Zhang Ren was naturally curious about Wang Ge's methods, so he asked, "Ding Bin's bones are so hard, and he doesn't look like he's capable of being beaten. What method did Master Shangshu use to get him to open his mouth?"
Wang Ge smiled slightly and said: "Actually, this confession did not come from Ding Bin, but from the servant. Last night, the servant came to the Ministry of Punishment to report his master, saying that Ding Bin participated in Hu Weiyong's rebellion. I got this. Isn’t it easy for Ding Bin to put his fingerprints on the confession?”
Although many years have passed since the Hu Weiyong case, the turmoil has never really subsided. Many nobles have lost their heads over the years, including Pingliang Hou Fei Ju who had just been beheaded.
Now that someone has reported that Ding Bin was involved in the Hu Weiyong case, it is difficult for Li Shanchang, who has a close relationship with Ding Bin, not to be suspected. Moreover, it involves rebellion, and no evidence is needed at all. Just having a private contact is enough to convict and behead him. .
Zhang Ren opened his mouth and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Shangshu. The matter is serious and I must obey your Majesty immediately."
Wang Ge then said, "That's right, that's right. Go away, young general."
Zhang Ren bowed his hands towards Wang Ge and walked out quickly. It was not until he was able to step out of the side hall that he remembered Zhu Yuanzhang's explanation.
He turned back immediately. Wang Ge was also confused and asked: "The young general has gone and come back. Is there something else?"
Zhang Ren nodded and said, "Yes, I want to see Ding Bin."
Hearing that Zhang Ren wanted to see Ding Bin, Wang Ge seemed a little hesitant, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Young general, please come with me."
Zhang Ren followed Wang Shangshu and came to the prison where Ding Bin was imprisoned again. Since he had been here yesterday, all the Yamen jailers here knew that Zhang Ren was the supervisor sent by His Majesty. Along the way, the Yamen jailers also moved towards the two men. salute.
When Zhang Ren saw Ding Bin again, he had lost the charm of yesterday. His originally flowing beard looked very messy, and there was almost no good flesh on his body. In order to prevent him from committing suicide, his hand tendons and hamstrings were They were all picked apart, and the jaw joint was also removed. Today, he is just a dying prisoner in a dark prison. God knows what kind of inhuman torture he experienced last night.
Facing the scene in front of him, Zhang Ren also took a breath of cold air and thought to himself, no wonder His Majesty asked me to give him a good pleasure. He was beaten like this and suffered while alive. It would be better to die a hundred times.
Wang Ge seemed to see the gloom in Zhang Ren's eyes, stepped forward and patted Zhang Ren on the shoulder, and then said: "Don't worry, young general, although Ding Bin looks a little miserable, the guards in my punishment department have a sense of proportion. , as long as he is fed some soup every day, he will be fine for ten or eight days, and since he is implicated in Hu Weiyong’s rebellion, given the temperament of our Majesty, I am afraid he will be executed within three days.”
Seeing Wang Ge speak so lightly, with a slight smile on his face, Zhang Ren shuddered unconsciously. At least he knew that in Wang Ge's eyes, life and dignity were nothing to be respected. Such people often Very scary.
Zhang Ren said bravely: "I still have something to say to Ding Bin, and I would like to ask Master Shangshu for your convenience."
Wang Ge naturally agreed: "Young general, please help yourself. I am waiting outside the prison."
It was not until Wang Ge led a group of yamen guards out and Zhang Ren saw that there was no one else nearby that he squatted down and said to Ding Bin, "Are you really involved in the Hu Weiyong case?"
Ding Bin was lying on the ground unable to move. The joints on his jaw were also removed. Although he could not bite his tongue to commit suicide, he could still speak.
He slowly turned his head to Zhang Ren and said in a hoarse voice: "Is it important?"
It doesn't seem to be important anymore, because Wang Ge got the testimony, no matter what the truth is, Ding Bin will definitely die.
But Zhang Ren felt that this point was very important. He still had a bottom line in his heart. He didn't want to see innocent people lose their lives, so he nodded and said, "It's important."
Ding Bin let out a disdainful laugh from his nostrils: "Oh, it's important? Do you believe what I say?"
Zhang Ren's expression was somewhat complicated and he said, "I don't know, but I want to hear it."
Looking at Zhang Ren's eyes, Ding Bin fell silent for a long time.
Then he said weakly: "I, Ding Bin, can be regarded as a capable minister in the Ministry of Husbandry, and I have made a lot of contributions to the Ming Dynasty. That is the Ministry of Husbandry. So much free money passes through my hands every day, so I will naturally make use of it." I have enriched myself through my position, and speaking of it, I, Ding Bin, deserve to die."
Perhaps he spoke too much, and Ding Bin coughed violently as he spoke. He coughed for a long time before he felt relieved, but his chest was still heaving violently.
Zhang Ren was also worried that Ding Bin would not be able to breathe, so he immediately asked: "Are you okay?"
Ding Bin gasped and shook his head. The movement was very slight. He only heard him say slowly: "It's okay. Although I, Ding Bin, am not a good person, I have nothing to do with Hu Weiyong. At that time, Hu Weiyong was the prime minister of a country and had a distinguished status. , and I am just a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. Why would Hu Weiyong come to me for such a big thing as rebellion?"
