The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 69: The Pair Of Husbands Work Together As One Heart And Mind.

Gu Heyan coldly said: “Stand up and speak.”

“Thank you, General.” Huo Xin replied as he stood up. As the Head of the Jail Department, Huo Xin had been in the complex Imperial Court for many years, and had seen all kinds of turbulence. At this moment, Huo Xin gathered all his courage and tried to calmly reason with Gu Heyan: “Since the General just arrived, you must not be aware of what happened here, so let me explain it to you. After listening to me, the General can decide what is right and wrong, so I’ll speak in utmost detail.”

“The son of the Head of the Ministry of Justice has committed a crime, thus both the Capital Prefecture and my Jail Department have come to arrest him. However, there’s now a dispute over who should apprehend the criminal.”

“Ever since the Great Ancestor1 founded the Jail Department, we have only obeyed the Emperor. We aren’t under the control of the Three Prefectures, Six Ministries, and Twenty Four Departments. Therefore, the Jail Department can bring criminals from the Ministry of Justice, Imperial Censorate2, Dali Temple3, Capital Prefecture, and any local State Government to trial at any time. This matter, I assume, Lord Pei has no objection over, correct?” Huo Xin stated the latter by turning his head to look at Pei Yu.

Pei Yu: “….I have no objections.”

“It is true that the Capital Prefecture was the first to arrest the criminal.” Huo Xin’s voice sounded both energetic and calm. “However, since our Jail Department can bring the criminal to trial at any time and any place, what significance could ‘the first to arrest’ have? Of course, when I mean ‘anytime, anywhere’, I naturally mean here and now.”

Gu Heyan: “…..”

“I beg the General to make a clear judgment.” Huo Xin said lightly. “This is the Imperial Rule that the Great Ancestor of our Jin Dynasty has engraved in the main hall of the Jail Department. If the General doesn’t believe me, he can follow me to read it with his own eyes.”

When it comes to the Imperial Rule issued by the Great Ancestor of the Dynasty, then it’s a rule that even the current Emperor can’t disobey.

Confronted with the silent Gu Heyan, how could Huo Xin not be at an advantage when it comes to speech dominance?

After Huo Xin noticed that Gu Heyan was still not uttering a single word, Huo Xin took the opportunity to pressure him further: “General, if you insist on stopping me, wouldn’t you be defying the laws and regulations set forth by the Great Ancestor?”

Gu Heyan: “……”

The accusation was so severe that everyone present held their breath in fear, so much so that no one knew for certain what Gu Heyan would answer. Gu Heyan, for his part, turned his head to look at Mu Zhiming.

The moment their gazes met, Mu Zhiming became slightly astounded.

It was because, for a moment, Mu Zhiming felt as if something had scratched his heart.

In an instant, a connection was formed between the minds and hearts of Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan, as though they were one.

Mu Zhiming then lowered his eyes, handed the water bag to Wen Heyin, and cleared his throat as he took a few steps forward. Once he stood near Gu Heyan, Mu Zhiming smiled, bowing to him and Huo Xin with a curtsy: “The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Mu Zhiming, salutes General Gu and Lord Huo.”

“Lord Mu, this matter has nothing to do with you, a Civil Official.” Huo Xin said with a cold voice.

Mu Zhiming waved his hand and said: “Lord Huo, your statement is not correct. While it is true that the investigation of the crime and the arrest of the criminal have nothing to do with me, Lord Huo just mentioned the Great Ancestor’s Imperial Rule. So how can it have nothing to do with me? Since ancient times, the Ministry of Rites has been responsible for the revision as well as improvement of etiquette and music4, as well as being responsible for updating the rules and regulations. Therefore, everything related to rules and regulations are firmly related to the Ministry of Rites.”

“What?” Huo Xin scoffed coldly. “Is the Ministry of Rites trying to change the Imperial Rule given by the Grand Ancestor?”

Mu Zhiming grew impatient: “Lord Huo, how can you speak such nonsense? How could the Ministry of Rites possibly intend to change a rule that not even the Emperor himself can change? Is Lord Huo trying to put the Ministry of Rites in a difficult position?”

Upon receiving a counterattack, Huo Xin frowned: “…..Well, since you are well aware that even the Emperor cannot change it, could I then ask the Lord Assistant Minister if the Jail Department can take the prisoner away?”

