Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 240 I am honest and upright, with clean hands and a strong sense of justice.

"How dare you! Who dares to touch me!"

The middle-aged man suddenly sprang to his feet, and as two riders rushed forward to capture him, he drew his sword and confronted them.

He suddenly shouted, pointing at Wen He, "On what grounds do you arrest me!"

"Just because you embezzled military funds, drank the blood of soldiers, and oppressed meritorious officers and soldiers."

Wen He looked at him coldly.

The middle-aged man retorted, "Nonsense, do you have any evidence?"

With so many witnesses present, I have the authority to take you down.

Even without so many witnesses, Wen He could still take him down.

The words spoken by the old man and the young man to Li Shimin earlier were enough to bring down the commander-in-chief before him.

"A bunch of lowly commoners, yet you actually took down someone for him? That person's cousin is the Duke of Huo!"

He looked at Wen He in disbelief.

Which official in this world would stand up for these lowly people?

"Crossbow!"

Wen He didn't give him a friendly look at all, and raised her hand to shout.

"what!"

The middle-aged man was startled; he never expected Wen He to be so unethical.

Only then did he draw his sword and actually use a crossbow to fight him.

"Quickly, come and protect me!"

The middle-aged man roared at the guards.

But the soldiers just stood there, motionless.

Putting aside whether they could handle a hundred riders, even if they could, they wouldn't dare.

These people were all close associates of the emperor.

If they were to take action, and were subsequently charged with treason, they would be finished.

Seeing that no one came forward to help him, the middle-aged man was filled with despair.

A hundred riders, armed with bows and crossbows, glared at him menacingly. He gritted his teeth and had no choice but to drop his sword.

"Take it!"

Wen He immediately shouted, and several hundred riders rushed forward and pinned him down.

"Go, quickly send someone to find my elder brother; he will naturally stand up for me!"

The middle-aged man still wouldn't give up.

Many people were tempted by this opportunity, and seeing that the riders weren't paying attention, a few of them secretly slipped away.

"Young master, should we take him down?" Zhang Wenxiao asked with some concern upon seeing this.

Wen He shook her head: "No need. Go in and ask him where he lives. Also, search his residence and see if there are any account books."

After saying that, Wen He walked up to the middle-aged man.

"By the way, I haven't asked your name yet?"

"My name is Chai Zhao, and I come from the Chai family of Taiyuan. How dare you try to take me down!"

Although he was being held down by several hundred riders, he was still struggling.

It must be said that his strength was indeed extraordinary; it took three hundred riders to barely keep him steady.

Wen He knew that Chai Zhao was trying to use her background to threaten her.

But what's the use?
Let's not even talk about how the Chai family has fallen into decline and no longer has the power it had at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

He dared to fight even Changsun Chong and Dugu Chen, so what makes you think you can?

Wen He scoffed, completely disregarding his threat.

"Find iron chains to tie him up. Dugu Chen said he is from the Chai family of Taiyuan, so you, the Dugu family member, will be in charge of keeping watch over him. If he runs away, I'll cut off your head."

Dugu Chen, who was suddenly called out, was taken aback for a moment, then nodded happily and said, "Yes."

I originally thought I was just here to make up the numbers, but I didn't expect to have such a good thing happen.

He immediately jumped off his horse and walked over with the two brothers from the Wu family.

"What's so great about the Chai family? Little Yeye belongs to the Dugu family. If you dare to run, I'll break your legs!"

Dugu Chen, this spoiled brat, finally has a chance to show his true colors. But his arrogant demeanor is just asking for a beating.

Wen He couldn't help but slap him on the head: "Stop talking nonsense and take him inside."

Dugu Chen covered his head and gave Wen He a reproachful look, but dared not utter a word of dissent. He could only obey his orders and let the Wu brothers escort Chai Zhao into the commander's mansion.

This sudden turn of events left Ge Er and the others frozen in place, too terrified to move.

They only thought that Wen He would help them appeal to the emperor, but they never expected that the latter would actually arrest Chai Zhao.

"What a benefactor!"

Suddenly, Fang Da knelt down in front of Wen He.

Caught off guard, Wen He was about to stop him when she saw the others kneeling down one after another.

"Get up, all of you! What are you doing? Get up quickly! Someone, help them all up!"

With so many people, Wen He simply couldn't help them all.

Upon hearing this, the hundred riders behind him quickly joined him in helping all the people in front of them to their feet.

"You should all go back now. The imperial court will give you an explanation for this matter in the future."

These people were all carrying swords. Wen He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had arrived a moment later.

At that time, these people will not only fail to get their money, but they will also likely be accused of treason.

“Wen He, I’ve wronged you before. If you can help Uncle Ge get the compensation this time, you can eat as many chickens as you want whenever you come to my house.”

Ge Er held Wen He's arm, his eyes filled with tears.

Wen He was initially touched, but after hearing his next words, she was left speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Don't worry, the compensation will be issued soon. The imperial court will not mistreat those heroes."

Wen He sighed helplessly.

Once we get back, we need to get Li Shimin to distribute the money first.

We can't just let these soldiers waste their time like this.

Although the national treasury was empty, Li Shimin's personal treasury was.

All that silver that Japan sent us before, we didn't spend a single penny of it.

However, before that, we still need to investigate this Chai Zhao.

The Hundred Riders were simple and brutal in their methods.

Since the target is clear that Chai Zhao is definitely corrupt, there's no need for interrogation; just search his home and his official residence.

Only half an hour.

Zhang Wenxiao then returned with his men.

"Reporting to the young master, a total of six thousand strings of copper coins were found in his house. In addition, here are his household account books."

Xu Jingzong, who was drinking tea at the head of the table, was taken aback.

"How come it's only six thousand strings of cash?"

He couldn't help but panic a little. Although six thousand strings of cash was a lot, it was nothing to someone from a prominent family.

If the conviction is based solely on this money, I'm afraid few people will be convinced.

"Old Xu, if you were embezzling, would you openly display the money?" Wen He asked with a dismissive smile.

Upon hearing this, Xu Jingzong's expression changed immediately, and he hurriedly replied.

"What do you mean by 'corruption'? Jia Ying, you can't misunderstand this. I'm completely incorruptible and upright..."

"Alright, alright, we know you're honest. Actually, we don't need to find evidence of his embezzlement at all. We just need to find evidence that he didn't distribute the pensions."

Wen He took out the roster from the table.

"This roster is completely blank. Not a single person has come to collect their pay and sign the form. During the battle of Huizhou, the local government conscripted 3,000 soldiers, and a total of 60,000 strings of cash disappeared without a trace. How does Chai Zhao explain this?"

Does this require any more evidence?

Even if no evidence can be found against Chai Zhao, the crime of dereliction of duty alone is enough to dismiss him.

Hearing this, Xu Jingzong finally felt a little relieved.

Just then, a hundred riders suddenly entered from outside.

"Reporting to the military advisor, young master, a young master has arrived outside. He claims to be the son of Duke Huo, named Chai Lingwu."

(End of this chapter)