In Qi Yu's opinion, the newly built torture chamber in the government office is still very humane.
Look, the ground here is dry, there are no poisonous insects around, and there are no pungent odors in the air. Isn't this good enough?
I still remember that when the Imperial Worship Cult first started to cause trouble, I went to visit Yin Jun and Liu Jincheng in the prison. If you compare the prison in Lanshan County with this one, it is not even close.
Especially on this concrete floor, even a mouse can't get in. Even if you are a wise electric eel, you will never be able to escape from the prison.
Ask the prisoners for their thoughts at this moment.
Speaking of Qi Yu, he walked into the torture chamber with curiosity.
Just as I opened the cell door, I heard a vicissitudes of life and a slightly mocking voice coming from inside: "Master Qi, we haven't seen each other for several years. Are you okay?"
Huh~~
This voice feels a bit familiar...
This familiarity is not a special familiarity, but the kind of casual acquaintance that you can't remember if you don't think about it carefully.
This person is Duan Zicheng, the former deputy minister of the cabinet.
Isn’t this a big deal?
In my memory, we only had a few occasional encounters with each other, and we had no contact with each other on weekdays. Now that we suddenly met here, I felt very surprised.
The past events are vivid in my mind.
I still remember that because he was angry that Zhong Shoufu was not re-elected, he became angry and suffered a stroke. In the end, he had to retire early and return to his hometown.
But he never thought that he would actually come to Qiongzhou Mansion now.
Haha, no wonder Leng Qing didn't dare to do anything. It turned out to be because of fear.
You must know that the second assistant in the cabinet is the number one person in the country after the first assistant. His network of connections is beyond ordinary people's imagination. It is reasonable for Leng Qing not to openly offend him.
She knew very well that even an old tiger was not something a lone wolf like her could mess with.
"Haha, I heard that a very prestigious person came to Qiongzhou recently. I never thought it was you, Mr. Duan!" After coming to his senses, Qi Yu cupped his hands and said with a smile.
When Duan Zicheng saw him laughing, he was quite dissatisfied and said: "Looking at Master Qi's attitude, could it be that he came here specially to scold me?"
"Qi doesn't dare!"
"What's the point of saying whether you dare or not? Now, I just want to ask you for a warm word. Are you going to kill me, or are you going to keep me alive?"
Um?
This man is not afraid of killing, and he is quite courageous.
He is indeed a person who has served as a deputy minister in the cabinet.
Qi Yu laughed and did not answer him directly. Instead, he told Tan Junyan who was coming with him: "Hurry and arrange a banquet. I want to host a banquet for Mr. Duan."
Hosting a banquet?
Could it be that you want to poison me?
Duan Zicheng was shocked when he heard this, and said: "Master Qi, you can kill if you want, and chop if you want. Why bother setting up a Hongmen Banquet?
"
"Hongmen Banquet? Haha..." Qi Yu smacked his lips and said with a sneer: "Master Duan, you seem to have overestimated yourself! I can't tell you a big story that I'm not afraid of your laughing at, even if it's a prince within the royal family, I won't be able to clean it up Frowning, am I still afraid of you, the second assistant who has resigned? Haha, if I really wanted to kill you, you would have been buried in the grave by now!"
This sentence sounds very arrogant.
However, to Duan Zicheng's ears, it was realistic and did not feel exaggerated at all.
Others didn't know much about Qi Yu's past, but he knew a thing or two about it.
According to Duan Zicheng's speculation, the disappearances of King Yan, King Yong and Princess Sichuan are all inexplicably related to the Master Qi in front of him. If facts serve as a guide, he is indeed qualified to say such things.
There is another layer of meaning in his words, that is, he has not yet committed murder.
This time, the joke came true!
Qi Yu not only didn't want to kill him, but also had a strong desire to recruit talents.
Let's put it this way, from the first moment he saw Duan Zicheng, he immediately realized that everything that happened recently was most likely the work of this person.
Carrying forward the past and looking into the future, Qi Yu deduces as follows:
Duan Zicheng, who was lurking in Qiongzhou Mansion, must have decided to get rid of himself based on certain considerations and after weighing the pros and cons. Then, he launched a series of conspiracy calculations.
