Master From the King's Fort Chapter 6

The person sitting in the hall was Mou Bin, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Because he was upright, fair and just, and rarely involved in criminal cases, he was recommended by the eunuch Huai En and promoted from a thousand households to a deputy envoy of the Imperial Guard. Later, he was appreciated by Emperor Hongzhi and was promoted to the commander of the Imperial Guard.

During his tenure as the head of the Northern Pacification Office, confessions under torture were rare, and there were very few unjust, false and wrongful convictions.

In his early years, he once faced pressure from his relatives and cleared the name of Li Mengyang, then a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, and was praised by civil officials. As a result, as the emperor's lackey, his reputation was a rare "clear and bright".

This time, the emperor ordered the imperial guards to go north with the imperial inspectors to investigate the Ningxia garrison's lax defense and the timidity of the enemy. Unexpectedly, before the matter was resolved, another case was uncovered.

Mou Bin's cheeks were tense, and his brows were twisted into a "川" shape. The firelight reflected on his face, flickering, and the beasts on his brocade clothes also looked somewhat ferocious.

"Gu Qing."

"yes."

"Does the inspector know what you are talking about?"

"Reporting to the commander, the local garrison commander and the eunuchs in charge of the garrison colluded with each other to frame their own gang members and deceive their superiors and subordinates. I dare not be careless and will only bring the person who reported it to the capital for further questioning."

The Jinyiwei has both open and covert channels to gather intelligence.

Upon learning this, he did not inform his fellow censors.

Firstly, time was running out, and secondly, the local censor had not yet reported the situation to the emperor, so he did not dare to take the risk. If the censorate was implicated and the news was leaked, it would be very difficult for him.

When reporting, Gu Qing stood in the hall, raised his head slightly, with an upright posture, and his voice was slightly low, but not as cold as his appearance.

Mou Bin did not make a decision immediately, but tapped the table with his calloused fingers, one after another.

The captain in the hall held his breath and dared not move.

It is true that the commander is upright, but it is precisely because he is fair and impartial that he is feared by his subordinates.

During the period when Mou Bin was in charge of the Northern and Southern Pacification Office, his prestige and influence far exceeded that of his predecessor.

Even the East Factory, which was ordered to supervise the Imperial Guard, did not dare to challenge him easily. As for the East Factory Director, he was basically no different from a decoration. If he crossed the line, the emperor Hongzhi's companions would deal with him immediately without the need for the Imperial Guard to report.

The flames flickered and crackling sounds were heard from time to time.

After a long silence, Mou Bin finally asked, "Where are the people now?"

"Relocated to the Southern Pacification Office."

"Southern Pacification Division?"

"Yes." Gu Qing clasped his fists, his lips curled slightly, "This matter involves the whole prefecture, and the eunuchs and border garrisons are all involved. Before the matter is investigated, only the Southern Pacification Office can keep him."

The case involves border civil and military officials and garrison eunuchs. No matter whether they go to the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Court, once they are in prison, there is no hope of coming out unscathed. They will definitely die without any evidence.

No matter how clear the political system is, the thousand-year-old official system cannot be easily broken.

Even in the Hongzhi Dynasty, the links between the upper and lower levels, the mutual communication of information, and even the mutual protection of officials still existed from time to time. It was just that it was moved from the stage to the backstage, and the cabinet ministers turned a blind eye and rarely investigated it unless it caused trouble.

In the world of human relationships, there are always things that have to be done against your will.

Pulling up a radish brings out the mud; if you walk by the river often, who can really keep the corners of your robe clean and your shoes and socks clean?

This time, the Tartars attacked the border, and Ningxia and Xuanfu were successively plundered, and Lingzhou was besieged, which has not been lifted to this day. Later, the Tartars bypassed Juyongguan and went straight into Qinghe and other forts in Liaodong. The commander of the rear guard of Dingliao did not set up defenses, allowing the Tartars to come and go freely, and all the people, cattle and horses were taken away.

