novelSusiti Chapter 131 Inspecting the Grain Depot
Chapter 131 Inspecting the Grain Depot
Chapter 131 Inspecting the Grain Depot
Outside the Sanchahe Fort.
One of the guerrillas, unable to contain his confusion, asked Da Nian, the acting commander-in-chief of Tianjin garrison, as he mounted his horse, "Commander, are we just leaving like this?"
"Wu Ergun and Biaoxia have known each other for many years. Biaoxia would bet his life that he is absolutely not the kind of person who would dare to rebel!"
"Furthermore, the dense gunfire earlier was also strange. None of the Green Standard Army's weapons made that kind of sound, which is completely inexplicable."
"That's enough!"
Da Nian lashed out with his whip at the guerrilla, shouting, "Guarantee with your life? What kind of person are you to dare say such a thing?"
"Besides, this was said by the Governor-General himself. Are you implying that the Governor-General was lying?"
A bloody welt appeared on the guerrilla's face, and he hurriedly knelt down: "General, please calm your anger! I dare not!"
Da Nian snorted coldly, no longer looking at him, and said, "The whole army returns to camp. I see you've been living too well lately, so it's time to tighten the reins."
The group of several hundred men returned to the Zhenbiao Zuoying barracks located in the west of Tianjin.
Da Nian entered the central command tent, sat in the main seat, and asked expressionlessly, "How is the discipline of the Left Battalion lately?"
The guerrilla commander from the Left Battalion, who had been whipped earlier, bowed and replied, "Reporting to the commander, the Left Battalion maintains strict discipline and conducts continuous drills. They even held a joint drill the day before yesterday."
"Yeah?"
Da Nian gave a forced smile: "But how come I've heard that the Left Battalion's discipline has recently deteriorated, with soldiers gambling in broad daylight and the garrison commander openly bringing prostitutes into the camp?"
The Left Battalion Guerrilla's face changed instantly. Just as he was about to explain, Da Nian stood up and shouted sternly, "Men! Seize the Left Battalion Guerrilla, Commander, Garrison Commander, Captain, and Battalion Commander all at once!"
Remove the official hats from these good-for-nothings and send them all to prison to await the governor's judgment!
The guards outside the tent rushed forward and tied up all the generals of the left battalion.
"My lord, I've been wronged!"
"There must be someone slandering you, Your Excellency!"
The Green Standard Army soldiers outside the barracks were stunned by the sudden commotion. But with the commander-in-chief giving the order, who dared to utter a word?
The generals of the left wing were escorted out of the barracks, crammed into a carriage, and driven towards the prison.
Da Nian did not linger in the central command tent, but instead ordered his personal guards: "From today onwards, all soldiers of the left battalion are not allowed to leave the barracks. They shall remain in the barracks and be on standby. Three meals a day shall be delivered to them by a special person."
"Once the town has thoroughly investigated the matter of lax military discipline, further action will be taken!"
After saying this, he left a few personal guards to watch over the area and led the rest of his personal guards straight to the right battalion of the town.
That evening, several horse-drawn carriages loaded with food and hot wine drove into the Zuoying barracks.
After a period of noise, the barracks on the left suddenly fell silent.
The morphine in the drinks took effect quickly, and half an hour later, more than 600 Green Standard Army soldiers lay sprawled across the barracks.
The barracks gate was pushed open from the outside.
The suicide squad entered in single file, silently slitting the throats of the Green Standard Army soldiers one by one, then stripping them of their clothes and cutting off their queues.
The bodies were packed into boxes and transported, box by box, to San Francisco, where they were turned into fertilizer in the California soil.
The same scenario was playing out simultaneously in both the Right Battalion of the Town Guard and the City Garrison.
The suicide soldiers put on their clothes and their queues, and at dawn, there were still two thousand Green Standard Army soldiers in Tianjin.
"With Tianjin successfully captured, the next step is the fortifications at Dagu Port."
In San Francisco, Zeng Tai, Guilliman, and Su Song gathered together to discuss matters concerning Tianjin.
"Only after we take this place can our ships safely anchor near the beach."
"That's easy."
Zeng Tai said, "The Governor-General of Zhili and the General of Tianjin have already become our people. Let them make an official document and then have our loyal followers deliver it."
"Once we enter the fortress, I'll immediately send men to start the fighting."
Guilliman nodded and said, "Furthermore, the first wave of disaster victims is expected to arrive at the gates of Tianjin in about half a month. My lord, we should check the Beicang and Changpingcang warehouses."
"Given the extent of corruption among Qing officials, I doubt how much grain could still be stored in these two warehouses."
"You reminded me."
Zeng Tai recalled the TV dramas he had watched back then, and suddenly slapped his thigh: "Our previous plans were all based on the premise that there was enough grain stored in the Beicang. If there is no grain in there, we're doomed."
