Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 438: General Affairs Committee for the Rectification of Capital Security

After Lu Wenzhao signed his name, Liu Chengxi asked again, "Zijing, do you have anything else to do tonight?"

"Oh my," Lu Wenzhao was stunned for a moment. "My lord, what are you going to do?"

"If you have nothing else to do tonight, come over to my house," Liu Chengxi invited Lu Wenzhao. "You haven't been here in a while. Let's have a good time, drink all night, and don't leave until we're drunk."

"I'm so sorry." Lu Wenzhao raised his hands, pinched the brush between his fingertips, and handed it back to Liu Chengxi. "I still remember that I visited you just before leaving Beijing on business. It wasn't that long ago."

"Don't use these empty words," Liu Chengxi pretended to be angry, not even taking the pen from his hand. "Just tell me if you have time or not. Just get straight to the point!"

"I'm just afraid of causing you trouble," Lu Wenzhao said with a flattering smile. "But since you've said so much, even if I'm busy, I'll have to make time to come and show you my respect." Lu Wenzhao guessed that Liu Chengxi had probably already arranged the banquet.

"That's settled then." Liu Chengxi then took the brush from Lu Wenzhao's hand.

"Ah!" Lu Wenzhao responded with such joy, as if he had received some great reward. "After the court is dismissed, I will come to the hall to wait for you."

"Go ahead." Liu Chengxi really liked this guy more and more. It was probably because the Liu family couldn't find a woman of the right age for the time being, otherwise Liu Chengxi would have to give Lu Wenzhao another concubine.

Thinking of this, Liu Chengxi couldn't help but sigh at how vicious the vision of Hai Tongzhi was. He actually married his precious daughter to this guy when he was penniless and didn't want to marry into the family.

"I'll take my leave." Lu Wenzhao still bowed to Liu Chengxi in a serious manner before turning around and leaving.

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After dawn, Lu Wenzhao came to the small courtyard in the second hall of the yamen, which belonged exclusively to his team.

"Greetings, Lord Qianhu!" As soon as Lu Wenzhao appeared, the general flags and small flags standing in the yard came forward to greet him.

"Yeah." Lu Wenzhao nodded slightly, then walked to the steps under the eaves and stood there.

He had strict rules. Every morning, except for the secret agents on night duty and the runners who were out of town and couldn't return in time, everyone had to gather in the courtyard. Lu Wenzhao didn't call out names. He would dismiss the group once he was sure everyone was present or the deadline had passed. He didn't have many subordinates anyway, so a quick glance would tell who was present and who wasn't. Until then, Lu Wenzhao would stand with his subordinates in this small space, quietly waiting.

About two quarters of an hour later, several military officers from the outer city also arrived at the courtyard. Thus, all the military officers under Lu Wenzhao had arrived.

In recent days, Lu Wenzhao's compound has been quite idle. Even the Baiyun Temple case was reassigned by the Imperial Household Department with a single order. It could be said that Lu Wenzhao, the Eastern Office, and even the entire Jinyiwei system had no important cases to handle. This situation was primarily due to the emperor's decree, which inadvertently created a period of time when the Jinyiwei were less needed.

Starting from the Xuande period, the Jinyiwei's functions began to go beyond political control and entered the field of public security. Murder, robbery, theft, and fraud all required the Jinyiwei to investigate. Once the emperor personally intervened, there was no need for the Jinyiwei to maintain public security.

On the day the emperor ordered the rectification of public security, almost all the violent agencies in Beijing were mobilized, except for the direct guards stationed in the imperial city and the guards protecting the Forbidden City.

At the suggestion of Fang Congzhe, the cabinet's chief minister, the emperor altered his crude plan and approved the establishment of a temporary crackdown leadership group, composed of senior officials from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Military Administration, the Censorate, and the military and criminal departments. This group, known as the General Affairs Committee for the Rectification of Public Security in the Capital, or simply the Rectification Committee, was chaired by Huang Kezan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice and Military Administration, and Zhang Weixian, the Duke of Ying, who presided over the affairs of the Rear Military Commandery. The committee was overseen by Li Zongyan, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a highly prestigious organization.

The office of the rectification committee is located in the military government. In addition to low-level officials and runners from various yamen, the General Security Committee can also mobilize personnel from the patrol camp, the five city military headquarters in the east, west, south, north and central areas, and the Beijing camp.

Under the chairmanship of Huang Kezan and Zhang Weixian, the General Security Affairs Committee spent the entire day zoning tasks and deploying personnel for the capital and the vast expanse outside the imperial city. They also designated key areas and cases for special deployment. That evening, the rectification order was passed down to the implementation level.

