At this time, He Jingzhu was sitting weakly in the hall, and several state soldiers with him also obeyed the order and retreated outside the door.
Xu Kuangheng took the initiative and immediately summoned a group of government officials to separate the two sides and quickly interrogate him in court. I saw him angrily yelling: "Ma Liu, why don't you recruit people from the truth?"
Ma Liu knelt on his knees, gritted his teeth and moved forward a little, staring straight at He Jingzhu who was already sluggish in the hall, and shouted eagerly: "He Jingshi, you can't listen to them! The villain is wronged! The villain is wronged!"
Xu Kuangheng turned around and glanced at the absent-minded He Jingzhu, then raised his hand and shouted: "Okay, in that case, let's stick this thief twenty first!"
Seeing the officer next to him push himself to the ground in an instant, Ma Liu's ferocious face immediately hit the ground with the tip of his nose, and he couldn't help but exclaimed: "He's a governor! He's a governor!"
At Xu Kuangheng's signal, the two government officials each raised their sticks high, aimed them at Ma Liu's buttocks, and took turns swinging them hard.
Ma Liu suddenly screamed like a plucked rooster with boiling water: "Ouch...ah!..."
Li Yuan watched coldly from the side. He knew that the stick punishment at the turn of the Tang and Song Dynasties had its own secrets. Although the stick was not as sharp as the blade, it looked light on the outside, but it was actually painful. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, many ministers have died under the punishment of the rod. Although Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty changed the location of the stick punishment from the back to the buttocks, the fatality rate was reduced.
But in actual operation, especially after it is decentralized to prefectures and counties, it is not certain which part to hit.
Most of the government officials responsible for holding the cane were subordinates of Xu Kuangheng, a member of the judicial army. They were all clever. The boss immediately understood with a glance, so Ma Liu's back and buttocks were hit at the same time, alternately.
After fifteen strokes, Ma Liu, who had always been arrogant, obviously couldn't stand it any longer. He gritted his teeth and turned his head fiercely and cursed: "You bunch of dog officials! Dog officials! Beat me to death if you dare!"
Xu Kuangheng narrowed his eyes and sneered: "Oh? You still have the energy to speak arrogantly? Then just follow what the thief said and continue to fight!"
Li Yuanwu shook his head and turned to look outside the door. Since He Jingzhu was pretending to be dead and Ma Liu was so stubborn, he might as well continue to let this thief get his skin torn apart.
So at Ma Liu's own "active" request, Xu Kuangheng added twenty more sticks.
After a while, even the two yamen servants were sweating on their backs. Ma Liu's buttocks and back were bloody, and the severe pain spread to his head. He vomited blood and shouted: "He Jingshi... He Jingzhu! Are you worthy of your boss? He Jingzhu!..."
He Jingzhu seemed to be shocked by these words, and uttered with a blue face: "This... this thief is crazy! Talking nonsense!"
"How dare you call the governor by his name? Keep beating him! Beat him until he confesses truthfully!"
The two government officials stopped, rubbing their sore and numb arms, and said awkwardly to Xu Kuangheng: "Xu Canjun, if you really hit me again, you will be beaten to death!"
After seeing Xu Kuangheng expressionlessly raising his hand and adding twenty sticks, while He Jingzhu still looked like it had nothing to do with him, Ma Liu finally panicked, bared his teeth and yelled: "Fuck you, mother! I, I want to see Mr. Zhang! I want to see Mr. Zhang!..."
Xu Kuangheng breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, waved his hand and said: "Stop! Who is Mr. Zhang? Recruit him from the truth!"
When Ma Liu shouted out the words "Shilang Zhang" just now, He Jingzhu's heart felt as if he had fallen into an ice hole in the cold winter. His guard was completely broken, and he immediately stood up and slapped the case, yelling: "How presumptuous! Ma Liu is a thief, above the court." , how can you be allowed to bite at will? Slandering the ministers of the DPRK is a serious crime!"
Ma Liu was already dying of pain. When he heard this, he looked up at He Jingzhu with extremely hateful eyes and yelled: "He Jingzhu, you shameless villain... You, you all wait, Zhang Shilang will not let go." It's your fault..."
