diymy Chapter 34 Dividing the Spoils
Chapter 34 Dividing the Spoils
Hundred Household Office
In the lobby, Liu Feng looked down at the thick ledgers, his expression growing increasingly solemn.
I had anticipated that the Director of the Arsenal Management Office had a backup plan, but I hadn't expected it to be so detailed.
All four bureaus under the Ministry of War were implicated, with dozens of names appearing in the ledgers, ranging from bureau chiefs to minor officials.
In addition, the account book clearly records how he laundered the embezzled military funds and transferred them to his direct superior, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.
Closing the ledger, Liu Feng rubbed his chin, never expecting that antiques were already being used to launder embezzled funds in ancient times.
After thinking it over, he ordered the antique shops to be shut down after the curfew. This lucrative business must not fall into the hands of the Southern Garrison Commander.
After organizing the trial records and testimonies, Liu Feng looked at the blank driving permit, thought for a moment, and then filled in the name of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.
Now that things have come to this point, even if he shows mercy, the civil officials will not let him go. He has no way out now and can only cling to the emperor's coattails.
A series of footsteps sounded, and Li Shoutian entered: "Sir, everything is ready!"
Liu Feng was silent for a moment: "We'll talk about it at the second watch."
"Yes." Li Shoutian withdrew.
Liu Feng picked up the imperial warrant. After the capital was locked, officials like him from the Northern Garrison, who were on official business, could still send secret reports through the cracks in the palace gates at the first watch of the night. However, after the second watch, unless it was an emergency military situation or an urgent summons from the emperor, no one was allowed to approach the Forbidden City.
He worried that the Left Vice Minister was too timid and would kneel down upon meeting him. If the Emperor were to issue another blank travel permit because of this, it would be a huge problem.
Liu Feng closed his eyes to rest, and after an unknown amount of time, he heard Li Shoutian's voice: "My lord, it's almost the end of the 7 PM hour."
Liu Feng slowly stood up, stuffed the travel invitation into his robes, picked up his goose-feather saber, and walked out.
The courtyard was full of people.
Liu Feng: "Are all the teams ready?"
"Reporting to you, sir, everything is ready!" the two captains and the other captains replied in unison.
The second watch drum sounded, and everyone jolted awake, all eyes turning to Liu Feng.
Liu Feng pointed to the flag bearer on the left: "Take your men and surround the residences of those three officials! Don't let a single person or item escape!"
"Yes!" The captain led his men out.
Liu Feng then pointed to another officer: "Go to Liulichang and shut down those antique shops!"
"yes!"
"Wang Daniu!"
Wang Daniu responded loudly, "Yes!"
Liu Feng looked at him and said, "You take your men and stay behind to guard the Hundred-Household Office. Anyone who trespasses will be killed!"
Wang Daniu: "Yes!"
"Everyone else, follow me!"
Li Shoutian and Zhang Laifu, each leading their men, followed Liu Feng out of the Hundred Household Office.
Chongwen Gate was a customs post and trade route. The imperial court tacitly allowed it to be "not closed to the dead, but to leave people alive." It was the only one of the nine gates that was "open to traffic even at the second watch" and even "open day and night."
Amidst the astonished gazes of the city gate officials and the merchants queuing to pay taxes and enter the city, Liu Feng and his group rushed into the East City.
When they arrived, they discovered that their place was just across the street from Liu Feng's house.
A small flag bearer led a group of Imperial Guards to the gate of a residence with a lantern hanging at the entrance that read "Residence of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War."
This is a large courtyard house with five courtyards. The three main gates are grand and dignified, and there is a pair of stone lions at the entrance, making it look particularly grand and majestic.
Looking at the grand and imposing mansion before him, Liu Feng suddenly recalled the scene in the TV series where Commander Qiu led his men to raid the Rongguo Mansion, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
The world is ever-changing, and prosperity and decline are unpredictable. A high-ranking official of the third rank and a large family fell into ruin overnight.
With a wave of his hand, Liu Feng sent several Imperial Guards, who were originally from the border army, to nimbly leap over their comrades' shoulders and into the courtyard.
"Thief!"
"Shut up, this is a case handled by the Imperial Guards!"
A crisp slap was heard, followed by the courtyard gate opening.
Liu Feng: "Gather all family members in the backyard. Confiscate all their belongings and make a complete inventory. Hand over all official documents and letters from the study. Anyone who dares to peek at a single word will be ruthless! Do you understand?"
Li Shoutian repeated loudly, "Did you all hear that?"
The crowd roared in unison, "We heard you!"
Li Shoutian: "Copy!"
Torches flickered wildly as squads of Imperial Guards poured into the wide-open mansion, their footsteps trembling the ground of the vast courtyard!
Before long, panicked cries and screams came from inside the mansion.
