Faced with the knife found in his study, and Lu Jin's threatening questioning, Xie Bingxiao was speechless, so he could only stand there stunned and not say a word.

Seeing this, of course, Lu Zhen could torture him like he did against Xie Jingchang, but after changing his mind, he still suppressed this idea for the time being. Now that the initiative has fallen into the hands of the yamen, there is no need to cause more trouble and impose any punishments.

Moreover, this case has reached such a point that even if he has laid everything out in place, it is time for the prefect and the adults of the Criminal Division to come out and pick the fruits of victory. So after sending someone to take Xie Bingxiao into custody again, he himself rushed to see Hua Qianfeng with a sword.

In this matter, Hua Qianfeng did not come forward, and all the trial and related processes were handed over to Lu Jin, the general judge, to be responsible. He did this, naturally, for the sake of safety, after all, this time the yamen wanted to target the Xie family, and they didn't know when they would be able to find a tough backer and turn the case back.

Moreover, this incident was originally aimed at Lu Jin, and it was he who wanted to fight back to completely pull the Xie family into the water, since there is a certain risk in the matter, it is natural that he, who is a subordinate, will take the lead. If things change, Hua Qianfeng can still stand up and take everything into his own hands, just saying that Lu Zhen is hiding from himself is enough to ensure his own safety.

This is also the reason why Lu Zhen was able to smoothly command the people of the government to use it for his own use this time, and brought Xie Bingxiao, Chang Tianmo and others for interrogation. The prefect of Hua is willing to nod his head, and there are also exchange conditions.

Of course, Hua Qianfeng didn't completely ignore this case, what Lu Zhen did later, someone kept passing the news in. After learning that he had easily obtained the confessions of Chang Tianmo and Xie Jingchang, the Hua Governor's Mansion felt that the case was almost decided, and then it was up to him to see what evidence could be copied from the Xie family.

But he never imagined that when Lu Zhen brought this physical evidence, it would be a knife that made him tremble. Looking at this sharp blade hidden in the sheath that still seemed to have a slight chill emanating from it, and after listening to Lu Jin's explanation that this knife could only have been forged in the last two years, Hua Qianfeng was stunned for a long time.

In the end, he asked in a somewhat trembling voice: "What do you mean by Lu Tong's judgment, is this Xie family still having something to do with the Japanese people on the sea?" ”

"It's not that there is something to do with it, but there must be collusion with each other, and he is suspected of colluding with each other!" Lu Zhen immediately corrected: "My lord, this matter can be big or small, and it must be strictly investigated." ”

"No!" Unexpectedly, after hearing Lu Jin's words, Hua Qianfeng immediately denied it loudly. It wasn't until he said that he realized that his reaction was a little too aggressive, and an embarrassed smile appeared on his face.

Lu Jin looked at his boss in bewilderment, not understanding why his reaction was so big. Although the crime of complicating the Japanese is indeed not small, after all, it is different from the Zhengde and Jiajing dynasties a few decades later, although the Japanese have always disturbed the coastal defense, but the imperial court has not taken them too seriously.

"Lu Tong sentenced, this matter must not be investigated deeply, and it must not even be publicized at will, otherwise Hangzhou City may really cause some chaos." Hua Qianfeng stared at him with a serious expression, and his tone was unprecedentedly solemn: "You rush to the Xie family, bring everyone back, and tell those who know that this matter must not be spread out indiscriminately!" ”

"Why is that?" Lu Zhen frowned. It was not easy for him to catch the evidence of the Xie family's crimes, and there were enough reasons to detain the guilty charges on their heads, and now the Hua Governor's Mansion was about to erase all this with a word, and it was really difficult for him to accept such a result: "If this is the case, the Xie family's crimes will not be easy to say." ”

Hua Qianfeng then turned his mind. Indeed, Lu Jin's main concern now is to condemn the Xie family, because if he convicts them this time, then his life will not be easy in the future. Obviously, if he can't give him a satisfactory explanation, it is very unrealistic to want Lu Jin, an insider, to obey his fate.

Hua Qianfeng, who understood this, finally stood up after a little groaning: "That's it, let the official go and talk to Xie Bingxiao, let him bear the charge like this." ”

"Huh?" Lu Zhen was stunned again, Hua Qianfeng actually had such a ability, so that Xie Bingxiao could bear the charge like this?

Hua Qianfeng glanced at Lu Zhen deeply: "But the case is a case, you still have to keep the matter of Tongwei for me, and you must not spread it to the outside world." Go ahead! ”

Seeing that he said this, Lu Zhen had no choice but to agree, but the doubts in his heart did not dissipate, but became more and more intense. What exactly is he afraid of? Also, looking at Hua Qianfeng's expression when he spoke, it was obvious that he was very sure that Xie Bingxiao would confess his guilt, where did he get the confidence?

