After hearing the short fat man's words, the three interrogators stood up and sat down. The chief clerk on the side immediately introduced their official positions to everyone. The one sitting in the middle was the Minister of Punishment. He was in his forties, with a serious expression and a look of bitterness and hatred.
Sitting on his right is the Minister of Dali Temple. He is in his thirties and wears a long sword on his waist. He is probably a martial arts practitioner. He sits upright with cold eyes.
Sitting on the left hand side of the Minister of Justice is the imperial censor. He is in his sixtieth year and looks like a scholar. He also wears a pair of crystal auxiliary eyes on his face. This thing was also found in the Tang Dynasty, but it is rare. It is said that wearing it can correct presbyopia. .
After listening to the introduction by the treasurer, the onlookers talked a lot. They did not expect that the Khotan Kingdom paid so much attention to Ni Zhuo's case and even adopted the method of three-court trial for a public trial.
"Your Majesty, why do they also have a Dali Temple here?" Datou asked in a low voice.
"The Dali Temple first appeared in the Sui Dynasty, when Khotan was founded. Their official system was based on the Chinese official system." Changsheng said casually.
"Fuck, you can do quite a lot of work in a place with a big fart." Datou Duo said with disdain.
While the two were chatting in a low voice, the Minister of Punishment re-photographed the scene, "Ni Tuo from the Tang Dynasty, do you know your guilt?"
"Ni Zhuo knows his crime." Ni Zhuo replied calmly.
As soon as Ni Zhuo said this, the onlookers started talking again. They did not expect that Ni Zhuo would plead guilty in public.
"What crime did you commit?" the Minister of Punishment shouted loudly.
"The crime of carrying a jade." Ni Zhuo replied seriously.
Hearing Ni Tuo's words, the crowd of onlookers immediately burst into an uproar, and the expressions of the three interrogators also changed drastically.
When Da Tou looked at Chang Sheng with a smile, Chang Sheng also had a smile on his face. In fact, he had already guessed what Ni Tuo would say next when Ni Tuo replied that he was guilty. Ni Tuo was extremely smart, and Khotan Yue wanted to deceive others. The more he wanted to tell everyone that the Khotan Kingdom came for his family property, he directly tore off the other party's fig leaf.
When he came to his senses, the Minister of Punishment was shocked again, "Don't confuse right and wrong and confuse the public with your evil words. I want to ask you, why do you not keep your duty when you are a guest in Khotan? You always inform the Tang Dynasty on important state affairs in Khotan." , but you want to lure a wolf into the house and steal our country’s capital?”
"Ni was doing business in Khotan and had little contact with the Tang Dynasty. Why did he always tell secrets?" Ni Zhuo said seriously.
The Minister of Justice shouted loudly, "Don't make excuses. We have intercepted a total of thirteen secret letters between you and the Tang Dynasty officials. Most of them involve the secrets of the country. The evidence of the crime is conclusive. Do you still want to deny it?"
Before Ni Zhuo could speak, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment ordered the chief secretary on the side to present evidence and read it out in public. The contents of the letter were all matters discussed in the Khotan court.
The onlookers could not distinguish between true and false, and they believed whatever others said. Seeing that the Khotanese language was conclusive, and the content of the letter did involve Khotanese government affairs, they concluded that Ni Tuo was indeed a spy of the Tang Dynasty.
After reading the book, Ni Zhuo said seriously, "These letters were not written by me, and the words on the letters are not in my handwriting."
The Dali Temple minister on the side sneered and said, "Witness Mueller."
After the minister of Dali Temple finished speaking, the official messenger brought out a barbarian dressed as a servant from the city. The visitor strode onto the stage and knelt down to the interrogating officer.
"Who is kneeling?" asked the Minister of Punishment.
"The villain Muller is the groom from Ni's cargo yard." said the barbarian.
"The causes and consequences are brought about as they really are." said the Minister of Punishment.
This Hu man had long been bribed by Khotan to testify against Ni Tuo. He only said that these letters were given to him by Ni Tuo and ordered him to send them to China. In order not to alarm Ni Tuo, he had already sent away the original letters. These existing ones are all rubbings.
After Mueller finished speaking, the Minister of Punishment took another look at the situation, "All the witnesses and material evidence are there, Ni Zhuo, what else do you have to say?"
"Mueller, did you copy these letters yourself?" Ni Zhu looked at the foreigner with a smile.
The barbarian felt guilty about being a thief, so he forced himself to calm down and said, "That's right."
