Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 114

Chapter 114 The Show Begins
Time flew like a flash, and another month passed in the blink of an eye. It was already late autumn, and it had been more than two months since Qin Mubai and the others had set off from Chang’an.

In the past month or so, Qin Mubai basically didn’t care about the case anymore, and instead helped Li Ke with his work of relieving the disaster and comforting the people. As winter was approaching, the supplies needed for the victims to survive the winter had to be prepared in advance. There were quite a few people in two or three counties. Everything from civilian to military matters needed Li Ke to decide. Because of this period of time, Li Ke had obviously lost weight. The little belly that he had been fattening and idling in the palace had disappeared. Although he looked a little haggard, he looked even more lean.

After spending more than a month together, Qin Mubai had a deeper understanding of Li Ke. Previously, Li Ke gave him a general feeling that he was shrewd, forceful, shrewd, and mature. After more than a month of busy work, Qin Mubai saw Li Ke’s pragmatic and down-to-earth side.

Qin Mubai had never imagined that a prince who had lived in the capital since childhood and had grown up in the imperial palace would be so knowledgeable about the affairs of the local prefectures and counties. He was also familiar with all sorts of things and did not have the slightest bit of unfamiliarity. Right now, he had his own account of the money and grain armor in every warehouse in Jiangzhou. He knew exactly which entrance to the dike needed reinforcement and which place the victims lacked a few cold clothes and winter mattresses. In addition, he could memorize all the officials and even the commoners that he had met before, and he could not be mistaken. Qin Mubai was amazed at how powerful his memory was.

Moreover, the arrogant Li Ke did not only know how to command. He would even kiss the dam to carry wood and soil to reinforce the flood prevention, and would take off his shoes and go down to the flooded fields to inspect the damaged crops with the victims to determine the losses. If he was too busy or missed an hour, he would lie on the ground and sleep like a commoner, eating the dry rations of ordinary soldiers and commoners to satisfy his hunger.

Perhaps it was out of show or sincerity that he wanted to do something. In short, the current Li Ke had changed. He was no longer the Prince of Peace who used to be idle in the palace. All the officials and civilians in Jiangzhou praised him for his diligence, pragmatism, and devotion to serving the people.

In just two short months, Li Ke had gained a lot of people in Jiangzhou and gained a good reputation.

What Qin Mubai did the most was to direct the soldiers to do their jobs. In fact, they were the real main force in disaster relief. Ordinary peasant workers were hard to organize, and most of them had suffered a disaster at home, so it was not good to forcefully recruit them. The difficulty and cost of recruiting private labourers from other places are also greater. Thus, Qin Mubai became a foreman. Chief Li Ke decided to make the decision and was busy with the show. Qin Mubai was the real “project manager”. His nearly 10,000 soldiers were assigned to help the victims rebuild their houses and deliver money, rations, supplies, and so on.

During these two months, Qin Mubai was really busy. It’s busier than ever in Baiji. From getting up in the morning to closing his eyes at night, it was almost impossible for him to sit down and drink a glass of water. Often, he would eat on horseback. Two or three disaster-stricken counties, big or small, were hundreds of kilometers in radius. In the morning in County A, in County B at night, and in County C at dawn the next day, this kind of thing was very common.

In general, Qin Mubai had learned a few things in the past two months. Local prefectures and counties were different from the imperial palaces. There are more people here. It was easy to disperse when there were too many people, and the team was not easy to lead. It was much harder to do things now than when Baiji gave the order not to dare to do anything.

Especially in times of disaster, people instinctively want to live, often become more emotional, sensitive and even violent. Often, the people of the two villages quarreled because of the uneven relief provided by the imperial court, and the victims swung their hoes to clash with each other. In the past two months, Qin Mubai had brought people to suppress and appease this type of conflict more than ten times, and there were many bloody conflicts among them. He had also captured a group of people, but most of them were put back after consoling and persuading them. After all, they were all citizens of the Great Tang Empire. They had lost their homes and properties after the disaster, and some of their families had even lost their lives. It was understandable how they felt.

Man-made disasters were often even more terrifying than natural disasters. No wonder the Emperor had to send troops during the disaster. This was because a popular uprising could occur at any time during a disaster!

While Li Ke and Qin Mubai were busy with these matters, Quan Wanji’s private investigation of the case was also very fast and concealed.

During his several conversations with him, Qin Mubai learned that Quan Wanji was almost 100% certain that the mastermind behind the Jiangzhou case was the Marquis of Shengnan, Zhang Tianci. From the embezzlement of the flood control funds allocated by the Imperial Court to the flood in Jishan City, the murder of Zhu Chengwen, the forcible removal of property from the victims, and the purchase of Chen Mi at a low price to disguise himself as military rations for disaster relief … all of this was done by Zhang Tianci and his group.

The culprits were naturally Jiang Zhou Governor Cheng Songnian, Jiang Zhou Prefecture Commandant Ma Kun, and Jishan County Commandant Liao Lirong. As Qin Mubai had expected, the suicide note was forged by Liao Lirong under Cheng Songnian’s instructions, imitating the handwriting of his boss and Zhu Chengwen, his “best friend”. Now, the most important witness, Liao Lirong, had already confessed. Moreover, Qin Mubai had coincidentally set up a name to publicize that he had been sent to the capital to urge the Imperial Court to distribute disaster relief money. In fact, Baiji had already taken down the witness and secretly tightly controlled and protected him.

