Chapter 154 No matter whether it is the inspector or the royal guard, their fate is death.

Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division, in the imperial prison.

Fortunately, the Jinyiwei's Zhenfu Division was far away from the downtown area, otherwise the wailing and screaming sounds alone would prevent countless people from sleeping peacefully.

But it was also enough to show that the Jinyiwei were ruthless and showed no mercy when arresting and interrogating people.

There are all kinds of torture, as long as they can make them open their mouths, that's enough.

Don’t say it’s cruel, and don’t say it’s a confession under torture.

None of those who can be sent to the Zhenfusi Prison are good people.

But this group of corrupt officials and criminals will only say things that are beneficial to themselves and will not tell the whole story.

Therefore, the Jinyiwei were even three times more ruthless than the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice in terms of the methods they used.

As for Zhu Gang, as soon as he arrived at the Zhenfu Division, he asked someone to bring him a blanket, lay down on a chair, and fell into a deep sleep.

It was not until the next morning that Jiang Li of the Embroidered Uniform Guard came to the Zhenfu Division with Zhou Dexing's confession and woke up Zhu Gang.

"There's no need to call me lonely for such a matter."

"I will present it to your majesty for review during the morning court tomorrow."

Zhu Gang rubbed his eyes and waved his hand.

Zhou Dexing's death was a foregone conclusion, so there was no need to ask about it.

After all, this way of dying is also decent. Although it leaves behind a curse for all eternity, for contemporary people, it is already very difficult to ensure the health of their family and the bloodline of their descendants.

And even if future generations would poke Zhou Dexing in the spine, Zhou Dexing is already dead. He can't hear or see, so why should he care?
"Your Highness, Zhou Ji could not bear the interrogation and has died. As for his wife and son, the Royal Guards also executed them secretly. No one will know about it."

"The reason announced to the public was that Zhou Ji had no respect for the law, secretly spied on the palace, and committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

"As for his wife and son, they were also demoted to commoners and exiled to Lingnan that night. On the way, there was a heavy snowstorm and they were overwhelmed and died of excessive grief."

Mao Xiang of the Embroidered Uniform Guard hurriedly stepped into the main hall of the Pacification Office, then looked at Zhu Gang and bowed slightly.

"Jiang Xia Hou Zhou Dexing has also written down all the charges and the list of officials involved in the case of Little Ming King."

"Afterwards, Zhou Dexing placed the red book and iron scroll beside him, drank the poisoned wine and committed suicide, and kowtowed three times in the direction of the imperial palace."

Jiang Li did not hide anything.

Do you regret it?
Zhou Dexing must regret it.

But there is no medicine for regret in this world, so there is no use regretting.

The three kowtows at the end were also a reminder for Zhu Gang not to break his promise.

"Marquis Jiang Xia is, after all, a meritorious official who made great contributions to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, so he should be buried with honor."

Hearing this, Zhu Gang nodded.

After this incident, Zhu Gang would petition Zhu Yuanzhang to establish a Hall of Meritorious Officials, erect statues and write books to honor the heroes who had made great contributions to the founding of the country in order to highlight their achievements.

Of course, this was also to win over the hearts of the people, so even if Zhou Dexing was a traitor and a criminal, the court could not deny his achievements.

Therefore, Zhou Dexing was also qualified to be listed in the Hall of Meritorious Officials, but his crimes would definitely be clearly indicated in the book. However, Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a break because he was a meritorious official after all.

To put it bluntly, even though people in later generations have different opinions, Zhu Yuanzhang will no longer be infamous for slaughtering his meritorious officials. This also protects Zhu Yuanzhang in the greatest sense.

"As ordered."

Jiang Li clasped his fists again.

"Mao Xiang, you have been with the old man for many years, right?"

After solving Zhou Dexing's problem, Zhu Gang looked at Mao Xiang again and said softly.

"Your Highness, it has indeed been many years."

Mao Xiang bowed and replied.

"His Majesty also trusts you. You are the one who handles everything. You do most of the dirty work. You are indeed a key official of our Zhu family."

Zhu Gang rarely praised Mao Xiangdao.

"It is the duty of a minister to share the worries of his sovereign."

Mao Xiang didn't think much about it, but smiled humbly.

"What a great saying. Sharing the worries of the king is the duty of the minister."

"I just want to know, Mao Xiang, which ruler are you loyal to? What duties do you uphold as a minister?"

Zhu Gang raised his eyes slightly again and glanced at Mao Xiangdao.

"Of course it is Your Majesty."

Mao Xiang's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and spoke.

"Xue Wenzhi, do you still remember this person?"

Zhu Gang did not refute, but asked instead.

"The Director of the Treasury Department, Xue Wenzhi."