37
Su Song suggested, "We should take a two-pronged approach. We should resolve the issues at Dagu Port while simultaneously dealing with the granary situation."
"Let Tang He take some men there."
Zeng Tai said, "Hongwu and Rong Hong continued on the Dagu Fort. As soon as they captured the fort, they immediately began setting up soup kitchens."
Oh, and remember to have them buy the disinfectant alcohol, mugwort, bleach, sulfur, and lime water as soon as possible. All disaster victims willing to board the ship must undergo disinfection to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
"Yes."
Beicang.
Although this place has the character "仓" (cang, meaning warehouse) in its name, it is actually more like a small town. The walls are two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) high, and soldiers patrol the area day and night.
After leaving the north gate of Tianjin, walk north for about twenty miles, and you will arrive at Beicang.
It was located on the east bank of the North Canal, right next to the official road leading to the capital. From a distance, it looked like a large, gray expanse, mostly rows of warehouses.
Ambassador Ma Guozhu of Beicang stood outside the warehouse gate, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking nervous, his mouth constantly muttering words of prayer for divine protection.
"My lord, please rest assured."
Cang Shu, who was following behind him, couldn't stand it anymore and said to comfort him, "With our methods, as long as we don't investigate thoroughly, the higher-ups will definitely not be able to find out."
Ma Guozhu said quietly, "In the Shangqiu granary corruption case of the 27th year of Daoguang's reign and the Tongcang fraud case of the 14th year of Jiaqing's reign, before the truth came out, the officials there thought the same way you do."
Enraged, Cang Shu shouted, "Sir, we're all in the same boat now! Our fates are intertwined! Can you please stop spouting such discouraging words?!"
Ma Guozhu gritted his teeth and said, "If I had known Beicang would turn out like this, I shouldn't have taken this post three months ago!"
The two were arguing when they saw a large army approaching from afar, with the sound of horses' hooves and dust billowing into the air, and they quickly shut their mouths.
Soon, more than a hundred riders arrived at the gate of Beicang.
After showing his credentials, the leader reined in his horse and stopped in front of Ma Guozhu, asking, "Are you the Beicang Ambassador?"
"Your humble servant Ma Guozhu greets Your Excellency."
Ma Guozhu forced a smile, but inwardly he was horrified.
An hour ago, he received an official document from the governor's office informing him that someone was coming to inspect the grain reserves today. But he didn't expect them to arrive so quickly.
"Enough talk, take us to the warehouse."
"Sir, this way please."
Ma Guozhu bent over and led the way, explaining as he walked: "Beicang has a total of 48 granaries, each with five rooms, totaling 240 rooms. Including the grain stored over the years and the newly harvested grain this year, the accounts show a total of 400,000 shi of grain."
As he walked, he pulled a thick ledger from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands. "This is the grain storage inventory; please take a look, sir."
Tang He took the ledger and casually flipped through a few pages. The handwriting in the ledger was neat and clear, and every income and expenditure was recorded with the date and the person in charge, and stamped with red seals of various sizes.
On the surface, everything appears perfectly legitimate.
"Sir, which barn would you like to see first?" Ma Guozhu asked.
Tang He closed the ledger and casually said, "The ledger says that the first granary under the Jia character has two thousand shi of grain. Let's keep that."
Ma Guozhu responded and led the group straight to Factory No. 1 of Class A.
The warehouse's wooden doors were tightly shut, with brand-new iron locks hanging on them, and seals affixed to the door frames, dated three days prior.
He personally stepped forward, removed the seal, and took out the key to unlock the iron lock. As the warehouse door opened, the smell of grain wafted out.
Tang dismounted and led a few assassins into the granary.
The burlap sacks inside were stacked neatly and piled high. The rows of sacks near the entrance were bulging, with the six large characters "New Grain Transport in the Fifth Year of Xianfeng" printed on them.
"Please take a look, sir."
Ma Guozhu walked to the sacks and patted the outermost one. "This is all newly harvested grain this year, plump and without any mold."
Tang He ignored him and said to the assassin beside him, "Use the iron shovel."
The assassin took out a cylindrical iron shovel and plunged it into the outermost bag of fierce wolves. The shovel pulled out plump, glossy white new rice, carrying the unique fragrance of fresh grains.
Ma Guozhu's smile widened. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the assassins continuing to walk in, occasionally stabbing the sacks with iron spikes.
Ma Guozhu's smile froze for a moment before he said, "Sir, they're all the same inside, all new grain."
"New grain?"
One of the assassins returned, pointing at the rice in the iron bin: "Open your dog eyes and take a good look! The color is so dark, it's at least two years old. You still dare to spout nonsense?"
Ma Guozhu said with a forced smile, "Sir, you may not know this, but the rule in the warehouse is to release old rice and store new rice. It must have been an oversight by my men that some of the old rice that wasn't released was left inside."
"Yeah?"
Tang He chuckled and said, "You guys go to the innermost row and take out the middle bag from the bottom layer."
