The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 273 Ma Qing’s suffering
Kaifeng City is divided into inner and outer cities.

The inner city is the former site of Bianzhou City.

On Jiaomen Street on the south bank of Xishuimen in the inner city, adjacent to the Bianhe River, there is a water prison here, which was part of the Bianzhou Prefecture Yamen Prison.

Now it is under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Division of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and is a place where special prisoners are detained.

In the afternoon, the spring light was bright, and a four-shouldered cart appeared at the prison gate.

This kind of soft sedan with a concave bottom and covered with curtains on all sides has basically the shape of a sedan chair in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Four burly men were working hard to carry the soft carriage. Uncle Li Ye sat comfortably among them, surrounded by six guards in green robes and swords.

Upon hearing the arrival of the uncle, the prison officials hurriedly opened the middle door and knelt down respectfully to greet him.

When the carriage landed, Li Ye woke up from his nap, walked out and looked around, stretching his waist lazily.

"Has there been anything strange here recently? Is there anyone suspicious appearing nearby?" Li Ye called the jailer to ask.

The jailer said with an apologetic smile: "As for my uncle, when he returns home, the little people will take good care of him and everything will be fine."

"Yeah~" Li Ye nodded and gestured to his entourage.

The attendant took out a silver collar and threw it to the jailer: "My uncle is rewarding you!"

"Ouch!~ Thank you, little people, for the reward!"

Several jailers were overjoyed and hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

"Get up~" Li Ye said impatiently, "The people detained here are serious criminals of the imperial court. You must guard them carefully and do not leak any information to outsiders!"

"Little people dare not forget what Uncle Guo said!"

The chief jailer bowed his waist and laughed. He thought of something and asked tentatively: "May I ask my uncle, who is the man detained in the water prison?"

Li Ye glared at him fiercely: "I told you that he is a serious prisoner of the imperial court. His identity is confidential, and you can't interfere with it? Do you want to go in and keep him company?"

"Oh, you guys don't dare!" the head warder apologized, "That's right. Not long ago, the head of the Criminal Department came to inquire and asked if we had any prisoners transferred from other places."

"Huh?" Li Ye immediately became alert, "Who is it? How do you say it?"

"I don't know exactly which director of the Criminal Department he is. He wears a scarlet official robe and is of high rank. I heard that he seems to be related to the Duke of Wei.
The officer in charge came to check it out in person. The villains got wind of it in advance and hid the person. He took the person around for a while and left without saying anything."

The chief jailer answered honestly.

"The head of the Ministry of Punishment? From Duke Wei's family?" Li Ye's eyes rolled, and he immediately remembered that Fu Yantu, the third elder brother of Duke Fu Yanqing of the State of Wei, had a son-in-law who was the fourth-rank head of the Ministry of Punishment.

For Li Ye, a fourth-grade official had to think twice before entering his home, but to these low-ranking jailers, he was a high-ranking official who could crush people to death.

What's more, they are the immediate superiors of the Criminal Department, so they can't afford to offend him.

Li Ye remained calm and winked at his entourage, who then took out a piece of silver collar and rewarded them.

"You did a good job. If there is any news in the future, please come to the uncle's house and report it in time! Be careful to hide the person well and be sure not to be discovered!"

Li Ye rarely showed a kind smile to a small official.

The chief jailer was holding the heavy silver collar but he couldn't laugh. Although he was of low status, he had worked in the prison all his life and had never seen any humiliation.

Li Ye secretly stuffed someone into a water jail. Not long after, the son-in-law of Wei Guogong's family, who was an official in the Ministry of Punishment, personally came to the door with someone. No matter how stupid you are, you can guess that there is something wrong here.

On one side is the uncle of the current dynasty, a prominent figure in the imperial court, and on the other side is the famous Fu family of Wei Guogong. On both sides are the gods. A fart can kill them all, and neither can afford to offend either. .

"Uncle Guo is kind, the villain has received your reward, and should do things with all his heart, but the villain is also afraid of being contaminated by right and wrong. Wei Guogong's family is not something that villains can offend, or you should send him away as soon as possible."

The chief jailer looked sad, and the two silver collars he held in his hands were very hot to the touch.

Li Ye yelled and scolded: "You have an uncle from my country supporting you, what are you afraid of?"

Li Ye shook his sleeves and robe impatiently and walked towards the prison. The chief jailer had no choice but to follow him.

Li Ye was a little annoyed, he just caught a peddler from Jingzhou, he didn't expect that soon after, he was followed by people from the Fu family, and they searched all over the city for the whereabouts of that man named Ma Qing.

Half a year ago, Li Ye received Liu Chengyou's instructions, asking him to investigate carefully how the original document to crusade against Li Shouzhen appeared in Kaifeng City, and how it made the city full of storms. Everyone knows it.

Just because of this letter of appeal from Zhang Yijun, the people of Kaifeng believed that Zhang Yijun and Li Shouzhen were not involved.

