I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 229 Deficit
The following morning at court, Grand Secretary Mu, who had been recuperating at home, made a rare appearance. Trembling, he submitted a memorial to the Ministry of War, requesting that the Ministry be appointed as the Left Vice Minister of War as soon as possible.

The King of Wei stepped forward and said, “Your subject believes that Prince An’s uncle has commanded the Northeast Army effectively and has also made contributions in resisting the Turks. He can be appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.”

The crown prince mocked, "Brother Wei really doesn't shy away from recommending worthy people based on kinship."

"If it is about recommending worthy people, why avoid relatives?" King Wei said without changing his expression. "If the Crown Prince's elder brother has a suitable candidate, he can also make a suggestion."

The Crown Prince remained silent. If he had a suitable candidate, why would he leave such an important position as the Left Vice Minister of War vacant for so long?

Emperor Sheng'an ignored the verbal sparring between his two sons. He glanced at the haggard Grand Secretary Mu, then at Prince An who stood respectfully below with his head bowed, and nodded in agreement to Prince Wei's suggestion.

After the morning court session, Prince An received his court robes and went directly to the Ministry of War to take up his post. With his status and position as a prince, Prince An quickly got to know everyone in the Ministry of War and successfully obtained the key to the warehouse where the old account books of the Ministry of War were stored. Under the pretext of being familiar with the business of the Ministry of War, he immersed himself in the old account books.

Following Grand Secretary Mu's advice, Prince An focused on reviewing the old accounts of the Ministry of War from the Kangzhi era, starting from the 40th year of Kangzhi and going back to the 1st year of Kangzhi, but the accounts from the 30th year of Kangzhi were missing.

Prince An was startled, but pretended nothing had happened and reorganized the storeroom. After leaving the office, he went straight to the Mu residence.

“Uncle, there really is a problem with the Ministry of War’s account books!” Prince An said. “I searched the warehouse three times over, but I still couldn’t find the account books from the 30th year of the Kangzhi reign!”

“It’s not surprising. When the Ministry of War caught fire, the warehouse ledgers were burned. Although most of them were salvaged, some were still destroyed,” Grand Secretary Mu said as he watched the steward water the flowers. “What Your Highness sees now are all replacements that were added later.”

No wonder some of the account books look exceptionally new. "But why are the account books from the 30th year of Kangzhi missing?"

Grand Secretary Mu's gaze was distant. "Because only the account books from that year were burned to ashes."

Prince An felt the fire was too coincidental, but couldn't find any concrete evidence. "Uncle, do you think something's fishy going on?"

"Whether it's a ghost or just a coincidence, we can only ask the previous Vice Minister of War who was in charge of the accounts and storeroom," Grand Secretary Mu stood up, "Go and invite the guests over."

The steward put down the kettle, quickly led the guests over, served tea, and then quietly withdrew.

A young man knelt down and bowed, saying, "This student greets Your Highness Prince An and Grand Secretary Mu."

"No need for formalities," Prince An said, taking his seat. "And you are?"

"Student Cao Ming's grandfather was Cao Yang, the retired Vice Minister of War."

"So it's Young Master Cao," Prince An said curiously. "Young Master Cao, what brings you here today?"

Cao Ming glanced at Grand Secretary Mu sitting in the rocking chair, gritted his teeth, got up, knelt on the ground, and took out something he had been protecting in his arms. "This is an old account book from the Ministry of War from the 30th year of the Kangzhi reign that I found in my grandfather's possession. I heard that His Highness Prince An has been appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, so I have come to return it to its rightful owner."

Prince An stood up and took the account book himself. After looking through it, he found that the handwriting and paper were the same as those in the account books of other years. The paper was yellowed and had burn marks, confirming that it was the original account book that was lost that year.

