Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 667 No Compromise
Emperor Jingtai led Lao Zhang and the others to the mass grave outside the city, where Anzi's tomb was located.

His grave was simple, consisting of only a small mound and a hastily written tombstone with his birth and death dates simply written on it, looking rather sloppy and desolate.

Old Zhang stepped forward and placed the roast chicken and pig's head meat on the grave mound, while Guo Dong next to him opened a jar of wine and poured it into a bowl.

Emperor Jingtai squatted down on Anzi's grave and patted the fresh soil on it: "Lord Anzi, if you can be executed this time, perhaps the Great Wei can be divided in two starting with you."

An Jun remained silent, only the green grass beside the grave swayed in the wind.

In this situation, Emperor Jingtai took a deep breath, remained silent for a long time, and then stood up and said, "Tell me, why must someone die for things to be accomplished?"

"Your Majesty, reform and innovation are not like the comings and goings of the market. Every reform involves the pockets of countless people. Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Only an irreconcilable hatred can make people grit their teeth and move forward." Old Zhang held Anzi's tombstone: "Therefore, the emperor must use the blood of virtuous men to forge swords. But if used well, it will bring peace to the world; if used poorly, it will lead to suicide."

"Can't we just find someone else?"

"Who should we replace? Me? Or Daosheng?"

"None of them," Emperor Jingtai shook his head and said, "Change to someone else."

“Who else in the world, besides Anzi, could inspire such hatred? Your Majesty, only righteousness can forge the soul of the nation. As for me and Daosheng, we are already infamous. The people are foolish; they cannot distinguish truth from falsehood and only believe what they see.”

The three of them sat there for a while before getting up and returning to the palace. By this time, the entire capital was in chaos, because the two people who were beaten to death today were the youngest son of Zheng Xuan, the Minister of War, and the nephew of Cui Mingan, the Privy Councilor. Both of them were high-ranking and powerful people in the court.

The two families had by then clashed inside the palace. The two men's mangled corpses were laid out outside the palace gates, and two court officials knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably, begging His Majesty to do justice for them.

Emperor Jingtai summoned the two men to the palace to recount their experiences. After listening to their descriptions, he flew into a rage and immediately summoned Zhang Zhongchun, the Chamberlain, to the palace to discuss the matter.

"Minister Zhang, such an evil deed has occurred right under the emperor's nose! I order you to investigate this matter thoroughly within seven days, or I will punish you severely!"

"According to the order."

Old Zhang silently withdrew from the main hall. As he turned around, he glanced back at the two truly heartbroken "key ministers," a smile appearing on his face. Then, he strode out of the palace gate.

At that very moment, far away in Shanhaiguan, Xia Lin was reviewing the accounts of Shanhaiguan in the army's main tent with a gloomy expression. The army's accountants were carefully calculating each and every item.

But this was already the sixth day, and they hadn't found any loopholes. The accounts were perfectly balanced, with no problems whatsoever.

All the accountants were sweating profusely, and Xia Lin, leaning against the wall, didn't look too good either.

The accounts are so flawless, which shows that they were well-prepared and not afraid of being investigated. They are clearly professionals.

Of course, Xia Lin could simply order everyone to be buried alive, but wouldn't An Zi's death have been pointless then? Violence is certainly an option, but it cannot solve the fundamental problem.

They're at a stalemate now. Since the investigation is being conducted under the guise of an inspector, then the rules for inspectors must be followed. If they can't be dealt with, he'll lose face.

In the past few days, they probably realized that Xia Lin couldn't find anything out, so their attitude was completely different from before. Although they hadn't received a response from the capital, it seemed that Xia Daosheng was nothing special after all.

I had never met him before and thought he was someone important, but now it seems he's just famous for it.

"Whether it's his ability to lead troops into battle or his talent in poetry and prose, I think he's a first-rate person, but he's not effective in this area."

Pei Jun smiled and said to the people around him, "Everything we do here is perfectly legal and reasonable. What can he possibly find out? Interesting."

"General, you are absolutely right. Shanhaiguan has been here for so many years, there has never been any corruption. Even if it has fallen into disrepair, it cannot be blamed on you, General."

"It's truly a helpless situation. By the way, invite Lord Xia again later and tell him that he's been working hard these days. We should get him some good things from beyond the Great Wall to help him recover, so he doesn't overwork himself."

"The general is truly benevolent!"

"Hahaha, of course, guests from afar are always welcome."

The people who invited Xia Lin arrived quickly, but Xia Lin refused their invitation as always. At this hour, he had no mind to bother with such things. If he couldn't handle matters within the rules, then he wouldn't be able to get involved in them at all in the future.

