Chapter 996: A sycophant

A few days later, the news spread back to the capital.

Meng Laoda and his party encountered an ambush halfway; they fought to the death without retreating and suffered heavy casualties. Meng Laoda was seriously injured and died on the spot.

The fake Ma Liu also died on the spot.

The brothers of the Six Shanmen who survived were bringing the corpses of Meng Laoda and the others back to the capital.

The Ministry of Justice was furious!

It was said that Sun Daoning fired cannons at the Grand Court of Revision during the morning court. Both sides had a "real sword and real gun" fight.

Xie Changling took the opportunity to come forward, accusing the Grand Court of Revision of provoking strife and harboring malicious intentions, fearing that what they were plotting was not small, and it was necessary to investigate strictly!

Emperor Jian Shi nodded in agreement.

In an instant, the roles of offense and defense were swapped; the Grand Court of Revision became the target and suffered firepower attacks. To show fairness, the Ministry of Justice invited the Censorate to participate in this investigation to strictly investigate the corruption within the Grand Court of Revision.

The gods were fighting above, and it wasn't peaceful below either.

Chen Guanlou convened a middle-level meeting.

Everyone's expressions were very solemn and slightly nervous.

Especially Xu Fugui, cold sweat dripping, with a look of lingering fear, his legs shaking non-stop, unable to control it at all. He had almost died!

Thinking of this, he had nightmares every night.

When the news of Meng Laoda's death came back, he had nightmares every night. He truly didn't expect that Ma Liu's case would implicate so much and cause so many people to die.

Back then, if it weren't for Prison Warden Chen discovering the problem in time and cleaning up the mess in time, the one who died would have been him.

Xu Fugui truly experienced the feeling of surviving a disaster.

"You all know the matter; Meng Laoda died outside. Everyone in this line of prison work has worked for at least ten years, and the longest for decades. Why Meng Laoda died, I think I don't need to say, you all know in your hearts."

Everyone nodded slightly, feeling a sense of sympathy! This line of work earns a lot, but it costs your life!

"I have repeatedly reminded you, warned you, that this line of work in the Heavenly Prison must be done according to the rules and regulations. Why? Because doing so will save your lives at critical moments. You all know the ins and outs of Ma Liu's case; if at the beginning, Xu Fugui had strictly verified the prisoner's identity according to the rules and regulations, would there have been a series of subsequent troubles? Would people have died? Would the Grand Court of Revision have had the opportunity to find fault?"

Everyone looked at Xu Fugui in unison.

Xu Fugui lowered his head, unable to refute.

Chen Guanlou kept a straight face and continued: "Many people think that I am too serious in doing things, and some say that rules and regulations are just for show and not that important.

Now, Ma Liu's case tells us that the existence of rules and regulations has its own reasons. On weekdays, it looks unimportant, even appearing superfluous. However, at critical moments, it can save lives.

It's just that no one knows when the critical moment is, or which case is the critical case.

Just like Ma Liu's case, who among you could have thought beforehand that Meng Laoda would lose his life because of this case? Who could have thought that this case would become the breakthrough point for the Grand Court of Revision to pry open the Ministry of Justice?

Therefore, don't have any fluke mentality, don't think that you will always be the lucky one. From today on, every prisoner, every case, you must handle it according to the rules and regulations; absolutely no laziness or trickery is allowed. Otherwise, next time something happens, you won't have Xu Fugui's good luck.

I can't discover problems every time I patrol; don't count on me to clean up the mess for you every time!"

"My lord, rest assured, the Jia-grade prison has always been checking every prisoner according to your requirements, ensuring that the person and the file are consistent. For so many years, we haven't dared to be the slightest bit slack." Chen Quan said first.

Someone below whispered: "Sycophant!"

"Who is saying sycophant?" Chen Guanlou roared, and the office, which had been quite harmonious, instantly became tense.

Everyone looked at each other!

No one stood up to admit it.

Chen Guanlou shouted sternly: "Why accuse Prison Clerk Chen of being a sycophant? Since when has loving to work seriously and completing work according to requirements become being a sycophant? Could it be that you all want to learn from Xu Fugui, cause a huge disaster, and hang your heads on the gate of the Heavenly Prison to be considered shrewd and capable?

I tell you, the Heavenly Prison doesn't need shrewdness and oiliness, but caution and responsibility. If you have opinions on my words, bring them up now. If you have opinions on me, I'll have to ask you to get lost!"

No one made a sound!

The office was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look directly into Chen Guanlou's eyes; it seemed everyone was feeling guilty!

Actually, Chen Guanlou knew very well who was saying sycophant, even though it was very quiet, it couldn't be hidden from his ears. He didn't name names; some things didn't need to be put on the table.

He said angrily: "I originally thought Meng Laoda's death would make you learn a lesson. Now it seems I thought too much. You bunch of people who are full of all five poisons—eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling—no wonder people outside say you are rotten people, low-class people.

Look at your behavior, eating from the public trough, yet belittling yourselves. I don't ask you to be progressive, just ask you to be responsible in your work and complete your duties well; can't you even do this? If you can't, get lost sooner!"

"My lord, calm your anger!" It was Chen Quan again. "Ma Liu's case, Meng Laoda's matter, everyone hasn't fully adapted yet. Please give everyone some time; we will definitely learn a lesson from this case."

"Dismissed, dismissed!" Chen Guanlou looked impatient, appearing furious. "If you want to seek death, go ahead, I won't stop you. If you don't listen to me, it doesn't matter. Only one point: next time something happens, don't come crying and begging for your lives in front of me. I don't have time!"

"I listen to my lord!" Xu Fugui stood up abruptly and was the first to express his stance. "My lord, rest assured, from now on, the Bing-grade prison will definitely strictly execute the rules and regulations, ensuring we don't make the same mistake."

Chen Guanlou glanced at the other man and nodded reluctantly, considering it an acknowledgment.

"My lord, just watch; I will definitely manage the Bing-grade prison in an orderly manner." Xu Fugui guaranteed.

Chen Guanlou praised him slightly. "Prison Clerk Xu can learn a lesson and improve his work; this is very good."

Prison Clerk Miao coughed slightly. "The situation in the Yi-grade prison is a bit complicated; many times, we can't tell who is who at all. Whatever the higher-ups say, we do; there's no room for us to speak."

"I understand the particularity of the Yi-grade prison. Thank you for your hard work, Prison Clerk Miao; if you discover any problems, you can report directly to the Ministry of Justice." Chen Guanlou said so.

The Ministry of Justice didn't want him to intervene in the Yi-grade prison either. He was too lazy to care about how many shady dealings were inside. As long as it didn't affect his normal work, it was fine.

The meeting ended.

Everyone dispersed!

Xu Fugui walked at the very end, hesitating.

After everyone else had left, he returned and handed over an envelope. "My lord, this is a little token of my appreciation; please accept it. This time, it's thanks to you, my lord, that I was able to save my life."

Chen Guanlou raised his eyebrows slightly. "Dealing with Ma Liu wasn't specifically for you."

"I know, I know all that. However, it was you, my lord, who saved my life and the lives of my brothers. Please don't think this token is too small!" ===== CHAPTER 997 =====