After counting the accounts, Chen Zikun was stunned. He still had some inventory of guns and bullets, and there was little left in grain and cash. He brought 200,000 oceans from Beijing, and had monthly coal income and night Shanghai inputs, which were all spent.

"Where did he go to this money?" Chen Zikun threw the account book to the ground.

Zhao Yufeng has a criminal record. He reselled military rations during the Zhi-An War. Chen Zikun knew him well, so how could he not doubt it?

"Master, I'm unfair. Although I am greedy for money, I can only make a hundred pockets of pocket money at most. I dare not be greedy for such a huge amount of military funds. The expenses have been a little too much recently. Let me calculate it for you slowly." Zhao Yufeng knelt down on the ground with a pounce, crying.

Chen Zikun also knew that Zhao Yufeng was not so bold, so he calmed down and listened to his explanation. It turned out that the cost had been huge recently. He had a fierce battle with the provincial army. Although there were not many casualties, there were as many as 100 people. Resetting the wounded and pensioning the dead would cost money. Replenishing ammunition and equipment and uniforms would cost money. Moreover, the two regiments of troops were in Jiangwan, and the early investment was quite huge. They spent more than 100,000 yuan in a row, and that little family background had been wasted.

Yan Su said: "Our family has a weak foundation and the expenses have been a little too high these days. It costs a huge amount of money to buy poppy seeds alone. This money is not enough to be spent."

Chen Zikun also sighed: "It's not enough to make ends meet..."

Although he has opened several mines that mine white coal and have considerable reserves, the mining relies entirely on manpower and limited output, and is even limited by transportation capacity. He cannot transport coal even if he has coal. He can earn up to 10,000 yuan per month, which is a drop in the bucket.

As for night Shanghai, there is no need to mention it. The income is okay to supplement the household income, but it is just a joke to use it for marching and fighting.

Yan Su said: "How about this... collect the land tax."

Chen Zikun shook his head and said, "No, I promised that the people would be exempted from land taxes, and that the orders should not be changed every day."

Yan Su spread his hands: "That battle will always be fought, and the guards will give you a way out."

Chen Zikun paced back and forth in the office room, thought for a long time and finally said, "I have a big eater, and I will take Xia Dalong to take action. This pig has been raised for so long, so it's time to slaughter it."

Yan Su said: "Didn't you promise Gong Zijun not to kill his father-in-law?"

Chen Zikun said: "The crime of death can be avoided, but the crime of living cannot be escaped. The old guy has been against me many times, but I haven't settled the account with him yet. This time he has to be punished and he will lose all his money."

...

The Xia family's mansion was once rich and prosperous, and the former glory and wealth were blown away by the rain and wind. Last year, a fire burned almost half of the house, but it has not been repaired yet. The Xia family is finished. The bodyguards of the hospital are scattered, and the door is deserted, and the carriages are sparse. The biological daughter followed her mortal son and flew away, leaving only one head and bullets left. Qiu Fuzhao, who was already demented, sat in the yard all day long, drooling and making a fool.

Under the eaves, the old Mr. Xia sat in a wheelchair with a blanket on his knees, and two iron galls were still rotating in his right hand. However, it was very difficult to turn, and the iron galls fell to the ground and rolled out far away. At this time, Qiu Fuzhao would run over and pick up the iron galls and send them over. This was also Xia Dalong's only fun.

Suddenly, a group of people broke into the door. Some of the familiar faces were like pugs in front of Xia Dalong, but now they are showing off their might.

Xia Dalong's eyes narrowed slightly, like an old lion who was sleeping. Although he was old, his remaining power was still there, and no one dared to touch him.

"Are you going to attack me finally?" Xia Dalong sneered, "Be quick when you put the knife, I don't want to make trouble."

A little leader said, "Mr. Xia is sorry. Someone sued you. We have followed the orders above to ask you. Don't be as knowledgeable as us."

