Fu Shanhe

Chapter 16 The Lid That Cannot Be Covered
The news spread much faster than Li Mu expected.

As soon as the Southern City Thousand Households Office took action, the two major secret service agencies, the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot, also took action. The soldiers of Shuntian Prefecture reacted a little slower, but they were only half an hour late.

When it comes to official positions, everyone is very efficient. Even after get off work, it does not affect the enthusiasm for work.

……

"Sir, this is unfair!
The Wucheng Bingmasi ordered the destruction of the illegal objects on the wall. I didn’t put them there…”

"Snapped!"

After a slap, the leading eunuch of the East Factory angrily shouted: "You had your say in the imperial prison, why are you wasting your words now!"

The accusations in the notice were all directed at the eunuchs. If they didn't take action quickly and let their superiors know, they would definitely be in trouble.

Following the principle of "better to catch the wrong person than to let him go", the young eunuch was obviously not prepared to spend time on identification.

Anyway, as long as the person is caught, it’s a good achievement.

Once in the imperial prison, there are plenty of ways to make people confess.

The probability of coming out of that damn place alive is less than one-third.

"stop!"

Li Mu couldn't help but scold.

He had heard about the violent law enforcement of the East Factory, but he didn't expect it to be so brutal.

Even though he knew that the person was innocent, he still put him in prison.

"Who dares to interfere in the affairs of my East Factory?"

A man stepped forward and shouted.

If it weren't for the official uniform on Li Mu and the soldiers following him, it would have been estimated that they would not have questioned him but would have arrested him directly.

False cases and wrongful convictions never exist alone. Once the bottom line is crossed, there will be countless more.

"Li Mu, the captain of the Southern City of the Five Cities Military Command, tell your manager to come out and answer!"

It’s better to lose the battle than to lose the fight. Since you have chosen to stand up, you must not show your weakness.

The East Factory’s notoriety is so bad that the outside world fears them like a tiger, but that doesn’t mean they are invincible.

Power needs checks and balances, and the emperor will not allow one government office to dominate.

In the capital, the Wucheng Bingmasi, where the sons of nobles gathered, was one of the few government offices that would ignore their orders.

However, this kind of refusal to buy into something is limited to ignoring it. Direct confrontation rarely occurs.

"Mai Qinghu, the head of the South City of the East Factory, does Captain Li have any advice for you?"

Although he was being polite, his eyes had already been elsewhere. His actions showed that he didn't care about Li Mu, the captain.

“I don’t deserve your teaching!

I just want to ask you, father-in-law, do you want to suppress the matter, or do you want to make it known to everyone, so that everyone knows that the rumor spread from your jurisdiction?"

Li Mu deliberately emphasized the tone of "rumor".

There is also competition among eunuchs. Those who can stand out from the crowd are naturally not political novices.

After being pointed out by Li Mu, Mai Qinghu immediately realized that he had done something stupid.

Rumors were already flying everywhere, and if people were arrested in a high-profile manner, it would be even harder to hide them.

To get by in the government, you don’t have to be an outstanding person, but you must not perform worse than your colleagues.

After the incident became a big deal, it was impossible for the emperor to hold everyone accountable.

Whoever's jurisdiction is the most chaotic is most likely to be caught as an example, become the scapegoat, and be held responsible for the incident.

"What does Lord Li mean?"

Mai Qinghu asked tentatively.

"Sir, why do you have to ask when you already know the answer? The Five Cities Military Command, Shuntian Prefecture, the East Factory, and the Imperial Guard are all on the same boat.

Things have gotten out of hand, so someone must take responsibility.

If there is no trouble in South City, then the blame will not fall on you and me."

Li Mu said straight to the point. Covering up is a traditional skill in the officialdom. As long as it can be covered up, no one will be willing to report it.

The situation in the capital is special, with multiple government offices having overlapping powers. If we want to suppress things, we must all work together.

"Sir Li, I'm afraid this matter may be a little difficult.

As your majesty's henchmen, we dare not deceive you!"

The secret agency like Dongchang is different from the Wucheng Bingmasi. It is common for people to report on others' mistakes to higher authorities.

What's more, there is the competitor Jinyiwei. If he tries hard to cover up the truth but is sold out by the opponent, he will be in trouble.

"You are joking, sir. We are all loyal to the emperor. How could we possibly deceive him?

What happened today must of course be reported truthfully.

We took timely measures to reduce the impact, and this must be included in our report.

I think our colleagues in Shuntian Prefecture and Jinyiwei will not deceive Your Majesty on this issue just like us!"

This is the magic of the Spring and Autumn style of writing. It is clearly the same thing, but the way of recording is different, and the meaning expressed is completely different.

This kind of thing is not afraid of investigation at all, and there is indeed no bad political impact in Nancheng. The residents are all from the bottom of society and usually have no contact with the senior officials of the court.

If several departments work together to downplay the impact, they can create the illusion that the world is at peace.

There is no need to keep it secret all the time. As long as the incident lags behind other city districts, the blame can be easily shifted.

"You made a mistake, let him go!"

After saying this, Mai Qinghu took his men away and made his position clear with practical actions.

"Thank you... sir... for your help..."

Before the frightened middle-aged man could finish his words of thanks, Li Mu interrupted him and said, "Okay, go home and have a good sleep and forget about what happened today.

Be smarter in the future and stay away from the Dongchang guards when you see them."

The fact that he was able to escape unscathed from the hands of the Eastern Depot was enough for him to brag about for half his life.

However, I guess no normal person would want this kind of experience.

It was definitely an unprovoked disaster, and there was nowhere to appeal.

Perhaps the Censorate likes to take on this kind of case now, but the prerequisite is that the person involved must die, and it would be best if it was a tragic case of the annihilation of the entire family.

The crime of arresting the wrong person and then releasing him is too minor to be brought to the table.

The nature of the massacre of an entire family was much more serious. During the party struggle, the eunuch party could be accused of "taking human life lightly".

"Thank you for your reminder, I will go back and rest now!"

The middle-aged man made a promise in a hurry. It was obvious that he was frightened. His body was shaking while he was speaking.

……

At almost the same time, notices with the same content appeared in other areas of the capital.

Xicheng Qianhu Suo.

"What? The people who posted the notices were a group of illiterate children, and the one who directed them was a beggar?"

"Yes, Master Qianhu, when we found the beggar, he had been dead for two hours.

Judging from the timing, this person was killed immediately after he bribed the children to post the notice.

The murderer had clearly planned this in advance and may have already left the capital."

Looking at the beggar's body on the ground, Zhao Yawei couldn't calm down for a long time.

The clues were suddenly cut off, and the difficulty of following this line to find the mastermind increased by more than ten times.

"Send someone to report to Marquis Wuyang immediately!"

In this place where powerful people gather, no one can guarantee that there is no important person passing by and happening to see the contents of the notice.

It is bound to be impossible to conceal it, so it is better to take the initiative to report it yourself than to wait for the higher-ups to notice something is wrong and hold them accountable.

(End of this chapter)