Chapter 1052
Xu Changwen's Case
Chapter 1052 Xu Changwen's Case
Jiangnan
Jinling Prefectural Government Office
In the dungeon,
Xu Changwen, now dressed in official robes, arrived at the cell where Ma Guangcheng was imprisoned, accompanied by a clerk and the head constable Li Zhen. They saw the disheveled and filthy Magistrate Ma.
Xu Changwen showed no mercy and berated the jailers around him.
"Guards! Lord Ma, come out here! I need to interrogate you!"
"Yes, sir,"
The two jailers showed no mercy. After unlocking the door, they rushed in, put shackles on the former Lord Ma, and dragged him out.
This disheveled appearance filled Ma Guangcheng with shame and indignation, and he cursed;
"Hmph, a bunch of pigs and dogs, how dare they treat me like this? Don't they want to live?"
His arrogant tone remained unchanged, which earned him a cold smile from Xu Changwen.
"What a joke! Before, you were an official of the imperial court, and everyone feared you. But now, who are you? Who can you yell at now?"
A furious shout made Ma Guangcheng's eyes turn red.
"Bah! You're just a lowly county magistrate. Who gives you the audacity to be so arrogant? This case has been tried once or twice. I've said what I needed to say and done what I needed to do. Why don't you go and try the other people's cases?"
Ma Guangcheng wore a sarcastic expression. He had done all the things to implicate others, and even more. Jia Yucun had gone out, and no one knew when he would return. But Hu Wenxuan was in the same boat, and some things had already been spread around. It was just a matter of how much he had implicated.
"Take him away and take him directly to the front for interrogation. I will question him; others will question him. Now, each of you will question yourselves."
With a wave of his hand,
Several jailers escorted Ma Guangcheng to the dungeon. The front hall had already been cleaned up, and oil lamps were lit on the walls all around. Li Zhen personally placed a stool in front of the desk and removed Ma Guangcheng's shackles, which surprised Ma Tongpan. What did this mean?
After being freed from his shackles, Ma Guangcheng didn't stand on ceremony. He dusted himself off and plopped down on the stool.
"Hmph, ask away,"
Even the head constable, Li Zhen, found it hard to tolerate such arrogance.
"Lord Ma, Lord Xu has been more than kind to you. If you're going to be ungrateful, it would be better to put the shackles back on."
"Who do you think you are, daring to lecture me? Magistrate Xu is an official, after all. What rank are you? How dare you shout like that?"
At this moment, Ma Guangcheng seemed to have come to terms with things, daring to say anything, leaving Li Zhen speechless. Seeing this imposing manner, Xu Changwen smiled slightly and sat down behind his desk.
“Ma Guangcheng, you are a criminal, yet you are so arrogant. Do you have any sense of awe? The reason I treat you this way is to give court officials dignity. I never seek personal gain. I will interrogate you here, and Li Zhen will serve you. You, bring a stool, sit here, and tell the truth.”
Xu Changwen pointed to the empty space beside him and asked the clerk in charge of recording things to sit there. However, the clerk looked troubled and replied.
"Sir, this is against the rules,"
The clerk hesitated, not daring to step forward and offer some reminders, but Xu Changwen turned around and asked;
"What rules?"
"Sir, you are from the county and are unfamiliar with the rules of the prefectural government. In the prefectural government, trials are conducted openly but recorded secretly."
These rules were all set by these few adults in front of us.
"Hehe, interesting. What do you mean by 'open trial and secret recording'? The Great Martial Law clearly states that all levels of government should openly and secretly record the interrogation of prisoners. I will take charge. Bring out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone. Record it right here. Moreover, you must write down the time, place and who is recording it, and affix your personal seal. Go."
A roar,
The clerk, terrified, nodded repeatedly. He went to the outer room, brought the items over, and the head constable, Li Zhen, brought a stool and placed it there. The clerk had no choice but to bend down and sit down.
"Yes, sir, I am ready and at any time."
"Okay, let's begin."
Xu Changwen, his face cold, turned his gaze back to the magistrate Ma in front of him. How could he give such an ignorant man a pleasant look? He said sternly.
"Li Zhen, remove the stool and let him stand to answer."
"Yes, sir,"
Li Zhen didn't hesitate; he reached out and pulled Ma Guangcheng off the stool, then kicked it away. Ma Guangcheng's face changed color with anger, but he showed no remorse whatsoever.
"Hmph, even the inspectors who come to interrogate me get a seat. Why should I stand to be interrogated?"
