Chapter 46

"Battalion Commander, we found some waist plates with markings, suspected to have been left by the killers!"

Hearing this news, Li Mu could no longer care about the life or death of Deputy Guard Commander Chu and went forward to examine them directly.

"Collect them properly and have the Embroidered Uniform Guard send someone over later to confirm which faction these waist plates belong to."

After studying them for a long time, he couldn't make sense of them.

Li Mu was too lazy to dwell on it and chose to throw the problem to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The powers of Great Great Dayu's two major secret service agencies seem to overlap, but their work focuses are still somewhat different.

The Eastern Depot's main area of activity is centered on the capital, spreading outwards.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is a nationwide organization with strongholds in major prefectures across the country, and its reach even extends to neighboring countries.

When it comes to tracking down the forces behind the scenes, you can't go wrong with them.

After the small interlude, the cleanup work continued, only the focus shifted to counting casualties.

Many colleagues from the Wucheng Military Commission came to attend the banquet last night; except for those who followed the Marquis of Marquis Wuyang and escaped successfully, the whereabouts of the rest remain unknown.

Who was captured and who unfortunately perished must be tallied as soon as possible.

Looking at the mangled corpses, Li Mu suppressed his inner discomfort and insisted on working on the front line.

"Battalion Commander, we found an eyewitness from last night!"

Company Commander Yun said with an excited face.

The appearance of an eyewitness means a major turning point in the case.

The nature of last night's case was extremely vile, and it would be hard to find a match for it in the history of Great Great Dayu.

Solving such a major case is a great achievement.

While he wouldn't guarantee anything else, everyone present could at least be promoted by one rank, and with good luck, even two or three ranks is possible.

"Bring the person here; I will question them personally."

Li Mu ordered with a straight face.

The slight twitch of his mouth still betrayed his good mood.

With new clues appearing, he is one step closer to the "true culprit" behind the scenes surfacing.

Regardless of whether someone arranged it deliberately, as long as the investigation yields results, it is a great achievement.

Even if the evidence is all flawed, it doesn't matter.

In essence, what they need right now is a list, not evidence.

Searching for evidence is a routine matter, deliberately done for the world to see.

"My lord, last night our brothers were drinking at the Yihong Brothel across from the Changchun Tower.

Suddenly we heard shouting and killing from across the way, and looking in the direction of the sound, we discovered a group of men in black killing their way into the Changchun Tower.

Blocked by buildings, we couldn't see the situation inside; we only knew the fighting lasted for over an hour.

Oh right, in the private room next to ours, an accomplice of the thieves gave them a signal to retreat.

The leader of them was even muttering about the Seven Prefectures Alliance of the Two Two Huai, wanting to control the world's private salt trade.

Finally, he even went insane and said a bunch of treasonous words; the specific content was truly too unsightly for me to repeat!"

"My lord, everything Brother Wang said is true, and there are singing girls from the Yihong Brothel who can testify.

People in the other private rooms should have been able to hear it too; we can confront them.

Please don't let the Embroi..."

Realizing he had made a slip of the tongue, the young scholar immediately gave himself a hard slap.

In general, when encountering such things, everyone avoids them, and very few people would take the initiative to get involved.

They chose to come forward themselves mainly because they heard the Embroidered Uniform Guard was investigating the case and would be vetting the guests from across the way last night.

Compared to the notoriety of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Wucheng Military Commission, which deals with playboys fighting every day, appears much kinder in the eyes of the outside world.

"Alright, you don't need to be so excited.

This is a case managed by my Wucheng Military Commission, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard cannot intervene without authorization.

You only need to say what you know, and I will block the Embroidered Uniform Guard for you!"

Li Mu promised, taking full responsibility.

So many "big shots" died last night, and quite a few were captured by the enemy; this is no ordinary case.

It involves the face of many powerful people in the capital, and the slightest carelessness will bring trouble upon oneself; smart people would only avoid it.

The sons of the nobility cannot die in vain; the credit for solving the case must fall within the nobility, which is the tacit understanding of all parties.

"My lord, that is all we know!"

The young scholar said with a mournful face.

If they had known they would run into such a thing, they wouldn't have come out last night.

They didn't even get to enjoy their wine and ended up putting themselves in danger.

"Alright, I know!

If there are follow-up questions, I will send someone to notify you.

Before the case is cleared, you are not allowed to leave Yangzhou Prefecture.

If you remember anything else, you can also come and report it.

If it helps solve the case, I will naturally request a reward for you from the imperial court.

By the way, have you heard of this Seven Prefectures Alliance of the Two Two Huai?"

Li Mu changed the subject and asked.

First the "Seven Prefectures Master," then a "Seven Prefectures Alliance"—it's clear they are being directed to investigate the Seven Prefectures.

If nothing goes wrong, the waist plates left behind by the killers will also point to the same target.

Adding the word "Alliance" confirms that the Seven Prefectures are not a single force, but an alliance composed of multiple forces, or rather, someone wants to define them as an "Alliance."

Since the disaster of the powerful clans, rulers of feudal dynasties have increased their suppression of local clans.

After the establishment of Great Great Dayu, in order to curb the unlimited expansion of local clans, they issued restrictive decrees many times.

Local clans forming alliances is even more of a taboo for the imperial court.

If the great families of the Two Two Huai region have formed an alliance in secret, even without the salt administration issue, the court would still want to clean them out.

"My lord, we haven't heard of a Seven Prefectures Alliance; we've only heard of the Seven Great..."

Halfway through the sentence, the white-clothed scholar realized the situation was not good.

To them, the Seven Great Families of the Two Two Huai region are like heaven itself.

Although on the surface they are all scholarly families and no different from ordinary gentry families, in secret, anyone who has offended them dies a miserable death.

Even high-ranking officials in the capital, if they want to live comfortably while serving in the Two Two Huai region, must first visit these local snakes.

"The Seven Great Families of the Two Two Huai, sounds quite arrogant.

Today I will also broaden my horizons; may I ask which families they are?"

Li Mu asked with a smile.

It happens to be seven families, the number matches perfectly; this Seven Prefectures Alliance is most likely them.

"My lord, we were just talking nonsense; please don't take it to heart!"

The green-clothed scholar on the side said in panic.

Although they are also sons of gentry, compared to the Seven Great Families, the strength of both sides is not on the same level at all.

If the Seven Great Families found out it was them who led the government troops to them, that would be fatal.

"Hmph!"

"I told you to speak, so answer quickly.

The heaven of Great Great Dayu is the Emperor's heaven; no matter how terrifying the Seven Great Families are, can they really cover the sky with one hand?"

Li Mu reprimanded sternly.

With the credit delivered right to his eyes, how could he give up halfway?

No matter how large the Seven Great Families' influence is, they cannot withstand the court's deliberate targeting this time.

(End of chapter)