Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 59

Chapter 59 Expose To The Public
He clasped his fists, bent his waist, and bowed with a long bow.

Although more than ten or twenty soldiers had already pulled out their sabers and surrounded him, Lu Zhen did not panic at all. He bowed to Hu Sui in full compliance with the etiquette and said loudly, “Xiaguan Guangling County Magistrate Lu Zhen has something important to report to the Commander-in-Chief!”

Seeing him suddenly appear and say such words, Xiao Mo, who had just been pressed to the ground, felt his heart skip a beat, knowing that something was wrong. I’m afraid the reason this guy barged into the camp was to sue him! However, at this moment, he was unable to protect himself. He really couldn’t retaliate as forcefully as before. He only hoped that Lord Commander-in-Chief would take care of the reputation of the barracks and expel them immediately.

However, this idea of his was obviously not so easy to achieve, because Hu Sui had already sized up the bold rank seven county magistrate with a rather intriguing gaze. “Something important? You can’t barge into the barracks without saying something important! If what you said next does not satisfy me, the military law will not recognize you as a county magistrate!”

When he said this, an extremely strong aura had already pressed down on Hu Sui’s body, which made Lu Zhen’s heart tremble. Fortunately, he has experienced several life and death experiences since he came to this era. He is not an ordinary scholar, so even if he is nervous, he still stands up. “Xiaguan doesn’t dare to speak nonsense. This matter is not only related to the survival of our Guangling County, but also to the future of our Great Ming Border Army!”

When Hu Sui heard this, the corner of his mouth suddenly rose, with a hint of disdain, “Anyone can say alarmist words. It’s better for you to say something practical.”

“Yes. However, it is rather inconvenient for Xiaoguan to speak like this. I hope that Lord Commander-in-Chief will allow me to approach.” Lu Zhen was still several zhang away from Hu Sui, and talking to him was like pulling his neck and shouting.

Hu Sui twitched the corner of his mouth and waved his hand, “Let him talk.”

Only after this order did the soldiers surrounding Lu Zhen make way, but the people behind him still aimed their weapons at him. Lu Zhen didn’t care about this anymore, so he immediately lifted his foot and walked forward. Lin Lie, who was following behind him, did not receive such treatment. He only moved and a few more knives blocked his path. Obviously, they only allowed Lu Zhen to approach Lord Commander.

When he reached a distance of five feet from Hu Sui, Lu Zhen took the initiative to stop and cupped his hands to the other party once again. “Commander Hu, it’s a matter of life and death for our Guangling County, so I offended you a bit more just now.”

“Speak.” Hu Sui ignored Lu Zhen’s politeness and urged him to get straight to the point.

Lu Zhen stopped circling around and said resolutely, “General Hu, as the leader of all the armies in Datong, naturally thinks that everything is under your control. However, what Xiaoguan wants to say now is that all of this is not what General Hu thought!”

“How dare you!” Seeing that a mere county magistrate dared to speak so loudly in front of Hu Sui, the expressions of those subordinates and subordinates instantly changed. At the same time, they even wanted to take him down first.

But just as they moved, Hu Sui waved his hand and said, “Let him speak!” He wanted to hear what this county magistrate Guang Ling could say.

“On the surface, there is nothing wrong with our frontier army. In addition to the fact that there have been fewer and fewer battles with Dazi in recent years, this is a good time for peace in the world. However, the truth is, this is definitely not the case!” Lu Zhen wasn’t frightened by those people’s reprimands, but he still calmly said, “It’s precisely because there hasn’t been any war for a long time that the army has developed all sorts of bad habits. Moreover, in order to treat their status as soldiers as a business!”

When he said this, the hearts of a few of the generals also tightened, and their expressions became somewhat ugly. Xiao Mo’s face turned pale. He really wanted to object or reprimand, but his current situation made him dumb and endure.

Hu Sui, on the other hand, had already changed his expression. His contempt for Lu Zhen had lessened slightly, and his expression towards Lu Zhen had become solemn. Although he didn’t say anything, his heart was already moved.

In fact, he was not as ignorant as Lu Zhen had just said, otherwise, he would be too unqualified as a Great Harmony general. In fact, in these two years, he had faintly felt that his troops were a little inappropriate, especially in terms of grain and other aspects.

But after all, this was only a vague feeling of his. Without conclusive evidence, even Hu Sui, the main soldier, could not delve too deeply into it. If this caused chaos among the people below him, he wouldn’t be able to afford it.

But now, this rank seven county magistrate had actually exposed the matter in front of him and many soldiers. This could not help but be taken seriously by him-could it be that the people below could no longer cover up what they were doing?

