Han Ji

The rear office of the prefectural government was no better. The courtyards were overgrown and the houses leaked when it rained.

Lu Zhi chose a relatively intact house as his temporary study and residence. His personal guards were busy cleaning and settling in.

Liu Bei helped carry the letters and documents he had brought into the house. The air was filled with the smell of mildew and dust.

"How do you feel?" Lu Zhi suddenly asked. He took off his official robes, wearing only a dark robe, and sat on a freshly wiped mat, looking at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei put down the bamboo slips in his hand and wiped his sweat: "The accumulated problems are as heavy as a mountain. Officials are lazy, and military preparedness is in disarray. Looking at that Prefect Wang, he doesn't seem to be ill, but rather..."

"What does it resemble?" Lu Zhi picked up a brief document that had been recorded in court earlier and looked at it.

"It seems more like he's feigning illness to give the teacher a hard time. And that Commandant Li who hasn't shown up yet, he's probably suspicious too."

Lu Zhi snorted: "A scoundrel." He put down the document. "It's not hard to see the problem. The hard part is how to take action. This Lujiang Prefecture is deeply entrenched; moving one hair can affect the whole situation. Wang Hong has been entrenched here for many years, and he may have connections with local powerful figures, and even... barbarians."

Liu Bei felt a chill run down his spine.

"We're new here, short-handed, and the situation is unclear. A forceful action might alert them, or even provoke them into desperate measures," Lu Zhi said, his gaze deep. "We need to find the key point and strike decisively."

He pointed to the boxes of documents that had been brought in: "These are some of the county government's account books and official documents from recent years. They're a mess, and it's hard to tell if they're genuine or not. You need to sort them out first, especially the records of expenditures on money, grain, and military equipment."

"I understand." Liu Bei knew that this was the first test his teacher had given him, and also the fastest way to understand the details of Lujiang.

Over the next few days, Liu Bei immersed himself in the pile of bamboo slips and wooden tablets that exuded a musty smell.

The other officials in the prefecture had varying attitudes toward this suddenly appearing "close attendant of Prefect Lu." Some fawned over him, some kept their distance, and some, like Wang Hong, were outwardly polite but harbored cold glints in their eyes.

Liu Bei ignored everything and focused solely on checking the documents.

He found the accounts to be in complete disarray, with many parts vague or contradictory. The figures for grain and wages allocated to various places did not match. The records of the receipt and loss of military equipment were even more of a mess.

During the day he would read documents, and at night he would wander around Shuxian County with a reliable old soldier arranged by Lu Zhi.

Shuxian County was small, and its streets were deserted. The people looked emaciated, and they instinctively avoided anyone wearing official or military uniforms. Occasionally, soldiers from the county would be seen drinking and gambling in the taverns, making a loud racket.

He went to the military camp outside the city. The so-called military camp was just a few rows of dilapidated thatched huts. The soldiers listlessly sunbathed, their weapons carelessly tossed aside. They only stood up hurriedly when they saw him arrive.

"When will the pay be paid?" Liu Bei asked a man who looked like a squad leader.

The squad leader's eyes darted around: "Reporting to...reporting to the superior, last month's...last month's pay hasn't been fully paid yet..."

"What about the food?"

"Two bowls of thin porridge a day, just enough to fill my stomach."

Liu Bei didn't say anything. He walked to the edge of the barracks and looked at the pot. Sure enough, it was a thin soup so clear you could see your reflection in it. He then went to check the so-called armory. It was empty, with only a few rusty leather armors and spear shafts that were infested with worms.

He tried to strike up a conversation with a few kind-looking veterans, slipping them a few five-zhu coins. The veterans were initially hesitant to speak, but when they saw that no one was around, they lowered their voices and poured out their grievances.

"Shangguan, it's not that we're not trying hard enough, it's just that we're really exhausted!"

"Their rations and pay have all been withheld by their superiors..."

"Lieutenant Li? Hmph, how long has it been since he came to the camp? He's probably out having fun at some lover's house again!"

"Barbarians? They raided a village thirty miles east of the city just last month, killing over a dozen people... We went out for a while and didn't even see a trace of them..."

Liu Bei listened silently, the fire in his heart burning ever brighter.

