Three hundred and ninetieth chapters violent death
Zheng Guotai's hasty self-defense was like a target rising up, which immediately attracted a fierce attack from Taiyuan officials. Officials from the Donglin Party were of course the main force in this attack. In addition to the Zhejiang Party, the Qi Party, the Xuan Party, and the Chu Party
Some officials also criticized Zheng Guotai. The three parties are not monolithic. Under the pressure of strong public opinion, they are still eager to distance themselves. Through this case, these officials know that the status of the prince is difficult to shake. Now that Emperor Wanli is old and sick, he will not take advantage of this.
When can I wait until I can express my support for the crown prince?
Only Liu Tingyuan, the leader of the Zhejiang Party, still stood his ground. He wrote a quite powerful rebuttal, starting from the inconsistencies in the confessions of the criminal Zhang Cha. Zhang Cha first confessed that the firewood was sold to Li Wancang from his hometown, and Li Ziqiang could not buy it and burn it because the two
Li had two internal officials, Pang Bao and Liu Cheng, as his backers. Zhang Cha failed to complain locally and was detained instead, so he came to Beijing like crazy. This is consistent with the investigation reported by Qi Yanling, the magistrate of Jizhou. Judging from this confession,
Er Li, Pang, and Liu were Zhang Cha's enemies, but Zhang Cha's later confession suddenly changed his confession and said that Er Li recommended him to Pang and Liu. This was clearly an intentional frame-up and involved his enemies in the case.
In the major assault case, Liu Tingyuan believed that Zhang Cha's retraction of his confession was instigated by Wang Zhicai, the head of the Ministry of Punishment, and demanded that Zhang Cha be severely punished and Wang Zhicai be examined -
Liu Tingyuan's refutation of the memorial can be said to be relatively sharp, but Zheng Guotai couldn't hold himself back and jumped out to defend himself, which suddenly became the target of public criticism. Liu Tingyuan's memorial was not paid attention to, and Liu Tingyuan failed to explain why Zhang Chai was a crazy person.
Being able to break into Ciqing Palace easily, the Zhejiang Party officials who presided over the preliminary and retrial were in an extremely embarrassing situation and were reviled by the people in Beijing. Liu Tingyuan, Hu Shixiang and others must take action and fight back, otherwise they will have difficulty in Beijing.
Standing in neutral——
On the evening of the second day of June, Hu Shixiang, a doctor in the Ministry of Punishment, and Zou Shaoguang, the chief officer on duty that day, interrogated Zhang Cha. Since Wang Zhicai could interrogate Zhang Cha secretly, why couldn't Hu Shixiang, the chief interrogator of the assault case, not? Zou Shaoguang, the chief prosecutor, ordered the jailer to interrogate Zhang Cha.
Zhang Chai was interrogated standing up with a wooden shackle weighing eighty kilograms. He was not allowed to sit down or lie down. Otherwise, he would be beaten with bamboo thorns. However, there was delicious rice and stewed meat on the side. As long as Zhang Chai confessed truthfully, he would be given it.
Take off the shackles and let him eat meat——
He stood up for trial with an eighty-pound wooden yoke on his shoulders and neck. It was a hot day in June again. In less than two seconds, Zhang Chai was sweating profusely. He was detained in the Prison of the Ministry of Punishment for half a month and was tried and tortured every three days.
, his body was already weak, and he shouted feebly: "Remove the shackles first, then the villain will confess."
Hu Shixiang slapped the hall in shock and shouted: "Confess quickly, how did Wang Zhicai instigate you to retract your confession?"
Zhang Cha was carrying the wooden yoke, his legs were shaking, and he said with difficulty: "Remove the yoke first. Let me eat a piece of meat, and I will confess."
Zou Shaoguang, the prison chief, called a jailer over and whispered a few words. The jailer picked up a piece of oily meat with chopsticks and put it to Zhang Cha's mouth. Zhang Cha opened his mouth to greet him, but the jailer moved the fat to another place.
