Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 427: Embezzlement of Military Funds and Disguise of Disappearance
"This" Li Weidong was stuck again.

"Oh! Why don't you just say it?" Sun Yuerong was getting really annoyed. He much preferred the conversations in the Judicial Department's prison, where the answer came just by waving a whip, to those hesitant questions. "I'm telling you, Li Laicai has been apprehended. If he vomits and you don't, it'll be a lot of fun."

"Li Laicai was arrested!?" Li Weidong was shocked.

"I'll be here soon. If you want to see him, I can arrange a meeting tonight. However," Sun Yuerong paused and smiled sinisterly, "I'm afraid the meeting place won't be in this central army tent."

"There is nothing good for me to see him." Li Weidong shook his head repeatedly.

"Hmph." Sun Yuerong sneered, then looked around at the other three. "What exactly is 'business'?"

The three of them looked around, looked at each other, and all shook their heads in confusion.

"The 'business' was discussed privately with Li Laicai and his team." Li Weidong frowned. "They weren't present."

"Finally, he's willing to talk." Sun Yuerong clenched his fists. If he could get a solid confession from Li Weidong, his contribution would be greater when it came time to award merit. "What business did he want to discuss with you? Tell me more! Don't talk nonsense for so long without being able to tell the truth."

"Alas." Li Weidong sighed again, his features twisted. "Li Laicai wants me to cooperate with him in embezzling the military pay that was shipped to Liaodong in the middle of the month. And then disguise it as a loss."

"Great!" Sun Yuerong couldn't help but clap her hands. "These shit-eating bastards have even set their sights on the palace!"

"What do you say?" Sun Chengzong also closed the book in his hand.

"Of course I absolutely refuse!" Li Weidong said firmly, "This isn't a deal at all. It's a disaster that will wipe out your entire family. Even if I had ten more guts, I wouldn't dare agree to this!"

"Since you didn't agree to him, then why were you hesitating and silent for a long time just now?" Sun Yuerong followed up with an inquiry.

"Well, I'm just a nobody. I've been involved in this life-threatening situation. I'm panicking." Li Weidong couldn't laugh or cry. He couldn't just say he wanted to test the two men's intentions and then act accordingly.

"Are you panicking? I think you want to excuse them?" Sun Yuerong rolled his eyes at Li Weidong.

"No, absolutely not! I haven't met them many times, let alone relatives, so there's no need to make excuses for them." Li Weidong said with an apologetic smile, "Just like you said, not having any relatives is a blessing."

"Captain Sun, let's talk about the case." Sun Yuerong was about to say something, but Sun Chengzong interrupted him. "If Li Youji was really involved, he wouldn't be standing here so obediently for us to question him."

"Yes, yes!" Li Weidong gave Sun Chengzong a grateful look. "I have absolutely no part in this disaster that will wipe out my descendants."

"Even if we don't talk about the supply ship, there were still people from his coastal defense camp on the grain and cargo ships that 'drifted away,'" Sun Yuerong nodded, then cast a suspicious look back at Li Weidong. "Li Youji, how do you intend to explain this?"

"Did they also sink those two ships?" Li Weidong asked in confusion.

"You're asking me back?" Sun Yuerong said with a smile.

"I really don't know!" Li Weidong said with a sad face.

"Then tell me in detail what you know." Sun Chengzong said.

"Don't try to lie and hide anything." Sun Yuerong stretched out her hand and pointed at Li Weidong unceremoniously. "If you don't tell others, they will."

"Han Zhongqi!" Li Weidong turned his head suddenly.

"Here!" As soon as Han Zhongqi heard about the sinking of grain and cargo ships, he knew Li Weidong was about to call his name. But even though he'd expected it, when his name was actually called, Han Zhongqi felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to his scalp. Li Weidong's bloodshot gaze was truly terrifying.

"Those soldiers on board are all your men!" Li Weidong's voice was like the growl of a wild animal. "What's going on? Explain it to the two superiors immediately!"

"What can I possibly know? I'd better ask Captain Xiang." Han Zhongqi turned his head to look at Xiang Shijun. "Last month, all the shipboard work was handled by his department."

Wang Yi'e, who was standing opposite Xiang Shijun, breathed a sigh of relief. He thought to himself: Fortunately, it's not my people who are taking the shift.

