Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 838 The Female Rabbit's Eyes Are Dazzled

Sun Huaidu is not only a senior official, but also the actual person in charge of the Haizhou Salt Transport Office.

Considering the tax revenue contributed by the 53 large salt fields in Haizhou, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Sun Huaidu was Haizhou's God of Wealth.

The fact that such a person died by suicide in full view of the public caused a huge uproar.

However, the strange thing is that, despite it being an event that could have affected the entire political scene in Shandong, at this moment, everyone around was completely silent, staring intently at Sun Huaidu's corpse without saying a word.

Du Wuji was the first to react. He suddenly realized something: if there really was a mastermind behind this, worth the death of an official of Sun Huaidu's rank to clean up his mess, how deep must the water be?
Having been on the battlefield and seen countless dead, Du Wuji, despite having such thoughts, immediately moved to stand before Sun Huaidu, sword in hand.

He only gave it a brief examination before shaking his head at Shi Ju.

"Old Sun..." Huang Yue, the prefect of Haizhou, was the second to react. He immediately rushed to Sun Huaidu's side and cried out loudly, "Old Sun, why... why did you do this! Even if you have suffered a great injustice, you could have gone to find the eldest son, why!"

As he spoke, Huang Yue raised his tear-streaked face and glared fiercely at Shi Ju: "You old scoundrel, you have the heart of a viper. You forced Ambassador Sun to his death just for the sake of an official position."

Don't you know he was an honest and upright official who, even with mountains of gold and silver in his hands, still lived in a humble abode with his wife and children?!
Now you dare accuse him of embezzlement? Why don't you accuse me of embezzlement too?! Come and kill me then!

As he spoke, Huang Yue burst into tears.

Shi Ju simply stared coldly at Huang Yue without saying a word, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the Shandong East Road officials.

Some of these people were panicked, some were angry, and others were clearly stunned, standing there frozen in place.

"Old Huang!"

After a long silence, Liu Zheng, the official in charge of the Maritime Trade Office, spoke up and stopped Huang Yue. After bowing deeply to Tuan Tuan, he slightly cupped his hands towards Shi Ju: "Imperial Censor Shi, such a big thing has happened. It can be said that everyone present is involved and cannot get away from it."

Whoever investigates this matter will be suspected of bias; the only option now is to report to the King of Han and await further orders.

Shi Ju turned his head and looked at Liu Zheng for a long time before speaking: "It must be reported to the eldest son, but the old order has not been lifted and the new order has not been implemented. So I am still the inspecting censor, and no one can stop me from having the power to investigate."

Liu Zheng paused slightly, then shook his head amidst the faint smell of blood: "Imperial Censor Shi, now is not the time to fight over this pride."

Whether you forced me, or I falsely accused you with my life, as long as the King of Han sends someone, everything will come to light.

Now that Imperial Censor Shi insists on investigating, he will only give the situation ammunition to worsen it.

Shi Ju shook his head and said, "Then there's no need for Liu Gou Dang to worry about it. I have my own plans."

Frustrated and angry, Liu Zheng immediately turned and left.

The rest of the group, led by Huang Yue, wanted to collect Sun Huaidu's body, but were stopped by Shi Ju's men.

Huang Yue and the others were naturally furious, while Shi Ju directly raised the sword and document given to him by Liu Huai, using the prestige of his lord to suppress the criticism.

The officials of Shandong East Road dared not speak out in anger and could only retreat.

After everyone else had left, in the blood-soaked hall, Shi Ju summoned his attendants, whispered a few words to them, and then looked at Du Wuji: "What are you thinking?"

Du Wuji was momentarily flustered, then said, "We did indeed alert the snake, but this snake was too big and killed the bait we released."

“Sun Huaidu was a former member of the Northern Expeditionary Army, one of the original members. Unless he committed a heinous crime, even if he made a mistake, the Prince of Han would forgive him and spare his life. Why would he commit suicide? Who could have made him commit suicide? And what was he trying to hide?”

At this point, Du Wuji's eyes widened as he looked at Shi Ju: "His immediate superiors, Kai Zhao, the Transport Commissioner of Shandong East Circuit, and Cui Hama, the Transport Commissioner of Shandong West Circuit... No, these two can't possibly be problematic; they've only been in office for a short time. Could it be..."

Shi Ju knew that Du Wuji was referring to Li Tong, the former transport commissioner of Shandong, but he immediately shook his head: "No, although Li Tong was once the transport commissioner of Shandong, he was a sycophant to the core. Whether such a sycophant is loyal or treacherous depends on what kind of ruler he is."

The eldest son only loves upright and honest people, so Li Tong would never do the slightest evil deed.

Du Wuji thought for a moment, then shook his head helplessly: "This humble general is incompetent and cannot think of anyone else."

Shi Ju narrowed his eyes and looked at Sun Huaidu's corpse: "Tell me, why did Sun Huaidu have to die today?"

Du Wuji scratched his head: "He is determined to die in front of Master Shi, so as long as Master Shi summons him, he will definitely die."

Shi Ju pressed on, asking, "But why did I summon him today?"

