Chapter 94: The First Day of Ruling the Ninth Hall of the Imperial Court
Juren Street.
In the scorching summer, tea stalls are erected on both sides of the street.
At this moment, a group of ferocious-looking men in brocade clothes occupied a tea stall.
Everyone around them retreated, fearing that they would be cursed by these "death kings".
Hou Renmeng placed the scabbard on the table. The knife in his hand reflected the glow in the sunlight and he was wiping it with a handkerchief.
"Boss, if the target resists arrest, do we really have to take him by force?" asked an officer.
Hou Ren, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, had a defiant look and his eyes narrowed into crow's feet.
"What else?"
The attendant who had been driven out of the Peony Hall with him, biting his teeth, said:
"I just feel like I'm dreaming. We're going to arrest more than a dozen people today alone.
The first one is the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Literature, a sixth-rank official in the capital. The key is that he is a member of the Li Party and has a lot of support behind him. Are you sure you are not mistaken?"
Hou Renmeng grinned and said:
"Speaking of backers, our new Chief Justice's backer is a saint. Who has a bigger backer than a saint?
Don’t talk nonsense to me. Don’t I know what kind of people you guys are?
"Have you ever been lenient in arresting people? What mess would you not dare to expose? Or have you become as timid as a mouse after being imprisoned in Lihua Hall for half a year?"
A group of followers laughed.
There are far more than five troublemakers in Lihua Hall, and even more of their followers are not easy to deal with.
People who don’t know much about it think that Lihuatang is the most useless hall, but the truth is quite the opposite.
Anyone who can become a troublemaker but is not kicked out and is only sent to the "cold palace" must have some real ability, right?
This group of people is just a group of Monkey Kings. Without the Monkey King leading them, they are insignificant.
But when Zhao Duan gave the order, this group of unruly officers burst out with courage and ruthlessness that the weaklings in other gangs could not match.
"Stop talking nonsense, people are coming."
Hou Ren suddenly stood up, walked to the center of the long street with his arms folded, and saw a carriage coming from the front.
After a while, the carriage was forced to stop. The clerk lifted the curtain and saw a middle-aged man sitting inside. He frowned and said:
"Why are you in the way?"
But then I saw several men in brocade clothes laughing and surrounding the car from the left and right.
Without saying a word, he rained down punches and kicks, beating the close follower of the Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Literature so hard that he wailed and ran away in fear.
"Stop it!" The official with a shocking background was furious and shouted harshly.
However, when he saw the other person's brocade clothes, he felt some instinctive fear.
"Sir, Zhao Jisi of Lihua Hall invites you to come with us." The marquis grinned and shook out the arrest warrant.
"What crime have I committed? You..." The official tried to struggle.
Hou Ren suddenly turned his wrist and the knife in his hand whizzed out!
With a "whoosh" sound of breaking through the air, it was thrown straight into the carriage with a "dunk".
He nailed the official's black hat to the carriage, right at his scalp, and the handle of the knife was still shaking!
"ah!!"
The middle-aged official was so frightened that he fell to the ground. The people watching from a distance scattered and shouted "Murder!"
The marquis dragged the sixth-rank official out like a dead dog, threw him to the ground, spat out a mouthful of phlegm, and tilted his head, saying:
"Tie him up."
Then he took the torn paper from his arms:
"Next."
…
…
The other side.
Old man Zheng pulled the reins, steadily controlled the wild horse under him, and looked up at the seven yamen of the Ministry of Rites across the street.
Beside him, all the followers dismounted and waited for Old Man Zheng to come down, and immediately handed him the big teacup that he never let go of.
"Zheng Jishi, are we going to wait here?" an attendant asked.
"Wait until noon to disperse the value, and then catch it, so as to minimize the impact."
Old man Zheng took the large teapot, took a swig, and said with a smile:
"Time is tight and the task is heavy, so I won't wait any longer."
Seeing that his followers hesitated to speak, he said:
"If you have anything to say, just say it."
The young follower transferred from another hall said in confusion:
"You're old, and almost retired. Why do you have to do this?"
He was assigned to be Old Man Zheng's subordinate only after he entered Lihuatang.
In his impression, this old boss was always kind to others, which was very different from the stereotype of the King of Hell.
It's also a long time to spend in Lihua Hall.
No matter how you think about it, there's no need to create complications in the last year.
Before Old Man Zheng could say anything, another middle-aged man in fine clothes came over.
He smiled and patted his young colleague on the shoulder, saying:
"You're still too young. You've been in the Imperial Court for quite some time, and you haven't heard the story of 'Plum Blossom Old Nine'?"
Old Man Zheng smiled and said with emotion:
"Things have changed and people have changed."
There has never been a shortage of legends in the history of Zhaoya.
Meihua Laojiu was a famous figure in the imperial court thirty years ago.
He was born in "Meihuatang" and was called Laojiu because his name contained the character "jiu". He was bold and careful, had great abilities, and had solved many major cases.
He was once promoted to Meihuatang's Chief Inspector, and was also the youngest Chief Inspector at that time.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to his youthful arrogance or the justice in his bones, Meihua Laojiu could not stand the behavior of another colleague, the police officer, during a house raid. He refused to go along with him and drew his sword in anger.
Later, facing the governor's request for him to reflect on his mistakes, he angrily took a knife into the governor's hall and chopped the plaque with the knife. He was demoted all the way to the lowest level of attendant.