"Okay, that's it, right?" Sun Yuerong still stared at Li Weidong.

"Xiang Shijun, what's going on? Tell me quickly!" Li Weidong stared at Xiang Shijun viciously.

Xiang Shijun was so frightened he almost peed himself. "I was just following the usual practice of sending someone to the ship to supervise. Then the Ministry of Revenue sent someone to say the ship might have drifted away and asked if my people had returned. I replied that they hadn't. Then we sent people to the soldiers' homes to look for them, but they couldn't find them, so... we just followed the usual practice."

At this point, Xiang Shijun's scalp went numb. He had intended to report and reimburse the soldiers according to the usual procedure, but to collect more unpaid wages, Xiang Shijun hadn't reimbursed the soldiers who disappeared with the ship. Especially the three men who had disappeared with the grain ship first. Shortly after the Ministry of Revenue officially confirmed the loss and sent compensation, the Coast Guard Battalion issued its monthly rations as usual. Xiang Shijun pocketed all the rations that should have been paid to those three men.

"So you just eat these people's monthly rations according to the rules." When Sun Chengzong saw Xiang Shijun's expression, he guessed what he meant.

"Yes." Although Sun Chengzong's voice was calm, Xiang Shijun still felt a huge pressure. "I was greedy and withheld their monthly rations from last month, but I didn't take their pensions! I gave all the pensions allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to their families."

"Who cares about you?" Sun Yuerong didn't care whether he was taking advantage of someone else's misfortune or not. "Go on!"

"I, a humble official, have nothing more to say." Xiang Shijun wiped the sweat from his forehead with his wide sleeves. "I failed to find the missing person, so I sent someone to report to the Ministry of Revenue. Afterwards, the Ministry of Revenue approved the preparation of a list of missing persons, and the pensions were also issued. After I received the silver, I sent someone to deliver it to his family. As for whether there are other twists and turns in the story, I really know nothing about it." "Let me tell you, we have already caught those people. If they had bitten you out, they would not be questioning you like this now." Sun Yuerong stared at Xiang Shijun like a vulture staring at rotten meat.

"I have never seen them at all! If I was accused of something, it must be a false accusation made by a desperate person." Xiang Shijun was about to cry.

"How do you prove that you haven't seen them?" Sun Yuerong asked.

"How can you prove this?" Xiang Shijun was stunned by the question. From ancient times to the present, proving one's innocence has always been difficult.

"Guerrilla Li." Sun Chengzong knocked on the table with his knuckles, putting a temporary pause on this digression.

"I'm here." Li Weidong responded sternly.

Sun Chengzong asked, "When did these people, led by Li Laicai, come to see you?"

"When they first came to me," Li Weidong's thoughts were in a tangle. He frowned and sorted them out for a long time before he could barely recall the specific date of his meeting with Li Laicai and the others from the fragments of details. "It was the 26th of last month. When we first met, they didn't mention any 'business', and I only had a meal with them. The next day, they came again. Although this time they still didn't mention business, they only said that grain prices in Liaodong had dropped, and asked if there was any way I could help with the increase. I felt a little uneasy and replied that there was nothing I could do. They left without saying anything more."

"They didn't come on the third day, but they came back on the fourth. This time, they started by telling me about the 'embezzlement of military pay and the disguised sinking of ships.' They said they had already secured connections with the military pay department, and if the Coast Guard Battalion would just turn a blind eye and let the pay ships 'sink,' they would pay me five thousand taels of silver per ship. I refused, so they kept coming. Each time they came, they raised the price a little. The last time they came, the reward for each ship had been raised to ten thousand taels. But I still refused, and kept stalling them. Then, the two superiors arrived."

"They have come to you to negotiate the price again and again, but have you ever thought about reporting it?" Sun Yuerong asked.

"Oh my!" Li Weidong instinctively wanted to lie, saying he'd considered reporting the case, but on second thought, a little more sincerity would be better. "I'm just a lowly general. Even a piece of mud dug from the Marquis's fingernails could crush me to death. I was afraid and didn't dare report the case. But I never considered colluding with them and engaging in such a devastating business that would wipe out my entire family."

