"But... if this matter cannot be accomplished, wouldn't it be possible for Gao Dazhao and the others to be saved? Wouldn't the young master also have regrets for the rest of his life?" Shen Tan frowned.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "There is nothing I can do. I have decided to go to the black market to buy a dozen or twenty sets of equipment and send them to Funiu Mountain. After the year, I will go to Funiu Mountain in person to fight side by side with them and help them kill the enemy. That’s it. Maybe I alone can’t reverse the situation, but that’s all I can do. I don’t want to regret it when I think about it in this life. I will do my best to be worthy of them.”
"You go to the mountain? Aren't you going to die in vain? This is not possible, absolutely not possible." Shen Tan shouted with a blushing face.
"Otherwise, what else can I do? This is my last resort. Even if I die, I will admit it. I can't let people poke my spine for the rest of my life and call me a treacherous person. I can't live in guilt for the rest of my life." Lin Jue spread his hands and said.
Shen Tan's face turned red, he pondered for a long time, and suddenly he gritted his teeth and stamped his feet and said: "Well, now that things have happened, I can't think too much about it. If you, Mr. Lin, can do it for your friends, I will do it instead." Isn’t it better? Mr. Lin, I have a solution here, and it may be possible to implement it.”
Lin Jue was surprised and said: "What advice does Commander Shen have?"
Shen Tan came forward and whispered: "There is a batch of weapons and armor in the palace warehouse. Maybe I can think of a way to get them out without anyone noticing, which can solve the urgent need."
Lin Jue was startled when he heard this, and felt happy. He hadn't even formally raised the matter, but Shen Tan had raised it himself. It was ten thousand times better for him to raise it than to raise it himself.
"Is this... possible? The palace's supplies? I'm afraid it won't be easy to get. Commander Shen, it's better not to take risks. I don't want you to get into trouble." Lin Jue whispered.
"There will definitely be trouble. It depends on how you do it. After all, Shen is also the commander of the guards of the palace, and he still has some power. Maybe he can make a fuss about it." Shen Tan said softly.
Lin Jue asked in a low voice: "The supplies in the palace's warehouse should be well documented. If this comes out, wouldn't it be difficult to cover up?"
Shen Tan said: "It is indeed difficult to hide it. Weapons and armor and other materials must be recorded and counted. Even if there is only one missing item, the whole story must be explained."
Lin Jue frowned and said, "That's really difficult. By the way, how many things are there in the palace's warehouse?"
Shen Tan thought for a moment and said, "There are probably more than a thousand sets of weapons and armor."
Lin Jue felt strange and asked: "Why are there so many? The three thousand guards of the palace are all equipped with a full set of equipment. What do these more than a thousand sets mean? Even if they are damaged and replaced on a daily basis, there will not be so many more. Isn’t it said that these things are strictly controlled? How can they be allowed to exist in the palace? "
Shen Tan whispered: "Young Master is a sensible person. Some of these are indeed replacements for daily wear and tear. About two hundred sets are for subordinates. The remaining eight hundred sets are old weapons and armors. According to the regulations of the imperial court, the weapons and armor of the palace guards must be replaced every three years. The Arms Department of the Privy Council will transport new equipment for replacement. The old armor and weapons that have been replaced must be registered and transported back to the Arms Department to be refurbished or replaced with new ones. He uses."
Lin Jue suddenly said: "So, these more than 800 sets of old equipment were replaced, right?"
Shen Tan said: "Actually, it's like this. Originally, the equipment was replaced last autumn, and the replaced equipment was returned to the Ordnance Department with the fleet that the prince and young prince returned to Beijing at the end of last year. The equipment of the palace guards is After collective replacement, the ones replaced were not just 800 sets, but 3,000 old ones. The reason why these 800 sets of old equipment are still in the warehouse is because the palace guards participated in the battle to exterminate the pirates in the past few months, and when they came back, they found something different. A few weapons and armor were damaged, and some were lost. So two months ago, the Ordnance Department shipped a batch of new ones for replacement and replenishment. This was also a special replacement under special circumstances. Nearly 800 sets of armor and weapons were replaced. Because the quantity is not large, they are all temporarily stored in the warehouse."
Lin Jue finally figured it out, and secretly thought that he was lucky. If it weren't for this year's bandit suppression operation, these things would not be in the palace's warehouse. The old equipment that was replaced last year would be returned to the capital at the end of the year. If there was no bandit suppression operation, it would be Nothing can be done.
"So, what Commander Shen means is that we make a fuss about these 800 sets of old equipment?" Lin Jue asked softly.
Shen Tan said: "That's all. The other two hundred sets are new, but they cannot be touched. If you touch them, they will be easily noticed. But these eight hundred sets are frankly no longer belonging to the palace. It's just temporarily kept in the palace, and I can only make a fuss about it."
Lin Jue was silent in thought, and Shen Tan whispered: "Master, don't think that these are old ones and cannot be used. In fact, they are just worn out, and some are indeed damaged, but when put together, there are still five or six hundred sets." It is usable. The armors and weapons of our royal guards are all first-class. Even the equipment of the formal soldiers and horses of the border army may not be as useful as the old ones we have used. The old things we replaced are sent to All the goods in the hands of the border troops are in high demand, which is why the imperial court requires us to transport the old equipment we replaced every time back to the capital and hand it over to the Ordnance Department."
