A strong smell of feces, urine and mold hit his nose, and Xie Erren immediately covered his nose.
The light in the cell was extremely dim, and it took him a while to see clearly the appearance of the room: thick brick walls, dirt floor, and only a bamboo board inside, with black and moldy straw piled messily in the corners.
There was a clay pot inside, which emitted waves of stench.
The cell door is narrow and the window is small, but the window lattice is strong, allowing only a trace of light to pass through. The cell is dark and humid, with mold marks on the brick walls and moss under the corners. You can imagine the humid and harsh environment here. No wonder the ancients died of exhaustion.
There are many prisoners - it is very easy to get sick in this environment, and without medicine and good care, people can die in an instant.
The prison guard laughed and said, "It's dirty and smelly inside. Don't stay here for too long - it'll stain your old eyes!"
Xie Erren shook his head: This ghost place is too scary. But he didn't say anything. There were so many things at the moment that he couldn't even bother to deal with these problems. He remembered that a special report had been issued on the "Guangzhou Prisoner" incident, asking "people from all over the country" to
"Directors" should not release all the detainees easily - he can now fully understand the actions of the soldiers - is this simply hell on earth!
Hearing that the chief wanted to come to the cell for a personal inspection, all the prisoners in the prison came out to welcome him. Xie Erren looked at it, and found that he didn't look evil at all. He was not much different from the ordinary people he saw in the Ming Dynasty. His clothes
It's also gray.
However, he heard from the elders of the Ministry of Social Work that it was true that the government servants had a low status, but they had their own way of making money. As long as they were official errands, not to mention getting rich, it would not be a problem to have enough food and clothing.
After passing through the long and narrow courtyard, there is a "T"-shaped courtyard at the end of the ordinary prison cell. This is the so-called "death cell".
The death row is not big. To the east is the cell where death row prisoners are held, and to the south are two small rooms. This is where the prisoners live and sleep. There is a small shrine inlaid on the west wall of the yard - the prison leader said
:This is the "Prison Temple".
It turns out that there are no houses in this "Prison Temple". If the entire area under the roof above the shrine to protect it from wind and rain is included, it is less than half a square meter. Not to mention trying cases, it is barely sheltered from the rain.
There is a hole in the north corner of the "Prison Temple" that can lead directly to the outside. The cell leader said this is called the "Death Row Cave" - in fact, death row prisoners are usually executed in the execution ground. In fact, it is the corpse of the prisoner who died in prison.
, according to the rules, corpses cannot go out through the gate, so they are dragged outside through this hole.
This place is too small! Xie Erren secretly cursed that the entire Wuzhou prison only had this small space. He roughly estimated that it would only be more than 600 square meters in total - how many prisoners could be held in this?
Since the "Prison Temple" is not a "temple" at all, it is natural that interrogations cannot be held in the temple, so the trial was moved to two small rooms in the south. One of the two small rooms has a bed for the prison.
They were resting, but the room outside was where the prisoners tortured the prisoners. There were all kinds of shackles and torture instruments on the wall, and they were stained with black blood, which was indescribably eerie.
Xie Erren glanced at it with some disgust, regretting why he didn't bring the person up to the court for trial. Now that he's here, it's not easy to regret it, so he can just overcome it here - these instruments of torture can also heighten the atmosphere.
He nodded: "Just stay here and bring the person here."
The two prisoners responded and hurried away. The prison leader hurriedly brought a chair to the middle, which became Xie Erren's "private seat".
After a short while, two prisoners brought the female assassin in.
It is said to be "belt", but actually it is "frame". Not only is the hair unkempt, the clothes are torn and messy, even the embroidered shoes on the feet are gone. They are randomly wrapped with leg straps and dragged on the ground. It seems that they have been tortured.
Ren was shocked - is this happening?
He frowned and said, "What? Someone has already checked it?"
The two prisoners smiled slightly awkwardly, but the squad leader already knew what was going on and hurriedly reported: "This woman has been extremely restless after being imprisoned. Not only did she insult the master and the senate, but she also sought death and survival several times. She had no choice but to
So I taught her some 'rules' - these are old rules in prison."
Xie Erren nodded. Seeing that the female assassin was emaciated and there were blood stains on her clothes, it was obvious that the "teaching rules" were quite cruel. He was also vaguely aware of the various cruelties against prisoners in Ming prisons, and he couldn't help but feel sad.
I feel some sympathy for this woman.
"Kneel down!"
Following the scolding from the cell leader, the woman shivered and immediately collapsed on her knees. As soon as she knelt down, she probably touched a painful spot, her body trembled again, and she knelt down carefully on her side.
Only then could Xie Erren clearly see the woman who was trying to take his life. He saw that the woman was in her early twenties, and her appearance was not that outstanding. The texture of her clothes, fair skin, bound feet and other physical characteristics showed that she was
Not the common people at the bottom, at least at the level of Xiaojiabiyu.
Judging from her appearance, she must have suffered a lot in the past half day. She is a weak woman, why did she suddenly want to assassinate her?
