Chapter 939: Setting Up a Scheme (Part 2) [Two-in-One]
"The person who set this up anticipated my arrival and even blatantly arranged for a broker to leak clues, clearly having prepared a countermeasure long ago. Whether it's the grain or the money from the illegal fundraising, it's estimated that it was successfully transferred before we even arrived in Jinli County, and the hope of recovering it is extremely slim." Even in modern times, the chances of recovering typical fraudulent funds are slim, let alone in this era.
Xun Zhen's fingers trembled as he covered his chest.
He said in a trembling voice, "I'm so angry! I'm so angry!"
Shen Tang added insult to injury: "Don't get angry right now. When you tally up the money you were scammed out of, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. Ponzi schemes prey on human greed. The amount is so huge, it could probably give you a few more chances to show off your prowess in battle, or even more?"
Xun Zhen's eyes turned red with anger upon hearing this.
The amount that would allow him to unleash his power three to five times, or even more, is an astronomical figure that's unimaginable! How could these people dare to lend so much money? Kang Shi counted on his fingers to the side and was shocked: "This amount... I'm afraid it's impossible, isn't it?"
Shen Tang: "Why is it impossible?"
She rolled her eyes inwardly, feeling helpless.
These teammates in Kim Yuk-gun are really hopeless!
She gave a simple and blunt example: "Suppose Hanzhang has nine hundred taels of silver. If he lends it out, he will get back one thousand three hundred taels with interest. If he stops now, he can make a profit of four hundred taels. Hanzhang is timid. The second time, he only lends it out and earns four hundred taels of interest, so he gets back five hundred and seventy-seven taels with interest. This time, he easily makes another one hundred and seventy-seven taels. Hanzhang, would you stop?"
Xun Zhen, who was called out, replied, "If I had not known beforehand, I would have been more cautious and lent the money twice with interest."
"The third loan, with two interest payments of 577 taels, yielded a return of 833 taels, principal and interest. Hanzhang, will you be bolder the fourth time?"
Xun Zhen, putting himself in their shoes, nodded affirmatively: "Yes, even knowing that such great benefits inevitably come with risks, but—"
"But deep down, there's always a sliver of hope, and even regret for wasting the first three opportunities—if only I had been bolder, lending out 10,000 taels, or even 100,000 taels from the start, after three times it would be 30,000 taels, or 300,000 taels! Those who receive dividends won't be content with what they have; they'll just reinvest the principal and interest, or even borrow money to lend out government bonds. With just three dividends, 10,000 becomes 30,000, 100,000 becomes 300,000, 1 million becomes 3 million... Tell me, with such exorbitant profits, who wouldn't want to take a gamble?"
Everyone couldn't help but ask themselves—
Can they really control themselves?
Even if they can forcefully suppress their greed, what about their relatives?
Even if their reason tells them there's a big problem here, wouldn't it be fine as long as they take the money and leave before anything goes wrong?
Shen Tang saw through everyone's thoughts.
He asked, "If you have three million and refuse to lend any more government debt, but you see others still doing well after their fourth dividend, will you regret it? Will you be willing to gamble a fifth time? If you win, that's a full four million three hundred and fifty thousand!"
For a moment, there was complete silence, except for the rapid breathing.
From one million to four million three hundred and fifty thousand, dividends were distributed only four times.
Shen Tang poured cold water on the situation, saying, "The key issue is that you don't know when the drumbeat of this game will stop. Only the person beating the drum knows this, and once the floodgates of human greed are opened, they cannot be stopped. Therefore—you are destined to lose this game."
Everyone thinks they're the smart one.
She pointed out another deep pit that no one else had noticed.
"...Moreover, don't forget who the official debts were lent to—merchants. Merchants are commoners, of low status, powerless, and without support. When powerful and influential people lend them official debts, it's hard to guarantee they don't harbor this thought—even if these merchants can't come up with dividends, they can still get their principal back through unscrupulous means, or even coerce them into giving them other people's principal as dividends. In any case, the merchants will be the ones cleaning up the mess in the end, while they can still sit back and relax."