This matter made sense after thinking about it, so Zhang Ren continued to ask: "What about Duke Xuan? Do Duke Xuan and Hu Weiyong have anything to do with each other?"
Ding Bin shook his head slightly again and said with difficulty: "I don't know."
Ding Bin said he didn't know, not that he didn't know, but this alone made Zhang Ren respect him. This Ding Bin was an honest man. Even if he deserved death, Zhang Ren respected him as a man.
Zhang Ren looked at Ding Bin, his eyes somewhat complicated, but he still shook his head and said to Ding Bin: "Your Majesty is kind, and you specifically asked me when you came. If you can't bear it, let me help you get rid of it. "
Zhang Ren originally thought that Ding Bin would hesitate, but Ding Bin just twisted his body and said resolutely: "Please kill me."
For Ding Bin at this moment, death may not be a relief. Zhang Ren slowly pulled out the Xiuchun knife, but he couldn't calm down inside. What he holds in his hand is the world's first embroidered spring knife. Ever since Jiang Gu gave it to Zhang Ren, it has never been stained with blood. Zhang Ren wanted to use this knife to punish the injustice in the world, but failed. I didn't expect to see blood for the first time today, but the one who wanted to be chopped was Ding Bin, who had no strength to restrain the chicken.
Seeing that Zhang Ren had not taken action yet, Ding Bin urged him again: "Please kill me."
Although it was the same three words, Ding Bin's tone this time was much more urgent than before. Once upon a time, he was also a handsome young man in bright clothes and angry horses, and he was also a high-school Jinshi, but now he is just a prisoner who is about to die.
His body ached, but what hurt even more was his heart. The whip last night not only tore his body to pieces, but also ripped his dignity to pieces.
Looking at Ding Bin covered in blood, Zhang Ren knew that killing him was actually to free him. Zhang Ren moved the tip of the knife to Ding Bin's heart, closed his eyes and stabbed him with the knife.
"Thanks……"
These were the last words Ding Bin said. I don't know if he was thanking Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhang Ren, or both.
Zhang Ren did not look at Ding Bin on the ground again, which gave him the last trace of dignity.
Zhang Ren returned the Xiuchundao to its sheath and walked out of the cell.
Wang Ge seemed to think that his face was not very good-looking, so he immediately stepped forward and said, "Is the young general uncomfortable? Why does he look so ugly?"
Zhang Ren didn't even look at Wang Ge, but replied in a low voice: "Ding Bin is dead."
Wang Ge looked stunned, suspecting that there was something wrong with his ears, and hurriedly asked again: "What did you say, little general?"
Zhang Ren spoke again: "Ding Bin is dead."
Now Wang Ge was really panicked. He hurriedly said: "Dead? Ding Bin is dead? This is impossible? How could Ding Bin die?"
Zhang Ren then raised his head and said to Wang Ge, "I killed him."
Wang Ge looked incredulous at first, and then asked Zhang Ren fiercely: "Ignorant boy, do you know that Ding Bin can't die? Now that he died in prison, how do you want me to explain to His Majesty? What do you want me to do? How should I explain this to His Majesty? If we are not careful in this matter, we will all be beheaded!"
After listening to Wang Ge's words, Zhang Ren seemed to feel a lot calmer. It turns out that even Wang Ge, who is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, is afraid of death? Zhang Ren thought that people who lacked respect for life would not be afraid of death. Zhang Ren opened his mouth and said, "It's His Majesty's order."
This is like saying
After hearing this, Wang Ge started to tremble all over, and then he sat down on the ground. No matter how hard the Yamen guards around him pulled, they could not pull him up.
Zhang Ren's eyes were full of disdain, and he only felt that people like Wang Ge were the ones who deserved to die more. Although he didn't know whether Wang Ge had done bad things, his indifferent attitude towards other people's lives made people very uncomfortable. like.
Zhang Ren didn't want to stay in the punishment department for a moment, so he walked straight out. When he reached the door, he heard Wang Ge's howling like a slaughtering pig: "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu My life is at an end... My life is at an end." ..."
Carrying the confession, Zhang Ren entered the palace all the way. He had nothing to hide in front of Zhu Yuanzhang. He reported everything today to Zhu Yuanzhang, handed over the confession, and then said: "Ding Bin embezzled money from the treasury. He deserves to die, but he never admitted that he had any interaction with Hu Weiyong from beginning to end, so this confession should be countless."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak, but looked straight at Zhang Ren for a while. No one knew what the emperor was thinking, and no one dared to guess.
After about two minutes, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "There is nothing to do here. You can go down."
Zhang Ren bowed his hands towards Zhu Yuanzhang and was about to exit the imperial study. But as soon as he reached the door, he heard Zhu Yuanzhang say: "Remember to come over for the meeting tomorrow."
Zhang Ren turned around, said yes and exited the imperial study.
Today's events made Zhang Ren feel a little uncomfortable. He just wanted to go home and have a good sleep. Unexpectedly, he just opened the door of his house and saw a sword light coming towards him...
