Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 159: Breaking into the house late at night and humiliating the officials

The emperor in Beijing seemed to have finally been "persuaded to retreat" by the shocking current situation in Jiangnan, but he was left with even more difficult questions.

All the officials attending the imperial court in Beijing were forced to answer the questions.

Starting from Jiangnan, where the big problem broke out this time, the officials who were paid by the emperor had to come up with practical measures to resolve the emperor's dismay and disappointment.

Can you get it out?
But no matter what, the turmoil in Jiangnan is about to be calmed down.

It was limited to questioning the important officials of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue and finding an account book that truly reflected the situation in Jiangnan.

Can you find it out?
The imperial edict traveled faster than the family letter, and it was to target the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, and the emperor himself said that he "should be killed." The family letter from Beijing was just an urgent reminder to those relatives and friends who had close contacts with Zhang Yi and the important officials of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing.

This decree was sent by express delivery.

If a specific person wants to complete the journey from Beijing to Nanjing, the maximum time is about half a month.

The previous group of people who went south to take up official posts arrived in just over 20 days, which was very fast.

And the express delivery relay will take much longer.

Under extreme conditions, express delivery from Guangzhou to Beijing can be completed within seven or eight days, and Nanjing is not that far away.
The imperial edict from Beijing arrived in Cheng Jing's hands on the night of August 24.

It was curfew at this time, but it was just in time.

"Find the governor and the provincial governor of Yingtian and have them arrive in Nanjing before August 30th to receive the imperial edict."

"Go to the Imperial Envoy's Office and have Lord Xiao, Lord Zheng, and Lord Li go to the Zhang family in Wulongtan to receive the imperial edict."

"Let Governor Luo gather all the Jinyi officers from the south and bring them to the garrison!"

Cheng Jing was eager to get started, and after completing this task, Nanjing was finally cleaned up.

Later on, he, Xiao Daheng, Ping Yi Bo and others began to rectify the situation in the south of the Yangtze River.

The city of Nanjing in the night was still unaware that the imperial edict had arrived, and Zhang Yi was already asleep.

The curfew in Nanjing made it easier to launch operations. The people arranged by Cheng Jing first went to the Sanfasi on the shore of the lake behind the outer city. The imperial envoy stayed here after entering Nanjing.

Xiao Daheng was awakened and perked up after hearing the message: "Receive the decree? Has the decree arrived?"

"Please leave quickly, Your Excellency."

"it is good!"

The heads of the three judicial departments in Nanjing naturally returned to their homes in Nanjing at night, and Xiao Daheng met Zheng Jizhi and Li Tingji.

"Let's go. It seems the time has come for Beijing to be hot."

The three of them came all the way south, sharing the same heavy responsibility, and they all knew what was going on.

But the situation was ultimately pushed to this point, which was indeed inseparable from the steps taken by Mr. Xiao.

I'm afraid Zhang Yi never expected that the emperor would use the method of beating only him, the big tiger, to appease and warn the other officials and gentry in Jiangnan who had escaped the disaster this time.

From Houhu to Wulongtan, and from the garrison to Wulongtan, the two teams walked quickly on the road.

When they meet patrolling officers and soldiers who reveal their identities, everyone will naturally remain silent.

The team led by Cheng Jing and Luo Sigong became smaller and smaller, and more than ten people were separated along the way.

They were going to visit the homes of several officials who had previously worked at the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, and only ask questions about the status of assistant ministers and doctors, and they were not going to search their property.

They were simply questioned about the truth and given lenient sentences so that Mr. Xiao could take control of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue more quickly.

The large group still went towards Zhang Yi's home.

When they arrived at Zhang Yi's house, Xiao Daheng and his group had not arrived yet.

After all, the Jinyiwei acted faster and had been preparing for many days, while Xiao Daheng had to send someone to pass on the message before he could set off.

Now that they were at the doorstep of Zhang's house, they naturally had to be on guard against the fact that he had arranged for someone to keep watch out of guilt.

"Surround them first." Cheng Jing waved his hand, "Break through the door!"

The imperial edict directly stated that this person "deserves to be killed", so why should we be polite?
The Jinyiwei are professional at doing this kind of thing, but this time it was the most violent.

Without leaving time to knock on the door, Luo Sigong nodded solemnly and asked his subordinates to directly lift the baton that they had brought along.

There were also two nimble ones who used hooks and locks to climb over the wall in case the door of this wealthy family was more secure.

"boom!"

The dull crash broke the tranquility in the area, like a muffled thunder.

But at least it's not as noisy as the noise of carrying guns and cannons.

The first person to wake up was naturally the concierge.

"Who! Someone come! There's a thief!"

I don’t know if their family is always so vigilant or if they had given instructions in advance, but the sound of a gong came from inside.

The first hit did not work, so he hit it again.

The second blow still failed to break it open, but fortunately the sound of the gong inside suddenly disappeared, and then a voice came out: "Don't knock, don't knock! We are coming in!"

The door was opened by the Jinyiwei who climbed over the wall. Luo Sigong ran in quickly and said, "Go directly to the backyard!" There were no side doors or back doors. Someone had already gone around to block them. The first person they wanted to catch was Zhang Yi.

