Chapter 499: Filing a Complaint

On the west side of the Great Jin Imperial City stands the White Tiger Master Slay, guarding the west; thus a large expanse of palaces and pavilions there belongs to the Great Jin Military Department.

In the northwest corner of the Great Jin Military Department, an extremely secluded compound isolated by high walls and the main military buildings, covering about a hundred mu, is the Imperial City Military Command.

Once, the Imperial City Military Command was also a place of great splendor and prestige.

For example, when Sima Wuyou was the Divine Emperor of Great Jin, the Imperial City Military Command reported directly to the Divine Emperor, oversaw the Four Gardens Guards in the east, west, south, and north, commanded the Twelve Guards Great Army of An'yang City, and even had a dedicated force responsible for the daily security, patrols, and apprehension work in An'yang and the surrounding hundred prefectures.

Just how great was the authority and power of the Imperial City Military Command back then? Suffice it to say that the twelve sets of Heavenly Stars Armor now in Wu Tie's hands were the exclusive armor of the commanders of An'yang City's Twelve Guards Great Army.

And the thirty-six Four Spirit Warships were the flagship vessels of the East, West, South, and North Gardens Guards at that time.

But times have changed; six thousand years ago, the Great Jin imperial family underwent a drastic upheaval, the crown prince rebelled with his followers, Sima Wuyou reluctantly abdicated, Sima Xian ascended the Divine Emperor's throne, and then Linghu Qingqing and Gongyang Sanlü rose to power, subjecting the emperor's dignity to ministerial authority.

Of the Four Gardens Guards, only the oldest, the East Garden Guard representing the origin of the Great Jin imperial line, remains; the Twelve Guards Great Army has long vanished, as has the inspection army that once roamed An'yang and the surrounding hundred prefectures, wielding the power to execute first and report later against officials of third rank and below, now scattered like yesterday's wilted flowers.

Nowadays, the Imperial City Military Command is so deserted that sparrows can be caught at its gate.

"Shh, keep quiet!"

The gate of the Imperial City Military Command's office stood half open, half closed; several men in black tight uniforms with gold plaques hanging at their waists, obviously of low rank, sat on the long bench by the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, eyes closed, snoring.

Inside the spacious courtyard, someone was actually scattering handfuls of millet, propping up a large gauze net several zhang wide, engaged in the boring pastime of catching birds.

The round gauze cover was held up three feet high by a thin wooden stick; beneath it lay glittering millet. A thin rope was tied to the stick, its length of several dozen zhan stretching eastward to the covered walkway, where a middle‑aged man in a deep‑purple robe, hatless, lay prone.

Several similarly gold‑plaqued men who ought to hold the rank of Great Jin general grinned mischievously as they squatted beneath the covered walkway, silently watching their direct superior amuse himself catching sparrows there.

What else could they do?

If they weren't catching sparrows… there would be no official business, no paperwork, and the Imperial City Military Command could hardly meddle in the Military Department's affairs, let alone take charge of An'yang Prefecture's daily security—those powers were gone.

Besides catching sparrows, what else could they do?

The current Chief of the Imperial City Military Command, the Great Jin Xuan King Sima Zhi, is a man of principle; he would never indulge in drunken revelry while on duty, lacking any scruples.

So Sima Zhi could only catch sparrows.

In response, Sima Zhi grandly declared: "I am not catching sparrows for sport, but to nurture a patriotic, people‑loving sentiment… By catching a single sparrow, frying it as a snack, I could save how much grain for the farmers tilling the fields outside An'yang City each year?"

Under the net, seven sparrows of different varieties hopped about, pecking at the glittering millet.

The officers of the Imperial City Military Command clenched their fists, silently cheering their chief, hoping he would quickly pull the rope and draw those few sparrows into the net.

But they also knew that Sima Zhi had a few quirks.

When catching sparrows, he would only pull the rope if the net contained an even number; an odd number, unpaired, he would never pull it—if the net held an odd number of sparrows, Sima Zhi would at least feel uneasy for three to five days, losing appetite and sleep.

"One more… one more… tsk, one more… just one more…" Sima Zhi widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the sparrows beneath the net, murmuring softly over and over.

Suddenly, the urgent sound of hooves shattered the tranquility of the Imperial City Military Command's office; the sparrows beneath the net shrieked and flapped their wings wildly in a desperate attempt to flee.

Sima Zhi's net was huge; the sparrows flapped wildly trying to escape, but they slammed into the net, making it shake violently.

Sima Zhi's finger twitched, and he jerked the rope hard.

The stick fell, the net dropped, and Sima Zhi leapt up, his face twisted as he stared at the five sparrows desperately fluttering beneath the net.

Seven sparrows, two escaped, leaving only five!

An odd number!

"Your Lordship, it's an odd number!" an officer cautiously raised his right hand and whispered to Sima Zhi.

