General Lu raised an eyebrow and glanced at the group of pig-faced men, thinking to himself, "How could we not recognize them?"
He's the one who beat those pigs!
General Lu stared at them for a long time, until they were almost bowing their heads to the ground, before slowly saying, "I'm sorry, Prefect Ke, these people have their heads down, so I really can't tell them apart."
Upon hearing this, Prefect Ke understood immediately and pointed to the few constables beside him, saying, "You lot, tell these soldiers to raise their heads!"
He sneered, "Look at you all, with your heads hanging low. Where is the spirit of the Northern Desert Army?"
When Prefect Ke uttered those words, it was not only those few idiots who were severely offended, but also General Lu.
He glanced at the group of pig-headed men, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes!
Prefect Ke was absolutely right. Judging from the state of these soldiers, their bodies had long been hollowed out by wine and women.
If the Northern Barbarians were to invade now, let alone drive them out of the pass, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to defend the city!
The constables were no pushovers either. They understood the meaning behind Prefect Ke's words, grabbed the hair of these pig-headed men and forced them to raise their heads and face General Lu.
General Lu scanned each of the men's faces with his gaze, then said with a look of disgust, "Prefect Ke, from what you're saying, these men are soldiers from my Northern Desert Army, are they?"
He pointed at the group: "Those five, their faces are swollen like pigs' heads, do you think I could recognize them?"
"Furthermore, I have only been in charge of the Northern Desert Army for a little over a month. Even if their faces are not injured, I would most likely not recognize them."
"Is that so?" Prefect Ke sneered, slamming his hand on the table. "Does General Lu mean to deny that these people are soldiers of the Northern Desert Army?"
He grabbed the identification tag and shook it vigorously: "General Lu, you should take a good look at what these things are?"
"These were all found on them, General Lu, are you still denying it?"
“It doesn’t matter if General Lu doesn’t recognize them. Their identification tags clearly state who is in charge of them. General Lu might as well take them back and ask them properly.”
General Lu seemed to be angered by the series of questions posed by Prefect Ke. He turned around and pointed at the group of people, unable to speak for a long time.
But it was clear that Prefect Ke had no intention of letting these people go. He slammed his gavel down and said, "Now that their identities have been confirmed, General Lu, would you like to sit down to the side and listen to the interrogation?"
General Lu looked on in astonishment: "Hear a hearing? Hear what kind of hearing?"
He seemed to only then remember to ask why these men were kneeling there: "May I ask, Prefect Ke, what crime have these men committed?"
Prefect Ke pointed to the chair next to him and sneered, "General Lu, please sit down first."
General Lu pointed at Prefect Ke angrily and said, "You! Don't forget, these people are from our army. Even if they have committed a crime, it should be dealt with by our Northern Desert Army!"
Upon hearing General Lu's words, the men looked over and opened their mouths as if to say something, but could only utter "abba aba" sounds.
The group froze, their necks stiff as they stared at their companion, their eyes filled with fear.
What's going on?
They were beaten for no reason, and now they've even become mute?
After realizing what had happened, the group hurriedly looked at General Lu, scrambling forward to beg him to save them.
But as soon as they moved, Magistrate Ke slammed his gavel: "Guards, hold them down!"
The constables stepped forward and kicked each of them, stomping until the men fell to the ground with a thud, their chins hitting the ground. The stinging sensation made them instantly burst into tears and snot.
General Lu's eyes hurt from looking at it.
Those good-for-nothings, when we get back, we'll make an example of them all, give them fifty lashes first.
Those who survive will be thrown out of the Northern Desert Army; those who don't will be thrown into mass graves!
The crowd, which had been suppressed, finally quieted down. Prefect Ke then said with satisfaction, "You, the one who emptied the chamber pot, tell me, what exactly happened?"
The man who emptied the chamber pot quickly straightened his knees, slapping his thighs and crying out, "Prefect Ke! Your Honor! You must do justice for this humble subject! These people..."
He pointed a trembling finger at the group: "These people are utterly despicable!"
Prefect Ke slammed his gavel down impatiently: "Stop with the nonsense and get to the point!"
Dao Yexiang shrank his neck and nodded repeatedly, saying, "This humble one is about to get to the point! These men, they patronize prostitutes without paying!"
Upon hearing this, General Lu seemed stunned and suddenly stood up.
The chatter of the people outside the door exploded like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
Even though it was all an act, General Lu couldn't hide his anger at this moment. His fists were clenched so hard that he wished he could go up and beat them up again right now!
Prefect Ke slammed his gavel again: "Silence! Silence!"
He looked at the person emptying the chamber pot: "Tell me more details!"
The man who emptied the chamber pot seemed embarrassed and gave an awkward laugh: "As everyone knows, I'm just a chamber pot emptier. I'm poor and people look down on me. I'm so old and still not married."
"A couple of years ago, I simply adopted a child. Now that the child is about to start school, I can't afford the tuition, so I was thinking of finding something else to do. That's when the person in charge of the brothel approached me..."
General Lu suddenly looked at Prefect Ke, only to see Prefect Ke glance at him subtly, his meaning clear: we'll talk about this later.
He then looked away, and when he looked at the chamber pot again, his expression became much more serious.
"A brothel alley?" Prefect Ke narrowed his eyes. "If I remember correctly, the laws of the entire prefecture forbid the existence of prostitutes. I just recently cleaned up all the brothels in the prefecture. What exactly is this brothel alley?"
As he spoke, he slammed the gavel again, and everyone inside and outside the yamen fell silent.
The moment the words "brothel alley" were uttered, the five men trembled as if they were being shaken, cold sweat pouring down their faces, their breathing so heavy that it could be clearly heard outside the door.
Prostitution is not allowed in the entire state; that was a rule set by General Huo.
A soldier's will must be unwavering and cannot be influenced by the slightest external factors, especially alcohol, women, gambling, etc.
The issue of prostitutes actually existed long ago, but because General Huo was very strict in managing it, they had very little involvement with Huo's army.
However, since Bai Jiwu took office, the number of prostitutes has increased exponentially, which is not a good thing for the Northern Army.
Prefect Ke chose to bring this matter to light at this time in order to curb its momentum and to help General Lu restore the glory of the Northern Desert Army as soon as possible.
After the murmurs subsided, Prefect Ke looked at the person emptying the chamber pot with a serious expression and said, "You may continue."
The night soil collector shrank his neck and said, "I don't know anything about this brothel, but I think the owner behind it might be someone from the Northern Desert Army!"
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