Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Dali Temple Prison.

In addition to detaining officials, this place is also responsible for detaining important prisoners of the imperial court and prisoners who caused a lot of trouble in the capital.

Wang Bao is in his fifties this year. Because he takes good care of himself, he actually looks like a handsome uncle.

Unfortunately, he was beaten to a bloody pulp.

Chen Zhifang, the minister of Dali Temple, brought the interrogation in person. When he came in, he smelled the smell of blood. He couldn't help frowning and covering his nose: "Of your sons, the third son is the weakest and has been beaten to death. The eldest son is still strong, and his whole body is strong." The flesh was so raw that he was still gasping for air. The second son was the most ridiculous. He bit him randomly, causing Dali Temple to arrest hundreds of people at once..."

The people below were in a hurry and couldn't wait for the fatigue interrogation, so they used the most traditional method of extracting confessions.

Wang Bao was originally heartbroken. After hearing these words, he couldn't help but raise his head and said feebly: "They really don't know. Even if they are beaten to death, they won't be able to find out anything."

"What about you?" Chen Zhifang said, "Your man has already confessed to the Wei family bank."

Wang Bao was immediately completely dejected and sighed: "How come they don't know that they can save their family by refusing to tell anyone, but once they confess, they will be buried with the whole family?"

"Speak!"

Chen Zhifang said: "The prince just sent someone to tell you that if you can reveal who made those counterfeit silver coins within an hour, your wife will be pardoned from the death penalty. If you confess quickly, the person who made the counterfeit money will not have time to escape." , and may also pardon the death penalty of your mother's clan as appropriate!" (The three clans include parents, brothers, and wives, or father, son, and grandson, but here we use the three clans of father, mother, and wife who are the most murderous.)

Wang Bao looked ahead with dull eyes. His clan was going to be exterminated anyway. What was the difference between the Yi clan and the three Yi clans?

Wang Bao murmured to himself: "The new dynasty's methods are too cruel and I am not convinced."

Chen Zhifang sneered: "You know Ku Lie and you still dare to do it?"

In the Song Dynasty, how could such a thing be enough to punish the clan? They only punish the offender himself.

Regardless of whether the coins were genuine or fake, the private coiners were beheaded and abandoned on the market (later changed to hanging).

Anyone carrying more than five copper coins out of the country will be sentenced to death by hanging.

Those who spread counterfeit currency like Wang Bao will be sentenced to a maximum of three thousand miles of exile, and those who commit relatively minor crimes may even only be imprisoned for one year.

Although when the Ming Dynasty first issued silver coins, notices had been posted repeatedly for six months in a row, saying that people who privately manufactured and spread fake silver coins would be punished, but Wang Bao always took a chance.

He feels that this kind of draconian law is too nonsense and will definitely not be implemented.

Even if he is caught, as long as he works hard, he may even be exempted from the crime of exile.

But I didn't expect that the prince would actually play it real!

A few days ago, the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Department was arresting people for counterfeit currency. Wang Bao realized that it might be over, and could only place his hope on the "supplier"'s magical powers.

"Gao family." Wang Bao said suddenly.

Chen Zhifang's pupils shrank: "Which Gao family?"

Wang Bao said: "Kaifeng Gao family."

"That's okay..." Chen Zhifang breathed a sigh of relief. He was very afraid that it was the Gao Jingshan family who had just passed away.

Wang Bao said in detail: "Although Gao Shize went to Hangzhou with the previous emperor, apart from him, the Gao family has not had a high official for decades, and was not implicated in the liquidation of the new dynasty. There is also a deputy prime minister in the new dynasty. You can have relatives, and you still have a gold and silver shop at home, so of course you can continue to enjoy wealth. The Gao family has too many branches and leaves, and the younger generations are all playboys. Since there is no business of intercourse, I want to cast some silver coins."

"How did he create it?" Chen Zhifang asked.

