I am the king of the dead

Zhu Qiyu knocked on the table and fell into deep thought.

He was absolutely determined not to let Lu Zhong pour dirty water on Zhang Feng, it was giving someone a handle, it was the emperor himself breaking his own knife.

Zhang Feng is also worthy for Zhu Qiyu to redeem Lu Zhong?

Back then when Lu Zhong wanted to kill King Jili outside the Desheng Gate, and exchanged his life for King Jili's life, Zhu Qiyu was reluctant, so Zhang Feng was worthy of him?

"Let me think slowly." Zhu Qiyu, as the emperor, has unlimited power.

He is above the judiciary and has the privilege of non-punishment justice. He can use non-punishment justice to kill Zhang Feng.

Left and right are just a few violent infamy.

Does Zhu Qiyu care about this?

Yu Qian and Hu Wei looked at each other, knowing that His Majesty still wanted to kill him. Right now, Daming is prohibiting extravagance and promoting frugality, fighting corruption and arresting corruption. His Majesty wants to set an example, no matter who it is, no one can escape.

Zhu Qiyu didn't express his opinion immediately, Lu Zhong was still investigating, and there was still a buffer period of at least six months. He wanted to understand what he had to pay, what he could get in exchange for killing Zhang Feng, and how to do it right. Daming is more powerful.

As for him personally, he is already the king of subjugation, and he doesn't care about his fame.

To put it simply, Zhang Feng won.

Lu Zhong first took Zhang Feng to Jiejie Courtyard. Lu Zhong didn't go in, but waited at the main entrance of Xiejie Courtyard in Dongjiang Mixiang. Lu Zhong didn't start the interrogation until Zhang Feng carried him out.

Lu Zhong took the document in his hand and read: "Zhang Feng, Hongwu was born in Anping in the 30th year of Hongwu. There are few wise people. He was able to write poems at the age of seven, and he was well-known in the countryside at the age of 12."

"In the first year of Xuande, he passed the examination, and in the second year of Xuande, he was admitted to Jinshi one after another, ranking No. 13 in the second class. In the second year of Xuande, he was appointed as the head of the Department of Cleaning Officials of the Ministry of Punishment. When the Jiangxi civil unrest, he served as a military counselor and went to suppress the rebellion."

"Twelve officials and 72 officials in Jiangxi, you can impeach them and kill them at the prison."

This is the demeanor of Zhang Feng when he became an official. Lu Zhong can think of the high-spirited Zhang Feng, under the oil lamp, writing vigorously, denouncing the corruption in Jiangxi's officialdom.

It takes a lot of courage to put the responsibility for the civil unrest on the heads of many officials in Jiangxi.

"Don't say it, don't say it." Zhang Feng pursed his lips and waved his hands again and again.

How high-spirited was he when he was humble but upright?

After he came back from Jiangxi, he married his current wife. These years, his family was not harmonious, because his wife could no longer see the figure of Zhang Feng back then.

But Lu Zhong continued: "During the Xuande period, the first emperor's Zhai Palace personally wrote the title, how did the employer get the prescription?"

"Zhang Feng, do you still remember what your answer was at that time? It doesn't matter if you forget, your majesty's ancient and modern collections are all memorized. Your answer is only one word: positive."

"The first emperor, Dayue, ordered Yang Pu, an academician, to judge, and he won a good reputation. Wang Zhizhi told you that you, Jiang Yuan, Sa Qi and others went to study in the Secretary Province, and have been on the rise since then."

Wang Ao presided over Zhang Feng's case. He put down the test book and said loudly: "Zhang Feng!"

"just!"

"you said!"

"Don't say it, don't say it." Zhang Feng's complexion was beyond description, the more brilliant he was back then, the more he seemed to be living a joke now.

"Three years of Zhengtong, Zhang Feng, you have been favored by the emperor, and you were promoted to the right servant of the Ministry of Punishment. From being in charge of the sixth rank, you jumped six ranks to become the servant of the third rank?" asked tightly.

Lu Zhong looked at it, and there must be something wrong with such a promotion. He drank his saliva and said, "Let's talk about this part."

"One wrong step, one wrong step." Zhang Feng sat up straight and said, "I made the wrong move, no wonder others."

"There is a problem with this promotion. After three years of orthodoxy, the king of Jili was still young, the ruler of Shaoguoyi, and Yang Shiqi was in charge."

"I... went wrong."

Zhang Feng didn't blame others for his wrong path, but blamed himself for not keeping the bottom line.

"Tell me in detail." Lu Zhong was keenly aware that Zhang Feng's psychological defenses had been completely defeated, so he said whatever he asked now.

"At the beginning, I studied in the Secretary Province and served as the head of the Ministry of Punishment. This study lasted for nine years. In the tenth year of Xuande, the first emperor dragon controlled the honored guests, and the courtiers were panicked."