"When did you start working as a groom in the cargo yard?" Ni Zhuo asked again.
"Last May." The Hu man replied.
"Three of those letters just now were from the year before last. You hadn't come to the goods yard at that time. How could you have those three letters?" Ni Zhuo asked calmly.
The Hu man was shocked when he heard this and quickly changed his story, "I remembered wrongly. I entered the goods yard in August of the year before last."
Ni Zhuo smiled and said, "Don't be ridiculous, I didn't come to Khotan in August of the year before last."
After Ni Zhuo finished speaking, he waved his hand and said, "Okay, I know you are under coercion, and I won't embarrass you. Go down quickly."
Hearing Ni Zhuo's words, the crowd burst into laughter. The barbarian felt guilty and nervously stared at the Minister of Dali Temple.
"All the letters are undated. They are just deceiving you. Don't be fooled by them." The Minister of Dali Temple said angrily.
Seeing that the Hu people were still confused, the minister of Dali Temple could only frown and wave his hands, "The fact that Ni Zhuo has liaison with foreign countries and is a spy to disrupt the government is clear and the evidence is conclusive. Take the witness with you."
In order not to give the onlookers time to sort things out, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment immediately took pictures again, "Ni Tuo from the Tang Dynasty, you are doing business in Khotan to make profits, why do you hoard strange things and harm the people to make money?"
"Excuse me, sir, what is hoarding?" Ni Zhuo asked casually.
"Buy low, sell high, benefit yourself at the expense of others." The Minister of Punishment replied loudly.
Ni Zhuo smiled and said, "Sir, businessmen are seeking profits and should buy low and sell high. You can't let me get in at ten taels and get out at nine taels, right?"
Seeing that the other two officials were speechless, the old imperial censor spoke up and said, "The maximum profit a businessman can make is only 10% or 20%, while the Ni family's profit from trading is as high as 50%. Such a huge disparity is really a loss of conscience, amassing wealth and harming the people. The Ni family is suffering, and the people are suffering."
Most people have no ability to judge right from wrong. After hearing the words of the imperial censor, the onlookers below started talking again, saying that Ni Zuo was evil-minded and greedy.
At this moment, Ni Zuo said seriously, "Sir, do you know that whether you work to make a living or do business to make profits, you have to pay taxes?"
"Taxation is the foundation of the country, and it is only natural for you to pay taxes." said the imperial censor.
"It is a matter of course to pay taxes," Ni Zhuo said. "The taxes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties are one-tenth, the taxes of the Han and Tang dynasties are one-eighth, and the taxation of Khotan is also one-eighth. However, Khotan is responsible for all foreigners, including Ni. The tax levied on merchants is four out of ten. Faced with such a heavy tax, we can only try to get more benefits, otherwise we will not even be able to keep our capital."
Ni Zhuo paused briefly at this point, then raised his voice and said again, "We have lost our conscience and it is not us foreign merchants who are amassing money and killing people."
"The Duke of Ji is the Duke of Ji. He focuses on the key points in every sentence and pokes at the vital points." Datou admired him sincerely.
Changsheng smiled. He had contact with Ni Duo and knew that Ni Ni's mind and strategy were far more than that.
The minister of Dali Temple heard the hidden meaning of Ni Zhuo's words, became angry and shouted at the table, "What do you mean by that?"
"Ni Zhuo is right, you do increase taxes by 20% for foreign merchants." Someone in the audience shouted.
After hearing the words, Datou hurriedly followed the sound to see who was speaking, but the person who spoke was worried about retaliation, so after speaking, he lowered his head and disappeared into the crowd.
"Your Majesty, Yang Kai and the others should be here." Datou reminded in a low voice.
Seeing that the Khotan side was confusing right and wrong and making trouble unreasonably, Changsheng knew that things would be difficult to solve today, so he nodded to Datou.
"I'll take Mr. Hei away," Datou said.
Changsheng nodded again.
After Datou left, Changsheng turned his attention to the wooden platform again. At this time, three Khotan officials were questioning Ni Tuo for peddling personal profits. There is a saying that the people should not fight with the officials. The word "official" is in two words, and it makes sense no matter how you say it. The makers of the rules can also modify the rules at will. It is true that Ni Zhuo did not touch salt and saltpeter, but what goods are private is decided by the government. Silk is unique to the Tang Dynasty, and Khotan actually designated it as a government exclusive purchase and sale. As soon as Ni Zhuo's smuggling came to light, he was reluctantly established.
