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

Chapter 241 His Majesty Grants Me the Right to Act Expediently
The Chai family arrived so quickly.

Moreover, the one sent was Chai Lingwu, that good-for-nothing.

In terms of relationship, Wen He and he should be considered brothers-in-law.

He will marry Li Shimin's seventh daughter, Princess Baling, who is probably only two or three years old now.

The reason Wen He thought he was a good-for-nothing was because of his family background and Li Shimin's longing for Princess Pingyang.

If he had been honest and upright, he might have been given an important position by Li Er.

However, he placed his bets on Li Tai, believing that after Li Chengqian became crippled, Li Shimin would quickly tire of the crown prince and send the future Prince Wei, Li Tai, to the throne.

That wouldn't have been a problem. If he had behaved himself after Li Zhi ascended the throne, it would have been fine. But he just had to court death.

Not only did he die, but he also allowed Changsun Wuji to use his rebellion to eliminate his political opponents.

They almost stripped Li Zhi of his power.

The death of Li Daozong caused the imperial clan to lose control of military power.

Fortunately, Li Ji stood by Li Zhi's side; otherwise, Emperor Gaozong of Tang would probably not have been able to sleep at night.

"The heir of the Duke of Qiao is the grandson of the retired emperor and the nephew of His Majesty. He must not be neglected," Xu Jingzong kindly reminded Wen He when he saw that she had not reacted for a long time.

Wen He glanced at him and tapped the table lightly with her finger.

"We are the Hundred Riders."

Xu Jingzong was taken aback upon hearing this, and coughed lightly twice, deliberately putting on a stern face.

Seeing this, Wen He couldn't help but laugh.

Is it that Old Xu is worrying too much, or that he hasn't evolved into the "treacherous minister" who will only be a tool in the emperor's hand in the future?

As a member of the Hundred Cavalry, his first task was to ignore all the powerful and influential people.

In other words, it means being a so-called "lone minister".

Regardless of the outcome, as long as Lao Xu knows when to advance and when to retreat, he will enjoy wealth and honor for at least a decade.

And this is exactly what Lao Xu wanted.

Otherwise, given his background, it would be like climbing to the heavens for him to advance further.

"Let him wait outside."

Chai Lingwu must have come today to plead for Chai Zhao.

However, the evidence against the latter has not yet been fully investigated, so Wen He will absolutely not let him in.

Otherwise, who knows if he would act like some kind of scion of a prominent family and try to forcibly take Chai Zhao away.

A conflict is bound to occur then.

Xu Jingzong sat upright, showing no intention of refuting Wen He.

Upon seeing this, the 100 riders who had come in to report had no choice but to retreat.

Outside the Commander's Mansion, Chai Lingwu paced impatiently, his hands behind his back, his eyes occasionally glancing at the hundred cavalrymen blocking his way in.

Before he came, his father had instructed him not to have any conflict with the Hundred Riders.

We should not underestimate Wen He either.

He knew that his father was wary of the Hundred Riders and was also worried that he would offend His Majesty because of it.

So after he arrived, he obediently sent someone in to report.

But so much time has passed, and still no one has come out to invite him in.

He glanced into the gate a few times, but was firmly blocked by the hundred riders.

at this time.

The hundred riders who had just gone in came out.

Upon seeing this, a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Does the magistrate of Gaoyang want to see me?"

"Young Master Chai and Chief Secretary Wen have asked you to wait here."

"what?"

Chai Lingwu stared wide-eyed in disbelief, pointed at himself, and asked the hundred riders, "Did you tell him in detail who I am?"

"I did," Baiqi nodded.

His serious expression made Chai Lingwu clench his fists in surprise.

Is Wen He underestimating someone?
He's just a nobody from a small county!
A surge of anger rose in Chai Lingwu's heart.

But seeing the hundred riders outside, he suppressed his anger and held back.

at the same time.

The account books from the Jingzhao Military Command were all delivered to Wen He.

"let's start."

He stretched and then began to examine the area.

Xu Jingzong personally helped him record it.

