Ning Xiu was already investigating the smuggling of sea trade by the people of this county, but he never thought that someone would take the initiative to report it, and it was Huang Yidao who reported it.

Ning Xiu couldn't help but be overjoyed.

He had long felt that Huang Yidao had an ambiguous attitude on the matter of smuggling and sea trade, and after several temptations, he strengthened this idea.

Now, Huang Rudao's own staff has come to report, and it seems that it is not far from ten.

Of course, in line with the principle of fairness and justice, Ning Xiu couldn't just rely on Han Qi's words to arrest Huang Yidao and take him to prison, he also needed enough evidence.

He pondered for a moment and said solemnly, "Han Qi, do you have any evidence?" ”

Han Qi's visit to the county government this time was a ruin, so naturally he would not leave the slightest way out for himself.

He resolutely said: "The villain has the account book of Huang Yidao's smuggling of sea trade, most of which are with the Liu family, and there are some fragmentary lists. ”

Ning Xiu's throat shrugged slightly, and he forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart and said, "In this case, why don't you quickly present the account book?" ”

Han Qi nodded, pulled out a stack of account books from his cuffs, and held it high above his head.

Ning Xiu glanced at Xiao Gui, who immediately stepped up to Han Qi and took over the account book.

"Your Excellency!"

Respectfully placing the ledger in front of Ning Xiu's official case, Cui Gui returned to his position and stood up.

Ning Xiu casually opened an account book, but was stunned by the amount recorded in it.

Hundreds of thousands of taels were obtained from a trip to the sea, and Huang Rudao could get tens of thousands of taels without doing anything.

Because Han Qi followed the sea, the profit from the goods should be real and credible.

Ning Xiu knew that smuggling sea trade was lucrative, but he never thought it would be so lucrative.

It is no wonder that Huang Qidao faintly expressed his views to himself that he should not take care of smuggling and sea trade. It turned out that he was one of the biggest beneficiaries of maritime trade smuggling.

Ning Xiu was familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty, and he knew that before the opening of the sea in Longqing, the Ming Dynasty officially forbade private trade at sea.

However, the ban has not affected the non-governmental maritime trade activities much. Most of the wealthy merchants along the coast raised a fleet of ships at their own expense, and they also bought the collusion between the government and businessmen to clear the obstacles.

Smuggling a profit of hundreds of thousands of taels, or even hundreds of thousands of taels, is definitely the fastest way to accumulate wealth. It is no wonder that the imperial court once wanted to open the sea, but it was met with so much resistance.

Once the imperial court opened the sea and allowed the people to conduct sea trade, customs duties would inevitably be charged.

According to the usual practice, in addition to the official tariffs, there will be no shortage of filial piety in various common practices.

In this way, more than half of the money earned by the merchants on a trip to the sea will have to be given to others.

In the case of smuggling, they only need to deal with local officials at most, and do not have to pay the customs duties set by the imperial court.

The lesser of the two powers, these wealthy businessmen will of course oppose the opening of the sea by the imperial court.

Those officials naturally spoke for others with their money, and the reaction in the court was the opposition of the Manchu ministers to the ban on opening the sea. And their reason is even more high-sounding - the ancestral system.

Most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were very obedient and filial, and when they heard that this was the system set by Emperor Taizu, they were silent.

If Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he was being used as a shield, he might jump out of the grave angrily.

The Ming Dynasty is vast, and the coastline is even longer.

If you want to divide it, you can use Shandong as the boundary. Shandong and the coastal areas north of Shandong, most of the maritime trade is with Japan. Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and other political departments, because of their geographical location, basically go to Nanyang more.

Especially in Fujian and Guangdong, basically going to the South Seas by sea.

It can also be seen from Han Qi's account books that the Liu family's fleet is all in the South Seas. They shipped silk, porcelain, and lacquerware from the Ming Dynasty to the South Seas, and then sold them and then shipped the local spices, pearls, and coral back to the Ming Dynasty. The amount of money earned back and forth is staggering.

In addition, according to Han Qi's records, most of these maritime merchants will also turn into pirates on the vast sea. When encountering fatty meat, they will pounce on it like a hungry wolf without hesitation and devour each other cleanly.

This part of the harvest is naturally expensive, but it is not something that can be touched every time you go to sea.

"Come on, get off the ticket, go to Liu's house to get someone, be sure to move Liu Haiqian to the county government within a stick of incense!"

Ning Xiu coldly dropped a stick and said.

The reason why he chose to take Liu Haiqian first was to let Liu Haiqian speak first.

After all, Huang Yidao is an official of the imperial court, and it is impossible to arrest him without sufficient evidence.

And once Liu Haiqian admits to smuggling sea trade and bites out Huang Yidao, then Ning Xiu can justifiably interrogate Huang Yidao.

Xiao Gui, the head catcher, said with a sad face: "My lord, this, this is not very good." The Liu family is the first family in Xiangshan County. ”

Ning Xiu patted the stunned wood and said, "Bold, do you dare not listen to the official's orders?" Where have you put your own officer? ”

Xiao Gui fell to his knees with a thud and fanned his mouth desperately.

"Damn the little ones, damn the little ones. The younger one took the brothers to Liu's house to get people. ”

In fact, Xiao Gui also kindly reminded that after all, the Liu family's local power is amazing, and if he tears his face like this, it will not be a good thing for Ning Xiu.

But he underestimated Ning Xiu's determination. Besides, if you compare the background, who is Ning Xiu afraid of?

His old Taishan is the crown prince Shaobao, and the chief soldier of Liaodong Qi Jiguang. His mentor was Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant of the cabinet.

No matter how much the Liu family has hands and eyes, it won't be more powerful than these two, right?

"Don't go yet!"

Ning Xiu said in his heart Fortunately, this Xiao Gui reacted quickly enough, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get off the stage.

"Hey, hey......"

Xiao Gui hurriedly got up, beckoned more than a dozen catchers, and left in a hurry.

Seeing that Han Qi was still kneeling on the ground, Ning Xiu cleared his throat and said, "Han Qi, stand up and talk back." ”

"Thank you, sir."

Han Qi stood up, arched his hand at Ning Xiu again, and said, "My lord, the little girl has been snatched away by the Liu family now, and I ask the adult to save the little girl for the villain." ”

Ning Xiu nodded and said, "This official will make the decision for you in this matter." After a while, Liu Haiqian mentioned the county government and inquired together. ”

"Thank you, sir!"

Han Qi said excitedly.

Before coming to the county office, he still had hesitation in his heart. After all, Huang Yidao is a county in Xiangshan County, and the Liu family is also in the local area. In addition, he doesn't know much about the new county magistrate, but he is actually very worried in his heart.

But there was no turning back when he opened the bow, and since he came, he could only go all the way to the dark.

Fortunately, the county lord is dedicated to the public, and he did not go along with Huang Yidao, and the officials protected each other.

This Ming officialdom also has a clear place!

As for his own guilt, Han Qi also thought it through, and let the county lord fall. As long as he can rescue his daughter, his family property will be confiscated, and he will not frown when he is exiled from the army. Of course, he would not say anything about the batch of silver that was transported to the Chaozhou Mansion, in case he was really unfortunate enough to be in prison, the money was left for his daughter as a dowry.

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