Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 59

(PS: Today, the local power supply station has reached the time of irregular menstruation, so there is only one chapter today, please forgive me.)
"I'm wronged——!" Zhang Shitou screamed loudly, and knelt down in front of Young Master Zhang's table with a plop, screaming with snot and tears: "My lord, the little Wang Huazhen is wronged, the responsibility for the loss of Guangning is not my responsibility." Me, Xiong Tingbi! It was he who lost Guangning, and it has nothing to do with me! Master Qingtian, you are the master of the grass people——!"

"Fuck!" Young Master Zhang flew over with a mouthful of saliva, picked up the gavel made of mahogany with chicken wings, slammed the table, and roared: "Zhang Shitou, can you act like a bit? Wang Huazhen is the former governor of Liaodong, and he should call himself a criminal." Officials, criminal ministers, or criminal officials, it’s fine if you call yourself a petty one, and you even run out of a grassroots, nondescript! Also, you trash, you won’t even cry for injustice? Guangning was lost in Wang Huazhen’s hands, that’s it Everyone can testify that he planted the frame on Xiong Tingbi, didn't he ask for trouble? You think about it carefully, if you were Wang Huazhen, if you wanted to survive but also wanted to frame the frame, where would it be most effective to cry for injustice and sophistry?"

"This...young master, I've never been an official, so I really can't figure it out." Zhang Shitou knelt in front of Young Master Zhang and scratched his head, racking his brains but couldn't answer Young Master Zhang's question.In desperation, Zhang Shitou had no choice but to point to Lu Wanling who was standing behind Young Master Zhang, who was playing the role of master, and said, "Young Master Lu, why don't you come? You are a Gongsheng, and you are considered a half-official. You must be better than me in acting."

"Brother Stone, don't be kidding, I can't, I really can't." Lu Wanling waved his hands quickly, for fear that he would be bad luck in pretending to be a dying person to interrogate him, and bring bad luck to himself in the future.Young Master Zhang was a little tempted, and ordered: "Brother Lu Nian, why don't you play Wang Huazhen? First, you are good at acting, and second, you are familiar with official affairs. It is easy to get close to Wang Huazhen in terms of thinking. Sophistry is the most useful—and you and his character are similar. Oh, don't refuse, Shitou, help Brother Lu Nian to his knees." Forced to helplessness, Lu Wanling had no choice but to kneel in front of Young Master Zhang, imitating the officials. He kowtowed and clasped his fists and said, "Officer Wang Huazhen, I have seen the presiding judge, the Duke of the State, the Shangshu, the Zongxian (Zuodu Yushi), and the Siqing (Dali Siqing)"

"That's right, this is the acting. Brother Lu Nian, you must have been arrested and interrogated in the yamen before, right?" Young Master Zhang praised, and gave a violent slap of the gavel, roaring: " Bold Wang Huazhen, in the first battle of Guangning, you lost your teacher and humiliated the country, causing the entire army of 14 soldiers of the Ming Dynasty to be annihilated, and the fortress of Guangning and the entire territory of Liaodong also fell into the hands of the slave rebels, what should you do?"

"The criminal deserves death, but the entire territory of Liaodong fell, the criminal is not the culprit, the culprit is someone else." Lu Wanling did learn it well, even Wang Huazhen's tone of denying excuses was learned vividly.Young Master Zhang slapped the gavel again and roared, "Who is to blame?"

"Emissary of Liaodong Economic Strategy——Xiong Tingbi!" Lu Wanling replied confidently.The gavel sounded again, and Young Master Zhang shouted angrily: "Bold Wang Huazhen, before the fall of Guangning, the city defense was in your hands, and the 14 main soldiers of Liaodong were also in your hands, while Xiong Tingbi's [-] troops were stationed four miles away from Guangning." In Youtun, ten miles away, you lost Guangning first and then the main force, and fled to Youtun alone to ask Xiong Tingbi for help. Xiong Tingbi accepted you regardless of past suspicions, but you falsely blamed him? The loss of Guangning, the loss of Liaodong, and Xiong Tingbi. coherent?"

