Under the deep night, the Jingzhao Mansion is regarded by most people as a corner of the road; the prison, hidden behind the high blue-black wall, is now shrouded in ink-like darkness; and among the crowds, there are reports of beast-like noises. The sound was like a howling ghost, and then disappeared into the lantern that flickered like a will-o'-the-wisp and the low scolding voice of its holder.
And deep inside this continuous building. The air in the few inner rooms illuminated by bright lights was filled with thick blood, mixed with other vomit and excrement, and the strange smell intertwined. Occasionally, someone came out carrying a red and black sewage basin to dump it. It represents the scene of expedited interrogation and torture overnight.
Surrounded by various instruments of torture, those human bodies that were tightly bound and chained to the wall, wailing and wailing incessantly, were clearly those who had been harvested one after another during the all-night inspection on the night of the Lantern Festival. The relevant persons of Sansefang were captured; and based on the blood and dirt on the ground, it was obvious that these were not the first batch of people to be tortured.
As the centerpiece, he was dripping with sweat, his arms were bare, his face was red, and he looked like a torture officer surrounded by smoke, but he was still twisting the mechanism while facing a strange-shaped wooden frame reluctantly. The human body, with no good flesh left on it, often hisses and interrogates:
"Where's Mr. Qinghei? Where's Mao Bao?"
"Why didn't you disappear even at night?"
"What else do you have to hide?"
"With such a huge property and dozens of properties, why do these few leaders just happen to be missing?"
"Go around...forgive me...I've already said..."
However, the human figure on the wooden frame only had this repeated response:
"Spare you? Then who will spare us?"
However, the torturer spat out angrily, then picked up a pair of pliers and pressed it against him, saying bitterly:
"I'm all tied up with you, and I won't be able to live in peace for days and nights."
So, after a short time under the control of the torturer, there was only a walking corpse on the rack of torture instruments, with crooked mouth, slanted eyes, saliva, feces and urine. Then, another person was replaced from the wall; the torture and interrogation continued...
After all, there are some shocking relationships behind this that are really hard to let go. And what drives them is that they can't wait to find some explanations and excuses from these thieves and criminals that can help their colleagues stay out of the matter; so that they can deal with the backer case behind the scenes and quickly deal with this incident that may cause fire. A solid case.
They were so focused and willful, but they had no idea that because of the chain reaction caused by the unexpected changes in the Taiwan Prison and the unexpected discovery made by someone, there was already a turbulent undercurrent and trend outside. It is sweeping towards the location of Jingzhao Mansion.
According to the duties of the Supervisory Censor under the Duji Province, in addition to the Tailao to which the Censor Santai belongs, at the end of each month, they also need to be divided into left and right patrols with Zhuque Street as the boundary; patrols of the Criminal Department, Dali, East and West Tufang, Jinwu, Fu Prison, County Prison and other prisons. Of course, after so many years of peace and quiet, the real opportunity for a censor to visit the prison was rare.
Therefore, when Zhou Yanbang, the Zuo Ducha of the Yushitai Palace, suddenly came to Jingzhao Mansion overnight, there was immediately a lot of intense reactions and commotion. Except for Li Ruihui, the great Yin of Jingzhao who was not doing anything at all and was retiring at home, the other Shaoyin left and right, who were entertaining guests or resting, and the Cao Cao who were on duty to join the army and record things, were all alarmed.
Not to mention the Jinwu guards, who are stationed in Jingzhao Mansion and patrol the six streets after the curfew, and supervise the opening and closing of the city gates; and their subordinate judges, street code and patrol officers, Jinwu disciples ( soldiers), as well as the marriage officers who were in custody at the nearby Wuhou Office. Almost upon hearing the sound, he came out dressed neatly.
Then, like a water-soaked nest, the vast Jingzhao Mansion Yamen emerged from the back door one after another; figures plunged into the dark streets one after another. There are many entities related to the interests of Jingzhao Mansion, and they are like fishes being stirred under the water. They have obtained bits and pieces of news and rumors amidst the chaos.
As a person involved in this commotion, Zuo Ducha Zhou Yanbang had slender eyes and long eyebrows, and had a refined demeanor. However, he was allowed to appear in front of him, including the officials and senior officials of the Jingzhao Mansion who were on duty. They were all too scared to express their anger. Because the path to the top for this temple envoy and his disciples was paved with countless careers and official positions.
And when this elegant and humble old man, nicknamed "Huaishan Gentleman", arrived at the vestibule of Jingzhao Mansion, the attendants, guards, and officials who were his guards of honor also hurriedly arrived one after another. to. Then, after he took over the tea from the Recorder and Joined the Army and touched it to his lips symbolically, he put it down and stood up without hesitation:
"Go to prison!"