The next morning, martial law was declared in the Imperial City, and the gates of the Forbidden City were sealed. Tens of thousands of soldiers, under the command of military officers and the supervision of provincial officials, conducted a blanket search of the streets and alleys of Beijing. Any vagrants who could not find a permanent residence, a regular livelihood, or a guarantor were arrested and detained pending investigation. With the exception of a few criminals who had fled and some already fugitives, the General Affairs Commission for Restoring Public Security in the Capital apprehended all who could be apprehended. Within a single day, the capital was completely pacified, and the people praised the emperor.

It felt like a loud thunderclap in the ninth heaven, and after the thunderclap, a mountain pressed down mercilessly.

The next day, the arrest operation concluded, the Beijing and patrol battalions retreated to their bases, the Forbidden City was unsealed, and martial law remained in place in the Imperial City. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Justice posted a notice urging all citizens to actively report and identify criminals and key members of organized crime, but strictly prohibited false accusations. At the end of the notice, the Ministry thoughtfully included specific penalties for each type of criminal, as well as a provision regarding "false accusations and penalties."

During the operation, the Jinyiwei Commandery headquarters, along with the various Thousand Households and various offices under its jurisdiction, were almost completely excluded. This wasn't because the Jinyiwei lacked trust or could not be appointed, but rather, the near-half-cutting of the Jinyiwei's internal ranks had severely impacted its command structure. Until the vacancies at the middle and lower levels were filled, the Jinyiwei system, especially the Thousand Households, was practically paralyzed, completely useless and unnecessary.

To facilitate matters and avoid the phenomenon of multiple individuals managing tasks without equal responsibility, the emperor instructed the Imperial Household Department to issue an order to the Imperial Uniform Guard, directing all non-political cases currently under their care to the Rectification Committee, which would then assign officials from the Ministry of Justice to handle them. After Luo Sigong complied, most of the Imperial Uniform Guard went from being extremely busy to being extremely idle. Only Luo Sigong, Hai Zhentao, and a few senior officials remained busy with examinations to fill vacancies.

"Everyone does their own thing." Not handling cases does not mean there are no routine tasks. Daily investigations and surveillance must still be carried out as usual.

"I'm taking my leave!" The military officers bowed and left.

"Shen Lian, come here, I have something to ask you." When Shen Lian was about to leave, Lu Wenzhao stopped him.

"What do you want me to do, sir?" Shen Lian turned around and ran quickly to Lu Wenzhao.

"Come in and talk." Lu Wenzhao said nothing more and walked straight towards the room that belonged to him. "Yes." Shen Lian didn't understand what was going on and looked back at Lu Jianxing. But Lu Jianxing just shook his head and shrugged.

Lu Wenzhao came to the desk and sat down, saying casually, "Close the door."

"Yes," Shen Lian felt a sense of unease for no apparent reason. Being summoned by his superiors in private, and having to speak behind closed doors, was probably not a good thing. Furthermore, a few days ago, his unfinished work had been directly taken away by the Imperial Household Department. Upon inquiry, he learned that the matter had been reported directly to the Emperor by the Censor, and his case had been handled by the Western Factory, not the Rectification Commission. Shen Lian had no idea what was going on, so he could only let his thoughts run wild and couldn't sleep.

However, Shen Lian's worries were entirely unfounded. The Imperial Household Department had indeed requested the case because the Emperor was concerned, but it wasn't out of dissatisfaction with him. Rather, the Imperial Household Department felt that the Jinyiwei, in their current state, were unfit to handle such a high-profile case that would reach the emperor's attention. Furthermore, the investigation would be led by civil officials and overseen by the Imperial Censorate. For the sake of public opinion, these individuals might be less inclined to resort to extreme violence. The Western Depot had sufficient manpower and no scruples, so Wang An simply assigned the case to Wei Zhongxian for special handling.

Shen Lian came to Lu Wenzhao, who casually pointed to a chair for him. "Sit down."

"Just give the order directly, sir." Shen Lian didn't sit down.

"Then you just stand there," Lu Wenzhao sighed softly and asked in a low voice: "Have you moved somewhere else recently?"

"Yeah." Shen Lian nodded. He brought a woman home, forcing Lu Jianxing to go out and find a hotel. This was too inappropriate. So after being relieved of his duties, Shen Lian moved out with Zhou Miaotong. In order to find a house, he even asked Lu Wenzhao for a day off.

"Which brokerage firm did you find the house from?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"Sir, are you moving too?" Shen Lian suddenly realized.

"Yes," Lu Wenzhao admitted. He was now known to everyone in the Jinyiwei as the Luo family's son-in-law. "With one more person in the family, it's always going to be inconvenient in many ways."

