Chapter 672: If the Wave of Opposition Is Too Great, Let Them Go Dig Coal

"The two people who took the lead in the blood-written letter and the kneeling were Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua." After Feng Bao conveyed the imperial decree and returned, he picked out the two people who took the lead.

Actually, wanting to find out who was making noise and causing trouble inside was very simple. The Great Ming officialdom is a very complex collective. There are plenty of people who want to advance. Feng Bao is the "Inner Prime Minister," and he didn't even need any promises; he learned the names of the people who were colluding from the mouths of the officials.

"Dai Fengxiang is from Jiaxing, Hangzhou. He was a third-rank successful candidate in the Jiyin imperial examination in the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing. In the first year of Longqing, he reached the position of Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel. In the third year of Longqing, he impeached Hence Hai Rui and was scolded by the scholar-officials, forced to resign. In the fifth year of Longqing, he was re-employed and reached the position of Junior Minister of the Imperial Stud. In the sixth year of Longqing, because he was dissatisfied with the harshness of the Evaluation Law, he submitted a memorial to resign, later returned to Hangzhou, and the following year, settled in Yingtian Prefecture." Feng Bao introduced the first person, Dai Fengxiang.

This person had a grudge against Hence Hai Rui and also had a grievance with Zhang Juzheng, because he opposed Zhang Juzheng's Evaluation Law and was forced to resign for the second time.

The first forced resignation was because he was talking nonsense with his eyes open, and everyone scolded him, so he had to resign. At that time, Dai Fengxiang was a villain who curried favor and clung to Xu Jie. But he was quickly re-employed. The second time, dissatisfied with the Evaluation Law, he said, "If there is an Evaluation Law, there is no me." After the second resignation, Dai Fengxiang became an "upright and honest official" who did not fear the powerful Zhang Juzheng.

The scholar-officials' evaluation of a person is just this childish.

"Shu Hua is from Linchuan, Jiangxi. He was a successful candidate in the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing. In the Shen Lian case, Shu Hua had opinions contrary to Gao Gong and was demoted out of the capital to be the Assistant Administration Commissioner of Shaanxi. He did not go to take office and resigned. Your Majesty, in the case of Shen Lian's rehabilitation, Gao Gong and Shu Hua had inconsistent opinions. Shu Hua opposed it as a Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, saying, 'These were all instructions from Emperor Shizong. If we exempt him from guilt and rehabilitate him now, how can we explain it to Emperor Shizong?'" Feng Bao talked about the Shen Lian rehabilitation case in the fourth year of Longqing.

Shen Lian was an experienced officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Because he impeached Yan Song, he was punished with a cane and exiled to the border. But even at the border, Shen Lian didn't stop impeaching Yan Song and was eventually framed by Yan Song and executed.

Shen Lian was a successful candidate in the seventeenth year of Jiajing. As a civil official, he was valued by the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Lu Bing and could be considered one of the backbones of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. This was also Lu Bing's attempt. The Embroidered Uniform Guards were becoming increasingly weak. Relying only on his status as a milk brother, he could support it for a while, but not for a lifetime. Introducing successful candidates into the Embroidered Uniform Guard office was Lu Bing's idea.

Successful candidates are all "dragons and phoenixes among people" selected through layers of selection. In the treacherous political struggle, these elites could allow the power of the Emperor's claws, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, not to decline after Lu Bing's death. But Shen Lian still died, dying in the hands of Yan Song.

In the fourth year of Longqing, Gao Gong rehabilitated Shen Lian. This was originally a miscarriage of justice manufactured by Yan Song, but this Shu Hua disagreed. It wasn't that he disagreed with rehabilitating Shen Lian—he could be rehabilitated—but there were some inconsistent opinions on the specific mastermind of the framing. Shu Hua was demoted.

"This Shu Hua and Dai Fengxiang are from the same examination list." Zhu Yijun's brows furrowed tightly. Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua both impeached Hence Hai Rui for exploiting the gentry, and they were also successful candidates from the same list. If there was no collusion behind this, it was a ghost story to fool children.

