Qin Xiao looked confused. Although the prisoner's appearance was unclear due to his disheveled hair, judging from the outline of his body, he was not someone he knew well.
"Sire, this is the person I want to bring you to see." Xue Quan raised his hand and pointed at the prisoner: "This person's surname is Wu, his given name is Xingzhong, and his current position is the Ranger General of the Anton Guard Army.
One name is the Liaodong Army that everyone often calls!"
Qin Xiao's body was shaken and he said in surprise: "Liaodong Army?" He stared at the prisoner, feeling even more surprised.
Since he was a guerrilla general of the Liaodong Army, how could he be imprisoned here by the Ziyi Prison and even tortured?
What surprised Qin Xiao even more was that when Ziyi Prison interrogated this person, no matter what the person had committed, it had nothing to do with him. After all, he had nothing to do with the Liaodong Army. Why did Ziyi Prison invite him here?
"Young Master Xue, this...?" Qin Xiao was about to ask, but Xue Quan said with a smile: "To be honest, Sir, as early as a few months ago, we got news that a village under the jurisdiction of Changli County in the northeast
A town in Chu was attacked by Black Mountain bandits. Almost all the 400 people in the town, old and young, were massacred by the Black Mountain bandits, and all their belongings were looted. Not long after, the Anton Protectorate submitted a petition for merit, and Liaodong
The army annihilated the Black Mountain bandits and beheaded more than 600 people, for which the saint even gave a special reward. Not long after the Xiling Rebellion occurred at that time, and later the Jiangnan Rebellion, the court did not pay too much attention to this matter."
"Black Mountain bandit?"
Xue Quan explained: "Your Majesty did not know that the Black Mountain bandits in Liaodong existed more than ten years ago. In those years, there was a severe drought in Liaodong, which led to a sharp decrease in food. Many people sold their sons and daughters, and the situation was a bit chaotic.
, although the imperial court allocated food for disaster relief, there were still many unruly people who turned into bandits and became bandits that caused harm to the Northeast. At first, these bandits fought independently and could not become a big deal. However, over the past few years, the bandit forces in Montenegro have become more powerful.
With the rise of Japan, many bandits had no choice but to defect to the Black Mountain Bandits. As far as we know, the Black Mountain Bandits now have tens of thousands of people and have become one of the most powerful bandits in the Northeast."
"So, the Black Mountain bandits are growing up under the eyes of the Liaodong Army?" Qin Xiao frowned.
Xue Quan said: "The Liaodong Army has had frequent successes, and the imperial court has rewarded the Liaodong Army a lot for this. However, these bandits are fighting more and more, and they are getting stronger. A few years ago, there was news that thousands of officers and soldiers were killed by hundreds of Black Mountain bandits."
I was able to escape after being chased, but naturally the Anton Protectorate will not report this matter to the superiors, it is just spread from there, and the authenticity needs to be investigated."
If Su Yu had not mentioned the Liaodong Army to Qin Xiao before, Qin Xiao would have been mentally prepared. Otherwise, he would not have believed it when he suddenly heard such news.
"So why did Mr. Xue bring me to see him today?" Qin Xiao looked at the ranger general Wu Xingzhong, who was covered in blood and flesh, and wondered: "He is a ranger general of the Liaodong Army, but why is he imprisoned here?
Where?"
"The Bohai Mission came to Beijing, and the Anton Protectorate sent 500 people to escort them into Beijing." Xue Quan put one hand behind his back and said slowly: "The person in charge of the escort is General Mingwei, and Wu Xingzhong is his subordinate, and he also accompanied the escort.
After this person entered the capital, he secretly left the garrison and brought a few people in disguise to have a good time in Lefang. We took him back to the Yamen in the middle of the night. General Mingwei sent people to look for him, but naturally he couldn't be found, so he filed a record with the Ministry of War.
, the Ministry of War also asked the Kyoto Prefecture to be responsible for finding this person's whereabouts. When the Bohai Mission left Beijing, the Liaodong Army had to be responsible for escorting him, so he could only leave this person behind and return to Liaodong."
Qin Xiao understood and said with a smile: "Are you secretly arresting him?"
