The Reborn Duke of Ming Dynasty

The criminal law of the Ming Dynasty was quite strict, and Jinyiwei was a secret service agency, and various lynchings emerged in an endless stream.According to the records of Ming Dynasty, there are [-] sets of torture tools commonly used by Jin Yiwei, including sticks, head hoops, horse sticks, finger nails, etc.

Zhang Fan is currently in a large prison in Jinyiwei, watching Wang Chen being tortured.Wang Chen did not receive those unusual punishments, such as scrubbing, frying, pouring poison, standing under heavy shackles, etc., not to mention skinning, shoveling, and hooking. .What Wang Chen committed was very clear, all the embezzled silver and his family property were confiscated, and now he was just given a very ordinary cane punishment according to the usual practice, but this very ordinary cane punishment is not easy to bear.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were unspoken rules whether it was the court rod or the punishment rod. Like the court rod, it was divided into two types: "beating with heart" and "beating really".Spreading the toes means "hitting with heart", which may be disabled, like Zhang Fan's way of playing that time.If the toes of the eunuch in charge of the sentence are closed, it is a "really beating", and the minister who is being punished will undoubtedly die.There are countless ministers who died under the imperial staff in the Ming Dynasty, from the Sangong Jiuqing to the eunuchs in the palace.

Jin Yiwei’s cane punishment also has its own meaning. For ordinary prisoners, it is only said to be "beating and questioning", which means that it should not be too severe; It means "good students really ask questions".

As soon as Wang Chen entered the cell, he confessed all the immoral things his ancestors had done in the eighteen generations, but he still had to endure the punishment, so that even the factory guards would be afraid that others would look down on him.With a sound of "Excuse me", the factory guard immediately stripped off Wang Chen's trousers, revealing his bare buttocks, and the sticks fell down one after another.Immediately, there was an endless stream of screams. Zhang Fan felt unbearable for the first time when he heard the pig-killing howls from Wang Chen, but he was right about the matter and not about the person.

Zhao Ming saw Zhang Fan's appearance from the side, and said, "Your Excellency, you don't have to sympathize with this guy. If it's normal, you won't be able to enter Jinyiwei's cell without using all [-] sets of torture instruments. Now he is just being tortured with a cane. , it’s cheap for him.”

"Hasn't Wang Chen already confessed all his money?" Zhang Fan saw that there were factory guards asking Wang Chen if he still had money hidden, and asked suspiciously, "Why do you press him so hard?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. We just know that this fellow has already confessed everything, but this physical pain is unavoidable." Zhao Ming said with a natural expression, "But since this is an execution, there must be a reason for it." no."

Zhang Fan didn't say anything after hearing this, Zhao Ming went to tell the factory guards not to beat Wang Chen to death, Long Qing also wanted to use him to make an example of others.

The matter here is over, Zhang Fan came out of this prison, probably because he has not seen Quan Jinyiwei's methods yet, and he is not disgusted with what he saw just now.Back home, mother Zhao didn't know what Zhang Fan was doing now, but heard that Zhang Fan said that Long Qing asked him to do some clerical work in the emperor's bodyguard. Zhang Fan didn't want Zhao to know his current situation, lest she worry .

In this way, Zhang Fan had a lot of free time.Feng Bao can be regarded as an acquaintance, and now he is thinking about how to sit in the top spot of the superior supervisor, and he is quite accommodating to Jin Yiwei.Apart from going to the palace to accompany Prince Zhu Yijun in a few days, Zhang Fan had nothing to do.He wasn't like other Jin Yiwei deliberately looking for other people's troubles. Naturally, he had free time, but Zhang Fan always had the feeling that he didn't have to go to work and only cared about his salary.

Speaking of Zhu Yijun, this young prince has been pestering Zhang Fan more and more. Many people in the palace are very envious of Zhang Fan, but Long Qing and Concubine Liu Gui are not opposed to this situation, and no one dares to say anything.The truth is that many courtiers knew that Zhang Fan had entered Jinyiwei, and if they met or greeted them, Zhang Fan could hear a feeling of fear, envy, and disgust from their tone. "It seems that I have also been defined as a traitor!" Zhang Fan thought helplessly.

After more time, people will feel bored, and when they are bored, they will think wildly, Zhang Fan is no exception, he really wants to see Ru Xue now.It has been more than half a year since I got engaged to Ru Xue and came to the capital.Although the two exchanged letters, the pain of lovesickness was not only unresolved, but even more intense.

