King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

After hearing this.

Liu Feng couldn't help but look at the prison vans covered with black cloth in the back. He frowned and pondered for a moment, then looked at Ji Gang beside him and said:
"Lord Ji"

"It's not that I don't trust you, sir."

"It is my duty. This concerns the safety of Prince Han. I cannot afford to make any mistakes. Can I check the prisoner carriage at the rear?"

Meet the cautious Liu Feng.

Ji Gang naturally would not have any objection to this.

After all, you know the person in front of you and why he does this.

There is nothing wrong with such behavior.

Then, he nodded without comment, stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation, and said in a deep voice:
"understand."

"It's all about 'public spirit'."

"I understand. I won't think too much about it. After all, if it were me, I would do the same as General Liu."

"General Liu, please do as you please."

Say it.

He waved his hand at the Jinyiwei guards standing guard around, signaling them not to stop him.

See this situation.

Liu Feng smiled apologetically at him, nodded at him, and replied:

"Thank you, Lord Ji, for your understanding and magnanimity."

"Then Liu will be polite. It's hypocritical."

Afterwards, he waved to the soldiers behind him and ordered:

"Walk"

"Everyone, open your eyes and let me examine you carefully."

Say it.

Without any hesitation, he led his team in person and walked to the rear of the Jinyiwei team, ready to check the prison cars that were blocked in front of them one by one.

There is strength in numbers.

Not long after.

Under the leadership of Liu Feng, the Jinyiwei escorted the prison van and personally inspected it one by one.

Things went quite smoothly and there were no clues.

Listening to the inspection reports from the soldiers around him, Liu Feng nodded with satisfaction, looked at Ji Gang beside him and laughed softly, saying:
"Master Ji, thank you for your hard work and for keeping you waiting for so long."

"Everything has been checked and nothing unusual has been found."

"Master Ji can go now."

After saying this, Liu Feng turned to look at the two generals behind him, waved his hands and instructed:
"okay."

"Let it go!"

After hearing this.

The soldiers who were blocking the city gate consciously stepped aside to let them pass.

immediately.

Ji Gang did not say anything more, but waved his hand at the Jinyiwei behind him and said:

"go!"

Afterwards, a group of people entered the city in a mighty manner and headed towards Linchuan Prefecture.

……

Linchuan Fucheng.

Zhu Gaoxu was sitting on a high platform, his eyes half-closed, wondering what he was thinking about.

Da da da……

Just then.

A hurried sound of footsteps was heard.

Then a Ming Dynasty soldier in heavy armor hurriedly trotted in from outside the door.

Seeing the newcomer, Zhu Gaoxu, whose thoughts were interrupted, showed a hint of displeasure on his face. He glared at the soldiers who came in and shouted:

"What happened?"

"How can you be so flustered?"

The soldiers were slightly startled, sensing the displeasure coming from above, and hurriedly explained and reported:

"Report to the prince."

"Lord Ji is asking for an audience at the government gate."

"According to the report from Lord Ji, Xijiang Provincial Commissioner Zhong Kairan and his family members have all been arrested."

"He is being escorted to the prison van."

"Ask the prince how to deal with it."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu's expression froze slightly. He sat up straight from leaning on the armchair. His pupils shrank. After a brief pause, he nodded and ordered:
"Let the commander-in-chief come in!"

"As for the Zhong family, except for Zhong Kairan, the rest will be interrogated in the imperial prison first."

"promise!"

The soldiers did not dare to hesitate at all. They nodded heavily in agreement, then turned around and strode out the door.

order.

Not long after.

Ji Gang, who was waiting quietly in front of the government office to be summoned, turned around and ordered someone to open the prison van, and strode in with Zhong Kairan, whose hands were tied behind his back.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu sitting high on the platform, he quickly bowed and said:
"I pay my respects to the King of Han."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded slowly and said:
"No gift!"

Say it.

He focused his eyes with interest on Zhong Kairan, who was tied up behind his back in the audience. After looking at him for a moment, he asked in a deep voice:

"He is Zhong Kairan, the governor of Xijiang?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Gang nodded and said:
"Yes!"

