nycdaug Chapter 61 Embezzlement of Armaments and Supplies
Chapter 61 Embezzlement of Armaments and Supplies
Half a month later.
"Your Highness, His Majesty summons you to the palace."
Qi Ye strode into the study.
"What happened? Why was I summoned to the palace so suddenly?"
Qin Wu put down his pen.
If something hadn't happened, the Emperor of Eastern Qin would not have summoned him to the palace.
"Just recently, an urgent report was sent to the Imperial Study."
"Not long after, His Majesty summoned the Prince to the palace."
Qi Ye shook his head.
Since it was a confidential report, it would take them some time to investigate.
"Yes, I understand. Someone, please change your clothes."
Qin Wu wasted no time.
After changing into his court robes, he rode in a carriage into the palace.
..................................
Royal study room.
"My esteemed subjects, what ideas do you have?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked at the two prime ministers, the Grand Tutor, and the Grand Commandant.
The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked extremely unwell.
He never expected that at such a time, supplies would mysteriously disappear.
Only half of the supplies were delivered to the front lines.
There were also problems with the armaments.
At this crucial moment when the troops were about to be deployed, such a huge blunder has occurred.
"Don't the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue give me an explanation?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin saw that no one spoke.
He looked at the Minister of Works and the Minister of Revenue.
If there are problems with food supplies and military equipment, then the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue will be held responsible.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was my negligence in supervision that led to the problem with the weapons. I will investigate this matter thoroughly immediately."
The Minister of Works stepped forward.
He knew that the Ministry of Works was largely to blame for this arms problem.
He never expected that anyone under him would dare to tamper with the weaponry, which is a serious crime.
"Xue Su, you must give me an answer to this matter as soon as possible. How many days do you think it will take to give me an explanation?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked down at Xue Su, the Minister of Works, who was kneeling below.
He knew that Xue Su was a man of the Tang King, but he didn't know if this matter had anything to do with the Tang King.
"Your Majesty, I will give you an answer within three days. No matter who is involved, I will not let them get away with it."
Minister of Works Xue Su immediately signed a pledge.
There was no way around it; the matter was far too serious for him to, and he dared not, cover up for anyone.
Otherwise, he and his family would be the ones to be dealt with.
The issue of armaments is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.
He now utterly despises those audacious people below him.
They actually dared to act recklessly at this time.
He was also wondering if it was arranged by the Tang King. If it was, he would not hold back this time either.
After all, it concerns the lives of his entire family.
"Fine, I'll give you three days. If you fail to give me a satisfactory explanation within three days, don't blame me for making an example of you."
The Emperor of Eastern Qin said coldly.
No matter who it is this time, the Emperor of Eastern Qin will not let him off easily.
This time, he is determined to investigate thoroughly.
"Minister of Revenue, what do you have to say? Half of the grain is missing. That's a million bushels of grain. Don't tell me this has nothing to do with your Ministry of Revenue."
Emperor Dong Qin then looked at Pei Jiang, the Minister of Revenue.
The Ministry of Revenue had the biggest problem this time; half of the two million shi of grain sent over was missing.
If it weren't for the news from the Marquis of Zhennan, he wouldn't have known that these people were so audacious.
He knew that some of the grain would be embezzled after it was delivered, but this was no small matter; it amounted to a full million shi (a unit of dry measure).
In the present day, one shi (石) in Dongqin is equal to 100 jin (斤), and one jin of grain costs 15 copper coins.
One shi is equivalent to 1500 copper coins, or one and a half taels.
One million shi of grain is equivalent to a full 150 million taels of silver, which is no small sum.
If we calculate based on a minister's monthly salary of 200 taels of silver, that would be 7500 months, or 625 years, of monthly salary for a minister.
When you calculate it carefully, it becomes a terrifying number.
Now, the Eastern Qin Kingdom is peaceful and prosperous, and the average household's monthly income is only 7 taels of silver.
150 million taels of silver was equivalent to the monthly income of more than 21 households.
How can we prevent the Emperor of Eastern Qin from getting angry?
"Your Majesty, I will also thoroughly investigate this matter. This matter really has nothing to do with me. I sent people to withdraw the money from the national treasury without any shortage."
Minister of Revenue Pei Jiang also quickly signed a pledge.
The people below this time have really dirty hands.
That's incredibly daring.
