My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 696 Punishment

The Ministry of Justice Prison was different from the prison in the Jingzhao Yin's government office.

Most of the prisoners there were wanted criminals of the imperial court. The four rebels who had caused great trouble in Rongzhou were all imprisoned here.

That was a rebellion, and an attack on the Crown Prince's carriage, which was a serious matter.

As a result, as soon as they were taken into the cell, the head of the prison said directly: "Don't torture them. Give them good food and drink. They won't live to see the Chinese New Year."

The weather was nice today. The jailer came out after taking over his shift. He just looked up at the sun and exhaled the foul air in the prison when he heard footsteps coming quickly. Before he could react, he was pressed against the wall. The jailer guarding outside took a look at the person who came and put down the water and fire stick he was about to raise. He immediately straightened his back and looked straight ahead.

After a while, a carriage with carved carriages and hung with silk came and slowly stopped at the side of the street.

The old man first saw the person pressing him, who was wearing embroidered clothes and holding an embroidered spring sword. He immediately understood what was going on, and then glanced at the carriage parked over there.

He closed his eyes tactfully and lowered his head respectfully.

When the figure coming from the carriage passed by, the jailer hurriedly called out respectfully, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Are you the prison boss here?" Su Chen stopped and without waiting for the other party to answer, he raised his hand and waved: "Go and find Lai Junchen."

"According to the order."

The jailer was overjoyed, as he usually had no chance to get close to the Minister of Justice, but now he was ordered to go and invite him.

Fortunately, the Ministry of Justice is not far from here.
Here, the guards from the Embroidered Uniform Division entered the Ministry of Justice prison first, and Su Chen followed behind without paying any attention.

It was not the first time he had entered the prison. He was prepared for the damp and foul smell inside. In the dim vision, several torches were swaying on the wall of the corridor in the distance.

At this time, the jailers on duty came over and knelt to greet the emperor.

"Get up, everyone, go about your business, and leave one person to lead me to see the traitor Li Wen."

The crowd let out a low cry and dispersed, leaving behind an old man who had been in this prison for fifteen years. He was probably used to seeing life and death, and apart from respecting the emperor, he did not feel any fear, nor was he as trembling with fear as the others.

They passed by a torture room on the way, where torture was still going on. Two jailers who had just returned were whipping a bearded man on the rack with all their might.

"This man is a military officer. He was reselling weapons last year and thought he was foolproof. At the beginning of this year, he was investigated by Lord Di and thrown into prison. There is still some evidence that has not been collected. Once it is collected, he will probably be beheaded in the spring."

Su Chen walked past the fence outside the torture chamber and looked through the wooden pillars for a while.

"Well, everything is in accordance with the law."

Soon, they followed the old jailer to the outside of a stone-walled cell near the inside.

The iron lock was opened with a clang, and the old jailer pushed open the door. An unspeakable stench immediately floated out, causing Su Chen to frown slightly.

He didn't expect that Lai Junchen didn't even move Li Ru and the others to a cell with a better environment.

At this time, inside the cell, Li Ru, Zhang You and Xu Qinghu, who heard the noise, stood up. When they saw the figure walking in from the door, they immediately bowed.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

The door of the cell was then closed by the guards from the Embroidered Uniform Division outside.

Su Chen raised his hands: "I have also met the three of you, and I am grateful for your sacrifices for me!" After that, he clasped his hands and bowed to the three of them.

This frightened Xu Qinghu and Zhang You so much that they hurried forward to support Su Chen.

"Your Majesty, you cannot do that. You are the Son of Heaven, the Emperor. You should do whatever I ask you to do."

Su Chen was helped up by them and grinned: "Two generals, do you still remember how you two joined my Ding'an Army?"

Zhang You reacted quickly and laughed: "We were badly defeated by General Lu and General Zhang. In order to save our lives, we surrendered to Your Majesty."

Xu Qinghu scratched his messy hair and echoed: "In fact, it was the governor who led the army at the time who forced us to do so."

"You two generals have followed me, but you have never been to the front line, have never achieved anything, and have only been guarding the rear. Do you have any complaints in your heart?"

How is it possible to say no?

