Chapter 60 Section sixtieth

It was late autumn, with red Polygonum and white apples, and the scenery on both sides of the canal was not bad. On this day, from the river into the river, Zhang Zhiwan was bored in the boat for a few days, and wanted to go ashore for a walk, and walked for a while. , suddenly felt anxious, and found a toilet nearby.Isolate in the wild, with nothing to hide, if you meet an assassin at this time, it is a very dangerous thing, so General Cao Biao personally led two hundred soldiers, those with guns took guns, and those with knives took knives. The people around Zhu who were harvesting rice were very surprised, wondering what happened there?

I ran to inquire and found out that it was "Master Cao Shuai Zhang" who went to the toilet.So before Zhang Zhiwan arrived, his joke reached Jiangning first.As soon as Kuiyu met him, he made fun of him, "The governor of the world, Cao Shuai is the richest, and he has to send two hundred teams to guard all the fields." He called Zhang Zhiwan and said, "Ziqing, you are truly unprecedented. , there will be no successors!" Zhang Zhiwan could only respond with a wry smile, "Grand Yu," he said, "I came to the interrogation by order, and everything depends on it."

"No, no!" Kuiyu shook his hands and said, "You are an imperial envoy specially sent to investigate this case, and of course everything is up to you." When two people meet, they shirk their responsibilities first, but they are related to each other, and no one can shirk it, so the only way to do it is to "help each other".That night, Kuiyu hosted a banquet for Zhang Zhiwan, accompanied by the acting feudal chief Sun Yiyan, standard chief Mei Qizhao, and alternate Taoist Yuan Baoqing.Sun Yiyan is also an Hanlin, one subject later than Zhang Zhiwan. His son is called Sun Yirang. Teacher, so Zhang Zhiwan looked at him differently.

Yuan Baoqing is Yuan Jiasan's nephew, he, Sun Yiyan and Ma Xinyi both have a sense of knowing each other.Especially Yuan Baoqing, who was appointed as the general office of the battalion affairs department, was quite strict in arresting stragglers and rogues on weekdays, so he was even more worried about bringing Ma Xinyi's death.During the banquet, Sun Yiyan and Sun Yiyan strongly advocated the punishment of Zhang Wenxiang, and they would not give up until the person in charge was chased out. Zhang Zhiwan insisted on his purpose, he only listened but didn't talk, Wei Wei perfunctory, after the banquet was over, Kuiyu kept him and his nephew Mei Qizhao, and then he talked about the business.

"The words of Mr. Sun and Yuan must not be listened to." Mei Qizhao said, "They disregarded the situation in order to repay their personal favors, and they inevitably caused chaos. They stay behind closed doors, that's how Yuan Duchen's family is." Yuan Duchen was Yuan Baoqing. Zhang Zhiwan took a breath: "According to this, Jiangning is actually a dangerous city!" "It's about the same." Kuiyu replied, "But Prime Minister Pan Pan will take office early, so I handed over the governor Guan Fang." "Sixiang is still asking for his resignation. Of course he is not allowed to resign, but the case in Tianjin is still pending, and he still has to go to Beijing to resign. This delay will take at least two months." Zhang Zhiwan said, "We Just find a way to delay it for two months! This case can only be dealt with by Xiang Xiang."

"It's easy to delay." Mei Qizhao said, "Zhang Wenxiang refused to confess, so he had to arrest his relatives for questioning, so it was delayed." "Where are his family?" "In Xinshi Town, Deqing County, Huzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province." "Written in Zhejiang, arrested." Zhang Zhiwan asked again, "Is there any other place that is easy to arrest?" "There was a time when Jin Biao." Mei Qizhao said, "Zhang Wenxiang once confessed to this person, and he also surrendered from the Nian bandits. Now he is a general in Shanxi."

"Then write in Shanxi and arrest him." "Yes!" Mei Qizhao asked: "I would like to ask the imperial envoy, when will the interrogation be held?" "It's useless for me to interrogate." Zhang Zhiwan said, "How will this case be settled in the end? We should have a plan. After we have made a plan, we will follow this path." Mei Qizhao nodded deeply, looked at Kuiyu, and Kuiyu also nodded, signaling Mei Qizhao to come up with the agreed solution. The method is to prepare a set of confessions for Zhang Wenxiang. First, it must appear that there is a deep hatred. Clear reputation, and it must implicitly imply the meaning of being resented by the villain because of his seriousness in business affairs. In this way, Ma Xinyi's death can have the meaning of dying in the line of duty.

