I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 18 The fox pretends to be the tiger's power
Lin Shisan sat down next to Chen Ju's mutton rack and unceremoniously picked up two mutton skewers and handed them to Sun Yue.

Chen Ju asked anxiously: "How can we let Hu Dayan speak?"

Lin Shisan said: "If you want to make someone speak, there are only two ways: coercion and inducement."

Chen Ju agreed: "That's right."

Lin Shisan added: "Catching him and torturing him is coercion, threatening his relatives and friends is coercion. Promising him a huge profit is bribery, and helping him is also bribery."

Chen Ju said, "Old Man Gao hopes that the search for the dog will be kept low-key. He will not use his connections in the East Factory to arrest and torture people."

Lin Shisan added: "I think Brother Chen would not do such a despicable thing as threatening someone's relatives and friends."

Chen Ju said: "That's right. I know myself well. My biggest shortcoming is that I'm not ruthless enough."

Sun Yue, who was chewing on a kebab, figured it out and said, "Then the only thing left is bribery?"

Chen Ju spread his hands and said, "I'll tell you the truth. My godfather is as honest as water. When Mouse saw his money box, he left with tears in his eyes. I don't have much savings either."

Lin Shisan said: "Hu Dayan is a strange man. He likes money, but he doesn't really care about the money from government officials. We can do him a favor."

Chen Ju asked, "What help?"

Lin Shisan told such a story.

Hu Dayan had a brother named Liu Jinpeng, who saved Hu Dayan's life during the Gengxu Rebellion. Later, Hu Dayan went to Xiangxi Lane to sell dog meat, and Liu Jinpeng became his subordinate.

Half a year ago, Liu Jinpeng took a dog from a dog thief. The dog turned out to be the pet dog of the ambassador of the Shuntian Prefecture Prison Department.

After some inquiries, the ambassador found the dog thief and Liu Jinpeng, who sold the stolen goods.

The prison ambassador was only of the ninth rank. He was in charge of the prison cells in Shuntian Prefecture. He was a low-level official. But it was a piece of cake to seek revenge on a dog meat dealer who received stolen goods.

The ambassador sent jailers to arrest Liu Jinpeng and put him in Shuntian Prefecture Prison.

Hu Dayan also tried to get help from Mr. Hong. But Mr. Hong was just a small undercover detective. If any of Hu Dayan's brothers were arrested for offending the constables or the head of the police, he could help rescue them.

The person Liu Jinpeng offended was not a constable, but a ninth-rank official of the imperial court.

Mr. Hong was also powerless.

At this point, Chen Ju immediately understood: "As long as we can help Hu Dayan rescue his brothers from Shuntian Prefecture Prison, he will speak up?"

Lin Shisan nodded: "That's right. After all, Brother Chen, you are close to Old Man Gao. Why don't you use the big banner as a cover?"

Chen Ju said: "The situation is urgent, I can only rely on the power of others."

After saying that, Chen Ju walked into Gao Zhong's bedroom and opened the money box on Gao Zhong's bedside.

There was only a little over one ounce of silver, a copper coin, and a waist badge in the money box.

On the front of the badge was engraved "Eunuch in charge of the Imperial Stables; Commander-in-Chief of the Shenji Camp; Governor-General of the Neixi Parade Ground, Gao".

The reverse side is engraved with “Not used when leaving Beijing”.

Eunuchs were the highest level of eunuchs. When they retired, they had to hand over their seals and ribbons, but they could keep their waist badges as a souvenir.

Before Gao Zhong went out to do urgent work, he told Chen Ju: "If you encounter an emergency, you can use my old badge to do the work."

Chen Ju took the badge and returned to the courtyard: "Let's go to Shuntian Prefecture Prison."

At noon, in the prison of Shuntian Prefecture.

Ambassador Li, the warden, was drinking. The snacks were simple but exquisite: a plate of fennel beans, a plate of white meat and stir-fried wild rice, and a bowl of spiced tofu.

Ambassador Li was born in a Juren family. He could only get a seventh-rank rank at best. He had long lost hope of a career in government, so he lived a comfortable life guarding the prison and feeding the prisoners.

Ambassador Li picked up a piece of spiced tofu, took a bite and then sipped the wine.

He was in a good mood and hummed a little tune: "After eating the five-spice tofu, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet is not as good as me."

A jailer stepped forward and handed him a bag of silver coins: "Sir, this is the tribute from the families of the twenty-eight prisoners this morning. A total of twenty-five taels and three cents."

Ambassador Li cursed: "Damn, a bunch of poor bastards."

