"Uhh

"Smack-"

On March 22, when the clouds were moving, accompanied by a scream in the middle of the night, a man who had been whipped and bruised all over his body appeared in the narrow and dark Nanzhen Fusi Imperial Prison.

"Tell me who your party is ......"

Behind the dim candle flame, Hou Guoxing, who was leaning on the chair, lowered his head and smelled the tea in the damp cell with a hint of rotten smell.

Behind him, two brocade-clothed guards stood in front of him, and in front of him, an official who had been whipped and bruised was slumped in front of a wooden stake, his hands unable to sit on the ground because of the chains, and could only hang in the air.

His hair was covered in blood, and if it weren't for the heaval on his chest, others might have thought he was dead.

"Don't say it?" Hou Guoxing took a sip of tea, and after a while, he didn't raise his head and said, "Continue to ......"

"Smack!"

The long whip stained with salt water continued to be whipped, but in the face of such beatings, the man did not say a word, and for a time made the torturer think that he was dead.

After a while, Hou Guoxing got up impatiently and said:

"Waste, I don't even need to understand the torture!"

After that, Hou Guosheng walked up to this official, rolled up his sleeves and said:

"I know that you civil officials want to be face-saving and endure torture for the sake of the rest of the descendants, but Nanzhen Fusi's methods are not limited to these......"

"Hang him up!"

As Hou Guoxing spoke, this person was immediately hung upside down by the other brocade guards, and his face was revealed.

If you look closely, this person is Gu Dazhang, a member of the criminal department who dealt with one of the famine cases in Huaibei with Zuo Guangdou and Yang Lian at that time.

Gu Dazhang was hanged, and then Hou Guoxing had him hung on an inclined bench, head and foot.

Without waiting for Gu Dazhang to breathe, a wet cloth soaked in water covered his mouth and nose Gu Dazhang, and the water that poured in between his breaths made him choke, and he subconsciously struggled to breathe.

But at the same time, he hadn't eaten for a few days, because of this posture, his stomach acid surged, and his trachea was stimulated by the stomach acid surge, constantly urging Gu Dazhang to cough.

This kind of cough was very fatal when it was covered with a water cloth, and after a period of struggle, Gu Dazhang's consciousness began to dissipate, and everything became quiet but suddenly......

Suddenly, Gu Dazhang felt his body shake, his whole body was hung upside down, the wet cloth on his mouth and nose was also taken away, and the stomach acid gushing filled his nasal cavity.

"Ahem......"

At the moment of coughing, stomach acid splashed Gu Dazhang's face.

The stomach acid that flowed out also stimulated his eyes at the same time, making him feel confused.

Hou Guoxing approached him with a candle, and after finding that his eyes were dilated, he immediately asked: "Anyway, who are the same party members......

"......" Gu Dazhang did not respond, which made Hou Guoxing instantly depressed:

"Iron-clad, huh? Then let you have a good iron bone! ”

After that, Hou Guoxing took a wire from the hand of the person next to him, then held the wire with a rag, burned the wire red with a candle, aimed it at Gu Dazhang's cheek, snorted, and forcefully pierced the wire into Gu Dazhang's cheek and came out from the other side.

"Ahh

！ ”

Gu Dazhang had some spirit and let out a painful howl, while Hou Guoxing pulled out his cheek with a wire in his hand, put it back on, and repeated it many times.

After that, he took out several wires, constantly pierced Gu Dazhang's cheek, and built a wire frame in Gu Dazhang's mouth, trapping his tongue in it.

Any action like this would almost tear Gu Dazhang's cheeks, and Hou Guoxing, in order to vent his anger, seemed to not care about Gu Dazhang's life or death at all.

He took out a new piece of wire, and after burning red on the candle next to him, he repeated the puncture from Gu Dazhang's armpits, ribs, and inner thighs very seriously.

In the end, he seemed to think that this was not enough, so he immediately brought a bronze mirror that was enough to illuminate his whole body, and then put it in front of Gu Dazhang to let Gu Dazhang appreciate his appearance.

Gu Dazhang, who was unconscious, looked at the people in the mirror who were mixed with twisted wires, and he was a little dazed and couldn't even recognize the person in the mirror as himself.

It's just that whenever he loses consciousness, Hou Guoxing will come over with a document book and say:

"The names on this, you circle them one by one with a red pen, and I'll let you out after the circle......"

