Jailer Guo Min and yamen officer Chen Jie knelt on the corridor between the cells. The stone slabs hurt their knees. They looked at the still-dead Zhao Doubei and Liu Boqin in front of them, with panic on their faces.
Wang Ren found a chair, and Gu Zhengchen sat down, glanced at Zhao Doubei and Liu Boqin, then looked at Guo Min and Chen Jie, and said, "It's surprising, you guys have obviously poisoned the food with the poison of heartbroken grass." , they didn’t die.”
Guo Min took courage and said, "I don't understand what the county magistrate said."
Gu Zhengchen chuckled: "Don't you understand? Come on, search me!"
Yao Zheng took a step forward, looked at the panicked Guo Min, searched for it, found a ceramic bottle from his chest, and presented it to Gu Zhengchen. Gu Zhengchen looked at Xu Wen, and Xu Wen took it and poured out the powder inside. , twisting it slightly with his hand, nodded and said: "Yes, it's Brokenheart Grass."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Guo Min and said slowly, "What else can I say now?"
Guo Min looked at Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei angrily: "You two..."
Snapped!
Yao Zhen came forward and slapped Guo Min so hard that stars appeared in his eyes.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Guo Min, stood up and said: "Whatever you want, I will do it for you. Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei, someone has sent a message to you. If you die, they will protect your family. If you don't die, your whole family will die." Die alone or as a family, choose."
Guo Min looked at Gu Zhengchen in shock: "You, how do you know?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly: "I came to the prison cell in the afternoon, and you were paying attention from a distance. I deliberately told Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei that they were all involved, and even pointed out the involvement of Yingfu, so I decided to send them to Jinling early tomorrow morning. , hand it over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for direct trial.”
"you do this delibrately?"
Guo Min couldn't believe it.
Gu Zhengchen took two steps and continued: "Yes, although it is against the rules to send these two people to the Ministry of Justice to handle the case, the people behind you believe that I have this ability. They know better that once these two people If he falls into the hands of the Criminal Department, the consequences will be disastrous. The only way is to kill and silence him, and the only chance is this meal in the evening."
"You have suspected me for a long time!"
Guo Min gritted his teeth, full of unwillingness.
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly: "Although Chen Zhong's death is not a secret, it is still not easy to reach the ears of Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei. Sun Shiba and Yao Zhen are both members of the official, and they have fulfilled their duties. There will be no mistakes, the only possibility is that you tampered with the food, for example, inserted a note."
Guo Min lowered his head and admitted: "That's right!"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Chen Jie and said coldly: "As for you, you brought this bottle of heartbroken grass poison, right? Who in the Guo family ordered you to do this? Let me guess, Guo Dian, Guo Shan, Guo Liu, or Guo Sheng?"
Chen Jie looked ugly and said, "I don't know where the county magistrate is."
Gu Zhengchen shook his head: "If you don't, then don't blame me for being harsh. According to the rules of the yamen, on-duty yamen servants are not allowed to leave the county yamen without any reason, and those who violate the rules will receive twenty sticks. Yang Liang, Han Qiang, do it." "
Chen Jie quickly shouted: "Guo Min asked me to go..."
"When Guo Min asks for rations from prisoners, he always goes to the household's house. Why should he ask you, a mere yamen servant? When the trouble comes, you still dare to quibble! Give me a beating!"
Gu Zhengchen ordered.
Yang Liang and Han Qiang stepped on Chen Jie, took off his pants, and beat him with fire and water sticks.
The stick carries the wind and is extremely powerful.
Chen Jie only received ten blows and was already screaming for mercy: "Me, me!"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head and showed no mercy at all: "This is to punish you for leaving the county government without permission, not to interrogate you. Why do you need to explain? Keep beating!"
Chen Jie wailed incessantly. After receiving twenty strokes, his strength to speak was much weaker. Seeing Gu Zhengchen asking, he quickly confessed: "It's Baby Guo. Baby Guo brought the poison and asked me to give it to Guo Min. He got rid of Zhao Doubei and Liu Boqin."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Lin Shan: "Write the recruitment notice and ask him to sign it. Lock these two people up and put them in shackles."
Yang Liang and others agreed and dragged the two of them to the prison cell.
Gu Zhengchen waved his hand and retreated far away.
Looking at County Magistrate Liu Boqin and Chief Registrar Zhao Doubei lying on the ground, Gu Zhengchen sat down and said, "Listen clearly, the Guo family plans to kill you to keep the secret."
Liu Boqin gritted his teeth and stared at Gu Zhengchen: "You know the Guo family is going to poison us!"
"have no idea."
Gu Zhengchen said bluntly.
Liu Boqin didn't believe it at all: "Then why did you show up so quickly and prepare so thoroughly? Even Xu Wen brought mung bean soup!"
It couldn't be possible. This group of people came together carrying buckets, and Xu Wen must have cooked mung bean soup by chance.
There is no such thing as a coincidence. This is a prison cell, not another place.
The corner of Gu Zhengchen's mouth moved slightly: "I am just guessing that they may take action."