"They are from the same list." Feng Bao said in a low voice: "And they are both students under Xu Jie."

"In the first year of Wanli, Shu Hua was re-employed. First, he was the Assistant Administration Commissioner of Shandong, but he didn't go to take office. Then he was the Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, but returned home due to illness. Then he was the Surveillance Commissioner of Henan, and soon asked for leave to return home. He was appointed as the Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, but still didn't take office. Until the imperial court gave him the position of Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments in Nanjing, he went to take office. In the ninth year of Wanli, he was promoted to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in Nanjing, where he has been until now."

Feng Bao is a eunuch. When he speaks in front of the Emperor, he naturally won't say anything good about civil officials. Mainly, there was nothing good to say. This person was picky about official positions and only wanted to do things in Nanjing, not wanting to go to the capital. At that time, Zhang Juzheng had defeated Gao Gong and urgently needed to express his stance and cut ties with Gao Gong, so he was re-employed many times.

"Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua, these two people, were taken into the imperial prison by Chief Censor Hai. It was found that these two people had corrupted a total of 143,000 silver. Hai Chief Censor pursued the stolen money, so they held a grudge. Therefore, taking advantage of His Majesty's arrival at the Southern Yamen, they stirred up the scholar-officials of the Southern Yamen and ran to the Nanhu Villa to write in blood and kneel for the carriage." Feng Bao told His Majesty the whole story.

The matter is not complicated. In the eyes of Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua, Hence Hai Rui was just taking advantage of his power to strike back, grabbing the 140,000 silver they had earned with their own ability. If they didn't pay, they would have to stay in the imperial prison forever. That imperial prison was a place for people to stay? It wasn't pursuing stolen money at all, but framing them!

But Hence Hai Rui investigated it clearly, with solid evidence, all from the clues of the former Xuzhou Prefect Chen Wuyin, following the vines to find the melons.

Even Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua didn't dare to say Hence Hai Rui was falsely accusing them in the blood-written letter; they could only say he was exploiting the gentry. Because if the Emperor really investigated it carefully, the one who would lose face would still be them. Just like the sentence Hence Hai Rui asked the Southern Yamen Censor Yuan Hongyu: "Is Chen Wuyin a corrupt official?"

Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua are corrupt officials. This is a fact; it cannot be sophistry just by arguing.

"The assassination of Hence Hai Rui and the matter of a group of children of unknown origin wanting to recognize Hence Hai Rui as their father, has it been clarified?" Zhu Yijun looked at the Northern Yamen Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhao Mengyou and asked.

Zhao Mengyou hurriedly bowed and said: "This matter is under the jurisdiction of the Southern Town Fudesi, so it should be investigated by Commander Luo. But Hai Chief Censor asked the Southern Town Fudesi to put their energy into pursuing stolen money and tax arrears, so the Southern Yamen did not investigate deeply."

Zhao Mengyou is the Northern Yamen Commander; his hands cannot reach too far, otherwise Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang would feel uncomfortable, and the Emperor would also feel uneasy. But Hence Hai Rui himself looked at his own life and death relatively lightly and didn't excessively investigate.

"The Southern Town Fudesi is busy, but the Northern Town Fudesi is free. Commander, you investigate this matter. Chen Mo is a witness, so let him handle it." Zhu Yijun could understand. Hence Hai Rui, the person involved, arranged more important work for the Southern Town Fudesi office, and there were some problems involved, so it could only be handled by the Northern Town Fudesi.

Zhao Mengyou took his claws and teeth and swaggered onto the street, entering Nanjing City directly, and began to investigate this case.

The one who arrested the vegetable farmer Pan Sangu from the vegetable camp was the battalion commander Chen Mo from the Northern Yamen. Hence Hai Rui had already guessed the follow-up moves of these "base Confucian scholars," which was to force Pan Sangu to commit suicide, and then put a big label of "treating human life like grass" on Hence Hai Rui, making Hence Hai Rui's situation difficult. If the Southern Town Fudesi was involved in this case, and Pan Sangu died, it would really be "yellow mud smeared on the pants—can't explain it clearly."

