Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 689: Unbelievable
The afternoon classes went smoothly, but Zhang Shou kept feeling that his nose was itchy and he wanted to sneeze, his throat was itchy and he wanted to cough, and even his ears were a little itchy, as if thousands of people were talking about him behind his back. As the most handsome man in the capital, he was used to being talked about behind his back, but this time he had a bad feeling.
After finishing three classes in a row in the afternoon, Zhang Shou ordered a break and planned to leave the last class for students to do exercises. At this time, an unexpected but reasonable guest hurriedly visited Jiuzhang Hall. It was Lin Lao Hu, the head of the prison.
Seeing Zhang Shouxin coming out, he quickly saluted and then lowered his voice to ask, "Master Zhang, did you use your own carriage to send Dean Hong Shan from Yuzhang Academy back to Yashe?"
"That's right. And he was escorted back by the ten guards of the Sharp Cavalry Battalion that the emperor had assigned to me." At this point, seeing Lin Lao Hu's face full of sighs, he asked knowingly, "What's the matter? Did he encounter something on the way back?"
"The capital city used to have good public security, but Hong Shanchang happened to run into some ignorant thugs on his way back. He stopped the car in anger and asked them to tell them what was going on, and they hit him on the head with a fruit."
Faced with such an incredible news, Zhang Shou could not help but be dumbfounded. If this was an assassination attempt, or a gangster killer happened to be involved in a street fight, or if it was a mutiny by soldiers... He could accept all these reasons, but being smashed on the head by a fruit by a bully, what the hell was this?
Seeing that Lin Lao Hu was also embarrassed, he couldn't help but ask, "What about the ten guards I lent to Chief Hong? Did they just sit on their horses and watch Chief Hong get his head smashed?"
"This..." Lin Lao Hu became even more embarrassed, his eyes were extremely vague, even though the reason had nothing to do with him, but he felt ashamed to say it. After a long while, he said helplessly: "It was Principal Hong who was hypocritical, saying that he was just a principal without an official position and did not need the protection of the emperor's guards."
Although Zhang Shou guessed this possibility, he still found it hard to believe when Lin Lao Hu said it: "Did the ten guards really abandon him and come back just because of what he said?"
Looking at Han Lie, who claimed to be the captain of the Sharp Cavalry Battalion, he seemed to be a very reliable veteran in the army. After hearing the initial conversation between him and Captain Hong Shan in the car, he would not do such an unreliable thing, right?
Under Zhang Shou's unusual gaze, Lin Lao Hu could only continue to smile bitterly: "They were unwilling at first, after all, you, Master Zhang, gave the order first. However, it happened that the Fourth Prince was taking people out of the palace to visit King Jiangdu, and the two groups ran into each other head-on. When the Fourth Prince heard about it, he couldn't help but ridicule Hong Shanchang. Hong Shanchang became even more angry and directly sent everyone to follow the Fourth Prince."
"It just so happened that the Fourth Prince only had 30 or 40 people with him. He was also angry and forced people to follow him so that they would not be bullied for doing good things. In the end, Captain Han ordered two guards to follow Chief Hong. So after the incident, not only did they stop the bullies in time, but they also arrested two of the bullies on the spot. Otherwise, Chief Hong would have been hit on the head by a fruit."
As Lin Lao Hu said this, he complained in his heart - with the arrogance of those stupid bullies, if the vendor's cart of fruit was used to hit people, Hong Shanchang would probably be beaten half to death! Even so, now that such a big thing has happened, even Duke Qin will be punished, not to mention him, the head of the prison.
I'm afraid that even Zhu Tingfang, who is in charge of the Five Cities Military Department, will be reprimanded or even fined!
Zhang Shou had no choice but to put his hand on his forehead. What kind of a development is this! He could have expected that Hong Shanchang would be hypocritical. He was angry but had nowhere to vent, so he vented his anger on a group of soldiers. But why did the Fourth Prince just happen to pass by? This should be something that no one else could have designed, right ? And then the naughty kid didn't have a brain and really took away all the guards that Hong Shanchang didn't want.
If Han Lie hadn't been smart enough to send two people to follow, it would have been a huge trouble!