"What is the joint of the Ministry of Finance?" Sun Chengzong had been paying attention since Li Weidong said this word.

"I also asked them this question. But maybe because I have always refused to agree, they were very vague in their answers." Li Weidong shook his head and said, "I guess they might be talking about the people in charge of shipping. Of course, it could also be..." Li Weidong stopped talking halfway.

Sun Chengzong did not ask further questions. He nodded slightly and said, "I want you to write down your answer as a signed confession."

"Yes!" Li Weidong agreed immediately. "I can write it now."

"very good."

--------

In the evening, two large sedan chairs stopped at the gate of the left wing of the Tianjin Governor's Camp. Cui Yuan, the Chief Justice of the Eastern Depot, and Li Changgeng, the Minister of Revenue, who was in charge of Liao military supplies, lifted the curtains and stepped out. Because Sun Chengzong had already given the order, Cui Yuan flashed his badge, and the guards at the gate led the two men all the way to the central army tent under the royal banner.

When the guards drew aside the curtain of the tent, Sun Chengzong immediately stood up. He walked over to Li Changgeng, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant greets Li Shao Si Tu." Li Changgeng held the title of Minister of Revenue, two ranks higher than Sun Chengzong, the Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. "Your humble servant greets Cui Si Zheng."

Cui Yuan was not as polite as he was when they met in the morning. He just nodded and walked towards the chair where Sun Chengzong had previously sat.

"Sun Zhisheng, it's been a long time since we last met." Ever since he passed the imperial examination in the 32nd year of the Wanli reign, Sun Chengzong had served in the Hanlin Academy in Beijing. Aside from two occasions when he took leave to return home, he remained virtually in Beijing. In June of the 43rd year of the Wanli reign, Li Changgeng was promoted to the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Although his tenure was brief, lasting only eight months, he met many talented young men, including Sun Chengzong, who shone during the "Piercing Attack" incident.

Sun Chengzong heard a hint of complaint in Li Changgeng's tone, so he said, "I haven't been here for a long time. I hope Young Master Li will forgive me."

"You should have sent someone to greet me before you came. I could have prepared some wine for you to drink and chat with." Li Changgeng said.

"If I could have greeted you first, why not come directly to you to handle this matter?" Sun Chengzong was about to reply when Cui Yuan interrupted abruptly. "Sun Zhongcheng, don't you agree?"

Li Changgeng frowned when he heard this, and Cui Yuan almost had the word "distrust" written on his face.

Sun Chengzong didn't respond to Cui Yuan's question. He looked in the direction of the voice and found Cui Yuan sitting on the main seat with his legs crossed. Cui Yuan's behavior was too unusual, and it made him feel a little suspicious.

"Sun Zhongcheng, have all the people been arrested?" Cui Yuan asked with a smile.

"They've all been captured, twelve in total." Sun Chengzong nodded, raising his right hand and gesturing a few times. "They're tied up in the military tent over there." Shortly before Cui Yuan and Li Changgeng arrived, Mao Yuanyi, following the pre-arranged plan, had escorted Li Laicai and his men to the garrison.

"Twelve people." Cui Yuan asked, "Where's the coastal defense guerrilla Li Weidong? Has he been captured yet?"

"Guerrilla Li is also in the camp, but he is not tied up and can move freely," said Sun Chengzong.

"Can they move freely?" Cui Yuan narrowed his eyes. "So, you've ruled them out as suspects?"

"I wouldn't dare rashly declare them to be cleared of suspicion. Judging from the current situation, while Li Youji and his men have their own issues, have had contact with this gang of thieves, and even know what they're up to, they're not directly involved in this case. Of course, this is only a preliminary assessment made by Captain Sun and I after a brief interrogation. If we can find evidence proving they lied, this assessment can be overturned." Sun Chengzong pulled a long, folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Cui Yuan. "This is Li Youji's confession, signed and sealed. Chief Justice Cui, please take a look."

Cui Yuan's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously reached out and took the long piece of paper. "Thank you so much."

The contents of the confession were largely consistent with Li Weidong's previous statements, but compared to the simple oral account, this written description contained a great deal more detail. Cui Yuan nodded repeatedly, his lips curling up slightly. With this, they could at least convict Li Laicai and his group of the crime and sentence them to death.

(End of this chapter)