On the other hand, Zhang Cha was so anxious that he turned his neck and shouted: "Don't move, don't move-"
As expected, the fat meat at the end of the chopsticks was frozen. Zhang Cha took a good look, stretched his neck and bit into it, thinking that he had hit the mark. Unexpectedly, the jailer's arm retracted and he made a "crunch" sound. He bit down with his upper teeth.
tooth--
The jailer held the piece of fat high, looked sideways at the prisoner who was sometimes crazy and sometimes sober, and said: "Hurry up and answer the questions truthfully, so that you can eat the meat."
Seeing that he couldn't eat and felt uncomfortable, Zhang Cha swallowed his saliva and asked: "Have Li Wancang, Li Ziqiang and the others been captured?"
Hu Shixiang immediately realized that there was something hidden in his words and asked, "Tell me how they bully you on weekdays."
Zhang Cha sat down on the ground and shouted: "I won't say anything, I just want to eat meat."
"Stand up and speak back!"
Two long bamboo sticks, one on the left and the other on the right, were immediately struck down. Zhang Cha couldn't bear the pain and reluctantly stood up again. He said angrily to Hu Shixiang and others in the hall: "You all are not willing to redress my grievances. I won't even fight to the death."
trick."
Hu Shixiang slowed down and said: "Zhang Cha, tell me how you bullied Li Wancang and Li Wanqiang, how you want revenge, and how you want to redress your grievances. I will make the decision for you to redress your grievances."
The wooden shackles became heavier and heavier. Zhang Cha staggered and steadied himself and said: "Catch them both and interrogate them together with me. We will interrogate them together -" Suddenly he squatted down and shouted: "My stomach hurts so much!"
This criminal was really cunning, so Hu Shixiang said angrily: "Left and right, I'll give him twenty bamboo lashes before I ask him anything."
Before the bamboo stick could be pulled out, Zhang Chai had already rolled to the ground. After rolling a few times, his legs gradually straightened out and he remained motionless despite the bamboo sticks hitting his body.
An old official nearby saw that the prisoner looked strange, and hurriedly stopped the jailer from continuing to beat him. He stepped forward to take a closer look, and saw blood bleeding from the corner of Zhang Cha's mouth, and his face was pale. The old official looked at the prisoner's eyelids, took his pulse, then stood up and crossed his hands to Hu Shixiang and said:
"Master Hu, the prisoner is dead."
"Ah!" Hu Shixiang and Zou Shaoguang were shocked. They went down to the hall to see that Zhang Cha had no heartbeat or breathing and was dead.
Zou Shaoguang was shocked and said: "The eighty-pound shackles have only been worn for half an hour, and the bamboo lashes can only be used for more than ten times. It will not kill him."
The death of a prisoner caused by torture in court is not a small crime, and it would be fine if he were an ordinary prisoner. However, Zhang Cha was the key criminal in the assault case. If he died suddenly, the officials in the government and the public would definitely suspect that Hu Shixiang and others deliberately destroyed witnesses.
——
The lights in the prison hall were dim and gloomy, and the officials nearby did not dare to make a sound. After a while, Hu Shixiang said: "We have sent an old man to do an autopsy. None of the officials present today are allowed to leave." He hurriedly ordered the officers to go and invite him.
Li Rong, the Minister of Punishment, arrived.
At the end of Xu Shi, Li Rong rushed to the Criminal Department. At this time, the two prisoners had also completed the autopsy. It was found that the prisoner Zhang Chai was not poisoned, but died of a ruptured spleen.
Li Rong stared at Hu Shixiang and sneered: "Hu Langzhong, you beat the criminal to death, but you called me to take the blame for you, right?"
Hu Shixiang's face turned purple with anxiety and said: "Li Shangshu, I did not impose severe punishment on the criminal. It was really strange that the prisoner suddenly died after wearing the shackles for only two moments."
Li Rong, who is also a figure in the Zhejiang Party, shook his head and said: "Zheng Guotai is eager to defend himself, and you are eager to interrogate the criminals. Now there is no way to deal with it. It has been a complete failure."
Hu Shixiang said: "No matter how stupid I am, I will not kill this prisoner. This prisoner's death is really bizarre!"
Li Rong sighed: "But now that the person is dead, how can you explain it to the emperor and the officials?"
Hu Shixiang was furious, his lips were dry and his tongue was dry, so he asked the two gangsters: "How could a perfectly good prisoner end up with a ruptured spleen and die?"
