Inside the Golden Throne Hall.
“Your Majesty! Earl Chengyi, Xu Youde, and his son have led soldiers to commit violent acts, driving the grain clerk of the Tongzhou Granary to his death! Such blatant disregard for the laws of the court and cold-blooded murder, if not severely punished, the nation will cease to be a nation!”
Liu Zhao, a censor from the Censorate, knelt before the imperial steps, holding his tablet of office, his voice trembling with indignation.
“I second that motion! The eldest son of the Xu family has gathered tough soldiers in Tongzhou, acting with arrogance and tyranny; the second son, commanding troops in the northern border, has made boastful military reports! Now they have even stretched their hands into the Ministry of Revenue. Yesterday, the blood-stained robes of the Tongzhou victim cried out for justice, chilling the hearts of the realm! I implore Your Majesty to immediately strip Xu Youde of his title and hand him over to the Three Judicial Ministries for trial and execution, to rectify the court’s discipline!”
“We all second that motion!”
With a loud rustle, nearly half the court, composed of censors and remonstrance officials, fell to their knees in unison. The wave of noise, like a mountain collapsing and a sea roaring, seemed ready to devour Xu Youde alive as he stood at the rear of the civil officials’ ranks.
Scholars kill without a blade—they do it entirely with those mouths that can turn black into white and the living into the dead. Today’s spectacle was clearly a determined effort to nail the cap of “tyranny and treason” onto the Xu family’s head.
Xu Youde let the accusations, dripping with spittle, rain down upon his face like a storm. He did not even blink.
Amid the deafening chorus of impeachment, Minister of Revenue Shang Qitai finally stirred.
He slowly stepped out of the official line, his expression ashen, as if he had aged a decade overnight.
With heavy steps, he walked to the imperial steps, his knees giving way as he knelt heavily.
Then, he slowly removed his black gauze cap from his head and held it in his hands.
“Your servant… is guilty.”
Shang Qitai’s voice was hoarse, laced with profound sorrow: “The grain clerk of the Tongzhou Granary was a subordinate official under my command. Though stubbornly pedantic in character, he was upright and incorruptible.”
“Simply because he refused to bow to the military men of the Caoyun Shipping Guild, he met such a brutal end.”
“It is my failure in oversight and inability to protect an honest official under my charge that drove him to die to clear his name. I am guilty in my heart and no longer have the face to oversee the Ministry of Revenue. I implore Your Majesty to allow this old servant to resign and return to my hometown to reflect on my faults in seclusion. As for the three hundred thousand dan of military grain…”
Shang Qitai paused, his tone tinged with helplessness and grief: “Now that all shipping authority is controlled by the Tongji Caoyun Guild, your servant is truly powerless. I beg Your Majesty to choose another capable minister, so as not to delay the war efforts on the northern frontier.”
This move, a retreat disguised as an advance, was poisonously shrewd.
On the surface, Shang Qitai was begging for forgiveness and resignation, but in truth, he was firmly pinning the immense blame onto Xu Youde—that it was because of the Xu family’s tyranny and power-grabbing, and the resulting death, that the Ministry of Revenue could not fulfill its duties and the grain supplies could not be transported! If the frontline suffered defeat due to famine, the eternal infamy would rest entirely on the Xu family’s shoulders!
Hearing this, the censors grew even more outraged, their curses shaking the heavens.
On the dragon throne, the old emperor, clad in his bright yellow dragon robe, had half his face hidden in the bead-shadow of his imperial crown. He slowly twirled a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, his gaze deep and cold as steel. Like a clay idol carved in stone, he let the court below argue to the heavens and the earth, not uttering a single word.
He did not look at Shang Qitai kneeling on the ground, nor at the howling censors. His sidelong gaze was fixed solely on one man.
He was waiting.
Waiting to see if this “blade” he held in his hand had the cutting edge to slash through this tangled mess.
If this blade could not even withstand this much commotion, there was no point keeping it.
Just as the officials’ accusations reached a fever pitch, and someone even proposed that the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrest Xu Youde on the spot in the court, the old emperor finally moved.
