"That's a member of the Li family. Old Liu, you have to show your ability to keep the bottom of things!"
Zhou Yi opened the food box and found eight dishes, four cold and four hot, all delicious and delicious.
The wine pot was also aged for a hundred years. To be able to find such fine wine in one night must have been the work of the prison warden.
"Of course."
Chef Liu curled his lips: "I have used all the skills of my ancestors for eighteen generations, for fear of annoying the noble man."
There are also many hidden rules in Tianlao's small kitchen, especially for Prison No. 9. Chef Liu must customize meals according to the prisoner's title, official position, and distance.
We must not generalize. If the Duke's family and the servant's family eat the same dishes, there will be trouble later!
These dandy boys are so bored that they only compete for face. In Tianlao, I can eat four cold dishes and four hot dishes, and drink century-old wine, so I have more face than you with four hot dishes!
In the eyes of ordinary people, the reason for the jealousy among nobles and dandies is that they are full of food and have a lot of leisure, but they have to follow the official positions in Tianlao.
The most powerful family in the Chongming Dynasty was the Long family. Now Mr. Long's treatment has been transferred to the Li family.
Li Wu quelled the internal troubles in the north and south of Fengyang Kingdom. After a year of repairs, he commanded a million troops in the Northern Expedition to start a war with the Yong Dynasty, vowing to regain the lost territory of the three states.
Today, the power is even greater than that of the Long family of the Chongming Dynasty!
Zhou Yi carried the food box and went to Prison No. 9 first, where he met Captain Zhu who was on duty during the day.
Lieutenant Zhu repeatedly warned: "Old Zhou, you must be careful in your service. That man is a vicious man. If he goes crazy, I won't dare to save you!"
Zhou Yi was surprised and said: "Master Xiaowei, I will just deliver the food..."
"Do you know why that man went to the prison?"
Lieutenant Zhu reminded in a low voice: "Sent troops to plunder the business roads, and then pretended to attack the bandits, massacring several villages to take credit!"
"..."
Zhou Yi was silent for a long time and asked: "Who dares to expose such horrific things?"
Arrange troops to plunder, kill good people and take credit for their merits!
Which one is not a major crime against the nine clans? The nine clans of the Li family must include the general Li Wu. The legitimate commander of a million troops in the Northern Expedition, if this matter is not handled properly, it will be a drastic change in the world!
Now even Lieutenant Zhu knows about it, and it is obvious that he can no longer hide it or cover it up, which is equivalent to making the Li family's crimes known to the world.
Zhou Yi did not think that the imperial court, or Emperor Hongchang, had the courage!
Lieutenant Zhu said: "Who else can it be? It's Prime Minister Zhang!"
After Emperor Hongchang came to the throne, he wiped out the remnants of the Dragon Prime Minister with blood, and all four cabinet ministers were implicated. The one who is now the chief minister is his Qiandi teacher, Zhang Zhengyang.
"No wonder."
Zhou Yi had never met Zhang Zhengyang, but from the rumors in the market, he only felt that this man was an official of the country.
It is rumored that Zhang Zhengyang solved Fengyang's domestic and foreign difficulties by submitting a letter for the first time after becoming the chief minister.
Make peace inside and then fight outside, first north and then south!
Emperor Hongchang exempted all taxes for five years, which was also a strategy proposed by Zhang Zhengyang, in order to win over the people under the rebel rule and completely eliminate the problem of the rebel army being defeated and resurrected.
Zhang Zhengyang is the only person who can compete with Li Wu for the position of chief assistant for seven years.
Prison No. 9.
Zhou Yi opened the cell door, took out the dishes from the food box, and placed them on the table.
"Sir, it's time to eat."
"Um."
The prisoner sat cross-legged on the couch in the inner room, without opening his eyes, and let out a soft snort from the tip of his nose.
Zhou Yi bowed and stepped back. The impression this person gave him was not that he was pretending to be arrogant like an ordinary nobleman to show his superiority, but that he looked down on everyone from the bottom of his heart.
