Zhu Di asked in a cold voice: "Where is the old thief?"
"Your Highness, wait a moment, I will go and capture the old thief right now."
Zhu Liang yelled and ran to the back house of the He family.
After a while, Zhu Liang strode over, dragging an old man wearing gorgeous silk clothes with one hand.
The old man was being dragged away while shouting loudly: "Who are you?...I am a scholar...I know Cui Zhizhou...I know the commander of the Tongzhou Guard..."
"Snapped!"
Zhu Liang slapped him directly, making his hair disheveled and throwing him in front of Zhu Di.
"Your Highness, this guy is the old thief He Ji."
On the side, a group of common people who had just come out of the woodshed were staring at He Ji, wishing they could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin, which sent a chill down He Ji's back.
However, he quickly realized what a group of untouchables could do to him, and he just looked at the majestic man in front of him with surprise.
"Your Highness? But His Highness Prince Yan is here to visit me?"
"snort!"
Zhu Di asked coldly: "Do you know your crime?"
He Ji was in a daze for a while, and quickly crawled a few steps in front of Zhu Di, his face full of grievance, "Your Highness, I... no, common people, no, students are not guilty, students are not guilty!"
Students are village sages, gentry, and good families...
I was having a sweet dream at home, when His Highness’s soldiers broke into the door..."
"Fuck your mother..."
Zhu Di couldn't hold himself any longer and kicked He Ji hard, sending He Ji flying a few steps away.
"You are not as good as a beast, but you are still a good family? Still not guilty?"
He Ji also covered his chest with one hand and said with a sad expression on his face: "The common people... the students have been wronged. It's the greatest injustice in the ages..."
Zhu Di snorted coldly and glanced at Deng Qiang, the deputy envoy of the Inspectorate behind him: "Is he guilty?"
Deng Qiang quickly replied: "The sin is heinous!"
Zhu Di asked again: "How to deal with it?"
Deng Qiang said: "Behead him in public display!"
Zhu Di then turned to the Chief Envoy of Peking, Xing Zongzhi, and asked, "What do you think, the Chief Envoy?"
Zongzhi hurriedly replied: "Confiscate the property and punish it accordingly."
Zhu Di turned to Zhu Fu beside him and asked, "What does Zhu Qing think?"
Zhu Fu's face was full of anger at this moment, "Your Highness, these thieves not only harmed the people in the village, but also killed them wantonly. The most abominable thing is to use the name of Your Highness to cut them into pieces and exile their relatives!"
In fact, as a gentry, Zhu Fu had seen many gentry who oppressed the villagers.
However, it was the first time that he saw this old thief in front of him using the name of Prince Yan's Palace to bully the people and kill them wantonly.
If this matter reaches the capital and His Majesty blames him, Zhu Fu will be the first to suffer. In other words, people like He Ji are trying to kill Zhu Fu. How can Zhu Fu not hate him!
Hearing this, He Ji's face was full of sorrow, "Your Highness... ordinary people are scholars... students are kind people!
They are all unruly people, unruly people who do not obey the government's edicts, and students are not wrong.
Even if the students have done their best, they should not bring harm to their families..."
He Ji once again mentioned his status as a scholar, and Zhu Di was a little curious.
"Which year are you a scholar?"
He Ji was speechless.
Pu Sanji on the side promptly added: "Your Highness, this thief is a scholar from the Qian Yuan Dynasty."
"snort!"
Zhu Di immediately snorted coldly, "Now is the Ming Dynasty, and you still think of yourself as a former Yuan scholar. It's an even greater crime."
He Ji opened his mouth and looked around. Unfortunately, he saw faces glaring at him, and his whole body went limp.
Zhu Di looked at Guo An and asked, "What do Guo Qing think?"
Guo An said: "Your Highness, Your Majesty just promulgated the "Great Edict" last year. I originally thought that our Beiping Mansion should be a good place and there is no need for this "Great Edict".
Now, Wei Chen feels that it is most appropriate to punish the thief He Ji according to the "Great Edict"! "
After Guo An finished speaking, the whole backyard fell into silence.
The expressions of officials such as the Imperial Envoy Department, the Chief Envoy Department, and the Beiping Government Office changed greatly.
Although the "Great Edict" was only promulgated to the world last year, those who hold the "Great Edict" are guilty of the crime of migration with a cane and can be reduced to one level. Logically speaking, the "Great Edict" is very kind.
However, most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty boycotted the "Da Gao" from the bottom of their hearts.
Without him, the criminal law in the "Da Gao" formulated by Lao Zhu himself was too harsh.
Whenever an official commits a crime, he or she will be punished by death, and it is not his turn to be whipped with a cane or banished.
As for clan execution, being tortured, cutting off the feet, beheading the toes, removing the knees, castrating, picking the tendons and removing the knees, skinning and eating grass... you can easily get multiple punishments in one body.
As for He Ji, although he did not belong to the ranks of officials, he was among the powerful gentry.
The culprit was sentenced to death, close relatives were executed, exiled within the five clans, and all the family property was confiscated, all of which were minor.
Guo An is also an old ruthless man. He has no control over other places in the Ming Dynasty, but in Beiping Mansion, this is where he will settle down and live in the future.
Prince Yan's Mansion will inevitably have to relocate many places. He must severely deter the officials and gentry in Beiping Mansion. They cannot exploit the people at will, let alone use the name of Prince Yan's Mansion to exploit and kill the people.
Zhu Di nodded slightly, "Very good!"
"No!"
He Ji's face was full of anxiety. By now he had already figured out that he would not live long.
