Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1717 I am the Prefect, my words are the evidence!
Although Bai Changjiu's voice was calm when the topic of the Joint Operations Department came up, it made Yang Tao's heart tighten. Others might not know, but he knew very well that Bai Changjiu and the Joint Operations Department were at odds!
When Bai Changjiu was still serving in Anqing, the General Affairs Office had reported to His Majesty that Bai Changjiu had kept a mistress in Anqing and had an affair with a local actress, who had even given birth to a son for him.

Before Bai Changjiu returned to Yijing to serve as the prefect of Yijing, the Joint Investigation Department had searched the Bai family's businesses, seemingly trying to find some evidence to prevent Bai Changjiu from becoming the prefect of Yijing. So, with these old and new grudges combined, Bai Changjiu could be said to hate the Joint Investigation Department to the bone.

After this incident, although the Yijing Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice quickly launched a joint investigation and manhunt, the Joint Investigation Office, under the organization of Director Ji Xian, also launched its own investigation.

Although the two sides appear to be cooperating in their investigations, they are actually in competition due to the personal grudges between the Joint Investigation Bureau, the Ministry of Justice, and Bai Changjiu.

Both sides are vying to find out the truth about the case as soon as possible so that they can gain the upper hand!
Yang Tao is very clear about this, which is a major reason why he is under so much pressure right now.

After a quick thought, Yang Tao spoke up:
"Sir, I don't know the situation at the Joint Command Office, but I haven't told them about Zhao Dahai's situation!"

"It's good that we didn't tell them. Let those bastards in the Joint Investigation Department find out what they want to know themselves!"

After saying that, Bai Changjiu asked again:
"You just said that Da Dechang has a business in Yijing. Have you checked these businesses?"

"Because there is no evidence yet, I haven't sent anyone in to search, but I've had people keeping an eye on things!"

"What evidence do you need? Go in and search right now. I'll give you a search warrant!"

"Sir, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

“What’s wrong with that? This is Yijing, and I am the prefect. My words are the proof!”

"Once we arrive, search the place thoroughly, leaving no detail unchecked..."

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In a room of the palace
Ying'er was reporting to Murong Qingwu:

"Your Majesty, according to my findings, Zhao Dahai left a letter. Although A'da set Zhao Dahai on fire with a tinderbox, the letter he left behind was not completely burned. The letter described the Wanfu Bank incident and mentioned the master. The cabinet dared not act on its own and has already sent someone to deliver the message to His Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Qingwu immediately showed a look of surprise. Although the cabinet wanted to handle the events of the past few days in a low-key manner, such a large-scale blockade and investigation could only keep the ordinary people in the dark, and could not keep the well-intentioned people with information channels in the dark!

After Murong Qingwu realized this, she also realized that A'da had been exposed. She immediately asked Ying'er to contact A'da and tell him to leave Yijing immediately and go as far away as possible and not to return to Yijing for a while.

When Ying'er returned, she brought the latest news about A'da. A'da acted very quickly. Before the government office could seal off and surround the area, he escaped the encirclement and hid in a safe house in Yijing.

After receiving Murong Qingwu's orders from Ying'er, A'Da quickly left his disguised state and escaped from Yijing...

Originally, at this point, Murong Qingwu thought that as long as Zhao Dahai was dead and A'da had run away, the Ministry of Justice, Yijing Prefecture, and even the Joint Investigation Office would have to give up after searching for a while and finding a few scapegoats to close the case.

However, what Murong Qingwu did not expect was that Ah Da, who was always very efficient, had not handled the matter properly this time and had left a loose end. This letter has now put the Murong family in danger!

Thinking of this, Murong Qingwu was also very angry, but she knew very well that getting angry would not change anything. She could only come up with a solution by staying calm!

Whether Murong Qingwu is willing to accept it or not, although Zhao Dahai is dead, his letter mentioning her father has reached the hands of the cabinet, so her goal has failed. The court has now launched an investigation, and the situation has become very passive!
Realizing this, Murong Qingwu fell into thought. Since she couldn't stop things from happening, she had to find a way to minimize their impact as much as possible!
So what methods can minimize the impact of the situation?

