Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 131 Torture in Dongchang, Liu Ji's followers

Even if it is a high-ranking emperor, if he wants to really slash this sword at Wu Xun Group, it needs a reason.

Lin Guodong has confirmed that he is the chief envoy who instigated Zhao Qi and others to assassinate him. This is undoubtedly the best breakthrough.If it is possible to pry Lin Guodong's mouth open and prove that the real culprit behind the assassination is Wu Xun, then this knife will be able to kill a large number of people.

In particular, intermarriage among martial arts has already become the norm. If something happened to the Marquis of Funing, then the Duke of England, one of the three princes in the capital, would also suffer.

The sun rises slowly, ushering in a new day.

Dongchang Prison has no windows at all, and even the roof is mainly made of earth and rocks. There is no sunlight here all year round, so there is no difference between day and night.

In a certain torture room, the torches here are burning brightly, but it illuminates every corner of the room, and various shapes are placed on the shape rack in the north.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
A leather whip dipped in salt water was whipped on Lin Guodong, who was wearing a white prison uniform. The blood had already stained the clothes red, but Lin Guodong still kept silent.

Lin Guodong was indeed a tough guy, even though he was beaten until he passed out several times, he still insisted that he was not ordered by anyone.

"Hit again, let's see how long he can keep his mouth open!" Zheng Guozhong said angrily, having never encountered such a prying mouth.

In fact, I was very angry in my heart, but I also secretly felt a headache.Although Dongchang Prison has many methods to punish prisoners, and he also used many methods on Lin Guodong, Nai He still refused to confess the mastermind behind the scenes.

Once he can't pry this mouth open, then he will naturally not be able to report to His Majesty, and his position as the factory supervisor will not be secure.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
The whipping young eunuch already felt that his hands were sore. After soaking the tip of the whip in salt water, he took the opportunity to rest his arm, and then waved the whip again to continue the torture.

Lin Guodong was a tall Liaodong man, and he was tied to a wooden stake in a big way at the moment, but the whip seemed to be whipping a skin.

Naturally, it wasn't that he couldn't feel the pain, but that after this kind of torture, his voice was already hoarse, and he didn't even have the strength to scream.

At this moment, he regretted why he had underestimated Song Cheng's ability to respond to the case, so that he was now reduced to a prisoner, and now it seems that the only way is to confess the person behind the scenes.

"As long as you confess the mastermind behind the scenes, you can enjoy a good life in prison, and you don't need to continue to suffer this flesh and blood here!" Zheng Guozhong raised his hand to stop his subordinates, and immediately proposed a tempting condition.

For ordinary people, this is naturally not a good condition, but for Lin Guodong who is being tortured inhumanely at the moment, Zheng Guozhong's price tag is simply depicting a fairy tale world.

The fire swayed in the torture room surrounded by walls, and there was a slight crackling sound from time to time, and two shocking welts appeared on Lin Guodong's face.

Lin Guodong finally relaxed, and his mouth moved slightly.

Zheng Guozhong's eyes brightened slightly, and Dang even put his ears close to him.

As long as this person confesses who is behind the scenes, he will successfully complete the task His Majesty entrusted to Dongchang, and thus solve His Majesty's worries and problems.

Lin Guodong's eyelids looked heavy, but he said softly: "Come here again!"

Zheng Guozhong looked up at the dying Lin Guodong, then moved closer, his eyes lit up slightly, and the other party really gave him a key name.

But in his expectant eyes, he heard a string of names: Hou Sunming of Huichang, Empress Dowager Zhou, British Duke Zhang Mao, Cabinet Chief Assistant Wan An... His mood suddenly felt like he was on a roller coaster.

It is still possible to say that it is a certain person, but to say that Huichang Hou Sun Ming, the Empress Dowager Zhou, the British Duke Zhang Mao, and the Cabinet Chief Assistant Wan An and others joined forces to assassinate him is clearly making fun of himself.

But before Zheng Guozhong was furious, he felt a sudden tingling pain in his ears, which made him scream out loud.

"Factory Master!"

"Factory Master!"

"Quick, kill this fellow!"

……

When several young eunuchs saw Lin Guodong biting the factory owner's ear, they immediately exclaimed and rushed out to beat Lin Guodong's head to rescue Zheng Guozhong.

Lin Guodong's head was spattered with blood, and he passed out again immediately.

Zheng Guozhong covered his bleeding ears and looked at the comatose Lin Guodong wishing to beat him to death, but he swallowed his bad breath.

Although he didn't know who Lin Guodong wanted to protect, he still didn't want to speak up in the face of such torture, but wanted to stimulate himself, fearing that he wanted to die.

