My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 251 A Massive Case of Deception
Outer City Police Station.

When Fu Shun escorted the group of Japanese to the police station, the police station heard that villains had broken into the Crystal Palace Expo at night and attacked a senior official in the Ministry of Works. They naturally knew that this was a major case.

After being woken up by his men, Li Defu, the commander of the outer city guard, put on his official robes and rushed to the outer city guard's garrison.

The police chief was a fourth-rank military officer, but in the capital, someone of his rank was someone no one dared to offend.

Fu Shun was the head of a powerful department in the Ministry of Works. When Li Defu heard that he had been attacked, he turned pale with fright.

Li Defu was relieved when he arrived at the police station and learned that Fu Shun was unharmed.

However, Fu Shun, holding the broken Japanese sword Koshino Maru by Shimazu Yoshihiro, said with a solemn expression:
"The villain was wielding a Japanese sword."

Upon hearing the words "Japanese sword," Li Defu's expression darkened again.

Two days ago, the Office of Transmission issued a notice stating that there were Japanese spies lurking in the capital.

Although the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard didn't take it seriously, they still issued the order to the patrol battalion to arrest people in the city.

Of course, the police force was just going through the motions.

The patrol camp was divided into five camps: east, west, south, north, and the outer city. Each camp had about a thousand men.

The outer city patrol battalion of one thousand men is responsible for maintaining order and catching thieves in the entire capital region outside the city walls. How can such a small force be used to catch spies in the capital?

Maintaining public order is already an all-out effort.

Therefore, the police's operation was just a pretext to appease their superiors, reporting that "no Japanese spies have been discovered yet."

Unexpectedly, there really were Japanese spies in the capital, and they even tried to break into the Crystal Palace Expo!
What are these Japanese trying to do?
The thought that the opening ceremony of the Crystal Palace Expo was presided over by the Emperor himself, and the closing ceremony by the Crown Prince made Li Defu break out in a cold sweat.

The emperor and the crown prince both loved to visit the Crystal Palace. After the exposition, it was converted into a permanent exhibition hall, and who knows when the emperor and the crown prince might visit again.

These Japanese were spying on the expo venue, hoping to assassinate the emperor or the crown prince!
This conclusion nearly made Li Defu faint. If Fu Shun hadn't subdued these Japanese, the consequences would have been unimaginable!
If an assassination attempt were to occur, the person who replied, "No Japanese spies have been found yet," would likely face a sentence so severe that even nine generations of their family wouldn't be enough to atone for their crime!

Li Defu broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said to Fu Shun:

"Lord Fu, you saved my entire family!"

Li Defu then summoned his subordinates and said:

"Don't worry, Lord Fu, once these Japanese soldiers arrive at the patrol camp, we'll make them confess everything!"

Just then, the outer city police camp became lively again.

A middle-aged official from the Imperial Guard led his men into the police camp.

When Li Defu saw that the person who came was Xu Jue, the Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Upon seeing Xu Jue, Li Defu immediately knew why he had come.

As expected, Xu Jue began by saying:

"Commander Li, could you assign two Japanese spies to our Imperial Guards?"

Li Defu quickly glanced at the members of the patrol battalion in the hall. There must be people planted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard among them, otherwise Xu Jue would not have arrived so quickly.

The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was a fourth-rank military officer, the third-highest in the Embroidered Uniform Guard after the Commander and the Deputy Commander. Xu Jue was also a confidant of Feng Bao, the head of the Eastern Depot.

Therefore, although Xu Jue spoke politely, Li Defu dared not offend him.

He certainly knew why Xu Jue had come.

The emperor assigned the task of capturing Japanese spies to the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard further subcontracted the task to the patrol battalion.

If they don't catch the spy, that's fine. But if they do catch him, and the entire patrol battalion is arrested while the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are left out, then the Embroidered Uniform Guard will inevitably be charged with incompetence.

But Xu Jue's ability to arrive so quickly must be due to the presence of agents planted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard within the patrol camp, who tipped off the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Now is the time for 'sincere unity'," Li Defu said with a wave of his hand.
"Easy! We'll assign a few prisoners to the Embroidered Uniform Guards right away!"

Hearing that Li Defu agreed so readily, Xu Jue was overjoyed and immediately led his men to the police station's prison to fetch the man.

His idea was that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had fallen behind the patrol battalion in the capture of Japanese spies, so they had to be one step ahead of the patrol battalion in interrogation.

Just after Xu Jue led several Japanese away, the police camp welcomed a second group of guests.

This time, it was the eunuchs from the Eastern Depot who came.

The one leading them was none other than Mai Hua, the current head eunuch of the Eastern Depot's Department of Punishments.

Upon seeing the ivory waist tags on the eunuchs' waists, Li Defu dared not be negligent and hurriedly came out to greet them.

Mai Hua glanced at Li Defu.

