Who killed the Ming Dynasty?

"Road transport platform approved!"

Zhu Cilang bowed again.

"I have a brilliant plan that can recreate the crime scene and solve this major case."

He also believed Lian Guoshi's judgment that "the salary was stolen at the dock," but he wanted to take a different approach. Unlike Gao Jinzhong's recklessness, he intended to recreate the crime scene and search for key clues.

"Recreate the crime scene?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhenfei was stunned for a moment, his face full of bewilderment.

He subconsciously repeated the unheard-of words, his face filled with confusion.

The crime happened long ago, so how could it "reappear"?

Was this young man so terrified by the flash of the knife that he uttered such absurd words?

"Pfft—!"

Gao Jinzhong was taken aback at first, then burst into a contemptuous laugh:

"Hahaha!"

"You brat, do you think this is a theatrical performance? A crime scene reenactment?"

"You don't expect these worthless bastards to turn the money back into silver, do you?"

His personal guards behind him also joined in the laughter, looking at him as if he were a madman.

A hint of surprise flashed across Lian Guoshi's face.

Throughout his life, he experienced many ups and downs in his official career and was well-versed in laws and regulations, but he had never heard of such a method of investigation.

Recreate the scene?

The silver fossil is already bizarre, but with the passage of time, how can the scene be reconstructed?

But he remained calm and did not immediately refute the argument, wanting to hear how the young man could justify his statement.

Zhu Cilang remained unmoved and said loudly:

"Qingjiangpu Wharf is the site of the crime. The more than one hundred lives in front of us are the hundred pairs of eyes and ears that were present at the time of the crime."

He pointed to the people outside the hall.

"If you allow me to borrow the power of the Canal Administration to group the suspects by name and conduct thorough questioning, I will surely be able to uncover clues about the incident from among these hundred people and piece together the whole story of what happened."

He stepped forward, his five fingers gripping Gao Jinzhong's scabbard:

"What they see and hear is the only remaining clue in this case. If General Gao were to draw his sword now, it would be tantamount to burning the case files and cutting off his own trail."

Gao Jinzhong's laughter faltered.

Several white marks had already appeared on the boy's palm from being pressed against the scabbard.

"Please dispatch officers to investigate immediately and ensure that the truth of this case is revealed."

A damp, foul smell wafted from the canal and into the main hall.

Zhu Cilang's gaze passed through the doorway, and the crowd of heads that had been gathered outside the hall had now turned into a sea of ​​shivering shoulders.

The sound of sobbing rose and fell around him; those more than a hundred pairs of ears and eyes were his only hope at that moment.

He wanted to use what these people saw and heard to reconstruct the crime scene.

"The younger generation is truly formidable!"

Lu Zhenfei stroked his beard and pondered. Although he had never heard of this method before, upon closer examination, it did make sense.

He suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up:

"What a wonderful saying, 'what a hundred eyes see and a hundred ears hear,' truly a profound principle for investigating cases."

He raised his hand to stop Gao Jinzhong, who was about to speak.

"Having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for twenty years, I dare not be careless about even the smallest matters. It is truly remarkable that you, at such a young age, can grasp such crucial points."

As he spoke, he had already walked to Zhu Cilang's side:

"As you request, I will investigate this case using this method."

Suddenly turning around, he swung his scarlet robe sharply towards the hall:

"Zheng, the Councilor!"

Zheng Xuan, the Councilor of Transportation, strode forward:

"Your humble servant is here!"

"You are hereby ordered to lead the twelve chief clerks of the Transport Bureau to conduct a thorough investigation with 'one hundred eyes and one hundred ears,' recording every detail of what everyone present saw and heard, and submitting a report to the court before 3:45 AM."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Zheng Xuan clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed, and withdrew, accepting the order.

Gao Jinzhong glared, still wanting to seize control:

"Why bother the canal station? Leave this rough work to our garrison soldiers."

Lu Zhenfei's face darkened, and he no longer held back, directly using his power to intimidate others:

"All matters concerning the Grand Canal are to be managed by this Governor-General. Gao Yourong's words are presumptuous."

His voice turned cold.

"Even if General Liu himself came, he would still have to give me some face. Gao Yourong, do you not even care about the dignity of your superior?"

Zhu Cilang looked at Lu Zhenfei. He first emphasized the jurisdiction of the Canal Administration, and then brought up Shangguan Weiyi. It was clear that he was determined to take control of the investigation and prevent the military from abusing its power and disrupting the situation.

Lian Guoshi also spoke at the opportune moment, his voice steady:

"Gao Yourong previously insisted that the deadline was three-quarters past noon. At this moment, the sun's shadow is no more than three-quarters past morning."

His gaze swept towards the sundial outside the hall, where the shadow of the needle was clearly visible.

