0p0 Chapter 159 The Prefect's Big Secret
Chapter 159 The Prefect's Big Secret
"What are you doing?"
Lin Yi frowned and glanced at the officers and soldiers around him.
"You're carrying a tent with you, there must be something wrong!"
"Search for me!"
Following the prefect's order, officers and soldiers advanced aggressively one after another.
"What are you going to do?"
"We are... Oops!"
Xu Chuan was about to stop him, but was pushed to the ground by a soldier.
After a search, nothing suspicious was found, but some seals were found instead.
In addition to the seal there are several tokens.
On the token, the words "Ministry of Industry" are written.
Immediately, the prefect panicked.
Even though he had never been to the capital, he knew that the Ministry of Works had special tokens and seals.
These people under Lin Yi are obviously officials appointed by the imperial court!
"What's wrong? Did you find anything good?"
Lin Yi looked at the prefect and spoke slowly.
"Sir... I really don't know..."
The prefect was about to speak when he was interrupted by Lin Yi.
"I'm not an official."
"It's just that these friends of mine have some minor status."
Lin Yi waved his hands as he spoke, "I just wanted to go into the city to do some business and see what the situation was like."
"As long as you don't cause any trouble, you won't have any business."
After saying that, Lin Yi and his companions packed up their things and pushed their bicycles into the city.
The prefect frowned and looked at Lin Yi and the others carefully. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
Why would officials from the capital want to come to this small Donghai City?
Could it be that he is here to check on me?
But such strange behavior...isn't it too easy to be exposed?
The prefect couldn't figure out what Lin Yi and his group were here for, so he could only arrange a few trusted people to keep an eye on Lin Yi and his group.
Lin Yi and his companions rode their bicycles into Donghai City and found an inn to stay in.
"Master Lin, this Donghai City is still the same as it was in Dayong."
They booked a suite and sat in the living room, discussing with Lin Yi, "There's no bar, no bathhouse, and there's too little entertainment."
It was only then that they realized that Lin Yi's things had almost completely changed Dayong's lifestyle habits.
In the past, those entertainment activities or service projects that Dayong did not have at all have become commonplace to them after being developed by Lin Yi.
Even though they are used to it, there are still large areas in Dayong where roads are difficult and blocked, and this has not changed at all.
"Get used to it. Didn't you all come here this way before?"
Lin Yi smiled.
He is waiting for news.
If he didn't fully understand Donghai City, he wouldn't explain things publicly or ask someone to do things.
Not long after, someone knocked on the door and came in.
He looked like an ordinary citizen, and he was well disguised.
If he hadn't taken out the Chamber of Commerce sign, even Xu Chuan probably wouldn't have recognized it.
"Master Lin, the things have been investigated."
"It's not very peaceful here."
The man said, taking out a few slips of paper and placing them on the table. "Prefect, I'm afraid there's a small problem."
With that he left the room.
"Master Lin, this is..."
The three assistant ministers looked at each other.
They didn't expect that Lin Yi had secretly arranged such personnel.
"This is someone from the Ministry of Justice."
"Before I leave, I want Bao Bu Tong to help me find out how many tricks there are in Donghai City."
Lin Yi explained, "If there is no trick, of course I can do things openly."
Obviously, there is a problem in Donghai City, and it is a very big problem.
As they said this, several people began to look at the note. What was written on it was a bit messy, but at least they could see it clearly.
First of all, there are some bandits around Donghai City, but these bandits are secretive and often cannot be found.
Next, it was the taxes of Donghai City.
It has always been claimed that the taxes are too heavy and the people are suffering.
The payment is less every year.
The remaining miscellaneous situations in the city all revealed that Donghai City, a small coastal city that had fallen into decline due to the maritime ban, had big problems.
"Let's go around and look around."
Lin Yi said as he took out a disguise from his bag.
After some careful disguise, several people set out from the inn in groups to check out the surrounding situation.
While buying food and drinking on the street, he also asked various shop assistants about the situation.
After several days of investigation, Lin Yi had a clear understanding of the entire Donghai City.
The first is the issue of taxes.
In fact, there are people who secretly go fishing in Donghai City every year, but 80% of the proceeds go into the pocket of the prefect.
Then there is the so-called problem of bandits.
In fact, the people of Donghai City know very well that they are all "their own people."
Because Donghai City has not developed much and has a relatively stable population, except for some businessmen doing business, all the faces are familiar.
Several waiters told Lin Yi that these so-called robbers were actually the prefect's men!
They deliberately robbed the caravan in the middle, and then divided the goods and money with the prefect!
On the one hand, the robbers divided the loot, and on the other hand, 80% of the fishing income was collected, plus some miscellaneous taxes. The people were indeed suffering.
As for the fact that taxes collected are getting less and less every year, it means that the prefect has more and more money in his pocket every year.
After a search, Lin Yi, together with the personnel secretly sent by the Ministry of Justice to Donghai City, finally managed to quickly search Donghai City from top to bottom.
The "local tyrant" in Donghai City is the prefect.
……
While Lin Yi was getting to know Donghai City, the prefect was also sending people to monitor them.
Over the past few days, the prefect had learned about Lin Yi's eating, drinking, and having fun.
"Are you sure he's been eating, drinking and having fun?"
The prefect frowned slightly as he watched the person in charge of surveillance come forward to report.
"That's right, Your Excellency, that Lin Yi is spending money every day!"
“It seems like they’re not here to do business at all.”
Hearing this, the prefect became more and more worried.
He was getting more and more scared that Lin Yi was here to check on him.
Therefore, he could only let more people secretly catch Lin Yi's handle, intending to use the handle to exchange for handle so that Lin Yi would stop investigating.
Finally, two days later, the evidence came out!
At that time, Lin Yi was climbing over the low wall of a courtyard to find out what was going on, but he never expected that the person sent by the prefect would report it right after him.
Lin Yi was blocked in the yard by officers and soldiers.
And the prefect also "appropriately" came to this courtyard.
"Lin Yi, you trespassed into someone else's residence. According to Dayong Law, you will be convicted!"
He frowned as he spoke, "You've been acting suspiciously these past few days and don't seem like a businessman. What exactly do you do?"
"If you don't tell me, I'll take you to jail right now!"
Listening to these threats, Lin Yi remained very calm.
Then he smiled with the corners of his mouth raised.
"why are you laughing?"
The prefect frowned, pretending to be righteous, "Come here, arrest him!"
Hearing this, the officers and soldiers nearby were a little hesitant.
After all, when they searched Lin Yi before, they did find some certificates of imperial appointment from Lin Yi's friends...
This means that Lin Yi must have connections behind him.