As soon as he was "escorted" by someone, Zhuang Hong's face changed and his heart suddenly sank. Because there were hundreds of people surrounded in front of the solemn gate, and some small talk continued to be heard, all about whether he would be convicted.

It was not until someone discovered that Zhuang Dianshi came that the voices of discussion came to an abrupt end. Everyone bowed their heads and gave way, not daring to have any eye contact with Zhuang Hong. Suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, Zhuang Hong entered the yamen with his head raised his chest. Then, after turning the screen wall in front, he saw hundreds of people surrounding the lobby, almost completely blocking the door of the hall. He could only see from the top of the crowd and then set up a court hall. Wei Liang was above, and there were yamen runners and clerks on both sides. There were also two assistant officials Feng Ping and Wang He sitting next to the table in front of him.

This shows how much trouble Wei Liang made this time, and it can also confirm that he is determined to make the case clear today.

Just like outside, with Lin Lie's greeting, the hundreds of people also made a way out so that they could easily come to the hall. Lin Lie took the lead in reporting: "You reported to the county emperor, and the defendant's Dianshi Zhuang Hong has been brought by the humble position."

Hearing the word "defendant", the people who had just calmed down outside made a buzzing noise. Many people were excited, and some were hesitant, guessing whether the case could be tried clearly today.

At this time, Zhuang Hong had calmed down. Even if Wei Liang immediately took a photo of the agglomeration, he shouted: "Zhuang Hong comes in and talks!" He obviously treated him as an ordinary suspect, and he seemed quite calm and composed. When he stepped into the hall, there was a faint smile on his face: "Xiaoguan has met the county master."

"Bang!" Wei Zhixian's voice was filled with majesty: "Zhuang Hong, do you know your guilt?"

"I don't know what the Lord is calling me for." As soon as he bowed, Zhuang Hong looked up and looked at Wei Liang, making it clear that it was impossible to confess his guilt easily.

"What, do you still want to resist and conceal your crimes? Then let me remind you. Three days ago, Li Ling, a citizen in the city, sued you for embezzling public funds and trying to arson fire to conceal the crimes. Do you still want to deny such a serious crime?"

"The officials said the same thing. I have never done those things. The so-called embezzlement of public funds is completely false. The desire to set fire to the cabinet and treasury is even more unreasonable slander. Please let the county master make a clear decision and give me a clear innocence."

"I didn't expect that you would be so stubborn in a few days. Do you really think that I can't come up with definite evidence? Let's see what this is?" Wei Liang suddenly clapped the thick stack of books on his hand, "This is the account book recorded by the county over the past few years. There is a clear evidence that you embezzled public funds for your position!"

After a meal, he opened a book of accounts and asked as he read it: "In the 25th year of Xianlong, the government office allocated 1,500 taels of river repair, but the actual project was only 500 taels of silver. Where did the remaining 1,000 taels of silver go? And it was clear that the one who took charge of river repair was you, Zhuang Hong.

"At the end of last year, 23,000 taels of tax silver should have been transferred to the city, but the last one was 19,627 taels. I'll ask you where the more than 3,000 taels of silver under the voice went. And..."

"Prince of the County!" Hearing that Wei Liang kept throwing out the numbers in the account, the people who were listening outside the hall had changed their expressions and started to talk. Zhuang Hong also felt annoyed for a while and suddenly interrupted.

This time it was really beyond Wei Liang's expectations, which made him stunned slightly, and looked up at the other party: "What, do you have anything else to argue? These are the records left by Zhuang Dianshi when he was doing the account himself, and there was your own signature on it. It was impossible for someone to do it in your name, right?"

"The county master is worried too much. Since the officials in the lower office dare to make them record them, they cannot deny them. I just want to ask, is this what the county master asked everyone to investigate, or is it that you personally led the people to investigate?"

"This..." Wei Liang weighed the pros and cons, and decided to tell the truth: "These accounts were investigated by me by Li Ling!" Now he has the word "reason" and cannot let the other party take advantage of the loophole because of lying.

"It's a bit inappropriate for the county master to do this." It was not Zhuang Hong but Wang He who said this, and then Feng Ping nodded and said, "There are indeed some problems. Everyone knows that the most taboo thing in the case is injustice. Li Ling himself is a person involved in the case. How can the county government use him to verify the evidence?"

"Yes, the county magistrate, this approach is really inconsistent. It is better to put these evidences aside first and let the people from our county magistrate investigate and think it is complete. Otherwise, they may not agree with the relevant evidence if they submit it to the superior magistrate." Wang He followed again.

