"Your Majesty, what are you..." Liu Yan was startled when he saw the royal guards coming in with a ferocious look. His hands trembled and he almost let go of the stack of documents. He staggered before he could regain his balance.
He stopped and asked quickly.
"Nothing." Li Zhen smiled calmly and said, "I heard that Mr. Liu was originally in charge of the second department of driving, and the Treasury Department was originally in charge of Li Shilang. Is this possible?"
Liu Yan was not a member of the prince's family. He was originally wondering why he was being transferred when he was about to be transferred, but Li Youling suddenly came to change responsibilities with him. At this time, listening to Li Zhen's words, he had already vaguely guessed that only one of them
Afraid that there was something fishy, his face turned pale with fright, and he hurriedly explained: "Returning to Your Highness, it is true, but the official and Mr. Li often exchange responsibilities. This is a rule, and there is nothing wrong with it. I don't know.
…”
Although Li Youling didn't say anything, the paleness that flashed across his face could not be hidden from Li Zhen's eyes. After listening to Liu Yan's explanation, Li Zhen suddenly laughed and said: "Liu Shilang, this king is acting
I have always been strict, and since I have been ordered to go to the Ministry of War on errands, I don’t want to mess things up. Some things must be clearly understood before handing over, don’t you think?”
"That's it, that's it. Your Majesty should have completed the handover with His Highness. If Your Highness has any doubts, please let me know. I will definitely explain it." Liu Yan put the stack of documents in his hand back on the table and raised his hand to use it.
Daxiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a slight stutter.
"That's good." Li Zhen laughed and said: "Come on, although the affairs of the Second Treasury Department are complicated, there is one thing that is fundamental - inventory is the key to it. Since I want to take over, I have to go through the inventory.
, Mr. Liu, what do you think?"
Liu Yan didn't know the meaning of Li Zhen's words. He was stunned for a moment and then said: "Yes, yes, yes, what your highness said makes sense. I will accompany your highness to the treasurers and take stock."
"It's best. Let's start with the arsenal first. Mr. Liu, Mr. Li, please." Li Zhen said it was "please", but the murderous look in the eyes of the fierce-looking Prince's captain did not mean to invite him at all.
When Liu and Li saw this situation, they did not dare to say anything more, so they had to smile bitterly and follow Li Zhen in the direction of the arsenal.
The Tang Dynasty built its country by force and valued military achievements, so its arsenal was naturally huge. The arsenal located in the northwest corner of Chang'an City had a total of twelve warehouses. It was surrounded by open space within a hundred feet and was heavily guarded. Kuding alone was close enough to guard the warehouse.
As many as a thousand people, no one is allowed to approach the arsenal, otherwise they will be killed without mercy. Each warehouse is thirty feet square in size, and it contains a wide variety of weapons, siege equipment, etc., in huge quantities.
The fundamental guarantee of Tang’s military power.
"Kowtow to Your Highness." Li Zhen had just gotten off the sedan chair, but Yan Qin, the general accountant of "Yanji Company", had already led more than a dozen accounting clerks to wait in the open space outside the arsenal. When he saw Li Zhen getting off the sedan chair, he
He immediately ran forward to greet Li Zhen.
"No need, I want you to come here today to check the accounts, so you can just go with me." Li Zhen waved her hand, said casually, and planned to go to the arsenal.
As he left, he never thought that Li Youling came up from behind and said, "Your Highness, this is an important place for the arsenal. No one except idlers can enter. Please forgive me."
What Li Youling said was true, but it was not because of the rules, but because of his scruples about Yan Qin. Without him, Yan Qin, also known as Yan Dababapan, was the most famous accountant in the capital, and those in various ministries
Basically, all the huazis were students taught by Yan Qin, and Li Zhen's abacus was also popularized by Yan Qin. With such a person around, Li Youling, who had a ghost in his heart, was naturally worried to the extreme.
He introduced a rule, but how could he hide his small heart from Li Zhen? Seeing that Li Youling was anxious, Li Zhen immediately laughed and looked at Li Youling with great interest for a while, until Li Youling was covered in blood.
The cold hairs stood on end, and Li Zhen said with a smile: "Master Li, you should know this General Accountant of Yan. Not to mention the various ministries, even the General Accountant of Yan in the inner city has been there. Well,
, if my memory is correct, the accountant of the Ministry of War was also taught by General Accountant Yan. It seems that General Accountant Yan has entered this arsenal many times. Is there anything wrong with asking him to help check the accounts this time?
Where?"
"This..." Li Youling was stunned for a while, unable to think of a reason to stop him. He was so anxious that sweat appeared on his forehead. However, Li Zhen ignored Li Youling's embarrassment, smiled calmly, and led everyone into the reservoir area.
.
"Your Majesty, Wang Ji (Lin Dayou), came to see His Royal Highness the King of Yue." Wang and Lin had just met Li Zhen at the Ministry of War, but they did not expect that Li Zhen would reach the arsenal so quickly. As soon as they received the notification from his subordinate Ku Ding, they hurried to
When they came out, each of them nervously stepped forward to pay homage to Li Zhen.
"You two adults don't need to be polite. I have to take inventory today. I would like to ask you two adults to cooperate with me. Is that okay?" Li Zhen raised her hand lightly and signaled to Wang and Lin that the two principals should stand down. She said very politely.
said.
According to the practice of the Ministry of War, an inventory should be taken every three months. The inventory was just taken at the end of last year. Wang and Lin did not expect that Li Zhen, the new official, would burn the arsenal as soon as he took office. They did not react for a while and looked at each other without saying a word.
