Chapter 439 Acting in accordance with the law
After Captain Mace was woken up, he looked at the thick stack of physical evidence and the witnesses on the ground with an indescribable expression.
"What have we been fighting for these past few days?" Captain Mays, who had also been working tirelessly for days to track down clues, had a little doubt in his life.
They put in so much energy and determination, almost turning the entire city of Lars upside down, but still couldn't find any evidence, and then someone slammed it in their faces... Captain Mace and Agent Stanford both felt very sad.
No matter how painful it was, the case had to be continued , so the makeshift partnership immediately gathered their own people and interrogated witnesses and obtained confessions overnight.
The night watchmen on Captain Mays
The original members of the Lars City Security Department had all run away on the day the Skeleton Ship entered the port - after all, it was a serious case involving the collective disappearance of the Night Watchmen, and it was impossible for them to know nothing about it. Regardless of whether they were involved or not, the original members of the Security Department would definitely not dare to take the blame.
The current Lars City Security Department, except for Agent Stanford who is temporarily serving as deputy director and in charge of the city's security work, all other security officers are temporarily recruited local private detectives, militiamen, and retired mercenaries.
Most of the members of the local security departments also come from these three sources... For example, in smaller towns, the security departments do not have detectives directly, and only militiamen serve as security guards, who are responsible for catching street thieves, stopping fights, and evacuating residents when there is danger.
These security guards who volunteered to apply had a rough idea of the environment in the area ruled by the Undead regime. Between the upper echelons of Lars City who all fled with their buckets, and the newly-incorporated Undead regime, they chose the latter without hesitation. They were enthusiastic and capable of doing things, but they certainly could not be said to have much awareness.
They interrogated more than a dozen suspects and witnesses who were frightened by the ghost and honestly confessed their family assets. They made more than a dozen statements, and some security guards could not bear it.
"We've already chased those guys away and raided the City Lord's Mansion. Why are we still doing these useless things? It's really a hassle ."
A security guard who applied for the job four days ago and was a retired mercenary took the organized confession transcript back to the archives room. He did not rush back to continue interrogating the suspect. Instead, he stood in the corridor, grumbled while opening a cigarette box and handed it to his partner.
The security guard who was traveling with the retired mercenary turned out to be a militiaman in the city... The militia captain ran away with the sheriff, leaving all the soldiers behind.
Seeing that his companions seemed to be slacking off, he was too lazy to actively do the interrogation work which seemed to him equally meaningless. He naturally reached out to take a cigarette from the cigarette box, took out a match and lit it.
"Isn't it? Anyway, everyone knows that the place where the undead are the consuls will not let those nobles go."
Blowing out a smoke ring, the security guard, who was originally a local militia, leaned against the wall in a relaxed manner, biting a cigarette in his mouth, rubbing his sore arm and said, "In Lars City, who else but the nobles could do such a big thing as harming all the Night Watchmen? Who else could hide so many cultists in the city quietly? If we kill all those inhuman guys, Tachia will be peaceful. Why do we need to interrogate and collect confessions? It's really inexplicable."
The upper echelons of Lars City who were driven out were locals just like the two security guards, but the two security guards would never sympathize with their own kind - normal people with no IQ problems are unlikely to empathize with the exploiters who have been riding on their heads and doing evil for many years.
Not to mention that after applying to the Public Security Department, the first case they came into contact with was a shocking case in which the city's top leaders colluded with a cult and murdered locals and even night watchmen... The two security officers could only secretly hate that those bastards escaped too quickly and did not fall into the hands of the undead.
Detective Stanford, who had just come out of the sheriff's office after sorting out the physical evidence, saw two sheriffs hiding in the corner of the corridor and his eyes suddenly became sharp.
"Agent."
The two men were so frightened that they threw away their cigarettes and stood still before they could even utter a few words of complaint.
Agent Stanford glanced at the cigarettes on the ground and pointed at them: "It's such a waste to throw them away after only a few puffs. These are the fruits of the farmers' hard work."
Two security guards: "..."
The two of them squatted down silently to pick up the cigarette and held it in their hands awkwardly.
Agent Stanford took out his pipe and cigarette case, took a pinch of tobacco from the cigarette case and put it in his mouth. He said, "Don't be nervous. It's normal to need tobacco to stay up late. Just remember to go back to work as soon as you finish smoking."
The two newly recruited local security guards secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the detective brought by Adler was easy to talk to and not as old-fashioned as he looked...
"But what you just said is not right." Agent Stanford said seriously, "What we are doing is not some inexplicable and boring thing, but a serious matter within the scope of our authority and responsibility."
Two security guards: “???”
"First of all, we don't necessarily target all nobles. We only target those who have monopolized a large amount of social wealth and land resources, violated the Rhine Constitution, violated local laws and regulations, and are suspected of committing crimes." Agent Stanford said seriously, "Nobles who have no bad records, have never violated the law, have never maliciously monopolized a large amount of social wealth, and have never evaded taxes are all legal citizens, whether in Innadri, Adler, or now Lars."
The two security guards looked confused.
Agent Stanford was still very serious and said in a serious tone: "Whether it is the fugitive nobles from Lars or the nobles from other places in Tachia, if we want to hold them accountable and judge their crimes, we must have solid evidence. Otherwise, wouldn't we be the ones who violated the Rhine Constitution?"
