Fu Shanhe

Chapter 19: The Fierce Factory Guards
"You bastard!
I am an official appointed by the imperial court, how dare you..."

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish his words, he got slapped in the face.

The people of the East Depot proved through practical actions that the imperial officials had no deterrent power over them.

"How dare you! I am the imperial censor of the current dynasty.

You are so reckless, aren't you afraid of being punished by the court?"

The middle-aged official asked, enduring the pain.

It was decades ago that the imperial guards were rampant throughout the country.

Since the civil service group grew larger, the imperial power was restricted and the factory guards became more disciplined in their conduct.

The corresponding deterrent effect has also shown a downward trend.

"Ha ha……"

“You will soon no longer be an official appointed by the imperial court.

After investigation, it was found that Right Censor-in-Chief Jie Wenyu was corrupt, abused his power, monopolized lawsuits, and persecuted loyal officials...

Sir Xie, please come with us!"

The mocking words from the head of the Eastern Depot instantly sobered up Xie Wenyu from his rage.

The eunuch party began to fight back!

The worst thing is that you are targeted.

"This is all nonsense. I am an upright official. How could I do anything illegal?"

Xie Wenyu immediately refuted.

He cannot admit to these charges, otherwise even if the current prime minister comes forward in person, he will not be able to save him.

As long as he does not plead guilty, the Qingliu Party members outside will work hard for him.

He withstood the pressure and walked out of the imperial prison. He became a hero in the eyes of scholars.

If you are lucky, you might become one of the spiritual leaders of the Qingliu Party and rise to prominence from then on.

"Haha, Master Xie, you won't give up until you reach the Yellow River!

There are so many civil and military officials in the court. If we didn't have enough evidence, would we come to you?

If you have a bad memory, I'll help you recall it.

Mr. Xie was a third-class Jinshi in the first year of the Tianyuan reign. In just six years, he was promoted to the high position of Right Censor-in-Chief.

The emperor’s grace is so great, but Lord Jie has no intention of repaying the emperor’s kindness, which is really outrageous.

We won’t talk about the distant past, but how do we explain the additional 15,000 mu of fertile land that Jie’s family has acquired?”

As soon as the specific numbers came out, Xie Wenyu instantly realized that something was wrong.

Although he came from a gentry family, his family was not well-off, and they even sold a lot of paddy fields to support his studies.

In the court, he has always been the representative of children from poor families.

The salaries of officials in the Dayu Dynasty were notoriously low.

It is simply impossible to accumulate such a huge fortune in just a few years.

Except for a portion of land that was registered by fellow villagers, the rest of the land was obtained through abnormal means.

In Dayu, evading taxes by registering land is also illegal.

"What nonsense are you talking about! How could my Xie family have so many fields? Someone must have framed us!"

Xie Wenyu denied it outright.

Reason told him that at this moment, he must hold on.

"If you feel wronged, then go to the imperial prison and explain yourself.

The people there like to entertain tough people the most, I hope Master Jie can be tough to the end!"

……

It wasn't just Xie Wenyu who was arrested. The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were dispatched at the same time, and the Qingliu Party members who had been making the most noise before were all sent to prison.

Nancheng Qianhu Suo.

"Master Qian Hu, the East Factory has sent a group of relatives of imprisoned officials and asked us to detain them on their behalf!"

Li Mu was not surprised to hear this news. In recent days, the factory guards have been arresting people, and the imperial prison is already overcrowded.

Except for the direct relatives of officials, ordinary maids and servants were not qualified to enter the imperial prison.

Shuntian Prefecture and Dali Temple were both territories of the Qingliu Party, so the eunuch party naturally could not send the people back to them.

Yesterday, the West City Thousand Households Police Station received a group of family members of imprisoned officials, and now it is the turn of the South City Thousand Households Police Station.

"Tell the person who comes here that we only provide cells, and other matters have nothing to do with us!"

Li Mu said calmly.

The actions of the eunuch party have brought everyone back to the era when people were dominated by the eunuchs.

Countless officials were trembling with fear, and it was said that some of them even wrote their suicide notes before going to court.

It’s not that the Qingliu Party didn’t launch a counterattack, but unfortunately the emperor hadn’t attended court in recent days, and the impeachment memorial was suppressed by the Imperial Household Department.

The memorial was submitted in the morning and the person went in in the afternoon.

Once imprisoned, one's identity became that of a criminal official, and the previous impeachment memorials became nothing more than waste paper.

"Sir, the East Factory is very powerful now. It would be bad to refuse like this!"

The clerk persuaded gently.

The eunuch party's sharp counterattack not only stunned the Qingliu party, but also frightened countless neutral parties.

"If you don't express your attitude, are you going to help them guard and interrogate the prisoners?
Don't forget that among the families of the prisoners sent here, there are a large number of the elderly, the weak, women and children. Can you guarantee that no one will have an accident after entering the prison?"

Li Mu asked back unhappily.

The strict clerk in front of him obviously did not put himself in the right position.

The East Factory is indeed scary, but he is a clerk of the Five Cities Military Division, and the first thing he has to stand on is the Five Cities Military Division.

Some things, once you get involved, you can't get rid of them.

The eunuch party and the Qingliu party were fighting so fiercely that the noble group obviously wanted to remain neutral.

As a force in the noble camp, the Five Cities Army was naturally neutral.

If I try to get close to the East Factory at this time, it would only represent my personal stance.

It would be fine if nothing happens, but if something unexpected happens, he might be assigned to the eunuch party camp.

The eunuch party is now very powerful, and if you are labeled like this, there is a high probability that you will be able to rise to prominence in the short term.

But in the game of politics, there is no such thing as an invincible general.

"You are joking, my Lord. How can I take on such a big responsibility?

The East Factory will never let go of any grudge, I am just worried that if I offend them, I will bring trouble upon you, my Lord!"

After listening to Yan Shuli's explanation, Li Mu's expression eased a little.

In addition to recruiting the children of nobles, the Wucheng Bingmasi also recruited some scholars to serve as clerks to handle miscellaneous affairs in the yamen.

These people came from humble backgrounds, did not have enough understanding of the situation in the DPRK, and were usually less politically sensitive.

If it were a son of a noble family, he would definitely not be so cowardly when facing the people from the East Depot.

As long as the eunuch party leaders are sane, they will not provoke the nobles while waging war against the civil service group.

The reason why they dared to strike hard at the Qingliu Party was that these guys were all scholars and seriously lacked in fighting power.

If the nobles who hold military power were forced to join the Qingliu camp, the situation would be reversed.

Civil officials are responsible for providing endorsement of righteousness, military generals are responsible for killing people, and the emperor can be brought down.

There have been more than one or two coups d'état to kill eunuchs in history.

It was precisely because of the lessons learned from the past that Emperor Tianyuan specially sought the opinions of the nobles before releasing the eunuch, the evil tiger.

The current situation is essentially the result of the emperor and nobles jointly fanning the flames in order to suppress the civil service group.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on.

Remember to convey every word I said just now.

If the people from the East Factory have any objections, let them go and tell Marquis Wuyang. We are just following orders!"

Not knowing that Li Mu was passing the buck to his superiors, Yan Shuli, who was originally nervous, was instantly revived.

Marquis Wuyang is a powerful figure. With this relative leading the way, no matter how arrogant the East Depot is, it will not dare to act recklessly.

(End of this chapter)