Chapter 938: Setting Up a Scheme (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

So many injuries?

"It's so cruel..."

"Even murder is just a matter of beheading someone... What kind of grudge could lead someone to torture a seventeen or eighteen-year-old child so cruelly?"

Everyone present could not bear to witness such cruelty and murder.

Ning Yan exhaled a breath of turbid air, calming her mind: "Judging from Ji Shou's investigation, the so-called ghosts are mostly the work of words, fooling the world. Perhaps we can follow this clue and secretly investigate whether there are any literary scholars in Jinli County who fit the description."

The scope of the investigation was narrowed down immediately.

However, Shen Tang shook his head and rejected the suggestion.

She frowned and said, "If that's the case, it will cause too much of a commotion."

The group had made this special trip to avoid alerting the enemy. Shen Tang leaned back against the armrest, closed her eyes, and tapped the table absently with her fingers. The various officials were also exchanging information in hushed tones, their brows furrowed.

This is also what Ning Yan is worried about: "Indeed, if you don't make a move, all is well; but when you do, you must strike at the heart of the matter, but what's the breakthrough point..."

We have clues, but which clue can serve as a breakthrough?

Shen Tang turned her head to look at the window frame: "Wait."

After he finished speaking, the room fell into an indescribable silence.

Upon hearing this, Ning Yan turned her gaze to Qi Shan, Chu Yao, and the others.

Trying to see the progress from their faces.

The chief physician looked around, unable to join the conversation.

As the head of the four departments of the Ministry of Rites, this matter was outside his area of ​​expertise and not within his official authority; it wasn't his place to worry about it. However, this didn't stop him from secretly exchanging glances with his colleagues: "Sigh, I hope this is just a simple corruption case..."

The Director of the Imperial Kitchen rolled his eyes: [Do corruption cases even have a distinction between simple and complex? Have you considered how many people would die if there were problems in Jinli County? With our Lady's temper, she'd shake the yolks of any egg laid by a corrupt official's hen...]

She herself used this tactic of eliminating all traces of the problem.

The Vice Minister of Rites rolled his eyes as well: "If it's a corruption case, at most a few hundred people will die, maybe a thousand at most. If it's not a corruption case, tens of thousands could die."

The Director of the Imperial Kitchen was reminded of something: [...]

After all, they are all important officials in the court. Even if the Ministry of Rites is very leisurely, with the four senior officials of the Ministry of Rites spending their days huddling together for warmth and gossip, this only proves that the department has little work, not that they are incompetent. If it were truly a simple case of corruption, the Ministry of Justice and the Seven Guards and Four Divisions could handle it. If the local military governors sent troops to surround the area, which corrupt official could escape? But now, it is the emperor himself who has taken action.

This only proves that the matter behind the case is either something the Ministry of Justice couldn't cover up, or the emperor couldn't wait for the Ministry of Justice to investigate.

They all hoped it would be the latter.

The queen is indeed impatient. When she encounters cases during her inspection tours of the country, she often takes matters into her own hands and handles them personally, which is consistent with her temperament.

But the worst-case scenario is the former.

This was exactly the speculation that the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was most worried about—first, the censor who had concealed his identity in Jinli County, Kunzhou was killed, and then the granary was robbed. Was it because the local officials were too audacious, or were they supported by a force that could rival the royal court?

None of the people present wanted this to be the case.

This means war has begun!

Is the enemy the Northern Desert or the Gao Kingdom?

Or is it—

Both of them got involved?

Gao was the name of the state established by Wu Xian.

The Director of the Imperial Kitchen: [Indeed, if a real war breaks out, the safety of the granaries on the Kunzhou battlefield cannot be guaranteed. They could be seized by the enemy at any time, and if they were to pull off a 'ghostly grain theft,' it would be a huge disgrace. The Emperor's killing intent would only intensify...]

Director of the Ministry of Rites: [Where did the grain supplies go?]

The official in charge of the Ministry of Rites nodded towards Chen Tang.

Aren't the Lord and Chancellor Chu having a headache right now?

If it were just a simple corruption case, the Jinli County government office would have been surrounded long ago. The fact that they are making these stealthy moves now is because they are unsure of which theory they are referring to. In the worst-case scenario, rashly sending troops to surround the area would alert the enemy and cause them to miss important clues.

At this moment, Shen Tang opened her eyes.

A mature woman's voice could be heard from outside.

"My lord, the man has been brought."

Shen Tang sat up straight: "Wei Heng, come in."

As soon as the words were spoken, a woman dressed in simple purple robes entered, sword in hand, followed by a familiar-looking woman—the Commandant of Jinli County. The latter looked disheveled, her alchemy chamber sealed, and she walked with a limp: "Wei Heng, you weren't discovered, were you?"

Yu Zi shook her head: "Everything went smoothly."

Some of the officials present recognized the officer.