Hou Guoxing smiled, and Gu Dazhang's response to him was a mouthful of blood foam.

The blood foam spat on Hou Guoxing's face, making Hou Guoxing's expression instantly out of control, he got up and was about to draw the knife, but Gu Dazhang turned his head away and didn't move......

"This ...... it, he's dead......" Qianhu who was squatting tested his pulse and snort with his hands, and finally looked up at Hou Guoxing and swallowed his saliva with difficulty.

"It's useless...... Hou Guoxing looked at Gu Dazhang, who was already dead, and didn't bother to do any rescue means, but said directly:

"It's better to die without proof, press the indictment with his hand." Hou Guoxing wiped the blood on his hands with a handkerchief, then threw the handkerchief on the ground, turned around and walked out of the cell.

In the dimly lit corridor, wails and roars came and went, and Hou Guoxing sneered at these voices, turned around and walked to one of the innermost cells.

However, when he asked people to open the door of the cell, Wei Liangqing, who was inside, appeared behind the door, and the two looked at each other and frowned at each other.

"This group of Donglin's mouths are quite hard......"

Wei Liangqing wiped his hands and walked out, while Hou Guoxing said:

"It doesn't matter if he's hard or not, anyway, as long as he presses his handprint."

"It's also a way to go, but it's not easy to explain to my uncle." Wei Liangqing wiped his hands clean, but frowned and worried about Wei Zhongxian's side.

Although he is Wei Zhongxian's nephew, he also knows that this kind of death without proof is really to the extent that the three divisions will be tried, and I am afraid that Wei Zhongxian will not hesitate to sweep the floor and treat it as an outcast.

"Don't worry, father-in-law, they are busy with other things right now, where do they have the heart to care about the life and death of these Donglin......"

Hou Guoxing said, and also said in passing:

"When the time comes, I will talk to my mother, and my father-in-law will not be too aggressive, as long as we clean up Donglin."

"It's not easy to clean it up, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Yuan Keli, Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua are estimated to ......be unable to move," Wei Liangqing is very clear about those people who can move and who can't.

These six people are more or less related to Zhu Youzhen, and if they are moved, it will inevitably attract Zhu Youzhen's anger.

Zhu Youzhen's anger ...... That's not something they can afford......

"Then except for these four people, try it on the others." Hou Guoxing thought about it, and then thought of a good way:

"Let's find a few people who will be happy after the move......

"You mean......" Wei Liangqing narrowed his eyes, and Hou Guoxing slowly spoke:

"Gao Panlong ......"

——————

"Bang!"

"Master, no, Jinyiwei brought someone to knock on the door."

In the early morning of 23 March, the head of the Gao Mansion who ran from the front yard to the backyard hurriedly saluted Gao Panlong, who was standing in the pavilion by the lake in Fuyuan.

"What ...... panic about"

Gao Panlong's face was haggard at the moment, standing at the entrance of the pavilion ferry with his back to the master, looking at the green pond in the mansion in front of him, his back was full of words, and he was indescribably lonely.

After a while, he groped out a handwritten letter from his bosom and handed it to the master:

"Take this handwritten letter to Madame."

"This ......" was a little speechless, and he didn't understand that Jinyi Wei had come to the door, how could his master still have the heart to engage in these loves.

However, in line with the duty of a slave, he still took the handwritten book.

Also when he took the handbook, Gao Panlong waved his hand:

"Take the lady and they to the main hall in the front yard and wait for the search, if the brocade guard breaks the door, let them come to the backyard to find me by themselves."

"Yes......" is a little heartfelt, and he always feels that his master is a little different today, but he can't say it.

He could only follow Gao Panlong's words and go to the backyard to find all of Gao Panlong's family scrolls, and take them to the hall in the front yard.

When he finally took people to the hall, the Jinyi Wei of Wuxi Baihu also led people to break in, and the leading Jinyi Wei Baihu also walked into the courtyard with a face and one hand on the Yanling knife on his waist:

"On the orders of the factory official, please Gao Du to come with us in the middle of the matter."

"My husband is waiting for you in the backyard ......" When many family rolls were so frightened that they couldn't speak, Mrs. Gao, who was in her fifties, took the initiative to come out and responded politely to the hundred household officials.

This kind of etiquette also made the attitude of the hundred household officials a lot better, and he said to Mrs. Gao:

"Madam, don't blame, we're just on an errand."

After that, he led a few people towards the backyard, but he didn't find any trace of Gao Panlong.