The Zhang family servant, who had been awakened by the sound of the gong, just put on his clothes hastily. After stepping out of the room and seeing the ferocious-looking Jinyiwei, how could he not know that breaking into the room late at night would not bring good things?
Under the sudden attack, Cheng Jing rushed straight to the backyard with only four Jinyiwei guards in front and behind.

The whole house was filled with shouting and crying for mercy.

At this time, everyone living near the Zhang family had been awakened.

He bravely peeked out through the crack in the door and saw a large group of Jinyiwei guarding the Zhang family's front, back, and left. How could he not be terrified and quickly closed the door.

Day by day, first it was the family of the Jiangdu Censor, then the family of the Minister of War, and now it is the turn of the family of the Minister of Revenue. Nanjing is about to be in big trouble.

Anyone who knew would think so.

But for now, only people in this area knew that the Minister of Revenue's house had been searched. Before daybreak, there were not many outsiders spreading the news, unless the officers and soldiers patrolling the city at night wanted to urgently inform certain close relatives.

In the Zhang family's house, Zhang Yi was found in the concubine's room.

"Commander Luo, what do you mean?"

Being blocked by Luo Sigong, Zhang Yi spoke sternly.

His eyes were full of disbelief. Was the emperor really going to do this?
But his performance meant nothing to Luo Sigong.

"Tie him up and stuff something in his mouth. Don't let him scream, and don't let him commit suicide out of fear of the crime."

Luo Sigong's words made Zhang Yi's pupils shrink, and the concubine who was hugging the quilt on the bed inside looked pale and terrified.

"I am a second-rank lord, how can you ..."

He had only said half of his words when he was caught by two lively Jinyiwei, one covering his mouth and the other holding a rope.

If such a scene were seen by outsiders, they would think that being a second-rank official is like being a beast, totally undignified.

If the Jinyiwei's breaking into the door in the middle of the night had made it hard for Zhang Yi to believe that it had really come to this final step, then their behavior now completely confirmed that this could not have been the willful behavior of Mr. Xiao.

In what kind of situation would you worry that you might yell at night and startle your neighbors and something might spread?

No matter what, Zhang Yi was tied up, gagged and taken to the main hall in the front yard.

Hearing the cries of his family members and servants, Zhang Yi's eyes were red with anger.

He met Cheng Jing and also saw the imperial edict that he placed on the desk beside him.

"Go tell his family." Cheng Jing looked at Zhang Yi, but instructed Luo Sigong who had brought him here, "If they just keep crying and making a fuss, they will be beheaded on the spot. If they can be disciplined, they may have a chance of survival. The crime of their master must be determined by your majesty himself."

Zhang Yi stared at Cheng Jing intently, trying to understand the meaning of his words.

Cheng Jing closed his eyes and sat there quietly.

Luo Sigong took the order and returned to the backyard.

After a while, the sound over there gradually died down.

In this situation, any hope is still a glimmer of hope.

"Zhang Yi." Cheng Jing opened his eyes and looked at him. "This is the decree made at the court after Jiangnan presented the memorial to the capital. You have been in the officialdom for a long time, so you should know the importance of things. We don't want to be so disgraceful, but now Jiangnan is in turmoil, so we have no choice but to do so. If you have any resentment in your heart, please express it when you see His Majesty."

Zhang Yi struggled, making “mmmmm” sounds.

I felt extremely sad and angry.

Was it a decree made at the imperial court? Did the officials in the court push him out to take the blame? To take the blame for a crime that had been committed in Jiangnan for more than two hundred years?
How could he be so worthy of being the Minister of Finance in Nanjing?

Now he remembered that he had pushed Geng Dingli to take the blame.

Everyone is trying their best to help Xiao Daheng "solve the case", but the imperial edict and the Jinyiwei come so suddenly!
Could it be that I am also like Geng Dingli, with so many things kept from me?
These pieces of shit!
If even the Minister of Finance of Nanjing has ended up like this, who else can be spared? Who can!
Hearing that he would meet the emperor, Zhang Yi now had a lot of things in his mind that he was ready to say.

The emperor has already put the knife on his neck, how can he take it back? Stupid emperor! Incompetent emperor!

There was undisguised hatred in Zhang Yi's eyes, but Cheng Jing was too lazy to look at it.

On the other side, Xiao Daheng hurried over from the outer city nearly two quarters of an hour later.

Seeing the Jinyiwei who had surrounded the Zhang family's gate, he quickly asked, "How long have you been here?"

"The three of you can just go straight to the main hall."

This was all Yao Erhu, who was guarding the door, said.

Xiao Daheng nodded, and when he passed by the gate and saw that it was cracked, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

It seems that the content of the decree is more severe than he had imagined, and it does not leave Zhang Yi any dignity at all.

Arriving at the main hall of the Zhang family, Zhang Yi, who had hosted a banquet to welcome the imperial envoys some time ago, was kneeling there in a thin lining, tied up with his hands and knees, with a wooden ball stuffed in his mouth.

"Eunuch Cheng...what is this?"

Xiao Daheng's expression couldn't help but change. This was too humiliating.

Isn't it just about resigning and questioning?
"Xiao Daheng, Zheng Jizhi, Li Tingji, the criminal Zhang Yi received the order!"

(End of this chapter)