This is a business that guarantees profits regardless of drought or flood!
They make money, and the merchants cover the losses.
But who would have thought that merchants were also part of this scheme?
The ministers' faces turned green.
Because they realized they were caught in the trap, with an extremely high probability of falling into it. Just as the Lord said, the borrowers were merchants; would merchants really owe money to officials? Based on this confidence, lending money to officials was a foolproof way to get rich with low risk, regardless of circumstances!
I can't imagine how crazy they would be if they were controlled by greed.
Chu Yao comforted his king: "Since things have come to this, we can only take it as a lesson learned. We must not allow similar loopholes to be exploited a second time. This kind of scam, whether it's the organizer or the officials involved, must be severely punished by law. There can be no leniency!"
Shen Tang said, "Officials, your crimes will be compounded!"
The kneeling captain was stiff all over.
Shen Tang had no interest in paying attention to her situation.
Even if this military commander was framed, her acceptance of bribes and dereliction of duty are real. If the grain supplies did indeed end up in the hands of the Northern Desert, it wouldn't be unjust for Shen Tang to order her execution: "Ji Shou, official debts are also a means of bribing officials. Although the law doesn't explicitly state it, it should still be considered bribery. Go back and collect the case files on bribery and corruption from various places, and make a more detailed determination in this regard."
Kang Shi bowed and accepted the order.
Suppressing the throbbing discomfort in her head, Shen Tang mustered her strength to clean up the mess. She looked down at the deathly pale-faced Zhechong Commandant and let out a soft sigh. Although the Zhechong Prefecture of Jinli County wasn't a superior prefecture, it was still a mid-level one. The women's camp was inherently disadvantaged; it would be a lie to say she didn't feel sorry for this man who had managed to rise to the position of Zhechong Commandant in just ten years: "Everything not prohibited by law is permissible—that applies to ordinary people. But you gentlemen here are all pillars of the Kang Kingdom; for you, everything not permitted by law is forbidden!"
The group bowed and said, "We will keep this in mind."
Ning Yan voiced the suspicion that everyone was worried about but dared not say: "My lord, if Jinli County is like this, then what about other places..."
Could it be that they also suffered?
Shen Tang remained silent, but everyone could feel the intense killing intent surrounding her. The official in charge of the warehouse department forced himself to say, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, even if other counties have been affected, the actual situation should be better than that of Jinli County."
Shen Tang looked at him, signaling him to continue.
The Director of the Granary Department: "Supervisory Censor Zheng Yu."
The last news about Zheng Yu came from Lingzhou.
To protect the safety of the censors, Shen Tang stipulated that they must report their situations periodically and maintain contact with the Censorate. Failure to do so would be treated as a threat to the censor's safety. In special circumstances, censors could even mobilize the troops of the Zhechong Prefecture, executing first and reporting later. The Zhechong Prefecture hadn't received Zheng Yu's message. Did he know the Zhechong Prefecture was unsafe, or was his exposure too unexpected, leaving him no chance to call for reinforcements while being hunted by the enemy?
Chronologically, Zheng Yu must have discovered something in Jinli County, inadvertently exposed himself, and disappeared in Lingzhou during his escape. Knowing he was about to be exposed, the villains hastily chose to cut their losses, plotting a "ghostly grain theft" to distract the royal court and buy time to transfer illicit funds and supplies. Time was of the essence; the net in other parts of Kunzhou couldn't be closed in time.
Even if there were losses, they weren't as great as those in Jinli County.
This might be able to recover most of the losses.
If you're lucky, you might even be able to recover everything.