"Tan Hua Gong, I can't remember how to answer next, can you show me the case file of Xiong Tingbi's trial last time?" Lu Wanling asked with a mournful face.Young Master Zhang pretending to be Zhang Qingtian was playing vigorously, threw all the files in front of Lu Wanling in a very disappointing manner, and urged: "Look quickly, think about how Wang Huazhen should answer and quibble? How he quibbles and denies, we are the most difficult to deal with?"

Lu Wanling agreed repeatedly, and quickly crawled to the pile of files to look through, analyzing Wang Huazhen's possible sophistry methods with his own eyes.At this time, Master Xiong Hu slipped in from the door, and saw Young Master Zhang sitting high among the gavels, Lu Wanling kneeling on his knees looking through piles of files, and Zhang Shitou standing still, holding a wooden stick. Xiong Hu couldn't help being amused, and said with a smile: "Young dog, Big Brother Lu, what are you doing? Singing an opera?"

"No, no, we are conducting court exercises." Young Master Zhang quickly explained: "The emperor has issued a decree, let me, as the presiding judge appointed by the emperor, join the chief judge of the three courts and four people including the British company Zhang Weixian. Official, the fifth court will try your father's case. I'm afraid it will be a joke, so let Lu Wanling and Lu Nian brother act as Wang Huazhen first, and practice how to go to court and how to interrogate." Speaking of this, Young Master Zhang said in a rare and serious way: " There is also a more important point - I have to guard against Wang Huazhen's tricks and put the blame on your father, so I asked Lu Nian and Zhang Shitou to help me think about it and analyze what kind of method Wang Huazhen might use. Sophistry and prevarication, and what tricks his accomplices and family members are planning to play, prepare countermeasures in advance, so as not to be caught by surprise by him when the time comes."

"Oh, it's really bothering you." Xiong Hu suddenly realized, and at the same time, he also understood the painstaking efforts of Young Master Zhang - if Wang Huazhen was so easy to deal with, Xiong Tingbi would not be tricked so much that he almost lost his head.Taking a peek at Young Master Zhang's handsome face when he rarely showed a serious expression, Xiong Hu blushed for no reason, looked down at his toes and whispered: "Also, thanks to your money and effort to run up and down, my father's The case was sent back for retrial, and I don't even know how to repay your great kindness."

"Want to repay? That's too easy!" Young Master Zhang's rare and serious expression instantly disappeared, and he was about to say a few obscene words while drooling, but Xiong Hu, who knew Young Master Zhang's 'upright' character, quickly changed the subject, "By the way, my father Don’t worry too much about the retrial of my case. I’ve heard it all. Nine thousand years old is now covering the sky in the court and saying nothing. Since he nodded and agreed to spare my father’s death penalty, no one would dare to object. Just go through the motions and there won't be so much trouble."

"Big mistake, this matter is more complicated than you imagined!" As expected, Young Master Zhang gave up his dirty plans, and shook his head with a serious expression, "Nine thousand years old has already said hello to me, saying that I can let your father go, but We must release people according to the law and with real evidence. We can't just release people and kill people in such a muddle-headed way. It will affect the image that Nine Thousand Years has finally established in the case of the six traitors in Donglin. And this time there are highly respected The British official Zhang Weixian accompanied the trial, he has a high prestige in the court and the people, if I don't know why, I will let your father go, and he will take a memorial to the court, it will be of no benefit to me or your father."

