The prison of the Criminal Department that the common people know is all heard, but in fact, not many people have actually come here. Because this is not for ordinary people to enter, even if you are an official, you can't enter or leave here casually. At that time, the capital was a place with a fairly strict hierarchy, and ordinary people were absolutely not allowed to have their own private armed forces. The Gyeonggi army that defended the capital was the Forbidden Army, which guarded the inner city where the officials lived, and the Imperial Forest Army who guarded the imperial palace where the emperor's family lived. In addition to these military forces, the largest military force is the Jinyi Guard. The yamen also had its own servants and soldiers, and there were soldiers in the Shuntian Prefecture, as well as soldiers in the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division, which patrolled and maintained local security. In addition to the military department in charge of the army, the six yamen also have soldiers in the household department and the criminal department. The soldiers of the household department were used to escort and guard important supplies and warehouses. In addition to assisting in the arrest of suspects, the soldiers of the Criminal Department are used to detain criminals. The soldiers of the Criminal Department are directly under the management of the Criminal Department, and even the military department and army generals cannot command it. These soldiers guarded the prison day and night, surrounding it like an iron bucket. Outsiders are not allowed to easily approach the prison of the Criminal Department, and if they dare to approach at will, they will be killed, and they will be killed in vain. Therefore, ordinary people can't see the prison of the Criminal Department at all, and of course they can't enter the prison of the Criminal Department.

However, due to the propaganda of some people, intentionally or unintentionally, there are two very different versions of the prison in the eyes of outsiders. After deliberate propaganda by well-intentioned people, unintentional expansion, false rumors, and hearsay, the image of the prison of the Criminal Department has changed beyond recognition. Some people say that the prison of the Criminal Department is a palace of the king of Hades, and those who enter should never think of it, and even if they come out, it is better to live than to die. Not only was it dark, but it was also terrifying, and the guards did not eat at all, eating the flesh of the prisoners when they were hungry, and drinking the blood of the prisoners when they were thirsty, as if the people in the prison were not human. Some people also said that the prison of the criminal department had its appearance, and the soldiers were nothing but useless and did not play any role at all. The torture instruments inside were rotten, the prison was dilapidated and dilapidated, and the walls were mounds of dirt, which could be washed away with a soak of urine. Not to mention criminals, even the elderly and children can enter and leave the prison of the Criminal Department at will. It is said that the prison of the Ministry of Punishment seems to be paper paste.

When Qin Tai and Zhan Xiaoxiao came here, they realized that outsiders' words really couldn't be fully believed. At least the prison they saw was not the Hades Palace, nor was it papier-mâché. The soldiers on the three floors outside the prison of the Criminal Department, even if they are used to fill up, are enough to scare the vast majority of people. Zhan Xiaoxiao is not only good at kung fu, but also has good eyesight, and the number of soldiers at the main gate of the prison of the Criminal Department alone has exceeded 500. Even if there were no patrol soldiers inside, the total number of soldiers outside was more than a thousand. According to the standard of work and rest of ordinary troops, if the shift is changed every four hours, there are at least three or four thousand garrisons in the prison of the Criminal Department. These people, if they can't intimidate everyone, can give their opponents a headache for a while. In addition, there should be military forces in the prison of the Criminal Department, so that the situation can definitely be controlled in a short time. This is near the capital, and if something happens, the Gyeonggi army will arrive here within half an hour, and at the latest an hour will be able to support the prison of the criminal department. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the prison of the criminal department can be said to be impregnable.

Later, Qin Tai and Zhan Xiaoxiao learned that the situation of the criminal department was so strong that it did not depend on people, but on special weapons and organs. Externally, there are "three treasures of the criminal department's prison, Zhenshan", and internally, there is solid organ information. The so-called "Three Treasures of the Criminal Department Prison Zhenshan" are artillery, muskets and repeaters. There were seven cannons inside and outside the prison of the Criminal Department, a musket team was permanently stationed, and a number of well-made repeating crossbows. Cannons can contain a large number of invading armies from a long distance, and they are weapons of mass destruction in ancient times. The musketeers control the enemy at short and medium distances, and although the hit rate is not too high, it can definitely play a deterrent role. The repeater is the brainchild of the craftsmen, not only powerful but also can be fired in bursts, a few repeaters or a dozen repeaters can control the situation and contain the opponent's offensive momentum. As long as the Three Treasures cooperate well and the commander has a certain military quality, the safety of the prison of the Criminal Department can be guaranteed. It's just that a jailer told Qin Tai and his wife privately that the real situation is not very optimistic. Because the repeater is not maintained in time, more than half of the crossbow cannot be used normally, and the bowstring cannot withstand repeated use. The musket corps was even more ineffective, lacking skilled musketeers and grossly lacking ammunition. The cannon, although it does not require maintenance, is also short of ammunition. As for where the standing musket ammunition and artillery ammunition went? You don't need to ask to know that it has been secretly sold by some people a long time ago. What worries Qin Tai the most is the news of the internal organs of the Criminal Department Prison, if these organs cannot be used, will the Criminal Department Prison still be impregnable?

