Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 654: Cutting the Gordian knot
After seeing the pile of dowry furniture in the mansion of Duke Zhao that day, Wu felt both happy and embarrassed, as she always felt that she had taken too many advantages of the Zhu family. So when Zhang Shou came back, she suggested having hotpot in the evening. Coincidentally, Zhu Ying came over with Hong, and happily shouted that they had won a great victory today and wanted to stay for dinner. Naturally, Wu was overjoyed, and simply called everyone over and had a lively meal together.
Hundreds of guests and servants were all called out. Various round tables were set up in the main hall, side hall and flower hall, and more than a dozen copper hot pots were laid out. From mutton and mutton offal to various vegetables and delicacies, no one knew how much was consumed in this meal. It was just a lively night banquet.
As for game, of course there was none at all. Although everyone from high officials to common people likes to eat game these days, Zhang Shou persuaded Wu with the words "do good deeds" and even brainwashed Zhu Ying, using the excuse of scaring people with parasites . Viruses and bacteria, people today wouldn't understand even if he said it!
Whether it's bird flu or Ebola, even if the other two diseases may not be caused by wild animals, he is really afraid of them.
Isn't chicken, duck, fish and meat delicious? Why eat game if they are delicious? If the rich don't often eat game, the poor have to eat game to fill their stomachs. Why is the life span of modern people so short? Often people in their forties look like old men? Zhang Shou never mentioned the hardships of life and the backwardness of medical care. In addition, he always had the most reasonable image, and successfully deceived Zhu Ying.
He even repeatedly and earnestly reminded his foster mother and Zhu Ying that everything he ate must be cooked thoroughly, and even cited the time when he had a stomachache from undercooked food when he was a child. His once-bitten-once-a-year-shy attitude made even Wu wonder if Zhang Shou's frequent illnesses as a child really happened, and Zhu Ying was even more shocked and readily agreed to do it.
While they were enjoying themselves, many people in many places inside and outside the capital stayed up all night, forgetting to eat and sleep. There were definitely more than one person whose eyes turned red and had dark circles under their eyes.
Among them, Cui Hong, the Imperial Censor who inspected the five cities at the suggestion of Zhang Shou and the instruction of Lu Wan, was among them.
It was impossible for him to have all the soldiers from the Five Cities come down and interrogate all the prisoners one by one, so like Ah Liu, he focused on attacking the South City Soldiers . Moreover, those who were initially seemingly let off by Zhu Tingfang were mostly brought back one by one after nightfall, so he didn't have to stare at a madman and question him endlessly.
Therefore, when Zhu Tingfang, who had been busy all day but was still energetic because of his extraordinary talent and good health, came back late at night, he was faced with a city patrol censor who had a haggard face, red eyes and dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes revealed a bit of fanaticism.
Cui Hong had long forgotten his anxiety and confusion about not being able to find Zhu Tingfang. When he saw the eldest son of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, who was ordered to manage the Five Cities Military Department and directly govern the Southern City Military Department, he immediately rushed forward and said bluntly: "Master Zhu, today's riot was instigated by someone, and it was the people from the Imperial Household Department. They are trying to muddy the waters and save themselves from death!"
Zhu Tingfang casually threw the horsewhip to Zhu Yi who was standing beside him, stared at Cui Hong for a moment, and then walked straight to the office without saying a word, and actually left Cui Hong behind!
Cui Hong was somewhat ashamed and annoyed by this treatment, but Zhu Tingfang was famous for his tough temper and ruthless methods. The emperor appointed him to take charge of the South City Military Department because he valued his murderous aura. As expected, within three days of Zhu Tingfang taking office, seventeen gang leaders who were once in power in South City were arrested in one go, and then...
Qiu Jue directly dragged out and chopped off eight of the most heinous criminals, as well as ten of their most heinous lackeys!
They were specially sent to Xisi Pailou for execution. Even the common people who loved to watch the excitement, after seeing so many heads fall to the ground, their cheers gradually turned into silence, and many of them left trembling in fear.
So, he suppressed his dissatisfaction, turned around and quickly followed Zhu Tingfang, explaining: "Master Zhu, I was definitely not tortured into confessing, nor did I force a confession. This is the result of my cross-examination and the mobilization of people from the South City Military Department to follow the clues. If Master Zhu doesn't believe it, you can try it yourself!"
"Of course I trust Cui Shiyu's work." Zhu Tingfang's answer was very concise, but his continued movement made Cui Hong feel very unsure. When he followed the man into the public hall, he only heard Zhu Tingfang say one more sentence: "But the confessions of those I caught in the city are different from those of that crazy Chen and what you found here."