Wang Bao said: "There are seven silver pits in Guozhou. The new dynasty set up the Lingbao Supervisor to make silver coins. Gao Shizuo's nephew, who promoted Zhuyang Silver Market in the past, was transferred to the nearby Lingbao Supervisor to work as a minor manager. How to make silver coins? The silver dollar may have been revealed by this person.”

…

Chen Zhifang is not a cruel official. He really doesn't want to get involved in the case of killing the clan.

But the prince has an order, and you have to do it even if you don't want to do it.

This gentleman is not young yet. He and Su Shi were friends for many years. Su Dongpo even wrote a poem specifically for Chen Zhifang's concubine. ("Jiang Shenzi·Jade Family in Phoenix Mountain".)

Because of this poem, Chen Zhifang was denounced as a "Soviet Party" and was suppressed during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.

When Zhu Ming raised his troops to march north, Chen Zhifang slipped out of the city and surrendered, and devoted himself to helping raise logistical supplies.

Because he was famous enough, had deep qualifications, and his official reputation was not bad, and he had a personal relationship with Zhang Gen, he was rewarded for his merits and became the young minister of Dali Temple. A few months ago, he was promoted to Minister of Dali Temple due to official changes.

Chen Zhifang knew very clearly that he was just a transitional person.

He is not young yet and will have to retire after a few more years of work. The person who really has the say in Dali Temple is the second in command (a disciple of Zhu Guoxiang).

Riding all the way to the East Palace for an audience, Chen Zhifang reported the latest investigation results: "Both the Wang family and the Wei family said that the person who secretly minted the silver coins was Gao Shizuo. But they didn't know exactly where the den was. Wucheng The Soldiers and Horses Division has sent troops to arrest the Gao clan members, and it is estimated that there will be no results until tomorrow."

Zhu Ming frowned. Not long after he agreed to Gao Jingshan, he didn't expect that the Gao family in Kaifeng would make such a big move.

Ju Ming asked: "What are the origins of the Wang family and the Wei family?"

Chen Zhifang said: "There are three royal families in the capital. One is after Wang Rao, the founding hero of the old Song Dynasty. Wang Rao's daughter also served as the queen of Song Taizu. The other is the descendant of Wang You, a famous official in the early Song Dynasty. Their family is called Sanhuai The Tang Wang family. One is after Wang Gui, the prime minister of the old Song Dynasty, and their family is from Chengdu."

"The Wang family captured this time are the descendants of Wang Rao. Although there are no more high-ranking officials or queens, most of them are married to the old Song Dynasty clan. The Wang family has opened gold and silver shops for hundreds of years, relying on making friends Yinbao makes a lot of money. But the money they make must be distributed to the rich and powerful."

"The Wei family does not have such a prominent ancestor, but their daughter married the fourth son of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty as a concubine, and the business became more and more prosperous. After that, he married many members of the Zhao and Song clan, and also got involved in the courtship business."

Ju Ming lamented: "The previous dynasty still killed too few dignitaries!"

Chen Zhifang trembled when he heard this. He wanted to advise the prince to stop killing people, but he was afraid that he would also be exposed.

…

Gao Shi was captured by Li Bao's soldiers in Hangzhou and was quickly taken to the capital.

When he went south, he thought he would come back soon, so he didn't even take his family with him. I went to Hangzhou, temporarily married a concubine, and actually gave birth to a son.

Fortunately, Gao Jingshan helped to intercede for mercy when he was seriously ill, and Gao Shize was pardoned and released from prison, which made him feel that the new dynasty was not bad.

Gao Shi has no ability to speak of, and he is not even good at flattery.

He was appreciated by Song Huizong, firstly because he was a cousin, and secondly because he was sincere and honest.

Now that the dynasty has changed, and since he has been pardoned, Gao Shi decided not to care about anything and just be a rich man for the rest of his life.

"Brother, something is wrong!" His younger brother, Gao Shizuo, rushed in with two slaves chasing him.