After getting a definite answer, Zhu Gaoxu chuckled, and suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, staring straight at Zhong Kairan, who seemed a little arrogant and did not take the initiative to greet him. He slammed the table on his body with a "bang" and shouted angrily:
"Zhong Kairan..."

"Why don't you kneel when you see me?"

"Why not be polite?"

"How courageous!"

After hearing this.

Zhong Kairan, who was standing in the middle of the hall with his hands bound, sneered, turning a deaf ear to Zhu Gaoxu's angry rebuke and sneered at him. He half-closed his eyes and glanced at Zhu Gaoxu with great disdain, then snorted coldly:

"Why don't you kneel?"

"Why not be polite?"

"Are you brave enough?"

Having said this, he paused, then suddenly changed the subject and said self-deprecatingly:
"Prince of Han"

"There's no need to have a long conversation with me. It's meaningless."

"Will it be of any use if I bow, kneel, wag my tail and beg for mercy?"

"Will the prince turn a blind eye to my crimes and let all of us in the Zhong family live, just because I am begging for mercy and crying bitterly to confess my mistakes?"

"It certainly won't, will it?"

"The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. This is an eternal law."

"Although I am not talented, I am familiar with the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

"For what our Zhong family and even I have done, we will definitely end up with the entire clan being exterminated, with no one in the family left alive."

"In this situation, why should I wag my tail and beg for mercy, humiliating myself and losing face?"

"Wouldn't it be joyful to die with honour?"

"My lord."

"What do you think?"

That's what I said.

Even Zhu Gaoxu didn't know how to answer for a moment and was stunned on the spot.

It is undeniable. Just as Zhong Kairan said.

Not to mention the evil deeds done by the Zhong family over the years under the leadership of Zhong Kairan, just the two desperate assassination attempts on him organized in Linchuan City last night.

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, this was enough to execute all nine generations of the Zhong family.

If we really take into account the evil things that the Zhong family has done in the past, I'm afraid it will not be as simple as killing all nine generations of the family.

Under such circumstances.

There is ironclad evidence.

It's a completely fatal situation.

Zhong Kairan saw that he didn't salute or kneel. It seemed that this crime was not a big deal.

However, Zhu Gaoxu could tell from Zhong Kairan's words that this bastard Zhong Kairan now knew the fate of his entire family and there was no room for redemption, so he was determined to throw in the towel!

Even though I know this.

It seems that he really has no way to deal with others.

What can I do?
At most, it would just be beheading.
This situation made Zhu Gaoxu a little depressed.

Seeing that Zhong Kairan was like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, Zhu Gaoxu felt a little embarrassed. Ji Gang, who was standing aside, frowned and kicked Zhong Kairan hard in the calf, knocking him to the ground.

At the same time, Ji Gang shouted angrily:
"Bastard thing."

"How do you talk to the King of Han?"

Zhu Gaoxu glanced coldly at Zhong Kairan who fell to the ground in pain.

After a moment, he looked at Ji Gang who was about to take action again, waved his hand at him, and said in a deep voice:
"okay."

“No need”

"Since he is so generous and so brazen, like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water, there is no need to waste time on him."

Wait until Ji Gang's actions are stopped.

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and pondered for a while, then glanced at Ji Gang below and asked:

"Lord Ji"

"Can we get the evidence and list of all the people involved in the collusion and gang-building of Zhong Kairan and the Zhong family over the years?"

After hearing this, Ji Gang's expression became serious, he bowed and quickly responded:

"Return to the Prince"

"Basically, the list of people involved with the Zhong family and the evidence have almost all been found out during the interrogation of the Zhong family."

"As for those people, I have already sent people to arrest them one by one according to the names on the list."

"If nothing else happens."

"By tomorrow morning at the latest, all those involved with the Zhong family will be escorted to Linchuan Prefecture by the Royal Guards."

Get a definite answer.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded in satisfaction, with a hint of appreciation in his words, and said:

"good."

“This was done very well.”

"For this matter, I have no other requirements, except one thing, that is, we must find substantial evidence for all the people we arrest."

"I hope this matter can be done, and it must be an ironclad case that cannot be more ironclad."

