Zheng Guotai's hasty self-defense, like a target card raised, immediately attracted the fierce attack of the Taiyuan officials, the officials of the Donglin Party are of course the main force of the attack, in addition to the Zhejiang Party, the Qi Party, the Xuan Party, and the Chu Party also have officials to criticize Zheng Guotai, the three parties are not monolithic, under the strong pressure of public opinion, they are still eager to clear their own, these officials know through this case that the status of the prince is difficult to shake, and now the Wanli Emperor is old and sick, and when will he not take advantage of this case to express his support for the prince?

Only Liu Tingyuan, the leader of the Zhejiang Party, still held his position, and he wrote a quite powerful rebuttal, starting from the inconsistency of the confession of the criminal Zhang Cha, Zhang Cha first confessed that the firewood and grass were burned by Li Wancang and Li Ziqiang in his hometown, because the two internal officials of Pang Bao and Liu Cheng were the backers, and Zhang Cha was detained after failing to sue in the local area, so he came to Beijing in a crazy way, which is consistent with the investigation reported by Qi Yanling, the governor of Jizhou, from this confession, Er Li, Pang and Liu are Zhang Cha's enemies, But Zhang Cha's later confession suddenly retracted his confession and said that Er Li recommended him to Pang and Liu, which was clearly intended to frame and involve his enemies in the big case, Liu Tingyuan thought that Zhang Cha's retraction of his confession was instigated by Wang Zhihuan, the head of the Criminal Department, and demanded that Zhang Cha be punished and review Wang Zhihuan-

Liu Tingyuan's rebuttal can be said to be relatively sharp, but Zheng Guotai couldn't hold his breath and jumped out to defend himself, which became the target of public criticism, and Liu Tingyuan's recital was not paid attention to, and Liu Tingyuan failed to explain why Zhang Cha was a crazy person who could easily break into Ciqing Palace, so the Zhejiang party officials who presided over the preliminary trial and the retrial fell into an extremely embarrassing situation, and were scolded by the people in Beijing, Liu Tingyuan, Hu Shixiang and others must take action and fight back, otherwise it will be difficult for them to gain a foothold in Beijing-

On the evening of the second day of the first month of June, Hu Shixiang in the Criminal Department and Zou Shaoguang, the chief officer on duty, interrogated Zhang Cha, since Wang Zhihuan could interrogate Zhang Cha secretly, why couldn't Hu Shixiang, who was the chief judge of the attack case, order the prison director Zou Shaoguang to put Zhang Cha on an eighty-pound wooden flail and stand on trial, not allowed to sit down or lie down, otherwise he would be beaten with bamboo wattles, but there was fragrant rice and stew on the side, as long as Zhang Cha confessed truthfully, he would be unflailed and let him eat and eat meat-

Standing on the shoulder and neck wearing an eighty-pound wooden flail to stand for trial, it was a hot day in June, and in less than two moments, Zhang Cha was sweating profusely, and was detained in the prison of the Criminal Department for half a month, and was tried and tortured twice for three days, his body was already weak, and he shouted weakly: "Take off the flail first, and the villain will confess after unloading the flail." ”

Hu Shixiang was shocked and shouted: "Quickly confess, how did Wang Zhihuan instigate you to retract your confession." ”

Zhang Cha carried the wooden flail and trembled his legs, and said with difficulty: "Unload the flail first, let me eat a piece of meat, and I will confess." ”

Zou Shaoguang, the head of the prison, called a jailer over and whispered a few words, and the jailer used chopsticks to hold a piece of oily fat and stretched it out to Zhang Cha's mouth, Zhang Cha opened his mouth to greet him, but the jailer moved the fat to the other side, so anxious that Zhang Cha turned his neck and shouted: "Don't move, don't move-"

The fat at the end of the chopsticks really froze, Zhang Cha looked at it, stretched his neck and bit it, thinking that this time he had bitten it right, but the jailer's arm shrank, and he made a "rattle" sound, and the upper teeth bit the lower teeth-

The jailer held the piece of fat in his pocket, squinted at the sometimes crazy and sometimes sober prisoner, and said, "Hurry up and answer the old man's questions truthfully, so that you can have meat to eat." ”

I couldn't eat it, it was uncomfortable, Zhang Cha swallowed his saliva and asked, "Did Li Wancang and Li Ziqiang arrest the two of them?" ”

When Hu Shixiang immediately noticed that there was a hidden meaning in this remark, he asked: "You can tell me how the two of them oppressed you." ”

Zhang Cha sat on the ground and shouted, "I don't say it, I just want to eat meat." ”

"Stand up and talk back!"