"Heh, heh… an odd number!" Sima Zhi tilted his head at the sparrows in the net; a red sun‑like glow rose behind him, his body trembled slightly, and the whole courtyard was engulfed in a scorching heat.

"Chief, Your Lordship, you must uphold justice for our East Garden Guard!" dozens of East Garden Guard officers crashed the gate of the Imperial City Military Command with a clatter and strode in.

Afterward, they stared blankly at Sima Zhi's twisted face, then at the five sparrows struggling in the net, and the whole group silently closed their mouths.

The Chief of the Imperial City Military Command, the Xuan King Sima Zhi's little hobby, is no secret throughout An'yang City.

Everyone also knows this prince's many quirks.

The sparrows in the net must be an even number—whoever made his net hold an odd number, heh!

"Are your fathers dead?" Sima Zhi dropped the rope, tilted his head, and stared at the group of guard officers who had suddenly burst in.

They all shook their heads vigorously.

"Then are your mothers dead?" Sima Zhi's voice sounded flimsy.

The guard officers shook their heads again, in perfect unison, a pleasing sight.

"Heh, your parents are both alive—hasn't your wife given you a green hat?" Sima Zhi chuckled.

The guard officers stepped back two steps in unison, then gave a dry laugh.

"Since that's not the case, and it's not yet payday at month's end, why have you come? Looking for death?" Sima Zhi jumped and shouted: "Wrong, you damned— the entire annual budget of the East Garden Guard is allocated at the year's start; you haven't reported for duty at the Imperial City Military Command for over two years…"

"You came today just to deliberately bring bad luck upon me?"

Sima Zhi screamed hysterically.

On the high wall behind the covered walkway, several mid‑level civil officials from the Military Department had climbed up, peering over to look into this courtyard.

"Hey, five, five, hey."

"An odd number, this is an odd number!"

"Beat them, Xuan King Prince, beat them… this clueless lot disturbed your leisure, beat them!"

Several civil officials from the Military Department laughed softly.

Next, a few men in deep‑purple and light‑purple robes—clearly high‑ranking officials of the Military Department—sneaked a peek over the wall, shrinking back as they watched, smiling silently.

Sima Zhi heard the commotion from atop the wall behind him, and his face grew ever more twisted.

He glanced at the five sparrows in the net, extended his hand, and five fingers shot out near‑substantial flames, poised to strike—but he paused, withdrew his hand, gritted his teeth, walked to the net, lifted it, and let the five desperately struggling sparrows escape to safety.

"This time doesn't count, doesn't count; next time, next time." Sima Zhi pressed his palms together before his chest, murmuring for a while, then shook his head vigorously: "Cultivate the mind, nurture the nature, do not grow angry, do not lose temper… Someone, summon to court!"

Sima Zhi suddenly jumped up, his face flushed red as he bellowed: "Someone, summon to court—first seize these deserters who abandoned their posts and garrisons, beat each one a hundred… no, five hundred… no, a thousand times with military sticks!"

Clang—clang—boom!

Strange sounds echoed from various parts of the Imperial City Military Command's office.

Disheveled officials of the Imperial City Military Command stumbled out from the various halls, someone dropped his waist sword, someone bumped into another, someone half‑asleep crashed into a pillar of the covered walkway.

All the way stumbling and splashing, a hundred or so officials ran to Sima Zhi's front.

"Seize them, seize them, beat them, beat them, strip off their armor and battle robes, beat them hard, beat them sincerely, beat them thoroughly, beat them to death……" Sima Zhi pointed at those pallid forbidden army commanders and roared: "As long as you don't beat them to death, beat them to death…… hey, wait a moment!"

"This one, this one, and this one too, they are my concubine's brothers, they are my wife's brothers-in-law, so-so, let them go, those three don't beat them, the others, beat them to death!"

On the wall, more and more military department officials came to watch the fun.

They watched as dozens of East Garden Forbidden Army commanders, wailing heaven and earth, were pressed to the ground, stripped of their armor and battle robes, revealing pale or dark buttocks, the heavy pure-metal military clubs with a muffled whistling sound slamming down heavily.

These East Garden Forbidden Army commanders…… when have they ever suffered such hardship?

The club blasts shook the sky; dozens of commanders were beaten until their skin split and flesh tore, each wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, some even weeping bitterly, loudly begging for mercy, and some were knocked unconscious by the blows.

That scene was truly a tragedy beyond words, making anyone who watched it feel heartbroken and tearful.

The military department officials each tried not to laugh, pointing and commenting from over there.

Soon after, many scouts from the military department had already returned to the military department courtyard, bringing the information they had gathered; quickly, everyone in the military department, from senior generals to junior officials and even clerks without rank, learned of the tragic fate of those East Garden Forbidden Army commanders.

These fellows, newly risen hotshots, the Duke of Yuzhou appointed by Sima Xian, and the East Garden Colonel Huo Xiong, besides being stripped of their military status, were driven out of the East Garden?

