After returning to the city.
Qu Dubian had Lang Qing summon the craftsmen who were originally responsible for the production of gunpowder in the city.
The new gunpowder formula and production process required strict confidentiality. The procedures of air-drying, compression, and granulation all needed to be handled by different people.
The Northern Frontier was already incredibly dry. Coupled with artificial drying, the few extra steps only added a few days to the normal production time.
Lang Qing had not seen the power of the improved gunpowder, but Xia Fuyang, Ye Lianyang, and the others had.
However, reforming gunpowder was a major matter. Even with the strong guarantees of two chief generals, Lang Qing still went to inspect the site where the new gunpowder had been tested. Only after seeing it did he begin to make preparations.
Qu Dubian asked, "Uncle Lang Qing, I don't have experience in mass-producing gunpowder. When is the earliest the first batch can be ready?"
Lang Qing felt the wind of the Northern Frontier and pondered, "With manpower, three days at the fastest. If it gets a bit humid, it might take five days."
There wasn't much of a difference.
"Once they become more proficient later on, it will be faster."
Qu Dubian said, "Try to be as fast as possible."
Given the Great Zhou's current situation, they could not afford a long war of attrition. If the war dragged on for too long, he feared the provisions and fodder would not be able to keep up.
The improvement of the gunpowder had just succeeded, and by evening, news also arrived from the main city.
Yi Shier and Lang Qing's men escorted a struggling low-ranking soldier to the second city and threw him down in front of Qu Dubian's tent.
Hearing the commotion, Qu Dubian came out. "Caught him?"
Yi Shier walked up to his side. "This person tried to burn down the document repository in the main city."
The soldier cried out, "I didn't! I was just holding a torch while on patrol! It's a regulation for the Supervisory Bureau during night patrols. I hadn't even started when I was arrested. Generals, please see clearly!"
He knelt on the ground, kowtowing loudly.
Qu Dubian asked, "You're wearing a soldier's uniform. How can you be from the Supervisory Bureau?"
"I am an unofficial soldier of the Supervisory Bureau," the soldier said indignantly. "The uniforms of the supervising lords above in the Supervisory Bureau are naturally different from ours, but we truly fall under their jurisdiction. If you don't believe me, summon Eunuch Feng Bing, and you will know once you ask."
"Alright, then let's call him over and ask."
Qu Dubian asked someone to bring a chair. Standing for too long made his wound uncomfortable. Since he was waiting for someone, it was better to sit.
"While you're at it, call Uncle Lang Qing and Uncle Prince Ming as well. I have something to discuss."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Immediately, three soldiers ran out to notify Prince Ming, Lang Qing, and Feng Bing respectively.
Qu Dubian beckoned with his finger. "Liuliu, come here."
Yi Shier half-squatted beside the chair. Qu Dubian leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Has there been any movement from Feng Bing, whom Uncle Lang Qing is keeping an eye on?"
"No unusual movements," Yi Shier shook his head. "The time has been too short to tell."
From discovering that there was a spy inside to now catching a lowly soldier, traveling back and forth to the main city had only taken two days.
While the two were conversing in low voices, Lang Qing and Prince Ming both arrived.
Qu Dubian also had chairs brought out for them to sit. Lang Qing felt a bit too embarrassed to sit, but Prince Ming took a seat. "Nephew, your imperial uncle is still busy. Did you call me here for something?"
Qu Dubian replied, "Imperial Uncle will know in a moment."
Feng Bing arrived in a hurry, still wearing that patched-up outfit. He cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Your Highness. Greetings, Your Highness the Prince, General Lang Qing."
"May I know why Your Highness summoned me?"
Qu Dubian asked, "Is this person from your Supervisory Bureau?"
Feng Bing took a careful look at the tied-up soldier. "The clothes have the emblem of the Supervisory Bureau embroidered on them... but he is only an unofficial member. This humble official is very busy on normal days and cannot remember everyone."
"Eunuch Feng," Qu Dubian smiled. "Did I not say that the Supervisory Bureau was to suspend all patrol duties? This person was patrolling the main city and almost burned down the main city's document repository. Were you aware of this?"
Feng Bing turned pale with fright. "I have passed down Your Highness's orders. It must be because the main city is relatively far away, and they didn't receive it in time—"
"Enough."
Qu Dubian cut him off directly. "It's all nonsense."
"Imperial Uncle is also here. The Supervisory Bureau is managed by Imperial Uncle, but frankly speaking, it is actually managed by the imperial family, is it not?"