"So it's still so troublesome? I thought that if you presided over my father's case, my father would be fine." Xiong Hu cried and made a small face.Young Master Zhang replied with a wry smile: "It's not just that troublesome, there is one more troublesome thing. The chief judge of your father's case, Zuo Du Yushi Zou Yuanbiao, fell ill and was bedridden. The head of the Metropolitan Procuratorate for the retrial must have become Zou Yuanbiao’s deputy Yang Yuan—that is, Yang Yuan, your father’s nemesis! In this way, in the five trials, only the minister of Dali Temple who belonged to the Nine Thousand Years Party Zhou Yingqiu is definitely on my side, Yang Yuan is definitely against me, and the current Secretary of the Criminal Ministry Li Yangzheng and the British Duke Zhang Weixian belong to the neutral faction, if I don't come up with a valid reason to exonerate your father, they may not agree."

"Besides these, I'm also worried about another thing." Young Master Zhang continued: "Wang Huazhen is a protégé of Ye Xianggao, the former chief minister of the cabinet, and was also strongly recommended by Ye Xianggao to be the governor of Liaodong. He has a very close relationship with Ye Xianggao." The same. Wang Huazhen and your father were tried in the second year of Tianqi, and Ye Xianggao returned to his hometown in the fourth year of Tianqi. Before that, he had been in control of the court's affairs and official documents. During these two years, Wang Huazhen had There is enough time to destroy the evidence and witnesses against him, and there is enough time to forge evidence against your father, if he presents these evidences during the trial and quibbles and denies them, how can I tell the truth from the false?"

"Ah? Why are you getting more and more confused?" Xiong Hu was obviously not used to this kind of complicated power struggle, and was suddenly happy and worried by what Young Master Zhang said, and he couldn't let go of his heart in his throat.At this moment, Lu Wanling, who had been rummaging through the pile of case files, suddenly cheered, "Brother Zhang Nian, I have found a loophole in this case, and I know how Wang Huazhen would deny it! If I were Wang Huazhen, I would definitely be here This place has dragged Master Xiong into the water, and Master Xiong can't find any evidence to refute it!"

…………

Before the retrial of Xiong Tingbi's case was confirmed, Young Master Zhang went to the court early, requesting that Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen who were locked in the sky prison be transferred to Dongchang prison to prevent someone from using the sky prison to guard relatively loose Opportunity, get in touch with Wang Huazhen and collude with him——Master Zhang, who has watched "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty", is deeply impressed by the mysterious Yan Daxia who lives in the prison of the Zhenfu Department, so even he is not so impressed by the prison of the Zhenfu Department Don't worry, only if Wang Huazhen is imprisoned in the Dongchang Prison under the direct control of Wei Zhongxian, please ask the big brother Xiao Chuan to watch him personally, so that Young Master Zhang can feel a little relieved.But Young Master Zhang really underestimated the strength of the group of people standing behind Wang Huazhen in the dark. He didn't know what trouble he had encountered when he typed his report. The time was approved, and during this period, how much contact Wang Huazhen had with the outside world, how much information he had, and how many confessions he had concatenated, only God knows.For this reason, although Young Master Zhang often loses his temper, there is nothing he can do about it. After all, there have been policies and countermeasures since ancient times, and now Young Master Zhang, who is still in a humble position, does not have enough strength to cover the sky with one hand.

There was more than one confrontation before the retrial. According to Young Master Zhang, in order to prevent nights and dreams, it is suggested that the retrial date be set on April [-]th, so that even if Wang Huazhen wanted to play new tricks, he would not have enough time to prepare.However, Yang Yuan, Xiong Tingbi's old rival and a veteran of the three dynasties Zuo Fudu Yushi, firmly opposed it. The reason was that Xiong Tingbi's case was of great importance and should not be acted rashly. The retrial period should be set at the end of May or early June. Moreover, Yang Yuan also proposed that Ye Xianggao, who has already returned to his hometown, should be sent from his hometown to participate in the trial as a witness, and use this to argue hard with Young Master Zhang and not give in to each other.