"Report!"

"Come in."

A military spy strode in and bowed to Xia Lin, saying, "The spy reports that Cao Meng, the Registrar of Shanhaiguan, is not a scholar who passed the imperial examinations. His family was originally a wealthy household in Jizhou. Three years ago, his father donated 800 bolts of silk in exchange for Cao Meng's position as Registrar."

Xia Lin rolled his eyes, a smile spreading across his face, and a sudden sense of relief washed over him: "Arrest them!"

The new army could handle matters directly without going through the local military government. When Pei Jun heard the news that Xia Lin had arrested someone, his first reaction was confusion.

With so many people, why would he arrest a mere clerk as a military advisor? Firstly, he wasn't involved in any core departments, and secondly, he wasn't involved in finances or provisions; he was just a clerk in charge of documents.

Even if it were discovered that he had obtained his official position through donation, this was a very common occurrence in the border towns. The border towns were in dire straits. Although the military system was the same as that of the prefectures, they had neither the ability to cultivate land nor the ability to engage in commerce. Without finding a pretext to raise some money, they simply wouldn't have enough to live on.

This is an unspoken rule, one that everyone knows. Even if the case goes all the way to the emperor, it wouldn't be right to punish him for this.

But since his men had been arrested, Pei Jun still had to go and check on them, otherwise no one would be willing to risk their lives for him in the future.

Pei Jun led his men to the New Army's garrison, and of course, they were very polite. They didn't want to cause a conflict with the New Army at this time; they just wanted to see Xia Lin in a tactful and polite manner.

"General Pei, greetings." Xia Lin stepped out from behind and cupped his hands in greeting to Pei Jun. "I apologize. I was indeed a bit hasty in my actions this time, but there were reasons for it. Please forgive me."

"Don't panic, don't panic," Pei Jun said with a smile. "I just don't know why Lord Xia wants to arrest a mere clerk?"

“Oh, it’s perfect that General Pei is here too. This saves me the trouble of having to inform him.” Xia Lin lifted the hem of his robe and sat down beside him. “Oh, General Pei. You don’t know this, but your position as a military advisor is very likely Yang Ying’s spy, and has nothing to do with my investigation.” “A spy? How could that be? He is…”

Pei Jun immediately shut his mouth, then looked at Xia Lin with a furrowed brow: "Is that so?"

"Yes, I didn't expect Yang Ying to be so cunning. He is indeed like a centipede that does not die easily. These people are very dangerous. They are lurking everywhere, waiting for an opportunity to strike. If there is any flaw in the army or government offices, they will cause trouble. At best, it will damage General Pei's reputation, and at worst, it could cause a mutiny in the army camp."

"Lord Xia is wise!" Pei Jun said with a forced smile, "I know the general outline of this matter, and the decision is up to Lord Xia."

"He truly is a member of a great family; General Pei is a man of great principle."

Pei Jun, with that ugly, deadpan expression, stood up, bowed to Xia Lin, and then turned and left.

He walked out of the new army camp, turned back and glared fiercely at the commander's tent, then revealed a helpless smile.

"General, what does he mean by this? Why is he doing this?"

When Pei Jun heard his confidant ask the question, he nodded and smiled, "It seems we underestimated him. What can a mere military officer do? Let's go back and await Lord Xia's good news."

In fact, did Xia Lin not know that a single act of enlisting in the army could not sway Pei Jun? But the problem is that this involves more than just one matter of enlisting in the army; it involves an entire chain of power and vested interests.

He doesn't need to know anything about joining the army; he only needs to reveal who his connections were in selling official positions. Besides, why did they buy these positions? To serve the people, of course. They paid such a high price to make money.

Therefore, by following this single line of evidence, at least the chain of evidence for corruption can be prepared, and the rest will naturally fall into place.

Impeaching corrupt officials is part of the duties of an inspector.

As expected, although joining the army was not the main issue, he was no match for the power of the Great Memory Restoration Technique and quickly revealed his superiors and subordinates. Upon receiving this information, Xia Lin immediately went to arrest him.

The higher you go, the closer you get to the truth.

When the commander of the Shanhai Army was detained, Pei Jun knew things might be going to go wrong, so he went to find Xia Lin again early the next morning.

“Lord Xia, why do this?” Pei Jun sighed. “I’ve told you the truth, sir. This kind of thing is already commonplace in the border army. Why do you have to press this so hard?”

Xia Lin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked with a smile, "What is General Pei saying? I don't quite understand."