The most important and core policy goal of the undead regime is to eliminate the exploitative class that gets something for nothing and redistribute social resources so that everyone can benefit.
But this annihilation cannot be just brutal physical annihilation...that would be no different from the king of the mountain taking turns to be the banker.
Bringing the privileged class under the scope of laws and regulations and implementing the Constitution that everyone is equal before the law is the best way to gain recognition from everyone inside and outside the system and to stabilize people's hearts. (Although this will also lead to the rise of legal gangs and the proliferation of the Dafa Party...)
Individuals or groups who act according to rules and regulations will always gain more public trust than individuals or groups who act according to their mood, likes and dislikes, hierarchy, or closeness or distance.
Public trust is the foundation of a regime's rule. For example, on Earth, it is common for politicians to break their promises and deceive voters. If it were not for the existence of "peace (he) makes (weapons) (weapons)", the Civil War, the Eastern and Western Wars, the State Independence Wars, etc. would have started long ago.
Agent Stanford joined the Magic Matrix because he strongly agreed with the legal philosophy of the undead regime - to act in accordance with the rules and regulations, to enforce the law strictly and to punish violations of the law, and no one should be above the Constitution. This is something the agent could not agree with more.
During the time when the Ezekiel family ruled Adler Territory, whenever Agent Stanford was investigating a case, the housekeeper of one family would come to say hello, and the relatives of that family would come to intercede, which almost annoyed him to death. If Yang Qiuteng had not immediately taken action against Adler Territory, and if it had been delayed for another year or two, Agent Stanford might have resigned and gone to join his old friend Monk.
The two security guards looked at each other.
Agent Stanford's rigid style made the two newly appointed security guards feel powerless to complain, but they had to say... what this serious and old-fashioned agent said did make a lot of sense.
It is also very powerful, every word is full of power.
Even though they were just ordinary people, their blood started to boil after hearing this.
If a citizen of Lars stole property worth more than one gold coin, he would be sentenced to more than three months in prison; the nobles seized countless land wealth by trickery and without paying any price.
Commoners who could not afford the poll tax of a few silver coins would be dragged into hard labor; however, nobles whose families had hundreds of people and countless wealth could pay less tax or even no tax.
This is an implicit rule that is accepted by default, and as a commoner, there is no way for us to say a word against it, as commoners, we have no choice - but if we had a choice, it would be strange if commoners were willing to accept this outrageous and shameless reality!
"I'm sorry for my previous remarks. I was too ignorant and short-sighted." The security guard, who was originally a militiaman, apologized in a proper manner.
"I also... I also said stupid things. Please forgive my rudeness, agent." The security guard, who was originally a retired mercenary, said shyly.
"It's okay. You just haven't received systematic training , so your level of knowledge is not high enough." Agent Stanford took a calm puff of his pipe. "Wait for Mr. Yang to arrange for the Undead Archon to come. The Undead Sage who teaches us civil servants will also come. By then, you will understand the truth after a few night classes."
The undead regime's external literacy education is usually taught by indigenous people with a certain level of education (clerks, operators); the education of internal civil servants and cadres is taught by veteran cadres from the national team - even Lao Geng and Master Liu, who serve as online GMs, come to guest lecture from time to time.
The lectures of these retired cadres are of extremely high value... Even Agent Stanford, who is seriously biased towards criminal investigation and is only interested in case handling and law enforcement, attends every class.
The two security guards nodded respectfully and went back to work in high spirits - it was just two more nights of hard work, no big deal!
Agent Stanford was very satisfied with the high morale of his two interns. He put away his pipe and continued to do his own job... He and Captain Mace had to quickly compile a convincing case summary so that Captain Mace could send it to the Holy Land of the Gold Coin Church as soon as possible - Mr. Yang was about to lead the undead to attack Creek City, the capital of Tachia, and they had to get an excuse for war that the Gold Coin Church could accept as soon as possible!
The undead regime extends its tentacles to the territory of Taqia and the entire Rhineland. The thoughts of the Rhine royal family are not important. What is important is the attitude of the Gold Coin Church.
There is no need for the Gold Coin Church to express support. As long as it acquiesces or simply lets it do nothing, it will be beneficial to Yang Qiu and his undead regime.
Agent Stanford, who was in charge of the case, had a strong ability to take action. Captain Mace had already vaguely sat on the side of the undead, and there were a large number of players who were on duty around the clock and could be sent out to run errands and arrest people and collect evidence anytime and anywhere. Forty-eight hours later, a "Summary of the Murder of the Night Watchman in Lars City" with detailed evidence, irrefutable proof, and a complete logical chain was sent from Lars City to the Holy Land of the Gold Coin Church.
Six hours later, the "Summary", delivered expedited by the Bounty Hunters' Association's Flying Eagles, arrived at the holy land of the Gold Coin Church, an independent territory in the central part of the Eastern Kingdom.
Two hours later, the current Pope of the Church of the Golden Coin and six cardinals in the Holy Land circulated the "Summary" in the main hall of the Senate.
The last cardinal who participated in the meeting in the main hall finished reading the "Summary" and closed it in silence.
The Pope, who was in the main seat, put down his teacup, glanced at the six cardinals with different expressions, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, what do you think of this matter?"
