Chapter 53 Section 53

The weather in early autumn is crisp, and it is the weather of "putting night stations", and the chaos has subsided, and all businesses have recovered, so this road is also full of business travelers at night. When you see lanterns and torches, the army guards you, you will be regarded as some kind of official. , I don't know why the public is required, and the starry night is galloping. No one thought that it was Ding Gongbao who caught the "imperial envoy". At daybreak, the famous city is in sight, Wang Xin'an takes the lead and goes straight to the south gate to vote for the governor's yamen.This yamen is very famous. It was originally the Qi Wang Mansion built in the Hongwu period of the previous Ming Dynasty. Many places in it still use the old name. The boundary between the second hall and the upper room is called "Palace Gate".Therefore, "Gongbao" has almost become a nickname for the governor of Shandong.The governor rewarded the "palace title" of "Prince Shaobao", so they can be called Gongbao, but it is not as appropriate as the governor of Shandong who has a palace title, and is called Gongbao.

Ding Gongbao had already received a secret report from Cheng Shengwu's special messenger in the middle of the night, knowing that An Dehai would be arrested in Tai'an, the calculated journey was only a hundred miles away, and he could arrive early in the morning, so he had already told Xu Shen of the Fubiao Central Army General, send someone to wait at the south gate, wait for Wang Xin'an to escort An Dehai there, and immediately take him to see Ding Baozhen. Wang Xin'an was Ding Baozhen's favorite general, and with a special style of speech, he stood in front of the signing room and greeted him in person. As soon as he entered the "palace gate", he first shouted: "Zhiping, you have worked hard!"

The ranks of the governors of the general army are the same, but the governors are usually given the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, so as to control the military attaches of the whole province.Therefore, Wang Xin'an followed the etiquette of a member of the "official hall", walked quickly for a few steps, knelt down with one foot, and lowered his hand to ask for An, saying: "Xin'an is on business with your lord." "Where are people?" Ding Baozhen said while walking in, "Come in and talk." "There are four people in total, An Dehai, two eunuchs, one Chen and one Li, and one of An Dehai's followers. They are all handed over to General Xu."

Then Xu Can will report back, saying that the four people will be guarded at the gate of the gate, where can they be interrogated? "Not busy!" Ding Baozhen said, "Let me hear what happened first." So Wang Xin'an made a detailed statement to the best of his knowledge.Halfway through the conversation, the servant came to report, and He Yufu, the magistrate of Tai'an County, came to report. He was carrying a suitcase with him, which was the most important piece of luggage for An Dehai. "Please come in, please come in." He went to the signing room together with the suitcase, opened the suitcase, and found a brand-new dragon robe and a pair of emerald beads inside.

"Damn it!" Ding Baozhen scolded, "Really steal the dragon robe from the palace to recruit Yaoyao. This hanging court bead is also a royal thing, so it must not be neglected." He said to General Xu, "Add a seal and send it to the vassal. The company collects." It's time for an arraignment.Ding Baozhen ordered the copywriters to be brought in, explained what had happened, and invited the jury. One of the copywriters looked at his colleagues and said, "We'd better avoid it!" "Yes, yes! It should be avoided, please ask the palace to conduct a secret interrogation!"

With this statement, Ding Baozhen understood that they were afraid that An Dehai would inevitably reveal the secrets of the palace ban in his confession, which should not be heard by outsiders.Then he nodded and said, "Since that's the case, I'll do business with you later." "My lord," He Yufu stood up and said, "I will ask your lord for leave first, and come back to listen to my orders!" "Okay! You have been running around all night, please rest first. I will have a drink at noon, and I have something to discuss." Ding Baozhen held Wang Xin'an's hand when he said this, "Don't go!"

So, only Wang Xin'an was left alone, accompanying Ding Baozhen to interrogate An Dehai in the West Flower Hall of Fushu. General Xu Can said that he guarded An Dehai at the gate, but he was actually treating him as a guest of honour, and he greeted him very thoughtfully, but he couldn't move freely.When Ding Baozhen sent an order for interrogation, General Xu Shen personally led people on guard, from the Yuanmen to the flower hall west of the second hall, densely packed his own soldiers, cut off traffic, and then "invited" An Dehai in. He is very calm and arrogant, with a slight sneer, which seems to mean "capturing a tiger is easier than manipulating a tiger", and it depends on how Ding Baozhen ends up.At the same time, it seemed that he wanted to show off his style, those few steps were more peaceful than the prince and Zhongtang, with the sound of boots, full of square steps, majestic and unrestrained, he really deserved to have seen the world in the palace.