One of the old men said: "Sir, this prisoner must have had a hidden injury for a long time, and he only got angry at this time."
Another slightly younger prisoner said: "I heard that there are masters of beating in Songjiang area. They beat people on the chest, abdomen, waist and back. The person who is beaten can die of injuries after three months or half a year. This prisoner may be beaten."
A man who has been beaten like this, and now wears heavy shackles, is unable to bear it and is having a fit. Even gods can't save him."
Li Rong, Hu Shixiang, and Zou Shaoguang looked at each other. If what this gangster said was true, then they had completely stepped into the trap that their opponents had planned and carefully laid this time.
People are at the mercy of others.
On a summer night in June, Hu Shixiang and Zou Shaoguang were covered in cold sweat.
…
The criminal Zhang Cha died violently. This matter could not be concealed. The news came out. All the officials were in an uproar and condemned Hu Shixiang and Zou Shaoguang. Public opinion in Beijing generally believed that Liu Tingyuan, Hu Shixiang and Zheng's party were trying to cover up the truth, so
First, they wanted to treat the prisoner as crazy, but that didn't work. Then they simply killed the prisoner. In this way, there was no proof, and they were not afraid of implicating the mastermind behind the scenes. Of course, some people think that Liu Tingyuan, Hu Shixiang and others would not be so stupid and try the case themselves.
He killed the prisoner himself. This is too blatant. There may be a hidden reason, but then again, the prisoner did die when Hu Shixiang and others were in jail for interrogation. Maybe Hu Shixiang and others were so angry that they did something stupid in a moment of confusion. Who is this?
How can you explain it clearly?
Public opinion outside the palace was in an uproar, and the inner palace was naturally affected. Zhang Wenda, the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Shangshu, asked Emperor Wanli to let the internal official Pang Bao, and Liu Cheng went to the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation. Now that the main criminal Zhang Cha was dead, only the subordinate Zhang Cha
The investigation continues on the Jizhou people Li Wanchang, Li Ziqiang, Pang Bao, and Liu Cheng who were confessed by the police. The two Lis are about to be escorted to Beijing. Pang Bao and Liu Cheng beg for their lives in front of Concubine Zheng——
Concubine Zheng has been very calm since the attack. Only once did she mention it in front of Emperor Wanli, saying that the attack was exactly the same as three years ago when Prince Jinyiwei Baihu falsely accused her of instigating a demon to curse the East Palace. Emperor Wanli
Comforting: "I know you, let them make trouble, I will just ignore it."
Concubine Zheng is fifty-one years old this year. No matter how beautiful she was when she was young, she is now declining. However, Emperor Wanli still loves her. This shows that Concubine Zheng is very charming and capable. However, Zheng Guotai's self-defense attracted the crowd.
The ministers criticized, the criminal Zhang Cha died suddenly, the foreign officials asked Pang Bao, and the voice for Liu Cheng to leave the palace for trial was rising. Concubine Zheng finally couldn't sit still. On the morning of the fourth day of June, Concubine Zheng went to Qixiang Palace to express her gratitude to Wanli.
The emperor cried and complained that since the attack incident, Emperor Wanli had also been under strong pressure from the ministers of the foreign court. At this time, seeing Concubine Zheng kneeling at his knees and crying, he said: "Axiu, please explain this to me in person. As long as I
If you tell the courtiers that this matter has nothing to do with you, then I will settle the case." He ordered the eunuchs around him to go to Ciqing Palace to tell the prince that he was here to see him.
Prince Zhu Changluo received the oral instructions of Emperor Wanli from the official palace in Qixiang Palace. He immediately changed his clothes and prepared to go to see his father. Wang An accompanied him. Zhu Changluo asked quietly: "Wang Banban, why did your father summon me at this time?"
Wang An was well aware of the development of the attack on the outer court, and he knew that Concubine Zheng could no longer pretend to be indifferent. This must be Concubine Zheng crying and defending herself in front of the emperor. The emperor asked the prince to go and let the two of them explain it in person -
After hearing Wang An's analysis, Zhu Changluo nodded, but then asked: "If Concubine Zheng explains to me, how should I respond?"
