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

Chapter 840 Another village has a bright future

After Zhang Bo was arrested and brought to justice, local officials such as Huang Yue took an extremely firm stance to prevent Shi Ju from conducting any further investigations.

The reason is quite easy to understand.

For these local officials, anti-corruption is important, but ultimately it cannot be more important than the well-being of the people in their area.

You can't say that your anti-corruption campaign will deprive the entire population of Haizhou of their basic needs for food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

This is no joke.

Haizhou has 53 salt fields and tens of thousands of salt workers. Even if we don't count the salt merchants, how many related industries must there be surrounding these tens of thousands of salt workers?
Those small vendors selling firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea; the young and strong laborers working in the salt fields; the tailor shops in the surrounding area that do mending and sewing; and even the brothels that are impossible to eradicate—they all depend on these salt fields for survival.

Now that the top two salt transport officials are dead and arrested, those who know the truth might think it's an anti-corruption inspection by the censors, but those who don't might think it's a political factional struggle!
There is no bottom line in political struggle.

Under these circumstances, salt merchants dared not buy salt at all.

I bought 100,000 strings of salt, which generated 100,000 strings of revenue for the Haizhou Saltworks. Should this be considered an achievement of Sun Huaidu and Zhang Bo?
Now that we're going to settle scores with those two, shouldn't we also settle scores with their political achievements, which means we merchants?
Merchants would never gamble with their own wealth.

If the refined salt from Haizhou Saltworks cannot be sold, the economic cycle that depends on the saltworks will immediately collapse.

Therefore, once the political situation in Haizhou becomes unstable, it will inevitably affect people's livelihoods.

With this in mind, Huang Yue adopted a "if you don't agree, I'll use force" attitude, summoning local soldiers and archers to surround the censor's office in order to block any possible follow-up investigations by Shi Ju.

"Master Shi, is Zhang Bo really the mastermind?"

Faced with Du Wuji's questioning, Shi Ju simply shook his head: "This fellow tried to fob me off by saying his wealth was sunk into the sea, he's just treating me like a fool. But his quick confession leaves me speechless."

The only problem is that the whereabouts of this vast fortune is unknown, which is truly a headache.

"Tsk, even if it were all converted into silver, it would weigh a million catties. Where could he possibly hide it?"

Du Wuji remained silent for a moment before saying, "Lord Shi, I think it would be better to close the case here?"

Shi Ju's gaze sharpened: "Oh?"

Du Wuji replied sincerely, "Does Master Shi find this investigation somewhat strange?"

Shi Ju nodded: "Of course, I've never seen such a strange case before. But what's so strange about it?"

Du Wuji: "It's too fast, everything is happening too fast. Sun Huaidu died in front of us during the day, and Zhang Bo was brought to justice by nightfall."

It was all happening so fast, as if someone was pushing them along. I really can't imagine who wields such immense power that they would willingly take responsibility.

Shi Ju looked at Du Wuji with a half-smile: "Are you referring to the eldest son?"

Du Wuji also laughed: "Master Shi, please don't joke. Now, let alone Haizhou, Shandong is the property of the Prince of Han. Why would he do such a thing? Is it just to make things difficult for you, Master Shi?"

And apart from the King of Han, I really can't think of anyone else who could have such power.

If this isn't just about one person, then it must be about a group of people.

"However, I also know one more principle." Du Wuji then said solemnly, "The less people know about a conspiracy or a secret, the better; otherwise, it cannot be considered a secret."

If there isn't one person who benefits immensely from embezzlement, could there really be a group of people who benefit from it? And isn't there a single honest person among this group who would come forward to report it?

With so many people taking over, isn't there absolutely no chance of any oversight?

Du Wuji's tone became sincere again: "Master Shi, if there really is a group of people in Haizhou who can form such a tight organization, with one heart and one mind, who are ready to die without hesitation, then they are not someone that we newcomers can shake."