In the past, Zhang Fan wanted to study in the Imperial College, and when he first became an official, he had to be in the palace often, and it was better. Now that he is free, this feeling becomes stronger.Zhang Fan and Mrs. Zhao mentioned this matter, Mrs. Zhao was also very happy, now that there is plenty of time, it is a good time to get married.I sent a letter to Anhua, Chen Wenchuan replied and agreed, and now Ruxue is on her way.

Speaking of getting married, Mrs. Zhao was troubled again.Marriage customs were very troublesome at that time, but the two families had no relatives.Chen Wenchuan was the only one left in the Chen family, and at most it was Ma County Magistrate, the sworn sworn brother.Zhang Fan also asked Mrs. Zhao if he should inform the people in his hometown in Yangzhou, but Mrs. Zhao refused without thinking about it.This really made Zhang Fan a little bit at a loss. The two families were married, but they didn't even have any relatives. Zhang Fan didn't think it mattered, but he was worried that Ru Xue would not look good.

The sending team was still a few days away from the capital, Zhang Fan was on Zhang Fan's side, and Mrs. Zhao was worried about it, but he didn't have anything to worry about.This afternoon, he came to the palace again and showed his waist badge. The guards did not stop him, and he walked directly to the East Palace.

Now it is the twelfth lunar month, and the fleet of sea trade has also returned. Naturally, there are many rare items dedicated to the palace for the royal family to enjoy.At this time, Zhu Yijun looked curiously at an object on the table in front of him, which made a "tick, tick" sound from time to time.Seeing Zhang Fan coming, Zhu Yijun immediately pulled him over and looked at the object together.

"Your Highness, what did you ask your servants to see?" Zhang Fan asked curiously seeing Zhu Yijun's enthusiasm.

"Teacher, hurry up and take a look. This is a gift from merchants who went to sea... what is it?" Zhu Yijun couldn't remember the name, and asked the eunuch beside him.Although Zhang Fan no longer teaches him, Zhu Yijun still insists on calling Zhang Fan that way.

"Return to Your Highness, this is called Zhong." The eunuch said from the side.

"That's right, the clock. But isn't the clock hung on a high place for people to ring? Why is this clock so small and the sound is not loud." Zhu Yijun said.

Zhang Fan looked at the thing in front of him and said, it turned out to be a mechanical clock, and the sound was obviously a clock powered by a spring.This clock has only one hand, and the clock face is divided into four parts.

"But I heard from them that this thing can keep time." Zhu Yijun continued, "It's just that it doesn't need the sun to shine like a sundial, and it doesn't need water like a clock leak, but it can move around by itself, which is really strange."

"Your Highness, this thing was made by the people of Daxi Kingdom thousands of miles away. It can indeed remember the time, but it is slightly inaccurate." Zhang Fan knew a little bit, "This thing is rolled up by a long steel sheet, and it is held by the The pieces of steel want to spring back to walk around."

"Has the teacher seen it before?" Zhu Yijun asked, seeing that Zhang Fan was speaking clearly and logically.

"I've only heard about it, but this is the first time I've seen this thing." Zhang Fan didn't lie, it was indeed the first time he had seen such an ancient clock tower.

"It seems that the people of Daxi Kingdom are not all reckless people, and these things can also be fiddled with." Zhu Yijun said, "I have seen the Fran cannon before, it is really powerful, and the speed is extremely fast."

The so-called Fran cannon is a breech-loading gun, but it is very primitive.The shells are contained in the sleeves, and once the shells are fired, the sleeves can be replaced to fire again.It was also the Ming army who saw that the Fran cannon was more advanced than their own, so they bought two. Not long after that, the Ming army was able to mass-produce them.The most obvious thing now is that Qi Jiguang has a lot in his hands.Although the Fran cannon can only be aimed within [-] paces, and it can't fire explosive shells, the advantage is that the firing interval is short and the number of times is fast.

Zhu Yijun's words made Zhang Fan think that the Ming Dynasty already had such weapons, but 300 years later, foreign powers would invade China with even more powerful weapons, and the Manchu Qing government at that time didn't even have these weapons.This is not a question of development, but a question of people's hearts.The current Ming Dynasty has many problems, but at least there are still a group of Zhang Juzheng, Qi Jiguang, and Li Chengliang, so that it can survive.

"Teacher is a little absent-minded, what are you thinking?" Zhu Yijun saw Zhang Fan meditating there, and asked.

