As soon as he heard this, Li Zushu almost fainted. This charge was too scary!
Isn't it just selling a steam engine blueprint?
According to Li Zushu's understanding, when Wang Dehua said that everyone in his family would be executed, he thought he was trying to intimidate him, and that was not the case at all!
At most, it would be a reduction in rank, or a reduction in rank!
Even though he thought this kind of treatment was unbearable!
But now, an admiral of the East Factory said that he would be executed by the whole family, and another admiral of the West Factory actually said that he would kill the nine tribes!
The most important thing is that this West Factory Admiral is now the most powerful eunuch in the Ming Dynasty!
Therefore, after Li Zushu came to his senses, he hurriedly defended himself: "No, no, no, I just sold a steam engine blueprint, just a piece of paper. How could I be treason and conspiracy!"
"Haha, why isn't it treason and rebellion?" Wang Chengen sneered immediately after hearing this, then looked down at Li Zushu who was kneeling on the ground and said, "The Netherlands was originally a small country that repeatedly offended the Ming Dynasty, and now it is rebelling against Annan.
Colluded and killed more than 5,000 Ming soldiers. And you sold the Ming Dynasty’s important military equipment, steam engines, to the Dutch. In the future, the Dutch will also have steam armored warships, steam trains, etc. to help the Netherlands.
Being powerful in order to plot the Ming Dynasty, you say, this is not treason or rebellion, what else could it be?"
At this point, he paused, his voice suddenly became colder and shouted: "Not to mention, as a Marquis of the Ming Dynasty, you have been favored by the royal family, but you do not want to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, but instead want to rebel. Today's Long Live Lord hates you the most
This kind of person who eats everything inside and outside, let me tell you, the Zhujiu Clan basically didn’t run away because of your matter!"
When Li Zushu heard this, his body that had just stood up from his knees collapsed to the ground again.
If he knew in advance that the consequences of selling the steam engine blueprint would be a crime against the Nine Clans, then even though he was greedy for money, he probably would not have dared to do so. After all, if he was found out, the consequences would be too serious.
Now, after Wang Chengen said this, the thought of being executed by the nine tribes was really unbearable for him.
Wang Dehua on the side saw this situation and the look in Wang Chengen's hand, so he spoke to Li Zushu at the right time and said: "Of course, if you can atone for your sins, although you still cannot escape the death penalty, you should be able to avoid execution.
Destroy nine tribes. What crime you will be convicted of depends on the size of your meritorious service!"
Li Zushu, who was originally paralyzed on the ground like mud, felt like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw. His whole body suddenly became more alive, and he quickly got up from the ground, knelt on the ground, his face
With a flattering face on his face, he looked at Wang Dehua and said quickly: "Please give me some advice from my father-in-law. How can I atone for my sins? All the property of my Marquis Mansion should be handed over to the court!"
"Hmph!" Wang Chengen snorted loudly after hearing this, obviously dissatisfied with his words.
This movement startled Li Zushu, and he turned to look at him, his eyes full of fear.
At this time, Wang Dehua said to him: "From the time you committed the crime, do you think your money still belongs to you? If we ask you, you have to think about your answer. If you are wrong, you will be in trouble!"
Hearing this, Li Zushu immediately thought of the nickname that the current emperor had gained in recent years: the emperor who confiscated his property. He immediately became excited and realized immediately that there was no way he could impress these two people in terms of money.
, let alone impress the current emperor.
All hope lies in Admiral Dongchang's questions.
Thinking this, he quickly nodded in response, like a chicken pecking at rice.
So, Wang Dehua looked down at him and asked: "On the second day of February in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, you expelled your son Li Biao. Is it not related to Jiang Shen, the captain of the Jinyi Guards?"
At that time, Fengyang Governor Ma Shiying led troops into Nanjing and began to reorganize the place. However, the land account books in Nanjing were burned down. Ma Shiying asked Emperor Chongzhen to send the land account books in the capital to Nanjing. As a result, he was encountered on the Yangtze River.
The pirates and all the royal guards were killed, the official ship sank, and the land account books were naturally gone.
This case shocked the government and the public. Although the final result was that the group of pirates caused civil strife and all died and the case was closed, Wang Dehua, who was the original party, always felt that the original case of the sinking of the Jinyiwei official ship was definitely not that simple.
The mastermind has not been discovered.
This time, in the case of steam engine blueprints, he smelled some clues, and after discussing with Wang Chengen, decided to find a breakthrough from Li Zushu.
At this time, Li Zushu was shocked when he heard what he said, and subconsciously denied it: "No, no, no, absolutely not..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Wang Dehua's face, which instantly turned cold. He immediately remembered that if his answer this time could not satisfy Wang Dehua and Wang Chengen, then he would have to rely on the inescapable secret from before.
