Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 312 Evidence
“Your Highness, we absolutely need reinforcements. Herat is full of Daoud's men. If we don't get reinforcements, what if…”

Shabaz dared not continue speaking, but Murad knew in his heart what was about to happen.

"The most important thing now is to get the army here. I have already sent the Mashhad troops there, and they should arrive in the next couple of days."

Fortunately, Murad was able to mobilize Mashhad's soldiers thanks to the Shah's orders. Now, the most important thing is to find evidence against Daoud, so that he will be completely eliminated.

"In that officer's death case, were there any witnesses or physical evidence?"

“Yes!” Shabaz nodded, took out a stack of things and handed them over. Murad took them and looked at them carefully. They were the confessions of some people, with the confessors’ own signatures on them. Among these people were merchants who had been ruined by bandits, people who had lost everything because their land had been seized, and several middle and lower-level officials. Most importantly, there was also the confession of the officer’s wife who had drowned.

According to this person, the officer quickly discovered Herat's problems after taking office and paid special attention to him. With a strong sense of justice, he began to collect evidence after understanding the situation, and it was this action that attracted the attention of these interest groups.

When their attempts to bribe him failed, and their threats proved ineffective, these people decided to take a desperate gamble. They invited him for drinks under some pretext, then murdered him when he wasn't looking, making it look like he had gotten drunk and fallen.

“Uncle, these testimonies are very important,” Murad said in a deep voice, “but they are not enough. We need more evidence, especially evidence of Daoud’s direct involvement.”

Shabaz nodded. "Your Highness, I have already sent people to secretly investigate Daoud's residence and accounts. If we can find direct links between him and these cases, or evidence of his embezzlement and bribery, then he will have no way to deny it."

"That's it, we need to hurry."

On the other hand, Daoud was not asleep either. He had Murad's residence under tight surveillance, and would report any movement to him.

Although he wasn't worried about finding anything, he still had to be cautious. Since the officials and officers refused to collude with him, he had no choice but to go elsewhere.

"Perhaps the prince will just take a quick look around and leave. Since we won't find anything anyway, we might as well just stay here," said Daoud's advisor.

"If that were the case, I would be happy, but I still feel like there's something wrong."

Daoud was also terrified, because things can always go wrong in a situation that's too perfect.

However, Murad made no move in the following days, so it seems the prince really was just on vacation.

Herat has been quite lively these past few days, as Ashura, the most important festival for Shiites, is approaching. Prince Murad will naturally be going to the mosque to pray, while Daoud is only interested in money and can change his religion at any time.

Murad went into a room in the mosque to rest, where the Shiite cleric had already arranged everything for him.

"Please rest for a while, Your Highness. Someone will come to inform you if there is any news."

"That's troublesome."

After closing the door, Murad looked at the servant left in the room. When his gaze fell on the servant, the servant slowly raised his head.

Only then did he see the other person's face clearly. Although she was dressed as a male servant, a closer look revealed that she was a woman.

"Who are you?" "Greetings, Your Highness. I am Zardari's wife."

Zardari was the Herat officer who died unexpectedly. His wife is here; something must have happened.

"Please, Your Highness, seek justice for my husband!" she said, kneeling down.

“Get up and speak!” Murad said in a low voice, worried that her crying would cause trouble.

As Murad listened to her account, he frowned slightly, because everything she said was not much different from the confession Xu Xu had shown him, only more detailed. But what she said next forced him to perk up.

"By the way, Your Highness, my husband told me before he left that he had collected the evidence and would hand it over to Tehran as soon as he returned."

"what?"

The other party then slowly recounted what had happened. In fact, Zardari had vaguely sensed a danger before the incident. When he received the invitation, he was initially unwilling to go, but he decided to go because the other party suggested having a proper talk with him.

But no one expected that Zardari had actually taken his wife to see him before leaving home and secretly gave her some things. These things were the evidence that Zardari had been investigating and collecting, including evidence of Daud's treason.

He did this to have a backup plan in case of emergency. But man proposes, God disposes. Zardari did not expect his opponent to be so bold and act so quickly. He lost his life in a daze before he could even play his trump card.

Soon after the local authorities determined the nature of Zardari's death, the attendant who had accompanied him that day also died mysteriously. This further convinced her of the truth behind her husband's death. To temporarily avoid their attention, she found an excuse to go to the mosque. To avoid involving her children, she had sent them back to their hometown in Mashhad, leaving herself to deal with the situation alone. As for the evidence, she had carefully hidden it in the basement of this room. This was a Shia community, and Daoud rarely came here, making it the safest place.

"You've worked hard; it's truly admirable that you have such courage."

After calming her down, Murad had her taken away for protection, while he and his uncle began digging. They soon found a box containing transaction records between Daoud and several officials, the highest-ranking of whom was a central government official from Tehran.

"If he were to become a spy, he would definitely be a good one."

As Murad spoke, he flipped through the documents in his hands, several of which caught his attention. He had seen them when studying European coats of arms: one was the British golden lion emblem, and the other was the Russian double-headed eagle symbol.

The contents of the document surprised him even more: Britain and Russia had been funding Daoud since 1858. This included £5.9, providing channels for smuggling trade, and sending 2000 rifles—all intended to solidify his decision.

“This, he’s treasonous!” Shabazz exclaimed.

"Just as I suspected, now the evidence is conclusive. When will the soldiers arrive?"

"The first train is expected to arrive tomorrow morning."

Murad nodded. "In that case, let's get it done quickly. When the soldiers arrive tomorrow morning, Uncle will immediately lead men to control all the exits of Herat and prevent anyone from leaving."

"As ordered!"

(End of this chapter)