Daming: Wanted to be a small landlord, but was forced to ascend the throne

Chapter 418 Going through the back door

Although Qin Shao had already done what Zhang Yanling, Marquis of Jianchang did, he did not expect it to exceed his psychological expectations.

He thought that that guy would eat, drink, whore and gamble, occupy other people's land, or forcibly rob that civilian girl, which was more in line with his arrogant and dissolute nature, but he didn't expect that this guy would even kill his wife!

"Why did he kill his wife?"

Qin Shao asked.

"The Marquis of Jianchang doted on his concubine's room, and had a conflict with his wife, Gu Shi, and had a few quarrels. Maybe it was because of that concubine that fueled the fire. Marquis Jianchang beat his wife with a stick, and she was beaten to death!"

Zhang Cong replied.

"Who reported the case? With the virtue of Jianchang Hou, he should not admit to this crime, right?"

Qin Shao was a little confused.

Law of the Ming Dynasty: If a husband beats his wife to death, he shall be hanged, which is a real crime of capital crime and executed after autumn; [-]. Negligence is not a crime.

As far as Qin Shao knew about the Daming law, there were very few cases of murdering his wife that resulted in life for life.

In the final analysis, the status of men is still much higher in this era.

According to the current Daming Law, it can be seen that killing a wife is punishable by death, and that there is a negligent person behind him who is not guilty.

Marquis Jianchang is not a fool, he can completely say that he committed manslaughter and escaped responsibility.

In addition, it is also a good way to say that the wife gave herself a green hat.

According to the "Law of the Ming Dynasty", if a husband discovers his wife's infidelity on the spot, he can kill his wife and adulterer without legal punishment.

This rule was approved by Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. He believed that it was normal for a man to find his wife unable to control his emotions when he found his wife in bed with another man.

And also added a very interesting law, that is: if the husband only kills the wife and lets the adulterer go, then he will be punished according to the crime of killing the wife.In other words, after the husband finds out that he has been cheated, he can only be exempted from responsibility by killing both of the adulterers, and he will be punished if he only kills one.

When Qin Shao saw this rule for the first time, he was drinking water and almost spit out the water!
Old Zhu's character does have such thoughts. He has a tough personality and doesn't look down on soft men. This is to use laws to make men stronger.

I'm afraid that Wu Dalang will be killed if he meets Ximen Qing because he is not strong enough!
But dignified Jianchang Hou said that he was not good-looking when he was cuckolded.

"Of course the Marquis of Jianchang would not admit to killing his wife. He said that his wife Gu died of dystocia, but his wife's dowry maid saw him killing his wife and fled to Gu's natal home. Master Gu took his family to Shuntian Mansion report."

Zhang Cong explained.

"Master's business?"

"I forgot to introduce to Your Majesty, Jianchang Hou's wife passed away last year, and he married the youngest daughter of Gu An, the head of the household department. It was only two years ago. Gu's pregnancy was not long before giving birth. The matter, I heard that the wife of the boss passed out on the spot after hearing it."

Zhang Cong said regretfully.

Gu An and Zhang Cong are fellow villagers and have known each other for many years.

Zhang Cong's scientific examination was not going well, and when he ran into walls everywhere in the capital, Gu An also helped him.

Zhang Cong is not good at maintaining interpersonal relationships, especially when the scientific examinations were not going well in the early years, his personality was a bit extreme, and this is also the reason for the many conflicts with Xia Yan.

Now everything is going well, although Zhang Cong is devoted to being a lonely minister and doesn't have much contact with Gu An, but after all, he is regarded as his old friend from his hometown, and he sympathizes very much.

Gu An is actually kind-hearted and treats his friends sincerely, but he also has a slippery side in the workplace, and he is actually eager for success.

He doesn't have anything to do with his background or big business, so he can only think of his way out by making friends with powerful people, hoping to make some progress in his official career.

When he got married to Marquis Jianchang, Zhang Cong actually didn't agree very much, and even asked his daughter-in-law to contact Gu An's wife to express his thoughts, but Gu An didn't take his persuasion to heart.

Now that something like this happened, with Zhang Cong's behavior, naturally he would not take the initiative to run for his old friend, but what he can do is to tell the emperor the real truth of this matter, which can be considered as the help Gu An gave him back then.

The law of the Ming Dynasty, the death penalty, especially the trial and sentence of the emperor's relatives, after the government arrested them, they went to the Ministry of Punishments, and then to the Dali Temple, and the final result was still for the emperor to decide.

If the late Emperor was here, even if Marquis Jianchang killed his wife, no, Gu An’s family, Zhang Cong would not dare to imagine that Zhang Yanling would be severely punished.
Even now that the new emperor is on the throne, Zhang Cong reports the truth, and he just wants the emperor to teach Jianchang Hou some lessons and let Gu An be released from prison.

Yes, Gu An is also in prison now.

Zhang Yanling sued Gu An in the name of false accusation, and Gu An was also imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and now he is waiting for the Ministry of Criminal Justice to review and judge the case.