Mu Zhiming laughed: “Yes, it is true that the Jail Department has the authority to take the prisoner away. The Imperial Rule of the Great Ancestor dictates so.”

The men of the Capital Prefecture: “????”

Huo Xin, likewise, didn’t expect that Mu Zhiming would agree with him. Thus, Huo Xin was utterly flabbergasted.

Mu Zhiming simply offered a faint smile, and didn’t say much more.

“Well, I admire Lord Mu’s impartiality.” Huo Xi clasped his fist curtly and then ordered the Imperial Guards by his side: “Go and arrest the criminal.”

“Yes!” As soon as the Imperial Guards of the Jail Department received the order, they rushed towards Yuan Baode, who was still being imprisoned by the Capital Prefecture Guards.

However, right when the hand of one of the Imperial Guards touched Yuan Baode’s shoulder, Mu Zhiming spoke again. Only this time, he was looking directly at Pei Yu: “Lord Pei, don’t stand still. Go and ask Lord Huo for ‘that’.”

It wasn’t until hearing these words, that Pei Yu realized that he hadn’t noticed that particular detail until now. As for Huo Xin, upon hearing this, his face suddenly changed, and he looked at Mu Zhiming in disbelief.

Mu Zhiming, still smiling, continued: “Go and ask Lord Huo for the Emperor’s handwritten command. After all, all the cases the Jail Department handles are personally assigned by the Emperor, so there must be an Imperial document to prove it. In addition, when the Jail Department has to take a criminal from other justice departments to trial, they must present the Emperor’s instructions to the authorities.”

“I believe that Lord Huo…..” Mu Zhiming smiled kindly and straightforwardly looked at Huo Xin: “Wouldn’t dare to forge an Imperial decree, right? After all, that’s a capital crime. Lord Huo will certainly be able to take out the Imperial decree right now, won’t he?”

Huo Xin glared at Mu Zhiming fiercely: “You set me up.”

“Ohh, how can this be a trap?” Mu Zhiming spread his hands and said: “This is also written in the Grand Ancestor’s Imperial Order. Lord Huo, it can’t be that….?” Mu Zhiming slowly held back his smile and said with a coldness foreign to him: “It can’t be that Lord Huo believed that no one, but yourself knew about the Great Ancestor’s Imperial Order, right?”

“The first clause of the Great Ancestor’s Imperial Order states that the Jail Department must litigate righteously. To have a clear discernment between right and wrong, to be fair and impartial, to uphold justice above all else. This cannot be forgotten even after a million deaths.”

“Lord Huo, this cannot be forgotten even after a million deaths. But you, do you even remember it?”

Footnotes

太祖 tài zǔ; Posthumous title for the founder (Emperor) of a Dynasty.御史台 yù shǐ tái; It was a high-level supervisory agency in ancient China, first established during the Qin Dynasty [221-207 BC]. During the Ming Dynasty [1368-1644], the Censorate was a branch of the centralized bureaucracy, parallel to the Six Ministries and the five Supreme Military Commissions, for which the Emperor was directly responsible. The censors were “the eyes and ears” of the Emperor, monitoring the Officials at each level to check corruption and economic embezzlement, a common occurrence in that period.大理寺 dà lǐ sì; The Dali Temple was a highly important Official Administrative Office of Ancient China, which was responsible for trials and criminal cases, and was the equivalent to present day Supreme Court. In the Qin [221-207 BC] and Han [206 BC-220 AD] Dynasties, it was known as the ‘Commandant of Justice’ (廷尉 tíng wèi), and it was changed to Dali Temple on Qi of the Northern Dynasties [550-557].礼乐 lǐ yuè; A social system that originated in the Zhou Dynasty [1046-256 BC] in order to maintain social order. Along with the patriarchal system, the social system had a great influence on politics, culture, art, and thinking of later generations. This social system is divided into two parts: Etiquette and music (where dancing is included). The etiquette part divides people’s identity and social norms, forming a hierarchy. The music part is mainly based on the hierarchical system of etiquette, utilizing music and dance to alleviate social conflicts. The regulations on etiquette and music strengthened the concept of hierarchy among people, thus serving a symbolic role in the establishment of authority, along with the standardization of rules in the overall civilization.