My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 67: Jinyiwei East Factory West Factory Joint Action! (Subscribe!)

Inside the Northern Pacification Office, the coroner was carefully dissecting a corpse that had just been delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The corpse was obviously severely poisoned, and its entire body was black and purple.

The coroner was also extremely careful during the autopsy, fearing that he himself would be poisoned.

Not far away, Luo Yangxing, Gao Yushun and Fang Zhenghua were listening attentively to Li Ruolian's account of what had happened.

Although they were awakened hastily in the middle of the night, they had no complaints at this moment because they knew that this matter was of great importance.

After listening to Li Ruolian's story, Luo Yangxing angrily rebuked:
"These civil servants are truly outrageous. They even had the audacity to set fire to the Daming Newspaper! Are they truly outrageous?"

Look!

Even though there is no evidence to prove that the civil service group was responsible, Luo Yangxing was the first to suspect the civil service group.

The reason is very simple, because the existence of the Daming Newspaper threatens the entire civil service group.

In the past, civil servants could rely on public opinion to control the lower classes, but since the establishment of the Daming Daily, they can no longer rely on public opinion to control the lower classes.

On the contrary, in recent times, he has been scolded by the people who knew the truth.

Some people would even be pointed at and talked about behind their backs when they go out.

If anyone has a motive, the civil service group will definitely be at the top of the list!
Gao Yushun added:

"These guys must be desperate. After all, the Daming Newspaper is currently at its peak, making it impossible for them to control public opinion. That's why they resorted to this desperate measure."

Fang Zhenghua turned to Li Ruolian and asked:
"Does the prince have any specific instructions?"

Li Ruolian replied:

"The prince said that we must find out what happened before dawn at the latest, but the only clue we can find now is this dead guy."

As he spoke, he pointed to the body being dissected next to him.

After a careful search by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, nothing was found on Wang Er that could prove his identity.

There was only a set of night clothes, an oil can and a tinderbox.

Obviously, this guy is a repeat offender.

Li Ruolian had previously taken Wang Er's portrait out to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for identification, hoping to find clues to his identity as soon as possible.

At this moment, the coroner finished the autopsy and came over to report to everyone:

"My Lords, I have completed the autopsy."

"It's confirmed that this person was poisoned by arsenic. Initially, the poison probably came into contact with their skin, but then they ingested it for some reason, causing their internal organs to turn black."

Luo Yangxing frowned after hearing this. He knew very well how rare arsenic was. This thing was not sold in ordinary small pharmacies and could only be found in some large pharmacies.

After careful consideration, he decided to start looking for clues from the pharmacy that sold arsenic.

"Everyone, leave this matter to me. I will check all the pharmacies right away."

Luo Yangxing volunteered.

The other two eunuch admirals had nothing to say and nodded in agreement.

Then, Luo Yangxing took his men away.

Not long after, the person Li Ruolian had sent out earlier also brought good news.

They found clues to the deceased's identity in the government's wanted poster.

This guy's name is Wang Er. He was originally from Huguang. Because he committed a murder in his local area, he fled to the capital.

According to intelligence reports, he had appeared near a dilapidated temple outside the city and a thatched hut west of the city.

After receiving this news, Gao Yushun and Fang Zhenghua looked at each other and then took action.

One of them went to the dilapidated temple outside the city, and the other went to the thatched hut in the west of the city.

After a whole night of busy running around and careful investigation, they finally got some evidence.

Afterwards, the group gathered together and went to the East Palace to report to Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang was already getting impatient at this moment. He threw away the memorial in his hand and looked at the four people in front of him and asked in a deep voice:
"Tell me, what did you find out?"

Li Ruo Lian quickly bowed and replied:

"Your Highness, I have already investigated. The arsonist is named Wang Er, and he was once a notorious bandit from the Huguang area."

"Because he committed several murders in the local area, he fled all the way to the capital."

"He drove out a family in the west of the city and took possession of their property. He made a living by stealing, and when he made money he spent it in brothels."

"Yesterday, he was kicked out of the brothel because he owed money. To get money, he went to a dilapidated temple outside the city."

Having said that, Li Ruolian stopped and looked at Gao Yushun next to him.

Gao Yushun hurriedly stepped forward and added:
"My Lord, I personally led people to investigate the ruined temple and found only the body of an old beggar inside. I believe that this old beggar was killed by Wang Er."

"Also, based on the clues I have obtained, this dilapidated temple is not simple either."

"It seems to be a place where some people meet with those bandits."

"If they wanted to do something but couldn't bring themselves to do it, they would place some silver under the Buddha statue in this dilapidated temple and leave a letter on it, explaining what they wanted to do." "Then the bandits would come to collect the money and complete the task they were told to do."

"And Wang Er, it was here that he got the silver and the task of setting the fire."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang suddenly realized. He didn't expect such a thing to happen in the capital.

But think about it, even in later generations, this kind of black-browed force still exists, let alone in ancient times?

In addition, the court in the late Ming Dynasty was even more corrupt, so it is not surprising that such a thing happened.

