Upon hearing this, Zhang Xin's expression changed drastically. He never expected the black-clad young man in front of him to be so direct, without any intention of concealing his thoughts.
"Lord Commander, please don't joke around," Zhang Xin forced himself to remain calm, looking at the black-clad young man, not believing a word of what he said.
Chen Chao remained seated behind the desk and said calmly, "This Commander doesn't like to tell jokes."
Staring at the serious young man before him, Zhang Xin desperately wanted to discern something from his eyes, at least to catch a glimpse that would make him believe the situation was not as as the young man claimed. However, there was nothing. The young man before him was extremely composed, showing no sign of jest.
Zhang Xin solemnly said, "This official is the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel of the Great Liang Dynasty, an official of the imperial court chosen by His Majesty the Emperor. Does Lord Commander intend to kill without questioning or a trial?" "How about the laws of Great Liang? Lord Commander should be aware! If Lord Commander ignores the laws of Great Liang, I'm afraid Lord Commander would have died long ago!"
He looked at Chen Chao with great seriousness.
He was referring to that old incident. Chen Chao came from Tianqing County to the Divine Capital because of the three words "Great Liang's law," which ultimately allowed him to survive. If it were not for those three words, Chen Chao would have died in Tianqing County long ago.
Since Chen Chao had once benefited from the laws of Great Liang, he should not disregard them now.
According to the laws of Great Liang, if a court-appointed official violated the laws, they must be examined by the Three Judicial Chief Ministries and ultimately reported to His Majesty the Emperor before being held accountable. If Chen Chao were to kill Zhang Xin now, it would be a disregard for the laws of Great Liang.
Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems that Lord Zhang is well-versed in the laws of Great Liang, knowing so much. But since you know so much about the laws of Great Liang, don't you know that it is clearly stated in the laws of Great Liang that if an official of Great Liang collaborates with the demon race or foreign cultivators to spy on the Great Liang's secrets, it is an act of treason punishable by the extermination of nine generations?!"
The term 'treason' immediately struck a nerve with Zhang Xin. His face turned pale, but he gritted his teeth and said, "What is Lord Commander talking about? This official knows nothing! This official only knows that even if I am guilty, Lord Commander shouldn't be the one to judge!"
"Moreover, this official has always been upright, loyal to the imperial court, and His Majesty! I would never do such a thing! Lord Commander, this is shameless slander!"
Zhang Xin took a deep breath, gaining confidence as he spoke.
Chen Chao had long anticipated this and said calmly, "Lord Zhang doesn't need to be so anxious. According to the laws of Great Liang, the Left Guard has the duty to defend the Divine Capital and also eliminate the Great Liang's traitors. This is also clearly stated in the laws of Great Liang. As long as it can be verified that Lord Zhang is a spy who colluded with foreign cultivators, killing you today wouldn't be a problem."
Chen Chao slowly stood up, looked at Zhang Xin, and said in a calm voice, "But Lord Zhang, as a meticulous person like you, I believe you wouldn't leave any evidence behind."
Zhang Xin responded coldly, "What is Lord Commander talking about? Why don't you listen to it yourself? Don't you find it amusing?"
Chen Chao smiled without saying a word. Then, he just struck the seemingly ordinary wooden table with his palm.
With a loud crash, the wooden table that had accompanied this assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel for many years collapsed into a pile of broken wood. However, his expression changed drastically in an instant, because amidst that pile of wood, there were numerous letters.
At this moment, they were falling like snowflakes.
Chen Chao did not bother to look, knowing full well the contents of those letters.
He turned his gaze back to Zhang Xin and said, "Now, Lord Zhang, is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Zhang Xin's face turned pale. He instinctively reached into his robes but failed to find what he was searching for.
A talisman appeared in Chen Chao hand at some unknown point in time, held between his fingertips. That seemingly weak talisman swayed slightly, a faint aura lingering on it.
Chen Chao spoke bluntly, "Right now, there are two paths in front of you. The first one is to tell me what you should have said. The second one is to follow this commander to the Left Guard. When the time comes, the Left Guard will surely have ways to make your life worse than death. I presume that since Lord Zhang is merely a scholar, your bones shouldn't be that tough."
