Chapter 246 Locking the City
The Governor's Palace Hall.
The whole place was filled with golden and festive decorations, but the atmosphere in the hall was so dull and quiet that it seemed like a funeral.
The officials who attended the unveiling ceremony stood densely in six or seven rows in the hall. Almost everyone had a wooden face, and those close to Zhou Ruqing in the front row looked as if they had lost their parents.
It is estimated that if Zhou Ruqing rolled his eyes and died at this time, there would be no need for everyone to change their expressions and they would just carry him to the funeral.
Looking up further, the Governor and the Pacifier, two third-rank officials, were sitting on Zhou Ruqing's left and right like two generals, their faces gloomier than the other.
This posture...
Could it be that 'there are no good people in Hongtong County'?
Then the newly established Zhili Province is really going to be "annihilated"!
Sun Shaozong was mixed in the crowd, imagining the scene of the three high-ranking officials falling to the ground, when he suddenly heard a rustling sound of armor leaves colliding outside.
Then the captain of the Governor-General's personal guard came in with a sword drawn, came to the front of the crowd, bowed and said, "Your Excellency, I have sent the Korean delegation to the annex for resettlement."
Then he stepped forward and whispered something to Zhou Ruqing.
After listening to his whisper, Zhou Ruqing remained silent for a while, then waved his hand, signaling the captain of the personal guards to retreat.
After the captain of the guards received the order and left the hall, Zhou Ruqing stood up and paced back and forth behind the desk. He looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle and said quietly, "As the saying goes, the clear will be clear and the turbid will be turbid! I believe that I have lived up to the emperor's grace and the people's kindness. Even if more dirty water is thrown on my head, it will not ruin my good reputation in this life!"
Hehe~
If the innocent were truly innocent, why would you have been so excited just now?
Not only were the lion dance troupe arrested, but many of the people watching nearby were also arrested. It was clear that the country was in disarray.
Just as Sun Shaozong was feeling disdainful, Zhou Ruqing suddenly turned around, staring at the officials standing in the hall with scorching eyes, and gnashed his teeth and said, "But no matter what happened today, I must get to the bottom of it!"
"This is not for my personal reputation, but for the face of our Great Zhou!"
As he spoke, he pointed outwards with his hair and beard trembling as he said, "That scoundrel was so brazen as to slander an important official of the imperial court in front of a foreign envoy. If he is not arrested and brought to justice as a warning to others, and his absurd remarks are spread to friendly countries, I will suffer some injustice, but how can we save the reputation of the Great Zhou Dynasty?!"
What a good way of avoiding the truth!
It was obvious that he was furious after the couplet exposed his corruption, but now he keeps saying it as if he had to investigate in order to avoid "surprising friendly countries."
Fortunately, although the Great Zhou Dynasty is a little weak at the moment, it is still far from the point of being defeated by "my Great Qingguo", otherwise, wouldn't it just use foreign powers to bully others?
However, as the saying goes, success or failure is due to foreign countries. Now that he is using the "surprise of friendly countries" as an excuse, the imperial court will naturally investigate the case thoroughly in the future because of the "surprise of friendly countries."
"check!"
At this moment, Zhang Yao, the Chief Justice, slammed the table and said murderously: "This matter must be investigated thoroughly! No matter who is involved, I will never show mercy!"
Ding~
Your superior, Censor Zhang Yao, has now joined the 'annihilation of the entire family bucket'.
If this book had a 'system', it would probably give Sun Shaozong such a prompt in his mind.
Judging from the ferocious look of this Censor with veins exposed, Sun Shaozong would never believe that Zhou Ruqing's corruption case had nothing to do with him.
"good!"
Seeing Zhang Yao's statement, Zhou Ruqing immediately continued his double act: "With Lord Zhang's words, I feel relieved."
Then he solemnly announced: "In order to prevent those scoundrels from taking advantage of the chaos to escape from the city, I have just ordered people to block the city gates and docks. From now on, no one is allowed to leave Tianjin without my permission!"
Want to lock down the city?
Now Sun Shaozong couldn't just stand by and watch coldly anymore. Although he didn't think the news could be blocked for long, there were less than ten days left until his stepbrother's wedding. How could he, as a brother, continue to delay in Tianjin?