"Baihu, there is no here!"

"Not here!"

"Hundred households! This ......"

Suddenly, in the silence of the crowd, a brocade guard stood in the pavilion and stopped, and such a move also attracted the attention of the hundred household officials.

He hurriedly led people to trot to the pavilion, only to see six big characters written on the pillars of the pavilion, and the long dead Gao Panlong floating in the lake.

"I Saw Death as Home"

In six simple words, the hundred household officials and other brocade guards looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

After half a ring, the officials of the hundred households waved their hands and said, "Salvage the body and take it away, and report it to Hou Yan." ”、

"Yes......" Many Jinyi guards also began to salvage Gao Panlong's body when they heard this, and when the body was carried from the backyard to the front yard, Gao Panlong's two sons and a group of disciples all cried into tears.

They could only watch as Jinyiwei carried Gao Panlong's body away, but fortunately, Jinyiwei did not raid the house and seal the door.

As Jinyiwei walked away, Mrs. Gao opened the pen left by Gao Panlong in her arms, and the content of the letter also made them cry even more sadly:

"Although I was dismissed from my official position, I used to be a minister of the imperial court."

"The ministers of the Ming Dynasty must not be insulted, because the insult of the minister is equivalent to the insult of the country."

"I have been serving Emperor Shenzong Xian for thirty-four years, and I have experienced three generations of emperors, but I can't curb the rebellious ministers at the top and clean up the filthy officials at the bottom."

"The court is coming to get me, I know this is not what Your Majesty meant, Your Majesty is young, older than the inner court, and accidentally deceived by the eunuchs, this cannot be blamed on Your Majesty, but our courtiers cannot check and balance the eunuchs."

"At present, I can only respectfully bow to the north to fulfill Qu Yuan's last wish."

"The only regret is Your Majesty's kindness, I can't repay it, I only hope to repay it in the next life."

"I hope that my death will make Your Majesty pro-virtuous ministers and distant villains in the future, and be wary of the ministers around you."

"The minister Gao Panlong has no pen, I hope that the minister who saw this letter can bring this letter to your majesty......"

"Bang-" When Gao Panlong's handwritten letter passed by his family and was delivered to the hands of Yuan Keli, the political envoy of Shandong, Yuan Keli, who had always been magnificent, and was not angry, rarely smashed something.

The broken tea sets and tea splashed all over the study, Yuan Ke was trembling all over his body, while the other officials in the study were looking down at their noses and their noses.

"I have never heard of such an insult to a courtier!"

Yuan Ke walked left and right angrily, he and Gao Panlong had a good personal relationship, although he did not approve of some of Gao Panlong's views on politics, but the two were friends after all.

When looking at Gao Panlong's masterpiece, all kinds of pictures experienced by the two of them in the past flashed back in their minds, how could Yuan Keli not be angry?

"I want to write a letter to Beijing!"

Suddenly, Yuan Keli suddenly spoke, which made many officials open their mouths to stop them:

"Mr. Jiehuan, the capital is an eventful place right now, so stay away."

"Yes, it's better to wait for King Qi to return from sweeping the north before going."

"Everyone is in danger right now, if Mr. goes, he will be caught in the net."

"Mr. is taken care of by His Royal Highness King Qi, and the eunuch does not dare to do anything to Mr."

"It's better to be careful......

The dissuasion of many officials is not unreasonable, and Yuan Keli is not unincomprehensible.

On the contrary, he actually knows very well that the safest thing at the moment is their group of people who are related to Zhu Youzhen.

But if he is simply reluctant to survive and does not do it according to his own heart, then what is the difference between him Yuan Keli and the eunuch?

Surrendering to political enemies in order to survive? He couldn't do it......

"No need to persuade me anymore, I will send a handwritten letter to the capital, please long live me to transfer me to the capital."

Yuan Keli raised his hand and signaled everyone not to persuade them again, and in order to appease them, he also sighed:

"With my official position, I'm afraid it's not so easy to transfer......"

"If you enter Beijing, I am afraid that only the position of a cabinet scholar is suitable for you......" The other official echoed.

Under such a concurrence, a copy of Yuan Keli's handwritten letter was sent to the capital, and it was delivered to the hands of the principal Han Yi, who is now in Jingdong Forest.

Regarding Yuan Keli's request to enter Beijing as an official, Han Yi was first worried, but then overjoyed.