"On June [-]th, the tenth year of Xuande, it was raining heavily. Suddenly someone knocked on the door and asked me to go to the banquet, so I went to Yanxing Tower."

Wang Ao immediately asked: "Who was hosting the banquet at that time?"

"Yang Shiqi." Zhang Feng bit his lip and said, "I shouldn't have gone then."

There was friction between Wang Ao and Yang Shiqi, so Wang Ao had served in the local government for 25 years. He remembered this incident, but he was handling a case. He slapped the table and said, "Tell me about your own problems, don't gossip about them."

But Zhang Feng shook his head and said: "Wang Zhi was there at that time, Wang Shilang can go back and ask Wang Shangshu whether it is true or not. There were so many people attending the banquet at that time, it is not difficult to ask."

Wang Ao's complexion changed drastically and he stood up abruptly, patted the table and said, "Who are you talking about?!"

Looking at Wang Ao's appearance, Zhang Feng knew that Wang Ao was not much better than him at this time. He continued: "Your master, the heavenly official of the Ministry of Officials of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhi, Wang Shangshu."

"I think I've made it clear enough."

"On June [-], the tenth year of Xuande, how many people did Yang Shiqi pick up in his sedan chair?"

"At that time, Yang Shiqi was furious because he invited Hu Min, but Hu Shangshu didn't go, which made Yang Shiqi furious."

Lu Zhong pressed Wang Ao, who was a little bit defensive.

Wang Ao suddenly understood why his master Wang Zhi had to draw a line with him, why he suddenly resigned from office, and why he did those things suddenly.

It's not that Zhang Feng is chasing and biting randomly, Zhang Feng thinks that he is going to enter the private seat of Xie Kai Yuan.

Lu Zhong signaled the secretary to record Zhang Feng's words word by word, and then asked: "After the banquet, what did you do at the banquet, why did you say that you went wrong from here?"

Zhang Feng said dejectedly: "At that time, my wife was pregnant and drank a little wine. It was very lively. After drinking, I was assigned to a room, and there was a pretty lady waiting there."

"It's because I didn't take care of myself. I don't blame others. At that time, many people who went to the banquet left when they arrived, and left halfway, and those who left the banquet did not stay. I actually had many opportunities to leave."

"At that time, I had already studied in the Secretary's Department for nine years. At the time of Xuande's tenth year, the Lord Shaoguo suspected that I went astray in order to get promoted."

"One wrong step, one wrong step, to this day, I have tasted the consequences, no wonder others."

"I never meant to hate Yang Shiqi." Zhang Feng said calmly.

Lu Zhong said calmly: "If you don't resent him, why don't you call Yang Shiqi Young Master Yang, but call him by his first name?"

"Aren't you scholars the most particular about this?"

Zhang Feng's eyes widened suddenly, Lu Zhong's eyes were really poisonous, he keenly discovered the problem.

In fact, he has been blaming Yang Shiqi for leading him astray back then.

For Zhang Feng, going the wrong way is actually troublesome. If he hadn't troubled himself, he would not have chosen to stop during the Jingtai period.

Chapter 557 The only one you can trust is Your Majesty!

Lu Zhong glanced at the scribe, he recorded Zhang Feng's words word by word, and Lu Zhong will check and make up every word he said, and then carry out multiple interrogations.

But Lu Zhong knew that the possibility of Zhang Feng lying was very low, he didn't ask himself to live now, he only asked His Majesty not to harm his family.

"Who went to the banquet that day, and who stayed until the end?" Lu Zhong asked again.

Zhang Feng thought for a long time and said: "There are too many people going to the banquet. At that time, King Jili was still young, who dared not go, and who could not go, but the last ones are still in the court. Not many."

"I'll write down their names and give them to Tiqi."

Lu Zhong nodded, and asked curiously: "What is Yang Shiqi's purpose in doing this game?"

"My question is, what the hell is he going to do at the banquet?"

Zhang Feng sneered, raised his head, looked at Lu Zhong and said with a smile: "There are too many things he wants to do, and I can talk about each one in detail."

"He didn't say anything at the banquet, but everyone knew it well. If it was left to the end, it would be a grasshopper tied to a rope."

"However, a courtier is only a courtier in the end. After nine years of orthodoxy, Yang Shiqi was defeated by Wang Zhen, Wang Ji and others, and he fell to the end of the night. Even his son almost died."

Lu Zhong asked a little playfully: "Didn't there be such a banquet during the Jingtai period?"

Zhang Feng laughed, shook his head and said, "For those who can hold such a banquet, only Yu Shaobao could entertain them during the Jingtai period. Do you think Yu Shaobao would do such a thing?"

"I said that Yu Shaobao also had a banquet, do you believe it?"

Lu Zhong said confidently: "I don't believe it."

