The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 236: Eagle Guards arrest people, court purge

Luoyang.

The pitch-black night was accompanied by the howling of cold wind. Occasionally, the calls of unknown birds could be heard in the night sky. Most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, with only a few shops still burning candles.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard, and a group of people crossed the street and went deep into the alley.

They knocked on a family's door and forced their way in. The doorman was stunned and immediately became furious. "Who are you, you bastards? Our master is..."

He didn't dare to say any more in the middle of his words because a long sword was placed on his shoulder. "If you say another word, I'll send you to see the King of Hell!" a cold voice sounded.

The man turned around, and under a black robe, there were cold eyes and a stern face. "Capture them all, don't let any of them escape!"

Such scenes happened in many places in Luoyang, and no one expected it beforehand.

……

Outside the Suzaku Gate, a tall figure stood there, and his subordinates behind him were reporting, "Sir, there is a master inside, many of our people died, and we still haven't caught him. Please forgive me, sir!"

"With the Quanzhen disciples here, why can't you take that guy down? Take me with you to see for yourself!"

A moment later, the man came to a mansion. The courtyard was in a mess and many places were broken. Seeing this scene, his eyes fixed, and then he checked the bodies of his men. Feeling the coldness on the bodies, his eyes lit up instantly.

"Secure this place, do not let anyone in, take the body and report to the king!"

Inside the palace, the lights were on. Guo Jing was handling government affairs. At this time, a eunuch came in to report. After a while, a figure walked into the hall and said, "Your Majesty."

"Junior Brother Zhichang, it's so late, what's the important matter to report?"

It turned out that this person was Li Zhichang, a disciple of Quanzhen Sect. Quanzhen Sect had already bet on Guo Jing, and Quanzhen Sect disciples had also entered the court to serve. "Your Majesty, I have found the person you mentioned."

Guo Jing's eyes turned cold, "Where is that person?"

Li Zhichang bowed and said, "That man is very skilled in martial arts. He killed several of us and has already escaped, but he still escaped. However, the wounds left by the murders are very consistent with the description of the king. I have brought the man here. Please check it out, the king."

"Bring it in!"

Not long after, a corpse was carried in. The man's face was pale and he was dead. Guo Jing walked up to him and put his hand on the acupoint on his chest, inserting his true Qi. Sure enough, a cold chill condensed in his body, which was the same source as the chill that Guo Chengping had felt in his body at the beginning.

"It sure is him!"

Guo Jing immediately ordered, "Li Zhichang, I order you to handle this matter with full authority. Keep a close watch on the people involved and interrogate them overnight. Make sure to catch the mastermind behind this matter."

"I obey!"

"Go get some work done!"

Li Zhichang received the king's order and left in high spirits. After he left, Dahu quietly appeared in the hall, hiding in the dark shadows.

"Da Hu, it's time to close the net."

"My lord, take your orders."

Guo Jing looked at the flickering candlelight in the hall. The dim light fell on his face, reflecting a serious expression. He was of course angry that his eldest son had been plotted against. However, state affairs were more important, so he could only suppress his anger and first crowned him king, founded the country, and sorted out state affairs.

After more than half a year, Da Hu finally found the whereabouts of those people with some clues. After careful investigation, he finally found the man's trail, which led to the incident tonight.

……

The night passed peacefully, and the city of Luoyang was still peaceful. Even though Guanzhong was advancing towards Hanzhong in full swing, it still had no impact on Luoyang, simply because the people of the Great Zhou believed that the Zhou army could win the battle, just like before.

The effect of storing grain and delaying the declaration of kingship is remarkable. Guo Jing has been working in the north for more than ten years, and his righteous cause of resisting the Jin army has already won the hearts of the people. At least, the people living in this land feel safe.

The morning market is still bustling, however, some people in the city can no longer sit still.

Inside the mansion, a middle-aged man with triangular eyes looked at the figure sitting peacefully on the chair in front of him and said angrily, "What's going on? Didn't I tell you not to come?"

The man was sitting on a chair, wearing a Taoist robe. He had a cold face, a hooked nose, a thin face, and a mean look. "Someone raided my place last night. In order to avoid being caught by them, I fled all night. After thinking about it, I think your place is the safest."

The middle-aged man couldn't help but ask, "Master Hanshan, did you take action last night? Did you use your own martial arts?"

Taoist Hanshan saw that he looked panicked and was full of confidence, "Without using my martial arts, I'm not sure I can escape. Don't worry, with my lightness skills, they can't catch up."

broken!