"Does Lord Ji understand?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Gang nodded and said:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty."

"I understand this matter."

"I will definitely not let the prince down."

"The Jinyiwei has substantial evidence against all the people arrested according to the list."

"I will never wrongly accuse a good person, and I will never let a bad person go."

“They all deserved it.”

"Okay, Lord Yuuki's words put my heart at ease."

As he said this, Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at the Zhongkai people who were lying on the ground, sneered, and said:
"As for this Xijiang Provincial Governor."

"The state has national laws, and families have family rules."

"The governor of a place gives me the power to supervise the country. Even if there is irrefutable evidence, it is not appropriate to kill him here. It is against the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

"As for the verdict on his guilt, we should escort him back to Yingtianfu and hand him over to the Dali Temple, the Supervisory Office, and the Ministry of Justice for a joint trial, and then report to the old man and let them decide for themselves!"

"To prevent some corrupt scholars in the court from gossiping about me behind my back, saying that I am arrogant and domineering and do not know etiquette and laws."

Having said this, he paused, suddenly changed the subject, and continued:
"but."

"This Xijiang Provincial Governor makes me unable to move, but it does not mean that his family members cannot be moved by me."

"Collect all the dirty deeds done by the rest of the Zhong family over the years and seal up all their property."

"After all those thieves who have connections with the Zhong family and even Zhong Kairan are arrested."

"Tomorrow at the Linchuan City execution ground, I will personally supervise the execution."

"Of course. Remember to bring this governor with you during the execution."

"Didn't he go to his death bravely and fearlessly?"

“I want to see if he can still be as tough and calm as he is now when his former relatives are killed by the butcher’s knife in front of him and their heads are kicked around like balls by the people of Linchuan City! ”

"Take him away!!"

Zhu Gaoxu half-closed his eyes and glanced coldly at Zhong Kairan, who was lying on the ground and had not gotten up after being kicked down. He waved at Ji Gang and gave an order.

but
Zhong Kairan collapsed on the ground and never got up.

Wait to hear Zhu Gaoxu's instructions to Ji Gang and the follow-up arrangements.

Gu Bo's originally calm mood finally relaxed a little. He opened his mouth several times and wanted to say something, but he seemed to have thought of something and finally did not utter the words. He was dragged out obediently without any struggle or other movement.

After a while.

Looking at Ji Gang who had returned, Zhu Gaoxu narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice:

"Just now I saw you hesitate to speak."

"But what do you have to say?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Gang frowned and thought for a moment, then simply sorted out his thoughts and replied:
"Return to the Prince"

"When I was investigating the entire Zhong family last night, I discovered something particularly interesting."

"Logically speaking, based on what I know about the Zhong family's methods of making money."

"Over the years, the wealth he has accumulated should have been an astronomical figure."

"But when I seized the Zhong family, I only managed to find about 2.86 million taels of silver in the Zhong mansion, as well as about 230,000 taels of good land, houses, and shops."

"It doesn't match the Zhong family's method of amassing wealth and the wealth data they should have."

"According to my humble estimate, the difference should be no less than five million taels of silver."

"Your Majesty, the whereabouts of this silver is a mystery."

Having said that, we are all smart people, so how can we not understand the implication of Ji Gang's words.

"Where's Zhong Kairan?"

"Did he say anything about this matter? Does anyone in the Zhong Mansion know about it? Or has anyone found any clues?"

Zhu Gaoxu raised his eyebrows, narrowed his eyes and asked.

"No."

"As for other things, Zhong Kairan has never concealed anything."

"But regarding this matter, he is very taboo and keeps silent about it."

"No matter what, I don't want to say a word more."

Ji Gang shook his head and replied.

This statement came out.

The lobby fell into an eerie silence for a short while. No one spoke and the atmosphere became extremely depressing.

"call"

After a long while, Zhu Gaoxu came back to his senses, exhaled a long breath, half-closed his eyes and stared at Ji Gang for a long time, and then said:
"Then wait a moment."

“First do the things at hand.”

"As for the whereabouts of the missing silver, let's see if anyone jumps out."

"If no one jumps out, let's just leave it at that. If someone jumps out" (End of this chapter)