Chapter 490 - Lu Zhi, the Watchdog
Lu Zhi sat in his room, writing notes on a scroll.
On the scroll, it was a report of his colleagues" behavior after Tong had shut himself in his chamber.
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Te Langpu
(1) Sold government a.s.sets to outsiders. All monetary gained are sent to the treasury.
(2) Established illegal casinos in Zhongyuan and Ji Province.
(3) Interfered with the police department. 30 officers in the department were found accepting Te Langpu"s bribes. The motive is unknown.
(4) Established an intelligence agency without the court"s consent. Name of the agency - CIA.
(5) Had a feud with Dong Bai. We often found Te Langpu contacting his CIA agents after the feud had started.
(6) Never been found in any embezzlement act. All bribes came from him were his a.s.sets.
Evaluation: Odd way of management. Some see him as a devoted minister, but many see him as an untrustworthy rebel. We should investigate further about his true motive.
Zhen Yi
(1) Hiding Sun Ce and Zhou Yu inside Zhongshan. Motive - Unknown. Army - 2,000 Men.
(2) Raising Zhen Fu to be the emperor"s concubine.
(3) Bought 50% Zhongshan farmland and 80% Zhongshan businesses from Te Langpu
(4) Embezzled 50,000 gold for the sake of gambling in one of Te Langpu"s casinos.
Evaluation: A crooked governor and a potential rebel. Get rid of him ASAP.
w.a.n.g Yun
(1) Bought 80% Nanpi farmland and 60% Nanpi businesses from Te Langpu
(2) Dissatisfied with his governor status. Servants often heard his complaints and curses.
(3) Rarely performed his governor"s duties.
(4) Often attempted to contact Diaochan. Reports said he wanted promotion using her status as the prime consort, but the latter always refused.
(4) Found visiting Zhongshan in early January.
Evaluation: Untrustworthy. He should be put in the elimination list.
Cai Yong
(1) Bought only farmland, but share them with the local peasants. He allowed farmers to cultivate lands with low taxes.
(2) Refused to enlist mercenaries when urged by Te Langpu.
(3) Was contacted by Cai Wenji"s servants. He informed his daughter to form an alliance with other concubines during the time you are away.
(4) Forbade his subordinates from causing troubles.
Evaluation: Honest n.o.bleman. He can be trusted.
Sima Fang
(1) Bought all businesses and farmland in Ji, Beiping, and Xiangping.
(2) All governors in the commanderies are Sima Fang"s subordinates.
(3) Reduced all tax rates in the three commanderies. Peasants are happy under his rule.
(4) Half of the policemen in You Province were once Sima Clan"s private forces.
(5) No military activities.
Evaluation: Dubious, but he meant no harm. We can trust this man and his clansmen.
Zhuge Liang
(1) Begin contacting Dong Bai after the ma.s.s awakening had started.
(2) Acted as Dong Bai"s supporter on the surface. True motive - Te Langpu"s death (as reported by Dong Bai)
(3) Never spoke or contributed in any meeting.
(4) Borrowed Dong Bai"s authority to mobilize her intelligence agents.
Evaluation: A chaos factor and a manipulator. Demotion or imprisonment is advised.
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Lu Zhi sighed as he put his ink brush away. He folded the scroll and brought it with himself.
The minister moved his tea table to the side and opened an underground door, where the table used to stand on.
He carried the scroll and walked down the stairs with a torch.
The light illuminated the underground pa.s.sage, which led toward a secret chamber.
Upon reaching the secret room, Lu Zhi could see his disciple, who was sitting cross-legged, meditating.
The person was Tong!
Behind Tong"s back, 8 black wings fluttered. However, red lines had appeared all over Tong"s body as if he was about to shatter into pieces like broken gla.s.ses.
The breakthrough was a success, but it was not perfect. Tong suffered soul injuries, just like Guan Yu did.
It would take a while before he could recover. However, he could spare a bit of time to converse with Lu Zhi now.
"Disciple, I"ve brought the summarized report."
Tong slightly opened his eyes, but he shut them down because of the pain.
"I can"t use my eyes just yet. Can you read them for me?"
"Sure."
Lu Zhi began citing what he wrote without opening the scroll. He also added more comments that he forgot to write.
…
After Lu Zhi had finished telling Tong what he thought of the current movements in the outside world, Tong sighed.
"Ha… They"re at it."
"… Yeah. Without a cat, the rats are on the loose."
"I let my eyes off them for a year. They"re already showing their true colors."
"You can"t blame them, though. Diaochan"s breakthrough timing was bad. Had she delayed it for a year or two, this wouldn"t have happened."
