The homes of Guo Dian, Guo Shan and other leading culprits have not been raided yet and are currently under seal.
It's not that Gu Zhengchen didn't want to ransack his home, it was just that it was a delicate job. It took two days to search the halal temple. If several large households in the Guo family wanted to conduct a complete search, it couldn't be done in three to five days with the county government's small manpower. It was too urgent to send the documents, so we could only temporarily put a seal on it and arrange for the yamen and the district chief to take care of it.
Before Zhu Yuanzhang gave the result, Gu Zhengchen could not just raid his house. The fate of those frightened women, children, old and young, whether it was a life of humiliation or a death of despair, was like a sword hanging over their heads that might fall at any moment.
The sword was too sharp and Gu Zhengchen was a little uneasy.
Night falls.
Gu Zhengchen sat in the courtyard of the magistrate's house and stared at the stars in a daze.
Suddenly, there were hurried footsteps outside the door, followed by an urgent knock on the door, and a voice came through the door: "My lord, it's not good, Mrs. Liu of the county prime minister's house committed suicide."
Gu Zhengchen stood up suddenly and saw that Gu Cheng had opened the door.
Zhang Pei followed Gu Zhengchen, and Yang Liang introduced at the side: "I was just inspecting the county government office when I saw Miss Qian'er running out crying and asking for help. It was just a step too late. Mrs. Liu was already..."
The county magistrate's house.
Liu Qian'er knelt on the ground, crying and looking at Liu's body, her thin body trembling slightly.
"When?"
Gu Zhengchen stepped forward quickly and put his fingers under Mr. Liu's nose. Seeing that he was no longer breathing, he grabbed Ms. Liu's wrist. It was already cold, and his heart suddenly hurt.
It has been a while since people died.
Liu Qian'er wiped her tears sadly and said intermittently: "In the evening, my mother said she wanted to find something for my father and asked me to cook without disturbing her. Later - later I heard the noise and walked into the room to see my mother. I was rummaging through boxes and cabinets, as if looking for something, so I felt free to go cook, but when the meal was ready - mother, mother was already..."
Gu Zhengchen frowned, stood up and walked to the desk beside him. There was a letter left on the desk, pressed with a paperweight. He took out the letter and read it. There were only a few simple sentences written in it:
County Lord, Bo Qin must die. He is not willing to live alone, so he takes the first step.
Qian'er is innocent. She is not the daughter of Bo Qin and me. Wanwang County honors her and serves her to ensure her safety throughout her life.
Under the letter, there is also a household register. In Liu Qian'er's column, the words "adopted daughter" are clearly written.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Liu's body with some pain.
You are dead or not, what does it mean to leave Liu Qianer behind?
Damn it!
You can’t even refuse it!
"What did mother say?"
Liu Qian'er's eyes were red and she looked at the letter in Gu Zhengchen's hand.
Gu Zhengchen hesitated, put the letter away, and sighed: "She left because Liu Boqin's crime was too serious and she didn't want to live alone. Her only concern during her lifetime was you, so she entrusted me to take good care of you."
Liu Qian'er lowered her head, cried even harder, and asked with a choked voice: "Father, is he really hopeless?"
Gu Zhengchen nodded heavily: "The Yin Yang File Case is too culpable and no one can save him."
Liu Qian'er gritted her teeth, watched Gu Zhengchen wipe away her tears, and said sadly: "Your Majesty, Qian'er knows some legal matters. Those who commit the crime of beheading, the men in the family will be sent to the army, and the women will be turned into prostitutes. Qian'er doesn't want to be raped." Insult. Qian'er only asks the county magistrate to bury our family of three together."
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Qian'er slammed into a pillar on the side.
He looks weak, but he is actually strong.
Gu Zhengchen clenched his fists, looked at Liu Qian'er who was still struggling after being caught by Zhang Pei, and shouted sternly: "That's enough! There is no need for more deaths tonight!"
Liu Qian'er squatted down and cried bitterly.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Yang Liang: "Let's find a coffin."
Yang Liang agreed and turned around.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Gu Cheng: "Let Liu Qian'er be looked after by Sun Niang and Wu first. Don't let anything happen."
Gu Cheng pulled Liu Qian'er up, and Liu Qian'er begged to stay a little longer. When Gu Cheng saw that Gu Zhengchen didn't speak, he forcefully pulled her away.
Zhang Pei lamented: "Is it true that I don't care about Liu Qian'er anymore? According to her temperament, if she really falls to Jiaofangsi or Fuguiyuan, I'm afraid she will still commit suicide."
Gu Zhengchen glared at Zhang Pei and said painfully: "I can't do anything before the emperor's decree is issued. If the emperor wants to go on a killing spree and involve his family, by what means can I keep Liu Qian'er? Even if I risk keeping her, , what about other people’s family members? Zhao Doubei, Zhou Hong, Chen Zhong, Liu Xian, Li He, Xu Lin, etc., which one does not have family members, and which family member does not have women and girls? "
"Zhang Pei, if I want to save, I will save everyone. If not, she should accept her fate like everyone else! It is not me who decides their life or death in this world, but the emperor! You don't understand the emperor, We don’t know the emperor’s temper and character. Although we are in Jurong, every step is like walking on thin ice, and every step is on the edge of an abyss! Things cannot be hidden, and mistakes cannot be made!”
Zhang Pei solemnly said yes.
After Yang Liang and others brought the coffin and packed it up, Gu Zhengchen returned to the magistrate's house and lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
The scene of Liu Qianer's death was deeply imprinted in her mind.
I don't know how long it took, I fell into a drowsy sleep, and heard a knock on the door again. I stood up and sat up in a daze, rubbed my temples and asked, "What's the matter?"