First, he faked a fire in the Thanksgiving County examination center and used it as bait to lure him there, and then set up an ambush to kill him on the way. At the same time, he also spread rumors about rectifying officialdom to increase political pressure from the outside world. After successfully luring himself away with the trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain, he immediately launched a sneak attack plan in the villa area in an attempt to capture his relatives alive for blackmail.
These two strategies work together seamlessly.
Fortunately, his planned disturbance did not succeed, and in the end everything collapsed and ended in failure.
The reason why we were able to turn danger into safety was, first, relying on our own precautions, and second, relying on the dedicated efforts of Tong Yanhuo and Leng Qing, both of which are indispensable.
From a factual point of view, Duan Zicheng is indeed very good at calculating.
However, he had never calculated that there was a master hidden beside Qi Yu that he had ignored. If not for this, this plan would have probably succeeded.
The above is the rough deduction made by Qi Yu.
So, is it right?
The conclusion is: basically correct.
During the banquet, Duan Zicheng frankly stated the reason, and the process was basically consistent with Qi Yu's deduction and guessing. In addition, he also admitted that the magistrate of Changhua County who carried out the assassination was his accomplice.
He said that the county magistrate had a hot temper, and as soon as he heard that Qi Yu might want to slap his official, he immediately had the idea of strike first. However, he also paid a corresponding price for his irritability, because Leng Qing was even more rude than him.
Just raise the knife and drop it - kill it.
After listening to the explanation, Qi Yu praised: "Master Duan doesn't hide anything and tells the truth frankly. He is really a smart man who knows the current affairs."
Duanzi played with the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile: "As the saying goes, those who know the current affairs are heroes. Why should we drink fine wine when we have toasts to drink?"
Well, that makes sense.
Thumbs up!
Qi Yu nodded, with a stern look on his face and raised his glass: "Master Duan, I want to recruit you as my guest, are you willing?"
this……
Duan Zicheng was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Master Qi, as far as I know you, you are a very vengeful person. Even if you are not able to retaliate, you will never do any good deeds like repaying evil with kindness. Now, I used poison to harm you, but you treated me as my guest regardless of past grudges. This... doesn't seem like your style."
What? Am I very vindictive?
Who did you listen to?
Qi Yu glanced at him and then explained: "You don't know, but it is your vicious methods that I appreciate, so I am interested in recruiting talents."
"Oh? What do you think?" Duan Zicheng seemed to be stunned and confused, and asked with a frown.
"To tell you the truth, I have battled wits with Princess Sichuan, battled courage with King Yan, and even battled wits and courage with King Yong. In the contest with them, I have basically never been at a disadvantage. However, in In this game with you, I was led by your nose. This alone is enough to impress me..."
These words contained both affirmation and approval, but not the slightest bit of ridicule.
In fact, Qi Yu said this, and he really thought so in his heart. He was not joking.
In his opinion, this Duan Zicheng is indeed a rare talent who is good at planning.
It is my own urgent need.
Although the talents under his current command are all of the highest quality, none of them are good at planning. If this person can be brought under his command, it will just make up for this shortcoming.
It’s all about talent, and the more, the better.
You know, even Cao Cao, who was good at strategy, recruited five great counselors: Xun Yu, Xun You, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, and Guo Jia in the early days. This was true for the ancients, so what about himself?
Seeing that Duan Zizheng was slightly moved, Qi Yu hurriedly added: "Wang Bo once said: When you are old, you will be strong, and you would rather move your heart with a white head. If you are poor and strong, you will not fall into the clouds. Since you have a pioneering spirit, why not borrow it? Where is my ladder? To tell you the truth, Qi is not just a creature in the pool. He has a huge dream of a family, a country, and a world. How happy would it be if you and I join hands in the same boat to support a prosperous world? Let’s talk about the small things. If you really want to get something, isn't it just a matter of my words?"
"this……"
"That's it for now. I won't persuade you anymore. I'll give you a quarter of an hour to think about it!"
After that, Qi Yu took out the pocket watch from his arms and started timing. At the same time, he did not forget to put the musket on the table intentionally or unintentionally.
