Zhang Zhong, the people from the inner court, and Zhan Xiangyun started to get busy. They received the commoners one by one and recorded down what they said. It would be better if there was direct evidence, but it didn't matter if there wasn't. They would spill everything under torture.
The four judges were also called over by Zhang Zhong to listen. They didn't expect Zhang Zhong to act so quickly. He had only been here for a day, but he had already started to act. It was like a thunderbolt. Where did he find these guards? They even had crossbows.
The four of them originally wanted to tell Zhang Yi about this matter, but they were stopped and brought here to listen. They listened as the commoners listed out the crimes one by one. They wanted to interrupt the commoners and threaten them, but there were more than a dozen people with a silver-white seedling on their chests standing around, so they didn't dare to do anything.
The only way to threaten them was to glare at the commoners who came to complain. These commoners had finally found their backbone, so how could they be afraid of the four of them? Not only did they report the contents of their complaints, they even glared back at them.
In the end, after they glared back and forth, one of the commoners didn't want to glare back anymore. He spat a mouthful of phlegm on Cao Herui's face. Cao Herui was stunned and immediately went forward to kick him. However, the people from the seedling protection team reached out and grabbed him, causing him to tumble down.
Zhang Zhong spoke at this time, "Adjunct Cao, there's no need to be angry with the commoners. If you feel that they have insulted you, you can write a memorial and hand it to me first. I will deal with it as I see fit."
Cao Herui knew that he wouldn't be able to gain any advantage at this time. In terms of fighting, any one of the people standing at the side could easily beat the four of them. He had heard that these guards with unique markings were Zhang Zhong's personal guards. They were fine even if they jumped from a 40-foot tall ship into the sea.
Looking at the expressions on these people's faces, they looked like they were made of wood. These people couldn't be beaten, at least not by the four of them.
Wiping his face with his sleeve, Cao Herui said to the citizen who came to complain, "You dare to spit on me? I wish your family a long life."
"Bah, dog official, I'm telling you, now that there's a new official, don't even think about scaring me. I'll wait for the day when you're dealt with, I'll wait!"
This person was not afraid of Cao Herui in the slightest. He spat again and cursed. This time, Cao Herui was prepared and did not get spat on his face. However, his clothes did not escape. There was a large piece of yellow phlegm on his clothes, which was disgusting to look at.
"Left and right? If anyone dares to disturb the court again, slap them on the spot. "Zhang Zhong's face darkened as he stared at the commoner below and shouted.
The members of the Seedling Protection Team shouted in unison. They knew what the Old Master meant, which was to slap the four of them.
The commoner was not stupid. The words that Cao Herui was about to say were interrupted by the new official. He knew who the new official favored, so he smiled at Cao Herui and continued to speak.
Crimes were written down one by one. At the end, there were still people who tortured the remaining bailiffs. The torture method was very simple. Zhang Xiaobao learned it from Xiao Hong. In the past, Xiao Hong commanded the poultry and almost killed those people. This time, there were no poultry, so they used a type of fish that was fished out from the sea.
The shark was not considered big, only five to six feet long. It was kept in a large fish tank made of wood. When the bailiffs were questioned, if they did not say anything, then they would be put into the fish tank.
They deliberately found a high platform so that they could see the situation in the fish tank. When the first bailiff was tied up and slowly lowered down, the blood that came out made the other bailiffs choose to compromise.
The bailiffs who went down had their ropes cut off when other bailiffs were willing to speak. The screams scared the other bailiffs so much that their legs went soft.
*****
At this time, Zhang Yi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He wanted to find the four judges, but he was told that the four of them stayed in the manor. He also wanted to go and take a look, but he was afraid that his subordinates would tell him something and directly arrest him.
With no other choice, he left the yamen alone. He didn't dare to wear any official robes. He jogged to the outside of a house, knocked on the door three times long and two times short, then anxiously paced around in front of the door.
It didn't take long for the door to be pulled open from the inside. Zhang Yi jumped in and closed the door behind him. Then, he said to the person who opened the door, "Take me to your master. It's urgent."
"County Magistrate Zhang, please follow me. Master already knows some things and is waiting for you." The servant who opened the door said in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing. He led the way in front.
After passing through a few courtyards, when they came to a place, Zhang Yi rushed in front of the tall and thin man and said, "Boss Shen, it's not good. The new Provincial Governor has made a move. Nothing happened last night, but this morning it changed. My people have been arrested. I don't know what they can say."
