dungeon.
It was dim and gloomy.
The bronze beast's head glared brightly and darkly, and screams sounded from time to time, as if it had walked from the world of heaven into the underworld.
Since the opening of the Yamen, the Supervision Department has not repaired the facade or built the main hall. Instead, it first dug a huge dungeon, enough to hold hundreds of people.
The construction is not yet complete, and there are still people digging.
According to what Duke Zhou said, there are so many corrupt officials in Daqing that it is impossible to catch them all!
"hurry up."
"Get in!"
Shouts came from the entrance of the dungeon, and Fanzi kicked and kicked, driving a series of soldiers into the dungeon.
Most of the scholars came from wealthy families, or at least from humble families with hundreds of acres of land. They could read, write, and listen to music on weekdays. How had they ever faced a bloody massacre?
The screams of my classmates were still in my ears, and they were all so frightened that they lost consciousness and walked stiffly.
In the middle of the dungeon.
Zhou Yi was sitting on the Taishi's chair, with a dozen black-clothed fans standing on the left and right.
All of them have high temples and good martial arts skills.
The fans of the Supervision Department are recruited masters of the world, who are either involved in murder cases or are evil villains.
As soon as these people heard that they could work for the imperial court and have a formal establishment, they rushed to join the Supervision Department.
Wearing the tiger skin of the imperial court, you will no longer be afraid of meeting a master of the righteous way. If you dare to say anything about slaying demons and defending the righteous way, you will slap the face of the imperial court and be suspected of treason!
All righteous masters have families and careers, but they dare not provoke the imperial court.
Next to him, Wen Tongzhi was sitting on a chair, wearing a second-grade golden pheasant official robe. According to the regulations of the Supervision Department, he should have been classified as a military attache. However, Eunuch Wen prided himself on being a scholar and specially received the red robe of a civilian official.
"Governor, you shouldn't go to the academy to arrest people yourself. Send a godson to do it, because it will be easier for you to deal with him afterwards."
The implication is that if the academy rebounds violently, then the godson will be pushed out to take the blame, and the other one will be taken away after beheading.
Zhou Yi blew on the hot tea and said, "We have a dignified Fourth Supervisor, how can we not save a few nerds?"
"Yuntai Academy is unusual. Today, officials such as Cui Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites and Li Shilang of the Ministry of Household Affairs, as well as officials of all sizes in the capital, local county magistrates and governors, at least dozens of officials have studied in the academy."
Wen Tongzhi reminded: "Once they join forces to play, even if His Majesty has the intention to be partial, he will be angry with the Governor and cause trouble."
"Jiejiejie..."
Zhou Yi's strange laughter echoed in the dungeon and reached the ears of the prisoners. Many of them were so frightened that they peed their pants.
"Our family is just waiting for them to join forces to perform!"
While talking.
Fanzi escorted the scholar over, chained up in strings, and kneeling on the ground with his breath dying.
Wen Tongzhi thought carefully and came to a vague realization. He whispered: "Duke Gong, are you planning to fabricate cliques?"
"What is fabrication?"
Zhou Yi said: "In this world, can there be officials who are not clique-y?"
Wen Tongzhi immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since he supported Zhou Yi in taking down the imperial eunuch, he had been a die-hard supporter and a "eunuch" who was both prosperous and devastated.
"Don't worry, Governor, our family has transferred some old jailers from Tianlao. The kind that have been passed down for generations. They are proficient in all kinds of torture. They will definitely be able to get confessions from cronies."
"Our family follows the law when handling cases, and we will not give in to punishment!"
Zhou Yi pointed at one of the scholars, and someone immediately unchained him and dragged him closer.
"May I have your name?"
The scholar was already so frightened that he was confused, his eyes were dull and blank, and he did not answer the questions.
Bang bang!
Fanzi slapped his mouth hard several times, and the severe pain made Shizi come back to his senses. He saw a dozen eyes staring at him; he was so frightened that his legs weakened and he knelt on the ground.
