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

Chapter 240 Fire the Gun
That very night, news of Xu Fan's arrest and imprisonment in the Northern Garrison Prison reached Xu Jie's ears.

Xu Jie was first shocked, then filled with rage that stretched from the top of his head to the bottom of his hips.

I, Xu Jie, am not only the Grand Secretary and the Imperial Tutor, but also the leader of the civil service group.

How dare Lin Shisan arrest my son?

It should be noted that even though Lu Bing of the previous dynasty wielded immense power, he dared not openly take action against Yan Shifan.

Besides, compared to Lu Bing, you, Lin Shisan, are nothing but a tiny ant.

Very well, since that's the case, don't blame me, Xu Jie, for being ruthless!
Xu Jie gathered the key members of the civil service group at his residence.

He ordered Yang Xianhuai, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice: "Immediately send men from the Ministry of Justice's Arrest Bureau to the Lin family and arrest all the members of the Lin family. Also, frame his father for treason."

“If his father doesn’t acknowledge him, then they resort to torture!”

Yang Xianhuai was fond of raising insects and had frequent interactions with Lin Shisan. Hearing Xu Jie's order, he was both amused and exasperated: "Grand Secretary, Lin Shisan's father, Lin Youniu, is over seventy years old and appears mentally impaired. They say he's plotting a rebellion."

Xu Jie was furious: "Even if his father were dead, let alone still alive, tonight your Ministry of Justice will dig him out of his coffin and convict him of treason!"

Yang Xianhuai had no choice but to cup his hands and say, "Yes."

The strategist Zhan Yangbi said, "The best course of action now is to rescue the young Grand Secretary from the imperial prison as soon as possible. That prison is like the gates of hell; I fear he won't be able to withstand the torture."

Xu Jie angrily said, "You'll torture me into confessing that I also committed treason?"

Zhan Yangbi remained silent.

Xu Jie ordered, "Follow me to the Embroidered Uniform Guard! Tonight we have a Grand Secretary of the first rank, a cabinet member of the first rank, three ministers of the second rank, and eight vice ministers of the third rank. More than three hundred officials of the sixth rank and above. I refuse to believe that if we go to the Northern Garrison together, we still can't rescue Fan'er!"

Xu Jie could not help but believe it.

Since ancient times, when a scholar encounters a soldier, reason is useless.

Xu Jie's lineup, perhaps, was enough to make the Longqing Emperor submit by kneeling and remonstrating outside the Qianqing Palace.

But if they were to snatch people from the imperial prison, they would be lacking something—they would be missing a few dozen breech-loading cannons and a few hundred muskets.

Xu Jie and his men stormed into the main hall of the Northern Garrison. No one from the Northern Garrison stopped them. Only Lin Shisan was inside the hall.

Xu Jie angrily asked, "Where is Xu Fan?"

Lin Shisan calmly replied, "In the imperial prison."

The civil officials all chimed in, "How dare you arrest our young Grand Secretary? Who gave you the audacity?"

"Why aren't you pulling back from the brink and politely escorting the young Grand Secretary away from the Northern Garrison?"

"Lin Shisan, don't push your luck! Half of the officials of the fourth rank and above from the capital are here today!"

Lin Shisan laughed and said, "Minister Sun is absolutely right. When my mother gave birth to me, she didn't give me anything else but a gall bladder that could devour the heavens!"

"Xu Fan has privately mobilized border troops with the intent to rebel, and there is ample evidence and witness testimony. According to regulations, he should be detained and interrogated by the Northern Garrison Command!"

Zhan Yangbi retorted angrily, "You're saying the young Grand Secretary is plotting a rebellion? I'd say your father is plotting a rebellion! He's in our hands now!"

Just then, Yang Xianhuai from the Ministry of Justice rushed in anxiously: "Your Excellency, the entire Lin family is not at the residence; their whereabouts are unknown."

Lin Shisan smiled and said, "I knew you would threaten my family, so I arranged for them to be placed in a safe place beforehand."

Just then, Sun Yue ran in and deliberately shouted, "Master, the prison has already subjected Xu Fan to three severe tortures. The executioner is asking if we should add six more to make it ninety-nine to send him to heaven?"

Xu Jie's face turned pale upon hearing this. Just as Gao Gong had said before leaving the capital, his beloved eldest son was Xu Jie's heart and soul, and also his greatest weakness.