The ledger I checked earlier was the military register of Huizhou this year, but Chai Zhao has certainly been the military commander here for several years.

He could not possibly have embezzled only once.

It wasn't until two hours later that Wen He and Xu Jingzong stopped.

Looking at the numbers he had recorded, Xu Jingzong broke out in a cold sweat.

"Thirty-five thousand six hundred strings of cash were missing, and the grain and fodder distributed to the army were reduced by a full two thousand bushels."

His hand holding the pen trembled slightly, and the pen fell onto the paper, leaving a blot of ink.

"Go and summon Chai Zhao."

Xu Jingzong was furious.

But before he could finish speaking, Wen He stopped him.

"Call him here, but he'll deny it no matter what. What will you do then, Lao Xu?"

"What do you think we should do?"

Xu Jingzong knew from Wen He's words that he must have a plan in mind.

So he simply sat back down and waited to see how Wen He would handle it.

"First, go and summon the Chief Clerk and the Military Advisor."

Wen He said it casually.

When the hundred riders came in to search, they had already taken down all the officials in the commander's mansion and imprisoned them in a side room.

However, they and Chai Zhao were on separate premises.

This was also Wen He's intention, to prevent these people from colluding to give false testimony.

Before long, two middle-aged men, whose armor had been removed, were brought in.

The two men's legs were so weak that they could only walk by being pulled along by the riders.

His face was full of guilt.

Wen He picked up an account book and walked over.

When did you two both start your positions?

The two looked up at Wen He.

Although they were surprised that a child was the one asking the questions, they did not look down on him in the slightest.

The one on the left answered first: "This humble official is... I came here to serve as the Chief Clerk in the seventh year of the Wude era."

"I am the same, I am the same."

In the seventh year of the Wude era, Li Yuan reformed the system, changing the original Chariot and Cavalry General's Office, which was under the jurisdiction of the Flying Cavalry Office, into the Commander's Office.

Therefore, the Commander-in-Chief was also known as the General of the Flying Cavalry.

However, the significance of this General of the Cavalry was far different from that of the Han Dynasty.

"The seventh year of the Wude era."

Wen He chuckled, opened the ledger in her hand, flipped through a few pages, and then held it out to the two of them.

"In the seventh year of the Wude era, the Ministry of Revenue allocated 2,300 shi of grain, of which 70% was lost. The amount of compensation issued was as high as 17,200 guan. At that time, the Jingzhao Military Command only dispatched 4,000 soldiers. Even if all of them had died in battle, they would not have needed so much money!"

His sudden shout startled the two men, turning their faces deathly pale.

The chief clerk quickly shook his head and retorted, "I...I didn't know. The pensions for the seventh year of Wude were all handled by the previous chief clerk. I was in charge of the eighth year of Wude."

"Oh, the eighth year of Wude, I misunderstood you then." Wen He smiled and patted his shoulder, then turned a few more pages of the account book.

"In the eighth year of the Wude era, the Jingzhao Military Command dispatched 6,000 soldiers, costing 60,000 strings of cash in provisions. After the war, rewards and pensions for soldiers of all ranks totaled 203,600 strings of cash. Also, the ninth year of the Wude era was also your year, wasn't it... the ninth year of the Wude era..."

As Wen He recited the numbers, the chief clerk was already drenched in sweat.

"You're a military advisor, so you're in charge of deployments, right?"

Wen He suddenly turned his attention to the military advisor.

The latter paused for a moment, then nodded in fear.

“Since that’s the case, I won’t scare you anymore. If you tell me how much you took, I can promise that your crime will be reduced by one degree. If he tells you first, your crime will be increased by one degree.”

Wen He put away the ledger and looked at him with a smile.

The military advisor was stunned. He thought Wen He would question him with the ledger, just like before.

But unexpectedly, he undermined the cause.

"the same as you."

Wen He glanced at the chief clerk.

"Your humble servant, your humble servant, your humble servant took one, one thousand."

