Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Zhai Dingfang, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Ningxia, questioned expressionlessly: "We captured more than twenty bandits who had escaped from Xuanzhou, and their confessions were all identical. Do you still dare to deny it?"

Yang Yuan protested, "I'm innocent! Those rebels must have already colluded their testimonies."

“Nonsense!” Zhai Dingfang roared. “They were arrested at different times and in different places. How could they possibly collude to give a false testimony?”

Yang Yuan said, "They had made an agreement before they rebelled."

Chapter 3894 Quick! Disassociate Yourself

In the next few rooms, the prefectural judge, the various officials, the magistrates of the two counties, and the subordinate officials of the prefecture and county were also being interrogated.

They all say the same thing: they were the ones who colluded beforehand!

As for the soldiers, they were personally interrogated by Governor Zhao Ding.

He wielded immense power, including the authority to directly interrogate military officers.

However, they could only hear the cases but not make judgments; the results had to be reported to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War.

Commander Pu Quan looked like a victim:

“I joined the army in Bazhou and have been fighting alongside Li Shumi ever since. How could I not know how severe military law is?”

"I would never dare to do something like embezzlement or misappropriation."

"I was stationed in Shaanxi before and I never embezzled anything. How could I suddenly embezzle when I came to Ningxia?"

"Those remnants of the Western Xia, my soldiers and I certainly didn't treat them well. Why should we treat foreign barbarians well?"

"Perhaps they were wronged by me, or perhaps their land and pastures were confiscated by the local officials. That's why those bastards incited their people to rebel."

"Upon receiving the news, I immediately marched dozens of miles to the camp and launched a night raid, defeating the rebels."

"They came to hunt down the remaining survivors again, and it took them a full half month. They not only sweated but also bled."

"Even if I didn't achieve anything, I certainly put in a lot of effort, right? How come the governor summoned me for questioning as soon as the victory report was sent out?"

"Just because those traitors made baseless accusations and false charges?"

Zhao Ding listened silently, but was thinking about other things.

Yang Yuan claimed to be Qin Hui's student, while Pu Quan claimed to be Li Bao's personal guard.

Should we investigate these two guys thoroughly?

If things really come to light, Qin Hui and Li Bao will definitely try to distance themselves from the matter, but afterwards they will most likely remember Zhao Ding.

The trouble in Xuanzhou wasn't too big and could be easily covered up.

However, it involves large-scale corruption, and the censors have also found out about it. Anyone who dares to cover it up is very likely to get burned.

A thorough investigation is necessary, but the challenge lies in striking the right balance!

Just as Zhao Ding was weighing the pros and cons, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in."

An official quickly walked up to Zhao Ding and whispered in his ear: "The registrar of Mingsha County couldn't stand the intimidation and has confessed everything. He insists that he was dragged into this and that he didn't receive any money or grain."

“The magistrate of Mingsha County was insatiably greedy and embezzled half of the money and goods promised to the registrar.”

Zhao Ding sneered: "They even dare to seize their accomplices' stolen money. They're so greedy they've lost their brains!"

The official said, "The warehouse in Mingsha County was full of fake supplies. We burned it all down and blamed it all on the rebels."

Burning the warehouse is a heinous crime!

Zhao Ding immediately stopped considering the pros and cons. Those guys dared to burn down the official granary, and there was no room for maneuver in the case.

Even if the warehouse was burned down, the main culprits were still guilty of a capital offense.

Zhao Ding said loudly, "Commander Pu, the registrar of Mingsha has confessed and wants to atone for his crimes by truthfully confessing."

"After you embezzled the money and grain, you burned down the fake granaries and blamed it on the rebels. What excuse do you have?"

Pu Quan was taken aback upon hearing this.

He simply couldn't understand how the registrar of Mingsha dared to confess. Such a serious crime, if he remained silent, he might be able to get away with it, but if he confessed, everyone would be finished.

Zhao Ding asked, "You didn't burn down the military granary too, did you?"

Xuanzhou's geographical location is very important, as it connects Yinchuan Prefecture with the Hexi Corridor.

Therefore, the imperial court set up military granaries there so that supplies could be quickly dispatched in the event of major chaos.

Chapter 3895 One step of greed, and you'll be greedy at every step.

If it were just local supplies from Xuanzhou, with so many civil and military officials sharing the spoils, Pu Quan really wouldn't risk his head.

"I'm innocent! It was the traitors who burned it!" Pu Quan stubbornly insisted.

Zhao Ding sneered: "You've embezzled and misappropriated so many supplies, you must have to find merchants to sell them, right?"

"You think the imperial court can't find out? I sent people to check the customs posts along the way long ago. All the tax declarations of the caravans when they passed through the customs are on file. With so many goods, how could there not be a trace? You idiot!"

Upon hearing this, Pu Quan's face turned ashen.

It's quite possible to trace the whereabouts of the supplies by following the customs checkpoints.

It's estimated that a number of Shaanxi merchants will also be killed.

Zhao Ding snapped, "Confess now! You're doomed. But if you can perform a meritorious service, I might make your death look a little better!"

Pu Quan's mouth was dry and his throat was parched. After sitting there for a long time, he realized that his throat was full of phlegm.

He cleared his throat and said, "I originally didn't intend to do this deadly business. It was the military ambassador of Xuanzhou who said that the warehouse was piled high with wealth, and suggested that we find a way to get some of the profits."

"He couldn't do it by himself, and I couldn't do it by myself either, but we managed to do it together."

"I didn't initially intend to burn the warehouse. I haven't lived enough yet; I just wanted to get a few out."

