Duke of Zhenguan

A prison was specially built in the Right Guard Camp.

Cheng Yaojin has a temporary official title: Inspector of Longyou Circuit!

Moreover, Li Shimin granted Cheng Yaojin the authority to act expediently, and all military and political affairs in Longyou Province were decided by Cheng Yaojin's word.

As a major city in the Northwest, Liangzhou has an important geographical location, but its population is not large.

The Ministry of Revenue did not have detailed population data for Liangzhou, but based on data from the previous dynasty, it was estimated to be around 80,000.

This population is even less than that of a major county in the Central Plains.

But in just two days, hundreds of people were arrested in Liangzhou City.

In addition to Liangzhou City, the Right Guard also dispatched a thousand cavalrymen in several teams to various Hu tribe settlements in Liangzhou.

Nearly a hundred Hu people were captured and taken to Liangzhou City.

All of these people were captured and taken to the Right Guard Camp.

As the Chief Secretary of the Right Guard, Lin Chuan also had a new task: to interrogate those who had been arrested.

Lin Chuan was originally unwilling to do this.

However, Cheng Yaojin was used to vying for credit in the army and wouldn't allow the dozen or so officials from Chang'an to interfere in Liangzhou's affairs.

Among the more than ten officials, including the two vice ministers, none dared to question Cheng Yaojin's orders in the slightest.

Therefore, when interrogating those prisoners, Lin Chuan, the sixth-rank Right Guard Chief Secretary, sat in the main seat, with the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel on his left and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War on his right.

The two vice ministers were naturally very respectful to Cheng Yaojin, but they were not so polite to Lin Chuan, whose official rank was far lower than theirs.

His tone was also sarcastic. The Left Vice Minister of War, who had served as a secretary in the Ministry of Justice a few years ago, looked at Lin Chuan and saw that he had neither prepared any instruments of torture nor had he been accompanied by any burly men who looked like bad guys. He smiled and said:

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"Chief Secretary Lin, I spent two years in the Ministry of Justice and have some knowledge of interrogation techniques. If you are not familiar with interrogation procedures, I can help you out..."

Although the words were polite, the tone was rather nauseating.

Lin Chuan glanced at the Vice Minister of War and said with a smile:

"I am quite familiar with interrogation techniques, so I won't trouble Vice Minister Zhou!"

"Chief Secretary Lin, His Majesty and the officials of the three provinces believe that it is imperative to maintain the stability of Liangzhou!"

If we cannot win over the local officials and people, any trouble that arises could be a serious matter.

Chief Secretary Lin would be better off being more serious.

Vice Minister Zhou said with a smile, emphasizing the name of Chief Secretary Lin.

"Since this is His Majesty's and the gentlemen's wish, why don't I invite General Cheng over so that Vice Minister Zhou can speak with General Cheng in person?"

"After all, I am of low rank and have little influence, so it's no use for Vice Minister Zhou to say these things to me..." Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"you…"

Vice Minister Zhou's face darkened, but he found that he couldn't even utter a harsh word, so he could only turn his face away and ignore Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan ignored Minister Zhou and beckoned Xu Laosan, the captain of the personal guards standing at the door.

"Old Xu, you're doing this..."

After whispering a few instructions to Xu Laosan, Lin Chuan officially began the interrogation.

The first person brought in was a middle-aged, burly man wearing a fur coat. Even from a distance of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), Lin Chuan could smell the muttony odor emanating from him.

The burly man was injured, especially his left leg, which was probably broken. He limped and was forced to kneel on the ground by two soldiers, but there was still no fear in his eyes.

Lin Chuan glanced at the burly man, then flipped through the list and documents previously sent by the Hundred Cavalry Division, and asked in a friendly tone:

"Your name is Shi Po Long?"

The burly man looked up at Lin Chuan and spat at him disdainfully.

"Your name is Shi Polong?" Lin Chuan asked again.

The burly man didn't even bother to look up, as if he hadn't heard Lin Chuan's words.

"Make a note of it. Shi Polong has confessed to his crimes without reservation, admitting to colluding with the mountain bandits and that his clansmen are his accomplices. Report this to the General and send men to wipe them out!" Lin Chuan closed the register in front of him and solemnly instructed the clerk in charge of recording the information.

The clerk was Lin Chuan's direct subordinate and knew Lin Chuan's position in the Right Martial Guard. Upon hearing this, he immediately took notes.

The two vice ministers sitting to Lin Chuan's left and right exchanged a glance. The vice minister of the Ministry of War, who had spoken earlier, clearly didn't want to say anything more, while the vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who had remained silent, cupped his hands towards Lin Chuan and said with a wry smile:

"Chief Secretary Lin, this concerns the lives and fortunes of our entire clan; we can't be so... hasty!"

"Corrupt official!"

No sooner had the Vice Minister of Personnel finished speaking than the burly man suddenly shouted at Lin Chuan in a stern voice.

"Minister Jiang, I really didn't handle this matter hastily!" Lin Chuan cupped his hands in greeting to the Minister of Personnel.

Turning to look at the burly man, his tone remained gentle:

"When the Right Guard Army was suppressing bandits at Mabozi Mountain, they killed several Sogdians. After careful verification, it was confirmed that they were from your tribe!"

Stone Dragon, the reason you are still alive and kneeling here today is because of His Majesty's benevolence, which ordered the Grand General to thoroughly investigate and ensure that no one is wronged!

I'm asking you a question to give you a chance to explain. If you don't cherish it, you and your people are traitors!

Oh, I forgot to tell you, those Sogdians were involved in the attack on the auxiliary troops of the Right Guard transporting grain and supplies!

I don't need to explain what kind of crime this is, do I?

Since you can understand the Tang language, answer my questions honestly. If you have any grievances, you can speak them out.

But if you don't speak up, or if you're full of lies, I won't give you a second chance!

With each word Lin Chuan spoke, the burly man on the ground grew paler. By the time Lin Chuan finished speaking, the burly man's face was completely deathly pale.

Suddenly, several hundred elite cavalrymen charged into their tribe. The strong man was the tribal chief. In order to save the tribe, he surrendered without resistance and never expected to return alive.

Hearing Lin Chuan's words, he suddenly realized his mistake and hurriedly explained:

"Those people are indeed from our tribe, but they were driven to desperation by the government officials and left the tribe long ago. We know nothing about what they did!"

Although the Tang Dynasty dialect wasn't very standard, the meaning was quite clear. Lin Chuan nodded and said to Old Xu beside him:

"Take him to the next room and have someone write down every single word he says!"

As the burly man was led away by the soldiers, Lin Chuan shouted to Old Xu:

"Next!"

Vice Minister Zhou and Vice Minister Jiang exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of shock in each other's eyes.

Is this really something a sixteen-year-old boy could do?

A moment later, another burly man was brought up. Compared to the previous one, this one was obviously more unruly. Not only was he covered in wounds, but even after being kicked in the back of the knee by a soldier and forced to kneel on the ground, he still looked at Lin Chuan with an arrogant expression.

"Your name is Bone Deer?" Lin Chuan asked politely.

The burly man glanced at Lin Chuan and said with a mocking expression:

"Grandpa is a Bone Giant Deer! You'd better kill me, or I'll slaughter your entire family!"

Lin Chuan was stunned for a moment, then instructed Old Xu:

"Drag him out and behead him!"

Old Xu waved his hand, and two guards came in carrying knives, dragging the burly man out.

The burly man, who had been dragged outside, finally realized what was happening and shouted:

"My father was a high-ranking official appointed by the imperial court; you, a mere chief clerk, have no right to kill me!"