Now, all the evidence was conclusive. As long as the Emperor ordered the Imperial Stage and the Dali Temple to approve the documents and send people over, they could arrest Marquis Shengnan’s group at any time.

With the investigation of the case to this extent, it was basically clear that it was time for the final showdown. Quan Wanji went to Qin Mubai to discuss how to deal with this last crucial step.

Qin Mubai thought for a long time and said, “Mr. Quan, I thought that we would have to put on two big shows now.”

“How do you play it?” Quan Wanji asked.

“The first big show was used to confuse the audible and deceive ordinary people.” Qin Mubai said, “Right now, I have no choice but to wronge Mr. Quan and His Highness Prince King Wu. You may as well find an excuse to quarrel. It’s best if the more people know about it, the better. In this way, it will set the stage for the future.”

Quan Wanji knitted his brows and nodded after thinking for a moment, “That’s good. When the time comes, King Wu will conceal Marquis Shengnan’s case and not report it to the Emperor, but I will suddenly reveal this matter to the Emperor. With the conflict between me and King Wu as a foreshadowing, everything will look natural.”

“It’s just … I’m going to feel wronged, sir.” Qin Mubai sighed softly. “Teacher was originally very honest and straightforward, and his relationship with the Prince of Wu was even deeper. But now … I want you to openly resist the Prince of Wu. Rather than stiffen up and reveal your secrets, it would be akin to betrayal.”

“Haha! Successful people don’t stick to trivial matters!” Quan Wanji laughed unscrupulously and said, “What is a mere slander or false name? Being loyal to the victim and dying on the official festival is my duty as a subject. Not to mention being wronged, I, Quan Wanji, will not hesitate to let me lose this head for the sake of the emperor and the prince of Wu!”

“En … Alright.” Qin Mubai nodded solemnly and continued, “This second scene is for me to show to His Majesty the Emperor.” Before leaving, His Majesty the Emperor gave me the right to play in secret with Prince Wu. If you have any important opportunities or indecisiveness, report it to the Emperor for decision. I will ask Prince Wu to write a secret message to the Emperor, but I will only talk about the urgent need for money, the shortage of manpower, and the fact that the local officials refuse to obey my orders. In short, I will not talk about the case. I, on the other hand, will play the Emperor in secret and explain the case in detail. He also vaguely alluded to the prince of Wu, intentionally protecting the criminals with the intention of taking care of the nobles, and forbidding me from investigating Marquis Shengnan. In this way, we left a preconceived impression on the emperor. The Emperor would think that the Prince of Wu knew the truth, but because the Crown Prince was involved, he intentionally resisted the decree and stopped investigating. As for me, I was unhappy with Prince Wu and secretly complained to him. Afterwards, after the conflict between Mister and Prince Wu stiffened, he directly revealed this matter to the court to show that Prince Wu had betrayed his relatives because he wanted to protect the Crown Prince. “Mr. Quan, what do you think?”

“Very good! Alright!” Quan Wanji said these two words in a deep voice and chuckled, “These two strategies are enough to confuse everyone.” On the surface, because King Wu did not want to involve the Crown Prince, he would rather resist the decree and stir up trouble with the two of us, causing a rebellion. The emperor was bound to punish, but he was also bound to be secretly gratified in his heart. Moreover, your secret performance, my public impeachment, and the fact that the emperor knows about this case and publicizes it to the public, a criminal like Marquis Shengnan will definitely not escape justice! –It’s a wonderful thing to kill many birds with one stone! ”

“Actually, I have another intention.” Qin Mubai paused halfway and whispered, “What does the Emperor hate the most?” He hated that his subjects had colluded with each other to deceive him or set up a gang at Lashantou, where they could not insert needles into the water. Amongst the people sent by the Emperor this time, Wu Shang and I are the most important three. Therefore, we do not appear to be stubborn in front of the emperor, especially when we oppose the prince. The more convincing the emperor is, the more convincing he will be. This will make the emperor think that we are not following the orders of the prince and telling lies. If the three of us had spoken in unison, the Emperor would have suspected that we had already colluded. ”

“That makes sense!” Quan Wanji stroked his short beard and looked at Qin Mubai with shining eyes. He chuckled and said, “The afterlife is terrifying!” I never thought that General Qin, who is only twenty years old, would be so resourceful and understand people’s hearts. No wonder you were able to achieve Baiji, gain a foothold in the inner courtyard of the imperial palace, and obtain the emperor’s reuse and trust. So, you are actually so intelligent and clever. You are simply too intelligent and close to a demon! ”

“Sir, you’re ridiculously praising me!” Qin Mubai smiled bitterly. “I have been with the Emperor for a long time, so I have no choice but to learn to ponder more. Once I ponder more, I will become a little petty.”

“Why should I be too modest!” Quan Wanji’s expression suddenly changed. He pointed solemnly at Qin Mubai and said in a low voice, “You, you will definitely have boundless prospects in the future. I, I will never be wrong in judging people!”