"An Dehai mentioned it!" In front of Ding Baozhen, General Xu took another attitude, lifted the curtain, and reported loudly. "Call him in!" The curtain was opened by the footman, and An Dehai lowered his head slightly, and once he entered the room, he neither greeted nor opened his mouth, standing proudly. Wang Xin'an couldn't bear it anymore, and angrily reprimanded: "Come here! You are just a Lan Ling eunuch, why are you rude when you meet Master Ding? Who taught you the rules?" "So it's Lord Ding." An Dehai gave in reluctantly, and came over to greet him with his hands down.

Ding Baozhen sized him up from head to toe, and Fang Shi asked in his strict Guizhou accent, "Are you An Dehai?" "Yes. I'm Anderhai." "Where are the people there?" "Qing County, Zhili." "How old are you this year?" "I am twenty-six years old." "You're only twenty-six years old," Ding Baozhen said, "you're quite impressive!" "I don't dare to speak of style. But I have done great things since I was eighteen." That refers to the "Xinyou coup", An Dehai was ordered to carry out "bitter tricks", was condemned to return to Beijing, and secretly communicated with Prince Gong about the "big event".Of course Ding Baozhen understood, but it was inconvenient to talk to him, he just asked: "Since you are an eunuch, why don't you work in the palace, what are you doing in Beijing?"

An Dehai answered by reading the words on the two flags: "I am ordered by imperial envoys to purchase dragon robes." "Purchasing dragon robes?" Ding Baozhen asked, "Is it the dragon robes of the empress dowagers of the two palaces, or the dragon robes of the emperor?" "All of them!" An Dehai replied eloquently: "The wedding ceremony is already under preparation. Usually when people celebrate weddings, the whole family has to make one or two new clothes, let alone the emperor's big day?" "You're right! But I don't understand. Whose order are you following?"