After hearing such a sentence, the dozens of Jingzhao officials and officials present had different reactions with different expressions. Some people were inevitably in an uproar, thinking that something else might have fallen into the hands of the left capital of the palace. Some people sneered secretly, thinking about what they could do. Others were relieved and consciously switched to watching the movie from across the city.
The saddest thing during this period was undoubtedly that among the subordinate officials in blue robes, the manager who was the eighth rank at the end of the crane and was responsible for the task of investigating and inspecting the prisons joined the army. He almost seemed to have aged more than ten years all of a sudden. He walked forward unsteadily, his lips trembling as he wanted to say something, but then he was left behind by Zhou Yanbang without any explanation.
The manager, who was full of sorrow and suspicion, turned to his colleagues for help. However, no one could respond to him, and they all hurriedly turned around and left, following in the footsteps of the left governor. This made him even more desperate. He was just the last person in the army, and he was getting some benefits within his duties. How could he be the one to step forward?
However, he could only bite the bullet and follow him, praying in his heart that the officials under him would not behave too ugly in front of Zuo Duyuan; in this way, even if he was dismissed on the spot and went home to listen to his crime, he might still be punished in the future. Some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Until he was full of thoughts, passed through the complex of buildings, and bumped into the person in front of him.
Then, the manager joined the army and heard a question coming from the front: "Where are the thieves captured during the Shangyuan Festival?". The next moment, he seemed to be completely relieved, and his whole body was so relieved that he wanted to laugh wildly. Because the people who are intensifying the interrogation at this moment are people from the Wuhou Department and Fa Cao. But it couldn't be brought to his head.
Subsequently, the disciples of Jinwu who came on orders rushed into the prison one after another wearing armor and armed with weapons, and there was a commotion of chickens and dogs flying; the officials who were intensifying the torture for days were also shouting in panic Amidst the clamor, they were taken down one by one and tied up; they were temporarily reunited with the former prisoners.
However, there are still people among them who have not given up and want to argue for their actions; but it is Ma Dong, the chief thief officer of Jingzhao Prefecture, nicknamed "Ma Geer", who specializes in controlling some Wuhou shops in Wannian County. , bad commanders and bad men; for this purpose, he also took out an official document issued earlier; now it was the turn of the judicial officer present with an ugly face.
However, when Ma Dong, who was shouting hoarse to defend himself, saw his acquaintances, the former deputy prison warden Li Siyuan and others who were personally escorted by the censor Guo Chongtao, his face suddenly fell. Then, following the subsequent seizure of objects and official documents, several more people among the subordinate officials and chief officials of Jingzhao Mansion were named and arrested on the spot.
After the sky gradually turned white, he resisted his sleepiness and urge to yawn, and the remaining officials and officials of Jingzhao Mansion who were present finally welcomed their backbone; after much hesitation and back-and-forth that night, they still Zuo Shaoyin Yang Chen, who had made up his mind to take up the responsibility, appeared outside the gate of Jingzhao Mansion.
At the same time, he was in the largest public room in the prison. In front of Zhou Bangyan, the left inspector of the palace courtyard who closed his eyes to meditate, the bamboo curtain made of thin hanging beads was opened again. Then, Guo Chongtao took several relatives and carefully presented a stack of blood-seald confessions to ask for instructions:
"In the left courtyard, all kinds of methods have been used; I am afraid that those who should not know are already here. Is it..."
"This matter is related to the dignity of the Tian family, and there must be no slack or omission."
However, Zhou Yanbang, who had gray beard and hair, closed his eyes and said in a calm voice:
"As long as you still have breath, keep asking... until you have a satisfactory explanation."
After all, this public case caused a lot of trouble back then. In addition to the loss of face of the Tian family, it was also used as a reason to attack one of the three supporting families; it caused many disturbances and follow-up afterwards. Therefore, even if this matter is suppressed again, the cause and effect of the sudden stop has become a thorn in the hearts of some big shots.
Zhou Yanbang was also a part of the incident that year. Even the governor of Jingzhao at the time was held accountable, and since then he has been led by the clan. Zhou Yanbang, who had just finished his term as a foreign minister, wasted several years in the selection of the censor of the city. In comparison, what does the life, death and injustice of a mere official or officer mean?
What's more, the bad things these people did in the execution ground in the past few days, do you think he is blind and deaf? I thought it was just a moment of private anger among these vulgar pawns from the market. But since it involves this public case that happened many years ago, even if there is only a slight possibility, we should rather hold on to it and continue pursuing it than in vain.
Thinking of this, he gave instructions again:
"Take my post and go to the Military Medical Department to ask Chief Bai from the Department of Surgeons and Acupuncture to come and take a look."