Everyone is a Town Fudesi, everyone is a guard, but there are differences between north and south. The Northern Town Fudesi, which follows the Emperor all year round, is more trusted by the Emperor. Therefore, this kind of major case must be handled by the Northern Town Fudesi.

Everyone is a Town Fudesi, everyone is a guard, but there are differences between north and south. The Northern Town Fudesi, which follows the Emperor all year round, is more trusted by the Emperor. Therefore, this kind of major case must be handled by the Northern Town Fudesi.

Everyone is a Town Fudesi, everyone is a guard, but there are differences between north and south. The Northern Town Fudesi, which follows the Emperor all year round, is more trusted by the Emperor. Therefore, this kind of major case must be handled by the Northern Town Fudesi.

Everyone is a Town Fudesi, everyone is a guard, but there are differences between north and south. The Northern Town Fudesi, which follows the Emperor all year round, is more trusted by the Emperor. Therefore, this kind of major case must be handled by the Northern Town Fudesi.

"I thought of the case of Hai Chief Censor's wife and concubine dying back then. This time Dai Fengxiang engaged in the blood-written letter and kneeling, I asked Hai Chief Censor sideways why he didn't pursue it back then. Hai Chief Censor said: 'No need to investigate, and it can't be investigated.'" Chen Mo added a detail. Hence Hai Rui was clearly very clear that even if he investigated, he would get nothing.

Pan Sangu's motive was very simple. He was a gambler who liked to gamble and owed the gambling house a lot of money. How much money did a vegetable farmer from the vegetable camp have? Later, he met a nobleman, Shan, the owner of a raw medicine shop in the city. Shan would often find some dirty work for Pan Sangu to do—sometimes making things difficult for the poor, sometimes burying corpses. Later, the more he gambled, the bigger it got, and this Pan Sangu started killing people while delivering vegetables.

The Qianji poison was obtained by Shan, the owner of the raw medicine shop, from Yunnan. And this Shan, the guards conducted a thorough investigation, but found nothing.

Shan, whose single name was Wen, was from Guizhou. He was "Heavenly Castrated," meaning he was born without bells, so he had no wife or children. Back then, he also fled from Guizhou and arrived at the Southern Yamen along the Yangtze River. Relying on his ruthlessness, he immediately made a name for himself in the city's gangs, but soon, he withdrew from the gang and opened a raw medicine shop.

All the dirty work Shan Wen took, he took himself. As for where he got it from, only Shan Wen himself knew.

Up to here, the guards could no longer investigate downward. These were all old tricks of the Southern Yamen. Hence Hai Rui had experienced them personally, so he was too lazy to investigate.

Another Criminal Investigation Battalion Commander, Guo Xiang, opened his mouth and said: "As for those women who kowtowed in front of the prefectural office, they are all prostitutes. However, they are old and fading, and can't get customers. They also received silver from Shan Wen, the owner of the raw medicine shop, and they all adopted 'deformed children' from the nursing home."

Yingtian Prefecture never lacked such prostitutes. Their hearts were higher than the sky, but their lives were as thin as paper.

Accustomed to the paper-drunk and gold-intoxicated life of the world of smoke and flowers, these prostitutes had to maintain their luxury no matter what, and maintaining luxury required too much silver.

The nursing home had many orphans. For the healthy ones, it didn't matter; whether male or female, someone would soon adopt them. Some families even had to wait for several years to adopt a healthy child. But deformed children were not so lucky; usually, no one adopted them. So these women in the world of smoke and flowers found it very easy to adopt deformed children.

This was not the first time these women had done this. Shan Wen, the owner of the raw medicine shop, had let these women recognize fathers everywhere more than once. Most families with faces and status would choose to admit defeat and give a sum of silver to send them away.

Shan Wen is dead. Who exactly wants to deal with Hence Hai Rui?

