Chapter 2308 - Cover Up

"The unloading is proceeding smoothly. Please rest assured," Zhao Fengtian reported. "The Inland River Fleet ships are also patrolling the waterway."

"Good, good." Xie Erren's mind wasn't actually on the grain ships. With heavy forces guarding inside and outside the city and the Inland River Fleet providing suppression, even if Xiong Wencan led a large army personally, it wouldn't matter.

Zhao Fengtian understood his thoughts and cleared his throat. "Regarding last night's raid, Comrade Zheng Ergen has obtained preliminary results from interrogating the captives..." He handed over the folder containing the confessions. "Please take a look."

Xie Erren read the confessions carefully, especially Cai Lan's portion. He truly experienced what "bone-deep pain of betrayal" meant. And Zhao Fengtian, watching the Chief's face contort, came to deeply understand the meaning of "furious out of shame."

After Xie Erren set down the confession, he sat in silence for a long while, exhaling deeply. His face cycled from red to white and gradually returned to normal. Only then did Zhao Fengtian speak:

"Chief..."

"Zhao Fengtian, what do you think of this matter?"

"Sir," Zhao Fengtian said cautiously, "the main reason for last night's raid was our weak defensive strength. The Region and Forward Command pressed too many tasks on us, but resources were insufficient. Especially after the bandit riots, the police force in Wuzhou wasn't strengthened—it was significantly weakened. We had to rely on the unreliable Detective Team to bolster security. That the enemy could launch a night raid and infiltrate the city... this must be acknowledged as the principal cause."

He then listed the various specific tasks assigned to the City Government by various departments since Wuzhou's recovery—detailed, well-documented, with clear figures.

"We bore the heavy responsibility not only of transshipping supplies to the Guangxi front and evacuating the wounded but also of guarding captives escorted down from Guangxi and refugees from surrounding areas. Yet the cadres, Volte Army troops, and funding allocated to Wuzhou were severely inadequate. The lesson of this incident is comprehensive."

These words fit Xie Erren's thoughts perfectly. He recognized that this secretary was truly no simple man—his words were watertight and incidentally shifted the blame. This could serve as the keynote for the report.

"Given that the enemy's network of insiders and spies both inside and outside Wuzhou City has been caught in one net, and the captured prisoners have little remaining value, it is recommended that they be dealt with publicly as soon as possible. First, to demonstrate the martial prowess of our Great Song Senators and warn other fence-sitters with divided loyalties; second, to soothe the hearts of the people and the army in Wuzhou."

The implication of that latter sentence couldn't have been clearer. Xie Erren sat in silence for a long moment, then suddenly whispered, "Zhao Fengtian!"

Zhao Fengtian nearly jumped out of his skin. What was wrong with Chief Xie?

"How many years have you been my secretary?"

"More than two years." Zhao Fengtian's heart pounded. Chief Xie wasn't about to say something like "How have I treated you all this time?" was he? If he did, real caution would be needed.

Fortunately, Xie Erren didn't go there:

"After more than two years, you don't need to use official jargon to hedge and deflect. Wuzhou has produced an enormous disaster this time. Though you and I—Senator and City Government Secretary—occupy different positions, neither of us can slide past this matter. We definitely must provide the Senate with a clear explanation."

Zhao Fengtian relaxed slightly and whispered, "Chief, I've thought about this too. Only these two points can be emphasized. Honestly, the rest is hard to manage..."

"What about the second point?" Xie Erren asked. "For an event of this magnitude, there can't be zero witnesses. What if the Senate investigates?"

"Chief, you are the administrative head of Wuzhou. The power of life and death over all Wuzhou people rests in your hands. Killing or sparing anyone is at your discretion. Why worry about witnesses? Hasn't striking enemies strictly and swiftly always been the Senate's consistent aim?" Zhao Fengtian continued, "Speaking frankly, this matter isn't as catastrophic as it might seem. Beyond burning a camp at Sanhezu and casualties in the Third National Army Squadron, damage inside the city was slight and casualties were minimal. Those retained personnel aren't on the army or staff organization charts, so their losses can be disregarded."

Calculating this way, the Senate's total loss in Wuzhou amounted to only forty-five National Army soldiers killed and six staff members killed. At a time when entire squadrons of the National Army were occasionally written off entirely, this casualty figure was practically nothing.

Xie Erren nodded. No wonder the Americans liked using contractors!

The biggest problem now, undoubtedly, consisted of people like Yi Haoran and Cai Lan. In truth, Xie Erren had already formed murderous intent but was still hesitating—after all, these people were central to the Wuzhou raid. Rashly executing them would invite suspicion of "silencing witnesses." But hearing Zhao Fengtian's reasoning, he found it made perfect sense.

"What you say is reasonable. But this Yi Haoran and Cai Lan are key criminals..."