Not only were they not implicated, the Chang Yi Army also served as a model of loyalty and guarding the country's borders. Faced with all kinds of coercion from the cruel and traitor Li Shouzhen, all the soldiers and civilians of the Chang Yi Army adhered to their loyalty and refused to be complicit in the rebellion.

An eloquent and eloquent essay has won Changyi Army a great reputation!
Liu Chengyou originally wanted to take advantage of Li Shouzhen's turmoil, and even listed the Zhangyi Army as a rebellious vassal town, so that the army could attack and capture Shi Kuangwei and Zhu Xiu.

Unexpectedly, the plan was disrupted by a memorandum. I had to pinch my nose to accept the memorandum, and admitted that the Changyi Army had nothing to do with Li Shouzhen's rebellion.

Afterwards, Liu Chengyou was very angry and assigned Li Ye to investigate secretly. Finally, he found out that the message came from a place called Shenghe Dishe.

It was Ma Qing, the shopkeeper of Dishe, who went to Chai Rong with a message to intercede for Zhang Yijun.

Shenghe Dishe must be related to the Changyi Army. Li Ye personally led his troops to surround Dishe, killing more than a dozen of the resisting clerks, and capturing the shopkeeper Ma Qing alive. According to the investigation, another clerk named Chen An escaped and is currently missing. .

Li Ye still remembers the scene when Sheng He Dishe was annihilated more than two months ago.

I thought it was just an ordinary mansion, but I didn't expect that all the guys inside were brave and not afraid of death. The battle was extremely fierce, and almost double the casualties were paid to completely wipe out this group of barbarians from the northwest.

He first imprisoned Ma Qing in the prison of Dali Temple, and interrogated him while using torture. Ma Qing was also a tough guy, and he was stunned for half a month without saying a word.

This matter was originally kept secret, but not long after, many people were inquiring about Ma Qing's whereabouts.

Li Ye followed the investigation and found that the backgrounds of these people were not simple. They either had the background of the Fu family, or they were officials of various sizes from the Privy Council, the three provinces and six ministries. These people were inextricably related to Guo Wei.

The more Li Ye investigated, the more frightened he became. It seemed that the background of Shenghe Residence was not simple. It involved not only the Changyi Army, but also various forces in Beijing.

Li Ye secretly reported to Liu Chengyou while looking for a new place to imprison Ma Qing.

Liu Chengyou felt that he had found out the key points of Guo Wei's power group and was very excited. He asked Li Ye to keep Ma Qing firmly in his hands.

So Li Ye decided to imprison Ma Qing in the water prison on Jiaomen Street, Xishuimen.

This place is in a semi-abandoned state, and it should not be easy to find.

Unexpectedly, less than half a month later, someone from the Fu family would investigate here again.

Li Ye cursed secretly in his heart. In Kaifeng City, Guo Wei and Fu's minions were really pervasive.This also made him wary. What they were plotting must be kept secret. Once the slightest bit was leaked, it would lead to earth-shattering changes.

Stepping into the water prison, the light was dim, and the wet, cold, and fishy smell poured into his nose. Li Ye almost vomited all the venison he had eaten for lunch. He hurriedly covered his nose. It took him a while to get used to the stench.

A large pool of four feet square was filled with turquoise water, and there was a pillar every four or five feet on the four sides. The prisoners were tied to the pillars and completely submerged in the water from the waist down.

This place is underground, cold in winter and sultry in summer. Without any torture, the prisoners detained here will go crazy and can't stand it.

There is a person tied to the pillar in the middle, naked, with no intact skin on his body, and submerged in the water below the waist.

His hair was forcibly plucked out, and several areas of his scalp were torn and pus-filled. His face was swollen and blue, and he had more air coming out than in.

Before being thrown into the water prison, Li Ye had several thin wounds cut on his waist. They were not fatal and would only bleed slowly.

After being soaked in this pool of dirty water for more than half a month, the wound on his waist became pus-filled and gave off a foul odor. There were even a few fly larvae attached to the skin and flesh, sucking pus and blood.

Li Ye looked at it with disgust and motioned to the jailer.

The jailer waved his hand, and two jailers jumped into the water, walked to Ma Qing, untied the rope, dragged him to the shore and threw him on the ground.

The lower half of Ma Qing's body was white and swollen, and his legs were severely deformed.

"Wake him up." The attendant moved a chair and Li Ye sat aside.

The jailer took out the red-hot iron from the brazier and pressed it hard on his chest.

With a "squeak" sound, a smell of burning flesh emerged.

Ma Qing suddenly opened his blood-red eyes, opened his mouth wide and wanted to roar, but his hoarse throat could only make a "rustling" sound.

He was twitching all over, gasping for air.

"Ma Qing, Mr. Ma, let me give you another chance to tell you who your master is? Is it Shi Kuangwei from Zhang Yi Army? Or is it that boy named Zhu Xiu?"

