Minister

129【Seven years of Jiankang】

After all, the two officials were well-informed, so they were still calm at the moment. Of the five students who entered the East Factory, one fell ill, and the rest also peed their pants.Huang Gui looked at them coldly: "Let them sit."

No one dared to sit down, Huang Gui took a sip of tea, turned back to the eunuch and said, "Go and tell the brothers in Jinyiwei that our family has taken over this matter, and we will entertain them later."

"It's useless to look at our family," Huang Gui said with a smile, "Let's go to punishment!"

The two servants were stunned: "Eunuch Huang is about to be executed before being interrogated?!"

Huang Gui sneered, stood up and patted the corner of his clothes: "Let's go, it's too hot here."

"We want to see the jury, we need to see the supervisor!!!"

Huang Gui stopped: "There is no supervision in the East Factory...the punishment will be executed."

"Master Wei! We want to see Master Wei!!!!" The two servants were beaten to the ground by the criminal officer.

"Eunuch Huang?" Seeing Huang Gui coming in, Wei Chi quickly stood up and saluted.

"Is it hot?" Huang Gui sat over and said, "Master Wei's complexion is still not good enough... But this matter will be over after today, and I will take a leave and have a good rest."

Wei Chi smiled sheepishly and said, "Can it be this fast?"

"Let me tell you the truth. The emperor actually knew about this matter a long time ago. Although not all of this matter was done by the Ministry of Rites, those who missed the question have already been dealt with secretly. You know, this matter involves the palace and cannot be taken for granted. Come out and say it. Some time ago, when the Sanfa Division and the Beizhen Prefecture Division were tossing, our Dongchang had already asked someone out. Those who were not up to date and the leader Jiangxi people are a family, and now they have gained power and want to One or two scholars from the family will be recruited to help in the future. They can't make friends with ministers and support them, so they thought of this trick, and they didn't know whether they were bold or delusional, and they came up with such a thing. Originally, The matter has to be handled by the Ministry of Rites, but the two outside pretended not to see it, so how about arresting them for nothing? The emperor's heart is like a mirror."

"Then what about Master Lin?" Wei Chi was stunned.

"Master Lin is such a smart person. He knows the priorities of the matter. He confiscated the money. He will be involved in this matter. He is naturally not convinced. Those who have collected the money will naturally come out to resist."

Wei Chi thought for a while: "Then about Tan Xun..."

"The names of those Jiangxi eunuchs have not been kept. How can those Jiangxi untouchables survive? As long as they are willing to admit that they deliberately wronged Tan Xun, wouldn't they have a life?"

Wei Chi was overjoyed, but after he was overjoyed, he remembered that he had also found the answer sheet from Tan Xun's clothes that day, and the hand touching the bank note couldn't bear to hesitate for a moment: "What are they doing now?"

"Master Wei, please don't go, you are still a child." In fact, Huang Gui likes to judge people by appearance besides money. He does not reject a fair and handsome child like Wei Chi from the bottom of his heart, and Wei Chi is willing Sending money and speaking softly, so he was more kind to him. He thought that the life-saving banknote must belong to the King of Yan, and Mr. Wei must be cautious when using it. He is not in a hurry: "After tonight, the confession will come out. But... I also said hello to Mr. Tan, it's just a little bit of flesh and blood, when the time comes to comfort you, comfort, those things don't matter."

Wei Chi coughed, and Huang Gui waved his hand: "You all go down and supervise carefully."

The surrounding officials all retreated.

Wei Chi took out a gift box from his sleeve: "Eunuch Huang, please take a look."

It is not a bank note, but a grasshopper cage.

"The lower official knows that Eunuch Huang has won a powerful role recently, so he asked for this. I don't know if it is suitable?" Wei Chi said frankly: "This cage is made of huanghuali, and the carving is good, but unfortunately it is not an antique. King Yan recently You are also stingy, I begged for a long time before giving it to me."

Huang Gui likes money, but he also likes these toys. He took them over and looked at them. They are indeed excellent things. Ordinary people can see it?"

It's really not something that ordinary people can see. When King Yan handed it to Wei Chi, he gave him some serious instructions. Although Wei Chi knew it was a good thing, he still expressed his disdain for the things used by these rich and idle people.

