My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 437 The Way of Being an Official
However, Mao Xiang didn't dare to say what he was thinking, and he couldn't let His Majesty know that he knew nothing about the Kalwabo Peak and the cave. He could only wait until he retreated and then ask Wei Junmin.

However, what His Majesty ordered must be done well. Suddenly, he remembered that His Majesty had ordered him to thoroughly investigate the strange man Li Han. Could this matter also be related to the strange man?

Thinking of this, he suddenly became energetic. If he could handle the matters related to the strange man, it would be a great achievement for him. He immediately said:

"Your Majesty, do you need me to go to Yunnan in person?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Send a smart centurion with a dozen people. This matter should not be publicized too much."

"Wei Chen understands!"

"Also, the second thing I need to ask you and Liang Fuyin is about the theft of silver ingots from the Guangji Treasury in the eighth year of Hongwu!"

When these words were spoken, the three of them were shocked. Their hearts, which had just settled down, were now hanging in the air again.

Compared with the "Great Ming Chronicles", the theft of silver ingots from Guangjiku is far too sensitive!
This matter has not been concluded to this day, and it is considered an unsolved case, and it is extremely strange. Neither the capable officials of the Yiluansi at that time, nor the experienced detectives of the Yingtianfu government, were able to find any clues.

It is not even certain whether it was man-made, because of the extremely strict management system of Guangjiku. It is completely impossible for someone to steal silver ingots, especially three silver ingots weighing hundreds of kilograms, without anyone knowing!
You should know that in addition to being heavily guarded, Guangji Warehouse also has three shifts of warehouse managers who take turns on day and night duty. Each shift has three people. When they change shifts, they will count the inventory and then hand over the counting results to the Ministry of Revenue for management.

The theft was discovered by the warehouse manager on duty that day. When they were taking inventory of the warehouse items after handing over the shift to the warehouse manager on night duty, they found that the silver ingots were missing.

Because the three silver ingots are the treasure house silver ingots, each weighing several hundred kilograms, they are placed in the most conspicuous place and can be seen as soon as you enter the warehouse!
When the second and third shifts changed shifts at Zizheng, the silver ingot was still there. But when the third shift changed shifts at Chenzheng, the silver ingot had disappeared.

In other words, the silver ingot disappeared within the four hours of Zizheng and Chenzheng!
So at the beginning, the Jinyiwei interrogated the three warehouse managers from Zizheng to Chenzheng as key suspects, but no matter what method they used, the three men insisted that they were innocent and had no idea how the silver ingots were stolen.

The Jinyiwei then expanded the scope of the search to include all patrolling and sentry soldiers that night, but still found nothing.

The constable of Yingtian Prefecture also searched the warehouse thoroughly but found no clues. The window of the warehouse was several feet above the ground and could not be reached without a ladder.

Moreover, the windows of the warehouse were extremely narrow. Not to mention the silver ingots, even people could not get through. Even if the thief could shrink his bones and get through the window, and could climb walls and fly over eaves, he could not get through the window with the silver ingots!
The warehouse door and door lock were intact, with no signs of being pried open. Moreover, to reach the warehouse door, one had to pass through three checkpoints. Even a fly could not fly past silently!

The detectives even thought about whether a hole had been dug, but no matter how they checked, even if they dug three feet into the ground, they could not find any trace of a hole.

After investigating the case over and over again, there was no clue. At that time, Mao Xiang, Liang Fu and other investigators all agreed that only a god could move the huge silver ingot out of the warehouse without anyone noticing.

However, this also triggered another speculation, that is, everyone in the warehouse that night, including the warehouse manager, guards, and even the deputy director of the Ministry of Revenue, were in collusion with each other, otherwise this matter would never have been possible!

But if this is true, then this case is not as simple as theft, but an attempt at treason!

Of course, the speculation of collective conspiracy was quickly ruled out, because it was simply impossible to do so. As long as the background of the guards and warehouse managers was checked, everything would be clear, and the more people involved, the easier it would be to reveal flaws.

The matter ended when a scholar outside the city who was either unlucky or lucky found one of the silver ingots. His Majesty thought it was too unbelievable, so he closed the case and awarded the silver ingot to the scholar.

But now that Your Majesty has brought up the case again, has there been any new discovery, or is this matter related to a more secretive incident?

As His Majesty's number one lackey and the head of the Ming intelligence system, Mao Xiang's political sense is extremely keen. His Majesty has brought up this matter again, so there must be a deep reason behind it, or even... a conspiracy?
But he was in charge of the most powerful intelligence system in the Ming Dynasty, but he didn't receive any news at all. It can be seen how terrifying this matter is!
Thinking of this, Mao Xiang couldn't help but feel a chill on his back, and his body was already covered in cold sweat!
Like Mao Xiang, Liang Fu also thought of a lot of things. He looked at Mao Xiang and saw fear and disbelief in each other's eyes.

Although the two were trying their best to conceal their expressions, Zhu Yuanzhang still saw their reactions. It was normal for them to feel shocked when he suddenly brought up an old and strange case in front of them.

"As for this case, one of you is the commander of the Yiluansi and the other is the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture. As the officials in charge of investigating this case, you should still remember it clearly. I would like to ask you, what else is strange about this case?"

Strange places? There are too many. Mao Xiang and Liang Fu explained their investigation process and understanding to Zhu Yuanzhang in detail.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang had no expression on his face. He already knew all of this. He shook his head in dissatisfaction, "You're talking about something I don't know!"

Does Your Majesty think that you are hiding something?

They both cried out in their hearts at the same time, "Oh no!"
Your Majesty already knows everything I know. How can I know what Your Majesty doesn't know?

Liang Fu racked his brains and forced himself to recall every detail of the investigation of the case, fearing that he had missed something. However, eight years had passed and his memory of many details had become vague.

I was about to confess my crime to His Majesty, go back to check the files and report to His Majesty, but I didn't expect Mao Xiang to suddenly speak:

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die. There was indeed one thing in this case that was overlooked by all the people investigating the case at the time. At that time, everyone's attention was on the silver ingots, and no one paid attention to this little thing. Now that Your Majesty has reminded me, I think back and it feels even more incredible!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately aroused the strong curiosity of Zhu Yuanzhang and Liang Fu, and even Wei Junmin, who had been standing aside and not caring about the matter, became interested.

Liang Fu was muttering in his heart that Mao Xiang was worthy of being the number one hawk and dog under His Majesty's command. His meticulous mind was beyond his reach.

First, he confessed his mistake to His Majesty, then pushed the blame on everyone else, then he flattered His Majesty calmly and took the credit for himself, and finally pointed out the peculiarity of the incident to arouse His Majesty's interest and divert his attention.

These are all ways to be an official. You have to learn them, and learn them hard!

(End of this chapter)