Chen Qiyu thought for a moment and asked, "Is there anyone from the Tongzhengsi in Henan Prefecture?"
"Yes, sir," Zhao Zhu said, "the Ministry of Public Administration has already dispatched troops from various directions to the provincial capitals, and then from the provincial capitals to the prefectures, and finally to the counties. There are people everywhere, but in some places, several counties may have sent a group of people."
"The Tongzhengsi adopts a rotational inspection system. If there are several counties sharing one Tongzhengsi, or if there is only one Tongzhengsi in a prefecture, they will send people to visit various places every month. If there are secret reports, they can hand them over directly; if not, they will go and take a look."
Chen Qiyu immediately understood the importance of this.
When they are on patrol, they will go whenever there is a secret report, which can ensure the safety of the secret report to a great extent.
Chen Qiyu nodded and said, "Well, I have a secret report here, please send it to the capital."
Zhao Zhu was stunned when these words came out. Was there a secret report to be sent to the capital?
He hadn't expected his first job to come so quickly, but then things returned to normal. This was what they were here for, and they couldn't refuse.
Seeing the other party take out a memorial, Zhao Zhu said, "Sir, this is a secret memorial."
As he spoke, Zhao Zhu pulled out a memorial from his sleeve and respectfully presented it, explaining, "Secret memorials submitted to me must be written on this type of paper. After writing, seal it with wax and place it in a box specifically for secret memorials."
"We only have a lock for this special box, but no key. After you put it in, Your Excellency can lock it up, and then we will send it to the capital by express horse. All the keys are in the Ministry of Public Administration."
"After the secret memorial box arrives in the capital, the Tongzhengsi will open the box with a key, take out the secret memorial, and then present it to the emperor."
While listening to Zhao Zhu's words, Chen Qiuyu took the memorial.
This memorial is made of cardboard on the outside and paper on the inside. The bottom paper is longer than the top, so it can be folded up and sealed after writing.
In this way, there will be traces when it is opened.
As for the box that Zhao Zhu mentioned, he didn't bring it with him.
But Chen Qiyu was very happy to see this method. After all, they only had the box and no key. The key was kept in the capital, and as long as it was locked here, no one could open it.
If you want to open it, you can only break the lock, which means no one can peek.
"What if this lock is secretly opened?" Chen Qiyu looked at Zhao Zhu and asked expressionlessly, "You know, there are still many people in this world who can open locks."
"No one else will be allowed to touch the box," said Zhao Zhu.
"If we give the box to others and leak the contents of the secret report, we will all lose our heads. So don't worry, sir." Zhao Zhu said respectfully.
"Also, all secret memorials we send out need to be filed with the higher-level Tongzhengsi. Although there will be no archive of secret memorials, there will definitely be a record. If there is no receipt after the secret memorial is sent out, the higher-level Tongzhengsi will send a letter to the capital to inquire."
Chen Qiuyu nodded. It was obvious that the Ministry of Public Security had a very strict confidentiality system.
There were many people who knew about this matter or were involved in it, and it was difficult to bribe or gain access to them. After all, they were not under the jurisdiction of local officials, and the punishment for leaking secret reports was too severe, often resulting in death.
"Alright then. I'll go transcribe the secret report and write it on the memorial." Chen Qiyu said, "Then you can send it to the capital."
"Yes, sir." Zhao Zhu agreed respectfully.
"If you have nothing else to do, we will take our leave. We will come with the box to pick up the memorial tomorrow morning." Zhao Zhu said again.
Chen Qiyu nodded and said, "That's great."
After Zhao Zhu left, Chen Qiyu's expression grew serious. He said, "Now I think we should give it a try, test the court's attitude, and see if this newly appointed Tongzhengshi has the courage to do it."
"What do you mean, sir?" Li Fang asked with some confusion.
"I don't want to use a secret memorial to impeach the Henan prefect anymore. I want to find someone else." Chen Qiyu reached out and took the blank memorial, saying, "Besides the Henan prefect, there is another major threat in Luoyang."
Li Fang stared at Chen Qiyu with wide eyes, smiled bitterly and said, "Why would you be so?"
Chen Qiyu glanced at him and said with a smile, "Since we're going to do it, why not do it on a larger scale? Let's submit a petition together and see what the court will do."
"You're not trying to see what the court will do, you're trying to see what His Majesty will do."
This is a test for His Majesty, Li Fang complained in his heart.
He knew that he had no way to change his family's minds.
You have to know that my master has disliked that person since the first day he took office. At this point, my master is determined to do this, and I guess I can't stop him.
"Let me grind it for you, sir." Li Fang's voice was calm.
"I thought you would persuade me..." Chen Qiyu looked at him and reached out to pick up the brush, saying with a smile.
"I know I can't persuade you, sir, so I'll just give up," Li Fang said. "But you're creating a problem for His Majesty, and it's very likely that people in the court will exploit it."
"If that happens, the secret petition system might be abolished. His Majesty might then bear a grudge against you, and not only would your position be over, you might even be punished."
"Then let's give it a try," Chen Qiyu said nonchalantly. "If it succeeds, it will benefit future generations and the present. If it fails, I'll just be dismissed and go home."
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