Before Ma Guangcheng could continue his rambling, Xu Changwen, with a cold face, looked at the case file in his hand and cursed.
"You ask me on what grounds? On what grounds? On what grounds? Because you have committed countless evils, your crimes are beyond measure. The Xinbei Dike breached, killing countless people in both the south and north of the Yangtze River. How many people drowned? In just the four counties of Jinling, as many as 700,000 people were left homeless. Your sins, and the sins of those behind you, are like a raging flood. If I don't judge you, if the court doesn't judge you, Heaven will take you down, and take down those behind you."
One point past,
A chilling wind suddenly swept through the dungeon, sending shivers down the spines of the group.
Just then, a noise came from the dungeon entrance. Xu Dong, the magistrate of Chun'an County, and Ning Kai, the clerk of the Imperial City Guard, suddenly sensed something and entered. Seeing Xu Changwen about to interrogate him, they quickly stepped forward.
"It's good that we made it in time, Brother Changwen. It's absolutely impossible for you to be interrogated alone now. At least three people should be here for the interrogation. Fortunately, I called Ning Jian, and we made it in time."
Xu Dong quickened his pace and approached. Seeing that the document in front of the clerk was completely blank, he sighed and simply dismissed the man.
"You may leave. This case will be recorded by me personally, and Ning Jian will review it."
Xu Dong didn't stand on ceremony and dismissed the clerk. Ning Kai, standing behind him, looked even more helpless. Unfortunately, the commander had personally selected him to participate in the interrogation, so how could he refuse? He replied, "..."
"it is good,"
Seeing this, Xu Changwen wanted to say something more, but then he saw Xu Dong give him a wink, and knowing the importance and urgency of the matter, he immediately began the interrogation.
"Did you order the breaching of the dikes in Jiangnan?"
"Yes, it was my order that the constables and men dug the breach, and that the captain of the Yangzhou garrison followed them with his soldiers. The plan was to kill them as soon as they returned. But the men who had been river bandits were too wary and fled. The captain who followed them was afraid of becoming a scapegoat, so he shouted loudly at the city gate. Man proposes, God disposes."
Ma Guangcheng sighed. He hadn't been careful enough and had left behind a disaster. He never expected that the others would be able to escape.
"Alright, let me continue. Those constables in the yamen's express patrol were all recruited by you. They are all river bandits. They can secretly do dirty work for you."
Following up on these questions, Xu Changwen continued to inquire, first seeking to understand the origins of these individuals and their past actions.
“I recruited them, or rather, they recruited them after they gradually entered the city. Over the years, they have become quite useful and have solved many problems.”
These are all verifiable facts, leaving no room for denial. Ma Guangcheng doesn't care about these things; what's done is done, and who dares to say anything now?
"Okay, speak quickly and get this written down,"
Xu Changwen glanced at Xu Dong, his pen still moving, writing quickly. After a while, he suddenly asked a question.
"Since you know all this, then let me ask you, why did that Yangzhou garrison captain obey your orders? Who issued the order?" This question surprised everyone present. The crucial power to mobilize troops was a serious crime. Even Ning Jian, the head of the Imperial City Guard, paled slightly. This was their fault; the Imperial City Guard hadn't reported the troop mobilization in Jiangnan. Just as they were about to explain, Ma Guangcheng suddenly burst into laughter.
"Lord Xu, Magistrate Xu, are you really unaware, or are you pretending not to know? General Xiang of the Yangzhou Prefectural Army received a transfer order from the Imperial Household Department. The letter was written by Eunuch Yang, the Director of the Imperial Household Department from the capital. Without his order, how could the Prefectural Army dare to come? Oh, by the way, the Imperial City Guard also knows about this matter. Isn't that Ning Jian's affair? Haha."
A burst of wild laughter,
Reckless and futile, Ning Kai's face flashed with a fierce light.
"Ma Guangcheng, watch your words,"
“Ning Jian, you’re here to review the guarantee, not to judge the case. Unrelated parties, don’t speak. Take notes.”
Xu Changwen's expression darkened as he spoke, knowing in his heart that the breakthrough in this case was right before them.
"Since it was Eunuch Yang who issued the order, why are you able to command them? And you are merely a sub-prefect, why do you need those soldiers?"
"Lord Xu, there's no need to guess. I'll tell you the truth. It's the Imperial Textile Bureau, the Imperial Household Department, the Grand Secretariat, and the palace that mobilized them. It's an imperial edict, all for the purpose of converting farmland into mulberry fields to supply the Imperial Textile Bureau with raw silk. Logically, giving these to the Imperial Textile Bureau would suffice, but the Imperial Household Department also needs soldiers. Isn't that strange?"
