"No, no..."

Guo Yigang was so frightened when he heard Yue Su's slightly playful voice that he almost fell down due to fright.

"Really not." Yue Su asked with a smile.

"Really not, really not..." Guo Yigang said repeatedly.

"Master Guo, don't be so nervous. Your face has turned green. Sit down and talk." Yue Su said with a smile.

"Thank you, thank you, sir..." Guo Yigang sat down tremblingly.

"I said Master Guo, our court has always liked honest people. If Mr. Meng had admitted earlier, our council might have spared his life for the sake of his confession, but now he has no chance. It's just that he

It's still useful now, so I'll put his head on his neck for the time being. As for you, I just want to ask." Yue Su still had a smile on his face.

Now Yue Su's murderous intention has emerged. It can be said that this is the last chance for Guo Yigang. Since he wants to kill Meng Huade, I won't spare your life, Guo Yigang. Money is urgently needed to provide disaster relief and rebuild the river embankment. I just point to this point at hand.

, it’s really not enough. If you want to get rich, is it possible to confiscate your homes? Not only that, but also to clean up the official atmosphere in Henan and intimidate officials in other prefectures and counties.

After all, people have a sense of luck. Guo Yigang apologized and said with a smile: "What did you say? How can the general be like Meng Huade? The general has always been honest and loyal to the emperor."

"Since Mr. Guo said so, I am relieved." Yue Su said lightly with a smile on his face: "By the way, you also heard Zhu Xiaobao's confession just now. He said he wanted to leave the city, but the soldiers guarding the city did not allow it.

, only if you pay the money to buy the road. But this is his one-sided statement, and the headquarters cannot fully believe it, so I would like to ask Mr. Guo if there is such a thing?"

"This..." Guo Yi just wanted to say 'this is impossible', but as soon as he said the word "this", he took back the rest of the words. Although he is a military commander, he is not a reckless man, and he also has some evil intentions. Yue Yi

Su Neng said that, there must be more or less evidence. If he said flatly that there was no evidence, wouldn't it be a slap in the face? So he changed his words and said: "My lord, I have never heard of this matter. I would like to ask you to go and check it out. If it is true,

This matter will be severely punished without mercy, and I will ask myself to be punished for the crime of laxity."

Guo Yigang really didn't know about this matter. How much money he could make by collecting so many tolls these days, Master Guo still looked down upon him. He also followed Yue Su's orders at the beginning, not allowing victims to flood in, and strictly guarding the city gates.

.I never thought that the generals below would take the opportunity to do such a thing.

"Master Guo can say this, obviously he has a guilty conscience. The headquarters will send people to investigate this matter later." After saying that, Yue Su stopped paying attention to Guo Yigang and looked at the people kneeling down.

"Jiao Kuo, you are the commander-in-chief of the garrison yamen, and you are responsible for cooperating with the prefect yamen and the Qing military department to protect the relief grain and rice. Now Meng Huilong has confessed that he colluded with you internally and externally to smuggle relief grain and bribed you with fifty taels of silver. This matter

, Feng Zhi also confessed, can you plead guilty?"

At this point, can you still refuse to admit it? The governor has already taken control of everything. To deny it is to get beaten. It is better to confess truthfully and maybe be treated leniently. Jiao Kuo kowtowed and said, "I plead guilty under my humble position."

"The Headquarters is an imperial envoy with an imperial order to patrol Henan. He can manage the army on horseback and the people on horseback. Even if you are a military attache, the Headquarters can kill you. Since you have pleaded guilty, do you know how to deal with it?" Yue Su asked coldly.

Smuggling food for disaster relief is a very serious crime. The principal offender must confiscate his home and exterminate his family, and the lightest offender may be beheaded. How could Jiao Kuo not know this? He said carefully: "I beg you to be given a lighter sentence and spare the life of this humble official."

"This department has always enforced the law impartially. If you have committed a capital crime, you will be punished without mercy. Unless you, like Feng Zhi, can bear the crime and perform meritorious service." Yue Su once again used the trick of eliciting a confession. He didn't know what Guo Yigang had now.

The incident of missing Meng Ji's rice store can be attributed to an oversight. The city gate collected tolls, which means the government was not strict. Speaking of home, it meant a demotion or something like that. But Yue Su deliberately protected Meng Ji against him.

Mi Xing is very angry about this incident. This charge can't punish you. We can find other charges. You can show favoritism here, which shows that you are not a good person at ordinary times.

