After bandaging, Lin Jue was about to ask questions. However, Mr. Xiong's legs became weak and he sat on the ground. Lin Jue put a spike on his neck and cursed: "What are you doing? Stand up?"
"Brother, please let me sit down, okay? I have no energy left." Mr. Xiong gasped.
"What a pustule." Lin Jue cursed.
Mr. Xiong looked ashamed, but he didn't dare to say anything. Lin Jue knelt down and asked in a deep voice: "Tell me in detail, who are you? What crime did you commit to get here? What are you doing in this prison?"
Who gave you the courage to do this, and who condoned you. What is the intention? If there is even half of a sentence that is untrue, I will kill you."
Mr. Xiong said hurriedly: "Don't dare, don't dare to hide it. Our brothers committed crimes in the army and were brought back to the capital for questioning. After that..."
"What crime did you commit?" Lin Jue asked in a low voice.
"This...there's no need to say it." Mr. Xiong said awkwardly.
Lin Jue glared and said, "Then I have to ask the guy in my hand if he agrees."
Mr. Xiong grunted and gritted his teeth: "Forget it, it's not a secret anyway. We brothers were originally generals of the Zhuozhou border garrison. I am Xiong Sanshan, the commander of the Jingwu Army in Zhuozhou. Those are all me.
A lieutenant under his command. We have been at war with the Liao people in Zhuozhou for many years, and have fought many battles, large and small. Last autumn, the imperial court and the Liao people reached a peace agreement, and things calmed down a bit. The Jingwu Army consisted of more than 12,000 people.
We were stationed in Zhuozhou all the time. It was a very boring day, so we brothers drank some wine and then went out to the city to enjoy the autumn breeze. Unexpectedly, we encountered Liao soldiers and horses. We thought that since there was a peace agreement, the two sides would no longer fight, so we paid no attention to them. Who?
Expecting that they would launch a sudden attack, we were caught off guard, and more than a hundred people were killed by them. After escaping, a few of us discussed that if we returned to the city, we would be punished by Yuan Shangju, the commander of the Jingwu Army. So after thinking about it,
We lost our minds and did something wrong."
Lin Jue frowned and said, "What did you do? Didn't I just listen to what you said and killed Shangguan? Could it be a mutiny and rebellion?"
Xiong Sanshan shook his head and said: "That's just bragging, to scare others, to make others think that we are bold and fearless. But in fact, we just lied about the military situation and claimed that we won the battle and took credit."
Lin Jue frowned and said: "How is it possible? How can you lie about the military situation when you have obviously lost dozens of people?"
Xiong Sanshan murmured for a long time, and then said in a low voice: "This... there is still a way... just bring some heads back to claim credit. Military merit in the border town army is calculated based on heads."
Lin Jue was shocked and said: "What? Could it be that you killed people and took credit for their heads? Bastards, you are really a bunch of bastards."
"No, no, no, how can we kill people to claim credit? Wouldn't that have been dealt with by military law a long time ago. We just...we just cut off the heads of people killed by the Liao people to claim credit. The Liao people looted several market towns and killed
We killed a lot of people. We thought, since they are dead anyway, borrowing their heads can help us tide over the difficulties. I, Xiong Sanshan, swear to God, I will never kill a single person in our Zhou Dynasty." Xiong Sanshan hurriedly said
explained.
Lin Jue was speechless and despised Xiong Sanshan and others. The border towns of Da Zhou were actually guarded by such a group of pussies. What guarantees could there be for the safety of Da Zhou? I had long heard that officers in border towns killed people indiscriminately and cut off their heads in order to take credit.
Pretending to be trophies. I didn’t expect that I actually encountered the real thing today. Although I didn’t kill people and take credit for it, this behavior is equally shameful, and even more shameless to a certain extent. Xiong Sanshan and his gang are in Bian Town.
Or the leading generals? Under the leadership of these people, what good can the Zhou army do? What kind of reputation and combat effectiveness can it have?
"I'm really ashamed of you. Don't your consciences hurt? The imperial court supports you, provides you with food and drink, and provides you with military pay, so that you can protect the people. You can't protect the people, and you still use the people's heads to claim credit? You are still here
Human? You are really rotten. You are a shameless piece of trash." Lin Jue cursed vehemently. He was really angry and used force on his hands, as if he wanted to pierce the neck of this piece of trash.
Xiong Sanshan was so frightened that he shouted: "Brother, don't be impulsive. Even if you kill me, you won't be able to get away with it. Besides, we have already been arrested and imprisoned, what else do we want? If we had known this, we wouldn't have done this."