This set of false confessions said that Zhang Wenxiang was originally Li Shixian's general, Hong Yang was pacified, he fled to Ningbo, Zhejiang, colluded with pirates, and opened a small pawn at the same time, keeping his name incognito, and living with ease. When Ma Xinyi transferred the governor of Zhejiang, the pirates were infested and sent troops to suppress them.In Xiangshan and Ninghai, Zhejiang Province, there is a forbidden area called Nantian, which has always been occupied by pirates. Ma Xinyi captured the leader Qiu Caiqing and sentenced him to death. He also killed more than 50 pirates, many of whom were friends of Zhang Wenxiang. Accepting their help, this is tantamount to cutting off Zhang Wenxiang's financial resources, so he hates Ma Xin deeply.

After this, there was a series of resentments. Zhang Wenxiang opened a small pawn, and Ma Xinyi issued a notice to ban the pawn because of the huge profits and exploited the common people. Zhang Wenxiang's livelihood was cut off, and he felt revenge.He also said that Zhang Wenxiang's wife, Luo Shi, was abducted and absconded, and Zhang Wenxiang chased her back, but although she was not lost, the adulterer took away the absconded clothes. Once she sued the governor, Ma Xinyi thought it was a trivial matter and should not be taken away. It is not allowed to prosecute the Constitution.Soon, Luo Shifu absconded again, and Zhang Wenxiang chased her, forcing her to go from Jing to here. She thought that Ma Xinyi would not recover the stolen goods for him, so that his wife despised him, so he determined to take revenge.

Of course, there are fragments of the truth in this, such as Zhang Wenxiang's wife, who absconded with her husband, that is the case.But judging from the whole confession, there are many doubts, but other than that, there is no better way to say it, so I can only lie to myself and believe it is true. "However," Zhang Zhiwan only put forward such an instruction: "The murderer must draw his own confession, and only with his own confession can he play it!" Regardless of the circumstances of the case, the basis for conviction is the criminal's confession, and of course Mei Qizhao will not neglect this point.Immediately after returning home, the presiding judges of Jiangning and Shangyuan County were heard, and they conveyed the meaning of the imperial envoy Mr. Zhang, asking them to try to persuade Zhang Wenxiang to confess according to this painting.But since he couldn't use torture to force a confession into submission, he had to work slowly, and after a few months, there was no result.

At this time, Zeng Guofan asked to resign from the governor of Jiang, but failed to do so. He had already handed over the Guanfang of the governor of Zhili, and was about to go to Beijing to ask for training. Heilongjiang crimes, Mao Changxi and Ding Richang, have also returned to office respectively.The overall situation is no longer hindered. In addition, Zeng Guofan once made a memorial, expressed his heartfelt self-report, and his actions missed the opportunity. He took Zhang Guangzao and Liu Jie too seriously.In order to appease the veterans, the imperial court specially granted longevity. The Military Aircraft Department sent people to send a plaque of the imperial script "Xun Gaozhushi", one side of the imperial scriptures, one side of the character "Shou", as well as copper Buddha statues, inlaid jade Ruyi, python robe materials, etc. .His sixtieth birthday this year is one day after the Empress Dowager Cixi's birthday, and he is from the same hometown as the two lakes. He held a banquet in the Huguang Guild Hall where the plaque on his Hanlin was to be removed not long ago. Just before he left Beijing, the memorial issued by Zhang Zhiwan and Kuiyu arrived, saying that Zhang Wenxiang "assassinated the Governor-General while he had no mastermind" with revenge.As soon as the news spread, there was a great uproar in the public opinion. Liu Binghou and Wang Jiabi, the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, reported the matter one after another, thinking that the results of the interrogation were not clear, and asked to send another minister to investigate the matter strictly. Not only was the public opinion dissatisfied, but the empress dowagers of the two palaces and the ministers of the DPRK and China all felt that the death of the big officials in the borderlands was not clear, which not only hurt the country's health, but also once this trend broke out, the Chinese and foreign officials would be afraid to let go of things, otherwise they would die. May become Ma Xinyi's second.At the same time, according to Kuiyu and Zhang Zhiwan's report, it was said that Zhang Wenxiang held a grudge, and he was accused of avenging his accomplice by the escaped pirate Long Qiyun and others, so he sneaked into the supervisor's office to assassinate, "repeatedly interrogated, firmly Unmoved", but later said: "The confession has no other masters, so it is still credible." From the word "still belonged to", it can be seen that Kuiyu and Zhang Zhiwan did not catch up with the truth, so no matter from the In that respect, the case cannot