Chapter 81: Complete Silence
"I need all the information about Jiang Zhihong, including the details of the feud between him and Prime Minister Lou."
Xu Chong found Ge Wanshan and said seriously.
"Um?"
Ge Wanshan frowned, "What do you want this for?"
"Let Jiang Zhihong regain his desire to live."
Xu Chong replied.
"This...are you absolutely sure?"
Ge Wanshan hesitated for a moment, his expression becoming serious. "Whether it's Jiang Zhihong or Lou Xiang, their intelligence is only available to the General Guard. The information needs to be reviewed and approved by various levels. It will take half a month to get there and back. With Jiang Zhihong's current level, he can only hold out for another half a month at best."
"Whether we are completely sure or not, we will have to wait until we see the files to know."
Xu Chong shook his head, "But this is the only solution I can think of."
"The only way..."
Ge Wanshan began to pace with his hands behind his back.
In fact, he has been considering another path these days - leaving Jiang Zhihong to Duan Yuanming.
But in that case, not only will he not get those contributions, but he will also have to reluctantly give up part of the profits to Duan Yuanming... Now is different from when he was first arrested. It is clear that there will be a price to pay for passing on the blame.
How can I accept the situation of losing the rice instead of gaining the chicken?
It was at this moment that Xu Chong gave another uncertain choice.
Take a gamble?
If the bet is successful, not only will you make a profit, but you can also show your face in front of the prime minister, which can be said to be a double gain of fame and fortune.
If the bet fails, he will lose both fame and fortune... Xu Chong will have to bear a lot of responsibility, which is equivalent to owing him a big favor. With Zhe Fengshou's progress, it is very likely that he will become the commander-in-chief's disciple in the future.
Hmm... If that's the case, it seems like even if I lose the bet, I might not lose anything?
Thinking of this, Ge Wanshan suddenly stopped and looked at Xu Chong: "Okay, I'll gamble with you!"
That's how it was settled.
In the following days, Xu Chong dragged Kou Ruohai to the Black Prison every day, where they ate, drank, played chess, and chatted in front of Jiang Zhihong.
Anyway, he just harassed Jiang Zhihong and tried his best to make Jiang Zhihong familiar with him.
However, apart from saying a few words when Jiang Zhihong was first sent to the black prison, he never spoke again after that, completely ignoring the two of them.
Xu Chong could clearly sense that Jiang Zhihong's spirit was getting worse and worse. Just as Ge Wanshan said, he couldn't hold on for too long.
Fortunately, the chief guard in Beijing seemed to take this matter very seriously. It only took ten days to send a large box of files to Zhang Hua.
"These copied files have been processed. You can read them at will without any scruples."
Ge Wanshan ordered his men to move the box into Xu Chong's room and said, "I have already given orders that no one is allowed to disturb you."
"Thank you for your trust, sir."
Xu Chong clasped his fists and bowed, then turned around and locked himself and the files in the room.
One day, two days, three days...
On the evening of the third day, Xu Chong called two yamen runners and gave them some instructions. Without disturbing Ge Wanshan, he went straight back to his room to sleep.
On the morning of the fourth day, Xu Chong walked out of the room full of energy and entered the Black Prison again under the gaze of everyone.
This time he brought a stool and sat in front of Jiang Zhihong.
Then he started to talk about his daily routine.
"Jiang Zhihong, sixty-seven years old, from Laiji Prefecture, Gunzhou."
"In the 14th year of Wenchang's imperial examination, I was chosen by the late emperor as the top scholar and was appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official."
"In the same year, my fellow townsman and classmate Lou Youzhi, who was also a Jinshi, was sent by the Ministry of Personnel to Yunzhou as a county magistrate, a seventh-rank official."
"In the seventeenth year of Wenchang, you passed the examination and were able to stay in the academy, and were promoted to Hanlin Shijiang, a sixth-rank official."
"In the same year, Yunzhou was hit by a flood, and eleven prefectures were covered with starving people. Lou Youzhi was demoted to Dianshi."
