In Qi Yu's opinion, the newly built torture chamber in the government office is still very humane.
Look, the ground here is dry, there are no poisonous insects around, and there are no pungent odors in the air. Isn't this good enough?
I still remember that when the Imperial Worship Cult first started to cause trouble, I went to visit Yin Jun and Liu Jincheng in prison. If you compare the prison in Lanshan County with this one, it's not even close to that.
Especially on this concrete floor, even a mouse can't get in. Even if you are a wise electric eel, you will never be able to escape the prison.
Ask the prisoners for their thoughts at this moment.
Speaking of Qi Yu, he walked into the torture chamber with curiosity.
As soon as I opened the cell door, I heard a vicissitudes of life and a slightly mocking voice coming from inside: "Master Qi, we haven't seen each other for several years. Are you okay?"
Huh~~
This voice feels a bit familiar...
This acquaintance is not a special acquaintance, but the kind of casual acquaintance that you can't remember if you don't think about it carefully.
This person is Duan Zicheng, the former deputy minister of the cabinet.
Isn’t this a big deal?
In my memory, we only had a few occasional encounters with each other, and we had no contact with each other on weekdays. Now that we suddenly met here, I felt very surprised.
The past events are vivid in my mind.
I still remember that because he was angry that Zhong Shoufu was not re-elected, he became angry and suffered a stroke. In the end, he had to retire early and return to his hometown.
But I never thought that he would actually come to Qiongzhou Mansion now.
Haha, no wonder Leng Qing didn't dare to do anything without permission. It turned out to be because of fear.
You must know that the second assistant in the cabinet is the number one person in the country after the first assistant. His network of connections is beyond ordinary people's imagination. It is reasonable for Leng Qing not to openly offend him.
She knew very well that even an old tiger was not something a lone wolf like her could provoke.
"Haha, I heard that a very prestigious person came to Qiongzhou recently. I never thought it was you, Mr. Duan!" After being stunned, Qi Yu cupped his hands and said with a smile.
Duan Zicheng saw him laughing and said dissatisfiedly: "Looking at Master Qi's attitude, could it be that you came here specially to scold me?"
"Qi doesn't dare!"
"What's the point of saying whether you dare or not? Now, I just want to ask you for a warm word. Are you going to kill me, or do you want to keep me alive?"
Um?
This man is not afraid of killing, and he is quite courageous.
He is indeed a person who has served as a deputy minister in the cabinet.
Qi Yu laughed and did not answer him directly. Instead, he told Tan Junyan who was coming with him: "Hurry and arrange a banquet. I want to host a banquet for Mr. Duan."
Hosting a banquet?
Could it be that you want to poison me?
Duan Zicheng was shocked when he heard this, and said: "Master Qi, you can kill if you want, and chop if you want. Why bother setting up a Hongmen Banquet?"
"Hongmen Banquet? Haha..." Qi Yu smacked his lips and said with a sneer: "Master Duan, you seem to have overestimated yourself! I can't tell you a big story that I'm not afraid of your laughing at, even if it's a prince within the royal family, I won't be able to clean it up.
Frowning, am I still afraid of you, the second assistant who has resigned? Haha, if I really wanted to kill you, you would have been buried in the grave by now!"
This sentence sounds very arrogant.
However, to Duan Zicheng's ears, it was realistic and not exaggerated at all.
Others don't know much about Qi Yu's past, but he knows a thing or two about it.
According to Duan Zicheng's speculation, the disappearances of King Yan, King Yong and Princess Sichuan are all inexplicably related to the Master Qi in front of him. If the facts are a guide, he is indeed qualified to say such things.
There is another layer of meaning in his words, that is, he has not yet committed murder.
This time, the joke turned out to be correct!
Not only did Qi Yu not want to kill him, he also had a strong desire to recruit talents.
Let's put it this way, from the first time he saw Duan Zicheng, he immediately realized that everything that happened recently was most likely the work of this person.
Carrying forward the past and linking the future, Qi Yu deduces as follows:
Duan Zicheng, who was lurking in Qiongzhou Prefecture, must have decided to get rid of himself based on certain considerations and after weighing the pros and cons. Then, he launched a series of conspiracy calculations.
