Chapter 204: Ambush from All Sides (Part 1)

Liu Zhao had no expression, continued to flip through the case files, and said:

"You and Director Liu Tan Tan ordered the brocade market to rush to make brocade robes and crimson jackets, and you also handled cargo documents for this batch of goods. The letter of proof document was issued by you."

Wang Yang said as a matter of course:

"Yes, since I gave the goods to him, naturally I have to give them proof. This is not black goods."

"The cargo document says it is sent to Xiangyang, Yongzhou."

"Yes, I heard that the market there is good."

Liu Zhao's tone gradually became severe: "Then why does the route on the official inspection document have to turn to Wenyang? Isn't this a detour?"

Selected from Tan Qixiang's *Atlas of Chinese History*, Volume 4, Southern Qi Map. The map was taken with my mobile phone, and the three arrows were also added by me, but (word count limit, go to main text)

(But the system image size is limited, so I compressed the size and enhanced the image quality, but that part of Xiangyang, Yongzhou is still not very clear)

At that time, the cargo document was a certificate proving that the goods were legal, and only the destination needed to be written. But the official inspection document needed to specify the specific route.

At this time, Liu Zhao pointed out that the route was wrong, but Wang Yang was not panicked at all, and said slowly:

"The scenery in Wenyang is good, it doesn't matter if you take a detour."

"Then what about the pass? Director Liu Tan Tan handled passes for the people of the Liu Mansion and the caravan you hired, a total of fifty people. Why did they only go to Wenyang Commandery and not Yongzhou?"

"Plans can't keep up with changes. What if there are other arrangements after arriving in Wenyang Commandery?"

Liu Zhao looked at Wang Yang, his eyes flashing with sharp light:

"The arrangements you mentioned refer to transporting the goods to the Southern Barbarians!"

Wang Yang said in surprise: "Commandant Liu, roast duck can be eaten indiscriminately, but words cannot be spoken indiscriminately."

Liu Zhao sneered, as if disdainful to argue with Wang Yang, and turned to ask the two clerks responsible for recording:

"Have you recorded it all?"

"Returning to the Commandant, it is recorded clearly."

Liu Zhao asked Wang Yang again: "Do you have anything else to say?"

Wang Yang thought for a while: "I'm a little hungry, do you provide meals here?"

Liu Zhao smiled slightly: "You will soon forget that you are hungry."

Wang Yang smiled: "No, my memory is quite good."

Liu Zhao's expression became stern, and he said strictly:

"The criminal has exhausted his words, the explanation does not match the situation, and there is suspicion. Interrogate him with torture!"

Four fierce prison officials stepped forward, some supporting wooden boards, some pulling chains, their movements skillful and proficient. The chains and torture instruments collided, making a chilling sound.

The young legal official shouted:

"Pre-torture routine question: Does the criminal want to confess?"

Wang Yang smiled and didn't speak.

The legal official was furious: "You..."

Liu Zhao said: "Wang Yang, this is your last chance."

Wang Yang rolled his eyes at Liu Zhao:

"I am not unfamiliar with the Qi law, what is the point of you doing this? 'If the evidence is clear, the explanation does not match the situation, and there is suspicion, then interrogate with torture.' I am a member of the gentry, and you have no evidence. Why do you torture me? With your mouth!?"

The officials looked at each other, all feeling that this person was not easy to deal with.

Liu Zhao's eyes narrowed:

"Do you think I will only pin my hopes on your confession?"

Wang Yang asked in return:

"Then what else can you do?"

In fact, at the same time Wang Yang was imprisoned, the Nanjun commandery troops were dispatched on a large scale, with great momentum. The commandery government used smoke as a signal, and several places in the city acted at the same time.

Seven brocade markets in the city were sealed at once! The caravan sent by Wang Yang to transport brocade robes and crimson jackets was intercepted at the city entrance, and the goods were confiscated and sealed! Twenty-eight transport laborers, along with twenty-two attendants of the Liu family who escorted the goods, were all detained! The Liu Mansion and the Wang Residence were surrounded! There was no one in the Wang family, and Director Liu Tan Tan was arrested!

Liu Zhao calculated the time and smiled:

"Don't you want evidence? Wait a moment, the evidence will be here soon."

Wang Yang gained spirit, his eyes shining:

"Then I am really looking forward to it!"

All the officials felt horrified. It was rare to see someone so rampant after being imprisoned by Commandant Liu.

The two were staring at each other when an official walked in quickly and whispered something in Liu Zhao's ear.

Liu Zhao's face changed, and he looked at Wang Yang, his eyes full of suspicion:

"Did you know in advance that I would detain your goods?"

Wang Yang said in surprise: "Did you detain my goods?"

Liu Zhao's face was as gloomy as ink: "Why didn't the people escorting the goods bring the official inspection document and the pass?"

Hearing this, all the officials changed their faces. The reason why they were sure that Wang Yang was finished before was because the evidence for this case was complete, so arrangements were made in many places, and they acted at the same time, with great momentum to close the net and settle the case. The preparatory work was sufficient, and the suspicious situation had appeared. Once the official inspection document and the pass on these people transporting the goods were found, that would be evidence confirming each other! (Not a talisman, 'fu' is a commonly used word in medieval law cases, here it refers to the meaning of matching after re-examination) Then they could torture Wang Yang! Even Director Liu Tan Tan could be tortured! At that time, were they afraid they wouldn't confess?

But now these people transporting the goods didn't even bring the official inspection document and the pass, so how can they prove that they want to sell goods to the barbarians?

After preparing for so long, the momentum was so great, and so many people were arrested, wouldn't it all become a joke?

Becoming a joke is secondary, the most critical thing is how to end it?

