Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 370: Avoid the important and focus on the trivial
Seeing his own soldiers from the Ruiqi Battalion escorting the shackled Xian Yunhe and others off the prison cart, and then two of them holding one, they escorted them into the gate of the county government office one after another, Du Heng, who had been acting like he was facing a great enemy all the way, fearing that someone would kidnap the prisoners, finally felt relieved.
He was the first to hear the details of Xu Cheng's death, as he had sent his confidants to watch at the gate of the county government office. The unusually complicated feelings still affect him now. Yesterday, when he realized that Ge Yong wanted to provoke Xu Cheng to commit suicide, he immediately rushed back to stop the Changlu County Magistrate. At that time, he thought that this was a precautionary measure before trouble came, but now he realized that it was stupid!
For a fool like Xu Cheng who didn't want to commit suicide even after Zhu Tingfang threw the sword at him, and instead tried to attack Zhang Shou out of desperation, why should he worry that he would commit suicide just because of Ge Yong's words? Fortunately, Zhu Tingfang was violent and killed Xu Cheng directly, otherwise if he had told others that he had dissuaded him from committing suicide, he would have lost more than he gained!
Although the prisoner was escorted to the county government office first, Du Heng entered the hall before them - the subordinates he selected had some sense and would never put the prisoner before their superiors. However, even though he heard that it was Zhang Shou who ordered the prisoners to be escorted, he was still a little surprised to see Zhang Shou sitting in the middle, Ge Yong and Zhu Tingfang sitting on both sides, and a chair left next to Zhu Tingfang.
Previously, Cangzhou was completely led by Zhu Tingfang, with Zhang Shou as his assistant. Now that the old Grand Tutor Ge Yong has arrived, it should be the turn of the veteran to take charge. Why is it the other way around?
Although he couldn't figure it out, Du Heng pretended to be indifferent. He went forward to salute Ge Yong first, then met Zhu Tingfang and Zhang Shou one by one, and then sat down below Zhu Tingfang. When he saw the eight people being brought in one by one, he saw Xian Yunhe with a scruffy beard and a haggard look, and the others were also sluggish and pale, and knelt down one by one in silence. He couldn't help but think of the unlucky hundred-man team that had followed the eldest prince.
Although he tried his best to send them out to gain some credit and hard work these days, the lost energy and spirit are not so easy to make up, and the future is worrying. So even if he knew that someone wanted to take the opportunity to retaliate against Xian Yunhe and others through his colleagues, he just turned a blind eye. But after Zhang Shou came to visit him once, he had to give them a few extra instructions.
Now that he was sure that all the prisoners were here intact and he would not be held responsible, he lowered his eyelids and decided to sit still and be a silent Buddha today. But who knew that the next moment, Zhang Shou suddenly asked: "The eight of you have been detained in the Cangzhou Palace for more than ten days. Compared with the ten days you occupied the palace before, do you feel any difference?"
Du Heng's heart tightened instantly. These dying people in front of him were not afraid of wearing shoes even if they were barefoot. If they were angry about the harsh treatment they were treated in the palace and complained in the court, and Grand Tutor Ge heard it, the reputation of the Ruiqi Battalion would be bad, and he, the chief officer, would also be blamed.
His hawk-like eyes stared at everyone, but everyone lowered their heads and no one looked at him, so he couldn't intimidate them with his fierce eyes. Just when he was getting a little anxious, Xian Yunhe, who was kneeling in the front, finally spoke.
"Initially, I risked my life to do this because I had no choice. I was taken to the palace before, and I deserved it. I have nothing to say. But the whole thing was planned by this criminal from beginning to end. The others just had to follow blindly because they had no way to survive. They are just innocent people who were implicated. Please investigate!"
This guy actually took all the blame on his own?
Du Heng was surprised, but then he felt admiration. Compared with Xu Cheng, who was daring when it came to corruption and timid when faced with desperate situations, this guy in front of him was obviously much more pleasing to the eye. Of course, he had to admit that this guy never mentioned what happened during his days in prison in the palace, and this was the key to his favorable impression of him.
Hearing that Xian Yunhe was responsible for this alone, there was a slight commotion among the seven people behind him. Then, another young man shouted, "No, it wasn't planned by Brother Xian alone. I also have helpers! The eldest prince is too greedy. He colluded with Changlu County Magistrate Xu Cheng and those shameless guys. We were forced to..."
"Shut up!" Before he could finish his words, Xian Yunhe stopped him with an angry shout. He knew this was called roaring in court, but he still desperately supported himself with his hands and tried to turn around, glaring at the ignorant companion, until he finally shut up reluctantly, then he turned back again and slowly bowed down.