"No. It"s cool. It"s better to flush them out earlier than allowing them to settle their roots years later. It would have been more troublesome had Zhen Yi and w.a.n.g Yun come out when they had many wings and immortal subordinates."
Tong had already expected everyone"s reaction and steeled his heart for facing betrayals and unruly opportunists, but he did not expect that Te Langpu, Zhen Yi, and w.a.n.g Yun would be one of them.
It was fortunate that Cao Cao was not a part of the list. Or else, Tong would have died by headache.
"True. The ma.s.s awakening is confusing our civilians and officers. Many of them died early in the other world, and some of them were killed by yellow turbans. I think a few of them will probably hold a grudge against your father and you."
"We can"t help it. This is Lilim"s work, so we will have to clean this up ourselves."
Lu Zhi"s face grimaced when Tong mentioned Lilim"s name. He had learned about this individual from Tong, Friday, and Medusa that she was the mastermind behind this reincarnation mess and the ma.s.s awakening.
From the locals" point of view, Lilim could be their G.o.ddess, but she was also a devil who brought chaos to this world.
"Can you defeat her with your current power, disciple?"
"No. Lilim has 10 wings. We"re not ready yet."
"I see. Well, let"s be patient and play her game for now. Keep cultivating, Tong."
"I will, master. By the way, can you relay some words to my empress?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Kill Zhen Yi and find Sun Ce"s whereabouts. Don"t be afraid of the backlashes. End the rebellion before they bud."
Lu Zhi had expected this. He nodded, "What about Zhuge Liang, Sima Fang, or Te Langpu?"
"Sima Fang is fine. He"s just keeping the royal court in check, so I can"t abuse my power. Te Langpu is doing his things. His methods might be immoral to others, but he wants the best for our country. Let him loose for a while, so we can weed out hidden crooks that Te Langpu can fish out."
"I see. So Te Langpu is our double-agent without him realizing it?"
"Sort of."
"What about Zhuge Liang?"
Tong sighed, "This brat wants to test us. Leave him be."
"Should we demote him or imprison him?"
"Don"t provoke Zhuge Liang for now. Concentrate on eliminating Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and all our rebelling officers."
"Who should we send? Sun Ce and Zhou Yu should have about 4 wings by now."
"Sun Ce might have 6, actually. Summon Lu Bu. Tell him that I"ll make him the grand commander of all legions. He will do it."
"Are you sure? Won"t he rebel when he has too much power?"
"Eh, he might act tough and unruly, but his sincerity is genuine. He never killed Ding Yuan, so he won"t dare to betray anyone in this world."
"All right. I believe you. Hurry and get back on your feet. The country needs you back."
"I know. I"ll do my best."
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Lu Zhi did not bother hiding his intent and order. He delivered Tong"s messages in the clan chat.
Lu Zhi: "Zhen Yi!! You have been found colluding with the wanted Sun Ce and Zhou Yu! The emperor has ordered, you are to surrender immediately or face the consequences!"
Lu Zhi: "Lu Bu!! The emperor has summoned you to Zhongshan!! Locate Sun Ce and Zhou Yu! He wants them dead!!"
Lu Zhi: "w.a.n.g Yun, Te Langpu, Zhuge Liang!! You have been warned by the emperor!! Don"t cross the line, or he will come and get all of you himself!! He has broken through and gained his 8th wing, so don"t you dare thinking he won"t come out within this year!!"
Lu Zhi"s public warning was like lightning during a clear sky. It came out of nowhere that it caught everyone off guard.
Te Langpu: "I did everything for the sake of this kingdom, Zhang Tong."
As a former businessman, Te Langpu excused that he was innocent. He had no reason to yield to Lu Zhi"s threat since his position was above the angry minister.
In fact, he did not believe that Tong would come out this year.
Lu Zhi: "Including gambling dens?"
Te Langpu: "I confess that I"m running those dens. But it brings tourists and more tax income, no? Come and visit my casinos, and you"ll find many foreigners and merchants from the west spending their money. I"m doing you a favor!"
Lu Zhi: "His majesty will deal with your illegal business matters later. For now, stop what you"re doing. You"ve given too many lands to our officers!!"
This was Te Langpu"s weak point. He sold too many lands to fellow n.o.bles in the guise of contribution rewards. Even if he gave away all profits from the real estate and brokerages to the government treasury, his action was still unacceptable to the local ministers.
Te Langpu: "… Fine."
Thus, Te Langpu yielded, for now.
But Lu Zhi did not stop. He switched his target to Zhuge Liang.
Lu Zhi: "Zhuge Liang!! We found you attempting to manipulate the empress. This is my last warning. Don"t cross the line!!"