"Let me tell you, it's not surprising at all. Several counties north of the Yangtze River have jade mines, all sealed off by the previous dynasty. Now they're all in use. The person in charge is the magistrate of the alley, who's mining jade for the retired emperor's Taoist practice at Chang Le Palace. The textile bureau is also getting raw silk to sell for silver to cover Chang Le Palace's deficit. Do you understand?"
Almost without any attempt to conceal it, they threw this mud into the palace. Ning Kai was already terrified and ran over, slapping Ma Guangcheng several times.
"Do you want to die? If you're going to take a bribe, then take a bribe; if you're going to do something, then do it. But if you keep your mouth shut, in the end, you'll be the one who dies."
All of this was observed by the two Lord Xus, and Xu Changwen immediately roared in anger.
"Li Zhen, pull them apart,"
"Yes, my lord."
Whether it was because Ning Jianshi was physically weak or because Li Zhenwu's martial arts skills had greatly improved, he only took one step and pulled Ning Jianshi back with a side pull. Ning Jianshi was still there, his face flushed, cursing angrily.
“Ning Jian, today I am presiding over a case for the sake of the court and the Emperor, and I am acting in accordance with the rules. Since Lord Ma says it is for the sake of the Emperor Emeritus, then I ask you, where is the imperial edict?”
Xu Changwen squinted. "You say it's an imperial edict, but who has actually seen it?"
"Haha, Lord Xu, you really dare to ask. These matters are not authorized by imperial decree."
Ma Guangcheng covered his face, shook his head, and laughed heartily.
"Fine, without an imperial decree, what makes you claim it's a sacred edict, the will of the retired emperor?"
Despite repeated questioning, Xu Changwen remained unmoved, his face cold.
"The Textile Bureau works for the Imperial Household Department, and Eunuch Yang works for the palace. The Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet also work for the palace. Chang Le Palace needs jade, which is a formal request. Even Lord Jing has a copy. Eunuch Yang has given orders repeatedly. If he wasn't doing it for Chang Le Palace, then who was he doing it for?"
"Okay, it's recorded, word for word."
Xu Changwen only now understood these things. Chang Le Palace refers to the Emperor Emeritus. He had heard about the Emperor Emeritus's cultivation of Taoism. When he left the capital, there were rumors that the Emperor Emeritus needed to cultivate Taoism to maintain his health. But why he later used birthday tribute and top-quality jade was hard to guess. There are many monks and Taoists in the martial arts world. Those who cultivate Taoism have used jade, but he had never heard of the Emperor Emeritus's extravagant spending before. His shock was evident.
"No, these words cannot be recorded."
Just as Xu Dong was writing down his thoughts, Ning Jianshi quickly rebuked him, saying that these words should not be included in the case file, as it was a grave offense of disrespect, especially in front of him.
“If you are afraid of taking responsibility, then you should evade it. This official is upright and incorruptible and will record the facts. Brother Changwen, one person asks and another records, which is in accordance with the law.”
Xu Dong kept talking and writing down everything that had just been said. Even the arrogant Ma Guangcheng quieted down. If these words were truly recorded, the two men in front of him would be risking their lives.
"Haha, how laughable and lamentable! In the end, the dossier that no one dared to record was actually recorded by the two of you. You two scholars serving as county magistrates, is the court really out of talent? Haha, I dare say that looking across the court, everyone is as mediocre and incompetent as Ning Jianshi. By the way, when Eunuch Yang summoned us to discuss important matters, Ning Jianshi was also at the table. Furthermore, the Imperial City Guard did not miss a single task in collecting labor for the counties north of the Yangtze River. So, I confess. Bring it here, I want to sign and seal it."
A strange sense of tragic grandeur spread through the prison. Ning Kai was so frightened that he almost turned pale. Xu Changwen asked Yang Gonggong some more questions, such as how Yang Gonggong issued the orders, how they were presented to the Emperor, and who relayed the documents and memorials from the Imperial Household Department and the Directorate of Ceremonial. All of these were recorded in detail.
Seeing that the case file and confession were finished, Ma Guangcheng did not delay at all, pressing his fingerprint and signing the document.
"Gentlemen Xu, you've finished your questions. I'm feeling a bit hungry and would like some roast duck from Jiangnan,"
"Alright, someone go and buy some roast duck and send it to Lord Ma. He can go to the jail cell now."