be closed. The purpose of strict enforcement is agreed by everyone, so what should be done?There are different claims.Some people think that Zeng Guofan should be ignored, and another imperial envoy should be sent to investigate; some people think that Zeng Guofan, besides the governor of Liangjiang, has the status of a university scholar, and he should preside over the case.The empress dowagers of the two palaces summoned the military aircraft, carefully discussed the results, and decided to make both plans.On the one hand, he respected Zeng Guofan's status, on the other hand, he sent other officials to Jiangning to reopen the trial.At the same time, for the sake of Grand Duke Zhao, he decided to use Ming to issue an edict: "Ma Xinyi, as the governor and important minister, suddenly suffered such a change. The case is serious! Zhang Wenxiang's confession of hatred, various festivals, and Long Qiyun's instigation, etc., may still be incomplete and untrue. If Kuiyu et al.'s plan is followed, that is, the canonical punishment is not enough to be credible. There has been an order before Zeng Guofan, after arriving in office, will conduct a strict interrogation to ensure the truth; then send Zheng Dunjin to Jiangning, Together with Zeng Guofan, we will study the witnesses and witnesses of the case in detail, find out the real situation, and punish them severely in order to uphold the law of the country. He will accompany the secretary and write together." Zheng Dunjin was the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments and was born in Changsha, Hunan.In the 15th year of Daoguang's reign, the Imperial Academy of Yiwei Division, this list is a famous list, full of talents, and it was very popular in the early years of Xianfeng.Zheng Dunjin's official career was not very good, he was dismissed from the Imperial Academy and became the head of the Ministry of Punishment.It wasn't until Tongzhi was changed to Yuan Dynasty that it was transferred internally to Jingtang, promoted to minister, and promoted to minister. This is the second time for him to be the secretary of the Ministry of punishment. The first time he was the minister of the Ministry of punishment was three years ago. It happened that the governor of Shanxi, Zhao Changling, was not doing his best to prevent and suppress. The disciplining of his subordinates was so bad that the Empress Dowager Cixi was furious and sent Zheng Dunjin out of Beijing on New Year's Eve to investigate and deal with it.As a result, according to the investigation, Zhao Changling and Chen Shi were dismissed from their posts and sent to the army, and Zheng Dunjin's reputation for being ruthless and selfless spread. Therefore, public opinion was satisfied with the copying of the imperial edict, expecting that Zheng Dunjin would be able to solve this suspicious case like he did when he went to Shanxi to investigate the incident. Zheng Dunjin was in a heavy heart, because he was from Hunan, and Jiang Ning was ruled by the Hunan Army.But I don't want to use words to avoid it.He is already sixty-eight years old, and it is rainy and snowy at the end of the year. If he is afraid of this trip, at least the sympathetic Prince Gong will sympathize with his situation. Famous players, Chiyi left Beijing and went straight to Jiangning. After going through a lot of hard work along the way, it took him more than 20 days to arrive. It was New Year's Eve when he arrived. Zeng Guofan took him to the Superintendent's Office to watch the new year and have a long talk.Zheng Dunjin deeply regretted this trip.Because Zeng Guofan told the truth, the foreigner must first settle down, and the Tianjin missionary case has just ended, and the foreigners are not satisfied. It was like once, there was loud thunder and little rain, so those who knew that they were instigating, in order to protect the overall situation, should not be held accountable. Zeng Guofan and Zheng Dunjin were not only from the same hometown, but both were candidates for the Hunan provincial examination in the 14th year of Daoguang's reign.Zheng Dunjin, Chunwei Lianjie, became a Jinshi in the second year. Zeng Guofan, Daoguang Zhengke in the 15th year and Enke in the 16th year, failed repeatedly. It was not until the Eighteenth Year of the Reform Movement that he got his wish.Therefore, in terms of subject names, although Zheng Dunjin is a senior, he was also in the same year, and his friendship has always been deep, but when it comes to official affairs, each has his own achievements.It was Zheng Dunjin's opinion that Zhang Guangzao and Liu Jie were handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for punishment for the first time, but they were refused to accept the law.Unexpectedly, under the imperial order, he finally committed the crime.The rules for many years, whether it is the cabinet meeting, or the bureaucracy, or the punishment of the Ministry of punishment, must be re-drafted, and the decree will be lightened, as a show of grace.Zhang Guangzao and Liu Jie originally planned to be dismissed and sent to the military station to serve, which was already too much, but the empress dowagers of the