Zhu Tingfang walked straight to his main seat, turned his back and sat there. Seeing Cui Hong's face flushed red, and when he noticed that he was looking at him, he forced a smile. Zhu Tingfang smiled nonchalantly.
"I'm not saying that you, Cui Shiyu, had any selfish motives when you were investigating, or that you were deceived, but you have to know that some people are used to deliberately creating confusion. This is the result you got from the South City Military Department, but those groups of troublemakers in the inner city, after being beaten with sticks, kept saying that they were instructed by some old masters in the court, so they wanted to uproot the Silijian. And..."
He paused for a moment, but his tone became more serious: "Also, we should take advantage of the fact that the candidates from various provinces are gradually coming to Beijing and the city is full of scholars to stir up the people to unite against the enemy and force the emperor to rectify the Imperial Household Department."
This time, Cui Hong's face, which had just turned red, immediately turned pale again, and even his voice trembled a little: "This is simply ridiculous!"
"Yes, it is indeed absurd, so of course I don't believe it." Zhu Tingfang gently shook the hem of his robe, leaned forward slightly, and said word by word, "But, such a statement is not something that ordinary people can come up with. Some people also say that the people who ordered them might be guys who are using the tiger skin of some old masters as a banner?"
"Now, what you found out from the South City Military Department is that the Imperial Household Department is crying wolf, but what I found out from the East, West, North and Central Military Departments is that someone in the court is fanning the flames. How do you think we should report this to our superiors?"
Cui Hong was so sweaty from Zhu Tingfang's questioning that his forehead was covered with sweat and his back was wet. With Zhang Shou's hint and Lu Wan's advice, he came to the South City Military Division in person. When he found that Zhu Tingfang did not prohibit him from interrogating the prisoners, he felt that this Master Zhu had the same idea. But now, Zhu Tingfang actually said that the confessions of the people caught in the city were different!
He felt so confused and at a loss that he could not help asking, "Then how do you think we should report this, young master?"
Zhu Tingfang was not surprised at all by Cui Hong's irresponsible attitude of kicking the ball back. Aren't most officials these days just irresponsible?
He sneered, then raised the corner of his robe and stood up again: "How do I report to the emperor? Didn't the emperor give us a good start? That is to cut the Gordian knot. No matter who ordered him, just solve the case immediately."
"But whether it is the Wucheng Bingmasi or me, the patrolling imperial censor, who can interrogate and question, but when it comes to judging a case and convicting a criminal..." Cui Hong was about to speak but stopped talking. Although the Dali Temple, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice are known as the Three Judicial Departments, unless it is a case that is shocking, the emperor will order the three judicial departments to try the case together, otherwise they usually do their own job and don't care about trivial matters such as judging a case and convicting a criminal!
That's right, as the three judicial officials who truly hold the power to decide criminal cases in the world, that is, the final judicial review power, they usually don't try cases. The inspectors like the censors just sit next to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple when the cases are reviewed every year, and are ready to find fault at any time.
Zhu Tingfang sighed softly and said nonchalantly, "That's easy. Shuntian Prefecture, Wanping County, and Daxing County will send the person in according to their respective jurisdictions. They will be tried within three minutes. If they deserve to be beaten, they will be beaten. If they deserve to be exiled, they will be exiled. If they deserve to be sentenced, they will be sentenced to prison!"
"In short, don't delay, act quickly, and deal with the matter at hand. Don't think about implicating anyone else!"
Cui Hong's face suddenly turned cold. When he first found out about the Imperial Household Department, he was naturally very excited. He only thought that Wang Datou, as a senior official who took the lead in reporting the corruption of some eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department, was now famous all over the world. If he pursued him relentlessly and took the opportunity to bring down Qian Ren, who had just been promoted to the position of the Imperial Household Department's seal holder, he might also become famous.
But now Zhu Tingfang clearly warned him not to think about seeking fame and that a quick conclusion was the right thing to do. He couldn't help but feel that this was like the fat meat at his fingertips being lost in the end. It was so painful that he couldn't breathe.
However, under the seemingly kind but actually sharp gaze, Cui Hong finally forced out a very reluctant smile: "Yes, the crown prince is new, this kind of thing really should be dealt with quickly and dealt with as soon as possible."
Regardless of whether Cui Hong really gave in or was just pretending to be submissive, Zhu Tingfang didn't care at all. He slowly walked in front of Cui Hong. In such a close relationship, he, who was half a head taller than the other party, naturally revealed a sense of oppression.
