The prince is more stable

Chapter 894 Deployment and Arrest
After returning to his official residence in the city, Zeng Shuli, the prefect of Chenzhou, felt a sense of joy, as if he had survived a calamity. This feeling was wonderful.

Of course, the fact that he was able to become the prefect shows that he was a very sensible person.

Upon returning to the government office, Zeng Shuli immediately prepared four generous gifts, one for each of the three bigwigs of the Censorate and one for Zhen Qing of the Imperial City Guard.

The four generous gifts were no small amount. Even though Zeng Shuli had served as the prefect for many years, the gifts he sent out this time caused his family's finances to regress by more than ten years.

After the generous gifts were prepared, Zeng Shuli dispatched two groups of people. One group escorted the gifts directly to Bianjing and delivered them to the residence of Han Zhongyan and the other three. The other group caught up with Han Zhongyan and the others on horseback and handed them the gift list in person.

It has to be said, she is truly a very sensible person to have reached this level.

Although he had suffered a severe loss of blood, Zeng Shuli was still in a very good mood, experiencing both pain and pleasure.

The generous gifts weren't given for nothing. If the three bigwigs of the Censorate and the head of the Imperial City Guard were won over by the money, Zeng Shuli's future career would be exceptionally smooth. As long as he didn't do anything reckless, he was unlikely to cause any trouble in the officialdom.

A ten-year economic downturn in exchange for a secure career over the next twenty or even thirty years is a worthwhile investment.

After returning to the government office, Zeng Shuli locked himself in his room, a contemptuous smile playing on his lips.

"The Censorate? Ha! What's the difference between it and the Censorate? It's just a different name. As long as you're an official, you can't avoid jumping into this cesspool... Your Majesty is still too young!" Zeng Shuli shook his head and muttered to himself.

That night, Zeng Shuli slept soundly, all the worries that had been weighing on his mind recently were relieved, and he slept through the night, which was rare for him.

In his dream, Zeng Shuli dreamt that he used the wealth he had obtained by exploiting the people to aggressively spend money and break through layers of obstacles. Even the officials were overjoyed to accept his gifts.

In the end, Zeng Shuli successfully entered the Council of State Affairs by spending money, becoming the prime minister second only to the emperor. He ruled the country for decades and finally retired in glory, with the emperor even bestowing upon him a noble title.

The dream was so real that Zeng Shuli actually woke up laughing, but felt a sense of loss afterward.

Early in the morning, Zeng Shuli stretched and walked out of the side room to work in the north wing of the government office.

At noon, Zeng Shuli put down his pen and suddenly felt something was amiss.

The government office was unusually quiet all morning; even the sounds of birds chirping and insects humming seemed to have disappeared. In the past, the government office was always bustling with activity, with officials and clerks coming and going in an endless stream, reporting on various matters and handling all sorts of emergencies, leaving the prefect with no time to relax.

But no one bothered him all morning, and he couldn't even hear the slightest noise from the government office.

Zeng Shuli curiously walked out of the side room and stood under the corridor, looking around the courtyard.

The courtyard was deserted, with only scattered golden leaves lying on the ground.

"Is anyone here? Come out a few people!" Zeng Shuli shouted impatiently.

No one answered him; the courtyard was so empty that he could even hear his own echo.

Zeng Shuli frowned, somewhat displeased. He was such a high-ranking official, yet he didn't even have a servant to attend to him. It was as if the prefect wasn't being treated like an official.

Suppressing his temper, Zeng Shuli walked with a sullen face to the main hall of the government office.

Just as he sat down in the main seat in the main hall, two constables hurriedly walked in from outside. After seeing Zeng Shuli, the two constables hurriedly bowed.

Zeng Shuli said coldly, "Where did everyone in the government office go this morning? Why is it so deserted inside and out? Just because I'm not in office, do you all become so lazy?"

The two constables hurriedly apologized, saying they had just returned from running errands outside.

Zeng Shuli said, "Go and summon the prefectural magistrate and the judge from the prefectural government."

The two constables acknowledged and turned to leave the government office.

Half an hour later, two constables returned one after the other and told Zeng Shuli with strange looks that the prefect and the judge were not at the mansion and that they did not know where they had gone.

Zeng Shuli's eyelids suddenly twitched, and he felt a sudden pang of panic for no apparent reason.

"Go again and summon all the officials in the prefectural government except for the vice-prefect and the judge." Zeng Shuli's tone was inexplicably anxious.

Half an hour later, two constables returned and told Zeng Shuli that all the officials under the jurisdiction of the prefectural government were not at home.

Even if Zeng Shuli were a fool, he would have realized that something was wrong.

Cold sweat dripped down Zeng Shuli's forehead, and his heart suddenly raced.

Is it right that all the officials in the huge prefectural government office have disappeared without a trace?
Zeng Shuli suddenly had a premonition of impending doom, and his ruddy complexion gradually turned pale.

There are only two constables left in front of us in the entire prefectural government office. Everyone else has disappeared. Something big is definitely going to happen!

Zeng Shuli wiped the sweat from his forehead, trying to maintain the prefect's dignity, and said in a deep voice, "You two leave the city immediately and go to Shangshui County and Xihua County. Invite the two county magistrates to the prefectural city and tell them that I have important matters to discuss with them. Go quickly!" The two constables looked bewildered, but still clasped their hands in obedience and turned to leave the government office.

As soon as the two left, Zeng Shuli hurriedly got up and ran towards the main hall.

