The moon on August 16th was very round, spreading its radiance all over the ground. At this moment, the Yuncheng County prison cell was a bit stuffy. There was a smell of blood and mold in the air, as well as all kinds of sweat and urine smells.

taste.

Hundreds of patrolmen from the Catfish Mouth Inspection Department are detained here, so it seems very crowded. The patrolmen are all lying on the dirty ground like mourning heirs, bored, and participating in the murder of the imperial envoy.

For serious crimes, what awaits them will be beheading.

Bangdang...

The iron door of the cell opened, and several Jin Yiwei walked in. The prisoners in the cell looked frightened, which showed that they had suffered a lot during the interrogation and had a psychological shadow on the Jin Yiwei.

These Jinyi guards walked straight to the cell where Song Chi was being held, and said coldly: "Song Chi, Master Xu, the imperial envoy, will come to court in person tonight for interrogation, so you can take care of yourself!"

After Jin Yiwei finished speaking, he opened the iron door and took Song Chi, the prefect of Yanzhou, out like a zombie.

County government hall.

The lights were brightly lit, Xu Jin was sitting behind the case in a blue official robe, and in front of the hall stood two rows of guards embroidering spring knives with hands, creating a solemn and desolate atmosphere.

Xue Bingxin, who was disguised as a man, stood behind Xu Jin with a long sword in her arms. A pair of light blue eyes stared coldly at Song Chi, the prefect of Yanzhou in the hall. In her eyes, there are only two types of officials, one is for the sake of the people.

There is a good official, and the other is a bad official who exploits and oppresses the people. This Song Chi is undoubtedly a bad official who deserves to be killed. He stole and sold official food, but he went so far as to frantically dig up the embankment of the Yellow River and kill many people. This kind of shame

A conscientious and evil official should be cut into pieces.

Xu Jin looked calmly at Song Chi, the prefect of Yanzhou who was crumbling in the hall. This man was originally born with a handsome appearance, but in just ten days, he had lost a lot of weight, his eye sockets were sunken, and his eye circles were darkened. He looked like he was in his twilight years.

It looks like it will run out of fuel at any moment.

"Kneel down!" The two guards in royal robes shouted coldly and kicked Song Chi on the knees, knocking him to his knees.

However, Song Chi immediately struggled to stand up again and said weakly: "I am a Jinshi and a fourth-grade magistrate. There is no need to kneel in front of the imperial envoy."

The two Jinyi guards couldn't help but become furious. The magistrate was so arrogant when he was about to die, and they were about to force Song Chi to kneel down. However, Xu Jin waved his hands indifferently, signaling for them to step back, and the two had no choice but to step aside.

.

Xu Jin patted the large pile of case files on the case and said calmly: "Song Chi, this is the result of the investigation of the granaries in the 23 counties in the four prefectures of Yanzhou Prefecture. The deficit of the granaries in the whole prefecture has exceeded 200,000 dan, which is almost the same as that of Yanzhou Prefecture.

The government's food output for two years, if nothing else, this alone is enough to deprive you of your official position and reputation, and even beheading and confiscating your home is not an exaggeration."

Song Chi opened his mouth to speak, but Xu Jin waved his hand and cut him off: "Don't rush to argue. Now most of the prisoners in each county have confessed, and they have also confessed to you, Magistrate Song, with all the witnesses and material evidence. In addition, I know that I

Both Zhang Wensheng and the commander Zhao Fengchun also frankly admitted that they participated in dividing the spoils!"

Xu Jin did not intentionally use deceit and intimidation. Zhang Wensheng and Zhao Fengchun really could not stand the coolness of Jin Yiwei. They had confessed, but they only admitted to participating in stealing and selling official grain. They insisted that the digging of the embankment and the murder of the imperial envoy had nothing to do with them.

Xu Jin had Zhang Wensheng and Zhao Fengchun bring the confessions of Zhang Wensheng and Zhao Fengchun to Song Chi. The latter's face turned pale after reading it, because Zhang and Zhao not only confessed, but also sold him to Song Chi, and sold him completely.