Jiao Kuo is not a fool either. He saw clearly what happened to Feng Zhi just now. Now Master Yue is asking him to perform meritorious deeds for his crime. It is clear that he is asking him to expose his master's shortcomings. Especially what the governor just said to his master.

Who doesn’t understand the mystery behind those words? Isn’t this just for you to clarify?

The guillotine was placed in the hall, but Jiao Kuo didn't want to lose his head. He was not a high official anyway, and his relationship with Lord Guard was not deep. It would be better for you to die than for me. He kowtowed and said, "My lord, I humbly accept my post..."

As soon as Jiao Kuo spoke, before he could finish his words, he heard someone shouting from the side: "Your Majesty, the Governor, I have something to say."

The person who spoke was none other than guard Guo Yigang. Yue Su turned to look at him and said with a faint smile, "Oh? Mr. Guo, what do you have to say?"

Guo Yigang quickly walked to the steps and knelt on the ground, "Sir..."

"Master Guo, what do you mean by this? This is confusing the headquarters. Let's talk about something." Yue Su said deliberately.

"The general dare not. The general is guilty..." Guo Yigang now understood clearly that the governor was clearly trying to induce a confession and intended to kill him. How could any of his officers and soldiers not know about his short quota?

As long as Jiao Kuo pokes him out, he will definitely die. Fortunately, Yue Su has spoken beforehand and takes the initiative to admit it, which can save his life. If like Meng Huade, his house was ransacked by the governor, and after the evidence of the crime is confirmed, there is no chance.

there is none left.

Yue Su saw that he recognized the situation and said with a smile: "Master Guo, what are your sins? Tell them to the headquarters."

"Return to your lord, the general... The general reported to the Ministry of War that the number of men and horses was three thousand, but in fact there were only two thousand, taking up the space for one thousand men. However, the general has never deducted the soldiers' military pay. This can be done by the entire city's soldiers and horses.

Testify. I hope you will be given a lighter sentence and spare your life." Guo Yigang said with a bitter face.

It is a common phenomenon for the generals of the imperial court to take short quotas, and there are also many people who deduct military pay and drink soldiers' blood. In the late Ming Dynasty, the combat effectiveness of officers and soldiers was low, which is closely related to this. Guo Yigang only took short quotas without deducting military pay, which was considered a good thing in the Ming Dynasty

A relatively honest general.

Yue Su nodded and said, "Jiao Kuo, is what your guard said true?"

"It's true." Jiao Kuo replied.

Yue Su picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea. He was thinking about how to deal with Jiao Kuo. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Master Guo, how much money have you made in total over the years?"

"Sir, I can have twenty thousand taels." Guo Yigang said truthfully.

After several years of guarding, he only made 20,000 taels of silver, which was very little compared with other generals. Yue Su started as a county magistrate. Although he was a civilian official, he was also someone who had been on the battlefield. He knew some of the people in the army.

The market situation, a guard, after a few years, if you make such a small amount of money, if your peers find out, you will be laughed at.

"According to the law of the imperial court, you are already guilty of the death penalty. However, in the hope that you will voluntarily admit it and have made a contribution in the case of encircling and suppressing the Dragon Slayer Gang, we will spare you from death. However, you must hand over the full amount of the money you earned.

, to provide relief to the victims. You don’t have to do this job anymore and go back to your hometown to farm." Yue Su said indifferently.

"Thank you for not killing me, sir." Guo Yigang took a heavy bite. He felt lucky to be able to save his head in front of the King of Yama.

Indeed, Guo Yigang should be grateful, especially when he heard the next order issued by Yue Su.

"Tong Zhou, take Meng Huade's confession immediately and go to pick up the person according to the name on the confession. Anyone who is in the Huaiqing Mansion will be brought to the court today, and an order will be sent to Mr. Qian who is guarding the Yamen to come to the prison immediately.

When Yang Yishan sees me, he will immediately send a message to all counties under Huaiqing's rule and arrive at the headquarters within three days. By the way, he will send a message to the governor of Henan and the commander-in-chief of Henan, asking them to come here to see me as soon as possible. I have something important to discuss with them.

business."

Based on Meng Huade's confession, there were Huaiqing officials, gentry, bullies, and Tong Zhou, although they did not know each other, but there were local people who were willing to act as guides and pick up people from door to door. Anyone who was taken away did not show any fear.

