Zhao Yongning entered the palace, and saw that the emperor was stretching out his arm and being served by several palace people to dress, he didn't dare to look up, so he hurriedly lowered his head, bowed to the ground and said: "Minister Zhao Yongning knocked to see the emperor, long live the emperor, long live, long live, long live." ”

Zhu Shiyang waved his hand and said, "Get up." I heard that yesterday's assassin trial has come to an end, what is going on?"

Zhao Yongning bowed his head and said: "Back to the emperor, yesterday the two assassins were escorted to the criminal department, and they were recruited before they passed the court, it turned out that they were all victims of Shanxi, because they couldn't survive and went into exile in the capital, and relied on their martial arts, they entered the palace and killed two guards, snatched their clothes and sabers, disguised themselves as palace guards, and waited for the opportunity to assassinate the emperor." ”

Lu Wenyuan was shocked when he heard it in the tent, and only said how this matter was related to the disaster in Shanxi. However, after thinking about it, I thought about it again, isn't this just a great opportunity for the emperor to understand the disaster? Fan Zhefu was able to deceive the emperor before, because the emperor had been in the deep palace for a long time and did not realize the severity of the disaster, so why not take this opportunity to let the emperor get to know him well. As soon as he thought of this, he hurriedly poked his head out of the tent and said: "Your Majesty, it is really bold and reckless for the victims to enter the palace to assassinate, and the crime is unforgivable, but from this, we can also get a glimpse of the severity of the disaster in Shanxi." I only ask the emperor to come forward as soon as possible to preside over the disaster relief and save the people of Li from the dire situation. ”

He spoke in a sonorous and earnest manner, but he did not realize that he was disheveled. Zhao Yongning's eyes were about to fall out, and he only said that the last time he saw him, he was still in Dongchang Prison, why did he run to the dragon bed now. looked at Lu Wenyuan and then at the emperor in a moment of disbelief, and kept guessing in his heart, and even forgot about the business at hand.

Seeing him in such a shape, Zhu Shiyang also guessed that he was thinking crookedly, so he quietly blocked in front of Lu Wenyuan, and coughed with a sinking face. Zhao Yongning came back to his senses and hurriedly lowered his head. Lu Wenyuan also knew that he had lost his shape, but he was unwilling to give up, and continued to play to Zhu Shiyang: "Your Majesty, the disaster in Shanxi cannot be delayed, and the emperor can no longer be deceived by Fan Zhefu. The emperor thought about it, as soon as the minister reported the disaster to the emperor, Fan Zhefu arrested the minister and put him in Dongchang Prison, which shows that he is eager to cover up, and the disaster in Shanxi has intensified, and he must have nothing to do with it. If the emperor wants to truly understand the disaster, he may wish to go to the criminal department for a hearing. The two Assassins were both victims of the disaster in Shanxi, so they naturally had a deep understanding of the disaster. ”

Zhao Yongning also said: "Your Majesty, what Lord Lu said is true. The disaster situation in Shanxi is not as simple as imagined, Weichen presided over the trial yesterday, and has a deep understanding that the emperor must not be deceived by Fan Zhefu and despise the disaster, it is better to be as Lord Lu said, and move to the criminal department for the first trial. ”

Zhu Shiyang saw that the two of them were sincere in their words and deeds, and their expressions were solemn, so he also paid attention to it, and thought that the two assassins drew their swords against each other yesterday, which was very rampant, and he was also angry in his heart, thought about it for a while, and finally said in a deep voice: "It's okay, you go to prepare, and I will go to hear the trial immediately." ”

The emperor drove out of the palace, and the previous dynasty was greatly shaken. Fan Zhefu was shocked when he got the news, and wanted to go to stop it, but how could he stop it, seeing the emperor's royal car go away, he could only sigh. Zhu Shiyang didn't let Lu Wenyuan accompany him, but he was afraid that his injuries would worsen, but he really couldn't resist him, so he had to ask Gui Xi to bring a piece of his own civilian clothes to put on with him and come to the criminal department together.

The hall of the criminal department is solemn and solemn, the two lines of tolerance are lined up on both sides with the punishment stick, the secretary of the criminal department and the left and right attendants of the criminal department have been waiting under the hall, seeing the arrival of the holy car, they immediately led everyone to bow and bow, chanting "Long live the emperor, long live, long live."

Zhu Shiyang sent them up. A screen has been set up behind the public case in the court, and Zhu Shiyang led Lu Wenyuan to walk behind him, sat down at the table, and ordered the trial to begin.

Everyone in the hall was in place, the criminal department Shangshu personally presided over the trial, the two waiters accompanied the left and right, the public hall was silent for a while, only to hear the criminal department Shangshu pat the hall in shock, and said in a deep voice: "Take the prisoner!"

The four men brought the two Assassins to the court, and there was a sound of shackles before they knelt down. Shangshu of the Criminal Department slapped the stunned wood again: "The prisoner under the court, dare to enter the palace to assassinate the current saint, what crime should he be!"

The two assassins had already been tortured, and they were so scarred that they could barely kneel, but when they heard this, they supported themselves and laughed sharply: "Joke, that dog emperor is mediocre and stubborn, abandoning the common people and ignoring the people, everyone will be punished, we are doing the right thing for heaven, what is the crime?"

Lu Wenyuan was shocked when he heard it behind the screen, and hurriedly looked at the emperor's face, seeing that his face sank and he didn't say a word, his eyebrows were slightly locked, and he didn't know what he meant.

