Hezhong Prefecture is the logistics base of the Northwest Army, and the military atmosphere here is very strong.
The issue of soldiers asking for military pay from the Procuratorate has long been a hot topic and the popularity remains high.
In the evening, the neighbors who had worked hard all day did not go back to their houses early to rest. Instead, they gathered together in small groups, talking about asking for military funds.
"This is a big fuss, but can I get the money back?"
"Why not? Chen Guang is about to get it, and others will definitely get it too, as long as there is evidence."
"Chen Guang is just one person, but now there are thousands of people asking for it. Can he really get it?"
"That's right! The imperial court can't afford so much money."
While we were chatting, we suddenly heard someone shouting: "Liu Laoqi."
"exist!"
A tall, thin, middle-aged man immediately ran to the door of his house and saw two royal policemen standing in front of the door.
"I said Liu Laoqi, with this little effort, you still have to run over and have a chat."
One of the royal policemen said with a frown.
Liu Laoqi hurriedly said with a shy smile: "Oh! Don't we still believe your Royal Police on this matter?"
"You are quite good at talking."
The royal policeman handed him the household registration and said, "Keep your household registration. Remember, your current house number is 357. Recognize these symbols."
"Hey hey hey!"
Liu Laoqi nodded and said with a gossipy face: "By the way! Do you two policemen know about soldiers asking for military pay?"
The Royal Policeman smiled and said: "If your family has any grievances, you can tell us, but if it has nothing to do with you, then don't ask any more questions. Farewell."
...
Hedong County, Guixiang.
Under a large shed, I saw three or five Royal Police officers sitting inside drinking tea and chatting.
"Ya Nei, we can't make mistakes on this little matter. You don't have to do it yourself."
Ou Jun said to Cao Dongdong very distressedly.
Cao Dongdong glanced at him angrily: "You have been with me for so long, and you still can't tell that I am just idle and bored. I came out to get some fresh air."
Ou Jun was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
While we were chatting, we suddenly heard a clear voice, "Are these brothers from the Royal Police?"
Cao Dongdong immediately turned his head and saw a young woman. He immediately pressed down Ou Jun, who was about to get up, and said, "I'll do it!"
He immediately stood up and stepped forward, saying in a rich voice, "Madam, I am Royal Superintendent Cao Dongdong. Look, the Emperor!"
As he said that, he showed off the word "huang" on his shoulders. Currently, uniforms with the word "huang" embroidered on them are very rare in the entire Hezhong Mansion.
The young woman hurriedly knelt down and saluted and said, "Ms. Cen, a folk girl, has seen...!"
"Why!"
Cao Dongdong immediately stretched out his hands to help Mrs. Cen. As soon as he touched her, the beauty was shocked. Cao Dongdong quickly retracted his hands and said, "Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean it, but you don't have to salute."
Mrs. Cen's cheeks felt dizzy, she nodded and said softly: "No, it's the daughter of the people who was abrupt."
"it's okay no problem!"
Cao Dongdong asked again: "By the way, what's the matter with you?"
Mrs. Cen said: "I want to come here to seek justice for my husband. I heard from the villagers that you can come here to ask the Royal Police to write a petition."
"Husband?"
Cao Dongdong rolled his eyes and asked, "Why doesn't your husband come by himself?"
Cen choked up and said: "My husband...he has been killed in battle."
A flash of joy flashed in Cao Dongdong's eyes, and he hurriedly said: "My dear lady, please sit here. If you have any grievances, tell me about it. I will definitely help you seek justice."
He politely invited Mrs. Cen to the chair, and suddenly kicked Ou Jun, "What are you doing in a daze? You haven't even poured the tea."
"Pour... pour tea? Oh, yes, yes."
The cakes and tea were served immediately.
Then Ou Jun took the other two royal police officers out of the shed so as not to interfere with the important events in the office.
"Master!"
Ou Jun couldn't help but sigh: "Yamen is indeed an expert in this field, he really knows things like a god!"
"Brother Jun, what do you say?"
"Don't you understand yet? I came here not to take a breather, but to see the widow."
"Yes! If we come here to seek justice for the released soldiers, we will definitely meet the widow."
"High! It's so high!"
"You two are not married yet, so you should ask your yamen for advice."
"Hey hey hey!"
...
It was already evening, but the door of the procuratorate was packed with people.
"That's all for today. Our procuratorate is closing. There are still people who want to appeal. Please come back tomorrow."
While Wang Shen shouted, the royal policemen who maintained order pushed the crowd outside.
"It's still early. Let me hand over the evidence first. I've been waiting all day."
"It's still early? It's almost dark today."
"I brought candles."
A man took out a candle.
Wang Shen almost didn't curse. He took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Fearless warriors, don't worry. Our procuratorate will definitely compile the statistics and appeal together. It doesn't make much difference if you come early or come late. You can come back when you are free. No need to If you're queuing up here, don't waste your work."
Even so, Wang Shen also knew that they would still gather together tomorrow, because the military camp was completely conniving, and asking for leave for this matter would definitely be approved.
