In fact, Du Qi could investigate and punish Yan Zhengyi as well. However, Yan Zhengyi's official style and ability were not bad, which was why Du Qi did not punish Yan Zhengyi directly.
Du Qi and the rest rested in the Wang family. The next morning, Du Qi and the rest had already woken up. At this time, Wang Gan's family had already prepared breakfast and invited Du Qi and the rest to eat.
Wang Gan's family was grateful to Du Qi. The reason was simple. With Du Qi's help, their carriage could continue to earn money and would not be taken over by others.
After breakfast, Du Qi was ready to leave.
Wang Gan personally led people to send him off, especially at this time when all the villagers in the village came out. Because what happened last night had already spread to the whole village, many people came to see them.
Du Qi looked at the group of villagers who came to send him off and said some words of thanks and encouragement. He thanked the villagers for coming to send him off and encouraged them to learn from Wang Gan so that they could find another way to become rich.
After the villagers heard this, they all nodded their heads. Each and every one of them looked at Du Qi and were extremely excited. To the common people, being able to see someone like Du Qi was simply a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
This was something that they could brag about for the rest of their lives.
Du Qi turned his gaze and looked at Wang Gan, he said, "Elder, your carriage is not bad. It is convenient for the people and you can earn money to support your family. However, I hope that you can do more than this. Because even as a businessman, there is a businessman's morality and a businessman's way of doing business. That is to lead the villagers to become rich together and give more people the opportunity to earn money. "
"Being rich together is the way of being a businessman."
Du Qi said seriously, "If the Wang family can do this, you will not have lived in vain. The Wang family will also be appreciated and remembered by countless people. "
Wang Gan heard Du Qi's words and said, "Rest assured, Emperor Xia. I will do my best to fulfill Emperor Xia's request. Emperor Xia's arrangement, I will definitely fulfill it. "
Du Qi said, "In the future, if you encounter something like Zhang Feng, don't think about submitting to him. When encountering unfairness, one should fight to the end and report it to the higher-ups. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, don't do this again. I look forward to seeing your Wang Family's carriage business expand to even more areas in the future. "
Wang Gan bowed again and said, "I will not disappoint Emperor Xia's expectations."
Du Qi didn't say anything more. He turned around and nodded to everyone before taking his leave. After Du Qi and his group left Leaning Mountain Village, they continued to move forward. Du Qi was currently traveling incognito, so he wasn't in a hurry and just continued on his way.
Originally, Du Qi had listened to Wang Gan's words and wanted to attack Lu Ba. Unfortunately, after asking around along the way, he found that the road tyrants that Wang Gan had mentioned had disappeared. These people had actually stopped committing crimes.
After all, Du Qi had no evidence.
Therefore, Du Qi stayed for a while and continued on his way. The group left Gaochang County and continued to head west, entering Puchang County. Puchang County was the easternmost county in Gaochang State. Its development was quite good and its economy was very prosperous.
After Du Qi entered, he made a private visit along the way.
The people in the surrounding area all had a good life. They all had money to spare at home. At the beginning of April, Du Qi and his group approached Puchang County. At this time, there were more merchants coming and going on the official road.
Carriages were hurrying along, transporting goods. Some were leaving and some were going. It was quite a bustling scene. However, after the group walked for about two miles and was less than three to four miles away from the county, the official road ahead suddenly became crowded.
The carriages that were hurrying along stopped moving forward.
Du Qi's carriage also stopped because the road ahead was already filled with people. It was impossible to move forward. Du Qi lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked ahead. He saw the situation on the official road ahead. He frowned and ordered, "Liu Jian, go and ask what's going on on the official road ahead."
"Yes!"
Liu Jian received the order and immediately went forward.
After asking for a while, he returned to Du Qi's side and reported, "Young Master, the road ahead is crowded because there's a checkpoint set up on the official road ahead. All merchants entering and exiting Gaochang City have to pay a certain amount of money. The payment isn't much. Five copper coins for small amounts of goods and ten copper coins for large amounts of goods. Because of the checkpoint, even if the commoners don't have to pay to enter and exit, they will still be affected to a certain extent, causing the road to be blocked. "
Du Qi narrowed his eyes and asked with a cold and solemn expression, "Is this arranged by the government?"
"No!"
Liu Jian shook his head and said, "The checkpoint is set up by a private individual. The person who set up the checkpoint is called Guan Zhilan, also known as the Puchang Crown Prince. He's the youngest son of Puchang County Magistrate Guan Yi. Guan Zhilan isn't old and is estimated to be close to twenty years old. He's very greedy for money, but he's never exacted excessive taxes. He only collected a moderate amount of money. "
After a pause, Liu Jian continued, "Just like the checkpoint, five copper coins or ten copper coins are actually a drop in the ocean for merchants. They can settle the matter by spending a bit of money. No one will say anything, so everyone tacitly agrees to the checkpoint. Moreover, Guan Zhilan is Guan Yi's son. Guan Yi is the county magistrate, which is equivalent to the local tyrant of Puchang County. No one dares to say anything. "
Du Qi said, "I really didn't know until I saw it. I was shocked when I saw it. I wouldn't have known about this if I hadn't come to the lower levels to investigate. I only found out about this after making a trip here. "
Liu Jian didn't say anything else.
He knew that Du Qi was definitely angry.
Shangguan Yi said, "Your Majesty, please give the order to arrange for people to enter the city at top speed and directly arrest Guan Yi and interrogate him."
"There's no hurry." Du Qi shook his head and said, "After we enter Puchang County, we'll understand the local situation. We'll ignore Guan Zhilan's situation for the time being and let him collect money as he pleases. "
"Yes!"
Shangguan Yi immediately complied.
Du Qi didn't say anything else. After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the group directly passed the checkpoint and entered the county. Although Puchang County wasn't as prosperous as Gaochang County, it was still lively enough. The city was bustling with people coming and going.
Many merchants were coming and going.
Many goods were being sold here.
When noon approached, Du Qi's group prepared for lunch. They didn't go to a high-end restaurant, but directly chose a wine shop in the city to drink and eat meat.
Wine and meat were more than enough!
Because it was a roadside stall, there were quite a lot of people in the tavern. Even though the location that Du Qi and his group chose was somewhat remote, there were actually a lot of people who came to eat. They were all middle-aged people who worked hard. Everyone was eating and chatting.
Du Qi's group ate and drank slowly. They were the slowest. However, with more people came more food. Even though they were a bit slow, the wine shop owner still welcomed them with a smile. In the end, only Du Qi's group was left eating.
Seeing that the shopkeeper was a bit free, Du Qi looked at the wine shop owner and asked, "Shopkeeper, this is my first time in Puchang County. I heard that Puchang Crown Prince Guan Zhilan set up checkpoints and wantonly plunder money. I'm afraid this person's actions are inappropriate. Could it be that county magistrate Guan Yi doesn't care at all? "
The shopkeeper was injured and couldn't stop washing the dishes. He said, "Sir, this is your first time here. It's normal that you don't know. Guan Yi has three sons, but the first two died young. He only has Guan Zhilan as his youngest son. He spoils him to the heavens. How could he care? "
"Moreover, everyone knows that Guan Zhilan is smart and doesn't collect much money. It's just a few copper coins, at most ten copper coins. Therefore, no one cares. After all, the money involved isn't much, and it doesn't affect ordinary people. Ordinary people can pass through on the official road without being affected at all. "
The shopkeeper smiled. "Therefore, even if Guan Zhilan collects money, it doesn't affect much."
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