Daming, originally wanted to destroy it, but the system came

Chapter 353 It’s time to catch the turtle in the urn

It's late at night, but there's an undercurrent surging in the city of Hangzhou, and there's still no peace.

In the Hangzhou jail, Xiao Shiyu went from being a powerful prefect to being a prisoner in just one night.

Moreover, in front of Xiao Shiyu and outside the cell door, there were more than a dozen people wearing night clothes being held down by Wang Fu and others.

"Master Xiao," Wang Fu raised the corner of his mouth slightly, outlining a sarcastic arc, and pointed at those people and said, "These people are not here to save you."

Xiao Shiyu raised his head, then lowered it again and fell into silence.

In fact, he knew very well that these people must be death soldiers sent by the Liu Pang family, and they came to kill him and silence him.

But even if Liu Pang and his family didn't need to send people, he didn't dare to say a word.

Now every word he said might cause his whole family to be executed and bring disaster to the nine clans. How could he dare to speak?

If he hadn't been watched so closely, Xiao Shiyu even thought of being cruel and hanging himself in this cell, without any proof.

But then again, you only know that you will die at the last minute, and ants can live in vain, let alone humans?

Who doesn't want to live?

Not to mention that Xiao Shiyu was bribed by the Liu and Pang families and had long been reduced to a vassal of the Liu and Pang families, which showed that his mind was not that firm in the first place.

Is he willing to die? Or does he dare to die?

If he really had such an awareness, he would not fall easily.

Wang Fu glanced at Xiao Shiyu and made a gesture, asking several soldiers to keep a close eye on him.

Although these soldiers were not the brother guards who followed from Yunnan at the beginning, they had followed Zhu Zhen on the grasslands and fought in the north and south, so they were naturally trustworthy.

Then Wang Fu led people to take the dead soldiers to the government office and presented them to Zhu Zhen.

Zhu Ming was not relaxed at this time. He was sitting in front of the case, flipping through a pile of account books.

These were the government's account books, as well as Xiao Shiyu's private account books in the backyard. He wanted to follow the same pattern to see if Xiao Shiyu, like Li Yang, had left evidence of guilt.

Li Yang is not stupid. Although the account books left behind are also his own hidden dangers, they are actually a means of self-protection and a trump card for him if he falls out with the Zhang family in Liyang County in the future.

If the Zhang family wants to abandon him and abandon his soldiers to save the chariot, then he can counterattack the Zhang family.

Not to mention that the Zhang family gave Li Yang a large amount of wealth, but if it was found out, how did the money come from?

The ledgers in ancient times were too simple, but also too complicated, so Li Yang also had to figure out countermeasures based on his own ledgers.

And this Xiao Shiyu also received a lot of benefits.

Including land title deeds, there are countless.

"Xiao Shiyu is not a local, nor does he come from a noble family. How did he get so many land titles? Huh? Do you really think that this king is a fool?" Zhu Ming cursed angrily.

Naturally, Gu Wen and Qian Gui were also beside him helping to check for loopholes. After hearing this, they could only look at each other helplessly.

It's been all night, and His Highness's words revealed his disdain for their family.

But there was nothing they could do. The people they had to deal with at this time were the aristocratic families, one of the best in the entire Jiangnan region, and they had nothing to say.

In fact, they both hate iron. The Gu family and the Qian family are both strict and kind-hearted families. Once a natural or man-made disaster occurs, if the court is too late to rescue the people, they will provide local relief.

Either open a porridge shop or distribute clothes. Even if you borrow money, it is not a loan. It will not force the people to sell their land, children or daughters.

Such a black sheep happened to appear. Don't you know that the emperor was dissatisfied with their Jiangnan family? Is it because His Majesty is not ruthless enough?

"Your Highness," at this time, Wang Fu led people in from outside, and also led the dead soldiers.

Zhu Ming looked up, frowned and said, "Why did you bring them to my place?"

Wang Fu was stunned and said subconsciously: "These are the people who will be captured in the end. They are going to break into the prison to kill and silence them."

Before he could finish his words, Zhu Zhen interrupted directly and said: "I know, I mean why did you bring them to my place? They should be dead soldiers trained by those two families for many years. They can't ask anything. The king didn't bother to ask, so he just took him to a corner of the house and found a place to chop it."

"hiss."

Some people gasped and just chopped it down without asking any questions?

