The next day, since the government examination was over, Xu He was going to tell his teacher Li Zhijie and prepare to return to Hailing County.
But before he could go out, the commander of the Yangzhou Guard asked the soldiers guarding the yamen to come over and said, "Mr. Xu, someone from the yamen asked you to come over. He said he wanted to ask you about a case."
As soon as this statement came out, Xu He immediately understood that it must be related to Zhou Yi and Ge Youli's collusion with bandits.
When he came to the government office, the person sitting in the hall was not Peng Ruyu, but Huang Lun, the censor of Youqiandu whom he had seen in Yangzhou Post that day.
Xu He, the man sitting to the left of Huang Lun, has also seen him. He is the fourth-rank Qianhu of Jinyiwei who came to Yangzhou with Huang Lun.
On Huang Lun's right side sat the newly appointed acting Yangzhou magistrate Peng Ruyu and the general magistrate Li Zhijie.
When Xu He's eyes met Li Zhijie's, he lowered his eyelids and said hello to his student.
It was not the time to question Xu He yet. Huang Lun slapped the alarm on the major case and said: "Bring someone to commit crimes against Zhou Yi and his son!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the noisy sound of hand and foot shackles sounded behind Xu He.
Xu He looked back and saw several rich and powerful jailers from the government office escorting the Zhou family father and son towards the hall.
Perhaps it was because the magistrate Zhou was still powerful. Although the father and son walked slowly, the jailer did not dare to push them at all and could only follow patiently.
At this time, Huang Lun, who was in the hall, had a look of impatience on his thin and tough face. He said to the leading prison officer: "Are you people so gentle, courteous and thrifty when escorting prisoners?"
The ninth-grade warden suddenly broke into a cold sweat when he heard this. He winked at the jailer behind the Zhou family and his son.
The two jailers immediately took out their whips and whipped them at the Zhou family and his son at the same time.
"ah!"
But there was only one cry of pain, and this sound came from Mr. Zhou. Zhou Yi only paused, frowned, and walked up to the hall.
Huang Lun actually wanted to use a preemptive method to destroy the psychological defenses of the Zhou family and his son.
Obviously, that only works half the way.
When the father and son entered the hall, Huang Lun shouted sharply: "Prisoner and son, why don't you kneel down?"
Zhou Yi sneered when he heard this: "I am not guilty, and I have an official status, so there is no need to kneel down. Besides, the Holy Father's decree is to escort my father and son back to Beijing for trial with guards in royal robes. Why did this lord disobey the decree and try me in Yangzhou?" Father and son?"
Huang Lun was speechless after what he said, but he was a civil servant after all. After thinking for a moment, he sneered: "There are long nights and many dreams on the way back to Beijing. Who knows whether you prisoners will collude with each other to confess. I also want to settle the case as soon as possible." , you and your son were temporarily interrogated today. Zhou Yi, do you have anything to say?"
Standing in the hall, Magistrate Zhou smiled coldly: "Sure enough, it's an official word, so it's up to you!"
Huang Lun was so overwhelmed by his attitude that he held his breath in his chest and couldn't lift it up for a long time.
At this time, Jin Yiwei Qianhu, who was sitting aside, said: "I am Lu Tao, the Qianhu of Fusi, Beizhen. I have been ordered by the emperor to arrest you and bring you to justice. Now I have a few questions to ask you. Please answer truthfully!"
Jin Yiwei's name was really a person's name, the shadow of a tree, just as the sign was displayed, Zhou Yi raised his head and looked at Lu Tao, with a look of uncertainty in his eyes.
And Mr. Zhou was even more useless. His body was shaking like chaff, and he almost collapsed on the ground.
Seeing the different performances of the father and son, Lu Tao already had an idea in mind, but he still followed the previous plan and asked Zhou Yi: "Official Zhou Yi, what collusion did you have with the thieves who conquered Taixing, robbed the county treasury, and killed officials in rebellion?" , tell the truth!"
"No, I don't know any bandits. How can I, a high-ranking magistrate and official of the imperial court, collude with bandits?" Zhou Yi said plausibly.