The worry is that Yuan Keli's arrival will not involve the Qi Wang Party in this party dispute, and the great joy is that Yuan Keli's arrival may help them resist the offensive of the eunuch party.

No matter what, Han Yi finally delivered the letter to Zhu Youxiao, and during this period, Wei Zhongxian and Wang Tiqian did not dare to stop it.

When this letter was delivered to Zhu Youxiao on March 25, he frowned and read Gao Panlong's letter from Yuan Keli.

He didn't have a good impression of Gao Panlong, just because he had impeached his younger brother too many times.

Therefore, for his death, Zhu Youxiao felt that Yuan Keli was a little troublesome, but he did not have other senses.

"Yuan Keli's recital, you've all seen it."

In the Palace of Nourishing the Heart, putting down Yuan Keli's recital, Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian, Wang Tiqian, and Liu Ruoyu.

"The slaves and maids are in the celebrant eunuchs, so naturally they will hand it over to you after seeing it."

Wei Zhongxian knows how to judge the situation very well, he said that he had seen it, and after saying that he had seen it, he handed over the song to Zhu Youxiao, obviously saying that he did not feel wrong about his behavior.

Even though he saw Yuan Keli's insults and some charges against the eunuchs and eunuchs in the letter, he still handed over the song to Zhu Youxiao.

This behavior also shows that he is a qualified loyal dog, and he will not keep Zhu Youxiao in the dark because of his own affairs.

Zhu Youxiao was also very satisfied with his behavior, so he threw the song on the table, and then leaned back in the chair and asked:

"Gao Panlong's matter, and many other officials' punishments, do you think there is no problem?"

"Long live the return...... Wei Zhongxian knelt down, presented a note with both hands, and said:

"The slave maid thinks there is no problem, because under the investigation of Yang Huan, the secretary of the Fusi of Nanzhen, and You Fengxiang, the imperial historian of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the officials are all related to Li Shiyan, the tax supervisor of Zhejiang."

Li Shiyan, this is a false accusation made by Wei Zhongxian to attack Donglin officials.

To put it simply, he took the initiative to play with Li Shi, the tax supervisor of Zhejiang, and then sent Jinyi Wei to investigate the hometowns of Donglin officials in Jiangnan, Henan, Huguang, etc., and involved a large number of false accusations of Donglin concealing taxes and embezzling taxes and silver.

Because the Ming officials had the reputation of "moistening pen silver", they could carry out reasonable corruption, and Wei Zhongxian knew that he couldn't do anything, so he simply falsely accused them of embezzling taxes and silver.

"Really?"

Sure enough, when Zhu Youxiao heard that this matter involved corruption and taxes, his expression was a little wrong.

At present, there is a war outside the Ming Dynasty, and there are displaced people inside, and silver is needed, and corrupt officials have obviously become a thorn in Zhu Youxiao's side.

Wei Zhongxian used Zhu Youxiao's character to guide the other party, but he also knew that Zhu Youxiao was very smart, and if the lie was not made up reasonably, he would not believe it.

Therefore, Wei Zhongxian also hurriedly said after he asked:

"Some officials started to torture only after they were confirmed, and Gao Panlong should have been brought back for investigation, but the slave didn't expect him to commit suicide by throwing himself into the lake."

Wei Zhongxian's words are very good, if the other party commits suicide, it will be within the scope of the investigation, creating the illusion that the other party commits suicide in fear of crime.

If the other party did not commit suicide, then bring it back to the capital and let Hou Guoxing and Wei Liangqing make them confess.

His thoughts and thoughts are very good, but Zhu Youxiao still squinted his eyes and said:

"Is Gao Panlong guilty?"

Zhu Youxiao's inquiry made Wei Zhongxian's heart chuckle, and his brain was racing rapidly, but Wang Tiqian suddenly stepped forward and said:

"After the investigation of the Jinyi Wei of Wuxi Baihu, Gao Panlong is not guilty, but he has had several correspondence with the guilty."

"The slave maid and the others didn't expect that he would choose to throw himself into the lake......"

"If you are not guilty, why did you throw yourself into the lake?" Zhu Youxiao questioned Wang Tiqian, and Wang Tiqian also said:

"At this point, Jinyiwei is also investigating, and the people from the East Factory have also been sent out, but no traces have been found."

