The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

Meng Yi frowned, staring out the window, muttering to himself, "I've never seen any mention of this in history books before. Could it be that the uprising broke out so quickly after the First Emperor's death because of these people..."

He felt as if he had discovered a big secret, but he didn't dare to jump to conclusions. After all, these were all speculations and more evidence and investigation were needed.

Meng Yi collected his thoughts and decided to test Lu Ze's words. He wanted to know if Lu Ze knew something. If Lu Ze did know something, then he could follow this clue to investigate further.

When Lü Ze returned from the county government office, Meng Yi could not wait to go to Lü Ze's room in the middle courtyard. He knocked gently on the door, and the knock echoed in the silent courtyard, as if with a hint of crispness.

"Please come in." Lu Ze's voice came from inside, with a hint of fatigue in his voice.

Meng Yi pushed open the door and walked into the room. Lu Ze was sitting at the table, holding a document in his hand, obviously handling official business. His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something important.

Seeing Meng Yi coming in, Lu Ze put down the documents, stood up, and asked with a smile: "Brother Meng Yi, why are you here?" There was a hint of kindness in his smile, but a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Meng Yi walked up to Lu Ze and said with a smile, "Brother Lu, I see that you have been so busy these days, leaving home early and coming back late. You are really doing your job conscientiously!" His eyes fell on the official document in Lu Ze's hand.

Lu Ze smiled helplessly and replied, "There's nothing I can do. The county government has been very busy recently, with assessments and registrations required. I'm very busy." As he spoke, he rubbed his temples with his hands, as if trying to relieve his fatigue.

Meng Yi nodded to show his understanding, then sat down and continued, "Brother Lu, who is responsible for the grain accounts in the county warehouse?" He looked at Lu Ze with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

When Lu Ze heard this, he looked at Meng Yi in surprise and asked quickly: "What's wrong, Brother Meng, have you found any clues? Is there something wrong with the grain account?" There was a hint of nervousness in his voice, and his hand unconsciously clenched the teacup.

Meng Yi's heart tightened, but he still smiled casually and replied, "Haha, Brother Lu, don't be nervous. I just saw the hundreds of acres of fertile fields in the counties of Sishui County along the way, and I thought there would be a good harvest this year, so I asked this question."

After hearing this, Lu Ze also laughed heartily and said, "Haha, Brother Meng is absolutely right. Our Sishui County is indeed a place with abundant grain production. Currently, all grain production in Pei County is directly managed by Wei Jilai, the county magistrate, and there are also special warehouse officials who are responsible for specific matters."

Lu Ze paused, then continued, "According to regulations, half of the annual grain harvest will be escorted by the county magistrate and warehouse officials to Chenliu Warehouse for storage and allocation by the imperial court."

After hearing this, Meng Yi nodded thoughtfully and replied, "I see."

Afterwards, the two chatted for a while about other topics. Seeing that the time was almost up, Meng Yi stood up and said goodbye to Lu Ze. His steps were a little slow, and he was still thinking about the conversation.

Lu Ze saw him to the door and watched his back disappear at the end of the street, a hint of doubt arose in his heart.

As for Xiao He, when he returned to the post station, he began to discuss with Li Ziwei.

However, when they were discussing the geographical locations of the four counties, Li Ziwei suddenly raised a question: "Brother Xiao, why do I feel that these counties are all located in Shandong?"

Xiao He was shocked when he heard this, and a flash of inspiration came to his mind. He hurriedly took out the map and carefully examined it. As expected, he found that Dongjun, Dangjun, Xuejun, and Sishuijun were all located in Shandong.

Just as Xiao He was lost in thought, Li Ziwei's voice reached his ears again: "When our army marched north, these counties were the places where grain was transported!"

"Food..." Xiao He grasped this key information tightly, his eyes fell on the map again, and he kept searching.

Finally, his sight stopped at a place - "Chenliu Warehouse".

That’s right, just as Li Ziwei said, during the army’s northern expedition to the surrounding areas, the imperial court specially established Chenliu Warehouse in these four counties, which was specifically responsible for storing and transporting the food and fodder needed by the army.

Xiao He thought to himself, "Could it be that there is not only a problem with the grain accounts of these four counties, but also a problem with the grain in the Chenliu warehouse?" Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

He turned his head, a hint of worry in his eyes, looked at Li Ziwei, and asked softly: "Brother Ziwei, what do you think we should do?"

Li Ziwei frowned slightly, lost in thought. After a moment, he slowly spoke, "Brother Xiao, I think we should first investigate the situation at Chenliu Warehouse. After all, Chenliu Warehouse is responsible for storing grain and fodder for the Shandong region. If anything were to go wrong, the consequences would be disastrous. However, before that, we still need to report this matter to the General."

After hearing this, Xiao He nodded in agreement and replied, "Well, you are right. But this matter must be handled with caution, otherwise it will cause unnecessary panic."

He then added, "I will now report this matter in detail to the Lord. And you, first contact the spies in Sishui County. Remember, we must proceed with caution in this matter and absolutely not alert the enemy."

Li Ziwei responded seriously, "Don't worry, Brother Xiao. I understand the stakes involved and will handle this carefully."

After that, the two of them didn't hesitate any longer and immediately split up. One hurried to Lu's residence, while the other began to secretly contact the spies in Sishui County...

After a while, Xiao He hurried to Lu's mansion.

At this moment, in the study, Xiao He took a deep breath and said to Meng Yi, "My Lord, I suspect this grain accounting problem is not limited to Pei County."

As he spoke, he took out a map from his arms, spread it out carefully, and pointed to a place on it - Chenliu Warehouse.

Meng Yi looked in the direction Xiao He pointed, his brow furrowed, a hint of worry in his eyes. He nodded slightly and said gravely, "Dear Lord, the grain from Dongjun, Sishui, and other four counties must be stored and transported through Chenliu Warehouse. If something goes wrong here, the consequences will be disastrous."

Xiao He's expression also became very solemn. He clenched his fists tightly and said, "My Lord, this matter is of no small importance. We must find out the truth as soon as possible."

Meng Yi pondered for a moment and continued, "Da De, immediately have Zi Wei arrange for someone to investigate the situation at Chenliu Warehouse to see if there are any abnormalities. Also, keep an eye on Fan Li from the Fan Company to see if he can find any clues."

Upon hearing this, Xiao He quickly clasped his hands and said, "As you command." Then he turned and left the study, his steps seeming a little hurried.