Gu Cheng said outside the door: "Sir, Han Qiang and other government officials rushed back overnight and asked to see him for something urgent."
"Get a basin of water."
Gu Zhengchen put on his clothes, washed his face, and finally woke up. He walked to the second hall and saw that Han Qiang, Ding Ben and others were very tired. He said with some confusion: "You guys are returning to Jurong. There is no need to rush. This is a business trip, so we can take a break at the inn."
Han Qiang hurriedly stepped forward and handed a document to Gu Zhengchen respectfully: "This is a document sent by a general with a sword. We must hand it to the county magistrate in person."
"A general with a sword?"
Gu Zhengchen stared.
Mu Ying usually does not wear a sword, but Wu Rong does.
After taking the document and reading the writing on it, I knew that the man with the sword was Zhou Zong, the man with the sword in the East Palace.
Gu Zhengchen picked up the paint and was about to read the documents when Han Qiang spoke again: "Your Majesty, there is one more urgent matter."
"speak."
Gu Zhengchen raised his head and looked at Han Qiang.
Han Qiang's Adam's apple twitched and he said uneasily: "On the 25th, the capital will send people to send the prisoners to Jurong."
"I know this."
Gu Zhengchen frowned.
Han Qiang said nervously: "But the county magistrate may not know that one of the people escorting the prisoners is Mao Xiang, the commander of Yulin Left Guard, and the other is Liu Ji, the sincerity uncle!"
"Mao Xiang?!"
Gu Zhengchen suddenly stood up.
Han Qiang, Ding Ben and other government officials were shocked.
The behavior of the county magistrates is a bit unusual. One is Mao Xiang, and the other is Liu Ji and Liu Bowen. You should not be shocked that Liu Ji is coming. This man is famous, strategist, and has Zhuge's talents. Why are you surprised by a little-known Habayashi Zuowei? Commander in command?
Gu Zhengchen took a deep breath and looked a little ugly.
It was shocking that Liu Ji would come to Jurong, and Gu Zhengchen was also eager to see this legend that was "mythed" by later generations. But in the final analysis, if Liu Ji comes to Jurong, he will not kill himself, but Mao Xiang may not!
Mao Xiang is not famous yet, and many people do not know him.
But when it comes to the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty, no one knows about it, no one knows about it!
And the first person to stand at the pinnacle of Jinyiwei is Mao Xiang!
It's just that the Jinyi Guards were established in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, which is still nine years away from now. At this time, Mao Xiang is not only the general of the Yulin Guards, but also the inspector who Zhu Yuanzhang left behind in the dark!
The biggest thing Mao Xiang did was to change the Hu Weiyong case from "aborting power and perverting the law" to a heinous "rebellion conspiracy". Many years after Hu Weiyong was killed, he used this as an excuse to help Zhu Yuanzhang massacre one Duke and 20 people. Hou, he was sentenced to death, tattooed and tens of thousands of people were exiled!
Gu Zhengchen felt a little embarrassed when dealing with such a person. If he didn't handle it properly and offended this person, he might have to sit with Lao Hu at the market entrance and chat with him many years later.
Mao Xiang and Liu Ji?
This configuration is incomprehensible.
Mao Xiang was Zhu Yuanzhang's confidant. It made sense for him to come to Jurong to take a look and investigate whether the case was true.
But Zhu Yuanzhang sent Liu Ji with him, which made people a little unsure about his attitude.
If Liu Ji came alone or brought his family to Jurong for a trip, Gu Zhengchen wouldn't think much about it, but he was "sent" by Zhu Yuanzhang. What did Lao Zhu want to do?
I really can't figure it out.
Gu Zhengchen opened the document and looked at it carefully.
This document was written by Zhu Dalang, and the content made Gu Zhengchen breathe a long sigh of relief, and he was even more grateful to Zhu Biao, Mu Ying, and Queen Ma.
If it weren't for the three of them, Lao Zhu would probably have kept Jurong's blood dry for a month.
Avoiding past mistakes and avoiding future ones?
Gu Zhengchen speculated on Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts. Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not say how many people he killed or how to deal with their family members, Zhu Biao gave suggestions in the document:
The men joined the army and cleared wasteland to farm.
As for women, children, the elderly and the weak, Zhu Biao did not mention it and obviously asked Gu Zhengchen to judge the case in accordance with the law.
Among the laws and regulations, except for the serious crime of treason, which involves the three clans and harms the whole family, there are basically few crimes. For general capital crimes, the whole family is usually not killed, and most of them only kill one person.
For example, in the empty seal case, only the chief seal official was killed, but not his family members.
In other words, if Lao Zhu was more ruthless and killed his family members, there would not be Fang Xiaoru (Fang Xiaoru's father Fang Keqin was the seal official and was killed) to assist Emperor Jianwen, and Fang Xiaoru would not recommend Li Jinglong, the God of War, to take command. Zhu Laosi may not have Chance……
However, Lao Zhu, who is beyond the law and whose crimes are not as serious as those of his family members, will sometimes give special instructions to make his family members suffer.
Of course, these things mainly happened in the middle and late Hongwu period.
Zhu Yuanzhang's mentality in the sixth year of Hongwu was relatively stable. After all, the "Da Ming Law" was being compiled intensively. If Zhu Yuanzhang violated too many laws and regulations at this time, it would be difficult to convince the public.
As for the change of mentality in the middle and later stages, and he did not want to convince the crowd with laws and orders, but switched to using swords to convince the crowd, that was later.
Zhu Yuanzhang at each stage has different mentality and methods.
Now, Gu Zhengchen saw a tolerant Zhu Yuanzhang, who allowed himself to judge according to the law, instead of deciding life and death based on his emperor's will and emotions!
