Wu Mei turned around and glanced at the two of them. Without saying a word, she slowly walked towards the main room. Wu Chengsi and Princess Taiping followed immediately.
After entering the house, Wu Chengsi noticed that Wu Mei's expression was very serious, so he asked: "Aunt, has something happened?"
Wu Mei glanced at Princess Taiping and said, "Have you told your second cousin about the matter?"
Princess Taiping exclaimed: "I didn't say anything!"
"Taiping really didn't say that." Wu Chengsi said.
Wu Mei nodded her chin, was silent for a while, and said in a deep voice:
"Chengsi, I will not hide it from you. A major incident has indeed occurred in the palace. If it is not resolved properly, we may not be able to fight the Tubo people anymore."
Wu Chengsi was shocked and asked, "Could it be related to money?"
Wu Mei nodded lightly and said in a concentrated voice: "Chengsi, the treasury is already empty."
Wu Chengsi's heart skipped a beat.
Without money, he couldn't fight a war. If he couldn't fight a war, his "Xidu Camp" would be just a decoration. Money would also be needed to develop gun barrels, which would also affect his plan to fight against Japan.
However, in his impression, the Gaozong period was the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. The Silk Road created a lot of wealth for the country. How could the national treasury run out of money?
"Aunt, where did all the money go?" he asked.
Wu Mei slowly sat down, stretched out her hand to signal the two of them to sit down as well, and said slowly: "Over the years, the country has been constantly fighting big and small battles. In addition, the Taishan Fengchan event cost a lot of money, and the national treasury has been exhausted in this way."
"This is the unanimous statement of the Ministry of Revenue, Taifu Temple and the Shaofu Superintendent." She suddenly added.
Wu Chengsi was silent in thought. The national treasury is the foundation of a country. It is operated by the Ministry of Household Affairs, managed by the Taifu Temple, and supervised by the Shaofu Supervisor. Since these three departments have said so, there should be no problem.
However, if there were really no problems, Wu Mei would not be able to appear here.
"Aunt, do you suspect there is something wrong with these three yamen?"
"Although I am not in direct charge of finance, I still know a lot about the country's financial operations." Wu Mei said slowly:
"In the second year of Xianqing's reign, the treasury was still full. Now ten years later, although a lot of money has been spent on various aspects, I expected that one-third should be left."
Wu Chengsi was shocked. One-third of the national treasury was an astonishing amount of wealth. Could someone really dare to pull a tooth out of a tiger's mouth and steal this money?
After a pause, Wu Mei continued: "I have been secretly sending people to investigate this matter. Unfortunately, I have been investigating for several months, but I still can't find out the problem."
"Do you want me to investigate this matter?"
Wu Mei nodded and said solemnly:
"It would never be possible for so much money from the national treasury to be stolen in a year or two, and it would never involve just one or two people. The forces behind this must be extremely large and complex, and ordinary officials, even if they are capable enough, cannot investigate it.
Clear up this kind of thing."
She turned her narrow and majestic eyes to Wu Chengsi and said softly: "And this matter must be investigated secretly. Apart from you, I really can't think of any other candidate."
"Why a secret investigation?"
Wu Chengsi frowned. Investigation in secret was much more difficult and dangerous than investigation in the open.
Wu Mei was silent for a while and sighed quietly: "Because I don't want Your Majesty to know about this matter. His health is getting worse and worse. If he knew that the treasury was empty, he would definitely be worried about it, which would lead to further deterioration of his health."
Wu Chengsi had nothing to say, no wonder Wu Mei came here to discuss the matter with him.
This matter also deeply involved Wu Chengsi's own interests. He immediately nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, I will investigate this matter."
Wu Mei smiled and said: "I knew you would not disappoint me."
Wu Chengsi smiled bitterly and said: "Aunt, is there no money left in the treasury? Then the research at Shenhuofang must also be stopped?"
Shenhuofang is an institution directly under the emperor and is directly allocated from the treasury.
Wu Mei smiled and said: "You should thank Taiping for this. She has been helping you raise money during this period, and it has been quite effective. The funds from Shenhuofang will not stop."
Wu Chengsi looked at Princess Taiping, and she smiled slightly, looking very proud.
No matter what the occasion, Princess Taiping is very strong and always the leader of the conversation.
However, when Wu Chengsi and Wu Mei were discussing national affairs, she was like a well-behaved kitten, listening quietly to the two of them without disturbing them at all.
"Taiping knows all the other details very clearly. I still have to deal with government affairs, so I will go back to the palace first."
