"Prefect Zhang, what's wrong?"
As soon as Li Chong entered, he saw Liu San kneeling on the ground, his face covered in blood, and asked awkwardly.
"Have you heard about today's events?"
Although Li Chong was nominally his superior, he showed no deference as he spoke, instead pulling up a chair and sitting down on his own.
"Heard what?"
In the past, even though Li Chong had held leverage over him, he always maintained a good outward appearance. Especially when others were present, he would never let him lose face. Seeing such a scene suddenly made Li Chong quite unaccustomed.
"We all did things together in Neihuang County, including the assassination of Han Mo. Are you thinking of betraying us now?"
Looking at Li Chong's hypocritical face, Zhang Huai said with a cold laugh.
"You... what are you saying? How could I possibly do such a thing?"
Li Chong's heart was laid bare by his words, and his face showed a moment of embarrassment.
"It's good that you wouldn't!"
Zhang Huai cast a sinister glance at him and nodded with satisfaction.
"This fellow..."
Li Chong pointed at Liu San somewhat awkwardly, directly changing the subject.
"This dog stole the money I was using to grease the wheels and bought himself a cheap woman, which led us to this predicament!"
As Zhang Huai spoke of this, the malice on his face grew even more cruel.
"Is there such a thing?"
Li Chong's expression also turned extremely unpleasant.
The county yamen was not that large, and Li Chong arrived shortly after Zhang Huai. However, Han Mo had no intention of seeing him. He had sent messengers twice but was unable to meet Han Mo. Thus, the two had missed each other. Upon hearing that Zhang Huai had agreed to compensate Han Mo, he had come to seek advice. Who knew that upon entering, he would hear such a thing?
"The deficit in the treasury, with all sorts of miscellaneous items, amounts to at least seven hundred thousand guan! If those grains were converted at current grain prices..."
Li Chong couldn't finish his sentence. What a joke! This was no joke! Over the years, not to mention the deficits accumulated by successive magistrates, the deficits created by their own embezzlement in the past year alone amounted to over seven hundred thousand guan. And the grain prices were calculated according to the prices of grain purchased by the imperial granary in the past. If calculated at current grain prices, the deficit just for grain alone would be as high as five hundred thousand guan, and with miscellaneous items, it would be at least a million guan!
"What else can we do? Lü Ying is now in his clutches, and this is a handle he holds. With the influence of his Han family from Xiang Prefecture, what can I do?"
Zhang Huai knew that this scoundrel was trying to shirk responsibility, but he wasn't a fool. Such a large sum of money, if he had to produce it all himself, would likely ruin him!
"This matter started because of him, so let him solve it himself!"
When it came to money, Li Chong had no more scholarly reserve, saying with a grim expression.
"Even if you tore him apart and sold him for scrap, it would be a miracle if he could scrape together thirty thousand guan!"
Zhang Huai said with disdain. Liu San dared not even speak now. He had never imagined that things would become so troublesome. He had initially thought Han Mo was just an unlucky scholar. After all, according to the laws of the Great Song, unless there was an imperial decree, locals were generally not allowed to hold office in their own region. Moreover, with the chaos and war in Hebei, which powerful and influential families would send their own sons here? He had thought it would go unnoticed, and he could even make a profit of fifteen hundred guan. But because of this little greed, they had all fallen into an abyss of eternal damnation.
"Then what? Are we really going to fill this hole ourselves?"
Although Zhang Huai didn't elaborate, Li Chong understood that he wouldn't let him off the hook so easily. Wealth was hard to part with, and he was unwilling to give up what he had painstakingly acquired.
"Otherwise? Do you think the four words 'Han family of Xiang Prefecture' are just for show?"
Zhang Huai looked at him as if he were an idiot. Neihuang was very close to Xiang Prefecture. Although the Han family couldn't control everything here, they certainly had the means to kill a few people. Even without the Han family personally acting, they could simply forge a document ordering Zhang Huai to escort the grain and fodder to the front lines, and the bandits along the way would take his life!
"There are only three days left. All the cash I have is fifty thousand guan, and less than twenty thousand piculs of grain. The rest will depend on you!"
Although Zhang Huai was angry, he also knew that now was not the time for internal strife. Even if Liu San had to die, it couldn't be now. Otherwise, future matters would only become more troublesome. If anything went wrong, and Han Mo truly managed to create an opening from within, they would all be finished!
"I..."
Since Zhang Huai had said so, Li Chong naturally had no retreat. He could only mentally calculate. Neihuang was a superior county, and the imperial court had established one Assistant Magistrate and one Registrar, and one Commander. He and the Assistant Magistrate, Zhou Ding, were from the same hometown and had both entered office through special recommendation. Therefore, after arriving here, they had colluded with Zhang Huai in a short period. Although it was somewhat shameful, they all had compromising information held by Zhang Huai. The two sides had inexplicably become accomplices, and the Commander, Lü Ying, had been plotted against by the three of them. Even after Lü Ying joined them, the portion he received was very limited. Now that such a mishap had occurred, Zhang Huai would contribute a part, and the remaining matters would clearly fall to them to resolve. Twenty thousand piculs of grain, at the current price of eight hundred wen per dou, amounted to nearly sixteen thousand guan. Added to the copper coins, it was only slightly over two hundred thousand. How could they possibly fill such a large deficit?
"In three days, even if I sell my ancestral home and divert funds from elsewhere, I can only come up with another one hundred thousand guan! Lord Li, what happens next depends on you!"
Thirty thousand guan – this figure had already hit him hard. After speaking, Zhang Huai no longer looked at Li Chong, simply waiting for his response.
"Even if I sell my ancestral home now, I can only come up with two hundred thousand guan!"
Li Chong gritted his teeth and stated a figure that pained him. Zhang Huai looked at him with a cold smile. Although he didn't expose him, his eyes were full of mockery. This old fellow had brought out all his hoarded copper coins, but he was clearly unwilling to part with any grain. He clearly wanted to hold something back! After all, in Hebei today, grain was the true hard currency, while copper coins were far less valuable.
"Second Master, I, I have a not-so-good idea..."