The three-day time limit was about to pass, and Mu Hanzhang didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. He just flipped through the account books in the king's tent every day, and occasionally went to the barracks to have a look.
"What did the military advisor ask you today?" You Hujun caught the soldier who was going back for dinner and asked. He was really curious about how Mr. Jun could find the murderer within three days.
"The military advisor asked me when the uniform was issued and how often can I eat meat." The soldier answered honestly.
"Military uniform? Eat meat?" You Hujun was at a loss, what does this have to do with poisonous weeds? The soldier was let go, and another one was caught to ask.
"The strategist asked me how long it took me to send letters to my family. Who wrote them on behalf of me?" The tall soldier smiled honestly. Ah, the writing is definitely better than that of the scholars in the village, and the old lady at home can use it to show off to the villagers.
The right guard became even more confused after hearing this, where is this going? Unwilling to ask a few more questions, all of them are irrelevant questions, and they are trivial and short-sighted, and they are completely irrelevant.
Zuo Hujun stepped forward and patted the stunned Right Hujun: "Eat."
"You said, what is the military division looking for?" You Hujun asked with a bitter face.
Zuo Hujun was expressionless, turned around and left: "I'll eat first."
"Hey, wait for me!" You Hujun hurriedly chased after them. Their meals were together, and they would be eaten up by that guy if they were late!
The three-day period will come in a blink of an eye. Zhao Meng came out of the military prison early in the morning and waited in the middle tent to watch the so-called "strategist" make a fool of himself. General Zhao, who consciously couldn't say he was a scholar, also pulled the left and right guards, a few Come with the captain.
The middle tent was where the generals discussed tactics and issued military orders. It was about the size of Jingshao's king tent, but there was no bed in the tent. Jing Shao sat on the high platform, looked at the group of men like wolves and tigers below, and glanced at Zhao Meng with some sympathy.
Mu Hanzhang sat on the chair beside Jing Shao, and in his hand held a black feather and goose feather fan that military advisers in history books would carry. This was sent to him by the Right Protector yesterday in order to know the news in advance.
"Master, the three-day limit has come. My old Zhao came to listen to the high opinion of the military master." Zhao Meng brought several suspects who were in the cell with him again, and stood in the center of the tent and said gruffly.
"The general is really impatient." Mu Hanzhang fanned the goose feather fan in his hand twice and glanced at the unshaven person in the audience.
If he really squatted in the military prison for three days, although the soldiers in the prison would serve food and drink, it was just that General Zhao, who had not washed for three days, was a bit sloppy, and he looked like Mu Hanzhang in white clothes. Compared, it is quite abrupt.
He was swept over by those eyes with a hint of disgust, and General Zhao, who has always been informal, was also a little uncomfortable. He wiped his face with his hand and said: "Stop being wordy, we have signed a military order, you can quickly tell who it is. murderer?"
Mu Hanzhang hooked his lips lightly, and slowly stretched out his hand and pointed at the people kneeling under the stage with his fan: "A few of them, all of them, and none of them."
"What is this?" Zhao Meng asked in confusion.
Several young generals also looked puzzled. The infantry captain whispered to ask what the right guard had found out yesterday, and what he got was the bitter face of the right guard. The feather fan he "bribed".
"It's not like they are, it's just because the poisonous weeds were not released by them, because before the escort officer received this batch of hay, it was already mixed with Aconitum grass." Mu Hanzhang lightly fanned the goose feather fan twice, satisfied Everyone under the stage changed their expressions instantly. To deal with these reckless men, going straight will definitely not be able to deal with them, on the contrary, it will make them look high.
"Ming Jian!" The horse herd was the first to cry out, and he happily kowtowed to Mu Hanzhang. From the moment the prince's horse went crazy, his courage was about to break. The soldier said such a sentence, at least his head is saved.
The rest of the people also reacted and hurriedly followed.
"However," Mu Hanzhang paused, "the poisonous weeds were escorted all the way, stored in the warehouse, and then taken out to be fed to the horses. None of them found poisonous weeds in the forage, and a few of them could not escape punishment."
Hearing this, several people squeezed their sweat and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The so-called death penalty can be avoided, and as long as the death penalty can be avoided, the rest is not important.
"So the grass dealers cut the poisonous weeds in by mistake?" You Hujun answered.
"Longleaf Aconitum grass grows on the northwest grassland, how can it be cut in the suburbs of Beijing?" Zhao Meng remembered Zuo Hujun's words about Aconitum grass, and obviously did not believe in Hanzhang's words.
Mu Hanzhang shook his head: "It's not accidental, but someone deliberately wanted to poison the war horse."
"Now that the army has not started, the war horses can be bought again if they are poisoned, and it will not affect the battle at all. Who is full to do such immoral things?" Zhao Meng felt that the military advisor was obviously nonsense.
"Here, we have to ask the clerk who keeps accounts in this camp." Mu Hanzhang took a sip from the tea cup on the table, "Secretary?" Jing Shao, who had been listening carefully, couldn't help but ask. , He pestered him for a long time last night, but Jun Qing not only didn't tell him the truth, but he didn't let him eat anyone, causing him to get angry all night.
