"What! Those people actually fought with me to the end?
And, you started a hunger strike?"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was filled with disbelief!
He knew better than anyone what kind of virtue those officials had. He had already issued a death order. They should be very afraid and then admit their mistakes to themselves.
Why did you suddenly become so brave?
Immediately afterwards, Emperor Chongzhen realized a more serious problem, and these people must not be allowed to starve to death!
Otherwise, how would the historian record himself?
How would people evaluate themselves?
"Your Majesty, I also find this very strange. Logically speaking, they should not have such backbone. Could it be that I have misjudged them?"
Du Buju said doubtfully.
"Hmph! If these people really have backbone, they should use it on the right path. What kind of skills do they have when they have such backbone!"
"Du Buju, I now order you to give me a harsh trial. The speed of the joint trial of your three law divisions is too slow. You must give me a clear trial before they starve to death!"
Emperor Chongzhen said coldly.
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
Du Buju accepted the order.
Obviously, these people made Emperor Chongzhen anxious. You should know that Emperor Chongzhen rarely interfered with the speed of the trial of the Three Laws Division, but this time he directly speeded up the process.
After Du Buju left, he went to see the young ministers of Dali Temple and Honglu Temple. After some discussion, he decided to start interrogating these people overnight.
In the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice!
"Do you know you are guilty?"
Du Buju asked coldly.
"Hmph! Du Buju, do you think we will be afraid of you if you interrogate us overnight?
After all, you are a waste!"
"We are loyal and courageous people. For the future of our Ming Dynasty, we will never do anything against our conscience even if we die!"
"Let's make it clear. As long as His Majesty does not change the appointment of His Highness Zhu Cihong as the crown prince, we will starve to death without eating another meal!"
"Hmph! If I die now, that would be sacrificing my life for the country!"
…
Several people cursed one after another, and Du Buju and others almost wanted to laugh. This was actually related to sacrificing one's life for the country...
"Huh huh! Stop putting so much money on yourselves. Just because of you, do you think you are sacrificing your life for the country?
Are you better than the generals in the army?"
Du Buju said coldly.
"Master Du, don't talk nonsense with these people. His Majesty wants us to clear up the matter as soon as possible. I think it's better to choose another day, so let's hear it out today!"
"That's right, we'll beat these people to death before we start!"
Several people said coldly.
Then, the three of them ordered the officers to beat these people to death. The officers were also cruel, and these officials were beaten until they screamed in agony.
But they refused to give in, and Du Buju and others stopped talking to them about friendship. They used all the cruel methods they could, and finally the flesh of these people was broken.
Several people were beaten to death on the spot. At this moment, the officials all turned pale, realizing that His Majesty was serious this time.
"Sir! These people are dead!"
The officers reported.
"kindness?
It's better to die. This person knew very well the crime he had committed, so he committed suicide out of fear of the crime. He dragged their bodies down and dragged them back to the market entrance for public display!"
Du Buju said.
What!
To be dragged to the market entrance for public display after death, this! This is simply the greatest insult!
"Du Buju, do you still have any humanity? We are officials of the imperial court, and you! You actually beat us to death directly!"
An official said coldly.
Immediately afterwards, another person said: "Du Buju, if you dare to do this, we will not let you go even if you die!"
Du Buju said coldly: "Haha! Do you think you are still an official?
The moment you are imprisoned, you are no longer officials of the imperial court!"
"You are going against His Majesty, and His Majesty has already regarded you as dead people. There is not much difference between being executed after confessing your guilt and being beaten to death now!"
Having said that, Du Buju ordered the officers to continue the beating. Anyway, if they were all beaten to death here, that would be to commit suicide out of fear of crime. On the contrary, he saved a lot of trouble.
The only pity is that these people have not confessed, so the records of historians may record themselves as evil people!
However, Du Buju also took this matter very seriously. Any reputation during life or death is all false. It is only right to do the right thing now.
Immediately afterwards, several more people were beaten to death, and the remaining people could no longer hold on. One person raised his hands and shouted: "Master Du! Please stop, I plead guilty!"
"Master Du, as long as you can ask your Majesty to spare the lives of my wife, children, and children, I will plead guilty!"
"Master Du, stop fighting. Why don't I plead guilty? I don't want to die here!"
Several people shouted.
When Du Buju heard that they were about to confess, he asked someone to stop and said solemnly: "Humph! If you had confessed earlier, you wouldn't have suffered like this. Maybe Your Majesty would be happy and you could still be alive!"
"Now, all that is waiting for you is the death penalty!"
"However, I will try my best to preserve your wives, children, and children. However, I'm afraid it's impossible to continue to enjoy the glory and wealth!"
When those few people heard this, they all burst into tears. They were officials in the imperial court before and lived a life of fine clothing and fine food, but now they have ended up like this.
They regretted that they would not have faced His Majesty if they had known earlier.
"Woo! We know our mistake!"
"We were wrong, we knew we were wrong!"
Several people burst into tears.
Du Buju ordered people to take them to death row. In order to prevent them from dying, he also found a doctor to treat their injuries, and then reported the matter to Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen was naturally happy, but he was also curious. Judging from the performance of these officials, they were definitely not brave and fearless people. Why did they dare to confront him?
Just when Emperor Chongzhen was confused, Lin Fan came to the palace.
"Father! I have something to ask of you."
Lin Fan said.
"Fan'er, what's the matter?"
Emperor Chongzhen asked.
"Father, those officials who were arrested earlier are probably still alive. If they plead guilty, please spare their lives."
Lin Fan said in a deep voice.
"kindness?
You are actually here to intercede for those people, Fan'er, do you know that they only want to harm you!"
Emperor Chongzhen wondered, in his opinion, Lin Fan was not such a womanly person.
"Father, although they want to harm me, I can't kill them because of this kind of thing. Otherwise, I will only give evidence to those who are interested."
"My son interceded for them, and my father released them. This will reflect my father's benevolence, and my son's tolerance will be known to the world."
"Moreover, I believe that after this incident, these people will realize their mistakes and will not make them again in the future."