Sweep Yuan

Chapter 255 Chongba Receives Punishment, Trouble Erupts

Zhou Shier had followed Shishan for so long and knew the marshal's temperament well. He knew that Shishan valued solutions to problems most, and he had already thought about this issue before coming. After a moment's thought, he answered clearly and logically:

"My initial plan is to approach this from five aspects:"
First, all those involved in this case should be severely punished, and the entire army should be notified as a warning to others.
Secondly, all military judges stationed in various departments are ordered to conduct self-examination and self-correction, and to proactively report any problems they discover within a specified period. Those found to have problems will be given lenient punishment. If they conceal or fail to report such problems, they will be punished more severely if they are discovered later.
Third, the authority and channels for military judges to submit reports have been adjusted, granting them the power to report emergencies directly to the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters or even the Marshal's Office under special circumstances, thus preventing the interception and concealment of information on violations of discipline.

Fourth, refine the evaluation system for military judges, increase the weight of actual performance, and reduce the weight of evaluation by higher-level military judges;
Fifth, the competence and loyalty of all military judges across the entire army will be assessed in batches, and large-scale cross-unit transfers will be conducted in conjunction with job rotation to strictly prevent similar cases of "collusion" and "organized crimes" from recurring.

"it is good!"

Seeing that Zhou Shier hadn't lost his composure because of the embarrassment he'd suffered, and instead offered a targeted and constructive reform plan, Shi Shan was quite satisfied and nodded, saying:
"Follow this line of thought, refine it into a detailed plan, and submit the plan to me before noon tomorrow."

These five suggestions are not perfect, but the fact that Zhou Shier was able to come up with so many in such a short time shows that he usually studies his job diligently and thinks about ways to improve his work, and that is enough.

There is no perfect system in the world. We should first produce a draft and then revise it gradually.

After receiving his orders, Zhou Shier did not leave immediately. He still had one question: the Marshal had agreed to his suggestion in principle, but had not specified the specific handling of Zhu Chongba, Qin Shuang, and other key individuals involved in the case.

Although he was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, responsible for enforcing military discipline, he knew full well that the power to determine the nature and sentence in cases involving high-ranking officers and military judges within the system was not something the Embroidered Uniform Guard could arbitrarily exercise. He could only bite the bullet and ask for instructions:
"Then... what should be done with Zhu Chongba, Qin Shuang, Zhou Dexing, Zhu Wenzheng, and the others? Please give your instructions, Marshal!"

Shi Shan would not relinquish the power to adjudicate cases, thus needlessly damaging his prestige. Now that a Military Law Division had been established to adjudicate cases involving both military and civilian sectors, it should be put to good use, and this would also be a good opportunity to test Zeng Xing's (the Military Law Division's Chief Clerk) competence. He immediately stated clearly:

"From now on, in such major military cases, the Embroidered Uniform Guard must provide the most detailed and objective investigative leads and evidence possible. Subsequent interrogations and judgments will be handled by the Military Law Department. I have summoned Zeng Xing; you must cooperate."

The Military Law Division was established not long ago, and its powers and responsibilities overlapped somewhat with those of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It still needed to be continuously refined and improved in practice. Zeng Xing had finally seized the opportunity to "discipline" the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he would certainly deal with them severely to establish the authority of the Military Law Division.

But Zhou Twelve understood that the Marshal was serious this time, yet he dared not plead for these troublemakers out of selfishness for the sake of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's power. His heart was filled with righteous indignation, and he clasped his hands in response:

"Understood, sir! I will fully cooperate with the Military Law Department in handling the case!"

North of Jiangning City, at the Zhenwu Temple camp.

This place was originally a garrison of the Yuan army, covering a large area. After the Red Flag Battalion captured Jiangning, Shishan requisitioned some surrounding open land and turned it into a training ground for the Qingri Guard and other units.

After a few days of much-needed rest, the soldiers have gradually recovered from the fatigue of continuous fighting since crossing the river. Starting yesterday, all units resumed normal training. Within the vast camp, shouts of battle echoed, dust billowed, and the atmosphere was one of intense preparation for war.

However, the atmosphere at the small drill ground belonging to the Third Garrison of Fujunwei was subtly different.