The case was stuck here.

Zhao Mengyou and Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang exchanged a look and communicated. Although the case of Hence Hai Rui's assassination was to be investigated by the Northern Yamen, on the territory of the Southern Yamen, they naturally had to handle the case jointly. Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang would provide support. His son, Luo Sigong, even dared to hit the Emperor, and had been hitting him since he was a child. Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang was the most thorough "Emperor Party" and had absolutely no possibility of turning back.

Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang opened his mouth and said: "Since this is the case, let's change the method. His Majesty said: 'One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things, endless recursion; Yin reaches the extreme and Yang is born, Yang reaches the extreme and Yin is born, the world has the Dao and cycles endlessly.' Since we can't find any reason from the existing clues, then let's reverse the cause and effect, suspect guilt from existence, and start investigating from Hai Chief Censor's enemies."

"For example, Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua."

This is the domineering aspect of the guard department. He can assume that someone is guilty, and start the investigation from the inference of guilt. This kind of secret service department is annoying precisely because of this. This kind of reversing cause and effect will definitely manufacture unjust cases. This double-edged sword, once the wielder doesn't use it well, will hurt others and himself.

But if the wielder is highly skilled in martial arts, the double-edged sword will have unexpected effects against the enemy.

Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang assumed Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua were guilty, because they were Hence Hai Rui's mortal enemies. Finding a breakthrough from them was the simplest.

Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang took people to investigate Shu Hua, because Shu Hua himself was a Southern Yamen official, while Zhao Mengyou went to find trouble with Dai Fengxiang. Although Dai Fengxiang was now a "leisurely crane," he was not an official in the court, but he could corrupt millions, clearly one of Shu Hua's agents.

And Chen Mo continued to pursue Shan Wen, the owner of the raw medicine shop. Although the clues were broken, if he investigated carefully, there might be missed clues.

After the division of labor was clear, the guards took action.

On the fourteenth day of the fourth month of the thirteenth year of Wanli, the Great Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun looked at the door with eyes wide open, lost in thought. He suddenly asked: "I have rested for two full days. Before, it could be said that I was exhausted from the journey and Hai Chief Censor didn't want to disturb me. Now, Hai Chief Censor still doesn't come to see the Emperor? Does he not need my help?"

"Your Majesty, Hai Chief Censor is very capable. Actually, as long as the imperial court doesn't suddenly promote him, Xu Jie would have been investigated by Hai Chief Censor. Your Majesty, officials who are hunted, if they don't have some ability, can't survive in this officialdom. Therefore, honest officials are generally also virtuous and capable officials." Feng Bao reminded His Majesty that Hai Chief Censor was not a delicate beauty who needed His Majesty's help in everything.

When being an official, you either go with the flow and be corrupt together. If you are unique, you must have the ability to be unique. The errands in your hands cannot have any mistakes, otherwise, you will definitely be attacked by everyone. In key positions that cannot have any mistakes, at critical moments, such people are needed to fill them.

Hence Hai Rui doesn't need the Emperor's help; what he needs more is for the Emperor not to cause trouble.

"Indeed. Then don't add trouble to Hai Chief Censor." Zhu Yijun said with some disappointment.

Virtuous officials are mostly like this. You give them the resources that this position should have, and they can handle the errands well. Zhang Juzheng, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou, Yin Zhengmao, Ling Yunyi, and even Wang Jiaping are all like this. In the complex political struggle, if you rely on the Emperor for everything, the day lily will be cold.

And many times, the Emperor cannot be counted on at all. You, the old Emperor, not causing trouble is the greatest help.

"Your Majesty, Hai Chief Censor and Yingtian Viceroy Li Le are asking to see you outside!" A small eunuch walked in and handed over a memorial.

"Good, announce them!" Zhu Yijun immediately changed from listless to spirited. He said to Feng Bao: "Go and call the teacher and Qi Shuai."