Du Wuji continued, "Because Prefect Huang said Sun Huaidu is an honest man, he was worried that Minister Shi would use his power to intimidate people, so he summoned many Shandong officials to witness the proceedings. These people only arrived this morning." Shi Ju stroked his beard and said, "In other words, someone controlled the timing of this interrogation through the schedule, right?"

Du Wuji murmured, "That may be true, but today is March 1st. Although it is the day of the Prince of Han's wedding, it is far away in Jinan Prefecture. How is it any different in Haizhou?"

At this point, Du Wuji finally showed a look of realization: "It is Shen Longzi, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Commander Shen cannot stay in Haizhou at this time."

Shi Ju nodded in response: "Commander Shen is the leader of the eldest son's personal guard. On such important occasions, the ceremonial guards and security depend on the Imperial Guards. It is impossible for him to abandon his post."

"If Commander Shen were here, he would definitely be here too. He would tell the eldest son the whole story, and Commander Shen would be able to take the lead in the investigation."

But now the Shandong officials have one version of events, while we have another. It's hard to say whose side the eldest son will listen to.”

"There are many post stations between Jinan Prefecture and Haizhou, and it only takes two or three days for messengers to travel back and forth. If we want to turn the tide, we only have two or three days."

Shi Ju was not worried about Liu Huai's determination to fight corruption, but since someone had already died, whether it was due to political custom or to protect Shi Ju, it was very likely that someone else would be sent to replace him.

Since ancient times, if the central government truly exerts all its efforts to investigate local affairs, there is nothing it cannot uncover. But in doing so, wouldn't it make Prime Minister Shi appear incompetent? Perhaps even the newly arrived people from Henan would be unable to rise to prominence.

Du Wuji spread his hands and said, "In just two or three days, the clues have run dry. Should we change direction and start from scratch?"

Shi Ju shook his head: "Where did the clue end? Isn't it right in front of us?"

As he spoke, Shi Ju pointed to Sun Huaidu's corpse: "You and I both know that we only looked through the saltworks' ledgers and did nothing else, so why did he commit suicide?"

Du Wuji pondered for a moment: "Was someone forcing you?"

Shi Ju shook his head slightly: "Assuming someone is forcing me, even if I have committed a capital offense, the result is just death. Why would he use death to smear me?"
This only shows that if he hadn't died, he would have faced an even more tragic end.

Du Wuji immediately leaned on his sword and walked outside: "His wife and children, I'll go to them now..."

Shi Ju waved his hand: "Come back. You're such a grown man, yet you're still so impulsive."

I've already sent Hou Wulang with men in secret. Now, I want to say that if someone made a threat, Sun Huaidu will definitely be resentful and will leave some traces. Search him first and see if he's left anything behind.

Only then did Du Wuji understand why Shi Ju was willing to turn against Huang Yue and the others rather than let him take Sun Huaidu's body away.

While Du Wuji was searching for Sun Huaidu, someone rushed back from the backyard. It was Zheng Yun, the military commander of Haizhou, who had returned after leaving.

After Zheng Yun sat down, he looked at Sun Huaidu's corpse and said in a fit of anger, "Imperial Censor Shi, stop now! You've only been here a few days and you've already driven a minister to his death. If you stay a few more days, are you going to drive us all to our deaths too?"

Zheng Yun was a descendant of the Shandong Kaishan Zhao uprising. After Kaishan Zhao's death, he persisted in resisting the Jin dynasty until the arrival of the Northern Expeditionary Army, at which point he joined the Dongping Army. After Zhang Rong's death, he joined the Zhongyi Army. His seniority was even greater than that of Sun Huaidu, who was lying on the ground.

Of course, Zheng Yun's special qualities do not stop there. Both of his sons are in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, making him a trustworthy person, as Shen Longzi said.

However, given Shi Ju's shrewdness, he naturally wouldn't be completely open with Zheng Yun. He simply looked at Zheng Yun and said, "If I say this matter has nothing to do with me, will you believe me or not?"

Zheng Yun pointed to his chest: "What's the use of me believing? Even if everyone here believes, what's the use? Do the officials in Shandong believe?"
You drove Old Sun to his death with just one move. He was a salt commissioner with mountains of gold and silver, yet he lived a simple life with his wife and children. You didn't even let someone like that go? What are the others supposed to think?

Shi Ju waved his hand, gesturing for Zheng Yun to sit down, and personally poured him a cup of tea: "Commander Zheng, are you the only person in Haizhou who holds military power?"

After Zheng Yun sat down, he nodded slightly: "Haizhou Guard only has the power to train troops, but not the power to mobilize them, so I do indeed have the power to command troops."

Shi Ju nodded with a smile, then clapped his hands.

Several armored soldiers immediately entered the main hall, startling Zheng Yun so much that he stood up.

What are you trying to do?

Shi Ju laughed and said, "Commander Zheng has too much power in Haizhou. If you are really as clean as Commander Shen said, then everyone will try to smear you in the hope of transferring you away from here so as not to ruin their plans."

Today is the best opportunity. I hope Commander Zheng can wait a little longer.”

Zheng Yun laughed angrily: "Fine! You have the King of Han's military order and Commander Shen's support, so I dare not disobey. But I'll just wait and see what kind of medicine you can come up with!"

(End of this chapter)