Two long bamboo strips, one on the left and one on the right, immediately struck down, Zhang Cha couldn't bear the pain, reluctantly stood up again, and said angrily to Hu Shixiang and the others in the hall: "You all refuse to avenge me, I just don't fight to the death." ”

Hu Shixiang slowed down and said: "Zhang Cha, you told me how Li Wancang and Li Wanqiang bullied you, how you wanted to take revenge, and how you wanted to redress your grievances, and this official will be the master of your grievances." ”

The wooden flail became heavier and heavier, Zhang Cha staggered for a moment, and said steadily: "Arrest the two of them and interrogate them with me, one trial-" Suddenly squatted down and shouted: "My stomach hurts so much!" ”

This offender is really cunning, and Hu Shixiang said angrily: "Left and right, ask him again at the twenty of the bamboo flap." ”

Before the bamboo strip was drawn, Zhang Cha had already rolled to the ground, rolled a few times, his legs gradually straightened, and he was motionless even if the bamboo strip "snapped" and volleyed on his body.

An old official on the side saw that the prisoner did not look right, and hurriedly stopped the jailer from continuing to take a closer look, but saw that the corner of Zhang Cha's mouth was bleeding, and his face was pale. ”

"Ahh Hu Shixiang and Zou Shaoguang were shocked, and when they went down to the hall together, Zhang Cha had no heartbeat or breathing, and died upright.

Zou Shaoguang exclaimed: "The eighty-pound flail has only been worn for half an hour, and the bamboo flap is only more than ten times, so how can it not cause him to die." ”

The death of a prisoner was tortured in court, this crime is not small, and if it is an ordinary prisoner, it is just that, but this Zhang Cha is the key criminal in the attack case, and he died suddenly, and the government and the opposition will definitely suspect that Hu Shixiang and others deliberately destroyed the witness-

The lights in the prison hall were gloomy, and the officials on the side did not dare to make a sound, and after a while, Hu Shixiang said: "It is said that the old man came to the autopsy, and now it is said that none of the officials present are allowed to leave." "On the one hand, he urgently ordered the servant to invite Li Jun, the secretary of the Criminal Department, to arrive.

At the end of the day, Li Wei rushed to the criminal department, and at this time, the two servants had also completed the autopsy, and the prisoner Zhang Cha was not poisoned, but died of a ruptured spleen.

Li Jun stared at Hu Shixiang and sneered: "Hu Langzhong, you killed the criminal, but you called the old man to bear the responsibility for you, right?" ”

Hu Shixiang's face turned purple in a hurry, and he said: "Li Shangshu, the lower officials did not use heavy punishment on the criminal, and when he was wearing the flail for only two moments, the prisoner suddenly died, which is really strange." ”

Li Wei is also a figure in the Zhejiang Party, shook his head and said: "Zheng Guotai is in a hurry to defend himself, and you are in a hurry to interrogate the criminals, and now you can't clean it up, and you will be defeated." ”

Hu Shixiang said: "No matter how confused the lower officials are, they will not kill this prisoner, this prisoner's death is really bizarre!" ”

Li Wei sighed: "But now that the person is dead, how can you explain to the emperor and the hundred officials!" ”

Hu Shixiang's heart was on fire, his lips were dry, and he asked the two men: "How can a good prisoner rupture his spleen and die?" ”

One of the old men said: "If you go back to your lordship, this prisoner should have had a secret injury a long time ago, and then it happened." ”

Another slightly younger man said: "The villain heard that Songjiang has a master of fighting, they beat people or chest, abdomen, waist and back, so that the beaten person can die of injury after three months or half a year, this prisoner may have been beaten like this, and now he is wearing a heavy flail and his body is unbearable, and the gods can't save him." ”

Li Wei, Hu Shixiang, and Zou Shaoguang looked at each other, if what they said was true, then they had completely stepped into the trap that the opponent had carefully arranged this time, and they had fallen into it, unable to defend themselves, unable to break free, and could only be at the mercy of others.

On the summer night of June, Hu Shixiang and Zou Shaoguang were in a cold sweat.

……

The news came out, the officials were in an uproar, and they condemned Hu Shixiang and Zou Shaoguang, and public opinion in Beijing generally believed that it was Liu Tingyuan, Hu Shixiang and the Zheng family who tried in vain to cover up the truth, so they first had to deal with the prisoner as crazy, and if it didn't work, they would simply kill the prisoner, so that there was no evidence for their death, and they were not afraid of being involved in the mastermind behind the scenes, of course, some people thought that Liu Tingyuan, Hu Shixiang and others would not be so stupid, and they tried the case and killed the prisoner themselves, which is too blatant, maybe there is another hidden story, But then again, the prisoner did die when Hu Shixiang and others were interrogated, maybe Hu Shixiang was angry and did something stupid for a while, who can say clearly?

Public opinion outside the palace was in an uproar, and the deep palace was naturally affected, and Zhang Wenda, the right capital of the Imperial Procuratorate, asked Emperor Wanli to let the internal officials Pang Bao and Liu Cheng go to the criminal department for torture, and now the main culprit Zhang Cha is dead, only the four people from Jizhou, Li Wancang, Li Ziqiang, Pang Bao and Liu Cheng, who confessed from Zhang Cha, continue to investigate, and the second Li is about to be escorted to Beijing, Pang Bao and Liu Cheng begged to save their lives in front of Zheng Guifei-

Zheng Guifei has been quiet and very calm since the attack occurred, only once mentioned in front of Emperor Wanli that this attack case is exactly the same as three years ago when the king of Jinyi Wei Baihu falsely accused her of instructing the demon to curse the East Palace, and Emperor Wanli comforted: "I know about you, let them make trouble, I just ignore it." ”