Zheng Guozhong knew that the importance was very important, so he stopped his subordinates who wanted to vent their anger on him and said, "Stop! If you really beat him to death, how will we Dongchang explain to His Majesty? I will wring your head off first when the time comes!"

The murderous little eunuch stopped in dismay, but he knew that his flattery had hit the horse's leg.

A eunuch stepped forward to check Lin Guodong's situation, and immediately asked, "Master, he passed out again, do you want to wake him up with water?"

"Forget it, if you continue to do it, it will really satisfy his intentions, let Zajia first think about how to pry his mouth!" Zheng Guozhong secretly felt a headache, and seemed to be cautious.

This case is of great importance. Although this mouth must be pried open no matter what, judging from Lin Guodong's reaction, it is impossible to kill people directly.

The Ming Dynasty was the country with the largest population and the most extensive territory in the world. The daily affairs of the two capitals and thirteen provinces were numerous, and the interrogation of Lin Guodong was just one of the many important affairs.

From day to day, the Ming court is still operating normally, and the Imperial Academy has ushered in a relatively large personnel adjustment today.

Zhu Youtang did not force Xu Pu to resign, but he also found a reason to remove Xu Pu from the position of Hanlin bachelor, and Cheng Minzheng, a scholar of Hanlin, took over.

As for Cheng Minzheng's vacancy for a bachelor's degree attendant, according to the earlier plan, Xie Qian, the concubine left, was replaced as a compliment for Xie Qian's standing in line at the solar eclipse earlier.

It's just that Cichen has always been a radish and a pit, so whenever there is a change at the top, it will often be slowly transmitted to the Hanlin officials below.

Although Hanlin officials are mainly promoted based on seniority, this kind of thing has never been absolute, and there will be competition if seniority is similar, and the cabinet's recommendation right is very important.

In the evening of that day, Wan Mansion was still very lively.

Now that they have figured out that Mr. Qing is not superstitious about the so-called Qingliu, and now that the old chief assistant who has been working hard to deal with the memorials of the two capitals and the thirteen provinces has gained support, then they will naturally come back to embrace their thighs, especially this year is the New Year of Beijing Cha.

The housekeeper of Wan Mansion ignored Yang Li, the governor of Henan who was waiting in line, and said enthusiastically to a handsome young man in an eighth-rank official uniform: "Hehe... Mr. Yang, you are here. The master is in the study. lead you there!"

what?
Yang Li was stunned when he saw a young man wearing an eighth-rank official uniform walking in front of him, and suspected that the world was in chaos.

"Governor Yang, don't be surprised, that person is Yang Tinghe!" A ceremonial doctor stood behind Yang Li and directly pointed out the identity of the young man.

Yang Li looked at the back that followed the butler away, still puzzled, after all, the young man was only wearing an eighth-rank official uniform.

The three most important relationships in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty are teachers and students, the same year, and fellow villagers, and Yang Tinghe, the official eight-rank Hanlin reviewer, and Wan An, the chief assistant of the cabinet, are exactly the same hometown relationship.

Ordinarily, such a lowly Hanlin official would not be able to get into the eyes of the dignified chief assistant, but Yang Tinghe is the most dazzling super star in Sichuan's political arena in the past century.

He passed the provincial examination in Sichuan at the age of 12, and then was introduced as his son-in-law by Huang Mingshan, the prime minister of the Imperial College, when he was studying in the Imperial Academy. Then he entered the Imperial Academy at the age of 19 as a scholar of the Imperial Academy. He has been in the Imperial Academy for nine years. Year.

Not to mention that Sichuan jinshi seldom enter the Imperial Academy, even if they can enter the Imperial Academy, they are still very old. How can they have the advantage of Yang Tinghe's age?

That's why Yang Tinghe has not only been in the eyes of Wan'an, but also the successor of the township chief who is currently being trained by the Sichuan Township Party of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Yang Tinghe came to Wanfu precisely because of the personnel changes in the Imperial Academy today, and his qualifications have reached the standard, so he ushered in an opportunity for promotion.

Wan An, who was wearing a boa robe, was busy every day. At this time, his old face was obviously tired, and he said to the fellow juniors who came here: "Jiefu, you should not move this time!"

This……

Wan Hongbi was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at his grandfather in puzzlement.

Although I also entered the Hanlin Academy last year as a scholar of the Imperial Academy, but I am one year older than Yang Tinghe, and the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty avoids bloodlines, so I am not an ideal heir to the provincial leader of Sichuan.

It is rare to encounter personnel changes in the Imperial Academy this time, and it is said that Yang Tinghe should move up no matter what, but he never thought that his grandfather would suppress Yang Tinghe.

"Everything is subject to the arrangement of Elder Wange!" Yang Tinghe's eyes flashed with disappointment, but he still maintained the appearance of a modest gentleman, saluting respectfully.