"The ministers pay respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years." Hence Hai Rui and Li Le paid their respects.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Exempt from courtesy, exempt from courtesy. What difficulties do the two of you have? Just say it!"

Hence Hai Rui and Li Le looked at each other, neither said much. After sitting down, they began to report their work. Hence Hai Rui mainly reported his achievements in anti-corruption and catching greed to His Majesty, while Li Le mainly summarized the splitting of the thirteen prefectures of the Southern Yamen into three parts.

"The preliminary plan is Xuzhou Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Changzhou Prefecture, Zhenjiang Prefecture—six prefectures as one province, establishing the Jiang You Administration Commission, with the prefectural seat in Suzhou. The remaining six prefectures and three departments, excluding Yingtian Prefecture, as one province, establishing the Jiangzuo Administration Commission, with the prefectural seat in Luzhou Prefecture. Yingtian Prefecture remains the remaining capital." Li Le told His Majesty his division method.

Splitting the entire Southern Yamen into three parts was the main purpose of the Emperor's southern tour. So how to split the Southern Yamen became a problem. And this was not a brand-new problem; it was a problem that the imperial court had been discussing constantly since the Yongle era. Just like reopening the Western Regions, the Great Ming knew everything about the Southern Yamen's problems, but no one had been able to do it.

The reason why this problem reached the point where it had to be solved, and even the Emperor came personally, was because under the Great Ming's policy of opening the sea, a large amount of silver flowed in, and the fourteen prefectures and three departments of the Southern Zhili were truly too wealthy.

Even though the decision to separate Songjiang Prefecture alone as something similar to the remaining capital was made, it was still of no avail. The economic belt surrounding the Yangtze River Delta was what made the Emperor unable to sleep.

Xuzhou Prefecture had so many problems, to a large extent, because it was relatively poor, plus the four prefects didn't do human business, which caused the situation.

And Yangzhou was wealthy, so it covered up countless problems.

The Great Ming's policy of banning the sea indeed originated from the Founding Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, but with Zheng He's voyages to the Western Oceans, the Great Ming's sea ban policy had completely relaxed. One of the reasons why the Great Ming never had official ships and official trade going south to the Western Oceans again was Zhu Di moving the capital to the Northern Yamen, and the proportion was very, very heavy.

With the Emperor in the north, how could he be at ease with the south opening the sea without restraint? With money, food, and people, it would become too big to be controlled.

Therefore, as long as the sea was fully opened, the splitting of the Southern Yamen was imperative.

Splitting was the consensus of the Great Ming court. Even the officials of the Southern Yamen couldn't say a word against it. They could only be sarcastic about the Emperor not having the capacity. The Emperor didn't care about this level of sarcasm.

So how to split became a very sharp problem.

According to the opinions of most officials in the Southern Yamen, it was to divide into south and north of the river, using the Yangtze River as a natural geographical boundary. This looked like the most reasonable, but the fourteen wealthy brothers of the south gathered together, and the poor brothers gathered together. This kind of division, the Emperor could not accept.

And Li Le's plan was very strange. It was a scattered sand artificially created by Jiangzuo and Jiang You. It was not distinguished by geographical location, but completely scattered.

Li Le did it on purpose.

This kind of scattered sand was a comprehensive scattered sand in economy, politics, military, and culture. Thoroughly scattered division, for example, in culture: the students south of the Yangtze River in Jiangzuo needed to cross the river to Luzhou to participate in the provincial examination, while the students north of the Yangtze River in Jiang You needed to cross the river to Suzhou to participate in the provincial examination.

Zhu Yijun nodded approvingly and said: "Good."

This kind of scattered sand division was the division that allowed the Emperor to sleep well. Li Le didn't need to be responsible to those below; he had to be responsible to the Emperor. The Emperor was already disappointed that he was no longer sharp, and this time, Li Le brought out an extremely radical splitting method—the more scattered, the better.