He even confessed how much benefit he got from stealing and selling official grain.

Song Chi was shocked and angry. He had indeed benefited a lot from stealing and selling official rations, but the real big bucks had been taken away by his superiors, and now he had become the biggest scapegoat.

Xu Jin continued: "In addition, Ma Debing, the magistrate of Shouzhang County, has confessed that it was you, the prefect of Song Dynasty, who ordered him to send people to dig up the embankment. You should not need to be reminded of such a serious crime as murdering an imperial envoy. The emperor was furious.

It’s also possible for your Song family and the other three clans.”

Song Chi was in despair, his hands and feet were trembling slightly.

Xu Jin said calmly: "If you confess, you will be lenient, if you resist, you will be severely punished. I advise you to plead guilty and confess as soon as possible, reveal the person behind the scenes, and strive for a lighter sentence!"

Song Chi thought in his mind, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "I admit that I participated in stealing and selling official grain, but the murder of the imperial envoy has nothing to do with me. It was Shouzhang County Magistrate Ma Debing's own decision."

Xu Jin was not surprised by this result. He had long expected that Song Chi would not admit to murdering the imperial envoy. The reason why he mentioned the "Yi Tribe" was just to increase the psychological pressure on Song Chi and force him to admit to stealing official grain first.

"Prepare some pen and ink for Magistrate Song!" Xu Jin waved his hand.

Immediately, the officials brought in the tables and stools and placed them with the four treasures of the study. Song Chi's handcuffs and shackles were also removed, and he began to write his confession in the hall.

About half an hour later, Song Chi's confession was finished. Jin Yiwei took the confession and showed it to Xu Jin. Xu Jin took the confession and read it again, and his eyebrows furrowed. Song Chi's confession did admit that he participated in stealing official grain.

, but instead of confessing the person above him, he took all the blame himself.

Xu Jin's face turned cold and he shouted: "Song Chi, please think clearly. The crime of stealing and selling 200,000 shi of official grain is enough for you to have your house confiscated and beheaded. If you confess the person above you, it may be mitigated."

Guilty!"

A flash of sarcasm flashed through Song Chi's eyes, and he said calmly: "Stealing and selling official food was the result of the subordinate's lust for profit. Who does Mr. Xu want the subordinate to confess? Could it be that he is planning to avenge his personal revenge?"

Jin Biao, a member of the Jin Yiwei family, couldn't help but became furious and cursed: "Fart, I don't think you will shed tears until you see the coffin. Mr. Xu, if this person is handed over to his subordinates for interrogation for a few days, even if he is made of iron, I promise to let him

Open your mouth."

Song Chi stood up tremblingly, and said with a crazy smile: "Sir Xu, the phenomenon of local officials stealing and selling official grain to line their own pockets is not only unique to Yanzhou Prefecture, but also to the entire Shandong Province and even the whole country. Hehe, my officer

Even if the people above are confessed, do you dare to investigate? Think about the Guo Huan case during the Hongwu period. What happened to the person who handled the case in the end? Hahaha..."

Xu Jin couldn't help but his face darkened. The Guo Huan case was a shocking case during the Hongwu Dynasty, so he naturally knew about it.

In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Guo Huan, the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was accused by the imperial officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate of stealing official grain. Because the case involved Zhao Mao, the Minister of Rites, Wang Huidi, the Minister of Punishment, Wang Zhi, the minister of the Ministry of War, and Mai Zhide, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. Finally,

Two ministers and three ministers were all beheaded and abandoned in the city. Hundreds of other officials in the capital were executed, and 7 million stones were recovered. At that time, the whole capital was in turmoil.

The case was not over yet. Later, the prisoner's confession implicated the chief envoys and officials of various provinces, and tens of thousands of people were killed one after another. The implication was so widespread that even the ruthless Zhu Yuanzhang was frightened.

