[Baiyutang] Wind-dried clothes

Surrounded by the royal family, Ma Han, Gongsun Ce and others, Bao Zheng walked into the prison camp, saw Zhan Zhao and grabbed a person, who was pushing and shoving him as he came.When he walked up to him, he saw an old scar on the right eyebrow of the man, his mouth was bound tightly by an iron tool, his upper and lower jaw could not be closed, his saliva dripped down and stained his clothes.His face was covered with bruises, his clothes were covered with dust and blood, and he was in a mess, only a pair of bright eyes glanced at him contemptuously, and quickly turned away.Zhan Zhaowang kicked him in the crook of the leg, kicking him to the ground.

Bao Zheng wondered: "Why is there something in your mouth?"

Zhan Zhao said: "My lord doesn't know that people who carry out assassinations often have masters on top of them. In order not to reveal their masters, they often hide poison in their mouths and teeth. If they are not careful, they will swallow the poison and kill themselves. If there is no poison hidden, they will also Keep them from biting their tongues and killing themselves."

Bao Zheng asked: "Put him in a bachelor's room and arrest him, chain his hands and feet, send someone to guard him first, and the court will come to interrogate him later."

Wang Chao and Ma Han twisted people into the depths of the prison.Bao Zheng called Zhan Zhao to go with him, and asked, "What did you find out from his interrogation?"

Zhan Zhao said: "The subordinates only know that his surname is Li, and his single name is Tong - this man is very tough, and the rest of the information can't be revealed by torture."

Bao Zheng asked: "Since he heard the news of Zhang Shu's marriage, he must have settled in Bianjing City. Have you found his hiding place?"

Zhan Zhao said: "The subordinates and the five righteous men of Xingkong Island have posted his portrait all over the place, just waiting for someone to come and recognize him."

Bao Zheng pondered for a moment, and said: "It's okay. If there is someone behind Li Tong, who came to Zhang Shu's wedding banquet to spy on the situation and risked being arrested, he must have reported it to the higher authorities, and it cannot be done without authorization. Action. And his arrest was naturally within the expectations of those behind the scenes. You posting the posters is not considered a warning. It’s just that we don’t know if we can find someone to report the situation.”

At this time, a gentleman came up quickly, cupped his hands to Bao Zheng and said: "Master Bao, someone outside the yamen holds a book of orders, saying that Li Tong is his elder brother."

When Bao Zheng heard this, he was overjoyed and said, "Let him in quickly."

When he saw the person who came, he was a young man who was not too young. He was fair and thin, and his features were vaguely similar to Li Tong's. , the two legs trembled like sifting chaff.Bao Zheng was surprised and thought: Then why does Li Tong have such a brother?

Seeing the young man trembling with fear, Zhan Zhao comforted him and said, "You don't have to be afraid, you just answer honestly if Mr. Bao asks you anything. Maybe there's even a reward for you."

Bao Zheng led the young man to sit in the classroom, and when he calmed down, he asked, "What's your name?"

The young man replied: "The grass people's name is Li Yang."

Bao Zheng asked: "Is Li Tong really your elder brother?"

Li Yangdao: "He said that he is Cao Min's elder brother, and he also showed Cao Min the birthmark on his body, which is indeed exactly the same as Cao Min's brother who was lost when he was young. Cao Min recognized him, but he didn't know that he was a murderer... ...Cao Min was deceived by him, and he is indeed not with him, I hope Mr. Bao will find out!"

Bao Zheng waved his hand and said: "You are innocent - this pavilion can see it naturally, so there is no need to panic." At the end, he asked: "I hear your accent, it looks like a person from the capital. Do you live in the capital? What do you do for a living?"

Li Yangdao: "Caomin's ancestors were not in the capital, but he escaped from the concubine and came to the capital. He sold Caomin's elder brother for silver taels, and now he has half a place in Bianjing. Now the villain has inherited the vinegar workshop of the two elders, so he In the east of the city."

After hearing this, Bao Zheng asked, "Do you still remember who bought your brother?"

Li Yang shook his head and said, "Caomin is young, so he can't remember what happened at that time."

Bao Zheng asked thoughtfully, "How did you reunite with your elder brother Li Tong?"

Li Yang replied: "Caomin, the elder brother who doesn't know the truth, just came back recently. When he came, he also carried a big package. Caomin had seen it before. It was full of gold and silver treasures, and now he hid it under Caomin's couch. He said that he was doing business outside, made enough money, sold his belongings, exchanged the gold and silver, and came back to live with the grass people. The grass people saw the birthmark on his body and didn't doubt him, so they took him to live."

Bao Zheng asked again: "Has he ever secretly received anyone?"

Li Yang shook his head and said, "He brews new vinegar in the backyard all day long, and he doesn't even leave the house. Caomin has never seen him receive anyone."

Bao Zheng asked: "If there is any strange thing, you can tell this pavilion."

Li Yang thought for a while, then hurriedly said: "There is another strange thing, that is, after the funeral of Cao Min, every other month, Cao Min would pick up a silver ingot next to his pillow, and this situation lasted for a year, until the man who called me my elder brother Come back. Caomin used to think that there were heroes who robbed the rich and helped the poor to see the poverty of Caomin, so they would put money by the pillow of Caomin. Now that I think about it, I am afraid that my brother secretly helped Caomin. But Caomin dare not use this windfall. It was packed in a jar, buried behind the yard, and is about to be handed over to Mr. Bao."