Xu Youde did not do what everyone expected—kneel, kowtow, and plead his innocence with tears and wails.
Instead, he took a bold step out of the official ranks, walking to the center of the great hall.
He did not look at Shang Qitai, nor at Liu Zhao and the others.
He merely lifted his wide, crimson official robe and drew out from his chest four thick volumes bound together with hemp thread.
In an instant, the entire hall fell into dead silence. All eyes were fixed on those nondescript volumes.
“Your servant! Will not argue over the murder case!”
Xu Youde lifted his head and declared.
“Your servant is a rough man, an abacus at heart! I do not understand the lofty principles of Confucius and Mencius that all you censors prattle on about! I recognize only one thing—accounts!”
Shang Qitai, still kneeling on the ground, felt his eyelids twitch, and the unease in his heart swelled.
Liu Zhao pointed at the account books on the floor and barked sternly, “Xu Youde! In this imperial court, a human life is at stake! You bring out a few worn-out ledgers and think you can hide the crime of driving an official to his death?”
“Human life?” Xu Youde let out a chilling, harsh laugh. “Lord Liu, do you truly believe that grain clerk died at my son’s hands through private punishment? Wrong! He died because of the deficits the Ministry of Revenue could not fill! Someone was afraid that if he lived long enough to face the Three Judicial Ministries, the truth would come out, so they hurriedly sent him to meet the King of Hell!”
Before anyone could rebut him, Xu Youde continued.
“Your Majesty! The Ministry of Revenue manages millions of dan of grain shipments each year, seemingly seamless and watertight, but in truth, it hides a bottomless silver pit that has drained the court’s lifeblood! For these twenty years, the ministry’s accounts have been nothing but three completely different sets of double-entry ledgers!”
As these words rang out, shock gripped the court.
Even the old emperor, who had kept his eyelids lowered, abruptly stopped his fingers from twirling his prayer beads.
"First, there is the 'Grain Ledger'!" Xu Youde pointed to the first booklet on the ground. "This is the number that the Ministry of Revenue reports to Your Majesty every year. The standard rice collected from Jiangnan enters the granaries at Tongzhou. On paper, it's crystal clear—not a single grain missing. This is the face they use to fool the court."
"Second, there is the 'Spoilage Ledger'!" He moved his finger to the second booklet, his tone growing even colder. "When grain boats travel via waterways, they face wind and sun—grain gets damp and moldy. Losses are expected. This is called 'sinkage.'"
"But the Ministry of Revenue's rule is that sinkage is uniformly calculated at thirty percent. If a hundred loads of rice depart Jiangnan, only seventy reach Tongzhou. Did those thirty loads really sink to the riverbed? No. They all flowed into the private granaries at the Tongzhou docks."
"Third, and most vicious, is the 'Conversion Ledger'!" Xu Youde stomped his foot on the third booklet as if trampling Shang Qitai's vital weakness. "The front lines need military supplies, but the provinces pay in kind. This is where conversion comes in!"
"When grain prices are high, under the current government–merchant cooperative rules, they convert the grain into silver at a low price. When grain prices are low, they use that silver to purchase grain at high prices. Back and forth—they feast at both ends!"
"Honorable investigating censors, all of you have read the sage’s classics, so let me give you a clear calculation. For every load of rice, the court pays one tael of silver as the base cost."
"When collected in Jiangnan, a layer is first skimmed off in conversion. On the waterways, thirty percent is scraped off as sinkage. When it enters the Tongzhou granaries, a 'fire consumption' fee must be paid to get it through the sieve for storage."
"By the time this load of rice actually reaches the stomachs of the soldiers at Zhenbei Pass, how much is left?"
"Rubbish!" Shang Qitai could no longer remain calm. He pointed at Xu Youde and roared angrily. "The Ministry of Revenue’s accounts have been audited by the Three Judicial Offices every year! You are slandering a senior minister of the court with baseless accusations!"
Xu Youde swept his gaze across the very censors who had cursed him most fiercely, a sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Honorable officials, in your efforts to uphold so-called civil official integrity, you have become unwitting shields covering up these shortfalls for others!"