"The villain's name is Cui Ke, and his home is in Wannian County."
Zhou Yi clicked his tongue and said, "Our family is really destined to have a family named Cui. We just raided the Cui family who made dim sum a few months ago, and dozens of our family members were exiled to northern Xinjiang for mining."
Wen Tongzhi praised him at the right time: "Governor, there was news from the north a few days ago that the mine collapsed and all the Cui family members died!
"
"This is God's retribution!"
Zhou Yi looked pitiful, cupped his hands towards the ceiling of the dungeon, and continued.
"Cui Ke, you should be married at this age, but do you have any children? How old are they? It's extremely cold in northern Xinjiang. You might as well strangle your children to death to avoid suffering the consequences before they freeze to death and starve to death!"
Cui Ke was horrified, tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Sir, have mercy on me, my lord, have mercy on me!"
"You are talking nonsense about the Holy Father. You should have your home confiscated and exiled..."
Zhou Yi's voice changed: "But our family is kind-hearted and will give you a chance to redeem yourself. All you have to do is tell who secretly instigated you to oppose the New Deal."
Cui Ke looked puzzled. He received a summons from the director of the hospital. He gathered spontaneously out of resistance to measuring land and paying taxes. He did not hear of any people behind the scenes.
"Aren't you going to tell me?"
Zhou Yi sighed: "That's such a pity... Someone, go and capture Cui Ke's family!"
Several fans came out and bowed to take orders, all with cruel smiles on their faces.
The Supervision Department has been established for less than three months and has already raided more than a dozen homes. These gangsters are already bloodthirsty and easy to kill, let alone being ordered to raid homes and kill people.
In a short period of time, the bad reputation of the black-clad fans spread throughout Daqing.
"My lord, this is unfair!"
Cui Ke screamed in fright. He had just passed through several dungeons and saw the miserable appearance of the prisoners inside. How dare he let his children be captured and taken into this devil's cave.
When life and death were at stake, suddenly an idea flashed and he figured out what Zhou Yi wanted to ask.
"Sir, I said, I said...we were indeed instigated by others. We just gathered in the academy and wanted to jointly write a letter to oppose His Majesty's new policy."
Zhou Yi winked and Fanzi stopped.
"Who is behind this?"
"have……"
Cui Ke's mind was spinning, and he didn't know who to talk about for a moment, when he suddenly heard a prompt in his ear.
"Who is usually close to Yin Zheng?"
"Cui Shangshu!"
Cui Ke said quickly: "Not long ago, Cui Shangshu and Yuan Zheng played chess together and talked about many things. Afterwards, Yuan Zheng summoned scholars from all over the country to discuss politics..." "Okay, very good!"
Zhou Yi praised him repeatedly and asked, "Are Mr. Cui and Shangshu Cui relatives?"
Cui Ke replied: "My ancestors are all from the Cui family of Nanyang, but they have been separated for nearly a hundred years and have not moved around in private. There is no relationship."
Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and turned to look at the scribe.
"Did you remember everything?"
"take note of it."
The scribe bowed and agreed, placing the written testimony in front of Cui Ke and asking him to sign it.
Cui Ke glanced at the testimony and saw that "playing chess" was written as "conspiracy", and the dialogue was vividly fabricated, including words such as "faint king" and "betrayal of ancestors".
Below it is written "Nanyang Cui Family", indicating that the person behind the scenes may be a Jiangnan family!
"this……"
Cui Ke was so frightened that he fainted, but for the sake of his family's life, he finally pressed his fingerprints on the testimony.
"Don't worry about Mr. Cui of Nanyang. Our family will definitely protect your life. If you fail the imperial examination in the future, you can come to work for the Supervision Department!"
Zhou Yi ordered Fanzi to drag Cui Ke down, and then pointed at a scholar at random.
"May I have your name?"
"Bah, castrated dog!"
The scholar had recovered from his fright. He stood upright opposite Zhou Yi, opened his mouth and spat out thick phlegm, and scolded him righteously.