“Lord Xia, we are all people who work in the court, so we naturally know the principle that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. The border is harsh and difficult. Without some extraordinary measures, the city would probably be full of starving corpses. Moreover, this place is located in the north, which is extremely cold and cruel. If even these things are cut off, I'm afraid there will be no one to defend the border.”

Xia Lin smacked his lips but remained silent. His attitude only made Pei Jun more anxious: "Besides, no one is perfect. Lord Xia's actions make him seem like a saint."

At this moment, Xia Lin remained silent, swirling his cup, watching Pei Jun laugh. Pei Jun, seeing Xia Lin's expression, was also at a loss for words, taking a deep breath: "Lord Xia, oh Lord Xia..."

"Stop, stop, stop, General Pei, pause for a moment." Xia Lin looked at him with a half-smile: "I'm just a messenger. I think His Majesty might listen to your explanation, Lord Pei. But think about it carefully, Lord Pei, will the Court of Judicial Review listen to your explanation? Will the Ministry of Revenue listen to your explanation? And if the Ministry of Revenue listens to your explanation, will the Court of Judicial Review listen to your explanation? Will the Ministry of Justice listen to your explanation? Will the Ministry of Internal Affairs listen to your explanation?"

Pei Jun was taken aback. He naturally knew that the capital was currently in a state of fierce infighting. Not to mention the sale of official positions, even something as trivial as someone eating a chicken without paying on a certain day would be brought up for legal criticism.

Xia Lin is right. These two factions are like oil and water. If one side lets him go, the other side will definitely not listen to any explanation. There is no possibility of a win-win situation.

"Lord Xia is determined to kill me."

Xia Lin waved his hand: "How could that be? General Pei just said that you and I are nothing more than the court's lackeys, and General Pei is just a pawn. But the problem is that now General Pei is an outside general, and the people in the capital will not truly regard you as a confidant. I will just do my job, but General Pei has many more things to consider. We all came from the border army, don't you know that? Back then, when Li Jing, the God of War, was still alive, no one dared to speak out, because the spirit and prestige of General Li were still there. Now that Shanhaiguan is so dilapidated, General Pei, I want to ask you, given the current situation in the capital, who can protect you, General Pei? Name a name, let me hear it."

Pei Jun pursed his lips, his expression not good. He knew that what Xia Lin said was true. Although most of the benefits here had been handed over to the higher-ups, under the current situation, the higher-ups would not hesitate to cut their losses and survive in order to protect themselves.

The Pei family has stopped protecting him. If even his last support is cut off, Pei Jun will truly be left with nowhere to turn.

If Xia Lin continues to investigate like this, she will definitely find Pei Jun, and then from Pei Jun she will find the powerful backer behind him.

"Lord Xia, why bother?"

"Huangya Pass." Xia Lin grabbed Pei Jun by the collar without warning and pulled him in front of her: "I almost died at your hands."

"But Lord Xia! What can I do? You've seen it yourself, we can't send troops out of Shanhaiguan."

“Shanhaiguan cannot send troops.” Xia Lin repeated his words, then smiled: “Five years ago, I passed through Shanhaiguan on official business. At that time, Shanhaiguan was still well-equipped and its elite cavalry was still fearsome. Five years ago, a pound of grain cost ten copper coins, but now it costs seven copper coins. Shanhaiguan has no one to use. And now you question me, what can you do? Pei Jun, I’ll put it this way, I’m here to deal with you. I didn’t deal with you right away because the rules are there. If you also intend to break the rules, then I will break the rules too.”

After Xia Lin finished speaking, she released Pei Jun: "I know your daughter is a concubine in the palace. It's alright, she's not anymore from today onwards, so don't feel guilty. You now have two paths. The first is to leave a will and die with dignity. The other path is to write a confession and relinquish your position as the General of Shanhaiguan. I will escort you back to the capital. You won't die once you're back, but the road ahead may not be easy. Both paths have their advantages and disadvantages; it's up to you, General Pei, to decide."

"see a visitor out!"

Pei Jun, who had been asked to leave the military camp, sat on a roadside stone, his eyes glazed over. He had laughed at others yesterday, but today he found himself being played like a dog.

In the ten minutes or so that Pei Jun was sitting there, he noticed that his subordinates at all levels were being arrested one after another by the New Army.

At that moment, a phrase suddenly popped into his mind—"the tide has turned."

"General..."

The servants tried to help him up, but Pei Jun pushed them away. He stood up and staggered away, walking aimlessly. His mind was a complete mess; he had no idea what to do.

I thought my accounts were flawless, but they found another way.

"Sigh~~" Pei Jun sighed, "Never mind, never mind."

(End of this chapter)