"
Lin Jue took a deep breath to calm down the anger in his heart, and shouted in a deep voice: "You were imprisoned because of this matter? Then why are you still able to dominate in prison?"
Xiong Sanshan swallowed his foam and said: "After our brothers were taken to the prison, they told us that they wanted us to do things for them. Some people in the prison were disobedient and asked us to help cure them. As long as we obey, we can eat
They sleep well and don't need to be whipped, and the crime may be mitigated. We don't know why they took a fancy to our brothers. Maybe they saw that our brothers were tall and tall, and they were warriors in the army."
"Who are they?" Lin Jue shouted.
"It's the jailer, the warden, and some people from the Yushitai. Who else can it be? They said that some officials were disobedient. They came in and yelled about injustice and were unwilling to confess their crimes. If they don't let them suffer, they won't
They are willing to confess. They said that we brothers should scare them and force them to submit. But in the conscience of heaven and earth, we only scare, but we have never harmed anyone." Xiong Sanshan shouted.
"So that's it." Lin Jue suddenly realized that this was consistent with his previous judgment. The people who entered Yushitai Prison were all officials who had committed crimes. Their status was different from ordinary criminals. Generally speaking, they could not be punished. But when he encountered
Stubborn people will not bow their heads without being punished. This method of using prisoners to extract confessions in cells can effectively avoid the official's responsibility. Being beaten and insulted by other prisoners is not the responsibility of the government, but the responsibility of the prisoner.
If you can't stand this kind of humiliation, you can only plead guilty and cooperate to improve your situation. This is a smart way to avoid responsibility and is more effective than torture to extract a confession. "Guess whether I believe you or not.
You treated me like that just now because you met someone as ruthless as me. If it were someone else, would you let them go? You have never done any of the disgusting things you just said? I think you are deliberately hiding it
, maybe I should poke you in the neck like a pig before you become honest." Lin Jue stabbed Xiong Sanshan in the face with a triangular tip and slapped him.
"Conscience of heaven and earth, I swear to God, if there are even half-truths, I will die without a burial place. Officials were sent here before, and we all deliberately said what we would do to him that night. It was just to scare him. In fact, they
He was so frightened that he collapsed before nightfall. Even if he stayed overnight, we definitely didn't do any dirty things. We did beat him and scold him, and forced him to sleep next to the pail of excrement and urine. But we raped him or something.
But we have never done it. We like women and are really not interested in men. When it gets dark at night, we deliberately say something to the people around us, and they all think that we really did it. But in fact, we really
If you haven’t done it, how can we do it?” Xiong Sanshan pointed to the sky and the earth and swore.
Lin Jue frowned and pondered for a long time, then said in a cold voice: "Xiong Sanshan, let's discuss it. You do me a favor, I will spare your life, and when I get out, I will find a way to get you out of prison early."
Xiong Sanshan frowned and said nothing. Lin Jue sneered: "I'm afraid you don't know what I'm capable of. Do you think I've been in this prison and can't get out for the rest of my life, so are you talking nonsense? I'll tell you who I am.
.My name is Lin Jue, the number one scholar last spring..."
"..." Xiong Sanshan and others stared at Lin Jue indifferently.
Lin Jue smacked his lips. To this group of warriors, there was probably no difference between the number one scholar and the oil seller on the street. They didn't care about that.
"Does Prince Liang know? That is my father-in-law, and I am the Commander-in-Chief of Prince Liang's Mansion." Lin Jue said.
"Ah?" Xiong Sanshan and others' eyes lit up. The identity of the son-in-law of Prince Liang's Mansion was enough to surprise them.
"Master Dun Rufang, the head of the Yushitai, is my teacher." Lin Jue continued.
"What?" Xiong Sanshan and others cried out in shock, looking at Lin Jue with disbelief. They suspected that Lin Jue was bragging. Since he was a student of Fang Zhongcheng, how could he end up in prison?
"Do you know how I got into this prison? It was on the order of Mr. Fang that I came in to investigate the murder of prisoners in Yushitai Prison. To tell you the truth, Fang Zhongcheng didn't know anything about what happened in the prison, so he deliberately
I was ordered to make a bureau and let me come in to investigate the matter. Now that I know the truth, I will report the matter when I get out, but then you are finished. I guess you will be executed immediately." Lin Jue
Frowning.
"Ah? This... how can this be good? We were instructed by the prison chiefs. They forced us to do this. This is none of our business." Xiong Sanshan and several other big men shouted hurriedly.