"It is the order of Empress Dowager Cixi." "Since obeying Yi's decree, someone must issue an edict, why don't I know?" "Lord Ding doesn't know, and I don't know either." An Dehai replied very easily: "Then you have to ask the military plane." "Hmph!" Ding Baozhen sneered, "I have to ask the military aircraft. Take out your survey and cooperation and have a look!" An Dehai's complexion changed, "It's not that the Ministry of War sent me an errand," he said with a firm mouth, "Where did Kanhe come from?" "It won't work without reconnaissance!" Ding Baozhen shook his head, as if a little unreasonable. An Dehai softened, "Master Ding," he said, "you always listen to me." "What do you have to say? Go ahead and say it!" Ding Baozhen added: "You have to say something sensible." "Master Ding!" An Dehai spread his hands together in a look of helplessness, "There is nothing to say here. I said that you are following Yi's order, and you always ask me to cooperate with the military department. These are two different things!" "How do you call it two different things? You are under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For example, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs go to Beijing to do business. Is it like you, empty-handed, nothing, just relying on your word?" "This..., Mr. Ding, let me say something that is not afraid of you being angry all the time. You have been out of the Imperial Academy and are in other provinces. You are not familiar with the situation in Beijing." An Dehai raised his face, speaking with an air that seemed Arrogantly, "People from the Ministry of Internal Affairs may not be able to be envoys of the inner court. Even the envoys of the inner court have to be particular about it. There are 'walking in the inner court' and 'walking in front of the imperial court'. If you don't follow the imperial edict, even the prince will not be able to go to the inner court. " What he was showing off was the identity of the eunuch in charge in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi.Ding Baozhen thought to himself, at this point, his demeanor and tone are still so arrogant, so how is he pretending to be a tiger?You can imagine.Thinking about it like this, the disgust became more and more serious, and I made up my mind that I must ask him to find out the truth. "I'm a foreign official, and I don't know the rules in Beijing. Let me ask you, how about walking in front of the imperial court?" Is it based on your words that imperial envoys are imperial envoys? " "According to my words? Hey, Mr. Ding, what am I? Isn't it all the meaning of the superior?" An Dehai said plausibly, "You always think, if it is not the meaning of the superior, can I get out of Beijing? Even if I sneak out of the capital, the Yamen of Shuntian Prefecture, the Yamen of Zhili Governor, will they let me go?" "That's right! That's what I said, I can't let you pass here." "Then," An Dehai seemed a little annoyed, "Master Ding, what are you going to do to me, are you going to kill me?" Hearing this, Ding Baozhen flew into a rage, but Wang Xin'an was already furious, rushed forward, stretched out his hand, and beat An Dehai's head to the side. "Bastard!" Wang Xin'an shouted with staring eyes, "If you don't tell the truth, hang up and beat me!" It seemed that An Dehai was discouraged. He covered his face and said after a long time: "Why do you have to be like this? You have something to say!" "You didn't listen to what I told you, but you insisted on clinging. If you don't hit me, who will you hit?" "Hmph!" Ding Baozhen sneered and said, "Don't get me wrong, you think I dare not kill you?" "Did you hear that? Tell me quickly." Wang Xin'an shook his arms, and planned to punch again. "What do you want me to say?" "Tell the truth!" Ding Baozhen asked, "How did you leave Beijing without permission?" "I didn't go out of Beijing privately." An Dehai said with a mournful face, "I work in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and I can't do without seeing each other for a day. If I go out of Beijing privately, won't I be afraid of losing my head when I go back?" This is really the end of the story, but Ding Baozhen can't admit his statement anyway, "That's what you say," he refuted very reasonable, "There are also many people who work in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Like you, all of you have become imperial envoys, is that still true? Besides, eunuchs are not allowed to go out of Beijing, there have been rules for a long time, what is the Empress Dowager Cixi's order, who is not easy to send, so I have to send you?" "Master Ding clearly sees it," An Dehai replied immediately after his words, "There are so many people in the palace, why didn't you send someone else to single me out? The people in front of me didn’t understand even if they said it.” "Wait!" Ding Baozhen finally caught the loophole in his words, and asked without hesitation: "It turns out that you are just trying to figure out what the Empress Dowager means! Huh? Say it!" An Dehai was still stubborn: "It's been explained by the superior. There are many other meanings, and it's inconvenient for me to explain it to Mr. Ding." "Do you still dare to pass on the imperial decree?" Ding Baozhen patted the Kang table and said sharply, "You are carrying women and using dragon and phoenix flags without permission. Is this also the meaning of your superiors?" "This, this is my fault!" "And that little flag, the thing painted on it, I ask you, what does that mean? It was also explained by the superiors?" Ding Baozhen was a little agitated, and angrily reprimanded: "You swagger all the way and disturb the place, not to mention pretending to be an imperial envoy, even if it is true, you will not be tolerated! Do you know what crime you