At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

Although the four old men were all dressed in silk and satin, they all looked extremely embarrassed when they were brought to the court.

"Your Excellency, I have been ordered to escort the four chief salt merchants. I have brought them here. Please make your decision, my Lord."

It was not until this moment that Jiang Wenzhong breathed a sigh of relief.

These four old guys were not ordinary people. They hid for a long time before he found them.

"Very good, you did a good job. Go down and have a rest first. A banquet has been set up in the government office. I will reward you brothers in the evening."

Xia Yun waved his hand.

Soon, Jiang Wen left the court again, and Xia Yun looked at the four salt merchants again, with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"I didn't expect that we would meet for the first time in such an occasion. Do you four have anything to say?"

Xia Yun said with a smile.

He did not lock the four old guys up in the prefect's dungeon immediately, because if he did so, the four old guys might lose their lives at any time.

He personally checked out the conditions in the prefectural dungeon.

Unlike those above-ground prison cells built of mud and wood, dungeons are dug from the ground.

The standard of each dungeon cell is eight inches wide, seven feet long, and ten inches high, with three sides made of mud and one side made of iron.

In Xia Yun's opinion, that small space looked more like a tomb.

Most of the suspects who were thrown into the dungeon did not die under the guillotine of the government. Instead, they suffered psychological breakdowns due to the torture of the dark environment in the dungeon.

"Humph!"

Although the four chief salt merchants were brought to court, they were still arrogant.

In response to Xia Yun's proactive greeting, several people snorted coldly and showed disdain on their faces.

However, Xia Yun was not annoyed.

For him, killing these four old men was no psychological burden at all.

These guys may look glamorous on the surface, but who knows how many lives they have taken behind the scenes.

He now has only one goal, which is to squeeze all of these guys' money!

At this moment, a loud voice suddenly came from outside the prefectural government office.

"Mr. Chen, the governor of Zhejiang, has arrived!"

As soon as the voice fell, bailiffs immediately appeared in the court.

"Sir, there are many, many people outside."

The bailiff who came to report was out of breath and looked very anxious while speaking.

Hearing this, Xia Yun raised his eyebrows.

What is that guy doing here?

He has not had much contact with Chen Hanzhi since he came to Hangzhou, but he can at least be sure of one thing.

Chen Hanzhi is not an easy person to deal with.

"Come here, tell Jiang Wenzhong and Chong Heihu to gather all the troops and follow us to welcome the distinguished guest."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Yun waved his hand, and several yamen runners beside him arrested the four salt merchants on the spot.

After the order was issued, more than 500 soldiers in the prefectural government office put aside their own work and quickly gathered together fully armed.

Originally, Jiang Wenzhong led two hundred soldiers from Dai County to Hangzhou.

When they arrived at Hangzhou City, Xia Yun left one hundred soldiers outside the city as a mobile force, ready to be deployed at any time.

To this day, the one hundred soldiers, under the various arrangements of Xia Yun and Xu Wan'er, have entered the city of Hangzhou one after another.

Together with the three hundred soldiers brought by Chong Heihu, the hidden power within the prefectural government has reached a very impressive level.

You have to know that these five hundred soldiers are not the kind of soldiers with long spears and long hair in the outside world.

Each of these five hundred men is equipped with advanced firearms and protective gear.

In order to avoid attracting attention, Xia Yun had previously prohibited soldiers from carrying guns with them.

Until this moment, when Xia Yun arrived at the gate of the yamen, five hundred soldiers were divided into two teams and filed out.

At the same time, Chen Hanzhi, with more than 500 people, was already waiting outside the gate of the prefectural yamen.

"My Lord Futai, I haven't seen you for a long time. Why did you think of visiting my prefectural government office today?"

Xia Yun stood on the steps, Jiang Wenzhong and Chong Heihu, one on the left and one on the right, followed closely behind Xia Yun.

"If I never show up again, I'm afraid the entire city of Hangzhou will be turned upside down by Lord Xia."

Chen Hanzhi's face was gloomy.

He was still a step late.

Before he arrived at the prefectural government office, he had already received the news.

A group of Hangzhou's top merchants, including four chief salt merchants and three silk tycoons, have all been arrested and taken to the prefectural government.

"Oh? I don't know where Lord Chen got this from. I have always been a loyal official and have never robbed the people of anything. I hope Lord Cheng will not listen to rumors."

Xia Yun smiled with his lips but not his eyes.

If the other party had not been a second-rank governor, he would have wanted to kill him long ago.

"Master Xia, please stop being so unreasonable!"

Chen Hanzhi snorted coldly, rolled up his sleeves with both hands, and said in a deep voice.

"The Hangzhou merchants you arrested today are the foundation of Hangzhou's economy. As the governor of Zhejiang, I will never allow anyone to disrupt Hangzhou's economy!"

"Quickly release all the merchants in Hangzhou. I can pretend that what happened today never happened."

Chen Hanzhi's words were full of rebukes, and his tone was condescending.

Release him?

A smile appeared on Xia Yun's lips.

"What should I do if this government doesn't let me go?"

Xia Yun gradually felt murderous. If the other party insisted on having his own way and really wanted to fight him, he wouldn't mind sending him to hell.

"Xia Yun!"

Xia Yun's laughter made Chen Hanzhi's face show anger, and he even uttered a scolding.

"If you are stubborn and refuse to change your ways, there will be no good end for you!"

Chen Hanzhi issued a warning again. It can be seen that his patience has reached the upper limit.

Seeing this, Xia Yun's eyes also turned cold.

After glancing to the left and right, Jiang Wenzhong and Chong Heihu immediately stepped forward.

The two of them were wearing white helmets and white armor, and black helmets and black armor respectively, which gave off a very oppressive feeling.

At the same time, a group of soldiers who rushed out of the prefectural government office raised their guns and aimed at the troops brought by Chen Hanzhi.

At this moment, the situation was critical.

Chen Hanzhi looked around and realized that the number of soldiers rushing out of the prefectural government office was as many as five hundred.

How can this be?

Chen Hanzhi didn't understand why Xia Yun, as the prefect of Hangzhou, had so many soldiers under his command?

Especially at this moment, the weapons held in the hands of the soldiers under Xia Yun gave people a great sense of oppression just at a glance.

But when he thought of his reputation as the governor of Zhejiang Province, Chen Hanzhi's inner anger once again took over.

He knew very well that if he lost in momentum to Xia Yun, who was two ranks lower than him today, those guys in the officialdom would definitely mock him in the future.

The situation on the field is getting increasingly tense.

Chen Han made up his mind and waved his hand on the spot, ready to let the 500 capable and battle-hardened soldiers behind him rush directly into the prefectural government office.

However, at the moment when he made his move, another loud sound rang out, like a thunderclap.

"The Governor is here!"