"Oh, actually, this commander misspoke. Lord Zhang, you can't be considered just a scholar."
Chen Chao stared at Zhang Xin.
Regret had appeared in Zhang Xin's eyes, different from the previous regret. This time, his regret probably stemmed from thinking how much better it would be if he had never served as a spy.
Actually, it would not be too good either.
Zhang Xin recalled the first time he met the cultivator from the foreign lands. He genuinely felt the terror of death.
"What do you know?! If I didn't agree, he would kill me. Faced with such a choice, what can you do?!"
Zhang Xin spoke somewhat madly.
Chen Chao ignored him and just looked at him silently.
……
……
The heavy snowfall continued. A group of Left Guard officials flooded into the residence of the Ministry of Personnel's assistant minister. This surprised the guards of the mansion, but before they could react, the Left Guard's officials had firmly taken control of the entire mansion. Subsequently, they entered every major building and started to search the courtyard.
An old woman walked out of a house, leaning on a dragon-headed cane. Looking at the Left Guard officers who ignored her, she shouted hoarsely, "Do you all still follow the law?! Is there still justice?!"
Unfortunately, even though the old woman shouted with all her might, no one paid her any attention.
Chen Chao sat in the study, and Zhang Xin in front of him was already dead.
Although he really wanted to kill this traitor, he was well aware that keeping him alive had greater significance for them. Unfortunately, in the end, under Chen Chao's gaze, he bit down on the poison concealed in his teeth and died.
Sometimes, staying alive was harder than dying.
Weng Quan walked in, saw the corpse lying in front of the window, and asked with some confusion, "Did Your Excellency kill him?"
Chen Chao shook his head.
Weng Quan reacted and said, "That's a shame."
Chen Chao lamented, "This kind of spy, there's not just one, of course similar things are bound to happen again. There's nothing much to say about it."
Weng Quan nodded and said, "That makes sense, but by making such a big fuss, will we cause big trouble?"
Even if no major trouble was caused, with such great fanfare, would it not make other moles more vigilant?
He expressed some worry. The Left Guard's operation this time did not start with any secrecy. They immediately arrested a Ministry of Personnel's assistant minister, which was not a trivial matter.
Chen Chao knew what Weng Quan was thinking and said, "Destroy the evidence? Actually, it's not necessarily that easy."
He fell silent for a moment.
Then, he rubbed his face and casually said, "His Majesty isn't here, and the Lord Warden Commander is also absent. In the entire Divine Capital, who else can control the Left Guard?"
The prominent figures in the Divine Capital were naturally numerous, but currently, according to the laws of Great Liang, there were hardly any who could control the Left Guard.
Weng Quan furrowed his brow, thinking that although this was the case, how could it really be like this in practice?
Chen Chao looked at him, knowing what he was thinking, and said, "I initially thought we could let the Left Guard stay idle, wait for them to create a disturbance. But now that I think about it, the Left Guard's duty has always been to guard the Divine Capital. If the Divine Capital is in chaos, we still have to do something about it. Now, we also have no choice but to pick a side. Since that's the case, let's do something else. If we get busy, we naturally have a reason not to choose a side. Besides, catching spies is definitely within our responsibilities."
Weng Quan did not fully understand the meaning, but he nodded obediently.
Chen Chao waved his hand and said, "Let's move on to the next place."
……
……
When the entire Divine Capital was still immersed in the approaching year-end festive atmosphere, when those people were still waiting for the final storm, Chen Chao and his Left Guard had already taken the lead in stirring up a storm in the Divine Capital. They broke into the residences of high-ranking court officials, either taking away those officials, or rendering them never to speak again. In an instant, the Divine Capital was thrown into chaos.
His Majesty the Emperor announced seclusion, and as a result, the court sessions were naturally not held during this period. Court officials, aside from handling their respective offices, gathered outside the capital city to meet with the Premier.
Today, a lot of people guarded outside the duty room, and officials from various offices gathered here, clamoring to meet the Premier.