Li Ye sneered and walked to his side.

Ma Qing looked tremblingly, and with his blurred vision he could only vaguely see the figure in front of him.

He opened his mouth to reveal that it was full of blood, and several teeth had been pried out in the dark mouth.

Li Ye's eyes turned cold. He saw this inhuman guy and gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Chop off one of his fingers!" Li Ye shouted ferociously.

The two jailers looked at each other, rushed forward, held down Ma Qing's hand, raised the hatchet and chopped it hard.

With a hoarse roar of pain, Ma Qing's whole body curled up, and a broken finger rolled into the pool.

Ma Qing's right hand was covered with blood like a pillar, and he held it tightly tightly. His swollen and white body was struggling and squirming on the cold ground.

"What is the plot of the Zhangyi Army arranging for you to hide in Kaifeng? Tell me quickly!"

Li Ye's patience was about to be exhausted, and he roared angrily.

Ma Qing curled up on the ground and looked at him bitterly. A ghost-like hoarse howl came out of his dark mouth, as if he was mocking or cursing.

Li Ye took a deep breath and paced back and forth impatiently with a livid face.

"Well, why don't we make a deal? As long as you admit that you were ordered by Guo Wei, secretly contacted the Zhangyi Army, and hid in Kaifeng in an attempt to rebel, I will spare your life and reward you with glory and wealth for the rest of your life!"

Li Ye suppressed his anger and tried to sound kinder and more cordial.

The chief jailer suddenly changed his expression and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

It actually involved Privy Councilor Guo Wei. How many secrets did this man who was tortured to death by them hide?

Li Ye glanced at him murderously, so frightened that the warden chief lowered his head and did not dare to vent his anger.

Ma Qingqing's black lips trembled, as if he was speaking.

Li Ye was overjoyed and hurriedly came forward, resisting the stench emanating from Ma Qing's body, and leaned close to his mouth, trying to hear what he said clearly.

"When the little official arrives in Kaifeng, your Grandpa Ma will definitely skin you and light a lantern."

Ma Qing spoke slowly and intermittently in an extremely thin voice.

Li Ye's eyes burst out with a cannibalistic glare, he stood up in a hurry, screamed and yelled: "Kill him!"

With a bang, the iron door was pushed open violently, and a jailer stumbled into the cell, saying in a panic, "Uncle Guo is not good! Yes, there are officers and soldiers surrounding the prison! Say yes, say they are looking for suspects!"

Li Ye was furious: "Fart! Where are the officers and soldiers coming from? Stop me and don't let anyone in!"

Before he finished speaking, the iron door was kicked open with a bang from the outside, and two young military generals with impressive weapons strode in.

Li Ye was startled and angry, stared at the person with wide eyes, gritted his teeth and said two words: "Chai Rong!"

Chai Rong glanced at Ma Qing, his pupils suddenly shrank, and he clasped his fists and said calmly: "So my uncle is here, no wonder the guards outside dare to be so arrogant, and even dare to defy the military order of the Privy Council!"

Li Ye said angrily: "What military order? What does it have to do with my uncle?"

Chai Rong smiled and said: "Of course it has nothing to do with Uncle Guo, but it has something to do with this person!"

Chai Rong pointed to Ma Qing, and said solemnly: "After investigation, there was a theft in the saddle and bridle warehouse of the Xiaodi Army a few months ago. Cao Bin, the commander of the Xiaodi Army's infantry, was ordered to investigate the matter. After detailed investigation , this person is one of the suspects, Chai was ordered by the Privy Council to assist General Cao in arresting this person, and brought him back to the Xiaodi Army for interrogation."

Behind Chai Rong, a young man in rich clothes and a sword took a step forward, took out a token and waved it in front of Li Ye's eyes. He cupped his fists and said with a smile: "Cao Bin pays homage to Uncle Li Guo! This person is a suspect being hunted by the Xiaodi Army." , if uncle Guo is fine, we will take him back for interrogation."

As he said that, two Xiaodi Army sergeants came forward to take Ma Qing away.

Just as Li Ye was about to step forward to stop him, Chai Rong stepped in front of him and said with a smile, "I heard that Uncle Guo captured this person? Thank you very much~ It seems that this person has committed many crimes. Wait for Xiaodijun to find out about the theft. After finding out the reason, I will send the person back to my uncle."

Li Ye's face was flushed, and he wanted to yell and curse in desperation. Suddenly, he saw a cold light in Chai Rong's eyes, and he was holding the long knife at his waist tightly. .

Ma Qing was taken out of the cell. Cao Bin thanked Li Ye gratefully and turned to leave.

"Uncle Guo, please stay and say goodbye!" Chai Rongpi saluted with a smile and walked away with his knife.

The iron door was closed heavily again, and in the dim light, Li Ye's face looked terrifyingly gloomy.

(End of this chapter)