Wei Huaigu was imprisoned for trial, and Yang Cheng, the chief secretary of Juexi, was also arrested by Jinyiwei and brought to prison. This is a major case of Tianchen's year, and all the civil and military people of the Manchu Dynasty are paying attention. Shen Zechuan acted quickly, and following Yang's confession, he found that Wei Huaigu had been selling military rations since the fourth year of Xiande.
Wei Huaigu, by virtue of his position as the Minister of the Ministry of Households, would buy military rations from Yang Cheng every time he supervises the handling of military rations, and then resell them to Xi Hongxuan at a high price. Xi Hongxuan sent these military rations to the six states of Zhongbo and Xuhai through water and drought respectively to earn huge profits, so as to apportion the land tax among the people's fields in the thirteen cities of Juexi, and the plain-headed people below would bear it.
"Since you've been doing it for so long, why is it only this time when your conscience found out that you want to send Wei Huaigu through the post report?" Shen Zechuan looked at Yang Cheng's confession.
Yang Cheng was in jail for a few days. He bowed his head and said, "This time it's filled with mold. It's not the same as before. Libei is going to fight. Sending this grain to the border is the poison that will kill the border soldiers. I'm afraid that Libei Shizi really accident.
"
There was no one around the table, Xiao Chiye sat in the shadows and said abruptly, "Are you so sure that these grains can be delivered to the prince's mouth?"
Yang Cheng moved his arms uneasily, his lips turned white, and said, "I'm just afraid. Although I want to make money, I don't want to kill myself."
"Don't be afraid," Shen Zechuan glanced at Xiao Chiye and slowed down to Yang Cheng, "Although this is an imperial prison, it is a case supervised by the emperor himself. You can say anything you want here."
The two of them are in stark contrast. Yang Cheng swallowed his saliva, and was already in a trance during this all-night interrogation. He read: "I don't know, I don't—"
"You don't know what?" Shen Zechuan asked gently.
"I don't know what will happen to Prince Libei..." Yang Cheng said and choked up, "I don't know... I'm worried that the Libei cavalry will be defeated and the Biansha cavalry will attack again."
Xiao Chiye leaned over slightly, his body like an evil beast, and the shadow covered Yang Cheng's face. He said coldly: "You also know that this batch of rations can defeat the Libei Iron Cavalry, but you still pack them into a carriage, you should be damned."
Yang Cheng was terrified in Xiao Chiye's eyes, his throat was blocked, and he cried vaguely: "Master Hou... I plead guilty, I, I should be damned... "
"You won't die," Shen Zechuan said with a face like a crown of jade, with compassion in his affectionate eyes, he said, "The main culprit in this case is Wei Huaigu, he used his position to coerce you, and you can't do anything about it. Yes. I understand these difficulties, and so does the Hou Ye. Yang Cheng, you entered the office during the Yongyi period, served as an official in Juexi for half your life, and became a councillor. Jiang/Qingshan has left Juexi and is going to be transferred to Zhongbo to be a high-ranking official. The position of Juexi's political envoy is vacant. According to age and qualifications, when the personnel department considers candidates, you are the first choice. You should have a future. It's not worth it to ruin your future just for that little money."
Yang Cheng hunched his body and wept.
"I heard that you were born in Baima State in your early years, your family was poor, you lost your father at the age of six, and your brothers and sisters were brought up by your mother alone. She sent your brothers to school, and spent most of your life working hard. You finally made such a big mistake when you became an official and built a mansion." Shen Zechuan was extremely sympathetic and said, "In the future, she will be left alone and be reviled because of this case. How can you be so cruel?"
Yang Cheng couldn't help crying aloud. He was originally a scholar, he knew courtesy, righteousness, integrity, and filial piety when he served his mother at home. He covered his face with his hands and cried, "I made such a big mistake that a pig is not as good as a dog, I have no face to see her old man again!"
"This case is not over yet, and it is still up for debate whether it will be executed or not." Xiao Chiye threw his confession and glared at him, "Since you still know shame, you don't have to destroy your conscience. The next question I ask you will not be entered. In the confession, if you answer truthfully, I will try my best to save your life so that your mother can spend her old age in peace. But if you dare to be perfunctory, I will immediately have someone behead you under the door of Duancheng and show it to the public. The post newspaper stabbed Wei Huaigu and smashed the golden jobs of many people. You are in this business, and you know best what will happen to those orphans, widows and mothers. Without me, Xiao Ce'an, your life would be at stake. "
Yang Cheng cried for a long time, and when he stopped, Shen Zechuan brought him a cup of hot tea himself. He wiped away his tears hastily, thanked him again and again, held tea in both hands and remained silent for a long time, and said, "Master Hou is willing to protect me... It is a kind of re-creation for me. I don't dare to ask for a career again, I just want to be exiled. This case It is very involved, and it is not something that can be explained in an instant, so I will tell the Hou Ye slowly."
"Since the first year of Xiande in Dazhou, the national treasury has been consumed a lot. The accounts of the Ministry of Households are all muddled. Hua Siqian, as a cabinet member, and Pan Rugui have approved many projects that cost the public money, such as Linlang in Qinzhou. Most of the gardens are not really built. These gardens are just for the purpose of being approved by the cabinet, and everyone will set up the silver in the state treasury. This is a well-known thing in the industry. It's like running water into these people's pockets."
