Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 123 The emperor’s order is useless, Huang Zicheng is furious!

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The generals and nobles who had just happily confessed their guilt were suddenly dumbfounded.

Make a decision?
Aren’t you here to save me and others?

How did it become an immediate execution?

A general quickly asked: "Sir, are you mistaken?"

"boom!"

Huang Zicheng slammed the gavel and picked up the confession in his hand: "This is the confession you handed in. It is written in black and white, and your crimes are clearly recorded."

"Since you have admitted your guilt, you should know that the law is ruthless."

"I will execute you immediately, which is already a mercy outside the law."

He was thinking about executing these people as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble.

Cutting into pieces takes too much time; beheading is faster.

After saying that, Huang Zicheng pulled out a stick from the stick holder, threw it on the ground, and shouted angrily: "Hurry up and drag them down and behead them in public."

The bailiffs swarmed forward, pinned down a group of military generals and nobles, and were about to take them away to behead them.

Next to him, the Minister of Justice Yang Jing could no longer sit still.

"Sir Huang, they are all nobles of this dynasty. They have made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty."

"They all have very important status and position."

"I'm afraid it's not appropriate for Master Huang to convict them all without even conducting a trial."

Huang Zicheng threw the confession letter at Yang Jing and said, "This is written by them themselves. It clearly states their crimes. I am not wronged at all."

Yang Jing took it and looked at it, his face turned pale in an instant.

These people didn't even make any excuses, they just pleaded guilty.

He also admitted to the crime of treason!
This made it difficult for him to protect himself.

But... thoughts raced through Yang Jing's mind.

These people are all close confidants of Duke of Liang Lan Yu.

And Lan Yu was the great uncle of the King of Wu.

Killing these people would be a serious offense to Lan Yu.

That’s all.

After all, although Lan Yu was the Duke of Liang and held a high position of power, as the Minister of Justice, he might not be really afraid of him.

The key is King Wu!
Judging from the current situation, the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty will most likely be the King of Wu.

Perhaps the King of Wu did hate these people for surrounding him that day, but it was only a momentary anger.

Perhaps one day, the King of Wu will think that they are still useful.

If you kill them without permission...

Originally, when he went to King Wu to ask for someone that night, he had already offended the King of Wu.

If you add fuel to the fire now, and the King of Wu pursues the matter in the future, will you be able to save your life?

No.

Can't kill.

At least without the explicit order from Your Majesty and the clear order from the King of Wu, he must not be killed!

Yang Jing came to the side, waved his hand and called a confidant over, and whispered in his ear: "Go to the Wu Wang Mansion immediately to report the news, saying that Huang Zicheng wants to kill Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles, and ask His Highness the Wu Wang to make the decision."

The confidant took the order and left in a hurry.

Returning to his seat, he made up his mind, but a faint smile appeared on his face: "Treason is a serious case, no small matter."

"With these people, if there is no one to support them from behind, would they dare to rebel?"

"I think there must be other supporters behind them."

"They took the initiative to plead guilty, but it was only to exonerate the person behind the scenes."

"If you kill them so rashly, Master Huang, the real culprit will go unpunished."

“This is absolutely inappropriate.”

"I hope Mr. Huang will take back his order."

“We will interrogate this group of people strictly and convict the person behind this after we find him.”

drag!
This is the strategy Yang Jing came up with.

As long as he could delay until His Royal Highness the King of Wu arrived, then whether Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles were killed or not would have nothing to do with him.

But Huang Zicheng was not a fool. He saw what Yang Jing was thinking at a glance.

Since he was determined to die and was willing to kill Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles, he would naturally not allow anyone to sabotage his plan.

"This official has been ordered to hear this case."

"How to conduct the trial and how to convict is up to me."

"The crimes these people committed are clear and beyond doubt. Killing them first will deter those who have ulterior motives."

He shouted loudly: "What are you still standing there for? Take these people away and kill them!"

However, no matter how loudly he shouted, the bailiffs in the hall did not move.

They all turned their eyes to Yang Jing beside Huang Zicheng, waiting for the Shangshu's order.

Before Yang Jing spoke out to dissuade them, the yamen runners obeyed Huang Zicheng's orders.

But when the Minister spoke, things were different.

"You...you..." Huang Zicheng's blood boiled, and he stood up suddenly, pointing angrily at the yamen runners in the hall: "Why don't you take action? Do you want to disobey my orders?"

Still no one moved.

Yang Jing smiled slightly and said, "Master Huang, why are you so angry?"

"This is the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, not the Imperial Academy."

"As the Minister of Justice, I am in charge of the criminal law of the Ming Dynasty. I shall be loyal to Your Majesty and perform my duties conscientiously."

"How can you make a haphazard judgment without investigating the case thoroughly?"

"Sir Huang, I advise you to continue the trial."

Huang Zicheng was furious: "Am I the chief judge or are you the chief judge?"

Yang Jing still smiled and said, "Of course you will be the judge."

