Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 173 Transfer and Arrest

The main hall of the East Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In front of Hai Zhentao were two documents, one open and one closed. This was the second time he had received an order from the Command Headquarters today.

Two quarters of an hour had passed since he received the new order, but he had no way of passing on the task because the messenger had not returned yet.

He waited a while longer. Finally, the sound of wooden wheels grinding on bluestone slabs could be heard outside the government office.

"Greetings, Mr. Assistant Magistrate." Lu Wenzhao took Lu Jianxing into the main hall to report, while Shen Lian and Yin Li continued to escort the carriage through the back door to escort the prisoner Zhao Nanxing to the East Office Prison.

"Get up and talk." The pensive look in Hai Zhentao's eyes disappeared.

"Thank you, sir." Lu Wenzhao and Lu Jianxing thanked him at the same time and stood up one after another.

"Is it going well?" Hai Zhentao did not give the new order right away.

"It went very smoothly," Lu Wenzhao replied. "When we entered his house, Zhao Nanxing was sitting in the reception room. He was neatly dressed, and after we showed him the signed letter of intent confirming our identity and purpose, he obediently allowed us to put the shackles on him and voluntarily stepped into the prison van. He must have anticipated this."

Hai Zhentao chuckled indifferently and said, "With the commotion outside like this, the entire officialdom in the capital is shaken. How could he not know about it?"

Although this series of events had no direct relevance to the vast majority of the common people, the trial itself was always a topic of conversation after dinner. No matter who it was, no matter how much information they had, they could always make a comment. This was especially true of a major case involving a third-rank official and a third-rank deputy official.

On the day of the trial, He Zongyan, the imperial tutor who had gone to the Forbidden City to seek imperial decree, had not yet returned. The result of the trial was like a summer thunder. In a very short period of time, it spread from the central Fucaifang where the Censorate was located to all 36 wards in the inner and outer cities of the capital.

While He Zongyan brought the emperor's oral order and ordered the Jinyiwei to hand over the prisoner Sun Ruyou to the Censorate that was in charge of the case, and forced the East Factory Governor Cui Wensheng to leave with a group of guards, Zhao Nanxing, who lived near Berlin Temple in Beijuxianfang, also learned the result of the trial.

"Sir, do you want to ask Xing Kuan to help with the interrogation?" The East Office did not have a criminal code, so if they wanted to interrogate the prisoner, they would have to ask someone from outside.

However, Lu Wenzhao made a harmless ploy here. Beijuxianfang and Dashiyongfang, one in the northeast corner of the inner city and the other near the southwest corner, were extremely far apart. If you draw a straight line between Zhao's residence and Dongsifang, you'll find Xingkuan's house not far from it. In other words, it's on the way.

Lu Wenzhao's reason for going to such lengths was because he simply didn't want to deal with Zhao Nanxing's case. Because he had Sun Ruyou's genuine confession and received instructions from the Imperial Household Department, Lu Wenzhao understood the palace's attitude towards the case better than Hai Zhentao or even Luo Sigong.

He didn't even need to use his brain, just his asshole could tell that old man Zhao Nanxing was a hot potato. The palace would definitely not let him tell the truth publicly. He would either lie and make a false confession, or shut up.

The palace's method of silencing someone is usually to kill them, but they will never admit to killing someone. With luck, the palace will make it look like suicide and tacitly allow you to destroy the body. With bad luck, it will be your fault for improper punishment. After you take the blame, the palace will quietly provide money to support your family and grant your son a place in the imperial court. If the palace issues an order and you refuse, they will exchange the silver for a knife to force your consent.

Lu Wenzhao, of course, understood that the most satisfactory solution would be to persuade the prisoner to make a false confession. This would please the palace, please the investigators, and perhaps even grant the prisoner a pardon. This would add to his merits, and after solving a case, he might even be able to advance several levels. However, such things are always hard to come by.

Lu Wenzhao's intuition told him that Zhao Nanxing and Sun Ruyou were not the same kind of people. Moreover, Zhao Nanxing did not have any direct grandson studying at the Imperial College in Beijing.

"No need. The Command Headquarters has sent another order, asking our East Office to send people to the North Pacification Office." Hai Zhentao shook his head regretfully.

Hai Zhentao knew that Lu Wenzhao had sent someone to threaten Sun Jiaji, ensuring that Sun Ruyou wouldn't change his confession. However, Lu Wenzhao hadn't shared Sun Ruyou's true confession with him. When Lu Wenzhao reported back, he only gave the fabricated version, having previously burned the original. Therefore, the only Jinyiwei members who knew of the existence of this document were Lu Wenzhao, Lu Jianxing, and Shen Lian.

"What?" Lu Wenzhao subconsciously wanted to laugh, but he suddenly held himself back.

Lu Wenzhao controlled his frown, making his facial muscles twitch strangely, appearing to be filled with surprise and anger. "The Northern Pacification Division keeps making mistakes, and the higher-ups are still giving them the job?" This was his proper reaction.

