"I have been ordered by the emperor to patrol the sky on behalf of the emperor. I have my own laws for judging cases and judging crimes. How can I allow you and other ghosts and monsters to criticize me?"
Jie Xuelong was furious, and his words contained guns and sticks.
Jin Qiyu didn't care, he just looked at Xu Jinzhong.
"Eunuch Xu, please uphold justice."
Xu Jinzhong felt hairy all over at his look, and was even more annoyed by Jie Xuelong's stubbornness.
"Jie Zhongcheng, are you going to disobey the Holy Will?"
Xu Jinzhong was an imperial envoy and represented the emperor. His words were obviously imperial edicts.
A mountain of pressure came, making Jie Xuelong feel helpless.
"Your Majesty is ignorant, and by acting like this, you are willing to seek the skin of a tiger."
"presumptuous!"
Xu Jinzhong was furious.
"Xie Zhongcheng, if you refuse to obey orders, don't blame our family for using the law."
Seeing the Jinyi guards around him looking at him with eager eyes, Xie Xuelong knew that there was nothing he could do.
The rest of the Jiangxi bureaucrats and gentry shrank their heads even more. As for the anger in their hearts, they were helpless at this time.
"Give me the order to let him go."
They thought they were fed up, but Jin Qiyu didn't give up.
"Where are our merchants from Shandong being imprisoned? I will personally greet them."
Xu Jinzhong trembled.
"Master Jin, the prison is a filthy place, and it seems inappropriate to get involved in it personally."
Jin Qiyu had a murderous look on his face.
"I, Shandong, walk around the world with an upright attitude and hold my head high, but I cannot be bullied by others. Let's discuss today's matter."
After that, Jin Qiyu followed Jin Yiwei out of the Yamen and went straight to the prison in Nanchang.
After he left, the discussion in the hall was abuzz, and all the bureaucrats and gentry felt as if they were mourning for their heirs.
Zhou Yingqi couldn't stand it any longer and asked: "Eunuch Xu, why is the court doing this? Aren't you afraid of losing people's hearts by allowing rebellion and arrogance?"
Now that Jin Qiyu is gone, Xu Jinzhong's airs have collapsed.
"Do you think our family is willing to go through this? Do you know His Majesty's suffering? The situation is like this, what can we do!"
Jie Xuelong seemed to have aged several years, slumped in his chair, with no strength left in his body.
"Eunuch Xu, is there really nothing the court can do?"
Xu Jinzhong looked up to the sky and sighed.
"You are a swordsman, and I am a fish and meat. You all... have been wronged."
The whole hall was filled with the best of Jiangxi, the best among men. At this moment, there was nothing they could do except hold their heads and cry.
Everyone had a premonition that the power of the Ming Dynasty seemed to have really come to an end.
Nanchang Prison.
Seeing the Jin Yiwei arriving, everyone in the prison was frightened.
Hundreds of Jinyiwei came forward and asked, "Where are all the Shandong merchants who were imprisoned earlier?"
The prison head hurriedly said: "Master Bai Hu, please rest assured, the young ones have been greeted and are just waiting for you."
Baihu was frightened and knew what he meant.
"Take me there quickly."
The cell leader thought that the Jin Yiwei was here to extract prisoners, so he did not dare to neglect, and quickly led the way to the depths of the prison.
At this time, the depths of the prison were like hell on earth.
Hundreds of men and women, old and young, were imprisoned here. They were all merchants running business in Shandong, and Li Banghua's relatives were also among them.
A middle-aged man lay paralyzed on the ground, his body beaten to pieces. His blank and withered eyes looked at the dark roof above, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
On the other side, a little girl curled up hard in the arms of a woman.
"Mom, I'm hungry."
When the woman heard this, she couldn't help crying.
"Be good, there will be food soon."
The little girl was frightened by the woman's crying and did not dare to make any more noise. She tried her best to reach out her little hand to help her mother wipe away her tears, but as she wiped them, she began to sob.
Although the child is small, he is very sensible and does not dare to cry when he cries.
In the cell next to him, a slightly older boy was fearfully asking about his father.
"Father, are we going to die?"
His father's face was full of bitterness, but he still pretended to be strong.
"Don't be afraid, we are going home soon."
But he knew very well that they were rebels. If they were caught here, they would die.
Do you regret it?
Resentment?
He didn't know whether he should or not.
Thinking about the prosperous days I lived before I was arrested, I feel so nostalgic.
The whole family is living a prosperous life because of doing business in Shandong. If we are in trouble today, why should we blame Shandong?
It's a pity that all the money I saved was embezzled by those bad officials.
This is a Ming Dynasty that doesn’t give people a way to survive.
What's wrong with him?
I just want to start a business, make more money, and support my family.
He never thought of rebellion.
Why did the imperial court not go to Shandong to suppress the rebellion, but instead dealt with unarmed people like him?
Men can't understand.
Trapped in such a small world, the only thing that can wait is death, right?
A flash of white light flashed before his eyes, which was the way the sun shone when the cell door was opened.
How long has it been since you last bathed in the sun?
Even the warmth brought by the sun is so unfamiliar.
Only when he was trapped here did he suddenly understand the value of freedom.
There was a rush of footsteps, and a large number of guards in uniforms rushed in, causing all the prisoners here to panic.
As a Ming Dynasty person, no one knows what the appearance of Jin Yiwei means.
Is today the last time for them?
Before everyone could prepare, Jin Yiwei separated from the left and right, revealing a young man in strange clothes.
The young man came forward and couldn't help laughing when he saw the miserable situation inside the fence.
"Okay! Very good! I, Shandong, will remember what happened today."
After making harsh words, the young man asked loudly: "Where are Mr. Li Chengyang and Li Zichu?"
Although the lady who was holding the little girl was very frightened, she still said politely: "I am a humble man. He is injured and cannot get up to answer. Please forgive me, sir."
Jin Qiyu couldn't help but became furious when he saw the man paralyzed on the grass.
"Why are you still standing there? Open the door."
The Jinyiwei family members were trained like dogs, and they couldn't help but express their anger at the cell leader.
"Goucai, didn't you hear that?"
The cell leader was sprayed with saliva and quickly stepped forward to open the lock.
Jin Qiyu stepped inside and squatted in front of Li Zichu, finding that he was in very bad condition.
"Immediately arrange for doctors to prepare medicinal materials to treat Mr. Zichu. If there is an accident, I, Shandong, will not give up."
Seeing that Jin Yiwei came over and not only did he not arrest anyone, but the young man seemed to be very nervous about his husband's safety, the woman suddenly became hopeful.
"I dare to ask the official..."
Seeing Jin Yiwei sending someone, Jin Qiyu replied.
"Madam, don't worry. I'm from Shandong, and I'm here just for you. When Meng Angong heard that you were in trouble, he couldn't sleep or eat well, and he was filled with guilt. My commander-in-chief even said that I can't let my relatives of Shandong officials and businessmen do business.
You are humiliated. Don't worry about it for now, you can go home soon."
All the prisoners around heard his words and started crying and howling for a while.
This is a cry of joy.
It is also a blessing to turn a crisis into safety.
It is a kind of protected happiness.
They had no idea that even though they were thousands of miles away, Shandong was actually concerned about their safety and even came to rescue them.
Originally, it was difficult to predict whether one would live or die if he was caught here, and many of them were quite resentful of Shandong.
But after this incident, most people here quickly changed their views.