Mao Xiang thought about it and then spoke.

"How did this person die?"

Zhu Gang still asked.

"Suicide by taking poison."

Mao Xiang continued.

"Why did you commit suicide by taking poison?"

Zhu Gang still asked.

"Privately printing banknotes is an unforgivable crime. Fearing torture means committing suicide out of fear of punishment."

Mao Xiang spoke again.

"Who handled this case?"

Zhu Gang took off the blanket before continuing to ask.

"This is due to the poor supervision of this humble official."

Mao Xiang knelt on one knee and said.

No need to ask or think, this case was handled by Mao Xiang.

But in essence it was to save Xue Wenzhi, but Xue Wenzhi still died.

But there is something obscure in this, that is, it is kept secret, which led to the introduction of Lu Feng and Jiang Li from the Jinyiwei.

One is the confidant of the King of Qin, and the other is the confidant of the King of Jin.

The only exception is Mao Xiang, the former commander of the Jinyiwei, whose position within the Jinyiwei is somewhat awkward.

But they were all dedicated to working for the court, so Mao Xiang naturally wouldn't think too much about it, after all, he was loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Let's not talk about the disadvantages of the supervisor first, let me ask you a question."

"Have you noticed that since the Xue Wenzhi case, your voice and authority in the Jinyiwei have been constantly weakened."

"There are even some secrets that Lu Feng and Jiang Li can ask about, but you know nothing."

"I'm only responsible for handling some unimportant cases."

Zhu Gang walked to Mao Xiang's side and spoke again.

"Whatever your Highness asks me to do, I will do it."

A trace of cold sweat appeared on Mao Xiang's forehead, but he still answered fluently.

After all, Mao Xiang was a censor, so he naturally had a good psychological quality and was unlikely to think too much.

Because if there was factual evidence, with the means of Prince Jin, Mao Xiang would not have interrogated him here, but in the imperial prison.

So this might just be a test, at least that’s what Mao Xiang thought.

"The Jinyiwei who monitored Xue Wenzhi died in Jiangnan and Zhejiang."

"The reason for the report is that there was a conflict and unfortunately a death occurred."

"But I checked the files and found that except for a few Jinyiwei, the rest were Jinyiwei who were watching Xue Wenzhi. Moreover, they all died in one day?"

"Those are sixteen Jinyi Guards. I can't say how skilled they are in martial arts, but they shouldn't be that easy to kill, right?"

"I wouldn't say that one can defeat a hundred, but it shouldn't be a problem for one Jinyiwei to defeat two or three big men, right?"

"Moreover, in the files of Jiangnan, although there were many riots, they were all recorded in great detail."

"Of course this section is also recorded in great detail, but usually the troops are involved in the suppression. Why is it that this time, only the Royal Guards were involved?"

"And the most coincidental thing is that the Jinyiwei were all dead, and the soldiers who were supposed to suppress the rebellion arrived, and then they easily suppressed it." "As for the bodies, they were not transported back to the capital, but buried nearby. So I am very curious, how could there be so many coincidences?"

"Mao Xiang, can you explain this to me?"

Zhu Gang slowly squatted in front of Mao Xiang and asked with a smile.

Why didn't he go back to Prince Jin's Mansion last night, but instead came directly to the Pacification Office?

The reason is very clear, it is for Mao Xiang. After all, it is time to remove the thorn in the Jinyiwei.

"Your Highness, it was because the local government failed to do its job properly and underestimated hundreds of guards, which led to heavy casualties among our Jinyiwei."

"So at the beginning, I didn't think much about it, and I didn't think it was necessary to waste too much manpower, so I sent the Jinyiwei."

"And these Jinyiwei are all my colleagues over the years. When the news came back, I was heartbroken."

"This is my fault, I accept the punishment."

Mao Xiang simply knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily.

There was a hint of sadness in his words. After all, so many colleagues and brothers had died. Even if he was pretending, he had to shed tears.

Otherwise, Mao Xiang might not be able to get over this hurdle today.

Moreover, Mao Xiang had already noticed that Zhu Gang seemed to have become suspicious, so he tried to test him.

“Who can prove it for you?”

Zhu Gang nodded as if he suddenly understood, and then asked.

But there was an imperceptible smile in his eyes.

"I can prove it for him."

At this time, Qin Wang Zhu Chong stepped into the main hall and said, "What happened is exactly as Mao Xiang said. The local government did not handle the matter well and did not find out the cause, so this is not Mao Xiang's fault."

Is Zhu Chong here to exonerate Mao Xiang?

Naturally impossible.

"His Royal Highness King Qin."

After everyone had paid their respects, Mao Xiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, we did it perfectly that day and even brought down the Qin King Zhu Chong, otherwise it would not be so easy today.

