Chapter 229: King Jin brings Chen Shouliu back to Beijing to file a complaint; Mu Ying is rewarded with a title of nobility for his hard work and meritorious service
As soon as Zhu Gang and his companions returned to the county government office, the county clerk in charge of the clerk's office came over and filed a complaint.

"Your Highness Prince Jin, you are finally back.

County Magistrate Zheng insisted on using torture to force a confession from Gu Mingjie, and I was powerless to stop him. "

In ancient times, the principle of "no confession, no conviction" was emphasized, so in order to avoid local officials using coercive means to extract confessions, which would lead to false cases and civil unrest.

The laws of all dynasties have made detailed provisions on the punishment of officials.

For example, the Tang Dynasty had such regulations: torture of prisoners should not exceed three times, the total number of tortures should not exceed 200, and punishments below the caning should not exceed the number of crimes committed.

The Tang Code not only stipulated the conditions for the use of torture, but also specifically stipulated the location, number and frequency of torture to prevent local officials from arbitrarily torturing criminals.

At the same time, if a local official accidentally caused the death of a prisoner while torturing him, he would be sentenced to one year of exile.

Although the Ming Dynasty emphasized severe punishments for minor crimes under Zhu Yuanzhang's ruling ideology, in reality this was just a deterrent to officials.

For ordinary people, Lao Zhu actually takes more care of their own interests.

For example, the Ming Dynasty Code stipulates that criminals can only be punished if four conditions are met.

If a serious crime is committed, the evidence of bribery is clear; if you refuse to admit your guilt, a written case must be made.

The county official in charge of the Lifang Office in Yixing was obviously aware of this law and used it specifically to set a trap for Zheng Keyuan.

But could His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin be fooled by a county official who doesn't even have a rank?
Zhu Gang shouted, "Zhang Long, where is Zhao Hu?"

As soon as he finished speaking, two burly men wearing the special night clothes of the Hidden Dragon Guard appeared in front of everyone like ghosts.

"Hidden Dragon Guard Commander Zhang Long greets His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."

"Zhao Hu, deputy commander of the Hidden Dragon Guard, greets His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."

Zhu Gang waved his hand and said in a calm tone: "No need to be polite!
Zhang Long, tell me what you saw after County Magistrate Zheng left. "

Zhang Long, the commander of the Hidden Dragon Guard, looked solemn and answered seriously: "Your Highness, the county official in charge of the clerk's room stepped forward and used torture on Gu Mingjie.

In less than a cup of tea, Gu Mingjie could no longer endure the pain and confessed all his crimes.

After listening to Zhang Long's report, Zhu Gang couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his heart.

He gnashed his teeth and said, "What a villain who complains first! If I hadn't been prepared, I'm afraid you would have succeeded."

After saying this, Zhu Gang immediately ordered someone to help Chen Shouliu draft a complaint.

He planned to report Gu Mingjie, Yixing's Lifang county official, and the former county magistrate Hang Siding to the emperor so that they would receive the punishment they deserved.

After everything was settled, Zhu Gang turned to look at Chen Shouliu.

He asked with concern: "Do you have any difficulties now?
If you need anything, just ask.”

Chen Shouliu nodded and with tears of gratitude he told the emperor about the difficulties he was facing.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Gang made a prompt decision.

Not only did he take the initiative to invite Chen Shouliu to follow him back to the capital, but he also promised to arrange a suitable job for him.

Although Yixing was more than 300 miles away from Yingtian Prefecture, Zhu Gang and his party did not stay for long on the way, so they returned to the capital in just three days.

Upon hearing the news, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhu Gang to the Kunning Palace.

"There are two happy events that I have asked you to come here today. The first one is that the eldest brother Mu Ying and the second brother Zhu Chong have completely conquered U-Tsang through a two-pronged attack.

Your second brother has no reward to show for himself at the moment, but Mu Ying has been fighting with us everywhere since he was 12 years old, so he can indeed be said to have made great contributions.

We plan to confer him the title of Marquis of Xiping and grant him a red-lettered iron certificate.

"What do you think, Third Brother?"

In the 12th year of Zhizheng, the eight-year-old Mu Ying wandered to Haozhou City, where he was discovered and taken in by Zhu Yuanzhang, a general of the rebel army at the time.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma had no children, so they adopted Mu Ying as their adopted son. Mu Ying then changed his surname to Zhu and lived with the old Zhu couple.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife treated Mu Ying like their own child.

The two not only taught Mu Ying how to read and write, but also taught him how to lead troops in battle.

In the 16th year of Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the navy and land forces to attack Jiqing for the third time.

Mu Ying followed the army into battle and served Zhu Yuanzhang without any complaints.

In the 22nd year of Zhizheng, Mu Ying, who was only 18 years old, began to take on important military tasks.

He was first appointed as the commander of the tent by Zhu Yuanzhang and participated in the defense of Zhenjiang.

Later, he was promoted to commander-in-chief and guarded the important town of Guangxin in Jiangxi.

In the 27th year of Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang sent navy and land force to take Fujian.

Mu Ying led his troops to attack from the west, broke through Fenshui Pass at the junction of Jiangxi and Fujian, and occupied Chong'an.

He then captured the Eighteen Villages of Minxi and captured Feng Gubao, a general under the command of Chen Youding, one of the "Three Loyalists of Fujian".

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered him to restore his surname to Mu.

Afterwards, Mu Ying was ordered to move his troops to garrison Jianning and control the three guards of Shaowu, Yanping and Tingzhou.

In the third year of Hongwu, Mu Ying was granted the title of General Guarding the Country and served as Assistant to the Grand Marshal's Office.

The following year, he was promoted to Tongzhi of the Grand Marshal's Office.

The Grand Marshal's Office was the military center of the early Ming Dynasty, in charge of all military forces in the country.

Although Mu Ying is young, he is smart and quick-witted.

During his seven years in the government, he was decisive in handling matters and solved problems quickly and without omission.

Empress Ma praised Mu Ying's talents many times, and Zhu Yuanzhang also valued him very much.

In the ninth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Mu Ying to travel to Guanshan by boat.

He understood the people's sentiments, bestowed favors on them, and ordered him to train his troops in preparation for war.

In November of the same year, Mu Ying served as the deputy general of the Western Expedition and followed Zhu Chong to the expedition to U-Tsang.

With such great achievements, who would dare to say that Mu Ying is not worthy of the title of Marquis of Xiping?
"This does not make any sense to me. I am only concerned about the second happy event. Please don't keep me in suspense any longer, old man."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, "After all, he has already started a family and a career. He finally came back. Can't he cooperate with us as his father?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gang said seriously: "It is easy to make mistakes during the growth process.

After all, people are people, not machines. It is impossible for them to do only the right things all their lives.

When you realize you've made a mistake, you're making progress..."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded at first, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

Before Zhu Gang could finish his words, he slapped the rebellious son on the head.

"You little bastard, you are simply the anti-Heavenly One!

I am your father, how can you talk to your own father like this?"

Zhu Biao, who had walked in at some point, rubbed his aching neck and said, "Biao'er thinks that what Third Brother said is not wrong. At least it was wrong for you to take Xiong as your concubine while Mother was ill.

During that time, many ministers reported to the emperor that this move was undermining the foundation of the country. "

Zhu Yuanzhang, knowing that he was in the wrong, touched his nose and said, "We corrected it in time, and if we put aside the facts, you and the third brother are not wrong, right?
As the two sons closest to us, can't you stand up and give some advice?"

(End of this chapter)