I

  Chapter 925 921【Suicide in fear of crime】

   "Papa papa..."

  In the warehouse of the Shanghai Shipping Department, a special area has been opened up for the office of the imperial court inspectors.

   The abacus was crackling, and people kept walking around with ledgers.

  In an office next door, the first and second leaders of the Shibo Department are all there. Compared with Cong Wupin and Cong Liupin in the Ming Dynasty, the official ranks of the Datong New Dynasty's Shibo Division were promoted and deputy promoted respectively, and the official ranks were Zhengwupin and Zhengliupin, while the supervisors of provincial customs units were Congsi Taste.

Cao Benshu from the Procuratorate smiled and said to the officials of the Municipal Shipbuilding Department: "You don't need to be nervous, we will not arrest people randomly. If the Municipal Shipbuilding Department has official business to do, you can go to work first, there is no need to stay Here with us."

The Shibo Secretary recommended Wang Cai to apologize and said with a smile: "Although I am busy with official duties, I can still squeeze out time. You have come from afar, so the Shibo Secretary must do his best to be a landlord. Tonight, I will prepare a banquet in Wanghai Tower .Shanghai is a small place, and it is definitely not as good as Nanjing. Please make it up, all censors."

   "It's fine to drink, let's check the account first." Cao Benshu looked at the officials from the Ministry of Finance and the bank next to him, "What do you two agree?"

   Zhou Shouyu from the Ministry of Finance said with a smile: "Cao Yushi has the final say."

  Wang Cai saw that these people were unwilling to show respect, so he made a close relationship: "Cao Yushi used to be a member of Datong, right? He is a low-ranking official, and he was also a swordsman under Mr. Xu (Xu Ying)."

   "Then we used to be colleagues," Cao Benshu asked, "Why do you come to the Shibo Department again?"

Wang Cai said: "After the imperial court regained Jiangsu, many brothers changed careers. They were scholars before, and they were good at accounting. They first transferred to the bank to work. Not long after that, they were transferred to Shanghai Jiangang Kaifu. The Shanghai Shipping Department is a low-level official."

  Cao Benshu smiled and said: "That's right, this low-level official has already achieved the fifth grade. He has been working in Shanghai, so he hasn't been transferred to other places?"

   "I was transferred to Ningbo for three years, and now I am transferred back?" Wang Cai said with a smile.

  Of course Cao Benshu knew the details of Wang Cai. This guy was originally from Shandong, and his family fled to Xuzhou to avoid the war. Now the whole family has moved back to their original place.

  Wang Cai continued to make friends there, and Cao Benshu chatted without saying a word.

  In the evening, accountants from the Ministry of Finance and the bank came in: "There is no problem with the accounts checked today. It is estimated that there will be no problem after checking all the accounts. After all, it is checked every year, and any problems have been discovered long ago."

Cao Benshu got up immediately: "There is no need to check the Shibo Department. I will go to the Shanghai General Department tomorrow. I have informed the Shanghai County Commercial Department and the Finance Department to cooperate and ask them to seal up the accounts of Shanghai's various commercial companies. As for the transaction records. Also, the account books of the Shibo Division are also sealed, so don’t accidentally catch fire again.”

  From the Song Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty, China adopted the single-entry bookkeeping method.

  With the prosperity of business, "three-legged account" appeared in the middle of Ming Dynasty, which is a transitional accounting method from single entry to double entry.

  By the end of the Ming Dynasty, "three-legged accounts" developed into "longmen accounts", which belonged to a relatively rough double-entry bookkeeping method.

  With Zhao Han's promotion of Arabic numerals and new mathematical methods, coupled with the prosperity of commerce and trade, the "four-legged account" has finally appeared in recent years. It is a relatively mature double-entry bookkeeping method. Compared with the bookkeeping method hundreds of years later, it must still have many flaws, but the basic principle is exactly the same.

  Two years ago, the imperial court issued a decree that all government agencies and private commercial companies must adopt the "four-legged account" as soon as possible. There is only one year of study time. If you can't learn accounting in private companies within a year, you can wait until you learn it before opening the door to do business.

  Anyway, the requirements for accounting are getting higher and higher. Many middle school graduates are not sure about being admitted as officials, so they simply go to various companies to work as accountants.

  Of course, there are also many lawyers, commonly known as litigators. In the entire southern region, lawsuits are becoming more and more popular, and lawsuits are frequent, which is in line with the Ming Dynasty.

  Longmen account and four-foot account, these two double-entry bookkeeping methods are very conducive to commercial lawsuits, and each account book is evidence for litigation. In contrast, the three-legged account and the traditional single-entry bookkeeping method are impossible to explain clearly in a lawsuit, and many contents that can be used as evidence have not been recorded.

   It is convenient to file a lawsuit, and of course it is also convenient to investigate a case!

   Seven or eight days later, the chief judge and probation officer of Shanghai County were also called to start the trial of the first case.

  Cao Benshu took the investigation results and asked, "Where is Wang Fang?"

   "The grass people are here!" A man who was almost fifty years old replied.

  Cao Benshu asked: "What position do you hold on the Changyuan?"

  Wang Fang replied: "Caomin is the big shopkeeper of Changyuan's Shanghai branch. The head office transports goods from Sichuan to Shanghai, and Caomin is responsible for selling these things."

  Cao Benshu nodded approvingly: "The accounts of your company match the records of the Shanghai General Department. This is very good. Your company operates legally and pays taxes according to the regulations. I commend you on behalf of the court."

  Wang Fang said happily: "Your Majesty the Censor has praised you absurdly, this is as it should be."

  The smile on Cao Benshu's face faded: "Where is Lu Guang?"

   "Caomin is here." A man in his fifties was so frightened that he almost knelt down.