If it weren't for the officials of the Criminal Department who took Qin Tai and his wife into the prison of the Criminal Department, Qin Tai and Zhan Xiaoxiao would not have been able to walk to the door of the prison of the Criminal Department. Through layers of investigation, Qin Tai and Zhan Xiaoxiao came to the main entrance of the prison of the Criminal Department, and finally saw the façade of the prison of the Criminal Department. I have to admit that the prison of the Criminal Department looks really majestic and can definitely scare the people.

There is a wooden plaque hanging on the main entrance of the prison of the Criminal Department, which reads "Da Ming Criminal Department Criminal Prison Department Prison". This was written by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the People's Republic of China, and it was originally hung in the old capital Jinling. Later, when Ming Chengzu moved the capital, he also brought this plaque to the capital, proving that this is the location of the new national prison. Along with this plaque, there is also a stone stele, which is also written by Zhu Yuanzhang himself, with four big characters on it: "Wang Fa is ruthless". There are two steles erected in the prison of the Criminal Department, one is the stone tablet of "Wang Fa is ruthless" written by Zhu Yuanzhang, and the other is an iron tablet written by Zhu Di with the four characters of "Iron Face and Selflessness". When you enter the black iron gate, you are greeted by a screen that separates the inside and outside, so that people from outside can see everything inside at a glance. There are three paintings hanging on the screen, as well as a couplet. A painting in the middle is a picture of "Zhong Kui catching ghosts", Zhong Kui stared angrily, holding a sword in his hand and a ghost in the other, and the little ghost looked panicked and helpless. The painting on the left is "King Wen painted the ground as a prison map", King Wen of Zhou personally painted the ground of Bukit as a prison for the offender, and strictly forbade Bukit to leave the circle at will, and used this circle to represent the prison cell to hold Bukit. It means that everyone is equal before the law and that no one is above the law. One of the paintings on the right is "Jin Lao Law Enforcement Map", Jin Lao was an old jailer in the Northern Song Dynasty, and his name was Jin Wuxi. He and his wife have only one son, the child lost his mother when he was young, and it was Jin Wuzhi who became a father and a mother before raising his son Jin Jian. Jin Jian later became a jinshi in Xiucai and was appointed as a magistrate by the imperial court, but Jin Lao did not go to the place with his son in order not to drag down his son, and continued to stay in the capital as a jailer. A few years later, a corrupt official who was sentenced to a heavy sentence came to the prison, and he was Jin Jian, the son of Jin Lao. According to the rules, every prisoner who came to the prison had to be beaten up, so that the prisoner would be honest and not make trouble. After Jin Lao knew that the other party was his son, he still personally enforced the law and beat his son hard. The first is to let Jin Jian know the rules here, the second is to vent Jin Lao's dissatisfaction with his son, and the third is to let Jin Jian know the consequences of corruption. Later, after the imperial court learned about it, it sent officials to commend Jin Lao, Jin Lao did not want gold or silver, as long as he stayed by his son's side for the rest of his life, he must teach this son who made a mistake. After the prime minister at that time learned of this incident, he personally wrote four big characters for Jin Lao, "Dagong is selfless". The couplet reads: "Wang Fa is ruthless, his heart is like iron, his iron face is selfless, and he does not show favoritism." ”

Behind the screen are two large rooms, one on the left and one on the right for the outer interrogation room. There are more than a dozen clerks in the signing room, and their daily work is to sort out materials and clean up files. Whoever comes in or out of the prisoner must pass through them. Every new inmate who comes in needs to be assigned to a cell and register the inmate's information. Every criminal who is sent out, whether he is pulled out to be beheaded or released after completing his sentence, must also pass through them. Without the certificate they issued, there would be no newcomers in the prison, and the soldiers outside would not let anyone out. Therefore, the signing room is one of the most oily places in the prison of the Criminal Department, and every bookstore is very rich. The outer interrogation room on the right is where officials interrogate criminals and witnesses. According to the rules of the imperial court, witnesses are not allowed to come into contact with criminals casually, and even if they can, they cannot go to prison. Therefore, an external interrogation room has been set up outside the core area of the prison of the Ministry of Penal Punishment to facilitate the confrontation between criminals and witnesses. In fact, officials will not be promoted casually, and once they are promoted, they will be sentenced on the spot. Therefore, before being promoted, the prisoner must be interrogated many times, and only when there is conclusive evidence can he be promoted. Some of these things are done by officials themselves, some are handed over to their subordinate officials to do, and more often are criminal masters arraigning criminals or witnesses on behalf of officials. Once there is an eyebrow or direct evidence, it will be reported to the presiding officer, and the official will determine the time of promotion only after he has full certainty. In most cases, the verdict is pronounced in court, and the offender is directly sent to prison. At that time, even if a death sentence was imposed, the death penalty was not carried out immediately, except for the most heinous crimes, which were generally carried out in the autumn. Before the autumn, the Criminal Department reviewed all the condemned prisoners, and after the inspection, they were collectively beheaded, which is the annual "autumn decision".