Chapter 1812: Chapter 1797: The Downfall of All the High Ministers
Inside the Palace of the Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom, the Monarch Guo Zhang was exhausted.
Throughout the day, first there was a banquet for Chief Steward Mao, followed by a confrontation and conflict with Ye Zhen, and upon returning, there was a discussion of affairs with Chief Steward Mao.
After Chief Steward Mao gave him a calming pill, Guo Zhang set up another banquet to host Chief Steward Mao.
At usual banquets, he as the monarch was the main character, indulging in pleasures at will.
But today, for these two banquets, although nominally the main character was still him, the monarch of the Marquisate, in reality, it was Chief Steward Mao from Prince Huan’s Mansion.
He couldn’t lose the dignity of a monarch, yet he also had to compliment Chief Steward Mao appropriately and build a good rapport with him.
Moreover, at the banquet, he had to be extremely cautious, as inviting a eunuch such as Chief Steward Mao required careful attention to words, actions, and dishes.
For instance, his favorite dish, Three Whip Soup, couldn’t be served.
Serving Three Whip Soup to a eunuch would be asking for trouble.
Today, it all boiled down to one word—tired!
Not just tired, but under immense pressure!
"Your Majesty, why not visit the hot springs for a soak and relieve some fatigue—there are two newly arrived beauties in the palace," suggested the Chief Eunuch of Guo Zhang’s palace.
"Uh, well..." After all, women were the best choice to alleviate a man’s stress.
"Your Majesty, this way please..."
"Report!"
Before the Monarch Guo Zhang of the Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom could take a step, a frantic report startled him.
"Audacious, no manners, disturbing His Majesty, you should be..." Seeing the intruder was the Left Commander of the Imperial Guard, the Chief Eunuch wisely kept silent.
Monarch Guo Zhang’s expression changed; in his memory, his confidant, this Left Commander of the Imperial Guard, had never so directly stormed into the palace.
Could it be some earth-shattering event?
At this thought, Monarch Guo Zhang’s expression turned dramatically.
As the Left Commander of the Imperial Guard knelt, his voice rang out simultaneously, "Reporting to His Majesty, a grave event has occurred. The Deputy Envoy Liuu Feng of the West Patrol’s Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy is currently in the Royal City, arresting my kingdom’s officials in frenzy.
When I arrived, the Minister of Rites, Minister of Justice, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, the Left and Right Vice Ministers of Ministry of Justice, the Left Imperial Censor, and eleven other ministers had already been detained by that Liuu Feng."
"What?"
Guo Zhang’s expression turned ashen, "How dare Liuu Feng! What is he trying to do? By the way, is there any known cause?"
The Left Commander’s expression became somewhat strange, "Returning to His Majesty, though Liuu Feng is recklessly capturing my kingdom’s senior officials, each of them seemingly has concrete charges against them."
"Concrete charges?"
Monarch Guo Zhang’s complexion changed, immediately realizing something.
As the monarch, he wasn’t foolish; before the enfeoffment, he had served and interacted with the Heavenly Patrol Department, naturally understanding the reasons behind this.
Moreover, realizing this was Ye Zhen’s retaliatory tactic.
He and Chief Steward Mao had considered this earlier, but they had thought Ye Zhen just took over the Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom and didn’t have that capability.
But now...
"Concrete charges, what should be done?" After pondering, Monarch Guo Zhang quickly instructed, "Go, immediately summon the Prime Minister and Great General to the palace for urgent discussions."
"Yes, your servant obeys." The Chief Eunuch went to convey the decree swiftly.
The decree was delivered quickly, but the Chief Eunuch returned looking anxious.
"What happened?" Monarch Guo Zhang had a bad premonition.
"Returning to the King, after the servant transmitted the urgent decree via Jade Scroll, received a report from the Great General, he...."
"What happened to the Great General, speak quickly!" Monarch Guo Zhang pressed urgently.
"The Great General has just been detained by Deputy Envoy Liuu Feng of the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy on charges of privately possessing forbidden artifacts." The Chief Eunuch replied.
"What? Privately possessing forbidden artifacts? What exactly happened?" Guo Zhang questioned anxiously.
"According to the report from the Great General’s Mansion, the Heavenly Patrol Department’s men found twenty Flame Spirit Burst Demon Crossbows in the Great General’s mansion. Also, the Great General’s eldest son is rushing towards the palace to see the King."
"What...."
Even the Great General had been captured, Monarch Guo Zhang was somewhat alarmed, but with them being arrested by the Heavenly Patrol Department with charges, and evidence being found, it was impossible to get them released quickly.
"What about the Prime Minister?" Guo Zhang asked again.
"Returning to the King, the Prime Minister received the urgent decree and said he would hurry over, arriving within half a quarter-hour."
Upon hearing this, Monarch Guo Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.
The Prime Minister was the strategist of the Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom; once the Prime Minister arrived, they should be able to devise a solution after discussions.
The time of half a quarter-hour passed swiftly, Monarch Guo Zhang anxiously watched the palace gate, but did not see the Prime Minister of the Marquisate, becoming increasingly anxious.
After fifteen minutes, Guo Zhang couldn’t wait any longer and urged, "It’s been fifteen minutes, why hasn’t the Prime Minister arrived? Quickly, send some people to greet him."
However, shortly after the Chief Eunuch left, he returned to the palatial hall, stumbling along with a man dressed in a servant’s attire.
"Reporting to the King, a servant from the Prime Minister’s Mansion reports that Deputy Envoy Liuu Feng of the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy directly apprehended and took away the Prime Minister en route."
"What?"
