Mid-October.

Although Empress Li has clarified the rumors in the market that she is going to be transferred from the Donglin Party Spokesperson, the tense atmosphere in the capital has not improved in the slightest, and it has become more and more dull and depressing.

The Donglin Party and the Qichu and Zhejiang parties appeared to be living in peace on the surface and were not alarmed, but in fact they were already turbulent, and they were secretly accumulating strength one after another, and they were vigorously wooing the officials of the small and medium-sized factions to prepare for the upcoming decisive battle.

Li Hongyu was very insightful about everything that happened in the capital, and as a member of the Chu Party, he naturally couldn't stay out of the matter, and secretly participated in the secret meeting of the Chu Party to discuss the next direction of the Chu Party.

Speaking of which, the position of the Chu Party in the officialdom is very special, although it is a member of the three-party alliance of Qi, Chu and Zhejiang, but it also has a close friendship with the Donglin Party, many officials of the Donglin Party are from Huguang, and the most famous person is Yang Lian.

More than a year ago, Li Hongyu was only a rising star in the Chu Party, and he had to look up to the three major party leaders of the Chu Party, Hu Ke Du to the Zhongguan Ying Zhen, the Military Department to Wu Liangsi, and the right Du Yu Shi Huang Yanshi.

Today, the situation has been reversed, Li Hongyu can be said to be the only one in the Chu Party who is a lonely minister, and Xiong Tingbi, who is in charge of the military and political power in Liaodong, are known as the two mainstays of the Chu Party, and their words and deeds are enough to influence the policies and strategies formulated by the Chu Party.

However, Li Hongyu has self-knowledge, he has jumped too fast in recent years, although he is in a high position, his qualifications in the officialdom are not as good as Wu Liangsi and others, so he behaves very low-key when the Chu Party gathers, and quietly listens to the thoughts of Wu Liangsi and others.

There is also Zhao Xin who is in the same situation as Li Hongyu, although Zhao Xin is not a Tuogu assistant minister, but he is a dignified scholar of Youchunfang, one of Zhu Youxiao's most trusted people, and having this relationship is more important than anything else.

After all, the outcome of the party struggle depends on the emperor's attitude, as long as Zhao Xin has been favored by Zhu Youxiao, then the Qi Party will have a chance to make a comeback, just like Emperor Taichang promoted and relied on the Donglin Party.

Zhao Xin and Li Hongyu have the same troubles in the officialdom, that is, they have shallow qualifications, and they should not only look at ability but also value seniority in the officialdom of seniority.

Mu Xiu is in the truth that Lin Feng must destroy Li Hongyu and Zhao Xin are very clear that if they don't have enough qualifications and are too active, they will break the rules of officialdom, and they will inevitably be unanimously resisted and isolated by officialdom officials, which is not something that the two want to see.

But then again, it is precisely because of Li Hongyu's shallow qualifications and his desire to investigate Li Kezhuo's case that he only participated in important gatherings of the Chu Party, and was not as busy every day as Wu Liangsi and others.

As Emperor Taichang's designated assistant minister, Li Hongyu naturally wanted to go to the Guande Hall to guard the spirit of Emperor Taichang, but he would not stay in the Guande Hall all the time like Emperor Wanli when he died, but took turns on duty with the Tuogu auxiliary ministers, so that he would have time to deal with Li Kezhuo's case.

Empress Li and the important ministers of the court were very concerned about Li Kezhuo's case, especially the progress of Empress Li's several summons of Li Hongyu to the Qianqing Palace to inquire about the progress of the case.

In the face of Empress Li's questioning, Li Hongyu was not easy to prevaricate, and told what he found locally, but he did not say that he suspected that Shenxian San was the culprit who caused Emperor Taichang's sudden death, because he still had an important witness to verify his speculation.

On this day, when Li Hongyu was guarding the spirit of Emperor Taichang in Jingshan Guande Palace, he suddenly received a report from Liu Han, the envoy of Fusi in Jinyi Weibei Town, that the wandering Fang Shi had been escorted back to the capital and was imprisoned in the edict of Fusi in Jinyi Weibei Town.

According to a report from a Jinyi Wei Baihu who was in charge of the pursuit, the men and horses they were chasing along the way found traces of the wandering monks in Hejian Mansion south of Beizhili, so they arrested the wandering monks who were ready to continue south.

Speaking of which, this wandering Fang almost slipped away from the eyes of the pursuing Jinyi Guard, and in order to hide his identity, he actually changed into ordinary people's clothes on the way to escape.

It's a pity that although he changed his costume because he was a foreigner, he was still targeted by the pursuing Jinyi Guard, and as a result, the Taoist priest's crown robe and Du Mu were found from the baggage he carried, and his identity was revealed.

After learning that the wandering monk was arrested, Li Hongyu's spirits were lifted, and it was obvious that there was something wrong with the wandering monk, otherwise he would not have rushed south and would have changed his clothes.

Therefore, as soon as the duty of the Guande Hall was over, Li Hongyu immediately set off to rush to Fusi in Jinyi Weibei Town, wanting to meet the wandering monk, and he might be able to get what he wanted from this wandering monk.