After finally clearing the place, the sky became dark. When Su Zhe came to the front yard, he saw the procuratorate lying directly on the table, soundly asleep.
"Have you all eaten?"
"not yet!"
Wang Shen shook his head and said: "We just drove the people away, and they immediately fell asleep on their stomachs."
"We have worked hard these days." Su Zhe said: "Wake them up and let them eat quickly and go home to rest."
"Why!"
After giving the instructions, Su Che went to the back hall and saw Chen Qi leading more than 20 prosecutors who were still in the internship period to review the evidence recorded today.
Seeing Su Che coming, Chen Qi immediately stood up and walked over.
"How many copies are there?" Su Che asked.
"More than 1,800 copies."
Saying that, Chen Qi couldn't help complaining: "The most disgusting thing is the police station. Instead of allocating people to help us here, they go to surrounding counties to help the soldiers who have stopped to file complaints. Isn't this deliberately torturing our procuratorate?
"
Su Che smiled slightly: "It's not to torture us, but to plan for themselves."
Chen Qi sighed: "I have thought of this. Our procuratorate bears all the responsibilities, and we work from dawn to dusk every day, working tirelessly. Their police station is silently making a fortune while they are there. It is really unreasonable."
"The police department is good, and it's good for us all. Besides, we don't need to record everyone's situation."
Su Che smiled and nodded, and then said: "In this way, you can sort out the ones with solid evidence and relatively large amounts involved."
"I see!"
Chen Qi nodded.
...
Compared with the exhausting work of the Procuratorate, day and night, nine-nine-eight, the imperial court and the police station, it is much easier.
Today, Ma Xiaoyi and Fu Shichun came to the imperial court to drink.
Zhang Fei came to the house and saw Ma Xiaoyi and Fu Shichun sitting at the wine table, already eating, especially Ma Xiaoyi, who was holding a sheep elbow and chewing on it, his mouth full of oil.
Fu Shichun was as elegant and calm as ever, even though Ma Xiaoyi was the only one here.
"Huh? Why didn't Yanei come?"
"He recently met a little widow and went to show her courtesy." Fu Shichun said with a smile.
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, sat down and said, "No! We asked you to go to the countryside to appeal to the soldiers, not to find the widow."
Ma Xiaoyi held a piece of meat in his mouth, shook his head, and said unclearly: "None of us went, only my brother went to find it."
"....!"
Zhang Fei was speechless for a while.
Fu Shichun said: "Actually, the more uninhibited the yamen are, the less fear others will have towards us. He can't help us with this matter anyway, so it's better to use him to confuse everyone."
Zhang Fei nodded slightly, and then said: "But you have to watch a little, and don't let him get in the way of others."
Fu Shichun said: "Is this why you forced me to come?"
"Ahem!"
Zhang Fei asked seriously: "How is the development of your police station?"
Ma Xiaoyi wiped his lips and said, "Third brother, this Hezhong Mansion is not as difficult as imagined. Not to mention how smooth it is. Sub-offices in the surrounding townships have been built. It is much easier than when I was in the capital."
Much more. When I led a team out, I was criticized by those country squires for everything I did, which made me feel very aggrieved."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Then work harder, spread the scene quickly, serve the villagers with all your heart, and let them get used to looking for the Royal Police. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Ma Xiaoyi nodded and said, "Hey! I understand."
Fu Shichun chuckled and said: "Zhang San, aren't we being a little unkind? We let the procuratorate do all the dirty and hard work that offends others, but we took the opportunity to grow stronger."
Zhang Fei said with a smile: "Now that the matter has come to an end, let's get as much as we can out of it! Come on, come on! Let's drink to the future of the police station."
"Do it, do it!"
Ma Xiaoyi was eating a greasy meal and immediately raised his glass and drank it all.
So far, there is no doubt that the police department is definitely the biggest winner.
You really can make a fortune in silence.
Making crazy money!
Not only by popularizing house numbers and re-checking the household registration of the people in the city, but also by helping those soldiers who had been discharged, they took the initiative to go to the countryside to help them redress their grievances.
This time the branches will be opened.
If the police station goes to the countryside in normal times, the squires and landowners will definitely obstruct it, so it is actually the most difficult for the police station to grow.
Because the imperial power does not extend to the county, this power cannot be given by the emperor.
But this time, because everyone was making concerted efforts to establish the Procuratorate, the police department was tantamount to stoking trouble in disguise. Everyone was very tolerant of this, and some squires even encouraged the villagers to go to the Royal Police.
Of course, all this was arranged by Zhang Fei and had been planned long ago.
Since the game is so big, how high the risk is and how great the benefit is!
...
Of course, the Procuratorate will not wait to find out the military pay situation of all soldiers. It may not be possible to find out in one or two years. Never underestimate the number of soldiers in the Song Dynasty.
Moreover, this military expenditure accounted for only a small part of the money, mostly grain, cloth, tea and salt. The accounts were also very complicated and difficult to count.
Today, Cai Yanqing, Yuan Jiang, Wei Yingfang, Tang Zhongwen, and Qin Zhongshou were invited to the Procuratorate.
