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

"Sir, there are no clues. I will order someone to find out the identity of this assassin."

Ma Hengwei picked up the dagger on the ground and wrapped it with white cloth.

"No need to check, I roughly know who sent it."

Jiang Zuo was not panicked.

"Who? Jizhou Prefecture?" Ma Hengwei was puzzled.

"Maybe, but it's unlikely."

Jiang Zuo had other ideas.

The people of Jizhou Prefecture cannot afford the crime of assassinating the imperial envoy.

If Jiang Zuo was unfortunately assassinated, Jizhou Prefecture would be the first to take the blame. Even a fool would not do such a thing.

"Who could that be?"

"The capital." Jiang Zuo said.

"Capital? Why?" Ma Hengwei didn't understand.

"That must be because the disaster in Jizhou is closely related to certain officials in the court, and they don't want me to investigate..." Jiang Zuo guessed.

Who could these court officials be? Jiang Zuo was still unclear.

"Please take a rest, my lord. I will protect you in secret."

Ma Hengwei called other people and started cleaning up the scene.

"Forget it, it's too creepy here, I'm going to sleep in the master's room..."

The next day.

The Jiangzuo group set out before dawn and after two days of walking, they finally arrived near Yecheng, Jizhou Prefecture.

Standing halfway up the mountain and looking into the distance, you can vaguely see a corner of the city wall of Yecheng.

"Sir, Yecheng is just ahead. Do you want to rest for a while before going on?" Ma Hengwei said.

"Just go down the mountain."

Jiang Zuo sat on his horse with a worried look on his face.

There is thick fog ahead, and no one knows what kind of danger is waiting for them.

When they arrived outside Yecheng, the scene before them shocked everyone.

From the bottom of the city wall to the foot of the mountain, at a glance, there were nearly tens of thousands of disaster victims.

They were ragged, skinny and had hollow eyes.

Most people slept on the ground and had no shelter.

Many children had straw stuck on their heads.

"Whoever wants to buy a child only needs two taels of silver."

Suddenly, a woman was heard shouting, holding a skinny girl in her hand.

They could no longer afford to eat and had to sell their children to survive.

But the people present were all victims who had lost their homes due to the flood and had nowhere to go.

They couldn't even solve the problem of the next meal. I don't know how many people starved to death...

Such a shocking scene made Jiang Zuo frown.

"These corrupt officials disregard human life, and they deserve no pity for their death."

"It's outrageous that so many disaster victims cannot be properly resettled!"

Ma Hengwei was also furious.

There are so many victims in Yecheng alone, and if you add the numbers from other places, the number is shocking.

“Are you selling children?”

Suddenly I heard someone say again.

Following the sound, I saw a man who looked like a young man, followed by a number of followers.

"Yes, sir, two ounces of silver, two ounces of silver!"

The woman knelt down and shouted as if she had found a life-saving straw.

"This girl is a little dirty, but she's pretty."

The young man covered his nose with a handkerchief, carefully looked at the girl next to the woman, and said, "Two taels is too expensive, one tael is better."

"This..." The woman looked grim and hugged the girl tightly.

One or two taels of silver was a life-saving sum for these disaster victims, but the woman was not happy at all at the moment.

"Give me the money." The young man turned around and ordered.

The attendant took out one or two ounces of silver, threw it on the ground, and then forcibly snatched the girl from the woman.

The girl cried, "Mom, please don't sell me!"

"Master, I won't sell it anymore!" the woman begged, holding the child's hand, "Don't take my child away!"

"Mom!" the girl cried miserably.

"Let go!" the follower shouted.

"Save us!" the woman cried, refusing to let go.

Others were indifferent, as if they had already become numb to what was happening before their eyes.

"Go away!"

The follower kicked the woman away and dragged the girl away.

"Don't leave yet."

At this time, Jiang Zuo stood in front of them.

Behind Jiang Zuo were Ma Hengwei, Master Guo and others.

"Who the hell are you?"

The young man said in an arrogant tone.

"I didn't ask for advice."

Jiang Zuo's tone was calm.

"You don't even recognize Master Liu Qi, are you from out of town?"

The dog follower beside the young man shouted.

"We are indeed from other places."

Jiangzuo Road.

"If you are from outside the area, just pay one or two taels of silver to enter the city. Don't meddle in other people's business. Do you understand?" The young man said aggressively.

"You didn't hear it just now. The woman said she didn't want to sell it. How could you rob it by force?"

Jiang Zuo questioned.

At this time, the woman knelt on the ground again, begging in a low voice, sobbing: "Sir, we are untouchables who know we are wrong. Please let us go! Give the child back to me..."

The little girl beside him also kept struggling and trying to escape.

"Are you looking for death?"

Master Liu Qi looked ferocious, trying to scare Jiang Zuo, but when he saw that the latter had no reaction, he angrily ordered his followers, "Surround them all, and don't let any of them escape."

At this moment, Ma Hengwei couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you! Do you know who you are talking to?"

“Oh, no matter who you are, when you come to Yecheng, you have to call me the Seventh Young Master. Who do you think you are?”

Liu Qi is quite arrogant.

"It's really nothing. I'm Jiang Zuo, the governor of Zhenbei!"

"What's the matter?"

Young Master Liu Qi looked indifferent.

At this moment, the follower behind him changed his expression and said in panic: "You, you... are the governor of Zhenbei..."

"The Governor-General of Zhenbei sent by the imperial court?!"

Someone shouted again.

As soon as these words were spoken, they caused immediate shock.

"Capture these villains!"

Jiang Zuo suddenly shouted loudly.

The Qianqi Division received the order and took action quickly.

The followers of these young masters were no match for the Thousand Cavalry Division and were all subdued in just a few moves.

The girl also broke free and returned to her mother.

"Let me go, what rights do you have to arrest me? I'm telling you, no matter who you are, I'm from the Liu family of Yecheng, a family from the south of the Yangtze River!"

Master Liu Qi screamed, and was a little panicked at this time.

"Wait." Jiang Zuo suddenly shouted.

Master Liu Qi raised the corner of his mouth and said with a disdainful smile: "Are you scared? Why don't you let me go and kneel down to admit your mistake to me."

Jiang Zuo was not in a hurry. He came to Liu Qi and searched his whole body.

"What do you want to do?" Young Master Liu Qi looked confused.

After a while, Jiang Zuo found a large amount of banknotes on Liu Qi and said with a smile, "You are quite rich... take them away." Then he put the banknotes into his pocket.

After Master Liu Qi was taken away, Jiang Zuo looked around.

The hungry and emaciated faces of the disaster victims made him feel heartbroken and a sense of powerlessness.

"Everyone, the relief grain from the imperial court has been transported here, and everyone will have food to eat soon."

Jiang Zuo said loudly.

"We have food to eat, we are saved!"

"really?"

"Master Qingtian!"

"The court has sent people to rescue us!"

"Sir, please be kind and give me something to eat first!"

The victims almost rushed forward as if they had seen their savior.