"But......" Wang Tiqian hesitated, making Zhu Youxiao's brows furrow even tighter: "Say!" ”

"Someone heard in Gao Panlong's house that Gao Panlong once said that Long Live intends to Zen the king of Qi, which is the way to bring disaster to the country......" Wang Ti came suddenly, which made Wei Zhongxian's heart rise to his throat.

"Presumptuous!" Zhu Youxiao's sudden snort frightened everyone in the Heart Cultivation Hall to kneel on the ground.

Everyone looked down at their noses and noses, and their noses looked at their hearts, but Zhu Youxiao turned his head to look at the couch of the Heart Nourishing Hall after a light snort.

I saw Zhu Ciran and Zhu Shu'e lying on the couch in the morning, and when they saw the two children, Zhu Youxiao slowly stretched his brows, and finally turned his head to look at Wei Zhongxian and the others:

"Nothing but this?"

"There is ......" Wang Tiqian gritted his teeth and said: "Gao Panlong said, Zhiye is in the court, but he knows that there is King Qi, but he does not know that there is His Majesty." In the capital, I also know that there is a King of Qi, but I don't know that there is a Majesty"

"King Qi's prestige is like this, even if His Majesty doesn't give in, I'm afraid he will take the throne in the future!"

"Heh......" Zhu Youxiao laughed, with a hint of mockery and sneer.

If Zhu Youxiao was still skeptical about some of the previous words of Wang Tiqian and Wei Zhongxian, then he didn't have any doubts about this sentence at the moment.

Because whether it is from the tone or the tone, it is impossible for these words to come from Wei Zhongxian and Wang Tiqian.

Zhu Youxiao didn't believe that these two house slaves dared to deceive him, but when Gao Panlong was still alive, he often used this tone to impeach his younger brother and provoke the relationship between his younger brother and himself.

"Who else is involved in these words?" Zhu Youxiao relaxed his posture, which made Wang Tiqian, Wei Zhongxian and others breathe a sigh of relief, and then said:

"Li Tengfang, Chen Yuting, Wei Dazhong, Yuan Huazhong, Zheng Sanjun, Li Banghua, Sun Juxiang, Rao Shen, Wang Zhihuan and other seventeen people are all related......"

"......" Hearing Wang Tiqian's words, Zhu Youxiao frowned, and subconsciously felt that it was a little unlikely.

Li Tengfang and Chen Yuting were originally elected by Zhao Nanxing to the Ministry of Officials to assist in the election of officials, while Wei Dazhong and Yuan Huazhong were in charge of the imperial examination.

Zheng Sanjun, Sun Juxiang, Rao Shen, Wang Zhihuan and others are also well-known Qing officials in the ministry, and in the past impeachment of their younger brothers, their recitals were less and more neutral, and it should be impossible to participate in this kind of eucalyptus and rebellion.

It's just that Zhu Youxiao's hesitation didn't last long, and Wang Tiqian hurriedly said:

"These seventeen people only have correspondence, and the specific content of the letters needs to be carefully investigated to know whether they are involved."

"Well......" Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly, and then picked up a copy of the recital and said:

"You can continue to investigate this matter, but anyone who provokes the relationship between me and my brother will be exiled from their homes!"

Zhu Youxiao rarely used the self-title of "I", which shows that he still attaches great importance to this matter, while Wang Tiqian and Wei Zhongxian responded when they heard this.

"Go down, if you are foolish and leave ......" Zhu Youxiao opened his mouth without raising his head, and Wei Zhongxian and Wang Tiqian also retreated one after another when they saw this.

After they completely withdrew from the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao frowned and looked at him and said:

"You investigate this matter separately, and from now on, you will serve as the ...... of the commander of the West Factory."

"The slave and maid receive the order...... Liu Ruoyu was terrified, he didn't expect the emperor to reopen the West Factory.

This also shows that the emperor may have a trace of distrust in Jinyiwei and Dongchang.

If the emperor didn't trust Jinyiwei and Dongchang, wouldn't that show the strength of the imperial power's control over these two......

Liu Ruoyu didn't dare to think about it, and Zhu Youxiao also lowered his head and continued to deal with the song: "Go down......"

"Yes......" Liu Ruoyu obediently withdrew from the Qianqing Palace, but after he withdrew, he saw Wei Zhongxian and Wang Tiqian who were watching him in the corner.

He looked at the two of them, frowned slightly, and then bowed slightly, and then turned around and left the Qianqing Palace, as for Wei Zhongxian and Wang Tiqian, they looked at his departing back, with a displeased expression on their faces......