Shangshu of the Criminal Department raised his eyebrows and said: "Bold fanatics, dare to speak disrespectfully, come here, give me a big punishment!" Someone in the middle of the two columns immediately responded, knocked down the two assassins left and right, and babbled and punished them.

The two Assassins were breathless, but they cursed themselves. Zhu Shiyang waited impatiently, signaled the criminal department to stop, and continued to inquire about the disaster in Shanxi.

Shangshu of the Criminal Department didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly ordered his hands to stop left and right, and then patted Tang Mu in shock, and asked: "The prisoner under the hall is originally from Shanxi, why did he wander into Beijing?"

One of the assassins said: "Shanxi has been plagued by insects and droughts, and the harvest in summer and autumn has failed, and my family members have starved to death. Relying on some martial arts, the two of us sneaked into the palace, killed two guards, took away clothes and swords, and waited for an opportunity to assassinate the emperor. When I bumped into him in the imperial garden that day, I hurriedly made a move, but God didn't bless me and was caught by you dog officials. ”

Shangshu of the Criminal Department heard that this person was a "dog emperor", but he was afraid that the emperor would be angry, so he hurriedly came to ask for instructions on whether to use torture, Zhu Shiyang only waved his hand and told him to continue asking.

Shang Shu of the Criminal Department then returned to the front of the hall and continued to ask, "What kind of process has the disaster in Shanxi reached?"

The assassin in the hall said hatefully: "The fields are barren, and the people are not able to make a living. Let's just say that there were originally more than 70 people in our village, but now they are dead and fleeing, and only a few are left. Many old people and children starved to death in the summer, and the rest braved the scorching sun to dig grass roots and gnaw tree bark in the mountains every day. But digging grass roots on the mountain, there are more people who gnaw the bark than grass roots and bark, and they dig up a fine light in a few days, and in the end they can only eat Guanyin soil to satisfy their hunger. That Guanyin is jerky and hard to swallow, once you eat it, it will accumulate in the stomach, there is no way out, it is tantamount to drinking water to quench your thirst, and in the end there are more people who die of swelling than those who starve to death, and the belly is bigger than watermelon!"

He burst into tears, and the listeners in the hall watched his mourning and listened to his mourning, and for a moment they could not change color. Lu Wenyuan was shocked, and the face of the Dark Shield Emperor was shocked, and he saw that his brows were tightly locked, and he already showed a contemplative look.

Then he heard the assassin continue: "After the autumn, almost all the families died, and when they saw that there was no hope for the autumn harvest, they all dragged their families out and fled. The two of us went all the way to Beijing, and along the way we were full of victims who were suffering from the same disease, and the voices of mourning were endless, some people fell down while walking, but the family did not even have a straw mat to wrap the corpse, so they could only throw the corpse on the side of the road, and it was ruined by flies and wild dogs. Later, more and more people could not support it, and sometimes the piles of corpses blocked the road and had to be burned to pass. ”

The more he spoke, the more sad and indignant he became, and finally he couldn't help crying bitterly: "The two of us have watched this miserable scene all the way, and the more angry we are with the unscrupulous king in the court. If he could have been a little wise, how could he let me and the people fall into this dire situation and ignore it. With such an emperor, we should leave him to do anything, it is better to kill him to avenge the people of his hometown, and leave that position to a virtuous person to sit!"

Zhu Shiyang clenched his fists when he heard this, and gritted a mouthful of silver teeth with a gurgling sound. As a companion, everyone didn't dare to come out for a while. After a long time, I heard him breathe a sigh of relief, temporarily suppressed his anger, stretched out his hand and knocked on the screen, and said in a deep voice: "You ask him, didn't the imperial court allocate silver and two for disaster relief in the summer, why didn't you receive it?"

After hearing this, the Shangshu of the Criminal Department hurriedly relayed these words, and heard the assassin sneer: "I received it, fourteen yuan per household." What can Shishiwen do? Buying a few steamed buns is not enough for the whole family to eat. What is the difference between being so perfunctory and teasing? It's better to save it up and buy a coffin for your emperor!"

Zhu Shiyang couldn't bear it anymore, "snapped" on the table, shook the teacups on it to the ground and smashed them, got up, strode around the front of the hall, pointed at the assassin and said angrily: "I obviously allocated two million taels for disaster relief, no matter how large the population of Shanxi Province is, how can there be only 14 Wen left in the hands of each household?"

The assassin was not afraid of Long Yan's anger at first glance, and said-for-tat: "You only know how to allocate silver for disaster relief, but you don't know that the court and the central government are full of corrupt officials? It's ridiculous that you sit in the court all day long, but you don't even know that such a traitor is in charge, I really don't know how you are the emperor!"

Zhu Shiyang was so angry that he trembled, raised his arms and pointed out of the hall, and said angrily: "Someone!

The executioner in the hall immediately responded. The two assassins were dragged out of the door, and at the same time, they scolded themselves endlessly: "Dog Emperor, can you kill the two of us and the thousands of people in Shanxi? Can you block the mouth of the two of us and the words and writings of the people in the world? Today we are going to be ghosts, and we have to open our eyes to see this Ming Dynasty defeated in your hands!"

The scolding continued, and blood was already splattered on the ground. When the two heads were presented to the hall, their eyes were really wide with rage, and the corners of their eyes were cracked, and they refused to close their eyes until they died.

Seeing this, the whole hall was discolored, and they knelt at the feet of the saint, not daring to say a word. The huge court of the criminal department was silent for a while, and only the sound of everyone's frightened breathing was heard.

After a while, Zhu Shiyang finally spoke slowly and said in a deep voice: "The matter of Shanxi, give me a thorough investigation!"