Two soft bird calls were heard from the wall again, meaning that the information had been received and Emperor Ming Yan would be informed immediately.
Yan Shiyue was relieved, and then said: "Forget it, forget it, you take the men and guard the door, and keep an eye on these people. I asked Bao Zheng to bring people, but he hasn't come yet. I guess he was tripped by someone. Ask someone to pick him up."
Huo Qijing quickly turned around to make arrangements.
Sima Long said slowly: "Prime Minister, why is it so?"
Qu Sinian said with a smile: "Master Sima, everyone knows that our Prime Minister has always been a little willful, but kind-hearted, and hates people who take human lives the most. You killed people in front of her, so this warehouse must be apportioned whether you want to or not."
Sima Long lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Qu Sinian smiled again: "But it's good to discuss it. I believe that you are all innocent. After the discussion, the Prime Minister will be relieved, and the adults will also be relieved. Isn't it great?"
Sima Long said with a fake smile, "It has been less than three months since I took over the position of Shangshu, and until now, the affairs have not been sorted out. The Prime Minister is willing to help with the inventory. Of course, I am more than happy to do so. I had no intention of stopping him before. I just thought that inventorying the warehouse is not a trivial matter and should be done according to the rules. I didn't expect that the Prime Minister would misunderstand me."
"Lord Sima, you are too kind. The Prime Minister has always praised Lord Sima for his gentleness and kindness. How could he have misunderstood?"
While the two were talking, Huo Qijing had already brought his men to separate the guards of the treasury and took over their positions.
...
...
At this time, Chu Ningyuan also took Bao Zheng and his party over. Bao Zheng bowed and said, "Prime Minister, I have brought more than 50 people with me and will obey your orders."
Yan Shiyue nodded, motioned for Gu Hengsha to come over to make arrangements, and then said to Sima Long: "Sir, please open the warehouse door."
Sima Long nodded expressionlessly, then asked Doctor Zhu to bring people to open the warehouse door.
The treasury had no windows, only vents, so lights had to be on during the day. Gu Hengsha asked people to light the lights brightly and divided them into two groups to count crosswise. At the same time, Huo Qijing also assigned twenty people to go in and patrol and supervise.
For a moment, the room was filled with the sound of calculations.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, there was another commotion, and the prince strode in with his men: "Yuer?"
Even the prince is here?
Sima Long's beard twitched, and he looked at Jia Xuanjing with gloom in his eyes, and walked forward to greet him.
Yan Shiyue also came forward. The prince looked at her and said to Huo Qijing, "I have brought two thousand dragon guards with me. I will leave them to you for the time being."
Huo Qijing bowed in response and quickly went over to take over.
Sima Long and his men also stepped forward to greet him. The prince only nodded, motioning them to leave, and then asked Yan Shiyue in a low voice: "What's going on?"
Yan Shiyue pulled him aside and whispered.
The prince frowned deeply.
Then Yan Shiyue said, "Brother, I leave the outside to you. Don't let any of these people go. I'll go in and take a look first."
The prince nodded.
Yan Shiyue went in.
The silver vault was not like what she had imagined, with many boxes, but was divided into many small rooms, each with its own grid. In each small room there were many shelves, on which silver was placed in steps, and on some shelves there were layers of trays.
Moreover, the silver inside was not all big and small ingots. There were also silver cakes and silver bricks, and a small amount of gold ingots.
There is a warehouse closer to the gate, which seems to be full of newly made silver ingots with the year "Ming Yan" on them. There are about one million of them. They should be from the Tashan Silver Mine. It is said that the refining has already started there.
Yan Shiyue walked back and forth.
After a while, Qing Weiliao came in with a team of personal soldiers and lined up behind the crowd.
Yan Shiyue looked for a while, didn't find anything wrong, and went out.
All the soldiers in the warehouse outside had been taken away, and the guards had also been separated. There were some chairs in front of the hall, and the prince and his men sat on them.
As soon as Yan Shiyue came out, Sima Long and Jia Xuanjing looked over quickly, and then they all stood up together: "Prime Minister, please take a seat."
Yan Shiyue nodded and sat down.
Doctor Zhu apologized to her nervously, "Sir, what happened today was because I didn't follow the law strictly enough, but the guards killed people, which has absolutely nothing to do with me! Even if I have the courage of heaven, I dare not kill your witness."
He raised his hand and swore: "If I tell you even a lie, I will be torn into pieces by five horses!"
Yan Shiyue couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
At such a dangerous moment, he still dared to make such an oath. Could it be that what he said was true?
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Jia Xuanjing also said: "This matter was definitely not ordered by this humble official! This humble official does not recognize him at all! If the Prime Minister does not believe it, this humble official can also swear!"
Sima Long also said: "I was talking to the Prime Minister at that time. The Prime Minister should believe that I am innocent."
Yan Shiyue nodded and glanced at Qu Sinian calmly.
I guess he said something, emphasizing that they were the ones who killed people first, so that no matter what the result was, they were "forced to do it" and "went with the flow", and this statement fits her personality, so they believed it.
But at this time, these are no longer important. What is important is the results of the inventory.
More than 40 million taels, and cross-counting, was really not a small project. These people counted for more than three hours before they came out. Then Gu Hengsha counted the money himself with an abacus.
He finished calculating one first, his brows immediately furrowed, he glanced at Yan Shiyue, and then went to calculate the other one.
Yan Shiyue knew something was wrong when she saw the look in his eyes, and pursed her lips.
Then Gu Xiao quickly finished the other calculation and stood up and said, "Master, after counting, the silver in the treasury is 43,627,500 taels."
Yan Shiyue fell silent instantly.
At this time, Sima Long had already handed over the account book with both hands.
The current balance of the national treasury is 43.65 million taels, which means that there is only a shortage of 22,500 taels! According to the national treasury's management system, there is a certain ratio of loss, and no more than 40,000 taels is considered normal loss! Just make up the difference, and the responsible officials don't need to be held accountable!
Sima Long smiled and said, "Fortunately, the shortage is not too serious, and it is also thanks to the Prime Minister that he discovered it in time! I will definitely deal with it in time!"
There was no trace of sarcasm on his face.
But this incident itself is a huge irony!
Originally, it was natural for her to encounter the warehouse soldiers who stole the silver and ask for an inventory of the warehouse.
However, after alarming the Crown Prince and the Dragon Guards and making such a big fuss, this is the result... This is simply a huge joke!
Yan Shiyue sat in the chair, brows furrowed, motionless.
This result really stunned her.
Sima Long repeatedly bowed to her: "Prime Minister, a false alarm is better than a real loss! This humble official is also new to the Ministry of Revenue, and I was really scared today. Now I am relieved... It is really thanks to the wise and decisive Prime Minister, this humble official is very grateful..."
He tried his best to give her a way out.
The prince looked at her expression, stood up, and said gently: "Fuyan, it's a good thing that there is no deficit. Let's go back to the palace together and report to our father, so that he can rest assured."
He was also confused.
However, the people who checked the silver were those she sent for, who were supervised by Huo Qijing's personal soldiers and dispatched by her apprentice. There was no doubt about the result.
He walked over and patted her shoulder: "Be careful, it's not a bad thing. Even if I'm here, I will definitely check the warehouse."
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