The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

If military officers like Feng Hongde were arrested, those who had been coerced into following him and committed minor offenses could atone for their crimes through meritorious service.

All confiscated assets and land were allocated to military farms and distributed to military households whose farmland had been forcibly seized or whose land was insufficient.

If the land was insufficient for distribution, a portion of the confiscated gold, silver and jewels would be used to redeem the farmland that had been forcibly sold within the past five years, according to the account books.

This is also one of the reasons why Xue Shao did not allow the military settlements to fully dispose of this portion of the embezzled funds. Local gentry colluded with Cao Rong, Feng Hongde, and others to buy a lot of military settlements at low prices.

To buy back these farmlands, the local county government would need to intervene and mediate.

Xue Shao was a good official and wanted the county magistrates to gather these gentry together for ideological education. Pan Jun, on the other hand, directly told An Chen to go to the prefects and county magistrates of each prefecture: "Tell them to give me three days to return the land they bought from the military farms to me in its original state. Otherwise, I don't need to explain to them what crimes they have committed by bribing officials and embezzling military farms, do I?"

“If your family is missing the ‘Great Proclamation,’ I don’t mind giving them a copy.”

Upon hearing this, An Chen immediately went to the bookstore and bought out all the copies of "The Great Proclamation," then sent them to the prefects in various places, relaying Pan Yun's words and adding, "Our Embroidered Uniform Guard doesn't have the patience of Imperial Censor Xue, or perhaps they want to visit the Imperial Prison?"

Over the course of a few days, Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) from other areas have arrived. An Chen now has ample manpower, and with the help of military households who have been victimized in various places, it is very convenient to arrest and torture people.

The prefects received the "Great Proclamation" and silently sent it to the county magistrates, who in turn sent it to the local gentry.

An Chen made a point of sending extra, so in addition to sending them to the gentry on the list, the county magistrates hesitated for a moment and also sent them to some gentry who were not on the list, and relayed An Chen's words to them.

The military households watching them immediately reported to the Imperial Guards.

An Chen snorted coldly: "Just as Imperial Censor Xue said, there are some who slipped through the net."

"Boss, should we investigate?"

An Chen: "No need. If we catch them with evidence, we'll just fine them and give them a beating. That will scare them and make them spit out the stolen money themselves."

As it turned out, Pan Yun's intimidation and An Chen's methods were very effective. Within three days, Xue Shao received a lot of returned land without spending a single penny.

Xue Shao couldn't help but fall silent; it seemed the Embroidered Uniform Guard was quite intimidating.

He looked at Pan Yun, who was still hidden, and asked, "When will you show up?"

Pan Yun suddenly looked at him, alert, and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Xue Shao rubbed his forehead and said, "What can I do? Didn't you want to accumulate merit? This is such a good merit. As long as it's made public, all the soldiers and civilians in Guangdong will regard it as divine."

Pan Yun: "But you are an imperial censor. If you bring this up yourself, I always have a feeling that I'm about to fall into a trap."

Xue Shao: "We're friends. Protecting your interests outside of work, isn't that a win-win situation?"

Pan Jun looked doubtful: "Really?"

Xue Shao nodded affirmatively: "Yes."

Pan Yun thought for a moment, but couldn't think of any traps. Hesitantly, he nodded and said, "Brother Shen Boxiu knows my identity. It's already spread among the military households in Chaozhou Prefecture. It won't be long before the military households in Guangzhou Prefecture also know. There's no need for special publicity."

Xue Shao: "Not enough."

"what?"

Xue Shao said, "You are the Imperial Advisor, how can you spread such ambiguous rumors in private? You must appear openly and grandly."

Pan Jun: "..." She simply leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and asked him casually, "Come on, tell me, how do you want to make a grand entrance?"

Xue Shao said, "I used the embezzled money to purchase a batch of grain, farm tools and seeds. Now the list of victims has been compiled. I plan to distribute land, winter grain, farm tools and seeds to all the military households who have suffered injustice outside the city gate the day after tomorrow. Will you show up and come to see it then?"

Pan Yun: "Is it Song Hao who is not cooperating, or Jiao Tong who disagrees with you doing this?"

Xue Shao smiled slightly and said, "Nothing can be hidden from you."

“The actual amount of money confiscated from the homes of the various prefectures did not match the amount recorded in the accounts, nor did it match the bribes they had received, the military funds they had embezzled, and the land they had garrisoned. Prefect Song, together with Provincial Governor Jiao, forbade me from using the remaining embezzled funds and demanded that I hand over the hidden embezzled funds.”

Pan Yun clicked her tongue twice: "We've come this far, and you still haven't confessed to me?"

Xue Shao said, "Since you're going to have to appear anyway, why don't you appear in front of everyone? I'll clear my name, and you'll gain merit in return."

"Merit is the will of the people. If you collude with me and do the same evil deeds, aren't you afraid of being criticized by the upright officials in the court?"

Xue Shao said, "There are many upright and honest officials in the court who admire and respect you. After all, it is much better for you to be favored than for some eunuchs to be favored."

Pan Jun gave a soft snort and stopped objecting.

Xue Shao immediately began preparations, having a high platform erected outside the city gate.

Jiao Tong frowned upon seeing this and couldn't help but say to Song Hao, "I can see him less and less clearly now."

Song Hao said, "Such a grand display seems like an attempt to win people's hearts."

"The teacher's character is awe-inspiring, and although Xue Xuan is too upright, he is also admirable. I thought my nephew was like Xue Xuan, but first the amount of embezzled money was not right, and now he is trying to win people's hearts..." Jiao Tong shook his head and sighed, "Is the teacher's lifelong reputation going to be ruined by this boy?"

Song Hao said in a low voice, "Why don't you try to persuade him privately, sir? Cao Rong secretly sent a letter through the jailer. The gold and silver treasures that disappeared from his treasury are worth ten times the value of the three warehouses. So far, we have only obtained the account books of two warehouses. The treasures in the treasury and the third warehouse have not been found at all."

Jiao Tong pursed his lips tightly.

Song Hao glanced at him, paused, and continued in a low voice, "Sir, besides Cao Rong, there are also Feng Hongde and others. More or less of their valuables have been lost. When Censor Xue interrogated them, he seemed to have everything under control. Judging from the evidence he presented, he did indeed have evidence against them long ago. If he can obtain such important evidence, wouldn't it be easy for him to quietly transfer some of the embezzled funds?"

Jiao Tong: "You think all that money is in banknotes? With so much coming and going, how could there be no movement at all? I've always had some doubts..."

Jiao Tong recalled some rumors he had heard from his teacher and fellow disciples. Could it be that Xue Shao really went to cultivate Taoism and had achieved something?

He had heard that cultivators could truly possess the ability to manipulate things within their sleeves, and that the Imperial Preceptor, having achieved some level of mastery, would definitely...

Xue Shao and the Imperial Advisor were good friends.

Jiao Tong did not voice his doubts, choosing instead to keep them to himself.

He planned to find an opportunity to test Xue Shao.

Jiao Tong never expected that before he could even test the waters, Xue Shao would give him an answer on his own initiative.

On the fifth day of the ninth lunar month, the sky was high and the air was crisp. The military households of Guangzhou Prefecture gathered outside the city of Guangzhou.

Below the platform, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Pan Yun descended from the sky, stepping on a cauldron. Sunlight shone on the cauldron, reflecting a blinding light that made everyone's eyes water and nearly blinded them. (End of Chapter)