Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"Do you want to go again tomorrow morning?" Quan Shuyu asked.

Chen Shao kept walking: "Why?"

Chan Yi helped answer, "Let's go back tomorrow morning and count the knives and swords. Only then will the people around us be able to see them and believe more that the jade pendant you told them was a scam."

That makes sense. Chen Shao stopped, and Li Tianliu also stopped. "I'll arrange for someone to guard it."

Chen Shao responded with a "OK".

Since he didn't have to go to Uncle Fang's house anymore, Chen Shao returned to Chengfengyuan.

After putting down his confession, washing his hands, and drinking hot tea to warm himself up, Chen Shao asked about the progress of the inventory of various money and grain warehouses.

"The granaries have been checked," Quan Shuyu put down his teacup and took the detailed list. Knowing that she didn't like to read it, he roughly described the situation of each family's granary according to the details, and then said in summary, "The Zhu family has a total of 71,213 shi, 7 dou, 2,500 he of grain; the Gu family has a total of 69,780 shi, 9 dou, 1 sheng, 6 he of grain; the Qi family has a total of 40,000 shi... A total of 249,111 shi, 8 dou, 3 sheng, 5 he of grain."

Chan Yi raised her head in shock at the huge number, "This much food, is it enough for the soldiers at the border to eat for many years?"

Quan Shuyu shook his head: "For ordinary people, if there is a bumper harvest, based on 36 shi of grain a year, these 249,111 shi, 8 dou, 3 liters and 5 he are barely enough to support 7,000 soldiers for a year."

It's only been a year, and it's still barely enough... No wonder so many countries in history have been destroyed because of a few wars. Such consumption is really shocking. Even though Chen Shao was mentally prepared, he was still shocked by her account.

"I checked the account books of the Zhu family's granaries," Quan Shuyu continued. "Although the Zhu family's managers all said that they would send the old grain to Jiangnan after the new grain came out every year, the account books show that they have sent very little grain to Jiangnan in the past three or four years. They sent 3,000 shi the year before last, and less than 2,000 shi last year. This year, because the young master came to Hongyuan County, they have not had time to send it to Jiangnan. I don't know how to interrogate, so I didn't ask the Zhu family why they only sent this much grain in recent years, and I checked their treasury account books again."

Chan Yi handed over her teacup. After Quan Shuyu took two sips, she continued, "In the 16th year of Yuanhe, the Zhu family sent 66,000 dan of grain to Jiangnan, but Jiangnan only paid them for 20,000 dan of grain. In the 17th year of Yuanhe, the Zhu family sent 52,000 dan of grain to Jiangnan, but Jiangnan still only paid them for 20,000 dan of grain. Then in the 18th year of Yuanhe, they sent 3,000 dan of grain, but Jiangnan didn't give them a penny."

"So, they sent less grain because Jiangnan didn't pay?" Chan Yi asked, "That's not right. I remember when you interrogated them before, they all said that half of the grain sent to Jiangnan was sold for money, and the other half was given to the prince's party of the previous dynasty. In the 16th year of Yuanhe, 66,000 dan of grain was sent, but Jiangnan only paid for 20,000 dan. It's also possible that they only sold 20,000 dan, and the remaining 46,000 dan was given to the prince's party of the previous dynasty."

Chen Shao said: "Whether it is true or not, we will know after asking tomorrow."

Quan Shuyu nodded, put down the details of the granary inventory, and took out another treasury inventory: "The treasury inventory is almost complete. The Zhu family has a total of five treasuries, and the total inventory is..."

Chen Shao interrupted her: "Just say a total number."

"I really can't tell you the total number," said Quan Shuyu. "I can't estimate the market prices of jade, porcelain, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, etc."

"Then don't estimate it," Chen Shao thought for a moment and said, "When the people from the Auxiliary General come, you can give them half according to your own estimate."

Quan Shuyu asked, "Want to split it in half?"

Chen Shao nodded: "Divide it in half. While they are not here yet, you can arrange for someone to divide it in advance and prepare the details like this account book. When they arrive, let them choose one for themselves."

After Quan Shuyu agreed, he asked again: "What about the food? Should we give them half of it as well?"

"No need," Chan Yi said, "There isn't much to begin with, and if I give half of it away, this trip would be like giving it away for free."