Zhang Laifu and others escorted Liu Feng through the door and headed towards the front hall.
The road was lined with kneeling servants and young men, all of them disheveled and trembling.
Liu Feng had just sat down in the front hall when Li Shoutian rushed in: "Sir, something's happened!"
Liu Feng looked at him.
Li Shoutian: "Just now, the Left Vice Minister took advantage of the brothers' inattention and smashed his head against something, killing himself."
Liu Feng was slightly taken aback. Was he really that brave?
"My lord..." Li Shoutian said with a worried expression.
Zhang Laifu's eyes darted around, and he leaned closer: "Sir, this matter can be suppressed for now. Keep it a secret and just say to the outside world that she fainted."
Liu Feng looked at him: "You mean... try to trick those civil officials?"
Zhang Laifu smiled and said, "People with guilty consciences are easily flustered and lose their composure when they panic."
Liu Feng thought for a moment and said, "I entrust this matter to you in full charge."
"Thank you so much, sir!" Zhang Laifu was overjoyed and ran out in a flash.
Li Shoutian blinked, vaguely feeling that this matter was not very reliable.
Liu Feng shook his head slightly. Did they really think that civil officials were so easy to fool?
The reason why the emperor has not taken action for so many years is not only because he is hypocritical and concerned about his reputation, but also because the civil officials are in cahoots and well-informed.
This time, he was able to succeed by sheer luck, thanks to the curfew at night, the inability to get the news out, and his ruthless methods.
At this moment, a flag bearer beckoned several Imperial Guards to carry two boxes in, place them in the hall, and then leave.
Liu Feng got up, walked to the box, and opened the lid. Inside were account books, letters, and official documents.
After flipping through the box, Liu Feng looked at Li Shoutian beside him and said, "Seal the box and send it to the palace first thing tomorrow morning."
"Send him to the palace?" Li Shoutian looked puzzled.
"We've caused such a commotion right after arriving in the capital; we've thoroughly offended the civil officials. We can't afford to make enemies with our colleagues as well..."
Liu Feng closed the box lid. "When we eat meat, we have to leave some soup for others. The people involved in this box must be quite influential. It's a good opportunity to stir up the political situation, divert attention, and shield us from disaster." After saying that, he walked out.
Li Shoutian was taken aback at first, then laughed. This superior was truly cunning, but to his liking.
More than a dozen large boxes were already piled up in the yard.
Seeing Liu Feng approach, a member of the Imperial Guard hurriedly opened the lid of the box.
The ingots of gold glittered in the torchlight!
Liu Feng lost his composure; he had never seen so much gold in his two lives! His eyes were fixed on it as he picked up an ingot. Five taels a ingot, fifty in a layer... uh, just two layers?
A third-rank official only had five hundred taels of gold in his home? Good heavens, gold is always a rare commodity.
The imperial guard lifted another box, revealing a box full of silver ingots, equally dazzling...
Just as Liu Feng was drooling over a box of jewelry, a little flag officer came over and shoved a piece of paper into his hand with a grin.
Liu Feng glanced at it and gasped. It was a draft for two thousand taels!
The clerk, thinking he was dissatisfied, quickly apologized: "Sir, please don't be angry! This is just silver. I'll deliver the jewelry, jade ornaments, and fine fabrics to your home tomorrow."
Liu Feng gripped the draft tightly: "Is this... appropriate?"
The junior officer smiled obsequiously: "I shouldn't say this, but I'll say it anyway. What you've received so far is just a small fraction. The real prize will require your personal trip. You need to deliver it to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to bribe officials, and also to curry favor with the eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial. You have to be considerate of everyone involved."
Holy crap, is there any justice in this world?!
Liu Feng was a little annoyed. It turned out that all his hard work had been for someone else's benefit.
"This has always been the practice in government offices. If we hadn't smoothed things over at every level and had someone above us tacitly approved and looked after, how could we, as lower-level officials, dare to openly and blatantly pocket 30% of the profits..."
"How much?!" Liu Feng's voice suddenly rose.
Xiao Qi was startled: "Thirty... thirty percent."
Liu Feng sighed silently. Although he was also a beneficiary of the system, the corruption was now blatantly open, yet it remained so brazen. If things continued like this, it would be truly unjust if the Great Qian Dynasty didn't perish.
Well, this one family gets two thousand taels, and the other three families can easily contribute a thousand taels. Then there's the jewelry and ornaments... Oh, and those antique shops too, they can easily get tens of thousands of taels.
No wonder everyone says the Embroidered Uniform Guard makes a fortune by confiscating property; their reputation is well-deserved.
Liu Feng tucked the draft into his pocket. How would the emperor reward him at dawn? With this merit, being promoted directly to a commander of a thousand households shouldn't be a problem, right?