Zhao Doubei wanted to cry, and said angrily: "Since you knew they would do something, and you also knew they would do tricks in the food, why didn't you come out earlier, why didn't you catch them before we ate, and it wouldn't be harmful to find a dog to test the poison. Let us suffer like this?"
Gastric lavage induces vomiting, which makes people miserable.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the two of them with fear and sadness, and said softly: "The county government does not raise dogs, but the Guo family raises quite a few."
Without letting these two people experience the pain of death, how could they open their mouths and reveal the secret they were keeping?
The last thing people can afford is betrayal. In a sense, when the Guo family made up their minds to get rid of the two people, they had already betrayed their original alliance of interests.
Taking a step back, if these two people are really poisoned and die, just report the prison sanitation incident to the superiors and hand Guo Min over.
Like those rumors that caused trouble and caused a fuss, but the result was only a probation. My fault was an oversight. When it was reported to Lao Zhu, he would not be given a probation. At most, he would only be reprimanded for half a sentence. many.
Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei looked at Gu Zhengchen, knowing in their hearts that without him, they would already hate Northwest. They looked at each other with hatred for the Guo family.
Zhao Doubei was filled with bitterness. He looked up at the night sky, where a bright moon hung above, and said, "Your Majesty, please change the local language."
Gu Zhengchen stood up and arranged for Yao Zhen, Zhang Pei and others to carry Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei to the second hall. Lin Shan, the scribe, recorded the records, while Yao Zhen and Yang Liang guarded the door.
Liu Boqin didn't like lying down and sat in the chair with difficulty; "The Yin and Yang files exist, and years of unjust cases have been committed by us for profit. Before I came to Jurong, Wu Youyuan, the previous magistrate, had already passed this way it works.”
Gu Zhengchen nodded and asked: "I know about the Yin Yang Files. What's puzzling is that you spent so much effort and used so many methods for what? Those who were sentenced to exile or imprisonment by you The people who were sold by you, where did they go?"
"You, how do you know?"
Liu Boqin was surprised, and Zhao Doubei was also surprised.
Gu Zhengchen knocked on the table: "I know more than you think, right? Where did those people go?"
"have no idea."
Liu Boqin lowered his head.
Seeing Gu Zhengchen getting up, Zhao Doubei quickly helped explain: "After the Yin and Yang files, there is the Yin and Yang judgment. People were exiled and imprisoned, but secretly they were handed over to a businessman. Where exactly were those people taken? The county government Not aware of it.”
"Businessman, who is that businessman?"
Gu Zhengchen came out and asked.
Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei looked at each other and said at the same time, "Only Chen Zhong and Zhou Hong know."
Gu Zhengchen's heart tightened.
Chen Zhongren is already dead and it is impossible to speak.
Zhou Hong disappeared, and no one could find him.
Gu Zhengchen was not willing to accept that the clues had been cut off, and asked: "One of you is the county magistrate and the other is the chief clerk. It is impossible that there are no clues at all, right?"
Liu Boqin shook his head bitterly: "Every time there is a transaction, only Chen Zhong and Zhou Hong take people out of the county government office at night to trade. Before they come back, the county government office is not allowed to open the door and no one is allowed to go out. Even I have never participated in it once . Chen Zhong will bring the money, and we will just divide the accounts."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhao Doubei, who said frankly: "Each person's price is different, roughly between fifty taels and eighty taels. Chen Zhong and Zhou Hong will get 30%, the county magistrate will get 30%, and I will split it with the county magistrate." 20%, and the remaining 20% will be divided into prison cells, government officials, and others."
Liu Boqin felt a little headache and held it back: "With the wisdom of the county magistrate, it should be clear why we can't participate in this deal. After all, we are outsiders and officials, but Chen Zhong is different. He is a local subordinate." The officials who have climbed up to the level of Dianshi know the Jurong family very well and have the deepest interests."
Gu Zhengchen knew that the two of them had not lied. They had already done what they deserved. These things were enough for them to be sentenced to death. There was no need to hide the "businessman" thing.
"Each of your prices is different. How is this price measured?"
Gu Zhengchen frowned.
Liu Boqin thought for a while and said: "I don't know exactly how to price it, but according to Chen Zhong, what they need is young and strong, not old and weak. In fact, among young and strong, the more powerful and physically strong they are. The better it is, the more money Chen Zhong will bring back."
Gu Zhengchen flipped the copper coins with his fingers and walked around thinking.
Young and strong, strong?
Spending a lot of money to make the people young and strong, for what purpose?
Benefit!
All causes are interests, and attributions are also interests!
How does youth bring benefits?
Looking for tenants to farm?
This is impossible, farming requires daylight, and people cannot be hidden, so they just run away. I thought back then, Zhu Wusi also took people away.
What's more, how many years would it take for the benefits of farming to be exchanged for the cost of eighty taels? This price is enough to buy ten cows. If there are ten cows, why do you need a young and strong man?
In the Ming Dynasty, besides farming, what else could you do? You couldn't go mining, right?
Mining?
Mining!
Gu Zhengchen's pupils condensed and his eyes became sharp. He held the copper coin in his hand and said solemnly: "That's it!"