Furthermore, although Qiu Yunfei is not inferior to Wei Ruolan in terms of background, his official position is only a low-ranking inspector. He will inevitably be at a disadvantage after a long period of stalemate.
If Wei Ruolan was really killed as an example to warn the monkeys, wouldn't all of Sun Shaozong's plans have helped him? !
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong no longer cared too much and asked loudly in the crowd: "May I ask, Your Excellency, how many days will the Jinmen be closed? Can we leave early?"
Hearing this, Zhou Ruqing's face darkened even more. He put his hands behind his back and asked sinisterly, "Who was talking just now?"
With just this question, a circle suddenly formed in front and behind Sun Shaozong, and his colleagues avoided him as if he were the plague god.
Sun Shaozong was quite calm, and said with a folded hand: "I am your humble servant, Sun Shaozong, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture."
"It turned out to be Sun Zhizhong."
After seeing clearly that it was Sun Shaozong, Zhou Ruqing's expression softened slightly.
Firstly, Sun Shaozong also had the identity of "Captain of the Dragon Guards" and was a new official in the emperor's favor. He was not like those local officials who could be manipulated by him at will.
Secondly, while Shuntian Prefecture was relatively independent, it had fewer conflicts of interest with the Zhili Governor-General's Office, and the two sides had hardly ever dealt with each other, so Sun Shaozong's suspicion of being behind the scenes was the least among those present.
Therefore, when Zhou Ruqing saw that it was him who was asking the question, he softened his tone a little and said, "This matter is of great importance. I'm afraid I will have to inconvenience Lord Sun for a few days."
"Reporting to the governor."
Sun Shaozong would not back down easily, and bowed slightly and said, "My elder brother is scheduled to get married on the 18th of this month, and I am really anxious to return to Beijing..."
"Sun Zhizhong!"
When Zhang Yao, the provincial governor, heard this, he could not help but scold: "You and I are both appointed officials of the imperial court. How can we sacrifice personal interests for the sake of public service?"
"Mr. Neitai."
Sun Shaozong raised his head fearlessly and looked at him: "If it is really an official matter, I will certainly fight to the death - but the city is locked down now only to prevent the scoundrel who secretly makes trouble from escaping!"
"Could it be that Lord Zhang is suspecting that Sun has some connection with that rat?"
"If this is true, please ask the magistrate to start the investigation with Sun first - but after Sun is proven innocent, please ask the magistrate to let Sun return to Beijing in advance!"
"You are really..."
Since Zhang Yao was promoted to the position of Chief Justice, had he ever been contradicted like this by a fifth-rank official?
He was immediately so angry that he made a fuss.
"Master Zhang!"
Zhang Yao was about to argue with Sun Shaozong, but Zhou Ruqing stepped out to stop him, and said to Sun Shaozong in a friendly manner: "In fact, I don't want to let Sun Zhizhong go, not for any other reason, but to use Sun Zhizhong's ability to solve cases like a god to arrest that villain as soon as possible."
Then he raised his voice and said, "Come here, quickly draft an official document for me to temporarily transfer Sun Zhizhong from Shuntian Prefecture to the province to work with the Criminal Investigation Department to solve this case!"
After someone below took the order and left, Zhou Ruqing asked Sun Shaozong again: "How is it, should we now consider it as serious business?"
After a pause, he smiled and said, "In fact, Sun Zhizhong doesn't need to be too anxious. I believe that with Lord Zhang and you working together, we will be able to get to the bottom of this matter in less than three to five days. By then, it won't be too late for Sun Zhizhong to rush back to the capital."
What a cunning old thief!
No wonder he could become the supreme ruler of a province, he really has the ability to call a horse a zebra!
Although he knew that they were afraid that he would pass the news back to the capital, and not that they really wanted to use him to investigate the case, Sun Shaozong could only obey the order respectfully.
That's all~
The Korean envoys are in the city, and the Jinmen Prefecture is now like being placed under a microscope. They cannot hide it for a few days even if they want to.
Let’s see what tricks these corrupt officials can come up with before the imperial court can react!