"Twenty years after Wenchang, you stayed in the academy again and were promoted to the fifth rank."
"And Lou Youzhi was reinstated as county magistrate because of his meritorious service in supervising farming."
"The twenty-third year of Wenchang..."
At this point, Xu Chong smiled and said, "From this year on, your luck seems to have run out. First, you failed to stay in the academy and failed to be promoted to Hanlin Bachelor. Later, because you offended the emperor, you were demoted to the rank of Dushi of the Censorate, a seventh-rank official."
"And your classmate was just the opposite. He used his position as a county magistrate to capture the Taoist priest of the Taiping Dao. Because of his merits, he was promoted directly to the imperial capital and appointed as the head of the Ministry of Revenue, a sixth-rank official."
"After that, I will rise straight to the top and step on you forever."
Having said this, Jiang Zhihong's empty eyes finally focused slightly.
"but."
Xu Chong struck while the iron was hot, "At that time, you two were still close friends, both officials in Beijing, and often drank tea and discussed politics together. Although you had different opinions, your friendship was not comparable to ordinary friendship."
"Until the 42nd year of Wenchang, Lou Youzhi was promoted to the third-rank Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and you finally made it through, being promoted by the late emperor to the fourth-rank Right Censor-in-Chief."
"It was this year that the former best friends turned against each other and became enemies who wanted to kill each other, and this has continued until now."
"And the reason for your falling out was just a disaster relief?"
Xu Chong raised his tone, seeming extremely confused.
"only?"
Jiang Zhihong finally spoke, his voice extremely hoarse and dry, "You say it so easily, but do you know what he did in disaster relief?"
"What have you done?"
Xu Chong was still puzzled, "Bingzhou suffered a severe drought, and it was because of Lou Youzhi's disaster relief that half of the people were saved. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Half! Half!!!"
Jiang Zhihong didn't know where he got the strength from, and suddenly rushed from the corner to Xu Chong's front, roaring angrily: "If it weren't for Lou Youzhi, how could only half of them survive?!"
"oh?"
Xu Chong raised his eyebrows, "Why do you dare to say that?"
"Why should I?!"
Jiang Zhihong's bloodshot eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. He gritted his teeth and said, "I was the first to see the disaster victim who traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to file a complaint with the Emperor Taizu! This disaster victim was beheaded by the killer in the street before he could even beat the drum to file a complaint!"
"So, what did this disaster victim tell you?"
Xu Chong asked.
"What did you say? Ha, ha ha ha..."
Jiang Zhihong shook his head and laughed miserably, as if he had lost all his strength, and staggered back, "What does it matter if I say anything? The late emperor doesn't believe it, the officials don't believe it, and no one else believes it except me. What's the point of telling you?"
"No, no, no, actually you don't need to tell me, I already know it, and..."
Xu Chong shook his head. "I don't care whether others believe it or not, but I do."
Jiang Zhihong froze, raised his head and looked at Xu Chong in disbelief: "What... did you say? You said you believed it?"
He was not surprised that Xu Chong knew those things. After all, he knew his background and resume very well, so it was not surprising that he found out those things.
But he didn't expect that Xu Chong actually believed it!
"Lou Youzhi replaced the 1.6 million dan of corn that the court had allocated for disaster relief with 4.5 million dan of bran, and mixed it with nearly 1 million dan of sand and soil."
Xu Chong said calmly, "This is your memorial impeaching Lou Youzhi, right?"
“Although I didn’t experience that disaster relief, I think this should be the truth.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of all the people who were eavesdropping on the ground changed drastically.
Ge Wanshan's heart was about to jump out of his throat.
This matter would not have mattered much back then when Prime Minister Lou was just a minister, but now it has become a huge taboo!
However, just as he was about to open his mouth to stop Xu Chong, Xu Chong's next words made him stop abruptly.
"even."
Xu Chong paused, and suddenly changed the subject: "Not only do I believe this, I also feel from the bottom of my heart that Prime Minister Lou is a rare capable minister in ancient times. It is not without reason that he can become the chief minister of the cabinet."
