If you don't bring disaster to the world, what kind of henchman are you to be?

Later, through his conversation with Zhang Sanshi, Zhu Qingcai gradually understood the details of the case.

It all started with a spy from the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the garrison of Beijing. He reported that there was a commander in the garrison who was in charge of military supplies and that he was reselling a batch of military rations allocated by the Ministry of Revenue at a high price.

This case attracted the attention of the high-ranking officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who dispatched personnel from the Northern Garrison to investigate it.

To everyone's surprise, as soon as Zhang Sanshi and his group arrived in Taoyuan Town, the informant who had been hiding in the Imperial Guard in Beijing completely vanished into thin air.

Logically speaking, this must mean that he exposed his whereabouts and was killed to silence him.

Therefore, Zhang Sanshi and the others focused their attention on the batch of military rations that had been resold.

But just as they discovered where the military rations had been sold and were about to gather evidence, they were attacked by a group of assassins on the way.

At this critical juncture, even a fool would know that this was someone sent by the other side to obstruct the investigation, or even to silence witnesses.

Then, Zhu Qing and the others arrived.

"Xiao Qi, quickly take me to see Constable Zhan."

After recovering some of his strength, Zhao Sanshi no longer hesitated and followed Zhu Qing and the others back to the garrison of the capital.

As a military camp guarding the capital, the construction of the garrison was magnificent and grand, with green tiles and blue bricks everywhere you looked.

However, the soldiers coming and going were mostly listless and dispirited, and some of the lower-ranking soldiers even had sallow complexions and looked malnourished.

Zhang Sanshi whispered from the side, "The imperial court is currently facing a serious fiscal deficit. The soldiers guarding the capital have not received their pay for four months, and the supply of provisions is also insufficient."

Zhu Qing nodded slightly, understanding in her heart.

In fact, the Great Yu Dynasty is now vast in territory and rich in resources, and should be a thriving and prosperous place.

But for some reason, the government's deficit has become increasingly serious in recent years. The central government has no money, and the lower levels are also extremely poor.

In this increasingly dire financial situation, there are several major areas where money is needed.

Disaster relief funds, grain and military pay, and repairs to the imperial palace.

These three major issues were like three mountains weighing down on the imperial court, each one extremely urgent; otherwise, the court wouldn't have been so eager to promote the national policy of converting grain into medicine.

However, the national policies have had little effect, and there is no hope of turning around the fiscal situation.

It seems the imperial court is doomed.

Zhu Qing sighed inwardly, then walked into the military camp and found Zhan Hongyu and the others.

"Officer Zhan, Lord Yang, the previous group of colleagues are all here."

Immediately, Zhang Sanshi and the others stepped forward to pay their respects.

"Quickly, please, gentlemen, take your seats."

"When I learned that you had been attacked on the road, I was especially worried. I sent out several waves of scouts, but none of them could find your whereabouts. I thought you had already met with misfortune."

"Fortunately, you all survived this calamity; good fortune is sure to follow!"

A voice came from behind, and Zhu Qing turned his head to look. The speaker was a middle-aged man sitting upright on the tiger-skin throne.

He was clad in tiger-patterned bronze armor, had a robust build, and wore a smile on his face; he was none other than Zhao Chongwen, the commander of the garrison in the capital.

Immediately, some soldiers brought over benches for Zhu Qing and the others to sit down.

The moment Zhang Sanshi's bottom touched the stool, he stood up impatiently, walked into the main hall, and said in a deep voice, "Thank you for your hospitality, General Zhao. However, this case is of great importance. If I have been impolite before, I hope General Zhao will forgive me."

Zhao Chongwen gently raised his hand and said with a smile, "Commander Zhang, you are exaggerating. The imperial court has always been strict about corruption. If such a scoundrel were to appear in my garrison in the capital, I would be the first to not spare him."

After saying that, he changed the subject, looked at Zhan Hongyu and Yang Ting, and changed his tone.

"However, what Constable Zhan just said was all one side of the story of that so-called informant, and there is no evidence to back it up. Besides, that informant has already disappeared."