When Shen Tang brought her people to Kunzhou, she ordered the four departments of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Finance to take the seven guards and four officers to investigate various counties in Kunzhou. She herself brought a group of people to Jinli County. Seeing a cockroach meant that there were hundreds of cockroaches hiding in the dark, eating and living with people! She was worried that the problem might not be limited to Jinli County, and that other places should also be investigated.
In retrospect, that decision was absolutely correct.
Distrusting the local military governor's office, Shen Tang directly dispatched men from the Seven Guards and Four Divisions to seal off and surround the entire Jinli County. Officials involved in the government loan lending, local gentry and wealthy households, and even their relatives implicated were all imprisoned. In no time, the prisons were overflowing with people.
Dozens of people fainted on the spot upon learning that their property had been stolen.
The cell was filled with curses directed at Shen Tang.
Why did they lose their money and end up in jail?
There is reasonable suspicion that this is a scheme by Shen Tang to amass wealth!
I ask you, how could a few merchants and minor officials have dared to embezzle so much money without someone behind them instigating them? It's likely that from beginning to end, it was all a case of the Shen family double-crossing each other, with the money being pocketed in secret! The government debts that were issued were collected by the Zhechong Prefecture, which was under the command of the Seven Guards and Four Commanders, who were the king's henchmen. Could she really say that the royal court was completely innocent in this matter?
The sudden plunge into poverty drove these people mad, prompting them to utter the most outrageous and uttering inflammatory remarks! Many of them had mortgaged their ancestral property and borrowed money from all sides to invest in government-backed loans. When these government loans collapsed, they not only lost everything but also incurred enormous debts!
Qian Yong put his legs up on the table: "That was really awful."
As he spoke, he tore off a large chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth.
The adjutant beside him suppressed the urge to cover his ears and bent down to advise, "Your Highness, these people's foul language is too offensive. The prison stinks; shouldn't we find somewhere else to stay?"
These people are all cursing the king.
Neither the Duke nor he was suitable to listen.
Qian Yong spat out a chicken bone and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his greasy fingers: "The insults are harsh, but I like to hear them."
Qian Yong loves to join in the fun. Over the years, only Shen Youli has been criticizing people everywhere, and no one has ever dared to yell at her.
How rare! You won't find this again if you miss it.
The lieutenant's face turned ashen: "If the lord finds out..."
Qian Yong said, "She will come and listen too."
Lieutenant General: "..."
Qian Yong picked his teeth with a silver needle: "Chu Jie isn't here right now, so the Tian Shu Guard is in charge of your general, me. Why are you so timid? Hmph, your general knows what he's doing."
“In the past, the lord wouldn’t have minded this, but now…” The lieutenant looked up at the Ministry of Justice personnel coming and going in the prison, occasionally taking people out for interrogation, and lowered his voice, “The lord has suffered a great loss, and his temper is different from before.”
"It wasn't me who did it, there's no reason to blame me..."
Lieutenant General: "..."
He had followed Qian Yong since he was a teenager and knew the man's temperament well.
Even though he had worked under Shen Tang for five years, the mindset he had developed over the past decades was not so easy to change. To him, Shen Tang was the ruler of the country, the subject to whom he depended. Although he himself was the object, he was not completely subservient to her.
Above equality, below the relationship between ruler and subject.
He will not harbor any disloyalty until the towering tree falls.
"Then you should also consider the master's feelings..."
Qian Yong waved his hand impatiently: "I know, I know!"
The Ministry of Justice personnel accompanying the inspection were forced to work through the night. After they finished their work, it was the Tian Shu Guards' turn to take over.
In just one night, preliminary results were presented to Shen Tang.
Liu, the Prefect of Jinli County, took a day off from his fieldwork the day before Shen Tang arrived in Jinli County to return to his farm work, and then took leave for fifteen days in a row. The Tian Shu Guard sent people to arrest Liu, but found that Liu had not returned at all—they learned from nearby farmers that Liu had been using the excuse of being busy with official business to pay farmers to take care of his fields: "Are you sure that Liu has not returned in these four days?"