"I'm afraid the palace has issued an order, and Lord Luo can't do anything about it." Hai Zhentao's displeasure was genuine.

Hai Zhentao was ambitious and eager to advance. Ever since he took the position of Assistant Commander of the Eastern Office, he had been eyeing the seal of the Pacification Office. However, there were only two actual Assistant Commanders of the Pacification Office. When Lu Wenzhao handed in his assignment, he briefly thought he had a chance to replace Tian Ergeng.

Luo Sigong didn't tell Hai Zhentao why he had to hand Zhao Nanxing over to Tian Ergeng. In this relationship, Luo Sigong was the absolute superior, and he enjoyed the privilege of simply giving orders without explanation. But even so, Hai Zhentao could still guess that this order was probably related to the palace.

When the Western Depot spread the news that Tian Ergeng was accusing Luo Sigong of siding with the Donglin Party, it had no designated recipients, and could not have done so. This allowed Hai Zhentao to know that Luo Sigong had no reason to give Tian Ergen credit in order to promote him. The fact that the Commandery initially assigned the task to the Eastern Office, rather than the Northern Pacification Office, fully supports this assumption. Therefore, Luo Sigong's frequent changes in orders must have been due to orders from higher-ups.

Hai Zhentao believed this was a direct deus ex machina to alter the assignments, intended to maintain a balance between the Commandery and the Northern Pacification Office. It was even possible that Tian Ergeng had earned this chance at resurrection by groveling and servilely becoming the godson of a powerful eunuch.

But no matter how unhappy he was, he still had to carry out the order. Hai Zhentao sighed and said, "Send Zhao Nanxing to Tian Ergeng."

"We came all this way, from the north of the city to the south, to capture them, and now we're sending them back north? They didn't even know they were coming to claim them themselves." Lu Wenzhao continued to play the role of a hungry dog ​​whose food had been snatched away. "When the case got hot, they dumped them here, and when they figured out something, they took them away. How can that be?" Lu Wenzhao grew increasingly agitated. "Now, it's good. Sun Ruyou will stay at the Censorate, and Zhao Nanxing will be sent to the Pacification Office. The Donglin Party's work has nothing to do with us anymore. Fuck!"

"That's enough! The higher-ups have their own considerations. Just follow through." Hai Zhentao pounded the table with his knuckles. "Now, immediately!" After sternly saying these two words, Hai Zhentao's tone softened again. "Send the person over."

In order to appease Lu Wenzhao, Hai Zhentao proposed a compensation plan: "When you come back, go to the account office and withdraw ten taels of silver. Find a better restaurant and improve the food for your brothers. That's it."

"grown ups."

"Get out." Hai Zhentao waved his hands impatiently.

"Okay." Lu Wenzhao turned around and left with a "grievance".

As soon as Lu Wenzhao turned around, Hai Zhentao called him back. "Come back!" "What else do you want, sir?" Lu Wenzhao also looked exhausted, vividly portraying the feeling of "living a life worse than death."

"I haven't received the order yet." Hai Zhentao closed the order sheet and handed the two documents to Lu Wenzhao. "The captains on the ground in Nanxunfang have also withdrawn."

"The restrictions on the Zhang family have been lifted?" Lu Wenzhao's eyes regained some spirit.

"Yes and no." Hai Zhentao thought for a while and said, "The order says that the confinement of Zhang's house is lifted, but Zhang Shirui himself is prohibited from leaving Beijing. At the same time, the Command Headquarters officially transferred this task to the East Office. What I mean is that you should not do the job of monitoring Zhang Shirui. There is no money and no credit anyway. You can just take a break and relax for a while. What do you think?" Hai Zhentao used a negotiating tone.

"Thank you, sir." Lu Wenzhao clasped his fists and bowed.

"Go ahead." Hai Zhentao waved his hand.

------

"Sir, Commander Luo has an order." The messenger from the Commandery showed his badge and walked straight into the main hall, then placed two documents in front of Tian Ergeng.

The order from the Commandery was sent to both offices simultaneously. However, because the Eastern Office was closer and the Pacification Office was farther away, Tian Ergeng didn't receive the order until Lu Wenzhao left the Eastern Office with the prisoner cart carrying Zhao Nanxing.

Tian Ergeng looked at the messenger, a fleeting look of doubt in his eyes: "Okay, go ahead."

"Goodbye." The messenger saluted and left. Tian Ergeng then picked up the order and began to read it. "Oh!" He laughed. But after laughing, his face did not show joy, but instead a deeper look of doubt.

"Sir, is there any problem with the order?" The Northern Pacification Division was established based on criminal justice, and the second-in-command could only be a criminal justice officer. So after the deputy captain Xu Xianchun was squeezed out by Tian Ergeng, the captain Sun Yunhe took advantage of the situation and climbed up.

"See for yourself." Tian Ergeng did not answer, but handed the order directly to Sun Yunhe.

