By the time of the Ming Dynasty, there were too many greasy things about the granary. Almost all granaries at all levels have their own means of one or two, and almost every granary has problems. What good and bad rice is ginseng, what "child and mother rice" and so on, are still good things. "Pair of rice" is the standard high-grade rice and inferior rice mixed together, acting as high-quality rice into the official warehouse. This kind of behavior is the lightest form of cheating, but it was still a capital crime of killing the head during the Hongwu period. The so-called "child-mother rice" is a means of obfuscating inspection. The top and bottom layers of this kind of rice are qualified and high-grade rice, and the vast majority of rice in the middle is actually unqualified inferior rice, or even rice bran. When the higher-level officials come to inspect, the granary officials who know the mystery will give the higher-level officials a good look at the rice, or a sample of rice that can pass the customs.

Later, the deficit became bigger and bigger, and some officials had no choice but to focus on the granary in order to make up for the shortfall. Not only did the reserve granary dare to use its hands and feet, but even the idea of preparing the granary for war dared to fight. The grain inside is getting worse and worse, the good rice is getting less and less, and even the inferior rice is rare. There are more and more limes added to these substandard rice, and inedible white stones are also added. It is said that there was an official who had been an official for nearly 30 years, and he had served in more than a dozen places, and almost every place he went to has scourged the local granary. The grain in the yamen is getting less and less, but his own grain store is opening bigger and bigger. Later, he became an official and became a generation of grain kings just by selling rice.

Originally, as long as the rice was rotated every few years when there was no disaster or war in peacetime, it was disposed of with an excuse. What granaries make rats, what granaries are poorly managed, rice is damp, etc., dealing with one or two "scapegoats" will fool things up. Unexpectedly, there were Japanese robbers in the south of the Yangtze River, and the imperial court opened the war preparation granary and reserve materials. In order not to be exposed, officials at all levels have their hands on what they can conceal, those who can be confused, and those who can greet each other. Even the celebrant and the emperor didn't know what to do with one eye open and one eye closed. The food that can be used is used, the food that can be processed is used after processing, and the food that really can't be used is dealt with an excuse. Even so, there is still a lot of food that has not had time to be disposed of. Not only the granary of the central government, but also the yamen at all levels of the local government, there is still a lot of grain that cannot be eaten.

Li Ding told Qin Tai a secret, the treasure that Qin Tai found at the beginning, after almost everything was exchanged for cash, it was used to buy military rations. This kind of grain issued by the imperial court, whether it is transported from the north or from the official warehouse in the south, cannot be eaten by the soldiers. Therefore, Hu Zongxian secretly embezzled official money many years ago to privately buy edible grain as military rations. For this reason, Hu Zongxian deliberately let the Japanese invade some yamen, and there was almost nothing left in the yamen anyway. Once this yamen is attacked, all the losses can be counted on the heads of the Japanese cowards. Not only can they report false losses, but they can also obfuscate the matter of the official bank's grain purchase. After having Qin Tai's treasure, Hu Zongxian didn't have to do it. With real money and silver, they bought grain from local tyrants and grain dealers, and the soldiers could fight desperately when they were full.

In order not to affect the front-line warfare, Hu Zongxian took it upon himself to use the grain collected every year as a reserve grain for military rations. And the "Cao Grain" handed over to the imperial court in recent years is actually inedible rice, that is, the so-called central grain warehouse rice transported by the imperial court to Jiangnan. After fighting for so many years, not only did he almost spend all of Qin Tai's treasures, but he also used up the usable rice in the granaries of the yamen at all levels in Jiangnan. Li Ding didn't need to supervise the granary and grain, so he went to do other more important things.