Prince Ming nodded. "Yes."
Qu Dubian said, "I came on behalf of the Emperor to guard the Northern Frontier. As an imperial prince, do I not also have the authority to govern the Supervisory Bureau?"
Prince Ming hesitated for a few seconds. "Strictly speaking, you do have a share."
"Feng Bing, let me ask you," having received Prince Ming's answer, Qu Dubian directly began to reprimand him. "I merely gave you a small task, and you couldn't even do it well. The unofficial personnel under your command can commit mistakes—mistakes severe enough to almost burn down half the main city. Do you just eat and do nothing on normal days!"
In fact, not even a spark had been ignited in the main city, but this was not the time to argue. Having mingled in the capital for a long time and stayed in the borderlands for so many years, Feng Bing was very accustomed to such reprimands.
Loud thunder but small raindrops; a few scoldings and it would pass.
Could he really abolish the Supervisory Bureau?
He knelt down unhurriedly. "This humble official knows his mistake!"
Qu Dubian said, "What's the use of knowing your mistake? Can the mistake committed be corrected? Will you compensate for the losses caused? My Liuliu and the others ran back and forth so much that the soles of their shoes came unstitched—are you going to sew them back?"
Feng Bing: "..."
Yi Shier: "..."
Prince Ming: "..."
A series of questions, each louder than the last, full of imposing momentum, shocked everyone present so much that they didn't know how to respond.
Qu Dubian cleared his throat. "How many people are there in the Supervisory Bureau in total?"
Prince Ming moved his gaze away from Yi Shier's shoes. "Including the unofficial members, five to six hundred people."
Qu Dubian said, "Perfect. The prisoner-of-war camp in the main city can hold them. Lock them all up. When even the second-in-command is so negligent, who knows what mistakes the people below have committed."
"As the Supervisory Bureau, you should lead by example. If you can't even supervise yourselves properly, how can you supervise others?"
Feng Bing abruptly raised his head. "Seventh Highness!"
This was completely different from the minor punishment and major warning he had expected.
If this was truly implemented, wouldn't the Supervisory Bureau be completely crippled?
Prince Ming also frowned. "Nephew, you're going too far."
Although he was the one managing the Supervisory Bureau, Feng Bing and the other eunuch officials, as people personally appointed by the Emperor, also had the right to submit memorials for impeachment. Offending the Supervisory Bureau was not a wise move.
Furthermore, over such a minor matter, why was Little Seventh targeting the Supervisory Bureau so much?
Frankly speaking, the Supervisory Bureau was established by his imperial brother, and the only one who could truly decide how to handle them was his imperial brother. If his nephew locked up everyone in the Supervisory Bureau, and it was reported to the throne, those with ulterior motives might speculate, and he could very well be labeled as someone refusing supervision and plotting rebellion.
Qu Dubian knew what Prince Ming was thinking.
But now was not the time for the presumption of innocence.
Since he had sensed something amiss, he would forcefully nip any sparks that could ignite chaos in the bud, even if his methods were unorthodox.
"Imperial Uncle, don't we still have you?" Qu Dubian blinked. "You are close to us, wouldn't supervision be even more convenient?"
Feng Bing asked in astonishment, "Am I going to be locked in a cell too?"
"Of course. Wasn't it because Eunuch Feng failed to relay the orders in time that today's incident happened? It makes no sense for others to undergo inspection while you, the one who caused the trouble, are exempt."
Qu Dubian raised his hand. "Ye Lianyang, arrest him."
"Yes, boss," Ye Lianyang said, a smile playing on his lips as he uncrossed his arms.
Qu Dubian said, "Within these two days, today and tomorrow, other than my imperial uncle, if I see anyone from the Inspectorate outside, you will go into the cell to keep them company."
Ye Lianyang tensed up all over. "Rest assured, boss!"
Feng Bing was dragged away just like that. Prince Ming's expression was rather unsightly.
Qu Dubian's actions made him, the nominal head of the Inspectorate, completely lose face. Although he had no desire to manage the Inspectorate and only wished to return to the capital, giving up power voluntarily and having it forcibly stripped away were two entirely different matters.
Qu Dubian approached Prince Ming and whispered, "I am investigating a spy."
Prince Ming's pupils contracted. "What?"
"It is a special time, Imperial Uncle. Please forgive me," Qu Dubian said, offering Prince Ming a way to step down gracefully.
Shocked and uncertain, Prince Ming pulled Qu Dubian into the tent. "Do you have any evidence?"