After saying that, the two group members came up and wanted to strike Xia Dalong. Unexpectedly, Qiu Fuzhao rushed over and said something in a speechless manner, pushing the group members aside. The group members were furious and beat him up, but still took Xia Dalong away.

After Xia Dalong was captured, Chen Zikun's guards searched Xia's house, searched through boxes and cabinets, and even broke the walls of leather. The results were very small, only a few hundred oceans, more than a dozen copper coins, some tin, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, etc. The legendary Xia family, which is rich in wealth, turned out to be just an empty shell.

It’s no wonder that after Xia Dalong had a stroke, his concubines ran away with soft and soft clothes. When he was dismissing the bodyguards to protect the yard, he spent some money. He didn’t have any cash, but the land deeds were still some. The Xia family has been robbing for many years and has made more than 3,000 acres of fertile land, of which the water-water irrigated land alone is as much as 150 acres!

The guards happily returned Chen Zikun to the deed.

In the prison in the outer courtyard of the county government office, an old man with hemiplegia was thrown into a dark prison covered with rotten straw and no one cared about it. Xia Dalong, who had been in the fortunate life, finally realized that his death was approaching.

But Chen Zikun did not execute him silently because it was illegal to do so, and he wanted to publicly try Xia Dalong.

The plaintiff is easy to find. Chen Shou, the leader of the lieutenant colonel of the First Regiment, was ready-made. When the Chen family and the Xia family had a conflict, Xia Dalong bullied others with his power and destroyed the Chen family's family, but the evidence was as strong as a mountain.

Once Chen Shou's lawsuit against Xia Dalong spread, the whole county was in full swing. Xia Dalong had been doing evil for many years but had accumulated a lot of enemies. The wall fell and everyone pushed him. The county government's injustice drum was almost broken. This time, Chen Zikun did not personally investigate the case, but asked County Mayor Liu to take action.

"County magistrate, Xia Dalong and you have a grudge against killing your father. It's time for you to take revenge." Chen Zikun said to Liu Youjin like this.

Liu Youjin was a little embarrassed: "You can't take revenge on your own."

Chen Zikun did not allow him to refuse, and forced him to court. Fortunately, County Mayor Liu was knowledgeable and had a good attitude towards interrogating prisoners. However, Xia Dalong was not good at liberty and did not admit the cases he committed. He had no scruples and no scruples. Liu Youjin was not good at to torture an old man, so he had to end it.

Chen Zikun was anxious. News came from the provincial capital that since the Second Division of the Provincial Army left Maicheng last time, Sun Kaiqin had been buying arms and recruiting soldiers and horses. He sent people to Henan, Shandong, Anhui and other places to recruit 20,000 young and strong men, formed two divisions and another mixed brigade, and bought tens of thousands of Mauser rifles. Who should I deal with?

In the face of the enemy, the sales of opium in their own way were cut off again, and it was difficult to maintain the income and output. Poppy was planted in fertile fields, which caused the price of grain in Jiangbei to soar. The people were already complaining. If they were not solved, they would be unable to sit firmly as the escort envoy.

That night, Chen Zikun brought a man to the prison cell. The dizzy Xia Dalong did not recognize that the man in front of him was the prince of the county magistrate Zeng back then. He thought it was the prison guard who came to deliver the meal, and said, "Put the meal down and get out."

Zeng Jiao said with a slight mocking: "Uncle Xia, you have forgotten so much about it. Don't remember who I am?"

Xia Dalong looked at it for a long time and shook his head: "I don't remember."

Zeng Jiao said: "On the night of August 15th of the previous year, I went to the mansion to pay my respects to you. Have you forgotten that matter?"

Xia Dalong immediately raised his head: "So it's you, who are you? Why do you want to kill me?"

Zeng Jiao said: "I am Hunjianglong."

Xia Dalong was still puzzled: "You and I have no grudges in the past and have no grudges in the past, so why are we fighting each other?"

Zeng Jiao said: "I think Uncle Xia really forgot. When I was a child, I often played with Jing Xi. At that time, you joked that you would be betrothed Jing Xi to me, and you forgot about this?"

