I run a training class in Shu Han

Chapter 86 Interrogation

"Your humble servant Feng Yue greets the General."

The first to arrive at the central command tent was the warehouse clerk.

The moment Feng Yue stepped into the tent, his eyes involuntarily turned to Li Zhong and Cheng Fan.

Yang Hong observed everything, gave a curt "hmm," and then asked, "Where is the Deputy Commander of Yong'an? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Feng Yue explained, "General, the Deputy Commander went to Baidi City to inspect the city's defenses today, and I have already sent someone to urge him to go."

"Since we're here to inspect the city's defenses, let's talk and wait."

After saying this, Yang Hong ordered someone to bring over a box filled with bamboo slips.

"Here are the ledgers for the grain transported from Chengdu to Yong'an over the past two months. You are the granary clerk; please check if they match the grain reserves in the army."

Feng Yue turned to look at Li Zhong and Cheng Fan beside him. One of them stepped forward and asked, "General, this grain supply is a military secret. Without His Majesty's and Protector Li's orders, please forgive this humble general for being unable to obey."

Yang Hong waved his hand gently, and Chen Hu took out the imperial edict, held it with both hands, and raised it above his head.

"This is His Majesty's decree, ordering General Zhongjie to inspect the accounts. His Majesty will personally oversee the process. Would you two generals like to see it?"

Li Zhong quickly clasped his hands in apology and said, "This humble general dares not, we will obey the imperial edict."

Feng Yue summoned all his subordinates and then quickly moved the abacus beads.

The tent was completely silent, everyone wore different expressions, and only the ticking sound echoed throughout the central command tent.

Before long, the clerks stopped moving the abacus beads and handed a scroll of bamboo slips to Feng Yue.

After glancing at it, Feng Yue presented the bamboo slips to Yang Hong and said, "General, gentlemen, the two sets of accounts are identical, without any errors or omissions."

Yang Hong casually unfolded the bamboo slips, glanced at them quickly, and said, "The totals match, but what about the losses during grain transport?"

Feng Yue stepped forward and pointed to a certain place on the bamboo slips, saying, "Reporting to the general, the losses incurred during grain transport are all recorded here clearly."

Yang Hong glared at him and said in a low voice, "What I mean is, why is the loss rate of grain transport close to 40%?"

Feng Yue replied unhurriedly, "General, it is now the dead of winter, the rivers are low, and the boats are slow. We have to slow down when passing through dangerous shoals, and we often have to anchor at night, which is why it takes so long."

"Over time, the losses during grain transportation will be relatively large, so 40% is not surprising."

Isn't that surprising?

"Forty percent? You make that sound so easy?" Yang Hong's face darkened with displeasure. "His Majesty has repeatedly cut palace expenditures to conserve military rations, and you think this loss is to be expected?"

Feng Yue immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"This humble official...this humble official did not mean that. It's just that losses are inevitable when transporting grain, and this is something this humble official cannot avoid."

Li Zhong, who was standing nearby, also stepped forward to persuade him: "General, Feng Yue only misspoke and had no intention of offending anyone. I hope the general will forgive him."

Yang Hong showed no respect to his former colleague and ordered another box to be brought over.

"If you can explain this, I will forgive you and personally host a banquet to apologize."

Feng Yue trembled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, casually picked up a scroll of bamboo slips from the box, slowly unfurled it, and his expression suddenly changed drastically.

"this......"

Feng Yue hurriedly picked up the remaining bamboo slips, glanced at them quickly, and then knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"General, I'm innocent!"

Li Zhong and Cheng Fan, puzzled, hurriedly picked up the bamboo slips to examine them, their faces immediately stiffening.

"General, this must be a frame-up by a villain. We have been stationed here for many years and have never embezzled a single grain of rice from the imperial court."

"Who wrote this? I request a face-to-face confrontation."

Seeing their confident expressions, Yang Hong said calmly, "This was made by Zhuge Qiao."

Zhuge Qiao?

