Chapter 106: The Battle for Talent
"My lord, Lord Zhang has ordered me to take the robbers pretending to be from the Six Gates back to Yanling County for strict interrogation. We cannot let them ruin the reputation of the Six Gates." Yang Yun said quickly.
"This is a problem. Both adults want it. How can I give it to them? I can't just chop the person into two pieces and give one piece to each of them to take away?" Tang Wen said with a distressed look on his face.
"Sir, our people from Jiangzhou Prefecture arrived first. In this matter, there has to be a first come, first served order." Tie Wenjing said.
"What a joke! Lord Tie, we both welcomed the Lord into the camp at the same time. How can you say that your people arrived first?" Yang Yun sneered.
"Sir Yang, I order you to take your men away from Koh Samui immediately." Tie Wenjing said with a stern face.
"Master Tie, although you are the co-governor of Jiangzhou Prefecture, Jiangzhou Prefecture cannot control Yanling County.
What's more, I'm here to pick someone up on the orders of the prefect, Lord Zhang.
Is it possible that Lord Tie is higher than Lord Zhang?" Yang Yun said.
“Haha, I am following orders from Lord Yi Qin of Jiangzhou Prefecture.
Lord Zhang is the governor of a county, but only of the fourth rank.
But Lord Fu Yi is of the third rank. Does that mean he has to obey the orders of a fourth rank official?
Lord Yang, you are disrupting the rules of the officialdom. The court's laws do not allow you to cross them." Tie Wenjing said in a high-profile manner.
"Lord Fu Yi is half a rank higher than Lord Zhang, but Jiangzhou Prefecture has no control over Yanling County." Yang Yun said with a stiff face.
"How dare you! Lord Qin is an earl and a noble of the Great Chu. Does Lord Zhang have a title?" Tie Wenjing said.
"The title is just an honor bestowed upon Lord Qin by the Chu royal family. It has nothing to do with power..."
…
Suddenly, the two of them started arguing with each other in Tang Wen's reception room.
Soon, there was another burst of hurried horse hoof sounds, and Mo Heizi, Chen Changkong and others came over aggressively.
Tang Wen pretended to be unaware and secretly told his men to just come in.
As soon as I entered the living room, I heard two people arguing fiercely.
"My lords! What are you concerned about?" Mo Heizi asked.
"Greetings, Deputy Director Mo." When Tie Wenjing and Yang Yun saw each other, they immediately saluted with fists.
You have to know that Mo Heizi is a third-rank official, the highest-ranking official here.
“Master Mo, I just arrested a few robbers pretending to be from the Six Gates, and both of you are here to arrest them.
However, I didn't know who to give it to, so the two of them started arguing.
Otherwise, Lord Mo, tell me, who should I give it to?" Tang Wen said.
"Leave it to me." Mo Heizi said.
"Haha, Lord Mo, this is pirates, so of course it's the business of my Jiangzhou Prefecture." Tie Wenjing said.
"Half of Koh Samui is under the jurisdiction of Yanling County, so of course it's Yanling County's business." Yang Yun said immediately, unwilling to be outdone.
"There is a robber pretending to be a disciple of the Six Gates. He is so bold and daring, and his crime is extremely heinous. Of course, we, the Six Gates, have to deal with him. There is no need for you two to fight, just take a break." Mo Heizi said.
"But..." Tie Wenjing wanted to argue, but Mo Heizi slammed the table in anger and roared fiercely, "What? Tie Wenjing, don't say you want to argue with me. Even if Qin Botong of yours came, you wouldn't dare to do it?"
"Well then, let's just say whatever Lord Mo says." Unable to defeat Mo Heizi, Tie Wenjing had to bow his head.
"Yang Yun, do you want to compete with me too?" Mo Heizi stared at Yang Yun aggressively again.
"Of course, Lord Mo has to take over." Yang Yun shrank his neck and nodded.
"Lord Tang, hand the man over to me immediately." Mo Heizi dealt with the two men and said to Tang Wen in a high-profile manner.
“Leave it to you, haha, I haven’t examined it clearly yet.
These three people are very stubborn and refuse to confess. Therefore, I have to slowly interrogate them and pry open their teeth even if they are made of iron.
Master Mo, I have been ambushed by them three times and almost lost my life.
