Chapter 1896 - Following the Vines
Following the Vines
No one noticed that in a quiet alley nearby, two men dressed as laborers were watching them with cold eyes.
"Looks like the Stone Elder's magic didn't come true," said the one who appeared to be a dock coolie, looking at the man across from him. "It's been how long, and the plague barely killed anyone before it fizzled out. Your so-called sorcery was completely useless."
"Don't you see how much trouble this plague caused the Baldy Bandits?" The other, who looked like a porter, glared back. "Just look at how many shops closed—months of closure. How much silver did the Baldy Bandits lose? Does your master still think we only talk empty words?"
"Save that for bragging to the Stone Elder," the coolie said with a contemptuous smile. "As for empty words, that's exactly what they are. You think this plague was caused by those Taoists your people got to place evil objects in the Six-Meridian Drainage? Let me tell you straight—this was bubonic plague! The Baldy Bandits, not knowing any better, imported furs from Liaodong, and the plague came in with the furs. It has absolutely nothing to do with your grave-digging nonsense."
"If not for the sorcerer the Stone Elder invited..."
"You can stop mentioning that sorcerer. His days are probably numbered—the Australians are going to parade him in public, with an open trial and sentencing. Heads will probably roll all over Guangzhou city."
As he spoke, the laborer leisurely pulled a box of "Big Production" cigarettes from his jacket, fumbling for matches while saying: "The Baldy Bandits' defenses are getting tighter by the day. These underhanded tricks probably won't work anymore. We'll have to think of other ways with the Baldy Bandits' money..."
"You mean the counterfeiting business?"
The laborer snickered, blowing a smoke ring: "I really don't know what to say about the Stone Elder. Of all things, why does he have to counterfeit currency? Let me advise you on behalf of Mr. Paul—counterfeiting, you people can't pull off..."
The porter's face was unconvinced. He laughed coldly: "In that case, please enlighten us, sir—what schemes can be worked with the Baldy Bandits' currency?"
"That's not Mr. Paul's specialty either. But your Great Ming has people who are good at it. Please have the Stone Elder consult more with those Shanxi fellows at the Shanxi banks."
He wanted to say more, but looking up he saw several patrol officers strolling toward the alley with their batons. He shook his head, quickly pressed a small wax pellet into the porter's hand, and walked off with his head down. The porter watched his retreating figure with a sneer. He lowered his head to light a "Big Production" cigarette, took a few puffs, then picked up his carrying pole and also walked toward the alley exit.
After martial law was lifted, the entire municipal government immediately started operating at full speed—too many matters had accumulated. Just the important items before Liu Xiang numbered several: the trial and closure of the witchcraft case; the civil service examination that had been postponed due to the plague; the second public security rectification campaign...
Because the witchcraft case itself was deeply entangled with the Guandi Temple forces, and the Guandi Temple forces—as a criminal organization entrenched in Guangzhou for many years—were actually connected in countless ways to many other criminal and public security cases. One could say they actually played the role of the general mastermind behind all kinds of criminal elements in Guangzhou.
When Shen Ruiming and others organized the case files, they found the overlapping portions were extremely numerous. Many interrogation records involved the Guandi Temple forces.
"This isn't just pulling up a radish and bringing up mud—it's more like pulling peanuts..." Shen Ruiming said, flipping through case files while making marks with red and blue pencils.
"Pulling peanuts?" Zhang Yunmi, who was helping him organize case files, tilted her head and asked.
"Have you ever seen peanuts being pulled from the ground? No? When you pull that thing up, there are many peanuts attached above it, and sometimes the vines extend very deep and far," Shen Ruiming said, pointing at the case files. "Such a case where everything is interconnected—it's really rare."
"Weren't you a lawyer before? You should be well-informed."
Shen Ruiming thought to himself: I was a lawyer, not working in the prosecutor's office. Such "nest cases" I really hadn't had the chance to see.
One name would be connected to multiple cases, and one case would involve many names—like countless spider webs overlapping and interweaving together. Some cases even involved events from many years past, touching all aspects of society.
After discussion, the Elders in Guangzhou decided to use the witchcraft case as an entry point. Through deep investigation of the Guandi Temple forces, they would use this case to conduct a thorough "spring cleaning" of Guangzhou at the social level.
Guangzhou was the first major city the Elders' Council had entered. Before entering the city, the Elders' Council's reputation was merely that of a group of reputable sea merchants—or pirates. After raising the flag of rebellion, they had become treacherous rebel officials. The witchcraft case was an excellent opportunity for the Elders' Council to thoroughly win over Guangdong's popular support.
The cases involving kidnapping for mutilation and trafficking of women and children mainly harmed the urban lower and middle-class commoners. Public anger was immense, the scope of harm was wide, and they seriously affected social stability. Thoroughly investigating and prosecuting these cases would not only rid the people of scourges but would also serve as an excellent entry point for winning the support of the common folk. Once the Elders' Council won the people's hearts, any groups trying to stir up trouble in Guangzhou would become water without a source, trees without roots.
