Chapter 52: The Ministers
'Snapped'!
When the fire at the Bai family was about to reach its climax, Li Zi, the Minister of Rites of Dayin, received a crisp slap in the face.
It is in Dayin Honglu Temple.
It’s in the lobby of Honglu Temple.
This is the government office where Li Zi works every day, and it is his territory.
Right on his own territory, a group of princes and hostages who had gathered in the Honglu Temple to demand compensation from the imperial court were laughing so hard that they were bent over, and some were even laughing so hard that they were coughing and farting, with all kinds of ugly behaviors.
Luo Yin, the fifth son of Marquis of Luoyin, was born fat and big-eared, and his demeanor and behavior seemed a bit rough and stupid. He proudly raised the hand that had just slapped Li Zi, and laughed loudly at his companions.
"Do you know why I hit you?" Luo Yin asked Li Zi.
"Ah, ah, Prince, just say it." Li Zi smiled dryly and nodded and bowed to Luo Yin repeatedly.
"You deserve a beating!" Luo Yin pointed at Li Zi's nose and scolded, "How much of our brothers' time have you wasted?"
"We came to the Honglu Temple early in the morning to ask you for compensation, but you hid in the palace and avoided us."
"You not only deserve to be beaten, but you deserve to die."
"It's so hard for you to run out of the palace and meet us brothers. How dare you bargain with us?"
"Our account books clearly record how much of our belongings were burned in the fire."
"The Queen Mother gave money."
"But the money the Queen Mother gave us can only calm our anger and prevent us from complaining to our father."
"If we want to truly settle this matter, we have to make up for our losses completely. Otherwise, this matter will never end!"
A group of protons laughed loudly: "That's right, it's not over yet!"
Luo Yin was very proud. He snatched the official hat from Li Zi's head and put it heavily on his own head.
"You've been haggling for so long, from just after nightfall until now. How much of our time has been wasted? Instead of spitting at you, why don't we go find a place to have some fun?"
"So, if I beat you up, will you accept it?"
Li Zi laughed dryly and bowed deeply to Luo Yin: "Your Highness, what you said makes sense. It couldn't be more reasonable. However, the compensation you are asking for is too high. I don't have the power to decide."
"How about I tell the Queen Mother, the Prime Minister, and all the officials in the court about your requests, and then I will give you an explanation?"
Li Zi looked at Luo Yin and others pitifully.
Luo Yin and his group looked at each other, and then several people yawned at the same time.
"Okay, let's go, let's go, that's all for today."
"We can't be impatient about collecting debts."
"Come back tomorrow when you have enough rest."
"Let's go, let's go, let's find a place to have fun, go back and have a good sleep when the sun rises, and then come back to find this guy at night."
Luo Yin smiled and slapped Li Zi again with a slap. Then he held his head high and, surrounded by a group of companions, they rushed out of the Honglu Temple while making loud noises and singing.
The lights in the lobby were dim.
When these princes and hostages came to cause trouble, the experienced officials of the Honglu Temple had long since fled without a trace, leaving only Li Zi, the legitimate official, to take the blame.
Li Zi slowly straightened his back, put his hands on the jade belt around his waist, and suddenly sneered. On his skinny face, there appeared an extremely strange and chilling sneer.
"Go ask the Nine Yin Sect what they are doing?"
"What do they want to do by causing such a big mess? Ah? What do they want to do?"
"As agreed, everyone should just stay in their own territory and live a peaceful life. Isn't that good enough? Why do they have to make such a fuss? Have they dealt with the dead too much and their brains are damaged?"
"You can make trouble if you want, but don't do it on my territory, okay?"
"If they act like this and attract the attention of our mortal enemies and cause us trouble... don't blame me for convening a meeting to completely clear them out of Gaojing."
A low response was heard from some shadowy corner of the hall. Li Zi's face suddenly changed, and he ran out of the hall with a distorted face. He ran to the highest building in the Honglu Temple and looked towards the southwest.
To the southwest of Honglu Temple is Yushunfang.
The Bai family’s house is located in the northeastern corner of Yushunfang.
The Bai family's residence and the Honglu Temple were separated by a canal several miles wide. The Bai family's Lantian Garden was very large, with dozens of houses burning blazingly, the flames illuminating the sky. Standing on a high place in the Honglu Temple, one could clearly see the rolling flames in the middle of the night.
"Who is this hero?"
Li Zi sighed with tears in his eyes, put his hands behind his back, and his waist became much more hunched.
"Isn't it good for everyone to get promoted and make money in peace and quiet? Why do we have to keep making trouble?"
Squinting his eyes, Li Zi carefully looked at the direction of the fire. He raised his right thumb and glanced in the direction of the flames, muttering, "It seems to be Bai Changkong's family? Then... it has nothing to do with me?"
"Okay, if one of Bai Changkong's cultural and educational scourges is burned to death, there will be one less. Wow, wonderful!"
"Etiquette and law? Ugh, is it really that good to obey the law?"
With his head tossed and his hands behind his back, Li Zi hummed a tune and walked slowly towards the backyard residence of the Honglu Temple. He decided to get some good wine and some side dishes tonight to relieve the resentment in his heart.
After walking a few steps, Li Zi turned around and looked around.
