Chapter 492 The Shadow of the Empire

Retirement is not an unacceptable result.

In fact, let alone the highly centralized Great Xia Empire, even in the kingdom under the feudal system, it is rare to tolerate a father and son with high power.

It is an old tradition to kill generals at the founding of a country and civil officials at the peak of its prosperity.

Even relatives and clansmen were killed.

There are very few people as lenient as the current emperor.

Andrew thought about it all night and finally figured it out.

Retire, but he has to wait until the tax case is over.

Since these guys did this without telling me, how can I avoid it? I will monitor Peter by the way. It would be best to catch his handle and teach him a lesson.

Andrew has selfish motives, but he really hopes that his nephew will get better and better.

He knows that his family is dependent on the Great Xia Empire, so these termites are not only digging the emperor's tax silver, but also the foundation of his family.

...

Peter doesn't bother to care about Andrew's thoughts. He knows that in his position, making mistakes is not a reason to be convicted.

To put it bluntly, there were a lot of violations of the law and abuse of punishment.

In the archives of the Eighth Investigation Department, there were even files specifically recording his own illegal activities.

Sitting in this position close to the emperor, he relied on the emperor's trust, otherwise he would die even if he was innocent.

On the contrary, it didn't matter if he was guilty.

In the bloody prison, the sound of whipping and torture never stopped.

Two rows of torture chambers were lined up, and there were people interrogating in each room.

From time to time, bodies that died from torture were dragged out, and then new people were arrested.

Even if you were lucky enough to come out alive, no one cared about your injuries and threw you into the prison to wait for the next torture... or execution.

The smell of blood was so strong that it was like being in a slaughterhouse.

Peter flipped through the files. The assassination case was not an important matter. Compared with the big case revealed by torture, it was really hard for him to cheer up.

However, this incident was the culprit that caused everything, and a perfect explanation must be given.

Seeing that the tax case had been delayed for half a year, Peter finally caught up with most of the suspects. He turned over the case file again, confirmed that there was no problem, and closed the case.

In the final analysis, this assassination case was the beginning and the end.

When this case was closed, it meant that everything was over.

To be honest, Peter was a little obsessed with the power to control the life and death of others, as if he was the emperor in this prison.

However, he always remembered his status clearly, so he forcibly broke free from the illusory desire.

"Seal the case file and send it to His Majesty."

The case file was divided into two parts, large and small, and sealed separately, and put into a safe. A team of agents went to the imperial capital under the escort of the army.

As for Peter himself, he was in Digen to prepare to close the case.

...

The case file from Digen Port entered the palace smoothly all the way.

Derek took out two thick files from the safe himself. It would take several days to read them carefully.

He first looked at the big file, which contained countless confessions and detailed the ins and outs of the assassination.

Derek flipped through it roughly and found no problems.

He called the inner guard and ordered: "Let the eunuchs look at it again. If there is no problem, announce it to the public!"

After the inner guard left with the case file, he turned over the smaller file with a slightly serious look.

On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, the Henry family shipped a ship and evaded more than 3,000 gold coins in taxes. Sir Collison participated in it and shared 500 gold coins.

On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, Sir Collison sold 100 Zero rifles, 10 infantry guns, and 500 shells, making a profit...

On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, Sir Collison secretly met with the sea merchant Henry at his mansion, suspected of doing something wrong.

...

The entire case file densely recorded the results of the surveillance by the agents of the Eighth Investigation Department.

The Great Xia Empire was the most centralized dynasty in history.

Except for a few privileges, all the people, from the chief of the army to the petty officials in the countryside, were appointed by the central government of the empire.

The unprecedented growth of imperial power was frightening.

The central government that maintained such a strong power relied on convenient transportation and communication.

If you break the law today, the army will come to your door tomorrow and make you kneel down and beg for mercy.

Secondly, it relied on the ubiquitous investigation department, with agents of various names spread all over the country, and no one knew whether there were agents from the investigation department around them.

So, can the tax evasion at the customs really be hidden from the emperor's eyes and ears?

Before, they didn't care, just because they were afraid of the turbulent situation and the impact on trade.

In fact, the few families who jumped happily had already been dealt with under other names.

Now that the empire has a stable foundation and no worries inside and outside, seeing that these people are getting bolder and bolder, and getting fatter and fatter, they will naturally start to slaughter them.

Even if there is no assassination case, they will find a reason to slaughter the fat pigs later.

But now the result is the same, killing a group of fat pigs and fattening the emperor's inner treasury.

Moreover, Viscount Barin was exhausted after being seriously injured, and he also resigned from the position of the head of the 101st Division. Although Derek continued to use him as the chief officer and allowed his descendants to inherit the position of the division head, his influence was not enough.

Moreover, cutting off the rotten meat may not be a bad thing for maritime trade.

Derek looked through the files. In fact, many things had signs, but in the end, they chose to ignore them because of profit considerations.

Of course, the emperor himself could not always pay attention to such trivial matters, but the Eighth Investigation Department also adhered to the emperor's ideas.

In the final analysis, Viscount Barin was the only victim this time.

After closing the file, Derek called the inner guard: "Bring fire, burn it."

But when the flames were lit, he changed his mind.

"Forget it, seal it up."

He sat down. There was no need to avoid such things. Let the descendants see it, which is also part of the emperor's education.

But he couldn't help being moved, so he finally ordered the eunuch: "Issue an edict to confer the title of court earl on Viscount Bahrain, and the title will be inherited for three generations."

This is a little compensation. Viscount is a real title, and earl is a nominal title.

It seems useless, but his descendants enjoy the treatment of earls whether they enter the government or join the army.

Even if they attend the grand court meeting, they stand in the front row.

The invisible benefits of each are numerous.

This kind of dirty thing affects the mood very much. Derek feels more tired than a big battle.

But this kind of thing cannot be avoided. If you really want to be a gentleman, you may die without knowing how.

Soon, the news spread from the Daxia Palace.

The assassination case was closed, which meant that the recent tax case had also come to an end.

The killings along the entire coastal area of ​​the empire would soon come to an end.

Of course, before that, there was the largest massacre since the founding of the country.

But at least, no one else was implicated.

As for Peter, the direct executor, legends about him began to spread.