Chapter 32 Misunderstanding Cleared Up: The Man Who Killed My Father Was Not the Emperor.
The servant was also very thin and unarmed, posing no threat, so Xie Qianli released him.
The servant boy trembled as he lit a lamp in the cellar.
Although the cellar was still dark, the outline of the room could at least be made out. However, the flames cast shadows on half of the servant's face, making him look miserable and terrifying.
Sweetie chanted a mantra to herself, trying to hypnotize herself: "I'm not afraid, there are no ghosts. The big wolfhound is very reliable."
Ying Xi glanced at Xie Qianli after hearing his words, but said nothing.
The servant sat down beside the bed where the corpse lay: "My master's name is Tang Rou. He comes from Pingling Village and has known General Feng for many years. The two have a very good relationship."
A hint of doubt flashed across Xie Qianli's eyes, but he did not interrupt.
The servant continued, "When Master was young, he contracted tuberculosis. This disease is contagious, so Master had to stay away from people and return to his hometown, Pingling Village."
Those suffering from tuberculosis develop fever and cough, which weakens their bodies, rendering them unable to perform heavy work.
Xie Qianli turned his head slightly, wanting to find another place to listen to the servant's report.
The servant seemed to understand his thoughts: "Master has been gone for some time now. I ventilated the cellar and sprinkled it with pepper and cypress water. These cleaning supplies are always kept at home. Master was very concerned about General Fengze and was afraid of making him sick."
"Does the general know how much silver it costs to treat tuberculosis?"
Xie Qianli, with his extraordinary physique, naturally didn't know.
The servant then unfolded the book and did some calculations:
"To treat tuberculosis, one must first consult a famous doctor, whose consultation fee is at least one tael of silver per visit. In addition, one must bring the doctor to Pingling Village, and the travel expenses are another expense. The consultation fee alone costs several dozen taels of silver per year."
"The medicinal herbs are ridiculously expensive."
"The finest ginseng, cordyceps, donkey-hide gelatin, goji berries, fritillaria cirrhosa... none of these tonics can be omitted. The cost of medicine for a month is at least five taels of silver, and the cost of medicine for a year is over a hundred taels."
"Besides that, someone has to take care of me. I signed a contract, so that doesn't count. But sometimes I'm too busy, so we have to hire someone to boil water, cook, and do laundry. That's one or two taels of silver a month, and more than ten taels of silver a year."
"Looking at the daily food expenses, the master had to take supplements to prolong his life, which cost at least five taels of silver per month, and several tens of taels per year."
"In total, it will cost several hundred taels of silver each year. This is a conservative estimate; if the condition recurs, the cost will increase."
"Moreover," the servant paused, "the master has long lost the strength to support himself, and all of this is just a waste. It is General Fengze who cannot bear to see the master die young, so he has to bear all the expenses here every year."
The servant's voice was hoarse.
He kept talking about money, and mentioned that Fengze secretly carried a debt of several hundred taels of silver every year.
Ying Xi had a premonition, as if many hidden lines were floating around him, about to connect and intersect. He held his breath.
Xie Qianli asked in a deep voice, "Where did he get so much money?"
It should be noted that, given the current material resources of the Qin Dynasty, a high-ranking official like Prime Minister Su Xueyi would receive an annual salary of approximately one thousand taels of silver, and there was only one such person.
Under Su Xueyi, the annual salaries of vice ministers such as Feng Yong were reduced.
Later on, the salaries of the ministers were only half that of the right prime minister, and those of the vice ministers were further reduced.
Civil officials received slightly better treatment than military officials. Feng Ze was a high-ranking military officer, but he only received fifty or sixty taels of silver a year.
Even if Feng Ze lived and ate in the military camp and invested all his money in Tang Rou, he would still have a deficit of several dozen taels!
Several dozen taels of silver...
For Ying Xi, the approving grants were often in the tens of thousands, which wasn't much. But Ying Xi's capital came from the wealth and resources collected throughout the land and deposited in the national treasury.
Fengze is all alone, and with this little money, he wants to save the person he loves.
During this time, Ying Xi dealt with corrupt officials in the court and went on incognito visits to the common people, which made him increasingly aware of the importance of money.