The tall and thin man looked indifferent and said to Zhang Yi, "County Magistrate, don't worry. Indeed, Zhang Zhong made a move early, much earlier than we expected. But so what? He arrested the bailiffs. Even if they give you away, you can deny it. There's no proof.
The money we gave you is a gift between friends. Did you take bribes? Have we ever asked you to do anything evil for us? We are just friends. There's nothing else mixed in. Do you understand? Not to mention here, even in the Ministry of Justice of the imperial court, it's the same. Even if we see the Emperor, it won't change. "
"Yes, yes, no, not at all. We are just friends. We gave each other some things, including money. Those bailiffs were just talking nonsense. They were forced to confess under torture. They can't be trusted. Then what should we do next?"
Zhang Yi understood as soon as he heard this. He had to clear himself first. The bailiffs might have been forced to confess. When the time came, he would find four judges and jointly submit a report to the court.
The tall and thin man nodded with satisfaction. He looked in the direction of the government office and said, "We don't need to do the next step. That Zhang Zhong will definitely come to you personally. He just arrived here and doesn't know anything. Don't be fooled by his methods. In fact, he just wants you to surrender.
Since that's the case, then he will come to you and use the bailiffs' confessions to force you to submit. This is also a chance. When the time comes, I'll go with you and see what Zhang Zhong has to say. Don't worry, you know who's behind me. Even if the negotiations don't go well, I can still bail you out. "
"Good, then we'll do as Mr. Shen says. Wait for him to come to me. I'll take you there." Zhang Yi admired this person. He rarely made mistakes in his calculations. Even if there was a slight difference, it was almost the same.
It was a pity that they didn't know what kind of opponent they were facing. They also couldn't guess that this opponent wasn't the new provincial governor but the two harmless-looking children beside the provincial governor.
Zhang Yi wasn't in a hurry to go back. He stayed here and waited for Zhang Zhong to come to him.
In the magistrate's office, Zhang Zhong had already flipped through the bailiffs' confessions. When the 102 bailiffs were willing to confess, they were questioned separately. As long as there was a difference, they would continue to be thrown into the shark tank. Not only were they asked what they had done, but they were also asked what others had done.
This kind of questioning made the bailiffs not dare to lie. If they said that their crimes were light, who knew if the other bailiffs would tell the truth? Similarly, they didn't mention that their colleagues would cover for them. They couldn't cover for them anyway. Everyone considered the severity of the matter differently. If what they said was different from what others said, they would be thrown into the fish tank again.
Zhang Zhong was no longer the person who couldn't tolerate anything when he had just become an official. During this period of time, he had also gotten used to some things. However, when he saw the confessions of these bailiffs, he couldn't help but get angry.
"Bastards, a bunch of bastards. Look at what they have done? They actually took things for free in the county's market every day. They even forced the fishermen to catch specific fish for them. They even made the fishermen go out to sea in the heavy rain just to get those things that could be offered as a tribute.
Many fishermen died at sea. They even rushed into the people's houses to steal things. They are considered smart. They only stole a small part of the things each time and came back the next day. This made the people lose their will to fight to the death. Among them, there are still 31 people who deserve to die. The rest can be locked up for a few years. "
Zhang Zhong knew that he couldn't solve the problem after scolding for a while, so he turned to look at his son.
Zhang Xiaobao also read the confessions. He didn't have any indignant thoughts. He was already used to these things. Wang Juan was also the same. The darkness of the society was still considered bright compared to the bailiffs.
"Father, since 31 people deserve to die, then immediately behead 31 of them. This kind of thing, you, the provincial governor, can make the decision. Let the rest go back. Since it's not a capital crime, it's a waste of food to lock them up."
Zhang Xiaobao thought about it and said to his father.
"Let them go? Let them go. Won't Zhang Yi have more manpower to use? Xiao Bao, you can't let them go. "Zhang Zhong didn't expect that his son would ask him to let them go.
Zhang Xiaobao put down the confessions in his hand and explained to his father, "Father, we can let them go, but not like this. First, we let people whip them. As long as they faint once, it's enough. Then, we don't give them food, water, or sleep.
He had people continuously ask them whether they would help Zhang Yi in the future and whether they would listen to the Provincial Governor's orders. As long as they were asleep, he would wake them up and ask them these two questions. He would ask them continuously until the next night. Then, he would let them rest and sleep for a while before letting them go.
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