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

Chapter 839 At the End of the Road, Where There Seems to Be No Way Out

On the night of March 1st, the sky was dark and the moon was obscured by dark clouds.

By the time Hou Wulang brought Sun Huaidu's wife, Pang, and his two sons to Shi Ju, it was already late at night.

Hou Wulang, covered in blood, threw several heads to the ground, and then ordered his confidants to push two captured prisoners into the main hall, where the bloodstains had not yet been cleaned up.

Shi Ju, who had been resting with his eyes closed for a long time, finally opened them and said to the stunned Zheng Yun, "Well, do you recognize these people?"

Zheng Yun stood up, first squatting down to examine the string of heads closely, then looking at the living prisoners with trembling hands: "You... why did you do this?"

The two men, who were clearly Zheng Yun's subordinates, seemed to have never expected Zheng Yun to be there. They were both stunned. After a moment, one of them said with a wry smile, "We have failed the commander's trust. We hope the commander will punish us."

Zheng Yun glanced at the two men, then turned to Shi Ju and said solemnly, "I really didn't do this."

Seeing this, Shi Ju waved his hand and said, "Hou Wulang, take these two away. Under the protection of Sanmu, they will tell you everything."

Zheng Yun opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to stop him, but then seemed to feel that he was still suspected, so he could only sigh, sit back in his chair, and remain silent.

Shi Ju glanced at Zheng Yun's reaction out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that the other party did not throw a tantrum, he then looked at Pang Shi, who was slumped on the ground, and said, "Your husband is dead, do you know that?"

Pang looked relatively young, but because his clothes were too simple, his appearance also appeared dull.

Holding her two children, she nodded listlessly, "I know."

Shi Ju pressed on, "Your husband's death was suspicious. Do you know who forced him to his death?"

Pang's expression instantly turned extremely angry, but she forcibly suppressed it: "I don't know, but this afternoon, Prefect Huang and the officials of the prefecture came to my house, claiming that Imperial Censor Shi forced my husband to death."

Since Master Huang has confirmed it, then it must be this person.

“And at night, Zheng’s subordinates disguised themselves as thieves and came to kill my mother and me. It must be that Imperial Censor Shi and Zheng were in cahoots. Killing my husband was not enough for them. They wanted to eliminate us completely.”

Pang knew Zheng Yun, and even if she didn't recognize Shi Ju when she first entered the house, after hearing their conversation, she roughly knew that the old man was Shi Ju. Her words were clearly barbed.

Shi Ju said to Zheng Yun, "Commander Zheng, I hope you can leave me alone for a while. I have something to discuss with Madam Sun in private."

Zheng Yun seemed to really not want to get involved in this mess anymore, and almost impatiently got up and left.

Shi Ju said to Pang Shi, "First of all, let me give you a definite answer: I did not kill Ambassador Sun, nor did I want to eliminate him completely. Otherwise, I would not have sent warriors to rescue you."

Pang held two children, one big and one small, her face still full of hesitation.

Shi Ju remained patient and earnestly said, "Madam Sun, I have absolutely no idea who the enemy is, why they want to force Ambassador Sun to his death, or why they want to kill Madam Sun."

If you cannot answer my questions, then these enemies will remain. I might as well just walk away, carefree, but who can protect these two children?

Pang finally snapped, "Don't drag my two children into this!"

Shi Ju shook his head and replied, "It's not that I want to drag them into this, but that they've already been dragged in, and now we need to find a way to save them."

Pang held her two children and sobbed softly. The two children, who had been living in fear for half a day, also began to wail loudly.

Shi Ju did not stop them, but waited quietly for Pang's decision.

After a moment, Madam Pang wiped away her tears: "What do you want to ask?"

Shi Ju said seriously, "You can tell me if your husband has been behaving strangely or unusually lately."

After a moment of silence, Madam Pang said, "Last September, my husband was very agitated. He said that the front lines were short of money and supplies, and that if there was no other way, I should go to my maternal uncle's house. He wanted to drag everyone down with him."

Shi Ju's expression shifted: "Did Ambassador Sun say who all these people are?"

Madam Pang shook her head: "No, my husband only mentioned it once. Later, after the war ended, it seemed that we didn't need so much money and food, so my husband didn't say anything more."

Shi Ju frowned.

During the great battle last year, Li Tong was still serving as a transport commissioner in Shandong, responsible for the allocation of various grain and supplies.

Was the Haizhou Saltworks already facing serious problems at that time?

Could it be that Li Tong, that treacherous villain, has emptied Haizhou's tax revenue for the sake of the lord's achievements?

That's not right either. Li Tong could have done this openly and honestly. The decisive battle with the Jin Kingdom was a critical moment where everything had to be risked. He was willing to sacrifice thousands of lives, let alone money and food.

As long as the report is submitted, the central government will not only refrain from reprimanding Li Tong, but will also commend him for his timely act of saving the day.

Shi Ju remained silent for a moment before asking, "Ambassador Sun, is there anyone you particularly resent?"

After thinking for a while, Pang shook her head and said, "My husband is kind to everyone and has no enemies... However, he has a long-standing grudge against the shipping admiral He Zizhen."

Du Wuji, who was standing to the side, instantly changed his expression.