"Zhangwei Luo wants us to take Zhao Nanxing from the East Office. Isn't he the mastermind behind the Donglin Party case?" Sun Yunhe exclaimed in surprise. "And why take him in?"

"Because Commander Luo didn't intend to give this task to us at the beginning." Tian Ergeng supported his head and glanced at Sun Yunhe.

Tian Ergeng could understand why Luo Sigong did not hand the task over to the Northern Pacification Office but to the Eastern Office.

Publicly, the Northern Pacification Office had failed to make any progress in the Donglin Party case, while Hai Zhentao's son-in-law had obtained a confession that even Tian Ergeng was satisfied with. Personally, word of Tian Ergeng's insinuations about Luo Sigong had spread throughout the Imperial Guard. Luo Sigong would undoubtedly seek to alienate or even marginalize Tian Ergeng, just as he had marginalized Xu Xianchun, who had insinuated himself. If it weren't for Emperor Xianzong's regulations preventing Luo Sigong from directly invading the Northern Pacification Office, Tian Ergeng would likely be "feigning illness and staying home" by now.

"Then why did you give us the task?" Sun Yunhe was puzzled.

The order was concise. It simply instructed them to receive and interrogate Zhao Nanxing, forcing him to "confess truthfully." Beyond that, there was nothing else.

"Someone gave Commander Luo a heads-up." Tian Ergeng could think of what Hai Zhentao could think of. "But who gave that heads-up?"

After the massive reshuffle of the Imperial Household Department and the Eastern Depot, the network of relationships Tian Ergeng had painstakingly built and maintained was shattered. The eunuchs he had interacted with were either serving as vigil guards for the deceased emperors or returning to their hometowns to retire.

Tian Ergeng didn't mind spending a bit more money to curry favor with the new elites in the palace, but after his invitations were sent to the residences of the powerful eunuchs in Zhaohui Jinggongfang, they fell into oblivion. Not a single one of them received a reply. It was as if he wanted to become a godson to these incompetent eunuchs, but he had no place to worship them.

"Could it be the eunuch from the Western Factory?" Sun Yunhe leaned close to Tian Ergeng's ear and asked in a low voice.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, the only two high-ranking eunuchs who had dealings with Tian Ergeng were Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the commander of the Western Factory, who came to the Northern Pacification Office to inquire about the cause of Zou Yuanbiao's death, and Wang Chengen, the junior eunuch in charge of the Western Inspection Office.

"Are you talking about Wei the factory governor?" Tian Ergeng thought about it carefully and felt that this possibility was indeed not impossible.

If you ask what relationship Tian Ergeng had with them, the answer is no. But after Luo Sigong cleverly used his influence in the palace to force Wei Zhongxian to leave, the people from the Western Factory never came to the Northern Pacification Office again.

Without arresting anyone, dismissing officials, or even asking questions, the Northern Pacification Office returned to its usual tranquility that day. If it weren't for the indelible dark red stain still lingering in the cell where Zou Yuanbiao had been held, one would have thought nothing had happened there.

"That's exactly what I meant." Sun Yunhe nodded and thought: It can't be that kid.

"Huh." Tian Ergeng didn't respond, but instead picked up and opened another order. "Arrest warrants! With so many people, Luo Zhangwei is probably assigning all the Donglin Party's tasks to us." Tian Ergeng's eyelids twitched wildly.

The order required Tian Ergeng to immediately arrest and seriously interrogate dozens of Donglin Party members, including Yuan Huazhong, the censor of the Censorate, Zhou Chaorui, the censor of the Ministry of Personnel, Zou Weilian, the deputy director of the Ministry of War, Gu Dazhang, the director of the Fujian Ministry of Justice, and Gao Panlong, the deputy director of the Ministry of Rites.

If the arrest of Zou Yuanbiao and Sun Ruyou was a case of arresting typical officials in a few government offices such as the Censorate, the Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Rites, then this time all the confidential government offices in the capital were directly targeted.

Despite his doubts, Tian Ergeng didn't delay. "Take it, follow the map, and catch him now!"

Sun Yunhe took the order with both hands, looked at it, and asked in embarrassment, "Sir, how are the tasks divided?"

Such a large task couldn't be handled by one person alone; it had to be divided among the lower levels. However, how to divide it up was a complex matter. The interdependence network within the Northern Pacification Division was intricate, and Sun Yunhe, who had just replaced Xu Xianchun as Tian Ergeng's deputy, had yet to untangle it. Generally speaking, when a higher-up assigns a task like this, they would first publicize it, and only issue the order after the division plan and due tributes were agreed upon. This benefited the higher-ups, benefited the lower-ups, and everyone was happy, with no one feeling awkward.

"If you want to go, I don't care. Anyway, no one should be left behind before the court is dismissed." Rather than assigning tasks, Tian Ergeng was more interested in thinking about the cause and effect of the matter. "Fuck you, you don't know anything. What the hell are you doing?" Tian Ergeng cursed both Sun Yunhe and himself.

(End of this chapter)