,
A strong smell of feces, urine and mold hit his nose, and Xie Erren immediately covered his nose.
The light in the cell was extremely dim, and it took him a while before he could clearly see the appearance of the room: thick brick walls, dirt floor, and only a bamboo bed with some black and moldy straw piled messily on it. There was a clay pot in the corner, emitting waves of stench.
The cell door has a narrow window and a solid window lattice, allowing only a sliver of light to pass through. The cell is dark and humid, with mold marks on the tiles and moss under the corners. You can imagine the humid and harsh environment here. No wonder the ancients raped many prisoners - it was very easy to get sick in this environment, and without medicine and good care, they would die in an instant.
The prison guard laughed and said, "It's dirty and smelly inside. Don't stay here too long - it'll stain your old eyes!"
Xie Erren shook his head: This ghost place is too scary. But he didn't say anything. There were so many things going on right now that he couldn't even bother to deal with them. He remembered that he had issued a special report on the "Guangzhou Prisoners" incident, asking the "directors" everywhere not to release all the detainees easily - he could now completely understand the actions of the soldiers - this was simply hell on earth!
Hearing that the chief wanted to come to the prison cell in person to have a look, all the prisoners in the prison came out to welcome him. Xie Erren took a look, and he didn't look very vicious. He was not much different from the ordinary people he saw in the Ming Dynasty, and his clothes were also dusty.
However, he heard from the elders of the Ministry of Social Work that it was true that the government servants had a low status, but they had their own way of making money. As long as they were official errands, not to mention getting rich, it would not be a problem to have enough food and clothing.
After passing through the long and narrow courtyard, there is a "T"-shaped courtyard at the end of the ordinary prison cell. This is the so-called "death cell".
The death row is not big. To the east is the cell where death row prisoners are held, and to the south are two small rooms. This is where the prisoners live and sleep. There is a small shrine inlaid on the west wall of the courtyard - the prison head said: This is the "Prison Temple".
It turns out that there are no houses in this "Hell Temple". If the entire area under the roof above the shrine to protect it from wind and rain is included, it is less than half a square meter. Not to mention trying cases, I can barely take shelter from the rain.
There is a hole in the north corner of the "Prison Temple" that can lead directly to the outside. The prison boss said that this is called the "Death Row Cave" - in fact, death row prisoners are usually executed in the execution ground, and it is actually the corpse of the prisoner who died in prison. , according to the rules, corpses cannot go out through the gate, so they are dragged outside through this hole.
This place is too small! Xie Erren secretly cursed that this was the only place in the entire Wuzhou prison. He roughly estimated that it would only be more than 600 square meters in total - how many prisoners could be held in this?
Since the "Prison Temple" is not a "temple" at all, naturally there is no way to interrogate in the temple, so the place of trial was moved to two small rooms in the south. One of the two small rooms has a bed for the prison. They were resting, but the room outside was where the prisoners were tortured. There were all kinds of shackles and torture instruments on the wall, and they were stained with black blood, which was indescribably eerie.
Xie Erren glanced at it with some disgust, and regretted why he didn't bring the person up to the court for trial. Now that he was here, it was inconvenient to regret it, so he could just overcome it here - these instruments of torture could also heighten the atmosphere. He nodded: "Just here, bring the person up."
The two prisoners responded and hurried off. The prison boss hurriedly brought a chair to the middle, which became Xie Erren's "private seat".
After a short while, the two prisoners brought the female assassin in.
It is said to be "belt", but actually it is "frame". Not only is the hair unkempt, the clothes are torn and messy, even the embroidered shoes on the feet are gone, and the foot straps are randomly wrapped around them, dragging them on the ground. As if he had been tortured, Xie Erren was shocked - is this happening?
He frowned and said, "What? Someone has already tried it?"
The two prisoners smiled slightly awkwardly, but the squad leader already knew what was going on and hurriedly reported: "This woman has been very restless after being imprisoned. Not only did she insult the master and the senate, but she also sought death and survival several times. So I taught her some 'rules' - these are old rules in prison."
Xie Erren nodded. Seeing that the female assassin was emaciated and there were blood stains on her clothes, it was obvious that this "teaching rule" was quite cruel. He was also vaguely aware of the various cruelties against prisoners in Ming Prison, and he couldn't help but sympathize with this woman.
"Kneel down!"
Following the scolding from the cell leader, the woman shivered and immediately collapsed on her knees. As soon as she knelt down, she probably touched a painful spot, her body trembled again, and she knelt down carefully on her side.
Only then could Xie Erren clearly see the woman who wanted to take his life. He saw that the woman was in her early twenties and her appearance was not that outstanding. The texture of her clothes, her fair skin, her bound feet and other physical features all indicate that she is not from the lower class, at least at the level of Xiaojiabiyu.
Judging from her appearance, she must have suffered a lot in the past half day. Why did she, a weak woman, suddenly want to assassinate her?
Although the person in front of him came to take his life, Xie Erren could no longer hate her. Instead, I felt vaguely sympathetic.
