Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 408 Distinguishing Between Priorities
Chen Qingzhi truly lives up to his reputation as the founder of the Gou Chen Division; his ability to solve cases is as smooth as flowing water.

In less than half a day, all the criminals had been brought to justice and publicly tried. At the same time, people were sent to search the public and private residences of a number of corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen, and obtained account books, embezzled funds, and other evidence.

At dusk, Chen Qingzhi solemnly announced to the soldiers: "It has now been confirmed that it was indeed General Wang Can of the Ministry of Revenue who instructed his subordinates, including the military advisor in charge of grain storage, and a group of corrupt officials to purchase old grain from eighteen grain merchants in Hefei City and distribute it to the soldiers in order to line their own pockets."

"With witnesses and physical evidence, what excuses do you have left?!" Chen Qingzhi turned to look at Wang Canma and the others, who were already bound hand and foot.

Among them was a grain merchant. The man with the mustache, realizing he was in trouble, quickly tried to shift the blame, saying, "It's a miscarriage of justice, General! We only know that the sir wants to exchange our old grain for new grain. We don't know what they're going to do with it!"

“Yes, someone is offering new grain to exchange for old grain. Only a fool wouldn’t accept it.” The other grain merchants also chimed in, “We never intended to cheat the soldiers.”

"What a load of nonsense!" Chen Qingzhi sneered. "The same grain, two or three years old versus five or even ten years old, has a world of difference in value!"

"The corrupt officials offered you two bushels of old grain in exchange for one bushel of new grain, clearly meaning they wanted to buy grain that was two or three years old. Yet you dared to use grain that was five or even ten years old to deliver. What else could this be but being blinded by greed? And you still dare to say you didn't think about cheating the soldiers?"

"We did initially distribute grain that was two or three years old, but where are we going to find so much new and old grain?" the grain merchants said with bitter faces. "We can only dig out the old grain from the bottom of the ballast... but we really don't know what to do with it."

"Still dare to argue?!" Chen Qingzhi pointed at the man with the mustache and round face and said, "Last night, when you were hosting a banquet for the granary officials in the front yard of the granary, you knew perfectly well that the grain you transported was to be distributed to the soldiers today!"

"Ah..." The two were struck dumb, never expecting that he knew even this much.

"Now there's nothing more to say, isn't there?" Chen Qingzhi sneered, his gaze sweeping over the dejected and speechless crowd.

"Bestowed with the authority of the emperor, I have the power to execute those who violate military orders!" He then raised his staff and ordered in a deep voice, "Men, bring them to justice and display their heads to the public!"

"Yes!" The white-robed soldiers then lined up and stepped forward, lifting Ma Canjun and the other corrupt officials and grain merchants like chickens, preparing to take them to the execution platform.

Only Wang Can was unstoppable, even by several white-robed soldiers. As he shook off the crowd, he shouted, "I am from the Langya Wang clan. Even if I have committed a crime, you cannot kill me."

"Even if a prince commits a crime, I will still kill him without hesitation!" Chen Qingzhi said this with great confidence, after all, the court and the public now believed that Xiao Zong died at the hands of the Gouchen Division.

As he spoke, he tapped his staff, and Wang Can immediately collapsed to his knees, no longer having the strength to resist, and was also pressed onto the platform by the white-robed army.

But he didn't stop talking. He turned back to the generals who had shared the spoils and said, "Speak up, all of you! You want me to die alone? No way!"

"Commander Chen..." The generals stammered, trying to plead for him.

"Kill!" Chen Qingzhi gave the order decisively, and the executioner immediately raised his blade and brought down more than a dozen heads.

The moment Wang Can's head hit the ground, his spirit burst forth and tried to flee a thousand miles away.

Chen Qingzhi reached out, and his Yang Shen seemed to offer himself up, easily having his neck grabbed.

"Anyone who dares to drink the blood of soldiers again—" Chen Qingzhi crushed Wang Can's spirit with a pinch, and stared coldly at the generals, saying, "This is the example!"

"Yes..." the generals responded in alarm.

"Good! General Chen is a righteous official!" The soldiers cheered wildly. In the past, the bloodshed of soldiers was commonplace, but each time officials protected each other, and the matter was always downplayed. They had never seen anyone as ruthless as Chen Qingzhi, who had wiped out everyone from generals to merchants in one fell swoop.

I dare not say more, but within a few years, no one will dare to drink soldiers' blood anymore.

Chen Qingzhi immediately announced the reopening of the granaries and the distribution of new grain to the soldiers. He also converted the confiscated property into cash and distributed it all to the soldiers, thus winning the hearts of the 100,000 troops! "Commander Chen has truly stood up for his brothers!" the leading soldiers shouted to the rest of the army. "Brothers, we must also make Commander Chen proud!"

"We swear to obey Commander Chen to the death!" The soldiers saluted Chen Qingzhi in unison and shouted.

"Through fire and water, no matter what!"

"Very well." Chen Qingzhi nodded in satisfaction. "You've been waiting in Hefei for over a year, you must be itching to get back on the battlefield! I'll take you back to the battlefield and help you achieve great things!"

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded in unison.

"Go back and prepare for battle!" Chen Qingzhi waved his hand.

"Yes." The soldiers saluted Chen Qingzhi again and then withdrew from the central army camp like a tide.

~~
In the central military camp.

Soon only Chen Qingzhi, Wei Fang, and a group of generals remained.

"Commander Chen..." Wei Fang, his face full of shame, bowed his head and clasped his hands, saying, "I am guilty of oversight."

"Commander Chen..." The generals were more apprehensive than anything else. Although Chen Qingzhi had killed Wang Can on the spot, preventing him from making baseless accusations, Wang Can had already made his intentions clear. If Chen Qingzhi were to seek revenge later, they would be just as vulnerable.

"Let's go inside and talk," Chen Qingzhi said gently, then took the lead into the central command tent.

Wei Fang and his generals silently followed them inside.

After Chen Qingzhi was seated, Wei Fang and the others apologized again. Chen Qingzhi waved his hand and said, "I am no longer the military commander of Gouchen Division, and I have no obligation to get to the bottom of things."

As he spoke, his gaze slowly swept over the generals, saying, "I also know that the old customs and bad habits in the army have existed for a long time, and it is unrealistic to completely eliminate them."

"Yes, yes..." The generals nodded obsequiously. Chen Qingzhi had truly shocked them by beheading those dozen or so people.

"However, as leaders of troops, we can't be too harsh on our soldiers, even if we don't love them like our own children. Otherwise, they'll be full of resentment, and how can we win battles?" Chen Qingzhi's tone was much gentler than before as he earnestly addressed the generals.

"Don't you agree?"

"Yes, yes, Commander Chen is absolutely right." The generals nodded repeatedly and said, "Actually, we also know that we can't let the soldiers feel disheartened. We were not involved in what Wang Can and his men did from beginning to end."

"We did accept his money, but as Marshal Chen said, it was a common practice... The General of Revenue cannot keep it all to himself; he must share some of the benefits with his colleagues." The generals said frankly.

"But I really didn't know they were so heartless and ruthless, otherwise we would definitely have stopped them and would never have taken their dirty money!"

“We’ll return the stolen goods right away, no, we’ll return double the amount!” someone shouted.

"Yes, yes, double the amount will be refunded." The generals echoed in unison, and each drank three cups as punishment.

(End of this chapter)