"… You bribed the officials and generals of Taiyuan. Apart from manipulating the grain supply and causing chaos in the city, do you have any other motives?"
In the prison of Taiyuan, Lin Jiang was interrogating Kang Qu alone. He placed the list of crimes that Kang Qu had signed on the table and looked at him.
"No!"
Kang Qu replied flatly.
He did not take Lin Jiang seriously. It could also be said that he did not even take the prison of the state capital seriously. Because he was from the Kang Kingdom, he had not committed any heinous crimes in the Tang Empire. He had only bribed an official, which was not a serious crime. In the end, they would most likely be handed over to the Honglu Temple of the Tang Empire, and then be exiled back to the Kang Kingdom by the Honglu Temple. In any case, they would not lose their lives over such a small crime!
"Humph! I advise you to think about it carefully! "
Lin Jiang did not give Kang Qu a good look. He said with a blank face.
Kang Qu was silent for a moment and said, "We bribed the officials and generals of Taiyuan and caused chaos in the city mainly to seek justice for the deceased Brother Chang 'an! The officials of Taiyuan treated human life like grass and caused Brother Chang 'an to die tragically. What's worse is that after Brother Chang' an died, the officials not only did not allow us to bring his body back to the Kang Kingdom, they even sealed the city gates so that we could not pass the news to Brother Chang 'an's family!
We created chaos to teach Provincial Governor Wang a lesson and let the officials see the strength and unity of the Kang Kingdom's merchants. We want the Tang Empire's court to give Brother Chang 'an justice! We have already explained the cause and effect of the matter to the officials of the state capital. You keep saying that we have other motives. What are your intentions? "
"Humph! Teaching the officials a lesson? You are really arrogant! "
Lin Jiang's eyes narrowed and he said angrily, "This is the territory of the Tang Empire. You are doing business here and have to abide by the laws of the Tang Empire. Not to mention that you are from the Kang Kingdom, even Turkic merchants have to follow the rules of the Tang Empire! Instigating civil unrest and bribing officials, you are really bold! "
Kang Qu argued, "We were forced to do this by the officials! It was the Taiyuan government who tried to harm Brother Chang 'an first. They did not allow us to pass on the news of Brother Chang' an's death to the Kang Kingdom. Since we were trapped in Taiyuan City, we could only resort to this method to force the government to open the city gates! "
"Humph! Then do you know why Taiyuan City was sealed? "
Lin Jiang said in annoyance.
Kang Qu thought for a moment and said, "According to the official notice, the city has been sealed for the past few days in order to catch a Turkic spy! But in my opinion, these are all pretenses. The government is trying to cover up their crime of harming Brother Chang 'an. To prevent the news from leaking out, they closed the city gates! "
"You really think highly of Kang Changan, and you really think highly of yourself!"
When Lin Jiang heard that, he could not help smiling coldly. "Let me tell you the truth. Kang Changan colluded with the Turk spies. Before the matter was exposed, the Turk spies killed him to silence him! At this time, the government already had concrete evidence! Today, I am interrogating you because I want to know whether or not you bribing officials and disrupting public order in the city were incited by Turkic spies. "
"A Turkic spy? What Turkic spy? We are just merchants, how could we know a Turkic spy? "
Hearing this, Kang Qu's eyes widened in shock, and he hurriedly shook his head in denial.
What a joke! He could admit to the crime of bribing an official, but he could never admit to the crime of colluding with a Turkic spy. Otherwise, he might very well lose his life in the Great Tang!
"Hmph! You won't admit it? Then that's easy! Men, begin the punishment! "
Lin Jiang did not have the patience to argue with Kang Qu here. Li Junxian was still waiting for his reply. Seeing that Kang Qu did not know what was good for him, Lin Jiang directly shouted outside.
Kang Qu's expression changed, and he angrily said, "You dare?! I am a Kang citizen, you can't torture me! You want to beat me into a confession! I won't accept this! I want to see your provincial governor! "
Constable Feng had only limited his interrogation of Kang Qu and the others since they were sent to prison. He had never tortured them. This was standard procedure. After all, Kang Qu was from the Kang Kingdom. Moreover, the authorities did not have any evidence of him colluding with the Turkic spies. Logically speaking, the Provincial Governor's Office could not torture him. Otherwise, they would be accused of abusing the Kang Kingdom's people and forcing them to confess under torture!
However, Lin Jiang did not play by the rules. He had not even said a few words when he wanted to torture him. Kang Qu did not think that his body could withstand the torture in the prison, so he hurriedly 'protested'!
Outside the torture chamber, Constable Feng walked in with two yamen runners. The two yamen runners were holding whips, stoves, and other tools. When Kang Qu saw this, his face turned pale with fright. He hurriedly wanted to turn around and run away, but the two yamen runners standing behind him firmly held onto his shoulders.
Constable Feng looked at Kang Qu expressionlessly and did not say anything.
Although it was against the rules for Lin Jiang to torture Kang Qu, Wang Liaoyuan had told him before he came to the prison that he should cooperate with Lin Jiang.
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
Lin Jiang looked at Kang Qu indifferently and said, "I'm not afraid to tell you that I am from the Great Tang's Hundred Cavalry. A large number of Turkic spies have appeared in Taiyuan City this time. Our general has personally come to Taiyuan because these Turkic spies have kidnapped a person of extremely high status. If we do not catch all of these Turkic spies in one fell swoop, His Majesty will definitely be furious. Many people in Taiyuan City will die, and you will definitely not be able to leave Great Tang alive!
Thus, let alone torture you, even if we kill you, the Imperial Court will not say anything. You, Kang Qu, will also not dare to say anything! "
Lin Jiang's tone was very calm, but Kang Qu felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He looked at Lin Jiang in shock, and his heart was in turmoil!
Hundred Cavalry? This Lin Jiang in front of him was actually from the most mysterious army of Great Tang — the Hundred Cavalry! And the reason why Taiyuan City was sealed was because the Turkic spies had kidnapped a person of extremely high status as a hostage!
As for who this hostage was, although Lin Jiang did not say it clearly, Kang Qu could guess. After all, for the Hundred Cavalry to personally come to Taiyuan to participate in the rescue, this hostage was either a high official of the Imperial Court or a noble!
And a few days ago, King Wei of Great Tang had coincidentally come to Taiyuan City …
Thinking of this, a layer of cold sweat appeared on Kang Qu's back. He finally understood why Lin Jiang did not care about his identity as a Kang Qu merchant. Compared to rescuing King Wei of Great Tang, even if the Prince of Kang Qu was here, as long as he hindered the authorities from rescuing Li Tai, he would be arrested!
At this time, Kang Qu finally understood how laughable his previous fearlessness was!
"I … I … I will confess. I will tell you everything I know! Don't torture me! Don't torture me! "
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Kang Qu's heart was filled with endless regret and fear. He quickly spoke.
…
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