"Yi Haoran is a remnant evil left behind by Xiong Wencan. He brought chaos to Wuzhou; his crimes are heinous. Not killing him is insufficient to appease public anger and settle people's hearts. As for Cai Lan—though a woman, she ran errands as Yi Haoran's lackey. Her crimes are also notorious and condemned by all. She likely won't escape a bad end. It's possible she might even commit suicide out of shame."

Seeing Xie Erren still hesitating, Zhao Fengtian leaned in and whispered, "Chief! If we leave Cai Lan for the higher-ups to investigate, it will inevitably involve many private boudoir matters. That would be... inappropriate."

This remark jolted Xie Erren fully awake. Precisely. Though his "taking in" of Cai Lan wasn't a secret, if interrogators from Lingao questioned Cai Lan directly, wouldn't all his private matters be extracted from her? Even if the General Office suppressed the relevant testimony, this material would become leverage against him that could never be washed away. But if Cai Lan was eliminated, there would be no hard evidence! He need only deny everything flatly.

Xie Erren gave a slight nod. "Do it that way."

Zhao Fengtian understood perfectly. As long as Cai Lan died, the person of Chang Qingyun would vanish like smoke—he wasn't among the captives anyway. Whether he was alive or dead couldn't be traced back to Xie. As for Jiang Qiuchan, she had an old friendship with Luo Yangming's wife and a connection to Manager Da, so she couldn't be disposed of casually. Fortunately, her crimes were limited—she had been used, nothing more. The key point was that she knew very little, so she could be let off. Luo Yangming wasn't a fool; he wouldn't entangle himself too deeply in Jiang Qiuchan's case. Otherwise, his own wife might be implicated.

Though he had Xie Erren's approval, this task wasn't easy to execute. In a Ming Yamen, there were countless ways to make a prisoner die. But this was under Senate rule. Whether intentionally "accidentally killing during torture" or having them "die of illness" in prison, both would raise suspicions that future investigation teams would latch onto.

The only thing that could be engineered was "suicide."

Of course, making Cai Lan "be suicided" wouldn't work—that was no different from the other approaches. But Zheng Ergen had mentioned she already wanted to die. Just give her the opportunity and apply a little pressure.

Zhao Fengtian quietly found Zheng Ergen and conveyed Xie Erren's intentions. Zheng Ergen hesitated and whispered, "Will this work?"

"It will work," Zhao Fengtian said. "Didn't you see that Cai Lan has already resolved to die? You just need to help send her on her way."

"Yi Haoran!" A jailer's voice came from outside the cell.

Yi Haoran, who had been drifting in and out of consciousness, struggled to open his eyes. The door stood open, and several Fake Kuns loomed in the entrance, their faces menacing.

How long had it been? Ever since the interrogation had left him unconscious from torture, he had lost all sense of time. He only realized upon waking just now that he had been returned to the temporary cell in the County Yamen's Earth God Temple.

After his arrest, Yi Haoran had been held in the County Yamen jail. At first it was "preventative detention," and later, though moved from a group cell to solitary confinement, because he had no formal charges yet and had the connection to Luo Yangming, he wasn't thrown into the main dungeon but temporarily detained in the Earth God Temple.

Yi Haoran harbored no illusions about his arrest. Once tonight passed, his identity would very likely be exposed—but fortunately, by then, whether his identity was exposed or not wouldn't matter.

The cannon fire beyond the city walls and the sounds of combat within had filled him with elation. The plan he had painstakingly cultivated, running back and forth, scheming for many days—it had finally been put into action. Everything he had sacrificed seemed to have paid off.

At this moment, though covered in wounds from torture and with his life hanging by a thread, he didn't care in the slightest. He had sought benevolence and gained it. His only regret was that, judging by the calm demeanor of the Fake Kuns in the city, the True Kun appeared not to have been captured or beheaded.

"Yi Haoran," the leading Fake Kun said quietly, "I'll give you one more chance. If you're willing to confess fully, we'll treat your injuries and exempt you from death. You're just an ordinary advisor, not some chief villain. Our Great Song has always ruled by law—at most you'll be sentenced to exile."

"And if I refuse?" Yi Haoran replied.

The flesh on the Fake Kun's face twitched. "If you refuse to confess, we won't bother tangling with you anymore. Whatever secrets you want to keep, keep them—we can figure things out eventually."

"So this is sending me on my way?"

"Correct." The Fake Kun nodded. "Since you won't confess, what's the point of keeping you?"

"Then let's go. I've lived as a coward for decades—that's enough." Yi Haoran shrugged. "Let me straighten my clothes first."

Just as they were speaking, another person was suddenly escorted into the yard—a woman. Though neatly dressed, her hair was disheveled and her face grimy. She walked with difficulty, supported by two sturdy women. It was Cai Lan.

Though Yi Haoran had long regarded Cai Lan as "a person who should die," seeing her suffering torture because of him and unlikely to live long, he felt inevitable guilt.

If he hadn't stirred her with talk of righteousness, she could have gone on living her degraded life.

Thinking this, he straightened his clothes and bowed solemnly to Cai Lan. "Miss Cai, this student pays his respects!"

(End of Chapter)