The three looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhuge Qiao was Zhuge Liang's son, and Zhuge Liang was Li Yan's political enemy; that's obvious.

Li Zhong immediately retorted, "General, Prime Minister Zhuge and Protector Li have always been at odds; this must be a frame-up."

Yang Hong raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, who told you that Prime Minister Zhuge and Protector Li have always been at odds?"

Li Zhong was speechless for a moment, realizing that he had said the wrong thing.

Fearing that he would make a mistake, Cheng Fan quickly interjected, "General, how could you calculate so clearly if it weren't intentional? Even the daily liters of food consumed by each person are so precise."

Standing behind Yang Hong, Chen Hu shouted, "It seems you have been stationed at the border for many years and do not know the hardships of farming."

"Zhuge Qiao was taught by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and is a talented statesman cultivated by the Imperial Academy. He is highly valued by His Majesty and is now in charge of transporting grain supplies. Shouldn't he be dutifully fulfilling his duties?"

"Not only Ernst & Young, but every grain of food that has passed through Zhuge Qiao's hands has a clear history of origin and distribution. How can you question it?"

Every single grain of rice is clearly visible; what kind of people are these?

"General Qi, the grain is first loaded onto ships in Chengdu, then unloaded in Yong'an, and finally transported to the army. The losses during this process are already difficult to calculate. Why do you believe what others say?"

At present, there is only Zhuge Qiao's side of the story, and there is no conclusive evidence. As long as the three of them insist that they did not embezzle military rations, Yang Hong will not be able to do anything to them.

"It seems you won't confess without severe torture," Chen Hu said angrily. "Guards!"

"exist!"

The accompanying guards shouted in unison, their imposing manner overwhelming.

Cheng Fan, unfazed, laughed and said, "To use torture without evidence? Does the general intend to extract a confession through coercion?"

"you……"

Chen Hu originally thought the three were guilty and wanted to use their intimidation to coerce them.

However, they overlooked the fact that the three had followed Li Yan in his early years on campaigns and had seen many grand occasions; they would not submit to such a situation.

Yang Hong waved his hand and said, "General Chen, we are investigating the case under imperial orders. Everything must be based on solid evidence. We must not abuse our power."

Chen Hu was extremely anxious.

They brought with them an account book detailing the losses incurred by Zhuge Qiao in transporting grain. This can only be considered a clue, not conclusive evidence.

If they cannot produce conclusive evidence, their trip will be in vain.

"Military Advisor Li, since you want evidence, I might as well tell you that we do have evidence."

Li Zhong and the other two were skeptical of Yang Hong's words. If there was really solid evidence, why didn't he produce it immediately?

"If you have evidence, then please present it, General. We will gladly accept the punishment without a word."

Cheng Fan's words were firm, and they were also a test of Yang Hong.

"No rush, the evidence is on its way."

After hearing this, the three men became even more skeptical of Yang Hong.

Perhaps there is no evidence at all.

Yang Hong chuckled and began to change the subject.

"Gentlemen, do you know how His Majesty reacted upon hearing this matter?"

Li Zhongdao said, "His Majesty is discerning and will not listen to slander. He will surely clear our names."

Yang Hong ignored him and continued, "After His Majesty learned of the news, he secretly ordered spies from the Prime Minister's office to investigate the case. All those involved in transporting the grain were summoned to the Prime Minister's office for questioning. The amount of food and supplies consumed by the people and horses along the way was roughly consistent with Zhuge Qiao's calculations."

Upon hearing the name of the Prime Minister's residence, the three of them felt inexplicably nervous.

The intelligence agency of the Prime Minister's office was called the Siwencao, and it was famous for collecting intelligence.

Zhuge Liang's ability to anticipate the enemy's moves was largely due to the accurate intelligence provided by his subordinates.

During the Battle of Yiling, Zhuge Liang's spies learned about the background of Lu Xun, the Grand Commander of Eastern Wu, but before they could inform Liu Bei, a great fire destroyed the future of Shu Han.

