Wang Wentao could no longer distinguish between reality and illusion. He was not allowed to rest for a long time, which made his eyes turn gray and he could not see the person clearly.
Yu Xin looked at Wang Wentao, who was in a daze but unharmed. He couldn't help but frowned and asked Tang Buping, "No torture?"
"No, but he has confessed something."
Tang Buping took out a few pieces of paper and handed them to Yu Xin.
Yu Xin took a few quick glances, folded the paper, put it into his sleeve, and said with a gloomy face: "The people don't speak, not because they can't speak, but because they dare not speak! Okay, in my opinion, this Kaifeng It’s time to straighten things up!”
Tang Buping did not answer, but stood quietly guarding.
Yu Xin walked towards Wang Wentao and yelled sternly: "Shi Wanghan, the chief minister of the Zhou Dynasty, sent Zhou Yuanwu away. Shortly afterwards, the embankment collapsed. Except for a few people from the county government and some lucky ones, all the Yuanwu people were killed. Is it the king of Zhou who was behind this?"
"Yes Yes……"
Wang Wentao replied in confusion.
When Yu Xin heard this answer, his eyes burst with anger and pain, and he said in a deep voice: "Why? What good will this do to him?"
Wang Wentao shook his head and said feebly: "Buddha Maitreya descended in troubled times. The more chaotic and dark the world is, the brighter the Buddha will be, to save the suffering."
Yu Xin's eyes were bloodshot. The people of the White Lotus Sect were lunatics. They were well behaved in the world, but for their own ambitions, they did not hesitate to break the embankment, kill people, and create disasters!
The White Lotus Sect must be completely eradicated!
"What is the relationship between King Zhou and the White Lotus Sect?"
Yu Xin asked.
Wang Wentao laughed and shouted: "Does it matter? It doesn't matter, I just think it is a good thing. Think about it, if the Yellow River takes away the Huaihe River and Fengyang is hit by the disaster, the status of the central capital will inevitably decline. By then, except for the capital, the Ming Dynasty will Besides, what other city can compare with Kaifeng? This should become Beijing, the center of the Ming Empire! Ah——"
A scream suddenly came out.
Tang Buping watched Yu Xin press the soldering iron firmly on Wang Wentao's face, and couldn't help but shuddered: Mom, do all the literati do it to the face?
It's too cruel to be cruel...
Wang Wentao was completely ruined. The red-hot iron directly destroyed half of his face and even sealed half of his mouth.
As an important minister in the cabinet, Yu Xin usually has an extraordinary bearing and calm behavior, but Wang Wentao's words made him lose his mind and just wanted to kill these lunatics completely!
For the thousands of people who died in the floods in the 24th year of Hongwu!
For the sake of your ambition to be an official and a government official!
For basic humanity!
Yu Xin dropped the iron and gritted his teeth and said, "Try every possible means to send him to the capital and hand him over to the emperor for punishment!"
After Tang Buping agreed, he asked: "Mr. Ge, although many things have not been investigated clearly, it has become a fact that King Zhou has problems. I would like to ask Mr. Ge to tell me whether it is necessary to send more security bureau personnel into Kaifeng."
Yu Xin waved his hand and said: "Only relying on Wang Wentao's confession can't bring down King Zhou at all. If King Zhou bites back and says that he has enmity with Wang Wentao, it is slander, how to deal with it? The most important thing at the moment is to find out more information. Multiple witnesses, physical evidence.”
Tang Buping stepped aside and said nothing more.
Kaifeng City has been sealed off for several days now, and the White Lotus cultist who killed Wang Han has still not been found, and the name of the middle-aged man captured by Xiong Wucheng has not been found so far.
People from the White Lotus Sect are more unfair than Tang
They were more tenacious than they imagined. There seemed to be a force and will in their bodies that supported them. Even after exhausting punishment, they did not reveal any secrets.
The investigation is bogged down and finding a breakthrough is not easy.
Tang Buping knew his position well. He could remind him, but he couldn't interfere. Yu Xin was the top decision-maker here, and the Security Bureau would follow his decision.
"How's the investigation going with Yuan Wu?"
Yu Xin walked out of the cellar and asked.
Tang Buping shook his head and said: "A flood destroyed everything. Even the original staff of Yuanwu County Yamen either stayed away from their hometowns incognito or died inexplicably. The Security Bureau secretly investigated for a long time and only found a few old Yuanwu people. "
Yu Xin frowned and said: "After all, you are investigating secretly, so there is a lot of inconvenience. Tomorrow, I will take the old boatman to Yuanwu to explore for myself."
"Will the old boatman come with you?"
Tang Buping was a little uneasy.
The power of the White Lotus Sect in Kaifeng cannot be underestimated. It was able to hide from the eyes of the Security Bureau and kill Wang Han in front of Xiong Wucheng, which shows that it not only has strength, but also has desperate madness.
In addition, the search after sealing the city still found nothing, which means that the White Lotus cultists have a safe stronghold in Kaifeng Mansion, or they have a very safe identity.
In this case, taking the only insider out of the government office and leaving the government office's protection is tantamount to exposing him to the outside world. Once the White Lotus Sect finds an opportunity, the old boatman will most likely follow in Wang Han's footsteps.
Yu Xin looked at Tang Buping and said seriously: "Fishing always requires bait."
"But……"
Tang Buping hesitated to speak.
For a fish to take the bait, it must eat the bait.
Could it be that Yu Xin was prepared to sacrifice the old boatman in order to find a flaw in the White Lotus Sect or King Zhou?