The middle-aged man couldn't help but feel annoyed. He was the one who took the lead in dealing with the Guo Chengping brothers. He thought that Taoist Hanshan's methods were silent, but he didn't expect that there was someone in the Great Zhou who could cure the Mysterious Nether Palm. The expected thing did not happen, and they could not find an opportunity to take action again.

In order to hide Taoist Hanshan, he had to hide him. After all, he felt at ease having such a great master around. But the news today made him feel like disaster was coming.

"Now, we have to leave immediately. Those people who can find where you live must be people from the imperial court. We must not be caught!" He knew very well that what he was doing was confiscating property and exterminating the clan, and he must not be caught.

Immediately, he ordered people to pack up their belongings and arrange a carriage to leave Luoyang.

Soon, the carriage left the mansion. He lifted the curtain and looked outside. The streets seemed calm and no different from usual, but there were government officials checking the key places. Fortunately, he had a wide range of friends in Luoyang and enjoyed a good meal. The carriage quickly left the street and drove towards the city gate.

At the same time, people from the imperial court had already guarded all the important roads and strictly checked passers-by, using the excuse that they were investigating spies from the State of Song.

Li Zhichang was wearing a brocade robe embroidered with a soaring eagle and a long sword at his waist. He was standing in front of the city gate, scanning the passers-by.

Seeing the people here, the middle-aged man in the carriage secretly groaned and asked people to give him money as he did in the past, trying to get away with it. However, this trick that had always worked in the past was completely useless. Li Zhichang was guarding the place personally, so how could anyone dare to accept bribes under his nose?
The middle-aged man had to get off the carriage to be inspected, and the large box he took with him was also opened and inspected.

Taoist Hanshan, who was hiding inside, sensed someone approaching from outside and felt something was wrong. He smashed the box with one palm and prepared to escape. The person who was checking was the first to be hit and was knocked several meters away on the spot, and it was unknown whether he was alive or dead.

Master!

Noticing the movement here, Li Zhichang's eyes lit up instantly, "Come here, form the Big Dipper formation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, six figures came to his side and attacked Taoist Hanshan together. At the same time, the people guarding here directly used crossbows to shoot arrows to restrict Taoist Hanshan's movements.

Waves of arrows flew into the sky, and Taoist Hanshan was about to be shot into a living target. At the critical moment, he used a thousand-pound weight and barely avoided it, but he also lost the best chance to escape and was surrounded by people from Quanzhen Sect.

"A mere small formation, can't stop me!" Taoist Hanshan laughed loudly, not taking them seriously at all, with a pair of Mysterious Dark Palms, full of chill. Who would have thought that the Big Dipper Formation was mutually reinforcing and restraining, and although the Mysterious Dark Palms were powerful, the power was dispersed among the seven people by the formation, and the damage was far from enough. On the other hand, the seven people all used Quanzhen swordsmanship, and cooperated tacitly, forcing him to switch from offense to defense.

As time went by, more and more people came to help, surrounding the place tightly, and the middle-aged man was caught early, and he was so scared that he collapsed to the ground.

It's over, it's over!

Now, he regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. He should not have kept Taoist Hanshan by his side.

After hundreds of moves, Taoist Hanshan was caught by the seven men and a sword wound was left on his chest. Finally, he was exhausted and captured by Li Zhichang and others. Not only were the major acupoints on his body pressed and the tendons in his hands and feet cut, but an iron chain was also used to pierce his collarbone, making it impossible for him to use his internal energy.

A storm may seem to disappear without a trace, but in fact it is just the beginning.

Only a few people knew that Guo Chengping was plotted against, so it was not enough to use as an excuse. But now that a war was launched and Zhou and Song were at war, no one could find fault with the purge in the name of eliminating spies.

……

in prison.

The middle-aged man was hung on the wall, his body covered with scars.

Li Zhichang looked at the man in front of him and couldn't help but curse, "You really brought shame to your ancestor Han Shizhong, bah!"

At night, Li Zhichang presented the results of the interrogation.

After Guo Jing finished reading, he was filled with anger and murderous intent in his eyes. "The Han family, the Song family, the Chen family, these powerful families are really capable. Not only did they plot against me, they actually colluded with the enemy!"

He originally thought that these people were only plotting against the court and the harem, but he did not expect that these people were actually flirting with the Song Dynasty, and over a long period of time. When they attacked the Jin Dynasty, they were secretly communicating with the Song Dynasty.

The families involved had great influence in the court. They were basically officials from Henan and Jiangnan. These places had been under his rule for a very short time, and he had not had time to replace officials, so the foundation of his rule was very weak.

"Come here, gather all the ministers for a meeting tomorrow!"