"Beat a pregnant wife to death for a concubine?"

Qin Shao was speechless.

Sure enough, the Zhang family was muddy and couldn't support the wall, and it was not wronged that the family was destroyed in the end!

But think about what kind of pattern and forward-looking vision a family can cultivate a woman with such a "pattern" as Queen Mother Zhang!

"It's worse than beating to death. Gu was eight months pregnant and was about to give birth. Zhang Yanling beat Gu to death. Worried that he would be found beating his wife to death, he cut open Gu's stomach with a knife and took out the child. , made the false appearance that his wife died of dystocia, and happened to be discovered by Gu's maid who just came back from outside, otherwise this matter..."

Zhang Cong sighed and said that when he heard such things that were inferior to animals, even though he was used to many things, he still couldn't help feeling chills!

"However, this matter is only the one-sided opinion of Gu's maid. As for the specific situation, we will only know after the Ministry of Criminal Justice examines it."

Zhang Cong said tactfully.

He has a closer relationship with Gu An, and in order to avoid what he said is too biased, he added.

Qin Shao gasped.

Even though he escaped and had already seen all kinds of strange things, it is not surprising that he changed his son to eat.

But now in the peaceful era, Zhang Yanling is still a wealthy family with no shortage of food and clothing. It is really inhumane to do such cruel things in order to cover up his crimes.

Although Zhang Cong euphemistically said that it was the one-sidedness of Gu's maid, but based on Zhang Yanling's virtues and the differences between Gu's and Jianchanghou's mansions, this matter should be close to ten!
"Bingyong, the emperor violated the law and the common people! Zhao Jian has always been known for being fair and strict. He can try the case as he pleases! There is also the matter of the manor in the capital. Isn't it difficult for you to make progress now? Jianchanghou is now in prison, you You can also discuss more about the affairs of Huangzhuang in the capital city! Of course, Zhang Heling is the boss, as the eldest brother, he should help the younger brother to do activities, so you can talk to him if you have nothing to do!"

Qin Shao laughed.

"Your Majesty's lesson!"

Zhang Cong's face was full of joy.

"From Hongwu to Hongzhi for 40 years, the quotas in the world have been reduced by half, and Hunan, Hebei, and Guangdong have lost a lot of quotas. If they are not allocated to the palace, they will be deceived by the people."

Zhang Cong's report a few days ago was similar to what Qin Shao predicted.

The severity of the land annexation of the Ming Dynasty has already exceeded his expectations. No wonder the treasury is empty and there is no silver.

In the Gyeonggi area, there are 520 Xunqi Zhuangtian sites, covering an area of ​​more than [-] hectares. If these fields are returned to the people, it will solve the problem of how many people eat and drink, even those internal officials in the palace are also resettled.

……

The murder of Marquis Jianchang caused an uproar in the capital.

Several tabloid newspapers have detailed the developments in the case.

The Gu family was afraid that Gu An would be imprisoned. You must know that Gu An is just a small master. If he wants to fight with the Jianchang Hou Mansion, he would be overwhelmed according to the past.

Many people were worried that this case would be left unsolved. You must know how famous the Marquis of Jianchang was, and it was an existence that many people dared not provoke in the previous two dynasties.

Even though the first emperor is gone now, the queen mother is still working as the queen mother in the palace.

However, the Ministry of Criminal Justice tried the case with great fanfare, giving the Gu family the courage to put themselves to death and survive.

Marquis Jianchang said that it was Gu who died in childbirth, and the Ministry of Punishment specially asked the midwife to conduct an inspection, and found that the stomach had been dissected, which did not conform to the common sense of giving birth to children in this era.

In addition, Gu's head had scars from being hit with a stick.

Zhang Heling, Marquis of Shouning, soon came out to speak for his younger brother Zhang Yanling, saying that his younger brother doted on his concubine, and Gu's family was jealous and quarreled with each other.

Empress Dowager Zhang also approached Qin Shao several times, but she always gave him excuses to cover her past, and never saw the woman.

The Ministry of Punishment was discussing whether Zhang Yanling killed someone intentionally or by mistake. Soon, a mother and son complained and sued Zhang Yanling for seizing his land and beating her husband to death.

……

With a bang, the glass full of water fell to the ground.

"Master Hou!"

Zhang Yun looked at the angry Shouning Hou Zhang Heling and shouted.

These few days Shou Ninghou has been running around for his younger brother Zhang Yanling, the corners of his mouth are blistering with anxiety, he originally thought that he could be a villain, and then he would just pay some money to the Gu family, but who knew he would come here.

When he knew about this matter, he persuaded his younger brother to find Gu An to solve the matter privately, but his younger brother didn't take this matter seriously at all.

The matter is not to take him seriously.

Although Zhang Heling is not considered a smart person, compared with his younger brother Zhang Yanling and his elder sister Queen Mother Zhang, he is not so ostentatious, and he does not do things directly.

But because of his old-fashioned personality, he is not very pleasing to my sister.