"Hmph, he is indeed Zhu Yuanzhang's son. He is indeed ruthless. I, a Jiangnan person, have learned this lesson." One person actually started to sneer?

Zhu Xi smiled, not angry, and said: "You are right, my father is indeed Zhu Yuanzhang, and he is indeed ruthless. I don't know how those Jiangnan aristocratic families brainwashed you, but there is one thing I need to explain. , my father’s ruthlessness was aimed at corrupt officials, but even when he was fighting with Zhang Shicheng, my father still strictly controlled the troops and did nothing to the people. So the Jiangnan family hates our old Zhu family, I can understand . I'm just curious about one thing, are you also from a noble family?"

Therefore, many urban areas in Jiangnan, including Hangzhou City, chose to take the initiative to surrender, allowing Zhu Yuanzhang to quickly pacify the entire Jiangnan area.

Only Suzhou resisted stubbornly for eight months.

Zhu Zhen subconsciously looked at Gu Wen.

Gu Wen rolled his eyes, he still wanted to settle the score with his wife, right? Your Highness, are you finished? He truly deserves to be Zhu Yuanzhang’s son.

"Okay, this group of people have no self-awareness. I can't find out anything by asking. I'm too lazy to waste time. Let's take them out and kill them." Zhu Chu waved his hands, not in the mood to fight with these people who were willing to be dead soldiers and lackeys for the famous family. People talk nonsense.

"Wait, you haven't asked yet, how do you know you can't ask? You can ask," one of the dead soldiers was shaken.

"Boss Xu, how dare you?" Another dead soldier shouted angrily.

Zhu Chu felt something in his heart and winked at Wang Fu.

Wang Fu understood immediately, drew his sword from his waist, and without hesitation, slashed to death the dead man who was yelling at another man.

The blood spattered out, not only staining the floor of the government office lobby red, but also drenching other unsuspecting dead soldiers around them.

Even Gu Wen and Qian Gui were so frightened that they shivered and looked at Zhu Zhen stupidly.

Does Your Highness really want to kill someone? It turns out that you are not trying to scare people, but you really dare to kill people in public?

This is the government office lobby, how can you kill people here at will?

Zhu Chu's ruthlessness and decisiveness shocked Gu Wen and Qian Gui a little.

But Wang Fu and others have long been used to it.

Zhu Chu had long been accustomed to seeing bloody scenes, but now it was just drizzle, a minor problem.

Zhu Ming crossed his hands and supported his chin, looked at the remaining dead soldiers with a smile, especially one of them, and said: "Boss Xu? Your surname is Xu too?"

Boss Xu lowered his head with a guilty conscience, and murmured out of fear: "My surname is Xu, and I am the eldest in the family, so I am called Boss Xu."

Zhu Ming continued to smile and comfort him: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I won't eat you. It's okay, it's okay."

Zhu Zhen at this time is different from before. He is not afraid that you will not speak, but is afraid that you will not speak.

So he said very gently: "You can say whatever you want, and whatever happens should happen. Although I already know that you are the dead men of Liu Pang's family, after all, you haven't had time to do anything yet." .So you can still make up for your mistakes."

Upon hearing this, the dead soldiers became excited.

The so-called dead soldiers are actually abandoned sons. At some necessary moments, they have to complete tasks that they know must die.

Moreover, there have been soldiers who died since ancient times. For example, the famous Jing Ke was a soldier who died.

If Jing Ke assassinated Qin, even if he succeeded in killing Qin Shihuang, he would definitely die.

What's more, if he failed, there would be no way to survive.

Moreover, one of the biggest characteristics of dead soldiers is that there is no evidence of death, and dead soldiers often do not implicate their employers or their families.

So Zhu Ming thought at first that they wouldn't tell them the answer he wanted, so he simply killed them all.

But if the dead man is willing to speak, it will be completely different.

Zhu Ming smiled and did not need to use any means, but said generously: "You can tell everything you know. As long as you make up for your mistakes, I can forgive you. But you must also think clearly. Since Someone is already ready to speak. If others still want to die, I will not be polite. I will not only kill your heads, but also kill every one of you."

This is the charm of conspiracy. There is no need to arrange anything carefully. I will tell you clearly.

If you don't speak, Boss Xu will definitely say something, and the dead soldiers may know each other.

By then, aren't you afraid that Boss Xu will give you credit for your contribution?

