The Wife is First - 43Chapter 43 The Truth

The three-day time limit was about to pass. Mu Hanzhang didn’t seem to be anxious at all. He just looked through the account books in the king’s account every day and occasionally went to the barracks to take a look.

“What did the military advisor ask today?” You Hujun asked as he caught the soldier who was about to go back for dinner. He was really curious about how Mr. Jun was going to find the murderer within three days.

“The military advisor asked when the soldier uniform was issued and how often he could eat meat.” The soldier answered honestly.

“Military uniform? Eat meat?” The right guard was confused. What does this have to do with poisonous weeds? He let the soldier go and captured another one for questioning.

“The military advisor asked how long it took to send a letter home, who would write it for me,” the tall soldier smiled honestly, “the military advisor also said that because he answered well, he could write to him in the future.” That was the prince’s military advisor. The calligraphy is definitely better than that of the scholar in the village, and my wife at home can use it to show off to the village.

The right guard army was even more confused after hearing this. Where is this? Reluctantly, I asked a few more questions, but they were all irrelevant questions, trivial and irrelevant.

The left guard stepped forward and patted the stunned right guard: “Eat.”

“Tell me, what exactly is the military advisor looking for?” You Hujun asked with a grimace.

Zuo Hujun had no expression on his face, turned around and left: “Eat first.”

“Hey, wait!” You Hujun hurriedly chased after him. They both had food together. If they were late, they would be eaten by that guy!

The three-day period was coming in a blink of an eye. Zhao Meng came out of the military prison early in the morning and waited in the middle tent to see the so-called “strategist” make a fool of himself. General Zhao, who also felt that he was not good at studying, also roped in the guards and several schoolmasters. Lieutenant, come together.

The middle tent is a place where generals discuss tactics and issue military orders. It is about the same size as Jingshao’s royal tent, but there are no beds in the tent. Jing Shao sat on the high platform, looking at the group of wolf-like men below, and glanced at Zhao Meng with some sympathy.

Mu Hanzhang sat on the chair next to Jing Shao, holding in his hand a black-feathered goose feather fan that military advisers in history books would carry. This was specially given to him by Youhujun yesterday in order to know the news in advance.

“Military advisor, the three-day limit has expired. Old Zhao is here to listen to the military advisor’s opinion.” Zhao Meng brought several suspects who were in the cell with him over again and stood in the middle of the tent and said in a rough voice.

“The general is really impatient.” Mu Hanzhang fanned the goose feather fan in his hand twice and glanced at the unshaven people in the audience.

Sure enough, he had been squatting in the military prison for three days. Although the soldiers in the prison would be fed and fed well, General Zhao, who had not washed for three days, was really a bit slovenly. Compared with Mu Hanzhang, who was wearing white clothes and looked spotless. , naturally very abrupt.

General Zhao, who had always been casual and casual, felt a little uncomfortable after being glanced at by that look with a hint of disgust. He wiped his face with his hand and said: “Don’t be wordy, we have signed a military order. Please tell me who the murderer is.” ?”

Mu Hanzhang curled his lips slightly, slowly reached out with his fan and pointed at the people kneeling under the stage: “They are all, and none of them are.”

“What are these words?” Zhao Meng asked confused.

Several young generals also looked puzzled. The infantry captain quietly asked the right guard what he had found out yesterday. What he got was a bitter look from the right guard. Yesterday, the military advisor walked around with him for a long time, said nothing, and even took it away. The feather fan he “bribed”.

“They are not, just because they didn’t plant the poisonous weeds, because before the escort officer received this batch of hay, it was already mixed with aconite grass.” Mu Hanzhang lightly slapped his goose feather fan twice and looked at it with satisfaction. Everyone in the audience changed their expressions instantly. To deal with these rough guys, you will definitely not be able to defeat them if you go straight, but on the contrary, you will look down on them if you play tricks on them.

“Military advisor Ming Jian!” The horse herdsman was the first to shout and kowtowed to Mu Hanzhang happily. His courage was almost shattered from the moment the prince’s horse went crazy. When the military advisor said this, at least his head It was saved.

The remaining few also reacted and hurriedly followed suit.

“However,” Mu Hanzhang paused, “the poisonous weeds were escorted all the way, stored in the warehouse, and fed to the horses. No poisonous weeds were found in the fodder, and they could not escape the punishment.

After hearing this, I sweated a little and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. As the saying goes, if you can avoid the death penalty, you can’t escape the death penalty. As long as you can avoid the death penalty, nothing else matters.

“So the weed seller mistakenly cut the poisonous weeds and got in?” You Hujun answered.

“The long-leaf Aconitum grows on the northwest grassland, how can it be cut in the suburbs of Beijing?” Zhao Meng remembered Zuo Hujun’s words about Aconitum, and obviously did not believe Mu Hanzhang’s words.

Mu Hanzhang shook his head: “It was not an accident, but a deliberate attempt to poison the war horse.”

“Now that the army has not set out, you can buy more horses after poisoning them. It will not affect the war at all. Who can afford to do such immoral things when they are full?” Zhao Meng felt that this military advisor was obviously fooling around.

“Now, I have to ask the accounting clerk in this camp.” Mu Hanzhang took the tea cup on the table and took a sip.