"I know, I'm not actually targeting you guys. I'm here to find out who is causing trouble inside, who is breaking the rules, and who is behind Fang Zhongcheng's back and doing all these things in Yushitai Prison. But they will definitely take all the responsibility.
I blame it on you. And I have no real evidence, so naturally I can only use you as a scapegoat. They will say that you are the prison bullies and gangsters in the prison, doing whatever you want. They have no idea. You have no room to argue. Besides, there is no way.
There are people in the surrounding prison cells testifying, and they are all witnesses. Although you said that you did not do anything shameful, they don't think so. Do you think it is true or not?" Lin Jue said in a deep voice.
Xiong Sanshan and others were all dumbfounded, weren't they? This was really hard to argue with, as it was just a few of them who took the blame.
"Master Lin, we are unjustly accused. I have told the truth just now. Master Lin, please make it clear to Fang Zhongcheng that we were also forced." Xiong Sanshan said with a white face. Originally, pretending to lead the army was not a crime.
They didn't kill a civilian, they just borrowed the dead man's head for use. The military had already found out this, so they were not punished by military law. But it was too bad to lose their lives for such a trivial matter in prison.
Worth it.
"Whether you are wronged or not depends on the evidence. My report to Fang Zhongcheng is also unfounded, so I want you to cooperate with me. Write down everything you just said to me, sign it and confirm it, and you can do it after I go out
Submit it to Fang Zhongcheng as evidence. It must be detailed. Who asked you to do this, what kind of intimidation and humiliation were done to which officials, and what is the purpose? It must be written clearly. In this way, I can have evidence in hand and can provide evidence for
You are free of charge." Lin Jue said in a deep voice.
"This..." Xiong Sanshan frowned and hesitated. He was not a fool. It was impossible for his surname to be whatever Lin Jue said. There was some credibility in this boy's words, but he couldn't tell clearly. We must know that they and the prison chief Dian
The agreement between the prison officers was made secretly. The other party said that if he dared to leak it, he would be dead. In order to survive before, he could only speak out first to save his life. It is useless for this kid to talk nonsense, because he can't go back on his words without any basis.
But once the black and white words are put on the paper, it will be irrefutable proof.
"Maybe I shouldn't make a deal with you. I'll just kill you and get clean. After all, you threatened me before. If I kill you, you deserve it. If you attack an official of the imperial court, you will die unjustly." Lin Juejiang said.
The needle was pressed against Xiong Sanshan's artery with slight force.
Xiong Sanshan said hurriedly: "It's not that we don't want to, how do we know your true identity and that you are not lying to us? Who do you say you are, and we don't know you."
Lin Jue sneered and said: "So that's what you're worried about, but you're a subtle person. Well, I really can't prove my identity. So, let's go and ask if there is anyone in the prison cell next to me who knows me. If so,
New people coming in may know me."
Xiong Sanshan said: "Two people came in last month and said they were officials who had written a letter against the new law and were imprisoned. Er Gouzi, go ask the prison cell next door and ask them if they know the details of a man named Lin Jue.
"
A big man agreed and came to the fence and shouted to the prison cell opposite: "Which of you knows an official named Lin Jue?"
There was silence for a long time in the prison cell opposite, and someone said loudly: "Lin Jue? Of course you know. Last year's number one scholar is very famous. He is also the son-in-law of Prince Liang's family. He is Fang Dunru's student. It's just..."
Lin Jue shouted loudly: "That's enough, no more."
The man on the other side stopped talking. Lin Jue said softly: "I don't want them to tell too much about me, lest the jailers find out and expose me. Now you should believe that I didn't lie to you."
At this point, how could Xiong Sanshan and others not believe it? The identity mentioned by that man was completely consistent with the identity reported by Lin Jue, so there was no mistaking it.
Xiong Sanshan frowned and looked at the people around him, and said in a deep voice: "Brothers, what should we do?"
Several big men hurriedly said: "Just listen to big brother."
Xiong Sanshan said: "We don't want to die. They will use us as scapegoats. In this case, why should we be polite? So we cooperated with Mr. Lin. We all recorded our confessions and Mr. Lin can rescue us and defend us after he gets out.
Come on. Mr. Lin, can you really save us?"
Lin Jue sneered and said: "My identity is here, how can it be a big deal to save a few of you? What you have committed is not a capital crime. This time you have eliminated the officials who violated the law in Yushitai, and you have made atonement. It will be easy to save you."
Xiong Sanshan gritted his teeth and said, "That's all, let's write a confession and post it."
Lin Jue chuckled and said: "If we don't have paper, we can write on cloth, but we don't have pen and ink. Fortunately, General Xiong bled some, so we just dipped grass in the blood and wrote. But we have to write faster, otherwise the bleeding will stop."