Xu Kuangheng knelt down and asked in a deep voice: "Ma Liu, who is Mr. Zhang you are talking about?"
"Is it possible for a lowly official like you to inquire about the name of a noble person? Don't seek death!"
Xu Kuangheng snorted lightly, and without any entanglement, he stood up and raised his hand: "In that case, I won't ask any questions. Twenty more sticks!"
"Fuck you..." Ma Liu shook his head hastily, with fear in his eyes, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "I say, I say! The owner who ordered me to sell private salt is, that's right Mr. Zhang..."
Xu Kuangheng had already ordered the left and right to get pens and ink, and asked seriously: "Name."
"Zhang, Zhang Yi."
Li Yuan obviously paused when he saw the pen in Xu Kuangheng's hand, then leaned closer and asked in a low voice: "Who is Zhang Yi?"
"Zhang Yi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, is the eldest brother of Zhang Guifei, and the cousin of Feng Yanlu, the deputy deputy stay in Dongdu... Yuhou, this matter is not easy to handle. Zhang Yi is a relative of the emperor... "
Seeing that Li Yuan and Xu Kuangheng were suddenly frowning and silent, and He Jingzhu's face was even more livid. Ma Liu seemed to be having a flashback, and suddenly became energetic. He shouted with a ferocious smile: "Oh, are you scared?! If you know what's going on, let him go immediately." Me! Otherwise, I don’t care who you are, Yu Hou, the governor, I will make you regret it later!"
Li Yuan pressed Xu Kuangheng's right hand that was writing, then strode up to He Jingzhu and asked sternly: "He Jingzhu, what do you think? This case is getting more and more interesting! This thief actually said that his boss was involved in the illegal salt case. The mastermind behind the scenes is our Minister of Industry! The eldest brother of the current noble concubine? Ridiculous, ridiculous!"
When He Jingzhu saw Li Yuan suddenly throwing the conflict on himself, he wanted to refute it, but suddenly a strange thought came into his mind. Now that he knew the name of Zhang Shilang, could it be that Li Yuan also knew that he couldn't afford to offend him and wanted to give him a chance? Down?
When he was doubtful about the letter, he wiped his cold sweat and pretended to be calm: "Li Yuhou and Zhang Shilang are important ministers in the court. How can we let this thief slander us? Don't believe such rebellious nonsense! In my opinion, this case is not serious." Obviously, Li Yuhou is eager to return to Beijing, so it is better to retrial at a later date..."
But Li Yuan immediately responded: "A choice of date? Another choice of date! Why does Governor He always want to delay the time? Is there still a hidden secret in this case? I'm afraid that if I leave, Wang Jingguo and others will die unjustly!"
Seeing this, Ma Liu spat out a mouthful of blood with disdain and said viciously: "You Yuhou are so ignorant! What Wang Jingguo, a few yellow-mouthed children, they died! What injustice? It's just their bad luck. !”
Li Yuan turned his head instantly, with murderous intent on his face. Just when he was about to explode, a rough and familiar call came from outside the yamen: "Brother!"
Everyone looked for the sound and saw that it was Luo Erhu who had been ordered to Yangzhou earlier. I saw this black man dressed neatly and striding up to the hall with dusty clothes. This formation was somewhat majestic as a general. When he walked to Li Yuan, he instantly regained his humility: "General Luo Erhu, greetings Yuhou! Meet the Governor He!"
Then Luo Erhu carefully took out a slightly sweat-stained letter from his breastplate and said in a deep voice: "Yu Hou, this is a letter from Mr. Zhou."
My third brother is such a timely helper! Li Yuan didn't want to think too much, and quickly reached out to take it, opened the letter and glanced at it hastily, then shook his head gently, showing a relieved smile.
When everyone was at a loss, Li Yuan put the letter in his hand directly in front of He Jingzhu and asked meaningfully: "He Jingzhu, I have a letter here, why don't you take a look first?"
He Jingzhu swallowed and took it with a puzzled look. As soon as his eyes glanced at the title of the letter, it was actually written to him?