"To accuse one of my general's brave and meritorious commanders of embezzlement and corruption based on a mere hundred words on a piece of paper is utterly absurd."

After he finished speaking, a man with a sharp, angular face and sinister eyes stepped forward and stared directly at Zhang Sanshi: "I am Liu Shichang, the one Zhang Baihu mentioned earlier who was smuggling military supplies. I want to know, I have no personal grudge against Zhang Baihu, so why are you framing me like this?"

Zhang Sanshi's gaze remained calm: "Commander Liu, it's not that I'm opposing you. This case was personally assigned by the higher-ups of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and I'm merely following orders."

"Is that so? Heh, what a fine example of following orders! If that's the case, then please produce concrete evidence!"

"There is evidence, right here in Nantun."

Zhang Sanshi stopped hiding his intentions and said directly, "My lords, after a secret investigation, I have found that the 50,000 shi of military rations are hidden in Nantun."

"These are military rations allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to the garrison in Beijing last month; they have markings on them for verification."

After he finished speaking, everyone present changed their expressions.

Liu Shichang's face darkened, then he sneered, "So that's how it is. What Zhang Baihu was referring to was this batch of military rations. How absurd!"

Zhao Chongwen, seated on the tiger-skin throne, sighed softly and said slowly, "Alas, it seems this was all a misunderstanding."

"As you may not know, since the beginning of spring, it has been the rainy season. Half a month ago, due to poor management of the warehouse, this batch of military rations became damp and moldy and could no longer be eaten. Commander Liu then ordered them to be sent to the abandoned warehouse to be used as livestock feed."

"Zhang Baihu's claim that military rations were being resold at high prices is pure nonsense."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liu Shichang, unable to contain his fiery temper, drew his sword from his waist with a whoosh and shouted coldly.

"Zhang Sanshi, I'm so pissed off!"

"You damn lowly centurion, how dare you swagger in front of me and frame me for smuggling military rations! You have some nerve!"

"I, Liu, have spent over twenty years in the military, I've been through countless battles, crawled out of piles of corpses, what kind of battle haven't I seen? If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll chop you up first!"

"Kill him!!"

"These lackeys of the Northern Garrison Command are just bullying people by taking advantage of their power."

"We brothers risked our lives for the imperial court, while they hid in the rear enjoying a life of luxury, and in the end they accuse us of corruption and breaking the law. What kind of logic is that?"

"Chop him up!"

……

Liu Shichang's men swarmed forward, their emotions running high, displaying the fiery and reckless nature of soldiers.

Zhang San gritted his teeth slightly, showing no fear on his face, only anger.

boom!

Then an invisible gust of wind spread out, instantly extinguishing the arrogance of everyone present like a torrential downpour.

Zhu Qing was also slightly shaken, and a few hairs on her body stood on end.

Suppressed by true qi.

This is a truly top-tier expert.

Looking up, he saw Zhao Chongwen with his hand on the armrest, his face stern yet imposing: "Insolence! I've always spoiled you too much, how dare you spout such nonsense in front of the Imperial Envoy!"

"Guards, give each of them forty strokes of the rod!"

Seeing that Zhao Chongwen was about to end this ruse, Zhu Qing stood up and walked directly to Zhang Sanshi, facing Zhao Chongwen, and said loudly, "General Zhao, we are just following orders and are not targeting anyone."

"Since you just mentioned that the military rations had become damp and moldy, and were sent to an abandoned warehouse to be used as animal feed, would you be so kind as to take us there to have a look?"

"Yes, that makes sense."

Beside her, Zhan Hongyu, who had remained silent, nodded slightly, her eyes cold and clear: "If we have this certificate, we can at least report back."

Zhao Chongwen smiled slightly: "Of course, it would be even better if you could prove your innocence."

"Let's go, I will personally lead you all..."

"General, something terrible has happened!"

Just then, a soldier rushed into the camp, his voice urgent.

"A fire has suddenly broken out at the south warehouse, and the blaze is now out of control!"