Lu Zhen thought about this question all the way, and only after arriving at the Xie family, passing on the orders of the prefect, and taking people to escort the Xie family back to the mansion, did he find the answer in a conversation with Qinggele.

"Adults, small ones may be able to think of the reason." After only a few of his cronies remained, Lu Zhen expressed his confusion, and Qinggel said such a sentence after contemplation.

"Oh? Tell me about it. Lu Zhen immediately shook his spirits, and Lin Lie and the others even pricked up their ears and looked like they were being taught.

"Actually, this matter is not on the Wako, although my Ming and the Wa people have fought from time to time, they do not hate them as much as they do with the White Lotus Sect. The problem of the matter is only in the position where the Japanese are now. Qingle explained slowly after sorting out his thoughts.

The others didn't react when they heard it, but Lu Zhen was finally moved: "You mean, the sea is forbidden!" ”

As soon as the words came out, the previous doubts were finally solved, and Lu Zhen could understand why Hua Qianfeng was so anxious, and he also knew why the other party was sure to persuade Xie Bingxiao to admit the crime. All this is because of the word sea ban!

In the history of more than 200 years, the Ming Dynasty has always been forbidden to the sea, or to say that it is forbidden for people to go to sea for trade. It was only during the Yongle Dynasty that the imperial court, for some political reasons, sent fleets to the sea several times to the Western Ocean, or the countries that later became known as the South Seas.

However, at the beginning of the Xuande Dynasty, even the official almost cut off the idea of going to sea, and the ban on the sea became more and more severe, and sometimes even ordinary fishermen who wanted to go to the sea to catch some fish and shrimp were guilty of breaking the law and were condemned to death.

However, just like other decrees made during the time of Taizu, in today's orthodox years, the law of banning the sea has gradually been abolished, especially in the coastal provinces - Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and other places, in order to seek greater benefits, the rich merchants of the people have been secretly organizing fleets and began to send local products overseas in exchange for a large amount of gold and silver.

It is precisely because of this road to wealth that the southeastern provinces can get rich quickly and become the richest places in the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, relying only on the silk and grain here, and with the taxes of these provinces that are much higher than those of the northern provinces, I am afraid that the life of the people will be very difficult.

What is even more unspeakable is that not only are the common people in the southeastern provinces engaged in illegal smuggling, but many officials have not only turned a blind eye to this matter, but have even taken a foot in these lucrative businesses. In a sense, in this matter, those wealthy merchants and local officials are completely one, just hiding from those people in the court.

The Xie family obviously got this knife when they went to sea to smuggle, and it is obvious that he is not the only one in Hangzhou who is doing such a thing, and Hua Qianfeng and other officials must also play an important role in it. Once Lu Jinzhen exposed this matter, it would be easy for a discerning person to link the matter of the Tongwei and the forbidden sea, and then the imperial court would send someone over to investigate......

I'm afraid that many people in Hangzhou will fall to the ground because of this, and their families will be ruined. And the fate of those officials must be very unbearable, the dismissal of officials is the lightest, and it is not impossible to lose their lives with them, and even the whole family will be implicated.

That's why Hua Qianfeng said that this would lead to chaos in Hangzhou, but he really wasn't alarmist. Even Lu Zhen felt a little scared after thinking about all this.

He has always thought that the ban on the sea is the most stupid decision among the many national policies of the Ming Dynasty, which is completely guarding the cornucopia and asking for food. Therefore, although he felt that these people were only seeking personal gain, he did not expose their intentions.

Fortunately, Hua Qianfeng saw the problem in time and stopped his further actions, otherwise it would be really difficult to clean up. Now, since the Xie family's crime is convicted, he will naturally not have any more incidents.

"My lord, you really don't want to dig into this?" When Qingler learned of his intentions, he asked a little strangely.

Lu Jin understood that he was different from himself in terms of concept as a Jinyiwei, but he still said with a straight face: "This kind of thing involves too many people, so it's better not to pursue it again." Anyway, for us, it's a good result. ”

Since Lu Zhen has said so, it is not easy for Qinggele, who is not even a Jinyi Guard, to insist on it now. As for Lin Lie and the others, they naturally have no objections to this.

Not long after Lu Zhen made this decision, the Hua Governor's Mansion, who had secretly met Xie Bingxiao and had been talking with him for a long time, also came out, and he had successfully persuaded the head of the Xie family to take all the blame on himself, which was the only way to protect the rest of the Xie family.

In this regard, the turmoil caused by the small contradictions and the jealousy of the Qinglou finally had a result, the Xie family completely failed, and Lu Jin's tough attitude and methods also shocked the entire Hangzhou and even Zhejiang officialdom.

It's just that the matter didn't end because of this, because even Hua Qianfeng didn't know that the Xie family still had a huge secret outside the Xie family......