"It's nothing, Your Highness, it's just that the subject is getting married." Zhang Fan shook off the thoughts in his mind and replied.

"Really!" Zhu Yijun was very excited when he heard the news, and said loudly, "Teacher is getting married?"

Zhu Yijun was talking happily when a voice rang out: "Jun'er, why are you making so much noise, have you forgotten your identity?"

"See Father!" "See Your Majesty!" Everyone in the room knelt down and saluted after seeing the visitor.

"Excuse me, everyone, get up." It was Long Qing who came, he looked at Zhu Yijun and said, "Jun'er, just now Father heard your shout, what makes you so happy?"

"Father, my son heard that the teacher is getting married." Zhu Yijun said.

"Oh?" Long Qing looked at Zhang Fan at the side, and said, "Zhang Qing's family is getting married?"

"Exactly." Zhang Fan replied.

"Which family's daughter is so lucky to capture the hearts of Zhang Qing's family?" Long Qing asked as a joke.

"It's the daughter of Mr. Chen Wenchuan, the inspector of the border patrol." Zhang Fan said.

"Dingbian..." Long Qing thought for a while, then looked at Zhang Fan jokingly and said, "There is a saying that rabbits don't eat grass by the side of their nests, but Zhang Qing's family has no scruples!"

"..." Zhang Fan didn't know what to say after hearing what he said, so he choked out a sentence for a long time, "Your Majesty is absurd."

After hearing his answer, Long Qing burst out laughing.Zhu Yijun looked at his father suspiciously from the side.

Long Qing smiled for a while, calmed down, and said, "How is it? Is the wedding date set?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern." Zhang Fan said, "The team sending invitations is still on the way, and the wedding date has not yet been set, but it should be able to catch up before the end of the year."

"Well, hurry up, if the new year is over, you will have to wait for a long time. Otherwise, the girl's family can bear it, and Zhang Qing's family may not be able to wait." Long Qing laughed again.The maids at the side covered their mouths and giggled too much, while Zhang Fan was embarrassed for a while.

"Now you are also an official of the fourth rank of the imperial court, and you have also taught the prince in the East Palace. At that time, someone will go to congratulate you. The place where you live now seems stingy." Long Qing thought for a while and said, "Well, I will reward you." You are a big mansion, and you are good at entertaining guests."

Zhang Fan has long heard that Longqing is quite extravagant in daily life, but he did not expect to reward his own house. He was a little surprised and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I have only been an official for three months. Not only did I not have any merit, but I also neglected my duty in serving the prince. To be rewarded by His Majesty."

"There is no need to talk about the dereliction of duty. You and I know the whole story." Long Qing said, "As for the credit, you just helped to find out the corruption case of the right servant of the household department a few days ago. How can you say no credit!"

"But Your Majesty, that case..." Zhang Fan was interrupted by Long Qing before he could finish speaking.

"That's the matter. I will send someone to help you finish it later." Long Qing said.

Seeing the posture of others, Zhang Fan was determined to reward him, so he had no choice but to thank him.

"It's inconvenient for me and the crown prince to go to your wedding. When the time comes, the successor scholar of the cabinet will take me to greet you." Long Qing said.

Zhang Fan was really frightened by his words, Zhang Fan was only in Siping, he was still working in Jinyiwei, and he was the object of disgust of all officials.If someone went to congratulate the newlyweds, they would be sure. After all, Long Qing's favor for him and the crown prince's love for him were on the surface.However, the senior scholars in the cabinet don’t have to be afraid of him. Long Qing’s move may make the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty think that the cabinet is afraid of Jin Yiwei, or that they are afraid of Zhang Fan. Make countless enemies.

Zhang Fan didn't know why Long Qing made such a move, but how could the emperor's words be retracted at will, so Zhang Fan could only thank him with a wry smile.

The house that Long Qing bestowed on Zhang Fan is in the east of the city, but it is indeed further outside.The house is not very big, but there are no other houses around it, most of them are open spaces.Mrs. Zhao was not happy when she heard that the emperor rewarded Zhang Fan.All the items in the house are brand new, apparently just arranged.This can't help but make Zhang Fan feel that power is really a fascinating thing.

After two days, the procession of seeing off relatives gradually approached.And Long Qing's reward to Zhang Fan was also spread out, it was like stabbing a hornet's nest, all the ministers were talking about it, some people even guessed that Long Qing's new favorite was Zhang Fan and so on.Several people in the cabinet didn't discuss it too much, but Xu Jie hated Zhang Fan even more.