Huang Lun knew he would say this and sneered: "Where did the gunpowder used by the thieves come from?"
As soon as he said this, everyone looked at Zhou Yi, trying to get some clues from his micro-expression, but unfortunately, Zhou Yi looked surprised and said: "What gunpowder? Oh, you are talking about the thieves' explosive batch." Were they the explosives used when inspecting the walls of Suowu Fort? How do I know where they got the explosives? We don’t have explosives in Yangzhou Prefecture, so we can’t say they were provided by me, right?”
Huang Lun and Lu Tao even sneered on their faces when they saw his sophistry.
Lu Tao said sharply: "Really? You always know Cao Bangzhou, the governor of Su Song, right? When our Jinyi guards raided his house, we found your correspondence. Do you want me to continue?"
Before Lu Tao finished speaking, Zhou Yi's face turned red and he said angrily: "Who knows if you framed me, Huang Lun, don't think that someone standing behind you can do whatever you want to frame me. I will sue you." Imperial status, and..."
Having said this, he turned to look at Lu Tao: "You Jin Yiwei have long been famous in our Wei Dynasty for using fake documents to frame ministers. Why do you think that I am colluding with bandits based on a fake letter? "
Lu Tao sneered: "You are quite tough!"
Huang Lun turned his head at this time, changed his strategy, and said to Mr. Zhou in a gentle voice: "Zhou Tianxiong, the national law is ruthless. We have already mastered what your father did. It was the crime of beheading and exterminating the clan. Now I will If you have a chance, as long as you tell everything you know, I swear that I will file a petition to His Majesty to spare your life."
Xu He looked at the trembling Mr. Zhou and saw a look of emotion on his face.
Just when Zhou Tianxiong was about to speak, Zhou Yi suddenly cursed loudly: "Huang Lun, don't lie to my son. If this kind of thing is confirmed by you people, will my father and son still have a chance to survive?"
Zhou Tianxiong is not a fool, so he doesn't know that this is his father reminding him not to be fooled.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I, I don't know?"
When Huang Lun saw this, he said angrily: "Zhou Yi is a prisoner. Do you, Zhou Tianxiong, also have an official status? Why don't you kneel down when you see me?"
Zhou Tianxiong himself had no fame, so Huang Lun had already figured this out and kept silent. Seeing that Zhou Tianxiong didn't speak, he gave a sharp shout.
Immediately, the officials from the third team of the surrounding government office took the water and fire sticks, held Zhou Tianxiong up and knelt on the ground with a little force.
"Hit me!" The cold look on Huang Lun's face was not hidden at all. Xu He had no doubt that he would really dare to beat Zhou Tianxiong to death if the other party didn't speak.
Then, a silent voice sounded, echoing over the government office lobby along with Zhou Tianxiong's miserable scream.
The people present were all old people from Yangzhou Prefecture, and no one knew the arrogant and domineering Master Zhou. Now seeing him being pinned to the ground like a dead dog, and being hit on the back with one stick after another, everyone felt sad, and even I had to hold back my cough.
After fighting for about twenty battles, Huang Lun waved his hand and said to Zhou Yi in the hall: "Tiger poison does not eat its seeds. Seeing Master Ling like this, Master Zhou doesn't have anything to say?"
Zhou Yi's hands were trembling and tears were streaming down his face. He heard his son's shrill screams in his ears and saw the blood on his son's back, which made him feel like a knife.
Just when everyone thought he was about to let go, Zhou Yi gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know what you are talking about. I have nothing to say."
Upon seeing this, Huang Lun looked at Lu Tao and then coldly snorted: "Okay, okay, okay, send Xu He to the court!"
Xu He was lamenting the cruelty of questioning prisoners in this era. Unexpectedly, Huang Lun summoned him the next second. He quickly adjusted his clothes and went to the hall.
"Xu He, I want you to recall two things. One is about the bandits you encountered in Dong'anji, and the other is the extermination of the academy in Hailing County. Please tell me in detail."