The Lu family's original house consisted of only three rooms: the main house, the side rooms, and the kitchen. After Luo Qing arrived, Ah Jiu foolishly offered to sleep in the kitchen. Lu Wenzhao immediately objected. He knew all too well why Hai Rou had sent Ah Jiu to bed. Sending Ah Jiu to sleep in the kitchen would be an insult to Hai Rou, and it could easily be interpreted as an insult to the Hai family.

While the Hai family was undoubtedly inferior to the Luo family, Hai Zhentao would never give his son-in-law, a rising star, or the Luo family any disfavor over a maidservant. He also wouldn't allow his wife, Hai Rou, to sleep in the kitchen. If Hai Rou made a scene, Hai Zhentao would be more likely to intervene than to suppress his son-in-law, Lu Wenzhao. But there was no need for Lu Wenzhao to treat her so drastically differently.

They were both concubines, and Ah Jiu had come in first. Why did Ah Jiu have to go and sleep in the kitchen the moment Luo Qing arrived? If this were to get out, even if Hai Rou held back her anger, he, caught in the middle, would be embarrassed.

But the house was so small, with so many rooms, and Lu Wenzhao still had to face the aftermath of the West Factory investigation. So for the time being, he could only resort to a temporary solution: let Luo Qing live in Ajiu's original room, while Ajiu moved into the main room to sleep next to his wife Hairou.

But this presented a problem. The main room's bed couldn't accommodate three people, and even if it could, Lu Wenzhao wasn't so shameless as to sleep under the same quilt as a master and servant. So, every day, he slept next to Luo Qing in Ah Jiu's old bed. This situation might last a month or two, but if it lasted longer, Hai Rou would really get upset. If Lu Wenzhao didn't want to move, he could either build another small room in the courtyard or add another bed to the main room. The former was troublesome, while the latter was not much different from sleeping under the same quilt.

So after much deliberation, Lu Wenzhao decided to buy a new room and officially move in once the West Factory's review was complete.

"Hehe." Hearing that it wasn't something to worry about, Shen Lian felt relieved and a smile spread across his lips. "That's great."

"What are you laughing at!" Lu Wenzhao scolded, "I'm asking you something."

"Your Excellency," Shen Lian said, his smile subsiding as he straightened his attitude. "I'm renting from a shop called Sun Moon Bank."

"Bank?" Lu Wenzhao asked, "What is this?"

"It's hard to say." Although Shen Lian had already done business at the Sun Moon Bank, he still didn't quite understand the nature of the bank. "In short, this shop can do a lot of things. Not only can we handle leasing and trading, but we can also deposit money and issue banknotes. The shop owner heard that I was an official and told me that half of my salary this month would be paid in banknotes issued by this bank."

Lu Wenzhao's eyes widened. "Taking banknotes as salary? You must be joking."

"That's what the shopkeeper said himself, and I think it's probably true," Shen Lian explained. "Because the shopkeeper said that the bank has a background in the palace, the head office is a new government office under the Imperial Household Department, and Chief Wei holds the seal. Even the president is a eunuch sent by the Imperial Household Department. Although I haven't met that eunuch, such a thing can't be false, unless the owner of this shop is tired of living and doesn't want to live anymore."

"Silver notes as salary" Lu Wenzhao was worried and his face became more serious. "Is the court short of money?" There was still a war in Liaodong. If the court could not pay the salary,
"That shouldn't be the case," Shen Lian continued. "The shopkeeper also said that they have a lot of cash in their shop and they can redeem it on sight. Even if they exchange all the silver notes, they can still make the money."

"Forget it, it's pointless to ask you." Lu Wenzhao shook his head. "Where is the shop?"

"Jinchengfang is next to Fuchengmen, right next to the main street, and is easy to find. I heard there is one near Zhengyangmen, Chaoyangmen, and Andingmen. It doesn't matter which one you go to." Shen Lian said.

"Is there a house near the government office?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"Yes, the properties that the East Factory seized some time ago are all listed in the book, and there are also many private properties. But I think the price should not be cheap." Shen Lian knew Lu Wenzhao's financial situation.

Lu Wenzhao smiled softly, but offered no explanation. Currently, the layoffs hadn't been completed, and the salaries of the unemployed Jinyiwei had been suspended. However, the government's budget remained unchanged, so news of the layoffs hadn't been released, as it would have made the layoffs even more troublesome. However, Lu Wenzhao was well aware of the situation. Perhaps, knowing the salary increase was the reason he wanted to move his family closer to the government office, he thought.

(End of this chapter)