Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 137 Establishing Authority Through Supervision

The echoes of Jia Wenxian's "Three Strategies for Pacifying the North" still lingered in the study when a series of new decrees were issued from the main fortress with the strokes of Chen Xingzhu's brush, flowing into the increasingly busy military and political system of Xinghuo Fortress. Externally, Li Shu's spies began infiltrating Xiliang and the eastern fortresses with more covert missions; Zhao Tiezhu's agricultural envoy and artisan team expanded their ranks; and Chen Wei's border patrols received more detailed instructions. Internally, the most striking and chilling change was the long-awaited appointment of the first head of the Censorate.

The official document appointing Jia Wen as the head of the Censorate was issued in Chen Xing's name to the three prefectures and all their jurisdictions. The document was carefully worded, clearly defining the Censorate's independent status and three core responsibilities: supervising all officials, auditing finances, and conducting independent investigations. It concluded with Chen Xing's handwritten edict: "Mr. Jia Wen is exceptionally talented and upright; therefore, I have specially entrusted him with the important position of Censor. All officials and civilians under Xinghuo's jurisdiction are subject to his supervision. I hope that everyone will strictly abide by the Xinghuo Laws, perform their duties, and jointly uphold the law."

As soon as the official document was issued, undercurrents stirred within and outside Xinghuo Fortress. Most people's first reaction to this newly surrendered strategist from Xiliang, known by the legendary "poisonous advisor," was curiosity and observation. A few, however, who relied on their seniority or held key positions, couldn't help but harbor some doubts and disdain—an outsider, with no merit to Xinghuo Fortress, had suddenly risen to such a high position and wielded such power solely through a single strategy; could he really do it? Was it merely a show of force, a way for the lord to buy his way out?

Jia Wen seemed oblivious to these clandestine glances and thoughts. After receiving his appointment, he didn't immediately make a big show of it; instead, he became even more reclusive, spending several days in the quiet courtyard of the Censorate, assisted only by two experienced clerks, appointed by Chen Xing and well-versed in documents and law. He reviewed copies of major official documents and account summaries from the Military Affairs Office and the Civil Affairs Office over the past six months, as well as summaries of internal personnel movements and whistleblower leads from Li Shu's intelligence system. He read extremely quickly, his narrow eyes sweeping across the paper like a hawk skimming across a grassland, not missing a single unusual trace.

He knew that the power of oversight lay first and foremost in its establishment. And the quickest and most effective way to establish authority was to investigate and prosecute several high-profile cases with swift and decisive action, ensuring that the evidence was conclusive, the handling of the cases was fair, leaving no room for criticism, and demonstrating the efficiency and ruthlessness of the Oversight Administration.

He quickly seized the opportunity.

The first case came from Luan County, a newly annexed territory. Luan County was originally a small town under the control of the Black Mountain Army. After its surrender, Liu Mao, a county magistrate sent by the Civil Administration Office, was in charge of its administration. Zhao Tiezhu received several joint lawsuits from the people of Luan County, accusing Liu Mao of colluding with local clerks to manipulate land surveys and household registrations, allocating unclaimed fertile land to himself and his cronies, and using the collection of the first batch of taxes as an opportunity to impose additional "fire loss" and "transportation fees" for personal enrichment, which aroused growing public resentment. Zhao Tiezhu originally planned to send someone to investigate, but since the Supervisory Office had just been established, he forwarded copies of the lawsuits and the suspicious points from the preliminary investigation.

Jia Wen carefully examined the complaint and the few pages of preliminary investigation records, and immediately discovered the key—the complaint mentioned the names and approximate locations of the original owners of several encroached-on plots of land, as well as the rough amounts and categories of additional taxes. He immediately summoned the two old officials and dictated several orders: First, immediately and secretly retrieve the tax records of another county near Luan County to verify the tax standards and "fire loss" practices for similar land in that county during the same period; Second, through Li Shu's channels, try to contact one or two former low-ranking officials of the Black Mountain Army or honest local elders who are still in Luan County, may know the inside story, and are dissatisfied with Liu Mao, to obtain more specific witness and material evidence; Third, order the subordinates of the Supervisory Office to be prepared to be dispatched at any time.

