Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 170

Chapter 170 Shake the Government and the Public
At dawn, the news spread, causing an uproar in the city.

This is Beijing City. At the feet of Emperor, such a shocking thing happened to assassinate an official. Is this still the world of my Great Ming? Is there a king’s decree in this world?

Very quickly, the news spread into the palace, angering the Son of Heaven. Although it was only a small Daxing County Government, this was still a provocation to Chi Guoguo of the Great Ming Dynasty, and his actions were no different from plotting against him! Immediately, the current Orthodox Emperor issued a decree that the Si Yamen must strictly investigate and handle this matter, regardless of who was involved, all of them must be dealt with!

Afterwards, not only the Ministry of Justice, the Shuntian Prefecture, the Military Horse Division, and other relevant yamen moved, even the Brocade Guards and Dongchang people began to search the city for suspects, vowing to capture those bold fanatics.

Lu Zhen, Lin Lie, and the others were even summoned by the Ministry of Justice to personally inquire about the incident and its origin. Even the servants of the county government were called to interrogate one by one to make sure that there were no thieves among them.

However, Lu Zhen was indifferent to the fierce reaction of the Imperial Court, because he could see that although their actions were very big, when they really touched the core of the problem, they would often go around. Obviously, they were worried that they would get involved too much and cause big trouble.

On the other hand, it was the people and the Yan officials that caused quite a stir. The latter had even sent hundreds of memorials in succession, explaining the disadvantages of the capital. He asked the Son of Heaven to strictly enforce the law and make it clear that he would take care of all those who had committed crimes. Because of this, the Five Cities Military Horse Division and other relevant officials suffered a lot of impeachment, and it seemed that some of the adults would lose their official position because of this.

As for the people, there were even more explanations. Many people spread the so-called inside story of the assassination after their spare time. They all said it with their noses and eyes, as if he was watching from the side. For example, there were some who said how brave County Magistrate Lu was to fight the assassin three hundred rounds back then, and some who explained the origin of the assassins, saying that they were spies from the north. Because County Magistrate Lu had once been an official in the Northern Lands and had won battles against the defending city, that was why these Dazi chased after him … There were so many different things.

To Jiang Xiangzhou, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice who was sitting opposite Lu Zhen, the reason for this was that, as the folk spread, it was Tartars who had infiltrated the capital to retaliate against Lu Zhen. It was better than what Lu Zhen had said now, so that the responsibility on his shoulders could be pushed out by more than half.

This was because what Lu Zhen was saying was that the murderer who had assassinated him this time was actually someone from the army, someone from the Ming army!

When he heard this, Jiang Xiangzhou was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, “County magistrate Lu, don’t talk nonsense without any evidence.” Indeed, since Lu Zhen did not capture any of the assassins, it was naturally difficult for him to casually draw shocking conclusions.

However, Lu Zhen remained unmoved. He only stared at the other party, “Lord Jiang, do you think Xiaoguan is casually biting? I don’t have the guts to speak like this. It’s really because of some evidence that I dare to make such an inference.”

“What is the basis?” Jiang Xiangzhou only felt a headache. He knew that this case was troublesome for him, but he didn’t want it to be so troublesome. Once the matter was linked to the army, it would be too difficult for him to investigate it clearly. Now that there were so many pairs of eyes staring at the case inside and outside the Imperial Court, how could he deal with it?

Lu Zhen pretended not to see his opponent’s annoyed expression and said honestly, “There is a lot of evidence. First, according to what my subordinates said, the three assassins were very tacit in their actions when they assassinated. They used martial arts techniques that were mostly used in the army. The combined attacks of the three of them were extremely powerful, but they were not something the Jianghu people could do.”

Jiang Xiangzhou frowned. “Can’t it be done by people who have been in the army and come out again? Furthermore, it’s just one side of the story. It’s probably hard to believe it, right? Also, if those three assassins are really as county magistrate Lu said, then … your subordinates in the county government can actually protect you with one versus three?”

“My subordinate is also a retired soldier. He was brave and skilled in battle on the battlefield, so he was naturally strong enough to fight them. Furthermore, he had already alerted the people staying in the county government and the patrolling officers and soldiers outside. That’s why they were unable to succeed.” Lu Zhen immediately explained, “As for Lord, it’s not impossible for you to consider that the other party was only in the army, but … how should those arrows explain it?”

“As far as XiaGuan know, this kind of arrow in the capital only in the army, or some generals related to the army will be able to take out the hand, in addition, even shun the heavenly manor or military forces with the bow arrow is also very different. Moreover, the arrow power that could easily pierce through the door and still be blocked by one’s personality was something that a powerful bow could emit. There weren’t many that could be taken out in the capital, and the army was one of them.

