The interrogation in front of the main hall of the Shizifu went smoothly.

A few big mouths went down, and the little hooligans quickly recruited. There was a guy who ran into the guards on the road and wanted to run, but he let a few guards who were angry in his heart catch up, and he didn't shout to stop, and directly hacked to death with a few knives, and stabbed him to the head. This blood-dripping head set an example for others. The little hooligans saw that the palace had really come, and they quickly coaxed. The scholar who was interrogated separately was stubborn for a few minutes, but before he could finish reciting the Da Ming Law, his body was stripped naked, and then he covered his lower body with his hands in the laughter of everyone and trembled. In less than half a stick of incense, the tip of the pen trembled and drew a crooked circle on his confession.

Zhu Pingjin smiled when he saw the confession, ordered the little hooligans and their confessions to be sent to the trial department, and then ordered Cao Sanbao to find a quiet room and lock up that Xiucai alone.

The local officials went to the palace on New Year's Day to worship the vassal king, which was not only the state system of the Ming Dynasty, but also a miniature version of the system of the monarch and the minister of the family and the country in the local area.

In the early morning of New Year's Day, when the sky was still slightly bright, Zhu Pingjin yawned and got up to change clothes at the urging of Cao Sanbao. Changing clothes was troublesome because he was wearing the ceremonial formal attire of the ceremony today. Gorgeous outfits such as middle singles, clothes, clothes, knee avoidance, big belts, jade pendants, big ribbons, etc., from the inside to the outside, from top to bottom, are worn one by one, and then the crown is put on the head. The outermost layer is covered with a green coat. Tsing Yi is embroidered with a fire pattern on each shoulder, and the cuffs are also embroidered with fire patterns, Chinese insects and other patterns. THE MIANLIU IS THE HIGHEST-RANKING HAT IN THE ROYAL DRESS. THE HAT IS COVERED WITH A PAULOWNIA WOOD (YAN) BOARD WITH A ROUND FRONT AND A BACK, PAINTED BLACK ON THE TOP AND RED ON THE BOTTOM. There are eight strings of jade beads hanging before and after the silk board, each string of jade beads is eight, divided into red, white, and cyan three, interspersed at intervals. As soon as his head moved, the crown shook back and forth, left and right, reminding the king that he must behave modestly and appropriately at all times.

Zhu Pingjin passed through the Piben (Note 1), which was passed when the thieves fled far away and the new governor of Sichuan, Liao Daheng, entered the palace to report the victory. Usually dressed is generally regular clothes, that is, casual clothes, there is not too much attention, and it is very convenient to put on and take off. Most of the scarves worn on the head are black yarn folded scarves, also known as the wing good crown. Today is New Year's Day, and unlike usual, I am wearing the most solemn royal dress - the crown dress. According to the etiquette system of the imperial court, the prince can only wear the crown dress on the birthday of the emperor, the crown prince, and his father, as well as when he salutes in the palace on the New Year's Day and the winter solstice.

The characteristic of the tiara is that every bit of difference shows the world your administrative level. For example, the crown dress that Zhu Pingjin is wearing today is a little lower than that of his father King Shu, there is no dragon pattern embroidered on his shoulders, there is one less string of beads hanging on the crown, and there are two less colors of beads. Compared with his uncle King Fushun, King Taiping and other two-character county kings, the level is a little higher: there is a bunch more on the crown.

Zhu Pingjin dressed neatly, boarded the elephant wheel, took the jade gui presented by Cao Sanbao and the congratulatory table to be read out today, surrounded by a large group of relatives and honor guards, detoured to get off outside the carrying gate of the palace, and then strode forward along the central corridor, passing through the hundreds of officials lined up according to grades on the square in front of the palace, until the high platform of the carrying hall. The aftermath of the bell of Chenshi has not dispersed, and the sharp voice of Chen En, the flattering eunuch of the Flattering Division of the Shu Palace, has sounded in real time outside the palace gate:

"The auspicious time has come! The prince leads the king of the county and the hundred officials to meet him! Played! ”