"All the crimes were committed by this one sinner. Please forgive their crimes and give them a chance to live, considering that God has mercy on life. The rest of them were led astray and could hardly survive in hardship. They took the risk and will be grateful for your kindness and make up for their crimes."
Even the two people who were resentful of Xian Yunhe because they might be executed could not help but bow their heads in silence when they heard him take all the blame. Xian Yunhe did raise his arms and call for action, but if they were not really forced into a desperate situation, how could they risk their lives to follow him? Now that the plan has failed, are they really going to put all the blame on Xian Yunhe alone?
Suddenly, someone shouted again: "My Lord, I was the one who stripped the clothes of those people in the Ruiqi Battalion. I plead guilty!"
After one person took the lead, others immediately responded: "When Changlu County Magistrate Xu Cheng gathered people to counterattack the palace, I was the first one to follow Brother Xian to charge out. I accept being killed or cut into pieces. At most, I will be a hero again in 20 years!"
"What crime did Brother Xian commit? His house was burned down by people sent by the eldest prince. He worked hard to get the blueprints for everyone to modify the spinning machines, but they were smashed by the lackeys sent by those wealthy families. The yarn we worked so hard to spin was rejected by those profiteers. We have no way to survive! Since they won't let us live, who cares whether it's illegal or not... Let's rebel against them first!"
Just when Xian Yunhe could no longer hold back and wanted to speak harshly to stop him, he suddenly heard a bang of the gavel. He shut his mouth and found that the sound behind him, which was like boiling water suddenly breaking through the lid of a pot, had finally come to an end. He immediately felt extremely bitter.
If he wasn't locked up with his companions, he wouldn't be able to let them understand his painstaking efforts... If he was going to die, one death would be enough, why bring a large group of people with him! These idiots!
Using the gavel to temporarily stop the accusations and excuses, Zhang Shou said calmly: "The eldest prince has been escorted back to the capital by the Ruiqi Battalion, but as soon as he arrived in the capital, he was sent to the Zongzheng Temple by the emperor and was beaten with a hundred sticks."
Seeing that everyone was silent for a moment, he continued slowly and leisurely to tell the fate of another person.
"Xu Cheng, the magistrate of Changlu County, was corrupt and abused his power, exploiting the people. His crimes are unforgivable. The imperial court had previously issued an order to remove him from office and revoke his official position. However, he howled in the court that he was wronged, and General Zhu gave him a chance to commit suicide. Instead, he became so mad that he swung his sword and injured people. His crimes are unforgivable, and he has already been brought to justice. In other words, he deserved his punishment, but he is already dead."
The eldest prince was beaten with a hundred sticks, and Xu Cheng... died?
Except for Xian Yunhe who was mentally prepared, everyone else was stunned. In operas, no one dared to write that a prince who broke the law was guilty of the same crime as the common people. At most, the prince who broke the law would be reprimanded by the emperor, imprisoned for a few days, and stripped of his title. Could the current emperor be such a fair and wise person?
And Xu Cheng, a county magistrate, was he really dismissed from office for the benefit of the people? Could he really be killed at will?
Seeing that most of the eight people looked distraught after hearing the news, Zhang Shou struck while the iron was hot and said, "As for those wealthy families who burned down your houses and made it impossible for you to make a living, they have also received the punishment they deserved for their past misdeeds. While you were in custody, General Zhu sentenced several people to beheading, several people to exile, and more than ten people to caning."
This was also news that only Xian Yunhe knew. The seven people behind him were almost stunned. After a long while, someone finally murmured to himself: "Has God finally opened his eyes? If this is true, why didn't he do it earlier?"
Just as he said this, Ge Yong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke slowly, "It's not that God has opened his eyes, but the emperor's eyes have always been watching the people. Unfortunately, the palace walls are deep and the city walls are high, so he can only rely on the officials to act as his eyes. However, once a local official like Xu Cheng appears, it is equivalent to blocking his sight."
"Now the emperor has only seen the true situation in Cangzhou again through General Mingwei and Doctor Zhang of the Imperial Academy. He will naturally see through everything and give justice to the people of Cangzhou."
Zhang Shou could only smile bitterly in his heart at Ge Yong's statement, thinking that his teacher was really fooling people. The world is so big, and the emperor always represents a small group of people. It is better to say that he pays attention to order rather than fairness. After all, even those corrupt orders, once broken, will still arouse a huge reaction from the vested interest groups.