Within three days, the reports began to arrive. The tax standards of the neighboring county were indeed different from those levied by Liu Mao in Luan County, with the "fire loss" being nearly 30% higher. Through coercion and inducement, a former clerk of the Black Mountain Army who had once worked as a clerk for Liu Mao but was later ostracized due to a dispute over the division of spoils revealed the truth and handed over a secret ledger containing some of the transferred land and the division of the embezzled funds. Another local old farmer, under the premise of ensuring his safety, pointed out that the land of his family that had been seized was now being cultivated by Liu Mao's brother-in-law.

A preliminary chain of evidence had been established. Jia Wen no longer hesitated, personally signing the arrest and search warrants, affixing the official seal of the Supervisory Commission, and ordering a capable clerk to lead ten guards to Luan County overnight. At the same time, he wrote a letter to Zhao Tiezhu, stating that an investigation had been launched, requesting the cooperation of the Civil Affairs Commission, and suggesting that Liu Mao's authority be immediately suspended and replaced by a temporary replacement.

The officials and guards of Xinghuo Fort moved with lightning speed. Upon arriving in Luan County, they used the token of the Supervisory Office and Chen Xing's written order to enter the county government office directly. They publicly announced that Liu Mao was suspected of embezzlement and dereliction of duty, and detained him. At the same time, they searched his residence and office. Under the floor tiles of Liu Mao's bedroom, they found some gold and silver valuables that had not yet been transferred, which was seriously inconsistent with his salary income. In a secret compartment in his study, they found more account books recording details of embezzlement, which corroborated the secret accounts provided by the clerk.

Caught red-handed, with irrefutable evidence, Liu Mao initially tried to deny it, but faced with the undeniable proof, he quickly turned pale and collapsed to the ground.

Upon receiving the report, Jia Wen immediately drafted a detailed account of the case and proposed solutions in the name of the Censorate, and submitted it to Chen Xing. He recommended that, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Xing Law: Official System" and "Household and Marriage" sections, Liu Mao be sentenced to recover all embezzled funds, have his property confiscated, be dismissed from all posts, and be exiled to the harsh northern frontier to serve ten years of hard labor. His confidants and clerks involved in the case should be punished according to the severity of their offenses, with penalties ranging from imprisonment and fines to dismissal. The seized land should be returned to its original owners or confiscated by the government, and excess taxes should be refunded to the people.

After reviewing the case, Chen Xing wrote "Approved" in vermilion ink and added: "This case shall be fully handled and concluded by the Supervisory Office, and the results shall be made public throughout the county as a warning to others."

The second case touched the very edge of the Military Council. An anonymous whistleblower letter alleged that when the newly formed "Trap Camp" received specially made heavy armor parts allocated by the Craftsmen's Battalion, the quartermaster in charge was suspected of withholding or substituting inferior parts, and had a close relationship with a certain supervisor in the Craftsmen's Battalion. The whistleblower letter was vague, but mentioned several key time points and batches of goods.

The Trapped Camp and the Craftsmen's Battalion, which were involved with Dian Xiong, were departments that Chen Xing valued highly. Jia Wen handled the matter with even greater caution. He didn't make a big fuss, but instead first reviewed the official documents from the Military Affairs Office regarding the allocation of this batch of military equipment and the Craftsmen's Battalion's outbound records, verifying the quantity, specifications, and dates. He found that the documents and records roughly matched the batch mentioned in the whistleblower's letter, but the documents themselves didn't reveal any problems.

He then dispatched two clerks skilled in mathematics to the crafts camp under the pretext of "checking recent military equipment accounts for auditing purposes." Their true purpose was to secretly verify the specific forging records, material lists, and quality inspection records for those batches of heavy armor components, and to conduct random checks and comparisons with the actual inventory in the warehouse. Simultaneously, through Li Shu's intelligence network, he indirectly learned about the background, daily interactions, and recent unusual spending of the quartermaster and crafts camp manager who had been reported.

Several days later, clues began to emerge. The forging records of the artisan camp showed that about one-tenth of the armor plates in those batches of heavy armor components were made of slightly inferior steel, while the whereabouts of the best steel were somewhat unclear. Warehouse checks also revealed slight discrepancies between the actual number of armor plates in stock and the accounts. On the other hand, intelligence indicated that the quartermaster had recently incurred a moderate debt at a gambling den in the city, and the foreman of the artisan camp had his brother-in-law just purchase a shop on the street, the source of which was unknown.