If you sell steam engine blueprints, the imperial court will punish the nine tribes!
Thinking of this, he couldn't continue talking.
Of course he knew the truth of that matter.
But the key problem is that the consequences of that incident are also very serious, and it is even more treasonous, and it is also the crime of killing the nine tribes!
However, Li Zushu understood that at this time, he had no way out.
If you don't tell them, it will mean the execution of the Nine Clans; if you tell them, if you confess the others, it will be regarded as a meritorious service, then will they avoid the execution of the Nine Clans?
Speaking of that matter, he was not the main culprit.
Thinking of this, Li Zushu seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
While he was still hesitating, Wang Dehua turned to Wang Chengen and said: "It seems that our family was wrong. We thought that if we gave him a chance, he would cherish it. Forget it, we have some evidence anyway.
It would be okay without him..."
As soon as Wang Dehua said this, Li Zushu quickly grabbed the topic and said: "I'll move, I'll move, this is what happened..."
Li Zushu finally decided that if he didn't confess, he would kill the nine tribes. If he confessed, he might be able to get rid of the crime and not kill the nine tribes. Therefore, at this time, if people don't punish themselves for themselves, he will not be a Taoist friend!
That case was led by Wei Guogong, and all Nanjing nobles were involved. The original meaning was that everyone was a grasshopper on the same rope, no one wanted to escape, and they worked together to fight Ma Shiying and the emperor behind Ma Shiying.
As a result, with this confession, Li Zushu confessed all the nobles of Nanjing.
Now, this case is a shocking one!
However, before Wang Dehua finished asking, he continued to use Li Zushu's habit of expelling children from the family as a breakthrough point, and continued to ask questions, and more truths emerged.
The main messenger behind Zhang Xianzhong's informing and cooperating with Zhang Xianzhong to break out of the encirclement, which almost allowed Zhang Xianzhong to escape, was actually this group of Nanjing dignitaries. Their purpose was to put Ma Shiying to death, thus preventing Ma Shiying from rectifying Nanjing.
.
From the moment Li Zushu confessed to the first case, he was like a flood that had a outlet. He didn't care about anything and confessed all the dirty things he knew about Nanjing's nobles.
In fact, when he talked about it later, he also had a thought in mind: Look, there are so many nobles and nobles in Nanjing who all have their share and ability. You can throw them all into the sky and see what the emperor will do with them?
If it must be dealt with impartially, then the major case of killing heroes in the Chongzhen Dynasty would even be more serious than in the Hongwu period! Does the current emperor dare to bear the reputation of killing heroes?
This is by no means alarmist. At least since the founding of the People's Republic of China, only Emperor Hongwu has gone on a killing spree. But he was the founding emperor, and now you, Emperor Chongzhen, are you more ruthless than Emperor Hongwu?
No, after Wang Dehua heard this, his expression was serious and he was a little afraid to make the decision. He turned to look at Wang Chengen to see that Wang Chengen had made up his mind.
According to the normal regulations, other prisoners must be arrested; but, to be honest, even if Wang Chengen had mentioned something to Wang Dehua in advance, he would not dare to do so.
If Wang Dehua had done it, he would definitely have stopped his activities and then flew to the capital to request an order from Emperor Chongzhen.
Wang Chengen obviously did not expect that behind the truth, there was such a huge group of nobles, including Wei Guogong, a distinguished nobleman from generation to generation.
However, after thinking for a while, he finally maintained that leisurely demeanor and said calmly: "Then just sign and pledge everything you just said! Let's see where we want to mobilize our troops!"
Hearing this, Li Zushu's back felt cold. He didn't expect that this Wang Chengen was really cruel!
The meaning of what I said just now is that no one will be spared. Is it really necessary to catch all the Nanjing nobles who participated?
This is a shocking case, the biggest case since the founding of the People's Republic of China. You can make the decision yourself without asking the current emperor for instructions?
So cruel!
Faced with such a ruthless character, Li Zushu did not dare to have the slightest intention of disobeying him. He immediately took a brush from Xichang Fanzi who was recording the confession and signed it.
After Li Zushu was taken away, Wang Dehua on the side also recovered from the shock, and was a little alert, realizing something that he had almost forgotten: that Emperor Chongzhen kept him just to let him do it
Dirty work.
Like this big case of Nanjing Xungui, if he hides behind, he probably won't get any good results.
After understanding this, Wang Dehua immediately told Wang Chengen that he had been here in Nanjing for so many years and knew where the army could be mobilized without being affected by the nobles of Nanjing.
In response, Wang Chengen nodded and did not insist.
At this moment, there seemed to be a noise coming from outside. So, someone immediately went out for a while, and then quickly came back to report to the two factory officials that the prince of Wei Guogong had come to inquire about the Linhuai Marquis Mansion.