Huang Gui couldn't let go of his love: "No, no, I'm not robbing people's love?"

Wei Chi said with a smile: "The songbirds in Prince Yan's place are not as good as Eunuch Huang's, so what's the use of taking up such a good cage? It's really used up if it happens to be given to Eunuch Huang."

"Hey! Then Lord Yan is going to be mad at our family!"

"He dare not."

Huang Gui pointed to Wei Chi and smiled ambiguously: "You..."

Chen Ang is not in Beijing at the moment, he went to Mount Lianzhu after meeting Wei Chi last night, and the next morning, when Wei Chi went to see Huang Gui, he sat in Qing Fangchun's attic to meet Lu Shengduo and Dai Tongfeng.

The final agreement of the shopkeepers in Jiangnan was placed on the table in front of the three of them. Dai Tongfeng picked it up and looked at it alone. Chen Ang rubbed his face and yawned: "This year is about the same, it is the matter of Jiangnan, the emperor's 500 million is estimated I can't get it."

Lu Shengduo took out a list and handed it to Dai Tongfeng: "This is the list of officials in Jiangnan. The corrupt officials in Jiangnan did take the money, but in the end they all laundered the money through the bank's ticket number and our people. Recently The secret report said that the emperor's people copied a total of 2 taels of silver, all in cash, and the emperor will either continue to borrow money from the prince, or the tax will be increased."

"How can the tax in Jiangnan be increased?" Lu Shengduo laughed vigorously: "Wei Chi said back and forth yesterday that the case from the Ministry of Rites has arrived in the East Factory, and if he brought it to the East Factory so soon, he may have killed someone, killed someone But I can't get the money, tsk... Beizhen Fusi and Nanzhen Fusi are going to have a hard time!"

"How did Wei Chi get involved in the case of the Ministry of Rites this time?" Lu Shengduo frowned: "Does he think he is not eye-catching enough in front of the emperor?"

Chen Ang laughed loudly: "That's right, my silly girl has already taken a fancy to him, don't you want to continue to show off?"

"I think he will play himself to death one day."

"What a kind person, do you know that Mr. Tan? The one who is married to the Du family. Wei Chi is determined to help others, so he took my 3 taels of silver notes. You hateful guy." Ang took a dried apricot and threw it into his mouth, it was very sour.

"You willful." Lu Shengduo gave a cold evaluation.

"Let's get down to business," Chen Ang sat down on the chair: "We can slowly take the money that the palace will give this year. The main thing is to lend the money. I will talk to the people from the household department about this matter. When you arrive Jiangnan, let’s go and arrange the affairs of Deyizhuang. We will start the mutual market this year, so we can’t make some preparations. Don’t stand out in Jiangnan,” Chen Ang pointed to Lu Shengduo: “Let Qin Yueru go to the counter Talk to me. After Wei Chi’s case is finished this time, I will discuss it with him, and if he is willing, I can temporarily transfer him to Nanzhili. He is too young to do many things.”

After thinking carefully, Dai Tongfeng and Lu Shengduo nodded.

"What does Wang Yunyi think about these things?" Dai Tongfeng asked Lu Shengduo.

"He probably doesn't want to do it anymore." Lu Shengduo rubbed the table: "He is old, and the descendants of the Wang family have no generals, so he also wants to retire. Although Queen Wang has a miscarriage this year, she has a daughter after all. He is also approaching the age of retirement, and this time the emperor can't call him."

"The emperor is short of money and people, so will he still insist on fighting?"

"The emperor agreed to the mutual market in Monan and gave them a name, but according to his personality, he will still fight when time is enough. Don't take any chances." Chen Ang weighed this younger brother in his heart: "He wants Leave a name in history, he will continue to toss."

There are a lot of ice cubes stored in the attic of Qingchunfang, which is quiet and pleasant, and there are many in the East Factory, but it is in the inner room, and the punishment room is underground, so it is sweltering and hot.

In the room on the west side, two servants are locked up, and they are in the process of execution, and the two execution officers are drinking tea and chatting.

"Are they still not recruiting?" the criminal officer asked the torturer.