"It seems that I have wrongly blamed you."

Zhu Gang looked at Mao Xiang with a half-smile again.

"Your Highness is not at fault. I should have reported this to Your Highness as soon as I got back. This is my fault."

Mao Xiang lowered his posture very low, and in his words, he took all the blame on himself.

"Ah."

Zhu Gang nodded with satisfaction.

"Master Mao, you are really flawless in your work. I really like this."

"But you miscalculated one thing. That is, if they dare to use you, they will also be on guard against you."

"In this regard, I and King Jin are indeed not as good as our old man."

But only for a moment, Zhu Chong did laugh again.

"Do you think that all the Jinyiwei in Hu Weiyong's mansion were planted by you?"

"So there is no need to worry at all, but you have never thought that where there are people, there is the underworld, and where there is the underworld, there will be trade-offs. As for the so-called trade-offs, they are also for the purpose of checks and balances."

"When the old man uses you, he will also be on guard against you."

"Unlike the King of Qin who just took over the Jinyiwei, he has been trusting you since you returned to the capital."

"Don't you understand yet?"

"Hu Weiyong's mansion not only has your Jinyiwei, but also has the old man's eyes."

"So, did Xue Wenzhi die at home? Can you hide it from me and the King of Qin?"

"But it cannot be hidden from your Majesty's eyes and ears."

"You think you are perfect, but you don't know that your confidant has always been the old man's man."

"While you monitor others, someone will also monitor you, and if you dare to cross the line, death awaits you."

"It's a pity. You thought you had learned a little bit of the old man's essence, but you didn't know that you were just sitting in a well and looking at the sky. You have no idea of ​​the breadth of heaven."

Zhu Gang gently placed his hand on Mao Xiang's shoulder and smiled.

Feeling the slight tremor coming from Mao Xiang's body, Zhu Gang's lips curled up into a smile again.

He was still as warm as ever, without a trace of coldness.

But in Mao Xiang's eyes, it really made him terrified.

The Zhu family's usual problem is that the angrier they get, the more people they kill.

But often the calmer it is, the more terrifying the turbulent situation below will become.

Especially the Prince of Jin, who is the most ruthless member of the Zhu family.

Moreover, Mao Xiang also understood at this time that it was useless to say anything, because these were the facts, and the more he explained, the paler they would become.

"But what I still can't figure out is that those Jinyiwei who died in Jiangnan were obviously your trusted aides, so why do you even worry about them?"

"You won't give up until they are all killed?"

Zhu Gang looked at Mao Xiang, whose face had turned a little pale, and asked curiously.

Zhu Gang did not care about the deaths of these Jinyiwei, but although the Jinyiwei were trying to hide the truth, Mao Xiang still noticed something. This made Zhu Gang very curious. Why?
"Don't you understand, Your Highness, that only the dead can keep secrets?"

Mao Xiang suddenly raised his head and said softly.

"I also learned it from the old man."

A hint of understanding flashed across Zhu Gang's eyes, and he asked with narrowed eyes.

"Also, Your Highness is too smart, so I was afraid that the truth would be exposed, so I planned to kill him to silence him."

Mao Xiang nodded with no objection, but smiled again.

How cruel was Zhu Yuanzhang?

As a former inspector, Mao Xiang was terrified from the bottom of his heart.

Anyway, anyone who threatens the country and has a special identity will be dealt with by the inspector.

In order to bury these things forever, the inspectors and guards who were responsible for solving them would also disappear inexplicably.

As to whether they were missing or not, Mao Xiang had the most say because he was the one who did it and no one was left alive.

Therefore, Mao Xiang is also very clear about his future.

That is, if the king wants his subject to die, the subject has to die.

When the day of death really comes, Zhu Yuanzhang will not care about any old friendship and will still kill those who deserve to be killed.

Because, from the beginning to the end, Mao Xiang was just a sharp knife that could hurt others as well as oneself, so when it was time to abandon the knife, Zhu Yuanzhang would not hesitate.

Just like Yang Xian in the past, once he loses his value, he can be easily abandoned.

This is the fate of the Inspector General and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"It seems that you think highly of me."

Zhu Gang chuckled again.

"You are most like His Majesty."

Mao Xiang still spoke truthfully.

"How similar is it?"

Zhu Gang was still a little curious.

"You are as cunning and decisive as His Majesty."

Mao Xiang still spoke truthfully.

"Ah."

Zhu Gang nodded slightly, as if he was very satisfied, and then he spoke again: "Then you can tell me now why you want to collude with Hu Weiyong? How much does Hu Weiyong know?"

The question was asked in the same normal tone and softly, as if he was not accusing me.

(End of this chapter)