Yu Xin waved his hand, approached Tang Buping, and said slowly: "Nothing can happen to the old boatman, so we need to do this..."
Early the next morning.
Yu Xin bid farewell to King Zhou and ordered the lifting of the ban on Kaifeng. He took Kaifeng Magistrate Ren Yi, accompanying officials, old boatmen and others to inspect the place. He left Kaifeng City and walked westward along the Yellow River, passing by Taojiadian, Veterinary Port, and Yangqiao. Sunjia Ferry.
Standing at the Sun Family Ferry, Yu Xin pointed to the north bank of the Yellow River and asked Ren Yi, "If you go over here, is it Yuan Wu?"
Ren Yi's heart sank, and he replied: "Sir, this Sunjia Ferry is actually under the jurisdiction of the original Wu County. In the 24th year of Hongwu, the Yellow River burst its banks, right there in the Black Yang Mountain."
Yu Xin looked in the direction of Ren Yi's finger. It was said to be a mountain, but in fact it was a small hill, not obvious.
"Let's go and have a look."
Yu Xin did not cross the Yellow River directly north to Yuanwu County, but chose to go to Heiyang Mountain.
The embankment has been repaired, and there have been no major dangers here in recent years.
Yu Xin stood on Heiyang Mountain and looked to the south. Not far away was the Zhengshui River, which was connected to the Luohe River. To the west of the Zhengshui River was the Yingshui River. The Yellow River captured the Huaihe River. It was through these water flows that it poured into the Huaihe River. middle.
"Why did the embankment burst on the south bank, while Yuanwu County on the north bank also suffered heavy losses?"
Yu Xin asked expressionlessly.
Ren Yi shook his head and said: "There was a heavy rainstorm in the 24th year of Hongwu. The water in the Yellow River surged for a time. First, the dam broke on the south bank, but soon after, the embankment on the north bank also collapsed. While the water in the Yellow River was raging southward, It annexed Yuanwu and Yangwu, and spread to Xinxiang and other places."
Yu Xin glanced at Ren Yi coldly and asked: "I heard that in the nearby counties, some 50% to 60% of the people affected by the disaster died, and even 90% of the people were killed. Is this true?"
"Hey, it's true. Natural disasters are merciless."
Ren Yi replied bitterly.
Yu Xin changed his tone and said slowly: "I heard again that no matter it is Yuanwu, Yangwu, Zhengzhou, Xingyang, Mi County, Chenliu and other places, the government officials suffered only 10% loss due to such floods. , can it be true?”
Ren Yi was stunned for a moment, looked at Yu Xin's eyes and said, "This seems to be true."
Yu Xin asked with some doubts: "Prefect Ren, please answer me, why did the same disaster occur, and the common people did not survive, but the officials lost one out of ten? Could it be that when the Yellow River burst its banks, the flood Did it flow around the officials?"
"Eternal God Emperor"
Ren Yi's face changed slightly, and he said with a bit of embarrassment: "Mr. Ge, who can say for sure what happened during this disaster. Maybe the officials are more vigilant, but the common people are lax..."
Yu Xin said coldly: "Oh, the government is on high alert, so are their wives and children on high alert? It seems that the officials in Kaifeng Prefecture are so lucky that even the water of the Yellow River dare not invade. Mr. Jing, do you think we should give orders to the imperial court and stay in Kaifeng as a county magistrate? Anyway, we will be unscathed by the huge flood."
After hearing this, Jing Qing nodded solemnly and said, "It's a good idea to keep the whole family worry-free."
Ren Yi felt a little cold sweat on his forehead. He thought of something and said, "It's not all like that. There are only a few officials in Zhuxian Town who died..."
Yu Xin stomped on the embankment under his feet and said, "The officials of Zhuxian Town died because no one sent them letters or boats, right?"
Ren Yi stared at Yu Xin, tried to calm himself down, and said, "What do you mean, sir?"
Yu Xin sneered, turned and walked towards Sun's ferry, saying: "What do you mean? Haha, with boats, you can naturally face the flood calmly. Even if someone falls, they are only a few. Forget it, go to Yuanwu. "
Ren Yi followed, but his eyes were full of uneasiness.
It can be heard from Yu Xin's words that he seems to be hinting at something, or that he already knows about Wang Han's sending the boat.
But Wang Han is dead!
There is no proof, and as long as they don't admit it, there is nothing they can do.
"Old boatman, you are an old warrior. Tell the next prefect what you know."
As soon as the boat left the shore, Yu Xin said to the old boatman beside him.
The old boatman glanced at Ren Yi, and said with a gloomy expression: "Your Majesty, I am a craftsman from Yuanwu County. In the 24th year of Hongwu, the imperial court recruited a total of 30,000 craftsmen and migrant workers to strengthen the Yellow River dams in the Black Yangshan area... "
"That day when it rained heavily, I was ordered to patrol the embankment. I found the ferry was brightly lit, so I went to explore and found that there were more than 30 ships parked by the Yellow River. The person who sent the ship was Shi Wanghan, the governor of the Prince of Zhou's Palace, and the person who picked up the ship was , it was Cai Zhi, the former magistrate of Wuxian County at that time..."
"In the evening of that day, the county government officials arrived at the bank of the Yellow River. I even heard the children's voices. It was obvious that the government was moving the family members. And it was on that night that the dam completely collapsed under a roar. Yuan Wu is gone like this..."
Yu Xin looked at the heartbroken old boatman and said in a deep voice: "The family members entered the boat and the embankment broke. The timing was extremely precise..."
