"Hmph, Chu Fan, don't toast and don't eat and drink, come on, tie him up for me."

"Don't don't, Gonggong Li, okay, okay, it's in my study, I admit it."

Chu Fan is very clear, this letter must have been deliberately framed, whether you admit it or not, since it can be placed on the table of Dongchang, then Dongchang must maximize the power of this thing.

Therefore, if you don't admit it, then beat, go to the punishment, and beat until you think it stops, and the final result is that you are beaten and dying, and in the end you are still held down by others to confess the account

Not a joke.

In order not to suffer from flesh and skin, Chu Fan didn't say anything and confessed.

"It's good to admit it, then who sent you the letter?"

Chu Fan couldn't cry or laugh, so he just confessed it, and asked me to make up a story.

"Father-in-law, who do you think is the right person to send me a letter?"

"That's from the spies of the Jin Army, right?"

"Okay, that's what the spies of the Jin Army sent me."

Li Si was obviously very confident in his efficiency, and his face bloomed, and he continued: "Then, you deliberately arranged for the Tibetan soldiers and the Ganzhou Guards to stay in Datong, and you went to Ningyuan to pretend to fight and retreat the two armies of Jin and the Japanese, and after gaining the trust of the emperor, and then wait for the Japanese slaves to attack Shanhaiguan, you led the troops to help, let the Datong portal open, and finally attack the capital, right?" ”

"Well, to be honest, father-in-law, with so many years of fighting, I haven't come up with such a good plan, and it's really seamless."

"Don't talk nonsense, just ask if you're like this?"

"Okay, okay, you can write whatever you want, I'll just draw it for you."

Soon, an interrogation record of Chu Fan leading his troops to rebel and deliberately leading people from all walks of life to attack Beijing was completed, and Chu Fan personally signed and drew the charge.

It reads as follows:

On the 3rd day of the month of Zila, Li Si, the deputy governor of Dongchang, and Chu Fan, the prisoner Niu Sanqiang and Li Ping, were arraigned in Dongchang Wei Prison.

After arraignment, Chu Fan confessed that he had been in cahoots with Li Rubai, contacted him by private letter, and conspired to rebel with the Jin army and the Japanese army. Therefore, he took the initiative to transfer the Qi army back to Ningyuan, and mobilized the troops of his cronies to deploy in Datong, and then conspired with the rebel general Li Rubai to deliberately feign the defeat of the enemy army in Ningyuan, and then pretended to pursue the enemy army and transfer the Qi army, so as to give up Ningyuan, so that the enemy army and his cronies army converged in Datong, and then went south from Datong to the court.

He pretended to apply to go to Ningyuan in person, but in fact, he went to meet with President Konishi and the rebel general Li Rubai privately, and wanted to escape from the court after the matter was revealed.

Chu Fan harbored evil intentions, as an official of the imperial court, he ate the court's money, but he didn't think about the heart of loyalty to the king, it was really unforgivable, and the minister Li Si implored the emperor to surrender his guilt, punish Chu Fan, and punish the nine clans.

Chen Lisi played.

Holding this note, Li Si trotted all the way into the palace, for him, the world's first rebellion case, he investigated it in one day, it is really an efficient and high-quality representative, the leader of the East Factory, how can he not be excited.

When Wanli got this transcript, his jaw fell to his feet: "What? Recruited? Recognized so quickly? ”

Wanli took the transcript of Dongchang and walked around the study for a long time, no matter what he thought, he couldn't understand how Chu Fan could confess so quickly, and the facts were clear and the evidence was conclusive.

This is not an ordinary crime, rebellion, it is to punish the nine clans, and it will be cut alive.

He, Chu Fan, is not afraid?

There are many kinds of punishments in the Ming Dynasty, such as messy water punishments, immortal jumping, and pig cages, which are countless, but the most tragic is the slashing punishment, also known as Ling Chi.

The executioner uses a knife to cut the flesh of the human body down one by one, and this technical content is very high, when cutting, avoid the blood vessels as much as possible, to avoid heavy bleeding and death, but let the tortured person feel the pain of drilling the heart, little by little, until finally exhausted to death, the cruelty of five stars.

If Chu Fan is not afraid of death and wants to open it, this can be understood, but if he wants to be punished by this thousand and eighty knives, it is really unthinkable.

But it was written in black and white on the record, and Chu Fan personally signed and pressed his fingerprint, what else is there to say?

But now Wanli's mentality has changed again.