After a long silence, Xie Erren asked: "Who are you? Why do you want to assassinate me?"
The woman raised her head and glanced at him, with surprise, hatred and fear in her eyes. When she saw him staring straight at her, she quickly turned her head to the side and said in a trembling voice:
"Now that I have fallen into your hands, what else can I say? If you want to kill or behead me, please do as you please!"
The voice was weak, but it was not the Guangzhou vernacular popular here in Wuzhou, but Mandarin. Xie Erren was startled:
"Aren't you a local?"
The woman remained silent, and the prisoner next to her scolded: "I'm asking you a question! Answer your question well! If you don't be honest for a while, I'll take good care of you!"
This sound was very effective. The woman trembled all over and whispered:
"Cai Lan, a folk girl, is from Chengtianfu, Huguang."
Where is Huguang Chengtianfu? Xie Erren didn't know, he probably knew it was in Hubei and Hunan.
Why did a man from Lianghu come to Wuzhou, Guangdong? Xie Erren knew that it was impossible for women in the Ming Dynasty to travel alone, let alone long distances. Most of them come to Wuzhou with their father or husband.
After further questioning, I found out that Cai Lan came from a scholarly family and had been engaged since she was a child. Her fiancé got a job in Wuzhou last year, so he sent someone to pick her up and get married.
Unexpectedly, not long after arriving in Wuzhou, Wuzhou would fall into war, her fiancé committed suicide, and the servants fled, leaving her alone and helpless. Then she had the idea of taking revenge for her husband and sacrificing herself again.
"Suicide?" Xie Erren was slightly puzzled, "Since your fiancé committed suicide, what does he have to do with me, the Song Dynasty?"
"My husband is Xing Chenghuan." Cai Lan sobbed softly when she mentioned her husband's name.
Who is Xing Chenghuan? Xie Erren was confused for a moment, but Zhao Toyota reminded him: Xing Chenghuan was an aide to the Wuzhou prefect. After the magistrate committed suicide, he also committed suicide in the second hall, leaving behind two desperate poems.
"It turns out it's him." Xie Erren suddenly realized it and cursed Xing Chenghuan in his heart: You are not an official guarding the land, why should you commit suicide? Leaving this young wife alone! She even made her come to assassinate me, the leader. What a crime!
Looking at Cai Lan again, kneeling on the ground and crying sadly, the pear blossoms in the rain are somewhat touching. Xie Erren's heart moved slightly - this little lady is quite lovely.
With this thought, his heart softened and he said in a slow tone: "So that's it. But your husband is so boring. He is not an official of the Ming Dynasty. Why should he commit suicide with the magistrate Hu? Leave you alone. Living in a foreign land! It’s so heartless!”
The words "unofficial" made both the yamen prisoner and Cai Lan stunned. Only Zhao Fengtian had been by the leader's side for a long time and understood the thinking patterns of the elders very well. He just stood there solemnly with his mouth puffed out and said nothing.
"We, the Senate, attacked Guangdong because we came to punish the people and save the people who were suffering in the Ming Dynasty. That's why Magistrate Hu is so stubborn - after all, he has received the favor of Chongzhen and served as an official for several years. My son, I have had a salary for several years. Your husband is just an ordinary scholar, and he actually followed Magistrate Hu to commit suicide! What a confused man. He really let down a good woman like you." Xie Erren felt that there was nothing to ask, and in his heart After thinking about it, his original plan of "execution on the spot" or "transporting him back to Lingao to be punished" was cancelled. Driven by the emotion of pity for the beauty, he came up with the idea of "reform".
To be honest, Xie Erren is not short of women, and Cai Lan is not a beautiful woman with a devilish figure, but what can give people a greater sense of accomplishment than transforming a woman who hates your "enemy" so that she finally gives up? ? As the saying goes, a man's greatest pleasure is to subdue the crowd, defeat the enemy, seize everything he has, ride his horse, and have his beautiful wives and concubines.
Xie Erren said, "Although she intended to assassinate her, it was for a reason and her feelings were pitiful. I have no intention of delving into it. There is no need to keep a poor and weak woman in prison anymore. Help her clean up and take her to the Tutu Temple first." Just wait and see."
This Tutu Temple is also a building in the local government office. It is located on the east side of the courtyard between the main gate and the second gate of the government office, facing the gate of the prison to the west.
The Earth Temple in the local government office is a feature of the Ming Dynasty. It was also an invention of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that this emperor, who was born as a beggar, had witnessed the corruption of officialdom in the late Yuan Dynasty among the people. Therefore, after the founding of the country, he made it a priority to consolidate his power by advocating clean government. In addition to setting up a precept stone in the yamen that said "God cannot be deceived", he also ordered the whole country to "build a special temple on the left side of the prefecture, prefecture, county and Wei to worship the land." In addition to "sacrifice to the land", all officials who have embezzled more than 60 taels of silver will have their heads shown to the public and then "peele the skin and make the grass". It is said that the skinning place is in the Tutu Temple, so it is also called "Pi Chang Temple".
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 345