The two battalions of the Third Town were conducting battalion-level joint formation training on the drill ground. Although the shouts of battle were still loud, many veterans could feel that today's training seemed to lack a leader.

—The figure of Zhu Chongba, the garrison commander, was not standing on the command platform as usual, supervising and directing the troops.

At this moment, the doors and windows of the Zhenfu Envoy's office were tightly closed.

Zhu Chongba paced back and forth alone in the not-so-spacious hall, his brows furrowed and his face so grave it seemed like water could be wrung out. His steps were sometimes hurried, sometimes halting, revealing his extreme unease.

Yesterday, Zhou Shier, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, suddenly led more than twenty capable subordinates to the garrison of the Third Town of the Fujun Guard.

Zhou Shier's expression remained as stern as ever. He stated in an official manner that it was a "routine inspection of the implementation of the military judges' work," and then summoned all nine military judges stationed in the town, including Qin Shuang, for separate talks.

After the conversation, Zhou Shier immediately announced a personnel adjustment order, appointing six new faces to replace the military judges. He then took away the six "old" military judges, including Qin Shuang, who were pale-faced, under the pretext of "reassigning them to other positions."

The military judge system is independent of the combat system and is directly responsible to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Marshal's Office. Qin Shuang and others are personnel dispatched by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Zhu Chongba, the garrison commander, indeed has no right to interfere with their transfers.

However, Zhou Shier still gave Zhu Chongba face on the surface. Before leaving, he made a brief handover to him, explaining in a calm tone that this was just a "normal job rotation and personnel adjustment," and that the other towns would also make adjustments in turn.

But Zhu Chongba was not so easily fooled. He did not believe Zhou Shier's nonsense at all—when Qin Shuang and the others were taken away, their grief-stricken and weak-legged appearance was obvious to anyone that their promotion and transfer were not normal.

Zhu Chongba's heart skipped a beat, sensing that something terrible was about to happen. He keenly realized that Zhou Shier's personal investigation of the camp and his taking away Qin Shuang and others was most likely related to his previous decision to place Zhou Dexing, Zhu Wenzheng and other fellow villagers into his army without authorization.

But deep down, he still harbored a sliver of hope.

After all, although Marshal Shi always valued the law and emphasized military discipline, he always acted in accordance with rules and regulations, and his rewards and punishments were clear. He had never killed any meritorious officials before.

His own affairs, though seemingly minor, were not insignificant; yet, they weren't major either. Moreover, his numerous victories and military prowess were evident to everyone, and Marshal Shi had always valued talent...

Zhou Dexing, Zhu Wenzheng, and others were either fellow townsmen and friends of Zhu Chongba, or his nephews, so their relationship was naturally close.

To be fair, these men were no ordinary people; each was agile and daring. Even if they had enlisted through the proper channels, with their own abilities, and after passing the assessments and gaining experience in battle, they would certainly have made a good name for themselves in the Red Flag Battalion.

When Zhu Chongba initially placed them under his command, he was thinking that it would not only recruit talent for the Red Flag Army, but also help out his fellow villagers, so that when he went into battle in the future, he would have more reliable people by his side to provide cover and support.

He considered this to be a normal human reaction and did not feel that he had done anything heinous, so he was not particularly panicked at first.

Of course, these self-comforting thoughts also carry a sense of helplessness and anxiety, knowing that things might be exposed but being powerless to do anything about it.

Zhu Chongba was sharp-minded and highly talented. In addition, he was diligent and eager to learn. During his time in the army, he rose step by step to the high position of Zhenfushi based on his military achievements. How could he not know how determined Shishan was to maintain the various systems of the Red Flag Battalion?

Using one's authority to appoint private individuals is ultimately a violation of the Red Flag Battalion's strict discipline regarding recruitment and troop avoidance.

Although Qin Shuang, that fool, took the initiative to handle all the procedures in order to curry favor with me, the root cause was that I had acted out of personal interest and implied that Qin Shuang had done these things.

Put yourself in Marshal Shi's shoes. If you were in Marshal Shi's position, and your subordinates dared to openly violate military discipline, placing their own people in the army and cultivating their own cronies, how would you deal with them? How would you handle those who might harbor disloyalty and challenge your authority?
The more Zhu Chongba thought about Shi Shan's unpredictable methods and those eyes that seemed to see through everything, the more frightened he became.