"What?!!"
Jiang Zhihong's face turned completely ugly, and the little bit of good impression he had for Xu Chongsheng disappeared completely.
Bang!
Xu Chong clapped his hands twice.
The two yamen runners who had been waiting at the entrance looked at each other, suppressed their panic and jumped down.
One of them carried a charcoal stove, an oil pan and other items, and the other held a small baby.
The two men came behind Xu Chong, and without saying a word, they started a fire and burned oil.
Jiang Zhihong looked at him coldly, puzzled.
"I don't know what you think of the phrase 'eating one's own children', but I guess you haven't seen it with your own eyes."
Xu Chong stood up and took the swaddling clothes, exerting slight force with his arms.
A loud "baby" cry suddenly rang out.
Ugh, wuh, wuh—
"What...what are you going to do?"
Jiang Zhihong's already pale face turned even paler .
"do what?"
Xu Chong looked at Jiang Zhihong in surprise, "You don't eat the edible things, I suspect you like to eat those inedible things, here, isn't this what I prepared for you?"
"you!"
There was fear in Jiang Zhihong's eyes.
Xu Chong ignored him and frowned at the yamen runner who was lighting the fire, "Make the fire bigger, Lord Jiang is already impatient."
"You're scaring me, aren't you?"
Jiang Zhihong calmed down and sneered, "Cooking and eating human flesh, whether it is a dead body or a living person, is a serious crime that must be punished by being torn apart by a chariot. I don't believe you dare!"
"Yes, this is indeed a serious crime, but..."
Xu Chong paused, looked around, and said, "Who knows?"
At this time, the oil pan has begun to emit smoke, which is a sign that the temperature is high enough.
"Well, it's time."
Xu Chong turned around and faced the oil pan, seeming to be untying the swaddling clothes.
"……don't want!!!"
Jiang Zhihong suddenly threw himself on the railing.
But it was too late.
--laugh!
This is the sound of the pot being put into the pot.
"No--!!!"
Jiang Zhihong waved his arms like crazy , trying to pull Xu Chong or the oil pan.
Unfortunately, Xu Chongka's distance was just right, and he couldn't reach even a corner of the clothes.
“Beast! Beast!!”
Jiang Zhihong finally broke down and kept shouting.
"It seems that you also know that eating children is wrong."
Xu Chong turned sideways.
Jiang Zhihong's shouting stopped abruptly, and he stood there in a daze.
The baby in the frying pan is not a real baby. It has scales and a tail. It is just an ordinary catfish.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Xu Chong patted a captain on the shoulder.
"Just some little tricks, I hope they can help you."
The captain bowed respectfully, then winked at his colleagues, picked up the oil pan and left.
Jiang Zhihong has reacted by now.
The baby's cry just now was clearly impersonated by the yamen runners. I was distracted and couldn't tell the source of the sound.
"…Why are you doing this?"
Jiang Zhihong asked, his tone full of fatigue.
"Don't worry, let me ask you a few questions first."
Xu Chong sat down again. "In the 42nd year of Wenchang, how many people were there in Bingzhou Province, and how much grain was consumed in a month? Do you know?"
"this……"
Jiang Zhihong choked.
"You don't know. You were born in the capital city, your family is well-off, and you have never experienced real hardship. How can you pay attention to these things? Let me tell you."
Xu Chong chuckled, "If you just want to stay alive, a person only needs 15 kilograms of food a month."
"...15 jin?"
Jiang Zhihong was a little dazed and a little disappointed.
So, eating just this little bit is enough to stay alive...
"In the 42nd year of Wenchang, Bingzhou Province had 19 prefectures and 201 counties, with a total population of more than 16 million."
"Let's do the math. Five hundred and fifty million dan of bran mixed with sand and soil, if sixteen million people eat it together, it will only be enough for three months."
Xu Chong laughed, "How about it? Don't you think it's a coincidence? The disaster lasted for six months, and half of the people in Bingzhou survived."
Jiang Zhihong was completely silent.