Moreover, because Zhang Yanling was young and coddled him since he was young, he has been giving way to this younger brother since he was young, but his younger brother is less and less serious about him. In many cases, for example, in terms of personnel management in the palace, people are arranged by Zhang Heling. Younger brother Zhang Yanling always wants to take the lead. After a long time, the two will inevitably have a lot of friction in the future.

When the new emperor came to power, Zhang Heling knew that once the emperor and courtiers, even though his sister strongly recommended Zhu Houxi to come to power, even if he made meritorious deeds, he should not be proud of it. After all, he was not his own son.

Zhang Heling had communicated with his sister and younger brother about this before, but the two didn't take it seriously, thinking that he made a fuss.

Now that something has happened, he has to deal with the aftermath. After all, no matter what the situation is, they are all one. One is prosperous and the other is damaged. Even if Zhang Heling did nothing wrong, his life will not be better if this younger brother is involved. !

"Zhang Yun, tell me why I have such a younger brother. Now that the new emperor has just dealt with so many thorns, he is going to hit the gun. Isn't it too long? Everyone has no time to hide. He's fine..."

Zhang Heling blushed with anger and had a thick neck.

"Master Hou, now that something has happened, it's useless to be angry. We still have to find a way. I'm worried that if this matter is not handled properly, it will affect our Shouning Palace and the Queen Mother. She has always loved Jianchanghou. , I am worried that if she is too eager and offends His Majesty, it is estimated that our Shouning Hou Mansion will..."

Zhang Yun persuaded that it was because the members of the Zhang clan were relatively close, and their studies were considered good, but the scientific examination did not go well, and they only passed the examination as a scholar, and now they work with Zhang Heling.

"But what can I do? Now the Minister of Criminal Justice surnamed Zhao is handling this case personally. He has never shown respect to others, and in the current crisis, the second child will definitely be set up as a model. You say I am just looking for a way out. It's not easy to find, as for the Queen Mother, I'm useless to talk to, but fortunately, I heard that His Majesty won't see her, so that's fine, with her character, it's better not to see her if she offends His Majesty, let me rest assured!"

Zhang Heling sighed.

Fortunately, under his strong advocacy, and of course the "intimidation" of Zhang Zuo, the eunuch next to the new emperor, they handed over the errands of managing the palace officials early, otherwise he might also be involved at this moment to the top.

Do not!It is probably impossible not to be involved, he also has a share in Huangzhuang, the capital, but not as much as Zhang Yanling!
"Master Hou, of course we can't intercede with His Majesty, trying to annoy him, and now we don't know what his attitude is, I think it's better for us to start with people around His Majesty!"

Zhang Yun suggested.

As the Marquis of Jianchang, to be honest, even if he killed his wife, if His Majesty took care of him, the punishment would not be enough to kill him.

Even though it is said that the emperor broke the law and the common people, but people with a discerning eye know this kind of thing, just listen to it!
The real upper-class people made mistakes, as long as they didn't create, rebel, or something like that, they wouldn't have anything to do with the death penalty.

Just like those feudal lords in Ming Dynasty, to be honest, there have been quite a few obedient vassal kings in these years, and there are too many of them doing weird things to ruin people's lives!Even those who have the heart of rebellion, at most, they will send the software to their hometown in Fengyang to let them fend for themselves, and there are still very few people who are directly beheaded!

People like Zhu Chenhao are even rarer!

Even now when talking about Zhu Chenhao, people still discuss it in private, saying that the former emperor's attack on Zhu Chenhao was really a bit dark.

"The person beside Your Majesty?"

"It's better to go to the people around His Majesty to find out. Although the crime of Jianchang Hou is not light, I think the murder of his wife is actually an unsolved case. We can contact the Gu family to discuss it. If the people are not high-ranking officials, they will not be punished! Now Gu An is also here. In the prison, I don’t believe that they really want to make a mess of both sides! As for the matter of the Jingcheng Manor, to be honest, it’s been so long, and now that it’s been revealed, I guess the higher-ups have some ideas, why don’t we check the situation first!”

Zhang Yun explained.

"But who should I look for? The courtier who is closer to His Majesty should be Zhang Cong. It's just that he is in a high position now. I heard that he has even alienated his fellow villagers who had made good friends with him. How could he meet us? ?”

Zhang Heling felt that this was unreliable.

"Master Hou, why don't we try to send a greeting card, there is no other way now, we can only treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor!"

"Then try it!"

……

In the evening, Shouning Hou Mansion.

"What? You said... You said Zhang Cong accepted our invitation?"

Zhang Heling said in disbelief.

"Yes, when I went to send them off, their servant was very kind and said that Mr. Zhang wanted to tell you a long time ago! I know this is a polite word, but it shows that Zhang Cong really wants to see you!"

Zhang Yun was also very happy, but he didn't expect things to go so smoothly. It was said that Zhang Cong was going to be a lonely minister, and his relatives didn't recognize him. It seemed that it was just a rumor.

"Zhang Yun, please ask the housekeeper to prepare more congratulatory gifts, I will go to Zhang Cong's house tomorrow to have a talk."

(End of this chapter)