During morning exercises, he was restless and could no longer maintain his composure in front of his subordinates. He could only use the excuse of an unbearable headache to temporarily hand over the training matters to his deputy and hide back in the office to think of a solution. In reality, he was anxiously waiting for the possible thunderous wrath.

"boom!"

Just as Zhu Chongba was in a state of utter confusion, racking his brains for a solution but failing to find the right approach, and was about to slam his fist on the table in frustration, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside!

He was furious and turned around abruptly, about to yell at whoever dared to be so rude, when he saw a familiar figure—his fellow villager and childhood friend, Zhou Dexing, who was now serving as a squad leader (proposed for promotion) under him, rushed in with a look of anxiety.

Zhou Dexing didn't even bother to bow; he lowered his voice and said urgently:

"Zhongba—no, the Garrison Commander! Oh no! Oh no! Those newly arrived military judges are like rocks in a latrine, stubborn and unyielding! I just pretended to get close to them to try and get their opinions out of them, but they didn't say a single word of the truth. They were so official and bureaucratic!"
I sensed something was wrong; something terrible might be about to happen. Maybe… we should find a chance to escape quickly?

Shishan was known for his strict military discipline and his sophisticated, watertight control over his troops. For an ordinary officer to attempt to lead his troops away without authorization was virtually impossible.

Even though Zhu Chongba had placed several of his own people in the town, it was still too early to control the key positions. Moreover, the thought that Chang Yuchun's Qingri Guard camp was not far from his own camp made him not even dare to entertain the slightest thought of rebellion.

Similarly, although Zhou Dexing had not been in the army for long, he was able to recognize this point. When he realized that the situation was not right, even though he knew that his childhood friend Zhu Chongba "held a lot of troops," Zhou Dexing's first thought was still the most primitive way out - "escape as soon as possible."

Zhu Chongba was initially flustered, but seeing Zhou Dexing's panicked and disoriented state only fueled his inner ruthlessness and composure. He glared at him and hissed, "Escape? What the hell are you panicking for! Did we kill someone or set a fire? Did we raise the flag of rebellion or betray the country? This is nothing, why would your grandfather run away?!"

"Uh……"

Zhou Dexing was stunned by Zhu Chongba's barrage of low growls and curses. Upon reflection, he realized it hadn't really come to that; he was simply terrified by the oppressive atmosphere of the camp. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, at a loss for what to do.
"Then... what should we do now? We can't just sit here and wait, can we?"

"Nothing can be done! You all better stay put!"

Zhu Chongba suddenly strode close to Zhou Dexing, almost touching his face, glaring at him fiercely. He then raised his voice, filled with rage, and cursed:
"Squad Leader Zhou! This is damn training time! Who gave you permission to abandon your post and barge into my official residence? Hmm? Are you itching for a beating?!"

“I—I…”

Zhou Dexing was sprayed in the face with spittle by Zhu Chongba and was completely bewildered by this sudden outburst of rage. He felt a sudden panic for no reason and was utterly confused. He could only stammer in response:

"I know I was wrong, I, I'll go back to training right now! I'll go back right now!" With that, he practically tumbled and crawled as he turned and fled the government office.

As soon as Zhou Dexing stepped outside, he saw Zhu Wenzheng and several other fellow villagers from Zhongli who had come to join the army walking quickly towards him, seemingly having also heard the news. Zhou Dexing hurriedly winked at them, indicating that the situation was bad and they shouldn't go in and provoke Chongba.

Although Zhu Wenzheng was young, he was quite shrewd. Although he didn't fully understand Zhou Dexing's expression, they could clearly feel that something was wrong in the camp.

They all knew that Zhu Chongba might have gotten into big trouble. They came together hoping to come up with a solution to help their fourth uncle and resolve the current crisis.

Seeing Zhou Dexing's state, Zhu Wenzheng immediately stopped and stood outside the door, deliberately raising his voice and shouting loudly into the government office:
"Fourth Uncle! We've seen a lot of things these days by following you, eating and using your things every day, but we haven't done anything to help you. We've only caused you trouble!"
The wheat back home is almost ripe, and there's a lot of work to do in the fields. We need to rush back to Zhongli to harvest the wheat, so we've come to say goodbye to our fourth uncle!