two palaces, after hearing Baojun and Chonghou's words, used the reason that Zhang and Liu "went to Shunde and Miyun privately to stay in Shunde and flouted the law". The charge was changed to exile in Heilongjiang. For this reason, Zheng Dunjin was brooding. Hearing Zeng Guofan's opinion at this time, he felt more and more depressed and couldn't help complaining. "What shouldn't be done must be done, but what should be done can't be done." He said, "I have studied for sixty years, and I really don't know what to worry about!" Zeng Guofan complained more, but he was more successful than Zheng Dunjin in cultivating energy, so he replied calmly: "Tolerance is for the country!" Being able to endure is one thing, but handling cases is another.Zheng Dunjin had a very bad year. The first day of the Lunar New Year was fine, but on the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, Ma Xinyou, Ma Xinyi's younger brother, the alternate magistrate of Zhejiang Province, took his adoption to Yuzhen, Ma Xinyi's son, and knelt at the head of the imperial envoy. At the gate of Xingyuan, weeping bitterly, begging for justice.After finally being persuaded to go back, Yuan Baoqing came to worship. Zheng Dunjin and his uncle Yuan Jiasan were in the same year of the exam, so Yuan Baoqing called him "Old Uncle" and pointed out to him all kinds of unreasonable doubts in Zhang Wenxiang's confession, and demanded strict punishment .Yuan Baoqing has always been outspoken and criticized both Zeng Guofan and Kuiyu, and Zhang Zhiwan even vaguely accused him of being worthless.Ding Richang, Governor of Jiangsu, and Ding You took over the vacancy, and Zhang Zhiwan made an order to take over. As soon as the imperial order arrived, he rushed to Suzhou in a hurry to urge Ding Richang to hand over his hand. "Someone actually issued a notice after Ma Zhijun was killed, saying, 'The governor's family is in trouble, and there is nothing to do with outsiders.' Please think about it, old uncle, how can it be said that it is a 'family trouble' when the Jiang Chen was assassinated?" Zheng Dunjin had also heard about this incident, and the person who issued the notice was Mei Qizhao. "Of course it's a slip of the tongue!" He said, "I've made an order to deal with this case with my ministers, and I can't be good at everything. Wait for a few days, and I will ask you to discuss it in detail." After the fifth day of the lunar new year, Zheng Dunjin and Zeng Guofan met in Jiangning's divisions, provinces, government offices, and counties to discuss the case. No one else spoke, but Sun Yiyan talked eloquently, saying that if the instigator can get away with it, the world will have no fear , what can't be done?Therefore, if this case is not handled thoroughly, it has a great relationship with the morals of the world and the hearts of the people.He also said that there were so many rumors among the people, that a new play "Zhang Wenxiang's Stabbing the Horse" was even made up in the Shanghai theater, which was obviously absurd to slander Ma Xinyi. In the first poem, what does it say that "the group's official chapters are clearly there, it is not as good as the singing field alone", Ma Xinyi died of injustice, and he was slandered again, and the world is not fair. Is there anything more than this case? Shanghai Osmanthus Tea Garden edited and performed the new play "Assassin the Horse", which caused a sensation. Even Ying Han, the governor of Anhui, who was far away in Anqing, had heard about it. He specially asked Shanghai Dao Tu Zongying to ban it, as well as the two sentences mentioned by Sun Yiyan. Zheng Dunjin knows everything about poetry.That poem was written by Qiao Songnian. Even though Zheng Dunjin was of the same age as him, he also felt that his writing such a poem really hurt his honesty. However, Qiao Songnian came from a wealthy family. Although he was a high-ranking official, he did not take off his pants, pampered himself, lived in seclusion, and was friends with Prince Gong.So Zheng Dunjin replied: "Qiao Hechai's words, why do you care about him? What is clear is clear, and what is turbid is turbid. Ma Duanmin's reputation will be washed away one day." Zeng Guofan also nodded deeply, and used Ma Xinyi's posthumous posthumous title as an example: "The end of the end is the judgment. As for the curious rumors among the people, the matter will naturally subside, and there is no need to rush to refute it at this time! Wait for the decision!" From now on, I will naturally praise Ma Duanmin." Zheng and Zeng made this statement, which made Sun Yiyan calm down.At that time, it was decided that the trial would start on the seventh day of the first lunar month. As usual, the first county would run the mission, order brand-new instruments of torture, and send them to the palace of the imperial commissioner. The courtroom was set up in the second hall, with a total of five seats set up, except for Zheng Dunjin and the two accompanying officials. , the other two seats belonged to Sun Yiyan and Yuan Baoqing. This was the idea of ​​the two officers, because the outcome of this case was already foreseeable, and they were afraid