“In the end, Lord Arrow must have seen the arrows left behind on the scene. Although the markings have been purposely cut off, as long as you compare them with the arrows used in our capital army, you will know their origins. Does Lord Jiang think that Xiaoguan’s deduction is still reasonable?”

Jiang Xiangzhou did not expect this county magistrate Lu to have such a meticulous deduction. Moreover, he did not show the slightest intention of retreating when facing this Shangguan who was several levels older than him. He did not know how to respond for a moment. After a while, he bitterly smiled and said, “County Magistrate Lu, you don’t look like the person who was assassinated right now. You look like the person who investigated this case.”

“Xiaoguan is just discussing matters on the basis of facts. If there is any rudeness, please forgive me, my lord.” Lu Zhen hurriedly cupped his hands.

“Forget it, I can naturally understand your thoughts, but if this matter really involves the army, then it will be difficult to handle.” Jiang Xiangzhou did not conceal his worries and said softly, “We are on a different path from the civil and military. Furthermore, we have not been able to obtain any substantial evidence or witnesses. There are not enough clues. Can we go to the three camps to inquire about them one by one?”

Lu Zhen nodded his head in understanding, “Xiaguan understands. But since the matter has already become serious, Sir, if you want to give an explanation to the higher-ups, you have to act like it.”

Assistant Minister Jiang was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lu Zhen, as if he had thought of something. Then he asked, “Then this official would like to ask, what happened to Tang Qianchuan who was killed by the assassins in the county government? Why did he appear there? Did those assassins come because of this?”

‘”I dare not hide it from you. This matter is very likely as you expected. I invited him to the county government because I wanted to investigate the case sent by Lang Zhong Li from the Ministry of Justice regarding the death of Feng Changchun, the former boss of the Spring Gathering Pavilion. However, before I could get anything out of him, something like this happened.”

Hearing Lu Zhen’s words, Jiang Xiangzhou’s brows furrowed even deeper, and the ravines on his forehead were as if they had been chopped out by a knife. As an existence second only to the Minister of Justice, he naturally knew that there was something strange about this case. However, after learning of the Shun Tian Manor’s reaction, he decided to turn a blind eye to this.

The life and death of an ordinary citizen involved some hidden power. Even the Shun Tian Manor had to follow his instructions, so why should he step forward? However, he didn’t expect that someone below would ignore the trouble behind this case and send it back to Daxing County, causing such a big commotion.

Now, whenever he remembered that Li Gu was the doctor who did this, and that he did it mostly to get revenge for Lu Zhen’s previous actions, Jiang Shilang only hated him to the point of itching his teeth. However, in front of Lu Zhen, it wasn’t easy to get angry, so he could only indifferently say, “In this way, this case really can’t be investigated?”

“I guess so, because even the person who might know the truth was killed in the end.” Lu Zhen said with a regretful expression. But then he said, “However, if we can find out the identities of those assassins, then the case may have a chance to change.”

“Oh, but since these two cases are related, then county magistrate Lu, you don’t need to interfere in this matter anymore. Leave it all to our Ministry of Justice.” Jiang Xiangzhou said decisively. He didn’t dare to leave this matter to Lu Zhen anymore. Otherwise, God knows how much trouble he would cause.

Lu Zhen did not insist. He immediately nodded and agreed, “When Xiaoguan returns, he will arrange the files and send them back to the Ministry of Justice’s yamen. However … Lang Zhong Li’s place …”

“This official has his own words. He still wants to hear what a maid like me says.” Jiang Xiangzhou immediately replied.

Lu Zhen nodded. Since everything had been said, it was not good for him to stay here any longer, so he cupped his hands and left. Assistant Minister Jiang only returned the bow, but he did not move. He still sat in his seat and fell into deep thought. Obviously, this assassination case was also a very difficult matter for him. He had to think about how to eliminate its influence as soon as possible and give the Imperial Court an explanation.

When Lu Zhen left the Ministry of Justice, he saw Lin Lie standing upright. He had apparently dealt with the interrogation earlier, but he had been waiting at the door, waiting for Lu Zhen to return with him. Seeing this, Lu Zhen’s heart unconsciously warmed and a smile appeared on his face, “I told you to wait. Also, it was all thanks to you last night …”

“Your Excellency is too serious. This is my duty.” Lin Lie bowed. Afterwards, his gaze swept around again, apparently on guard against anyone who might harm Lu Zhen.

“Don’t worry, they won’t dare to attack again this time.” Lu Zhen smiled when he saw his intentions.

Lin Lie replied before following behind Lu Zhen. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, “My lord, have you reported Uncle Guang Ning’s matter to the Ministry of Justice? Why haven’t they reacted at all?”

“No.” Lu Zhen said softly, “And at the latest, the day after tomorrow, I have to return that case to the Criminal Department.”

“Ah? How … how could this be?”

“This is officialdom. Sometimes benefits are more important than truth.” “So, we only have one or two days left!” Lu Zhen laughed.