So Daotong followed the spirit of His Royal Highness the King of Chu and beat Zhu Xian and Xu Benya more and less every day. Later, he just beat them without questioning them, and tortured the two people to death.
Especially the latter, who is a scholar after all and is not as thick-skinned as the former. Within a few days, he couldn't stand the torture. With a bruised nose and face, he begged: "Don't fight, don't fight. Whatever you want to know, I can't even do it."
"Sir, do you still want to fight?" Zhou Siyu quickly asked in a low voice.
"Since he has a good attitude, I won't fight him today." The magistrate said kindly, "It's Zhu Xian who will take the beating instead."
"No, you didn't ask..." Xu Benya asked weakly.
"Don't worry, we'll wait for a few days before we talk." Daotong said solemnly.
"You just want to beat me..." Xu Benya finally saw it.
"You still want to kill me." Daotong said angrily: "Don't think that I think the same as you. Just interrogating an old criminal like you is like asking a sixty-year-old to vomit sand. There is not enough time and the vomiting will not be clean. Understand.
What?"
"You are the clam..." Xu Benya closed his eyes in resignation. He already understood the other party's intention.
There was no rush to get the confessions from him and Zhu Xian, because the whole story was obvious. They knew it clearly without their confessions.
Their backstage is none other than Marquis Yongjia; their collusion is nothing more than Guangdong's local tycoons; and their protection is nothing more than smuggling merchants.
At this point, everything is as obvious as lice on a bald man's head.
The purpose of interrogating them was simply to obtain evidence of the crimes of those Guangdong rich people and smuggling merchants.
But it seemed that His Highness the King of Chu was not in a hurry to seek revenge, but planned to use the two of them as a deterrent to coerce the Guangdong rich and smuggling merchants into submission.
So whether or not to submit their confessions in the end depends on the performance of those Cantonese guys.
If they obey obediently, they will know some things and still pretend they don't know. So why not ask first, so as not to have to help destroy the evidence later and cause trouble for yourself?
~~
Obviously, Xu Benya was very good at understanding and thought of getting along with Zhu Zhen.
But those Guangdong rich people don’t know whether they are fearless or slow to react. In short, no matter how His Highness the King of Chu flirts with him, several days have passed and they still have no reaction...
"Damn it, these Guangdong barbarians, don't cherish the opportunity given to them!" In the Wind Pavilion from all directions, His Highness the King of Chu cursed unhappily: "You really think that I don't dare to touch them?!"
"Your Highness, calm down." Lin Zhongmo hurriedly consoled him: "This is the case for these local tycoons in Guangdong. They welcome business with them; official matters are never settled. I'm afraid they don't understand His Highness's painstaking efforts..."
"What Fan Tai said is wrong, they understand." Daotong shook his head categorically and said: "Xiaguan's subordinates reported that the big businessmen in Guangdong gathered at Baiyun Villa the day before yesterday and discussed it behind closed doors for a whole day."
"Where is Baiyun Villa?" Lao Liu asked.
"It's the other business of He Zhen's second brother He Di. He lives in the Baiyun Mountains and is very luxurious." Lin Zhongmo replied: "Before, He Zhen was an official in another province, and He Di made the final decision on the affairs of the He family. He
After he became an official, he concentrated on studying Confucianism, so He Di is still in charge of the affairs of the He family..."
"At least that's the case on the surface." After a pause, he added: "Actually, He Di also has another identity. He is the leader of the Guangdong maritime merchants. In recent years, the Fujian maritime merchants have signed up with them to stay warm, so they also listen to He Di.
"
Zhu Zhen couldn't help but smile and said: "Then he is quite busy. He must feel good about himself."
"His Highness is right." Lin Zhongmo and Daotong smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, Master He is really good. He understands the general situation and takes into account the overall situation. He is very reasonable."
"But this He Di is so fucked up." Daotong continued: "I thought Guangdong belonged to the He family all day long, and formed a clique with the rich and powerful families, secretly going against the province, let alone the county.
Take it seriously."
"Don't say that." Lin Zhongmo smiled bitterly at Dao Tong and said, "They are actually quite wary of your strong command. On the contrary, they only respect me verbally, but they don't take me seriously in their hearts."
"Yeah." After listening to the explanations of the two people, Zhu Zhen nodded and said, "Then they will definitely not discuss anything else when they go to He Di's place for a gathering."
"Your Highness is right. It is said that they are discussing whether to accept another recruitment and allow Guangdong maritime merchants to join the Shipping Department." He Zhen, the county magistrate, is quite well-informed.
"What's the result?" Zhu Zhen's face looked a little ugly. He knew the result without asking.
"Almost one-sided opinion is that we should not join the Shibo Division." He Zhen whispered: "I feel that His Highness recruited them just to annex them..."
"They are used to thinking the worst about the court..." Lin Zhongmo said softly.
"What kind of intentions are being treated as a donkey's liver and lungs!" Zhu Zhen spat depressingly: "Although most of the time, I am right to think this way, but have I made it clear enough to He Zhen? I want to lead them to become bigger and stronger.
It’s not about eating them!”
"He really can't control his younger brother..." Lin Zhongmo said, and added: "Of course, if you insist on taking control, you can definitely control it, but I'm afraid that he will ignore it on purpose."
"He Zhen once unified Guangdong and was a great man with both civil and military skills. How could he not control He Di?" Daotong didn't believe it. "He just doesn't want to control it!"
"Aren't they afraid that this king will get angry?" King Chu said with a dark face.
"Maybe they think they can withstand it, just sit in a well and look at the sky." Daotong said a little bitterly.
"Then give them some shocking shock, let them know that the sky is high and the earth is high!" Zhu Zhen pondered for a moment and said coldly: "I have decided to launch a one-month crackdown in Guangdong from now on!"
"Strike hard?" The two officials understood somewhat, but not completely.
"It is an action to severely crack down on criminals." His Royal Highness the King of Chu said solemnly: "We must severely deal with a group of criminals who are angry at the public and have committed serious crimes, as well as the protective umbrella behind them, and give the people a bright future! Let them know
You know who controls the world in Guangdong today!"
"What a great idea!" Daotong immediately clapped his hands and praised: "The people of Guangdong have suffered greatly from this, and we should have had such a show a long time ago to vent their anger!"
"Indeed." Lin Zhongmo nodded and said: "These days, the inspections and inspections have revealed countless unjust, false and wrong cases. The victims are all ordinary people."
"That's just the time to mobilize the people to fight against Huang Silang together!" Zhu Zhen slapped the table and said: "Put up the notice tomorrow and let the people actively report! Not only the victim, but anyone who knows can file a complaint and provide useful clues, and there will be a reward.