When money is equated with life, and death means never seeing the other person again, a person is bound to break down and go insane.
Ying Xi's clear, cold voice echoed through the cellar: "Did Feng Ze go astray for money?"
The servant's lips trembled slightly.
But he immediately shook his head and denied it: "No! The general is good at business, and every penny he earns is done honestly!"
"He was in charge of the Longwu Army's logistics. All funds allocated to the army went through him first. He would take out silver and invest it in promising shops in Chang'an, using the profits to cover the deficit. He misappropriated military funds but never embezzled them."
But if Feng Ze is completely innocent, why would Tang Rou's servant wait so long for someone from the Duke of Ying's mansion to come?
Why is it that Tang Rou's family secretly enshrines Xie Ji's memorial tablet in their cellar?
When the sensitive figure Xie Ji comes to mind.
When Feng Ze was short of money and Xie Ji suffered a bizarre defeat and death, these two events were brought together.
Those scattered clues gradually turned into bone-chilling needles, and the truth was suddenly in sight, sending chills down one's spine.
Ying Xi secretly took a breath.
Seeing Xie Qianli's broad and upright back, the man who had stood firm despite being struck down by six or seven steel knives at the same time suddenly seemed unable to stand.
Xie Qianli forced himself to stay upright, his fists clenched so tightly that a cracking sound could be heard in the darkness.
The servant's voice lowered as he said, "General Fengze's investments have attracted the attention of people with ulterior motives, who know he is short of money."
"Just then, the Qingniu rebels started a disturbance, and the imperial court ordered troops to quell it. Someone said that they could offer a lower price for iron ore to forge military equipment."
"That man had a decent reputation, spoke earnestly, and used the excuse of helping the court overcome its difficulties. The price of the ore was not much lower than the market price."
General Fengze reasoned that purchasing this batch of raw materials would not only save the army money, but also allow him to obtain a sum of money to continue saving my master, so he agreed.
"The ore was transported directly to the iron workshop, where the goods were delivered. General Fengze went to check the quality of the ore before he felt comfortable casting it."
"But who knew?"
"Fifty truckloads of ore, only the surface layer is good quality. The high-quality iron ore is jet black, but the ore underneath is dyed!"
"Under the same process, inferior ore cannot withstand forging and quenching. Although the finished product does not show any difference in quality, in actual combat, this batch of military knives is very easy to break."
"If in the past soldiers could fight ten against one, now wielding such inferior knives, they are like unarmed soldiers, moving through the chaos of battle, becoming fish on a chopping board..."
"When this batch of brand-new weapons arrived at the front line, they were naturally distributed to the former Duke of England's troops first, and then they happened to meet with the main force of the Green Ox Army."
"Therefore, the two sides were evenly matched, and General Xie was defeated and killed."
No one can describe the oppressive atmosphere in this cellar right now.
It was dark and gloomy, with only the flickering of the oil lamp, and time seemed to stretch on endlessly in silence.
The oil lamp cast a blood-stained shadow on Xie Qianli's body.
The silver armor had an orange-red hue.
Xie Qianli is like a statue.
He stood there numbly. His tightly pressed lips twitched with difficulty; he had lost his soul and was plunged into his most painful memories.
The general died in a hundred battles.
However, my father once said that dying for one's country is the highest honor.
But little did anyone know that his father would die a tragic death because of the poor quality of the weapons used by his soldiers!
Half of his body was trampled into a bloody mess by the horse's hooves.
Did he feel resentful before he died?
Why should these soldiers who should not have died in battle, and their families, suffer this grief that they should not have had to endure?
The one who killed my father is not the emperor.
He once hated Ying Xi, believing that he would discard her like a dog after she was caught.
He believed that Ying Xi was always suspicious, fickle, and good at deceiving people.
When the truth was revealed to him, Xie Qianli broke down and said, "Feng Ze got married and needed money to treat his wife's illness. Why didn't he tell me?"
"Why are you messing things up like this!"
"Do you think I won't lend him money? Are you worried that I'll help him in an emergency but not in a long-term relationship?"
The servant said, "No..."
Why is that?
"Even he thinks my parents are squandering their entire fortune to raise a private army and plot something sinister, and that they're afraid it will interfere with my important plans?!"
