"This is Xi Junmai, a member of the Bad Guys. Don't underestimate this young man, Officer. There isn't a single alley in Chang'an that he doesn't know," Liu Renshi praised.
A thin child, about ten years old, with very bright eyes, dressed in somewhat worn clothes, looked at Qin Mu with curiosity but not fear.
Qin Mu recognized the name Xi Junmai, but that was from another world. He just hoped the little guy wouldn't live up to the name. If it was good, he'd get it from the Bad Guys; after all, Liu Hongji had to give a child that much face.
Qin Mu was actually wrong. Xi Junmai was already thirteen years old, but he looked very thin because of his poor living conditions. He was still very curious about this famous constable in Chang'an who wasn't much older than himself, which was why he was staring at Qin Mu so intently.
"Greetings, Officer!"
"Alright, I won't waste any more pleasantries. I invited you all here today because I need your help in providing some information," Qin Mu said after inviting them to sit down.
"Just ask, Officer. This time it's not just the three of us; whatever you want to know, all three thousand of the Bad Guys will find out for you in no time," Liu Renshi assured him. The Six Doors had arrested over a thousand people a couple of days ago—there were probably very few like that now. Such a large-scale operation was unprecedented, not even for the Bad Guys, let alone the Night Watchmen. As a young man, of course he wanted to participate.
"Good! I hope you will send people to find out the locations of all the brothels and gambling dens in Chang'an, and to find evidence that they force women into prostitution, lure others into gambling, and frame others. Then we can take them all down in one fell swoop!" Qin Mu said.
"No problem! I will find them all as long as they are in Chang'an!" Liu Renshi assured him.
"This matter must be kept strictly confidential, so when you make the arrangements, you need to come up with a good excuse! To avoid any leaks," Qin Mu reminded him.
"That's easy. We can use the excuse of collecting the statistics and then charging a fee. The guys below will definitely do it seriously, and it won't leak out," Xi Junmai suggested.
"That's a good idea!" Liu Renshi agreed.
"Then I'll have to trouble you!" Qin Mu said with a smile.
"We'll get on it right away and gather the information as quickly as possible," Liu Renshi said, standing up with a hint of excitement.
Qin Mu was naturally pleased with their high level of enthusiasm, offered a few words of encouragement, and saw them out of the room.
In fact, the help from the Bad Guys was completely unexpected, so Qin Mu wasn't too worried about the news leaking out. Brothels and gambling dens were just one of the targets.
Qin Mu was stirring up trouble, but Li Shimin was furious in court. He thought that seeing Qin Qiong and his son report was already too much, but little did he know that the full interrogation results were even more outrageous.
"Look! Look! Right under the emperor's nose, there are such villains! In just a few years, there have been more than 3,000 victims, 400 dead, more than 800 injured, and more than 200 missing! Even a major battle couldn't have done this much! Tell me! Who gave them the audacity!" Li Shimin glared angrily, his chest heaving violently as he roared loudly.
The court was deathly silent; everyone hung their heads. No one had expected things to escalate to such a degree. Everyone knew there was a dark side to things, but this was going too far—it was simply unacceptable. After all, this was Chang'an! It was truly shocking.
"Your Majesty! According to the interrogation, these people have been entrenched in Chang'an for several years, even more than ten years, and their crimes are heinous. I suggest that they be severely punished and their crimes be made public to warn the world!" Wei Zheng stepped forward and bowed.
"I second that!" Changsun Wuji added.
"I second that!" the others hurriedly added, their voices so loud that it seemed they could not express their determination otherwise.
"Announce this to the world! The ringleader shall be beheaded and his head displayed to the public! The rest shall be escorted to Yanmen Pass and sent to the death row!" Li Shimin coldly swept his gaze around before issuing the decree.
In truth, he understood that his reign was short-lived and it was not surprising that he had not fully grasped Chang'an. That was why he suppressed his anger, while secretly rejoicing at his sudden idea to establish the Six Doors.
"Dismiss the court!" After saying this, Li Shimin waved his sleeve and turned to leave.
After Li Shimin left, he returned to the Imperial Study, sat there, his eyes gleaming as he pondered the gains and losses.
While Li Shimin was pondering, the ministers who had just left returned to the imperial study. Seeing that Li Shimin was deep in thought, they did not speak, but found a place to sit down and waited quietly.
After a long while, Li Shimin came to his senses and said solemnly, "My dear ministers, I have only just learned today that there are so many evil people hiding in Chang'an. This is just the tip of the iceberg; who knows how many more have not yet been discovered."
“Your Majesty! Guanzhong has always been a place where various families have strongholds, and with so many people, there are aristocratic families and sects, as well as individual martial artists and even beastmen. It is not surprising that some of them commit evil and cause trouble,” Du Ruhui said, cupping his hands.
“I know that. Guanzhong, Longyou, and Longxi have always been in chaos. The Eight Pillars of the Guanzhong region in the previous dynasty were established to suppress this area! I thought that after so many years of suppression, they should have behaved themselves, but I didn’t expect that they had just gone underground!” Li Shimin nodded slightly.
"The Du and Wei families have dominated Chang'an for many years. Are they aware of the underground forces operating in Chang'an?" Li Shimin asked again.
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, the Du family's businesses are all legitimate. Even if there are some improprieties, it's nothing more than sending some silver and doing some favors. They are not aware of any underground forces," Du Ruhui said, shaking his head slightly.
Although Du Ruhui was born into the Du family of Chang'an, they had severed ties in his childhood, and he was now at odds with his uncle Du Yan. Therefore, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he wasn't a member of the Du family. Since he said so, Li Shimin naturally believed him.
"Your Majesty, the Wei family is the same; we are pursuing official careers," Wei Yuancheng of the Wei family replied.
While large, powerful families may have their share of unsavory practices, they value the reputation built up by their ancestors. Therefore, they haven't engaged in clandestine human trafficking, as they rely on their power to buy people openly.
“There are thirteen major underground forces in Chang’an City, divided into four alliances. However, no one knows who is behind them or who their people are in Chang’an City,” Changsun Wuji said with a frown.
"I don't care about all that. Chang'an, Guanzhong, and the whole world belong to the court! If the court doesn't care about the honest succession, then whoever makes me uncomfortable will make me even more uncomfortable!"
"Spread the word! Let those who disagree come and talk to us!" Li Shimin said, slamming his fist on the table.
"I obey the decree!"
"Your Majesty, we obey!" No one would object to such a thing, and they all bowed and agreed.
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