"Be confident!"
…
A few days later.
Zhou Yi came to the small kitchen to pick up food and found that Chef Liu was not there.
"What's going on with this guy?"
There have been a lot of rumors in the market about the crime of prisoner Li Xiong. A few days ago, there were many people beating drums to express their grievances, claiming to be relatives from those villages.
The court pretended to be deaf and dumb and pretended not to hear.
In the end, it was the Jing Yamen police officers who took away the complainants one by one and put them in cells for gathering a crowd to cause trouble.
As soon as this incident came out, Jingya became a place for people to vent their anger, and every day the gate was stained with all kinds of filth.
The censor's book lists the crimes of treating the people harshly, neglecting oversight, shielding criminals and other crimes. Only half a word has nothing to do with the Li family.
The governor of Shenjing had no choice but to write a letter to plead guilty, and then went to jail.
In just a short period of time, the situation in Shenjing has changed dramatically, and the center of all the storms is Prison No. 9.
Chef Liu went crazy because he didn't know what happened. Zhou Yi hurriedly went to Zhu Xiaowei and asked how to deliver food today.
Lieutenant Zhu said with righteousness on his face: "We are all inmates in the prison, and we eat what others eat, no need to treat them differently!"
Zhou Yi frowned slightly, and then suddenly said: "Is there any news from the north?"
"You guys..."
Lieutenant Zhu didn't hide it, and he couldn't hide it in a few days anyway: "At noon tomorrow, all the Li clan members of Li Xiong's branch will have their homes searched and executed. It won't be long before the Jin Yiwei will send them!"
Zhou Yi asked: "Did the general ask for it?"
"It's true that old things become strange and people become wiser! Old Zhou, you are so smart, why do you give away food for the rest of your life?"
Lieutenant Zhu said in a low voice: "I heard from the prison chief that the general personally wrote a letter of love and blood, saying that the Li family should have implicated the nine tribes. I kneel down and ask for your Majesty's forgiveness. He will show mercy outside the law and kill only Li Xiong!"
"The general is upright!"
"The general is wise!"
Zhou Yi and Lieutenant Zhu looked at each other with horror in their eyes, feeling that a hundred times the storm in the capital was coming.
Prison No. 9.
Zhou Yi poured the porridge into the bowl, tapped the fence with the spoon, and shouted.
"time to eat!"
Li Xiong glanced at the swill, horror flashed in his eyes, and then he regained his composure: "It seems that my cousin, for his own reputation, wants to send his uncle's family to die!"
The patriarchal ethics of this era emphasized the importance of hiding relatives from each other. Li Wu's approach was despised by the wealthy family.
Zhou Yi was surprised and said: "You know everything?"
Li Xiong said in a cold voice: "Looking at you stupid people, you can guess that the situation outside has changed."
"Tomorrow at noon, the whole family will be executed."
Zhou Yi said: "Your parents, wives, concubines, and children all died because of your greed!"
Li Xiong had no expression on his face and glanced at Zhou Yi, as if he was mocking and scorning him.
"Do you have a son? How old is he this year? Is he cute? In the future, he may learn martial arts and join the army, or he may study for liberal arts exams. He will marry a virtuous wife, and you will have grandchildren. Or a daughter, who will marry you in the future. Give……"
Zhou Yi describes it in a leisurely and unhurried manner, a happy scene where family members are reunited and descendants surround their knees.
Li Xiong's expression gradually changed. When he heard the last sentence, "Your teenage son, his head fell to the ground with a click, and blood spurted out for several feet," his eyes turned red with anger.
"...At the age of ten, he probably doesn't understand anything. He will ask you why you beheaded. Will it hurt?"
Zhou Yi smiled and said: "I will teach you a way to get your son drunk before execution, so as not to encounter the executioner who has a blunt knife and is unable to cut the flesh, which will be a hundred times more painful!"
"roll!"