Young Master Zhang is well aware of Yang Yuan's sinister intentions - where is Ye Xianggao from?Fuzhou, Fujian!When Ye Xianggao, who is almost too old to walk, rushes from Fuzhou to the capital, it is estimated that the Autumn Judgment Ceremony will begin. Moreover, Ye Xianggao has been the sole minister for eight years and the chief assistant for 12 years, and has disciples all over the world. , really let him come to the capital, his former disciples were leaders, and they didn't swarm to shoot at Young Master Zhang?Therefore, Young Master Zhang made a decisive decision and immediately gave up his plan to implicate Ye Xianggao. On the pretext that Ye Xianggao was not actually involved in the Liaodong War, he resolutely opposed Ye Xianggao's testimony in court.He also claimed that the evidence of Xiong Tingbi's injustice was conclusive, and there was no need to pass other witnesses, only Wang Huazhen and Xiong Tingbi confronted each other in court.

Both Young Master Zhang and Yang Yuan had their own reasons, so naturally they fought hard, and in the end the hot-tempered Young Master Zhang almost got into a fight with Yang Yuan on the spot.In the end, Li Yangzheng, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, nicknamed You Niqiu, stood up and persuaded both parties to take a step back, persuaded Yang Yuan to give up his plan to let Ye Xianggao testify in court, and persuaded Young Master Zhang to allow a lenient retrial time, and finally suggested that the retrial time be set at On April 25, let Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen face-to-face in the lobby of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. If the case cannot be finalized, they will discuss the matter of calling another witness.Faced with this suggestion, Yang Yuan bowed his head and considered for a long time, finally nodded his agreement, and Young Master Zhang also thought about it for a long time, and finally nodded his agreement - but after the agreement, when Young Master Zhang left the punishment hall, he didn't even return home, I went directly to the East Factory to find Xiao Chuan, and through Xiao Chuan, I found several foremen and foremen of the East Factory. I threw out 1000 taels of silver, and soon got back up all the records of the East Factory's spies monitoring Yang Yuan...

………………

The tense and secret arrangement and arrangements were in progress, more than ten days passed quickly, and the day of the retrial on April 25 came in a blink of an eye.It was still light in the morning, so Young Master Zhang led his servant Zhang Shitou, the small shop, and the temporary master Lu Wanling to the lobby of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and started to prepare for the retrial. But when he took a look outside the lobby of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Young Master Zhang realized that something was wrong——outside the lobby It turned out to be a sea of ​​people, crowded with the people of the capital who came to see the fun, it was almost impossible to get through.Young Master Zhang couldn't help sneering, "That's right, I can't see that old bastard Yang Yuan is quite intelligent. Knowing that the cabinet secretary has turned to my side, he actually thought of using public opinion to contain me, so that I can't help it." Dare to let go and directly exonerate Xiong Tingbi."

"Brother Zhang Nian, you are the chief interrogator. You can order the interrogation to be closed and the people will not be allowed to watch the interrogation." Temporary dog-headed military advisor Lu Wanling suggested.Young Master Zhang was a little moved, but after thinking about it for a while, Young Master Zhang sneered again and said, "No, gentlemen show their balls, and villains are always sloppy. If I order a closed door for a secret interrogation, they will definitely spread rumors that I deliberately shielded Xiong Tingbi, so It’s just a guilty conscience, so it’s better to open the door for a public trial like this.” Even so, Young Master Zhang, who looks honest and treacherous in heart, still called the little shop to him, and whispered in his ear: “Little shop, you go home immediately, and let us The male servants at home and your friends on the street are called to watch the trial together, and it will be like this..., when the matter is completed, I will have a big reward!"

After dispatching the small shop, Young Master Zhang left Zhang Shitou outside the main hall of the Ministry of Punishment. Then he and Lu Wanling walked around to the back door and entered the back hall of the Ministry of Punishment from the back door of the Ministry of Punishment.When I went to the back hall, I saw that the British Duke Zhang Weixian, Dali Temple Minister Zhou Yingqiu, and local snake punishment minister Li Yangzheng were all present, as well as the eunuch sent by Dongchang to supervise and interrogate—probably the eunuch sent by Wei Zhongxian to take care of him on purpose. It happened to be Song Jin who had a good relationship with Young Master Zhang, only Yang Yuan, the biggest risk factor in this retrial, was not present yet.Young Master Zhang had no choice but to wait for Yang Yuan's arrival while being hypocritical and courteous with several jurors.