If I can't figure it out, and it happens a few more times, there will always be a time when I won't be prepared and lose my head.
Therefore, I must find the pirates' lair and wipe them out in one fell swoop." Tang Wen said with gritted teeth.
"That's right. It's the first time I come here in person to pick someone up." Yang Yun nodded.
“Yes, the second time there were more, and I was also involved.
This group of pirates was extremely vicious and killed countless people.
If this problem is not solved, even the people of Jiangzhou Prefecture will be in unrest. Lord Yi of the prefecture has given instructions.
We must restore peace and order to Koh Samui, instead of living in fear every day." Tie Wenjing said.
"Lord Tang, what do you mean? Don't you believe in me?" Mo Heizi said with a stern face.
"It's not that I don't believe him. I will interrogate him for a while first, and then hand him over to Master Mo after I'm clear about the matter." Tang Wen said.
"How dare you! I order you to hand over the person immediately." Mo Heizi said arrogantly.
"I am a first-class earl and also serve as the deputy envoy of Jiangzhou militia. Does Lord Mo want to rob the pirates?" Tang Wen sneered with a straight face.
"Robbery, where did you get this word from?
Someone is impersonating Liushenmen, this is certainly a big case.
According to court laws, all major cases must be transferred to the Six Gates.
Lord Tang, are you going to defy the laws of the court?" Mo Heizi sneered.
"I was the one who caught the man, and he also attacked me. I'm not saying I won't hand him over, but I have to wait and interrogate him thoroughly before handing him over. In what way did I, Tang Wen, violate the laws of the court?" Tang Wen asked.
"Lord Tang, since Hall Master Mo is here, you should give Lord Mo a favor and hand the person over to him." Chen Changkong came out to smooth things over.
“Master Chen, it’s not that I don’t give you face, nor do I not give Master Mo face.
These bandits are so despicable. My life is at stake, so I have to be cautious.
So, please understand." Tang Wen said.
"How about, sir, we bring the man up here so that you can interrogate him together?" Luo Yiwu suggested.
"Okay, to show that I, Tang Wen, have no selfish motives, bring the robbers up." Tang Wen shouted.
Soon, Wu Jingyi and three others were brought up.
"Master Mo, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding." Wu Jing saw Mo Heizi and shouted hurriedly.
"Why are you three here?" Mo Heizi asked in surprise.
"We heard that pirates were attacking Koh Samui, so we came up secretly to investigate.
We revealed our identities at the beginning, but Lord Tang didn't believe it.
In the end, he was arrested by Lord Tang as a robber.
They beat us like this, Hall Master Mo, Tang Wen can't tell right from wrong, it's so abominable.
They knew we were from the Six Gates, but they still tortured us.
We were almost beaten to death, Lord Mo, you have to make the decision for us." Wu Jingyi said.
"We have already shown our badges. Tang Wen did it on purpose. We should arrest him immediately, interrogate him strictly and punish him." Zhan Biao shouted arrogantly.
"How dare you! How can you prove that you are from the Six Gates?" Luo Yiwu shouted.
"Didn't we show our badges?" Zhan Biao shouted.
"That's fake!" Tang Wen said.
"You're blind, how could that be fake?" Zhan Biao cursed.
"You are still not behaving yourself. Come here, beat him up!" Tang Wen said with a stern face, and Tian Hao and Qiao Xiao whipped him with whips.
However, with a move of his hand, the whip was grabbed by Mo Heizi.
"Lord Tang, I can testify that they are indeed from the Bloody Killing Branch of the Six Fans Hall in our province." Mo Heizi said.
"Even if they are from the Six Gates, they cannot attack my private residence. The laws of our Great Chu stipulate that if anyone breaks into a noble's private residence, the owner can be killed directly! Master Mo, is there such a rule?" Tang Wen asked.
"Indeed, they are here to investigate the pirates. This is just a misunderstanding. Jue, I think we should just forget about it." Mo Heizi's tone softened.
"He wants to let us go but he won't leave. They beat us. Lord Mo must punish Tang Wen." Zhan Biao shouted.
"If you put it that way, I really won't let you go. If Master Mo wants to rob you by force, I'll be ready to take action at any time." Tang Wen flicked his sleeves and said coldly.
