Li Mu said, "Go and check the granary immediately. Check everything to see if the granary is full... The key point is the inside, and check if there are compartments or hidden compartments at the bottom!"
"yes!"
Immediately, a guard came forward to check.
At this time, an official came over, panting, and said: "Sir, what are you doing?"
"Check it!"
Li Mu said: "If there are any mistakes, correct them, and if there are no mistakes, we will encourage you! Check a few more times, and both of you can rest assured!"
The official said: "Sir, when the water is clear, there will be no fish!"
Li Mu smiled and said, "I know!"
The official continued: "Everyone in the world knows that the government forces the people to rebel, but they don't know that there are still government forces to force the people to rebel! Even more terrifying than the government forcing the people to rebel is the government forcing the people to rebel. If a dynasty wants long-term peace and stability, it is terrible to offend the people.
But offending hundreds of officials is even more terrible. As the saying goes, people are like leeks, they can be cut and reborn; officials are like beams, if they are damaged, they will fall!"
"Sir, please be merciful! I have prepared gifts and a scapegoat!"
"Hahaha!" Li Mu laughed: "People are like leeks, they can be cut back to life; officials are like leeks, they can be cut back to life. In fact, they are all leeks. Why should leeks despise leeks, and why should ants despise ants!"
"Sir! There's a situation!" Suddenly, a voice came.
Li Mu flashed and came to a guard.
The guard said: "Sir, look here!" The guard pulled out his sword and inserted it from the bottom of the granary, but the sound was hollow and not real at all.
"It's empty down there!"
Li Mu said, hitting it with his palm, and half of the granary exploded instantly. What was left in place was a complete hollow section of the granary.
In a huge granary, starting from the middle, separated by wooden boards, about half of it is empty.
From the outside, it looks like the warehouse is full, but in fact it is less than half.
"Sir! There's something going on here!"
"Sir, there is a problem here too!"
Problems soon appeared one after another. Only some granaries on the periphery, used for inspections, were full. Most of the granaries were built on wooden boards, so they were full on top and empty on the bottom.
One-third is empty, more than half is empty, and the most extreme thing is that it is completely empty, with less than 200 kilograms of grain placed on top to cover it.
The shortage of food is shocking.
Hua Wuying looked at the empty positions one by one and was dumbfounded.
"Come here, arrest him!"
Li Mu said.
A guard came forward and started arresting people.
"I will come back!" said the official.
"What's your name?" Li Mu asked.
"Feng Wuji!" said the official.
Li Mu said: "Okay, I'll remember it and wait for you to come back!"
I checked carefully and took a rough inventory. I found that the deficit was very serious, about four levels of deficit.
This is consistent with what is on the books.
There are still many that cannot be matched and have been washed away by legal means.
For example, some good grains are said to be rotten in the report, so they are crossed out from the accounts. Such grains are not found in the accounts and cannot be calculated.
"Let's go and see the other two official warehouses!"
Li Mu said, worry flashed in his eyes, this place is like this, how can the other two granaries be any better.
We went to two official warehouses for inspection again, and found that one official warehouse was short of five floors, and the other was short of seven floors.
The first granary was in short supply, but it was the least.
There is no worst, only worse. This is a worse era.
Some people succeed not because they are good, but because there are people who are worse than them.
The three major official warehouses were at a loss of more than half.
Seemingly worried, Li Mu went to check the charity warehouse again.
There are two types of granaries, official granaries and free granaries.
Official warehouses were used by the imperial court and were basically distributed near large cities to ensure the imperial court's food attack and salary, as well as war needs.
Free warehouses are used to store grain in times of famine and are equivalent to emergency relief offices. They are designed to ensure social stability and prevent people from causing chaos due to times of famine.
If there is a problem with the official warehouse, it is just that the government's fiscal revenue will be reduced and the military's ability to attack will be reduced, so it is not fatal; but if there is a problem with the free warehouse, it will be a big problem.
Yicang is a life-saving food supply for the people in times of disaster. Once something goes wrong, something big will happen.
The charity warehouse was inspected again, and it turned out that the deficit in the charity warehouse was even more serious, with a deficit of seven levels.
"Are they too courageous to be afraid of being dismissed from office and losing their lives if it is leaked?" Hua Wuying asked.
Li Mu said: "I'm really not afraid. The scapegoats who have died all the time have no background. With backgrounds and official positions, they rarely become scapegoats!"
Hua Wuying said: "There are special officials who inspect every year, why are they not inspected?"
Li Mu smiled and said: "This is a surprise inspection, and we found out. If they had been prepared, I wouldn't have been able to find out. There are many ways to cheat and hide from the officials who inspected the granary. Besides, there are too many tricks in it.
There are too many calculations, so don’t mention them!”
Hua Wuying said: "The official warehouse has lost as much as five levels, and the free warehouse has lost as much as seven levels. Aren't they afraid of being exposed?"
Li Mu said: "In times of disaster, the court will open warehouses to release grain to relieve the people. A lot of food flows out, but it may not enter the people's stomachs, but disappears inexplicably, and it becomes legal. These are also official warehouses, and there are also charity warehouses.
There is a lot of food, but many people are still starving to death! Besides, we are not afraid of being exposed. The law does not punish everyone, and the emperor must take the overall situation into consideration!"
Taking the overall situation into consideration, the emperor's hands are tied, and it is not as good as usual!
"If something like this happens, it must be kept secret. Never reveal a word! All those present today must be ordered to keep secret. Once word spreads and causes panic, it will be a big deal!" Li Mu said. The food shortage is huge.
Crisis, but the panic it brings is fatal!
"Husband, I know..." Hua Wuying said.
Back at the government office, Li Mu felt that the pressure was so great that once exposed, it would be enough to kill him.
Fortunately, he discovered it early and received treatment at the earliest.
If the problem is discovered only half a year or a year later, it is hopeless.
Sitting on the chair, Li Mu felt a little tired.
"Husband, something happened!" Ji Xuewei said.
"I came to Youzhou, but there was a huge landmine under my butt, and I was almost blown up to death!" Li Mu said with a bitter smile, talking about the shortage of granaries and the case of empty warehouses.
"The fifth-floor grain in the official warehouse and the seventh-floor grain in the free warehouse are all corrupted. Their appetites are too big!" Ji Xuewei said, anger flashed in her eyes, "It is not an exaggeration to kill the nine tribes!"
Li Mu said: "Killing people is just a small problem. The key is how to fill the hole when the food is gone. No wonder Qian Tongpan will die. With such a huge deficit, it would be strange not to die. It seems that one death is not enough, I may also die in it."
"
The situation is deteriorating. If something goes wrong, whether the emperor or the people, if they don't have the patience to listen to his reasons, they will only be bombed to death.