A certain prince didn't care much about the outside world's reaction to the remarks of these three bastards, Lin Yuji, Liu Zunxian, and Shang Zhouzuo, because he still had to put his former cardinal Yang Sichang on trial!
In order to cover up the huge mistake made by this fat man and Emperor Chongzhen who was misled by him and misjudged his strategy, many governors and generals in chief took the blame for this strange pair of monarchs and ministers.
Among them is Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong who has already practiced the art of catching insects. If a kind-hearted prince hadn't fished him out, he would have been detained. When the dumper wakes up, he will still be abandoned.
Today, the lobby of the Metropolitan Procuratorate was packed with seats. The presiding judge was Zhong Qian, the censor of the left capital, and the deputy judges were Wang Zhengzhi, the minister of Dali Temple, and Zhang Xuan, the censor of the right capital.
A certain prince, his first assistant, second assistant, and a group of civil servants and generals attended the ceremony. He did nothing else in his busy schedule, just wanting to witness with his own eyes that a certain fat man turned into a "dead fat man".
"Is the person next to the station Yan Jizu?"
Of course Zhong Yan knew the guy across from him, but this was a confrontation in court, involving human lives, and with the prince watching, it had to be done according to the process. He couldn't just open his mouth and say: Lao Yan, how are you doing lately?
"That's right!"
Yan Jizu was reinstated to his post, but he still had to appear in court to testify and tell the truth about the situation at that time. It had nothing to do with him as to how the higher-ups decided. Abandoning his status as a prisoner, he no longer had to kneel in the hall.
"I would like to ask you, when the Donglu went south to Jinan, why did they gather Shandong's troops in Dezhou?"
Jinan is the capital of Shandong, and King De still lives in the city. Transferring troops to Dezhou is equivalent to automatically abandoning Jinan, allowing the Qing army to directly capture King De who has no protection around him.
"I am acting in this way under the order of Yang Sichang, the then Vice-President. There is a warrant to prove it, and it has been handed over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate!"
The fall of Jinan indeed had nothing to do with Yan Jizu. He also wanted to stick to Jinan and wait for reinforcements, but Yang Sichang insisted on asking him to gather heavy troops to station in Dezhou. As a result, Jinan was captured and King De was captured.
"But this one?"
Zhong Yan took out a piece of paper full of handwriting and showed it to Yan Jizu. An order like this was not evidenced by black and white writing on the paper. As a governor, he would never obey the oral instructions sent by his superiors. Once there was a mistake, he would not be able to get rid of it. relationship.
"Exactly!"
Yan Jizu hated Yang Sichang so much that he first tricked him, and then in order to cover up his own mistakes, he also wanted to be his scapegoat. If he had the chance, he would trample this grandson to death.
"Pass it around!"
Many of the civil servants and generals present here recognized Yang Sichang's handwriting. After reading it, they all believed that this order was definitely not a forgery and was indeed written by the former Vice-President. The Metropolitan Procuratorate also sent experts to authenticate it and the conclusions were unanimous.
As long as this piece of paper is used as evidence, Yang Sichang is not enough to be sentenced to death. However, the loss of Jinan has nothing to do with Yan Jizu. It is wrong to put him in prison. It is undoubtedly very wise and wise for the prince to reinstate this man. correct.
After Yan Jizu was imprisoned by the dumper, the motivation for his survival was this piece of paper. If the dumper insisted on his own way and deliberately protected Yang Sichang, then he would never die in peace.
Stationing Shandong soldiers and horses in Dezhou was the key to the fall of Jinan. Even if they all put their chips on Jinan, the city might be captured by the Qing army, but at this time, the assumption is no longer valid.
This piece of paper was direct evidence of Yang Sichang's arbitrary order. The result was that the entire city of Jinan and King De were directly destroyed, and the enemy was worth no less than a million taels of silver.
"Send Zhang Qiping to court!"
There is no need for another trial about Yan Jizu. The contents of the files from the previous trial plus the circulated piece of paper are enough to explain the problem.
"Zhang Qiping, when you were appointed governor of Baoding, why did you stop giving out pay, silver, and food for the soldiers who defended the enemy?"
Zhong Qian felt that the question he asked was very embarrassing. The Ming soldiers on the front line had to fight bloody battles with the enemy, but at the same time they had to endure hunger and were treated as arrears of pay. Even he would feel very angry.
"Your Majesty, Jifu is under attack. The criminals must not dare to cut off the army's food and salary without authorization. They are acting under orders!"
Zhang Qiping was just a local official in Baoding, and Lu Xiangsheng was given the imperial gift of governor of the world's troops and sword, so there was no expert guidance behind Zhang Qiping, so there was no way to talk about the obstruction.
One of these "experts" was Gao Qiqian, the supervisor who was also on the front line commanding the troops, and the other was the auxiliary Yang Sichang. The former was responsible for commanding the Guan Ning Army, which was the most mobile at the time, namely the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry.
"Whose order is this? Do you have proof?"
