The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 93: Mass Arrest! Lihua Hall Comes Out in Full Force
How to gain a foothold in the imperial court known as the "Hall of Yama"?

Zhao Duan killed the monkey to scare the chickens, and used the royal family members as a stepping stone to initially establish his authority in Lihua Hall.

But this residual power was obviously not enough to awed the other eight detectives.

Especially the ones at the top of the ranking, they didn't give any face at all.

Even if it is a more euphemistic way of speaking, the attitude it conveys is actually that word:

roll.

How could you spit out something you have swallowed just because of Zhao Duan's words?
"Sir, please don't be impulsive!"

When the four heard Zhao Duan's smiling words, they felt a chill down their spines. The newly appointed secretary Qian Kerou's heart rose in her chest and she said hurriedly.

I was afraid that my boss would get impulsive and go to the eight gangs with a knife to kill people.

This is very much like something Zhao Duan would do.

Zhao Duan glanced at the female secretary and said helplessly:
"Do I look like that kind of reckless person?"

The four of them said nothing, but the word "like" was written in their eyes.

Zhao Duan sighed. The world had misunderstood him too deeply. He thought for a moment and suddenly asked:
"Did the various police departments meet yesterday?"

Yesterday, Mo Chou stood up for him, making it clear that the empress is behind him.

Normally, for the sake of their own interests, the eight gangs would cut some meat and feed it to him, even if they were unwilling, in order to avoid offending others.

The first few halls have the confidence to refuse, but what about the last few?

Is there no one who is willing to make friends with him?
But today they all rejected it so tacitly and unanimously, which is unreasonable.

He suspected that the eight people had discussed the matter privately.

Qian Kerou shook her head: "Probably not. If there was a gathering, it was only the one convened by the governor."

Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows: "I didn't participate in the meeting, but I should have been notified."

Qian Kerou thought for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a piece of paper from the stack in her hand and said:
"Yes, the governor issued an official letter last night, saying that the evaluation of this quarter has begun, and the performance of each hall will be calculated at the end of the month, which will affect the allocation of funds."

It's not that she forgot, but she habitually felt that the document was not important.

After all, the assessment has nothing to do with Lihuatang...

Zhao Duan thought for a moment, then suddenly let out a breath, with a look of realization on his face:

"I understand."

The four of them looked at each other, what did they understand?

Zhao Duan was at a loss for words.

Ma Yan's introduction of the assessment at this point undoubtedly greatly accelerated the degree of internal competition in various halls.

Originally, they might have cut flesh and blood to give to Zhao Duan's gang, but in order to ensure their own evaluation results, they would hold on to the case in their hands tightly and not let go.

This is why the eight halls united as a front and sternly rejected the proposal.

But why did Ma Yan do this? The chief eunuch must have known that Zhao Duan entered Lihua Hall to help him solve his problems.

The two of them should be on the same side, so there is no reason to trick him.

"So there is only one truth, that is, my cheap senior brother was assisting from the side. He knew very well that even if he didn't push, the Eighth Hall could only give me some soup, which would be useless..."

"After the evaluation was pushed forward, the Eight Halls were forced to refuse to isolate me. On the surface, I was tricked. But on the other hand, when the Ewha Hall was collectively isolated and hostile, it would force the internal unity and generate centripetal force."

Zhao Duan summed up three experiences from his work in his previous life.

Q: How to resolve internal conflicts?

Answer: Rapid growth

Q: How to cover up internal conflicts?

A: Solve the problem
Question: How to transfer internal conflicts?

A: Build a powerful external enemy
"When the entire Lihua Hall is excluded and isolated, then this group of Jinyi will turn their hostility towards me into hostility towards the outside world, and thus regard me as 'one of their own', which can quickly improve the group's cohesion."

Zhao Duan admired that his cheap senior brother was an expert at shifting conflicts.

Of course, this method also has its drawbacks. Once Zhao Duan loses in this struggle, all his subordinates will be disappointed.

Loss of the possibility of building prestige.

But on the contrary, as long as he can win and break through the "sanctions" of the eight halls, he will be truly respected by his subordinates.

It’s easy to conquer a group of men, as long as you are strong enough to make them submit to you.

"Cheap Senior Brother, you really think highly of me. Aren't you worried that I won't be able to handle the pressure, won't be able to turn the tables, and will fail?"

Zhao Duan muttered in his heart, but his eyes were full of excitement.

"Sir, you should go see the governor and ask him to help transfer some cases from other gangs." Qian Kerou suggested.

Hou Ren folded his arms, curled his lips, and said:
"I think that if they don't give us face, then we don't have to give them face. It's simple and direct to knock on their doors one by one."

Are you looking for trouble? Do you think you're not dying fast enough?
Shen Juan stopped him and said with a playful smile:
"Don't listen to him, sir. I think that since the assessment is this month, the tasks will inevitably be redistributed after the assessment is over. We just need to wait."

Old man Zheng, who was short in stature and had half-white hair, said nothing and pretended to be invisible.

Zhao Duan had a blank expression on his face: "I have made a decision."

All of these methods worked, but he was not satisfied with any of them.

"Sir, you want to..." The four of them were suspicious.

Zhao Duan suddenly smiled and said:
"There's an even simpler way. We don't lack big cases, do we?"

