Chu Mingwei cupped his hands and said: "Sir, the case of Meng Chu killing Liang and taking advantage of the crime happened two years ago. I still remember that it happened in June of that year. By August, the Criminal Department Yamen After receiving the secret report, they immediately sent people to Nanling to secretly investigate the case. Due to drought in Nanling in those two years, and the Qinhuai War was still in a stalemate, the national treasury was empty and it was impossible to transport too many materials to Nanling for disaster relief. As a result, it caused a lot of banditry." He turned around and said, "Wei Yujiang, it seems that you were sent to investigate that case."
Wei Yujiang stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "Return to Mr. Chu, this case is indeed a low-level investigation. Meng Chu, the captain of Nanping Prefecture in Nanling, led his troops to kill the bandits. The head of the bandit leader Liu Ba was sent to the capital. For this, the imperial court also awarded As a reward, the officials were still preparing to promote Meng Chu, but due to the war on the front line, the promotion was slightly delayed. Meng Chu made his contribution at the end of June, and the so-called Liu Ba's head was sent to the capital in early July, but in August, A secret report was sent to the Ministry of Justice. After receiving the report, Master Qian Raoshun ordered Master Chu to take charge of the case, and Master Chu immediately sent a subordinate to Nanling to investigate."
Although this case occurred two years ago, many officials present obviously nodded slightly as they knew about the matter and listened to Wei Yujiang's report.
"What did Wei Sishen find out at that time?" Qining asked.
Wei Yujiang looked sternly and said: "After investigating in Nanling, I found that Liu Ba was not dead at all and was still causing trouble in Nanling. After that, I got help from local people and determined the specific details of the case. In June of that year, Meng Chu led his men, a total of fifteen people, to massacre a remote village at night. All the young and old in the village were killed. Meng Chu and others took the bodies of sixteen young and strong men away as bandits, and the bodies of the old, weak and children were all taken away. The whole village was burned to the ground."
Qi Ning's face was cold, and he nodded: "What happened next?"
"Bizhi found human and material evidence. Meng Chu is irrefutable. The Ministry of Punishment issued a document. Except for Meng Chu, who was escorted to Beijing for the fifteen people who participated in the massacre that night, the other fourteen people were all executed on the spot." Wei Yujiang said sternly: "Bizhi is in Nanping. The government personally witnessed the execution of the fourteen people, and then escorted Meng Chu back to the capital."
"What will happen to this case after returning to Beijing?"
"After returning to Beijing, the imperial court had an order to kill Meng Chu in public as a warning to others." Wei Yujiang said: "The sentence was set at the beginning of September. I humbly handed Meng Chu over to the Prison Department and was sent to the death row of the Ministry of Punishment."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, then glanced at the officials and asked: "Who is the prison chief of the Prison Department? Can you step forward for a moment?"
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the man kneeling behind Da Xichong. The man was fat and was the one who had scolded Wei Yujiang the most before. At this time, the man's face turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He climbed up a few steps from behind, trembling. He said in a voice: "Humble job... Humble job is here!"
"Are you Zhou Bo, the warden of the Prison Department?"
"It's... it's a humble position!"
Qi Ning smiled slightly and then asked: "Is there anything wrong with what Si Shen Wei said? When he brought Meng Chu back from Nanping Mansion, did he hand him over to you and put him in the death row of the Ministry of Punishment?"
"This...!" Zhou Bo hesitated and then said: "Master Huibutang, it is indeed... it is true!"
"That's good." Qi Ning smiled and said, "Then when the nine-month sentence comes, Meng Chu will be taken from the death row of the Ministry of Punishments and sent to the execution ground. Were you the one who brought Meng Chu up at that time?"
Zhou Bo lowered his head and said, "Yes... it's a humble position!"
Qi Ning smiled faintly and took out a piece of paper from the case file, "Here is an official letter. The incident happened in Luling. There was a local land tyrant who forced good girls into prostitution. After investigation, it was found that the leader was running a prostitution in Luling. What a group of people do is deceive, kidnap and force girls into prostitution."
Everyone present was a little confused, thinking that they were just talking about the Meng Chu case, but why did they suddenly jump to Luling? Nanping Mansion and Luling are far apart. Could it be that the two cases are involved
"Lord Da Xi, do you know about the existence of this group of people in Luling?" Qining stared at Da Xichong and asked.
Da Xi broke out in cold sweat on his forehead, and his expression was not as arrogant as before. He forced a smile and said: "The Marquis's question is strange, Xianguan... Xianguan is in Beijing, how do you know... know the local tyrant in Luling!"
"But as far as I know, you can earn at least one or two thousand taels of silver from that land tyrant every year." Qi Ning said with a smile: "In the past two years, you have earned three to four thousand taels of silver no matter what. Bar?"
Everyone was stunned.
"Master Hou, you... you can't slander anyone." Da Xichong suddenly changed his expression: "Xiaguan... When has Xiaguan ever accepted money from that land tyrant?"
"In December of the year before last, you received 800 taels of silver." Qi Ningli ignored it and looked at a piece of paper and said: "Last May, you received 1,000 taels of silver. In December of last year, you received another 1,000 taels of silver. One thousand taels of silver came in." He coughed twice and said, "In April this year, another thousand taels were sent over there... The total is 3,800 taels. Am I right?"