"Your Majesty, should the Jiang You Administration Commission be placed in Xuzhou? That way, the successful candidates in the provincial examination wouldn't have to travel long distances and could directly depart from Xuzhou to enter the capital to participate in the metropolitan and palace examinations." Hence Hai Rui thought for a moment and felt that Li Le was not radical enough.

Suzhou was originally the economic center and cultural center, while Xuzhou, because of its special geographical location, was the military center. Placing the Jiang You Administration Commission in Suzhou meant it would be the economic, cultural, and political center. In this way, Suzhou, this old big brother, would have to be obeyed by everyone.

"Chief Censor Hai, this is somewhat inappropriate." Zhu Yijun waved his hands and said: "Xuzhou is still too poor and cannot suppress it. If Xuzhou were a little wealthier, it would be fine."

Scattered sand also needs a little cohesion; it cannot really not be kneaded together, otherwise, it is not an administration commission.

"Adding water to flour, adding flour to water." If it is too scattered, it is not conducive to rule. The imperial court's decrees also need a backbone to push forward. Hence Hai Rui's suggestion is not bad, but like him, it is too perfect.

"I understand Chief Censor Hai's worries, so I prepared a method." Li Le knew Hence Hai Rui's worries too well. He smiled and said: "The financial taxes of the six prefectures of Jiang You will be directly managed by the Ministry of Revenue in the Northern Yamen, not restricted by the Jiang You Administration Commission. Students in the imperial examination can go to Suzhou or Yingtian Prefecture to participate in the provincial examination. The imperial court recognizes the examination results."

Hence Hai Rui's eyes widened, and he looked at Li Le for a long time before saying: "As expected of a student of the Grand Secretary."

The students under Zhang Juzheng, including the Emperor, all have a huge characteristic: they are vengeful and ruthless. To prevent Suzhou, this backbone, from being too strong, they actually came up with the method of Jiang You's six prefectures' finances being directly managed by the imperial court!

That is to say, the six prefectures of Jiang You pay taxes directly to the imperial court, not to the administration commission. The province has no power of redistribution. Everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own doors, everyone manages their own family affairs, and they can even choose where to participate in the provincial examination. The imperial court recognizes the examination results.

This is equivalent to scattered pastries. Every kind of sweet and salty is put together. What kind of scattered Jiang You is this?

Geography, culture, politics, and even the comprehensive split of climate—it would be strange if there were any combined force.

Everyone is a scholar. I don't know what books the students under Zhang Juzheng read, but they could be so vicious. The scholars and bureaucrats of Jiang You, seeing this, would have the heart to scold their mothers.

"Eh, the teacher is kind-hearted, teaching only benevolence. As for what the students are like, the teacher cannot restrain them." Zhu Yijun looked left and right and asked suspiciously: "Haven't the teacher and Qi Shuai arrived yet?"

Such a big matter as splitting the Southern Yamen, Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang naturally had to participate.

"The teacher and Qi Shuai went fishing, and by the way, went to Lion Mountain to see the construction of the Yuejiang Tower. They won't be back for a while." Feng Bao hurriedly reported the whereabouts of Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang.

Li Chengliang went to the Qinhuai River to visit brothels. He went as soon as he got off the ship and hasn't returned yet. But Li Chengliang is very safe, with guards watching, so nothing will happen.

"Then this split is decided. Try it first. If the wave of opposition is too great, let them go dig coal. The Jianghuai Coal Factory has started construction." Zhu Yijun gave the final decision.

Generally speaking, if the wave of opposition is too great, policy adjustments should be made. Zhu Yijun is not. On the issue of splitting the Southern Yamen, he does not make concessions. Whoever opposes will go dig coal. After working for a few days, they will know what the feudal iron fist is.

This matter, Zhu Yijun as the Emperor, has no way to make concessions. This involves the stability of the throne and involves whether he can sleep well.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue Director and Zhejiang Viceroy Shen Shixing reported: can the various prefectures of Zhejiang be managed directly by the Ministry of Revenue like Jiang You?" Feng Bao immediately took out a memorial. Shen Shixing was acting as the Viceroy of Zhejiang.