The imperial prison was infamous for its cruel tortures, and how could Xu Jie, a long-time official, not know this? If all nine forms of torture were used, Xu Fan's life would likely be in danger.

Xu Jie angrily said, "Come on, all of you, go to the imperial prison and rescue people."

Lin Shisan laughed and said, "I will lead you all to the Imperial Prison."

After speaking, Lin Shisan strode away from the main hall of the Northern Division, with Xu Jie and the others following behind him to the entrance of the Imperial Prison. There stood several hundred Northern Division guards, each holding a musket, its muzzle pointed directly at the group of civil officials.

Even more outrageous, five breech-loading cannons were placed at the entrance. The fuses were already inserted into the cannons.

The firepower of the guards at the Imperial Prison tonight is such that even if three hundred civil officials or three hundred Japanese pirates came, they wouldn't be able to break through.

Lin Shisan shouted, "According to the ancestral laws of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Prison is managed by the Northern Garrison Command, which has the authority to torture and interrogate prisoners. The Three Judicial Offices have no right to interfere. Anyone who dares to break into the Imperial Prison and rescue prisoners will be executed without mercy!"

"retreat!"

The imperial guards shouted in unison, "Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

Zhan Yangbi angrily retorted, "I refuse to believe that your Embroidered Uniform Guards would dare to shoot and kill most of the court's officials of the fourth rank and above!"

Lin Shisan waved his hand and said, "Release!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The imperial guards standing in the first row fired their guns.

Immediately following with a "boom," a breech-loading cannon roared out.

Naturally, Lin Shisan didn't have the audacity to kill a bunch of high-ranking government officials.

The Imperial Guards used muskets that fired upwards. The Portuguese quick-firing cannons were only loaded with gunpowder, not cannonballs, so they were firing blanks.

This was enough to scare away the group of civil officials. They all retreated.

Lin Shisan said, "Grand Secretary Xu, you're wasting your time. You people are experts at writing essays and playing political games."

"Snatch someone from the imperial prison? I'm afraid you don't have the ability."

"Alas, our imperial prison is notoriously cruel and merciless. I wonder if the young Grand Secretary in prison will succumb to the torture and start making wild accusations?"

Xu Jie angrily said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is the emperor's personal guard and must obey the emperor's orders. If you won't release them, then fine, we'll go to the Qianqing Palace to kneel and plead with the emperor to release them."

Lin Shisan shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fine! You want to take this to court before the Emperor? I have witnesses and physical evidence that the Junior Grand Secretary secretly mobilized the border troops! Do you want to confront him before the Emperor?"

"Your Excellency is well-informed; you must have already heard about Li Chengliang's accusations at the Fox Appreciation Meeting and that troop mobilization letter, right? The letter even bears your personal seal!"

Xu Jie was furious. He knew perfectly well that framing others was the specialty of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If Lin Shisan dared to arrest Xu Fan, he must have prepared ample evidence.

He never expected that Lin Shisan, who had been frantically kowtowing to him just a few days ago, would now dare to frame his precious son.

Xu Jie asked, "Lin Shisan, what exactly do you want?"

Lin Shisan smiled and said, "Please invite Grand Secretary Xu to my main hall for a private talk."

Xu Jie had no choice but to follow Lin Shisan into the main hall of the Northern Garrison.

Xu Jie cursed, "Let's negotiate, you bastard."

Lin Shisan laughed and said, "Alright! Sun Yue, bring those boxes up."

Before long, Sun Yue led several strongmen to carry several large boxes into the main hall, and then left.

Lin Shisan opened one of the boxes, took out a booklet, and threw it to Xu Jie.

Xu Jie took it and flipped through it: "This is..."

Lin Shisan replied, "That's right. This is your private file in our Embroidered Uniform Guard, dating back to the Jiajing era."

"The Xu family now owns 250,000 mu of land in Songjiang. Every single mu of land is clearly recorded in their private files."

Xu Jie sneered: "These lands were acquired through the hard work and thrift of our ancestors over generations. They are hardly evidence of any crime."

Lin Shisan said, "I never said that these 250,000 mu of land were evidence of your corruption and embezzlement, Minister Xu!"

"I just want to say that if the Grand Secretary could retire gracefully and return to Songjiang with the Young Grand Secretary to become a wealthy man who is richer than a country, away from the court's strife and enjoying all the world's riches, it would not be a bad thing."

(End of this chapter)