The Eastern Depot had two departments, the Department of Criminal Justice and the Department of Legal Justice, which were specifically responsible for the trial of major cases. The head eunuch of the Department of Criminal Justice had the power to submit secret memorials, which meant that he could submit them directly to the emperor without going through the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Mai Hua had been the chief eunuch in charge of the Ministry of Justice since the Jiajing era. He was politically independent and not considered a member of Feng Bao's faction.

When the Eastern Depot was first established, it was actually a nominal department that supervised the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) in handling cases. It did not even have a permanent office, and all positions within the Eastern Depot were part-time.

However, as the emperor lost trust in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, while supervising the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also began to develop its own administrative agencies.

Mai Hua snorted coldly and said:
"Why didn't Commander Li send the captured Japanese spy to the Eastern Depot for interrogation?"

Li Defu broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that Mai Hua had been in charge of the Eastern Depot for many years and was ruthless. He immediately said:

"Master Mai, you've come at the perfect time! We're just about to send the prisoner to the Eastern Depot!"

Hearing Li Defu's understanding attitude, Mai Hua's expression softened.

Li Dequan then said:

"I beg Magistrate Mai to show mercy and leave a few Japanese men in the patrol camp so that we can report back to the Imperial Censor."

Seeing that Li Dequan was on the right track, Mai Hua nodded and said, "Then we'll leave a few Japanese here, but we'll take the ringleader with us!"

"This is natural!"
-
The investigation and interrogation methods of the Ming Dynasty were devoid of any fancy tricks; the only method was torture.

Especially since this matter involved Japanese spies, there was no psychological pressure to use torture.

There was a competition between the Eastern Depot's Department of Criminal Investigation and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to solve cases first. As a result, the interrogation masters of both the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard used all their skills to give these Japanese a thorough dressing down.

After only two sets of tests, Yoshihiro Shimazu had already confessed everything.

A Japanese interpreter stood next to Mugika and recounted Shimazu Yoshihiro's confession:
"Are you saying that you are the second son of a Japanese daimyo, and that after traveling to my Great Ming Dynasty, you suddenly had a wicked idea and broke into the Crystal Palace to steal the secrets of iron smelting?"

The interpreter relayed Mai Hua's words to Shimazu Yoshihiro, who nodded repeatedly, wishing he could sign and behead the document immediately rather than suffer such torture in the Eastern Depot.

But Mai Hua's expression changed, and he said:
"You infiltrated the Crystal Palace just to steal things? Do you Japanese think we're fools?!"

"Guards! Continue the torture!" And so, Shimazu Yoshihiro was tortured again, by which time he was on the verge of death.

The eunuch administering the torture quickly said, "Master of torture, if you continue, this Japanese man may not be able to withstand it."

Mai Hua said with a look of disgust:
"The Japanese are no good. Lord Shen of the late emperor's court was a man of unyielding integrity who endured days of torture without changing his tune!"

"Ask again, did these Japanese infiltrate the Crystal Palace to scout the terrain, preparing to assassinate His Majesty the next time he leaves the palace?"

The interpreter repeated what Mai Hua had said, and Shimazu Yoshihiro's face turned even paler.

Me, assassinating the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?

Yoshihiro Shimazu knew that once he was burdened with this crime, it wouldn't just be him who died, but his entire family would also be implicated.

Yoshihiro Shimazu wanted to argue, but when he saw the eunuchs torturing him, his will to resist completely vanished.

He said in broken Chinese, "Sir, I confess!"

However, Mai Hua did not immediately have him sign the document, but instead asked him in detail about Shimazu Yoshihiro's "plan implementation process".

Yoshihiro Shimazu had no plan to assassinate the Ming emperor, but he was so tormented that he had no choice but to make up a plan on the spot, following Mai Hua's guidance.

Yoshihiro Shimazu explained his plan in detail, and Mugi asked him several times to make sure there were no inconsistencies. Then he asked again:
"What about Ryukyu?"

Ryukyu?

Yoshihiro Shimazu knew that his father was infiltrating Ryukyu, and hearing that this matter was related to Ryukyu made him even more guilty.

Mai Hua noticed something amiss and continued to ask:
"Tell me everything you know!"

Upon recalling those horrific punishments, Yoshihiro Shimazu dared not conceal the truth any longer and revealed everything about the Shimazu family's control over Ryukyu.

Having obtained this confession, Mai Hua then addressed the other eunuchs who were interrogating him:
"Go, also give a copy of this confession of the ringleader to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the patrol battalion. The confession of such a major case must be airtight and without any mistakes."

His subordinates immediately took the confession and delivered it to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the patrol battalion.

On the Embroidered Uniform Guard's side, Xu Jue, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was having a headache. He didn't know if the Japanese he brought back were too stupid, but no matter how he interrogated them, their statements were incoherent and they couldn't even match the key locations and times.

One Japanese man didn't even know what he was doing following Shimazu Yoshihiro; he only knew that he had to be loyal to his "young master."

These confessions, if sent up, would not be accepted by anyone, not even the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Fortunately, at this time, Mai Hua sent someone to deliver the confession of the main culprit.