Waiting and waiting, seeing that the opening time of Chen Shizheng was about to arrive, but Yang Yuan was still nowhere to be seen.Finally, Song Jin lost his temper and said, "My lords, Master Yang hasn't come yet. We can't wait forever, can we? According to our family, we should be promoted now. Master Yang is negligent in his official duties." Our family will truthfully report the matter to the emperor and Jiu Qiansui." Li Yangzheng and Zhou Yingqiu nodded in agreement, and Zhang Weixian had no objection, only Young Master Zhang knew that there must be a difference, but he was not afraid, just nodded and smiled: " What Eunuch Song said is very true, let us be promoted."

"Mighty—!" Accompanied by the long shout of the servants in the lobby of the Ministry of Justice and the sound of the punishment stick, Young Master Zhang, dressed in a sixth-rank official robe and holding a Shangfang sword, sat under the horizontal plaque of "Mirror Hanging High" in a grandiose manner. Lu Wanling dressed as a Confucian scholar stood behind Young Master Zhang, Zhang Weixian, Li Yangzheng, and Zhou Yingqiu sat on both sides, and Song Jin, the supervisor and eunuch of the East Factory, sat on the right side of the hall with a smile.Everyone sat down, Young Master Zhang raised the sandalwood gavel and slapped it fiercely, shouting: "Bring criminals Wang Huazhen and Xiong Tingbi to the hall!"

"Wait!" Yang Yuan's voice suddenly rang out from the crowd outside the lobby before the head of the criminal department who was present could agree.The crowd was surging, and Yang Yuan, who was dry and thin, squeezed into the hall from the crowd, cupped his hands to Young Master Zhang and Song Jin, and said with a smile: "Master Zhang, Mr. Zhang Guogong, Mr. Zhou, Mr. Li, and Mr. Song, I'm really sorry. It's too late to come down."

"Master Yang, this is a big case that the emperor handpicked and nine thousand years old cared about. Why are you here now?" Song Jin said coldly, "You'd better give our family a reasonable explanation, otherwise, we You will now be spared the job of an Inquisitor."

"Eunuch Song, I'm really sorry, I'm really delayed by an errand." Yang Yuan bowed and cupped his hands again, explaining: "The thing is like this, the official came early today, but when the sedan chair was halfway, suddenly Being stopped by someone, the commoner knelt in front of the official's sedan chair with a certificate in his hand, and wanted to sue a court official—and he was suing an official who was present today, and the content of the complaint was also related to today's case! The lower official felt that the matter was very important , so it was delayed."

"Stop the sedan chair and file a complaint? Or sue an official present? Who should you sue?" Song Jin asked calmly.Yang Yuan smiled, straightened his body and pointed at Young Master Zhang, and said loudly: "It is to sue Mr. Zhang, sue our presiding judge, Mr. Zhang!"

"Huh—!" The people outside the hall were commotions, and they were all surprised—the presiding judge was sued on the first day of the opening of the hall, which was definitely the first time in the Ming Dynasty.Our young master Zhang looked calm, and asked with a smile: "Oh, so you are suing me? Then, Mr. Yang, who is the person who sued? What are you suing me for?"

"The complainant claims to be a servant who was expelled by you. His surname is Kang and his name is Liang." Yang Yuan shouted loudly, "He accused you of being related to Xiong Tingbi, the prisoner in court today, but he concealed it! At that time, there will be malpractice for personal gain and unfair law enforcement!"

"I have a relative relationship with Xiong Tingbi?" Young Master Zhang asked in surprise, "What kind of relationship do I have with Xiong Tingbi?"

Yang Yuan replied loudly: "According to the statement of the complainant, you are Xiong Tingbi's son-in-law!"

(End of this chapter)