Although the person in front of him came to take his life, Xie Erren could no longer hate her. Instead, he felt vague sympathy in his heart.
After a long silence, Xie Erren asked: "Who are you? Why do you want to assassinate me?"
The woman raised her head and glanced at him, with surprise, hatred and fear in her eyes. When she saw him staring straight at her, she quickly turned her head to the side and said in a trembling voice:
"Now that I have fallen into your hands, there is nothing more to say. If you want to kill or behead me, please do as you please!"
The voice was weak, but what he said was not the Guangzhou vernacular popular in Wuzhou, but Mandarin. Xie Erren was startled:
"Aren't you a local?"
But the woman remained silent, and the prisoner next to her scolded: "I'm asking you a question! Answer your question well! If you don't be honest for a while, I'll take good care of you!"
This sound was very effective. The woman trembled all over and whispered:
"Cai Lan, a folk girl, was born in Chengtianfu, Huguang."
Where is Chengtianfu in Huguang? Xie Erren doesn't know, he probably knows that it is in Hubei and Hunan.
How did a man from Lianghu come to Wuzhou, Guangdong? Xie Erren knew that women in the Ming Dynasty could not travel alone, let alone long distances. Most of them came to Wuzhou with their father or husband.
After further questioning, I found out that Cai Lan came from a scholarly family and had been engaged since she was a child. Her fiancé got a job in Wuzhou last year and sent someone to pick her up to get married.
Unexpectedly, not long after arriving in Wuzhou, Wuzhou would be caught in the flames of war. Her fiancé committed suicide and the servants fled, leaving her alone and helpless. She then began to think of avenging her husband and sacrificing herself.
"Suicide?" Xie Erren was slightly puzzled, "Since your fiancé committed suicide, what does it have to do with me, the Song Dynasty?"
"My husband is Xing Chenghuan." Cai Lan said her husband's name and sobbed softly.
Who is Xing Chenghuan? Xie Erren was confused for a moment, but Zhao Toyota reminded him: Xing Chenghuan was an aide to the Wuzhou magistrate. After the magistrate committed suicide, he also committed suicide in the second hall, leaving behind two desperate poems.
"It turns out it's him." Xie Erren suddenly realized it and cursed Xing Chenghuan in his heart: You are not a local official, why did you commit suicide? You left this young wife alone! You even made her come to assassinate me, the leader. What a crime!
Looking at Cai Lan again, kneeling on the ground and crying sadly, the pear blossoms in the rain are somewhat touching. Xie Erren's heart moved slightly - this little lady is quite lovely.
With this thought, his heart softened, and he said in a slow tone: "So that's it. But your husband is so boring. He is not an official of the Ming Dynasty. Why should he commit suicide with the magistrate Hu? Leave you alone.
Living in a foreign land! It’s so heartless!”
The words "unofficial" made both the yamen prisoner and Cai Lan stunned. Only Zhao Fengtian, who had been by the leader's side for a long time and understood the thinking patterns of the elders very well, just stood there solemnly and said nothing.
.
"We, the Senate, attacked Guangdong because we came to punish the people and save the people who were suffering in the Ming Dynasty. It's just that Governor Hu is stubborn - after all, he has received the favor of Chongzhen and served as an official for several years.
My son, I have been receiving a salary for several years. Your husband is just an ordinary scholar, and he followed Magistrate Hu to commit suicide! What a confused man. He has really let down a good woman like you." Xie Erren felt that there was nothing to ask, and in his heart
After thinking about it, his original plan of "execution on the spot" or "transporting him back to Lingao to be punished" was cancelled. Driven by the emotion of pity and pity, he came up with the idea of "reform".
To be honest, Xie Erren is not short of women, and Cai Lan is not a beautiful woman with a devilish figure, but what can give people a greater sense of accomplishment than transforming a woman who hates your "enemy" so that she finally gives up?
?As the saying goes, a man's greatest pleasure is to subdue the crowd, defeat the enemy, seize everything he has, ride his horse, and have his beautiful wives and concubines.
Xie Erren said, "Although she intended to assassinate her, it is considered to be for a reason and her feelings are pitiful. I have no intention of delving into it. There is no need to keep a poor and weak woman in prison anymore. Help her clean up and take her to the Tutu Temple first."
Just wait and see."
This Tutu Temple is also a building in the local government. It is located on the east side of the courtyard between the main gate and the second gate of the government, facing the gate of the prison to the west.
The Earth Temple in the local government office is a feature of the Ming Dynasty. It was also invented by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that this emperor, who was born as a beggar, had witnessed the corruption of officialdom in the late Yuan Dynasty among the people. Therefore, after the founding of the country, he advocated clean government as a way to consolidate his power.
Urgent matters. In addition to setting up a precept stone in the yamen that "God cannot be deceived", the country was ordered to "build a temple on the left side of the prefecture, state, county, and guard to worship the land." In addition to "sacrifice to the land", all ordinary people
Officials who have embezzled more than 60 taels of silver will bow their heads in public and then "peele the skin to make grass." It is said that the place where the skin is peeled is in the Tutu Temple, so it is also called the "Pichang Temple."
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 345