The prince is more stable

Chapter 1003 Suspect Locked In
Nanjing Yingtianfu.

On the straight road outside the city, a hundred-man cavalrymen arrived in a cloud of dust. Zhen Qing rode at full speed, followed by his men, all of whom were from the Imperial City Guard.

Spring has arrived, but the air is still chilly, carrying a lingering chill of winter. Even as you ride a fast horse, the spring breeze still stings your face.

Liu Dan followed not far behind Zhen Qing. This guy was a eunuch, who was already missing a part. He spent all his time in the cold, sunless dungeon of Bingjingwu, taking pleasure in interrogating and torturing prisoners. His physical condition was very poor.

The journey from Bianjing to Nanjing was arduous for Liu Dan. He was jostled around on horseback, looking miserable, and vomited several times along the way.

Some people get carsick or airsick, but Liu Dan actually gets sick of horses, can you imagine?

With the outline of Yingtianfu city in sight, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Dan felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and his eyes were filled with tears.

"Old Zhen, slow down, let's slow down... We're almost there, there's no need to rush like we're about to be reincarnated, there's really no need," Liu Dan pleaded with a bitter face.

Zhen Qing, still on his horse, said without turning his head, "The Emperor's decree is here, and it is our Imperial City Guard that is responsible. If we don't handle this matter well, neither of us will have a good outcome when we return to the capital. We should hurry into the city and get things done properly."

Liu Dan sighed, "There's nothing to do, really, it's too simple. I have experience with this... The assassins' confession was vague, but the assassination of Zheng Chaozong, the garrison commander of Nanjing, is tantamount to revealing his identity."

"Once we get into the city, we should first ask Zheng Chaozong, and then we should look through the list of local powerful landlords recently investigated by the Nanjing Garrison Command. We should target the largest households, as the mastermind behind it all must be in one of these households."

Zhen Qing pursed his lips and said, "That's what we say, but what if we're wrong? What if it was the Liao or Western Xia who did it?"

Liu Dan scoffed: "It's understandable that the Liao and Western Xia would take action against the Emperor, but they are thousands of miles away, why would they assassinate a Nanjing garrison commander? Did Zheng Chaozong desecrate their ancestral graves?"

"By merging the two assassination cases into one, the culprit has already been identified. This case has nothing to do with the Liao or Western Xia dynasties, and it is highly likely that it was carried out by powerful local landlords under the jurisdiction of Nanjing."

Zhen Qing was silent for a moment, then said, "The Emperor has issued an order that this case must be handled strictly. Let's get started after we enter the city. First, we should investigate all the powerful landlords and find the suspects to interrogate and interrogate them thoroughly."

"There is no need to worry about our actions. The Emperor has already issued an edict to station 10,000 Imperial Guards in Nanjing. The troops are on their way to Nanjing. With these 10,000 troops as our backing, our Imperial City Guard has no need to worry about local strongmen launching a counterattack."

Liu Dan chuckled sinisterly, “Once we capture them and they’re in my hands, there’s nothing we can’t get out of them. These thieves are incredibly audacious; they even dared to assassinate officials. After we interrogate them, I’ll definitely treat them well. Killing them would be too easy; I’ll make them wish they were dead to vent my anger.”

The thought of many people soon falling into his hands, to be tortured and abused at his mercy, made Liu Dan's eyes light up, and even the pimples on his nose seemed to gleam.

Zhen Qing couldn't help but turn his head and look at Liu Dan's twisted, sinister smile. His scalp tingled slightly, and he felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately turned his head to look ahead.

It's hard to say whether having such a freak in charge of the Imperial City Guard is a blessing or a curse for everyone.

The group arrived in Yingtian Prefecture City, travel-worn, and immediately headed straight for the garrison commander's residence.

In the backyard of the residence, Zheng Chaozong lay recuperating after being assassinated.

This assassination attempt was extremely dangerous. If the servant in the backyard hadn't happened to witness it and cried out in alarm, and if the assassin had delivered another blow, Zheng Chaozong would have been a martyr who sacrificed his life for his country.

Even though he only took one knife wound, Zheng Chaozong was seriously injured.

The knife pierced his lung, damaging one lobe.

In an era with poor medical conditions, Zheng Chaozong should have died from such severe injuries. Fortunately, the city he was in was Nanjing of the Song Dynasty, which was a megacity with many famous doctors.

After Zheng Chaozong was injured, the constables almost brought together all the famous doctors in the city to barely pull him back from the brink of death.

Zhen Qingliu entered the backyard of the garrison commander's residence and paid his respects to Zheng Chaozong according to protocol.

Zheng Chaozong lay on the bed, his face ashen, his breathing disordered, as if he had lost half his life.

When the three met, there was no much small talk or greeting. After a few simple words of concern, Zhen Qing got straight to the point and asked about the details of Zheng Chaozong's assassination attempt.

There were no interesting details, and no clues could be found. Since the other party chose to assassinate in secret, they must have made a meticulous plan beforehand and would definitely not leave any evidence.

But there is no crime without flaws. For experienced detectives like the Imperial City Guard, clues to a case are not necessarily found at the scene; what matters more is the logical relationship outside the scene.

Facing the head of the Imperial City Guard, personally dispatched by the Emperor, Zheng Chaozong spoke frankly and without reservation. He not only explained all the details, but also the people he had met since taking office in Nanjing, the things he had done, and the people with whom he might have had grudges. He told the truth about everything, big and small.

