In the courtyard of the Salt and Iron Division, there were more than a dozen tables scattered around, and behind each table sat an old official of the Imperial Historical Observatory, interrogating the public officials who had made trouble yesterday according to the rules drawn up by Sima Chi and others.

Xu Ping didn't look at the execution, left the governor's hall, and went to the courtyard to watch Liu Xin and others try the case.

According to the requirements, the situation of the trial was reported to the government hall every day, and the instructions of the deacons were followed. Hundreds of people were arrested in the salt and iron division, not to mention that there was no place to detain them, and such a chaotic clutter every day also affected government affairs. Therefore, this matter must be resolved quickly, and it is impossible to delay it.

According to the current situation, there is not even a shadow of the mastermind behind Xu Ping's imagination, even if a few more people are arrested, it is nothing more than implicating some upper-level officials, and the essence has not changed. If there is no key breakthrough, the government hall may stop the whole thing at any time, and the existing personnel will be punished according to their crimes.

After putting in so much effort, how can Xu Ping be willing to achieve such a result? I knew that there was a big pustule growing on Sansi's body, but I couldn't poke it and drain the pus and blood, so I didn't have the confidence to do things in the future.

It didn't take long for a few idlers who were mixed in with the public officials to be recognized, and Sima Chi and several people were overjoyed and hurriedly sent soldiers to capture them.

Xu Ping watched on the side and was silent, he also wanted to see what means these three people had to pry open the mouths of these street idlers who were as difficult as hob meat. As Sima Guang's father, Sima Chi still has some ability, otherwise he would not have become a good friend with the talented Pang Ji.

At this time, the sun has set in the west, and there is not much time left today, so I don't know if there will be exciting news.

In addition to the street idlers who were recognized by the officials, there were also several officials in charge of the yamen who were implicated. They were all coerced and lured to their subordinates to participate in the trouble, and they were suspected of instigation, and they were also arrested.

As soon as a few idlers entered the Salt and Iron Division, they cried and shouted injustice in front of several officials.

Where did Sima Chi and Wu Zunlu listen to this nonsense, they already had other people's confessions in their hands, and they arrested people to ask for guilt, not to ask you to confess. dragged these idlers to the uninhabited hut next to them, and the means of Yushitai and Kaifeng Mansion were released, which opened Xu Ping's eyes. Only then did I know that I was still too soft-hearted, and I couldn't see blood when I was tortured.

In the hands of Sima Chi and Wu Zunlu, when they enter the hut, they will have a killing stick first, where can they give these people a chance to be hard-mouthed? Then they were carefully interrogated, and from time to time they were beaten with sticks and clamps, and a layer of skin was taken off of these prisoners.

However, the effect was not better than Xu Ping's methods, beating people half to death to get a few pieces of confession, and implicating two senior officials of the third division to come in. There are also several idlers who bite to death without command, and they just go to join in the fun. The torturer beat off half of their lives and didn't change their words, these idlers were just eating and being beaten.

Just when Xu Ping was looking seriously, the soldiers guarding the chief hall came over and reported in a low voice: "Deputy envoy, that Feng Lixing has confessed!" Xu Ping perked up, and followed the soldiers back to his official hall.

As soon as he entered the hut, he saw Feng Lixing tied to the pillar, his hands were bloody and sticky together, and he couldn't even see his fingers. His head was tilted to the side weakly, looking at Xu Ping who entered the door with blank eyes.

Walking quickly to the side of the case, Xu Ping picked up the paper on it and watched it carefully. After only reading a few lines, Xu Ping's face darkened. The more I looked down, the more ugly my face became.

This Feng Lixing actually confessed that he was dissatisfied with the reduction of the personnel of the Third Division, and he did not dare to go to the street to make trouble, so he hired two idlers to go there. That's how his crime is, and there's nothing else to blame.

Slapping the paper in his hand on the table, Xu Ping strode in front of Feng Lixing and pressed his head: "Your bones are really hard, you take everything on yourself, aren't you really afraid of death?" ”

Feng Lixing said weakly: "The deputy envoy wants a confession, and the small one gives a confession to the deputy envoy, what else?" ”

"I want the truth!"

"What the little one says, every word is true—"

Xu Ping sneered: "Take me for a fool? How do you know if someone is going to make trouble the next day? The news of the layoffs came out in the afternoon of the same day, and the next day was closed, where did you prepare the official uniform? You are a killer, but in one night, you can find good people, command good actions, and do everything seamlessly? Are you stupid or am I stupid? ”

"The deputy envoy wants a confession, and the small one has already given a confession, and the confession is ......true" Feng Lixing's spirit began to be a little sluggish, and he was weak in his speech, but his tone was still very tight, and the key news was not leaked at all.

Xu Ping only felt that the anger in his heart was rising, how many winds and waves had come, and he had a feeling of powerlessness in the face of a group of small officials who colluded to cheat. Who could manipulate the fate of these petty officials like this? Or to put it another way, how much interest is involved behind these people to get to this point? Leave yourself helpless.

It's not that no one has investigated the collusion and corruption of the officials of the three divisions before, just a small incense medicine institute, after strictly investigating a group of public officials, can increase the income by two or three hundred thousand yuan, which is five or six times the previous account. If this is also the case with other treasury divisions, this figure is very terrifying, millions of dollars a year, not to mention these small officials, the high-ranking officials and magnates in the capital can buy a large part of it. How many of the three divisions have been sent out in a year? It's not as good as these little officials are greedy!

Knowing that the implication was too wide, Xu Ping was very cautious about this matter before, not to mention that it was not within his scope of responsibility, and he didn't want to take the initiative to poke this basket. Now that things have come to this point, if you give up halfway and can't find out the black accounts behind the scenes, there is no doubt that this is a mockery and insult to yourself, and it will be difficult to do anything in the third division in the future.

Seeing Feng Lixing's appearance that a dead pig was not afraid of boiling water, Xu Ping pushed his head to the pillar with hatred, and instructed the soldiers around him: "Look at this guy, don't let him faint, let him be sober at all times." If you pass out, there's cold water in the bucket over there, just wake him up! Before the matter is clarified, his eyes are not allowed to close! ”

After speaking, Xu Ping walked out of the door quickly to see the confessions of Liu Xin and the others.

When I arrived in the courtyard of the Salt and Iron Division, I saw Liu Xin, Sima Chi, and Wu Zunlu gathered together, and they were talking in a low voice in front of a few pieces of paper on the table. Seeing Xu Ping coming, the three of them saluted together.

Xu Ping stepped forward, looked at the paper on the table and asked, "How was the interrogation?" Is there anything I haven't noticed before? Is there anyone in particular involved? ”

Sima Chi shook his head: "After such a long trial, I have arrested one or twenty more senior officials, and there is no surprise in the rest." Even these high-ranking officials also said that they were not angry with the layoffs, so they encouraged their subordinates or went to the streets to find idlers and wanted to make things bigger. ”

"Is it all the same?" Xu Ping picked up the paper on the table and looked at it for a while, his face was extremely ugly.

The excuses, or motives, of all the high-ranking officials were exactly the same. There are all kinds of people in this world, there are people who look exactly the same, but it is rare to think exactly the same thing, and it is completely impossible for dozens of people to think the same. (To be continued.) )