"We scholars are not afraid of life or death. Don't let me frame the sages of the academy!"
"Okay, okay!"
Zhou Yi wiped the saliva on his face, with viciousness flashing in his eyes, and said coldly: "Master Wen, we want to see the interrogation methods of the jailers in the sky."
"As commanded."
Wen Tongzhi felt a chill in his heart. Knowing that Zhou Yi was angry, he immediately went to find the person who was to be executed.
After a while.
Four fans were carrying a large vat filled with water, and behind them there were people carrying many charcoal fires.
Next to Wen Tongzhi was a subordinate in soap clothes. He looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with a pale and lean face. He knelt down in front of Zhou Yi and kowtowed three times and nine times.
"The villain Li Chao, the ancestor of five generations of jailers, pays homage to the Governor!"
Zhou Yi nodded slightly: "We ask you to interrogate prisoners, so what are you doing with a water tank?"
Li Chao replied: "This is a punishment studied by villains. Put people in water to cook, and keep adding wood to the fire. The people inside will watch themselves being cooked!"
"Jie, Jie, Jie! As the old saying goes, one must be the best at what he does. If you can figure out such a punishment, you are really a capable person."
Zhou Yi said with a smile: "If you put it to good use, if it works well, our family will give you lots of rewards!"
"Thank you, Lord Governor."
Li Chao took off the soldier's clothes and threw them naked into the vat. The water just reached his neck and his head was exposed above the water.
A charcoal fire was lit under the water tank, which quickly heated the water.
The scholar lost his strength just now and felt the temperature of the water rising continuously. His skin was hot and red. He couldn't help but let out a shrill scream and struggled in the water tank.
"My lord, spare your life, spare your life, I confess, I confess..."
Li Chao looked happy and asked for instructions: "Sir, this guy is willing to confess. Can he be brought out for questioning?"
Zhou Yi drank tea slowly, looked at the bubbling water tank, and said slowly.
"This guy has a bad mouth. Let's boil it to remove the smell!"
A quarter of an hour passed.
The scholar's screams gradually died down, there was almost no good meat on his body, and the aroma of cooked meat filled the dungeon.
Zhou Yi just ordered: "Bring it out."
Fanzi fished out the half-dead scholar and placed him in front of the other prisoners. They were so frightened that they all fell to their knees. Such torture was unheard of.
"Tell me one by one, who instructs the academy to discuss politics?"
Zhou Yi said coldly: "Don't bite randomly. Our family handles cases in an orderly manner and with real evidence!"
"I said, I said, I said..."
Immediately, a scholar shouted: "Sir, the imperial concubine Sun Jijiu is an old friend of the emperor. He held a banquet at his home half a month ago. He openly criticized the new policies of the imperial court and said that His Majesty's land measurement was tyranny!"
"Sun Jijiu must be behind the scenes of this Academy discussion!"
"This person once wrote a book "Shang Li", in which he praised the laws and etiquette of the Great Shang. It is very likely that it is related to the remnants of the previous dynasty..."
This time there was no need for the scribe to make it up. The scholar had already sorted out the evidence and signed it happily.
Zhou Yi asked: "What's your name?"
The scholar replied: "Sir, my surname is Lin Mingfu."
"We like you, would you like to work for the Inspectorate?"
Zhou Yi said: "The head of the Torture Department started out as a sixth grader and specializes in fabricating crimes for prisoners in prison. The bigger the crime, the better. Our family is not afraid of big cases, we are just afraid of no cases!"
Lin Fu was overjoyed when he heard this. He had studied for more than ten years before he passed the imperial examination, and he didn't know how many years it would take before he could pass the imperial examination.
Even if I get Jinshi, I don’t know how many years it will take to be promoted to the sixth rank!
"I pay my respects to the Governor, and I will arrange my daily life and errands!"
Zhou Yi said: "Don't let Master Lin loose his bonds yet."
Lin Fu bent over and came up behind Zhou Yi, looked at his former classmate fiercely, and said in a low voice: "Duke, that person's name is Lu Ling, he is a distant relative of the Lu family in Jiangnan..."
