I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

"You..." Liang Ming was speechless for a moment, cursing in his heart, "This kid actually dared to refute me with the laws of Dayan. Haha, I wonder how long you can keep your stubbornness!"

"Master Liang, let me say a few words."

At this time, Ma Hengwei on the side finally spoke.

Liang Ming immediately stood up and bent over and said, "Master Ma, please speak."

Ma Hengwei stood up slowly, reached out to pick up the account book on the table, and then walked in front of Jiang Zuo.

"There is a huge transaction of one hundred thousand taels here. What is going on? Can you explain it clearly?"

"My Lord, which one is the 100,000 yuan? There are many transactions of 100,000 yuan in our county."

Facing the Thousand Cavalry Division, Jiang Zuo did not show the slightest fear.

A lot of them?

Ma Hengwei's face was grim.

One hundred thousand taels is undoubtedly a huge sum of money for a small county.

"Let me ask you, who is Zhao Zhenyi above?" Ma Hengwei asked.

Jiang Zuo did not hesitate and replied: "Our biggest customer in Anding County is Boss Zhao, Zhao Zhenyi, he is also from Anding County now."

Zhao Zhen also?

Many people present felt very familiar with this name.

"Is it the four great families in Jiangnan, Zhao Zhenyi of the Zhao family?"

Some people are confused.

"It seems to be him!"

"It is said that Zhao Zhen also."

After a while, Zhao Zhen was also summoned to the court.

He is just over forty years old and looks mature and steady.

"Hey, Boss Zhao, good morning." Jiang Zuo did not forget to greet him at this moment.

Zhao Zhen also nodded slightly to Jiang Zuo, then slowly walked forward.

Facing the Thousand Cavalry Division, even Zhao Zhenyi, who was born in the Zhao family in Jiangnan, couldn't help but feel nervous at this moment.

He was originally from Jiangnan, but because of business dealings, he has lived in Anding County in recent years and has become half an Anding County native.

When Boss Zhao heard yesterday that Jiang Zuo was arrested and imprisoned, he became very anxious and started asking around.

"Greetings to you two adults."

Zhao Zhen also stepped forward and knelt down.

Ma Hengwei asked, "Zhao Zhenyi, please explain to me what happened to the 100,000 taels transaction you made with Anding County on March 20th?"

"Our business dealings with Lord Jiang are all legal and in compliance with regulations, and absolutely do not violate the laws of Dayan."

Boss Zhao tells the truth.

"One hundred thousand taels of silver is a huge sum of money. I wonder what kind of business these two are doing?" Ma Hengwei simply couldn't believe it.

"The top-quality silk from Anding County is distributed by a man named Zhao. The contracts we signed with Lord Jiang have always been for large-scale purchases, so this huge number is not surprising." Zhao Zhen also explained slowly.

"What kind of silk is so precious?"

Ma Hengwei didn't believe it.

Zhao Zhen also explained: "Your Excellency, the top-quality silk from Anding County is extremely popular. Even the Southern Kingdom has top-quality silk produced in this county. This price is very reasonable."

When Chen Qingyun, who was watching from the sidelines, heard these words, he felt that they sounded familiar, as if he had heard them from Jiang Zuo.

Do all these businessmen from Anding County speak in this tone?

Thinking of the more than 20,000 silver coins that Jiang Zuo had cheated him out of, Chen Qingyun suddenly felt angry.

The two guys in charge of the interrogation on the stage couldn't get to the point, which made Chen Qingyun quite anxious.

After receiving the secret order from His Majesty, Ma Hengwei changed the subject and said, "Zhao Zhenyi, this is none of your business. Please leave."

"Yes, my lord."

Zhao Zhen also stood up and left, and when he turned around he did not forget to look towards Jiang Zuo with worry.

Ma Hengwei said again: "Jiang Zuo, this Anding County has so much financial resources, I wonder how much you have embezzled?"

After saying this, his hawk-like eyes stared straight at Jiang Zuo.

Most people don't dare to look directly at Qianqisi.

"I have never been corrupt and have a clear conscience." Jiang Zuo looked straight into Ma Hengwei's eyes without dodging.

Ma Hengwei glanced at Jiang Zuo, and he couldn't see any lies in the latter's eyes.

As the commander of the Thousand Cavalry Division, he had interrogated countless wanted criminals, and no one had ever been able to deceive his eyes.

The Jiang Zuo in front of him was indeed extraordinary.

"But we found nearly one million taels of property in your mansion. If you were not greedy or robbed, how could you have done that with only your annual salary of ten taels in Anding County!"

Ma Hengwei questioned harshly.

As a result, the entire Anding County knew about Jiang Zuo's wealth.

But there was not much commotion at the scene, as if all the people conceded that it was natural for Jiangzuo to be so rich.

"A gentleman loves money but earns it in a proper way. All my wealth is earned through legitimate business." Jiang Zuo said, "The laws of Dayan do not prohibit officials from doing business. If Lord Ma does not mind, I can slowly explain to you where this money came from."

"You speak."

Ma Hengwei was extremely curious.

And a female emperor who did not want to be named in a corner said: "Does this million and two families' fortune include the more than 20,000 I have?"

Jiang Zuo spoke slowly and unhurriedly, "I own 19 workshops of various types and more than 10 restaurants and teahouses. All these properties are funded by me, and none of them were taken by force. The most profitable one is the silk business, which brings in more than 800,000 yuan in revenue each year, of which 60% is for raw materials and workers, 10% is dividends for the people, 10% is paid as taxes to the county, and another 10% is used for the construction of Anding County. As the boss, I only take 10%."

Jiang Zuo spoke in great detail and the others listened attentively.

"As the saying goes, we should take from the people and give back to the people. I have ordered people to use cement to repair the walls of Anding County, and to reinforce and thicken them. This has prevented the barbarians from the grassland from breaking through in the past five years. I have never taken the initiative to report such an achievement."

Jiang Zuo spoke the truth without any lies.

"To get rich, you must first build roads. The roads in Anding County have already been renovated. Didn't Lord Ma notice it when he entered Anding?" Jiang Zuo asked again.

When asked this, Ma Hengwei's expression was rarely dull for a moment.

Indeed, the official roads in Anding County are not only very spacious, but also very flat, even better than those in the imperial city of Beijing.

Ma Hengwei had to admit that Jiang Zuo was indeed capable of governing Anding County.

He had no ill will towards Jiang Zuo, and even admired him a little.

But Ma Hengwei had the emperor's order and certainly could not praise him on the spot.

"Anding County also spends a large amount of money every year to buy food from all over the country and distribute it to the victims who have fled here for free. In addition, the government has set up projects to provide work-for-relief, so that these refugees who have no fixed homes can have stable jobs. These important expenditures are all funded by the government and myself, and the appropriation from the court only accounts for a small part.

"The income of the people in Anding County is much higher than that of other counties, and those who join the army will receive an average of more than 50 taels of reward each year. With this amount, Lord Ma, do you still think that I am a corrupt villain?"

Everyone was stunned.

I didn't expect Jiang Zuo's memory to be so clear. More importantly, almost all of Anding County's important income was really used for the people.

"Lord Jiang has made great contributions to the governance and stability, he cannot be guilty!"

Someone in the crowd shouted the same thing again, causing the court to become noisy again.

"That's right, Lord Jiang is innocent!"