committed? Ling Chi execution is not an exaggeration!" It wasn't until this point that An Dehai was considered to give in. His face turned blue and white for a while, and finally confessed: "I deserve to die, I deserve to die! Lord Ding, please let me go!" As he spoke, he was already short a cut. Kneeling was useless, Ding Baozhen shouted loudly: "Come on!" There were four or five Geshhas standing on the porch, and they entered the room together when they heard the sound. In the end, General Xu Shen rushed over, and stood in front of Ding Baozhen, asking An to wait for instructions. "Search for him!" "Cha!" General Xu Shen agreed, turned around and waved his hand, and two Goshhas came up, one pinched An Dehai's collar and lifted it up like an eagle catching a chicken, and the other untied him. Inside the bright gauze robe, there was a snow-white foreign gauze shirt with a deep pocket on the skirt. He took out a paper bag and handed it to General Xu.He pinched it and found that there were pieces of paper inside, so he didn't dare to open it to read, and turned around to present Ding Baozhen again. "Huh!" Ding Baozhen read the two pieces of paper, and said with a sneer: "Eunuchs are not allowed to associate with officials or interfere with official affairs. Based on this, it is a capital crime!" After finishing speaking, he put the two pieces of paper into his arms, No one knows what is written on it. "Talk to your lord," General Xu Shen reported, "There is nothing foreign on him." "Put it down first, and find a secluded place to guard it carefully. No one else is allowed to spy." "Yes!" General Xu Shen waved his hand again, signaling to take An Dehai down. "Master Ding!" An Dehai, who was being held hostage, struggled with all his might, turned his head and said, "Whether it's true or not, you always send me to Beijing to ask and you'll know." Ding Baozhen ignored him, and after he left the flower hall, he whispered to Wang Xin'an: "This guy is dreaming, and he plans to return to Beijing alive!" "My lord!" Wang Xin'an yelled, hesitating as if he had something harsh to say. "You don't need to say it, I know." Ding Baozhen said to General Xu again: "Bring up the other two eunuchs!" Both Chen Yuxiang and Li Pingan were pale and trembling, and when they entered the flower hall, they both knelt down, took off their hats, bumped their heads on the green brick floor, and then reported their names, just begging: "Lord Ding, please be kind! " "Tell the truth, who told you to come out with An Dehai?" "Yes!" The older Li Pingan said, "It's An Dehai." "Are you both in his charge?" "It's not his business." "Since it is not under his control, how can he command you? If you are told to leave Beijing, then leave Beijing?" "Return to Master Ding's words," Li Pingan replied timidly but cautiously: "An Dehai is the most favored person in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi. We must listen to his words." "Then why didn't he look for someone else, but the two of you?" "It's not just the two of us," Chen Yuxiang interjected, "There are five people in total." "Why did you only find five of you?" Ding Baozhen asked, "There must be a reason." "This..." Li Pingan said hesitantly, "I think it's because we usually respect him very much." Needless to say, they were all An Dehai's accomplices.Ding Baozhen asked again: "How many people did you come together?" "There are always more than thirty." "Who are they?" So Li Ping'an and Chen Yuxiang checked and reported everyone's identities, except for An Dehai's relatives and servants, there were a lot of people from coachmen, grooms, hair shavers and pedicures.These people can be handed over to subordinates for interrogation in the future, so Ding Baozhen doesn't bother to ask. Detain the two eunuchs and bring Huang Shikui to trial.He didn't know the situation in the palace, but when asked about An Dehai's departure from the capital, he answered in detail. He said that it was said that he had left the capital as early as April, but it was not until the second half of June. Suddenly he became busy, and most of those who followed were found by Huang Shikui. "Why did An Dehai bring so many people?" Ding Baozhen asked puzzled. "Because," Huang Shikui replied, "little master likes to show off." Ding Baozhen thought he answered very honestly.People who are restless like to come to this set, taking advantage of right and wrong and being domineering, that's where it comes from.Then, he asked how Huang Shikui pretended to be a former station official to catch the car, and the answer he got was also satisfactory.This is the end of the preliminary "in-person trial". At this time, Pan Ji, the magistrate of Jinan Prefecture, and the magistrate of Licheng County in Shouxian County all came to serve after hearing the news.Ding Baozhen only heard about Shou County, and sent An Dehai and others under strict supervision.The rest of the judges and the Jinan government were all in the way, because it was inconvenient for him to say anything to the judges who were in charge of criminal names in a province before he had discussed with the copywriter. Back in the hall outside the "Palace Gate" signing room, a table has been set up for writing, but Ding Baozhen didn't want to drink and eat, so he invited all the copywriters to explain the case and ask for everyone's opinions. "Gongbao," someone replied, "I was listening behind the screen, and I had some doubts, so I asked Gongbao for advice. Among An Dehai's entourage, there was a monk from Tianjin who said he was willing to go back to the south. Hai likes to show off, so taking him along is considered a good deed, which makes sense logically, but why are there shopkeepers from the silk shop and the antique shop, and each of them brings a clerk with him? There may be