Quan Shuyu nodded in agreement.

"It's the first time we cooperate, so we should be more generous to show our sincerity." Chen Shao explained, "Besides, whether to give half of it to others is not up to us. Since we have invited them to escort us, if we don't give them half, and they move some of it halfway, we won't know. Instead of being suspicious of each other, it's better to be generous from the beginning."

"That's true." Chan Yi stopped worrying. "The Duke of Chen's Mansion is short of food, and the General of the State must also be short of food. Since they are all for the defense of Datong, there is no need to divide them so clearly. Besides, if Hongyuan County is short of food, don't we have other counties?"

"Speaking of other counties," Chen Shao looked at Quan Shuyu, "the money and grain warehouses have been almost checked. Zhang Ruyuan and the others, do you have any other arrangements?"

Hearing the hidden meaning in her words, Quan Shuyu said directly, "I was just about to ask you, sir. The money vault is already being cleaned up, and they will have nothing to do after that. Should I ask them to help at the farm or at the medicine shop? You need to give me your answer."

"Tell me first how they behave in society," Chen Shao reminded. "Tell me in detail."

"Among them, Zhang Ruyuan and Chang Si are relatively gentle. When they talk to people, they often smile before they say anything. Especially Zhang Ruyuan. Sometimes when I see him interacting with others, it's like seeing the young master interacting with the common people." Quan Shuyu thought and said, "Geng Dingli and Kang Zhengzong, I don't know if it's because of their names, but they are a bit rigid in what they say and do. When they checked the accounts earlier, sometimes the numbers on the books didn't match. No matter how late or tired they were, they insisted on starting over again until they matched the numbers or found the error. Cui Shu, he can write good articles, but he is a bit impatient. He wants to do everything right away."

Chen Shao asked casually, "If you were asked to arrange the positions vacant in the prefectural governor's office, where do you think they would be placed?"

Quan Shuyu was shocked: "Master, are you going to arrange for them to enter the government directly?"

"Of course not," Chen Shao smiled, "It's just a chance. Whether they can seize it depends on their ability."

What's the difference between that and letting them serve directly? Quan Shuyu was suspicious.

Li Tianliu, Fu Jiu and Chan Yi also looked over.

"You have seen the current situation." Chen Shao drank a sip of tea and said slowly, "We have no one to use, or rather, no one we can trust to use. We have finally cleaned up Hongyuan County into its current state. If we hand it over like this, within a few months, they will surely be filled with people from the previous dynasty's princeling party."

"Then leave it to these students. They have no experience and will make a mess. You can't come back to clean up the mess for them, right?" Quan Shuyu said.

Among the few people, her grandfather was the former county magistrate, so she was most familiar with some of the business procedures in the county government.

"I'm not afraid of their lack of experience or their chaos. After all, experience is accumulated through practice. For example, when dealing with the things on the farm, no one knew how to do it at first, but after being taught a few times, they not only learned how to do it, but also innovated and got better and better." Chen Shao said calmly, "So rather than being inexperienced and chaotic, I'm more worried about them losing their enterprising spirit."

Do not break or stand.

If you want to revitalize a corrupt regime, you must take drastic measures.

Now is a rare opportunity.

"That's true," Quan Shuyu said, feeling it was inappropriate, "but if we just let them serve in the government..."

"At most, they have an acting title, which is not considered as an official position," Chen Shao said calmly, "and moreover, there will not be only one person assigned to act for an official position. Just like those manors, there will be many people competing, and whoever does a good job can officially take over. Even if they officially take over, it is not all good, and those who lose the competition can still actively strive for it. In other words, before officially taking over, everyone is in a competitive relationship. After officially taking over, the loser will be the supervisor, so don't take it lightly."

"If that's the case..." Quan Shuyu said admiringly, "Then there will be no problem at all."

"It's not completely without problems. Let's give it a try." Chen Shao gestured to her, "Tell me about your arrangements for them."

She had never been a high-ranking official, nor did she have any experience. All her arrangements were based on human nature, or to prevent the princelings of the previous dynasty from taking advantage of the situation. As for whether it would work, she would only know after trying it. Anyway, even if she left Hongyuan County, she would still be within the scope of Jiannan Road. If something really happened, she could just come back.