Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

On the surface, Xinzhi Magazine is just an ordinary, nationwide, comprehensive private magazine.

The magazine's editor-in-chief and the newspaper's biggest boss were equally unremarkable.

However, the real mastermind behind the seemingly ordinary Xinzhi Magazine is none other than the upright and righteous Feng Zhannian!

The employees of Xinzhi Magazine are all ordinary-looking working people.

But in reality—these newspaper staff members, who would hardly stand out in a crowd, are all specially trained professionals.

Moreover, they are all carefully selected, having undergone rigorous screening and passed multiple assessments before being hired.

In other words, the requirements to become a member of the New Knowledge Magazine are extremely high!

Every paparazzi from Xinzhi Magazine who goes out on field missions is a top-notch tracking expert or stalking specialist.

It is said that one of the entry requirements for the paparazzi at the Shinji Magazine was to follow the intelligence gathering section of the Public Security Bureau.

Complete a ten-day surveillance mission without the other party being aware.

You should know that the intelligence gathering section of the Public Security Bureau is full of expert trackers.

Similarly, they are also experts in anti-tracking.

Testing experts with experts—it's a perfect match!

And this is just one item in the onboarding assessment for the New Knowledge Magazine.

Therefore, every full-time employee of Xinzhi Magazine is a genuine and formidable individual—there is not a single slacker among them!

The reason why the threshold for them is set so high is entirely due to the nature of the tasks they are to undertake.

Because Feng Zhannian's main task for them was to secretly monitor important personnel in the Daqian supervisory department and designated high-ranking officials in the court.

Of course—in the spirit of keeping themselves completely untainted, these people were unaware that their real boss was Feng Zhannian.

They had no idea that their missions were all assigned by Feng Zhannian.

Their "paparazzi" status became their lifesaver in times of emergency.

If they are discovered, they can easily explain their surveillance activities by claiming they are "paparazzi" digging for news.

It was precisely because of the existence of the New Knowledge Magazine that Feng Zhannian did not need to take any risks through other channels to obtain first-hand information.

He didn't need to use bribery to build his information network like Wang Chengchang and others.

Therefore, Feng Zhannian had no need to worry that the mishap of a certain court official would implicate him.

Even the underground business empire controlled by Feng Zhannian operated through a "covert agent" model.

All of the Feng family's shady businesses have publicly known agents.

Moreover, while these agents were helping the Feng family amass wealth, they had no idea that their real boss was Feng Zhannian.

To ensure he wouldn't be implicated under any circumstances, Feng Zhannian used more than one code name.

This is precisely where Feng Zhannian's cunning lies.

This also once again demonstrates Feng Zhannian's five-character principle of "not a single leaf sticking to one's body"...........................

However, what is most admirable is that Feng Zhannian managed to navigate so many different roles without developing a mental disorder, which truly makes one marvel at his talent in this area.

This time, Feng Zhannian's advance knowledge of the unprecedented large-scale investigation by the imperial court was thanks to the New Knowledge Magazine.

Unlike the panic and unease of people like Wang Chengchang, Feng Zhannian was completely gloating and watching from the sidelines in the face of this situation.

In Feng Zhannian's view, the imperial court's massive investigation was precisely helping him eliminate his competitors.

Anyway, no matter how they investigate, they can't find him.

Clearly, Feng Zhannian was quite confident about this.

Feng Zhannian himself thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

Whenever a big shot in the circle falls on hard times, Feng Zhannian would privately discuss the matter with his butler, Feng Kui...

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"Sir, this major investigation is primarily being conducted by the Secret Intelligence Bureau."

"Should we send someone to secretly monitor the intelligence agency so that we can better grasp the situation first?"

"No!"

"Didn't I already set the rules regarding this issue?"

Feng Zhannian shook his head: "We should try our best not to provoke the Secret Intelligence Bureau."

"Although our people are top-notch experts in spying and intelligence gathering."

"However, the Secret Intelligence Service is not to be trifled with."

"The title of the world's number one intelligence organization is well-deserved."