Zhengdan pilgrimage was completed, and the king of Shu gave a banquet to hundreds of officials, and they each dispersed for lunch, but the new governor Liao Daheng stood outside the palace and did not leave, waiting for Zhu Pingjin. Liao Daheng got the news last night, saying that it was a few ruffians and hooligans from the Huangcheng Dam, taking advantage of the large number of people to set off fireworks and take the opportunity to insult the people's daughters, and it turned out that one of the people's daughters was a good friend of the prince. After hearing about it, the prince led the troops to suppress it, and those ruffians and hooligans were not conspicuous, and directly collided with the prince, and the leader was killed on the spot by the prince, and the rest were captured in the palace, among which there was a showman. When Liao Daheng entered the palace in the morning, the fresh head of the hooligan leader was still hanging on the fireworks stand, and all the officials saw it and talked about it. Liao Daheng had just replaced Shao Jiechun, who had been arrested in Beijing, and commanded the Sichuan army to pursue the thieves who fled westward. Besides, he never wanted to have anything to do with the royal palace, but when it came to the security of the clan, he had to express his concern. In addition, that Xiucai is famous and has a student status, and he also wants to ask by the way, after all, he is a scholar. If there is no major crime, he will be released, and he will be ordered to learn the Tao and apply for a few words; If they are guilty, they will be stripped of their merits and handed over to the prosecutor for conviction and sentencing.

After the hundred officials sent the king of Shu away, Zhu Pingjian, who was the prince, was the first to walk out of the palace. Zhu Pingjin got Cao Sanbao's report, and after thinking about it, he asked Cao Sanbao to invite Liao Daheng to come. It stands to reason that although Zhu Pingjin is the prince of the family, he is the prince of the vassal state; And Liao Daheng's side is still a minister. When the two met, Liao Daheng had to pay homage to the monarch and ministers. But after all, Zhu Pingjin is much younger than Liao Tycoon, and he is a clan with almost zero power, and it is also recognized that the two are at the same level. From the perspective of respecting the imperial court or corporal Lixian, it is more appropriate for Zhu Pingjin to take the initiative to visit Liao Daheng. But Zhu Pingjin weighed the pros and cons of who took the initiative to pay homage, and decided to let Cao Sanbao bring Liao Daheng over.

Liao Tycoon came over. He was about fifty years old and very wealthy. He used to be a supervisor of the army, and when he was a thief into Sichuan, he also commanded the Sichuan army to fight a few battles, but he was mainly responsible for the supply of food and salary, and he was relatively capable among Sichuan officials. Liao Daheng came over to salute, and Zhu Pingjin hurriedly took a few steps forward to stop. The two exchanged two words, Liao Daheng took the lead in getting to the point, and Zhu Pingjin immediately responded.

"That thief is a great rebel! Dare to assassinate this son! A few guards around this prince were negligent in the battle formation, neglected their duties, and shrank away! Fortunately, Ben Shizi knew that the thief was very sinister. When the knife stabbed, Ben Shizi was already on guard, and quickly flashed sideways, so that he could avoid the fatal blow! There was a guard who had a good conscience, and when he saw this son shouting for escort, he finally stepped forward and stood in front of this son. Before the thief could stab him a second time, he killed the thief. It's so dangerous, it's just a little, it's just a little bit, otherwise this son won't be able to see Liao Gong today! It's not a pity for the son of this world to die, if the harmful Duke of Liao 'sits on the loss of his relatives', then the sin of this son will be great! Last night, when the son of the world returned to the house, he learned that the concubine was on the tower of the Duanli Gate City, and she came to enjoy the lanterns and scenery and have fun with the people, but who knew that she saw the scene of the son of the world in distress with her own eyes! The mother concubine was frightened, and she couldn't afford to get sick this morning......" Zhu Pingjin stood in front of Liao Daheng, and explained the one or two seconds of physical contact with the street ruffians, and spoke eloquently and eloquently, and pulled out the princess as a proof, and finally did not forget to scare the number one member in Sichuan in front of him.

