"Hmph! With such a big incident, do you think I can sleep? How can I be in the mood to attend the morning court?" Qin Qiong asked, his eyes wide.
Qin Mu blinked. He had spent the entire night thinking about the deployment and the arrests, without considering the magnitude of the impact. In fact, many people had already received word of the plan to arrest the first family, but their reactions varied.
Someone sneered repeatedly, saying, "You couldn't hold back so quickly?"
While reviewing memorials late at night, Li Shimin simply remarked, "Isn't the Six Doors just for arresting criminals?"
Qin Qiong only learned of the mass arrests by the Six Doors the previous night, a raid on homes, after receiving a message from a trusted military advisor. He rushed over in a panic. Upon questioning, he was even more astonished to discover that the number of people arrested was far greater than he had imagined.
They were secretly laughing to themselves, thinking that Qin Mu had set up such a large detention facility, but it turned out that most of them had been locked up in just one night.
Although he knew his son wasn't the type to act recklessly, he was still a little uneasy, fearing that his son's sudden appointment to an official position might cause him to lose his composure and do something opportunistic. Fortunately, after learning more, he discovered that his son had planned this all along, which put his mind at ease.
"It's nothing, we just arrested some bastards who were causing trouble for the people. They just finished and are about to interrogate them!" Qin Mu reassured him.
"You arrested over a thousand people in one night! And you're telling me it's nothing!" Qin Qiong exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Hey! This is just an arrest. After the interrogation, those who are innocent will be released. There aren't more than a thousand of them," Qin Mu said, waving his hand.
"You think you can just let it go? There will definitely be people in the court impeaching you for abusing your power and arbitrarily arresting people!" Guo Xiaoke reminded him with a smile.
"It's alright! His Majesty will cover for us! Besides, isn't questioning people the duty of the Six Doors?"
"Hehe! Let's see the interrogation results first! If the interrogation reveals serious crimes, then of course there's no problem!" Seeing Qin Mu's nonchalant attitude, Guo Xiaoke knew that Qin Mu was definitely confident. After all, someone who could understand Li Shimin's intention in establishing the Six Doors couldn't possibly be foolish enough to make the mistake of being impatient for quick success.
"Alright! We'll interrogate him as soon as possible. I'm sure His Majesty is waiting to see the results!" Qin Mu nodded, then strode into the house.
………
Such a momentous matter naturally drew a response from the imperial court, and as they anticipated, many people filed impeachments. Even those without the official title of censor offered their advice.
Many people mistakenly believe that when an official reports a complaint to the emperor, it is called impeachment. This is incorrect. Only the censors of the Censorate had the power of impeachment; others could only offer advice. Although the meanings are similar, they are fundamentally different.
If someone is impeached, the emperor must respond and take action, even if the impeachment is unsuccessful, he still has to give an answer; but it's different with remonstrance. Although it also involves pointing out that something or someone is unreasonable to the emperor, the emperor can ignore it.
Looking at the impassioned ministers, Li Shimin sneered inwardly. He knew perfectly well that most of these people who had jumped out were from powerful families and clans. To put it bluntly, they were acting on someone else's orders, and most of them were either threatened or had their interests touched.
Li Shimin secretly memorized these people's names, glanced at his trusted ministers, and looked at Wei Zheng's ashen face. His mood finally improved a lot.
"Oh! I've taken a look. You mainly say that the Six Doors abused their power and arrested people arbitrarily; and that Qin Qiong and Guo Xiaoke practiced nepotism."
I want to tell you that everyone in the Six Doors, from the chief constable down to the ordinary soldiers, is personally appointed by me. The Ministry of Personnel has issued a document on this matter.
As for abusing their power and arbitrarily arresting people, who are they arresting? Are they all innocent people? Li Shimin said calmly.
"Your Majesty, I have heard that the Six Doors arrested over a thousand people last night. How can there be so many criminals under the very nose of the Emperor? Surely many of them must be innocent. I beg Your Majesty to revoke the authority of the Six Doors and release the arrested people to appease the people!" A censor bowed and said.
“Your Majesty, Censor Jiang’s words are reasonable. I believe that the establishment of the Six Doors is a good thing, after all, the duties are good. However, neither the Duke of Yi nor anyone else is an expert in criminal matters. It would be better to appoint a capable person.” Another censor said.
"Let's put this matter aside for now. I'll send someone to summon the Duke of Yi to confront him." Li Shimin said with a glint in his eyes. In his mind, he had already labeled the censor behind him as a fool. Knowing that he had appointed the person, he still said it was no good. This was either a lack of discernment or a deliberate attempt to make a target.
The court was in turmoil, and the conversation quickly turned to other matters. When Qin Qiong arrived at the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace (let's just say he appeared, since Chang'an was so large these days), the court assembly had basically ended, and everyone was waiting for his arrival.
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Shimin said calmly, "Does my dear minister know why I summoned you here?"
"Your subject understands!"
Do you have any explanation for this?
"Of course there are."
"Then tell them who the Six Doors arrested and why."
"Your Majesty, I obey your decree. However, this matter is under the jurisdiction of the patrol officer Qin Huaidao. May he explain it to you? I would like to add more details!"
"Granted! Has Qin Huaidao arrived yet?"
"They are already waiting outside the hall!"
The emperor and his minister engaged in a serious exchange, after which Qin Mu was summoned to the Zichen Palace.
Court assemblies are not held every day. Small court assemblies, also known as regular court assemblies, are held every two days in the Zichen Hall. About 300 meters north of the Hanyuan Hall is the Xuanzheng Hall, where the monthly court assemblies are held on the first and fifteenth of each month. The Hanyuan Hall is where the grand court assemblies are held, and they are only held on New Year's Day and the winter solstice each year.
Seeing only two or three hundred ministers in the hall, Qin Mu was somewhat disappointed, regretting that he hadn't witnessed the magnificent scene of "the palace gates opening to the heavens, and the officials of all nations bowing before the emperor."
After another round of greetings and inquiries, Qin Mu behaved in a proper and composed manner.
"Your Majesty, after a month of investigation, we finally decided on last night's operation. Last night, a total of 1,106 people were arrested. 205 people were rescued from prison, including 165 women and 40 children. After identification, 168 people were found to have been forced into work."
This case involves a wide range of people, and the heinous nature of the perpetrators is truly unprecedented in my life! This is only a portion of the interrogation statements; the majority is still under investigation,” Qin Mu explained solemnly.
Naturally, an attendant took the documents from Qin Mu and handed them to Li Shimin.
"Officer Qin, is this some kind of torture? And Officer Qin is so young, it's rare to see someone like this before, is it? As far as I know, the people you've arrested are from brokerage firms and brothels. These places are quite miserable, isn't it normal to have people imprisoned there?" someone coldly mocked Qin Mu.
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