"You want justice? Fine! Audit the accounts. A thorough investigation of these three ledgers will reveal exactly where the millions of loads of 'sinkage' go each year. Who is driving people to their deaths will be as clear as day!"
"This... must be reformed!"
Liu Zhao and the other censors were completely stunned.
They were stubborn, but they were no fools.
Xu Youde had laid out a logic too sharp to refute. This was not abstract moral philosophy; it was the hard calculation of real silver and gold.
Once an investigation started along these ledgers, Tongzhou Granary would prove to be a rotten pit vast enough to tear through the very sky.
Shang Qitai's face had turned pale.
"Your Majesty!" Shang Qitai forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart and knelt again. "Xu Youde is spouting nonsense. The origins of these ledgers are unknown. Who is to say he hasn't forged them to escape punishment? The movement of grain tax involves tens of thousands of clerks across six ministries. It is inherently complex. Could a military officer's relative fabricate such things out of thin air..."
"Find the accounts too complex?" Xu Youde cut Shang Qitai off. "Your Majesty, I request a new regulation: the 'four-seal joint verification.'"
The old emperor’s eyes finally lit up for a moment. He leaned slightly forward. "What is four-seal joint verification?"
Xu Youde unleashed the killing move he had prepared to lock down the Ministry of Revenue.
"Previously, when grain tax arrived by water route, the Ministry of Revenue was the sole judge—it could report whatever it pleased. Henceforth, I propose abolishing the old rules."
Xu Youde raised four fingers.
"Seal number one: the local county or prefecture of origin issues a 'physical goods receipt seal.' Seal number two: the Tongji Shipping Guild issues a 'shipping schedule seal.' Seal number three: the Tongzhou Granary Office issues a 'warehouse entry permit seal.' Seal number four: the Ministry of War's designated inspector issues a 'military supplies transfer seal.'"
"These four parties do not meet each other. Each keeps its own records. All payment disbursements must require these four seals put together. If even one corner is missing, the Ministry of Revenue cannot release a single coin. Physical goods, shipping schedules, warehouse storage, military needs—each link locked tight. I'd like to see who dares to run the secret shadow accounts in between."
A sound of sharp gasps filled the hall.
This tactic was absolutely merciless.
It effectively hung three dog chains around the Ministry of Revenue’s neck, handing the ends to local governments, the shipping guild, and the Ministry of War.
Once this rule was established, the Ministry of Revenue’s vast gray slush fund would be locked solid. The deeply entrenched corruption would no longer be able to squeeze out a single drop of profit.
Sweat beaded on Shang Qitai's forehead.
He knew that if this measure became reality, his position as Minister of Revenue would be thoroughly neutralized.
Not just his—the entire interest group that had been sucking blood from the grain transport system would go mad.
"Your Majesty, you cannot do this!" Shang Qitai cried out urgently. "Though this method appears airtight, it is incredibly cumbersome. Now, with the northern border war situation pressing, if we follow this four-way verification, three hundred thousand loads of army grain could be stuck in Tongzhou for heaven knows how long. If military action is delayed, who will bear the responsibility?"
This was Shang Qitai’s final struggle.
He had seized on the one most fatal point: time. The northern border could not afford to wait.
But Xu Youde sneered in his heart: Shang Qitai, did you ever think about whether you yourself could afford to wait?
The old emperor said nothing. He merely looked down at Xu Youde from his throne.
Xu Youde did not flinch at all.
He looked at Shang Qitai's forcibly composed face and smiled.
He flipped the hem of his robe, knelt to the ground, and forced out an oath.
"Three hundred thousand bushels of military grain—no longer than a month. Your servant hereby submits a written pledge. In accordance with the rule of 'Seal Verification,' within fifteen days, three hundred thousand bushels will definitely arrive outside Zhenbei Pass!"
Xu Youde lifted his head, his eyes fixed directly on the imperial throne, his words firm and resolute.
"Should it be delayed by a single day, your servant Xu Youde will offer up his own head, to be hung atop the Meridian Gate tower!"
