Yang Mingsheng sat behind the desk and analyzed the thoughts of Empress Wu and Assistant Minister Zhou Xing. He stroked his beard and smiled.
As long as he could understand the intentions of the higher-ups, this case would be easy to handle.
He quickly drew up a list. The Empress Dowager's revolutionary intentions were becoming more and more obvious. The people he planned to choose were either those who did not have clear support or those who had been promoted during Gaozong's reign. They were more loyal to Li Tang. In short, he could use this case to kill or demote them, remove the obstacles to the revolution, and gain the favor of the Empress Dowager.
Then he had to consider Assistant Minister Zhou's intentions. Therefore, the Marquis of Nan Yang and Minister of Autumn Official Zhang Chujin, who had a more ambiguous attitude toward politics, were also included in the list.
The Autumn Official was the Ministry of Justice. The present Minister of the Autumn Official was Zhang Chujin, and the Assistant Minister of the Autumn Official was the leader of his faction, Zhou Xing. Once Zhang Chujin fell, Zhou Xing would naturally become the Minister of Justice, an official of a fu. This was probably what Assistant Minister Zhou would be happy to see.
For Yang Mingsheng, drawing up this list was easy, but for other people, it was not so easy. Because the various factions in the imperial court were intricate and complicated, the various powerful ministers were not as strictly divided as the common people imagined. On the contrary, they were intertwined. Today they were enemies, tomorrow they would be friends, and they would change back and forth.
Therefore, moving one hair would affect the entire situation. Which factions could not be touched, which factions to be roped in, which factions the Empress Dowager wanted to eliminate, which people to target without implicating other factions and causing a large backlash, this required great knowledge. If someone did not understand the factions in the officialdom and took out a list, it would be poking a hornet's nest.
Zhang Chujin was a person who could be killed without attracting too much interference from other powers. After all, there was still a layer of separation between him and the Empress Dowager. Killing Zhang Chujin and pleasing Zhou Xing was the most pressing matter at hand!
Thinking of this, Yang Mingsheng reached out to touch the teacup again.
At this time, Yang Fan came upstairs with a steaming pot. Yang Langzhong, who had been feeling slightly tired, smelled the thick fragrance of tea and became alert. He planned to work through the night and confirm the names of all these candidates. He would also list their crimes and report it to Assistant Minister Zhou tomorrow morning for a decision.
Yang Mingsheng looked at the resumes of the officials and the information about their relationships in all aspects. Without raising his head, he ordered, "Mu Dinger, pour a cup of hot tea first, and then light up the candle a little."
"Wooden Nail" didn't answer. He just walked over and placed a pot of steaming hot tea in front of Yang Mingsheng.
…
"Chi!"
Another curtain was torn into long strips. This was a bolt of Water Wave Silk from the Run Province of Jiang Nan. It was extremely expensive, but in Yang Fan's hands, it became a rope to tie people up.
Doctor Yang, who was tightly bound, revealed a look of ridicule in his eyes. He was already tied up like a big rice dumpling, but this nightwalker wearing the Exorcism Ghost Mask was still cutting the cloth. Was he afraid that he would break out of his cocoon?
Yang Mingsheng didn't feel much fear. Since the matter was like this, there was no use in being afraid. To be able to work for so many years and reach his present status, he had seen many great scenes, experienced many bloody storms. He would not be so scared that his lips were white and his face was green.
When Yang Fan tied him up, he was even less worried. Since the other had tied him up and not killed him, he clearly had a request. Since he had a request, he did not need to worry about the danger to his life, at least temporarily.
Seeing the ridicule in his eyes, Yang Fan stopped what he was doing and explained seriously, "I'm not afraid that you will run away. I'm afraid that you won't be able to endure the pain and will break free from the rope. You have been in charge of the Penal Prison for many years. You should know that when torture is carried out, the pain of the tortured is extremely great. And this unbearable pain can allow an ordinary person without the strength to truss a chicken to display astonishing power. "
His voice was still old. The only parts of his body that were exposed were his hands, which had been smeared with ginger juice. After the ginger juice dried, there was a wrinkled layer. Even an old official like Yang Mingsheng, who had been immersed in the Penal Prison for many years, couldn't immediately see through it.
