Chapter 149

Two bookkeepers from Tiger Pass stood in the corridor with their hands in their sleeves, craning their necks to look ahead. One of them said, "Old Merchant, what do you think about the account books for the past five years? Can they read them all?"

Old Merchant said, "Who cares? They can't catch thieves in Gourd County, so they came to our Myriad Mountains Bureau to cause trouble. That's outrageous. If it wasn't for the prefectural magistrate's orders, they would've been kicked out long ago. Hehe, let's get them to sort out our account books. That way, they'll be more orderly. "

In the bookkeeper's office, a group of white-bearded old men were sweating profusely. Ma Hui, Xu Haoran, and the other constables didn't know how to keep accounts, so they could only help them carry the books, provide ink, and serve tea.

Contrary to what the two bookkeepers from Tiger Pass had expected, these old fellows who were good at keeping accounts didn't help them sort out the books. When these old bookkeepers arrived at Tiger Pass, they were a little dizzy at first. How were they going to check so many books? But they quickly found a good way to speed up the process.

First, they sent some people to select each account book. They threw aside all the records of the southbound carts and only selected the ones of the northbound carts. Because Tiger Pass inspected and released the merchants coming from the south and the north at two different intersections, the account books were also separated. This way, the workload was reduced by half.

Inspired by this, Ye Xiaotian ordered them to only check the records related to the Chang family's carriage and the two merchants, Hu Qifeng and Lu Mo. As a result, the speed of the work was even faster. The bookkeepers only had to skim through the records of goods shipped from the south to the north and only pick out the records related to these three merchants. Another bookkeeper was assigned to record all the goods shipped from the three merchants to the north. The speed of the work was more than ten times faster than the people of Tiger Pass had expected.

This kind of request could only be made by Ye Xiaotian. The old bookkeepers wouldn't lock these three as important suspects. Even if they did, they wouldn't dare to publicly announce that they were only investigating these three people before they obtained concrete evidence. That would be equivalent to pointing at their noses and saying, "You're the most suspicious!"

They couldn't do that, but Ye Xiaotian was different. At this point, he didn't care what Zhao Wenyuan thought. Since he had asked for this "sword of the imperial court" from Tongren Province, if he didn't find something, how could he explain to the Myriad Mountains Bureau and Prefectural Magistrate Zhang? It was time for the dagger to be revealed!

However, this kind of targeting was only shown within their own ranks. In the eyes of the people of Tiger Pass, they were still at a loss. As soon as Ambassador Pang stepped into the room, the accountants who were responsible for reading the accounts of the Chang's Carriage Company, the Hu's Merchant Company, and the Lu's Merchant Company immediately shut their mouths. They silently flipped through the accounts and shook their heads from time to time. The accountant's office, which specialized in checking the information of goods shipped to the north, had also turned over everything. It seemed that they were sorting everything according to the date recorded in the account book.

Ye Xiaotian, on the other hand, stretched his body and said painfully, "Sigh, this is so tiring. My head is spinning!"

Pang said with admiration, "Ah! I didn't know that the County Magistrate also knows how to audit the accounts.

Ye Xiaotian said, "What! Ambassador Pang said curiously, "County magistrate, if you don't know how to check accounts, why are you dizzy?"

Ye Xiaotian flipped open the book and said to Ambassador Pang mysteriously, "Here, this is what I'm looking at!"

Ye Xiaotian flipped open the book and said to Ambassador Pang mysteriously, "Here, this is what I'm reading!"

On the cover was a blurry erotic picture with the words "Romance of Ruyi Lou" written on the side. Printed on the cover was a blurry erotic picture, and next to it were the words "The Romance of Ruyi Lou". Ambassador Pang hesitated, "County Magistrate Ye, this is …"

Ye Xiaotian whispered, "This is a story book by Yue Xiaoguan, a famous writer in Jin Ling. The words are beautiful and the story is romantic. It's very fascinating. Haha … Ambassador Pang, do you want to take a look? I'll finish reading it in two or three days. I can lend it to you then. "

Ambassador Pang laughed dryly, "Uh, this … this … thank you for your kindness, County Magistrate Ye …"

Ye Xiaotian said, "Ah, no need to thank me, no need to thank me! It's better to share than to be happy alone. However, Ambassador Pang, you must be careful when you look at it. This is my treasure. Don't smear it. Hehehe, you know what I mean! "

Ambassador Pang was stunned and smiled bitterly, "Thank you for your kindness, County Magistrate Ye. I … I'm busy with work. I won't read it."

Ye Xiaotian suddenly thought of something and said, "Oh! Oh yes, Ambassador Pang, why are you here? Is there something important? "

Ambassador Pang replied, "That's not the case. This lowly official just has something to discuss with you."

Ye Xiaotian smiled, "What is it? Come, Ambassador Pang, please sit down. Let's talk. "

This was Ambassador Pang's territory, but he was the host. Commissioner Pang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He sat down on the chair and coughed. Then he said, "County Magistrate Ye, my Tiger Pass is related to a large amount of revenue of the Great Mountains Agency. Our County Magistrate is very concerned about it."