Not only Zuodu Yushi, but also everyone present understood that Yang Sichang had left the capital for others to make a comeback.
As long as he is imprisoned and some colleagues who took the blame before are reminded or hinted, then don't blame everyone for adding insult to injury.
"The criminal only has a letter written by Yang Sichang, and the previous letter has been handed over to your Excellency for review!"
Even though Zhang Qiping was taken advantage of by the Master, he dared not speak out. Even when he was arrested, he dared not tell the truth. He had to exonerate Yang Sichang, hoping that Shangfeng would see him as a good dog. Fish him out as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, things backfired. Not only did he not leave the Criminal Department, but even the "life-saving straw" was thrown in. Zhang Qiping, who saw the situation clearly, hated Yang Sichang much more fiercely than Yan Jizu.
Yang Sichang said in the letter that Baoding Prefecture would support the food and salary of Lu Xiangsheng's department, and also told him that if the treasury was tight, he could handle it as appropriate and make his own decision.
The implication is very obvious, just say it directly - you, the local official, can't make life easy for Lu Xiangsheng, otherwise I will make it difficult for you!
At that time, Baoding Prefecture had tens of thousands of taels of silver and more than 10,000 shi of grain. Together with the food and salary assistance sent by surrounding prefectures and counties, it was enough to support 20,000 soldiers fighting for a month.
But hints are just hints after all and cannot be used as direct evidence. It was also reported to the prefect of Shunde in Yingshangtang that he sent someone to discover Lu Xiangsheng's body.
"The prefect of Shunde is Yu Ying!"
Yao Ji watched Zhong Meng summoning witnesses one by one and felt funny in his heart. Fortunately, Fatty had offended too many people before he died, otherwise he would not have been able to justifiably torture him to death.
"To the General Xian, this is the official!"
Yu Ying was not a prisoner, but received a notice from the Metropolitan Procuratorate when he was in office. He temporarily handed over the work at hand and rushed to the capital overnight. Fortunately, he arrived late enough, otherwise he would have been slapped by the Beijing camp. .
"Did you send someone to discover Lu Xiangsheng's body?"
Everyone has a heart of compassion. Zhong Yan has always dealt with the case impartially, and he is very sympathetic to what happened to this warrior. It is too much to not even be allowed to collect the body after his death.
"What the General Xian said is exactly what the official said. The official found the relatives of the Lu family to identify them, and they reported the relationship to Yang Sichang. The assistant sent someone to verify, but later said that this was not Lu Xiangsheng. The official ordered the official to continue the search. The official then reported the previous evidence many times, but the minister stopped replying, and eighty days passed before the body was collected and buried!"
Yu Ying did not know about the conflict between Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Sichang in advance. After this incident, he was later informed by his colleagues that one of the two was fighting and the other was making peace. They were like fire and water. If one of them died, the other would naturally not let go of this revenge. Chance.
"Is there any physical evidence or certification?"
In order to bring down Yang Sichang and let Lu Xiangsheng's soul rest in peace, Zhong Yan must collect as much evidence as possible.
"This is a letter written by the Vice-President at that time to Xianguan and a complaint filed by Lu Xiangsheng's younger brothers Xiang Jin and Xiang Guan. The personnel sent by the Vice-President are not familiar to Xianguan!"
Yu Ying can only help so far. If he can bring the matter to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and be lucky enough to be informed by the prince, then there will be a big turn for the better.
"Do you recognize this person?"
Zhong Yan ordered his men to bring a witness for Yu Ying to identify in court.
"I recognize it! This person is the person sent by the Cardinal to verify Lu Xiangsheng's body!"
Yu Ying recognized him at a glance. He was the one who had a conversation with him that day.
"The sinner Yu Zhenlong has met the General Xian and the Grand Administrator!"
A certain prince was ignored at this time. Everyone who came to the court would say "Qianseqianqiansui", and Yao Ji would be annoyed to death by them.
"Yang Sichang sent you to verify Lu Xiangsheng's body. Have you ever seen it with your own eyes? If you talk nonsense in the lobby and confuse the public, don't blame me for punishing you severely!"
This guy has no evidence and can only rely on his mouth, so before he opens his mouth to speak, he needs to be reminded again that if he says something wrong, Yang Sichang will not be the only one who dies.
"The sinner dare not! The sinner went to Shunde Mansion on the order of the Privy Councilor Yang Sichang to verify the situation reported by the prefect. The sinner saw the body of the governor with his own eyes!"
Lu Xiangsheng was struck by several arrows, his armor had been cut to pieces by the sword, and his face had been wrinkled and turned purple by the low temperature, making him look ferocious. Yu Zhenlong was moved when he saw this. It was sad to die fighting for the country.
"Have you ever seen Lu Xiangsheng before? How can you determine that the body is that of Lu Xiangsheng?"
This is the focus of everyone's concern, and Zhong Yan must ask.
"In response to the General Constitution, the criminal has never seen the governor before, but he has a portrait as proof of his trip, and secondly, there are identifications and letters from relatives and subordinates of the Lu family. The criminal has also seen the seal carried by the governor, and all of them have been handed over to the Privy Council. auxiliary."