A glint of shrewdness flashed in her beautiful eyes, and Murong Qingwu immediately had an idea.
"Have someone immediately send a secret message to my father via carrier pigeon regarding Yi Jing's situation!"

"Furthermore, let Zhang Mang try to get the authority to handle this case, no!"

"Why, Your Majesty?" Ying'er asked curiously.

"Not 'strive,' but 'definitely'! Tell Zhang Mang he must get the case-handling authority. Cui Shao and his gang have long wanted my father dead. If they get the case-handling authority now, the consequences will be unimaginable..."

"Tell Zhang Mang that as long as the Murong family gets through this safely, the Murong family will owe him a huge favor!"

"Although the Liaoyang Gang is currently in power, Cui Shao is old and won't last many more years. However, His Majesty has long been wary of the Liaoyang Gang. In His Majesty's eyes, the Liaoyang Gang has become too powerful to be controlled. Therefore, as soon as Cui Shao steps down, it will be the time when the Liaoyang Gang loses power!"

"That will be the time for the Murong family to rise to prominence. Helping the Murong family through this crisis will surely bring great rewards to my father and brothers, and their future advancement to high positions will be a given!" "Yes!"

After receiving Murong Qingwu's order, Ying'er immediately prepared to contact Zhang Mang, while Murong Qingwu continued to ponder.

Based on her understanding of Ye Mingsheng, for a case of this magnitude, Ye Mingsheng would not trust the investigation of any single government department. He would most likely have the Ministry of Justice conduct the official investigation, and then hand it over to the three judicial departments for joint trial, while the Joint Investigation Office would also conduct a private investigation.

So even if Zhang Mang obtained the power to handle cases from the Ministry of Justice, it wasn't enough; she also needed to make arrangements with the Joint Investigation Department!
Thinking of this, Murong Qingwu frowned slightly. Although she had also made arrangements in the General Dispatch Office, only Zhang Li among those she had trained had risen to the position of centurion in the General Dispatch Office.

Even setting aside the fact that Zhang Li, the centurion, was punished in the recent Zeng Yang incident and has since been transferred from Yijing, even if he were still in the position, such a major case wouldn't be under his jurisdiction as a centurion...
But if Zhang Li can't contribute to this matter, how can he influence the mediation investigation?
Thinking about this, Murong Qingwu felt a headache coming on. The General Dispatch Office was the special agency of the Great Qian Dynasty, and it had a special status compared to other government offices in the Great Qian court. Moreover, she was not like An Miaoyi, who had the status of Empress and sovereign, and could win over the General Dispatch Office. Therefore, it was even more difficult for her to place her own people in the General Dispatch Office.

After several years of effort, Murong Qingwu finally managed to place Zhang Li in a position.

After thinking about it carefully for a long time, Murong Qingwu finally came up with a solution.

The investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection would certainly not be led by a centurion; it should at least be led by a thousand-household commander, and it's not impossible that Ji Xian himself would lead it.

In this way, we should try to get Zhang Li transferred back to Yijing to join the investigation team. Zhang Li is, after all, a centurion and a minor leader in the General Investigation Department. Once he joins the investigation team, he will have the opportunity to exert influence during the investigation and affect the results. As for how to transfer him back to Yijing, there is only one way left—money!
While other government offices in the court were also subject to supervision, they were still overseen by the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice. However, the Joint Investigation Bureau, as a special agency, was essentially unsupervised, reporting only to His Majesty. Although the censors of the Censorate had been clamoring for years to disband the Joint Investigation Bureau and bring it under the Censorate's supervision, His Majesty had never agreed. This resulted in the Joint Investigation Bureau effectively becoming a small, independent kingdom within the power structure of the Great Qian Dynasty, lacking sufficient and effective oversight, making them even more vulnerable than other government offices.

Therefore, as long as Zhang Li has enough money, Murong Qingwu believes he will find a way to resolve everything and return to Yijing...
Faced with this matter that would determine the family's honor and decline, Murong Qingwu was very willing to spend money; he wanted to give Zhang Li a thousand taels of silver.

This amount of silver is equivalent to Zhang Li's salary as a centurion in the General Affairs Office for ten to fifteen years. It can support 150 to 160 workers in Yijing for a full year, and can buy a three-courtyard house in a non-core area of ​​Yijing.