Zhu Wenzheng and the others had changed into ordinary people's coarse cloth clothes and had bundles on their backs, as if they were ready to be "dismissed" and sent back to their hometowns immediately.

They shouted these words so loudly that even the soldiers of the Third Division who were training on the drill ground heard them and turned to look. Zhu Chongba, inside the government office, naturally heard them clearly.

Zhu Chongba, his face dark, suddenly flung open the door and came out.

Looking at this group of self-righteous people who were trying to "draw a line" in this clumsy way to protect themselves and even their nephews and fellow villagers, he felt no emotion whatsoever. Instead, he felt a surge of anger rising to his head!

They thought they could fool Marshal Shi with such a childish plan? They were utterly stupid!
Enraged, veins throbbed on his forehead. Suddenly, he kicked Zhu Wenzheng, who was standing at the front, to the ground. Then, he raised his hand and began slapping several stunned villagers across the face, cursing as he did so.
"You've gone too far! You think you can just come and go as you please? What do you take this Red Flag Battalion camp for? Is it some kind of inn run by my family?! Or some brothel you want to visit, you bastards!"

After beating and scolding his good-for-nothing nephews and fellow villagers, Zhu Chongba abruptly turned his head, his furious gaze sweeping across the drill ground before finally settling on Ye Guorui, the bewildered commander of the Fifth Battalion of the Fujun Guard. He roared at him:
"Ye Guorui! Is this the kind of good soldiers you've trained?! During training, they're all leaving their posts, gathering and making noise—do they have no regard for military discipline?! How can you be a commander like this?!"

Ye Guorui had been working under Zhu Chongba since he was a squad leader. He was a trusted confidant promoted by Zhu Chongba and rose through the ranks to become a commander. Naturally, he felt both awe and gratitude towards his old superior.

Zhou Dexing, Zhu Wenzheng, and others were assigned to his Fifth Battalion.

Therefore, when Zhou Dexing secretly approached him and subtly informed him that the garrison commander might be in trouble and needed them to find a way to "show their abilities" and see if they could help the garrison commander, Ye Guorui hesitated for a moment before tacitly allowing Zhou Dexing and the others to act freely.

But to his utter surprise, the solution these people came up with was so foolish that it not only failed to solve the problem but also made things worse, and he even received a severe scolding from Zhu Chongba. This left him in a bind, not knowing what to do.

He was hesitating whether to step forward to apologize or quickly send these fools back to the ranks when he saw Zhu Chongba's gaze gradually turn icy cold, with no hint of softening, only stern rebuke and unquestionable orders!
Ye Guorui shuddered, realizing his old boss was truly enraged. Continuing to protect his own wouldn't appease his boss; in fact, it might get him into trouble. He steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and shouted sharply:

"Men! Tie up Zhou Dexing and Zhu Wenzheng, those guys who disrupted training and misrepresented military orders! They evaded training and caused trouble; each of them will receive twenty lashes! Execute immediately!"

Zhou Dexing, Zhu Wenzheng, and the others realized they had done something stupid. Seeing that Zhu Chongba was truly angry, they dared not resist in the slightest and could only let their former comrades come up and hold them down, dragging them aside to prepare for execution.

The Third Garrison of the Fujun Guard, commanded by Zhu Chongba, had not yet been expanded and consisted of two battalions.

While Ye Guorui was making a show of disciplining Zhou Dexing and his men in the Fifth Battalion, the commander of the adjacent Sixth Battalion seemed completely oblivious to the commotion and continued to meticulously direct his troops in their orderly training, as if he were in another world.

What's even more unsettling is that the six military judges who were just transferred yesterday, from the garrison commander's direct unit and the Fifth Battalion, are now standing expressionless in their respective positions, like clay or wooden sculptures.

Surprisingly, not a single person stood up to criticize Ye Guorui for his unauthorized corporal punishment of his soldiers (even though the reasons seemed sufficient) as a possible violation of discipline; they all adopted a completely indifferent and detached attitude.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Chongba was immediately startled and realized that this was not an overreaction, but a genuine attack aimed at him!