At the very least, we would need a veteran general leading troops from Hebei or Henan to oversee the operation, and then have the eldest son send an experienced minister to investigate, in order to truly understand the situation.

Shi Ju listened to Du Wuji's analysis and also fell silent.

After a moment, Shi Ju stroked his beard and said, "When you entered the back hall of the Salt Commissioner's office, Zhang Bo had already burned some of the account books?"

Du Wuji: "That's right. I could see that bonfire clearly, and there were account books burning inside."

Shi Ju looked thoughtfully at the documents in his hand, then looked up at the box of account books placed in the center of the hall, and said thoughtfully, "Why is it that even though some of the account books were burned, we were still able to arrive at a conclusion that matches Zhang Bo's testimony?"

Du Wuji fell into deep thought.

Shi Ju wasn't testing him; he simply gave the answer: "It's very likely that this ledger is divided into two parts: one part is income, and the other part is expenditure."

Zhang Bo will first burn the expense records, leaving only the income ledgers, waiting for us to seize them, and then he will conveniently admit to the crime.

Du Wuji then discovered another problem: "But if the Salt Commissioner's Office was transporting goods outwards, it could only be to a few people. They are so loyal that they would never speak up even if it meant death, so they obviously wouldn't keep the account books to blackmail their suppliers."

Then why do they keep account books? Is it a custom in government offices?

Shi Ju shook his head: "That depends on what our Deputy Envoy Zhang is thinking. Let's just hope he doesn't commit suicide in the prefectural government office."

Du Wuji asked helplessly, "Then what can we do now?"

Shi Ju: "Wait."

"We can only wait?"

“Yes, Haizhou is neither too close nor too far from Jinan Prefecture. It only takes the military envoy two or three days to travel there and back. It’s very likely that the eldest son’s military order will arrive tomorrow. We can then choose our move.” Du Wuji nodded in agreement, but said with some trepidation, “We’ve caused such a big problem. Will the Prince of Han stop us from continuing the investigation?”

Shi Ju chuckled twice before saying, "Which founding emperor can tolerate a grain of sand in his eye? Don't worry, the eldest son will only worry about whether I have the ability to investigate further, but he will definitely not turn a blind eye to such a huge hole."

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Shi Ju had imagined.

March 4th.

The order from the Jiedushi (military governor) was personally delivered by Shen Longzi, which instructed the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) to oversee the investigation. Shi Ju was still in charge, and he severely reprimanded the officials of Haizhou.

Faced with this clearly angry order, even the officials of Shandong East Road remained silent.

It makes sense; encountering such a thing right after his wedding, it's no wonder Liu Huai was furious.

His approach was exactly the same as Shi Ju's: even if this year's salt tax revenue was zero, he was determined to investigate thoroughly to see if Haizhou and even Shandong had formed interest groups that were no longer under the jurisdiction of the Jiedushi government.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard must also fully cooperate!
Shi Ju finally gained the power to act with impunity, and the tentacles of his investigation spread from Haizhou in all directions.

There have never been any major cases that cannot be investigated; it's just a matter of whether or not one is willing to investigate.

Once Shi Ju finally had enough reliable people, he turned Haizhou upside down, and almost all the secrets were exposed.

Soon, based on the testimonies of maritime and salt merchants, all the blame pointed to He Zizhen, the shipping admiral, and it seemed that Kai Zhao, the transport commissioner of Shandong East Road, was also cooperating.

It's easier to talk about Kai Zhao, since he just became the transport commissioner, and even if he's involved in a case, it won't be too serious.

However, He Zizhen's identity is quite troublesome.

Ultimately, it comes down to the navy's excessive self-reliance. On the vast ocean, a lone sail is impossible to find. If this guy hears the news and flees in fear of punishment, where are we going to catch him?

Just as Shi Ju was hesitating whether to report the interim results to Liu Huai for a decision, He Zizhen, who had just replenished the supplies for the Han army in Fuzhou, Liaodong, returned to Haizhou. After being questioned, he immediately went to the Censorate to turn himself in.