For a moment, the dead soldiers panicked and the team was in chaos. They looked at each other with suspicion and distrust.

"I said, I said."

"I said it too." "I said it first, Your Highness. I said it first."

They themselves started fighting over each other, wanting to be the first to make up for their mistakes, and even wanted to sell others off as the credit.

Zhu Ming smiled and said: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious. Have you thought clearly about what you want to say?"

The dead soldiers were stunned, what did they want to say? Isn't it that Liu and Pang's family raised money privately for them to be dead soldiers, raising troops for a thousand days just for today?

Seeing that they didn't understand what he meant, Zhu Chu simply said for them: "We are soldiers sent by the heads of the Liu and Pang families to kill Xiao Shiyu, the former prefect, because the Liu Pang family secretly colluded with Xiao Shiyu. He oppressed the people and committed all kinds of evil in Hangzhou Prefecture. Now he is afraid that the incident will come to light, so he wants to kill people and silence him."

Zhu Zhen already knew their identities. There was no need to ask or testify.

But what they are going to do is the key.

And the main purpose is to establish the collusion between Liu Pang's family and Xiao Shiyu.

The dead soldiers finally understood.

In fact, Zhu Chu doesn't need to ask anything from their mouths. What Zhu Chu needs is to use their mouths to say something.

Qian Gui and Gu Wen looked at each other and put down the account books in their hands.

They understood that there was no need to look further, and there was no need to find evidence of Xiao Shiyu's crime or clues to his collusion with the two families.

"Do you all remember what you are going to say?" Zhu Zhen was still confirming whether these dead soldiers understood his intentions.

The dead soldiers didn't dare to say 'no', so they all agreed: "Remember."

"Well," Zhu Ming nodded with satisfaction, stood up, and said to Wang Fu: "Wang Fu, immediately mobilize your troops and blockade Liu Pang's family for me. Lang Lang Qiankun dares to send dead soldiers Assassinating a court official? What crime should be committed? Are they going to rebel?"

Qian Gui and Gu Wen rolled their eyes, where did the bright world come from? Isn’t this all the crime you have been convicted of?

But the two families are indeed seeking their own death.

Wang Fu immediately took the order and left.

As for these dead soldiers.

Zhu Zhen asked the soldiers to tie them up from head to toe and guard them separately to prevent them from communicating privately and preventing accidents.

It would be terrible if there really was that kind of idiot who still wanted to be loyal and had the ability to kill other people.

"Catch the grass to scare the snake, lure the snake out of its hole, ask you to get into the urn, wait for the rabbit, and then it's time to catch the turtle in the urn," Zhu Xi said with a smile, several of the strategies he used.

The news of the army surrounding the government office and the news that Li Gui and Jin Yiwei were deliberately let out will definitely make Liu Pang and his family panic. As long as they panic, their flaws will be exposed.

Originally, Zhu Chu was still having a headache about how to pry open the walls of Liu Pang's family from Xiao Shiyu.

Now, it was the two families who brought it to their doorstep.

At this time, the Liu family, the head of the Pang family and the head of the Liu family are still anxiously waiting for the news.

"Ever since I sent out the dead soldiers, my heart has always been uneasy, I'm afraid something big is going to happen," the head of the Pang family said, covering his heart.

He is not young anymore, and he will reach his sixtieth birthday in a few years, which was a long life in ancient times.

After all, it has been rare since ancient times for people to live seventy years.

But for some reason, he always felt like his heart was beating uncontrollably and he was very flustered.

"Brother Pang, don't worry. Xiao Shiyu is not an idiot. He knows what to say and what not to say. Moreover, those dead men have been secretly raised by our family for many years. No one knows about them, let alone us. As long as Xiao Shiyu dies, everything will be fine. Even if that bullshit Dian King knows that the land in Hangzhou Prefecture has been divided between our two families, so what? He can only stare," the head of the Liu family is very optimistic.

Perhaps because he is a few years younger than the head of the Pang family, he is not as able as the head of the Pang family to vaguely feel the premonition that his destiny is over, and he does not know that a disaster is coming.

But he didn't know that someone came quickly from outside and reported anxiously: "Master, something bad is going on. The army in the city that has blocked the government office is coming to us."

"what?"

At this time, the head of the Liu family could no longer remain optimistic.