"My lord, this is the salute he carries with him." When he arrived at Fusi in Jinyi Weibei Town, Li Hongyu was led into a side room by Liu Han, and pointed to the clothes and other items neatly placed on the table.

The wandering alchemist's belongings had been sorted into categories, and were laid out on the table in piles of clothes, books, and so on.

Li Hongyu was not interested in other things, so he walked quickly to the table with books and papers, picked up the books and papers and flipped through them.

Soon, a smile appeared on Li Hongyu's face, half of those books and papers were related to refining pills, which meant that this wandering monk must know the art of alchemy.

According to common sense, this wandering monk who lives all over the world will definitely have alchemy equipment, so that he can sell all the way to the elixir, and the ancient people trusted these elixirs very much, thinking that they were good medicines for curing diseases.

However, this wandering alchemist did not have any tools for refining pills in his belongings, and there were books on refining elixirs but no utensils, which was obviously unreasonable.

According to the testimony of the reported little Taoist priest, as well as the investigation of the Fusi of Jinyi Weibei Town afterwards, this wandering monk went into the city to sell pills when he placed orders in the Taoist temple, so as to raise money on the road.

"My lord, this official has seen that Fang Shi, he looks like a timid and afraid person, as long as he is taken into the torture room, he will definitely pour beans into the bamboo tube to reveal the truth and the plate."

Seeing that Li Hongyu attached great importance to those books on refining pills, Liu Han, who was standing on the side, couldn't help but whisper a suggestion, he had seen the wandering alchemist, who was so frightened that he peed his pants when he was brought to prison, his legs were weak, his face was pale, and he was dragged into prison by two sergeants.

Therefore, it is easier to deal with a timid person like this, as long as he drags into the torture chamber and swings those bloody torture instruments in front of his eyes, he will definitely be so frightened that he will say everything.

"The things he was involved in are extraordinary, and if you decide to resist stubbornly, then I'm afraid it will be difficult to knock him on the back in the future." Li Hongyu groaned for a moment when he heard this, then shook his head and rejected Liu Han's proposal.

Although it seems that Liu Han's method is good, it is based on the premise that the wandering Fang Shi was frightened by those torture instruments.

In Li Hongyu's view, the reason why torture instruments are terrible is that they will give strong psychological pressure to the tortured person, which will make the victim's psychological defense line collapse.

However, once the victim is punished, the psychological pressure on the victim will be reduced and replaced by physical pain, so that the deterrent effect will be much reduced.

That wandering alchemist is indeed cowardly, and it is precisely because this is likely to produce another extreme, that is, his determination to resist to the end, so that he will have a way to live.

Otherwise, if he admits that it is related to the "elixir" offered by Li Kezhuo, then he will inevitably be regarded as Li Kezhuo's accomplice, and he will inevitably be accused of being beheaded.

Therefore, Li Hongyu was unwilling to intimidate the wandering monk from the beginning, which was a method that was used in desperation.

At this stage, Li Hongyu wants to start with the psychological defense line of the wandering Fang Shi and find a way to defeat his psychological defense line in one fell swoop, so that he can get what he wants without using torture, and the scene will be better when he reports the case to Empress Li and the important ministers of the court in the future, and the bloody scene is not the situation that Li Hongyu wants to see.

"Your Excellency already has an idea?"

Liu Han saw that Li Hongyu did not approve of intimidating the wandering alchemist, so he asked with great interest, he had already heard that Li Hongyu was very good at trialing, so he wanted to see how Li Hongyu could pry open the mouth of the wandering alchemist.

"This official wants to be promoted to the court to try the case!"

Li Hongyu bowed his head slightly when he heard this, and after a little groaning, he commanded Liu Han in a deep voice that he wanted to break down the psychological defense line of the wandering monk in one fell swoop, and then find out the ins and outs of Li Kezhuo's case, and end this matter.

Soon after, the trial hall of the Fusi Division in Jinyi Weibei Town.

The two sides of the hall were full of soldiers dressed in brocade clothes, and unlike the rest of the yamen, they did not hold the water and fire sticks used for execution, and their right hands pressed on the handle of the embroidered spring knife hanging on their waists, all of them were expressionless and looked cold.

Cane punishment is a standard punishment configuration in other yamen, and more often it is to punish the person who commits the crime, but it is different in the Fusi of Jinyi Weibei Town, the people who can enter here are all guilty of the imperial case, but they will not hit the board without pain, once the punishment is the kind that will never be forgotten.

Li Hongyu sat behind the desk in the lobby, sipping tea slowly, and Liu Han was judging in the lower right seat in front of the hall, looking at the entrance of the lobby quietly.

Soon, there was a sound of shackles outside the door, and a middle-aged man with a somewhat thin figure in handcuffs and leg irons was escorted in by several soldiers.

"The villain knocks on the adult." The emaciated middle-aged man was the wandering Fangshi, who came to the front of the hall and knelt down to Li Hongyu who was drinking tea, secretly guessing Li Hongyu's identity, and intuitively felt that Li Hongyu seemed to be too young.

"This official asks you, do you know Li Kezhuo, the temple of Honglu Temple?" Hearing this, Li Hongyu put down the teacup in his hand, stared at the emaciated middle-aged man expressionlessly and asked.

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