Through case investigation, they would concentrate forces and mobilize the masses to thoroughly eliminate the influence of the Guandi Temple forces. Especially through interrogating the Guandi Temple forces, they would conduct a thorough cleansing of many years-old unsolved cases—further winning the hearts of the common people.
Through the investigation of the witchcraft case and the Guandi Temple forces, they would dig deeply into the backgrounds to justifiably deal with a group of non-cooperative gentry.
Finally, they would use the sensational effects of this case to deflect blame northward, pointing the beneficiaries of the kidnapping-for-mutilation trade at feudal princes, eunuchs, and Ming emperors. The historical fact that Ming emperors loved alchemy was well-established, and combined with damning materials like Jiajing nearly being strangled by palace maids and the Red Pill Case—they would completely drag Ming orthodoxy off its pedestal and place it entirely on the opposite side of the masses.
Liu Xiang instructed the propaganda department to write extensively about this case. The more terrifying the relevant reports, the better. Combined with physical evidence and photographs—this trump card—they would hold traveling exhibitions. The more frightened the masses, the more propaganda could transfer their fear and hatred of the case itself to hatred of the Ming regime. The root cause of these bloody cases was this corrupt, backward society. They would seize the opportunity to accelerate social transformation. Taking this as an opportunity, the Elders' Council would completely establish a firm foothold in Guangdong.
The police department began working day and night—there were simply too many prisoners to interrogate. The interrogation site was moved from within the city to the Ming army barracks at the Eastern Parade Ground. Prisoners in shackles were escorted there in batches.
The former yamen runners of Guangzhou's one prefecture and two counties—whether retained or retired—were all summoned according to roster. Commanded by cadres from the Police Bureau's Pre-trial Section, interrogations were conducted at thirteen locations day and night. At night, bonfires were lit in front of the doors.
Prisoners arrested in various cases, as well as bosses and key members of the Guandi Temple forces, were first stripped of their clothing and subjected to whipping on the rack. Then they were hung up for interrogation. The former yamen runners showed off their skills, applying extreme torture. Finger presses and leg clamps creaked and groaned, and screams, moans, and roars echoed on the wind—like a great hammer pounding the hearts of the gentry and wealthy households along the road from the Great East Gate's Donggao Avenue to Yuanyun Street.
Those who fainted under severe torture were dragged to the parade ground and revived with straw fires, then given strong liquor to restore their consciousness. When their bodies could no longer endure the torture, medical personnel would treat them to prevent death.
The interrogations were conducted based on currently held leads. Since entering the city, various departments had gathered many similar leads while handling various affairs—especially in the brothel industry rectification case and the kidnapping-for-mutilation case, where large amounts of leads had emerged. But either evidence was lacking, or there was no substantial content, making detailed investigation impossible. Now, after Shen Ruiming's organization, all were brought out for questioning.
The investigation followed the principle of "following the vines." Any confession obtained during interrogation that touched on leads to other cases was immediately compiled and handed to relevant personnel for continued questioning. Liu Xiang's instructions were: "Investigate every lead until there are no more confessions!"
After several days and nights of interrogation, more and more people were implicated. The case files recording confessions had piled up. Investigators worked non-stop to sort through these confession leads and organize them into concrete threads.
Soon they discovered the first useful lead to a years-old cold case.
This case was the one He Xi had personally come to Mu Min to report several months ago—the matter of the Wenlan Academy board director setting up the scholar surnamed Wang.
This had been done on Mo Rongxin's instructions—He Xi herself had identified him. But based on her word alone, they obviously couldn't convict. This interrogation, however, unexpectedly revealed the whole story from a boss among the Guandi Temple forces.
It turned out that Mo Rongxin had arranged this through Gao Tianshi, spending five hundred taels of silver. Gao Tianshi had his subordinates find a few swindlers who specialized in setting up gambling traps to lure Scholar Wang into gambling, and had found a frivolous young man who posed as a john to seduce He Xi.
Since specific names were involved, summons were immediately issued, and the several gamblers and the frivolous young man were all arrested. Forty heavy strokes each, and they suddenly "remembered everything."
"Director Mu, should we arrest Mo Rongxin?" Someone came to ask for instructions.
"Not yet. Monitor him first. If there are any signs of him leaving Guangzhou, arrest him immediately." Mu Min looked at a row of shelves by the wall. The shelves were divided into compartments, each with a small wooden placard bearing a name. These compartments held varying numbers of paper slips, each slip bearing a case file index number—all cases related to that person.
Mo Rongxin's compartment had slips piled up—at least thirty or forty. Another compartment for Old Master Zhong Aijiao also held quite a few. These two white gloves of Guangzhou's gentry and wealthy households had apparently been stained quite black indeed.
Mu Min knew Mo Rongxin couldn't escape. However, some people's compartments were still empty. Especially the critical evidence—or at least leads that could open a breakthrough—that Liu Xiang hoped to catch. The compartment for the eldest young master of the Liang family still had not a single slip of paper.
(End of Chapter)