Ma Guozhu's expression changed drastically, and he could no longer maintain his smile.
Several assassins worked together to drag out the sack that Tang He had mentioned, and it made an extremely dull sound when it hit the ground.
One of the assassins pulled out an iron shovel and stabbed it inside!
The bag contained no rice, only sand, mixed with pebbles and a small amount of grain husks.
The warehouse fell silent.
Tang He squinted, pointed to the row of burlap sacks piled from the ground to the rafters, and said, "Move them aside and count them one by one."
.
The assassins began to act.
The two outermost sacks were carried off one by one and piled up on the open ground next to them.
Soon, the burlap sacks began to darken in color. By the time they were moved to the innermost layer against the wall, some of the sacks had already rotted. A light touch would cause them to tear open, and black, musty-smelling rotten grain would flow out.
The bottom row of sacks was filled with sand and gravel.
"Sir, the inventory is complete."
A loyal soldier reported: "The first granary of the Jia section has two thousand shi of grain stored in its books. One thousand shi is new grain, and one thousand shi is grain stored for a year."
But in reality, the granary contained only 300 shi of new grain, 500 shi of grain that had been stored for two years, 400 shi of rotten grain, and 500 shi of sand.
Tang He turned around and looked at Ma Guozhu: "Lord Ma, even if we include that rotten grain and sand, we're still short three hundred shi (a unit of dry measure)."
Ma Guozhu's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. Tang He sneered and said, "Take over the city's defenses, and send over a few hundred more men. We'll settle things one by one."
Three days later, the results of the investigation of the two granaries were reported to Zeng Tai.
The Ever-Normal Granary had 14,000 shi of grain on its books. However, upon actual inventory, less than 1,000 shi of new grain, a little over 2,000 shi of old grain, and the rest was all rotten grain, sand, and chaff.
The North Granary had 400,000 shi of grain on its books. However, upon actual inventory, only 50,000 shi of new grain and 100,000 shi of old grain remained, resulting in a deficit of about 60%.
"That's awesome."
Upon hearing this news, Zeng Tai was both angry and amused: "With such a huge deficit, shouldn't it have been discovered long ago? Did the Qing officials never investigate?"
Su Song said, "Investigate what? From the capital to Tongzhou, from the governor to the county magistrate, all levels of government are in cahoots, colluding with each other, they are all in the same boat."
Even if the Ministry of Revenue sends someone to inspect, the officials in charge of the granary treat them well with good food and drink, and slip them a sum of money before they leave. The inspectors go back and write a report saying that the granaries are full and the grains are free of mold. Everyone benefits, and everyone is happy.
Guilliman then began to calculate: "There are only 153,000 bushels of grain left, which is not enough to feed the people in Tianjin for a month."
"According to the interrogation results, the grain mainly flowed to two places: one was Tongzhou and the capital, and the other was the local grain shops in Tianjin."
Companies like Longshun, Yichang, Fuyuan Rice Shop, Tongsheng Grain Store, and Defeng Rice Shop—basically all the well-known grain stores in Tianjin—had gotten involved.
Zeng Tai continued reading the report, growing angrier with each reading.
"Damn it, no need to wait. I can't control Tongzhou and Beijing right now, but arrest every single one of those unscrupulous merchants in Tianjin, and seal off their granaries too!"
The assassins in Tianjin received their orders and left.
Soon, all the grain shops in Tianjin were surrounded by Green Standard Army soldiers.
When Zhou Fuchang, the owner of the Longshun ship, was dragged out of his sleep, he hadn't even had time to put on his shoes. Standing barefoot in the courtyard, looking at the Green Standard Army soldiers filling the yard, the color drained from his face in an instant.
Three days ago, when he learned that someone was investigating Beicang, he already sensed something was wrong and went to make some arrangements. He made sure that nothing would happen, but the person still came knocking on his door.
"You've broken your promise! You've broken your promise!"
Zhou Fuchang, groaning in pain, was dragged away, while the assassins went straight into the warehouse in the backyard of the Longshun ship, pried open the iron lock, and pushed open the warehouse door.
The warehouse was filled with sacks, which were stamped with the mark of the fifth year of the Xianfeng reign.
Meanwhile, in the warehouses of grain merchants such as Yichanghao, Fuyuan Rice Shop, and Tongsheng Grain Store, the assassins were also carrying out the work of sealing off and clearing out the warehouses.
Two days later, the amount of grain confiscated was reported.
The total amount of new and old grain, when added together, was 168,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
"Adding the grain that the warehouse could originally hold, Tianjin City now has a little over 320,000 shi of grain."
Guilliman considered for a moment and said slowly, "Including the grain transported to Tianjin and the grain we send, it should be enough to last for two or three months without any problem."
Zeng Tai nodded: "Alright, let Hongwu and the others handle the affairs in Tianjin. Let's discuss other matters."
","fertilizer!"