"Currently, there are only a handful of people who know that this person is in the hands of the Purple Clothes Supervisor." Xue Quan smiled and said: "Inviting the lord here today is also to let the lord know something about the situation."
"Me?" Qin Xiao shook his head and said, "Young Master Xue wants me to help with the case? I'm no longer from Dali Temple, so I can't help."
Xue Quan looked at Wu Xingzhong and said calmly: "General Wu, please tell me the truth about the Wusha Town murder case again."
Wu Xingzhong said feebly: "We...we followed General Huangfu's military order. Eight hundred people dressed up...disguised as Black Mountain bandits and stormed into Wusha Town at night. General Huangfu had an order.
You can get two taels of silver for each head. After entering the city, everyone will be killed regardless of gender, age or child...!"
Qin Xiao's expression suddenly changed. Although he had already made some vague guesses when Xue Quan informed him of the murder, the revelation of Wu Xingzhong's confession really shocked Qin Xiao.
"Before dawn, we...we evacuated the town, changed our clothes midway, and returned to the barracks." Wu Xingzhong's voice was weak, his head lowered all the time, and he confessed unintentionally as if he was reciting an article: "The officers and soldiers involved in this incident
, not a single word...cannot be uttered. All the looted property was handed over, but everyone received a reward...!"
Qin Xiao's eyes showed coldness and he said in a cold voice: "Why are you slaughtering the people?"
"We...we are all following orders, why...why is it like this, no...!" Before Wu Xingzhong could finish speaking, the attendant had already picked up a wooden bucket and put a
The bucket of water was poured directly towards Wu Xingzhong. The water was also mixed with some broken ice. The ice water splashed on Wu Xingzhong's naked body, causing Wu Xingzhong's body to tremble violently and tremble.
"Calm down and talk." Xue Quan said calmly without changing his expression: "You know where you are. After entering the Ziyi Prison, if you can't confess honestly, no matter what your identity is, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave alive."
Wu Xingzhong raised his head with difficulty and said with trembling teeth: "I...I confessed everything...to ask for credit from the imperial court!"
"So you are massacring the town to get credit for killing good people?" Xue Quan said calmly.
"The general said that bandits were rampant, and the Liaodong Army did not report its merits to the court for more than a year, but... the Ministry of War repeatedly asked about the suppression of bandits...!" Wu Xingzhong
His eyes were lifeless, as if he was desperate, and he said softly: "I need... I need to give the court an explanation...!"
Qin Xiao sneered and said: "Since bandits are rampant, why don't you go to suppress the bandits, but kill the good ones and take credit for them?"
"We can't fight." Wu Xingzhong said feebly: "The Black Mountain bandits...the Black Mountain bandits are not afraid of death. They...they are extremely ferocious. If we fight against them...many people will definitely die."
...Everyone has a family and a job...and no one wants to die in the hands of the Black Mountain bandits...!"
When Qin Xiao heard this, he felt weird.
The Liaodong Army received military pay, enjoyed delicious food, and bought land in the Northeast. All this was in the hope that these soldiers could fulfill their duties, not only to protect the borders of the empire from foreign invasion, but also to protect the people.
To ensure peace, they will not be harmed by bandits.
However, in order to pay homage to the imperial court, the Liaodong Army did not dare to fight with the Black Mountain bandits. In order to save their lives, they went so far as to massacre civilians. Not only did they blame the Black Mountain bandits, they also used the heads of innocent people to pretend to be bandits to claim credit from the imperial court.
Although he had already learned from Su Yu that the current Liaodong Army was no longer the Tang cavalry that swept across the Bohai Sea, he never expected that this army would degenerate to such a shameless level.
If what Wu Xingzhong said is true, this is certainly a sensational case.
"Xue Shaojian, you have grasped the truth of this case, so you arrested this person?" Qin Xiao understood: "Are you going to use him as a witness?"
Xue Quan shook his head and said: "The Ziyi Prison has limited manpower. Although there are people in the Northeast, the details of this case are not clear. However, we learned the time when the Liaodong Army asked the court for credit, and then they were captured by Heishan in Wusha Town.