Grand Secretary Mu slightly opened his eyes. Prince An nodded to him, and Grand Secretary Mu then said, "I thank Young Master Cao for his kindness on behalf of His Highness Prince An. Please rest assured, no matter what happens to Lord Cao in the future, the Cao family will be safe and secure in Qin Prefecture."

Cao Ming felt relieved and asked a few questions about his studies under some pretext before taking his leave.

Prince An asked, puzzled, "Uncle, what's going on?"

“Since the previous dynasty, no official has ever been appointed as a third-rank official before the age of fifty. Although this dynasty appoints people based on merit, it is still quite remarkable that Cao Yang was appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War at the age of forty-three.” Prince An recalled, “If I remember correctly, it was Grand Tutor Zhang who recommended Cao Yang.”

“Cao Yang was Grand Tutor Zhang’s prized student, so naturally he had to promote him,” Grand Secretary Mu said with a smile. “But in the end, it was the Crown Prince who strongly supported him, and only then did His Majesty recommend him to the late Emperor.”

Prince An confirmed, "Cao Yang is the Crown Prince's man."

“That’s right,” Grand Secretary Mu stroked his beard. “Ever since Cao Yang became the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, I have been sending people to monitor him. Sure enough, we discovered that the fire at the Ministry of War two years ago was started by Cao Yang himself, and then he stole the account books from the 30th year of the Kangzhi reign.”

"Otherwise, who would have thought that such a vast collection of ledgers could hold any secrets?"

Prince An recalled, "In the thirtieth year of the Kangzhi reign, that year..."

"That year, the Turks breached Wuwei City, General Song died in battle, and the entire Protector General's family was wiped out," Grand Secretary Mu said with a profound gaze. "If Cao Yang hadn't had something to hide, who would have thought that there were hidden secrets behind such a tragic battle?"

Hidden secrets? Prince An's heart pounded. He quickly flipped through the account books, then stopped at one page: "In the thirtieth year of the Kangzhi reign, the deficit in grain and silver reached a staggering one hundred thousand taels!"

Prince An's hands trembled as he held the account books. One and a half million taels of silver!

The reason why Wuwei fell in the thirtieth year of the Kangzhi reign was so surprising!
"Alas!" Elder Mu lay back in his rocking chair. "One and a half million taels of silver cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers."

"And there's General Song, who fought for Da Yu his whole life, and the indomitable Song family!" Prince An added through gritted teeth.

Grand Secretary Mu looked at his nephew and said in a calm tone, "Yes, and so are they."

"Why? In those people's eyes, is human life less important than money?" Prince An's fingertips turned white as he gripped the account book tightly.

“Human life? Human life is a continuous process of birth and reproduction, but money cannot be given away,” Elder Mu said, looking at his still somewhat immature nephew. “Moreover, in the eyes of those people, human life is worthless.”

"Why would the Cao family hand over evidence of such a heinous crime as confiscation of property and extermination to your uncle?" Prince An's eyes were sharp. "Besides promising to guarantee the safety of the Cao clan, what else has your uncle done?"

Grand Secretary Mu smiled faintly and remained silent, refusing to divulge a single word no matter how much Prince An pressed him for an answer.

"Alright, now that we have the evidence, let's think about how to use it to severely damage the Crown Prince's lineage."

"Should we contact Prince Xuan?" Prince An sighed, recalling the bright and intelligent woman. "And Princess Zhaoshan as well."

"No need. They will know when this matter becomes known throughout the entire Dayu," Elder Mu advised. "If we inform them in advance, it will be suspected that we are communicating with Prince Xuan."

It should be noted that the emperor trusts and fears Prince Xuan the most.

Prince An carefully put away the account books. "When shall we launch our attack?"

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war," Elder Mu squinted his eyes, "naturally, the faster the better."

Since Cao Ming suffered a stroke, the Cao family has become a sieve, with anyone able to plant someone in their hands. Cao Ming's visit to the Mu residence could not be kept secret at all. If the Crown Prince's faction had made preparations in advance, then this move would be useless.