This time, Monarch Guo Zhang entirely panicked, "Again, it’s Liuu Feng! But the Prime Minister is always upright, how could there be charges?"
The Chief Eunuch kicked the servant from the Prime Minister’s Mansion he brought, who then tremblingly replied, "Returning to the King, Liuu Feng charged the Prime Minister with enabling his son’s violence and abduction of civilian women, and detained the Prime Minister."
"Allowing his son to commit crimes...."
Upon hearing this, Guo Zhang, the Monarch of Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom, was stunned.
He didn’t believe the other charges fabricated against his kingdom’s Prime Minister, but he believed the charge of allowing his son to commit crimes, because although the Prime Minister was virtuous, his only son was truly unruly, once daring to flirt with the palace maids in his palace.
Then, in just an hour, waves of families from various mansions came to report the urgent news one after another, almost causing Guo Zhang’s head to explode.
He was also dumbfounded.
In the short period of two hours from evening until now, most of the important officials of his Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom had nearly been caught in one fell swoop.
It should be said not nearly, but truly caught in one fell swoop.
Looking at all the civil and military officials in the Royal City of Haiyuan, all twenty-seven black-robed high officials, except for the Left Commander of the Imperial Guard standing before him, had been captured by Liuu Feng.
Even this Left Commander of the Imperial Guard was extremely uneasy at this moment because his family came to report that Liuu Feng, the Deputy Envoy of the Heavenly Patrol Department Western Patrol Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy, had already issued a deadline submission ultimatum.
The charge was the trafficking of military goods through passes.
"This.... this.... the entire civil and military officials actually...."
With a face full of panic, the Monarch of Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom, Guo Zhang, sat down heavily on the jade steps.
Before, he had heard from his elders about how terrifying and imposing the Heavenly Patrol Department was, but it was just legends.
But today, he truly experienced it for himself.
Could it be that all the important officials of his kingdom have been caught?
Although many of the crimes presented by the Heavenly Patrol Department were not major, like the Prime Minister’s charge of allowing his son to commit crimes, which primarily punished the Prime Minister’s son, the Prime Minister himself was also implicated.
Moreover, before the judgment was concluded, the Prime Minister had to be continuously detained.
In other words, regardless of the severity of the charges, his Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom was about to be paralyzed for the foreseeable future.
More importantly, he, as the Monarch, could urgently promote some people to top positions overnight.
But the problem was, were the officials he promoted overnight any cleaner?
Guo Zhang had no such confidence.
But this matter couldn’t be delayed.
The officials of his Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom handle countless affairs each day, and once these officials are removed, chaos would ensue within half a day.
If the kingdom’s institutions remained paralyzed for more than a day, the resulting losses would be incalculable.
More critically, up until now, Liuu Feng, the Deputy Envoy of the Heavenly Patrol Department Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy, continued to capture people indiscriminately.
Moreover, the people being captured were all from key institutions.
Officials from the Commerce Tax Bureau, both main and deputy envoys, Sea Trade Office chiefs and deputies, the Commander of Haiyuan City Seaport, and so on.
Once these people were captured, within a day, or even half a day, Haiyuan City, serving as the eastern coastal border trade transfer center, would descend into chaos.
What left Guo Zhang most helpless was that some officials, even without any charges, were invited away by Liuu Feng.
The reason being to assist with the investigation.
As for how many days the assistance with the investigation would last, it was up to Liuu Feng to decide.
But regarding this situation, Guo Zhang had no means to deal with it.
Of course, Guo Zhang could appeal, could file a complaint.
But according to the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty, all matters of appeal and complaint by enfeoffed nations fall under the jurisdiction of the Grand Sect Leader’s Mansion.
The Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom falls under the jurisdiction of Zuo Zongling.
They must first appeal and complain to Zuo Zongling, then Zuo Zongling would handle and investigate the case, directly disposing of what he could, while matters beyond his capacity would be reported to Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long for decree enforcement.
Clearly, the Heavenly Patrol Department was beyond Zuo Zongling’s capacity to handle.
Once all procedures are exhausted, it takes ten days to half a month before an imperial decree can be issued; sometimes, after endless verbal debates, even half a year could go by.
And now, let alone half a year, even ten days to half a month would send his Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom into complete disarray.
Terrified!
This time, Guo Zhang, the Monarch of Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom, was truly frightened.
Only at this moment did he genuinely experience the terror of the Heavenly Patrol Department!
Why do all major enfeoffed nations behave like grandsons when encountering officers from the Heavenly Patrol Department?
Only now did he understand why the Prime Minister would gift a heavy gift of millions of High Grade Spiritual Stones to Xio Qiangu in the Western Patrol annually.
And also understand why the Prime Minister had always opposed his collaboration with Prince Huan’s Mansion, opposed his opposition to Ye Zhen, the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy of the Heavenly Patrol Department.
Ridiculously, he actually...
Guo Zhang truly regretted it at this moment.
However, Guo Zhang, the Monarch of Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom, was nonetheless a man of some insight and decision.
"Has Ye Zhen, the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy, not left yet?"
"Reporting to the Monarch, he hasn’t."
"Go, quickly invite Ye Zhen, the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy, and tell him I have prepared a banquet in the palace to wait...."
Before he could finish speaking, Guo Zhang shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Forget it, things have come to this, it’s better for me, the lonely monarch, to personally meet Ye, the Wind Patrol Envoy."
Guo Zhang, the Monarch of Marquis Haiyuan Kingdom, hurriedly left with a group, but hadn’t even stepped out of the palace when he ran into Chief Steward Mao from Prince Huan’s Mansion hurriedly arriving.
