Evidence of a conspiracy

The air inside the Khan’s central pavilion was thick with the scent of fermented milk and expensive, stolen incense. As you stepped over the threshold, your eyes fell on three women, but before you could say something, your general gave a signal for only the two of you to remain in the tent. You nod and the women were quickly transfered out, with the general telling the rest of the soldiers to remain outside the tent.

Left alone in the tent, the general respectfully motioned to a table located near the bed. Approaching it, you quickly understood why the general didn't want to voice out what he saw. A scroll that bore the unmistakable golden silk backing of the Imperial Chancellery. You picked one up, your thumb tracing the wax seal of the Ministry of Works. A barbarian having the scroll was unthinkable. You opened it and your eyes narrowed as you scanned the brushwork.

The barbarians were funded out of the national coffer.

You handed the scroll to your general with disgust and began tearing through the rest. The documents detailed a systematic siphoning of the Imperial Treasury. Funds earmarked for the Yellow River dikes, meant to prevent the catastrophic floods of the previous spring, had instead been diverted to Bato Khan’s war coffers. In exchange, the Khan would attack specific territories under the jurisdiction of certain court officials. The tragedy of the conspiracy lay in its cycle: the raids necessitated emergency funding for the stricken locations, which was then siphoned off by the very officials who had orchestrated the attacks.

Bato Kahn seemed to mistrusts those officials, knowing very well they would be more than eager to backstab him when the oppurtunity comes. To protect himself, he collect documents detailing secret dealings by them. Thousands of katies of grains, meant for the people, were diverted and sold off to another country. Taxes were collected, but not transfered into the national coffers. Communication with a certain brothel near the capital detailed out records of officials indulging in such pleasures. The evidence were damning.

Heads will roll.

The only thing surprising about the situation was the paper trail didn't implicate Empress Dowager or anyone in her inner circle. To an observer, it may look as if they weren't involved, but deep in your guts, you know that itself was very suspicious.

"Guard them with your life," you told the general and walked out of the tent, only to see the three women.