Cao Benshu sighed and said, "Your Excellency's ancestor, Lu Shen, is admired by many scholars. Anyone who compiles history in the Imperial Academy, who doesn't know Lu Ziyuan's name? It can even be said that from the Jiajing period to the Datong New Dynasty, anyone who studies history Scholars are all disciples and grandchildren of Lu Ziyuan!"

  Lu Guang buried his head and bowed: "The ancestors have a poor reputation, and the descendants dare not rely on it."

   "Don't dare rely on it?" Cao Benshu was also a scholar. He was so angry that he yelled, "If Lu Ziyuan is still alive, you unworthy descendants must be beaten to death!"

  Lu Guang fell to his knees in fright.

   "Stand up, you don't need to kneel down when trying cases!" Cao Benshu roared.

  Lu Guang stood up tremblingly, but he always felt his knees were weak, and he planned to kneel down again at any time.

Cao Benshu said: "The Lu family's Fulong account is the biggest business customer of Changyuan account. The account books of Changyuan account can be matched with the Shanghai Department of Education, so why can't they be matched with the Lu family's Fulong account? "

  Lu Guang was terrified and didn't know how to answer.

Cao Benshu looked at the file in his hand and asked, "Last year, Changyuan sold you a total of 3,000 catties of Sichuan tea. Why did you only buy 1,800 catties of Sichuan tea in your account book? Where did the remaining 1,200 catties go? Can the children of the Lu family drink up?"

  Lu Guang couldn't answer.

   "And this raw silk, last year I sold you 600 dan of raw silk, why is there only 400 dan in the account?" Cao Benshu patted the table and asked.

   Plop!

  Lu Guang knelt down again, and cried, "My lord, please forgive me. For the sake of... why don't you bypass the Lu family this time?"

   "Oh," Cao Benshu laughed suddenly, "For whose sake, you should make it clear."

  Lu Guang dared not speak.

   "Say it!" Cao Benshu roared angrily.

  Lu Guang's voice was as thin as a mosquito: "For the sake of... the eldest princess."

  Cao Benshu was finally completely angry: "You are talking nonsense, how can the Lu family get involved with the eldest princess?"

  Lu Guang actually explained in detail: "The son-in-law is the great-nephew of Mr. Shaohu (Xu Jie), and Caomin's uncle is the grandson-in-law of Mr. Shaohu. Caomin and the son-in-law are of the same generation..."

  Cao Benshu was speechless immediately, what kind of crooked relative is this?

   After holding back for a long time, Cao Benshu asked back: "Why don't you say that Lu Xun of Eastern Wu is your ancestor, let me take it lightly for Sun Quan's sake?"

  Lu Guang muttered: "Marquis Zhao (Lu Xun) is indeed the ancestor of my family."

  Cao Benshu was too lazy to talk nonsense, and asked directly: "Tell me, have these goods that disappeared from the account been sold overseas? If they were sold overseas, how did the Shibo department release them?"

  Lu Guang is still stubborn: "It's all in Shanghai."

   "There must be a place to go for local bulk goods in Shanghai," Cao Benshu said, "Which company are you selling to, or are you selling to the common people in your own shop? Just tell me, and I will check the accounts slowly."

  Lu Guang said: "Sold to the common people."

  Cao Benshu laughed angrily: "I bought raw silk from Sichuan all the way and sold it to ordinary people in Shanghai? Do you think I'm a fool?"

  Lu Guang was stunned, speechless.

  Silk is abundant in the south of the Yangtze River, and shipping it from Sichuan to sell it is roughly equivalent to shipping coal from the northeast to Shanxi.

  Cao Benshu said: "Since you can't tell where the goods are, then you can only be sentenced to smuggling by your Lu family..."

   "My lord, spare me!"

  Lu Guang quickly shouted: "It's not smuggling, the Lu family didn't smuggle. These goods were released by the Shibo Department!"

   Shipped through Shibo, the only crimes are tax evasion and bribery of officials.

   And smuggling, exile in small quantities, beheaded in large quantities!

  Cao Benshu asked: "Which official from the Municipal Shipping Department let you go?"

Lu Guang bit the bullet and replied: "Caomin has not had contact with the officials of the Shibo Department, but...the second son of Mr. Chen Futi's family has some contacts with Caomin. The tax evaded every year will give 10% of the benefits to Chen's second son. As for the officials of the Shibo Department, Second Young Master Chen will take care of them."

   "Go to Chen's house and arrest people!" Cao Benshu ordered immediately.

  Shanghai county inspectors and police were seconded, and under the leadership of the inspectorate officials, they immediately went to arrest people in a carriage.

   About an hour later, the anti-corruption officer came back and said in a low voice, "Father and son of the Chen family committed suicide in fear of crime. There is a lot of ashes in the study, which may have been burned. The ashes are already cold, and they may have been burned in the middle of the night or in the morning."

  Cao Benshu sneered: "Okay, committing suicide in fear of crime, I really think I can't continue to investigate? I also arrested Wang Cai, the secretary of Shibo, and let people watch day and night. Don't let this guy die too!"

  The Datong court had special measures to prevent officials from committing suicide in fear of crime.

  As long as the evidence is conclusive, officials who dare to commit suicide in fear of crime will have their household registration books confiscated and exiled. Moreover, in order to prevent the separation of families from crimes, those who are separated within ten years will also be exiled.

  After the promulgation of this policy, the number of criminals who committed suicide decreased rapidly.

  After all, even if it is a case of criticizing Tian Zheng, if so many people are arrested and sent to exile, it will only harm the wives and children, and the parents and brothers will not sit together. Once you commit suicide in fear of crime, you will have to bear all the crimes in your household registration book!

  Cao Benshu feels that this case is a bit big, and would rather commit suicide than exile the whole family. Some central officials may be involved behind this.

  (end of this chapter)