The news was reported to the court, and the emperor was so angry that he threw the memorial to the emperor, and the cabinet and the military department were all held accountable. For several consecutive days, the morning and afternoon court sessions were filled with dark clouds and thunder. Since the capture and killing of Wan Fei's followers, the emperor has never been so angry.

Not to mention that, Gu Qing actually reported that the civil and military officials on the border used the imperial court's orders to impose arbitrary labor on the people, causing hundreds of people to die, and embezzled government funds!

Knowing that Gu Qing had the evidence, Mou Bin's face darkened, his fingers suddenly stopped and clenched tightly in his palm.

"Tell me what you said in detail again." He paused and ordered the lieutenant to call the Northern Pacification Division's experience officer, saying, "Record it word for word, without a single mistake. I will personally report it to the emperor!"

"Commander, this matter is of the utmost importance and involves too many people. Please think twice."

The assistant commander in charge of the Southern Pacification Office did not care about the rebellion and spoke out to stop it.

"Commander, this is a serious matter, please think twice!"

"Think twice?" Mou Bin raised his hand to interrupt him, sneering, "No matter how big it is, can it be bigger than the border defense? Bigger than the grievances of the border soldiers and the people? Bigger than the stability of the border, bigger than the country and the people?!"

"Commander, your words are too serious. How could you..."

"Wouldn't it be possible?"

Mou Bin sneered again, pointed to a chair on the left, and said, "Please sit down and listen. This matter is up to me. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, I will take full responsibility!"

The commander dared not sit down, so he clasped his fists and bowed, then stepped aside. He did not even dare to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

From beginning to end, Gu Qing was not affected at all.

Unlike the imperial guards, Gu Qing was from the imperial guards, and his ancestors had been meritorious officials in the Jingnan Campaign. Later, he was convicted of the Tumu Incident, and his entire family was exiled to Juyongguan.

All the men of the Gu family started out as soldiers and made many military achievements but were not promoted. When Daizong and Yingzong died one after another, Xianzong and the current emperor pardoned many meritorious generals who became "scapegoats". The Gu family finally saw the light of day again, and because of the merits of their ancestors, they were granted the family house and the title again.

Gu's father retired due to injury, and both of Gu's sons are talented.

The eldest son, Gu Ding, joined the Jinwu Guard and is on duty in front of the palace. He has been a deputy officer so far. The second son, Gu Qing, joined the Jinyi Guard and is now a captain. If nothing unexpected happens, with his ability, he will surely be promoted to deputy commander. It is not impossible for him to take on the responsibility of a commander and hold the seals of the North and South Pacification Offices.

Since the Yongle Dynasty, most of the Jinyiwei commanders were from noble families. Grassroots people like Mou Bin were rare.

Gu Qing has already taken two of the three: status, ability and connections. The rest will only be demonstrated in the future.

Mou Bin has made up his mind and will not change it.

Gu Qing stood in the hall, looking straight ahead, speaking with a loud voice.

"The imperial court had previously issued an order to allow Zhending and Baoding to assist Shuntian Prefecture in sending 2,000 laborers. Xuanfu and Datong sent 2,500 laborers to build border forts and defenses. The laborers were given 1 tael and 4 qian of silver per month, and rice."

Seeing Mou Bin nod, he began to write quickly.

"The Ministry of Works sent a letter, saying that it is right to make the people's lives easier. If there are not enough laborers, the four places will be given additional laborers to replace the laborers for next year. If there are still not enough, the four places will be hired to provide laborers. The Ministry of Revenue will give the four places silver and hire laborers according to the number of laborers."

"The rules of conduct are not to be followed. It is forbidden to embezzle money, abuse servants, or cause them to flee. Violators will be punished severely!"

