Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 687 Chaos
Even after dark, the Quanzhou government office remained brightly lit.

The sounds of fighting could be heard from outside from time to time. A squad of soldiers gripped their weapons tightly and guarded the entrance to the yamen, ready to protect the yamen should the rebels outside rush in.

The prefect of Quanzhou and several other officials were taken to prison, while the remaining military officers and clerks followed Wang Yan and busied themselves in the yamen.

The registrar's face was deathly pale. He was young and had only recently been transferred to Quanzhou. Because of this, he wasn't directly involved in the case, so after being interrogated, he was kept on to work. But precisely because he was so young and had never seen anything like this before, he couldn't help but tremble.

The magistrate led his troops to attack the yamen (government office), and the sounds of fighting were incessant. Blood flowed like a river at the entrance of the yamen.

The situation inside the yamen was no better. Colleagues who usually worked there were being taken aside for interrogation, and screams could be heard from time to time. The raised boards seemed to be ready to strike anyone next.

The interrogation lasted from day to night. The torches were lit, casting dappled shadows, as if evil spirits lurked in the darkness, ready to pounce and take lives at any moment.

The rising smoke, mixed with the smell of blood, was like an invisible aura of death, shrouding the sky above.

Another official was dragged out and thrown into jail. Behind him, a clerk was carrying a stack of papers, which were clearly the official's confession.

The registrar, carrying the organized accounts, went with the clerk to see Wang Yan.

In the second hall, Wang Yan sat in a chair with a high stack of documents beside him. However, most of the documents waiting to be read in the corner had been removed. It was from the official documents of the government office that Wang Yan discovered something strange, which is why he summoned the officials for questioning.

The Registrar was astonished; this was too fast. As expected of the eldest son of Prime Minister Wang, he not only had a thorough understanding of the duties of officials but also a deep knowledge of local affairs to achieve such a level of competence.

Thinking of this, the military advisor couldn't help but feel fortunate that he hadn't been corrupted yet, otherwise he would have become another dead soul under Wang Yan's command.

The sounds of fighting gradually subsided.

Wang Yan, who was reading the documents, slightly raised his head, glanced at the hourglass beside him, and his gaze became somewhat somber. The Registrar of Households immediately felt a chill and said, "I'll go out and see if the rebels have retreated."

Just as the military advisor was about to leave, someone came to report.

"The troops from the Zhangzhou government have arrived and have already defeated the rebels."

Wang Yan nodded and instructed, "Have them arrest the rebels, and the rest wait outside the yamen."

The clerk responded and immediately went to relay the order.

Wang Yan would not allow outsiders to enter the government office until Xu En arrived.

Seeing this, the military advisor hesitated to speak, but thinking it was better to avoid trouble, he remained silent. Little did he know that his little scheme had caught Wang Yan's eye.

Wang Yan raised his eyes: "What brings you to the army?"

Sweeping across him with that solemn gaze, the Registrar of Households felt a chill run down his spine and, not daring to conceal anything, hurriedly said, "Actually, there's a maritime supervisor in Zhangzhou who was arrested by the Transport Commissioner a while ago, and later brought to the Quanzhou government office for trial..."

Wang Yan looked at the Registrar of Households: "The Fujian Circuit has not reported this matter to the court." The Fujian Circuit should have mentioned the trial of the Quanzhou Maritime Supervisor in the documents sent to the Imperial Secretariat.

Wang Yan would review all the documents from the Imperial Secretariat, and once he had seen them, he would never forget them.

The Registrar said, "It must be because the case wasn't thoroughly investigated, so it was suppressed. Because of this matter, the Prefect of Zhangzhou went to Fuzhou several times to inquire about the situation, and a few days ago he even came to this yamen and made a scene, saying that he wanted to submit a memorial to impeach him."

"I think the fact that the Zhangzhou government troops arrived so quickly must be related to this matter."