From Sun Bingbing all the way down to the ordinary soldiers, all commanders, officers, and low-ranking troops, over a hundred thousand people, were all discharged?

"Over a hundred thousand people……" a military department commander chuckled hehe: "The East Garden Forbidden Army is a prime position, no wonder they came to file a complaint."

But in an instant, that military department commander's face suddenly changed.

All the officials up and down the military department exchanged glances, their faces turning exceedingly subtle.

"One hundred twenty years ago, the Left Minister presented to His Majesty, again reducing the East Garden Forbidden Army's establishment…… even so, the East Garden Forbidden Army should still have a million troops! How could over a hundred thousand be discharged? And there are still nearly ninety thousand on the rolls." The military department commander who had just laughed glanced around at his many colleagues.

"Are they eating empty pay?" a first-rank general of the military department muttered to himself.

"Or is it the forbidden army?" another second-rank commander narrowed his eyes.

"Our Great Jin, the last unit directly under the royal family, the forbidden army, has actually been drained of ninety percent of its pay?" a civil official of the military department's secretariat hall said softly: "If I recall correctly, the former East Garden Colonel was from the Eastern Palace."

"This…… the East Garden Forbidden Army is under the direct command of the Capital City Military and Horse Bureau; my Law and Punishment Bureau has no supervisory authority over it, so over the years the Law and Punishment Bureau has also not imposed any restrictions on the East Garden Forbidden Army." A high official of the military department's Law and Punishment Bureau, as if injected with adrenaline, jumped up: "The military law is corrupt…… the mere structure of my single bureau of the Law and Punishment Bureau is obviously unable to deter lawless people in the military."

The high official of the Law and Punishment Bureau widened his eyes and said: "I strongly suggest that the military department's Law and Punishment Bureau be upgraded to a Law and Punishment Hall."

All the senior officials of the military department stared blankly, then simultaneously spat at that guy, and turned and left.

The East Garden Forbidden Army has run into trouble, and it even involves the Eastern Palace Crown Prince…… this matter…… is practically like a bloody slab of fat meat, instantly arousing the strong appetite of these military department predators!

Sima Zhi stood in the courtyard of the Capital City Military and Horse Bureau; he suddenly turned his head and glanced at the wall behind him.

On the wall, the military department officials had all retreated; they were busily going about their business.

Sima Zhi's eyes dimmed slightly; he closed his eyes, then took a deep breath.

"Enough, no more beating; if we keep beating, they'll really die. Come, let me hear exactly what happened."

Sima Zhi walked with his hands behind his back, swaying every three steps, pacing with the distinctive square step of a landlord, slowly toward the somewhat ancient hall of the Capital City Military and Horse Bureau that hadn't been repaired in years.

The forbidden army commanders, beaten until their buttocks split open and their thighs a bloody mess, were dragged into the hall and then heavily thrown to the ground.

After a quarter of an hour, having listened to the forbidden army commanders' lamentations, Sima Zhi gently shook his head.

"That Huo Xiong, did he really kill that Luo family youngster with a single punch?"

"Ah, that Luo family youngster…… his father and I once had some acquaintance; when we were young, we used to go to the brothel together." Sima Zhi let out a heavy sigh: "Poor, poor, how did he get beaten to death?"

"The Duke of Yuzhou really came down hard…… truly too harsh."

Sima Zhi shook his head, took out two ingots of gold from his sleeve, and casually handed them to a nearby clerk: "Here, take this; when the Luo family holds the funeral, remember to offer me some incense, candles, and paper money." Ah, the Duke of Yuzhou really came down hard…… truly too harsh.

He smacked his lips, Sima Zhi shook his head: "Alright, I know about this…… go back, go back, look at yourselves all bloody and miserable, so pitiful…… go back and recuperate properly, don't skimp on the medicine expenses, be sure to use good medicine."

"You're young, don't be reluctant to use good medicine; otherwise you'll leave a lingering illness, and when you're older you'll know how serious it is."

Sima Zhi chattered on for a while, then stood up, glanced at the weather outside the hall, and suddenly laughed while clapping his hands: "How wonderful, it's noon already; by custom, we take a two-hour midday rest…… I've booked two tables of swallow-wing feasts at Jade Hall Spring across the street; come on, come on, fine wine and delicacies must not be wasted!"

A dozen or so of the top figures of the Capital City Military and Horse Bureau, both civil and military officials, each with a slight paunch, followed Sima Zhi out of the hall laughing and swaggering away.

All the East Garden Forbidden Army commanders stood stunned.

They were utterly bewildered in the wind.

"Your Highness…… please give us justice!" dozens of commanders wailed as if they had lost their parents.

Sima Zhi broke into a little jog, darted straight out of the Capital City Military and Horse Bureau office, and vanished without a trace.