Clearly, Li Le also asked Shen Shixing about this method. Shen Shixing not only thought it was feasible but also wanted to bring Zhejiang along.

"It seems your brothers have discussed it." Zhu Yijun gave a vermilion comment on Shen Shixing's memorial and rejected Shen Shixing's proposal. Actually, it is very simple. After the Nine Battalions of Zhejiang caused trouble once, in a short time, Zhejiang will not have problems. Some policies, when piloting, should not be spread so big and so wide, as it is easy to pull the egg.

"Your Majesty, the Commander is here." Feng Bao whispered beside the Emperor.

"Announce."

"Pay respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years. The case of the assassination of Chief Censor Hai with Qianji poison has a clue." Zhao Mengyou and Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang, the two commanders, walked in together and bowed.

"The case was clarified by Chen Mo." Inspector Luo Bingliang Bingliang first gave credit to Chen Mo. The two commanders did not take the credit for themselves. Their "suspect guilt from existence" failed. To be precise, they didn't find a direct connection. Instead, Chen Mo found a breakthrough in the process of investigating Shan Wen, the owner of the raw medicine shop.

Zhu Yijun took the file from Zhao Mengyou's hand and read it seriously. After reading it, he looked at Hence Hai Rui.

"Chief Censor Hai, the matter back then has a result." Zhu Yijun handed the file to Hence Hai Rui, his face heavy.

The breakthrough of the case was not on the Qianji poison, but on the death of Hence Hai Rui's wife Wang and concubine Han in the third year of Longqing. Hence Hai Rui's own statement was that the two died by suicide, while the commoners believed that Hence Hai Rui was too strict with his family, and Wang and Han couldn't bear Hence Hai Rui's excessively strict requirements and were forced to commit suicide.

And the truth of the matter was that the two died in an assassination. It was precisely the raw medicine shop owner Shan Wen who did it himself, and the means used was poisoning, and the poison was also Strychnos nux-vomica from Yunnan and Guizhou.

The means were exactly the same.

Chen Mo investigated this assassination case and made no progress, but while investigating the raw medicine shop, he accidentally discovered Shan Wen's account book. In the third year of Longqing, there was a record of the withdrawal of Qianji poison. After an extremely thorough and detailed investigation, he finally knew the mastermind behind the murder for hire, which was Dai Fengxiang, a student of Xu Jie.

"On the thirteenth day of the third month, Dai Fengxiang held a banquet at the Qingchun Tower under the pretext of his child's hundredth day. And on this day, Dai Fengxiang's gatekeeper met with the raw medicine shop owner Shan Wen at the Qingchun Tower. Afterward, the vegetable farmer Pan Sangu from the vegetable camp carried poison into the prefectural office." Zhu Yijun said very calmly.

Feng Bao, who was familiar with the Emperor, knew very well that His Majesty was very angry now.

The gatekeeper had already been "cased" by Chen Mo. Without even going through the five poisons, the gatekeeper had already confessed everything. This gatekeeper also had the surname Dai and was Dai Fengxiang's adopted son. People who do bad things really don't have such hard mouths, and they didn't expect Dai Fengxiang to rescue them, because Chen Mo had a northern accent, which was the Emperor's personal guard. Dai Fengxiang wouldn't rescue him and couldn't rescue him.

The earth torture of cutting the scalp and pouring honey to attract ants didn't work, and even the torture tools weren't used, but the gatekeeper just confessed cleanly.

In fact, the case was much more complex than what Zhu Yijun described. There was another criminal here, named Dai Fengnian, who was Dai Fengxiang's younger brother. From the evidence, everything was done by Dai Fengnian, but the Great Ming Emperor handling cases, "implicating the whole family," was truly normal.

Dai Fengnian carried all the thunder, but Dai Fengxiang, no matter how clean he was, had to die!

"Commander, take two hundred guards and bring Dai Fengxiang's whole family here." Zhu Yijun gave a cruel order very calmly. ===== CHAPTER 673 =====