that they would not accept it in the future, would gossip, and even instigate the officials to impeach, so that there would be no side effects, so Zheng Dunjin suggested that the imperial envoy should In terms of identity, Sun Yiyan and Yuan Baoqing participated in the interrogation. After receiving the commission letter, Sun Yiyan went to see Yuan Baoqing to discuss how to use this opportunity to find out the truth.After Zeng Guofan took over, Yuan Baoqing was still appointed as the head of the battalion affairs office. He was very busy with business and often inspected the battalions.It was his adopted son who took care of the house for him, named Shikai, and his style name was Weiting.Yuan Shikai was only thirteen years old at that time, short and fat, and because he often rode horses, he had a pair of "li horoscope" bowlegged legs. It looks like, if Yuan Baoqing is not at home when there are guests, he will receive them. "Comforting the court!" Sun Yiyan raised the official affairs in his hands, "Did your father also receive the commission?" "Yes! I arrived early this morning." Yuan Shikai replied: "My father went to Liuhe yesterday afternoon to investigate the case, and the Wei Zha hasn't seen it yet." "Have you taken it apart and looked at it?" "I see. I'm afraid it's an urgent business, so I'll send a special report to my father." "When will your father come back?" "Before I leave, I must come back this afternoon, just in time for the trial tomorrow." "I want to have a good talk with your father. It is the two of us who will be tried by the committee." Sun Yiyan said, "There are so many people who are unfair in this case, but they are not in their positions, and if they don't plan their own affairs, they have no way to talk about it. Therefore, the two of us have a very heavy responsibility, which is equivalent to speaking for all the unfair people. Etc. Your father is returning home, please convey my thoughts first, I will be waiting in the dormitory tonight, or your father will visit, or send me a letter, I will come again. No matter what, we must see each other." "Yes! I must tell my father what the old man ordered. But..." Yuan Shikai smiled and said, "I want to say something presumptuously. I don't know if the old man will allow me to say it?" "Say! Say! You often have a lot of enlightenment, I want to ask for advice." "Don't dare!" Yuan Shikai replied calmly, "I advise the old man not to take it seriously, let alone have expectations. From my point of view, the envoy Zheng Qin is just talking about this Wei Zasai!" A few words left Sun Yiyan in a daze, unable to make a sound.It took a long while before he said in a voice of infinite emotion: "My knowledge is not as good as yours! But..." He swallowed the following sentence, originally he wanted to say: the imperial envoy's hard work, even a boy can't be bullied , how can you deceive the world? "The old man is a fan of the authorities. In short, it's because he is too enthusiastic." Yuan Shikai said old-fashionedly, "I advise the old man to resign from this job." "This is also a way, but it can't help but show weakness." Sun Yiyan said firmly: "I know it can't be done, but I will not give up, I will fight!" No matter how smart Yuan Shikai was, he couldn't understand this stubborn attitude of choosing the good, but Yuan Baoqing knew it. That night, he went back to pay homage to Sun Yiyan, expressing that he would argue with reason. In the early morning of the next day, the imperial envoys went outside and gathered a lot of people, some of them just came to watch the fun, and some came to "cheer" for Zhang Wenxiang.Of course, imperial envoys are ordered to interrogate important criminals who are like treason. Unlike magistrates who try cases, the security is tight and they are not allowed to watch the trial. In addition, from the imperial envoy Xingyuan to the Shangyuan County Yamen, there were also people waiting for Zhang Wenxiang along the way.He has been detained in Shangyuan County Prison, where he lives alone in a cell for felons sentenced to death, but he sleeps on a high bunk, eats meat, and has a friend, Xiao Jinzi, a local prostitute in Diaoyu Lane, who can occasionally go in to "visit the prison" , so they are raised in vain and fat, with a good complexion.Early this morning, he was tied up, had a full meal, and was handcuffed. Under heavy guard, he was escorted to the palace of the imperial envoy.Seeing the crowd of onlookers, they couldn't help but be full of pride, and the people who watched it were also very enjoyable. They felt that Zhang Wenxiang's revenge for his brother was not only loyal, but also regarded death as home, quite heroic, which fit the imaginary appearance of a chivalrous man. Sun Yiyan and Yuan Baoqing had arrived early, chatting with Zheng Dunjin in the flower hall, and they were talking about the teaching case in Tianjin.When Xiangyu was lamenting that the country was too weak to defend against foreign aggression, the Superintendent's Office sent a military patrol to report that Zhang Wenxiang had been released, and the imperial envoy was invited to be promoted. After sitting in the hall and bringing