But how dare they say it in front of Su Chen? Zhang You reacted quickly and continued to laugh: "With the little martial arts that Old Xu and I have, we would be ridiculous if we followed the generals into battle. It would also ruin your Majesty's reputation for judging people."

He sighed. "It's good to stay at the rear, where there's no wind or rain. When it's hot, someone will fan me, and when it's cold, someone will warm my bed. Anyway, my brother and I have been guarding Ding'an City for His Majesty until today."

The last sentence is actually a rhetorical question to Su Chen.

Although we two have no merits, we have worked hard. We have guarded Ding'an, the birthplace of Your Majesty, and we have also performed such a drama that has tarnished your reputation. What should we do with my brother?

"You two have worked hard and made great contributions. I know it all."

Su Chen pursed his lips and looked at the two old generals who were nearly fifty years old. He turned around and walked around in the cell, making a rustling sound on the straw that was used as a bedding.

"...Lai Junchen should have discussed this with Wen You, right?"

It is impossible for Su Chen to make arrangements from thousands of miles away. Lai Junchen, who is in charge of the prison, and Li Ru, who has a head full of evil ideas, cannot fail to do anything when they get together.

Sure enough, Li Ru, who had been listening nearby, said with a smile: "Your Majesty, Minister Lai has already discussed this with me. You can just switch the three of us when the time comes."

Zhang You and Xu Qinghu looked at each other, and then looked at Li Ru in confusion. The latter raised his hands to them and said, "There are prisoners on death row who will die in place of the two generals, but from now on, the names Zhang You and Xu Qinghu cannot be used externally."

The voice floated in the cell. The two men's eyes darkened. They closed their eyes and remained silent for a while, then slowly nodded.

"Two generals, you will be marquises in the future, and your titles will be passed down for three generations. You can return to Ding'an or look for other prefectures. Anyway, you can enjoy your old age in peace. I will give you whatever you need!"

This was the greatest favor Su Chen had ever given them.

Zhang You and Xu Qinghu were already old, and they were not as good as the arrogant and brave generals in the court in leading troops to fight. Even the fledgling Yue Fei defeated them and forced them to raise their weapons and surrender.

In Daxia, there is no room for military commanders like them to advance. It is really too scary...

It is not a loss to be able to receive such a reward. After all, he is a marquis. No matter how insignificant he is, he is still a marquis.

The two men thought about it for a moment, knelt on the ground with their hands, kowtowed to Su Chen, and indicated that they accepted the condition.

"His Majesty."

Li Ru walked to the side of the emperor, leaned forward slightly, and whispered: "What about Beigong Shu?"

"What do you think?" Su Chen looked at him sideways.

Here, Li Ru narrowed his eyes, made a gesture of wiping his neck, and spat out two words: "Poison to death."

"I will consider this matter again."

Su Chen had already thought about Beigong Shu's ending. Such remnants of the Yan State would ultimately be a disaster if kept. This time he had caused it on purpose, but what if other people with ulterior motives had instigated him to rebel?
But if we kill him... Jiang Wan will be sad in the end.

"Let Chen'er do the killing..."

Su Chen opened the door, and found Lai Junchen kneeling outside the door to greet him. Su Chen thought it was another way for him to show his loyalty, but he didn't buy it and kicked him lightly on the arm with his toes.

"Get up and follow me out of the prison."

Along the way, the tall emperor walked in front, and the tall and thin Lai Junchen followed behind, listening to Su Chen's words and asking questions.

"You'd better find a replacement for Li Ru and the others!"

Lai Junchen may not be confident about other things, but when it comes to physical matters, he is sure of success.

"Your Majesty, I have found one. Junchen is very familiar with the criminal justice field."

"Don't make any mistakes on the execution ground, and don't let others get suspicious."

When they got outside, Su Chen walked up to the carriage and lifted the curtain, revealing his mouth. "I want to leave Beigong Shu to the prince. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lai Junchen didn't understand at first. His eyes rolled around in his sockets and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"I understand your majesty's intention. I will ask someone to prepare it right away."

Su Chen nodded, then lowered the curtain and ignored Lai Junchen outside. The soldier driving the carriage shook the reins, and the horses pulling the carriage slowly drove away from the Ministry of Justice Street and headed towards the imperial city.

Soon, the news that a execution platform had been set up outside the monument spread like wildfire.

(End of this chapter)