The farmer nodded firmly: "He hasn't come back."
He then asked the farmers if they knew where Prefect Liu's relatives lived.
Several farmers thought about it carefully and then shook their heads.
Although Prefect Liu was approachable and had no airs of an official, he didn't get close to them, the peasants, let alone tell them about their families. Not only were the farmers unaware of Prefect Liu's background, but the records in the Jinli County government office were also fake.
This person had no past, as if he appeared out of thin air.
Enraged, Shen Tang smashed the paperweight over the head of Prefect Jinli, leaving a red mark on his forehead. She roared, "You scoundrel! How dare you appoint someone to the position of Chief Secretary without knowing his background!"
The governor of Jinli County offered a fearful and persuasive explanation.
"This...this person was recommended by a longtime friend of mine..."
Shen Tang grabbed a handful of bamboo slips and threw them at his shoulder: "A friend of many years? Look at what your friend of many years has done! He's a rebel! You've known him since childhood, you treat him as a 'friend,' but he treats you as a 'performance' idiot!"
Kunzhou was originally part of the territory of the Geng Kingdom.
The remnants of the Geng Kingdom's royal family and numerous warlord forces, with their complex and intertwined relationships, were one of the key reasons why Shen Tang Yuanhuang had taken three years to completely subdue them. She placed her own people in areas where she had strong control, and appointed former officials of the Geng Kingdom or scholars from local families to areas where her control was relatively weaker, preparing to gradually erode and replace them. The current Prefect of Jinli County belonged to the latter category.
Just in case, a female officer from the female battalion was promoted to serve as a check on them. But these incompetent teammates ruined a great hand! They all fell victim to greed!
The case involving government debt affects nearly 5,000 people, from officials and businessmen to ordinary citizens.
How many households are there in Jinli County?
Shen Tang looked at him with murderous intent in her eyes.
Before she could even react, several secret reports arrived from her guards. Shen Tang roughly tore them open and skimmed them. The next instant, a powerful aura erupted from her, the air surging and causing the curtains in the room to flutter loudly. The Jinli Prefect, who was closest to her, felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders. He barely managed to stay upright by bracing himself with his hands on the ground. What made it even more uncomfortable was that the pressure seemed to be squeezing the air out of his chest. His face turned purplish-blue at a visible speed.
Fortunately, the whole process only lasted two breaths.
Where is the body placed?
The governor of Jinli County greedily inhaled the fresh air to calm the burning pain in his chest. He looked up and saw that the room was in a mess, with no sign of the king, Shen Youli.
A flicker of fear crossed his eyes.
At the same time, Shen Tang kicked open the door.
This is a side room, a temporary lodging place for personnel from the Ministry of Justice.
Without even glancing, Shen Tang unleashed a palm strike directly at the only living person in the room, who was dressed in the uniform of a Ministry of Justice official. Hearing the commotion, Kang Shi rushed over.
|ω`)
The new character will have a very special way of life as a scholar.
A hen crows at dawn.
But it's not the main group, and the name "Scholar's Way" isn't malicious (first layer of armor).
P.S.: I'm asking for your minimum monthly votes at the beginning of the month. Tomorrow is a three-in-one event.
P.S.: Officials under Tang Mei's rule actually have quite a few holidays (although there are often descriptions of overtime, overtime is one thing, but there are still holidays). These include regular holidays (such as the Cold Food Festival, Qixi Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Winter Solstice, and the King's birthday), sick leave (as the name suggests), clothing-giving leave (a holiday for buying clothes throughout the year), home leave, marriage leave, bereavement leave, and capping leave (a holiday for the capping ceremony of immediate family members), as well as the farm leave mentioned in this chapter (allowing people to go home and farm; nominally everyone has some land, and they go back to help during busy farming seasons)...
All things considered, being able to take one or two months off a year is actually quite considerate of Tang Mei.
(End of this chapter)
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