The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 795 The Biggest Case
Judging from his expression, Shi Xiaozhen guessed that he knew something, so she asked coldly, "We are here to investigate gunpowder. This is the biggest case in the Sui Dynasty, and even the Emperor has been alarmed."

Wei Huan lowered his head and said, "At the end of July or the beginning of August, my third uncle's son, Wei Runan, came from Chang'an."

"Wait a minute!" Shi Xiaozhen called out to him, "You said your cousin's name is Wei Runan?"

"That's right, he was born in Runan, so he was named Wei Runan!"

The name Shi Xiaozhen saw on the roster was one of the fifty qualified craftsmen, but he was a bow maker, so how could he know the secrets of gunpowder?

“Continue!” Shi Xiaozhen said to Wei Huan.

Wei Huan finally realized the seriousness of the situation. His legs went weak and he knelt down with a thud, kowtowing and saying, "I am guilty, General, please spare my life!"

Shi Xiaozhen coldly said, "Tell me everything honestly, and then I'll see if you're guilty, or perhaps I'll let you redeem yourself through meritorious service!"

Wei Huan continued cautiously, "Around the beginning of August, Wei Runan approached me and said he wanted to sell me gunpowder technology. I was quite tempted at the time. I sell honeycomb briquettes, and I know that the surface of honeycomb briquettes has a layer of the gunpowder he mentioned. If I had this, I could mix this gunpowder and make honeycomb briquettes myself. But Wei Runan's price was too high, one hundred strings of cash. So I went to my cousin Wei Jiuniang to discuss it. She was reluctant and unwilling to spend the money, but her husband was tempted. So we each contributed half the money to buy a gunpowder making manual. Wei Runan refused to lower the price, so he gave us a paper toy gun making manual. I wasn't interested, so I gave it to my brother-in-law."

"and then?"

"Then throughout August, Wang Mengze and his two sons went everywhere collecting saltpeter, but even with the blueprints, they didn't know how to make it. Wei Runan came to their door to teach them personally. In November, the first batch of gunpowder finally came out. We tested it on honeycomb briquettes and succeeded, but..."

"but what?"

Wei Huan said with a bitter face, "When we produced the first batch of honeycomb briquettes, we found that the cost was much higher than the honeycomb briquettes we sell now. We simply couldn't compete with the imperial court's honeycomb briquettes. Wang Mengze and I went to Wei Runan to ask for a refund, and ended up having a big argument with him. I don't know what happened after that."

"Where does this Wei Runan live? This is your only chance to redeem yourself. Even if you don't tell us, we can find out from the Ordnance Bureau."

"He lives in Tongtuofang!"

“Take us to him.”

Shi Xiaozhen immediately led three hundred soldiers to Tongtuofang to arrest Wei Runan.

As soon as the large group of soldiers arrived at Wei Runan's residence in Tongtuofang, they saw the door open in the distance, and a man came out furtively carrying a large package.

Wei Huan pointed, "It's him!"

Shi Xiaozhen waved his hand, and the soldiers rushed forward, pinning Wei Runan, who was unable to escape, to the ground.

Seeing the clothes in his bundle, Shi Xiaozhen thought he was going on a long journey. He couldn't help but feel lucky. This Wei Runan was trying to escape. If they had arrived any later, the consequences would have been severe.

The next morning, Shi Xiaozhen reported to Emperor Xiao Xia about the overnight arrest of Wei Runan.

Xiao Xia asked in confusion, "He's a crossbow maker, how could he make gunpowder?"

Shi Xiaozhen smiled wryly and said, "I didn't understand at first either, but after interrogating him, I found out that he was sent by the bow and crossbow workshop to the gunpowder workshop to make rockets. This man is quite cunning. He secretly learned the process of making gunpowder and also learned how to make paper firecrackers, but he doesn't know how to make fuses."

"I see," Xiao Xia asked again, "Is what I'm concerned about now the spread of gunpowder?"

“Your Majesty, Wei Runan has been trying to sell his gunpowder-making technology, but because his asking price is too high, no deal has been reached. The Wang Mengze family also wanted to sell the gunpowder technology to recoup their costs, but they couldn't sell it either. The main reason is that they didn't realize the military value of gunpowder, including Wei Runan himself. He only talked to people who sold honeycomb briquettes. If he knew its military value, he probably would have gone to the Turks.” Xiao Xia frowned. “There's a loophole here. Wei Runan learned gunpowder technology at the Ordnance Bureau and knew how to install it on gunpowder arrows. How could he not know its military value? He's afraid of being punished, so he's deliberately concealing it. The Imperial Guards will continue the strict interrogation. They must make him tell the truth, but they can't use too much torture. The clues must not be lost!”

Shi Xiaozhen's expression turned serious; she had been careless.

He immediately clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble servant will go back and continue the interrogation!"

"We need to hurry, the snow on the grassland hasn't melted yet!"

"Follow the order!"

Shi Xiaozhen left in a hurry.

Shi Xiaozhen strode into the interrogation room, where Wei Runan sat silently.

Shi Xiaozhen slammed a wooden box heavily on the table. "This was found on your roof beam. It's a bank draft for three thousand taels of silver. Now that things have come to this, do you still want to deny it?"

Wei Runan shuddered, staring at the box with despair in his eyes, but he remained silent.

Shi Xiaozhen said coldly, "I know you think you can get away with it by denying everything. Let me tell you, that's wishful thinking. This case is the biggest case in the Sui Dynasty. You're doomed. The only difference is whether you die alone or your whole family dies with you. If you confess honestly and we capture the Turks in time, preventing the gunpowder from spreading, then only you will die. But if you don't confess and the gunpowder spreads to the Turks, you will be executed for treason, along with your entire family. Your parents, wife, children, and even grandchildren will all be beheaded."

Hearing that not only he would die, but his wife and children would also perish, Wei Runan finally became frightened. His lips trembled as he uttered three words, "Muatu!"

"say clearly!"

"I sold the two secret manuals to the Turkic merchant Muatu!"

"Is that Mu'atu who deals in sheepskins? Known as the number one merchant in the Turkic Khaganate!"

"it's him!"

"When was it sold to him?" Shi Xiaozhen asked anxiously.

“I approached him ten days ago, more than a month ago, but he refused. However, ten days ago he suddenly came to me, threw down three thousand taels of silver, and bought all the two manuals and the dozen or so gunpowder I had!”

Shi Xiaozhen realized the seriousness of the problem. On the one hand, he sent people to find the merchant Muatu, and on the other hand, he rushed back to the imperial study to report to the emperor.

After listening to the report, Xiao Xia said after a long pause, "If it weren't for the explosion in the residential building yesterday, we probably wouldn't have known that the gunpowder technology had been leaked until the Turks' firearms appeared. It's clear that there is a divine will at play. Heaven has already given us a warning. The rest is up to us to do our best. We must capture Mu'atu at all costs and absolutely not allow him to take the gunpowder technology to the grasslands. I hereby grant the Inner Guard the right to detain all Turkic merchants and require all local officials to cooperate!"

"I will spare no effort to solve this case!"

Xiao Xia then issued an imperial edict ordering local officials to detain Turkic merchants and report the matter to the Imperial Guard for handling.

Just then, the Imperial Guard discovered the whereabouts of the Turkic merchant Mu'atu. He and his caravan had left Luoyang seven days earlier, and their whereabouts were unknown.

(End of this chapter)