"I wonder what the Chief Prosecutor Su ordered us to do when he invited us here?"
Tang Zhongwen asked in a strange tone.
Su Che opened the door slightly, looked at the dark patch of darkness outside, and said, "Everyone has seen it too."
Qin Zhongshou immediately said: "You can't blame us for this. They came here on their own. If we try to dissuade them, you're afraid your procuratorate will accuse us of bending the law for personal gain."
Su Zhe nodded and smiled: "They are naturally allowed to come here. But according to the evidence we have investigated in the past few days, there are a lot of deductions and arrears in military expenses in the military camp. Don't you all know?"
Qin Zhongshou was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt something was wrong with Su Che's words, and immediately said: "This has nothing to do with us."
Tang Zhongwen suddenly reacted and stood up excitedly, "Prosecutor Su, don't think about unjustly accusing people."
Previously, the Procuratorate sued the Transportation Department, so they had no fear. Just now when Su Zhe asked this question, they didn't react for a moment, but suddenly they thought, they wouldn't turn around and just go straight for this person.
Yuan Jiang still had a big picture, waved his hands and said: "You all, please be patient. Prosecutor General Su is an honest official, how can he easily slander others? With so much military pay, you can't be greedy, but you can't be greedy! Sit down, sit down!"
Tang Zhongwen suddenly thought, yes! If you go after someone for this matter, you may involve 90% of the officials in Hezhong Mansion.
He immediately sat down confidently.
Su Che smiled and said: "Our procuratorate mainly looks at evidence, and this is also the problem. Facts have proved that there is indeed a large-scale arrears and deduction of military pay. You should not be unaware of it!"
Cai Yanqing opened his mouth, glanced at Yuan Jiang from the corner of his eye, and kept silent. He was afraid that if he talked too much, he would disrupt Yuan Jiang and their plans.
Yuan Jiang said: "Manager Tang, you know best what's going on. Please talk to Prosecutor Su."
Tang Zhongwen immediately said: "Of course we know about it, but this is because the imperial court's finances are insufficient and it has not allocated enough military expenses to us. We can't get enough money, so we can only default."
Su Zhe said: "This is nonsense. I wonder if your transshipment department has any evidence in this regard?"
Tang Zhongwen said: "Of course."
Su Zhe said: "Can you trouble your transportation department to send the evidence in this regard, because the evidence is enough now, but we first need to determine who we should prosecute."
Tang Zhongwen said confidently: "Okay!"
The reason why he is so confident is because the gap in military expenditure is indeed not small, especially in Hezhong Prefecture. Because they first have to meet the military expenditure of the border states, the reserve army will naturally receive less.
In comparison, the deduction and embezzlement of military pay are just superficial.
soon!
Just three days later, the Transportation Department sent detailed accounts to the Procuratorate.
In fact, they had been prepared before this, because this account was the most favorable evidence for them and the most critical proof that the military expenditure was indeed insufficient and not corrupted by others.
...
Imperial Court.
Lakeside.
"President Zhang is here again...!"
Su Zhe couldn't help but feel depressed when he saw Zhang Fei's hair was wet again and he was wrapped in a coat.
Zhang Fei cupped his hands and said, "This is an unfortunate coincidence. I hope Mr. Su Xiao can forgive me."
"It doesn't matter! I came at the wrong time."
"I wonder what brings Mr. Su Xiao here?"
"I came here today to tell you that I have requested the accounts from the Forwarding Department."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei asked: "How big is the gap?"
Su Che sighed: "After calculation, the military expenditure of Guanghe Zhongfu is more than 300,000 yuan."
Zhang Fei couldn't help but take a breath when he heard this, "The military expenditure of Guanghe Zhongfu is only so short."
Su Che nodded and said: "The entire Shaanxi Road may reach more than one million yuan, but this is just a lack in the accounts. In fact, it is not that much missing."
Zhang Fei said in surprise: "How dare someone put money in there?"
"That's not true."
Su Zhe said: "This is because Magistrate Cai and Xue Fayun have made some efforts to increase military expenditures. This shows that if we really want to sue them for corruption and bribery, there is a real possibility that they will not be able to sue."
The government tried its best to amass money, but even if they were greedy, they would not be greedy for the imperial court.
Zhang Fei asked: "I wonder what Mr. Su Xiao plans to do next?"
Su Zhe said: "If you have no problem, I will go to the court and ask for the reduction of soldiers."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "I have no problem."
Su Che nodded, but looked at Zhang Fei, and suddenly asked: "You are the one who arranged the matter at the police station, right?"
Zhang Fei was stunned, nodded with a smile and said, "I suggested it."
Su Che asked again: "You had planned it a long time ago, right?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said: "It's not too early. I only thought of it after the procuratorate decided to prosecute."
Su Che smiled and asked, "I wonder what other plans President Zhang has."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "No! You know my relationship with Cao Yanei. I have been helping him with suggestions for the police station."
Su Che sighed: "If President Zhang still has a hidden plan, I might have to sleep more peacefully."