After Zheng Chaozong took office as the garrison commander of Nanjing, his most important mission was to investigate the farmland under Nanjing's jurisdiction.

This action made all the powerful landlords under Nanjing's jurisdiction uneasy. Many people tried to get a meeting with him through connections, some offered gifts, others pleaded, some attempted to transfer their land holdings, and some even wrote anonymous threatening letters. After their interests were affected, people revealed their true colors in all sorts of ways.

Zheng Chaozong, Zhen Qing, Liu Dan, and others locked themselves in the room for a full hour before finally identifying a suspect.

Or rather, the entire family is a suspect. The family's surname is Han, and the current head of the family is named Han Linyan. The entire family consists of about two hundred people, all residing in Yingtian Prefecture.

This Han family was the largest landowner in the seven counties under Nanjing's jurisdiction.

Of the seven counties that registered their land holdings, the Han family only owned a little over 10,000 hectares. However, after Zheng Chaozong took office, he sent someone to conduct a casual investigation and found that the Han family actually owned as much as 150,000 hectares of land.

In other words, this family concealed 140,000 hectares of land from the government, which was more than the land owned by the Empress Dowager's relatives. They had evaded countless taxes every year. Zheng Chaozong immediately targeted the Han family and planned to use them to establish his authority.

Before the Han family was severely punished, countless people came to their door to plead for their release.

Among those pleading for leniency were respected retired officials, prominent local families, officials from the garrison and the seven counties under its jurisdiction, and even members of the imperial family from Bianjing.

Zheng Chaozong was shocked by what he saw. So many people were pleading for the Han family, which showed how far the Han family had managed Nanjing over the years, weaving an almost impenetrable network of interests.

When Li Huai, the garrison commander of Nanjing, was uprooted by the Imperial City Guard and the Censorate, all the officials involved were implicated, and many powerful landlords in Nanjing were also implicated, but the Han family alone remained unscathed.

They quickly severed ties with Li Huai and other officials, erasing all evidence of their interactions. Surprisingly, Li Huai and the other officials did not implicate the Han family until their deaths, demonstrating the Han family's strength and influence in the local area.

In the room where he was recuperating, Zheng Chaozong's voice was weak, but his tone was very steady.

"The Han family is a prominent family in Nanjing, and has lived here for generations. The earliest history can be traced back to a hundred years ago. Back then, the Han family's ancestor was a general under Shi Jingtang. When Shi Jingtang offered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Liao Kingdom, this act chilled the heart of the Han family's ancestor. So he resigned from his post and moved the whole family south to this place."

Zheng Chaozong slowly said, "The ancestors of the Han family a hundred years ago were quite principled and sincere. Unfortunately, after settling in the Central Plains, their descendants became increasingly ambitious, and each generation became worse than the last."

“They are becoming increasingly unscrupulous, ignoring the suffering of the people. They use all sorts of means to seize land. I heard about many heinous things the Han family had done shortly after I took office in Nanjing. Unfortunately, I have not been in office long enough to find any concrete evidence.”

"However, I was ordered to investigate the land under Nanjing's jurisdiction, which finally angered the Han family. The 150,000 hectares of land under their name are their lifeline. Now that I want to eradicate their lifeline, they will naturally not agree."

“These days, most of the people I’ve met have come to plead for the Han family, begging me to let them off the hook. They’re even willing to offer huge bribes, like 500,000 taels of silver, and are even willing to give me 10,000 hectares of land, just so I’ll let the Han family go when I’m checking the fields under my jurisdiction.”

Zheng Chaozong smiled and said, "I now know my worth, which is probably quite high. Later, I refused the Han family, stating that I would handle matters officially and would not show favoritism. They then made no further moves until I was assassinated."

After Zheng Chaozong finished speaking, his face grew even more ashen.

Zhen Qing and Liu Dan quickly exchanged a glance and then nodded.

That's right, the Han family is indeed highly suspected.

From this moment on, the Imperial City Guard has set its sights on the Han family.

The two bowed to Zheng Chaozong, told him to take good care of himself, and then took their leave.

Zhen Qing turned around, his expression now solemn and grim.

Stepping out of the garrison headquarters, Zhen Qing looked at the hundred or so Imperial City Guards standing silently at the gate and shouted, "Everyone mount up and immediately head to the Han family residence in the city. Interrogate everyone in the Han family, leaving no one out!"

With a roar of approval, over a hundred people mounted their horses and headed straight for the Han family residence.

An hour after an incense stick had burned, the Imperial City Guards who had arrived at the gate of the Han family mansion stopped in their tracks.

Zhen Qing and Liu Dan looked grim, their eyes gleaming as they scanned the tall, luxurious gate of the Han family mansion.

When they arrived at the Han family's house, they learned some bad news.

The Han family has run away.

The entire family, strong men, young women and children, those in charge and those not, masters, servants and guards, all ran away; not a single one was left.

The Han family mansion in front of them was an empty house, with no one inside. The only living creature was a pitiful, abandoned guard dog, which was looking at Zhen Qing and the others with a resentful and sorrowful expression.

Zhen Qing stared coldly at the Han family's gate for a long time before finally speaking.

"Immediately send someone to report the situation to the Emperor, and in the name of the Imperial City Guard, issue arrest warrants to all government offices in the prefectures and counties surrounding Nanjing, and issue arrest warrants for the Han family and their associates."

"Everyone, leave the city now and search for the Han family members from four directions. We must find them alive or dead!"

(End of this chapter)