"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The next day, before daybreak, teams of soldiers lined up and marched quickly on the streets, each team led by a dozen spies from the Xuan Jing Division.
Some officials were arrested while they were still asleep, and then thrown into the Xuan Jingsi prison with confused looks on their faces.
This inexplicable house-raiding operation plunged the capital, which had just settled down, into a tense atmosphere again. Many people simply closed their doors and watched the soldiers and officers coming and going hurriedly outside through the cracks in the doors.
An atmosphere of uneasiness spread in the capital. Some ministers who received the news hurried to the palace to find the emperor, but were told that the emperor would not attend court for the next few days and asked them to report anything directly to the eunuch Gao Liang.
Someone outside the palace gates shouted, "Your Majesty! Fang Zhiyi is rebelling! He's arrested half of the officials from the six ministries! Why don't you come out and take a look?"
Of course, there was no response to the shouting. Only the silent imperial guards surrounded them. The imperial guards had already received instructions and did not drive them away. They just blocked them and pushed them farther away with their bodies to prevent their shouting from disturbing the emperor's interest.
Some court officials gathered to discuss the matter. If the emperor didn't show up, Fang Zhiyi would order the Xuanjing Division and the Imperial Guards to arrest people everywhere. If this continued, everyone would be doomed! How could the emperor allow such a thing?
"What a tyrant! What a tyrant!" The old man burst into tears.
His disciples gritted their teeth and said, "Teacher, in this case, why don't we notify our families and make preparations early?" These civil servants are generally supported by noble families. They can provide money and food. It can be said that one-third of the world is divided into the people, one-third is occupied by the emperor, and the remaining six are owned by these families.
"As long as we unite, he will know what we are!" The man's face was ferocious, and he was obviously determined to fight to the death.
There were also people from other parties who took a different approach. A group of students were instigated by them and sat quietly in front of the palace gate. The leader held up a silk cloth with words written in bright red blood on it, saying that Fang Zhiyi was wantonly arresting and killing scholars with the intention of destroying Wei Wu's foundation.
But the imperial guards at the gate just watched coldly and didn't want to pay any attention to them.
Until several of them fainted from the sun, some scholars wanted to leave and go home to have a meal or drink some water, but they found that there was a row of imperial guards standing on the road they came from, and they were blocked here.
"The emperor has ordered that you may sit here if you like, but you are not allowed to leave. The palace gate is not a street, so how can you come and go as you please?" A eunuch read out the order and left without looking back.
The noble families in the capital had already reacted, but they were still too slow. Without the help of their retainers and private soldiers, the Xuan Jing Si had already broken into the house.
"Why are you arresting people randomly? My family has a plaque personally inscribed by the late emperor!"
"The Xuan Jing Si doesn't need a reason to arrest people." The leading eunuch said coldly. He was very satisfied recently. Since the death of Cao Ji, the Xuan Jing Si, a shady agency, was exposed to the public for the first time. They no longer bothered to investigate the news used for party struggles. Instead, they expanded the scope of investigation through bribery and recruitment. They would directly arrest people when ordered to do so. Moreover, their treatment had also improved a lot. Recently, Lord Gao said that the Xuan Jing Si had the privilege of executing first and reporting later, which was approved by the emperor himself. Their backs were straightened a lot.
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