As a close confidant of Fatty Fatty, Yu Zhenlong is also a literate person. If he was just an illiterate person who knew how to flatter others, then Fatty Fatty would have been misled by his subordinates.
"But these tokens?"
Zhong Yan sent his men to carry a tray, which contained a bunch of evidence, and briefly displayed it in front of Yu Zhenlong.
"Dedicated to the General Constitution, it is these, the guilty party is certain!"
Yu Zhenlong fiddled with it and then confirmed it himself. After Yang Sichang was imprisoned, he no longer had the thought of following his master to death. Being able to step on his master's head and land ashore was a blessing among misfortunes.
As a close confidant of Yang Sichang, and having personally seen Lu Xiangsheng's body, Yu Zhenlong's statement is very valuable. If it were replaced by other witnesses, it might not be very convincing.
Not only him, but the two people Zhong Yan later recruited also went with Yu Zhenlong to verify the situation. All three of them were sent by Yang Sichang, but they all became witnesses who testified against the dead fat man.
Among the evidence submitted by the three civil servants Yan Jizu, Zhang Qiping, and Yu Ying, the letters in the possession of Yan Jizu and Yu Ying are direct evidence. One was stationed on the order of Yang Sichang, and the other showed that Yang Sichang refused to admit his guilt.
Coupled with the testimony of Yu Zhenlong and others, it can basically be concluded that Yang Sichang was avenging his personal revenge, and Zhang Qiping's evidence was barely an addendum.
Regarding the army's food shortage, Zhong Yan also asked Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu, who had fought alongside Lu Xiangsheng in the southern part of Beizhili at that time, as well as Yang Tinglin, the chief of the military department.
Both generals admitted frankly that because Gao Qiqian stood still, the governor and his troops had to fight with outnumbered enemies. In the cold weather, tens of thousands of soldiers were left without food or pay.
Shunde Mansion did give some supplies, but the nearby Zhending Mansion and Baoding Mansion were watching with cold eyes, which made the two of them despair. If they continued to fight, their entire army would be annihilated, so they had to adopt the best strategy.
They both felt very sad. They felt ashamed of Lu Xiangsheng, who was abandoned and died in the war. They had sworn in front of the prince and the ministers that if the same mistake happened again in their lifetime, they would raise their heads to see him.
Everyone is dead and the corpses have been freeze-dried. Yaoji is not in the mood to listen to those bullshit. If these two guys turn around and run away again, they can be executed.
Yang Tinglin didn't have the slightest fondness for the "eldest brother" who was aloof and thought of harming Zhongliang all day long. After stating the story of the future, he took out the memorial he had written long ago, and the entire content was to criticize Yang Sichang verbally and writtenly.
Zhong Yan finally recruited two people, Director Deng Xizhao and Sub-inspector Sun Maolin, who were following Gao Qiqian to supervise the frontline operations. They were almost tricked to death by their superiors. Of course, they would not say good things about Gao Qiqian, and they also scolded him to death. Fat man.
All in all, the crime of "improper deployment" is enough to bring Yang Sichang's head to light!
Not only did he give up the city of Jinan, but he also gave up King De, directly investing millions of taels of silver in the enemy's pocket. If the fat man hadn't been the favorite of his father-in-law, he would have been imprisoned long ago.
Based on relevant witness and physical evidence, the chief trial and deputy trial finally convicted Yang Sichang of four counts: "improper deployment, exclusion of border officials, shirking of responsibilities, and deception of the emperor." They were not as numerous as those charged by Governor Yuan at the time, but they were It's enough to put him to death.
No one can say a good word for Yang Sichang at this time. Just think about the thirty-six scapegoats who were imprisoned. Everyone understands that if this person is reinstated, he will definitely continue to avenge his personal vengeance and harm his colleagues, so he must be dealt with as soon as possible. he.
After the sentencing, the main criminal was shown his head and his family was ransacked but the clan was not exterminated. The male family members between the ages of 15 and 45 were assigned to mountain mining, and the female family members between the ages of 10 and 40 were assigned to the Jiaofang Secretary.
The Lu family would not agree if the main culprit was not severely punished. Lu Xiangsheng also had two younger brothers and hundreds of family members. One of the two main culprits, Gao Qiqian, died, and Yang Sichang must also be severely punished.
A certain prince did not see this famous big swindler for the last time and asked him to have a full meal of wine and meat before he could go on his way.
If this guy hadn't deceived the father, Lu Xiangsheng would not have died, and so many civil servants and generals would not have been killed.
The scapegoat wants to make peace with Braid, and he wants to make a decent peace, but only if the other party agrees.
If you can't severely damage the Qing army, or even win a decent victory, why should the other side negotiate peace with you?
Even if Yang Sichang's idea could be realized, it would only be based on having Braids plunder various places first.
But the imperial court simply cannot afford huge sums of money to feed the pigtails, and the so-called peace talks are just looking at the moon in the water...
