xymnovel Chapter 78: Upgrading the Investigation Level
Chapter 78: Upgrading the Investigation Level
In the Yanying Hall, two ministers approached and bowed deeply.
"Minister of War Li Deyu, concurrently Chancellor of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, and Prefect of Jingzhao, Xue Yuanshang, pay their respects to Your Majesty."
"Rise."
Li Ang waved his hand, then instructed the eunuchs to offer the two seats, saying...
"I have heard about the matter concerning the Jingzhao Prefecture. I have already dismissed Xue Jiling from his post as Commandant of the Shence Army and ordered him to guard the Eastern Capital Palace. The imperial edict will be issued soon. Regarding this case, I would like to ask what your plans are next?"
The removal of Xue Jiling may have seemed effortless, but it was actually the result of a very meticulous plan.
First, Li Deyu promoted Xue Yuanshang, the prefect of Jingzhao who dared to confront the Shence Army head-on.
Subsequently, he sent people to protect those people to file a complaint with the Jingzhao Prefecture. Moreover, in the complaint, he deliberately concealed the identities of these people as family members of the fallen soldiers of the Shence Army.
Under various misleading circumstances, Xue Jiling misjudged the situation and failed to carefully examine the hidden details of the case. He regarded it only as a test of the Shence Army's judicial power by court officials, and thus responded with such a high-profile and flamboyant approach.
Ultimately, they were able to subdue a powerful Shence Lieutenant with a simple imperial edict.
So the next question is, should we stop here, or press our advantage?
The two had clearly discussed this issue before they arrived.
Li Deyu said, "Your Majesty, the palace eunuchs have controlled the Shence Army for many years, resulting in lax discipline and low combat effectiveness. The problems that have been exposed now are just the tip of the iceberg."
"Now that the court has decided to establish a special Shence Military Command, it should make a firm decision to rectify Shence and not stop making progress simply because of the dismissal of a mere Shence lieutenant."
Li Deyu's style has always been outspoken.
Especially after their conversation on that snowy night and the recent incident of dismissing the lieutenant, he saw even more hope in realizing his ambitions.
Therefore, he naturally did his utmost, hoping to seize the opportunity and completely reorganize the Shence Army in one fell swoop.
Upon hearing this, Li Ang stared intently at Li Deyu below, and after a long while, he spoke.
"This won't be easy. Are you confident?"
Li Deyu's expression was resolute, but his answer consisted of only eight simple words.
"To serve one's country is to be prepared to face death without hesitation."
Beside him, Xue Yuanshang, with the same resolute expression, said.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to eradicate the deep-seated problems of the court."
Seeing that both of them were so determined, Li Ang's expression slowly became solemn.
"Since you are so determined, then investigate thoroughly and rigorously. In addition to the Eastern Depot, I will send Liu Hongyi and Yang Qinyi to assist you."
"Minister Li, you will personally participate in the trial, representing the Secretariat and the Chancellery to supervise the proceedings. You will also bring in personnel from the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice to participate in the joint trial. You must investigate thoroughly and completely uncover all the issues related to private lending within the military."
"During the investigation, I grant you two permission to enter the palace at any time. If you need to obtain an imperial decree to arrest someone, you may present your case to me at any time."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two men immediately sensed the emperor's determination, and they bowed again with their hands clasped.
"Your Majesty, we will certainly live up to your expectations."
…………
Outside Yanying Hall, the sky had cleared up.
Xue Yuanshang came out early, but he did not leave immediately. Instead, he waited in place until Li Deyu appeared in the hall a moment later. Then he stepped forward and bowed.
"My lord..."
Li Deyu looked rather thoughtful at this moment. When he saw Xue Yuanshang come forward, he nodded and said.
"Come back to the State Affairs Hall with me."
So the two said no more and returned together to Li Deyu's official residence in the State Affairs Hall.
After having two cups of tea served and everyone seated, Xue Yuanshang asked a question.
"My lord, although His Majesty has issued a decree regarding this case, there are still some things that I don't understand. I would like to ask my esteemed teacher for clarification."
With no outsiders present, Xue Yuanshang's form of address became more intimate and casual.
In his early years, he studied the classics under Li Deyu, and the two had a true master-disciple relationship.
It was precisely for this reason that Li Deyu dared to entrust such an important matter to Xue Yuanshang.
Li Deyu picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then smiled.
"You want to ask why the sage would cause such a commotion and involve so many people, is that right?"
Xue Yuanshang nodded and said, "Yes, although this case involves many people, it is not difficult to investigate with the capabilities of the Jingzhao Prefecture. As long as the Emperor and my mentor support us, I am confident that we can investigate it thoroughly."
"Now that so many people have been involved, the students are worried that they will be hampered by various parties, which will affect the investigation."
Upon hearing this, Li Deyu shook his head, his smile slowly fading, and said.
"You're still too young. You're only thinking about how to handle the case and lack a broader perspective."
Xue Yuanshang was somewhat puzzled.
Therefore, Li Deyu simply stated directly: "The sage is doing this precisely to hinder us!"
"Huh?" Xue Yuanshang was taken aback, clearly not expecting this answer: "Master, why is that?"
Seeing this, Li Deyu pondered for a moment and did not answer immediately, but instead asked a question instead.
"Yuan Shang, you've been specializing in criminal cases for many years, and you've been involved in this case from beginning to end. So, based on your experience, how much impact do you think the private lending cases implicated in this case will have?"
Xue Yuanshang frowned in thought.
During this time, he had been investigating the case.
Although the Eastern Depot did not provide him with completely detailed information as it would have when he was sent to the palace.
However, Xue Yuanshang's own investigation, coupled with the information obtained from the Eastern Depot, yielded considerable results.
"Based on the information we have so far, there are already more than a dozen cases involving the families of Shence Army soldiers who died in battle being pursued and extorted for money. There are a large number of loan sharks involved, basically in every army. It's no exaggeration to say that it's rampant."
"In some generals' camps, there are even eunuchs like Zhang Chongwen who are specifically responsible for lending and debt collection. This shows that this practice has become commonplace in the Shence Army, so..."
Xue Yuanshang wasn't stupid; once he got to the point, he realized what was going on.
"Does my mentor mean that this case involves too many people, so it can't be thoroughly investigated?"
Li Deyu nodded, his expression somewhat helpless.
"Private lending within the military has a long history, and almost all officers and soldiers in the Shence Army have been involved. If a thorough investigation is to be conducted, it would probably require a massive purge of the entire army."
"This level of turmoil is beyond the current capacity of the court to withstand. Moreover, the Shence Army has been arrogant for a long time. Since they dare to kill people in the street, you, the Prefect of Jingzhao, may not be taken seriously by some people."
"If you really provoke them, they might be capable of things like assassinating someone in the street."
"Therefore, if we want to investigate this case, we need to involve enough people of high rank. Only in this way can we suppress those arrogant military officers and make them wary so that they dare not act recklessly."
Xue Yuanshang remained silent for a while.
After a moment, he sighed softly and said.
"Then, Master, does this mean this case can only be raised high and then gently dismissed? If so, why should we insist on continuing the investigation before the Sage today?"