Why are more and more people getting involved, and why are their official positions getting higher and higher?
He Zizhen is alright, but if He Boqiu is also involved, wouldn't this newly established military and political group be wiped out from within?

However, Shi Ju truly possessed the demeanor of a prime minister. Upon hearing this, his expression remained unchanged. He simply continued to ask, "Who else? Besides He Zizhen, who else is there?" Pang tried hard to recall, and after a moment, she said, "There is also Prefect Huang. I heard my husband say that he is all talk and no action, only knowing how to boss people around, but not understanding the difficulties of things."

"And there's Zhang Bo, the deputy salt transport commissioner. My husband also said that he's more trouble than he's worth."

Shi Ju nodded and said, "Madam Sun, please stay in my residence for a while. The Prince of Han will surely send someone to settle you in the future."

After Pang left with the two children, Shi Ju stood up and said to Du Wuji, "Arrange for people to protect the government office. You come with me to find Zhang Bo."

The group left the government office under the cover of night, and soon arrived at the Haizhou Salt Transport Commissioner's Office.

"Can you smell anything, Master Shi?"

"Smells burnt, flush it in!"

At Shi Ju's command, more than ten elite warriors rushed into the government office.

"who?!"

The Salt Transport Commissioner's Office had soldiers, commonly known as salt soldiers, who were sometimes even more ferocious than regular soldiers.

Because ordinary troops cannot move lightly, while salt soldiers almost always fight with bandits, bullies, and even disguised powerful figures every time they escort salt shipments.

The Salt Transport Commissioner's Office was newly established and not yet filled with the sons of nobles and officials. Therefore, the salt soldiers guarding the office had all seen blood.

In the middle of the night, someone rushed in, and the thirty-odd salt soldiers immediately became alert. They were not fully dressed, but quickly engaged in battle with Du Wuji and his men.

Although neither side used lethal force, there were still screams of agony and the sound of bones breaking constantly.

Du Wuji used the scabbard to slash in all directions, and after breaking free from the entanglement, he quickly rushed forward following the smell of burning.

Du Wuji only stopped when he reached the last room in the three courtyards.

By the light of the fire, he could see Zhang Bo burning a box of paper in the yard.

"stop!"

Du Wuji kicked Zhang Bo to the ground before letting out a roar. Then, disregarding his injury, he kicked the fire in front of him away.

Looking at the books that were still more than half full, Du Wuji sneered at Zhang Bo and said, "I knew it. I didn't want to give you thieves any face from the start. I should have just confiscated your property."

Zhang Bo slumped to the ground, letting out a bitter laugh, but only clutched his chest and remained silent.

Soon, the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office calmed down, and the one who came to quell the unrest was Prefect Huang Yue, who personally led the yamen runners and archers from the prefecture.

Shi Ju didn't exchange many words with Huang Yue, whose face was grim. He simply gestured for him to enter and led his men to the back office.

Seeing the scene in the courtyard, Huang Yue spoke first: "Imperial Censor Shi, shall we stop here? Now that the Salt Transport Commission has lost an ambassador and is about to remove a deputy ambassador, what will happen to this year's salt tax?"
Even if they are truly unforgivable, are we supposed to just keep killing them all? What if we run out of money and delay the Northern Expedition? Who will be responsible then?

Shi Ju glanced at Huang Yue, then pointed to his chest: "Of course it's on me."

Huang Yue immediately flew into a rage.

Is it on your tab?
Can you, a mere censor, shoulder this responsibility?

Shi Ju did not give Huang Yue a chance to speak. He stroked his beard and said calmly, "Since you're here, let's see together what Vice Envoy Zhang wants to burn."

Huang Yue was helpless, but he knew that this was a coincidence. As the prefect of Haizhou, he could not escape this situation no matter what, so he could only nod and agree.

Soon, the clerks in the prefectural and county offices, along with Shi Ju's subordinates, all got busy organizing the account books in the main hall of the Salt Commissioner's Office, right in front of Shi Ju and Huang Yue.

It wasn't until dawn that the officials finished organizing the account books and presented the results.

Shi Ju held several sheets of paper in his hand and looked at Zhang Bo, whose face was ashen: "Vice Envoy Zhang, you have one more chance. Tell me what exactly happened."

What you tell me yourself and what I get in return are two different things.

Zhang Bo remained silent for a moment before cupping his hands and saying, "It was all my fault for being greedy."

Shi Ju remained silent, while Huang Yue, after a moment of shock, flew into a rage: "You embezzled it all? Did you eat all that salt by yourself? And what about the money you got in return? Did you eat it all too?"

Zhang Bo said dejectedly, "Since the salt field was opened, it has been making a fortune every day. I had some improper thoughts and used the effective method of using large and small measures to collude with merchants to buy and sell refined salt privately."

Over the years, he amassed tens of millions of taels of silver through embezzlement, a sin that could not be atoned even by a hundred deaths!

Last year, I sensed something was wrong and feared exposure, so I wanted to flee south to the Song Dynasty. However, the large ship carrying all my wealth encountered a storm at sea and sank, leaving me with nothing!

At this point, as if heartbroken over his vast fortune, Zhang Bo burst into tears.

Huang Yue was horrified upon hearing this, but Shi Ju, clutching the Chinese document in his hand, remained expressionless, showing no sign of excitement whatsoever.

(End of this chapter)