My father ordered me to kill the emperor, but His Majesty bestowed a princess upon me instead.

When the order from the Ministry of War to pursue and suppress them arrived, the nineteen soldiers escorting the grain had already completed their roll call at the western camp.

The horse has been fed.

The knife has been delivered.

The grain carts were also harnessed.

We're just waiting for the city gates to open.

When I arrived at the western camp of the Ministry of War, the people on the drill ground were cursing me.

This is normal.

They had just received military orders that the southwestern rebels had seized relief grain in Yong'an.

And I happen to be Shen Lie's son.

The Ministry of War suddenly issued another order to halt departures from the city.

Who stopped them?

If I were them, I would also think this is like traitors buying time for their own people.

The team leader's surname was Jiang.

Early thirties.

When he saw me enter the camp, he even bowed very stiffly.

"Lord Shen."

"This humble general is ordered by the Ministry of War to leave the city to pursue and annihilate them."

"The Censorate has no right to stop the army."

I said, "Who said I was going to stop you?"

Captain Jiang looked at the tightly closed camp gate.

"Then what is this?"

"I've come to see you off."

The nineteen officers and soldiers looked even worse.

They probably thought my next sentence was to say "Have a safe journey."

I almost said it.

Because their compensation has already been calculated.

Bai Zhi had someone carry the second accident report into the training ground.

When Lieutenant Jiang saw the military newspaper, he frowned.

"What is this?"

"The news of your death."

"Is Lord Shen making fun of this humble general?"

"I rarely make fun of the death of a living person."

"Because it's easy to come true."

I handed him the accident report.

His expression changed after reading the first line.

Nineteen people died.

The name at the very top is Jiang Tong.

His own name.

The remaining eighteen people are also on the list of those who left the city today.

Jiang Tong gripped the report so tightly it made a cracking sound.

Who wrote it?

"It hasn't been investigated yet."

"Fake?"

"That's the current situation."

What does "currently" mean?

"If you leave the city as originally ordered, tomorrow may not be a false alarm."

Nineteen soldiers began to riot.

People squeezed through to see.

Someone who couldn't read asked the person next to him if his name was on the table.

With each "yes" he received, his face paled a little more.

Soldiers are not afraid of death.

Being ordered to go into battle and discovering that someone had already written themselves into the list of the dead before they even set off are two different things.

"You expect me to disobey orders based solely on a piece of paper of dubious authenticity?"

"This is not disobeying orders."

"It's a verification order."

I looked at the grain carts in the center of the drill ground.

There were twelve vehicles in total.

The vehicle was covered with an oilcloth.

At the very front was a small flag of the Luo family's grain store in Qingzhou.

"What are you betting on?"

"Replenish and transport relief grain."

"How many?"

"Twelve thousand stones."

I glanced at the car.

Twelve vehicles.

Twelve thousand stones.

One cart carries a thousand shi (a unit of dry measure).

Even a god couldn't pull it.

Jiang Tong also realized something was wrong.

"This is just the advance convoy."

"The main grain supplies are being gathered in Tongzhou."

"What are you carrying in those twelve vehicles?"

"Armaments, rations, and escort warrants."

"open."

"Military order to seal the vehicles; they shall not be opened for inspection before leaving the city."

"Who gave the order?"

"Cao Heng, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War".

This name finally emerged from the second batch of burned accounting lists.

Wang Song handed over the seal.

Zheng Huaien is dead.

Cao Heng was still sitting in the Ministry of War.

I said, "Drive."

"Lord Shen, military carriages of the Ministry of War may not be driven without an imperial decree."

"Then we shall await the imperial decree."

"Commander Gu."

Gu Xingzhi had already delivered the emperor's short edict.

The imperial edict was obtained before we left Luo's grain shop.

The payment of the three grain contracts issued by the Wang family has been suspended.

All related grain carts, military orders, and postal reports were to be inspected and sealed on the spot.

After examining the imperial seal, Jiang Tong finally raised his hand.

"open."

The first vehicle did indeed contain grain.

The soldiers used their spears to thrust downwards.

Halfway through the thrust, the tip of the gun hit a hard object.

The two got into the car and opened the grain bags.

Nineteen sets of military uniforms were neatly stacked at the bottom of the grain sacks.

It is not the uniform of the Liang Imperial Guard.

It is an old military uniform from the Southwest.

The shoulder seam is sewn with a black trim.

