Lu Sheng hesitated for a long time, but finally stood up and decided to go to the arsenal to investigate. Be careful in everything, especially when it comes to armaments.

Lu Sheng came to the co-ordination office, and after identifying himself, he co-ordinated the order of the yafu, and Kong Wei, the former servant of the Ministry of Works, hurriedly welcomed Lu Sheng in and personally obeyed the dispatch.

In this world, because of the consideration of balance, the six cabinet departments have made some adjustments. Originally, the Ministry of Engineering was only responsible for the construction of water conservancy and construction projects. However, because although the Ministry of War is collectively referred to within the six ministries, it has actually been stripped off and is only responsible to the emperor, and the cabinet cannot dictate the Ministry of War.

The power of the military department is too large, so the ordnance construction and ordnance management are handed over to the Ministry of Industry.

Kong Wei is nearly fifty years old and has the rank of fifth-grade official. can do the five products, in Dayu is not low. The official system is pyramidal, and the higher you go, the smaller the number of people. Therefore, the five-rank officer has surpassed more than 70 percent of his colleagues.

But at this age, he is still a fifth grade, and it is estimated that there is not much chance of promotion. For this type, Lu Sheng is very worried. Lu Sheng is not afraid of those who are bent on camping, he is afraid of these who do not seek merit but seek no fault. This kind of people are numb, lazy, and turn a blind eye, and they are the biggest obstacle to the imperial court's management of local administrative orders.

Lu Sheng didn't know if Kong Wei was such a person, so he cleared his throat, "Kong Wei, Benjun came today to check the past reports of the arsenal, you can find it." ”

"Yes, the lower official obeyed. Kong Wei simply stood up and agreed neatly.

This was unexpectedly Lu Sheng, who originally thought that Kong Wei would find some excuses, or ask the adults with a weak heart, why do you want this. But I didn't expect him to answer so simply.

After a while, the annual report of the arsenal was delivered. Because the arsenal has only been in operation for seven years, and the actual production has only been six years, there are not many annual reports.

Lu Sheng took out last year's flip open, and suddenly, his brows furrowed. and took out the year before last, and it is still the same.

"Kong Wei, Benjun asks you, why are the orders from the Ministry of Industry exactly the same every quarter?"

"My lord, Xia Guan used to work in the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Industry's order-type military department applied for it, and the share was transferred to the Ministry of Industry and then issued to the ordnance workshop below.

Generally, the amount is rounded to the whole number, and the order volume of each month is as much as possible in order to facilitate accounting. Anyway, if there is more or less, the military department can also consume it. ”

"So, why did the money come in two parts, and it was only three days?"

"This ......" said this, Kong Wei also looked puzzled, "This official is not clear." Since the Chuzhou Arsenal began to operate, the Ministry of Industry has received money in this way. What's so greasy in this, the lower officials don't know, and the lower officials don't have the right to know. The lower officials only need to make sure that we receive a lot of money. ”

Lu Sheng is quite accepting of this explanation, this is the reality, and it is also the way of survival for court officials.

"Then, when you were in the Ministry of Industry, how many orders did the Ministry of War make each year?"

"The number of various types of weapons is different, and our statistics are basically based on kits. For example, a set of armor, a sword, and a spear are combined into a suit.

Bows and crossbows, arrows are counted separately. Previously, there were about 80,000 sets per year, and arrows and crossbows were in higher demand, requiring 30,000 bows and 3 million arrows. ”

"You remember clearly, then why did I look at the suits of the first year in Chuzhou, there are 120,000 sets, and the bows and arrows have doubled?"

"Yes, I asked when the official first came. Because the manufacturing process of our arsenal is advanced and the manufacturing cost is low. The same amount of ordnance was enough for less than half of the silver that had been used to do so.

In the past, the military department was poor, so it didn't dare to fill the file. The number of orders increased to 120,000, bows and arrows doubled, and in fact they spent about half as much money as before. ”

"Then why did it increase to 150,000 in the second year?" Lu Sheng asked again.

"My lord, in the first year of the production of the arsenal, didn't our dynasty fight in Bailie in southern Xinjiang?"

"That's not right!" At this moment, Lu Sheng was sure that there was a problem, "Our army is fighting with southern Xinjiang, but the arsenal has not yet been established when a frontal war really breaks out. In the year when the arsenal was established, King Nanling had already changed his battle plan.

During that time, there was almost no war, and naturally there was no consumption without war. Until now, if you look at it, the number of orders has remained high. With such a huge amount of ordnance, we can train a new army of 200,000......"

Saying this, Lu Sheng's face changed suddenly.

"My lord, it's wronged...... Kong Wei hurriedly knelt on the ground, "My lord, our arsenal is fine, we just got the order from the Ministry of Industry." Xia Guan has worked in the Ministry of Industry for 20 years, and it is impossible to admit his mistake. ”

"I didn't say there was necessarily a problem, it was just suspicious. Lu Sheng glanced at Kong Wei, so easily frightened that he burst into tears and snot?

Maybe there is really a big problem in it, maybe it's just that Lu Sheng thinks too much. But for peace of mind, Lu Sheng decided to go to the Ministry of Industry in Beijing to check it.

Edgeworth flies, and it can reach the capital from Chuzhou in two hours. After arriving in the capital, Lu Sheng went directly to the Ministry of Industry.

"The Ministry of Works, Shangshu Lu Weidu, see Lord Fujun. ”

"Excuse me, I want to check the orders for ordnance from the military department in recent years. You got the order for me. ”

"The subordinate obeys!"