Upon entering the side room, Zeng Shuli opened a hidden compartment under the bookshelf and took out a dark red sandalwood box filled with gold and jewels. He then carried the box out of the side room and hurriedly ran towards the backyard.

The backyard of the government office had a kitchen and a stable. Several fine horses were kept in the stable. Zeng Shuli ran to the outside of the stable and was about to lead out a fine horse when he looked up and gasped in shock.

The stables were empty; there wasn't a single horse in sight.

Zeng Shuli's eyelids twitched even more violently as he stared in shock at the empty stable, unable to utter a sound for a long time.

Then, Zeng Shuli heard footsteps, very chaotic, approaching from afar and gathering towards the back gate of the government office.

Without uttering a word, Zeng Shuli turned and ran towards the main hall. At this moment, he had no other thoughts. He only knew that he could only survive by escaping the government office and stay alive.

Running from the backyard to the main hall, and then to the front hall, Zeng Shuli was panting heavily. Seeing that the main hall was empty and only the two gates outside the courtyard were tightly closed, Zeng Shuli breathed a slight sigh of relief, lifted the hem of his official robe, and ran towards the gate.

"It's not too late, it's not too late!" Zeng Shuli muttered to himself as if he were going crazy. His extreme tension and fear caused the muscles in his cheeks to twitch uncontrollably, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

Reaching the gate, Zeng Shuli unlatched the door, stepped over the threshold, and was about to run into the street when he stopped after taking only one step, his face filled with despair.

Outside the gate of the government office, a dense crowd of people stood, dressed in the dark purple uniforms unique to the Imperial City Guard, forming an impenetrable barrier around the gate. Each person had their right hand on the hilt of their sword at their waist, their expressions cold and their gazes indifferent as they stared at Zeng Shuli.

In the center of the crowd, Han Zhongyan, Lü Huiqing, Li Qingchen, and Zhen Qing stood leisurely, looking at Zeng Shuli with a hint of mockery in their eyes.

"Prefect Zeng, as I said yesterday, we would meet again soon, and here we are," Han Zhongyan said with a smile.

Lu Huiqing also smiled and said, "Prefect Zeng seems to be in such a hurry. Where are you headed? Would you like us to see you off?"

Zeng Shuli trembled all over, his face covered with a deathly ashen color. He had no strength left in his body, and the sandalwood box he was holding slipped from his hands and fell to the ground.

With a loud crash, the lid of the box shattered, and the gold and jewels inside were scattered all over the ground. Zeng Shuli could no longer control himself and his legs went weak, causing him to collapse to the ground.

Han Zhongyan glanced at the gold and jewels on the ground and laughed, "Oh, there's quite a lot of gold and jewels here. Prefect Zeng has struck it rich."

Li Qingchen stroked his beard and laughed, "Speaking of which, I do owe you a thank you. Thank you, Prefect Zeng, for your generosity in sending a gift list. Thanks to you, we've also made a fortune, hehe."

Zeng Shuli closed his eyes in despair, knowing that he had failed today, and this was a serious setback.

Thinking back on his brief encounter with Han Zhongyan and others yesterday, Zeng Shuli now realized with shock that he had been deceived by them.

The arrest of these four individuals likely began as soon as they left Bianjing.

Not only were they arrested, but also all the officials in the Chenzhou government office, even the runners, and the county magistrates under Chenzhou's jurisdiction were probably also taken down.

This was a complete wipeout; not a single one escaped.

Yesterday, when Zeng Shuli arrived at Gongjing Village to meet Han Zhongyan, he actually believed them, thinking they were just passing through Chenzhou.

Unexpectedly, this was just a feint. After a night of calm preparation, the Imperial City Guard should have arrested all the people who needed to be arrested by now, leaving only Zeng Shuli. Looking at the Imperial City Guard's encirclement of the government office, how could he possibly escape?
Zeng Shuli, his face filled with despair, murmured, "Han Zhongyan, you can't break the rules..."

Han Zhongyan's smile gradually turned cold: "The Emperor overruled all objections to establish the Supervisory Office. From the moment I took office, the rules of the Song Dynasty's officialdom ceased to exist. Zeng Shuli, you are very lucky. You are the first person to experience the new rules."

Zeng Shuli's cheek muscles twitched incessantly, like a fish struggling in its death throes, and he said in a trembling voice, "No, that's not right! Han Zhongyan, new rules aren't so easy to establish. I have people above me... people you can't afford to offend!"

Han Zhongyan laughed heartily: "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king. I'd like to see just how important your superior is. Is he even more important than the emperor?"

Zhen Qing took a step forward, his cold gaze fixed on Zeng Shuli, and shouted, "Investigate the prefect, magistrate, judge of Chenzhou, and the county magistrates under their jurisdiction, as well as the transport commissioner, the judicial commissioner, and other officials, for their numerous illegal acts of harming the people, seizing land, embezzling public funds, and imposing exorbitant taxes during their tenure."

"By imperial decree, the Imperial City Guard is to arrest and investigate all those involved in the case!"

"Men, seize Zeng Shuli and escort him to Bianjing!"

Zeng Shuli was completely limp and muttered to himself as if he had gone mad.

Han Zhongyan stared at him and said coldly, "Prefect Zeng, this case was personally handled by the Emperor. I am very curious to know whether your superiors can protect you."

"Furthermore, I advise you not to take any chances. In Chenzhou, not only officials are involved, but also many merchants, landlords, and officials with official salaries. They have all been arrested by the Imperial City Guard."

(End of this chapter)