There was no official military badge on his chest, only a small "烈" (lie, meaning fierce/heroic) embroidered on the inner lapel.

The atmosphere on the drill ground changed instantly.

Jiang Tong picked up a military uniform.

The veins on the back of his hand were bulging.

"Who put this here?"

The guards immediately knelt down.

"The military vehicles were sealed at the Ministry of War's supply depot yesterday, and I have not yet opened them for inspection!"

The second car opened.

Inside are short bows and old arrows commonly used in the southwest.

The arrow fletching was deliberately aged.

However, there was no rust on the arrow.

The third cart contained black oil, tinder, and twenty-eight small flags for grain carts that were half-burnt.

Bai Zhi read the second accident report.

The report stated that 28 grain carts were burned.

There are exactly twenty-eight flags here.

It wasn't a preparation for an attack.

The plan was to lay out the scene after the attack was completed.

Ah Liu's car overturned.

He suddenly stopped when he flipped the fourth car over.

"Young master."

"There's a box."

There was an iron box hidden under the car.

There was no lock on the box.

Only the Ministry of War's supply seal remained.

Gu Xingzhi checked the seal.

Jiang Tong opened it himself.

There are no weapons inside.

There are nineteen documents related to compensation.

Each document already has the name, place of origin, military status, and family information written on it.

Location of death:

Cause of death:

They were ambushed by rebel forces in the southwest while escorting relief grain.

Jiang Tong picked up his share.

A pension of twenty taels of silver.

His mother was the family member who represented him.

He even wrote down which alley his mother lived in.

He stared at it for a long time.

My mother is illiterate.

Bai Zhi said, "It's even better if you can't read, because you can't make handprints."

Jiang Tong suddenly looked up.

Bai Zhi turned to the last page of the document.

A fingerprint was already imprinted at the family member's collection point.

Jiang Tong's face turned completely black.

"This is not my mother's fingerprint."

"Of course not."

"It's an old stamp taken from the military dependents' register."

When the Ministry of War distributed grain, cloth, and verified the records of military personnel, they left their fingerprints.

Normally, this is used to confirm that someone is alive.

Now it's being used to collect early compensation for the dead.

Nineteen documents.

Nineteen fake handprints.

The total amount of compensation was 380 taels.

It couldn't even compare to a single table of wine at the Wang family's banquet.

But if these nineteen people really die, the 380 taels can be reported as 760 taels.

Then take it back from the deceased's family.

A person dies once.

The accounts for grain, battle reports, and pensions can be kept in three separate books.

Bai Zhi flipped through only a few pages before saying, "The compensation has already been paid out."

Jiang Tong angrily retorted, "The person is still alive, so who should we pay the money to?"

"Ministry of War Supplies, Room B"

"The room with the character 'Yi' was then transferred to Yongfeng Water Account."

Bad debts are often stuffed into B.

A is left for respectable people to see.

B is reserved for the dead.

Jiang Tong threw the compensation document on the ground.

Where is Cao Heng?

As if hearing his own name, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the training ground.

Cao Heng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, has arrived.

He was in his fifties.

He looked very somber when he entered the camp.

"Lord Shen."

"Detaining troops without cause and driving military vehicles without authorization—do you know this will jeopardize military operations?"

I pointed to the Southwest Army uniform on the ground.

"The military secrets Lord Cao mentioned, are they about having nineteen imperial soldiers dress as rebels and rob their own grain?"

Cao Heng only glanced at it.

"Someone framed me."

"Who?"

"Not yet determined."

"Who sealed off the military vehicle?"

"Supply depot".

"Who gave the military order?"

"My officer."

Who decided on the route?

"Military Intelligence Room".

Who selected the list of people to leave the city?

Cao Heng paused for a moment.

"Select your location yourself."

Jiang Tong immediately replied, "The list must be sent along with the military order!"

Are you sure?

"This humble general recognizes his own name."

Cao Heng's eyes turned cold.

"Someone in the military has altered military orders without authorization."

I had someone bring the original order.

The military order text is normal.

Replenishment of relief grain supplies.

Investigate and prosecute the anti-military forces.

Protect grain transport routes.

The question is on the attached page.

The appendix lists the names of nineteen officers and soldiers.

The paper is slightly thinner than the main text.

The seal was pressed against the junction of the two sheets of paper.

It seems impossible to add anything later.

The edges of the print were gently steamed with water vapor.

The two layers of paper slowly separated.

The main text and the appendix were not printed at the same time.