At this moment, Fang Zhenghua said:
"I went to check Wang Er's whereabouts and found a bag of silver and an oil jar under the corner of the wall."

"The oil can was probably the fuel Wang Er used to start the fire. As for the bag of silver, I've checked it and it was coated with arsenic."

"You'll be poisoned if you touch it, but you won't die immediately. You'll probably die slowly over the next two days."

"The reason Wang Er died so quickly was probably because he accidentally ingested the arsenic while eating. It's obvious that the person behind this didn't want to leave him alive, so they did this."

Luo Yangxing also bowed and said:
"Your Highness, things like arsenic can only be purchased in large pharmacies."

"I have already sent people to investigate those pharmacies and obtained a list of those who purchased arsenic in the past year."

"It's just that this involves some powerful people, so I dare not make a decision on my own."

As he spoke, he respectfully handed a list to Zhu Cilang.

Some of the names on it were registered when purchasing arsenic, and some were extracted from the drug store owner by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After all, there are always a few people who like to buy medicine secretly!

The drugstore owner couldn't stand the Jinyiwei's tactics and confessed everything as soon as they started fighting.

Zhu Cilang opened the list and his eyes narrowed immediately.

The list actually included the servants of many high-ranking officials and powerful people!
During the Ming Dynasty, the government had very strict control over drugs such as arsenic. All drug stores had to register their purchases with the government, and anyone who bought them had to register.

Violators will be severely punished!
So every pharmacy had a booklet that recorded people who bought arsenic.

Of course, this does not mean that these people bought arsenic to kill people. After all, arsenic can be used as medicine and can also repel insects and rats.

But at this moment, Zhu Cilang didn't care about these at all.

He took out another list full of names from the imperial desk and returned it to Luo Yangxing along with the list Luo Yangxing had shown him before. He then said in a cold voice:
"None of these people can be left behind! Arrest them all and investigate thoroughly!"

"The Daming Newspaper now represents the reputation of the imperial court and the royal family. If anyone dares to dishonor the reputation of the imperial court and the royal family, I will never let them go!"

Luo Yangxing was confused at this moment. He could understand that the people on the list brought to him were arrested, but what did it mean that the prince gave him another list?
Look down.

Zhang Sizhi, Ding Qirui, Fang Kezhuang, Zhang Fengxiang
Just by looking at the first four names, Luo Yangxing's hair stood on end!
Zhang Zhifa was a cabinet minister, Ding Qirui was the Minister of War, Fang Kezhuang was the Left Vice Minister of Personnel, and Zhang Fengxiang was the Right Vice Minister of Works.
These people seem to have no connection, including the Donglin Party, the Zhejiang Party, and the Chu Party.

But they all have one thing in common, that is, they are all civil servants!

In other words, the prince is going to take action against the civil service group?
Regardless of whether this incident has anything to do with them or not, he must make sure that it is related to them.

Because this is what the prince meant!
Realizing that Zhu Cilang's eyes were still fixed on him, Luo Yangxing quickly came to his senses and bowed his hands in agreement:
"I know what to do!"

Then turned and left.

Zhu Cilang originally planned to wait until he had confiscated the eight imperial merchants before taking action against these civil servants, but he did not expect that these guys would take action first.

In that case, he can only kill some of them first!
As for why not kill them all?

Firstly, this incident has not yet reached the point where the civil service group can be wiped out.

Secondly, not all civil servants are bad. Even in the Donglin Party, there are loyal ministers who are devoted to the country!
So Zhu Cilang was chosen to be killed!
If we want to completely solve the problem of the civil service group, we have to use serious crimes such as secretly communicating with the Jiannu, transporting military supplies to the Jiannu, and providing intelligence.

As for now, we can only kill a few of them to scare them!

And there was a purpose in killing these people.

Among them, Zhang Zhifa had no ability at all and relied on flattery to get to the top. He also had a despicable character.

It is said that when Zhang Sizhi was young, he had a disagreement with his younger brother. Then Zhang Sizhi got his younger brother drunk and cheated his brother of his property. Later, when his brother was drunk, he pressed his fingerprints on the house deed.

This eventually led to a rift between the brothers!
When the capital was captured by Li Zicheng, Zhang Sizhi first surrendered to Li Zicheng.

After the Jiannu came, Zhang Sizhi surrendered to them again!
Isn't it disgusting if this kind of garbage is not cleaned up?

Not to mention Ding Qirui, the Minister of War. In the original history, Chongzhen sent him as the commander-in-chief to suppress Li Zicheng. As a result, this guy was scared to death and hid in the city and dared not go out to fight.

When Kaifeng was under siege, people asked him for help, but this guy just didn't dare to come out.

In the end, this guy surrendered to the Jiannu, but his end was not very good. He was eventually killed by the Jiannu!

How can such cowards celebrate the New Year without killing others?

Of course, another reason for killing him is also very important!
That means Li Banghua should be coming soon, and the position of Minister of War must be vacated!
Therefore, Ding Qirui must die!

As for the others, they are basically those who betrayed their country and did nothing in history.

Zhu Cilang will not show mercy when killing these people!

(End of this chapter)