Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 84 : Wealth

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Xiao Chiye was conscious of the fact that he was reeking of sweat after having ran around the military drill grounds for the entire day, so he did not go around to the other side of the table but instead took his seat on this side. There were stacks of case files on the table, some of which were sealed with the Ministry of Justice’s memorandum slip. From the time indicated on top, they were all from a very long time ago. 

“You’re investigating old cases.” Xiao Chiye put up one hand on the back of the chair and picked up the little bamboo fan that Shen Zechuan had set on the table to fiddle with. “Just the Imperial Prison’s cases alone took you half a month to investigate. Why are you even looking at the cases from the Ministry of Justice now?” 

“There was a vacuum in the imperial prison in the four years before the former emperor ascended to the throne.” Shen Zechuan looked at the files. “At that time, Ji Lei had Pan Rugui as his backing, so it’s unlikely he would muck around to the point where he did not have a single assignment. But the imperial prison did not leave any case records behind, proving that many cases of that time could still uphold the standard judicial process of the Three Judicial Offices’ Joint Trial. Ji Lei could only follow behind the Ministry of Justice running odd jobs for them.” 

“What I mean is.” Xiao Chiye exerted a little force on two of his fingers to use the fan to block Shen Zechuan’s view of the files and lifted his chin. “What are we looking into the old cases for?” 

“It was also here we previously discussed the case in which Zhongbo’s troops were defeated.” Shen Zechuan set down the brush. “I spoke of ‘befriending a distant state while attacking one nearby’. Do you still remember?”  

Xiao Chiye withdrew the fan and rose to his feet. He sidestepped the table and walked towards the inner side of the bookshelf. After a while, he emerged, carrying a scroll of a map. Shen Zechuan pushed away the documents on the table, and Xiao Chiye tossed out the scroll to spread it out on the table. It was an extremely detailed military topographic map. 

“This is a treasure of mine I stashed away for special occasions.” Xiao Chiye used the fan to draw a circle around the location of the Six Prefectures of Zhongbo. “I naturally remember all that you’ve said. You’re referring to the fact that someone used the Biansha Cavalry to knock out the Six Prefectures of Zhongbo, which lies close to Qudu. This is ‘attacking a nearby state’. Then, the Hua Clan fell into decline, and the Empress Dowager was forced to marry Hua the Third to Qidong. This is ‘befriending a distant state’. If we put these two together, then we can see that it’s to take away Libei’s powers by subtle means, rendering it powerless so that Libei would be caught in a predicament where it has no support nearby and no assistance from afar.” 

“But the time such a game plan needs is too long, and the variables are countless. If the other party wants to ensure that every chess move he makes is without error, then he has to remain in a position where he can view the entire game.” Shen Zechuan rose and slid his finger from Zhongbo on the map to Qudu. “He has to be here. The former emperor reigned for eight years, which is too short to hatch a plot for the defeat of the Zhongbo’s troops. The time has to be pushed forward. Many things have happened during Emperor Guangcheng’s reign in the era of Yongyi, and these incidents have more or less influenced the direction in which the situation moved. He has to be somewhere within. I’m thinking of using these old cases to find some clues.” 

Xiao Chiye looked at the map and said, “It’s hard to get a full view of it just from the files alone. You have to find someone who was involved, or someone who knows the details.”