He went through several twists and turns and was eventually deprived of the right to go out and handle cases.
He lost interest and seemed disappointed with the government, so he disappeared.
As a result, there was a new person in the yamen, Zheng Laojiu, who spent all day drinking tea, reading newspapers, fiddling with wood carvings, and fooling around.
"Haha, I thought I would stay in this cold palace of Lihua Hall until retirement, but who would have thought that at the last minute I would meet a junior boss who is willing to give me, Old Zheng, the power to arrest people and handle cases."
Zheng Laojiu smiled with wrinkles all over his face:
"Then I have to go through some more trouble and take off this brocade robe, so that it can be considered complete."
He stuffed the large teapot into the arms of the young attendant, put his hands behind his back, crossed the long street and walked to the other side, muttering:
"Minister of Rites? I've heard he's not a good person. I never thought he'd end up in my hands one day."
Soon, the Jieshizhong Yamen was broken into.
Zheng Laojiu waved his hand, and the officers behind him rushed in like wolves and tigers.
Soon, an official in a green robe was tied up and dragged out.
"Next."
…
…
For a whole day, the Jinyi Guards of Lihuatang went everywhere and almost ran to all the major government offices in the capital.
Whenever there was any obstruction, they would beat them with fists and kicks, smashing their scabbards hard, and beat the group of civil servants until they cried for their parents, and then they would tie the target up and drag him out.
The process of sending people to the imperial prison never stopped.
As a result, everyone in the yamen was alarmed.
I was confused and thought that some shocking case had occurred in the court, which led to the collective arrest of so many officials involved.
By evening, the vacant cells in the imperial prison were almost full.
The four captains, exhausted but faintly excited, led their followers back to the Pear Blossom Hall to exchange their gains.
"Sir, all fifty-eight people on the list have been apprehended and are ready for your interrogation at any time."
Qian Kerou walked to the main seat, closed her eyes and rested, as if beside Zhao Duan who was asleep, and reported in a low voice.
Zhao Duan, who seemed to have slept for a day but was actually immersed in "visualization" and had been trekking in the desert with Emperor Taizu for a day, opened his eyes.
He saw his subordinates standing by the long table, looking at him eagerly.
Outside the lobby, the afterglow of the setting sun shines on the big pear tree.
The green pears seemed to be coated with warm light, as if they were ripe.
"I understand." Zhao Duan said.
He was so nonchalant, as if he didn't think that arresting fifty-eight court officials in one go was anything to be surprised about.
Qian Kerou asked:
"So, will you be holding an interrogation tonight?"
"Interrogation?" Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows. "Why interrogation?"
…
…
Just when the entire capital was in turmoil due to Zhao Duan's big move.
Inside the Peony Hall, in the meeting room.
The law enforcement officers from the eight branches gathered here. They all came here spontaneously to discuss the matter after learning about the actions of the Lihua Hall.
At this moment, the eight people were scattered on both sides of the long table.
One of them spoke first:
"I'm sure you've all heard about what Zhao Duan did today. A total of 58 officials, spread across various government offices, were thrown into the imperial prison on suspicion of colluding with the rebels and cooperating with the investigation.
The prison is already overcrowded... The officials will surely be in an uproar by tomorrow morning at the latest... What on earth does this Zhao guy want to do?"
After he finished speaking, the Pomegranate Hall Master, Tie Chiguan, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, sneered and said:
"That Zhao guy is crazy trying to steal the credit. He sent someone to me this morning to demand the case, constantly claiming he was owed a debt. I scolded them and sent them away. Then at noon, he started arresting people. Isn't his intention obvious? He's just trying to get the credit?"
He was a stocky and burly man, with bulging muscles beneath his official robes and a beard as thick as steel needles.
His hands were covered with calluses, and the twisted blue veins almost broke through the skin.
beside.
Haitang, who was sitting opposite him in the first position on the lower right, said disdainfully:
"Can you use your brain? Do you really think that Zhao Duan is a scoundrel? He wouldn't be aware of the consequences of such a large-scale manhunt?"
She has a slender figure, a heroic appearance, an oval face, thin lips, a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, and long hair tied into a ponytail at the back of her head.
Tied around his waist was a weapon bag made of soft cowhide, filled with throwing knives.
At this moment, as the "Narcissus Hall Master", she frowned and analyzed:
"It's true that Zhao wants to take credit for something, but I don't think he'd do it without a purpose."
Tie Chi Guan retorted:
"So? Do you really think he has evidence of these fifty-eight people colluding with the rebels? That's simply wishful thinking."
The other police officers also joined in the discussion, and everyone expressed their own opinions and made different guesses.
All in all, I am full of confusion about Zhao Duan's confusing behavior.
"Quiet."
After a while, there was a knock on the table. Everyone fell silent and looked towards the seat at the head.
He is also recognized as the number one, the Mudantang Jisi, the first person under the governor, and the "King of Scrolls" Zhang Han.
Zhang Han was about thirty or forty years old, with an imposing appearance, fair skin, and rarely smiled.
At this moment, he attracted everyone's attention and spoke slowly:
"Have you investigated the commonalities among the 58 people arrested?
As far as I know, it's a coincidence that these fifty-eight people all wrote a letter impeaching Zhao Duan some time ago in the case of Zhuang Xiaocheng's escape, requesting his execution as a warning to others."
(End of this chapter)
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