They knew, of course, that no one in Jinli County could be trusted, but they never expected that their lord's first target would be the head of the Zhechong Prefecture! In an instant, some people's faces darkened further. The Censor was suspected of being murdered, and even the Zhechong Prefecture had been infiltrated.

The commander of the vanguard also turned pale when he saw Shen Tang.

He still tried to remain calm: "My lord, why is this?"

“I never revealed my true identity to you. When Yuanliang asked you to bring someone in, he only said that I was a member of the Ministry of Justice in charge of this case. But just now in the prison, Yuanliang deliberately revealed my identity, and you were not surprised at all and directly called me ‘Master’. You know my identity but pretend not to know it, so it is only natural that I suspect you and interrogate you.”

Shen Tang was unwilling to interrogate the Commandant of the Zhechong Prefecture, as it would be too embarrassing, but she was currently the biggest breakthrough point, so it was worth a try.

The commander's throat bobbed several times.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he nervously said, "This humble general..."

"Don't lie, and you can't lie anyway. I'm allowing you to tell the truth now and confess willingly to save face for you. If you don't know what's good for you and want to experience the power of the Ministry of Justice's words, and your cultivation foundation is damaged, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself."

These words struck at the heart of the matter, Zhechong Duwei's words.

Everything she has now is built upon her military achievements.

His military achievements were earned through his martial prowess.

If the foundation of one's cultivation is damaged, one's future is also ruined.

"I cannot tolerate any imperfections in my eyes, and I hate being fooled more than anything else in my life. I am only interrogating you now instead of killing you directly. You should know why." Naturally, it was because she knew that the Commander-in-Chief had problems but was not the mastermind, so there was a chance to be treated leniently.

"Tell me, who told you I would come?"

Before the Commandant could even open her mouth, a beam of spiritual light descended from above, binding her neck like shackles, and a strange, unpredictable, chilling power gripped her chest. She had a premonition that if she lied, she would suffer excruciating pain.

Yu Zi said indifferently: "Tell the truth, it's best to tell the truth."

They couldn't even get past so many tough nuts in the Ministry of Justice prison.

The commander swallowed hard, his mouth watering.

With difficulty, he managed to utter a few words: "It's...it's Chief Secretary Liu..."

Shen Tang: "Prefect Liu? Do you know this man's background?"

The commander shook his head again.

She wasn't really familiar with the Prefect of Jinli County; their only meetings were when she was exchanging gifts privately. The Commandant of the Vanguard looked ashamed as she recounted this. Initially, her family had secretly accepted the bribes from the Prefect, and she only found out when she returned home on her day off that they had already spent most of the money.

She gritted her teeth, scraped together what she could, and managed to pay it back.

After that, my usually honest father became addicted to gambling for some unknown reason and racked up a huge gambling debt at the gambling den.

The gambling den, naturally, dared not provoke her. Instead, they treated her father well, using the opportunity to cultivate relationships with other relatives and orchestrate a scheme to imprison him. The Commandant of the Vanguard had no choice but to swallow his pride and plead for leniency, hoping for a private settlement with the victim. The Chief Clerk showed her respect, not only refraining from making things difficult but also mediating between them.

This incident brought them closer together.

Her family members secretly accepted bribes from her.

Starting with small favors, her family's appetite grew, and by the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late to back down. Prefect Liu often visited her to talk, his words implying regret that her current material conditions did not match her social standing.

One day, a plate of gold ingots was delivered.

The golden color almost dazzled her eyes.

[Gulp... This, this can't be accepted...]

Chief Clerk Liu smiled nonchalantly, took out a neatly folded land deed from his sleeve, and gently pushed it towards him: "I heard from your mother that the Commandant wants to renovate his old residence? Without family support, when will that old residence ever be finished? Given our relationship, it's just a matter of colleagues lending a hand. Fortunately, I happen to have a piece of land east of the city, and a house there would be a perfect fit for the Commandant."

We can't accept this, we can't accept this...

The commander of the vanguard resolutely refused.

Two days later, I heard the news that the old house was under construction.

I found many things that shouldn't be there in my home.

Seeing her angry expression, Chief Secretary Liu smiled and comforted her, telling her to sit down: "Why are you so tense, Commandant? Ah, alright, alright. If you truly don't want to accept this money, I can't force you. However, once this money is given away, I won't take it back. If you really feel bad about it, Commandant, how about doing me a favor?"

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

The captain knew that the money already spent would be difficult to repay in the short term with his salary, but he didn't want to rashly agree to the other party's request and jeopardize his future. Chief Clerk Liu, seeing the captain's predicament, said, "This matter will not trouble you, Captain."

This is indeed not difficult.

It was just to ask her to help urge the payment.

Commander-in-Chief: [Debt collection?]

Chief Secretary Liu said with a wry smile, "Several merchants came to borrow money before, but they refused to pay when the due date arrived. Those ruffians are hard to deal with, and I'm really worried about how to handle them."

The commander secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This favor is really not difficult at all.