The Langya Wang Clan and the Hedong Liu Clan were both imprisoned. One is not subject to summons without the Inspector's office, and the other is the legitimate son of a Duke and a sixth-rank official (pure and noble official). The commandery government moved the Dianqian writ, bypassed the Prince of Badong, and acted with thunderous momentum, but caught nothing? Things are going to be bad...

The most nervous was the young legal official, who was promoted by the Commandant himself. So no matter who the enemy was, as long as he could please the Commandant, he dared to bite. Because he knew that as long as the Commandant was there, he was there; if the Commandant rose, he would rise too. But if this case really reversed, I'm afraid the Commandant would not be able to protect himself. He is the Commandant's die-hard, so how can he be alone...

He blurted out: "You hid the official inspection document and the pass, prepared to go in two ways, and planned to meet after leaving the city, right?!"

Wang Yang looked at him like an idiot: "You still have the face to follow the case, not talking about evidence but telling stories?"

The legal official was flustered. After being humiliated by Wang Yang, he even forgot to be angry.

Liu Zhao's face was covered with dark clouds, and he asked again: "Why didn't you bring the official inspection document and the pass?"

A look of confusion appeared on Wang Yang's face: "Not leaving Jiangling, why bring those things?"

Liu Zhao leaned forward, his elbows pressed on the official desk: "Then where are you sending them?"

Wang Yang blinked: "Linjiang Cargo Warehouse."

"Impossible!" Liu Zhao's voice was deep.

"How is it impossible? I have a warehouse in the Linjiang Cargo Warehouse. Sending it to the warehouse to store it, what's wrong with that?"

Liu Zhao's eyes were as sharp as knives: "Why bring so much dry food and water when sending it to the Linjiang Cargo Warehouse?"

Wang Yang's eyes were innocent: "Is it illegal to bring dry food and water?"

Liu Zhao choked, and when he spoke again, his voice was a few points higher: "Why handle the official inspection document and the pass when sending it to the cargo warehouse?!"

Wang Yang's eyes were even more innocent, like a pool of pure spring water: "Is it illegal to handle the official inspection document and the pass but not use them?"

Liu Zhao stood up suddenly, evil spirit appearing on his face. The two clerks of the four legal officials sitting also hurriedly stood up. The prison officials standing by the wall had never seen the Commandant so out of control, and even didn't dare to breathe.

Liu Zhao stared at Wang Yang: "Do you think that I have no way to deal with you like this?"

Wang Yang tilted his head and asked provocatively: "Do you have a way?"

Liu Zhao's gaze was cold: "Remember I told you that the law can be flexible."

Wang Yang pointed at Liu Zhao, feigning realization: "You don't want to..."

Liu Zhao walked to Wang Yang and bent down to get close to Wang Yang's face:

"Either you confess now, or I leave now, leaving only one person to question you. Do you know what will happen then?"

Wang Yang looked curious: "What will happen?"

Liu Zhao stood up straight, walked to the torture instruments, and brushed his fingers over the various torture instruments, saying:

"There are two types of torture, one is public torture, and the other is private torture. If your bones are hard, you might be able to withstand public torture, but private torture..."

Liu Zhao turned to Wang Yang and said slowly: "I can ensure that you don't die... and play, you, to, death."

All the officials were silent, and the young legal official was greatly encouraged.

Wang Yang looked at Liu Zhao and sighed:

"You now know why I don't believe your nonsense about how you sacrificed for the law and the big picture. Because you don't act like a person at all, so how can I hope you do human things?"

If Liu Zhao's previous righteous self-declaration had been heard by someone who didn't understand human nature, they might have really been deceived by him, thinking that this person had to sacrifice his bottom line for the sake of law enforcement and justice.

But Wang Yang knew he was talking nonsense as soon as he heard it. There is a type of literature in historical research called "oral history," which is the history told by historical figures themselves, but the vast majority of people will beautify their behavior in the narrative, even Rousseau's *Confessions* is no exception.

So the best way to see human nature is—ignore the tricks in the other party's words and look directly at the essence.

Then what is the essence of this Liu Zhao incident?

A person who climbs up by any means and kills innocent people.

Now this person claims that all the bad things he did are to better maintain the law, so you guess whether he is for the law or for himself?

A person who has lost even his bottom line, how can he fight for a public goal?

That is just his fig leaf, his lullaby to deceive others, and even to deceive himself.

Perhaps he did have very lofty ideals at the beginning, but the loftier things are, the less they can withstand trampling.

Just like a set of pure white clothes worn on the body, spotless, naturally the actions will be cautious, avoiding the clothes from being dirty, and will not sit on the ground at all. But once splashed with sewage, the heart to protect the clothes is no longer as strong as before. As there are more and more stains, even if you roll on the ground, it doesn't matter.

Therefore, maintaining principles requires long-term persistence, but the path to depravity often only takes a moment.

This is also the real reason why Wang Yang didn't believe Liu Zhao's self-promotion from the beginning.

Hearing Wang Yang's sarcastic words, a dazzling smile appeared on the corner of Liu Zhao's mouth: "Then I will let you know how things that are not human are handled."

"You can discuss things that are not human with pigs and dogs, I have no interest, but I can teach you how to be a human."

Liu Zhao picked up a pair of iron pliers. Among the four legal officials, the middle-aged legal official's expression remained unchanged, the young legal official smiled, and the other two legal officials wanted to speak but stopped.

"Your mouth is really annoying, I will make you unable to speak first."

Liu Zhao carried the iron pliers and walked towards Wang Yang.

Wang Yang said softly: "Point the general."

"What did you say?" Liu Zhao didn't hear clearly.

Clang—

The door opened.

A cold voice came from the door:

"What is Commandant Liu doing?" ===== CHAPTER 205 =====