"When military supplies were being moved out, the news was accidentally leaked, and more and more officers found out about it."

"Later, the military judge heard about it and gave me a chance to turn myself in."

"I'm begging him to be lenient and let it go, considering our years of camaraderie."

“I gave him a lot of wealth, and I also gave him the noblewoman from Western Xia that the court had bestowed upon me. He… couldn’t resist and agreed.”

"But too many officers know, so we have to use money to keep them quiet."

"Originally, I only wanted to get a little bit from the military warehouse, but later I had to share the profits with many people."

"By the time I came to my senses, the military warehouse had been nearly half emptied."

“We were all terrified. Later, we sat down together to discuss the matter and decided that we could only force the remnants of the Western Xia to rebel, burn down the military granaries, and hand them over to the rebels.”

"This can't be done by the military alone; we have to win over the civil officials of Xuanzhou. Those civil officials are also embezzling and misappropriating funds. If I find something on them and intimidate them, they'll agree to cooperate..."

After hearing this, Zhao Ding was both angry and amused.

He was reminded of a joke about a child stealing candy from his family.

At first, the child only wanted to take a sip, but after taking one sip after another, by the time the child realized he had made a mistake, he had already eaten most of the candy in the jar. So the child threw the jar into the latrine to destroy the evidence.

Still feeling they couldn't hide it any longer, they eventually burned the house down.

The next day.

Zhao Ding, along with the provincial inspector and the censor, jointly interrogated Yang Yuan.

"Prefect Yang, Pu Quan has confessed that he conspired with the military granary commissioner to embezzle military granary supplies, and also conspired with civil officials to embezzle other funds and grain."

Zhao Ding banged the table with a wooden mallet.

“We can close the case even if you don’t confess. But we’re giving you a chance to redeem yourself. What else do you want to say? Show him Pu Quan’s confession.”

The officials of the Provincial Surveillance Commission handed over the confession, which bore Pu Quan's fingerprint and signature, as well as the seals and signatures of the Governor-General and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

After reading it carefully, Yang Yuan felt weak all over, like a boiled noodle.

This guy was actually scared to death in history, and he was so paranoid that he scared himself.

His brain went blank instantly, and he completely lost the ability to think.

Chapter 3896 Reporting Qin Hui

who am I?

Where am I?

What am I going to do?

"Ah!"

Zhao Ding slammed his gavel: "Don't delay, confess now!"

Yang Yuan was jolted awake, trembling all over, and said, "I... if I redeem myself through good deeds, can I avoid the death penalty?"

Zhao Ding narrowed his eyes and suddenly smiled, "That depends on how great your contribution is."

"Qin Hui, I want to report Qin Hui, the Minister of Revenue!"

Yang Yuan shouted frantically, "Qin Hui is a corrupt official. Over the past ten years, I have given him tens of thousands of strings of cash!"

"Furthermore, before I entered the mourning period, I served as an official in Jinan Prefecture. The prefect and vice-prefect of Jinan were also corrupt officials."

"And...and also, when I was an official in Wanzhou, the clerk in charge of household affairs there was also a corrupt official. And Chaozhou..."

This guy spills the beans; he really says whatever comes to mind.

He directly accused a large number of officials, leaving the officials in charge of the interrogation completely stunned.

Are you trying to drag all the officials you've worked with down with you?

Fearing that his report might not be enough to save him from death, Yang Yuan racked his brains and said, "I have an old classmate whose family is not very wealthy."

"But when I returned home for the mourning period, I discovered that his family had built numerous luxurious mansions and had also renovated their ancestral tombs to be grand and imposing. He must be a corrupt official!"

Zhao Ding was speechless. It's fine to report your colleagues, but why the hell are you reporting your old classmates and friends?

Just because his family's house and ancestral graves were built in a grand style?

……

When Fu Yuanheng and Zou Qing arrived in Yinchuan, they were presented with dozens of confessions.

The Ningxia Governor-General's Office and the Provincial Surveillance Commission no longer dared to take on cases; they proactively requested that the Censor jointly handle them.

Moreover, during the trial, the censors took the lead, while the local officials played a supporting role.

Fu Yuanheng quickly reviewed more than ten testimonies: "I will preside over the cases involving military officers. The others will be handled by Imperial Censor Zou, and I will accompany him during the trials if necessary."

Upon seeing Qin Hui's name, Zou Qing subconsciously swallowed and said, "Let's resolve the Xuanzhou case as soon as possible. As for those officials from other places mentioned by Yang Yuan, they're all over the country; we must report them to the Censorate."

"I estimate that the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review will also be mobilized. I wonder how many heads will roll this time."

The fight against corruption has been going on every year.

Looking across the country, officials are brought down almost every month; it's not that a major crackdown only happens every few years.

But they usually investigate officials below the fourth rank.

Officials of the fourth rank and above are extremely difficult to investigate; they would not only alarm the emperor, but at least the cabinet.

If the investigation uncovers a third-rank official, it will surely alarm the emperor.

Qin Hui's official rank was the second rank, but he also had the title of the first rank!

Such an important official could not be investigated by the Censorate, nor even by the Cabinet; the emperor himself had to give his approval.

Fu Yuanheng asked, "Have you found out where the stolen money and goods went?"

Zhao Ding said, "According to the confessions of the perpetrators, they sold the stolen goods through merchants."

"Some of the stolen goods were trafficked to the Western Regions, and some were transported to Shaanxi to be sold off. Almost all the merchants who helped sell the stolen goods were from Shaanxi."

"We still need to work with the Shaanxi side on this case." Zou Qing had a headache.

Fu Yuanheng sighed and said, "Continue the interrogation."

……