"I will send someone to investigate. If you are short by even a single coin, I will cut off a piece of your flesh. Don't think I dare not do it. His Majesty has promised me that I can act as I see fit."

Wen He stood with his hands behind his back, smiling kindly.

The two men immediately narrowed their eyes in fright. How could this young man say such terrifying things?

"You won't talk, huh? Fine, Zhang Wenxiao!"

"Be humble!"

“I will tell you, I will tell you. I have taken at least seven thousand strings of cash in the past few years, four thousand of which were given to my superiors as tribute.”

The first to shout it out was the military advisor.

"Old Xu, send someone to investigate," Wen He said calmly.

Xu Jingzong, who was sitting there enjoying tea and watching the play, hesitated for a moment, then came to his senses and sent someone to the home of the military advisor.

"Bring him paper and pen, and make him recount in detail the bribes, the bribes he received, and where the money went. If he can't remember anything, break one of his fingers."

"Spare me! Sir, spare me!"

The military advisor was dragged aside, his writing brush and ink placed on the ground, without even a table.

He could only bend over and write.

"It's your turn. Tell me, or should I investigate?" Wen He looked at the chief clerk.

The chief secretary trembled uncontrollably, his heart filled with hesitation, but just as Wen He was losing patience, he finally chose to speak.

"I'm reporting this! I'm reporting this!"

"what!!!"

A piercing scream suddenly rang out inside the commander's mansion.

Chai Lingwu, who was cursing Wen He in his heart at the door, was startled.

"What happened in there?"

He came to his senses and hurriedly asked the Hundred Riders.

The hundred guards stood as still as pine trees, and wouldn't even speak to him unless he got close.

As soon as he gets close, the hundred riders will draw their swords.

Chai Lingwu couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Just then, someone suddenly entered from inside the door.

"Is the young master of the Chai family here?"

Upon hearing this, Chai Lingwu was overjoyed, and his gloom instantly vanished. He quickly stepped forward and said, "I'm here, I'm here."

"Chief Secretary Wen requests your presence."

The 100 riders spoke with a cold face.

Chai Lingwu breathed a sigh of relief; he had originally thought he would be left hanging for a while longer.

It seems that Wen He doesn't dare to neglect him too much.

He straightened his robes and strode towards the commander's mansion.

When he arrived at the main hall, the scene before him made him turn pale.

Chai Zhao was bound to a pillar, with a long wooden plank beneath him and his feet positioned at the base of the plank.

Someone is constantly placing bricks under his feet.

Chai Zhao's eyes were bloodshot with pain as he struggled desperately.

'What kind of criminal law is this?'

Chai Lingwu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

If Wen He knew what he was thinking at that moment, she would definitely tell him that this was called the tiger bench.

It's a pity there were no stools, so we could only make a makeshift one.

Suppressing his shock, Chai Lingwu looked for Wen He and Xu Jingzong.

Of all the people present, Wen He was the easiest to recognize, and the person sitting next to him must be Xu Jingzong.

"Chai Lingwu met with Xu, the magistrate of Gaoyang County."

"Young Master Chai, have you come here today for Chai Zhao?" Xu Jingzong asked in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Chai Lingwu smiled and said, "Although Chai Zhao is a collateral branch of the Chai family, he is still a member of the Chai family. Since he has violated the law, his crime is naturally unforgivable. Therefore, the Chai family is willing to redeem him and make up for the money he has embezzled."

Just as Chai Lingwu was speaking eloquently...

Wen He was carefully examining him.

Historically, it is said that Chai Lingwu was a handsome young man, over eight feet tall.

However, he should only be about fourteen or fifteen years old at this time.

Although there is no historical record of when Princess Pingyang Zhao and Chai Shao got together, there is a record that when they got married, Chai Shao was only a Qianniu Beishen.

Therefore, when the two got married, it should have been before the Sui Dynasty was completely in chaos.

"Fill in?"

Wen He found it all laughable.

He pointed at Chai Zhao and said, "This man was transferred here in the seventh year of the Wude era. In the past few years, he has embezzled more than 100,000 taels of silver. According to his confession, some of the money was given as tribute to Duke Huo. I wonder how you, young master, explain this?"