We still have to make another opening."
Xiong Sanshan was startled, and quickly asked a big man to tear a large piece of his clothes, dipped grass in blood and wrote some words densely on the cloth. After working for a long time, although the sentences were not very clear, he could still understand them.
After that, the six people signed and stamped their names one after another. Lin Jue waited for the blood to dry and put the blood letter into his arms.
…
When Lin Jue took control of the situation in the prison cell, what he didn't know was that there was already a quarrel in the Yushitai Yamen outside the prison cell.
At this moment, tensions were rising in the Yushitai Yamen compound. The little princess Guo Caiwei stood in the open space under the steps of the central hall with her big belly, Bai Bing and Lu Wu. Yang Xiu, Lin Hu and several elders of the punishment department
The police officers and twelve or thirteen palace guards gathered in front of them. They faced more than 70 yamen servants from the Yushitai under the steps of the central hall and Fang Dunru who stood on the steps with a gloomy look.
The weapons in the hands of both sides have been revealed. The swords are flashing, and a fierce battle is imminent.
A few hours ago, when Lin Jue was summoned to the Yushitai Yamen for questioning, Yang Xiu was already closely concerned about the matter. Yang Xiu knew Fang Dunru's purpose of summoning Lin Jue. In the afternoon of the day before yesterday, Fang Dunru
Lin Jue did not hide it from Yang Xiu when he came incognito to try to persuade Lin Jue.
In fact, Lin Jue did not hide many things from Yang Xiu. For Lin Jue, the only person he could talk to at the moment was Yang Xiu. Even Lin Jue, his wife and concubine at home, could not talk to many things because it would not bring relief.
It will only make them more worried, which will make Lin Jue feel more worried. Therefore, although Yang Xiu does not know the whole thing thoroughly, he still knows the ins and outs and knows all the details.
After Lin Jue left, the more Yang Xiu thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. So he followed with the head catcher Lao Wu and three old detectives, and waited in front of the Yushitai Yamen to listen for news and wait for Lin Jue to come out. The wait was over.
In the afternoon, although Lin Jue joked that he might have lunch at the Yushitai before leaving, Yang Xiu saw with his own eyes that the Minister of Punishment, Guo Shilang, and Pei Shaoqing of Dali Temple had left before noon. This means that the inquiry has actually ended. Even Fang Dunru
Lin Jue was left to have lunch at Yushitai, and it was time to come out now.
Yang Xiu continued to wait patiently. Maybe their master and apprentice had a lot to say and explained to each other. Maybe the meal took a long time.
By this time, more than half an hour had passed. The time had reached the end of the hour, and Yang Xiu finally couldn't bear it any longer. He decided to go to the Yamen to inquire about it.
So, Yang Xiu came to the yamen gate and asked the yamen servant to hand over a name card and report in, saying that there was something important in the yamen of the Criminal Division, and he came to invite Mr. Lin to come back to the Criminal Division to discuss and decide. This reason can be said to be high-sounding.
However, the news soon spread that Mr. Lin was cooperating with Fang Zhongcheng to handle the case, and he had no time to take care of the punishment of the Yamen. The word came out that Yang Xiu and others were asked to decide on their own. This answer obviously made Yang Xiu unsatisfied. According to Lin
Yang Xiu felt that there was definitely something wrong here.
So Yang Xiu asked the Yamen servant to inform him again, saying that the matter was serious and urgent and must be decided by Mr. Lin himself. He and others did not dare to be expert and did not dare to take the responsibility. If it was not possible, he asked Mr. Lin to come out and report to him in person.
Decide.
This time, there was no news at all. Yang Xiu waited for a quarter of an hour and finally understood that something had happened. Mr. Lin couldn't even come out for a meeting. There was only one possibility, that is, his personal freedom was restricted and he was detained in
That’s it.
Realizing this, Yang Xiu was extremely panicked. After discussing with Lao Wu and others, he decided to let Lao Wu and others stay behind to monitor the entrance and exit of the yamen, and then go to report for help himself. Lin Jue told him in the morning that he must not report to the young prince.
In order to avoid causing trouble. However, the situation is urgent and Lin Jue's situation is unknown, so Yang Xiu can't care much. Even if he doesn't report to the young prince, he must immediately inform Lin Jue's family members. If Lin Jue's wife, the princess, informs
It was not her fault that she killed her brother, the young prince.
Yang Xiu made up his mind and immediately hired a car and rushed to the Lin family mansion in Xiangguo Temple to report.