She secretly sent people to collect the debt, and it was fully recovered in just two or three visits. Chief Clerk Liu made a special trip to thank her and presented her with a token of gratitude. The Commandant wanted to refuse, but Chief Clerk Liu said, "This is a perfectly legitimate gift; Commandant, please rest assured."

She also learned about the government debt through this.

He was greatly alarmed and thought, "How can this be?"

Chief Secretary Liu seemed to be laughing at her timidity, and retorted: "Does the royal law prohibit this? No! What is not prohibited by law is permissible! Since it is 'permissible,' what's wrong with it? We have some spare money at home, and it's just sitting there anyway, why not lend it to merchants to earn some interest? What does the Commandant think?"

Then, Chief Secretary Liu told a story that no one else knew.

Everyone in the Jinli County government office knew about this matter.

Everyone pooled their money to lend to merchants, and after collecting the money, they distributed profits based on the principal lent. Otherwise, with just their meager salaries, how could any family live comfortably? There's more than just Liu Changshi doing this; you can rest assured.

There were even officials who borrowed money from merchants everywhere.

When there's good fortune to make money, how can we forget our loved ones?

The commander asked curiously about the profit.

With a "nine out, thirteen back" strategy, the invested principal can yield nearly 50% in dividends. Such exorbitant profits are hard to resist.

The commander's heart pounded like a drum.

This was a legal, highly profitable, and risk-free business! Back home, looking at the cramped rented room, she was filled with conflicting thoughts. Living in such a small space with several family members was quite inconvenient; if she could afford it, she could move to a better place…

Shen Tang sneered: "So, you also lent out government loans?"

Good heavens, it turns out that it wasn't just one person lending money to government officials, but a whole group of people, illegally raising funds and illegally lending money—all the elements are there!

The commander gritted his teeth and nodded: "Yes..."

She also received several dividends.

After a while, her anxiety subsided. Having received favors from Prefect Liu, she would occasionally help him with some tasks.

Another thought suddenly popped into Shen Tang's mind, and she suppressed the urge to gasp: "Are there other people from the Zhechong Prefecture who have joined as well?"

The commander nodded again.

Shen Tang raised her hand to her forehead and sighed deeply.

"Well, it's a Ponzi scheme. If it doesn't collapse, who will?"

Xun Zhen, as the Minister of Revenue, was very sensitive to money. Hearing this, he perked up his ears: "A Ponzi scheme? A complete collapse?"

Shen Tang sighed and said, "A Ponzi scheme, to put it simply, is a trick of robbing Peter to pay Paul, a scheme to get something for nothing. Merchants borrowing government loans is a disguised way of bribing officials to find a backer, but have you ever thought about it? Merchants do business to make money, and with government loans that are so heavily indebted, which sucker would keep borrowing indefinitely? So, where does the dividend come from? Naturally, it comes from attracting more people and using their money to make up for the shortfall in dividends. With a shortfall of nearly 50%, once the hole can't be filled, it's time for the collapse."

Chief Secretary Liu, haha, what a damn talent!

While embezzling and accepting bribes, he also ran a Ponzi scheme.

Seeing the deathly pale face of the military commander, she knew that many people in the military command had invested money. Given human greed, these people had probably leveraged their investments excessively. Shen Tang was so angry she almost laughed: "So, you embezzled from the granary to cover your losses?"

The Commandant of the Vanguard resolutely declared, "Absolutely not!"

She was so anxious that she could barely speak.

"I...I did not do this..."

Shen Tang looked at Yu Zi, who shook her head.

The power of words did not take effect, and the Commandant of the Vanguard did not lie.

"How much do you know about the theft from the granary? To put it another way, what did you do for Chief Secretary Liu before and after the theft?" Shen Tang said, giving Gu Chi a meaningful look, which the latter immediately understood.

The Commandant of the Vanguard seemed to remember something; his pupils contracted sharply, his lips moved several times, but he couldn't utter a single word. Even if Shen Tang was slow to realize, she should have understood that Chief Secretary Liu might be involved, given how far Shen Tang had gone. No, not just possibly, but extremely highly suspicious.

Shen Tang chuckled: "You remembered?"

The commander mumbled in a low voice.

"Several caravans crossed the border that day..."

To secure dividends from government bonds, the authorities couldn't be too harsh on merchants; they had to facilitate certain processes whenever possible. Gradually, the guards lowered their guard against merchants carrying special documents. A token check was enough to let them pass, saving them too much time.

If it's a familiar face, just say hello and let them pass.

Xun Zhen's hands trembled with heartache.

"...So, the grain can't be recovered?"

Shen Tang sighed and added, "It's not just that the grain can't be recovered. Maybe along with the grain, all the savings of these unlucky guys who borrowed money to join the Ponzi scheme were also taken out."

|ω`)

A new month begins, please vote for me with at least one monthly pass! (*▽*)

PS: Since I started personal training on September 24th, my weight has been steadily decreasing. I've lost about 14 pounds so far, and I feel like I can really achieve my goal before the Chinese New Year.

(End of this chapter)