Zhang Shou, who had recovered from his shock, said with a gloomy face, "Where is that naughty kid?"
Without asking, Lin Lao Hu knew who Zhang Shou was referring to as the naughty kid, and he couldn't help but shrink his head: "After the Fourth Prince found out that he had gotten into trouble, he hid directly in the Jiangdu Palace. When I came to see you, Master Zhang, he hadn't come out yet. I think after the Emperor or His Royal Highness the Crown Prince heard about what happened, they would send someone to take him back to the palace, right?"
Hearing Lin Lao Hu's tone, which was clearly uncertain, Zhang Shou thought about this farce. If you say it was deliberate, it seems that all of it happened by chance. But if you say it was accidental... How could there be such a coincidence in the world? He calmed down and asked frankly, "Then why did you come here to see me, Captain Lin?"
"I just... I just want to ask, Master Zhang, did anything unusual happen between you and Chief Hong Shan today?" Although Lin Lao Hu would rather ask what Zhang Shou talked about with Chief Hong Shan today, when he thought that if it was something he shouldn't know, he would be involved in a serious storm, he finally chose a more conservative question.
"Nothing unusual."
Zhang Shou smiled faintly, and then said lightly, "It was just a friendly exchange of views on some recent events. I think you, Captain Lin, don't have to be so nervous. Just give those thugs a good beating. These street thugs won't be able to pass the test of a veteran criminal."
Lin Lao Hu smiled awkwardly. He was not surprised by Zhang Shou's answer. Then he said with an apologetic smile, "The person has actually been sent to the West City Military Division. Master Zhu said that he would take care of such a difficult matter. Since you said it's nothing unusual, Master Zhang, I'll take my leave. However, since such a thing happened in broad daylight, Master Zhang, you should be more careful."
There was no need for Zhang Shou's orders at all. At this moment in the West City Military Department, the two thugs who were said to be bullies had been beaten to death with big sticks. They were begging for mercy and crying. They really wanted to tell everyone about the bad things they had done in their past lives. How could they dare to hide anything?
But it was precisely because they confessed so readily that Zhu Tingfang found it ridiculous. After he took office, the military commanders in the southeast, northwest, and central cities were whipped around like a spinning top, and all the local tyrants who had been rampant were cleared out, either beaten to death or exiled, and only those who were a little more honest were left.
As for the little minions running around, they have become even more restrained in recent days. In this situation, there are still people who are not afraid of death and bully the market, even picking up fruits sold by small vendors and throwing them at people when people stop them? And they even smashed the head of Hongshan? If a mere thug can have such a good aim, then what is the point of being a thug!
Why not just change your career and start throwing stones at people? Isn't it a sure hit?
The eldest son Zhu said word by word with a cold face: "Keep beating them. Ask them all the questions you just asked one by one! Don't spank their buttocks anymore, spank their legs! Use the thinnest cane. If they don't tell the truth, break their legs!"
The two thugs on the ground were in tears and almost going crazy.
Who is Young Master Zhu? In recent days, all the local tyrants in the capital are well-known. They never thought that just bullying a few vendors would provoke a crappy celebrity in a carriage to come out and meddle in their affairs!
They were just throwing a fruit to scare someone, but it actually hit the person's head directly and broke his head! If they had known this would happen, who would have done this?
But they couldn't stand the beating from the very beginning, and had already given away the other two accomplices who had escaped. But this Mr. Zhu didn't give up and looked like he wanted to extract some important inside information from them. But they really just happened to be there and really just did it casually!
After Zhu Tingfang's order, they felt that the cane was moved from the buttocks to the thighs. However, the flesh on the thighs was not as thick as that on the buttocks, and it hurt more. The two men with their mouths blocked could not even scream. After ten hits each time, the gag was removed and a series of questions were asked, and then the gag was continued and they were beaten again.
Who can endure such seemingly endless punishment?
After enduring three or four rounds like this, they heard that their two accomplices were finally caught. Although they were not tried together, the crackling sound of the cane from the next room was audible, and it was obvious that they were being treated exactly the same way. Now, the two men, who had initially only hated themselves for running slowly and thus suffering alone, finally felt relieved, and then... of course they were beaten to death together.