Zhang Wenxiang up, Zheng Dunjin saw his fierce and cunning expression, and felt vigilant in his heart, so he was extremely cautious in questioning, and Zhang Wenxiang was extremely slippery, and always avoided answering in critical situations.Because the two officers had already received the instructions, they also adopted a perfunctory attitude, and the questions were very lively, but they were not about the key points. So Yuan Baoqing opened his mouth, he was asking about a strange document.A few days before Ma Xinyi was assassinated, the supervisory office received an urgent and confidential official letter. Naturally, there was a large seal on the envelope, but the seal was vague. I wonder which yamen issued it?When I opened it, I saw a painting inside, which showed a dead horse. The document said that the person who submitted the document was quickly ordered to be arrested, but he disappeared.Who made this warning painting a mystery?This is what Yuan Baoqing wanted to ask. According to Yuan Baoqing's thinking, if Zhang Wenxiang really planned out for personal hatred, and had to put Ma Xinyi to death, the more secretive his whereabouts, the better. How could he send such a painting in advance to make Ma Xinyi take precautions?This is extremely unreasonable. Moreover, on the other hand, if Ma Xinyi had committed such unrighteous acts, then the implication of this painting is that he is "a dumb man who eats flat food and knows what to do in his stomach", and he will take special precautions, so why should he be careless and take his own disaster? "Wang Shuban!" Yuan Baoqing said, "Bring that painting!" Wang Shuban is the criminal room book office in Shangyuan County. All the documents and evidence of Zhang Wenxiang's case are kept by him. Knowing that he was referring to the painting of "dead horse", they immediately brought them to the court. "Zhang Wenxiang!" Yuan Baoqing reminded the prisoner of the painting, "Have you seen this painting before?" He asked very strangely, because this painting had never been asked before, but when the imperial envoy arrived in Jiangning recently, someone suddenly remembered that the origin of this painting was suspicious, so it was seized and brought to justice.Yuan Baoqing suspected that Zhang Wenxiang didn't know what happened at all, but if he told the reason, he would definitely admit it, and the truth would be difficult to understand.So I deliberately set him this sentence, if Zhang Wenxiang didn't know it, and answered "I've never seen it", then someone else sent the painting, and after chasing this person, we can know who instigated it. However, he was disappointed, Zhang Wenxiang looked at it and replied: "I have seen it." "Where did you meet?" "I gave it to the old horse." "Huh!" A judge scolded: "It's unreasonable! How can you use such an impolite name for Ma Zhitai?" Zhang Wenxiang rolled his triangular eyes, but didn't show anything. "Let me ask you, did you personally send this painting to the governor's office?" Yuan Baoqing asked again. "I sent it myself." "Why do you do this? Don't you think about it, now that you are on guard, you still have a chance to get away with it?" "Smart people don't do secret things! Give him a letter first and teach him to be careful!" Zhang Wenxiang answered irrelevantly, but it seemed that his words were irrational, and it was difficult to refute. Yuan Baoqing also felt that Zhang Wenxiang was really difficult to deal with!All prisoners, either want to get rid of the crime, or want to avoid the serious and ignore the minor, and hope to save life in the classroom, and they will never dare to make the interrogator angry with nonsense.But Zhang Wenxiang is different, his nature is fierce and cunning, and he has no intention of surviving at all. If he has a little fear, it is just that he is afraid of suffering immediate losses, but the court has set the purpose of never using torture, so even this fear is gone!Therefore, he talked nonsense and said whatever he wanted, and there was nothing he could do about it. Fortunately, the purpose was to pursue the person who ordered him, so Yuan Baoqing ignored his blustery words and continued to trace the root of the painting. "So, this painting was drawn by you yourself?" "It's nothing special, it's a 'dead horse' anyway!" "Humph!" Yuan Baoqing sneered, and shouted again: "Wang Shuban!" "Cha!" Wang Shuban stepped forward and obeyed. "Give him a pen and paper, remove the handcuffs, and tell him to draw a picture!" Wang Shuban did as he said, spread the painting in front of Zhang Wenxiang, took a pair of brushes and inkstones, and a piece of white paper, and arranged them one by one, then ordered the guards to remove the handcuffs and handed the pen to Zhang Wenxiang. At the moment when he was about to paint with the pen, he suddenly dropped the pen, shook his head and said, "It doesn't look like I drew it!" Upon hearing this, Yuan Baoqing immediately slapped the table and shouted: "Speak! Who painted this painting?" Everyone was startled by the sudden sound. Zhang Wenxiang seemed to be startled too. He froze for a moment, then immediately returned to normal, and replied