Chapter 974 - 968: Compensation
The days at the border are harsh yet fulfilling. If you don’t want to rest, you can be so busy that your feet barely touch the ground.
It’s completely different from the boredom at the Prince Zhenbei Mansion, where I passed the time by concocting ointments.
Although it’s tiring, Su Jin feels that the exhaustion is worth it.
At the border, battles can last for three to four days, with sieges continuing into the night. The sudden blare of horns in the middle of the night startles people awake; sometimes there are breaks of five to six days.
Even though Su Jin is at the border, apart from being captured on the day she arrived, she only experiences the war through the soldiers. She hasn’t been to the city walls or witnessed the brutal battles. From Marquis Dongxiang to the Old Prince, down to Xingxing and Xueling, none of them allow her to engage in any risky activities.
Marquis Dongxiang doesn’t let Su Jin be too busy, fearing that she might overwork herself and cause pregnancy complications, but the military doctor checks her pulse for peace of mind every day.
The military doctor says all is well, so Marquis Dongxiang leaves it at that.
Speaking of Tongzhou Prefecture, Su Jin had previously rerouted via Tongzhou to board a ship and accidentally discovered a conspiracy to burn grain and grass. After reaching Yu State, she quickly entrusted Mr. Lin to send a message to the court.
Old Duke Chong wanted to investigate the burned grain and grass incident in Tongzhou, but the Emperor did not agree.
Prince NanAn, overseeing the Military Equipment Supervisor, was unable to leave, so he handed the matter to the Duke Dingguo Mansion’s elder master.
The Duke Dingguo Mansion’s elder master was tasked with handling this matter, and Old Duke Chong trusted him, considering him a reliable person.
However, this time the burning of the grain and grass was done expertly, leaving no trace. No one knew if Prince Qi and Duke Chong were in Tongzhou.
The Duke Dingguo Mansion’s elder master went, but Old Duke Chong was uneasy.
Old Duke Chong was persistent, and the Emperor had to yield to him.
The Capital still had thirty thousand troops, and the Emperor assigned ten thousand to Old Duke Chong to be sent to Tongzhou, but Old Duke Chong did not agree.
Old Duke Chong only took three hundred soldiers, diverted to gather three thousand troops, and then proceeded to Tongzhou.
Upon reaching Tongzhou, Old Duke Chong was troubled.
Tongzhou Prefecture had commandeered over a dozen civilian ships for grain and grass transportation, and they were set ablaze. The merchants demanded compensation from the government.
They came to the government office every day, causing a ruckus. Tongzhou Prefecture kept its doors closed, and Prefect Qian did not dare appear.
When Old Duke Chong arrived at Tongzhou Prefecture, he couldn’t even begin to investigate the burned grain and grass case, as he was immediately blocked by the merchants kneeling on the ground.
The merchants who lost their ships begged Old Duke Chong for empathy, expressing how difficult it was to conduct business and requesting compensation for their lost ships.
Ethically and logically, the court should compensate them, but a ship is valuable, the National Treasury is depleted, and the border is at war. The court would be responsible for compensation, not Old Duke Chong.
Publicly promising compensation wouldn’t work if the court delayed the funds, making him lose credibility with the people.
Old Duke Chong first entered the government office in Tongzhou, finding that Prefect Qian had fallen ill from all the commotion, whether genuinely or feigned, was uncertain.
Upon knowing that Old Duke Chong had arrived, Prefect Qian struggled to get up from his sickbed and said, "With the grain and grass burned, why have you, Old Duke, come to our Tongzhou Prefecture?"
Old Duke Chong looked at him and asked, "How does Prefect Qian plan to handle the merchants’ issue?"
Prefect Qian, with a headache, replied, "The grain and grass were burned; the Emperor is angry. Reporting the burned ships now and asking for compensation would only add fuel to the fire..."
"I’m also troubled by this, so much so that I’ve fallen ill, and I haven’t come up with a satisfactory solution."
If Old Duke Chong did not know that it wasn’t grain and grass that was burned, he would have been moved by Prefect Qian’s eagerness to share the Emperor’s worries.
When Prefect Qian further inquired about Old Duke Chong’s purpose in coming to Tongzhou Prefecture, Old Duke Chong said, "With the grain and grass burned and the border demanding supplies, I’ve come to Tongzhou Prefecture to allocate another batch of grain to the border."
Prefect Qian was taken aback and hurriedly stated that Tongzhou Prefecture no longer had any grain or grass.
Old Duke Chong didn’t say much, only mentioning he would first check the reserves in Tongzhou Prefecture’s granary to decide how much to allocate to the border.
Prefect Qian wanted to accompany him, but Old Duke Chong did not let him.
Old Duke Chong wanted to catch Prefect Qian off guard, but upon checking the granary, it indeed had reserves, though not enough to equal the claimed amount burned.