A few days ago, when I heard the queen mother's reminder to me, I couldn't help but tremble in my heart, if Chu Fan was reversed, wouldn't the royal family be in danger? Isn't the world going to change hands?

It was he who ordered Dongchang to immediately carry out a comprehensive investigation of Chu Fan, but who knew that that night, he found this secret letter, and the messenger of Dongchang secretly obtained it from Chu Fan's study.

Wanli was anxious at that time, according to the arrangement of the secret letter, Chu Fan had already completed half of it, and the rest was to send troops to Shanhaiguan and Datong to fall.

Yes, Wanli Thunder immediately recalled Chu Fan.

But now it's different, the mastermind Chu Fan has been arrested, and now he is in the Dongchang prison, and he can't do anything big, although the war outside is still very urgent, but the danger of changing the flag has passed, and Wanli has slowly calmed down.

Since Chu Fan entered the palace yesterday, Wanli has been thinking about a question, why did Chu Fan rebel?

Not a good salary? Although it is said that the cabinet deputy assistant and the household department are all dismissed, but now as the waiter of the third grade, he can be regarded as a leader in the imperial court, with Chu Fan's diploma and age qualifications, the five grades can be regarded as burning high incense, not to mention the three grades, and Chu Fan is not thin.

Greedy? Chu Fan has a clear mind, strong ability, can fight, and can make money. There is indeed no reason not to swell, but back then, Chu Fan used his own money to help the country tide over the difficulties, and finally devoted all his money to help set up a royal company and make great contributions to the country, and I didn't see him ask for an official, ask for money or something, he is not the kind of person who likes power and money, so what is the point of my throne? Isn't it the extreme power and the most money.

The more he thought about it, the more sober Wanli became, looking at this transcript and being fascinated.

Gao Huai approached Wanli, took a sip of tea, and said to Wanli: "Your Majesty, it's not early, can you rest?" ”

"Gao Huai, you say, how do I treat Chu Fan?"

"The emperor has the grace of knowing Chu Fan, the grace of support, and the grace of exoneration, which is comparable to the father and son, master and apprentice."

The level of the general manager of Ouchi is really not covered, and he summed up the three major favors without even thinking about it.

"Then you say, why is Chu Fan against me?"

"Your Majesty, the minions don't dare to talk about the courtiers, and besides, I am familiar with Lord Chu, so I don't dare to comment."

"Speak your opinion, and forgive you for your innocence."

"Your Majesty, this is written in black and white, and the old minister really doesn't dare to talk nonsense."

The old fritter is the old fritter, you hurriedly say your opinion, the emperor either thinks that you have been prepared, or thinks that your opinion is worthless, but it is something that is said after pushing back and hindering, and only then will you think seriously.

"It's okay for you to say, I'm just listening to your thoughts."

"Then the old minister said, please ask the emperor for forgiveness if it is wrong. Lord Chu, in the Korean battlefield before, he used soldiers like gods and fought bravely, you know this emperor, right? ”

"Well, this is not a one-person witness, it is impossible for all the soldiers of the Manchu Dynasty and the Liaodong Iron Cavalry to lie."

"Do you think, on a personal level, the enmity between the Japanese slave and the emperor is deep, or the enmity with Chu Fan?"

"That's naturally Chu Fan, he was bombarded and burned in Pyongyang, and tens of thousands of Japanese slaves were killed, I just sat in the capital, what did I hate me for?"

"So think about it, will the Japanese slaves still cooperate with him?"

"It stands to reason that it won't, after all, even if Toyotomi Hideyoshi doesn't hate him, it's impossible for the generals and soldiers below not to hate him, and there is no small resistance to cooperating with him."

"Second, although Li Rubai was in Liaodong Iron Cavalry at the same time as Chu Fan, it is said that he has a bad relationship with Chu Fan, do you know?"

"I haven't heard of this, but I remember that Li Rubai has played a song and impeached Chu Fan, is there such a thing?"

"Lao Chen remembered that he had participated in Chu Fan's book, and at that time I wondered if he didn't let Li Rubai take over his brother as the chief soldier, he held a grudge, so he followed the trend to impeach Chu Fan."

"Well, it's possible, it is said that this Li Rubai is also a gentleman, and he was spoiled by his father."

"Also, why did Li Rubai rebel in Liaodong? Put Nurhachi into the land fort? At that time, Chu Fanke was still in Tibet as a Zunbadan. ”

"Why the rebellion?"