casually, "I don't know who drew it either." "Someone gave you this statement. Isn't it?" After playing around for a long time, he finally made it clear that Yuan Baoqing was asking the person who instigated him.Zhang Wenxiang seemed to have seen his intentions long ago, and replied calmly: "No one entrusted it to me." "Then, could it be that this painting fell from the sky?" Yuan Baoqing hit the table repeatedly: "Say, say!" Zhang Wenxiang was unmoved at all, "It didn't fall from the sky." He said, "I picked it up on the ground, and I thought I'd send it to him as a message, so I did it!" Answering like this was almost insulting, Yuan Baoqing was furious, "Those who are so wicked are really heinous!" In his rage, he ordered without thinking: "Look at the big punishment!" The big punishment is sticking. Look at the three wooden poles and a few ropes, but I don't know how many heroes can't pass this level.Zheng Dunjin also did not advocate the torture of Zhang Wenxiang, so he wanted to stop him at this time, but a judge stopped him with winks.Zheng Dunjin also understood that if he said something to stop him, he would correct Yuan Baoqing in public. When he was furious, he might jump up, or even contradict him immediately.Fortunately, since the officer gave him a wink, there must be a way to cancel his order, just wait and see! All the guards in Shangyuan County understood that Zhang Wenxiang would never be executed, and that the brand-new instruments of torture were made for interrogation by imperial envoys, and they were custom-made as usual, but they were just for show.Seeing that the imperial envoy was silent and Yuan Daotai couldn't ignore his face, he responded loudly: "Zha!" but stood there without moving. Yuan Baoqing became more and more annoyed. Just as he was about to speak out to reprimand him, he heard an officer—the one who was winking at Zheng Dunjin, shout loudly: "Come on! Pull him down and beat him!" "Cha!" The guards agreed loudly again. "It's been too long." The man quickly turned to Zheng Dunjin and said, "Please leave the room for a while, my lord!" Zheng Dunjin became the head of the Criminal Department after leaving the Imperial Academy. He was familiar with all the "passes" of these inquiries, so he stood up, looked at Yuan Baoqing and Sun Yiyan and said, "Both brothers, please sit in the flower hall. Let them sit here. Go cook." After all these twists and turns, Yuan Baoqing's anger calmed down a little, and he finally realized that the officer was trying to save his face. It is conceivable that Zhang Wenxiang would never "pull him down and beat him up". When they returned to the flower hall, the two judges also arrived, wiped their faces, drank tea and smoked waterpipes. After a while of chaos, they had to talk about the case again during the rest time while waiting for the meal. "Master Zheng!" This time it was Sun Yiyan who spoke first, "Today's trial is very insightful. Although Zhang Wenxiang is extremely cunning, he has someone else to rely on. If he had nothing to rely on, he would not be so stubborn!" "Oh, I want to ask you, what do you rely on?" "Your trustee, there is no punishment in the classroom!" Sun Yiyan said, "Master Zheng has been proficient in the laws and regulations, so I should ask Master Zheng, how can I teach Zhang Wenxiang to tell the truth?" "Speaking of which, I entered the Ministry of Criminal Justice three times, not just twice." Zheng Dunjin said: "The laws of the Qing Dynasty, now that I'm old, I'm afraid I can't remember them well. Thirty years ago when I first branched out, I memorized them extremely familiar. Teaching prisoners to tell the truth, naturally there is a way, but it can’t be used!” "I think Mr. Zheng is referring to the torture system." Sun Yiyan said in order to get ahead of him: "In serious homicide cases, men are allowed to use sticks, and women are allowed to use fingers. This is clearly stipulated in the law." "That's right, there are clear texts in the law." Zheng Dunjin replied, "But it still can't be used. My brother has seen the prisoner's situation in the hall. The punishment is light, and the torture is useless. When the death incident happened, it was a trivial matter for me to bear the punishment at that time, and I couldn't understand the canonical punishment, wouldn't I be even more sorry for Ma Duanmin?" "In terms of law and language." Yuan Baoqing helped to argue, "Since the stick is allowed by the law, it should be used naturally. If it is used, it will not help, and there will be no regrets afterwards." "Brother only knows one thing, but not the other." Zheng Dunjin shook his head and said, "'Under the three trees, why can't you ask for it'? If you are falsely convinced, just confess a few people at will, saying that they are behind the scenes. Excuse me, what will you do for it? ?” "Naturally arraigned according to law." "If you refuse to accept the subpoena, do you want to use torture again?" "There is no summons, how do you know that it will not be accepted?" The two confronted each other fiercely, and the verbal battle broke up without any result, which actually delayed the interrogation of the