Chapter 157

After returning to the city.

Qu Dubian asked Lang Qing to call the craftsmen in the city who were originally responsible for making gunpowder.

The new gunpowder formula and production process need to be strictly kept confidential, and the air-drying, compression and granulation process needs to be operated by different people.

The northern Xinjiang is extremely dry to begin with, and with the addition of manual drying, the extra steps only take a few days longer than normal manufacturing.

Lang Qing had not seen the power of the improved gunpowder, but Xia Fuyang, Ye Lianyang and others had seen it.

However, reforming gunpowder was a big deal. Even with the strong support of the two main generals, Lang Qing still went to see the site after the new gunpowder test, and only after seeing it did he begin to make preparations.

Qu Watanabe: "Uncle Lang Qing, I have no experience in mass-producing gunpowder. When will the first batch be ready?"

Lang Qing felt the wind in the northern border and murmured, "Including labor, it will take three days at the fastest. If it's a little humid, it may take five days."

There is not much difference between before and after.

"Once you become more proficient, it will be quick."

Qu Watanabe: "Try to be as fast as possible."

The current situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty does not allow for a long war of attrition. If the war takes too long, the food and grass may not be enough.

The improvement of gunpowder had just been successful, and by the evening, news came from the main city.

Yi Twelve and Lang Qing's men brought a struggling soldier to the second city and threw him in front of Qu Dubian's tent.

Qu Dubian heard the noise and came out: "Did you catch him?"

Yi Twelve came to him, "This man wants to burn down the data storage in the main city."

The soldier said, "I didn't! I was just patrolling with a torch! The people from the Supervision Office have rules for night patrols. I was arrested before I even started. Generals, please be careful!"

He knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Qu Watanabe: "How can you be from the Supervisory Office when you are wearing a soldier's uniform?"

"I am a non-staff soldier in the Supervisory Department," the soldier said indignantly, "Of course the clothes of the supervisors in the Supervisory Department are different from ours, but we are indeed under the jurisdiction of the Supervisory Department. If you don't believe me, call Eunuch Feng Bing and you will know the answer after asking him."

"Okay, then call him and ask."

Qu Dubian asked someone to bring a chair. His wound felt uncomfortable after standing for a long time. Since he was waiting for someone, he decided to sit down and wait.

"By the way, call Uncle Lang Qing and Uncle Ming Huang over. I have something to tell you."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Immediately, three soldiers ran out to inform Prince Ming, Lang Qing and Feng Bing respectively.

Qu Dubian hooked his finger, "Liu Liu, come here."

Yi Twelve half-crouched beside the chair. Qu Duan leaned over and whispered, "Is there any movement from Feng Bing, who Uncle Lang Qing is watching?"

"No unusual movement," Yi Twelve shook his head, "It was too short a time to notice."

From the time we discovered there was a spy inside to the time we found out about a small soldier, it only took two days to go back and forth to the main city.

While the two were talking in low voices, Lang Qing and Prince Ming arrived.

Qu Dubian also asked someone to bring chairs for them to sit on. Lang Qing was embarrassed, but Prince Ming sat down instead: "Nephew, the emperor's uncle is still busy, what's the matter with you calling me here?"

Qu Watanabe: "Uncle Emperor will know in a moment."

Feng Bing came hurriedly, still wearing the patched clothes, and bowed and said, "Greetings to Your Highness, and to the Prince and General Lang Qing."

"I wonder why Your Highness summoned me here?"

Qu Watanabe: "Is this person from your Supervision Department?"

Feng Bing took a closer look at the tied soldier. "Their clothes have the pattern of the Supervisory Office embroidered on them...but they are just non-staff personnel. I am very busy on weekdays and cannot remember every single one of them."

"Eunuch Feng," Qu Dubian said with a smile, "Didn't I say that the Supervision Department would suspend all patrol missions? This person was patrolling in the main city and almost burned down the main city information office. Did you know that?"

Feng Bing was horrified: "I have given your Highness' orders. It must be that the main city is too far away and they were not received in time--"

"alright."

Qu Watanabe interrupted directly: "That's all nonsense."

"The Emperor's uncle is also here. The Supervisory Office is in charge of the Emperor's uncle, but to put it bluntly, it is actually in charge of the royal family. Is that right or not?"

