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Chapter 1446 Getting All Parties Moving (Part 2)
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry had already fallen into the trap. Upon hearing that a successful investigation would put them on good terms with the Emperor, the two Ministers, one senior and one junior, immediately gritted their teeth and declared that they would send their capable men to Lanzhou to conduct a secret investigation, obtain the results as quickly as possible, and then quietly deliver them to them.

Now it's time to repeat these words to Tan Mingbu. However, this guy is the emperor's henchman, skilled in strategizing and has a very sharp mind. He can't just tell the story as he did with the two foolish ministers. He has to use some tricks to get Tan Mingbu to take the bait.

“Grand Eunuch, you watched me grow up. When His Majesty went to the Haihu Division to give lectures when I was a child, you always came with your teaching stick to supervise me. Even if we're not family, we still have a teacher-student relationship. You can't be biased towards outsiders!”
The General Staff is a large organization with tight budgets; the ongoing war has already exhausted its budget, so I won't go into that. But it seems they're planning to build more military bases in the Americas, possibly more than one.

According to His Majesty's wishes, large-scale immigration should begin as soon as the war situation stabilizes. The Maritime Transport Command has also submitted a report requesting an additional 20 armed cargo ships—that's all silver!

Furthermore, the General Staff only has the responsibility of reviewing, evaluating, and supervising the arsenals; the specific operation and production management are the responsibility of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry. It's unreasonable to make the buyers lose money when a shop catches fire!

Upon hearing that it was about the arsenal again, Tan Buming immediately thought of Zhang Wangzhao's young face. What excellent officers they were! With proper training, they could have become at least deputy chiefs of the general staff in ten years. Yet, their careers were ruined because of the negligence of an arsenal.

I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you're already expecting the General Staff to hand over money? Dream on! This time, no one can change my mind. Even if I fight all the way to the emperor, I'll have to argue my case.

"That makes sense, but you can't argue with the fact that they have solid evidence."

Wang Chengen had intended to test whether his silver tongue could provoke Tan Buming's anger, but to his surprise, the other party flew into a rage as soon as he started. Good, he thought, how else could he provoke him?

"There's solid evidence... I personally questioned the representative stationed at the factory. Could it be that he's the one with the problem!"

To say that the General Staff bears no responsibility whatsoever would be an overstatement, as the General Staff maintains a representative in every military-affiliated enterprise. This position, while not part of the factory's official staff, carries veto power on many crucial issues. If human error occurs, the General Staff will ultimately be held accountable.

"How would this old servant know if there's a problem? But things have escalated to this point, you should at least prove that there's no problem! His Majesty doesn't tolerate any nonsense, so just talking won't do any good."

"In this regard, this old servant must criticize you! The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry are already sending people to conduct another secret investigation, yet you remain unmoved. Do you already have a plan in mind? If so, this old servant will submit the memorial to His Majesty."

Although Wang Chengen never explicitly stated his allegiance to anyone, his words implied that Tan Buming was one of his own, and this time he was going to use his power to specifically remind him that Tan Buming was falling behind!
"...Really?!" Tan Bu was truly panicked. Ever since Zhang Wangzhao's unexpected death, he had no intention of getting involved in the matter, nor did he feel that the General Staff had any responsibility. He had devoted all his energy to the battle.

Now that Wang Chengen has said it, it sends chills down my spine. The responsibility isn't the main concern; the real issue is that the General Staff can't pay for this. Otherwise, if the astronauts return from the front lines and see, "Wow, I wasn't home and you were keeping an eye on things, and we still ended up losing money for no reason! What kind of work ethic is that!"

"This old servant naturally has sources of information, but I cannot tell you. Today's conversation is known only to you, me, heaven, earth... and even His Majesty must know. Believe it or not, it's up to you!" Wang Chengen was furious and humiliated at being questioned to his face. He slammed his hand on the table, pointed at Tan Buming's forehead with his finger, and strode out, giving him no chance to explain.

"This is what they call sitting at home and getting into trouble out of nowhere! An investigation, huh? Fine, I didn't want to bother with you, but now I can't. Someone, go and tell the statistics department staff on duty to come to my office immediately!"

Despite his forced smiles and profuse apologies, Tan Buming couldn't stop Wang Chengen. After watching the old eunuch board the carriage, Tan Buming's face immediately turned icy. He was already 90% convinced; there was no other reason than that the other person was Wang Chengen.

From any perspective, the old eunuch had no reason to deliberately deceive him. If it was at the emperor's behest, then he had no choice but to be deceived, otherwise the consequences would be even more severe.

However, out of professional habit, Tan Buming did not immediately arrange for a secret investigation. Instead, he was cautious and wanted to first find out through his informants in the Statistics Department whether the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry were really going to launch a secret investigation.

In reality, it would have been better if he hadn't gone to the Statistics Department; going to them would have meant he'd been completely fooled. The Statistics Department was a military intelligence agency, and without the emperor's written decree, it was absolutely forbidden to extend its reach beyond the military sphere, such as secretly investigating other departments. Therefore, the domestic intelligence it could obtain was all rather superficial.

Coincidentally, neither the Ministry of War nor the Ministry of Industry had the authority to conduct intelligence gathering domestically. What was called a secret investigation was actually only kept secret from other departments; it didn't even reach the level of escaping the Statistics Department's surveillance.

And then, the matter was confirmed. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry were indeed conducting a secret investigation into the explosion at the Lanzhou Arsenal. The team had already been selected, led by a vice minister, and would depart soon.

If the General Staff doesn't want to just wait for others to get the investigation results and then shirk responsibility before the Emperor, it has to follow up quickly. It can't be said that they'll fabricate evidence, but they at least have to find out the truth.

When it comes to investigating arsenals, the Statistics Department has a lot to say. This matter falls under the military domain, a perfect match for their expertise. They didn't use it before because they felt it wasn't necessary, but now using it is perfectly justified, legal, and compliant—there's absolutely nothing wrong with it!

Moreover, once the Statistics Department gets involved, it won't be a perfunctory formality; the evidence obtained that way simply wouldn't stand up to the emperor's scrutiny. The bombing case has escalated to the point where it's no longer a trivial matter.

Since an investigation was going to be conducted anyway, it was decided to check all the arsenals under the jurisdiction of the General Staff. That way, if the emperor asked, they could claim it was a routine self-inspection and not specifically targeting the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry.

Therefore, the statistics department cannot be too hasty. It must prepare contingency plans and be ready to make a real show of it. If it is going to do it, it must do it to the extreme. It must investigate as thoroughly as possible, to the point that even the emperor would have to admit it is professional!

(End of this chapter)