"What? Are you two adults in trouble?" Li Zhen asked with a smile.
"No, no, even if His Highness wants to investigate, all I need is your cooperation." Li Zhen had already said this, and Wang and Lin had nothing else to say, so they had to grit their teeth and agree.
Checking the inventory is not a simple matter, it is a tiring job. Even with the large number of warehouses and the cooperation of Yan Qin and other accountants, this check lasted from the morning until the sun was almost setting.
I got a rough idea, but at least I got the result that Li Zhen wanted - a total of 2,000 horizontal knives, 1,500 spears, 500 bows, more than 10,000 arrows, and nearly 2,000 pieces of armor were missing from the arsenal.
Set, two rush vehicles, and ten ladders. Such a large amount is enough to equip an army of three thousand people.
***, what a vicious scheming, damn, if I don’t check it, I’ll probably jump into the Yellow River and not be able to clean it up! Listening to Yan Qin’s summary results, Li Zhen remained calm on the face, but in her heart
He was so frightened that after Yan Qin finished his report, Li Zhen glanced at the group of officials gathered around him and said with a ferocious smile: "My lords, what is going on? How about you give me an explanation?"
"It's unjust. Your Highness, we are really unjust!"
"Your Highness, I really don't know."
…
Not to mention the two principals, the two ministers in charge of the Ministry of War and Mr. Su, the minister, were also involved in the lack of such a large amount. Seeing how serious the matter was, everyone turned pale at this moment. Face, they all fell to their knees as soon as they snored, each kowtowed and cried out for injustice.
Unjustly accused? Damn it, I am really unjustly accused. Li Zhen's face darkened, and she shouted loudly: "Chen Liang, pass this king's order to seal the arsenal immediately. No one is allowed to leave this place without permission. I will Enter the palace to meet the saint!"
"Yes, I obey!" Chen Liang saluted Li Zhen, drew the horizontal knife on his waist, and shouted, ordering his personal guards to immediately seal the door of the arsenal. Li Zhen glanced at those people with cold eyes. The officials who kept complaining about their grievances stopped talking or riding in large sedan chairs. Instead, they mounted the horses of the guards and led three or five guards in a hurry towards the palace.
At two o'clock in the hour, Li Shimin was having dinner in the Chengqing Hall. While he was having a good time, he suddenly saw the eunuch Gao Yao walking in in a hurry. He immediately stopped, looked at Gao Yao and said, "Why are you so panicked?" ?”
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the King of Yue is here. He said that a major case has been made by the Ministry of War, and he wants to report it to the emperor." Li Shimin never liked to be disturbed when he was eating. Gao Yao saw that Li Shimin was slightly angry in his words, so he hurriedly explained. road.
"Huh?" When Li Shimin heard that something happened at the Ministry of War, it was a serious matter, his face suddenly turned ugly. He thought for a moment and said lightly: "Xuan." Gao Yao did not dare to say more, so he hurriedly responded and retreated in a hurry. Go out and summon Li Zhen without mentioning it.
"My dear father, I bow to you." Li Zhen just walked into the Chengqing Hall and immediately strode forward, kowtowing respectfully and saying hello.
"Pingshen, let's talk, what happened to the Ministry of War?" Li Shimin asked calmly, his face was very calm, and there was no trace of fluctuation at all.
"Reporting to the Emperor Father, since I accepted the decree and took up the post of Minister of the Ministry of War, I have not dared to betray my father's great kindness. I have already arrived at the Ministry of War to perform my duties early this morning. During the handover, I checked the inventory of the arsenal and found that the arsenal was There is a serious discrepancy between the weapons and the accounts, and the amount of weapons lost is huge. I dare not hide it, so I came here to ask my father to make the decision." Li Zhen said as she took out the detailed accounts from her sleeves, held them respectfully with both hands and raised them above her head. .
"Hand it over!" When Li Shimin heard that something happened in the arsenal, his face suddenly darkened. He waved his hand and said, and the little eunuch who was waiting on the side walked down and took the fold from Li Zhen's hand and handed it to Li Shimin's hand.
"Damn it!" Li Shimin got angrier and angrier as he watched. Finally, he couldn't help but cursed loudly. He slammed his hand on the table, causing the bowls and chopsticks to rattle. He got up and paced back and forth in the hall. He stepped forward, suddenly stopped his feet, glanced at Li Zhen and said: "Zhen'er, in your opinion, what should be done about this matter?"
How about it? Hey, old man, you are planning to set a trap for us, we won’t be fooled! As soon as Li Zhen heard Li Shimin’s words, she knew that the old man was waiting for her to take the initiative to ask for help, but Li Zhen was not a fool, how could he not know this? There was a lot of intrigue behind this arsenal case, and he didn’t want to get involved at all. He just opened the lid. As for whoever wanted to jump in, please feel free to do it. Li Zhen wouldn’t jump in anyway. See you now. The old man asked, and Li Zhen replied calmly: "To inform the emperor, I have ordered the arsenal to be sealed off, and everyone is under control. Please send someone to investigate, and I will do my best." Cooperate."
Although Li Zhen's words were very tactful, the underlying meaning was unmistakable - he would never take charge of the investigation. Li Shimin was such a shrewd person, how could he not hear what Li Zhen meant, and looked at Li Zhen without thinking
When I went to preside over the case, my face suddenly drooped, and I stared at Li Zhen coldly, never saying a word... dd