If the matter cannot be investigated, his fate will be far worse than that of Xue Su, the Minister of Works.
"Very well, I will give you three days. If you two cannot produce a satisfactory answer after three days, your entire clan of several hundred people will be exterminated."
The Emperor of Eastern Qin nodded.
However, he must retrieve these weapons and provisions as soon as possible.
The longer it takes, the lower the chance of finding it.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly complete the mission."
Minister of Works Xue Su and Minister of Revenue Pei Jiang quickly made their assurances.
"Left Prime Minister, Right Prime Minister, what are your thoughts on this?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin no longer paid attention to the two ministers of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue.
Instead, he asked the two prime ministers to see what solutions they had for the matter.
After all, we must deal with the issue of food supplies as soon as possible.
There are now over a million troops stationed in Nanping City to the south, and the daily consumption is considerable.
It will take time to redeploy the grain and fodder.
"Your Majesty, we are about to send out troops. We need time to transport the grain. The only thing we can do now is to order the Marquis of Zhennan to collect grain from nearby areas."
"Also, orders were sent to the nearby prefectures to prepare provisions to support Nanping City."
"It was the Left Chancellor, Qi Ding, who spoke up."
Although the national treasury is currently well-stocked with grain, it still takes time to transport the grain.
"The Prime Minister is right, but the missing grain must be recovered as soon as possible. This amount of grain, over a million shi, is enough for the army to use for a long time."
Right-side car swaying added.
He felt a pang of heartache at the thought of a million bushels of grain being embezzled.
Those people underneath dared to touch what even they dared not touch.
How audacious.
"An investigation is definitely in order, and whoever is implicated this time must be severely punished."
"What do you, my esteemed ministers, think of the Left Prime Minister's idea?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin was truly enraged this time.
This is delaying his plans to expand his territory.
Anyone who tries to obstruct his grand plan should not blame him for being ruthless.
"I second the proposal."
"I second the proposal."
"..."
The ministers all seconded the motion.
This is also the best solution at present.
"Okay, then it's settled."
Seeing that no one objected, the Emperor of Eastern Qin made the decision.
"The Divine Martial King has arrived..."
An announcement came from outside the Imperial Study.
Qin Wu walked in at that moment.
"Greetings, Divine Martial King."
The Left Prime Minister and others quickly bowed in greeting.
They did not expect the Divine Martial King to come.
"Everyone is free of charge!"
"I have met my father."
Qin Wu nodded to everyone as a greeting.
"No need for formalities, you've arrived, please have a seat."
When the Emperor of Eastern Qin saw Qin Wu arrive, he gestured for Qin Wu to sit down first.
"Father, what has happened? Why have you suddenly summoned me to the palace?"
Qin Wu inquired.
"Left Prime Minister, you speak!"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked at the Left Chancellor.
The Left Prime Minister explained the situation in detail to Qin Wu.
"This matter is not difficult. Should I send someone to investigate?"
Qin Wu smiled.
These people are really bold.
They actually dared to target weapons and provisions at this critical moment.
This is no way to court death!
When the Left Chancellor and the others heard Qin Wu say that he had come to investigate, they couldn't help but feel anxious.
With this jinx involved, countless people are going to suffer.
It seems there will be another bloodbath.
Especially the Ministers of Revenue and the Minister of Works.
They all started to get scared.
If the Divine Martial King gets involved, those two won't have an easy time either.
Even if they don't die, they'll be badly injured.
"Alright, this time it's up to you. You will work with the three departments to handle this matter, and this time we must get to the bottom of it."
The Eastern Qin Emperor summoned Qin Wu this time because he wanted to entrust this matter to Qin Wu.
Only Qin Wu could intimidate everyone.
This will deter those people from taking advantage of the situation.
"okay, I get it."
"Leave this matter to me."
Qin Wu accepted the task, which gave him a good opportunity to leave for a while to take care of some personal matters.
And he doesn't have to worry about others watching him.
"Alright, that's enough for today. This matter can't be delayed any longer."
"All of you may leave! Xiao Jiu, stay here. I have something to discuss with you."
Once the Emperor of Eastern Qin had made a decision, he dismissed his senior officials.
He left Qin Wu alone to talk about some things.
No one knows what the father and son talked about.
That night, the Imperial Guards sprang into action, beginning a thorough investigation of the weapons and provisions.