"But as the Minister of Justice, since I am here to listen to this case, I have the duty of supervision."

Huang Zicheng snorted coldly: "Your Majesty asked me to try this case, but he didn't say you were the deputy judge. What right do you have to supervise me?" "Don't forget, I am trying this case by order of the Emperor. Do you want to disobey the order?"

"Of course I don't dare to do that." Yang Jing said with a smile: "Your Majesty only asked you to investigate the case, but didn't tell you to kill them."

"How about you not hold the trial today, Mr. Huang, seal the case file, and submit it to the court for your majesty's decision?"

"If Mr. Huang does this, I will not stop him."

Huang Zicheng's face became uglier and uglier, and his anger grew stronger and stronger. He was shaking with anger: "What if I insist on killing them today?"

"You can't kill me!" Yang Jing said calmly.

Anyway, even if His Majesty the Emperor and the King of Wu really wanted to kill Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles, there was no need to rush.

It's not a big deal if I can block it for an hour or two.

It's been turned off for such a long time, do you still care about this moment?

On the contrary, if His Majesty the Emperor and the King of Wu do not want to kill them, then if I stop them, it would be a great achievement.

This deal is a sure win.

"I've said before that this is the lobby of the Ministry of Justice. Without my approval, you can't do anything."

Huang Zicheng glared at the yamen runners below the stage.

As expected, no one paid any attention to him.

Just kidding.

Everyone knew that Huang Zicheng was just a "passing imperial envoy" and would return to the Hanlin Academy after handling the case.

But Yang Jing was the official of the Ministry of Justice.

At this moment, they listened to Huang Zicheng's order. As soon as Huang Zicheng walked out of the Hanlin Academy, they would be finished immediately.

On the contrary, if they disobey Huang Zicheng's orders and listen to the Shangshu's orders, then disobeying the orders is the Shangshu's business. What does it have to do with them?
The people in the yamen all have a clear mind, and they can tell at a glance who to choose and who not to choose.

"You...you...you openly disobeyed my order. I will severely report you." Huang Zicheng was so angry that he was out of breath while speaking.

"Master Huang, please feel free to report it." Yang Jing didn't care at all.

"This official... This official..." Huang Zicheng felt dizzy.

He originally thought that he had the emperor's order and that he would be able to kill Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles even at the risk of his own life.

After the case was brought to court, these people took the initiative to plead guilty from the very beginning, which made him overjoyed.

The head has been sent to the guillotine, are you still afraid that you can't kill him?
But unexpectedly, as soon as the order was given, it was stopped by the Minister of Justice Yang Jing.

The other party doesn't care about the emperor's order at all.

But I really can't command the people in the Ministry of Justice.

At this moment, Huang Zicheng felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart.

As a noble Hanlin, he did not handle much practical affairs.

I thought that as long as I had the emperor's order, I would be successful in everything.

No one dares to disobey an order.

Unexpectedly, it was a bad start.

At this moment, Huang Zicheng just wanted to walk away.

I also ask the court to severely punish Yang Jing.

But he changed his mind and suppressed the impulse.

The purpose of coming here today is to kill Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles, and to eliminate Zhu Yunhuan's subordinates.

If you leave now, you may not have another chance in the future.

Thinking of this, Huang Zicheng could only suppress the anger in his heart.

"Okay, I will do as you say and interrogate them to find out who is behind their rebellion."

Huang Zicheng sat down again and regained his dignity.

"Come here, drag them all away and give them twenty... no, fifty lashes."

As he spoke, he threw the bamboo stick from the desk again.

Then he smiled and said, "I am ordered to investigate the case. I want to punish these people. This should be no problem, right?"

Yang Jing laughed: "That's fine."

He said to the yamen runners in the hall: "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and do what Mr. Huang ordered."

After saying that, he winked again.

The bailiffs understood what was going on immediately and took action immediately, dragging the people away.

Soon, the sound of a board hitting buttocks was heard outside.

Huang Zicheng's complexion improved greatly and he felt very happy.

It seems that I was too hasty before.

Once they start to act, they will behead others before they can be stopped.

Now that severe torture was being used on these people in the name of trial, Yang Jing had no reason to object.

If they are beaten with fifty boards, several of these people will surely die.

The rest can be tortured further.

I must kill them all today!

……

Prince Wu's Mansion.

Zhu Yunhuan was concentrating on organizing the scattered knowledge he had learned in his previous life.

Just then, someone outside hurried into the backyard and knelt down outside his door.

"Your Highness, the Minister of Justice Yang Jing sent someone to report that Huang Zicheng wanted to kill Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles. Your Highness, please make the decision."

"understood."

Zhu Yunhuan responded, then stopped writing and put away what he had written.

In order to keep it secret, he did all these things himself and didn't let others interfere.

When writing, no outsiders are allowed to enter.

Therefore, the person who reported the news spoke outside the house.

After doing all this, Zhu Yunhuan walked out of the room: "The time is almost right, let's go to the Ministry of Justice."

……

(End of this chapter)