Murong Qingwu didn't care how Zhang Li spent the money. Whether he gave it to others as a gift or pocketed it himself, she didn't want to know or care. She only had one request: that Zhang Li use the money to influence the investigation results of the Joint Investigation Department and exonerate the Murong family.

This was Murong Qingwu's absolute order. Even if the money ran out, she could add more—one thousand taels, two thousand taels, or even five thousand taels—no problem. In such a difficult situation, as long as they could get through it smoothly, she, Murong Qingwu, would accept spending more money!

However, if Zhang Li fails to complete this task, then Murong Qingwu will definitely not be so easy to talk to.

Although Zhang Mang and Zhang Li were both pawns she had nurtured, she treated them in very different ways.

Zhang Mang is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, a high-ranking official in the court. He is a good candidate for the future Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. Therefore, even Murong Qingwu must show him high respect. Compared to his subordinates, he is more like Murong Qingwu's political ally. So you can't talk to him in a commanding tone. You have to use a consultative or even pleading attitude.

But Zhang Li was completely different. He was a centurion in the Imperial Recruitment Office, and although Murong Qingwu had helped him rise to his position—a position she hadn't easily attained—he was still just a minor official, worlds apart from high-ranking officials like Zhang Mang. Therefore, Murong Qingwu didn't hold him in as much fear…
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Qilu, Licheng

In the Provincial Administration Office, Ma Runshan was carefully reviewing the documents in his hands. As the Provincial Administration Commissioner, he felt a great deal of pressure due to Ye Mingsheng's personal inspection. Especially recently, after news of Ye Mingsheng's inspection of Youyan spread, officials of all ranks in Qilu were extremely nervous!
Although Ye Mingsheng did not officially announce his itinerary, his general schedule was not a secret in the Yijing court. Everyone knew that Ye Mingsheng's plan was to first inspect Youyan, then Qilu, and finally Jiyu.

Therefore, as the second stop of Ye Mingsheng's inspection tour, everyone in Qilu was paying close attention to Ye Mingsheng's movements, especially his actions in Youyan. In fact, not only people in Qilu, but also people in Jiyu were very concerned about Ye Mingsheng's inspection tour!

Everyone wanted to see what issues Ye Mingsheng focused on, what behaviors he appreciated, and what he disliked during his inspection of Youyan.

In short, the people from Qilu, Jiyu and other places all wanted to follow the lead of Youyan and avoid making the same mistakes that Youyan had made. They also wanted to leave a good impression on Ye Mingsheng so that they could advance their careers further!
Therefore, when the news that Ye Mingsheng had taken down Wang Chong, the magistrate of Zhuoxian County, Zhang Dafu, the prefect of Rao'an, and held Zhang Zhiwen, the provincial governor of Youyan, accountable reached Qilu, everyone in Qilu, from the provincial governor Ma Runshan down, was uneasy and trembling with fear, and even felt a sense of shared sorrow.

Although he had such thoughts, Ma Runshan knew that there was no way to avoid this kind of thing. No matter how unwilling they were, Ye Mingsheng was going to come anyway. Now, whether they stuck their necks out or not, they would all get stabbed!

Since that's the case, instead of worrying about gains and losses there, it's better to make good preparations and try to leave a good impression on His Majesty.

I'm still quite young, and I have enough seniority in the Great Qian Dynasty. I've been serving as the Provincial Governor of Qilu for several years now. If Ye Mingsheng's inspection this time leaves a good impression on His Majesty, then if a vacancy arises in the Cabinet in the future, wouldn't it be a natural progression for me to enter the Cabinet with the help of my junior brother?
With this in mind, Ma Runshan devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work.

Just as Zhang Zhiwen, the Provincial Governor of Youyan, prepared a factory in Zhuoxian for Ye Mingsheng's inspection, Ma Runshan had also made preparations beforehand!
Ma Runshan's preparations mainly consisted of five aspects!

The first aspect is Tao Port!
As a key port under construction in Daqian, Tao Port was one of the important targets of Ye Mingsheng's inspection.

Tao Port was primarily designed as a military port during its construction, but it also included civilian sections. While Ma Runshan, as the Provincial Governor, had no authority over the military sections, he did have decision-making power over the civilian sections…