He said slowly:
"For example...hunting down the rebels."

Rebel party?

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment; this was indeed a big case.

But the problem is that they have no clues at all.

Zhao Duan was too lazy to explain, but took out a small red-covered notebook from his pocket, threw it on the table, and said:

"Pass the order down, all members of Lihua Hall, I want you to arrest all the people recorded between pages 5 to 18 of this book within one day, and throw them into the imperial prison for investigation."

Qian Kerou picked it up in confusion and opened it. The other three craned their necks to look at it, and were shocked to see that the small book was filled with names written all over the government offices of Dayu.

The range mentioned by Zhao Duan are all officials below the fifth rank.

These were the names of officials he knew about, who had written letters to impeach him in the case of Zhuang Xiaocheng.

Yes, Zhao Duan wrote down in a small notebook the names of all the people who were clearly his enemies during this period.

A few of them were crossed out, such as Lu Liang and Pei Kaizhi.

But there are more.

Unfortunately, his authority as an officer of the police department only allowed him to sign arrest warrants for officials below the fifth rank.

For those above the fifth rank, the arrest warrant must be signed by Ma Yan himself.

But even so, the number of officials he requested to be arrested reached a horrifying fifty-eight.

"Sir...you are going to..."

Qian Kerou opened her mouth and her hands holding the small notebook trembled slightly.

The arrest of fifty-eight officials at one go was a major event that was enough to shock the entire court.

Crazy... Absolutely crazy...

"Sir, please don't tell us that these fifty-eight people are related to the rebels."

Shen Juan also stopped being nonchalant and became serious, which was unusual for him.

Zhao Duan's expression remained normal, and he said calmly:
"Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. Since I dare to order you to arrest someone, I must have a basis for it. Just do your job. If there is any trouble, I will take care of it alone."

Hou Ren suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked his superior in the face for the first time.

Even with his madness, he was shocked by the handwriting of his superior.

What followed was an indescribable excitement.

As the former troublemaker of Mudan Hall, his knife had been hidden in Lihua Hall for too long and was almost rusted.

Hearing this, his eyes flashed with ferocity:

"Seriously, sir? What if those people resist arrest?"

Zhao Duan said calmly:

"That's your business. I just want the person alive. If you can't bring him back, don't come back either."

Hou Renmeng laughed loudly, raised his hand and tore off five pages of paper, clasped his fists and said:
"I will do it right away! I will not fail you!"

After saying this, the dark and unruly man left with murderous intent.

"This..." Qian Kerou was confused, but she saw Shen Juan, who always worked hard, punched in on time, and never worked overtime, suddenly smiled and gently tore off five pages of paper:
"The master has given an order. How dare a subordinate disobey it?"

Having said that, he turned around and walked out of the hall, licking his lips lightly with the corner of his mouth, revealing a fierce edge that had never been seen before.

Qian Kerou was stunned, and suddenly realized that she seemed to have never really understood Shen Juan.

"Well... I'm an old man and half retired. I can't compare with the young people."

Old man Zheng, who was pretending to be invisible, suddenly smiled.

Qian Kerou was delighted, thinking that finally there was a normal person.

The next second, old man Zheng, who used to only drink tea and read newspapers in the yamen and liked to tinker with wood carvings alone in his spare time and was an excellent woodcarver, also came forward.

Gently tear off three pages and smile:

"But since you are so courageous, I, Old Zheng, can't spoil your fun, right?"

Qian Kerou's eyes were blank as she watched Old Man Zheng walk out of the hall and summon his attendant officers, who were wearing armor and holding sharp weapons.

She looked at the only piece of paper left, her expression changing.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, tore it off, held it in his hand, and muttered:

"Let's go crazy together..."

Then he ran out without saying anything.

Only Zhao Duan was left sitting alone in the lobby. He closed his eyes and began to doze off.

On the table in front of him lay a small notebook with fourteen pages of his name torn off.

As the wind blew, the names of Li Yanfu and Zhuang Xiaocheng were vaguely revealed on the first two pages of the notebook.

……

……

On this day, people in the imperial yamen were surprised to see a strange sight.

Suddenly, a large number of officials swarmed out of the Lihua Hall, which had been idle and peaceful in the past.

The four Jinyi captains each led a group of attendants, drew their swords and rode their horses, rushed out of the yamen with murderous intent, and rushed in different directions of the capital.

On a certain street.

The marquis rode on his horse, spurring his horse and waving the whip, parading through the city.

The team led by Shen Juan temporarily went the same way as him, and the two rode side by side.

The second generation with dark circles under his eyes suddenly used his energy to convey words into Hou Renmeng's ears:

"Old Hou, do you think Zhao can handle it? Will he just walk away and leave us to take the blame?

Fifty-eight officials were arrested in one go. Even though they were all minor officials below the fifth rank, it would be fatal if there was no explanation."

Hou Ren grasped the knife handle fiercely and glanced at him:
"If you're scared, then get lost and give me the list you got. I'm not afraid. Whatever Zhao says, I'll do. If he runs away, I'll chop him up with a knife, and then commit suicide."

Shen Juan rode away cursing, thinking that they were all a bunch of lunatics.

But, isn't it the same for me?
If you want to make a big fuss, then make a big fuss.

……

Today's 8,000 words

(End of this chapter)