Faced with the Left Guard who bore down menacingly, these powerless scholars, scholars with guilty consciences, or scholars who were themselves spies, could no longer wait. They desperately hoped that the Premier would step forward in his capacity as the top political official to stop the actions of the Left Guard.
However, everyone was blocked outside the duty room, and the Premier did not meet anyone.
Inside the duty room, the Premier whose hair had long turned white, sat on a traditional wooden chair, listening to the noise outside. He calmly placed an iron kettle on the stove, then took out his cherished tea leaves from his pocket and poured them into a not-so-luxurious porcelain bowl.
Another thin and elderly man sitting beside him, also listened to the commotion, furrowing his brows slightly.
The old man's name was Du Qian, the current grand historian. Although his official position was not very high, his status was respected. After all, the historians of the Great Liang Dynasty had always been firm and unyielding, and had the most rigorous attitude in recording historical events.
Du Qian furrowed his brow and said, "That young man shouldn't have been entrusted with such a heavy responsibility at this young age. Now, with the Lord Warden Commander absent and His Majesty in seclusion, he has begun to act recklessly. Is he trying to shake the foundation of our Great Liang Dynasty?"
In his words, there was undisguised loathing for Chen Chao.
The Premier smiled and said, "Back then, at the Myriad Willow Convention, he won quite a bit of glory for our Great Liang Dynasty. He's also a young genius. Naturally, the Lord Warden Commander values him highly. With Song Lian transferred to the Northern Frontier, he assumed the position of commanding officer in the Left Guard. Although it may seem like fostering his growth prematurely, I believe the Lord Warden Commander had his reasons."
Du Qian snorted coldly, "The warden faction has never had much connection with the laws of Great Liang. This kind of thing shouldn't have happened when the country was first established!"
As a historian, Du Qian was well aware of the historical developments. If he were there at the time, he would have vehemently advised against the idea, urging the founding emperor to abandon such thoughts.
The Premier smiled faintly, not expressing agreement or disagreement. In the Great Liang Dynasty, he had few friends, and this one before him could be counted as one.
"Now, what can I do? Although I have the title of premier, I'm just the premier, I cannot represent the laws of Great Liang. The Left Guard can only be managed by His Majesty and the Warden's Office, but both are currently absent."
The Premier looked at Du Qian and said with a smile, "The reason they are anxious is because they also have something to hide and don't want anyone to investigate. That's why they want me to intervene."
Du Qian snorted coldly, "There might be many confessions obtained under duress. Their disregard for the laws of Great Liang won't work in the end!"
The Premier remained silent. He knew the temperament of this friend, who was notorious for being stubborn. Sometimes, saying too much was simply meaningless.
At the very least, he would not listen.
"Or how about you write something in the historical records to give him a bad reputation?" The Premier smiled, with a hint of jest in his voice.
Du Qian replied coldly, "I'll record the facts truthfully, he can't escape it."
Premier gave an mhm and said, "Actually, I'm very interested in this young man. It's just that in the current Divine Capital, I'm not too eager to meet him."
Du Qian asked, "Why?"
The Premier did not provide an answer but said, "Your personality is straightforward, which makes you an honest historian. Even His Majesty can't make you change your thoughts. In that great battle back then, how could you not know what His Majesty was thinking? Yet, you still wrote it like that. In another perspective, if I were His Majesty, I might not tolerate you either. Looking at it this way, His Majesty is indeed a remarkable ruler with a broad mind."
Du Qian remained silent for a moment and said softly, "Indeed, His Majesty is a remarkable ruler, and his broad-mindedness can be ranked in the two hundred over years of the Great Liang Dynasty."
On this point, he acknowledged.
The Premier said, "In that case, why not give His Majesty a good reputation?"
Du Qian shook his head, "I write history for future generations. If I fabricate, how will future generations know what happened today? In other words, if my predecessors did the same, how do we know what happened hundreds of years ago? So, regardless of the circumstances, I can only write the truth."
Premier sighed and did not say a word.
After a moment, he suddenly said a sentence.
"I'd better meet that young man after all."