When the court allocates grain and grass from various prefectures, it always leaves some reserves. If any natural disaster occurs, by the time the court sends relief supplies, it would be too late.
Although knowing there was an issue in Tongzhou Prefecture, without concrete evidence, Old Duke Chong couldn’t take action against Prefect Qian.
He was also convinced that such a significant movement of grain from Tongzhou Prefecture couldn’t have gone unnoticed.
Old Duke Chong temporarily stayed in Tongzhou Prefecture, awaiting verification.
During Old Duke Chong’s stay in Tongzhou Prefecture, Prefect Qian found it difficult to eat and sleep, and he had to ensure careful service and couldn’t afford negligence.
To expedite Old Duke Chong’s departure, Prefect Qian secretly incited the merchants to block Old Duke Chong’s lodgings, kneeling to beg Old Duke Chong to have the court compensate their ships.
This was a difficult situation that nobody wanted to handle, especially for Old Duke Chong, as it was outside his jurisdiction.
No matter how much trouble the merchants caused, Old Duke Chong didn’t leave and eventually settled with the merchants.
Having the court compensate for the ships was impossible. Offering promissory notes was also not an option, as the merchants dared not accept them. Given the current unstable situation, who could guarantee that the court would not be overthrown?
If a new dynasty arose, whom would the merchants seek for reimbursement on their promissory notes?
The common advice is not to confront officials directly. Demanding money from the court might endanger their own lives.
Knowing it was impossible, Old Duke Chong didn’t mention this issue.
He gathered all the merchants, asked them to write down the value of their respective ships, each made a record, and they collectively estimated the values.
Old Duke Chong determined the value of the ships, unbiased and fair.
Households capable of affording such big ships must be wealthy, with fields and shops aplenty.
Where there are fields, taxes must be paid. Old Duke Chong made a decision on behalf of the court, allowing them to offset the loss of the ships with taxes. They would resume paying taxes only after their losses were fully compensated.
One merchant calculated, "That would take ten years to offset."
Old Duke Chong glanced at him and asked, "Do you disagree with this solution?"
The merchant was instantly at a loss for words.
Though the solution was not entirely favorable, in all honesty, it was likely the best possible option.
Having the court compensate their ships was impossible.
This matter had nothing to do with Old Duke Chong; Prefect Qian borrowed the ships, and when things went wrong, he shrank back and pretended to be ill, avoiding them.
Now that someone had finally stepped up, if they were overly picky and Old Duke Chong left, their losses would be unrecoverable.
Despite their dissatisfaction, they endured, took the promise letter stamped by the government office, and left.
With the burned ships temporarily resolved, it seemed there was no reason for Old Duke Chong to remain; Prefect Qian subtly asked about Old Duke Chong’s departure.
That question from Prefect Qian aroused Old Duke Chong’s suspicion.
The Tongzhou Prefecture’s granary did not contain grain and grass, nor could he find concrete evidence to prove the burning was a conspiracy. Staying posed no threat to Prefect Qian.
On the contrary, he, being Old Duke Chong, if Prefect Qian, a minor magistrate, didn’t eagerly try to curry favor but instead was anxious to have him leave, was suspicious.
This was evidently problematic.
Old Duke Chong patiently stayed in Tongzhou Prefecture, secretly probing, but no clues surfaced. Helplessly, he captured and interrogated Prefect Qian’s Master.
Upon Old Duke Chong’s mention that stones and sand, not grain and grass, were transported on the ships, the Master was so frightened he trembled.
Already uneasy about Old Duke Chong’s presence in Tongzhou, the fact he hadn’t left and knew about the stones’ affair added to their anxiety...
Old Duke Chong offered him a chance for leniency through confession. Initially, the Master refused, but after a Hidden Guard placed a blade to his neck, he confessed everything.
At the time, the ships were indeed transporting stones and sand, not grain and grass.
The grain and grass were not in the granary; they had long been gradually transported out by Prefect Qian.
Prefect Qian was aligned with Prince Qi. Those grains were prepared for Prince Qi’s rebellion. Leaving them in the granary was risky, as they might be moved again; hence, they were quietly transferred to be stored in estates.
A substantial amount of grain filled two large estates, yet the quantities didn’t add up.
Upon further inquiry, it was revealed that even Prefect Qian wasn’t entirely loyal to Prince Qi; part of the grain moved from the granary was secretly sold by Prefect Qian through grain shops, converted to Silver Tael, lining his own pockets.
With the Master as a witness, Old Duke Chong led a team to surround the Qian Mansion, arrested Prefect Qian, and all involved in the Qian Mansion were imprisoned, their assets confiscated.
Even the merchants in Tongzhou Prefecture, who were colluding with Prefect Qian, particularly those assisting in grain sales, were not spared by Old Duke Chong.
The two large estates full of grain were transported by Old Duke Chong’s men to the border.