Someone first pasted a thin piece of paper below the main text.

After stamping the seam seal.

Then peel off the thin paper and replace it with the list appendix.

As long as the thickness is the same, the print will match.

True seal.

Another smooth procedure.

Cao Heng's expression remained unchanged after reading it.

"The actions of the supply depot are unrelated to me."

"Then let's look at the next one."

After the first urgent report from Yong'an was delivered to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of War immediately issued an order to pursue and suppress them.

The order to pursue and eliminate the fugitives was dated yesterday at noon.

It arrived in the capital a day earlier than the urgent report.

Cao Heng said, "The Ministry of War already has contingency plans in place regarding the possibility of grain raids in the southwest."

"Will the contingency plan specify the exact number of the nineteen victims in advance?"

"This official is unaware of the accident report."

"Then why was the contingency plan specifically for the Northern Post Road?"

"The Northern Post Road was a commonly used grain transport route."

Jiang Tongdao: "No."

Everyone looked at him.

"When grain supplies were sent from Qingzhou to the capital, they usually took the Southern Official Road."

"The northern post road is close to the mountains, narrow, and easy to ambush."

"I asked that when I received the order."

"The military order says that the Nanguandao Bridge is damaged and the route must be changed."

I asked, "Is the bridge damaged?"

The Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs checked the travel reports.

"no."

The bridge beams of Nanguandao Bridge are intact.

There was no compelling reason to take the North Post Road.

Except that it's a place where nineteen people could die.

Cao Heng finally stopped answering so quickly.

I walked up to him.

"Master Cao."

"The name Cao is on the second batch of the list of those clearing accounts."

"In the fourteenth year of the Chengxi reign, where were you serving?"

"Director of the Military Affairs Department of the Ministry of War".

"What do you care?"

"Southwest Military Report and Grain Transport Map"

"Of the five supply lines under the Inner Court's General Command, who is in charge of the grain supply line?"

Cao Heng coldly said, "Shen An, you have no evidence, so you cannot frame a court official with the character '残' (cán, meaning 'remnant')."

That makes sense.

I pointed to twelve military vehicles.

"Then let's not talk about eleven years ago."

"Let's just talk about today."

"You signed a warrant for the pursuit and annihilation one day in advance."

"Designate a grain route that should not be taken."

"The nineteen people on the list are exactly the same as those on the future death toll reports."

"The military vehicle contained Southwest Army uniforms, old arrows, kerosene, and pre-written pensions."

"Lord Cao can say that he did not place any of these items himself."

"But you signed it."

"You signed a blank military order?"

Cao Heng said, "In urgent military situations, the Ministry of War often issues contracts first and then issues them later."

"Sign first, then complete the formalities later."

"very good."

"Lord Cao was imprisoned today for signing blank military orders without authorization."

"If it is found that you were simply unaware, it will be considered dereliction of duty."

"If it is found that you knew about it, it will be considered treason."

"You dare take me?"

"I didn't take it."

Gu Xingzhi had already stepped forward.

Cao Heng looked at the emperor's short edict.

He then looked at the nineteen surviving soldiers on the training ground.

These people were supposed to vouch for him that the military orders had been carried out.

Now they're all on my side.

Because it doesn't matter who saves them, their background doesn't matter.

Just look at those nineteen pensions on the ground.

Gu Xingzhi removed Cao Heng's official seal.

Cao Heng did not struggle when he was taken away.

He only said one sentence as he passed by me.

"You can stop these nineteen."

"Can we stop everyone in Jiangbei?"

Because I don't know either.

Bai Zhi continued to inspect military vehicles.

There were no weapons in the fifth vehicle.

There were only nineteen sets of Southwest Army uniforms.

One of the inner garments was sewn crookedly.

Ah Liu gets nervous whenever he sees a seam in his clothes.

He took a knife and opened it.

There was a thin piece of paper hidden inside.

There were only three lines of text on the paper.

Yong'an Granary is empty.

The county magistrate is not a county magistrate.

If the warehouses are opened on the third day, the living people will die again.

The signature is a handprint.

Bai Zhi took out the copy of yesterday's register.

When Tian Cheng was re-registering his household registration, he pressed his fingerprint next to his name.

The crack patterns on the two fingerprints are exactly the same.

Tian Cheng, who had gone missing, is still alive.

He was taken to Yong'an.

The claim of 10,000 shi of grain in Yong'an County simply does not exist.