Ye Xiaotian nodded. He could see that the County Magistrate of the Great Mountains Department was a local magistrate, which meant that he was the county magistrate of the imperial court. In fact, he was just a local chieftain. The title was passed down from father to son, son to grandson. It was very different from Magistrate Hua.

Moreover, all taxes under the rule of the chieftains were for their own use. They also had obligations to the imperial court, but they were much lighter than those under the rule of officials. It was a high degree of autonomy. In this case, it was normal for the County Magistrate of the Great Mountains Department to be concerned about the revenue of the Tiger Pass.

Ambassador Pang said, "Therefore, from our daily management, you should be able to see that I dare not be careless. Otherwise, I won't be able to answer to the County Magistrate. I'm in charge of Tiger Pass, but there are many things that I don't have the final say in … "

Ye Xiaotian said impatiently, "You don't have to say so much. Why beat around the bush? I'm a straightforward person. Just get to the point."

Ambassador Pang said, "It's like this. Sir, if you want to check the accounts, I will do my best to cooperate. All the accounts are here. But your people can't interfere with the affairs of the Tiger Pass. "

Ye Xiaotian asked curiously, "Did we interfere with your affairs? Why didn't I know about it? "

Ambassador Pang said with a bitter face, "Look, that Squad Leader Su Xuntian treated our Deputy Huang to a drink today and Taxman Liu to a prostitute tomorrow. What did he ask? Sigh! It's fine if we don't talk about it, but to make them drunk and refuse to return, or owe a huge debt to a prostitute, this is a bit too much. You see … "

Ye Xiaotian was enraged, "Is there such a thing? This Su Xuntian is really too much! Eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, committing all sorts of crimes. I really want to … "

Ye Xiaotian suddenly restrained his anger and sighed. He said to Ambassador Pang helplessly, "Ambassador Pang, you don't know, this Su Xuntian is the brother-in-law of our County Magistrate, so I can't be too harsh on him. This person is full of bad habits, so I can only tolerate him."

Ye Xiaotian poured out his grievances to Ambassador Pang, and Ambassador Pang listened patiently before saying, "What about the two people from the Tax Department? They follow our people around all day, and they don't regard themselves as outsiders at all. In fact, they are quite familiar with each other. Some of the passing merchants even think that they are our new tax collectors. Sir, you see …"

Ye Xiaotian said, "Oh, the two of them! They are from the Tax Department of Hulu County, not my direct subordinates. They are very bored, so they can only wander around. But don't worry, I will definitely teach them a lesson, and not let them cause trouble for your Pass. "

Ambassador Pang helplessly said, "And that one surnamed Hua, his name seems to be Hua An?"

Ye Xiaotian smiled from ear to ear and said, "Yes, his name is Hua An. Hua An is one of my people. This child is very obedient. What's wrong? Did he cause you any trouble?"

Ambassador Pang took a deep breath and said, "He … he is like a wandering ghost, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Who knows when he will suddenly appear …"

Ye Xiaotian was a little unhappy. He pulled a long face and said, "Ambassador Pang, this is where you're wrong. Don't tell me you want me to lock everyone up? We're here at Tiger Pass to handle a case, not to go to jail. Can't we just wander around? Is there something shameful going on in your Tiger Pass? "

Ambassador Pang argued, "I can't be bothered with him wandering around, but just now, he actually wandered into my inner residence. That's where my women live. In the end … I asked him the reason, and he said that he got lost. This is ridiculous. He actually got lost and got lost in my backyard … "

Ye Xiaotian immediately smiled from ear to ear and said, "Ah! I know, this child is good at everything, except for one bad thing, which is that he likes to peep at women bathing. "

Ambassador Pang's eyes widened, "What?"

Ye Xiaotian said with deep understanding, "A man of his age, who has never had a woman, is inevitably curious about women …"

Then his face changed again, and he said fiercely, "But breaking into Ambassador Pang's house to peep at women bathing is too much. I have scolded him more than once for this bad habit of his. Don't worry, I will discipline him strictly. If he dares to appear in your backyard again, I will break his third leg! "

Ambassador Pang was speechless and could only say, "Then … then I will have to trouble Magistrate Ye. If they continue like this, I am afraid that even I can't restrain them if something happens. I believe you also know that the Great Mountains Agency is the territory of our County Magistrate. "

Ambassador Pang emphasized the last sentence. Ye Xiaotian nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand, I understand. Ambassador Pang, don't worry, I will find them and bring them back. These bastards, none of them are easy to deal with. I will discipline them strictly, I will discipline them strictly!"

Seeing that Ye Xiaotian was so easy to talk to, Ambassador Pang couldn't say anything more. He could only force a smile and cupped his hands at Ye Xiaotian, saying, "In that case, I will have to trouble Magistrate Ye. I will take my leave now."

Ye Xiaotian smiled amiably, "Ambassador Pang, take care, I won't see you out!"

As soon as Ambassador Pang left, the accountants got busy again. Some flipped through, some browsed, some reported, and some recorded. Ye Xiaotian looked at Ambassador Pang's back as he left, and a trace of worry appeared on his face.

The officialdom was like a leaky spoon, and there were no secrets that could be kept. Therefore, from the beginning, he didn't put all his hopes on checking the accounts, which was why Su Xuntian and the others had split up. Now that Ambassador Pang had become vigilant, could they still gain anything?