"Returning to my lord, they just said they want to see lord Wei."

"See Master Wei?" The criminal officer smiled and said, "Do you want to see Master Wei?"

"You're just using torture! We want to see the supervisor!"

"In the Ministry of Criminal Justice, you don't talk about it well, and you don't talk about it when you come to Fusi in Beizhen, but you suddenly want to talk about it in Dongchang?" What was it used to do before, maybe he came heavier than ours?"

"Don't bother with them, just use the punishment, and let them be charged in a while."

The execution lasted until late at night, and Huang Gui was finally satisfied with the confession sent by the criminal officers. Huang Gui handed it to Wei Chi for a look: "It's just tonight and tomorrow night, after a hard work, it will be fine after these two days."

Wei Chi took the confession, and the content inside it was quite different from the previous ones, every sentence was as precise as it had been edited out.Wei Chi thought of the two servants he had dealt with before, they were not old, treacherous and cunning, and the Beizhen government secretary was also sentenced, so why did they just give in after only half a day in Dongchang?Wei Chi believes that those Jiangxi people are definitely not the opponents of Dongchang, or even the opponents of the Sanju, so they have not been executed... What kind of "truth" will they tell tomorrow night?

"I want to see Tan Xun..." Wei Chi handed the confession certificate back to Huang Gui, and asked tentatively.

"Alright, so that he doesn't pee his pants tomorrow," Huang Gui said generously, "The dungeon is very dirty, so don't stay for long."

It's quite different from the cell, the dungeon here is completely built underground, and there is a dark river beside the cell, and there are some unknown things floating in it.The weather was already hot, and the lights in the dungeon made it even more boring.Wei Chi covered his nose and motioned for the internal officer to lead the way.

According to Dongchang's requirements, all people had to wear black cloaks when entering and exiting, so when Wei Chi appeared in front of Tan Xun's cell door, he was still startled and screamed loudly.

Prisoners here, no matter they are high or low, are held in solitary confinement. After Tan Xun called enough, the internal officer saluted Wei Chi: "The little one has gone out. The adults can call the little one if they need it. The little one is right outside the door."

The inner officer put down the lantern in his hand, and the dim light illuminated the cell. Wei Chi took off his cloak: "Do you know me?"

Tan Xun looked it over carefully: "...I don't know."

"We met at General Du's funeral."

"……You are?"

"I'm Wei Chi." Wei Chi squatted down next to the cell door.

Tan Xun stopped trembling in fear——Wei Chi was a close friend of the man who was supposed to be his brother-in-law, and the present-day Imperial College Jijiu.

"Lord Wei...help me!" Tan Xun threw himself on the iron railing, crying loudly.

"I've already met your sister and your parents. They are all fine, so don't worry." Wei Chi saw that his appearance was not much different from when he left Beizhen Prefecture. He probably just got a little frightened, maybe As Huang Gui said, he and those Jiangxi people will play tomorrow.

"Who have you met since you were arrested?"

"General Tang... I only met General Tang. He told me to say that I don't know anything when asked, so that my life can be saved. I have always said so." Tan Xun temporarily regained his composure.

Wei Chi nodded: "But you have test papers in your clothes, so it's not like you can get away with it if you don't know it."

Tan Xun choked up: "At Beizhen Prefecture, they discounted my hands...I...they knew I wasn't telling the truth." Tan Xun's left hand was distorted and only had a simple bandage.

"They are all from Jiangxi, how did you get involved? Your family just came to Beijing, and you have never been to Jiangxi. Why do you have anything to do with it?" This really puzzled Wei Chi.

"I..." Tan Xun chirped.

"You have to tell me the truth." Wei Chi emphasized his tone.