"Are you crazy? Prince of Dian, son, don't you know that it is unreasonable to besiege my Liu family for no reason? Aren't you afraid that my disciples of the Liu family will impeach him in court?" The head of the Liu family is still speaking hard.

But he may not know that Zhu Ming is really not afraid of being impeached.

Impeach?

It's not that he has never been impeached before. Rather, he has to be impeached collectively by the civil servant group of the dynasty every three to five. He has long been used to it.

"No, it's because some of those dead soldiers were careless with their mouths," the head of the Pang family immediately guessed the reason. He stood up with a pale face and his hands were shaking.

"But so what? Do you think you can bring down our two families with just a few dead soldiers?" The head of the Liu family was still arrogant.

The head of the Pang family beat his feet and chest and said: "Brother Liu, you are stupid. How can a mantis block a car? The King of Dian is obviously just looking for an excuse to attack our two families. Even if he surrounds our whole family, everyone will be killed with swords and others with fish and meat." .By then, we will be prisoners, unable to even fight against the trapped beasts."

"This is how to do?"

"To escape, we can only find a way to leave Hangzhou City first, and then gather the Jiangnan aristocratic families to jointly submit a memorial saying that the King of Dian wants to kill all our Jiangnan aristocratic families for no reason. I am afraid that even the current Emperor Hongwu would not dare to risk the disobedience of the world. .”

After all, the head of the Pang family is a few years older, and it is the Pang family that has always helped the Liu family to control the reputation of the people, so he still has some sense.

Facing Zhu Chu's menacing attack, it is unrealistic to rely on two families to confront each other, so the best option is to unite all the Jiangnan aristocratic families to put pressure on the court.

If he really has to face the pressure of the entire Jiangnan family, I am afraid that even Zhu Yuanzhang can only compromise temporarily.

At least now is not the time to eradicate the Jiangnan family.

What's more, there are many merits in these aristocratic families.

But for the benefit of the entire Jiangnan family, even those families may have to be coerced.

So the heads of the two families quickly made preparations.

Due to the relationship between the two families, the two residences are close to each other. After all, they have not only united to share the interests of the entire Hangzhou Prefecture, but have also continued to marry, and they have no distinction between each other.

So the head of the Pang family quickly returned to his mansion, and recruited his direct descendants. In a hurry, he brought enough gold and silver, and drove a few carriages to escape from Hangzhou overnight.

They no longer consider the family industry in Hangzhou. What they want to think about now is how to preserve the continuation of the family.

But just when they were about to flee to a nearby city gate and were confident that they could leave the city overnight.

On the way, they were intercepted by a group of cavalry who had already ambushed here.

"Masters of the two families, you didn't expect it. My eighteenth uncle had already predicted what you were thinking. This is called waiting for the rabbit." Li Jinglong proudly led three thousand soldiers and surrounded the convoys of the two families.

The heads of the two families suddenly looked ashen.

However, Li Jinglong did not attack them directly. Instead, he asked three thousand soldiers to escort them back to the two families' mansions.

At this moment, Wang Fu also led a large force to the place and loudly ordered without hesitation: "Seal the two mansions and no one can enter or leave. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed."

"I don't accept it," the head of the Liu family jumped on the spot and shouted: "Why do you block our mansion? Even if the King of Dian is the imperial envoy, what reason do you have to block us? Even if you want to kill us, you have to give a reason."

"Hey, is there really anyone who dares to swim upstream?" Zhu Chu rode out from behind Wang Fu. Xiao Shiyu's side was no longer important, so he came to the two mansions.

Zhu Ming also made a gesture and asked people to bring out the dead soldiers.

The head of the Pang family gritted his teeth, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes. He knew that something was wrong with these dead soldiers.

It's a pity that he can't do anything now, otherwise he will definitely kill these people's entire family.

Next, the dead soldiers said what Zhu Zhen had told them before.

With this testimony, Zhu Min waved his hand and said righteously: "The Liu and Pang families broke the law and violated discipline, and hired murderers to assassinate the imperial officials and kill them. This is a serious crime. Are you going to rebel? "

How could the Liu and Pang families dare to refute and contradict them? If the quarrel continued at this time, Zhu Zhen would really dare to use the excuse of their rebellion and ask Shang Fang's sword to kill them all.

So they could only hold their noses and endure it.

With another wave of his hand, Zhu Chu completely surrounded and sealed off the two families overnight.

(End of this chapter)