After careful inspection of the news about the bandit attack, we found that only two days after the murder in Wusha Town, the Anton Governor's Mansion sent someone to submit a petition for merit to the court. Although there is no evidence, we suspect that there is something fishy between the two incidents.
, but there were many matters at hand at that time, and there was no special investigation into this matter." Looking at the dying Wu Xingzhong, he said slowly: "It just so happened that the Bohai Mission came to Beijing this time, and the Liaodong Army sent people to escort them. After they entered Beijing, there were people in the Purple Clothes Prison.
Keeping an eye on them secretly, I discovered that Wu Xingzhong secretly left the station and went to Lefang. After drinking several glasses of wine, he even boasted in Lefang that he was a general of the Liaodong Army, had made numerous meritorious deeds, and had beheaded dozens of Black Mountain bandit heads."
Qin Xiao sneered in his heart, only to hear Xue Quan continue: "His words were clearly heard by our people. After the report came back, we looked for an opportunity to bring him back that night, just to ask the truth about the murder case in Wusha Town.
What is the situation?"
"So the Purple-clothed Supervisor first determines the facts of the case, and then arrests people and tortures them to get the testimony without any evidence?" Qin Xiao sighed: "The Purple-clothed Supervisor's style of doing things is really different."
"Finding evidence and then convicting is a matter for the Third Judicial Division." The attendant said gloomily: "When the Purple-clothed Supervisor is working, as long as there is suspicion, we can use all means to arrest people first and then find evidence. Of course, if we are sure who is guilty, we will not
If evidence is needed, execution can be carried out."
Qin Xiao gave a thumbs up, thinking that no wonder everyone in the purple-clothed prison was afraid of him like a ghost.
The Ministry of Punishment was very angry at people talking about it, but even if those guys wanted to persecute someone, they would have to produce evidence even if they forged evidence. Purple-clothed Prison was good, they could kill people without evidence. No one dared to offend such a yamen.
"Then is there any possibility of surrendering?" Qin Xiao frowned and said: "This person just made up the facts in order to avoid punishment. It is not true that he killed good people and took credit. The people of Wsha Town did die at the hands of the Black Mountain bandits?"
Xue Quan said with a smile: "It is natural for Sir Alex to have this suspicion. However, I can responsibly assure Sir that after our interrogation, what the prisoner said will only be the truth, and Sir Alex can believe what he said.
Every word."
"Then why did Mr. Xue ask me to come today?" Qin Xiaodao: "Let me get involved in this case? But since you have asked for the confession, there are no other problems. With witnesses, you can directly give evidence to those who abused you.
Killing innocent officers and soldiers is a crime. By the way, who is that General Huangfu?"
"The Liaodong Army is commanded by General Guide Wang Xingchao. Although the Andong Protectorate has restrained the power of the Liaodong Army, the Liaodong Army is still decided by Wang Xingchao. Without Wang Xingchao's military orders, the Andong Protectorate cannot mobilize the entire Liaodong Army.
A soldier is killed." Xue Quan explained: "Huangfu Yunzhao was titled General Zhuangwu. He was an effective general under Wang Xingchao. He was excellent in martial arts, wise and brave, and his ancestor was also a famous general who conquered the Bohai Kingdom."
Qin Xiao sneered: "If this is really what he did, his ancestors will really suffer shame because of him. Mr. Xue, does the saint know about this case? How to deal with people like Huangfu Yunzhao? Also, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Army
Does Wang Xingchao know the truth about this case and is he involved in it?"
"Sir, I invite you to come here today to let you understand the truth about the case in Wusha Town."
Come to understand this case. Once you understand it, go to the palace to meet the saint. The saint is waiting for you in the palace."
Qin Xiao was surprised and said: "Is it the saint's will? The saint is waiting for me?"
"My lord, if there is anything you still don't understand, you can ask." Xue Quan said, "If it is clear and there are no problems, you can enter the palace now."
Qin Xiao was even more confused and frowned: "Why does the saint want me to know about this case? The facts of the case are already clear, and it is your purple-clothed supervisor who is investigating. The court will decide how to deal with those criminal soldiers next. I...
.What can we do if we know?”
"We cannot answer these questions." Xue Quan smiled and said: "Maybe after entering the palace, the saint will tell the Lord."