He immediately gave Ye Guorui a wink and roared:
"Nonsense! Who gave you permission to use torture without authorization?! Ye Guorui! Since you knew they had violated military discipline, why didn't you report it to the military judge first? Who gave you the authority to abuse your power and impose torture on behalf of the military judge?! Stop it now!"

In fact, although the title of military judge includes the words "military law", their main responsibilities are supervision, recording and verification.

Commanders of garrisons, towns, and battalions have the authority to directly punish subordinates who violate military discipline, within certain limits of their authority. As long as the reasons for punishment are compliant and do not exceed the standards stipulated in military discipline, military judges shall not interfere with their normal management.

Zhu Chongba's statement itself was flawed, but the old and new military judges present remained silent, and no one pointed it out.

This eerie silence made Zhu Chongba realize that the trouble was far greater than he had imagined; Shi Shan was serious! His mind raced, and he quickly made up his mind, instructing Ye Guorui:
"Tie them up first! Someone go and get me two sturdy brambles!"

After saying this, Zhu Chongba began to unbutton his military robe, preparing to follow the example of Zhou Twelve's story of carrying thorns to apologize, and personally go out of the camp to find Marshal Shi to apologize, hoping to get a lenient treatment.

However, at that moment, an unusually neat and powerful sound of footsteps, along with the clanging of metal armor plates colliding, suddenly came from outside the small camp gate! The sound was heavy and oppressive, and was definitely not an ordinary troop movement.

Everyone on the drill ground couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound. They saw Hu Deji, the Second Garrison Commander of the Pengyue Guard, fully armored and with a stern face, leading a team of two hundred elite soldiers into the small camp in neat steps at the camp gate!
These armored soldiers were all fierce warriors from the Moon Guard, well-equipped and with sharp eyes, instantly filling the entire training ground with a chilling aura.

This operation not only mobilized the Moon Guard directly under the Marshal, but also made such a big show of it, openly entering other town camps. It is clear that Marshal Shi was acting on orders and was serious.

Zhou Dexing, Zhu Wenzheng, and the others, who were bound, turned pale with fright and went limp. The other soldiers of the Third Garrison of the Fujun Guard, unaware of the situation, looked at each other in disbelief, their hearts filled with horror, wondering what earth-shattering event had occurred.

Hu Deji stepped into the small camp, his sharp gaze sweeping across the area. Seeing nothing amiss, he raised his hand, holding high a special token with black background and red characters. Looking around at the astonished crowd in the training ground, he announced loudly:
"By order of Marshal Jun!"

Hu Deji's voice boomed like thunder, shaking the entire audience. He continued to announce:
"Zhu Chongba, the garrison commander of the Third Garrison of Fujun Guard, is suspected of serious violations of military discipline. He is hereby relieved of his duties and detained pending trial! Zhu Chongba, do you have any defense?"

When Zhu Chongba first joined the army, he was assigned to serve under Hu Deji, who was a few years younger than him. At that time, Hu Deji was already the captain of the Pengyue Battalion and took good care of Zhu Chongba, often reminding him of the importance of the Red Flag Battalion's military discipline and regulations.

Unfortunately, Zhu Chongba at that time was preoccupied with the fact that "Tang Xiaosan has already become a commander." Although he quickly memorized the rules and regulations with his intelligence, he did not truly internalize them, which ultimately led to today's disaster.

With things having come to this point, and facing the current situation, Zhu Chongba knew that any wishful thinking was futile.

He dared not resist in the slightest—the Qingri Guard camp next door had quietly stopped training at some point, and the camp gates were wide open. Commander Chang Yuchun, fully armored and holding a large spear, stood outside the camp gates, his eyes shooting towards this place like lightning.

Zhu Chongba had no doubt that if he made the slightest move at this moment, he would immediately be killed on the spot and his head would soon be sent to the entire army.

He immediately stepped forward, shirtless (his military robe, which he had just loosened, was still on), bowed deeply, and replied with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice:
"General Zhu Chongba, you are guilty! You have no defense, and you are willing to be punished according to military law!"

(End of this chapter)