The tone of this letter is quite polite, but the handwriting is a little sloppy, but it describes three things. One of them is about the illegal salt case in Chuzhou. It is such an important case that the government and the public attach great importance to, but the main culprit who was submitted to the third division for review is five people. A young boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, for which the officials of Yushitai have already submitted a memorial; secondly, Feng Yanlu, the deputy left-behind of the Eastern Capital, was suddenly ordered to return to Jinling to meet the Holy Spirit recently; thirdly, Li Yuan, the Marquis of Yu, the direct capital of the Palace, is about to get married. His Royal Highness King Yan will come to congratulate you in person. At the end of the letter, he signed, "Zhou Zong stayed in Dongdu."
Who is Zhou Zong? Everyone in the court knew that he was the veteran minister who established the foundation with the late emperor and then held the power of salt and iron in the country for many years! Although He Jingzhu was calm again today, he could no longer control his trembling hands. After taking a look at the calm Li Yuan and the arrogant and leering Luo Erhu beside him, he sighed deeply. This letter of credit is so detailed that even His Majesty’s eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince Yan, has moved out, and he is just a mere governor. At this time, a wise and appropriate decision must be made, otherwise I am afraid that not only Wu Shamao will be lost!
For a moment, He Jingzhu seemed to have returned to the majesty of the Chuzhou governor in the past. He clapped his hands and shouted loudly: "The bandit Ma Liu has gathered people to rebel against the imperial court. He has caused trouble in the state capital for many years and killed countless people! This time he is openly selling smuggling goods. Yan, you framed an important official of the imperial court and implicated innocent people. Your crime is unforgivable! I order you to recruit him quickly, otherwise you will not blame me for being ruthless!"
Just one letter left He Jingzhu with nothing to do and he fell completely to the other side. Ma Liu opened his mouth in disbelief and howled angrily: "He Jingzhu! You, you are not afraid of Mr. Zhang——"
"You still dare to bite randomly? Left and right! Palm mouth! You will be punished!"
"He Jingzhu! Even if I become a ghost, I will still haunt you until you have no peace..."
...
Now that He Jingzhu had compromised and took over personally, he was the governor of Chuzhou after all, and the decision could be made with just one word. Li Yuan and others simply retreated outside and waited.
After a while, the screams of Ma Liu inside suddenly stopped, and just as Li Yuan and others expected, He Jingzhu rushed out respectfully, clasping his fists with a sincere face and saying: "Li Yuhou, that Ma Liu I have confessed that selling illegal salt is what this thief and his men did! Wang Jingguo and others were lured to the smuggling place by this thief, and then they were innocently framed. None of these five people knew about it, and they were not guilty! I The state government has been ordered to re-record the file and submit it to the third division. As for the thief’s statement about important officials in the court, it is true, and I will convict and punish him together!"
Li Yuan smiled faintly, He Jingzhu was not only quick with his hands and feet, but also with a quick mind. In a few words, the real murderer Ma Liu was brought to justice, Wang Jingguo was cleared of the crime, and Zhang Shilang and himself also escaped from it. It’s a wise move not to offend either side.
In any case, Wang Jingguo has been saved. Li Yuan doesn't want to and can't push further at this time. After all, Zhou Zong's letter is not easy to write a second time. At the same time, he sighs in his heart that his future father-in-law, Not only did they take action in time, but they also moved out the mysterious His Highness Li Hongji, King of Yan, who was really well hidden...
All in all, this time there was such a big commotion in Chuzhou. People like Zhang Yi, Feng Yanlu and even Zhang Guifei behind him had their relationship with him from now on. After returning to the DPRK, I'm afraid there may be more unknown dangers to come...
Li Yuan sighed, and then returned the greeting to the trembling He Jingzhu: "He Jingshi judged the case fairly and dealt with it appropriately. Today, I am an eye-opener. I admire you, I admire you!"
The big stone in He Jingzhu's heart fell in panic, his brows stretched, and he responded: "Ah! I'm so lucky that Yu Hou is here this time! I was really confused and almost wronged a good person! Please forgive Yu Hou!"
"What kind of crime is there? It's just that Ma Liu's crime is extremely heinous. I hope the governor will deal with it impartially and bring him to justice as soon as possible! By the way, I also ask the governor to release Wang Jingguo and other innocent people as soon as possible. This Yuhou's girl is still waiting. !”
He Jingzhu nodded repeatedly, raised his hands and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Li Yuhou! I will order someone to do it immediately!"
