Yinshan Record

Chapter 219 The Demon Book City God
Handle a case?
Su Che had no idea what he needed Shi Chibao to do.

According to the internal rules of the Imperial Guards, there are two types of Imperial Guards who hold the rank of commander of a thousand.

One type was like Shi Chibao and Su Che, who were local commanders of thousands. The so-called "Chief of Criminal Investigation" and "Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigation" were essentially the chief officials of the Imperial Guards in the localities.

In later terms, the Chief Justice of a Thousand Household was said to "oversee all work," meaning he was responsible for all matters, large and small, related to the Imperial Guards in the entire prefecture.

The Deputy Commander of the Criminal Division, in modern terms, could be described as "responsible for all aspects of work," assisting the former in handling matters large and small.

The actual cases were handled by the local officials.

Similarly, at a higher level, the Imperial Guards were directly managed by the inner court, above whom were eunuchs; in other words, they were directly responsible to the emperor.

However, the actual handling of cases was handled by a group of commanders from the Imperial Guard. They were the ones directly responsible for handling all kinds of major and important cases within the inner court.

Even if there were any major cases that required a nominal appointment, it wouldn't be Shi Chibao who handled them personally.

He had no choice but to take charge before, but now that Su Che has been appointed as the Deputy Commander of the Criminal Division, he should be under Su Che's command.

Of course, these are established rules, not inviolable golden rules.

"Someone is spreading heretical books in Cizhou."

Shi Chibao sighed helplessly and pulled a small booklet from his sleeve.

"Take a look."

Shi Chibao had obviously been to the Tian'an County garrison several times before, and he sat down familiarly. Zhu Yi quickly ordered his men to prepare tea and food for his superior and the group of garrison officers.

Su Che opened the booklet that Shi Chibao handed him; the paper was rough and the printing was not very good.

This demonic book is thin and its contents are not particularly rich, mainly covering two things.

The first thing is the prophecy that the Three Yang Calamity will arrive and the Heavenly Emperor will destroy the remnants of Liang.

The Three Suns Calamity is quite simple to explain: it means that three suns will appear in the sky, and from then on, the end times will come, and the people will suffer.

Not only ordinary people, but also cultivators will be subject to destruction in this world shrouded in the three yangs.

This is nothing more than a predictable apocalyptic prophecy, something almost every cult would include.

What truly captivated Su Che was yet to come.

Heaven destroyed the broken beam.

The booklet provides a clear and concise explanation of these four characters at the end.

Leaving aside the broken beams, the reason why the broken beams should be destroyed is because the Great Liang now also has three suns.

The first is the current emperor, the second is the crown prince, and the third is Wei Huaiwen, who commands the military in the northern kingdom.

These three individuals, shining like the sun, were a reflection of the prophecy of the impending Three Yang Calamities in the imperial court.

That's a rather malicious remark.

“Officer Shi, where did this wicked book come from?” Su Che put the booklet aside: “This is a taboo item. If it is handed over, it will inevitably lead to a long prison sentence.”

The words on this demonic book were practically dancing on the fragile nerves of the Liang emperor.

The Crown Prince and Wei Huaiwen are arguably the two most difficult points for the current emperor to handle.

It has been almost thirty years since the Crown Prince was established as the heir apparent. His position is secure. To put it nicely, he has a good reputation in both the court and the country. To put it bluntly, he has many cronies.

Su Che's own family, the Su clan of Duling, were part of the Crown Prince's faction.

Needless to say, Wei Huaiwen has just achieved great military exploits in the north and is now undoubtedly the number one person in the Great Liang.

With a little more effort, and if the circumstances are right, he might be able to become a General of the Heavenly Pillar, just like Yuwen Rui.

"Of course I know."

Shi Chibao shoveled a mouthful of tea into his mouth in an annoyed manner.

"This demonic book was sent from Jiankang."

The implication is that this matter has reached the highest levels of authority and cannot be concealed any longer.

“Those scoundrels in Jingzhou inexplicably found this demonic book in Jiangling and reported it to the higher authorities. The inner court dared not conceal such writings and handed it directly to the Emperor.”

"The Emperor is furious, brother! His Majesty has sent the Censorate to investigate secretly, and they found this wicked book in Jiankang as well." Shi Chibao wanted to curse as he thought of his bastard colleagues at the Jingzhou Provincial Judicial Office.

If you want to make a name for yourself, then do it. Isn't this kind of thing just a scam?

"His Majesty has dispatched the Censorate to conduct a secret investigation?"

Su Che was somewhat surprised.

Sending the Censorate to investigate was practically tantamount to demonstrating the emperor's distrust of the Imperial Guards.

Or perhaps they're still after the Su family.

Su Che remembered that the Su family was considered part of the Crown Prince's faction, and his elder brother was still serving under Wei Huaiwen.

Of the three suns, none were illuminated by the emperor's sun.

"As it turns out, there are quite a few of these things in Jiankang."

Shi Chibao's expression was like finding half a cockroach in his food.

"The higher-ups gave the message that every region must provide an explanation."

There needs to be an explanation.

Su Che's understanding of these four words was that regardless of whether there were real or fake rebels, they should first arrest a few to demonstrate their loyalty to the emperor.

Otherwise, the Censorate might find a whole bunch of seditious books, while the Imperial Guards would investigate and find nothing.

What will that suspicious and distrustful emperor think then?
"So the commander discovered that there was a demonic book in Tian'an County?"

Su Che asked curiously.

"Not too much." Shi Chibao exhaled a breath of stale air.

"There is a problem with the City God of Tian'an County."

He said to Su Che.

"We've been watching him for a long time, but haven't made a move. We're just waiting for this opportunity to use him."

Su Che barely managed to swear.

"Is there something wrong with the City God of Tianan?"

“It’s been five or six years.” Shi Chibao stroked his chin. “The so-called Ghostly Demon is a god, relying on incense offerings from the human world. It’s easy to become a demon, but difficult to attain enlightenment.”

Su Che, of course, wouldn't follow up by asking why a problem discovered five or six years ago should be addressed now, given his ignorance.

Shi Chibao was keeping this City God of Tian'an County under his care, waiting for the day when he needed to perform meritorious service to fulfill his duties.

Otherwise, where would the emperor find rebels and traitors if he wanted to arrest them in various places?
"So, sir, you intend to capture him this time?"

"Execute him on the spot."

Shi Chibao looked at Su Che: "That's why I've been looking for you everywhere, brother. If I were to face the City God of Tian'an County alone with these brothers, I could win, but it would be a bit difficult to execute him on the spot."

"Then what about this demonic book case?"

“One county city god is enough. How many county city gods are there in the entire Cizhou?” Shi Chibao frowned. “As for this piece of junk.”

He reached out and pointed to the thin booklet on the table.

"I can churn out seven books a day. I really don't know what the higher-ups are thinking, fixating on these trivial matters."

Shi Chibao sighed.

"This way we can give an explanation to the higher-ups. Brother, to be honest, we two brothers still take care of each other in Cizhou."

Shi Chibao looked at Su Che and said meaningfully.

"What do you think His Highness the Crown Prince will think when the Prince of Wuling is sent to govern Cizhou? There is only one sun in the sky, and the Three Suns Calamity is coming. The other two suns are being roasted on the fire right now."

“I reckon they’ve all gotten used to grilling it.” Su Che looked at Shi Chibao: “Chief Justice, I’ve discovered some things here in Tian’an County…”

(End of this chapter)