“Secretary?” Jing Shao, who had been listening attentively, couldn’t help but ask. He had been pestering him for a long time last night, but Jun Qing not only didn’t tell him the truth, but also didn’t let him get it, which made him anxious and angry. night.

The clerk is the person in the military camp who is responsible for registering accounts, writing orders, handling correspondence and other civilian duties. Everything in the army is simple. There are four secretaries in this five thousand camp. Except for writing letters and dispatching, you will think of it. I usually don’t pay attention to these.

Mu Hanzhang nodded and said to Jing Shao: “I checked all the accounts in the army. Not to mention the previous ones, the amount of food and grass allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs for this expedition was nearly 30% less, and the account was missing.” What is recorded above is also far from the actual use.”

“What!” Jing Shao suddenly sat up straight.

Mu Hanzhang took out some of the accounts he had copied over the past two days and showed them to Jing Shao. The account stated that all soldiers had three sets of military uniforms per quarter, but in fact there were only two sets. The daily food standards were as recorded in the account. , at least one meal of meat is available every day. In fact, it can only be eaten once every seven days, and most of the time it is only rice porridge and steamed buns.

When the officers and soldiers in the audience heard this, their expressions became solemn. The right guard couldn’t help but said: “If what Mr. Jun said is true, then what does the secretary’s false accounting have to do with this poisonous weed?”

Mu Hanzhang slowly stroked the handle of the goose feather fan: “Before the army sets off, the Ministry of Revenue will be sent to check the accounts.”

Everything else is easy to say, but the 30% of the accounts that don’t match is not a small number. If war horses die in large numbers, they must be replenished in time. As long as the king reports to the court, a large amount of silver will be appropriated. At that time, some cheating methods can be used to write off the accounts that cannot be reconciled. The poison of Aconitum will cause immediate paralysis in livestock, with fever all over the body and foaming at the mouth, which is quite similar to horse plague. Once it is diagnosed as horse plague, these horse carcasses will be burned and buried without any careful inspection.

When Mu Hanzhang finished all his analysis, the entire tent fell silent.

“It’s a poisonous plan…” Zuo Hujun said slowly.

“But these secretaries were also assigned by the Ministry of Husbandry.” Youhujun frowned. Is the Ministry of Husbandry slapping himself in the face? A few small secretaries must not have the guts to do such a bold thing. There must be high-ranking officials protecting them, but no matter how you look at it, they are all under the supervision of the Ministry of Revenue.

“Not all the people in the household department are of the same mind.” Mu Hanzhang sighed. I don’t know who he is going to send to check the accounts this time. At least they are not the same as those who were greedy for ink before. This made them anxious and came out. Last resort.

Jing Shao slowly clenched his fists. It was well known that life in the army was poor. When he went to conquer the Huns, he ate similar to what he eats now, so he didn’t realize there was anything wrong with it. He finally knew how the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in his previous life had deducted military pay from him. It was not that he withheld money, but that the Ministry of Revenue had allocated too much money to him, and then had the money disappear without his knowledge!

“Catch all those scribes!” Zhao Meng was so angry that he blew his beard. After a while, the four thin scribes were caught and knelt on the ground tremblingly. For such a big crime, Si Ziran refused to admit it. Since he had an official position and the army could not torture them, he kept making excuses.

Zhao Mengke didn’t care about this and kicked the person closest to him: “I don’t eat well every day, so it turns out that it goes into the pockets of our grandchildren!” This kick was not light, and he fell to the ground and vomited immediately after being kicked. Acid water.

Jing Shao slammed the account book into their faces and said coldly: “You are just a little secretary, but you really think of yourself as an official of the court! Even if I behead you today, the court will not be able to pick me out.” The king’s fault!”

Although this is not entirely true, it is well known that King Cheng was violent, and the right guard army sneered and told them that everything in the army should be handled according to military law.

They had been on tenterhooks for several days, but now they were afraid that there was nothing they could do about it. The one who was kicked by Zhao Meng struggled to get up and was the first to confess, and the other three had no choice but to confess. They are just soldiers and generals. They only know that their superior is a member of the household department, but they don’t know anything about those above them.

“Too much bullying!” Jing Shao stood up and was about to take Si back to the capital.

Mu Hanzhang hurriedly grabbed him and gave him a calm look: “This is a serious matter and cannot be discussed lightly.”

Jing Shao took a deep breath: “Lock these four up first and retreat. We will make a final decision after I discuss with the military advisor.”

The left guard personally pressed Si to the military prison. Zhao Meng wanted to say something, but was pulled away by the right guard.

“Jun Qing, what do you want to say?” Jing Shao took a sip of tea. He would never give up on this matter today. Even if the expedition was delayed, he would find out everything hidden behind him!

Seeing his angry look, Mu Hanzhang sighed softly and said: “Bringing them into the palace today will only scare the enemy. In order to appease the emperor and go to war as soon as possible, my father will also hastily close the case.”

Every word is true, but what happened today has touched Jing Shao’s bottom line, so instead of calming him down, it made him suddenly angry. He pushed the cups on the table to the ground with a clatter, with a look in his eyes. He looked at Mu Hanzhang angrily: “What should we do? Is it possible that we have to swallow this breath?”

Seeing his appearance, Mu Hanzhang pursed his lips and remained silent without saying a word. Even though he knew that Jing Shao was not angry at him, the look in those eyes still hurt him. On the wedding day, those eyes looked at him like this…