"Because the Liaodong Iron Cavalry is gone, his brother is dead, and the Liaodong Iron Cavalry is also wiped out, Li Rubai is equivalent to a vacant deputy general rank, but there are no soldiers, no real power."

"yes, he probably thinks he has no future."

Gao Huai spread his hands and answered: "And what about Chu Fan? The youngest member of the Ming Dynasty, if this battle is won, the secretary of the military department and the secretary of the household department are not selected by him, and in a few years, it is a logical thing to be the first assistant of the cabinet, is there anyone more powerful than him in this court? ”

"In the end, the letter said that when they jointly captured the capital and took Chu Fan back to ascend the throne, if Chu Fan wanted to secretly communicate with the Tibetan soldiers, Ganzhou Wei, the Houjin army, and the Japanese army, and jointly rebelled and captured the capital, then would these people listen to him? If they capture Beijing, are they willing to let Chu Fan be the emperor? Chu Fan only has 100,000 troops in his hands, which of Houjin and Wukou is not more than others, why should he be given the greatest benefit? ”

Wanli nodded and said: "Yes, these wildernesses are all fighting the world with strength, how can there be credit." ”

"Your Majesty, we can figure out this truth, how could Chu Fan not think of it?"

Wanli picked up the tea, took a sip, put down the teacup, and said to Gao Huai: "Aiqing thinks, what should I do?" ”

"Lao Chen thinks that he should be sent back to the West Factory for retrial to see what is wrong here."

"Well, let me think about it."

Although Wanli was still hesitating, there was already a noise outside, and after the news of Chu Fan's confession spread, two extreme emotions appeared in the imperial court, some people were so happy that they almost whistled when they walked, and some people were depressed.

This reflects the two different realms of Ming officials.

Short-sighted people, who think that the enemy of the civil and official system, is a thorn in the flesh in the eyes of Chu Fan and finally surrendered to the law, which is a good thing that everyone is happy about, this person ignores the rules, breaks the rules, and braves the disapproval of the world to punish Li Zhi and Luo Yuren and other representatives of the officials, they should have died a long time ago, if it wasn't for the emperor to protect him, this person should have been brought to justice, if he died, he would really be happy.

But people with a long-term vision see that the enemy is current, and the country has no available generals, if Chu Fan is killed at this time, wouldn't it be self-destruction of the Great Wall, and Chu Fan's reform and company establishment are very effective, the economic situation of the empire has improved significantly, Chu Fan has made great contributions, if this person dies, it is a pity.

And Qin Hong, who was hidden outside the city, had been paying attention to the development of the situation, and his eyes had never left the courtyard.

On the fourth day, Emperor Wanli suddenly decreed: The details of Chu Fan's case are still unknown, and there is no remaining party, and it will be retried in Xichang.

Li Si, who had closed the case, was waiting for the leader's praise, and then asked Chu Fan for a bribe, but he waited for new news from the palace - transferred to the West Factory for retrial.

Time, in a hurry, almost fainted.

This Chu Fan case was originally a great achievement, and it could also earn Chu Fan a lot of benefits, which was a good thing to kill two birds with one stone, why did it suddenly change its mind?

It must be this group of eunuchs in the West Factory who are obstructing me and stealing my limelight.

Although he himself is a master without chickens, it doesn't mean that he doesn't scold others like this.

And the happiest person is Qin Hong.

Qin Hong is still a guard sent by the West Factory, but her private relationship with Chu Fan has not been made public, although there are some rumors, but a small factory detective, there is not much turmoil, I heard that Chu Fan only stayed in the East Factory for four days, and was transferred to the West Factory, she danced happily, and she was finally safe.

Kill or not kill the head and say both, but she is clear about Dongchang's style, so as long as you don't cooperate well, if there is a slight problem, you will be punished immediately, and the person who comes out is either missing an arm or a broken leg, and at the very least, he has to leave some scars on his body, and it is almost impossible to come out safely, only four days, thinking that Chu Fan has not been tortured too badly, his arms and legs should still be there.

The one who interrogated Chu Fan was Qin Hong's boss, Sun Hetiqi, the commander was the boss in the factory guards, and Tiqi was the second, and the West Factory obviously paid more attention to this matter than the East Factory, and the second-in-command of the unit went into battle in person.

It was Sun He who sent Qin Hong to protect Chu Fan back then, yes, Chu Fan naturally had a sense of closeness to him, and did not throw an olive branch of bribery like he did with Li Si, but said sincerely: "Sun Tiqi, Chu's crime has its own public opinion, but it can't affect others, please follow the rules here, don't be polite, you can't affect everyone in the West Factory." ”

"Master Chu, we must act according to the law, it is not your business that we must not be hard, it is your business, and we can't let it go."