Xu Changwen nodded in agreement, instructing the jailers to escort the people back. He then picked up the case file, and in turn, signed the names and pressed his fingerprints on it. After placing the file on the table, he glanced at Ning Jian, who was still standing there, and asked...
“Since you’re afraid to take responsibility, then go back. We’ll handle the rest ourselves.”
Xu Changwen was acting in his best interest; after all, the Imperial City Guard held a special position, and if they were to get involved in this way, the consequences would be unpredictable. Perhaps knowing Magistrate Xu's good intentions, Ning Kai nodded, but still offered a reminder.
"Indeed, the two officials presided over this case, and it was in accordance with the law. However, the two officials should also know that matters concerning the palace are not to be touched. With the Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet approaching, how can such treasonous words be presented? The two magistrates have bright futures ahead of them. There is no need to risk their lives for a dying man. That's all I have to say. You two should take care of yourselves."
With a fist salute, Ning Kai didn't waste any time, turning and leaving, leaving the two of them speechless in the empty dungeon.
"The one who brought the criminal is Hu Wenxuan, the Assistant Magistrate of Jinling Prefecture."
"Yes, my lord."
Suddenly, a surge of excitement filled the silent air. Li Zhen's spirits lifted, and he personally escorted Lord Hu from the prison to this place. He had barely found his footing when Xu Changwen had someone bring a stool to sit not far from the table.
"Remove the shackles and put the stool here,"
"Yes, sir,"
Pointing to a spot not far in front of the table, Li Zhen moved a stool forward, took out a key, unlocked the shackles, and then stepped back a few paces to stand there and wait to be served.
After a long silence, Xu Changwen noticed Lord Hu's hair. In just a few days, his hair had turned completely white, his face showed signs of grief, and he was dressed in coarse cloth. He no longer had the dignity that an official should have. After a moment's thought, he said in a deep voice.
"You are a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and have spent several years in the Hanlin Academy, so I cannot address you by your official title. As for those who have achieved success through learning, I only passed the Xiucai (lowest level of the imperial examination) by chance, so I cannot address you by our seniority either. Since I have not been convicted, I cannot call you by your name directly. From now on, I will ask you questions and you will answer them, so I will not address you by your name."
Only then did Hu Wenxuan raise his eyes, looking at the minor county magistrate with a serious expression. He nodded.
"Okay, go ahead and ask."
The side hall of the dungeon was pitch black, like the entrance to the underworld, ready to devour anyone who might enter. Only four people were inside, and it was utterly silent. Xu Changwen reached out and touched the table; it was pitted and worn, and he wondered how long it had stood there.
"I'm asking you, after Eunuch Yang came to Jiangnan, did he give you any orders, what did he say to you, or what orders did he convey?"
He spoke frankly, asking the same questions to Eunuch Yang. These were things Hu Wenxuan hadn't anticipated. He continued, "Since you asked, I'll answer," as he couldn't help but recall the words of Prefect Jia.
"When Eunuch Yang came to Jiangnan, he ordered me to reopen the jade mines in the five counties north of the river. I dared not accept the order, for these jade mines were sealed off by the previous dynasty, and no one in our dynasty has ever ordered their reopening. So how could I dare to accept the order?"
He paused slightly, thought for a moment, and his expression turned somewhat grim.
"But in the end, Eunuch Yang produced an official document from the Imperial Household Department, his warrant, and a message from Inspector General Jing, which was delivered through a intermediary. Only then did I dare to accept the order and go to Jiangbei to mine."
These statements are all supported by evidence, and this evidence has already been gathered and sent to the cabinet.
"Alright, since you were acting on orders from the Imperial Household Department and Eunuch Yang, how did you manage to mine the jade? I remember that the jade mines in the five counties north of the Yangtze River all have clear records. They are all high-quality jade veins. In addition, the mountains are rugged. During the Song Dynasty, the birthday tributes sent to the emperor also came from these mountains, right?"
Although he didn't understand the quality of these jade stones, the fact that they were recorded in historical texts meant they must be extraordinary. Therefore, his question was about how these mines were opened, and where the manpower and resources came from.
"Haha, Lord Xu, you really dare to ask! Do you know that these jade mines are being sent to the palace in the capital for the retired emperor's cultivation? Moreover, I also know that there are rumors in the capital that the retired emperor's cultivation involves intercepting the imperial court's fortune to extend his own life, just like what Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion did. Do you dare to record these things?"
(End of this chapter)