The next morning, Prime Minister Huang Yaoshi, Sansi Envoy Pei Andao, and the heads of the six ministries arrived at the Linde Hall together.

When several people heard about the incident at the Luoyang city gate, they wanted to ask Guo Jing, but when they saw his calm expression, they knew that this matter might not be simple.

Guo Jing glanced at everyone and handed them a report. "My dear ministers, you are all here. I have something here. Please take a look."

Huang Yaoshi took it and read it quickly. After reading it, he and Guo Jing looked at each other without saying anything. The official next to him also took it and read it. He immediately said indignantly, "How can this be absurd? He is secretly communicating with the enemy country. He deserves to be killed!"

"These noble families do not appreciate the king's kindness. They should be exterminated to set things right."

"Yes, with the enemy at hand, these people are just perfect to be used as sacrifices!"

……

The current Zhou Dynasty court is not as weak as the Song Dynasty. It is hoping to make achievements and establish its own cause. When it suddenly sees these case files, it will naturally unite to face the outside world instead of trying to make a big deal out of a small matter and delay it.

If it happened in the Song Dynasty, don’t even think about it.

"Since you all think so, then we will choose a day to execute him. The Dali Temple and the Censorate will handle it together. It must be done quickly."

Naturally, the few people would not object, but Huang Yaoshi questioned the arrival of the case file, "But, Your Majesty, where did this case file come from, and what happened at the Luoyang city gate yesterday?"

Guo Jing had anticipated Huang Yaoshi's question, and immediately said, "The people in the martial arts world are lawless and fear power instead of virtue. When two countries are at war, they will use any means possible. In the past, the Song Dynasty had six gates, and the Imperial City Bureau was the eyes and ears to manage the martial arts world. Our Great Zhou should also have such a government office to stabilize the chaos."

"Therefore, I pulled in some personnel and formed the Eagle Guard. I didn't expect to find these rebels right after it was established."

Several people looked at each other and complained in their hearts that they were afraid that the Eagle Guard had been established long ago. Since there was already a precedent in the Song Dynasty, they could not say anything and could only accept it.

……

After the meeting, Huang Yaoshi stayed behind, "Master Hanshan, could he be the one who plotted against the eldest young master?"

"It's him. This is his martial arts secret book." Guo Jing casually handed over the secret book of Mysterious Dark Palm.

Huang Yaoshi shook his head after reading it, "This palm technique is too vicious. It only pursues power and takes a wrong approach, losing its true meaning." Then he looked at Guo Jing, "Have you found out all the people involved?"

"Almost. A few fish that slip through the net will not be able to achieve great things."

Thinking of this, Guo Jing felt cold in his heart, "Human greed is like a snake swallowing an elephant. I gave them official positions and power, but they are still not satisfied and want to make a fuss about my offspring. It's really hateful."

Huang Yaoshi thought for a moment and continued, "Your Majesty, the Eagle Guards should be cautious in their actions. The noise they made yesterday was too loud. If they don't restrain themselves in the future, they may cause criticism."

Guo Jing also knew that Huang Yaoshi was giving good advice. "I will pay attention to this matter. It won't be long before the Eagle Guard officially becomes an imperial government department responsible for suppressing the martial arts world and investigating spies. It will be much easier to do things then."

As a monarch, one should act in an upright and just manner, and not be biased or selfish. The Eagle Guard is a violent organization as well as a law enforcement agency. If it is not restrained, it will easily lead to criticism from both the government and the public.

But Guo Jing did not intend to set it up only temporarily. The corruption in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty was shocking. The idea of ​​not killing scholars and officials was completely useless to him. He hated those corrupt and incompetent officials.

There are many supervisory agencies such as the Dali Temple and the Censorate, but so what? They are the scholar-official class. It is wishful thinking to expect them to clean up themselves and take action against themselves.

As a monarch, the emperor needs to take drastic measures. He also needs a special law enforcement team to ensure his authority and, more importantly, to act as his eyes and ears to avoid being deceived.

……

"Spare my life!"

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

At the court meeting a few days later, the Vice Prime Minister read out the verdict. The Eagle Guard case went through the procedures of the Dali Temple and the Censorate, which meant that the formalities had been completed and the case was legitimate.

In the blink of an eye, nearly one-tenth of the officials in the court were gone. Looking at this scene, many officials felt the same way and were frightened.

At the same time, the Eagle Guards also took their cavalry to various places in the south of the Yangtze River to confiscate properties and exterminate families. This was the first time a large-scale purge had been launched since the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty. After this incident, the officials became much more restrained.

(End of this chapter)