At this point, Sun Jian reminded the two men, "Do you remember the two misconceptions I just mentioned?"
"Avoiding large expenses is only one aspect, but the salary and provisions are also not a small amount."
"I suspect they'll come up with some excuse to include this in the bill. The delay in the payment of the Tiger Legion's salary by a month is precisely because of this!"
Sun Jian directly told the two of them his thoughts.
If the Tiger Legion needed 9,000 taels of silver for its monthly expenses, the Wei brothers would report a demand of 10,000 taels of silver.
The delay in issuing provisions and pay to the Tiger Legion was because the Wei brothers needed to balance the accounts after the pay arrived. The extra month they set aside was to make the accounts even!
Instead of drawing from the major accounts, they cleverly create categories from the minor accounts, making it impossible for anyone to investigate.
Only after the numbers match up will the soldiers' rations and pay be distributed.
"General Liu, can you think of any discrepancies in the small accounts?"
Sun Jian smiled and took a sip of tea.
He had already vaguely guessed what kind of register the Wei brothers had "created under false pretenses," but he still wanted to test Liu Shiyun.
After all, Liu Shiyun might very well become his right-hand man in the future.
It's not a bad thing to nurture talent when the opportunity arises.
As for Gu Hu, it's best to just let him be my bodyguard.
Liu Shiyun pondered for a long time, carefully reviewing the categories of small accounts he had read before, but he still couldn't guess what exactly the "pretended categories" were.
"This humble general is ashamed; this humble general could not have imagined this."
Sun Jian smiled and said, "No rush, I just thought of it too."
"Let me remind you of a few things: what records are indispensable for the Tiger Warriors in winter and summer?"
Liu Shiyun fell into deep thought again, his eyebrows furrowed, and he did not answer for a long time.
Gu Hu watched anxiously from the side, but Sun Jian forbade him to speak, so he dared not say anything.
Sun Jian glanced at Gu Hu helplessly, "Alright, alright, you guessed it, so go ahead and try saying it!"
Sun Jian was worried that he would suffocate the child.
But who would have thought that, whether it was Gu Hu's intelligence or something else, this kid actually guessed it right away.
Gu Hu tentatively asked, "General, what are the small booklets that the army commonly uses in summer and winter? Are they charcoal and ice?"
Holy crap!
Sun Jian exclaimed in surprise.
This guy really hit the nail on the head!
Gu Hu originally thought that he would be scolded by Sun Jian again, and he was prepared to reply, but he did not expect to see Sun Jian's reaction.
"This humble general...this humble general guessed correctly?"
Gu Hu himself was dumbfounded.
Liu Shiyun was also stunned, muttering to himself, "Winter charcoal, summer ice... Winter charcoal, summer ice?"
Sun Jian nodded to Gu Hu, "That's right, it's charcoal in winter and ice in summer."
"Could it be...could it be..."
Liu Shiyun muttered to himself repeatedly, his eyes narrowing, and his words becoming hesitant.
He had commanded troops in the army for many years, and upon reflection, he realized that in the winter, the army burned wood for warmth, and in the summer, they relied on streams for shade.
I've never seen any carbon blocks or ice blocks.
Moreover, these two items occupy a very small portion of the booklet, and nobody pays much attention to them.
Seeing Liu Shiyun's reaction, Sun Jian knew that this guy had already guessed some clues.
Sun Jian sneered and said directly, "Your reaction probably confirms my suspicions."
"For many years, the Tiger Warriors have never seen or used charcoal blocks or ice blocks, which means that these two items are just pretexts concocted by the Wei brothers!"
"The ice and charcoal were so few in number and weighed so little that no one ever paid any attention to them."
"But imagine if winter charcoal were gold, and summer ice were silver?"
hiss!
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the hearts of Gu Hu and Liu Shiyun.
The two exchanged a glance and both gasped in shock.
If it were for military supplies, the weight of these charcoal and ice blocks wouldn't even be enough to fill a tooth gap, but if it were gold and silver, the quantity would be terrifying!
And only in this way can we find clues and sources for all the accounts.
Although there is no empirical evidence, Sun Jian's inference is logically and theoretically sound.
Seeing their reactions, Sun Jian shook his head and smiled wryly.
He was also startled when he guessed these things alone in the camp.
"General, you...you are truly a celestial being descended to earth! This humble general is in awe!"
Liu Shiyun fully agreed with Sun Jian's guess, and he was certain that it was true!
He immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands together, and gave Sun Jian the highest military salute.
Gu Hu was no exception; he knew perfectly well just how capable his benefactor was.
They had to admire Sun Jian's sleight of hand and wisdom. If it were someone else, they might never have guessed that winter charcoal was gold and summer ice was silver.
In just three or four days, Sun Jian, who had just arrived, unexpectedly accomplished half of his goal. His efficiency and speed were astonishing.
"Get up, everyone."
Sun Jian's gaze sharpened, and he began to outline the next plan and arrangements for the two of them.
Now that we know the problem, all that's left to do is verify our suspicions and gather evidence.
Once everything is ready, Sun Jian will have completed his mission in the Tiger Army!
Verifying this conjecture is quite simple; it only requires looking at two aspects.
First, follow the mysterious supply wagon to see where it's headed and what the supplies on board are.
Second, the winter coal and summer ice in the accounts were converted into silver, and the salary and pay expenditures of all officers and soldiers in the army were calculated and compared with the amount allocated by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. The results were immediately clear.
"In three days, a new batch of supply wagons will be transported, and that will be our opportunity."
"It's inconvenient for the three of us to show our faces. The Wei brothers aren't stupid either; they'll definitely be on guard. They've been operating in the military for many years, so they naturally have a lot of informants."
Sun Jian frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I will be leaving the camp today. You all do this..."
--
The following day, at dusk, inside Wei Zhong'e's camp.
"Brother, I heard that this brat Sun Jian left the camp yesterday?"
Wei Zhongbao toyed with the wine glass in his hand, his face grim.
Before Wei Zhong'e could answer, Wei Zhonghu took a big gulp of wine. "Yes, I left the camp last night, saying that something had happened at home and that I would return to the camp at noon tomorrow."
"Eldest brother, third brother, tomorrow noon is the day I'm escorting the supplies... Will that brat Sun Jian ruin things?"
"Yes, brother! I've heard that in the past few days, that brat Sun Jian, along with Liu Shiyun and Gu Hu, has been checking accounts and reviewing his generals!"
Do you think he's discovered something amiss?
Upon hearing his two brothers' words, Wei Zhong'e narrowed his eyes slightly, looking completely unconvinced.
"What's the panic!"
"That young boy, as a deputy captain, is within the normal scope of his duties to check accounts and inspect subordinates."
"Besides, what could he possibly discover?"
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