It was so satisfying that it was unbelievable.

He Zizhen, still reeking of the sea, said dejectedly, "Imperial Censor Shi, I did it all. I'm willing to provide a signed document. Alas... I had no news at sea. If I had known Imperial Censor Shi was investigating this matter, I would have surrendered myself long ago. Now, I've needlessly caused Ambassador Sun's death. I'm simply... alas..."

Looking at He Zizhen's dejected appearance, Shi Ju couldn't help but recall Du Wuji's words from a few days ago.

Everything went too smoothly, as if I was being pushed along.

But who could possibly recommend He Zizhen? Surely it couldn't be He Boqiu?

Shi Ju composed himself and then asked, "Admiral He, you embezzled tens of millions of strings of cash. Where did all that money go?"

He Zizhen shook his head and said, "It's all been spent. Imperial Censor Shi, the sea is unpredictable, but the annual salt tax is fixed. Most of the money embezzled has been used to balance the books."

Shi Ju's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected that after all that effort, he still wouldn't find the stolen goods, and he couldn't help but feel a little angry.

Do you people really think I'm a fool?
Seeing that Shi Ju clearly did not believe him, He Zizhen could only continue, "Imperial Censor Shi, you have never been to the sea and do not know what risks the ocean may hold."

You can imagine waves five feet high, you can imagine not seeing the stars for more than ten days, you can imagine that the route was clearly to Korea, but a strong wind blew in and you arrived in Zhejiang more than ten days later.
The sea is unpredictable, but the salt tax is a fixed amount every year. If there is no surplus prepared, the government-run fleet simply cannot be maintained.

"My lord... the King of Han allocated some funds for losses, but it's simply not enough; this is the only way to fill the gaps."

Shi Ju nodded slightly: "Then why don't you tell the eldest son?"

He Zizhen sighed: "Because there is no evidence, because the sea can swallow a ship in the blink of an eye, if I report it, then it is very likely that someone will suspect that I have embezzled the goods."

"Imperial Censor Shi, just like you, those who have never been to sea cannot imagine the dangers of the ocean."

Shi Ju nodded again, inexplicably believing him a little more: "Then tell me, how did the Salt Commissioner's Office work together with you?"

He Zizhen: "Ambassador Sun not only needs to hand over money to the central government, but also needs to have a certain amount of surplus funds."

Another important thing is that all the sailors on merchant ships are now military personnel, but they are not even given land or military pay, let alone land.

Since they ultimately worked on merchant ships, they were naturally paid by merchants.

However, once war breaks out at sea, the navy will temporarily conscript sailors to fight. As the fighting intensifies, the number of sailor casualties also increases, but they are only compensated according to the standards for civilian laborers.

We are worried about potential difficulties in mobilizing resources later, so we can only withhold a portion of the funds to distribute as compensation.

Shi Ju remained silent for a long while, then looked at the young man in front of him, his expression softening slightly: "Why didn't you report this matter?"

He Zizhen shook his head with a wry smile again: "As I said before, matters at sea cannot be explained with mere words."

However, this time it wasn't that they couldn't explain it to the central authorities, but rather that each ship was an independent and enclosed entity. If the central authorities established a system where the dead could receive large sums of money, then the buying and selling of lives to swindle compensation would soon emerge.

"After killing someone, just throw them into the sea; even if Judge Di were alive, he would never be able to find out the truth."

Shi Ju was speechless for a moment, then could only shake his head and smile bitterly: "Admiral He, you've really stirred up a hornet's nest this time. I have nothing to say about your explanation, but I can only compile it into a document and send it to the eldest son. As for how to punish him, that will depend on the eldest son's decision."

He Zizhen seemed to have been relieved of a huge burden, let out a long sigh of relief, and hurriedly nodded.

(End of this chapter)