"I don't believe it either." Zhang Feng said with a rather relaxed expression: "The only people who can do this kind of thing are Xia Yuanji, Yang Shiqi, Yu Qian and other leaders."

"Yu Shaobao doesn't know how to entertain banquets, and Hu Min is fine, but no one will go."

"It is a blessing for Da Ming to have Shaobao, and it is a great blessing for Da Ming to have His Majesty, who knows people and makes good use of them."

Lu Zhong looked at Zhang Feng who knew everything, and said mockingly: "You know everything, but you don't do business."

Instead, Zhang Feng replied: "Actually, you don't know, taking the wrong path is not at all easier than taking the road."

"How can the small road be easier to walk than the big road?"

For Zhang Feng, going the wrong way is actually troublesome. If he hadn't been troublesome, he would not have chosen to stop during the Jingtai period.

"I'm neither corrupt nor corrupt. In fact, my life is better. At least my daughter-in-law has a smiling face for me, instead of being full of disgust in the past." Zhang Feng's two lines of dirty tears flowed down.

When his wife married him back then, he was also the head of the sixth grade, and his words were humble, but his wife admired his uprightness and integrity, which can be described as raising his eyebrows.

During the 14 years of orthodoxy, he did all kinds of bad things, and his wife didn't say more than [-] sentences to him.

After he quit during the Jingtai period, his wife's attitude finally eased. If he hadn't wanted to take revenge on Jin Lian this time, his life would only get better and better.

But all of this was ruined by him.

Lu Zhong picked up the question book and said, "Tell me about your own problems."

"From the first year of Zhengtong, people began to come to the door to give filial piety. There was ice tribute in summer and charcoal tribute in winter. Each time 1000 taels. In 14 years, I received a total of more than 13 taels of this kind of money."

"Are you also involved in the first case?" Lu Zhong asked sharply.

Zhang Feng nodded and admitted that he was also involved in the big case. A little smile appeared on his face and he said: "Yes, but that was before the official mansion law. I can’t even get through the door! Haha.”

"Looking at how they have money and no place to use it, it's the first time I feel that being a Beijing official is such a prestigious thing."

It's really not easy to stand up and become an official.

Zhang Feng used to be a third-rank official, and he is still a third-rank official now. When collecting black money, he was an official on his knees, and when he didn't collect money, he was an official standing up.

Both are genuine third grade, but they are very different.

"How did the money flow into your hands?" Lu Zhong continued the interrogation, the question he asked was not surprising, he was asking Yinlu.

In the big case of the Confucian Mansion, Lu Zhong finally confirmed the fact that all the silver in the Confucian Mansion was Japanese silver by checking the silver boxes and silver ingots of the Confucian Mansion.

And now Lu Zhong is investigating the bank where these officials ordered by the court to accept bribes. If they can completely control this bank, it will play a decisive role in maintaining the cleanliness of Beijing officials.

Zhang Feng finally showed embarrassment, and he said flickeringly: "I don't know much about this matter, it's all handled by the agent."

Lu Zhong is a very professional Tiqi, he has long been free from punishment to try the case, he saw through Zhang Feng's fear at a glance, and said with a sneer: "Lie in front of me?"

"I've said everything I can say." Zhang Feng gritted his teeth and said.

Lu Zhong said very calmly: "If you can't say it, you have to say it. Honestly speaking is your only way out now."

"If you refuse to tell the truth now, they will not let your wife and children go."

"The only one you can trust is His Majesty."

Lu Zhong's words were simply inexplicable, but Zhang Feng clearly understood the meaning.

Only trusting His Majesty is Zhang Feng's only choice now.

Zhang Feng has already fallen, and since he is no longer an official, those people who had nothing to do with him in the past will attack him together. At that time, Zhang Feng's family will die in the wilderness, depending on the interest of the other party.

But His Majesty never harmed his family.

When Li Xian was arrested and had no choice but to work in Nanjing, Li Xian's family still lived in the official residence.

Wang Fu voted for the Wala people, but Hu Wei took the Han Liling incident as an example. His Majesty put Wang Fu's family in the official residence to prevent some rats from harming Wang Fu's family.

Although Jin Lian's family moved out of the official residence, they still lived in the east city area, inside Chaoyang Gate, two streets away from His Majesty.

Zhang Feng suddenly discovered that after his downfall, the only person he could trust was His Majesty.

This feeling made Zhang Feng feel lost.

"I said." Zhang Feng chose to speak.

"There are many ways..." Zhang Feng explained the things clearly.

Lu Zhong gained some insight.

Wang Ao looked at the confession in court, and said in amazement: "You are sucking the bones and marrow."

Zhang Feng said with some self-mockery: "I know all these things, but I didn't do it myself, it was done by brokers and compradors. If you don't see it, you don't know it."

Lu Zhong opened another question book, looked at the questions on the question book, and asked hesitantly: "Jin Shangshu, do you know about your corruption?"