First, he faked a fire in the examination room in Ganfen County and used it as a bait to lure him there, and then set up an ambush to kill him on the way. At the same time, he also spread rumors about rectifying officialdom to increase political pressure from the outside world.
.After successfully luring himself away with the trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain, he immediately launched a sneak attack plan in the villa area in an attempt to capture his relatives alive for blackmail.
These two strategies work together seamlessly.
Fortunately, his planned disturbance did not succeed, and in the end, everything collapsed and ended in failure.
The reason why we were able to turn danger into safety was, first, relying on our own precautions, and second, relying on the dedicated efforts of Tong Yanhuo and Leng Qing, both of which are indispensable.
From a factual point of view, Duan Zicheng is indeed very good at calculating.
However, despite all his calculations, he failed to realize that there was actually a master hidden beside Qi Yu that he had ignored. If not for this, this plan would have probably succeeded.
The above is the rough deduction made by Qi Yu.
So, is it right?
The conclusion is: basically correct.
During the banquet, Duan Zicheng frankly stated the reason. The process was basically consistent with Qi Yu's deduction and guessing. In addition, he also admitted that the magistrate of Changhua County who carried out the assassination was his accomplice.
He said that the county magistrate had a hot temper. As soon as he heard that Qi Yu might want to slap his official, he immediately had the idea of strike first. However, he also paid a corresponding price for his hot temper, because
, Leng Qing was even more brutal than him, and she directly raised the knife and killed him.
After listening to the explanation, Qi Yu praised: "Master Duan doesn't hide anything and tells the truth frankly. He is really a smart man who knows the current affairs."
Duanzi played with the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile: "As the saying goes, those who know the current affairs are heroes. Why should we drink fine wine when we have toasts to drink?"
Well, that makes sense.
Thumbs up!
Qi Yu nodded, with a stern look on his face and raised his glass: "Master Duan, I would like to recruit you as my guest, are you willing?"
this……
Duan Zicheng was stunned at first, and then said: "Master Qi, as far as I know you, you are a person who holds grudges. Even if you are not able to retaliate, you will never do any good deeds like repaying evil with kindness. Now,
I used poison to harm you, but you treated me as my guest regardless of past grudges. This... doesn't seem like your style."
What? I hold a grudge?
Who did you listen to?
Qi Yu glanced at him and then explained: "You don't know, but it is your vicious methods that I appreciate, so I started to recruit talents."
"Oh? What do you think?" Duan Zicheng seemed to be stunned and confused, and asked with a frown.
"To tell you the truth, I have battled wits with Princess Sichuan, battled courage with King Yan, and even battled wits and courage with King Yong. In the contest with them, I have basically never been at a disadvantage. However, in
In this game with you, I was led by your nose. This alone is enough to impress me..."
These words contained both affirmation and approval, but not the slightest bit of ridicule.
In fact, Qi Yu said this on his lips and really thought this in his heart, and it was not a joke.
In his opinion, this Duan Zicheng is indeed a rare talent who is good at planning.
It is my own urgent need.
Although it is said that the talents under his current command are all of the highest quality, none of them are good at planning. If this person can be brought under his command, it will just make up for this shortcoming.
It’s all about talent, and the more, the better.
You know, even Cao Cao, who was good at strategy, recruited five great counselors: Xun Yu, Xun You, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, and Guo Jia in the early days. This was true for the ancients, so what about himself?
Seeing that Duan Zizheng was a little excited, Qi Yu hurriedly added: "Wang Bo once said: When you are old, you will be strong, and you would rather have a gray-headed heart. If you are poor, you will become stronger, and you will not fall into the clouds. Since you have a pioneering spirit, why not borrow it?
Where is my ladder? To tell you the truth, Qi is not just a creature in the pond. He has a huge dream of a family, a country, and a world. How wonderful it would be if you and I join hands in the same boat and support a prosperous world together. Let’s talk about the small things again.
If you really want to get something, isn't it just a matter of my words?"
"this……"
"That's it for now. I won't persuade you anymore. I'll give you a quarter of an hour to think about it!"
After saying that, Qi Yu took out his pocket watch and started timing. At the same time, he did not forget to put the musket on the table intentionally or unintentionally.