Xie Qianli is usually calm, but he exploded because he couldn't accept the truth, and his words were too blunt.
He even forgot that Ying Xi was right behind him.
Ying Xi felt a little ashamed for a moment, realizing that she often thought that way.
Did the Xie family not have ulterior motives?
That would be wonderful.
The servant said with difficulty, "No... that's not the case. General Fengze has always respected you, but my master cannot bring you back to Chang'an to see you."
"He has seen you before and knows you, but you have too many soldiers under your command, so you probably don't remember him."
"Tang Rou, the squad leader of the fifth squad of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion."
He is a man.
He was once a soldier of the Qin Dynasty.
***
The Ministry of Personnel was brightly lit all night long.
Su Xueyi's face was ashen.
The officials below were all waiting for Su Xueyi to speak, but none of them dared to look up at her expression.
Just now, a fire broke out in a private blacksmith's workshop near the Jinguang Gate of Chang'an City.
The fire engulfed half the street.
The fire at Judefang has caused a devastating loss of life, and the flames continue to spread with the wind.
Su Xueyi reported to the Emperor, but was warned by Yu Jing: The Emperor has been ill for several days. If you officials do not handle things well, His Majesty will have to get up and clean up the mess. If he is angry later, don't blame me for not reminding you!
Su Xueyi had no choice but to make arrangements overnight.
Water fire teams from all the streets and alleys were dispatched to provide support, while the officials waited at the Ministry of Personnel for news on whether the fire should be extinguished.
Aside from Feng Yong taking leave... his residence is in Jude Lane, and he's probably packing up his valuables to prevent them from burning down.
A good-for-nothing is of no use now!
Su Xueyi disdained to even consider Feng Yong.
My thoughts wandered aimlessly:
"Why did it catch fire at any other time, but tonight of all times? And why did the ironworks have to catch fire?"
His ideas were wildly imaginative; he complained about the fire and felt that the fire came about strangely.
However, because he had too little information, he couldn't say anything.
Su Xueyi gritted her teeth and urged, "Send someone to inquire whether the fire is out!?"
A minor official stumbled in to report, the candlelight flickering in his wake, and said loudly, "The Dragon Martial Army has arrived with their support, and the fire is under control."
Su Xueyi was stunned, as if she had been scorched by an even fiercer fire: "Do you think I would dare to mobilize the army while His Majesty is sleeping!"
Throughout history, rulers have adopted a system of separation of military and political power in order to centralize power.
As the Right Chancellor, his position was sensitive. If he were to interfere with the Emperor's Dragon Martial Army, he couldn't imagine how furious the young Emperor would be when he woke up.
The clerk quickly explained, "Prime Minister Su, I heard that there was a fire in Jude Ward. General Lian Qing sent soldiers to deliver fire-fighting equipment. It was just material support; the army didn't move!"
Su Xueyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But considering that the Dragon Martial Army had little to do with putting out fires, and Xie Qianli didn't seem like the type to meddle in other people's business.
Su Xueyi: "Why is the Dragon Martial Army getting involved?"
"General Lian Qing said that the Longwu Army had cooperated with this ironware workshop before, and since everyone is in Chang'an, we should help our compatriots in need."
The burned-down place was clearly a privately owned workshop.
The Qin Dynasty had an official ironworks bureau, but the Longwu Army chose to have its weapons custom-made elsewhere.
Su Xueyi was incredibly clever; the reason was obvious: all government-run businesses were inevitably cursed with inefficiency and exorbitant fees.
Longwu Army is poor.
Suddenly, another minor official rushed into the Secretariat. He was disheveled and completely lacked decorum, shouting as he ran:
"Prime Minister Su! The fire is out!"
"Prime Minister Su, Judefang has been saved!!!"
Thank goodness, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Even if the sleeping dragon in Weiyang Palace wakes up later, the possibility of him being furious has been reduced by more than a fraction.
But Su Xueyi's intuitive doubts only increased as the fire died down.
"Then why did the other private workshops not catch fire, but the one that Long Wujun was cooperating with suddenly burn down?"
"What are you trying to burn?"
A strong wind rises outside the Ministry of Personnel.
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