day.On the second day, news was received that there was a battalion of recruits who were in danger of mutiny because of the harsh treatment of the chief, and Yuan Baoqing had to take care of it himself.After the day's trial, Zheng Dunjin fell ill again, and stopped for a few days.In fact, there is almost no difference between trial and non-trial. Sun and Yuan couldn't argue, and they couldn't make trouble. They sat with each other as usual and couldn't do anything. During this period, many people came to lobbied and persuaded. It is said that Zhang Wenxiang was not afraid of death, so he was fearless. The more rumors became more popular, which made Ma Xinyi's reputation even more tarnished.If Zhang Wenxiang actually died in prison, it would become an eternal mystery, which would be even more detrimental to Ma Xinyi's reputation. Others speak more frankly, and the more frankly they speak, the more difficult the case becomes.They asked Sun Yiyan and Yuan Baoqing a difficult question: Zhang Wenxiang's confession under torture was instigated by a certain person in the Hunan Army, and the name of the Admiral of the Jiangnan Navy, Huang Yisheng, might be involved. What should I do? Do not do it?At that time, there may be a court letter from the Military Aircraft Department, relaying the secret decree, focusing on the overall situation, and not letting it go. If you want to get the result at this moment, it may not be possible to punish Zhang Wenxiang as a big rebellion.The wording of a few people is so mysterious that people can't answer it, saying that if accidents happen due to strict pursuit of orders, and the local area suffers, it will only make Ma Xinyi, who is loyal to the country, feel uneasy under Jiuquan.In this way, the insistence of Sun and Yuan went against the original intention of the deceased. Arguing incessantly like this made Sun Yiyan and Yuan Baoqing exhausted and restless.In the end, there was a result, and it was believed that the reason for Zhang Wenxiang's murder was exactly the same as that of Kuiyu and Zhang Zhiwan's interrogation. All the confessions have been sorted out and will be played soon. As usual, those who will be interrogated should "read the confession" and sign their names to express their responsibility.Sun Yiyan and Yuan Baoqing resorted to the last magic weapon and refused to be named. "This is something that cannot be forced." Zheng Dunjin said with a wry smile, "The case has to be closed, so I had to file a lawsuit with Xiang Xiang. Anyway, the murderer was Zhang Wenxiang, and the crime of "compared with treason, rebellion, death by Ling Chi, and sacrifice by cutting off the heart" was prepared, and Ma Duanmin had an explanation. " When replaying the title, Zeng Guofan specially attached a clip, Chen Ming "there is no master to make love".He is a person who values ​​practice, and those governors who play every three days and fold once every five days, who like to make comments to see what they can do, are purely two-way, and there is nothing to play, so the above play is particularly powerful. With such a clip, although It is unavoidable that there is no trace of "three hundred taels of silver here", but it is indeed useful, meaning that the military aircraft will be notified, and the case will be over here, and there will be nothing else to ask.In this way, if there is still dissatisfaction with the officials, if he wants to reverse the case, the Military Aircraft Department will stand in front of him and try to eliminate it, so as not to cause any further complications. Of course, Ma Xinyi's family members, the old department, and some upright people were unwilling to do so, but they could only complain and had nothing to do.The imperial court attached great importance to this case, and the two factions sent imperial envoys, and they showed great sympathy to Ma Xinyi.As for the incomplete handling of the case, it is really difficult to think about it carefully. In addition to Zeng Guofan's "face", he can only swallow his anger.However, Sun Yiyan is a scholar, and with a pen in hand, he can fight for the future without fighting for a moment. The epitaph he wrote for Ma Xinyi is straightforward: "The thief is fierce and cunning, and he can't get it without torture, but the rebellious legacy assassinated my minister. , not owned by the law, it is advisable to use the classics and heavy codes to make the world fear, and the prison is ready to play! Yiyan does not write 'nuo'. Woohoo! The reason why Yiyan strives is for the public alone? " As soon as this article came out, the outside world knew that there was something hidden, which dealt a big blow to Zheng Dunjin's reputation.He already had unspeakable grievances, and since the case was closed, he has never been out of the house. During the period when the imperial envoy is handling the case, he must be strictly guarded. Once the case is closed, he may as well meet with guests.Kuiyu invited him to visit Qingliang Mountain, and Zeng Guofan made an appointment to go boating in Houhu. Zheng Dunjin declined all of them, and only ordered the county office to hire a boat and return to Beijing in early February.