The clerk is the person in the military camp who is responsible for registering account books, writing orders, and in charge of letters and other civilian duties. Everything in the army is kept simple. There are four clerks in this battalion of 5,000 people, except when writing letters and dispatching. , Usually no one pays attention to these people.
Mu Hanzhang nodded and said to Jing Shao: "I checked all the accounts in the army, not to mention the previous ones, the money allocated by the household department for the expedition this time has been reduced by nearly 30%, and the accounts The above record is also far from the actual flower use."
"What!" Jing Shao suddenly sat up straight.
Mu Hanzhang took out some of the accounts he had copied over the past two days and showed it to Jing Shao. The accounts stated that there were three sets of military uniforms for all soldiers per season, but there were actually only two sets. The daily food standard was recorded in the account. At least one meal of meat can be eaten every day. In fact, it can only be eaten once every seven days, and most of the time there is only rice porridge and steamed bread.
When the soldiers in the audience heard the words, their expressions became solemn, and the right guard couldn't help but said: "If what Mr. Jun said is true, then what does the secretary's false accounting have to do with this poisonous weed?"
Mu Hanzhang slowly rubbed the handle of the goose feather fan: "Before the army starts, the Ministry of Household will send someone to check the accounts."
Others are easy to say, the 30% of the accounts that do not match is not a decimal. When a large number of war horses die, it must be replenished in time. As long as King Cheng reports to the court, a large amount of silver will be allocated. At that time, some means of stealing the beam and changing the column can be used to write off the unmatched accounts. And the poison of Aconitum grass, the livestock will be immediately paralyzed, with fever and foaming at the mouth, which is quite similar to horse plague. Once they are found to be horse plague, these horse carcasses will be burned and buried, and no one will look at them carefully.
When Mu Hanzhang spoke out all the analysis, the whole tent fell silent.
"It's a poison plan..." Zuo Hujun said slowly.
"But these secretaries are also the staff assigned by the Ministry of Housing." The right guard frowned and said, is the Ministry of Household hitting himself in the face? A few small secretaries certainly do not have the courage to do such a bold act, and there must be senior officials protecting them.
"Not all of the households are of one mind." Mu Hanzhang sighed and said, this time I don't know who to send to check the accounts, at least not with the previous people who were greedy for ink, which forced them to come out here. next policy.
Jing Shao slowly clenched his fists. It is well known that life in the army was hard. When he went out to the Huns, he ate the same food as now, so he didn't realize what was wrong. He finally found out how the last life Minister of the Household Minister Shen He deducted the army's pay. It wasn't that he deducted silver taels, but the Ministry of Household allocated more money to him, and let the money disappear without his knowledge. !
"Get all those secretaries over here!" Zhao Meng was so angry that he blew his beard, and after a while, the four thin secretaries were arrested and knelt on the ground tremblingly. For such a big crime, the four naturally refused to admit it, and they kept making excuses because they had official positions and the army could not punish them.
Regardless of this, Zhao Mengke kicked the person closest to him: "I don't eat well every day, so it turned out to be in the pockets of your grandchildren!" His kick was not light, and the person who was kicked fell immediately Spit acid water on the ground.
Jing Shao slammed the account book into their faces, and said coldly: "It's just a small secretary, and he really takes himself as an official of the court! Even if this king stabs you today, the people in the court can't pick out the book. The king's fault!"
Although this was not entirely true, King Cheng was known to be violent, and the Right Hujun sneered and told them that even in the army, everything should be handled according to military law.
I had been worried for a few days, but now I am afraid that I am powerless in this situation. The man kicked by Zhao Meng struggled to get up and confessed first, and the other three had to confess their guilt. They are only shrimp soldiers and crab generals, they only know that their superiors are officials from the Ministry of Housing, and they don't know any more.
"Too deceiving!" Jing Shao stood up and was about to take the four back to the capital.
Mu Hanzhang hurriedly grabbed him and gave him a calm look: "This is a big matter, and it is not to be taken lightly."
Jing Shao took a deep breath: "Lock up these four people first, and you will step back. We will make a final decision after this king and the military advisor have discussed it."
The Zuo Hujun personally pressed the four to go to the military prison. Zhao Meng wanted to say something, but was pulled away by the Right Hujun.
"Junqing, what do you want to say?" Jing Shao took a sip of tea. Today, he will never give up on this matter. Even if the expedition is delayed, he will find out all the people hidden behind him!
Seeing his angry look, Mu Hanzhang sighed lightly and said, "If you bring them into the palace today, you'll only startle the snake. In order to appease you for an early expedition, the royal father will also hastily close the case."
Every word is true, but today's events have touched Jing Shao's bottom line, so instead of calming him down, it made his heart suddenly burst into flames. Looking at Mu Hanzhang angrily: "Then what should I do? Do you want me to swallow this breath?"
Seeing his appearance, Mu Hanzhang pursed his lips and remained silent. Even though he knew that Jing Shao was not angry at him, the look in those eyes still stung him. On the day of the bridal chamber, those eyes looked at him like this...