Li Xiong roared angrily: "What do you know? My cousin only wants to leave his name in history, so his relatives are being targeted and he is not even allowed to do business!"
"I have been fighting with him for several years. I shed several liters of blood on the battlefield. When I returned to Shenjing, I had no money for a banquet, and I was laughed at like a bumpkin!"
"You can't be greedy with military pay, and merchants can't do it, so you can only rob it!"
Li Xiong said coldly: "I am fighting desperately on the front line, and those bullshit nobles are selling arms to Dayong. It is also treason. Why can't they snatch it away?"
Zhou Yi wondered: "How can we explain killing good people and taking merit?"
After Li Xiong vented his anger, the resentment in his heart dissipated a lot, and his expression returned to calm: "Someone must be responsible for robbing merchants. Those people were unlucky enough to be chosen by me!"
"If you lead troops into the Xungui Mansion and kill the traitors who are smuggling arms on the spot, maybe General Li will save your life. But you don't dare, so you can only massacre civilians!"
Zhou Yi shook his head and said: "Such a temper that bullies the weak and is afraid of the strong, seems to be no different from me, a low-key person like me?"
Li Xiong slowly turned his head and finally looked at Zhou Yi.
"Sharp teeth and sharp mouth!"
Zhou Yi shrugged and left with the bucket.
"When your family comes later, I will arrange for you to share the same prison with your children and cherish your last night!"
…
Fengtian Temple.
There was silence.
The emperor withdrew his left and right servants, leaving only Zhang Zhengyang, the chief assistant, in the palace.
"Teacher, this situation is too dangerous."
Emperor Hongchang came down from the palace, personally carrying two brocade piers, and sat down with Zhang Zhengyang to look at each other.
"Your Majesty, I am also helpless."
Zhang Zhengyang bowed and saluted, sat down and said: "Civil officials have a disloyal heart. Even if they rebel against the power like a dragon, they can be overthrown overnight. A military officer like Li Wu, who has the courage to shake up the master and has the world's greatest achievements..."
After saying this, he paused for a moment, as if he was considering his words, and after a moment he said, "It's time to abolish the establishment!"
Emperor Hongchang frowned: "Teacher, Li Aiqing is diligent in the king's affairs externally and strict with the clan members internally. How can the likes of Long Ni be compared to her?"
"This is what is terrifying and terrifying. Li Wu is really just as greedy and tyrannical as Long Ni, but the harsh people of the tribe obviously have a big plot to win over the people! This time Li Xiong committed a crime, the old minister sent someone to make it known to the public, with the intention of letting people Li Wu submitted a letter, and the court had no choice but to spare Li Xiong's family."
Zhang Zhengyang said: "How could I have imagined that Li Wu's uncle and cousin could be cruel to him? How could such a ruthless and decisive person have any loyalty at all?"
Emperor Hongchang asked puzzledly: "The crime Li Xiong committed is unacceptable in nature. Why does the teacher explain it?"
"This will destroy Li Wu's reputation. He can command troops and horses, and he can fight in the north and south, but he will never be famous all over the world!"
Zhang Zhengyang said: "The people will never allow a person who protects his relatives and slaughters the people to take charge of the world. In this way, Your Majesty can rest easy."
Emperor Hongchang shook his head and said: "Teacher, the history books say that the best in the world are those with strong soldiers and horses. Is it true that Li Aiqing has rebellious intentions, and with his prestige in the military, I am not sure..."
"What the history books say is true, but it cannot be fully believed."
Zhang Zhengyang said: "After the chaos of the previous emperor's dynasty, the people have only been stable for a few years, and they are absolutely unwilling to cause turmoil. The hearts of hundreds of millions of people are like this. It can be said that it is a general trend, and it cannot be done without soldiers and horses!"
Emperor Hongchang was silent for a long time, still shaking his head slowly.
"Dong Li Aiqing was loyal to the country. He followed the imperial edict and conquered the north and the south. That's how I am today!"
"Li Qing doesn't let me down, and I don't let you down either!"