After leaving such words, Wu Mei left the courtyard through another side door.
Wu Chengsi sat at the table and thought quietly. After a long while, he finally figured out his thoughts.
Looking up, he saw Princess Taiping lying on the table, staring at him with a pair of big black crystal eyes.
This little girl is becoming more and more charming!
Wu Chengsi was distracted for a moment. He quickly regained his composure and urged: "Taiping, my aunt just said that you are very clear about this matter. Please tell me quickly."
Princess Taiping clasped her hands together, supported her chin, and said with a smile: "If you want to know anything, just ask."
Wu Chengsi pondered: "Assuming someone really steals the treasury wealth, the Ministry of Household Affairs, Taifu Temple and Shaofu Prison are the most suspicious. Didn't my aunt investigate them?"
Princess Taiping tilted her head and frowned: "Of course I have investigated it, but unfortunately nothing was found. All the accounts are clear and clear."
Wu Chengsi narrowed his eyes and said, "What about the chiefs of these three yamen? Have you investigated their private properties?"
"We have also investigated. There is nothing wrong with the Minister of Household Affairs, the Minister of Taifu Temple, and the Inspector of Shaofu. There is nothing suspicious about the properties in their names."
Wu Chengsi frowned and said, "Who is the person responsible for investigating this matter? I want to see him."
Princess Taiping hesitated for a moment and said, "That man has been executed by the Queen Mother."
Wu Chengsi: "..."
Princess Taiping hurriedly said: "Don't worry, I cross-examined that man carefully before he died, and I found out all the valuable things."
After a pause, her eyes turned cold and she said, "But that guy is really a loser. After checking for several months, he found almost nothing of value."
Wu Chengsi was silent.
After a long time, he said slowly: "No matter who is behind the scenes planning this matter, the most likely method they will adopt is to falsely report the amount of expenditure and then deduct part of the corruption."
Princess Taiping nodded her chin and said, "I think so too."
Wu Chengsi's eyes flashed and he said: "In recent years, what are the largest expenditures from the national treasury?"
Princess Taiping pointed her fingers and said: "The first one is naturally the Battle of Liaodong, followed by the enshrinement of Mount Tai, and then the construction of the imperial mausoleum..."
Wu Chengsi suddenly had an idea and suddenly remembered what Yang Xuan had reported.
A businessman was actually involved in the Battle of Liaodong.
Could it be that someone promoted the Liaodong War and took the opportunity to embezzle military pay?
But during the battle in Liaodong, there was no shortage of food, grass and ordnance allocated by the court, and the armor and weapons were also very sophisticated. There should be no situation where anyone would pass off inferior goods and take the opportunity to make money.
Princess Taiping seemed to know what Wu Chengsi was thinking, and said: "My mother and I also suspected that this matter is most likely related to the Battle of Liaodong, but after investigation, there was no special discovery."
Wu Chengsi nodded slightly, Wu Mei asked him to investigate the case, probably because he participated in the Liaodong War and it was easier to find the problem.
In short, it is better to start this matter from the investigation of military expenditures in the Liaodong War.
If the theft of the national treasury is really related to this war, then someone must have falsely reported war expenses, and the weapons inspection is the most suspicious.
Now there is only one question left. Wu Mei does not want Li Zhi to know about this matter, so she can only investigate it secretly, which will greatly increase the difficulty of the investigation.
"Second cousin, where should we start our investigation first?" Princess Taiping looked excited.
"we?"
"Yes, I will be your adjutant!"
Seeing Wu Chengsi frowning, she hurriedly said: "Don't forget, apart from the queen mother and the investigating officer who was executed, I know the best about this matter! I will definitely be able to help!"
Wu Chengsi pondered for a while and said, "Okay, but you have to listen to me in everything."
Princess Taiping smiled happily and said, "When did I stop listening to you?"
Wu Chengsi nodded, stood up and said, "Let's go to Dali Temple first." As he said that, he strode toward the courtyard.
"What are you going to Dali Temple for?" Princess Taiping trotted behind her.
"You'll find out later."
The two of them left the courtyard and walked all the way to the door of the mansion.
When passing a corner in the corridor, Feng Wu's eyes suddenly changed and she stood in front of Wu Chengsi, looking at the corner she was about to turn with a wary expression.
Wu Chengsi frowned, said nothing, and looked at Feng Wu quietly.
Princess Taiping raised her eyebrows and said, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Someone is talking about His Highness." Feng Wu replied succinctly.
Princess Taiping frowned and was about to speak again when suddenly, a voice sounded from the front.