"Oh, I forgot to mention this just now. In a few days, I will arrange a street fight for Lord Luo and cripple his limbs."
In the darkness, there was a faint response and a slight sneer.
At the same time, in the underground dungeon of the General’s Mansion.
This is a black prison used to imprison and punish those unlucky guys who violated military discipline. Since most of the soldiers in the army have martial arts skills, this black prison is built exceptionally solidly. Even a master of the twelfth level of Tuomai will have no chance of escape if he comes in.
The owners of the two coffin shops, together with the surviving waiters, craftsmen, porters, servants, and even a few maids, were all locked up in a dark cell and fastened tightly with special hooks and chains.
What followed was a hurricane-like torture.
The army does things differently from the Sikoutai and Shougongjian.
The punishment and interrogation at the Sikoutai is a skill passed down from generation to generation. It combines psychological attack and physical harm, as well as a series of rhetoric, which can make people reveal their true colors without realizing it.
The eunuchs in the palace guards' punishment methods are extremely vicious and cruel. While not causing any harm to your body, they inflict the greatest physical pain on you over a long period of time, causing you to suffer a mental breakdown and confess reluctantly.
How could these assassins in the General's Mansion have such skills?
Their methods are just like those used by the military in war; brutal, direct, and extremely lethal.
The unfortunate guys from the two coffin shops who were locked up in the black prison were torn to pieces in just a few hours, their entire bodies completely collapsed, and most of the survivors were killed in a short time.
A general of the imperial guards in charge of the punishment was still shouting: "As long as you haven't beaten them to death, beat them to death. A bunch of thieves, just beat them to death!"
No one takes confessions seriously.
They hold the knife handle. No matter who is behind these coffin shops, as long as they dare to show up, the imperial guards will draw their swords and kill them all, leaving a river of blood.
In this case, does the confession matter?
According to the order of the military advisor General Jia Yu - "As long as the confession does not fall into the hands of civil officials, the world will be at peace!"
"Beat them to death! But, how can one branding iron be enough? Use twenty branding irons at the same time!" The general in charge held a toothpick in his mouth and happily ordered the soldiers to get busy.
The waiters and porters were beaten to a pulp.
A few maids were even more unlucky. They were manipulated by these brutal soldiers and were no longer human.
But no matter how hard these imperial guards tried, the people in the two coffin shops all wore silly smiles, muttering the slogan "The Ghost Mother Has Come to the World" in ecstasy, and had no reaction to their torture and abuse.
With a terrible sound of fractures, the calves of the two shopkeepers were smashed to pieces by copper hammers.
The two shopkeepers exclaimed softly, and then continued to chant "The Ghost Mother Descends to the World" with a smile...
The imperial guards were a little frightened.
These people are completely monsters. They are not afraid of pain or death at all. If not monsters, what are they?
A light cough was heard, and a handsome young man wearing armor and a loose Taoist robe, which was the most popular among the civil officials of Dayin at home, arrived at the door of the black prison at some point.
"You guys, get out. I have something to ask them."
The young man coughed and waved to the imperial guards who were busy in the dark prison.
"Hey, hey, yes, yes, General Leshui, please, please!"
The imperial guards in the dark prison did not dare to delay. They hurriedly dropped all kinds of torture instruments, ran out in a flash, and stayed away from the dark prison very well, for fear that Le Shui would misunderstand that they were eavesdropping.
Leshui, the brother of Leshan.
Le Shan was the nephew of General Le Wu.
Le Shui was the son of General Le Wu.
Le Shan is the most talented, brave and advanced "Qilin" in martial arts of this generation of the Le family.
As for Le Shui, even his own father Le Wu disliked him a little - because Le Shui did not practice martial arts, but instead liked to immerse himself in literature and painting. What's more, he had a very good relationship with some professors and doctors in the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy. He actually looked a bit like a qualified disciple of literature and education.
Le Wu once said: "I raised a little ungrateful wolf!"
However, Le Wu takes much more care of Le Shui than Le Shan, after all, he is his biological son.
In particular, Le Shui became a scholar. When Le Wu quarreled with Bai Changkong in the court several times, he pointed at Bai Changkong's nose and cursed: "My son, my own son, is also a disciple of literature and education."
Please savor the meaning of this statement carefully.
In short, Le Shui likes literature, but he also holds an official position in the Imperial Guards. He is qualified to have his hands on the official documents, military intelligence and reports of the General 's Mansion. In particular, he has a great say in the enforcement of military discipline and law of the Imperial Guards.
Isn't it normal to come to the black prison to visit a few unlucky guys who are destined to be beaten to death?
Holding a thin volume of poetry, Le Shui walked up to the two shopkeepers who were covered in blood. He looked at them and shook his head: "You two should just die early and be reborn sooner rather than later."
"It's just that several elders sent messages, wanting to know if the people from your Nine Yin Sect are crazy?"
"You're stirring up such a big mess because you're worried that our lives are too peaceful?"
"What do you guys want to do?"
"Give a reasonable explanation, otherwise, all the personnel of your Nine Yin Sect in Gaojing will be completely purged within fifteen days."
Le Shui grabbed a red-hot iron and pressed it on the face of a waiter nearby.
His smile was extremely evil and ferocious, completely different from his usual gentle and unrestrained appearance.