That night, Liu Bei was still checking a record of the entry and exit of the granary under the lamp.

This is a record of 5,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain that was transferred to the warehouse from a subordinate county after last year's autumn harvest. The document states that the entire amount was deposited into the warehouse, and the clerk in charge of storage also affixed his seal.

But when he turned to the records of payments for rations to county soldiers and relief for displaced people in the following months, he found that the numbers were a bit off. The rate of consumption was much faster than expected. Moreover, some of the grain payments to the "military militia" were recorded vaguely, only stating the date and amount of grain paid, without specifying the recipient or the reason, and only having a blurry stamp.

He became suspicious. This method reminded him of the shady dealings Chen's Grain Store had done back in Zhuojun.

He kept quiet and copied down these suspicious points separately.

The next day, he used the excuse of needing to understand the distribution of granaries in the prefecture to visit the largest granary under the jurisdiction of the prefecture government—Shuxian Xicang.

The granary was guarded by an old official with gray hair and cloudy eyes. Seeing Liu Bei holding Lu Zhi's warrant, he dared not be negligent and led him in with a smile.

The granary was large, but it was not filled with much grain, and most of it was old rice that smelled musty.

Liu Bei walked deep into the granary, seemingly casually tapping the ground and walls with his hands. When he reached a corner, the sound coming from under his feet seemed slightly hollow.

He crouched down and examined the ground closely. The dust here seemed to be thinner than the surrounding area.

"Here," Liu Bei pointed to the area, "is there a hidden level or cellar underneath?"

The old official's expression changed slightly, and he stammered, "No...no, sir. This granary is sturdy; it's all solid."

Liu Bei stood up and stared at him: "Really? But I heard that when the granaries were repaired two years ago, the foundation was deepened to prevent dampness. Could it be... I'm mistaken?"

His words were purely a bluff. The old official, however, was clearly flustered, sweat beading on his forehead and his lips trembling: "Sir... this, this..."

"Open it." Liu Bei's voice turned cold.

The old official knelt down with a thud: "Sir, spare my life! It has nothing to do with me! It was...it was the steward of Magistrate Wang's residence, and...and the people in the granary who made me do this! They said it was just to temporarily store some personal belongings..."

"Personal property?" Liu Bei sneered. "It's probably illicit grain, isn't it? Stolen goods from the resale of government grain!"

He ignored the old official who was slumped on the ground and summoned his guards: "Guard this place! No one is allowed to approach! I'm going to report to the magistrate!"

Liu Bei hurried back to the prefectural government and reported the findings and his own speculations to Lu Zhi in detail.

After listening, Lu Zhi's face remained expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger. He simply asked, "Where's the evidence?"

"That hollow sound in the ground is suspicious! The granary official's reaction is further evidence! Just dig it up and we'll see what's going on! I suspect that what's hidden underneath is the government grain they embezzled that hasn't been transported yet! And those few blurry grain disbursement records are probably their accounting tricks!"

Lu Zhi pondered for a moment, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "Fine! Go, take my personal guards, and dig that place open immediately! If it's really as you say, arrest all those involved on the spot! Don't let a single one escape!"

"yes!"

Liu Bei accepted the order and selected twenty elite personal guards to head straight for Xicang.

Upon arriving at the western granary, the old official was still slumped on the spot, his face ashen. The guards had already taken control of the entire granary.

"Dig!" Liu Bei ordered.

The soldiers found shovels and hoes and began digging vigorously at the ground. Soil flew everywhere.

However, after digging about a foot deep, the shovel hit something hard. Clearing away the soil revealed a wooden plank underneath.

Lifting the wooden planks, a small cellar came into view. Inside, hundreds of burlap sacks were neatly stacked! Cutting one open, golden millet flowed out.

This is the grain marked as being from the official granary!

Almost simultaneously, a commotion arose outside the granary. A clerk dressed in the uniform of a granary official rushed over with several men, shouting, "What are you doing! What are you doing! Who dares to tamper with the official granary!"

When he burst in and saw the dug-out cellar and the sacks, he was stunned, his face turned pale, and he turned to run away.

"Take him down!" Liu Bei shouted.

The guards rushed forward and pinned down the warehouse clerk and his several followers.