Prince Ming nodded: "Yes."

Qu Dubian: "I am here on behalf of the emperor to guard the northern border. As a prince, do I also have the right to govern the Supervisory Office?"

Prince Ming hesitated for a few seconds, "Strictly speaking, there is a part."

"Feng Bing, let me ask you a question," Qu Dubian got the answer from Prince Ming and started to question him directly, "I only asked you to do a small thing, but you couldn't do it well. Even the non-staff members under you made mistakes, and the mistakes were so serious that they almost burned down half of the main city. Do you usually just eat for free?"

In fact, there was not even a spark in the main city, but this was not the time to argue. Feng Bing had been in the capital for a long time and had been in the frontier for so many years that he was very accustomed to this kind of accusation.

The thunder is loud but the rain is small, and it will be over after a few curses.

Can we abolish the Supervisory Office?

He knelt down calmly and said, "I know I was wrong!"

Qu Watanabe: "What's the use of admitting your mistakes? Can the mistakes you made be corrected? Will you compensate for the losses caused? Will you sew up the soles of my Liuliu's shoes that came unstitched because he was running back and forth with others?"

Feng Bing: “…”

B Twelve: “…”

Prince Ming: “…”

He asked several questions in succession, each one louder than the last, with such force that the people present were shocked and didn't know how to respond.

Qu Duanbian cleared his throat and asked, "How many people are there in the Supervision Department?"

Prince Ming turned his eyes away from Yi Twelve's shoes and said, "If you count the non-staff, there are about 500 to 600 people."

Qu Watanabe: "It just so happens that the prisoner-of-war cell in the main city can hold them all. Even the second-in-command was so sudden, and the people under him don't know what mistakes they have made."

"As the supervisory department, you should set an example. If you can't supervise yourself, how can you supervise others?"

Feng Bing suddenly raised his head: "Seventh Prince!"

This was completely different from what he had imagined, which was a minor punishment but a severe warning.

If this is really implemented, wouldn’t the entire Supervisory Office be abolished?

Prince Ming also frowned: "Nephew, this is too much."

Although he was in charge of the Supervisory Office, Feng Bing and several other officials, as people appointed by the emperor himself, also had the right to submit impeachment memorials. It was not wise to offend the Supervisory Office.

And it’s just a small matter, why is Xiaoqi so targeting the Supervisory Office?

To put it bluntly, the Supervisory Office was set up by the emperor's brother, and he is the only one who can really decide how to deal with people. If his nephew has detained all the people in the Supervisory Office, and if it is reported to the higher authorities and speculated by people with ulterior motives, he might be accused of wanting to rebel because he is not under supervision.

Qu Watanabe knew what Prince Ming was thinking.

But now is not the time to give the benefit of the doubt.

Now that he had sensed that something was amiss, he would nip in the bud any spark that could lead to disaster, even if it meant using extreme means.

"Uncle, don't we still have you?" Qu Dubian blinked, "You are close to us, so isn't it more convenient for us to monitor you?"

Feng Bing was surprised and asked, "Am I going to be locked up in jail too?"

"Of course. Isn't it because Eunuch Feng didn't pass on the order in time that caused what happened today? It doesn't make sense that others should be inspected, but you, the one who caused the trouble, shouldn't."

Qu Dubian raised his hand and said, "Ye Lianyang, arrest the man."

Ye Lianyang smiled and lowered his arms, "Yes, sir."

Qu Dubian: "Today or tomorrow, within two days, if I see anyone from the Supervision Office outside besides the Emperor's uncle, you will go to jail with them."

Ye Lianyang's skin tensed up, "Don't worry, Boss!"

Feng Bing was carried away directly, and Prince Ming looked unhappy.

Because of what Qu Duanbian did, he, the nominal head of the Supervisory Office, couldn't hold his face. Although he didn't want to manage the Supervisory Office and wanted to go back to the capital, giving up voluntarily and depriving it passively were two different things.

Qu Dubian went to Prince Ming and whispered, "Looking for the traitor."

Prince Ming's pupils shrank: "What?"

Qu Watanabe: "Uncle, please forgive me for this special period," he gave Prince Ming a way out.