Liao Tycoon was really taken aback. At first, the news he received was just that Shizi had a conflict with a few hooligans on the street for a woman, who knew it was so dangerous! And there is also the princess who saw it with her own eyes! He couldn't help but believe it. If there is a slight accident with this kid in front of him, then he, the governor of Sichuan, will be the end. There is no need for the prince to cry and complain, just the noise of the crows (imperial historians) in the court can make him fall to the ground and be imprisoned. Today's emperor is from a vassal background, attaches great importance to family affection, and has a good face, and is often moody for some trivial things. Since he ascended the throne, how many ministers have killed when they say they will kill, and they have not blinked their eyes. Maybe when the emperor is angry, he will be like his predecessor Shao Jiechun, who was arrested in Beijing and lost his head. Thinking of this, Liao Daheng couldn't help but stretch out a pair of fat hands, grabbed Zhu Pingjian's hands and shook them: "The son of the world is safe, the luck of the people, the luck of the real official, and the luck of the real court society!" ”

After saying this, Liao Daheng thought of the scholar again and decided to ask by the way. Without waiting for him to speak, Zhu Pingjin spoke again, "I never thought of it!" The assassin with the thief also has a showman! The royal court has already questioned the thieves' accomplices, and they have all confessed. It turns out that this showman is the real mastermind of this gang of thieves! The confession is complete! This son of the world would never have imagined that a dignified scholar would be such a traitor! ”

"I see! I don't know where Xiucai is now? Liao Daheng suddenly realized.

"I couldn't be tortured last night, but I swallowed my breath this morning. Carried out of the mass grave outside the city and threw it. ”

Liao Daheng did not speak. In his heart, he did not agree with Zhu Pingjian's way of dealing with it, living to see people, dead to see corpses, this is the Chinese's treatment of a person, not to mention that it is a talent, meritorious and famous, it is not good to deal with it in this way.

"What does Lord Liao think is wrong?" When Liao Daheng was napping, he heard Zhu Pingjin's dissatisfied voice.

After all, Liao Daheng is a member of the governor, and his head is turning fast. As the main culprit, Xiucai was involved in the assassination of his relatives, and he couldn't survive. Besides, that Xiucai has no relationship with him, and he just looks at the face of a scholar, and he just asks a question, so he doesn't need to be too serious. This assassination case only happened last night, and the palace must not have reported it to the imperial court, if the palace is angered now, and the chief historian neglects Chen, he will inevitably be implicated, at least he will be fined for a few months. Thinking of this, Liao Daheng immediately said bitterly: "Scholars read all sage books, where did the sage teach him to be so mad!" Such people are not as good as pigs and dogs, and it is better to die! This official immediately practiced literature and reformed his reputation! But the reason for this to lose fame ......"

Zhu Pingjin has worked in leading organs for more than 10 years, and he understands this without needing to point it out. Zhu Pingjin pondered for a moment before saying: "You can use the reason of 'mistaken banditry'. As for the gang infighting last night, one person was killed on the spot, and two died of serious injuries. ”

This is the way out given to Liao Tycoon. Liao Daheng was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly thanked him.

Only then did Zhu Pingjin say: "It just so happened that this son heard about something and wanted to ask Lord Liao to help me take a closer look." ”

When Liao Daheng heard this, he knew that the things to be exchanged were coming, so he was busy and didn't dare to consult in detail, so he asked the prince for instructions.

Zhu Pingjin said: "I heard that the caravan in Shuzhong crossed the ancient tea horse road, from Yazhou, to Tianquan and Lushan, all the way up the mountain and high roads, bandits infested, and the guards of the passes were extremely greedy, and ......the business travel was bitter."

Liao Daheng didn't rush to answer, he waited for Zhu Pingjin to finish speaking, especially asking to finish. At the same time, he quickly summarized the key information in Zhu Pingjin's words in his mind, and the key words "tea horse", "road", "bandits", and "guards" connected his thoughts one by one, and he thought that he had judged Zhu Pingjin's true thoughts.

Note 1: That is, leather dress, a high-level formal dress of the Ming Dynasty royal family.