These three are old partners who have been working together for many years. They really cooperated well and did not need to prepare in advance. They could refute Wei Liang in a sing and refute him with just one look, giving him enough pressure. Even among the people outside the hall, some people muttered loudly: "It is really unreliable to take out evidence so hasty."

A sudden light flashed in Wei Liang's eyes, and suddenly knocked on the arbor again: "There must not be noisy in the court!" He swept out and immediately made some people shut up. Then, he sneered at several subordinate officials and said: "I know you have some doubts about this, but in my opinion, the evidence found by Li Ling is the most unlikely to have any problem."

"The county is respectful and respectful. Will he be more trustworthy than the people in our county government?"

"That's true! Everyone in the county government may be his Zhuang Hong's, but Li Ling is innocent and cannot be used by him. So in my opinion, these evidences are indeed credible. What do you think?" Wei Zhixian asked not only two assistant officials, but also other clerks in the hall.

Feeling the threatening meaning in the eyes of the county magistrate, these clerks' hearts were beating wildly and they felt a lot of pressure. At the same time, they also remembered the evidence of the account book that had just been put away by the county magistrate and considered suspicious. Those were evidence of their embezzlement and bribery.

After a moment of silence, someone heard someone say, "What the county master considers is that it is more fair to have people outside the county government check the account book!" It was Lin Lie who took the lead in expressing his opinion. He had completely identified the way, so he naturally had to express his position.

With him as the leader, others no longer hesitated and followed up: "What the lord said is that although Li Ling is the plaintiff, he has no courage to fake evidence. Bei Zhi thought this matter was credible."

Hearing the clerks express their opinions, standing on the side of Wei Liang, Zhuang Hong's face darkened again. This time he finally felt the pressure and tasted the sad taste of the previous county magistrates being single and lonely in the yamen. He thought he could use certain rules to suppress the young county magistrates, but they didn't take this trick at all.

Seeing his appearance, Wei Liang felt even more happy and smiled and said, "Zhuang Hong, what else do you have to say now? The evidence of the crime is now confirmed. I can be sure that you have embezzled tens of thousands of taels of public funds in the past few years, and in addition, you want to set fire to cover up your crime..."

"Sir, let's wait!" Zhuang Hong interrupted his remarks again, "I just asked this question not to question the evidence presented by Li Ling. On the contrary, I admit that I have indeed done tampering with these taxes, Heming Bank."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar inside and outside the hall, and many people even showed disbelief: Did he admit it now? Did he admit the charge of corruption so easily?

Even Feng Ping and Wang He both showed surprises, and could not guess what he was selling. However, Wei Liang frowned and vaguely guessed that things were not that simple.

Sure enough, Zhuang Hong said again: "But the lower official dare not admit that he had asked someone to set fire to the garrison and burn the cabinet! Because the lower official did not need to commit such a serious crime, just to cover up something that was not a mistake."

The uproaring question was even louder, and Li Ling, who had been standing by the side as the plaintiff, frowned deeply: "What reason is he trying to find to excuse himself? Since he has accepted all this, can he still take himself out?"

"Bang!"

"Sujing! Zhuang Hong, are you enjoying your own official? In just a few years, you embezzled tens of thousands of public funds as a mere Dianshi, but you didn't even think you were guilty? It's really ridiculous!"

Seeing that the county magistrate was angry, Zhuang Hong seemed to be more calm. He looked at him with a steady look for a moment before smiling: "After all, it is because Li Ling is just a commoner and has no idea about some of the inside story in the county government. County Master, you are a first-time local government, so you ignore an important thing in this matter.

"Yes, Xiaguan did intercept many taxes and public funds, but no money or silver has been entered into Xiaguan's private pockets, but it is all used in the places where it should be used."

"It's simply nonsense. Will you still use it for corruption in public funds?" Wei Liang immediately frowned and scolded. Although the voice was very loud, his heart was a little weak because he had already seen the sure victory in the other party's confident smile.

"That's true! You may not know the many rules in the officialdom when you first arrive in this county. In fact, the expenses of our county government over the past year are quite large. Not only do you need the county government to support the food, drink, defecation and urination of these dozens or hundreds of people, but you also welcome and send them to the superiors, the imperial court, and other related people. All these silver expenses are a big figure in a year, but these expenses cannot be recorded, so this flaw is revealed, and Li Ling, who is completely unaware of the inside story, was regarded as a corruption act by Li Ling!

"So the shortage of public funds is not because the officials are greedy, so it is impossible to do something like setting fire to the treasury. What Li Ling sued is completely accusation, so please make a clear decision!"
Chapter completed!