The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 571 Sima Yi Kills People

At the Kuaiji Wharf, thousands of disaster victims, dressed in rags, watched anxiously as the official ships slowly approached the shore. When the first bag of grain was unloaded, a cheer erupted from the crowd.

Sima Yi stood at the bow of the ship, observing coldly. He noticed several relatively neatly dressed men in the crowd talking in hushed tones, occasionally glancing towards the official ship.

"My lord, those are spies from various factions," Wang Ling whispered. "They're probing the court's stance."

"Let them see," Sima Yi said calmly. "Issue the order that all disaster relief grain must be distributed directly to the victims; no one else may handle or transfer it."

"This..." Wang Ling looked troubled and hesitated, saying, "In the past, it was always distributed through local gentry."

"That's why there's been this chain of deductions," Sima Yi interrupted him. "This time, things must change."

When Zhou Mingde, the magistrate of Kuaiji County, rushed to the scene, Sima Yi was already handling official business in a makeshift tent.

"Your humble servant greets Lord Sima!" Zhou Mingde, sweating profusely, bowed and reported, "I was unaware of your arrival, Your Excellency, and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me!"

Sima Yi raised his eyes and sized up the county magistrate. He was in his early forties, slightly overweight, and his small eyes gleamed with shrewdness.

“Magistrate Zhou, there’s no need for such formalities,” Sima Yi said calmly. “I have come here on imperial orders to provide disaster relief. Please provide a detailed report on the situation.”

Zhou Mingde wiped the sweat from his brow and hurriedly replied, "Your Excellency, this flood destroyed over 3,000 houses, submerged over 50,000 mu of farmland, and affected approximately 20,000 people."

"These figures differ greatly from the reports received by the court," Sima Yi interrupted him, picking up a document from the table and tossing it over, coldly scoffing, "As far as I know, at least eight thousand houses have been affected by the disaster, more than one hundred thousand mu of fertile land have been lost, and the number of disaster victims is no less than fifty thousand."

Zhou Mingde's expression changed, and he quickly said, "This official may have made a mistake in the statistics."

"It's not that the statistics are wrong, it's that someone is deliberately concealing the truth," Sima Yi said coldly. "Magistrate Zhou, I'm giving you a chance. By noon tomorrow, I want to see a true report on the disaster situation. Otherwise, you'll likely lose your official position."

After nightfall, Sima Yi summoned Xu Chu and Wang Ling to his temporary residence.

"General Xu, take men and secretly investigate the movements of the major families of Kuaiji, especially their recent land acquisitions," Sima Yi instructed. "Remember, don't alert them."

Xu Chu clasped his hands in a fist salute and accepted the order, saying, "This subordinate understands."

"Wang Ling, go and investigate the relationship between Magistrate Zhou and these powerful families," Sima Yi continued. "I need to know what kind of dealings they're involved in."

"Does Your Excellency have doubts?" Wang Ling asked hesitantly.

Sima Yi sneered, "It's not doubt, it's certain. With the disaster so severe, how could these powerful families be able to seize the opportunity to buy up land on a large scale without the backing of the government?"

After the two men left, Sima Yi stood alone by the window, gazing at the distant lights. The direction of Songhe Tower remained brightly lit, clearly indicating that the powerful families were still awaiting his summons.

"What's the rush?" Sima Yi muttered to himself, "The real show has only just begun."

Inside Songhelou, the heads of the major families and prominent clans of Kuaiji gathered together.

"Sima Yi has quite the airs!" Chen Yuanli, head of the Chen family, slammed his fist on the table and roared, "We've been waiting here for a long time, and he dares to ignore us!"

"Brother Chen, please calm down." Lin Xiuyuan, the head of the Lin family, stroked his beard and said, "Sima Yi's visit is ill-intentioned; we must be careful."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Zhao Deming, head of the Zhao family, sneered. "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. No matter how capable Sima Yi is, he'll have to follow our rules in Jiangnan."

Wu Shixun, the head of the Wu family who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "Gentlemen, don't forget, Sima Yi brought three thousand Imperial Guards with him on this trip."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall suddenly became quiet.

“Furthermore,” Wu Shixun continued, “as far as I know, that brute Xu Chu has also come. He only obeys the Emperor's orders and won't give us any face.” Chen Yuanli's face darkened: “Then what do you think, Brother Wu?”

"First, feign weakness to find out his hand," Wu Shixun whispered. "Sacrifice some pawns if necessary."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuanli hesitated for a moment, his gaze falling on the four old men to the side.

Wei, Kong, Yu, Xie.

This is truly the top aristocratic family in Kuaiji.

"Let's wait and see!" Wei An sighed. "After all, he is a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. We should give him face."

Everyone could only nod in agreement.

The next day, the night in Kuaiji was as dark as ink. Sima Yi stood in front of the window of his temporary residence, his fingertips lightly tapping the window frame.

"My lord, General Xu has returned," Wang Ling reported softly.

Sima Yi turned around and saw Xu Chu striding in, his armor still damp from the night dew.

"How's the investigation going?" Sima Yi gestured for Xu Chu to sit down.

Xu Chu took out a scroll from his robes and spread it on the table, saying, "This humble general sent men to investigate seven villages around Kuaiji. They discovered that in the past two months, the four great families have acquired large amounts of land at extremely low prices. What's even more suspicious is that these transactions all occurred before the flood."

"Foresight? It seems someone knew in advance that there would be a flood."

A cold glint flashed in Sima Yi's eyes.

"Not only that," Xu Chu said in a low voice, "When I was staking out outside the Yu family manor, I discovered that Magistrate Zhou was coming and going late at night, acting suspiciously."

Sima Yi's lips curled slightly as he asked, "Wang Ling, how about you over there?"

Wang Ling stepped forward and coldly snorted, "This humble official has reviewed the county government's accounts and found that the records of disaster relief fund disbursements are seriously inconsistent with the actual situation. Even more strangely, Magistrate Zhou has recently deposited a large amount of silver into a money exchange, far exceeding his salary."

"What a fine example of collusion between officials and merchants. General Xu, immediately take men to secretly monitor the granaries of the four great families; Wang Ling, continue investigating Magistrate Zhou's accounts. I need solid evidence." Sima Yi sneered, tapping his finger lightly on the table.

After the two men left to carry out their orders, Sima Yi stood alone by candlelight, gazing at the map of Kuaiji on the wall. His finger slowly traced the areas marked as "severely affected," finally stopping at the location of the Wei family manor.

"Want to play with fire? Then let's see who gets burned first," he muttered to himself.

The next morning, Wang Ling rushed over, his face grave. "Sir," he said, "something's happened. Last night, someone tried to burn down the county government's ledgers and archives, but fortunately, our men discovered it in time."

Sima Yi's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he chuckled, "They're desperate. It seems we've touched a nerve."

“There’s something even stranger,” Wang Ling said in a low voice, “I found a secret ledger at Magistrate Zhou’s private residence, recording his gold and silver transactions with various powerful families. It mentions ‘dike repair funds,’ dated two weeks before the flood.”

Sima Yi abruptly stood up, angrily exclaiming, "Just as I suspected! They deliberately destroyed the dikes to create floods, then bought up the land of the disaster victims at low prices!"

Just then, Xu Chu strode in and said urgently, "My lord, I have discovered a large quantity of government grain that should have been used for disaster relief in the Wei family's granary!"

Sima Yi's eyes flashed even colder, and he said in a chilling tone, "The evidence is conclusive; it's time to close the net. General Xu, immediately mobilize the Imperial Guards to surround the residences of all the powerful families and Magistrate Zhou's official residence. Don't let a single person escape!"

(End of this chapter)