In less than half an hour, Lu Weidu personally took two subordinates to carry the box into the reception room where Lu Sheng was.

"My lord, every year's orders, we store and organize them according to the year. From the order sent by the military department to the order we placed, and then to the receipt of the payment and the payment sent out, it is clearly recorded. ”

"Hmm!" Lu Sheng responded, took a stack of packaged materials, unwrapped them and flipped through them. Just by taking a look, Lu Sheng's face changed.

Lu Sheng hurriedly picked up the information of the previous year and opened it, and his face had instantly turned black. After reading it for three or four years in a row, Lu Sheng's face was already gloomy as water.

Looking at Lu Sheng's face, Lu Weidu's expression also became panicked.

"Lord Fujun, what are you...... Is there anything wrong with the order from the military department?"

"There is nothing wrong with the order of the military department, but you have a big problem here. The military department receives the largest annual order of 90,000 sets, 10,000 bows and crossbows, and 1 million arrows. But why did the order issued to the Chuzhou Arsenal be 150,000 sets, 30,000 bows and crossbows, and 3 million arrows?

What are you going to do?"

This loud shout suddenly frightened Lu Weidu to his knees with a thud.

"Your Excellency...... Gentleman, wronged...... We don't...... Don't dare...... When the order from the military department was delivered, we handed over the order as it was. We will arrange to do as much as they want...... Where do you dare to build more?

Even if it's too much...... We can't afford that......"

"Why did you suddenly come to your Ministry of Industry? Why did you suddenly check your order? To tell you the truth, Benjun just came from Chuzhou non-stop. In Chuzhou, orders are more than 50,000 and less than 30,000 per quarter.

Over the course of a year, a set of 150,000 yuan, such a big discrepancy, your Ministry of Industry has not noticed it?"

"Xiaguan...... Xiaguan ...... Xia Guan really doesn't know. Besides, even if it is an order from the Ministry of Works, we have to have the money to pay......"

"That's right!" Lu Sheng suddenly thought, "Every withdrawal from the Chuzhou Arsenal is divided into two payments. When you say this, I distinguish between them, and the first large share of the payment should be the payment of the Ministry of Industry's order. But the second payment ...... Where did it come from?

Who is in charge of the ordnance of the military department, and who is responsible for payment?"

"It's our ordnance chief Zhan Mingming!" Lu Weidu raised his head sharply and shouted.

"Collapse—"

The courtyard of the ordnance chief's office area was violently pushed open, and Lu Sheng rushed into the courtyard with his group. The subordinate officials of the Ordnance Principal Academy looked at Lu Sheng who rushed in in surprise one by one, holding a pen hanging in the air, and their eyes were full of bewilderment.

Lu Sheng's eyes swept over the crowd, "What about your main business?"

"The main thing is ...... Dealing with official business in the backyard study ......"

Lu Sheng led people to the door and kicked open the door of the study, and the scene inside made Lu Sheng's face suddenly gloomy.

The Ordnance Master sat straight behind his desk with his head tilted, black blood on the corners of his mouth. In front of him was a brazier, the flames of which had been extinguished......

The ordnance chief stared at the door as if he was welcoming Lu Sheng's arrival. There was a deep anger in his eyes. Lu Sheng seemed to feel his resentful spirit hissing.

"This ...... If you are so brave to occupy the obvious, even if you commit suicide in fear of crime, you will burn the evidence! Damn!" Lu Weidu shouted angrily after reacting.

"It's so ......fast," Lu Sheng thought for a while and sighed leisurely.

"Lu Weidu, it seems that your Ministry of Industry is also Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, it has been less than an hour since I came to the Ministry of Industry, and there are only a few people who know what Benjun is investigating. However, in such a short period of time, the mastermind behind the scenes completed a series of tasks such as burning evidence and killing people. It's beautiful!"

As he spoke, Lu Sheng turned around and strode to the door, "Someone, who has just come in to find Lord Zhan?"

All the officials of the Ordnance Academy, one by one, you look at me, I look at you, and none of them spoke.

"Take them all down and bring them back for interrogation. Lu Shangshu, where is Zhan Mingming's house?"

"Lord Lu, please come with the lower officials. Lu Weidu also knew that the matter was serious, so he hurriedly ran to a courtyard and personally found out Zhan Mingming's address information. On Jingcheng East Street, an independent courtyard.

When Lu Sheng went out, the brothers of Xuantian Mansion who heard the news also happened to come to the entrance of the engineering department, and when they saw Lu Sheng, Gai Ying hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

"Let's go, follow me to East Street. ”

The speed of Xuantian Mansion is not fast, they are all in a hurry with light skills, and they arrived at their destination in less than a quarter of an hour. However, when he entered Zhan Mingming's house, he was dumbfounded.

Zhan Ming is just a fourth-grade official in the Ministry of Industry, and in the capital, the fourth-grade official is the grassroots, and he doesn't dare to put on an official stand on the street. However, he has a small courtyard in the capital. It's small, but it's valuable.

However, at this moment, there are three corpses lying in the small courtyard. Two children, one maid. Lu Sheng looked at this scene, and his heart instantly sank to the bottom.

The speed of the mastermind behind the scenes was faster than he imagined. In other words, when Zhan Ming was exterminated, it was actually going on at the same time.

Lu Sheng was only a little suspicious, and before he really launched an investigation, the mastermind behind the scenes killed people like lightning. This is enough to prove that the vigilance of the people behind the scenes is extraordinary.

This is the ordnance manufacturing process in the imperial court process, and there will be many clues in each link, and the clues can not be broken by killing one or two people.