There was a torch at the door of the interrogation room, the flames were brighter, and the two oil lamps lit inside were made useless. As a general of the imperial army, Guo Shao didn't care about such trivial matters as setting up a private torture chamber. In his current position, he could kill a few people at will without any problem.
Luo Mengzi was cursing Li Chongjin at the side. Guo Shao was annoyed by his noise and shouted angrily: Shut up, third brother. Go and get ready now and set off. It will be dawn when you arrive in Tokyo. Take my letter to the Imperial Guards and report directly to Han Tong. You should go to your second brother first. I trust Yang Biao to do things. Don't shout about who it is. You have no evidence to support your claim.
Luo Mengzi was scolded, touched his head, and stopped talking. This guy is tough, he will only listen if you scold him, but he still listens to Guo Shao's advice.
Guo Shao said again: I will write another letter, suggesting that Han report to the Privy Council and directly ask the Kaifeng government to send people to close the brothel and gambling house on Guihua Street in the East Market. Since Li Xiaer is the person in charge there, someone may know his background.
He turned around and said to his personal soldiers: Block his mouth and torture him with all ten fingers.
Li Mazi was very anxious. He struggled so hard that the chair creaked and he shouted, "Everything I said is true, General. I...
Guo Shao said: Do you know who I am? I am the imperial guard Sima Bu Du Yu Hou. The chief officer of Kaifeng Prefecture has to bow and nod when he sees me. You, a rogue in the market, dare to play tricks in front of me. It seems that you won't cry until you see the coffin.
The things in this room are not specialized, and everything is missing. The personal soldiers are going to look for bamboo sticks again. Guo Shao said: Take some salt to make a concentrated brine, and some strong liquor, soak the bamboo sticks, and make him more stimulating.
Of course, we can also disinfect it to prevent him from getting infected and dying. Li Mazi was waiting for the torture, nodding desperately. Seeing this, Guo Shao said: Let him say a word, anyway, we have to wait for the things to be brought over.
Li Mazi had just pulled the cloth out of his mouth and said hurriedly: Li Xiaer often goes in and out of Zhao's house.
Guo Shao immediately became interested and asked: "Tell me in detail." Li Mazi said: "That Li Xiaer and I are brothers and are very good to each other. He has no family in Tokyo. I don't know where he came from. When I asked him, he wouldn't tell me. I was also curious, so I found an opportunity to follow him a few times and found that he often went in and out of the Zhao Mansion."
Guo Shao asked directly at the residence of Zhao Kuangyin, the commander-in-chief of the palace.
Li Mazi nodded and said, "Yes, it is Zhao Hongyin and Zhao Kuangyin's mansion. But twice I saw Li Xiaer with the third son of the Zhao family."
Guo Shao glanced at the writing brush on the table and ordered: Untie him, free his right hand, and write down everything you just confessed.
Li Mazi said: I know a few words. He picked up the pen tremblingly and asked: Will you be tortured again? Guo Shao said: Not for now, just write well.
While waiting for him to write his confession, Guo Shao pressed his forehead and thought for a while. Zhao San had no grudge against him, so why did he kill her? Was it just because he had a crush on Li Niangzi and hated her? Li Niangzi was not his wife, so there was no need to take such a big risk just because of jealousy. If Li Niangzi was Zhao San's wife, it would make sense for Guo Shao to go and humiliate someone else's wife.
Could it be Zhao Kuangyin's mastermind
Guo Shao also felt that it didn't make sense. There was no point in Zhao Kuangyin assassinating Li Chongjin, as Guo Shao and Li Chongjin didn't get along well. Moreover, if Zhao Kuangyin really wanted to fight to the death, Guo Shao didn't think he could escape this time. If Zhao Kuangyin couldn't blow up with gunpowder, he must have ambushed and killed him. Using the prepared to attack the unprepared in this wilderness, the success rate of relying on the strong to bully the weak was still very high.
But the powerful lord Chai Rong was still there, and Guo Shao was not the most powerful general in the imperial army, and his prestige and qualifications were very insufficient. Zhao Kuangyin had no need to do this at all, and he had to be so despicable and unscrupulous with a general who seemed to pose no threat to him for the time being. It was not like Zhao Kuangyin would do this.
It's almost certainly Zhao San
Although that guy's motive is a bit unbelievable, it is logically sound; what's more, Zhao San has no experience or hard work in the process of advancement, he is just a small gangster, so his psychology cannot be understood in the same way as old gangsters like Li Chongjin and Zhao Kuangyin. A young boy of seventeen or eighteen years old who has nothing to do all day is the kind of boy who is fearless; he is the kind of person you have to be wary of in later generations, because he might stab you in the back for a trivial matter and you don't know why.
Zhao San has no strength at all, but now Guo Shao actually feels a chill towards that guy.
Guo Shao's mind was flooded with countless thoughts and feelings, and he even felt as if everything was tangled together like a mess. But he only needed a little time to sort out this mess.
Zhao San's shady tactics made Guo Shao extremely hostile. It was easier to dodge an open attack than to defend against an arrow from the dark. He was not defeated but killed by someone else. I'm afraid no one could accept such a consequence. Guo Shao's immediate thought was to kill Zhao San.