After listening to Yang Fan's explanation, Yang Mingsheng's heart skipped a beat and a chill immediately rose up. Finally, he began to reveal an expression of fear. He understood the cruelty of punishment all too well. A person who was not afraid of death might not be afraid of the torture of punishment. The cruelty of punishment was enough to destroy the will of a valiant general who had gone through hundreds of battles on the battlefield.
Seeing the deep doubt and fear in his eyes, Yang Fan slowly said, "Don't worry, I will ask you in a moment. If you can answer all my questions, then you won't have to suffer any physical pain!"
As he spoke, Yang Fan was sitting on a short table. The files, brushes, and ink on the table had all been swept to the ground by him. He sat on the table in a grand manner with a steaming cauldron on the side. Yang Mingsheng was kneeling in front of him with his hands tied behind his back, like a prisoner waiting to be interrogated.
Yang Fan twisted the cloth into something like a rope and stretched it with his hands. Satisfied with its sturdiness, he then got up and walked behind Yang Mingsheng. He tightened the rope around Yang Mingsheng's face and twisted it left and right. In a moment, he had made something like a horse's head. He pulled one end in his hand and the other end was placed on Yang Mingsheng's mouth. As long as he tightened it, Yang Mingsheng would not be able to make a sound.
Yang Fan's saber had already been sheathed at his waist. He did not dare to hold it in his hand. As long as he had the sharp saber in his hand, looking at Yang Mingsheng's grim and stern face and the two deep wrinkles under his nose, Yang Fan had the urge to cut off his head. But he could not, at least not yet.
He knew that the murderer was not just Yang Mingsheng. Who was the general who had cut off his Elder Sister's head with a saber? At that time, they were just little generals, little civil officials. Who was the real mastermind behind them? The answer to all these questions could only be found in the person in front of him.
He wanted to know why someone would want to massacre their small mountain village. What was the reason? They had been living well in that valley, standing aloof from worldly affairs. Whether it was his parents or the other people in the small village, they were all so kind. He had never seen them harm anyone, so why did a group of people suddenly rush out and cruelly kill them?
They were not a group of bandits, nor were they a group of robbers. They were a group of nobles from the Eastern Capital. That was why after they burned down the village, the Shaozhou government, who did not know their true identity but knew that they had a great background, kept it a secret. That was why they used the excuse of a plague outbreak to erase the injustice of hundreds of lives in this small village from the world!
Yang Fan raised his foot and ruthlessly stepped on Yang Langzhong's shoulder. Yang Langzhong let out a muffled groan and fell forward. Before his forehead could heavily touch the floor, Yang Fan used all his strength to pull on the silk chewing in his hand. Yang Langzhong's body was suspended in the air.
Yang Fan bent down and took out the cloth to gag his mouth. In a deep voice, he said, "You can speak now. If you want to be a muddle-headed ghost, then shout loudly. I will not hesitate to stab you!"
Yang Mingsheng was in a sorry state as he knelt on the ground with the chewing cloth in his mouth. The feeling of being ordered around like an animal made him feel exceptionally humiliated. He forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart and gasped for breath as he asked, "Who are you? What enmity do we have between us?"
"Enmity that cannot live under the same sky!"
Yang Mingsheng laughed hoarsely and said, "What a joke! This Yang enforces the law for the imperial court. Those who commit crimes, when they fall into this Yang's hands, will naturally be severely punished! If the families of all the criminals in the world come to seek revenge on this official, how could it be your turn? "
"Oh?"
Yang Fan slowly said, "In Lingnan's Shaozhou, twenty miles to the northeast, there is a nameless valley. In the valley, there is a small village. According to the Shaozhou government, the name of the village is Tao Yuan Village. There are hundreds of families in the village. I want to know, what crime did they commit to be punished by slaughtering the entire village. Men, women, old and young, not a single one will be spared!"
"Northeast of Shaozhou, nameless valley, Tao Yuan Village …"
Yang Mingsheng's voice was full of doubts. It seemed that the massacre of hundreds of lives had been completely forgotten by this big shot. He slowly repeated it. Suddenly, his body shook and he cried out involuntarily, "Ah! Shaozhou, Lingnan's Shaozhou! Who are you? "
Yang Fan tightened his grip and reined in the chewing cloth. He sternly said, "I'm the one asking you, speak!"
Yang Fan loosened the cloth cloth. Yang Mingsheng's head hit the floor with a bang, but he did not feel any pain. He gasped and asked, "Who … are you? Who are you? Are you … one of He Lanmin's clique?"
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