hidden secrets in it." "That's true." Ding Baozhen nodded deeply, "I still think that the eunuchs brought by An Dehai must be useful. He himself is bold and reckless, and the five eunuchs who came with him are always sensible. Don't you know that the eunuchs are not Going out of Beijing, breaking this rule, is no small matter, and regardless of your own safety and fortune, rashly followed him?" "Yes!" Wang Xin'an suggested: "I think we have to torture him strictly before the truth will come to light." "You might as well ask, there is no need to use torture." Ding Baozhen said this, and then sent an official to Licheng County to issue a verbal order, trying to find out the truth and report it. The magistrate of Licheng County was also very capable. He isolated Chen Yuxiang and Li Pingan and asked them individually.The words were clichéd, and finally got the bottom line. Both Liu Agree and Wang Jieping followed suit to do business, but the nature was just the opposite, one was selling and the other was buying. There are jewels to be sold in the south of the Yangtze River, so I took the people from the antique shop to estimate the price, so as not to lose money; I also wanted to buy a batch of silk from Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places and ship it to the north for sale. Naturally, I had to ask the shopkeeper of the silk shop. Where did the jewelry come from?Although Chen and Li refused to explain, they can infer from the wind of the conversation that it was stolen from the palace.When Ding Baozhen received the report, he became very wary. He only wanted to kill An Dehai, and he didn't want to set up a big prison. Now a big robbery case in the palace has been brought out, which may be a decades-long evil. There may not be any results. If it is public, it is not a minister's way of doing things seriously. If it is private, it will only cause trouble and be scolded in vain. Therefore, Ding Baozhen decided to destroy the confession of Chen and Li, together with the two pieces of paper seized from An Dehai.But Woody Water Source, in the end, is nothing more than An Dehai's crimes, so this person deserves to die! "An Dehai's crime is beyond reproach!" He said with a serious expression, "You must not escape my life. I think, let's kill him first." This really shocked everyone. They looked at each other without losing their colors. "Gong Bao," a copy reminded him: "No matter what, An Dehai will never be innocent. When the court orders, he is about to commit crimes. It’s not a joke if you can’t hand it over to someone.” "I just don't want to hand it over. The local officials should have the right to deal with things like this cheaply." "That's right. However, if there is a 'request for handling' during the season of performance, if this is the case, you can't dispose of it without authorization." Ding Baozhen pondered for a while, and said with great emotion: "If I go all out, I will be severely punished, and I will accept it without regret." Everyone thinks it's useless to destroy their future for An Dehai's sake, and try hard to persuade them, but Ding Baozhen insists on refusing.Speaking of later, He Yufu, the magistrate of Tai'an County, came out of the seat, knelt down and said: "My lord, I have a few words, please accept them." "If you have something to say, it doesn't have to be like this, please get up!" He Yufu couldn't afford to kneel, "My lord," he said, "according to my opinion, An Dehai must be executed. When the time came for the official punishment, it was a great pity that no one could be found and he was tied to the execution ground. " At this level, Ding Baozhen had to consider that if he died and escaped the "extraordinary killing", he would be taking advantage of An Dehai. "Furthermore, there may be some people who don't take your lord's action seriously, but they are righteous and have to deal with it according to the laws of the country. If your lord does not follow the law, it is not just giving others a blame and taking the blame." He Yufu said: "My lord, Forgive me for being blunt!" At this level, especially what he said hit the point, everyone said that what he said was reasonable, but it was inconvenient to say verbally, "I don't take it for granted", the person was naturally the Empress Dowager Cixi, who happened to catch Ding Baozhen's mistake of killing the imperial order without authorization , revenge for An Dehai, isn't that too silly? "For this reason, I hope my lord will appreciate the foolishness. Please wait for two more days and take a look." "You mean to wait for the imperial edict?" Ding Baozhen said, "If I don't kill An Dehai, I will be unwilling anyway." "Gongbao will be able to do what he wants." At the bottom seat, an alternate magistrate surnamed Zhu named Ding Baozhen, who was known for his indifference, said slowly, "He is in Licheng Prison, and Gongbao wants him to die in the third watch, so he dare not stay." It's five o'clock." The tone was playful and rude, but it really told the truth!It is naturally best for An Dehai to execute An Dehai after the imperial decree is issued, otherwise, killing the key criminals without authorization is a severe punishment, and killing someone without authorization is also a severe punishment.And besides punishment, there is another saying: "I killed him because the court didn't kill him." Otherwise, someone asked: "Did I suspect that the court would protect this person, so I couldn't wait to do it first?" It's a matter of punishing the heart", if the officials refer to the previous book and decree to "understand the answer", it is really hard to understand. "Okay!" Ding Baozhen helped He Yufu up with his own hands, "My lords love me, and I know how to teach you. I have no choice but to let this beast live for several days. "