Chapter 132 Is he the man of the First Prince, Kang Wang?
Old Liu rummaged through a pile of weapons for a while, found a spear, and handed it to Jiang Yu. When Li Zhengze saw this, he reached out to take it from Jiang Yu, but Jiang Yu had already taken the heavy spear into his hands and even tossed it up and down.
Li Zhengze's eyes widened in surprise. "You're so strong?"
Jiang Yu smiled and looked at Old Liu, asking, "How much does this weigh?"
Old Liu was also taken aback by Jiang Yu's strength. He only came to his senses when he heard her question, and then said, "5.5 jin."
Jiang Yu nodded knowingly, then asked, "How many kilograms of iron would it take to forge such a spear?"
Old Liu: "Six jin, but three jin is fine with me."
Jiang Yu lowered her eyes, which meant that the data submitted by the Ministry of War in Jinghe 17 was correct, while the data in Jinghe 18 and Jinghe 19 were incorrect.
"Are the weapons and armor needed by the army all made here?" Jiang Yu asked again.
Old Liu didn't expect her to ask this question. He glanced at her, but still answered, "It used to be built here, but not for the past two years."
His answer was too brief, so Jiang Yu asked again, "Is it that some categories are no longer manufactured by the Weapons Department, or that some quantities are no longer manufactured by the Weapons Department?"
Old Liu didn't understand what he meant at first, but after thinking for a moment he said, "Long hair, longswords, armor and some other things are no longer made in the Weapons Department."
His tone was somewhat impatient, so Jiang Yu didn't ask any more questions and changed the subject to the weapon she wanted to create.
"I will use the finest iron to forge a miniature spear. On it I will inscribe the words: 'An old plum tree stands proudly on its gnarled branches, and crane feathers wash the green valley.'"
Old Liu grunted in agreement, took out a piece of paper and handed it to Jiang Yu, "Write this down, and we'll carve it according to your handwriting later."
Jiang Yu hadn't expected that they could carve it according to her handwriting. She took the paper and pen, found a place to write, bent down and wrote down the poem she wanted to write, and handed it to Old Liu. She then asked about the price and paid double.
Old Liu took the money and showed Jiang Yu his best piece of iron. Jiang Yu, not understanding, casually praised it and left with Li Zhengze. Once outside, Li Zhengze said, "Old Liu, there are other guests in your room."
Jiang Yu noticed this too, so she didn't dare ask some of the questions she wanted to ask. However, she already learned a lot today.
Unbeknownst to them, just as they left Old Liu's workshop, two people emerged from behind the screen: Prince An and Prince Rui.
Prince Rui then asked Prince An, "Is that the eldest daughter of the Duke of Chu's mansion?"
An Wang glanced in the direction of the gate and said, "Yes."
Prince Rui looked down at the bow and arrow in his hand. "It is indeed extraordinary, and it is very strong."
He's good-looking, though of course he wouldn't say that out loud.
Prince An, however, picked up the spear that Jiang Yu had just taken and seemed to be deep in thought. Although Jiang Yu had been working in the Ministry of Revenue on official documents for the past six months and had not caused any further trouble, many people said that this young lady of the Duke of Chu's mansion was nothing special and should be a bookworm, which was why she could come up with such a difficult exam question.
Many people stopped paying attention to her, and many others breathed a sigh of relief. But Prince An remained convinced that Jiang Yu was an extraordinary woman, because every time he met her, she displayed abilities beyond those of ordinary men, such as composure, calmness under pressure, wisdom, and decisiveness.
Therefore, he felt that Jiang Yu had been quietly working in the Ministry of Revenue for the past six months, biding her time and concealing her abilities. Her conversation with Lao Liu just now made him think that Jiang Yu might have made some discovery.
As the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, his vigilance was naturally higher than that of ordinary people.
"Look, the curve of the arrow here must be smooth, the width here and here is consistent, and the angle..."
Prince Rui's voice drew Prince An's attention back. He walked over to Prince Rui and listened to him tell Old Liu how to forge the arrows they wanted.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yu returned to the Duke of Chu's mansion. While having dinner, she told the Duke of Chu about her discovery. After she finished speaking, she said, "Tomorrow I will read through all the official documents related to military supplies over the years, and then combine them with other documents to find evidence."
The Duke of Chu frowned deeply. "In the past two years, His Majesty may have sensed the instability of the Lingnan King and the western border, so he has increased the number of troops, and of course, the military expenditure has also increased significantly. I never expected that someone would take advantage of this opportunity to embezzle funds."
Jiang Yu thought for a moment, "This is definitely not something one person could do. I don't believe that the military expenditure application data for several years is different and no one in the Ministry of Revenue noticed it, not even the Minister of Revenue."
The Duke of Chu thought for a moment, then said, "Perhaps Tang Boyang really doesn't know."
Jiang Yu looked puzzled. How could she not know about such an obvious difference in the data?
At this moment, the Duke of Chu said again, "First of all, the military expenditure application, the amount of weapons and armor each year, the amount of iron used, and the total cost, all balance out. You just happened to compare the accounts from several years and that's when you discovered the anomaly."
Jiang Yu nodded, but she still felt that a qualified person in charge should also be fully aware of the hidden data.
The Duke of Chu continued, "Tang Boyang became Minister of Revenue in the 18th year of Jinghe. It is highly likely that he did not see the accounts of military supplies in the 17th year of Jinghe, or only glanced at them."
“That’s possible,” Jiang Yu said.
The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of all expenditures and household registrations for the major campaign, and its accounts were extremely complex. The Minister in charge of the Ministry of Revenue could not possibly examine every single account in detail, let alone the accounts from before he took office. Knowing the general outline was considered quite responsible.
"So, Tang Boyang might not have been involved?" Jiang Yu asked.
The Duke of Chu said thoughtfully, "It's possible they were involved; we'll only know after an investigation."
"Is he working for the First Prince, Kang Wang?" Jiang Yu asked.
The Duke of Chu nodded. "Tang Boyang's eldest daughter is the Princess Consort of Kang."
Jiang Yu lowered his eyes and pondered for a long time before saying, "King Kang is over thirty years old this year, and his maternal family is not prominent. Do you think he might prepare some support for himself?"
The Duke of Chu leaned back in his chair and said after a while, "The current emperor is over fifty years old, but he is in good health and will live for another twenty years or so without any problems. If that happens, the eldest prince will be over fifty years old."
Are there any princes who ascended the throne at the age of fifty or sixty? There are almost none in history.
The grandfather and grandson exchanged a glance. The eldest prince might be taking a risk. But if this matter involved the eldest prince, it would be a matter of utmost importance. Should they continue the investigation?
The Duke of Chu looked at Jiang Yu, letting her decide. Jiang Yu looked down at her fingertips, recalling the determination and sense of mission she felt when investigating major cases in her past life. Now, although her sense of mission wasn't as strong as in her previous life, the feeling of her blood boiling when faced with a major case was no less intense.
She heard herself say, "Check."
The Duke of Chu looked at her intently and said, "Very well, you can use all the resources in the house."
Jiang Yu smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Grandfather."
The Duke of Chu looked at her with satisfaction and said, "I'm overjoyed that you have such courage and determination. It's not easy for a man to gain a foothold in the court, let alone a woman like you. How can you succeed without taking some risks?"
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