"That one's name is Xu Jing. My sister is married to Li Shilang of the Ministry of Finance as my concubine. The two families often move around..."
"That Pei Yun is a wealthy businessman in the capital, running a medicine business. I had a drink with him last year, and when I got drunk, I bragged that I sold the medicine to the north..."
Lin Fu - It is said that betraying a classmate's background can be a crime, whether it is true or false.
When the scholars saw this, they dared not hesitate and rushed to confess.
"Master Lin is indeed a pillar of the imperial court!"
Zhou Yi praised him repeatedly and held a stack of confessions in his hand. Anyone would say that Yuntai Academy was suspected of being a clique.
At this time.
A chamberlain hurriedly entered the dungeon and reported to Zhou Yi.
"Eunuch Li who was on duty at the Qinzheng Hall summoned the message. Dozens of people submitted letters to join in the performance, Your Majesty. Cui Shangshu took the lead and knelt outside the hall, asking His Majesty the Qing Dynasty to be a traitor and punish the traitors of the country!"
"After half a day of arresting talents, dozens of people have written letters, and they still say they are not cronies?"
Zhou Yi put the confession into his sleeves, ordered Haosheng to guard Shizi, and went straight to the palace with more than a dozen stories.
Qinzheng Hall.
A dozen officials were kneeling in the cold winter wind.
Cui Shangshu, the leader, heard the footsteps, turned around and saw Zhou Yi coming in a hurry, and couldn't help but cursed.
"Thieves of the country should be punished by everyone!"
"A national traitor? Our family cannot afford it."
Zhou Yi said coldly: "Your Majesty measured the land for the sake of the common people. Master Cui actually instigated the scholars to oppose it because of his own selfish desires. We think you are more like a traitor to the country!"
Cui Shangshu said angrily: "Why did I ever instruct the scholars?"
"You should tell your Majesty this."
Zhou Yi shook the confession in his hand, and after waiting for the announcement from the father-in-law on duty, he bowed and entered the palace, knelt all the way to the Zhengtong Emperor, kowtowed three times and bowed nine times and shouted long live. "You are so brave!"
The Orthodox Emperor scolded him sternly, grabbed the inkstone from the corner of the table and threw it at him.
Zhou Yi did not dare to use his true energy to resist, and did not dodge or evade. He allowed the inkstone to smash his forehead, causing blood to flow immediately.
"This slave is guilty!"
His Majesty's words must not be refuted. Even if Zhou Yi had a confession in hand, he would confess his crime first and kowtow, dyeing the ground a large area of bright red blood.
When the Zhengtong Emperor saw this situation, his anger subsided: "Tell me, why did you slaughter the scholars?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, spies from the Supervision Department learned that someone secretly formed a clique for personal gain and tried to instruct the scholars to gather outside the palace gate to force Your Majesty to withdraw the decree to measure the land."
Zhou Yi raised his hands in the air and confessed, seven points false and three points true.
"When my slaves heard the news, they immediately led people to surround Yuntai Academy. Unexpectedly, the academy saw that the matter was exposed, and actually led the scholars to attack the officials of the Supervision Department."
"A bloodbath occurred out of urgency. It was the fault of a slave who was not strictly disciplined. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Eunuch Fang took the confession and looked at Zhou Yi deeply.
The Chief of Ceremonies was always keeping an eye on Zhou Yi and his party members. There were many internal agents placed in the Third Supervisor and the First Division. The reason why the murder in the academy spread quickly throughout the court was because Eunuch Yuan was secretly adding fuel to the flames.
The rise of Zhou Yi in the past two years has been too rapid. He may one day fall in love with the Supervisor of Ceremonies, so he might as well strike first!
The Chamberlain Department only has so much power, Eunuch Yi has more power, and Eunuch Yuan has less power.
The Zhengtong Emperor took the confession and turned it over page by page, his face becoming more and more gloomy.
"Forging cliques for personal gain will harm the country and the people!"