Gu Qing suddenly changed the subject and said, "However, I was ordered to go north. I encountered a report from border residents that the garrison commander of Xuanfu and the eunuchs in charge of the garrison embezzled silver and grain and abused the servants. In less than a month, more than a hundred people were killed or injured, and it almost caused a disaster for the people. After the incident, they did not make proper arrangements, but deceived their superiors and subordinates, colluded with the government office, and did not report it to the court."

Hearing this, Mou Bin clenched his fists, his eyes flashed with ferocity, as if he wanted to bite someone.

The commander who had spoken to stop them earlier turned pale, his legs trembling, and he wished time could go back.

"After investigation, it was found that the Yang family of Zhuolu, the Zhang family of Huailai, and the Xu family of Yanqing were all regular conscripts, and both the old and the young in the family suffered casualties. The Yan family of Zhuolu and the Lu family of Xinghe were also regular conscripts, but some of their family members served as officials in the court, and they bribed people up and down to escape the labor service. Some even assisted the tyrant in his cruelty, took advantage of their power to bully the people in the village, and made it impossible for the people in the border areas to escape."

After the last word fell, the whole room was silent. Except for the experiencer who was still writing, no one from the commander to the assistant, from the captain to the strongman, spoke.

This man-made disaster is so horrifying!

In less than a month, there were over a hundred casualties in just one prefecture. How many were there in the four places combined?

Even if the Tartars invade the border, the casualties will not be so great!

This was simply unimaginable during the Hongzhi period!

After stopping writing, Mou Bin personally stamped the official seal.

No one in the hall spoke yet. The commander looked pale and almost fell to the ground when Mou Bin glanced at him.

The third watch has passed and the fourth watch is about to come.

The lights in the Northern Pacification Office were brightly on. Everyone from the commander-in-chief down had stayed awake all night and kept their eyes open until dawn.

In Fulai Tower, Logan Yang had no dreams that night and had no idea what happened in Zhuolu County. He also had no idea that the Yan family had used evil again to kill sixteen people in the Yang family.

The feud between the two families is irreconcilable and will last a lifetime until death.

At dawn, after the servant helped Logan Yang wash and brush his teeth, he did not even have time to eat. Instead, he went out of the inn to find a fast-moving merchant, carrying the letter written by Logan Yang.

"Young man, are you looking for a fast foot?"

Seeing the boy's anxiety, the clerk said hurriedly, "My cousin is a fast runner in the city. He has a name in the government office and cannot be fake. He is going north with some merchants. If you trust him, I can make arrangements for him."

The clerk was overjoyed. Having met his uncle and having the shopkeeper as a guarantor, he immediately took out the money and the letter and stated his detailed address.

"The Yang family of Zhuolu County, Baoan Prefecture, you can find out by asking around. My son Silang is a successful candidate in the Jiazi imperial examination, and everyone in the county knows him."

The visitor agreed and left with the letter.

After the boy finished the task, he remembered that he was hungry and had to eat three steamed buns to feel half full. He drank a large bowl of noodle soup, wiped his mouth, and finally felt satisfied.

In the guest room, Logan Yang began to study hard behind closed doors as he had said before.

The palace examination does not test eight-legged essays, but only policy essays.

In terms of content, most of them are articles discussing the current political situation and offering suggestions. If you do it well, you will shine and win the emperor's favor. If you do it badly, you will have no hope of a career in the government.

"Fortunately it's not stereotyped."

Logan Yang took out Yang Xiaojuren's previous articles and read them carefully one by one.

In this palace examination, I just hope to pass safely. It is not advisable to do anything that will make a big splash, and I can't even think about it.

Li Chun, Ethan Cheng and others saw Logan Yang's hard work and praised him, but they couldn't help feeling a little ashamed. They immediately calmed down, went back to their rooms, picked up their writing brushes and concentrated on preparing for the palace examination.

The candidates who failed to pass the exam left one after another, while those who passed began to study hard. The waiters in the inn were extremely careful and did not dare to speak loudly when walking.

Little did they know that the cold wind had already started before the palace examination.

The court in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi was destined to be in turmoil.