"That man still dares to claim to be from His Highness King Zhou?"
Another voice said: "He is just a reckless person. He not only dares to pretend to be a member of our princess's palace, but also dares to pretend to be a subordinate of His Highness King Zhou. I haven't encountered such a desperate guy in many years!"
"Hey, that kid doesn't even think about it. Our Princess Mansion and Prince Zhou's Mansion are as close as one family. The celebrities around His Highness Prince Zhou, and the deacons of our Princess Mansion don't know about them, but they dare to pretend to be from Prince Zhou's Mansion in front of you!"
"Not only are we as close as one family, maybe we can actually become one in the future!"
"Idiot, don't say this nonsense..."
After saying these words, two men in yellow suddenly turned around the corner.
The two were chatting happily when they turned a corner and bumped into Princess Taiping and Wu Chengsi.
The two of them were frightened and quickly bowed to the side. One of them kowtowed and said: "My lord, your Royal Highness the Princess is safe, and His Royal Highness the King of Zhou is safe."
The other man was lying on the ground, unable to speak.
Normally in the mansion, the servants would only bow to Princess Taiping when they saw her, but at this moment, the two of them were already frightened, and they only hoped that Princess Taiping did not hear what they just said.
Princess Taiping's face was as red as an apple, and she said angrily: "You two are so brave, how dare you arrange for me and my second cousin behind my back!"
The two of them trembled, and one of them said in a trembling voice: "Your Highness, Princess, even if you give this villain a hundred courages, I will not dare to arrange for you and His Royal Highness the King of Zhou!"
"I have heard this, but you still dare to quibble! Someone, drag them down and give them fifty sticks!" Princess Taiping shouted angrily.
When the guards were about to step forward, Wu Chengsi stopped him and said, "Wait a minute."
"Second cousin, he, they arranged us like this, why are you still protecting them?" Princess Taiping pouted, but she peeked at Wu Chengsi's expression from the corner of her eyes.
Wu Chengsi happened to be looking at Princess Taiping and noticed that she glanced at him and then quickly lowered her head, her face was red, which was really cute.
Wu Chengsi's heart beat rapidly. As Princess Taiping continued to grow up, he found that his resistance to her was getting weaker and weaker, so he had to suppress his thoughts and said: "Let me ask them a few questions."
When he turned to look at the two people on the ground, his expression returned to seriousness and he said, "Get up first."
They both knew that His Royal Highness Prince Zhou had a much better temper than Princess Taiping, and that Her Highness the Princess was the most obedient to him, so they stood up in a hurry and kept bowing to express their thanks.
Wu Chengsi said with a straight face: "You just said that someone pretended to be my subordinate, what happened?"
One of the deacons was Deacon Huang. He said respectfully: "Your Highness, there is a bold maniac who pretends to be your subordinate."
Wu Chengsi wondered: "Could it be that the masters and disciples of the Gao Junhui came here?" He asked with concern: "Did that person give his name? Is there a child over five years old beside him?"
Deacon Huang tried his best to turn his brain and said: "It seems... his name is Zhang... Zhang... ah, by the way, his name is Zhang Gou! There are no children around him!"
Princess Taiping suddenly raised her head and said in surprise: "Second cousin, isn't Zhang Gou the person you sent to find me?"
Wu Chengsi nodded with a heavy expression.
Butler Huang's face suddenly turned pale, and with a pop, he knelt down again and said, "He...he...he...really..."
"He is my subordinate, you didn't do anything to him, right?" Wu Chengsi asked with a stern face.
Deacon Huang was so frightened that he opened his mouth and said: "Your Highness...he...he..."
Princess Taiping said sternly: "Speak quickly! If you hesitate any more, I will make you speechless for the rest of your life!"
Deacon Huang was frightened and said anxiously: "Your Highness, he seems to have been caught by the people from Shijindan. He may be in danger now!"
Princess Taiping was stunned and said: "Isn't Shijinjin cloth village? Why did they arrest the second cousin's people?"
Deacon Huang whispered: "It seems...that Brother Zhang offended Geng Liang of Shijindan and was arrested by him."
Princess Taiping wanted to ask again, but Wu Chengsi said in a deep voice, "Now is not the time to ask questions." He looked at Butler Huang and said, "You lead the way immediately and take us there!"
Princess Taiping was surprised again and said, "Second cousin, do we want to go there in person?"
Wu Chengsi said: "If you don't want to, you can just wait for me in the house."
Zhang Gou woke up in a daze. As soon as his head cleared, he felt a pungent smell of blood pouring into his nose.