Lu Zhen continued, “The lower official at the side, Qing Yan, does not dare to say anything, but in Guangling County, what Xiaoguan knows is quite clear.” As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Mo, who was lying on the ground, with a face full of resentment and anxiety. “Not only is the general Xiao Mo, who is stationed in our county, usually arrogant and arrogant, always indulges in attacks, but he also uses all sorts of methods to make money for himself. He has already deducted a lot of food and pay from the army.” “Apart from a few QinBing soldiers, the salaries of many soldiers in this battalion have probably fallen into the hands of his General Xiao!”

“What?” When Hu Sui and the others heard this, they were stunned. Then, they looked at the surrounding robes. However, they found that these people did not have any intention of refuting them. There was even a hint of helplessness and anger on their faces.

As for Xiao Mo, his expression changed drastically. He never thought that Lu Zhen would come up with such a move, and how could he know such an inside story? Few people were able to find out about the matter in the army.

In fact, what Lu Zhen said just now was just his speculation. Of course, this was not the result of a wild guess. Rather, it was based on the inference he had obtained from the history of the Ming Dynasty-eating empty space and drinking soldiers’ blood was the “fine tradition” of the Great Ming army. Since Xiao Mo was so bold as to dare to sell military rations, it would not be too difficult for him to do such a thing.

The reason why he mentioned this matter first today was also quite sinister-to provoke the relationship between Xiao Mo and the soldiers below, so that it would be easier to target him. Moreover, the accusation went from shallow to deep, and it was most convincing to push it forward from large to small levels.

The reactions of the soldiers below had convinced everyone of what Lu Zhen had said, and Hu Sui’s expression became even uglier. He had always paid attention to the lives of the soldiers. Now that Xiao Mo dared to do such a thing, he would naturally be enraged. Hu Zongbing turned his head and shouted, “Why aren’t you executing the punishment?”

Originally, when Lu Zhen was an outsider, all the executioners had stopped moving. But now, with Hu Sui’s order, the people below no longer dared to show mercy. They immediately swung the big stick in their hands and fiercely landed on Xiao Mo’s body.

In just a moment, Boss Xiao let out a heart-wrenching scream. This baton was much more powerful than the boards in the county government. A single baton would cut open the skin and flesh. In just two or three strokes, blood had already flowed out. Looking at it, Lu Zhen was also shocked.

However, he quickly regained his composure and continued, “Lord Soldier General is the leader of the army. Naturally, he knows how serious the deduction of salaries is to the morale of the army. And this is probably just a small matter.”

Without waiting for Hu Sui to ask, Lu Zhen had already said something that made Xiao Mo’s heart tremble. “Just a few days ago, Xiaoguan discovered that he had also returned food, weapons, armor and supplies to the general and Dazi to the north!” It is precisely because I found out that he did this for fear that raising a thief would pose a great threat to our Guang Ling that I summoned the courage to expose his guilt! “I hope Lord Commander-in-Chief will learn from me!”

Lu Zhen’s last few words were almost shouted out, because right after he exposed the matter, the surroundings were already in an uproar. Everyone looked at him and Xiao Mo with incredulous gazes, occasionally shouting something, but because of the southern tune and the northern tune, they couldn’t hear it clearly.

“Lu Zhen, you’re spouting nonsense. You’re framing me!” At this time, Xiao Mo no longer cared about the punishment he was receiving or the might of Hu Sui in front of him. He immediately shouted loudly, his voice shrill like a cuckoo crying for blood.

Hu Sui was stunned for a while before he slowly regained his senses and looked at Lu Zhen with a gloomy expression, “County Magistrate Lu, do you know what you’re talking about? This matter is no small matter, but it’s not something that a county magistrate like you can arrange casually!”

“Xiaoguan naturally knows the seriousness of the matter, and he doesn’t dare to slander the officials of the Imperial Court.” Lu Zhen looked at Hu Sui without any fear. “All of this is well documented. First, the military supplies and weapons are all recorded. As long as General Hu sends people to inspect the barracks, we can confirm how many of the supplies have disappeared.”

After hearing what he said, Xiao Mo, who originally wanted to refute, and Boss Xiao, who was still complaining crazily, instantly fell silent like a deflated ball. His face was as pale as paper, and the baton seemed to have no feeling whatsoever when it hit him. His eyes were fixed on Lu Zhen-why did he kill him the most?

However, before Lu Zhen could finish his sentence, he continued, “As for the matter of grain, my county government also has records. In these years, Xiao Ba always demanded grain from my county government under various names, but the court did not divert even a single bit of grain into his hands. Not only are there books to prove this, there are also records of Shi Zheng Fu who took over this matter from the county government.”

There were both material and personal evidence. In conjunction with Xiao Mo Ke’s previous action of deducting military supplies, even those who had confidence in him could only accept the fact that Xiao Mo had indeed used his authority to steal countless amounts of money!

At this time, Lu Zhen gave the most fatal blow, “Furthermore, Xiaoguan knows that he has a house in the city. If Lord Soldier General doesn’t believe him, he can go and search. There will definitely be more evidence and harvest!”