However, thinking that his relatives would be implicated and other distant relatives would be exiled, it would be equivalent to wiping out his entire family in one fell swoop. All the hundreds of years of hard work from his ancestors to his generation would be in vain. Nothing!
Everything is gone!
He Ji couldn't help but feel a little grief-stricken. He knelt down in front of Zhu Di with a bang, cried bitterly, and begged for mercy with a miserable face: "Your Highness, student... Even if the grassroots are guilty, how can the grassroots' wives, children, and children be held accountable?...
They are all kind people and have never oppressed the common people...especially the wife of the common people, who has been fasting and chanting Buddha's name for decades, and has donated tens of thousands of taels of silver to the Buddha in the temple over the years...
Your Highness, please have mercy..."
Guo An was already furious, so he stepped forward and gave He Ji a few backhand slaps.
"The family of your beast is family, but these ten households and the hundreds of households that you exploited and persecuted are not human beings?
How many people in Tongzhou are separated from their wives and families because of you, an old thief?
Now you're using your wife, children, and children to beg for forgiveness? Since they have enjoyed the blessings brought by you, this old thief, and they still don’t dissuade you, this old thief, then they can spend the rest of their lives repaying you.
His Majesty said at the beginning of the "Great Edict": "How can parents, wives, brothers, and friends advise and teach others to do such evil things, and act in accordance with the laws of nature and benevolent, but it is not good?"
In a family of a first-class official, parents, wives, and brothers harm others together, but no one in the family has a benevolent heart. '
If your wife, children, and children are not killed this time, and if your relatives are not implicated, then wouldn’t the entire gentry and powerful people in Beiping Prefecture learn from you, and become even more confident in bullying, killing, and killing innocent people?
How many innocent people will suffer?
In fact, everyone in Prince Yan's palace will suffer disaster..."
In his entire life, He Ji had never been insulted like this, especially when an unknown official wanted to exterminate his clan. He opened his mouth and scolded him, "You thief..."
Guo An glared angrily, "You old thief dares to chatter again, I will ask His Highness to send someone to chop you up now!"
He Ji immediately shut up, not daring to say anything. He just kept crying, as if he had been greatly wronged.
Zhu Di glanced at him with disgust on his face, and shouted directly to Zhu Liang and Li Wang who were standing aside: "Immediately imprison all the family members, guardians, and servants of this old thief's house for me.
I also gave the king a detailed search of the entire He Ji residence, and today I just happened to take away all these evil thieves who oppressed and exploited the people! "
"Here!"
Zhu Liang, Li Wang and others were already furious and immediately accepted the order and left.
On the side, looking at He Ji, Yu Rentian, Deng Qiang and others on the ground, their faces were complicated, and at the same time there was some fear in their hearts.
According to their experience, if they continue to investigate to the extent of King Zhu Di of Yan, they will eventually be able to find some officials in Tongzhou.
I hope this matter will not be further implicated, otherwise Beiping Mansion will be bleeding like a river again.
As for the officials of Prince Yan's palace, Shi Si, they looked at He Ji on the ground with shock and fear.
What is shocking is that these gentry and officials are so ignorant that they dare to use the name of His Highness King Yan to bully and kill the people.
What's scary is that the families behind them are all gentry. After returning home, you must write a letter home, and you must not act recklessly.
Then, looking at Guo An who was chatting with all the people one by one, everyone was surprised.
This Guo Changshi usually looks kind and kind, but who would have thought that he would be so offended that he would dare to directly use "Da Gao"!
After a while, several guards in royal robes came in, dragging several doctors with frightened faces.
Seeing that these wolf-like soldiers captured them and really treated the people, several doctors also breathed a sigh of relief.
Taking advantage of this time, Guo An stood up and came to Zhu Di's side.
"Your Highness, these people have only had one meal in the past two days, and they are already so hungry that they cannot stand it.
And we marched all night. After walking for such a long time, the soldiers were already hungry.
Why not just bury the pot here and cook. After eating, I will arrest the other thieves.
Wait until daybreak and go into the city to look for the Tongzhou magistrate! "
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Di also felt a little hungry in his belly and gave orders to the left and right.
"You and others will bury the pot and cook quickly. As for you and other scribes, they will also go and help ransack the house!"
"Here!"
A guard next to him responded and hurriedly made arrangements.
All the officials, officials and scribes of Prince Yan's Palace also quickly dispersed.
As a large local family, the He family keeps a lot of grain and meat at home.
Although more than a thousand people were squeezed in directly, it was still enough.
After a meal.
With the participation of Chang Shisi and other scribes, the results of the entire He family's confiscation were quickly tallied up.
"One hundred and thirty thousand taels of silver, three thousand taels of gold, fifty thousand taels of treasure, and two large boxes of various gold, silver, and jewelry.
There are two houses of grain, a total of two thousand stones.
In addition, the He family owns fifteen shops, large and small, with a total of 3,500 acres of land..."
As a scribe finished reading, Zhu Di looked shocked.
"Damn it, a little country gentleman actually has so much money?
Moreover, with 3,500 acres of farmland, how could we not know that there is such a big family in Beiping Mansion? "
As he said that, Zhu Di looked at Yu Rentian who was standing aside, "Prefect Yu, have you ever heard that there are so many large households in Beiping Mansion?"
Yu Rentian couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. Thirty-five hundred acres, the minds of these gentry are really stupid, they are so bold.
"Back to Your Highness, according to my understanding of the Yellow Register of Beiping Mansion, the largest family in the entire Beiping Mansion has only six hundred and fifty acres of land registered in the Yellow Register."
…
(End of chapter)