"If I had evidence, I would have just arrested them directly. Would I still need to find a far-fetched excuse to lock them up?" Qu Dubian replied.
"It shouldn't be so," Prince Ming frowned. "The people in the Inspectorate were all personally selected by my imperial brother. He..."
"Even if they were loyal in the beginning, Imperial Uncle, they have been away from the capital for fifteen years. Human hearts are fickle," Qu Dubian took a step back. "How about this: during their imprisonment, Feng Bing and the other eunuchs can still submit memorials to impeach my actions. I will not stop their impeachment memorials, and you may also report this to His Majesty, Imperial Uncle."
Prince Ming smiled bitterly. "You've already gone to such lengths. What use is an impeachment?"
Even if his imperial brother ordered their release, a general out on the battlefield is not bound by all orders from the sovereign.
Of the soldiers under Xu Jin's command, how many would actually listen to the Inspectorate?
Qu Dubian said mildly, "Not just the Inspectorate. I will find reasons to arrest anyone else who seems suspicious. If a thorough investigation proves their innocence, I will personally apologize and provide material compensation."
"Imperial Uncle, they are also people of the Great Zhou. Making a few sacrifices for the smooth progression of the war shouldn't be a problem, right?"
They would merely be locked up, well-fed and well-served, with no torture involved.
A graceful exit had been provided, the practical benefits were preserved, and only a bit of face was lost.
With his words reaching this point and cloaked in the guise of the greater good, it was truly impossible to refute.
The Inspectorate relied on imperial authority. The other officers and soldiers, even Xu Jin, would yield to the Inspectorate out of consideration for their men and their families back in the capital.
But Qu Dubian was exactly the person who could counter this.
In the end, Prince Ming agreed.
Let it be. With the Inspectorate locked up, he would have far fewer miscellaneous matters to deal with. He might as well just focus on logistics.
Qu Dubian summoned Yi Shier. "You have enough time to investigate thoroughly this time, right?"
Previously, Liuliu had mentioned that time was too tight to dig up anything. Now that he had locked everyone up and gathered them in one place, there was plenty of time.
Yi Shier replied, "Yes."
Qu Dubian instructed, "Investigate in secret. Try not to alert the enemy. The fewer people who know about this, the better."
Once the spy was rooted out, he would report everything together.
Ye Lianyang went to round up the members of the Inspectorate. It was a noisy and chaotic affair. After all, the Inspectorate officials had always been arrogant and high-handed; being suddenly arrested out of nowhere naturally left them feeling indignant.
In his cell, Feng Bing maintained a calm and indifferent facade, but inside, he was absolutely furious.
Not only was he furious, but he also couldn't help feeling a tinge of panic.
Could the Seventh Prince have actually discovered something?
But thinking it over carefully, there was truly nowhere else he could have been exposed. Even if that swapped letter had been discovered, three years had passed, and the messenger was long dead. Even if the investigation reached the Inspectorate, it would never be traced back to him.
He wasn't the only one who was angry; the other eunuchs of the Inspectorate were equally enraged. A stifling sense of grievance clogged their chests, impossible to swallow.
They said to Feng Bing, "We must report this matter to His Majesty!"
"The Seventh Prince has merely won a single battle, yet he dares to be so arrogant and insolent as to arrest us all. If we do not impeach him now, where will the prestige of our Inspectorate be? Eunuch Feng, please join us!"
Feng Bing collected his thoughts. "Alright!"
Qu Dubian had said he wouldn't stop them, and he kept his word. He even thoughtfully provided them with paper and brushes. From within their prison cells, the members of the Inspectorate drafted several impeachment memorials.
They were originally members of the Eastern Depot. Therefore, if the Inspectorate's memorials lacked Prince Ming's emergency seal, they would first pass through the hands of the Eastern Depot before being presented to Emperor Chongzhao.
Impeachment memorials naturally did not warrant an emergency seal, so these documents landed squarely in the Eastern Depot.
The original Director of the Eastern Depot, Cui Rong, had taken in an abandoned child a few years ago. He raised her as his own daughter, doting on her as if she were his own flesh and blood.
Coupled with his declining health and advancing age, he rarely managed the Depot's affairs anymore. He was in a state of semi-retirement and had long hinted at his intention to hand over power.
The internal affairs of the Eastern Depot were now entirely managed by two people: Wen Xiaochun and Chen Jian.
"These are memorials impeaching the Seventh Prince," Chen Jian said after reading them over, his brow twitching slightly. "Eunuch Xiaochun, will you be the one to present them to His Majesty, or shall I?"