Wang Yan remained silent, so the Registrar had to continue explaining the whole story: "Last month, the maritime supervisor from Zhangzhou worked with us from Quanzhou on a mission. After the mission, he came to our prefect, saying that there were problems with our Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office and requesting that the prefect order a thorough investigation of the accounts. Naturally, the prefect ignored him, so the maritime supervisor went to the Transport Commissioner." "Later, I don't know how... our Maritime Trade Office wasn't investigated, but the maritime supervisor from Zhangzhou was arrested instead."

As soon as the military advisor finished speaking, the clerk who had just gone out to deliver the message returned. He bowed to Wang Yan and then said, "The Zhangzhou troops have followed your orders and are waiting outside. However... the prefect in charge of the troops requests that you interrogate the Zhangzhou maritime supervisor in the prison."

The clerk glanced nervously at Wang Yan, fearing that Wang Yan would be angry about this matter.

Wang Yan asked, "Where is that maritime supervisor from Zhangzhou being held? How is he?"

Upon hearing Wang Yan's words, the clerk immediately chimed in, "He's been subjected to a lot of severe torture in the secret dungeon in the backyard of the government office lately. The prefect ordered that as long as... as long as his life is spared for now, that's fine."

Because of these words, the jailers in the yamen tortured that official quite a bit.

As the clerk finished speaking, he felt Wang Yan's gaze fall upon him, and his scalp tingled. He hurriedly said, "The person is still alive, alive..."

Before the clerk could finish speaking, the registrar said, "I'll bring the man over right away." Without delay, he led two soldiers to the secret prison.

In about a quarter of an hour, a person was carried into the second hall.

Wang Yan put down the document in his hand, got up and walked over. He saw that the person in the chair was dressed in tattered clothes, with wounds all over the exposed skin. One leg was hanging strangely to the side, and the ankle was blue and black, indicating that he had been hit hard and the bone was broken.

The stench emanating from his body was not only due to festering wounds, but also because in the prison, defecation and urination were done in one place, and the guards deliberately did not clean it up, thus torturing the prisoners.

"Wang Tianshi?"

Sun Yuan said, "Your humble servant is Sun Yuan, the Maritime Supervisor of Zhangzhou."

Sun Yuan looked haggard, and with his full beard, he no longer resembled an official. However, there was still some sparkle in his eyes, especially after he saw Wang Yan.

“I heard the imperial court… has come to investigate Fujian?” Sun Yuan said. “Sir, have you taken the accounts of the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office? After I left Quanzhou, I secretly investigated the Maritime Trade Office. They colluded with maritime merchants and embezzled at least hundreds of thousands of strings of cash every year. A mere prefect of Quanzhou would never dare to do such a thing.”

Sun Yuan's lips were cracked, and because he was too excited, he moved too much, and blood seeped from the small wounds. His eyes also turned bloodshot, and he looked somewhat frightening.

“At least the Fujian Circuit Transport Commissioner should be held accountable,” Sun Yuan said, then shook his head again, “No… they must have powerful backers in the capital.”

Sun Yuan kept talking, as if he was afraid of losing this opportunity.

“The angels will be able to see the truth once they get their books.”

“Oh, right…” Sun Yuan suddenly remembered, “At sea, the angels are going to investigate those maritime merchants. Catching them will give them more evidence, and I…”

Sun Yuan started coughing incessantly as he spoke, and the military advisor hurriedly went to check on him.

Sun Yuan kept waving his hand, wanting to continue speaking.

Wang Yan said, "Supervisor Sun, there's no need to rush. The Emperor ordered us to come to Fujian to investigate this matter. Supervisor Sun can rest and recuperate, and then explain everything clearly when you're feeling better."

Sun Yuan shook his head again, finally catching his breath: "At sea, is it possible to let those people escape... I found some information from the merchants... If Wang Tianshi is planning to go to sea to capture people, we can have them lead the way."

(End of this chapter)