"A fine of thirty taels of silver?!"

The shopkeeper looked bitter as if he had suffered some huge blow: "My lord, this is a small business, even if it is the batch of grain sold to Zheng Yu, it only gets a total of ten taels of silver, thirty taels of silver is too much, can you reduce it a little as appropriate?" ”

For a small shop like him, sometimes a quarter's profit is only twenty or thirty taels of silver, and this one-time fine of thirty taels of silver is not half a year for nothing?

Gu Yunji glanced at him and said lightly: "Do you think this official's punishment is improper?" ”

The shopkeeper didn't dare to answer this, he swallowed his saliva, and sweat oozed from his forehead: "...... Xiaomin is not questioning you, my lord, the main thing is that it is only ten taels of silver, and a thousand catties of grain looks like a lot, but it is not enough to feed five hundred special army brothers in a day, and I am also trying to support my family, who is not selling it......"

"What does it mean to sell who is not to sell?!"

Gu Yunji's eyes were cold, and he suddenly raised his voice: "You haven't realized what crime you have committed, have you?" As soon as the official entered the door, he told you that we are here to investigate the spies of foreign enemies, what is a foreign enemy? The Japanese who burn, kill, loot, and do all kinds of evil are foreign enemies! ”

"What is a spy? Like you, those who sell the grain of their own dynasty to the Japanese and let them be able to confront the officers and soldiers, and hinder the imperial court's resistance to the Japanese are spies! ”

These words were like thunder, which exploded in the shopkeeper's head, and the whole person stayed in place.

Gu Yunji snorted coldly: "A month ago, Your Majesty listed the pirate group to which Gao Shishu belonged as a thief with a disobedient heart, and all its co-conspirators were punished as anti-thieves. Zheng Yu, who sells grain, was indeed a widow under Tao Lian, but he had already taken refuge in Gao Shishu! ”

"You sold grain in the month of last year, but coincidentally, Zheng Yu's defection to Gao Shishu was also in the month of last year, who can prove that your grain was eaten by the pirates who were cultivated, or by Gao Shishu's group of thieves?"

Looking at the shopkeeper's pale face in an instant, Gu Yunji continued to quietly break down his psychological defense: "Selling grain and grass to thieves, do you know what kind of crime this is?" The official thought that your case was slight, but he only asked you to pay a fine, and you didn't even have to go to court, but you were not satisfied. ”

"Then the official will ask you, compared to raiding the house and destroying the door, and asking you to pay a fine of thirty taels of silver, is the sentence heavier or lighter?"

The shopkeeper's lips trembled, his throat seemed to be choked, and it took him a long time to squeeze out the words: "Light...... Lighter ......"

"This official also feels light!"

Gu Yunji suddenly changed color, and reprimanded angrily: "Compared with those people who were brutally killed by the Japanese and ruined their families and displaced, it is simply too light!" Thirty taels of silver is nothing! Will it be possible to take back the property that belongs to them? Can you save their lives?! ”

"As a citizen of Great Xia, you don't feel sad and indignant when your compatriots were brutalized by thieves, but you still dare to help them abuse and sell food to the Japanese invaders, isn't this helping them to intensify their persecution of our compatriots?"

"You say that you are here to support your family, then you go and ask those who have been separated from their wives by the widows, don't they want to have a happy family? It is hateful to be a widow, but a person like you, who eats inside and outside and betrays his compatriots, is even more unforgivable! ”

The shopkeeper collapsed on the ground, feeling guilty and remorseful, crying uncontrollably. It was only then that he woke up from a dream and realized what an unforgivable sin he had committed.

Gu Yunji restrained his anger, adjusted his mood slightly, and said slowly: "The government fined you silver, not only to teach you a lesson, but also to use this silver as military expenses to train the army to fight against the Japanese invaders, this is to help you atone for your sins." ”

The shopkeeper seemed to grasp the life-saving straw, his gray eyes lit up with a little brilliance, he wiped a few handfuls of tears, got up with a bone, and said continuously: "I'll hand it over!" I'll deliver! Don't say thirty taels of silver, I'll pay a few dozen taels more! ”

As he spoke, the shopkeeper took out the box where he had saved money, put it in front of Gu Yunji, and said cautiously: "My lord, this is all the income of my shop this year, and I will use it all to pay the fine, do you see enough?" ”

It was estimated that there were more than fifty taels of silver in the box, and Gu Yunji asked the number of thirty taels of silver to come out, and said, "The fine is as much as it says, these are enough, and we don't want the rest." You have to really regret it, and from now on, you will do your business honestly and honestly, and stop selling grain to the Japanese invaders. ”

The shopkeeper hurriedly assured: "This is nature, this is nature, I have already regretted selling a thousand catties of grain to Zheng Yu, how dare I have colluded with them again?" Don't worry, I won't dare anymore. ”

Walking out of the grain store, Gu Yunji exhaled softly, took a look at the list of shops, and his expression returned to indifference: "Let's go, go to the next one." ”

A similar scene is also playing out in many shops in the city.

The previous shopkeeper was a person with a high sense of morality, and he was also timid, so he was able to pay the fine willingly. However, in the entire Shaoxing Mansion, there are more than 100 shops dealing in grain, salt, cloth and other goods, and the crimes committed are much more serious than his, and there are many people with lower moral bottom lines than him.

Those people only have interests in their eyes, but they are not ashamed of Gu Yunji's words in a few words. On the contrary, they will be very dissatisfied with the high fines, and some of them will be arrogant and shout about how hard their background is, and even dare to threaten officials.

Gu Yunji doesn't care about this, he must first settle down inside, he is determined to put an end to the behavior of the collaborators. Even if they don't recognize their mistakes and feel guilty, at least let them bleed profusely, realize the high cost of doing so, and dare not do it again.

In the evening, the night was dark, and Gu Yunji was still in the study to deal with official business.

The shops in Fucheng had just been cleared during the day, and judging from the results of the inventory, the number of shops suspected of communicating with the Japanese and selling materials to the Japanese was actually one-third, and this number was really shocking.

Some people have even established a long-term cooperative relationship with the Japanese and have been supplying goods stably for several years, but they are still extremely arrogant, not only not admitting their mistakes, but also refusing to pay fines, thinking that the government is making a big fuss and the matter is not so serious.

Some of them had a particularly hard relationship, and they didn't know what method they used, so they actually sued Mei Feng, saying that Gu Yunji hindered their normal business and framed them for collaborating with the enemy. If it weren't for Mei Feng being Gu Yunji's senior brother, maybe he would really have to make a mistake on this.

The more Gu Yunji looked at it, the more angry he became, he couldn't suppress his anger, and slammed the official document in his hand on the table.

At this time, the door of the study was opened, and a soft and smiling female voice came: "Who is still making us Gu angry so late?" ”

Hearing the familiar voice, Gu Yunji's anger instantly dissipated, and his eyebrows softened: "Shuhua." ”