The officials of the Ministry of Punishment and the Yushitai were in trouble. As they investigated further, Gu Zhengchen used the emperor as a shield. Without further investigation, he could not be convicted.
Chen Ning admitted that he underestimated Gu Zhengchen, seriously underestimated him.
He is now a prisoner and seems to have no power to resist, but once he is bullied with force, sharp thorns will appear on his body, like a hedgehog, leaving no one to attack him.
Li Yan had never interrogated such a difficult prisoner. There were many people in the lobby. They were either frightened and begging for mercy, or they looked frightened or pretended to be calm. But Gu Zhengchen was so arrogant and calm. Zi Ruo is the first guy to use the opportunity of a trial to "solve a case" to prove his innocence.
There was no trace of fear on his face, but he was as determined and strong as ever.
"Your Majesty may have given you permission to open the Jurong Sanyuan, but how can you prove that you are not seeking personal gain? I have heard that in order to exploit the people, you demolished countless homes and made those women abandon their children. Unable to take care of her husband and respect the elderly, so driven by profit and completely disregarding her family, the people are crying and life is difficult..."
Liu Weiqian sternly accused, it seems that because of the existence of the three courtyards in Jurong, the families of Jurong have no way to survive.
Gu Zhengchen stared at Liu Weiqian and asked slowly: "I dare to ask, do you have children?"
"nature."
"Then is your wife still there?"
"nonsense!"
"Are your parents still alive?"
"Shut up!"
Gu Zhengchen chuckled: "Liu Shangshu, you are the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice. Why don't you stay at home to raise your children, take care of your wife, take care of your parents, and come to serve as an official in the court? You are so name-seeking, completely ignoring your family, and your wife and children are crying." Howl, your parents are helpless, are you worthy of being a father, husband, or son?"
Liu Weiqian was very angry and retorted: "The male is responsible for the outside, and the female is the internal. This is the ancestral motto. As a scholar, I know that loyalty and filial piety cannot be both, so I can only sacrifice filial piety to be loyal. My monthly salary will provide for the family to fulfill my father's duty." The Tao, the Tao of husbands, and the Tao of children, what’s wrong with that?”
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly and then angrily said: "You are the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and your salary can support your family. Then you can go deep into the people's homes and ask the old farmer whether he can support his family by cultivating five or six acres of land? Taxes, Corvee labor weighs heavily on the people, natural disasters are ruthless, and it’s not impossible that production will be reduced and harvests will be reduced!”
"Does the imperial court turn a blind eye to the refugees in Shangyuan County? Can't you see the people who are begging for help above the officialdom? Liu Shangshu, tell me, relying only on the fields and the meager and pitiful output, in what year How can people not go hungry? I give them the opportunity to subsidize their families and improve their families. Am I wrong?"
"If you think that the people deserve to starve to death, that the people are not born to have enough to eat, that the people can only live in poverty and should not even save a little food, cloth, or money! Then I plead guilty! But do you dare to sentence this crime? ?Chen Ning, do you dare?"
Chen Ning naturally didn't dare.
Zhu Yuanzhang stood up from the common people and impoverished the people. He killed corrupt officials without mercy. What was his purpose? The purpose is to allow the people to live a good life, and to reduce the oppression of the people by officials!
Over the years, the imperial court has been building water conservancy projects, emphasizing recuperation and cherishing the power of the people. What they want is for the people to live a better life, at least to stay on their own land and not wander around.
If anyone dares to say that the people deserve to starve to death, Lao Zhu will let him taste what it feels like to starve to death!
Liu Weiqian was completely speechless.
Li Yan's lips were a little dry, he licked them several times, and his throat was a little uncomfortable. Facing the strong and sharp-tongued Gu Zhengchen, the officials present fell into a passive position.
