"Then, Wu Qingfeng ordered you to lead an army and use five-shot crossbows to sneak into Fuman Tower to murder the Imperial Envoy, Mr. Xu Qinxu, but the attack failed."
"When you exited the room, you found that Fuman Tower had been set on fire, and there were more than a dozen masked night men intercepting and killing you. You almost died."
"Yes."
After Yang Shiqi got a clear answer from the other party, he twisted a petal with his fingers, crushed it into pieces, and said in a deep voice
"Zhang Dalang, you should know that killing a court official without authorization and attempting to assassinate an imperial minister are both capital crimes, but you still admit it, right?"
"That's right, sir, the life of a commoner is worthless."
Zhang Dalang seemed to be a little excited. He coughed a few times and some tears actually flowed from the corners of his eyes.
I don't know whether it was because I was sad because I touched a pain point, or because I was excited and pulled the wound, and the pain was unbearable.
He took a rough breath, took a deep breath, and continued:
"The common people have evidence of Wu Qingfeng's crime. The five-shot crossbow resting on the window sill of Fuman Tower, as well as the box, together with the twenty gold ingots, are buried under the haystack of the room I rented."
"He had many secret deals with Zhang Yunji, so he asked ordinary people to kill Zhang Yunji in an attempt to silence him."
"He also secretly colluded with Qingzheng Church elder Mao Dafang. In this Fumanlou case, Mao Dafang was involved in the Qingzheng Church. The masked men who appeared that night should all be members of the Qingzheng Church."
"Wu Qingfeng's former backers were his mentor Zhou Shixiu and the prefect Mei Chen."
"Mei Chen is not only the prefect of Huai'an, he is also the commander of the Huai'an Guards. Due to the strong influence of the Marquis of Runan and the Runan family, he has been in this position for eight years. It can be said that he covers the sky with one hand. No one is afraid of him."
Zhang Dalang confided everything.
But Xu Qin knew clearly that Wu Qingfeng was found guilty and had all the witnesses and material evidence.
But Mei Chen is much more difficult.
The key is the lack of evidence.
Will Wu Qingfeng bite someone?
In fact, since the two major cases of Emperor Taizu Gao's murder of Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu in the late Hongwu period, officials alone have killed more than 40,000 people, and even more were involved in imprisonment and dismissal from office.
As a result, more than half of the officials in many government offices throughout the imperial court were vacant.
In this case, official assessment and adjustment can also be carried out there.
In order to stabilize the political situation, Zhu Yuanzhang had to acquiesce in this long-term official position system.
In the hands of Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen, he should have organized the government affairs well, made the appointment and dismissal of officials, and institutionalized and scientific transfers.
But it was good for him. After he ascended the throne, he was busy forcibly reducing the vassal state, and he had no time to deal with the normal promotion and dismissal of civil servants.
Therefore, officials from various places generally work for eight or ten years.
If a local chief official stays in power for a long time and governs a certain area for more than three to five years, or even eight to ten years, his power will inevitably merge with the local tyrants and evil gentry.
Then they became intertwined and became one community of interests after another.
Not to mention the magistrate, even the county magistrate is also the local emperor.
Three years to clear the magistrate, ten years to make snowflakes silver.
Not to mention more than five or eight years.
In prosperous places like the Ming Dynasty Jiangnan, this situation must be very serious.
These are the objects that the New Deal needs to revolutionize.
Just think about it, if these local emperors are not sorted out, how will we carry out new policies and reforms in the future?
A certain great man once said that all reactionaries will not automatically withdraw from the stage of history, and they will not fall unless you defeat them.
"Zhang Dalang, these are what you told me, please take a look."
The knife and pen clerk presented the compiled records in front of him.
"No need." Zhang Dalang didn't bother to take a look.
"Can you move your hands?"
"It's barely okay." Zhang Dalang tried it and thought it was okay.
"Sign your name and fingerprint on each page."
With the help of others, Zhang Dalang signed and stamped all the pages as required.
From the incense burner in the small Buddhist temple, the fragrance of birds rises.
In just one stick of incense, a complete explanation of documents arrived in front of Xu Qin.
"I didn't expect so many things and people to be involved."
Xu Qin read it carefully, turned around and snorted, "Send someone to the rental house Zhang Dalang mentioned to take the box and the thousand taels of gold ingots back to the county government office."
"As commanded."
Five Yi Linwei left on horseback, led by the waiter.
Zhang Dalang looked at Xu Qin nervously.
He told all the people and things he knew, and everything depended on the imperial envoy's words.
Considering his crimes, even ten heads are not enough to chop him off.
If Xu Qin really wanted to save his life, it wasn't impossible. After all, there was another mastermind.
Zhang Dalang was originally prepared to go all out to fulfill Wu Qingfeng's important task in order to repay the life-saving grace of getting someone out of prison.
But people are so strange. Once the gate of the desire to survive is opened, it is like Pandora's box, out of control.
He suddenly wanted to live now.
"How useful your stuff will be depends on how the situation develops. No one can say for sure."
Xu Qin handed this material to the swordsman and penman, and then said to Zhang Dalang:
"No matter what you have done before, as long as you sincerely repent and continue to work for the court, I can save you from death."
"You should go back to the county prison cell to recuperate, and I will decide whether to stay or go after I have completed all the new changes in Huai'an Prefecture."
Zhang Dalang was silent for a moment after hearing this.
He believed that Xu Qin's words and attitude were sincere and did not mean to lie to him.
Because if the imperial envoy wants to kill someone, there is no need to waste his saliva like this.
"The common people would like to thank the Imperial Envoy in advance."
Xu Qin waved his hand and asked someone to carry Zhang Dalang back to the county government on wooden boards.
Afterwards, Xu Qin and the others left the Small Buddhist Temple and slowly returned to the county government on horseback.
Yang Shiqi walked next to Xu Qin, deliberately approached and lowered his voice, saying softly:
"It's okay to deal with Wu Qingfeng just by relying on this person, but if we want to deal with Mei Chen, I'm afraid there's not enough evidence."
"If there is no decent evidence, even if General Zhang Fu brings troops to control the situation, Mei Chen will not be able to be convicted."
He had all the best intentions.
After getting along with Xu Qin these days, Yang Shiqi found that the young senior official, who was eighteen years younger than himself, hated evil as much as hatred and had a clear distinction between love and hatred.
He is ruthless towards bullies and landlords, but compassionate towards ordinary people.
Yang Shiqi was afraid that he would kill a wealthy man like Mei Chen, regardless of the face and feelings of Mei Yin and the Runan family.
You must know that Mei Yin is the direct brother-in-law of Emperor Yongle, and it is a matter of royal internal affairs.
Your Majesty can do whatever you want.
Only other people made irresponsible remarks and overstepped their authority, which was not easy for the emperor.
This kind of thing is not only thankless, but also creates more and more terrible enemies.
"I know."
Unexpectedly, Xu Qin just replied with three words.
How could Xu Qin not know about Yang Shiqi's thoughts and good intentions?
Because he is not actually a seventeen-year-old boy.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Yang, how about I want Su Zecheng to be the magistrate of Qinghe County?"
Unexpectedly, Xu Qin at this moment actually proposed such a bold and outrageous idea.