When the interrogation was over, the officials of the Third Division stood up and faced the tower, "Report to the king that Ni Zhuo from the Tang Dynasty has concluded the case."
"What's the crime?" the short fat man drawled.
"The principal culprit was executed, the female relatives filled the court, and all the illegal gains were confiscated." The Minister of Punishment said loudly.
Changsheng had always thought that Khotan and Ni Zhuo were in trouble just to seize his family property. After listening to the words of the Minister of Punishment, he realized that they not only wanted money, but also people. Where was Ye Ting? It was a place reserved for the royal family. The place where Guoqi Feile is located.
After the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment finished speaking, the short fat man waved his hand and said, "It's very difficult for outsiders to come to Khotan to do business and make a living. Let's appoint a prisoner and give them a few private houses so that they can have a place to live in the future."
"I sincerely obey the imperial edict," Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment turned to look at Ni Tuo, "If someone offends Ni Tuo, why don't you kowtow to express gratitude?"
Ni Zhuo had always looked calm before, but when he saw that Khotan had actually shamelessly convicted himself, he couldn't help but become more nervous. He ignored the Minister of Punishment and looked around anxiously to the audience.
Seeing this, Changsheng lifted up his energy and flew towards the wooden platform due to the north.
Seeing Changsheng appear, the Dali Temple Qing immediately stepped in front of Ni Tuo, unsheathed his sword and pressed it against Ni Tuo's neck.
The monk beside the short fat man also flew down from the tower and landed in the middle of the wooden platform one after another with Chang Sheng.
"Who is coming?" Monk asked loudly.
"Li Changsheng, the heroic prince of the Tang Dynasty." Changsheng said coldly.
As soon as Chang Sheng said this, the onlookers were very excited. Those who watched the excitement never thought it was a big deal. They wished that the chaos would be better, and the bigger the noise, the better.
"You're really here," Monk Fan sneered ferociously, "It's a pity that this is Khotan, not the Tang Dynasty, so you can't be allowed to act wildly."
"Although you are a small foreign country, you can't do whatever you want without regard for dignity," Changsheng said seriously, "Ni Zhuo is the Duke of Jiguo in the Tang Dynasty, and you actually framed him, tried to steal his family property, and took away his wife and daughter. Such behavior is incompatible with What’s the difference between bandits and bandits?”
That monk showed no mercy and kindness of a monk, and had a fierce look on his face, "Your presence here will only prove Ni Zhuo's crime of being a spy. Ni Zhu deserves what he deserves. Whether you come or not, we will deal with him impartially and strictly."
"You are so rebellious and humiliate my courtiers of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty will never sit idly by and ignore you." Changsheng warned solemnly.
"Hahaha," Monk Fan laughed arrogantly, "What do you want to say? Are you trying to say that whoever dares to embarrass Ni Zhuo, the Tang Dynasty cavalry will definitely come to conquer him?"
Hearing Fan Monk's words, Chang Sheng suddenly frowned. That day, he led the veterans of the Western Regions to exterminate the bandits in Maka Mountain and rescued several wealthy businessmen from the Western Regions. When he sent them away, he had entrusted the wealthy businessmen from the Western Regions to tell everyone in the Western Regions that what he said that day was true. This is what Monk Fan said.
The monk became angry and spoke, "Don't say that the Tang Dynasty is already in danger now. Even when it was strong, how could I, Khotan, have ever been afraid of you? What's more, we have already found out that Ni Zhuo escaped from China after being convicted and had already been arrested. Tang Dynasty won't tolerate it, so don't show off your appearance and show off your strength."
"Didn't you say that Duke Ji Guo was a spy sent by the Tang Dynasty? Why did you say that he was not tolerated by the Tang Dynasty?" Chang Sheng asked coldly.
"Stop being so arrogant and using your words," Monk Fan took a step back and opened his posture, "I have long heard that you are the number one master in the Tang Dynasty and the most powerful Taoist priest in the Shangqing Sect. I have long wanted to meet you. .”
Seeing the opponent asking for a fight, Changsheng could only passively respond.
At this moment, the short fat man's voice came from the tower, "National Preceptor, don't do anything, Tang Dynasty cavalry."
Hearing the words of the short fat man, Monk Fan snorted and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, this man came here alone, bluffing, how can he come to the Tang Dynasty Iron Cavalry?"
The short fat man stared in shock and pointed eastward with trembling hands, "Yes, there really is..."