Qin Hong stood beside Sun He, looking at Chu Fan, his eyes slightly moistened.

Chu Fan was brought in for the first time, seeing that Chu Fan's arms and legs were still there, she was already a little sour in her nose, and when she saw Chu Fan moving freely and her voice was like a bell, she couldn't help but get her eyes wet.

It's too rare, if you enter the East Factory for four days, but Fan Cui will inevitably be beaten if she says a word that makes the factory guard listen to it, and this is intact, and there is no one before.

In terms of the number of people and the degree of dispersion, the East Factory is not as good as Jinyiwei, on the strength of martial arts, and the elite of personnel is not as good as the West Factory, but it has existed for hundreds of years, and the only thing to be proud of is that the efficiency is very high.

What case, there is nothing that cannot be solved in the East Factory, and it is precisely for this reason that the East Factory was established in addition to Jinyiwei, but the high efficiency is not because they are capable, but they are famous for their torture, in order to solve the case as soon as possible, they use all kinds of strange punishments to force the prisoner to confess, as long as he does not admit his guilt, everything will be greeted to the person.

Iron branding, whipping are all pediatrics, tying bamboo sticks, standing on the fire board are all routine, like Chu Fan, a felon, as long as he doesn't confess, then he will go directly to the high-end goods.

The most famous is rat punishment, in which a group of rats is placed in an iron bucket with only one hole, and then the hole is tied to a person and attached tightly.

The rat can't eat in it, the only exit is facing human flesh, and if the rat wants to get out, it can only be rescued by keeping biting and eating human flesh and gnawing a hole.

The punishment is that you can clearly feel that you are being eaten, and it is a combination of physical pain and mental pain, which can really be said to be all-encompassing.

Of course, it is precisely because there is too much torture that there are many unjust, false and wrongful cases, and the imperial court really can't stand such problems all the time, so it is the establishment of the West Factory.

In addition to carrying out some assassinations and protection, the most important role of the West Factory is to review and review the cases handled by the East Factory to ensure that the prisoners deserve their crimes and are not unjustly killed in prison.

Therefore, Chu Fan's case, the East Factory concluded the trial, and then sent it to the West Factory for review, which does not violate the principle and is a normal process.

The outside world's expectations for Chu Fan's imminent subjugation have not weakened at all, and many people are waiting for the Xichang transcript to come out, and the emperor will give Chu Fan a street Ling Chi with a stroke of the pen, and he must bring Yu Yuren and Li Zhi to the scene, bring dishes and chopsticks, eat his meat raw, and be addicted.

Sun He was not as anxious as Li Si of Dongchang, and after briefly asking Chu Fan a few words, he said: "This case is complicated, I want to go back and take a good look at the case file again, and try it again tomorrow, Qin Hong, you are responsible for guarding Chu Da."

People, there must be no mistakes. ”

"Yes, Sun Tiqi.

Of course, Chu Fan knows what is going on, and it is related to Hubei.

The relationship between Qin Hong and Chu Fan, there are some rumors, others don't pay attention to it, but as the direct leader, Sun He must ask, Qin Hong's noncommittal attitude, Sun He is such a smart person, he naturally understands, yes, leaving Qin Hong to guard, it is better to say that Sun He is kind, giving the young couple a chance to reunite, and also giving Chu Fan a better living environment, after all, Qin Hong is like a fish in water in this West Factory, how can he make his man uncomfortable.

After everyone left, Qin Hong hurriedly took Chu Fan's hand, put it on his face, and said softly: "Xianggong, are you okay?" Did Dongchang torture you? You're worried about the dead. ”

Chu Fan touched Qin Hong's head and whispered: "No, you see that I am good everywhere, although Dongchang is powerful, how can it be better than your father-in-law?" Haha, it's just that this shackle has been worn for a long time, and I panicked.

"I'll untie it for you" said, Qin Hong took out the key and was about to open it.

"That's not good, if someone else suddenly comes in, wouldn't it be a big sin for you?"

"What if? It's all my people here," he said, pulling Chu Fan's arm and unshackling him.

A woman with a cold appearance always hides a hot heart, Qin Hong looks cold like a plum blossom in the wax moon, but after the heart belongs, in front of Chu Fan, it is like a peony in midsummer, exuding a strong fragrance.