Di Xin gave an order, and two guards who had been waiting for a long time pressed a person in and then kicked the prisoner's legs skillfully.
There was an unexpected low cry, and the prisoner who was kicked in the crook of the leg immediately knelt down.
After the guards retreated, Di Xin said slowly and calmly: "Everyone, take a good look, does anyone know this person?"
If the inquiry had been made before noon, the officials present would naturally shake their heads. But now after seeing the military uniform of the tenth captain and combined with the news sent back by the spies at noon, who can't guess his identity?
If nothing else goes wrong, the person who knelt down should be the captain of ten who was on duty at the South City Gate at noon.
At this time, the captain no longer had the arrogance of the day, and his hands and feet were shackled. The majesty of the royal family cannot be insulted. In fact, if Di Xin had not spoken in person, the captain would probably not even have a piece of intact skin now.
have.
But that didn't mean that the Captain had an easy afternoon.
Most of those guards are people who are good at torture. Some of them can torture a person, but there is nothing strange about them from the outside.
At this moment, the tenth captain was kicked to the ground, but he did not dare to resist at all. If you observe carefully, you can even find that his body is shaking slightly.
In an instant, the expressions of all the officials changed to varying degrees.
Di Xin saw everyone's reaction in his eyes, chuckled and said: "I forgot, this is Taicang City. Compared with all of you, you are all well-informed people, so there is no need for me to waste my breath.
.”
"I would like to hear your lords' explanations."
According to the system of the Dali Dynasty, each province established three divisions: the Chief Envoy Department, the General Command Envoy Department, the Punishment Envoy Department, and the Procuratorate Department. Each prefecture under its jurisdiction established an official office according to the three departments, which were responsible for administration, military, and justice.
In addition, some places will also set up special official positions based on local conditions.
City defense belongs to the military, and logically it should be the responsibility of the command department. However, due to the special nature of Taicang City, administration and military affairs often overlap. In addition to the inspection department, which is responsible for supervising all ministers for the royal family, the prefect and the command department are also responsible for the two departments.
Responsibilities often overlap.
This is why Emperor Xin was able to restrain a city's officials by only capturing one captain of ten who was guarding the city gate.
At that moment, the prefect Zhou Yanwai stood up and said with sincerity and fear: "Our inspection was not strict, which frightened His Highness. I represent all the officials in Taicang City to apologize to Your Highness."
"As for this thief, he deserves death for disturbing His Highness. Tomorrow I will personally take him to Xingtai and behead him to set the record straight."
They also avoided the important and ignored the important, secretly changed the concept, and only said that the ten captains had disturbed King Yu, without mentioning the specific situation.
However, if Di Xin could be fooled just like this, he wouldn't do these things.
He signaled Xizi to add more tea, waved his hand pretending not to care, and said: "I am an idle prince. If not for His Majesty's decree to be the general of Zhenguan, I would still be fooling around in the capital waiting to die. A mere disturbance would be nothing."
.”
"but."
Di Xin's eyes became extremely sharp in an instant, and his gaze fell on the officials like knives: "If it were not me at the city gate today, but a powerless ordinary citizen, do you think it would be better?
What are the consequences?"
"If Xizi had not been my maid, what would have happened to her?"
"Do you, sir, know these things?"
"this……"
Zhou Yan is speechless.
Not only him, but also the officials present knew that if, according to what His Highness King Yu said, the person who was unjustly extorted at the city gate today was just a commoner, the outcome would definitely not be any better.
But Di Xin's words continued.
"You have suffered in this cold and miserable place for decades, resisting foreign enemies. I don't know how many soldiers have died. Why? Is it just to protect the royal family far away in the capital?"
"No, what you are protecting are the tens of millions of people who make up the Dali Dynasty."
"But, are the people you have risked your lives to protect just to have them die unjustly one day?"
"If that's the case, what's the difference between you and the Turkic thieves outside the border who are always ready to invade our country?"
Every word was like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heart.
Unlike ordinary people and low-level soldiers who have no choice, these officials are much more selective. If they want to leave here, they can always find a way. At the worst, they can resign and leave. They can still live a happy life with their family wealth.
Anyone who can persevere in such a cold and miserable place will have a genuine desire to protect the country and its people, no matter what else.
Although there are always those kind of moths, they are trying their best to ensure the stability of people's lives.
Therefore, even if the people could not be squeezed, those soldiers would not go too far. The reason why the ten-captain commander took the risk today was because Emperor Xin gave him too much.
What he took out was gold. You can imagine how rich this person is. He wouldn't have to work hard for three generations. Even if it were another person, he probably wouldn't be able to bear it.
After listening to Di Xin's words, many of the officials present felt guilty. Even Ouyang Lie made a decision to reorganize the army after returning and must suppress this evil trend.
However, the most important thing now is Di Xin's attitude.
This kind of thing can be big or small. In the small case, it goes without saying that it is enough to deal with the captain of ten who committed the crime; but in the big case, if the army is not strictly governed, the people are exploited, etc., even if it is suspected of being forced, it is not unreasonable.
It can be investigated in this way.
How much price they have to pay to suppress this matter depends on how much Di Xin wants.
Although the officials were nervous, they did not panic. Judging from the current situation, they could still afford the price.
But no matter what the final outcome is, the captain kneeling in the middle of the hall is definitely dead. Many officials are looking at him with murderous intent.
However, Di Xin has not spoken yet.
"Xizi, take out the things."
"yes."
When Di Xin came out just now, his aura was too strong, and everyone was preoccupied with other things, so they didn't pay much attention to Xi Zi who was following Di Xin with his head lowered.
But now that Xizi walked out from behind Di Xin, the officials' eyes finally focused on her.
Then, they seemed to understand why the captain did what he did.
With such stunning beauty, even a trace of greed inevitably arose in their hearts, let alone the captain who had never seen many beautiful women in his life.
But they soon discovered that this was only part of the reason.
The second reason is Di Xin's biggest bargaining chip.
After Xizi walked out from behind Di Xin, he took out a wallet from his arms. It was the same wallet that he had given to the captain at the south gate during the day.
Then, the wallet was opened and turned over, and an ingot of gold fell out of it with Xizi's slightly nervous movement, falling to the ground and scattering.