"However, His Majesty knows that Protector Li is strict in disciplining his troops, and unless there are special circumstances, it is impossible for him to embezzle military rations. As long as you confess honestly, His Majesty may punish you accordingly."

The three of them kept their heads down, but their eyes kept glancing at their companions.

They didn't know how much of Yang Hong's words were true and how much were false.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Chuo immediately scolded, "Speak quickly if you have something to say, and stop looking around."

Of the three, the military governor Cheng Fan was the most composed.

"General, I would like to reiterate that if there is solid evidence proving that we have embezzled military rations, I am willing to die."

After Cheng Fan spoke, the other two also firmly shouted, "Please, General, do justice for us!"

The three men were unmoved by either soft or hard tactics, leaving Chen Hu and Zheng Zhuo extremely anxious.

Yang Hong remained calm and composed throughout.

"Death? Embezzling military rations is a serious crime, but with the current amount, it's not a capital offense; at most, he'll be a death row inmate."

"Do you know what a death row inmate is?"

Yang Hong said in a mocking tone, "Being on death row means you'll spend your whole life in prison, doing heavy manual labor every day, not having enough to eat or wear, and nobody will care if you die from exhaustion or illness."

"Just like when building fortifications outside, the army is short-handed, so don't you also drag death row inmates from prison to serve as laborers?"

"Even if the imperial court grants a general amnesty, it won't be your turn. You are destined to die in prison for the rest of your lives."

Having served in the army for a long time, the three men knew that when there was a shortage of soldiers, they would capture prisoners from the jail to fill the ranks.

Petty thieves could be temporarily incorporated into the army with weapons, or escort supplies and equipment in the rear.

If the crime is heinous, they will be made to repair defensive fortifications on the most dangerous front lines while still in shackles.

Once the enemy attacks, they will be left to fend for themselves.

Yang Hong's most fatal statement was that death row inmates were not on the court's amnesty list, which effectively extinguished the last glimmer of hope.

While speaking, Yang Hong kept observing the three of them.

Although they all had their heads down, he could sense that Feng Yue, the warehouse clerk, was trembling uncontrollably.

Upon learning this information, Yang Hong continued, "With Zhuge Qiao's account books and Si Wen Cao's evidence, the three of you can't escape your crimes, unless..."

Yang Hong deliberately kept everyone in suspense, pausing for a few seconds to see who would take the bait.

As expected, Feng Yue looked up after hearing this, met Yang Hong's gaze, and immediately lowered his head again.

At this point, Yang Hong already knew where to start, and slowly said, "His Majesty is benevolent and kind. If you confess, you will be pardoned. However, not everyone has this opportunity."

"I have a Zhibai coin here. The obverse has the characters 'Zhibai' on it, and the reverse has the character 'Wei' on it. When I toss the coin upwards and it lands, will the 'Zhibai' side be facing up, or the 'Wei' side?"

Before the three could react, Yang Hong tossed the hundred-cent coin in his hand upwards.

As the coins spun continuously, the three of them began to feel uneasy, and their will to survive surged.

"Front or back?" Yang Hong suddenly shouted.

As the hundred-cent coin landed, Feng Yue was the first to speak, "Correct."

Upon hearing this, both Li Zhong and Cheng Fan looked at Feng Yue, their eyes filled with both anger and warning.

They knew the kid was starting to waver.

Yang Hong slowly picked up the hundred-cent coin from the ground, shook his head regretfully, and said, "It's the reverse side. Unfortunately, you don't have a chance."

"Men, take Generals Li Zhong and Cheng Fan away. If they confess, they will be pardoned from all crimes."

Yang Hong's actions not only stunned Chen Hu and Zheng Zhuo, but also left Li Zhong and the others completely baffled.

It's clear from what we just saw that Feng Yue is the easiest of the three to confess.

But Yang Hong deliberately gave this opportunity to Li Zhong and Cheng Fan, wasn't this just pushing the case, which was about to be solved, into a dead end?