Zheng Guifei is fifty-one years old this year, no matter how beautiful she was when she was young, she was also crippled at this time, but the Wanli Emperor favored her undecidedly, it can be seen that Zheng Guifei is very charming and means, but Zheng Guotai was negligent and attracted the attack of the ministers, and the criminal Zhang Cha suddenly died violently, and the foreign officials asked Pang Bao and Liu Cheng to go out of the palace to be tried, Zheng Guifei finally couldn't sit still, on the morning of the fourth day of the sixth month, Zheng Guifei went to Qixiang Palace to cry to the Wanli Emperor, since the attack case, the Wanli Emperor was also under strong pressure from the ministers of the foreign court, At this time, seeing Concubine Zheng worshipping under his knees and crying, he said: "Ah Xiu, you explain this matter to your brother in person, as long as your brother tells the courtiers that this matter has nothing to do with you, then I will end the case." He immediately ordered the eunuchs around him to go to Ciqing Palace to pass on the prince to see him here.

The crown prince Zhu Changluo received the official message of the Wanli Emperor in the Qixiang Palace, and immediately changed his clothes and prepared to visit his father. ”

Wang An is well aware of the development of the case of the attack on the outer court, and knows that Zheng Guifei finally can't pretend to be nothing, this must be Zheng Guifei crying and defending herself in front of the emperor, and the emperor asked the prince to go and let the two explain clearly in person-

Zhu Changluo listened to Wang An's analysis, nodded, and asked again: "If Concubine Zheng explains to me, how should I respond?" ”

Wang An said: "Chitose Master, do you still remember the words of Mr. Liu, the lecturer, who comforted Chitose Ye?" ”

Zhu Changluo thought for a moment, nodded and said, "I understand." Then he and Wang An followed the internal official who passed on the emperor's dictation to Qixiang Palace.

Mr. Liu, the lecturer that Wang An said, refers to Liu Yuening, a native of Jiangxi who was the right Zhongyun of the James Mansion at that time, when Zhu Changluo had not yet been canonized as the crown prince, under the repeated urging of the officials, the Wanli Emperor agreed to the thirteen-year-old Zhu Changluo to go out of the pavilion to study, Liu Yuening is one of the speakers, because the emperor does not pay attention to the emperor's eldest son to study in the cabinet, and the treatment of the lecturers in the palace is also very poor. In this regard, the eldest son of the emperor Zhu Changluo felt very ashamed, the young man is the most face-saving time, and he can't help but complain, Liu Yuening comforted on the side, hoping that the eldest son of the emperor will rely on benevolence and filial piety, Zhu Changluo is very smart, and he also understands his own situation.

On the way, Wang An said in a low voice: "The Chitose Lord can ask the Lord Banzai to continue to go out of the pavilion to listen to the lectures, and be close to the ministers, and the eldest grandson of the emperor is also twelve years old this year, and it is long overdue to officially go out of the pavilion to study. ”

Zhu Changluo nodded, he was so frightened and wronged in this attack case, he should be compensated.

When she arrived at the apse of Qixiang Palace, when Concubine Zheng saw the prince Zhu Changluo coming in, she immediately knelt down and cried: "Brother, why did I ever want to harm you, I grew up watching my brother, if I am the mastermind of this case, I will not die a good death-"

When Zhu Changluo saw Concubine Zheng kneeling down to him, he was so frightened that he quickly knelt down, and said repeatedly: "My son will never dare to doubt my mother, and the foreign ministers will talk about it, but my son will not believe it." ”

Emperor Wanli originally had a straight face, but when he heard Zhu Changluo say this, he suddenly became happy, and asked the people in the left and right palaces to help Zheng Guifei and the prince up, give them a seat, and said to Zhu Changluo: "Brother still understands in his heart that the foreign ministers are arguing about this matter for their own selfish interests, which makes me extremely annoyed, so how should my brother end this case?" ”

Zhu Changluo said cautiously: "Originally, it was enough to just ask Zhang Cha, but when my son heard that Zhang Cha was dead, he confessed to four people, so he asked those four people, and the rest did not need to be involved." ”

When Zheng Guifei heard that she was going to ask Pang Bao and Liu Cheng, she was immediately anxious, who knew that these two people would be instigated by those foreign officials to say anything unfavorable to her, and they were about to argue, Emperor Wanli said in an indisputable tone: "Brother is right, just do what Brother says." He asked Zhu Changluo again: "Brother was frightened this time, I want to give you some compensation, you say, what do you want?" Let's see if Zhu Changluo will make some excessive requests, but hearing that Zhu Changluo just asked to go out of the cabinet to study with the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Youxiao, Emperor Wanli was quite satisfied with his son's attitude, and said: "I am all up to you, I Ming said that I will summon the ministers in your Ciqing Palace and settle the case on the spot, so as not to quarrel with the court, what does my brother think?" ”

Zhu Changluo said: "The father is wise, and it is also the son's wish to close the case as soon as possible." ”

(To be continued)