Da Xichong looked pale and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"By the way, there is also Mr. Zhou. Every time Mr. Daxi receives money, you also receive it at the same time, but the amount is half, a total of one thousand nine hundred taels. If I am wrong, you can complain now. "Qining said calmly.
"Humble job...!" Zhou Bo laid his forehead on the ground, trembling all over.
Qi Ning said with a smile: "My lords, you may be wondering, why does a local tyrant from Luling send money to the capital? And why should he give it to Master Daxi and Master Zhou? To put it bluntly, it is not surprising. This The two adults are the saviors of the land tyrant. It is natural for them to be more filial every year after living a life. By the way, the land tyrant is called Chu Long, but that is just his current name. Years ago, that man was called Meng Chu!"
The lobby of the Ministry of Justice was suddenly in an uproar, and all the officials were shocked. There was a burst of excitement and discussion.
"You are naturally curious. Wasn't Meng Chu executed two years ago? Why is he still alive now?" Qi Ning said with a smile, "I just said that he has a savior, so he can survive." Staring at Da Xi Chong asked: "Master Da Xi, what is going on? Can you tell everyone?"
Although he had a faint smile on his face, his eyes were extremely cold.
Da Xichong opened his mouth slightly, clenched his hands into fists, and finally said: "Master Marquis, you... I don't understand what you are saying. I... I don't know any savior."
"Zhou Bo, Master Da Xi doesn't want to say it, but do you want to say it?" Qi Ning stopped talking to Da Xichong and moved his eyes to Zhou Bo: "If you can tell the truth, it can be regarded as surrendering and pleading guilty, and I can report it to the court. Please say a few words of love. You should understand that since I know this, I naturally have enough evidence on hand. I will give you the opportunity to confess. If you miss this opportunity, I promise that it will not happen again. "
Da Xichong suddenly turned around and shouted: "Zhou Bo, we can't let others frame us. Some people want to exclude dissidents and wrongfully accuse good people. We must not give in. No one in this court can cover up the sky with one hand. If we are really being wronged, we must write to the court and ask for help." The emperor and Duke Zhen Guo make the decision!" He emphasized the word "Gong Zhen Guo" very strongly, and his meaning was very obvious. Naturally, he wanted to warn Zhou Bo not to talk nonsense, at least he still had the big tree of Duke Zhen Guo.
"It doesn't matter, you can raise a tree to the court, I will give you this opportunity." Qi Ning said with a smile: "It just so happened that Chu Long... Oh, no, the criminal named Meng Chu has arrived in the capital, and I have also He has settled down, and I will take him with me when the time comes, so that you can make it clear to the emperor."
Zhou Bo was shocked, raised his head suddenly and said: "Lord, this matter... This matter is because I was confused for a moment, but... But I couldn't help myself...!"
Da Xichong's face turned livid and he shouted angrily: "Zhou Bo, what are you talking about?"
"Sir, this matter... this matter can no longer be hidden." Zhou Bo said with a sad face: "We should take the initiative to confess to the Lord. The Lord has said that he will... will intercede with the court for us!"
"You stupid pig." Da Xichong struggled to stand up, rushed forward, and kicked Zhou Bo on the head. Zhou Bo was immediately kicked to the ground, holding his head with both hands. Da Xichong wanted to rush forward again, An officer from the Ministry of Justice rushed forward and caught Da Xichong. Da Xichong gasped, pushed the officer away, turned to Qining and said: "You are framing me, you... you want to eliminate dissidents, so you want to kill me." ...!" He opened his hands and said loudly: "Everyone, you must not allow this person to block the sky with one hand here, we... we must unite...!"
But all the officials present were from criminal backgrounds. Everyone saw the scene in front of them and understood it in their hearts.
There is no doubt that Meng Chu was sent to the capital for execution, but now Meng Chu, who should have been executed two years ago, appears in Luling. There can only be one explanation for this, and that is that the real Meng Chu was replaced by others. Chu Zao had already left death row, and the person who was executed was a scapegoat.
This kind of thing is not uncommon throughout the ages. Officials in the Ministry of Justice are also very aware of this kind of thing. However, this kind of thing is absolutely shameful. Even if it happens, it is extremely secretive. Once it is exposed, it will be a big deal. event.
Da Xichong was the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and he bribed Zhou Bo, the prison chief of the Prison Department. The two men worked together to replace prisoners, which was not a difficult task.
If Zhou Bo gritted his teeth and persisted to the end, everyone present would really doubt the credibility of the matter. But when Qi Ning exposed the matter in public, Zhou Bo was obviously frightened and did not dare to argue at all. Zhou Bo's reaction was also Everyone immediately understood that it was obviously true that Da Xichong was behind the scenes and secretly changed prisoners.
If this matter is true, both Da Xichong and Zhou Bo will inevitably die. No one dares to be involved in such a big case.
On normal days, if it was for other things, with Da Xi Chong's status and prestige in the Ministry of Justice, shouting like this might really be able to attract a group of people, but at this time, no one dared to get involved in this matter. After all, who None of them wanted to lose their heads because of this matter, so they all bowed their heads and said nothing, allowing Da Xi to shout in the hall.
Da Xichong shouted several times, but no one stood up at all. Even the officials who had knelt behind him and were very close to him knew that the matter was serious, so they kept their heads pressed to the ground and remained silent.