to make up for it. ”

Pan Er exclaimed: "This is too dark, what is the point of being this kind of official!" ”

Han Xiufeng smiled, and continued: "I just said that there was a shortage of copper when it was shipped to fill the deficit, and the freight was even more penny, so I extorted all the way to the capital, and it was not easy to enter the warehouse, because the officials of the Ministry of Household and the Ministry of Industry would make it difficult in every way. If you don't make money, if you don't feed them enough, they will say that the color is not good, and the purity is not enough. ”

"What about the official who transports copper?"

"Broken jars, broken and broken, what else can I do."

Pan Er asked, "What's the break?" ”

Han Xiufeng sighed lightly: "From the day he was appointed, the transport officer knew that no matter how he made the black yarn hat, he would not be guaranteed, so he connived at the boatman to extort along the way, otherwise where would the freight come from?" He will not be idle for his self-sufficiency, he will steal and sell all the way, anyway, he will be dismissed and investigated, it is better to make enough money first and settle down the family. ”

"Aren't they afraid of killing their heads?"

"I'm really not afraid of this."

"Who wouldn't be afraid of killing their heads?"

Since I have said so much, it is better to make it clear, Han Xiufeng took a sip of tea and patiently explained: "It's not that I'm not afraid, but I won't kill them." This reason is very simple, think about it, if the imperial court kills one, who will dare to accept this envoy in the future, and who will dare to transport copper to the capital? And so many provinces seem to produce copper in Yunnan, and Yunnan copper cannot be transported to the capital, so what do the household and the Ministry of Industry use to mint money. ”

The more Pan Er thought about it, the more incredible it became, and muttered, "There is no good person!" This is a tailwind boat, this is clearly a thief ship! ”

Han Xiufeng thought so, and sighed lightly: "How can I get on their boat, how can I get along with them after getting on the boat, it's a bit of a headache to think about it." But there is no better way for us to do this, so we can only take it one step at a time. ”