He took a sip of wine and continued, "But then again, if they were wealthy, they would have already made connections with the higher-ups, such as the Magistrate, the Assistant Magistrate, and the Governor. They wouldn't have ended up in this big prison."

After saying this, he put the bag of silver into his arms.

Another jailer stepped forward and said, "Sir, there are two Jinyiwei officers at the prison gate asking to see you."

Ambassador Li shuddered subconsciously when he heard this. Jinyiwei? How did he offend those living devils? He straightened his hat and belt: "I'll go to the door to greet them." Just after taking two steps forward, he remembered something. He put the bag of silver in his arms into the drawer of the official desk.

Ambassador Li arrived at the prison door. Lin Shisan and his apprentice and Chen Ju were already standing there.

Ambassador Li smiled and said, "You two, no, you three are welcome. I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person."

Lin Shisan asked, "What's your name, Ambassador?"

Ambassador Li said: "My surname is Li, Muzi Li."

Lin Shisan nodded: "Let's go in and talk."

Ambassador Li made a "please" gesture and said, "You three, please come in."

The three followed Ambassador Li into the prison. Ambassador Li ordered the jailer to bring chairs to the three.

While he was pouring tea for the three of them, he asked tentatively, "What are you three here for?"

Lin Shisan got straight to the point: "I have a friend named Liu Jinpeng. He committed some crimes and is in your prison. I want to get him out."

Ambassador Li smiled flatteringly, "It's a small matter. But may I ask which department or office of the Imperial Guard your superior is in? The Pacification Department? The Experience Department? Can I borrow your badge to see it?"

Ambassador Li is a man of many talents and is very careful in his work.

There had been a scandal before where a thousand swindlers had pretended to be Dongchang guards and taken their accomplices away from the prison. He had to be on guard.

Lin Shisan said: "I don't have a badge."

Ambassador Li restrained his smile and said, "No badge?"

Lin Shisan said: "I am a lieutenant of the imperial guards. I only have the imperial guards' card." After saying that, he took out the imperial guards' card from his sleeve and handed it to Ambassador Li.

Ambassador Li looked closely and asked, "Elephant training center?"

Lin Shisan said: "That's right."

Ambassador Li's expression changed immediately! There were so many lieutenants in the Jinyiwei. What's more, the place where they served was an elephant training station with no real power?

Lin Shisan's self-proclaimed "Jinyiwei" could scare the ignorant people, but he could not scare the ninth-rank official in front of him.

Ambassador Li sat down on the chair and spoke in an official tone: "I can't let the prisoner named Liu Jinpeng go easily. The world is clear under the feet of the emperor, and he dares to act lawlessly."

Ambassador Li picked up the wine glass and took another sip of wine. "The court has laws. The prisoners in Shuntian Prefecture Prison must serve the full sentence before they can be released. If a public official asks for mercy, it is equivalent to seeking personal gain."

Many officials in the Ming Dynasty had two faces. One was warm and the other was cold. Depending on who they were facing, these two faces could be switched seamlessly at any time.

Ambassador Li had a cold face at this moment.

Lin Shisan glanced at Chen Ju beside him.

Chen Ju understood what he meant and said, "Ambassador Li, why don't you ask me what I do?"

Ambassador Li asked, "Hmm? What do you do?"

Chen Ju had a haughty expression on his face: "You are not qualified to ask what I do. I will only give you one thing."

After saying this, Chen Ju placed Gao Zhong's badge next to Ambassador Li's wine glass.

Ambassador Li took a quick glance at it, then held up the badge and looked at it carefully: "Are you Eunuch Gao's man?"

Chen Ju stared at Ambassador Li without saying a word.

Ambassador Li felt uneasy when he was stared at, and returned the badge with both hands.

Chen Ju said: "Eunuch Gao is my adoptive father. Although he has retired and is at home, he still has a few good friends in office."

After saying this, Chen Ju reached out and grabbed a handful of Ambassador Li's fennel beans, chewing them while saying, "For example, Eunuch Lu, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, and Eunuch Huang, the Imperial Household Department's pen holder and the governor of the Eastern Depot."

Chen Ju drank a sip of tea and swallowed the fennel beans: "The emperor often summons our eunuch Gao to the palace to play chess."

There is a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, and the same is true for the door of a high-ranking official.

Chen Ju's words made Ambassador Li sweat profusely: "I was blind and didn't know you were Eunuch Gao's man. You deserve to die."

Chen Ju waved his hand and said, "Forget it. These two lieutenants are my friends. Their friends are also my friends. What do you think of the one called Liu Jinpeng?"

Ambassador Li said, "Okay! I will go and unlock the prison door myself and release the person."

(End of this chapter)