Bao Zheng nodded and said, "You don't need to hand over those taels of silver, just use it yourself."

Hearing this, Li Yang was overjoyed, knelt down and kowtowed to Bao Zheng: "Thank you, Master Qingtian!"

After sending Li Yang away, Bao Zheng said to Zhan Zhao, "We should use the old method to interrogate Li Tong."

When I arrived at the prison, I saw a man in the sill dressed in gray and short brown, with a loose bun, an iron tool in his mouth, and wounds all over his body, I think he had suffered a lot.His hands and feet were bound by two-finger thick iron chains, and it was inconvenient for him to walk or lie down, so he sat cross-legged under the window of the prison, motionless.

Bao Zheng said: "Your name is Li Tong—"

The people in the prison ignored it and only snorted softly.

Bao Zheng went on to say: "You have a brother who makes a living selling vinegar in the vinegar workshop in the east of the city."

Only then did Li Tong raise his head, and glanced at Bao Zheng coldly.He said: "With your ability, you can only find out these things."

Bao Zheng said: "Assassination of court officials is a felony. If you can tell the Kaifeng mansion frankly, you may be able to save your life. You can continue to open a vinegar shop in the east of the city with your brother and live an ordinary life. Your Excellency’s words, once spoken, are promises.”

Li Tong remained silent.

Bao Zheng continued: "Even if you don't want to say it, why don't you just pretend that Kaifeng Mansion can't find out?"

Li Tong snorted and said, "How will Mr. Bao investigate? I would like to hear the details."

Bao Zheng said: "Although the prefect of Qin released the Chengdu government as an official, there are quite a few ministers in the court who disagree with his political views." After speaking, he mentioned several names in succession, and explained their entanglements with Qin Zhihai. Tell Li Tong.As he spoke, he paid attention to the expression on Li Tong's face.

Li Tong remained silent until Bao Zheng said the last name, and suddenly shouted: "Yes, that's him! He was the one who ordered me to kill that old thief Qin Zhihai!"

Bao Zheng could hear the sarcasm in his tone, knew that he was slandering indiscriminately, so he couldn't help but reprimanded: "Slandering courtiers, do you know what crime it is?"

Li Tong said with a smile: "It will never be a greater crime than killing a courtier."

Bao Zheng said: "For the above-mentioned people, the Kaifeng government can check their correspondence and move secretly. The person who harmed the prefect of Qin must not be a personal enmity, but must be a minister of the court. It will only take some time to find the people behind the scenes. But If you can take the initiative to confess, you will be the one who will benefit from the crime and meritorious deeds. You can think about it again."

Li Tong laughed loudly in his throat: "I have eaten the stick and the splint. In this prison camp, as long as I can't get the punishment of death, I have tasted it one by one. If I want to be recruited, I will be recruited early. If I arrive Wouldn't it be too bad to reveal anything else on this point?"

Bao Zheng winked at Zhan Zhao beside him, then walked away.

Zhan Zhao took a step forward, looked at him and said, "Don't think that Mr. Bao has a kind heart, so there is nothing he can do about you. The people under us are full of tricks. If you refuse to recruit, I don't know what your brother will suffer from you." Tired."

Li Tong said: "That's right. It's a pity that my brother is a jealous man and doesn't know anything. Even if you beat him to death, you won't hear a single useful message from him."

With a wave of Zhan Zhao's hand, Chao Mahan pulled a man dressed as Li Yang and shoved him into another cell.As the man walked away, he still shouted sharply: "Brother, save me! I am innocent! Brother, come and save me!"

Hearing the man's cry for help, mixed with the sound of sticks, Li Tong immediately cursed: "You kind of court eagle dogs have no conscience! If you dare to touch a hair of my brother, I will punish you ten times and a hundred times. repay!"

Zhan Zhao said: "You are a man who can withstand a stick, but your brother is thin and weak. It is unknown how many times he can withstand a stick. If you are filial, you want to leave a future for your family. Come quickly."

Unexpectedly, Li Tong went mad for a moment, sneered, and sat cross-legged under the prison window, without saying a word.

Seeing this, Zhan Zhao didn't make a sound.In the entire prison, only the heart-piercing begging for mercy could be heard from the next door.

After a while, Zhan Zhao saw that he was still silent, so he walked away and went to the cell next door, where he saw Wang Chao and Ma Han holding sticks, beating a bundle of straw vigorously, and the gentleman pretending to be Li Yang , with a red neck and neighing with all his might.

Zhan Zhaowang waved their hands, and the three of them stopped.Wang Chao asked, "Brother Zhan, the one surnamed Li is still not willing to recruit?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head and said, "This is a tough guy, and he is extremely shrewd and unruly. I'm afraid there is really nothing to pry out of him."

Wang Chao asked worriedly, "How can I report to Mr. Bao?"

Ma Han said: "Someone heard that Ouyang Daxia and the five righteous men from Xingkong Island are still looking for news in the rivers and lakes, maybe wait for a few days, when they make progress, and then interrogate Li Tong, they will gain something. "

Zhan Zhao pondered for a moment.He really didn't want to ask those six people for help, but he couldn't refuse bluntly, so he nodded his head and said, "Then trouble you two to keep an eye on their movements."