“Our people can monitor and track down those court officials and other important personnel in the supervisory departments.”

"But we just can't afford to offend the Secret Intelligence Service."

"Doing this exposes far too many risks."

"Besides—we don't need to worry about the progress at all right now."

"What we need to do now is to continue the business in the open as usual, and put those under-the-table deals into a state of silence."

"Those who absolutely cannot remain silent should be extra careful."

"However, it doesn't matter if some businesses are caught up in this major crackdown."

"What we need to do now is to continue to be a positive role model."

"By the way, please arrange more charity events for me in the near future."

"We also need to introduce some policies that are more appealing to employees of the group."

"We should just watch the show quietly."

"Just wait and see, Wang Chengchang and his Shuguang Group will be the first to suffer."

Feng Zhannian said gloatingly, "I heard that Wang Chengchang seems to have connections with those anti-government extremist organizations in order to make money."

"This Wang Chengchang is blinded by greed; he's really got some nerve."

“What even we know can’t be kept from the Secret Intelligence Agency.”

"Moreover, there are many people who know that the imperial court is about to make a big move."

"Next, it's a show of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their unique abilities."

"The grand show is about to begin; this time, the excitement is sure to be exceptionally spectacular..."

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Things did indeed turn out exactly as Feng Zhannian had predicted.

It's impossible that Wang Chengchang was the only one who received inside information in advance.

Many forces subsequently launched their own remedial operations.

The flamboyant Shuguang Group was in a real bind.

The capital city—the base of the joint special investigation team.

(Note: The joint special investigation team is composed of the Daqian Supervision Department and the Secret Intelligence Bureau, and is specifically responsible for this large-scale investigation operation personally selected by Shen Moshen. Chen Guyan, the head of the Secret Intelligence Bureau, serves as the leader of the joint special investigation team.)

"Wang Shengkun is the eldest son of Wang Chengchang, chairman of Shuguang Group, and a director of the board of directors of Shuguang Group."

"I was previously in charge of the real estate business of Shuguang Group."

"After the imperial court launched the reconstruction plan for Xiluo, Wang Shengkun was in charge of the Xiluo business in which Shuguang Group participated."

"Wang Shenglin, the second son of Wang Chengchang, is a director of the board of directors of Shuguang Group, and is mainly responsible for the financial business of Shuguang Group."

"Wang Shengjie, the third son of Wang Chengchang, is a director of the board of directors of Shuguang Group, mainly responsible for the pharmaceutical business of Shuguang Group."

"Wang Haitang, Wang Chengchang's eldest daughter, is a director of the Shuguang Group and oversees the group's entertainment and cultural industries."

"Wang Manqing, Wang Chengchang's second daughter, is a director of the board of directors of Shuguang Group and is responsible for the pharmaceutical industry under Shuguang Group."

"Wang Chengchang's five children are well-known in the industry."

"Each of them had a group of henchmen who acted as thugs and were at their beck and call."

"They're incredibly influential in both the legitimate and underworld circles."

"Moreover, these five siblings can be said to have inherited the true essence of their father, Wang Chengchang, and their temperaments are all more arrogant and domineering than the last."

"It's no exaggeration to say that even if you closed your eyes and arrested Wang Chengchang and all five of his children, you would still be doing them a disservice!"

"Take Wang Shengkun for example."

"Based on what we currently know, this Wang Shengkun has at least three lives on his hands."

"This is just a murder case committed by Wang Shengkun himself."

"Logically speaking, someone of Wang Shengkun's caliber would not need to personally kill people."

"But the Wang siblings are different; they are cruel by nature, which is entirely due to their character."

"That's entirely in line with the roots."

Wang Chengchang's rise to power was a history of blood and tears.

According to investigations, Wang Chengchang had a criminal record when he first started out.

"After the Shuguang Group grew stronger, Wang Chengchang became even more unscrupulous."

"The number of people who have been harmed by the Shuguang Group over the years is countless."

"The number of government officials at all levels who were bribed by the Dawn Group reached a truly 'spectacular' scale!"