Seeing Yang Tinghe's response in this way, Wan An knew that the other party had realized his painstaking efforts, so he nodded in satisfaction, and after a few words of pleasantries, he asked his grandson to see him off. There are too many people to see tonight.

It is well known that Wan An and Liu Ji are in harmony with each other, but they are only separated by an alley.

After Liu Ji learned of Wan'an's arrangement for Yang Tinghe, he seemed unpredictable and said: "Jiefu, do you know why Wange made such arrangements?"

"Students don't know!" Yang Tinghe was stunned for a moment, then shook his head bitterly.

In fact, he vaguely felt that Wan Hongbi, the grandson of Wan An, had a great future when he entered the Imperial Academy, and that he had a close relationship with Liu Ji's teachers and students, but it was hard to directly point out these two things.

His father-in-law has already been transferred to another place, and his father is only a local official. The teacher in front of him has already made him obey Wan An's arrangements, so he can only swallow his anger when he is wronged.

Liu Ji intended to cultivate this young and ambitious student well, so he deliberately mentioned something: "Jie Fu, do you know why more than half of the sycophants changed to embrace Xu Pu's thigh when the emperor succeeded to the throne last year? Even as a teacher As the second assistant, those people don't even care about it!"

"Master, the students think it's because everyone guesses that the new emperor prefers upright officials, and Xu Pu has the best reputation in the court!" Yang Tinghe had already felt Xu Pu's appeal among the ministers when he was a good scholar. , and answered honestly.

Liu Ji picked up the teacup, but shook his head gently and said: "This is just one of them. The most important thing is that Xu Pu is the first emperor's teacher of the new emperor, and he has taught the new emperor for the longest time! What is it like to be a teacher and old Wange?" Being able to enter the court and stand in the court hall for many years is certainly related to the two of us being able to judge the situation, but back then your master cleverly arranged for the two of us to enter the East Palace together, this is our prominent capital in the Chenghua Dynasty!"

"Master, do you mean that Wange wants the students to wait a little longer, so that they can be arranged to enter the Prince's Mansion in the future?" Yang Tinghe asked with some understanding.

Liu Ji took a sip of tea, his eyes full of hope, and said: "Old Wange should mean that! The emperor has not yet given birth, and even the empress has not yet been conferred, so rushing to be promoted now is not conducive to your long-term plans! It is better to continue Stay on for a year or two, and next year I will arrange for you to participate in the compilation of "Xianzong Shilu" and "Daming Huidian" to save you more political capital. When the emperor's son leaves the pavilion to study in the future, you will be able to enter the East Palace to teach the prince. It will be much smoother to join the cabinet and pay homage to lead the officials!"

Although their civil official group does not engage in hereditary practices, through this kind of inheritance between teachers and students like father and son, they can continue to maintain their power, and even completely emptied the imperial power through several generations of inheritance.

"Master, does Mr. Wange really mean this?" Yang Tinghe realized that he seemed to have misunderstood Wan'an, so he asked seriously.

Liu Ji knew that his apprentice was impetuous when he was young, so he nodded seriously: "Blood lineage is a taboo in the officialdom, and Wan An will need someone to deter all parties in the court when he retires in the future, so you are the leader of the Sichuan Province. The best choice for you. Since he wants to be trained by you, naturally he can't just focus on the immediate gains and losses, he must plan for the long-term for you, so that you can smoothly enter the cabinet and worship the prime minister in the future, and even the official worship as the chief assistant!"

"So that's how it is!" Yang Tinghe said bitterly when he heard the whole story.

Although he knew Wan An's intentions, but thinking that he still had to continue to stay in the position of being a reviewer of the Eighth Rank Imperial Academy, he couldn't be happy no matter what.

He was originally the proud son of heaven, a dragon and a phoenix among men, and had close relationships with the three big bosses in the court. As a result, he wasted nine years in the positions of Shujishi and Xiaoxiaozheng eighth-rank Hanlin reviewer.

Seeing Yang Tinghe's impatience, Liu Ji comforted him and said, "Jie Fu, you can study at the Hanlin Academy at ease. That's how Mr. Wange and I came here back then! There are birds that stop at the Fu of the South. If it moves, it will use its determination; if it does not fly, it will grow its wings; if it does not sing, it will show the people. Although a bird does not fly, it will soar to the sky; although it does not sing, its song will frighten people." After a pause, he spoke earnestly and earnestly: "You are the one who will take over our mantle in the future, so you must not do things too hastily!"

"Students keep in mind their master's teachings, and they will definitely live up to their master's expectations!" Yang Tinghe said bitterly, knowing that the path of a Ci minister is to work hard for qualifications and personal design.

(End of this chapter)