Wang Andao: "Qiantui Master, do you still remember the words that Mr. Liu, the official official, said to comfort Qiantui Master?"
Zhu Changluo thought for a while, nodded and said: "I understand." Then he and Wang An followed the internal official who passed on the emperor's oral instructions to Qixiang Palace.
The official Mr. Liu mentioned by Wang An refers to Liu Yuening from Jiangxi who was the right center of Zhanshi Mansion at that time. At that time, Zhu Changluo had not yet been canonized as the prince. After repeated urging by the officials, Emperor Wanli agreed. He was already thirteen years old.
When Zhu Changluo left the palace to study, Liu Yuening was one of the officials. Because the emperor did not pay attention to the emperor's eldest son leaving the cabinet to study, the treatment given to the officials in the palace was also very poor. Originally, after the lectures were completed, they were rewarded with food and wine, and from time to time
There are also rewards, but to give lectures to the emperor's eldest son, the lecturers have to bring their own lunch boxes, and there are no other silver coins, pens and ink, or money-saving rewards that should be given as a rule. The lectures for the emperor's eldest son are not as good as the treatment of rural school teachers. In this regard,
The eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Changluo, felt very ashamed. It was the time when the young man needed face the most, so he could not help but complain. Liu Yuening was there to comfort him, hoping that the eldest son of the emperor would be benevolent and filial. Zhu Changluo was smart and understood his situation. He could be safe these years while walking on thin ice.
It was precisely because he had always been filial to his father that he came over. So when he heard Wang An mention the late Liu Jiangguan, Zhu Changluo understood it.
On the way, Wang An whispered: "Master Qian Sui can ask Master Long Sui to continue to attend lectures and get closer to foreign ministers. Also, the emperor's eldest grandson is twelve years old this year. It is long since he officially left the cabinet to study. Although Zhong Benhua is talented and learned,
I am also loyal to my young master and my brother, but I am not dignified as an internal official and cannot be a strict teacher, so I have to go to the pavilion to study."
Zhu Changluo nodded. He had been so frightened and wronged in this attack, and he should make some compensation.
When they arrived at the back hall of Qixiang Palace, when Concubine Zheng saw Prince Zhu Changluo coming in, she knelt down and cried: "Brother, why did I ever want to harm you? I watched your brother grow up. If I were the mastermind of this case,
, let me die badly——"
When Zhu Changluo saw Concubine Zheng kneeling down to him, he was so frightened that he also knelt down and said repeatedly: "My son will never dare to be suspicious of his mother and concubine. Foreign ministers talked about it, but my son did not believe it."
Emperor Wanli had a straight face at first, but when he heard what Zhu Changluo said, he was immediately overjoyed. He asked the people in the palace to help Concubine Zheng and the prince up, gave them seats, and said to Zhu Changluo: "Brother, I understand in my heart that foreign ministers have their own selfish interests."
Using this matter to create a big controversy makes me extremely troubled. How do you think this case should be settled?"
Zhu Changluo said cautiously: "Originally, it was enough to just question Zhang Cha, but when my son heard that Zhang Cha was dead and confessed four people, he asked those four people for questioning. There is no need to involve the rest."
When Concubine Zheng heard that she wanted to question Pang Bao and Liu Cheng, she suddenly became anxious. Who knew that these two people would be instigated by those foreign officials to say something unfavorable to her. When they were about to argue, Emperor Wanli said in a tone that left no room for argument:
"Brother is right, just do what he said." He asked Zhu Changluo again: "Brother was frightened this time. I want to give you some compensation. What do you want?" Let's see what Zhu Changluo will do.
He would not make any excessive demands, but after hearing that Zhu Changluo only requested that he and the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Youxiao go out to study together, Emperor Wanli was quite satisfied with his son's attitude and said: "I will follow you, and I will be at your Ciqing tomorrow."
The palace summoned the ministers and settled the case on the spot to avoid endless disputes in the court. What do you think?"
Zhu Changluo said: "My father is wise, and it is my son's wish to close the case as soon as possible... Please vote for recommendations, book friends, please log in, thank you. (To be continued) rq!~!
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