King Xin Zhao Zhen hurried into the palace and anxiously reported to the imperial sister Zhao Yingluo a series of recent cases of cotton seed theft. He furrowed his brows, revealing deep worry in his tone: "Sister Huang, the clues to this matter have pointed to businessmen from the Kingdom of Jin. They colluded with ruffians to steal our cotton seeds, and the impact was extremely bad." Zhao Yingluo sneered, "Sure enough, the Ministry of Punishment, together with the Imperial City Division and Kaifeng Mansion, will investigate this case! We must bring all the criminals to justice and bring justice to the people!" After receiving the order, Zhao Zhen took action immediately. He worked closely with Wen Boyuan, the commander of the Imperial City Department, and Wu Jie, the Minister of Punishment, and quickly mobilized troops to investigate. At the same time, they also notified local counties, townships and other grassroots authorities to assist in the investigation, and they must catch all the bandits who stole the seeds. The entire city of Kaifeng was shrouded in a tense atmosphere. Soldiers patrolled the streets day and night, closely checking passing pedestrians and vehicles; officials from the Criminal Department were busy interrogating the captured suspects, trying to get more clues from them; while spies from the Imperial City Division were lurking in the dark, closely monitoring Follow every move in the city. However, just as the whole city was heavily guarded, an unexpected news reached the ears of Zhao Zhen and others: Those Jin Kingdom merchants had obtained hundreds of kilograms of cotton seeds and were preparing to return to the Jin Kingdom!
"What? They actually succeeded?" Zhao Zhen exclaimed. "And they are planning to flee back to the Kingdom of Jin?" Wen Boyuan was also shocked, "These profiteers are so cunning!"
Wu Jie said with a livid face: "Once they cross the Yellow River and reach the border of Hebei, it will be difficult to catch them! We must act immediately!" The three people immediately decided to send troops urgently to intercept these Jin businessmen. They quickly mobilized a team of elite soldiers and generals, and Wen Boyuan personally led the team to the bank of the Yellow River to intercept. As night falls, the mass graves in the suburbs are filled with a strong smell of blood. Businessmen from the Kingdom of Jin stood beside the corpse, with cruel and proud smiles on their faces. One of them kicked the corpse on the ground and mocked: "These idiots still want to share a piece of the pie with us? They don't even know what they are!" Another person took out a handkerchief to wipe the dagger in his hand, and sneered: "That's fine. If there is no evidence, the Song Dynasty court will not be able to find us even if they want to." As they spoke, they threw the corpses of the ruffians one by one into the large pits they had dug beforehand, and then hurriedly buried them. After doing all this, they escorted the cotton seeds and set off back to the Kingdom of Jin. However, they never expected that when they had just arrived at the bank of the Yellow River and were about to board the boat, dust suddenly rose in the distance and a group of people came galloping towards them. The leader is none other than Wen Boyuan, the commander of the Imperial City Department!
The merchants of the Kingdom of Jin suddenly panicked. They looked at each other with an ominous premonition in their hearts. One of them stammered: "What should we do? Could it be that the Song Dynasty court sent people to chase us?" However, their resistance had no effect. Wen Boyuan and his men quickly surrounded them, and the officers and soldiers pounced on them like wolves and tigers and captured all the more than ten Jin businessmen. And those precious cotton seeds were also seized. "Who are you? How dare you intercept our caravan?" A Jin Kingdom businessman shouted with anger, but the trembling in his voice revealed his fear. Wen Boyuan sneered, stepped forward and grabbed his collar: "I am Wen Boyuan, the commander of the Imperial City Division! You gangsters colluded with local ruffians to steal the cotton seeds of Song Dynasty, and you want to escape back to the Kingdom of Jin? What a wishful thinking! Someone, take them all back to be punished!" He said with a sudden wave of his hand, throwing the Jin businessman aside. The Jin Kingdom businessman was beaten to pieces and almost fainted. He looked at Wen Boyuan and the surrounding officers and soldiers in horror, filled with despair and fear: "It's over... It's really over this time..." He murmured to himself. Other Jin businessmen also showed horrified expressions. They knew they were really in trouble this time and could never escape. Thinking of this, they couldn't help but cry... The officers and soldiers swarmed up and tied up the Jin businessman Wu Huada and escorted him back to the city. And all those precious cotton seeds were recaptured. Outside the Kaifeng government office, people had already gathered around to watch the excitement. They were standing or sitting, talking a lot, full of curiosity and expectation about the case that was about to be heard. "I heard that a dozen Jin businessmen were caught this time and stole cotton seeds from our Song Dynasty!" A middle-aged man said mysteriously. "Isn't that right! These Jin people are so abominable, they dare to run wild on our territory of the Song Dynasty!" An old man next to him agreed indignantly. "I heard that these businessmen are colluding with ruffians to steal people's property. It's really lawless!" A young scholar shook his head and sighed. "Hmph! Let's see how they end up this time! The prince, the adults from the Criminal Department and the Imperial City Department are all inside!" Another commoner said with glee. The people were talking one after another, and their emotions continued to rise as the topic deepened. They were angry and dissatisfied with the crimes of these Jin businessmen, and at the same time they were full of expectations for the upcoming trial. In the Kaifeng government office, the vermilion door is open, and the stone lions on both sides guard this place of justice majestically. King Xin Zhao Zhen was sitting in the lobby, with a bright "Mirror Hanging High" plaque behind him. His face was ashen and his eyes were as bright as a torch, looking directly at the dozen or so kneeling businessmen from the Kingdom of Jin in the hall.
Wu Jie, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, and Wen Boyuan, the Commander of the Imperial City Division, sat on both sides. Their eyes were sharp, as if they wanted to read the minds of these businessmen. In the hall, although the dozen Jin businessmen were wearing gorgeous robes, they were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, trembling and looking frightened. "You gangsters, why don't you recruit them from the ground up!" Zhao Zhen slapped the crowd and shouted sternly. The sound echoed in the lobby, shocking people. The merchants from the Kingdom of Jin looked at each other, a trace of panic flashed in their eyes, but they still insisted on saying: "Your Majesty is aware that we purchased these cotton seeds with money, and there is no falsehood." Zhao Zhen sneered. He didn't believe these businessmen's lies. He waved his hand, indicating that the body should be brought up. As corpses were brought into the hall one after another, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became more depressed and heavy. There was an unspeakable sadness and anger in the air. The merchants couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts when they saw that these rogues who had done business with them were now turned into cold corpses. They knew that the appearance of these corpses would undoubtedly push them into a desperate situation.