The landlords and wealthy families appealed one after another to express their dissatisfaction, accusing "the imperial court's sinners, and they don't distinguish between jade and stone." Of course, these landlords and bureaucrats did not dare to scold Zhu Yuanzhang, but all pointed their fingers at the imperial envoy responsible for handling the case. In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the situation to accuse Wu Yong, the imperial envoy handling the case.

Waiting for others to impose punishments to appease public anger is really a waste of time!

Song Chi now brings up the Guo Huan case of the Hongwu Dynasty, obviously warning Xu Jin to stop it, otherwise he will be the second Wu Yong.

Song Chi laughed like crazy for a while, then suddenly stopped smiling and said: "I admit the matter of stealing and selling official food. Hehe, murdering the imperial envoy is none of my business. Mr. Xu, let's stop here. This is enough for you to return the favor."

I have been promoted to two levels as a Beijing official, what else is there to be dissatisfied about?"

Just when Xu Jin felt something was wrong, Song Chi suddenly took a few steps back, accelerated violently and crashed into the pillar next to him.

"Stop..." Xu Jing just yelled two words, and Song Chi had already hit his head against the pillar of the hall. There was only a muffled sound, and Song Chi fell to the ground with blood on his face.

Xue Bingxin jumped over several cases, stretched out her hand to explore Song Chi's nostrils, looked back at Xu Jin, shook her head and said, "I'm out of breath!"

Xu Jin suddenly stood up and looked at Song Chi's body in the hall with a complicated expression. This guy would rather die than confess to Luo Xiang and others.

"Come here, go and ask for Doctor Li immediately!" Xu Jin ordered helplessly.

That night, the news that Song Chi, the prefect of Yanzhou, committed suicide spread throughout Yuncheng County, and naturally also reached the ears of Luo Xiang, the eunuch guarding Shandong.

Luo Xiang's residence is located in the north of the city, not far from the Yuncheng County Government Office. It is a large house with nearly a thousand square meters.

At this time, in the central hall of the house, Mr. Luo, who had just listened to his subordinate's report, laughed heartily. He had only had a "single line" of contact with Song Chi, so he could sit back and relax once Song Chi died.

Luo Xiang laughed in a relaxed mood for a while, stood up and went to a wing in the backyard.

There lived a young woman in her mid-twenties who was very beautiful and had an enchanting figure. When she saw Luo Xiang arriving, she immediately saluted with fear and fear: "I have seen Eunuch Luo!"

Luo Xiang glanced at the little boy sleeping soundly on the bed, and said cheerfully: "Is Xiaoman asleep?"

The young woman nodded timidly and said yes.

Luo Xiang sighed and said: "Our family has just received news that Magistrate Song could not withstand the torture of Jin Yiwei and had committed suicide by hitting a pillar. Please pack up and prepare and take Xiaoman back to Jinan Prefecture with our family tomorrow."

The young woman's face instantly turned pale, her eyes showed a look of fear, and she was trembling all over. It was when I saw that I felt pity for her, and a look of greed flashed in the eyes of the big bald Yan Yang standing behind Luo Xiang.

Luo Xiang said harmoniously: "Don't worry, my father-in-law will definitely keep your mother and son safe. I will treat Xiaoman as his own son and train him to grow up and become a talented person."

It is said that this young woman's name is Ma Ronger, and she is a concubine secretly kept outside by Song Chi, the prefect. The little boy on the bed is five years old, and his nickname is Aman, who was born to Song Chi and Ma Ronger. Since Song Chi was arrested

Later, the Song family was also ransacked, and all immediate family members were imprisoned, but Ma Ronger and Aman managed to escape.

It happened that Luo Xiang knew about the existence of the two, so he sent his men to secretly take the mother and son from Yanzhou Fucheng to Yuncheng County. This is why Song Chi would rather die than betray Luo Xiang.
Chapter completed!