"I will personally question the prisoners from the South City Military Department. As for the prisoners from the four inner city military departments, please trouble Cui Shiyu to go into the city at night to take a look and ask questions, so that no one will change their testimony later and say that I was tortured into confessing. Of course, you'd better change your official robes, so that some people will not change their stories when they see that someone else is questioning them."
Seeing that Zhu Tingfang actually openly instructed him to go into the city to interrogate the matter in person, Cui Hong's last glimmer of hope was finally gone.
If Zhu Tingfang had not already found out and even verified that some of the disturbances were indeed related to some of the old officials in the court, why would he be so straightforward? Thinking that he had a teacher, classmates, and even relatives, friends, and fellow villagers in the capital, he dared not delay any longer and hurriedly agreed. Then, without caring that he had been busy interrogating and investigating since dusk and had not eaten anything, he hurried into the city.
By the time he, the imperial censor, entered the inner city with his badge, and the soldiers from the four cities of East, West, North and Center came down one by one, it was already dawn. As an imperial censor, he was originally a member of the regular court officials, so he took advantage of the moment when all the officials gathered before entering the palace to urgently send out all the news.
For a moment, many of the censors who had been ready to write memorials and submit them immediately fell into a state of confusion. Although there were some who were not afraid of death and planned to go back and revise their wonderful articles to sweep the Imperial Household Department and the big guys into the system, even if they would be torn to pieces, they would leave their names in history, but most people...
Well, most people are normal people. After working hard to study and become an official, they get hurt badly over such a senseless thing and are finally dismissed and never employed again. That would be meaningless .
Therefore, the court meeting of that day was held in an orderly manner as usual, with a few things discussed step by step, and finally ended quietly, as if the strong winds and waves in and outside the capital yesterday had never happened after the big news from the Imperial Household Department was made public.
Behind this stagnant pool, Cui Hong, who had not slept all night, sent people from the Wucheng Bingmasi to escort the prisoners to the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen and the Wanping and Daxing County Yamen. After time and time again, he finally emptied the cells of the Wucheng Bingmasi.
Immediately afterwards, the three major government offices started the trial at three o'clock in the morning. The boards on the platform were banging loudly. In the end, seven or eight prisoners were lying on the ground at the gate of each government office, with their skin torn and their buttocks exposed.
There were people who were often punished with caning or flogging in the past, but those who had the slightest condition would be immediately sent home as they could not bear the humiliation. Those who did not have the condition were too ashamed to be humiliated like this and would crawl back home. However, these guys who were sunbathing with their bare butts were all shackled and chained, with a group of yamen runners watching them covetously. However, they had been ordered by their superiors to be released only after they had been exposed to the sun for half a day.
What was even more unbearable was the biting cold wind blowing on the bare buttocks with skin and flesh torn apart, which was simply another form of torture!
The most shocking thing is that when the government severely punished the troublemakers, they also spread the news that the troublemakers would not be allowed to redeem their canes. That was not all. Zhu Tingfang's words against the scholars that day were also spread everywhere in the capital. Some scholars who turned a deaf ear to the wind and were still ready to make a move got the news from the Inspectorate later that day.
The Imperial Inspector of Northern Zhili announced that if any students with academic titles spread rumors or caused trouble in the capital, they would be reprimanded or demoted, or even stripped of their academic titles. No leniency would be shown. As for whether the academic officials of other provinces would follow suit, who knew?
Although some people angrily denounced this as a general silence, it eventually died down. For a time, even the various literary gatherings and poetry societies that aimed to make friends with like-minded people or even to become famous became less numerous.
As for how many old men in the court smashed cups, plates, bowls, and inkstones at home after returning home, only God knows. But even the uneasy Confucius calmed down when he learned that the emperor had sent the two dismissed officials to guard the imperial mausoleum and then selected a few capable people to investigate the charity halls.
The emperor did not use the same ruthless methods on the Imperial Household Department on an old minister like him, which was already a blessing from heaven! Speaking of which, even the old man Jiang, who had stepped down in disgrace before, had a much better end than these eunuchs!
In this stagnant situation, the first examination of the Imperial College to select the attendants of the Eastern Palace began quietly without attracting much attention. When seeing the King of Jiangdu walking in front with a swagger and Xu Heida following closely with a stiff face, whether it was Zhou Jijiu, Luo Siye, or many school officials, they all felt a pain on their faces, not knowing whether it was the wind blowing or the shame and anger.