After listening to Li Ding's words, Qin Tai analyzed the before and after, and finally had a clear context. Now Tan Lun is used to help the common people, and the food for the resettlement of the soldiers is actually the grain that Hu Zongxian returned to the imperial court, or the grain in the granary in the south of the Yangtze River. Not only are these grains inedible, but they can cause great trouble if they are taken out. Those officers and soldiers who were killed by the "three knives" must be people whose hands and feet are not clean. They were either the officers and soldiers who managed the granary, or the officers and soldiers who escorted the grain, they originally wanted to make a profit from it, but they did not expect to discover this ulterior secret. In order not to attract everyone's attention, or not to let the secret know too soon, they were escorted to the execution ground to be killed. happened to be discovered by "Ma Sandao", and "Ma Sandao" couldn't resist his curiosity and looked through the so-called evidence. The mystery was discovered, and that's why there will be later events.

Qin Tai was a little puzzled, why did the other party do this? If you want to deal with it secretly, you can just set a fire or create some accidents, and you don't have to go through so much trouble. If you are not afraid of being known, why kill so many officers and soldiers?

Qiu Xiaoqiu came back, not only brought dinner, but also inquired about some things. It is said that Yu Dayou's army is about to leave Jiangnan, as if it is going to the north. The reason is that there are no major battles in Jiangnan, and there is no need for so many soldiers. It is enough to leave Qi Jiguang's troops to deal with the aftermath, and Yu Dayou's troops can leave Jiangnan. This news originally had nothing to do with Qin Tai, but Qin Tai heard some clues.

Qin Tai just couldn't figure out the case, but now listening to Qiu Xiaoqiu's words, Qin Tai finally understood the key. The military commander who really knows the mystery must be Yu Dayou, who deliberately concealed this matter in order to set a trap for his old comrade-in-arms and old opponent Qi Jiguang. Once the military rations were inedible, the first to be affected was Qi Jiguang's troops. If Qi Jiguang's troops made trouble, Qi Jiguang would bear the brunt of the impact. If Qi Jiguang didn't let everyone speak, when the people made a fuss, not only the people but also the officers and soldiers would no longer believe Qi Jiguang. Everyone would think that Qi Jiguang was involved in it, and even got enough benefits to do so. In this way, not only Qi Jiguang's reputation was ruined, but Qi Jiguang could not gain a foothold in Jiangnan. As for the officers and soldiers who were killed, although they were Yu Dayou's subordinates, they were deliberately betrayed by Yu Dayou. Some of these people are Hu Zongxian's people, some are Qi Jiguang's people, and some are people Yu Dayou doesn't like, and they deliberately let them take care of or escort food, the purpose is to send them to death. While pulling out the eyeliner around him, he cleared the uneasiness around him and purified his team.

Originally, Qin Tai had a bad impression of Yu Dayou, but he always felt that "no one is perfect", and there were always some subsections that he didn't pay attention to. As far as Yu Dayou is concerned, greed for money, ruthlessness, lack of vision, etc. are his shortcomings, but he dares to resist the Japanese and is a hero if he contributes to the people. So when Qin Tai heard that Yu Dayou was not dealt with seriously, he didn't have any overreaction. But from the perspective of self-love first, Yu Dayou has changed or exposed his true face. Such a military general is not only the scum of the army, but also the misfortune of the Ming courtiers. Qin Tai secretly made up his mind that once Yu Dayou committed it in his hands again, he would definitely not let go of this Yu Dayou. Even if it was to avenge hundreds of soldiers, even if it was for the sake of "Ma Sandao", Qin Tai had to deal with Yu Dayou.

Qiu Xiaoqiu also brought a piece of news that the food of the brigade had just passed through here the day before. These were the first batch of military rations, and there were several more batches of food, and almost every other day there was a batch of grain on the way. This food is first guaranteed to the soldiers of the army, then to the wounded soldiers and civilians, and finally to the ordinary people who have returned to their homeland. The first batch of grain will be delivered to the destination in four days, which means that Qin Tai and they only have four days to prepare. Once this batch of rice is distributed to the soldiers, something big will happen to the barracks. If there is a problem with the food that is delivered to the treatment site, more people will know about it. Once the food is distributed to the people, the impact will be even more serious. Qin Tai must not let this kind of thing happen, once the matter is known, it will no longer be easy to control.