, anyway, there was quite a fuss about Meng Ji Mi Xing today, and some people have already heard that Meng Huade and Meng Huilong are going to be in bad luck.

When Tongzhi, Guan, Tongpan, Mr. Qian and other officials, as well as a group of local tyrants and bullies, arrived at the residence one after another, they were dumbfounded when they saw Meng Huade and Guo Yigang kneeling on the ground, and they were all horrified.

It's hard not to guess.

Those with official positions all went into the hall and stood there, while those without official positions waited outside the door. About the time of application, the boy came to the hall to report, and all the people on the list had been brought.

Yue Su was calm and said with a smile on his face: "Now that everyone is here, let's begin. Yang Yishan, read Meng Huade's confession to everyone."

"Students obey orders." At that moment, Yang Yishan read Meng Huade's confession loudly. It was all about the bribery of officials and bullies. After hearing this, the timid ones immediately knelt down.

Come down, shivering.

Yue Su said with a smile: "This is Meng Huade's confession. The content above is more or less related to you. The headquarters does not have time to verify it one by one, so I called you all over. If it is indeed true,

, I took the initiative to admit it, and our court can give me a lighter sentence. If there is no such thing, just tell our court, and our court will send people to conduct a thorough investigation. If it is found that he was unjust, our court will severely punish Meng Huade.

It's not an unjust accusation. I'm sorry, but our court holds Shang Fang's sword and asks questions on behalf of the emperor. To deceive this court is like deceiving the emperor, and will be punished as a crime of deceiving the emperor! Do you understand?"

"I understand..." The voices answered by the people below were obviously powerful. There was panic in them.

"Just understand. If you think you are unjust, stand at the front of the headquarters and admit it, just stay put." Yue Su said coldly.

Meng Huade already knew that he was going to die, and there was nothing hidden in his confession. It was all the truth. Everyone below knew it well, and denying it now was tantamount to seeking death. Who dared to stand up. Anyway, he was standing by his side.

With so many people, it is inevitable that they have the mentality that the law does not punish everyone.

Yue Su waited for a while, but when no one came forward, he laughed loudly and said, "You are quite honest. I told you why you bribed Meng Huade and where the money to bribe him came from."

After Yue Su finished speaking, he pointed to Huaiqing and said, "Speak first."

Where did the money for the bribes come from? It goes without saying that besides the wealth of the people, it was the local tyrants and bullies who bribed them. Tongzhi Huaiqing had no other excuse. He could not say that it fell from the sky, so he had to admit it truthfully. Of course,

You must never underestimate the amount of stolen money. The original ten thousand should be reduced by at least half.

Yue Su didn't care much about them. He just asked them to explain everything one by one, and then signed and signed. After the formalities were completed, Yue Su issued an order, "Take off their headbands and official uniforms."

, all taken into custody."

"grown ups……"

Upon hearing this, all these officials were dumbfounded. They thought that the law would not punish the public and that there should be no heavy punishment. Unexpectedly, Yue Su didn't care about this at all. The servants in the hall were all brought by Yue Su, and they gave the order

, all came forward one after another, pulled hard, and took off all the veils and official uniforms of these guys.

This wasn't the end yet, Yue Su shouted loudly again: "Where is Mr. Qian who is guarding the Yamen?"

There were three Qian Generals in the garrison yamen. Seeing Yue Su's summons, they quickly stepped forward and bowed and saluted, "For your humble position, please see your lord." At the level of Qian General, he was not qualified to be called the "Last General" in front of the governor, so he could only call himself a humble position.

"What are the names of you three?" Yue Su asked.

"A humble position, Cheng Biao." "A humble position, Sun Wutong." "A humble position, Yin Bao."

"The Headquarters heard that your officers and soldiers guarding the Yamen have privately set up barriers on the other side of the city gate to make things difficult for the people coming in and out. Anyone who does not pay the required fee will not be allowed to pass. Cheng Biao, the Headquarters will entrust this matter to you. Please take care of it immediately.

Go and investigate this matter thoroughly, and capture all those involved and deliver them to the prison. If you dare to cover up, don’t blame this department for being rude to you. Guo Yigang and Meng Huade are your role models." Yue Su said loudly.

.

"In this humble position, I obey your orders. Please rest assured, sir, I will never slack off in my humble position." Cheng Biao quickly accepted the order loudly.

Seeing that Yue Su acted so vigorously and took away almost three-quarters of the officials in Huaiqing Mansion, how could he dare to be dishonest?
To be continued...