They felt that all the sins they had committed in the first half of their lives were paid back in just this short half day!
Zhu Tingfang first asked the veteran in charge of the execution to ask seven or eight questions that had been prepared in advance, and then repeated them three or four times. Then he reviewed the confessions again and again, staring at the inconsistent items, and then ordered them to ask for details. Even if someone couldn't resist making up something on the spot, they would be exposed after repeated questioning and confirmation.
Then, of course, there were those who received even more beatings for making up stories.
Therefore, by dinner time, when the four thugs' legs were almost broken, Zhu Tingfang got the final and finalized confession. And this time, it was finally no longer a coincidence or random thing like before.
There is no brave man under Sanmu, let alone these four cowardly guys who are not brave men, even if they are strong men, not everyone can pass this test. It is precisely because of this that under such interrogation and torture, they wanted to tell clearly what they had for lunch today, and they racked their brains to recall some forgotten details at the beginning.
For example, they would appear on that street because they heard from passers-by that there were a lot of vendors there in the past few days and business was good. Several vendors were making a lot of money and were smiling happily, so they thought they could make some money by going there.
For example, they would not be able to resist pushing, kicking and beating a certain hawker because this person not only had a prosperous business, but also stood up to them when they extorted money and refused to spend a single cent to pay off local tyrants like them.
For example, the reason why they ignored the fact that Chief Hong came out of a quite respectable carriage and shouted at him loudly, and instead first ridiculed him, and then became angry and smashed fruits and hit people, was because they heard someone sneering and claiming that Chief Hong was just a pretentious poor tycoon who rode someone else's carriage and paraded through the city!
They were so greedy and angry that they forgot one thing: in a place like the capital, how could someone who could easily borrow someone else's carriage be so poor? Of course, it was too late when they remembered it.
Zhu Tingfang flicked the confession in his hand. Seeing the commander of the West City Army standing respectfully below, he said calmly: "You have read the confession, right? I said, there is no such thing as a heavenly conspiracy. Things that seem to be coincidental are sometimes actually designed by others. It's a pity that too much time was wasted on these useless people!"
The commander could only smile but dared not say anything, fearing that Zhu Tingfang would ask him to arrest those passers-by who had no clue at all. Only the hawker who fought with the man was easier to arrest, but the problem was, what crime should he be arrested on? Just because the man refused to pay the blackmailing bully? He was not afraid of being criticized by the people of the capital, but he was afraid of violating Zhu Tingfang's original intention.
Just when he was getting anxious, Zhu Tingfang finally spoke calmly: "Let's stop here. Send a letter in my name to the head of Hong Shan who is recuperating in Yashe, saying that the four evildoers who committed the crime have been arrested by the West City Military Department and have been imprisoned. I will apologize to the emperor for this matter."
Even though the West City Military Commander had complained more than once behind his back about his boss Zhu Tingfang being harsh and difficult to serve, at this moment, he was extremely grateful to have such a boss - if it were the past when the five city military departments were each operating independently, if something like this happened today, the military commanders of the other four cities would definitely have stood by and watched, gloating over his misfortune.
But now, this nobleman with an extraordinary status, who could have put the blame on him, took the initiative to take the matter over. He was just like the wise boss Wang Datou who never put the blame on others.
Having said that, the commander of the West City troops did not dare to let his superior take the blame, and had to say in fear and trepidation that he would take the responsibility on himself. But before he could finish his words, a voice was heard from outside.
"Sir, Shuntian Prefecture has sent someone to deliver a message that Shuntian Prefecture Governor Qin Guogong has written a letter to apologize. Qin Guogong also said that since such a thing happened under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture, it would be better to hand these prisoners over to Shuntian Prefecture for trial. The veterans in the prison are very experienced in dealing with these local thugs and bullies. The Wucheng Military Command has a heavy responsibility, so please don't be too harsh on them, sir."
Knowing that Zhu Yi was deliberately saying this to others, Zhu Tingfang could not help but sneer and rejected it without hesitation: "Duke Qin, you are too serious. I have no choice but to take responsibility for this matter. How can I let him bear it alone? As for those bold villains, they have been punished today , and they will be paraded through the streets tomorrow to serve as a warning to others!"