“Wang Chengchang and his Shuguang Group were involved in all of these underground industries, including smuggling, opium, underground casinos, and human trafficking.”

"Conservative estimate—the Dawn Group alone involves no fewer than several hundred government officials!"

"Moreover, there are quite a few heavyweights among them."

“Wang Chengchang and his Shuguang Group have committed numerous crimes, making them the most suitable first negative examples in this case.”

After listening to the joint special investigation team's report on the case, Chen Guyan immediately gave the order: "Let's start with this Dawn Group."

"Immediately arrest Wang Chengchang and others, and bring them directly to the special investigation team for interrogation."

"The government officials involved were also arrested at the same time."

"Arrest as many as you can, and never let a single one escape!"

"We're not afraid of a large number of people; our prisons are more than enough."

"If we don't take this seriously, these people will really treat the imperial laws like a fart!"

Chen Guyan said coldly, "If we don't clean things up properly, the great country that His Majesty has worked so hard to build will be ruined by these scumbags!"

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Just as the joint task force issued the arrest order for Wang Chengchang and began to deploy the arrest operation.

Wang Chengchang also received the news.

Clearly, the joint special investigation team made a mistake in maintaining secrecy—someone must have leaked information to Wang Chengchang.

However, Wang Chengchang and his accomplices ultimately failed to escape the capital.

On their feigned escape, the car was impounded along with the passengers before they could even leave the capital city.

In the process, they also uncovered a mole within the Joint Special Investigation Team who had connections with the Wang family.

With the intervention of the secret intelligence agency, Wang Chengchang's countermeasures had no effect whatsoever.

None of Wang Chengchang or his five children were able to clear their names.

Like pulling up a radish and bringing out the mud, the investigation of a series of conglomerates, including Shuguang Group, has brought forth a whole host of problems.

The Xiluo reconstruction plan subsequently became a major disaster area due to financial difficulties.

Collusion between officials and businessmen is commonplace.

This also made Ge Daqiang, the minister in charge of the Xiluo reconstruction plan, look very unhappy.

However, learning from this painful experience may not be a bad thing for the overall reconstruction plan of Xiluo.

It's much better for the lightning to explode early on than later.

After the first batch of negative examples, including Wang Chengchang, were revealed, the imperial court officially announced a major crackdown on malpractices.

Seeing that the joint task force specially established by the imperial court for this major crackdown had taken down so many bigwigs in one fell swoop.

This also showed the people of Daqian the court's determination and attitude.

In an instant, letters of accusation flooded the Joint Special Investigation Team like snowflakes.

The joint special investigation team's hotline rang from morning till night.

The power of the masses can often produce unexpected results.

In a short time, an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign swept across the entire Daqian Dynasty.

All those acts of disregarding national interests and illegally seeking personal gain were exposed in one go.

Those underground gangs that used to run rampant quickly went quiet.

After this trend started...

Almost every day, government officials were severely punished for illegal acts such as accepting bribes, bending the law for personal gain, and acting as protectors.

As a result, countless people have been shot.

Because so many people were involved, the imperial court eventually had to issue a nationwide policy of allowing people to surrender and atone for their crimes.

In other words, those who voluntarily confess their problems to the relevant departments and hand over their illegal gains can enjoy a certain degree of leniency in punishment.

However, the so-called "lenient punishment" is nothing more than avoiding the death penalty.

Moreover, those whose crimes are particularly heinous are not exempt from the death penalty.

The best "treatment" these surrenderers can enjoy is that they can be executed by lethal injection.

This shows that the intensity of the imperial court's crackdown this time was unprecedented.

The imperial court did not compromise despite the large number of people involved.

The implemented "self-surrender and atonement" policy did not actually make many concessions.

The lightest punishment standard personally set by Shen Moshen is that public officials with tainted records will be dismissed and never rehired.

The purpose of the standard set by Shen Moshen is very clear.

That is to warn the world that the cost of making mistakes in the Great Qian Dynasty is the highest in all dynasties!

Especially public officials!

According to the rules set by Shen Moshen—whenever a matter of principle is involved, there is no leniency for court officials.......................