Jia Wen judged that this might be a case of collusion between insiders and outsiders, involving the substitution of inferior goods for superior ones and the embezzlement and resale of high-quality steel for profit, but the evidence was not yet sufficient and it involved the military, so it was not appropriate to arrest people directly. He met with Chen Xing again, and Chen Xing summoned Chen Wei and Dian Xiong.

Inside Chen Xing's study, Jia Wen calmly presented the preliminary investigation results and points of suspicion. Dian Xiong, upon hearing this, flew into a rage and immediately wanted to go back and drag the quartermaster out and beat him to death, but Chen Wei restrained him. Chen Wei's expression was also grim; the Trapped Camp was his brainchild, and someone had dared to tamper with its equipment.

Chen Xing pondered for a moment, then said to Jia Wen, "Wenhe, this matter will be led by your supervisory office, with Chen Wei and Dian Xiong assisting. If you're going to investigate, investigate thoroughly, but be careful in your approach to avoid causing unnecessary unrest in the army."

With Chen Xing's support and the cooperation of Chen Wei and Dian Xiong, Jia Wen's investigation progressed rapidly. He devised a simple trap: under the pretext that the Trapped Camp needed to replenish a batch of "specially made parts," Dian Xiong placed an order with special markings with the Craftsmen's Camp, assigning the suspected foreman to be in charge. At the same time, Chen Wei secretly strengthened surveillance of the quartermaster and the foreman's residence.

Shortly after the order was placed, the surveillance personnel discovered that the foreman was secretly contacting the owner of a blacksmith shop in the city. Subsequently, the blacksmith shop began secretly purchasing a batch of substandard steel that closely matched the specifications required in the order. Meanwhile, the quartermaster was frequently seen visiting a restaurant in the city, meeting with several unfamiliar men who appeared to be traveling merchants.

The time was ripe to close the net. After consulting with Chen Xing, Jia Wen ordered a simultaneous arrest. Officials from the Censorate, in cooperation with the military law squad dispatched by Chen Wei, seized substandard steel being processed and some completed "specially made parts" bearing counterfeit markings at the blacksmith's shop. In a private room at a restaurant, they apprehended the quartermaster and the foreman of the craftsmen's battalion, who were trading high-quality steel with merchants, catching them red-handed. Under interrogation, the two confessed to conspiring to sell inferior materials as superior ones for profit, and also implicated two other craftsmen from the craftsmen's battalion and a transport soldier involved in the scheme.

This case involves military equipment, making it even more serious. According to the law, Jia Wen proposes the following punishments: the principal offenders, the quartermaster and the foreman of the artisan battalion, shall be sentenced to immediate execution and their property confiscated; the accomplices, the artisans and auxiliary soldiers, shall be sentenced to imprisonment, fines, and dismissal from the military and artisan ranks, depending on the circumstances; all illicit gains and proceeds shall be recovered, and the blacksmith shop owner shall be prosecuted for receiving stolen goods. It is recommended that the artisan battalion and relevant departments of the Military Affairs Bureau strengthen management and verification.

Chen Xing granted the request again and ordered that the details of the two cases and their outcomes be communicated to the three prefectures and all counties and military camps, emphasizing the authority of the "Xing Law" and the power and responsibility of the Supervisory Office.

The news of Luan County Magistrate Liu Mao's exile and the execution of the main culprit in the Trapped Camp's supply case was like two huge stones thrown into a calm lake, causing a tremendous shock both inside and outside Xinghuo Fortress. People were astonished by the speed of the Censorate's investigation, the conclusive evidence, and the severity of the punishment, but even more terrified by the methods of the newly appointed Censor, Jia Wenhe. He could uncover hidden corrupt officials without making a sound, and he didn't discriminate between insiders and outsiders, soldiers and civilians; once the facts were verified, he was ruthless and merciless.

Officials who had previously harbored some reservations or ulterior motives regarding Jia Wen's rise to power suddenly fell silent, becoming doubly cautious in their actions. Even key ministers like Chen Wei and Zhao Tiezhu unconsciously paid more attention to procedural compliance and clear accounting when handling affairs within their respective jurisdictions. The entire Xinghuobao bureaucracy, thanks to the establishment of authority by the Censorate, quietly developed an unprecedented atmosphere of solemnity.

Jia Wen remained secluded, as if the two cases that had shaken the court and the public had nothing to do with him. Only his narrow eyes, which occasionally lifted from his desk and glanced out the window, remained calm and sharp, like a hawk scrutinizing its prey in the dark.