"In the fourth year of Xiande, Wei Huaigu took me into the water. Let me tell you the truth, Lord Hou, I know that this money should not be touched, but I can't do anything about it. When our local officials entered the capital, Pan and Hua took turns to ask for Bingjing. You must have heard of the most widely circulated Zhuoyin promotion in those years. The family has a decent family, and the people who are really delayed by these Bingjing and Tanjing are poor officials like me. Without money, you can't enter the center. There's nothing to do."
"That year, Juexi encountered a locust plague, and the thirteen cities failed to harvest any grains. It was Jiang/Qingshan who took the responsibility and protected us. They forcibly opened the commercial warehouse and released relief food for the people of Juexi, so there was no famine. Jiang/Qingshan also became a thorn in the eyes of the Juexi giants because of this. At that time, he knew that all the gambling debtors chased after him. At the age of his mother, he still had to weave cloth to pay off the debt. We all know what the debt is, and he is repaying the debt for the court. But there is one thing that others don’t know, and our Chief Secretary of Juexi knows best, that the defeat of Zhongbo was too timely.”
"Why do I say this? At that time, the treasury was empty, Juexi was hit by disaster, Libei and Bianjun had to deal with the Biansha cavalry, and the harvest in Hezhou was not good. The Ministry was pressed hard, but they had no way to provide relief to the place because the treasury had been emptied. Hua Siqian had to give an explanation to the localities, and Hai Liangyi in the cabinet was also tracking the accounts. Hua Siqian was in a dilemma all of a sudden. It was very frustrating. At that time, the Hua family was selling Zhuangzi in Dicheng, and it was taken over by the Xi family. We all know that Hua Siqian was going to backfill the national treasury and put things away. But such a big vacancy was not by himself at all. If the power can be filled, Hua Siqian began to ask others for the account."
"I don't know if Hua Siqian got the money back, but at this juncture, the Biansha cavalry raided the Chashi River, the Duanzhou garrison suffered a crushing defeat, and Shen Weigui retreated, causing Zhongbo to lose again and again. With the dual-line support of the Qidong garrison, they stopped the Biansha tribe from advancing further at the gate of Qedu, but although the homeland was reclaimed, the slaughtered city has become an empty city. The relief food that Juexi subsequently distributed was the six states of Zhongbo. food."
Shen Zechuan stood up suddenly, he stood in the dark and did not speak.
Xiao Chiye's heart is also cold. He and Shen Zechuan have made so many assumptions, but they have never thought that the defeat of Zhongbo might be to fill the empty granary in the rear and help Hua Siqian and the people who are trapped in the state bank's investigation. Officials pay their debts.
"That's 100,000 people," Shen Zechuan propped up on the table dumbly, looked ahead, and said in a hoarse voice, "That's... That's the life of 40,000 soldiers... Do you know what you're talking about... "
Shen Zechuan was caught off guard by these words. It took him six years to convince himself that these people might have died in a power struggle. These fresh people, these young lives, they all existed just like Ji Mu. Duanzhou is the first door, they died so tragically, the singing echoing in the Chashi Tiankeng is Shen Zechuan's nightmare in this life.
Zhongbo was defeated and suffered countless victims. The dead soldiers were not collected, and the blood and water drowned the dreams of the survivors.
Yang Cheng hugged his head in this depressed atmosphere and said, "I am really afraid of filling the army rations this time. Zhongbo still has a chance to rescue, but Libei can only rely on Luoxia Pass for support. Once the Biansha cavalry breaks through Li Bei, I am a sinner through the ages!"
"The Zhongbo army was defeated, and the Biansha cavalry came so coincidentally! It's not accidental that the Viper's troops moved south, but they received news." Xiao Chi was cold.
So it is not accidental that the Snake Department and Xiao Jiming met in the Hongyan East Mountains this time. In Qidu, Zhongbo, Libei, and even Qidong, there were people everywhere who were preaching on behalf of the Twelve Biansha Divisions. They keep the Biansha Twelve Breeds, just like they keep a wild dog that is hungry for food. When necessary, they let it enter the country and eat all the traces that cannot be wiped clean.
"I don't know if anyone in the center is still doing such a thing," Yang Cheng said in fear, "but this time it's really dangerous... The treasury has already saved, and the account cabinet of the Ministry of Household is also strictly reviewing, and then To let the Biansha cavalry enter the country is to betray the country. I don't know... I dare not gamble, my private letter is monitored, and I can only tell Qidu through the post newspaper!"
"Since you want to report on Wei Huaigu," Shen Zechuan suddenly mentioned Yang Cheng, "Why do you have to put up the sign of the Ministry of Accounts when you urgently send out the post? This post is in the capital, and it will immediately land on the post. Wei Huaigu's hands!"
Yang Cheng couldn't grasp the teacup, and trembled in the sound of the porcelain shattering, "No, no! The one I'm hanging is obviously the brand of the Ministry of Punishment!"
Shen Zechuan was stunned.
Yang Cheng also showed fear and said incredulously: "If this post newspaper falls into the hands of Wei Huaigu, I will definitely die! I know that Kong Qiu, the Minister of Punishment, is very courageous. Delayed and concealed, so I double-checked before I sent out, I was linked to the Ministry of Punishment!"
"I'm in the trap," Xiao Chiye held Shen Zechuan in his arms, his eyes fierce, "This time it wasn't Wei Huaigu who did it. Wei Huaigu knew that someone had read the content after receiving the post. This was silent coercion. He must surrender himself!"