Prince Ming was in doubt and he pulled Qu Dubian into the tent, "What evidence do you have?"

Qu Watanabe: "If I had the evidence I would have arrested him directly. Why would I have to find far-fetched reasons to detain him?"

"It shouldn't be the case," Prince Ming frowned, "The people in the Supervisory Office were all selected by my brother, he..."

"Even if they were loyal at first, my uncle has been away from the capital for fifteen years, and people's hearts are fickle," Qu Dubian took a step back. "So, during the detention, Feng Bing and the other eunuchs can still submit a memorial to impeach my behavior. I won't stop them from submitting an impeachment memorial, and you can also tell His Majesty, my uncle."

Prince Ming smiled bitterly: "You have come this far, what is the point of impeachment?"

Even if my royal brother orders us to release them, we are outside the court and are not subject to the emperor's orders.

Among the soldiers under Xu Jin, how many listen to the Supervisory Office?

Qu Dubian said calmly: "Not only the Supervisory Office, I will also find reasons to arrest the rest of the suspicious ones. If there is no problem after a thorough investigation, I will apologize and give compensation in kind."

"Uncle, they are also from the Great Zhou. It's okay for them to make some sacrifices for the success of the war, right?"

They were just locked up, provided with good food and drink, and no torture was required.

The step has been given, and the substance is also there, but it's just a bit of loss of face.

Having said that, it is really hard to refute the fact that it brings up the issue of righteousness.

The Supervisory Office relies on the imperial power, and the other officers and soldiers, even Xu Jin, will give in to the Supervisory Office because of the soldiers and relatives in the capital.

But Qu Duanbian just restrained himself from this.

Prince Ming finally agreed.

Forget it. Now that the Supervisory Office has been closed down, he will have fewer miscellaneous matters to take care of, so he should just focus on logistics.

Qu Watanabe called Yi Twelve and said, "Is there enough incidents to investigate this time?"

Liu Liu previously said that time was too short and he couldn't find out anything, so he locked everyone up together and left them with plenty of time.

B12: “Yeah.”

Qu Watanabe: "Investigate privately, try not to alert the enemy, the fewer people who know about it, the better."

Once the spies are found, he will report them all.

Ye Lianyang went to arrest the people from the Supervisory Office, and they were making a lot of noise. After all, the people from the Supervisory Office were all arrogant before, but now they were all arrested out of the blue, so they were naturally dissatisfied.

Feng Bing was in prison. He looked calm and composed on the outside, but he was actually furious.

Not only was I angry, I couldn't help but feel a little scared.

Could it be that the Seventh Prince really discovered something?

But if you think about it carefully, he has not been exposed anywhere else. Even if the swapped letter was discovered, three years have passed and the person who delivered the letter is dead. Even if the Supervisory Office is investigated, they will not be able to trace it back to him.

Not only was he angry, the other eunuchs in the Supervisory Office were also angry. They felt a sense of frustration stuck in their chests and couldn't let it go.

They said to Feng Bing: "We must report this matter to His Majesty!"

"The Seventh Prince only won a battle, but he was so arrogant and rude to arrest us all. If we don't report it now, how can we save the reputation of the Supervisory Office? Eunuch Feng, please join us!"

Feng Bing gathered his thoughts and said, "Okay!"

Qu Dubian said he would not stop him and he even kindly gave him paper and pen. The prison's supervisory department submitted several impeachment memorials.

They were originally from the East Factory, so if the memorials from the Supervisory Office did not have the emergency seal of Prince Ming, the East Factory would handle them first when they were presented to Emperor Chongzhao.

Impeachment memorials naturally did not need to be stamped with an emergency seal, so these memorials ended up in the hands of the East Factory.

The original factory owner, Cui Rong, picked up an abandoned child a few years ago and raised her as his own daughter, loving her like his own heart.

In addition to his physical condition and age, he basically has no control over things and is in a semi-retired state. He has long shown his desire to hand over power.

Wen Xiaochun and Chen Jian are responsible for all affairs within the East Factory.

"This is a memorial impeaching the Seventh Prince," Chen Jian read it, his eyebrows slightly raised, "Eunuch Xiaochun, are you going to deliver it to His Majesty, or should I?"