"I... didn't know them at first. After arriving in the capital, I met my brother-in-law. I was not in a good mood, so I went out to drink with my friends. After arriving at the tavern, we sat on the seats that we had reserved before. , because I was originally in a bad mood, so most of the friends who went there were comforting me. After a few drinks, two arrogant Jiangxi people came in suddenly. There were only two of them, but they insisted on sitting in our big seat My son. Because we originally set the location, our group of people also got angry. Everyone was about to quarrel, and the shopkeeper of the hotel came to calm the incident. I heard some words like "godson" and "godfather" among them Salutation. In the end, there was a stalemate for a while, and the shopkeeper gave us the full price of the wine, and promised to send a guy to send us to another restaurant. The people on our side saw that they had a lot of background, so they agreed... "Tan Xun paused with difficulty: "I should have walked with my companions, but halfway I found that I forgot to take the two handkerchiefs I left with them, so I walked back alone... I don't know why Oh, it's just two worthless handkerchiefs, I would turn back to get them that day..."

Wei Chi felt his heart lift up.

"After I took the handkerchief, I felt a little drunk, so I went to their backyard to urinate. I was walking to the door of the latrine, when I suddenly heard someone whispering in Jiangxi dialect. Thinking of the two people before, I couldn't help but I wanted to play tricks on them, so I hid in the cubicle and eavesdropped... Ahem, what they were talking about was probably the subject of this year's must pass and the exam questions... I was shocked at the time! Only then did I remember what they said about "godfather" The words like this may have something to do with the people in the palace. I am not very talented, and it is not easy to pass the provincial examination. The accident, they are already sad but they still treat me so much every day... It can be seen that they still have high expectations for me, thinking that if I can go to high school, maybe..."

"So you just..."

"I just... jumped out and threatened them. The two of them are also attached to that Zhang Zijing, who is the son of Guo Lin, the chief eunuch of the Siyao Bureau. They are afraid that I will make things worse, and they are also afraid that Zhang Zijing will blame them if he finds out. , so I left the question to me in private...I...I thought...Master Wei, the villain really knew his mistake, and I will never dare to think about it again. My lord, my parents are so old My younger sister is still young... My lord, please save me for their sake."

Tan Xun held Wei Chi's hand tightly, and Wei Chi felt that his hand had already become cold in the stuffy cell.

—Is he innocent?

— My brother is innocent!

"Have you ever said this to anyone else?"

"No! No! I never told anyone!"

"Have you talked to General Tang?"

"I never said that."

"..."

——What can be done and what can't be done?

——What is the original intention?

——Unless the Jiangxi people are willing to admit that they have wronged Mr. Tan, how can he get away with it?

——At Dongchang, how can there be any confession that cannot be asked?Don't worry, Master Wei.

"Master Wei! Help me!" Tan Xun felt that at this moment, the emotions he had been insisting on had completely collapsed. It is not an exaggeration to say that this person is a stranger, right?But he suddenly felt that only he could save himself, and he also knew that once he told the truth, it would be tantamount to handing over his life to someone else, even Tang He dared not say it, but at this moment, he felt that this person could entrust his life.

Wei Chi patted the back of his hand, stood up, and put on a black cloak.

Tan Xun couldn't see his face clearly: "Master Wei!"

Wei Chi picked up the lantern on the table, walked slowly to the prison door, and listened carefully—the internal officer did not eavesdrop.I went to the walls and knocked again-it was indeed a solid wall.

"I'll go first." When Wei Chi turned his head, the faint light reflected his facial features.

Young Scholars, Young Heroes, Young Senior Officials... It seems that people are different. Tan Xun in the cell has mixed feelings.

Wei Chi opened the door and stood in the distance. The inner officer ran over to take the lantern from Wei Chi's hand: "Are you ready to go out, sir?"

"...Well! Please... treat him well."

The author has something to say: Is Qing Chunfang Wall Street?The game between the two countries has never been a simple agreement. A fraud can involve hundreds of ideas, so how many people's interests are involved in a war?

Wei Chi has been really depressed recently...

The 3 taels of silver bill was in his sleeve, and the truth he wanted to care about was already in front of him.Just like Master Xu said, this officialdom has long been corrupted, and Wei Chi is just a hypocrite?

Bribery, maybe it was something Wei Chi never thought about two years ago... But now it seems to have come out of the circle of idealists, but does this mean losing all principles?

The Jiangxi man is certainly guilty, but it is not because he is guilty and destined to be a capital crime, so it is not too much to add one more?

If not...how about Du Ranunculus?

And what about that innocent little girl who was cornered by fate?