Chen Ning had no other choice but to stop talking about the matter and resorted to the killing move: "Then you colluded with the daughter of the guilty minister and violated the court etiquette. What do you say about this? Come here, tell Liu Qian'er! "
Gu Zhengchen's eyes were cold and stern.
This joint trial between the Ministry of Justice and the Yushitai was not public, but a closed-door trial.
There were many people doing good things outside the door, but no one knew what was going on inside.
Zhang Pei and Gu Cheng were waiting for the news outside the door. Hu Hengcai and a few guys were parked not far away, ready to run back to report the news at any time.
However, the interrogation lasted for more than an hour, and still no news came out. Zong Li went in and came out again. When faced with Zhang Pei's questioning, he just said a word to Amitabha and left without saying anything.
Zhang Pei saw that the yamen officer had brought Liu Qian'er, and Zhang Xiwan, who had not planned to go out, also followed him. He hurriedly greeted her, and without waiting for Zhang Xiwan to ask questions, he said, "The interrogation is still going on, and there is no news inside."
Zhang Xiwan nodded calmly and said to Liu Qian'er: "Put away your weakness and do whatever you want. Don't be afraid."
Liu Qian'er nodded heavily, endured the pain and fear, and stepped into the gate of the Criminal Department.
Two hundred steps outside the main gate of the Criminal Department, there was a lot of excitement on Qingfeng Tower.
The storyteller held the speech-stopping wooden board and snapped it. When everyone's attention was attracted, he rolled up his sleeves and opened his voice: "Speaking of Gu Zhengchen, the magistrate of Ju Rong County, he is really good at both civil and military affairs, with extraordinary wisdom and courage. As a civil servant, he led Ju Zhengchen Three hundred sergeants of Rong Wei and Jiangyin Guard guarded Nansha at the mouth of the Yangtze River. They destroyed hundreds of pirates in one fell swoop and became famous everywhere. Let me tell you what the situation was like at that time. The pirates were rampant and somewhat cunning. They pretended to be transporting grain to the imperial court. vessel……"
The storytelling was so exciting that it attracted a lot of applause.
Even the waiters in the restaurant couldn't help but be in a trance. After being slapped by the shopkeeper, they remembered that it was time to serve the guests. They quickly ran over and asked the middle-aged and young people sitting down: "What kind of food and drinks do you two guests want to serve?" "
"A pot of knives and two simple side dishes will suffice."
"Okay."
The waiter didn't mind that he didn't order enough, so he turned around and went to prepare.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao who was fidgeting and looking in the direction of the Ministry of Justice from time to time. He said in a deep voice: "As a prince, how can you not be calm? As a prince, you should be indifferent to joy and anger. If the city is like a deep place, how can you be affected by one person?" , Lost your sense of proportion because of one thing?"
Zhu Biao sat upright, took the wine bottle handed by the waiter, and filled Zhu Yuanzhang's glass. After the waiter left, he whispered: "Father has experienced countless battles, big and small, and many powerful enemies have fallen at his feet. Cultivate your xinxing. Even if I practice for ten years, my xinxing may not be as good as that of my father."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed, and just as he was about to speak, he saw Mao Xiang walking quickly.
Mao Xiang stood beside Zhu Yuanzhang, lowered his hands and said: "The Punishment Department wants to punish Gu Zhengchen on the grounds of colluding with Buddhism and Taoism, committing huge amounts of corruption, whipping craftsmen, abusing national laws, doing business on the sidelines, and harming the people and the country. "
Zhu Biao became nervous and glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang. Seeing that his father was staring at him, he stopped talking and remained calm.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, picked up the wine glass, poured some wine on the table, and said: "The trial lasted for such a long time, I guess these three crimes will not be finalized."
Mao Xiang solemnly replied: "More than just a final decision, Gu Zhengchen retorted, and even the Minister of Punishment and the Imperial Censor could not resist him. Especially the craftsman Zhang Jiujiu falsely accused Gu Zhengchen, but Gu Zhengchen exposed it in front of him and gave him a whip in vain. …”
"Oh, tell me carefully."