Gao Jinzhong glanced at the golden plaque above the hall that read "Frugality in Transporting Grain to Seven Provinces," his cheeks puffed out a few times, but he finally suppressed his anger:

"What you say is true, Junior Commander. I will naturally give face to the Road Transport Commissioner as well."

His leopard-like eyes widened, and he slammed his scabbard heavily to the ground.

"If the road transport station cannot find out the truth by noon, my five hundred Iron Falcons will have to be dealt with according to military law."

"Walk!"

Gao Jinzhong waved his hand and led his personal guards to the gate.

Just before stepping out the door, he suddenly paused, turned half his face to the side, and fixed his gaze on Zhu Cilang with murderous intent.

Then his voice rang out:

"Issue the order to surround the 'Grand Canal Transport Office'. Not a single bird is to be allowed to fly out without my written order."

Immediately, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, moving from near to far, clearly indicating that troops were being mobilized to surround the government office.

When Gao Jinzhong's men disappeared outside the screen wall, a slight blush finally appeared on Han Yuanming's round face.

He slumped onto the blue brick floor, his chest heaving violently.

Outside the hall, a collective gasp of relief, as if surviving a calamity, suddenly rose from the crowd.

However, this relaxation lasted only a moment, and the death knell was already hanging overhead at noon.

At this moment, the shadow of the sundial needle has just passed the third quarter of the Chen hour, and there are still two hours (4 hours) left.

Zhu Cilang looked at the people outside the hall. They were the only people he needed to focus on at this moment, and their only hope for breaking the deadlock.

If the truth cannot be uncovered, not only these common people, but also the crown prince who cannot prove his identity will be doomed.

Time was of the essence; he had to find a clue as soon as possible.

But solving this case in such a short time is no easy task.

Lu Zhenfei immediately ordered the canal administration to have its three shifts of yamen runners grouped according to the roster and question the dock dwellers one by one, in order to sort out the complexities from the messy threads.

However, the main duties of the Grand Canal Transport Office were to supervise the transport of grain and control the canal troops; criminal investigation was not its specialty.

Knowing that investigating a case required his personal presence at the scene, Zhu Cilang respectfully requested permission to proceed:

"The students earnestly request to personally inspect the place where the salary was paid, as they may be able to find clues."

Lu Zhenfei stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then tossed the silver fish talisman into his palm:

"Granted! Let the Junior Sima accompany you."

Zhu Cilang carried the tally and went with Lian Guoshi to Qingjiangpu Wharf.

Lu Zhenfei specially dispatched two officials to accompany him, and Gao Jinzhong also sent two soldiers with knives to accompany him, ostensibly to protect him, but in reality to monitor him.

The shadows of the red-robed civil officials and the black-armored military officers overlapped on the stone-paved road, like yin and yang fish swimming towards the dock.

After turning past the white stone lion archway at the three-way intersection, the unique damp smell of the canal suddenly became stronger.

Ahead, a row of giant granaries stood like crouching beasts, their thick, silent bluestone walls gleaming.

Lian Guoshi stopped in front of the third room on the right and pointed to the two seals on the door:

"This place is where the payment was settled. It has been sealed in accordance with the inspection regulations. You should examine it carefully, young master."

The animal heads on the door knocker look a bit worn.

The official removed the seal, took out the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it forcefully.

With a "click," the door was pushed open, and a smell mixed with dust and a faint musty odor rushed out.

Zhu Cilang covered his face with his sleeve and waited for the dust to settle before entering the warehouse.

The warehouse was dimly lit, with only a few beams of light filtering through the high windows, cutting through the swirling dust.

After a moment of adjustment, the scene before him was awe-inspiring:

Inside the five-zhang square warehouse, the "payment boxes" with their lids open were piled up haphazardly, and the boxes were filled with stones, almost filling half of the warehouse.

He silently calculated in his mind:

The 180,000 taels of silver, according to the Ministry of Revenue's regulations, each box should contain 2,000 taels of silver, totaling 90 boxes.

Each box weighs 125 jin (approximately 62.5 kg) net, with a total weight exceeding 11,000 jin (approximately 6,500 kg).

He could hardly imagine what a massive undertaking it would take to replace such a huge amount of silver with stone.

Under such tight surveillance, this was almost an impossible task.

As his gaze swept over the ruins of the "stone silver", he suddenly remembered Gao Jinzhong's earlier words. Could it be that this batch of silver had been switched before it was even shipped from Nanjing?

Otherwise, how can such a bizarre phenomenon be explained?

If it were truly a robbery of silver, why not simply transport it away instead of going through all the trouble of exchanging stones for silver?

This question arose in Zhu Cilang's mind, leaving him completely baffled.

What kind of scheme is hidden behind this exchange of stones for silver?