The current emperor has a unique temper, but judging from his consistent words and deeds, he does pay close attention to the people's livelihood. However, if it were some mediocre and incompetent emperors who don't care about the lives of the people and are satisfied as long as they don't rebel or treason, what is justice? Can it be eaten? Can it be played? The people can't even drink porridge, so what does it matter? Can't they eat minced meat?
However, although they had held the eldest prince hostage and occupied the palace, Xian Yunhe and others were mostly genuine kindhearted people. Faced with Ge Yong's claim that the holy emperor was deceived by treacherous officials, the prisoners who had just been shouting loudly became completely silent.
Not only did they quiet down, but a young man who was still shouting about the treasonous words against his mother even lay on the ground and cried bitterly, shouting something like "the treacherous ministers are misleading the master". In a very short period of time, the people who were just full of resentment, one after another, bowed their heads, confessed their crimes, repented, and no one insisted to the end.
In the end, the hall was full of prostrating prisoners, and Xian Yunhe, who was about to speak up again to take on the responsibility, had to sigh secretly and give up this effort. Most civilians were like this, as long as the court could give them justice, they would be satisfied. Even if he was the only one who had the awareness of death at first, everyone probably had it by now, right?
"So, you all plead guilty?"
Zhang Shou asked again, and after hearing the mixed voices of confession, he breathed a sigh of relief, having just deliberately not mentioned the specific crimes of the people. Even in their anger, even in their shared feelings of hardship, these people even said the words "rebel against his mother", and even admitted to counterattacking Xu Cheng and stripping the clothes of the soldiers of the Ruiqi Battalion, but no one mentioned holding the eldest prince hostage.
He had no intention of investigating whether this was an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm, or because of his awe of the so-called Holy Son of Heaven, because this was the result he wanted. So, he slammed the gavel again, and then said in a deep voice: "Since you have pleaded guilty, that is to say, you have entered the palace gates without permission, stole the seals and guards of the eldest prince, transferred the soldiers and horses of the cavalry camp into the palace, and then stole his military uniforms and weapons. Do you admit these crimes?"
When the others bowed their heads and admitted it again, Xian Yunhe did not answer, but was slightly stunned. He was an extremely smart man, and he immediately heard the difference. Invading the palace was said to be entering the palace without permission; holding the eldest prince hostage was said to be stealing the eldest prince's seal and stealing military uniforms and weapons...
With such a substitution of concepts, he didn't know to what extent these charges could reduce their guilt, but it was certain that it was lighter than the original one!
Without bothering to think about why Zhang Shou was so inclined towards them, he also bowed his head and confessed his guilt. Unexpectedly, he heard Du Heng's voice suddenly: "Dr. Zhang, the accusation you just made seems a little wrong, right? Didn't they occupy the palace and hold people hostage..."
Zhang Shou had expected Du Heng's doubts. In fact, he thought that if Du Heng wasn't there, there should be someone else. This was also the reason why he didn't ask more people to attend the trial. He smiled calmly, then looked at Du Heng calmly and said, "I heard that the eldest prince once scolded Xu Cheng and his group in broad daylight for their so-called counterattack to rescue him?"
Seeing Du Heng was stunned, he smiled and said, "I remember I asked the people who were present at the time, and they all said that the eldest prince shouted loudly, saying that his so-called being held hostage and the palace being occupied were completely fabricated. It was just a group of victims who were forced to see him. After that, the eldest prince even offered a reward and called on everyone to counterattack Xu Cheng. This matter was widely circulated in Cangzhou."
Du Heng, who had just asked the question in a hurry, suddenly turned pale when he heard Zhang Shou bring up such an old story. Except for those truly ignorant people, everyone could tell that the eldest prince was in dire straits at that time, and he wanted to put the blame on Xu Cheng, so he came up with this desperate measure. Zhang Shou actually took it seriously?
Is this a blatant attempt to draw attention to a group of rioters?
Seeing Ge Yong sitting in the armchair with his eyes narrowed and not saying a word, Zhu Tingfang smiled. Although Du Heng knew that his chances of success were slim if he rashly made trouble, there was no need for him to be used as a gun by certain people in the court - after all, no one was instructing him.
But he couldn't help but say, "The eldest prince said something else afterwards, saying that he was coerced and that's why he just talked nonsense. Dr. Zhang, don't you think that you're just evading the main point by only taking his first words?"
He hadn't finished speaking when, at this moment, there was a sudden sound of loud drum beating outside the gate of the county government office.