Mao Xiang explained the situation in detail.
When Zhu Biao heard this, he shook his head repeatedly: "Mr. Gu is kind-hearted and loves the people. He has a good reputation in the Baochao Tiju Department. Several great craftsmen and Fei Tiju have spoken out for him. Now he is being falsely accused for no reason. Behind his back Someone must be instructing me."
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand: "Let the pro-military captain's office take Zhang Jiujiu away from the Ministry of Justice, and tell them that they will find out the truth at all costs."
Mao Xiang agreed and then said: "Not long ago, the Ministry of Punishment mentioned Liu Qian'er."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "Let Zhan Tong take a hard trip."
Mao Xiang understood and turned around to leave.
Zhu Biao's brows were a little worried.
In the final analysis, Gu Zhengchen should not take in Liu Qian'er out of sympathy. This could easily become a stain for others' criticism.
Even if the court forgives these people and does not harm Liu Boqin and his family members, they don't care if the imperial censor becomes arrogant. They only know that doing so will destroy Gu Zhengchen, and no one cares whether Liu Qian'er will be forced to death.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face was a little cold, and he drank the wine in one gulp: "These officials are a little too much..."
The lobby of the Ministry of Justice.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Liu Qian'er who walked in, and saw that her eyes were red, her eyes were no longer as bright as before, and they were bloodshot, and a feeling of anger rose in her heart.
Officials have no bottom line, they are even more hooligan than Ya's gangsters, and they are gangsters for gangsters. Their level of shamelessness cannot be found anywhere else!
Seeing that Gu Zhengchen was in good spirits and had not been beaten, Liu Qianer breathed a sigh of relief and saluted Li Yan and others: "Liu Qianer, a civilian girl, has met the official."
Li Yan glanced at Gu Zhengchen and said with a bang: "Liu Qian'er, as the daughter of a guilty minister, you actually hooked up with a court county man, the magistrate of Jurong County, and committed yourself to killing your father's enemy. It shows that you are greedy for vanity. , the evil woman who will do whatever it takes!"
Liu Qian'er's face was pale. She raised her head and wanted to defend herself, but she saw a figure in front of her blocking her gaze. Then she heard a thunderous roar: "Li Shangshu, your teeth are very sharp! I just don't know if there is Dr. Chen Yushi." The back molars are strong, if I dare to hit him, tell me, do I dare to hit you?"
Wang Guangyang's eyes widened, "I'll go, there's something big going on here!"
No wonder Chen Ning's face was swollen, his feelings were not fell, but Gu Zhengchen was beaten by Gu Zhengchen. My mother, this guy is too ruthless, do you not want to live?
Chen Ning's face was ashen, could he say such a thing?
I even claimed to the outside world that I fell, and you are trying to ruin it for me. How can I still hang out in the court?
Li Yan was also taken aback and trembled when he saw Gu Zhengchen, who was so angry.
The guy in front of me is an unusual person. He dares to do things that even the Duke dare not do, and he dares to fight people that even the Duke dares not to fight! If I get a beating from him, I might as well be the one who suffers in the end...
Chen Ning scolded with a cold face: "Gu Zhengchen, don't be so presumptuous! This is the lobby of the Ministry of Justice. If you dare to threaten the presiding officer, we will definitely impeach you and ask for an order..."
"Please sister!"
Gu Zhengchen showed no mercy at all. He pointed at Chen Ning and then at Li Yan, and cursed: "As court officials, you have lost the most basic dignity. Since you are shameless, I slap you in the face just to share His Majesty's worries!" Rumors spread that dignified officials of the Ming Dynasty, whether they were ministers of the Ministry of Justice, did not distinguish between right and wrong, confused black and white, and added evil words to each other. How do the people of the Ming Dynasty view the government, where is the majesty of the government, and where is the credibility of the court?"
