[Transmigration + Political Intrigue + Cunning Hero + Reforming the Court + Auditing the Books + No Pointless Infighting]
Shen Mu transmigrates as the least noteworthy prince of the Great Liang dynasty. People call him “Bug Three”: a useless nobody, a pawn, and a discarded piece.
The officials ignore him, the emperor uses him as a whetstone, the Crown Prince's cat scratches him, and even the imperial kitchens dare to skimp on his heating charcoal.
No one knows that in his previous life, he was the youngest division chief at the Audit Office.
He spots the ghosts in the ledgers at a glance; the ghosts in people's hearts, he records one by one.
The Revenue Ministry falsified its disaster relief accounts by 300,000 taels? Investigate.
The Works Ministry used shoddy materials and embezzled river repair funds? Investigate.
The War Ministry pocketed soldiers' pay until only half the border garrison remained? Investigate.
The embezzlers, the hypocrites, the blustering cowards... In his eyes, the court is full of parasites whose accounts just don't add up.
He says, “I don't understand political intrigue. I only know how to audit the books. But how come, the more I investigate, the more the entire court ends up on its knees?”
Reading Chong San is like listening to someone swallowing his words in winter. Yang Heng knew the outcome. We know what will happen to the Hexi Corridor, and we know that none of those people can be retained. But he couldn't open his mouth - what he said was a lie, and if he didn't say it, his conscience couldn't bear it. In the end, he chose the most painful thing: no one would believe him if he said it. Don't tell me, just carry it yourself. This is not a time-traveling novel, it is a punishment for time-travelers. Goldfinger? His only golden finger is "forbearance". In Chapter 33, I was most afraid of Cui Jing. He doesn't care about fate or the general trend, he only cares about quantity. The ruler is in your hand, and the ground is under your feet. Yang Heng stands thousands of years later and looks at all this, understanding everything and being unable to change anything - this is true loneliness. I feel like being silent after reading this book, this is the right book.