Lin Jue nodded and said with a smile: "I don't dislike the old. How can the equipment used by the palace guards be worse? Even if it is old, it is still a good thing. I was just thinking that these things are also numerous and registered, and they are not easy to use. It's movable. If it were pulled out like this, it would be exposed afterwards, and that would cause a big mess."
Shen Tan thought for a while and said: "It should be fine in a short time. I estimate that this batch of old equipment will be sent back to the capital together with the old equipment we will replace next time in two years. If it is discovered, it should be reported to the police." Two years from now."
Lin Jue shook his head and said: "No, what will happen in two years? Shouldn't the matter be revealed? If you want to make a fuss, you must make it flawless. It can neither implicate you nor the palace, and it must not cause the trouble to get out of hand. You have to think of a foolproof way to get things."
Shen Tan scratched his head and said: "Then what can be done? The things are in the palace's warehouse, and I can only secretly order them to be taken out by my trusted brothers. Is it possible that you can still go to the palace and steal them? If you have that ability , we can just turn a blind eye and it won’t be a big deal if we are found guilty of dereliction of duty afterwards.”
Lin Jue smiled bitterly and said: "How can I have the ability to steal hundreds of sets of equipment? Even if you turn a blind eye, these things will have to be transported by a large number of people and a large number of vehicles. Are the guards of the palace all made of wood? What? With these thousands of people, can you still guarantee that you can trust every one of them?"
"That's true. So what should Mr. Lin say? The thing is there, and I am willing to take the risk, but there seems to be no way." Shen Tan said with bulging eyes.
Lin Jue frowned and tapped the table, thinking hard. Shen Tan sat aside and also frowned and thought. The box became quiet, and the sound of traffic outside could be heard in the distance, as if he was in another world.
"Commander Shen, you just said that the Arms Department of the Privy Council will order you to send the replaced equipment to the capital, right?" Lin Jue broke the silence and asked.
"Yes, didn't I just say that? The equipment is replaced every three years. Before the autumn replacement, it will be sent to the city and handed over to the Ordnance Department for storage," Shen Tan said.
Lin Jue said: "Then why are these 800 pieces of old equipment temporarily stored in the palace?"
Shen Tan said: "It was originally going to be transported away, but isn't it a small quantity? We also had to send people to escort and use transport ships and carts. The weapons department felt that it would cost a lot of money to spend a lot of money on these 800 sets of old equipment. The money is really not cost-effective, so we are allowed to stay here temporarily. You know, even though it is only 800 pieces of old equipment, we still need to hire two large ships, one for loading and one for escort. This season, we have arrived north of Chuzhou The river may be impassable, and vehicles must be hired. Calculated, the cost is at least several thousand taels of silver. A total of 800 sets only costs more than 10,000 taels of silver, and the freight costs several thousand taels. It is really uneconomical. The Arms Department is very careful with its calculations. , maybe because I don’t want to pay such a sum of money.”
Lin Jue pondered and said: "In this way, the Ordnance Department pays for the freight, so they don't want to spend this unjust money."
"Exactly, these are all expenses of the imperial court. The guards of Prince Liang's palace are also soldiers of the imperial court. Does the prince have to pay for this money?"
Lin Jue nodded and said, "What if the Arms Department doesn't have to pay this money? Will they agree to your initiative to send this batch of equipment to the capital?"
Shen Tan said in astonishment: "Master Lin, what does this mean?"
Lin Jue said: "Answer my question first, can you take the initiative to send this batch of supplies to the capital? For example, using a downwind ship or something like that, without spending money on weapons, would they be willing?"
Shen Tan said: "Of course they are willing, they can't ask for more. They don't have to spend any money, and the rest of the fee will make a lot of money for the bosses. They are eager for us to do this. You know, these money is spent On the way, they couldn't get any money. Instead of doing this, they might as well save this money, and at least have a good reputation of saving money for the Yamen. But if they had the chance to get this money, of course they would One hundred people are willing."
Lin Jue nodded and said: "Okay, that's what they wanted. Commander Shen, can you find a reason to request that this batch of equipment be sent to the capital."
Shen Tan said in a daze: "What exactly are you planning?"
Lin Jue whispered: "Come here."
Shen Tan hurriedly stretched his neck and approached Lin Jue. Lin Jue whispered a few words in Shen Tan's ear. Shen Tan's expression changed drastically and he said in shock: "This...this...is too courageous."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Only in this way can all parties not have anything to do with it. Everyone will be clean."
Shen Tan frowned and thought for a while and said, "But if we do this, we may still have to argue about it afterwards. After all, the things are gone. Should this be the responsibility of the Arms Department or the Royal Palace? There will always be a lot of fuss."
Lin Jue said with a smile: "It's very simple. If we admit the loss, we will compensate according to the price. I will pay for the silver, as much as it is worth. One tael of silver is a lot for them. In this case, the Department of Arms will make a big fuss.
Huh? They will definitely not make a fuss. Once the losses are made up, the matter will definitely be suppressed. After all, the things are gone, and they will have to bear the responsibility and be punished if they make a fuss."