Gao Shi was extremely unhappy and scolded: "Why did you break into my inner house without saying hello?"

Gao Shizuo said anxiously: "It's already this time, how can we care about the inner and outer houses? My family is in great danger, so I still ask my brother to go to the old master's house to beg for mercy!"

The old master is Gao Jingshan who just passed away.

Gao Shize was still confused: "You should tell me what happened!"

Gao Shizuo explained: "The Wang family and the Wei family have been arrested by the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division because of the counterfeit silver coins. The silver coins of their two families were...made by me."

"What did you say?"

Gao Shi jumped up in fright, pointed at his brother and yelled: "I just came out of prison, and you want to get me in again!"

Gao Shizuo said with a mournful face: "It would be better if I just go to prison. This time I might be attacked by the Yi tribe. I thought the court was just scaring me, but now that the battle is going on, the prince is probably going to come for real."

"It's over, it's over..." Gao Shize sat down, as if he had lost his soul.

Gao Shizuo complained: "The laws of the new dynasty are too harsh. If they were placed in the previous dynasty, one person would behead him, and he could just find a scapegoat to fool him. It's just making coins privately, so what's the use of the Yi tribe?" "

This is the truth. Before Jiaozi was invalidated, how many powerful people secretly participated in private affairs. No one was punished until Jiaozi's credibility collapsed.

In Gao Shizuo's opinion, such major cases can be deceived by using scapegoats.

If he knew that he would be beaten to death by the Yi tribe, he would not dare to do this!

"Brother, please go to the old master's house to beg for mercy. Maybe there is still room for change." Gao Shizuo begged.

Gao Shi asked: "Why don't you go?"

Gao Shizuo said: "I have been there, and I was not allowed in at all. I heard that before his death, the old master warned his descendants not to associate with the Gao family in Kaifeng. The old master was also true. He had obviously begged for the Gao family, but he didn't He also told his descendants not to have any more contact with each other, and I don’t know what he was thinking. Even when I went to pay my respects, all the expensive gifts he gave me were returned, leaving only a few ordinary items."

Gao Shi was almost paralyzed by fear. How could there be any killing clan in the Song Dynasty? Unexpectedly, he would play this game as soon as the Ming Dynasty was founded, and his family would be the first to enjoy the set meal of the three tribes of Yi.

"Ms. sir, sir, there are a lot of soldiers coming outside..."

Some slaves shouted in panic, and Gao Shi trembled all over after hearing this.

However, Gao Shizuo, who had caused a big disaster, was frightened and fainted, and he had no responsibility at all for making coins privately.

During the time of the Yi clan, servants were not punished, and even concubines could escape.

The father's clan is probably the whole family of great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, clan uncles, and clan brothers. Usually after the fifth server, there will be no investigation, and the married daughter will not be pursued.

The maternal family is probably the maternal great-grandfather, maternal grandfather, and their brothers and descendants. And only blood relatives will be pursued, not even their wives.

The wife clan is probably the descendants of the father-in-law, his parents, brothers, and even the mother-in-law can escape.

(If the female family members of the murdered person are not within the scope of execution, the common practice is to throw them to the Jiaofang Division.)

This is much less involved than the Zhujiu Clan. If it were the Zhujiu Clan, the seven aunts and eight aunts would be included. Not only could the mother-in-law not escape, but her parents, brothers and nephews would also be killed!

But everyone is used to the generosity of the old Song Dynasty, and even the Yi tribe cannot adapt to it.

Hearing that the prince was serious this time, countless ministers came to court one after another, and even Zhang Gen begged for mercy in private.

Without him, the rabbit would be dead and the fox would be sad, and things would just hurt the same kind!

Zhu Guoxiang pointed to a pile of notes on the desk and said to his son: "These are all memorials against the execution of the clan. There are still a few ministers who have not written, but privately made insinuations."

Ju Ming smiled and read the memorial: "There are also people in my place who are trying to persuade me. They are afraid that their descendants will also get into big trouble."