The best solution is to put him to death openly. If Li Xiaer can be captured and made to confess, then Zhao San will be convicted. Li Xiaer may not be easy to capture, but there are indeed a few clues that can roughly verify the relationship between Li Xiaer and the Zhao family. For example, the servants of the Zhao family may have seen Li Xiaer; and Li Xiaer's appearance was described by a living witness, Li Mazi. It all depends on how to operate.
But more considerations came to Guo Shao's mind: at most he could put Zhao San to death, and Zhao Kuangyin would still be unable to move; unless he completely ignored the situation and fought to the death with Zhao Kuangyin like Zhao San, it would be difficult to win. Have you ever considered the emperor's feelings
In any case, if Zhao Kuangyin has the chance in the future, he will probably not let Guo Shao go. Guo Shao also thought of more people: what would Chai Rong think when he saw these confessions and evidence? What would Li Chongjin think
What Zhao San did was really stirring up a hornet's nest. Guo Shao felt that he couldn't just follow his example and make stupid mistakes. He had to consider the whole situation.
At dawn, the Datong Temple Inn became even more lively. Dozens of Guo Shao's personal soldiers arrived first, and later, the deputy envoys of the Privy Council, Wang Pu and Han Tong, came directly with cavalry. After noon, a group of officials from the Dali Temple Kaifeng Prefecture also arrived to inspect the scene.
Wang Pu said calmly: Let's see where General Guo was injured.
Wang Pu obviously did not doubt Guo Shao, but just saw everything clearly in front of everyone. Guo Shao then undressed and just as he untied his belt, he suddenly remembered that the wound was bandaged with a bra, and his movements froze.
Seeing this, Han Tong asked: "What's wrong? General Guo doesn't want to show us."
Damn Han glared, what he said was really rude. Am I pretending to be injured? The house collapsed. Why should I pretend
But at this point, Guo Shao had no choice but to take off his robe and not care about the details. Everyone looked at him, and almost no one laughed in this serious occasion. Wang Pu's face turned red, and Han Tong's eyes widened and he looked at everyone else in bewilderment.
Guo Shao untied her pink camisole, pointed at the wound and said: The arrow was smeared with arsenic, and the arrowhead is still there. We can ask the prosecutor to bring people to check.
After checking the wounds, everyone collected some weapons and powder from the burning gunpowder. Wang Pu looked at the residual powder, took it to his nose and sniffed it, and said to Guo Shao in a deep voice: General Guo’s recipe is not known by many people. However, there is also gunpowder for making fireworks and firecrackers on the market, and Taoists also use it to hide fire. This powder has been burned and it is difficult to check.
Guo Shaodao: I don’t usually bully men or women or make enemies everywhere. I’m afraid that most people don’t have the ability to do such a thing.
Wang Pu nodded without comment, and said: Hand the criminal over to me, along with his confession.
Guo Shao hesitated. Wang Pu said in front of everyone: "It's the emperor's will. You can rest assured that I will do it. I am very fair." Guo Shao heard that it was the emperor's will, and Wang Pu would not falsely convey the imperial edict in front of several ministers, so he agreed.
Wang Pu first read the confession and said: Kaifeng Prefecture sent people to investigate the brothels and gambling houses in Tokyo. Because the imperial guards were appointed, the Privy Council would send people to participate. Send some more people to search for clues nearby, and inform the prefectures and counties nearby to cooperate in the investigation. He pointed to the people who were stranded in the inn and said: Question and interrogate those people as soon as possible, and release those who are not suspected first.
He then said to Guo Shao: After returning to Beijing, I will arrange for people to interrogate the criminal, draw a portrait of the main culprit Li Xiaer, and issue a wanted notice for him.
Wang Pu arranged the situation in just a few words, and he grasped the key point in his calm speech: in addition to catching people alive on the spot, the most important thing is to investigate the brothels in the East City.
Guo Shao couldn't help but admire Wang Pu's ability and style. Wang Pu was old and thin, and his appearance was not as good as Wei Renpu, but his ability and the way he managed the situation were probably a little higher than Wei Renpu.
Wang Pu added: General Guo, go home and recuperate, and pay attention to your protection. Don't worry about other things, we will give you an answer.
Guo Shao bowed and said: “Thanks to Deputy Envoy Wang for taking charge of the situation.”
He suddenly had an idea: Although this matter was dangerous and he almost lost his life, it has passed and now it seems that there is room for him to display his talents.
Now I start to rush to the monthly ticket list, aiming for the top three
There is a discount for recharge now, 100 yuan for 1000 yuan, and there are additional amounts and monthly tickets for rewards. You can enter a lottery once for every 2 yuan of consumption, and there are mobile phones and tablets. I wish you all good luck. For details, please see the announcement and reward column on the homepage
I hope it will be helpful. I asked some book friends and did some calculations. I hope I can be in the top three of the monthly votes. Whether I can succeed or not depends on you.
If you want to reward Xifeng Jin, tonight is the most appropriate time. Whether it is from the perspective of discounts and lucky draw surprises, or the important value of the monthly tickets for rewards to Xifeng Jin, it is the best time.
The most important thing is to participate and do what you can. Every bit of support can make me feel a sense of gratitude. Concentration time: now to 12 o'clock tonight