Then, he found that he was holding a knife in his right hand!
When he looked down, he saw that his clothes were covered in blood.
"you're awake?"
A gentle voice sounded from the side. Zhang Gou turned around and saw a sickly man looking at him with a smile.
Zhang Gou felt a chill in his heart and quickly looked around the room. Suddenly he felt his stomach rising and he almost vomited it out.
The house was still the same house, but it was like hell at the moment. The house was full of blood, corpses, and even the head of the fat shopkeeper.
Those who died were all people from "Ten Brocades". Shopkeeper Geng was lying on the ground like him, covered in blood, as if he had been bitten by a wild beast.
When his eyes turned to the sick man again, Zhang Gou couldn't believe that he could still laugh in a place like this.
Although the other party had a gentle attitude, Zhang Gou felt that this person was more terrifying than Shopkeeper Geng. He gritted his teeth and said, "Who are you? Did you kill all these people?"
Zhuang Zizhou smiled and said, "Actually, it was you who should have killed these people."
Zhang Gou was surprised and said, "What do you mean by this?"
Zhuang Zizhou stood up with a smile, slowly put on a pair of sheepskin gloves, walked to Zhang Gou, and said with some regret:
"If you hadn't woken up so early and hadn't seen me, you could have survived as a murderer. It's a pity, alas..."
As he spoke, he took the dagger from Zhang Gou's hand, walked to Wang Datou, put the dagger in his hand and held it.
This man felt more terrifying to Zhang Gou than a poisonous snake, and he did not dare to resist at all.
Zhuang Zizhou said leisurely: "Now the murderer is going to be this dear man, and you can only be regarded as a corpse. What a poor guy."
After saying that, he suddenly took the short knife back, hit Wang Datou on the neck with the handle, and said with a smile: "We can't let this guy wake up early, otherwise no one will be the murderer."
Listening to his strange words, Zhang Gou gradually understood.
These people were all killed by this man. He originally planned to make himself the scapegoat, but because he woke up, he decided to let Wang Datou take his place.
He never dreamed that just because of a piece of clothing, he would end up in this situation.
Zhang Gou stared at the ceiling blankly, with all kinds of thoughts in his heart.
Although his father Zhang Qiming was the apprentice of Yu Wenkai, the best craftsman in the world, his fellow apprentices Xu Yuanju and Yang Wulian both became high officials in the imperial court. Only Zhang Qiming was poor.
Zhang Gou also had to follow Zhang Qiming into poverty since he was a child.
Later, Zhang Qiming was arrested, he was implicated and imprisoned, and by mistake he became the leader of pirates.
It wasn't until he met King Wu Chengsi of Zhou that his bad luck seemed to dissipate.
However, bad luck seemed unwilling to leave him and launched a desperate counterattack.
Inexplicably, he got involved in this situation. At first, he just wanted to lose his arm, but now he even risked his life.
The most regrettable thing is that I will not be able to see Princess Taiping before she dies.
While Zhang Gou was recalling his life, Zhuang Zizhou was busy smearing blood on Wang Datou's body. His technique was very professional, and it was obviously not the first time he had done this kind of thing.
After everything was done, Zhuang Zizhou stood up and said with a smile: "It's done!"
Zhang Gou looked at him silently, his heart full of fear, which was a kind of fear that came from biological instinct.
Zhuang Zizhou suddenly tilted his head, looked at Zhang Gou and said, "Hey, I got the order wrong, I should kill you first."
Zhang Gou's breathing became heavy, and Zhuang Zizhou took the knife from Wang Datou's hand again and slowly walked towards him.
At this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open. Zhuang Zizhou, who had always been smiling, was surprised. He looked in the direction of the door and said, "General, why are you here?"
Zhang Gou looked up, but could only see a shadow. The man was standing at the door and did not come in.
An extremely rough voice came from the direction of the gate: "Wu Chengsi and Li Lingyue are coming this way. Clean up the place quickly and evacuate immediately."
Zhang Gou was overjoyed when he heard the names of Wu Chengsi and Li Lingyue.
However, when he saw Zhuang Zizhou walking towards him with a cold light in his eyes, his heart sank again.
He knew in his heart that this was his last chance. As long as he could delay Wu Chengsi's arrival, he would survive. He roared and rushed towards Zhuang Zizhou.
The sword flashed.
Poof!
Zhang Gou felt a sharp pain in his chest. When he lowered his head, he saw that the opponent's dagger had already been inserted into his heart.
Then he received another kick in the abdomen. He flew back five feet and fell to the ground motionless.