"Then... what should we do next?" The two servants looked at each other in confusion.
"We have to muster up the courage to instigate one or two people to rebel." Wan Yuzhi raised his head and glanced at them. "Once someone surrenders to me, their plan may not be sustainable."
A clerk said: "But these squires are so courageous. They dare to plot under your nose. How can they still listen to you?"
Wan Yuzhi shook his head: "You are taking the problem too lightly. There are three, six or nine levels of country squires, and there are thousands of people with different faces. Their interests can never be the same. Naturally, there are people who are wavering. For example, I met yesterday That Meng Tong, his clan is not prominent, and his land is not as vast as others. He was dragged into it entirely because he was afraid of Qian Junfu's power. If we can use both kindness and power to draw him here, the crisis can be solved soon. "
The two clerks felt that this made sense, nodded their heads, and asked in unison: "When will we invite him?"
"tomorrow."
Meng Tong went to Qian's Mansion again to investigate the situation. Seeing that everyone's suspicions were getting deeper and deeper, he became anxious and uneasy, fearing that the matter would be exposed and cause unreasonable disaster to himself. He didn't sleep well all night. In the morning, he walked to the outer courtyard and wandered around. Suddenly he heard a servant report that Master Wan was going to summon him again. Meng Tong felt nervous and had no choice but to ride to Zhu's mansion.
When Meng Tongyi entered the living room, he saw Wan Yuzhi with a sullen face, two servants standing calmly, and several more soldiers standing guard beside him. He was so frightened that he could not speak and was trembling all over.
"Squire Meng," Wan Yuzhi said coldly, "are what you said a few days ago true? Don't you have anything to add?"
Meng Tong heard something strange, his heart was pounding, and he hesitated to reply: "How dare a villain deceive the superior..."
After hearing this, Wan Yuzhi immediately raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then slammed it on the table: "Lies!"
Meng Tong quickly tightened his body.
"What did you and Qian Junfu discuss in secret? Why did you steal the wooden box? Tell me! I already have enough evidence in my hand and can show it to you at any time. If you dare to stall again, be careful of me using severe torture!"
Meng Tong knelt on the ground and had no choice but to tell the truth: "Master Wan, to be honest, Qian Junfu wants to make us cause trouble and avenge Zhu Yangrui... As for the box, he plans to spread it all over the place to incite people's hearts and cause trouble." Chaos.”
"I see..." Wan Yuzhi was not surprised by such a conspiracy, and then asked him, "Then how did he collude with the prefect?"
Meng Tong was surprised when he saw that he knew such detailed information: "This Master Wan is like a god. Nothing can escape his ears. Why should I resist!" It is better to beg for surrender, redeem your sins, or be saved. ' While thinking about it, he replied: "The prefect felt resentful about Zhu Yangrui's death, so he took the initiative to find Qian Junfu and gave him the opportunity. The box was sent to him."
"Okay. You write what you said into a statement." Wan Yuzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the clerk to get pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and asked him to write it by himself. Meng Tongzhan finished writing it cautiously, and when he handed it over, he said in a low voice He said: "Sir, I know this is a serious crime of treason. Unfortunately, I got involved in it, and I regret it very much. I hope you can forgive me for the death penalty, and I will do my best to repay you."
Wan Yuzhi smiled: "I have no enmity with you, so why should I put you to death? If you can get the wooden box back and tie it to the secretary, not only will you have no fault, but you will have done a great service! Then you will report to the court. Shu, I will definitely ignore the past grudges and give you a recommendation."
Meng Tong was overjoyed, expressed his gratitude, and was immediately released by Yu Zhi.
After seeing him off, Wan Yuzhi put the petition into his sleeve, stood up and told the soldiers: "You guys will guard here carefully. I'll go back to the government office temporarily. Let me know if anything happens."
The second official didn't know the reason, so he eagerly stopped him and said, "What do you want to do, sir?"
Wan Yuzhi said: "In order to prevent me from peace, the prefect of Runing did not hesitate to kill the fish and break the net. If he is left alive, he will be in great trouble. Now that the evidence is complete, we should arrest him quickly and don't waste the opportunity."
"It would be safest to ask the Ministry of Justice for instructions first."
Wan Yuzhi said: "The situation in the imperial court is unclear. If the memorial is intercepted by Chen Dang again, I will really become a sinner. His rebellion has become an ironclad fact. If he cuts it off first and then reports it, how can the emperor blame him? By the way, I drew up a list last night, you look at the names on it and mobilize troops to arrest them."
The second official reached out to hold it and saw that the paper was filled with densely packed names, as many as thirty or forty people. They were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they froze in place.
"Almost all the close officials of the Runing Prefecture are included," Wan Yuzhi added. "Although they serve the superiors, which is understandable, they have been rooted here for a long time and are closely connected with the forces of all parties, so they will be reluctant to implement the new policy. . Take the opportunity to get rid of them, and the new policy will be easier to carry out in the future." The second official only obeyed the order.
The prefect had some hindsight, and only found out about the situation he was in on the second day of his confinement. Despite this, he did not show any panic. After all, he was the chief of a government, and appointments and dismissals were all made by superior officials. Wan Yuzhi did not dare to do anything to him. So he walked around the room all day long, and when he was free, he would open the window and chat with the soldiers for a while, easily passing the time for a few days.
On this day, he suddenly saw three more officials coming in, all of whom were his trusted subordinates. So he realized what had happened, frowned and asked them, "What are you doing here?"
The three of them were stunned: "Didn't you say you wanted to find us?"
The magistrate laughed helplessly: "Wan Yuzhi is playing tricks on you. You can't get out now."
The three of them looked out the window. As expected, the road they came from was tightly blocked. They all started crying and shouting: "It's over!"
The magistrate comforted him: "What are you afraid of? I'm here to protect you. How dare Wan Yuzhi make a mistake? Calm down and tell me what happened outside?"
The judge standing in the middle replied: "Wan Yuzhi has not been in the house recently. It is said that he went to the countryside to try Zhu Yangrui's old case. He also summoned Qian Junfu and others."
The prefect staggered at his feet and quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his hand. His eyes suddenly became alert: "Have you arrested anyone?"
"No, no. I just asked them one by one and treated them well."
"Presumably he has no way of knowing about the wooden box," the magistrate comforted himself, "I'm afraid of what he will do, afraid of what he will do... As long as Squire Qian causes trouble, my official career will still be prosperous..."
Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard the door panel ringing again. He thought it was the food delivery person who had arrived, so he said perfunctorily: "Just leave it there."
"You...didn't ask us to bring anything?"
Hearing this, the prefect took a deep breath. When he turned around to look, he saw that there were two more confidants he relied on.
His mind was in a mess, and he had no intention of explaining it to anyone anymore.