Xia Dalong's body shook and his pupils contracted. He finally realized that the son of County Magistrate Zeng was standing in front of him, but he couldn't figure out how the gentle boy of the past became a tough water bandit.

Zeng Jiao approached his face, lowered his voice and said viciously: "Did you remember it? The blood sea of ​​grudges, I have never forgotten it for a moment. It's because my father trusts you so much and promotes you, but you revenge your grudges and kill my whole family. I will settle this debt with you sooner or later."

Xia Dalong was stunned and then sat in the corner and burst into tears: "Retribution, retribution."

Chen Zikun knew that Xia Dalong's psychological defense had collapsed, so he pulled Zeng Jiao away.

"Sir, let me kill him. I went to the city to kill him several times, but I was escaped by this old thief." Zeng Jiao's hatred was not gone. He was a water bandit and could not rush on the shore. He had intended to assassinate Xia Dalong several times, but failed.

Chen Zikun said: "You are not the only one who has a grudge. It will be a pleasure to punish the old thief and the punishment of the priest in the future. Then you will be executed."

Zeng Jiao deeply agrees.

Chen Zikun said again: "When Xia Dalong forced the county magistrate to kill the whole family, it is said to be for the sake of treasure, and I don't know if it succeeds."

Zeng Jiao said in surprise: "My father is a clean official, his arms are spotless, so how can he say treasures?"

Chen Zikun smiled and said, "I have heard of it too."

...

The next day, Xia Dalong was tried again, perhaps out of guilt for his old superior, County Magistrate Zeng, or because he believed in the theory of causal retribution. Xia Dalong poured beans on bamboo tubes and treated all the crimes he committed, from bullying men and women during the Guangxu period, to forcing the county magistrate to death in the early years of the Republic of China, to forcing the robbery to kill innocent people, relying on his power to kill bandits and poison the people, and even causing trivial cases such as poisoning his concubines, one after another, all of them were brought to life.

Liu Youjin immediately pronounced the sentence that Xia Dalong's crime was unforgivable, his family property was confiscated and he was executed immediately.

The people were joking. In fact, there were not many victims present. Most of them were making noises. Surrounded by everyone, the criminal Xia Dalong was tied up and went to the south gate to beheaded. Everything was followed by the rules of the Qing Dynasty and chopped his head with a ghost-headed sword. This was a rare sight. The people of the whole county were all out, surrounded by layers of people, and they were happily watching the chopping of their heads.

The security team suppressed the order and used a stick to hit a ten-meter-square open space. Xia Dalong knelt in the middle. A gust of wind blew, and his white beard fluttered. His dark old eyes looked around, with numb smiles and impatient eyes everywhere. These poor sticks were waiting to see the beheading.

County Mayor Liu Youjin was executed. He walked to Xia Dalong calmly and lowered his head and said, "Mr. Xia, I'm sorry."

Xia Dalong said lightly: "It has nothing to do with you, I will never survive if I commit suicide."

Liu Youjin said: "I'll ask you something. Did you find the treasure of the county magistrate Zeng?"

Xia Dalong opened his squinting eyes, looked at Liu Youjin, and smiled contemptuously: "County magistrate, County magistrate, I didn't expect you to be such a person."

Liu Youjin said: "Master Xia, you don't have much time, so you might as well make a deal with me. Tell me whereabouts of Caibao and I will help you take care of Ling Yan. You know, these victims are not very happy that they haven't found money in your house."

Xia Dalong hesitated and said, "I searched all the back houses, but there was nothing, but I had never found the well. I went to investigate, but... I saw that County Magistrate Zeng showed up... I was retribution."

A drop of turbid old tears flowed out of my eyes.

Liu Youjin suddenly realized and said, "Thank you, I will take care of Miss Xia, and I will never let her be bullied." After that, he got up and picked up the arrow and said, "The time has come, and the execution is carried out."
Chapter completed!