"what?"

Chai Lingwu was greatly surprised.

He quickly shook his head in denial: "There must be some misunderstanding. My father is a high-ranking official of the country. How could he accept money from such a petty person? This is slander!"

“He said it was slander.” Wen He turned to look at Chai Zhao.

One of the hundred riders beside him suddenly took out a brick, while another hundred riders forcefully lifted Chai Zhao's leg.

A heart-wrenching scream was heard.

"It's been given, it's been given, it's really been given, 50,000 strings of cash a year! It's about to stop, it's about to stop!"

Wen He nodded, then turned back to look at Chai Lingwu and smiled, "He said he gave it, totaling 100,000 from the seventh year of Wude to this year. I wonder how Young Master Chai explains this?"

A bead of cold sweat suddenly dripped down Chai Lingwu's forehead, his eyes filled with fear.

He now seemed to understand why his father hadn't sent his elder brother, but had sent him instead.

"I am unaware of this matter."

“Then please go back and ask your father. I will give him one night. If I do not see the 100,000 strings of cash by morning tomorrow, I will personally lead a hundred cavalrymen to collect it.”

Wen He's tone was calm and unhurried, but Chai Lingwu felt as if a knife was held to his neck.

He looked at the hundred riders around him, their faces solemn, without the slightest hesitation.

It seemed that as long as Wen He gave the order, they would really dare to break into the Duke Huo's mansion.

“Wenxianzi, your late mother was Princess Zhao!”

Chai Lingwu gritted his teeth, hoping to salvage some face.

Upon hearing this, Xu Jingzong quickly reminded Wen He with his eyes, worried that the latter might say something reckless.

That's Princess Pingyang Zhao!

“If it weren’t for my respect for the princess, I would have taken you directly to the Duke of Huo’s mansion just now. Go back and tell your father that His Majesty has given me the authority to act as I see fit, and I can even take down a prince.”

The amount of money embezzled by the Jingzhao Military Command alone was a full 760,000 strings of cash, not including the grain and military horses that were also embezzled.

This amount of money was enough to enrage Li Shimin.

Not to mention the military headquarters in other places.

Chai Lingwu was taken aback, realizing that he couldn't persuade Wen He.

He bowed and then took his leave.

Will the Huo Kingdom's guild bring the money?

He had no choice.

Chai Shao was a clever man, at least that's what the historical records say.

Therefore, Wenhe believed he would make the right choice.

"Alright, next one." Wen He looked at Chai Zhao and asked with a smile.

Chai Zhao gave money to Chai Shao because he was a member of the same clan, a duke, and a relative of the emperor.

This can at most be considered a friendly relationship.

Wen He absolutely did not believe that Chai Zhao dared to embezzle such a large sum of money without having connections.

Chai Zhao hesitated and dared not speak.

Wen He knew he was nearing his limit, so she got up, walked over to him, and pulled a brick from under his feet, which relieved him.

"This is my sincerity. Now it's your turn to offer your sincerity. How about this, I'll give you a hint: let's start with the Ministry of War, from the smallest to the largest. You can speak slowly."

Wen He smiled like an innocent child asking an adult a question.

Despite his pale face, Chai Zhao felt as if he had fallen into an icy pool.

He gritted his teeth, hesitating.

Seeing this, Wen He sighed helplessly: "Fine, since you don't appreciate my good intentions, then forget it."

He shook his head and took a few steps back.

“Remove his armor, and prick his skin with a needle every other breath.”

"You, you can't do this! I am a General of the Cavalry, a fourth-rank military officer!"

Chai Zhao screamed in terror.

Wen He asked him calmly, "To tell or not to tell?"

Just then, a hundred riders brought over the needles.

These are not embroidery needles; each needle is over a foot long.

Looking at the needles, Chai Zhao trembled uncontrollably. After struggling for a while, he finally burst into tears with red eyes and said, "Speak, I will speak."

(End of this chapter)