Xu Jue immediately breathed a sigh of relief. With this confession, the Japanese could repeat what they had said.

As long as their testimonies largely match, the case can be closed.

The same thing happened on the police camp side. Li Defu originally had no intention of leading the trial. After receiving the confession from Mai Hua, he immediately ordered the police camp to torture the remaining Japanese and obtain some corroborating confessions.

Thus, by dawn, more than a dozen reports concerning the Japanese Shimazu Yoshihiro's infiltration of the Ming Dynasty to spy on the Crystal Palace and prepare to assassinate the emperor on his next visit had been delivered to Emperor Longqing.

The Longqing Emperor's face turned ashen. He first reviewed the memorial submitted by the five city gate patrol censors, which detailed what had happened at the Crystal Palace the previous night.

The case involves a junior official in the Ministry of Works, and there is a written account by Fu Shun himself, as well as a broken Japanese sword as physical evidence.

Then the Longqing Emperor began to examine the testimonies.

The group of Japanese were interrogated separately by the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the patrol battalion. The ringleader, Shimazu Yoshihiro, confessed and signed his statement, detailing his plan.

The remaining accomplices also gave their confessions, which matched those of the ringleader.

In particular, the main culprit, Yoshihiro Shimazu, is described in great detail as he infiltrated the Ming Dynasty and used various means to sneak into the capital.

Now the emperor believed it completely.

"This is outrageous! The Japanese pirates actually dared to assassinate me!"

The three chief officials of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs trembled with fear; they had never seen the emperor so angry since he ascended the throne.

The Longqing Emperor's face flushed, and it took him a long time to calm down. He first addressed Feng Bao:

"A few days ago, the Office of Transmission submitted a memorial stating that Japanese pirates had infiltrated Ryukyu and even infiltrated the Ryukyu delegation to the capital. The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were ordered to investigate Japanese pirate spies in the capital. Why did it take the Japanese pirates' efforts last night to catch them?!"

This was a very serious question, and Feng Bao immediately knelt down and said:
"The servant is guilty!"

The Longqing Emperor snorted coldly. He was dissatisfied with the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but it was not yet time to rectify them.

Then he said to Li Fang:
"I remember Su Zilin once proposed that, except for those from first-class tributary states, people on foreign merchant ships should not leave the port. Why were the Japanese able to sneak all the way into the capital?"

Li Fang was also drenched in sweat.

However, as the head of the inner court, Li Fang still had to say a few words in defense of the Maritime Trade Office, saying:
"Your Majesty, the main duty of the Maritime Trade Office is to collect taxes; apprehending spies is not their forte."

Upon hearing this, the Longqing Emperor gave up.

He picked up Su Ze's memorial and continued:

"It was Su Zilin who was farsighted and issued an imperial decree to establish the function of anti-smuggling and intelligence reporting in the Office of the Ministry of Justice in the port. This money will be allocated from the Imperial Treasury through the Maritime Trade Tax. Get it done immediately!"

The Longqing Emperor was also startled and broke out in a cold sweat.

What if these Japanese scouts planned to assassinate him during the Crystal Palace opening ceremony?
Japanese pirates had infiltrated the Ryukyu delegation. I was standing on the viewing platform with the Ryukyu delegation to watch the ceremony!

The incompetence of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard also led Emperor Longqing to distrust their abilities.

Emperor Longqing still chose to trust Su Ze and put the Tongzheng Post Office in charge of the matter.

After this incident, Emperor Longqing lost interest in leaving the palace.

In addition, those who made contributions should be rewarded, while those who performed poorly should be punished.
-
News of the Japanese pirate assassination quickly spread throughout the capital, and all four major newspapers gave detailed reports.

The Yuefu Xinbao was an official newspaper, and it obtained firsthand information, publishing the entire account of the incident.

The other three newspapers, in addition to reprinting the article, also added their own content.

The Commercial Daily devoted a page to interviewing a Ming Dynasty ship captain, recounting the brutal acts of Japanese pirates plundering at sea.

The New Gentleman's Gazette reiterated the importance of maintaining proper distance between the Chinese and the barbarians, emphasizing the Japanese pirates' ambitions towards the Ming Dynasty and asserting that the assassination attempt was intended to disrupt the Ming Dynasty.

He Xinyin, the editor-in-chief of the Xinyuefu Daily, probably wanted to repay the kindness of staying at Lengyan Temple years ago. In his report, he detailed the "righteous act" of Lengyan Temple, praised its generosity in donating land to the Crystal Palace Expo, and wrote a detailed account of the history of Lengyan Temple. Only then did the people of Beijing know about this ancient temple in the suburbs of Beijing.

If it weren't for the recent crackdown on Japanese spies in the capital, which has caused widespread panic, people would probably be flocking to Lengyan Temple to worship Buddha.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Ze submitted another memorial.

"Memorial Requesting the Establishment of the Jinghai Patrol Fleet to Supervise the Defense Against Japanese Pirates in Ryukyu".

(End of this chapter)