Chapter 73

Two soldiers held Zhu Jinhai's arms and escorted him to the hall, where he knelt in the center.

The Zhu family was a well-known figure in Liaodong, and many of those present recognized Zhu Jinhai. They stood up one by one, curiously surrounding him, examining him as if he were a national treasure, pointing and discussing.

"Does he look like it? If Zhu Jinhai is still alive, then what about the memorial hall set up by the Zhu family? Who is the dead person?" the old general Li Huaixin asked in confusion.

Zhang Ke smiled faintly. "Gentlemen, this is the real Zhu Jinhai. The dead one is obviously fake. Someone has already gone to the Zhu family's memorial hall to move the body and have it examined by a coroner. They will also arrest all the Zhu family members and interrogate them under torture. We will surely find out the truth!"

Li Huaixin nodded slightly. This young man is ruthless; he's going to destroy the Zhu family!

Zhu Jinhai, kneeling on the ground, suddenly laughed self-mockingly. "There's no need for all this trouble. Since I've been caught, I don't want to suffer. I'll tell the truth!"

"The person who died in my place was a coachman named Zhu Wang. He was about the same height and appearance as me. I had someone strangle him and make it look like he hanged himself. Then I hid outside the city, preparing to live under a false name."

Zhang Ke had already interrogated Zhu Jinhai on the way. Although this young merchant enjoyed luxury, he wasn't as brainless as most rich kids. He knew some things couldn't be avoided.

Zhang Ke asked, "Why did you have Zhu Wang die in your place?"

"Zhang Feng seized my goods. I wanted to turn the tables, so I faked my death to create the illusion that soldiers had forced a merchant to commit suicide, inciting the anger of Liaodong merchants. I hoped the court would execute Zhang Feng and cut off the source of trouble."

Hong Fugao sneered. "Just faking your death isn't enough to frame someone. What about the grain convoy? Tell the truth!"

As soon as these words were spoken, He Guangxian, sitting at the end, felt weak all over, his legs trembling. If it weren't for He Bian's intervention, he would have already broken down. Now, seeing Zhu Jinhai brought in, it was beyond his capacity to bear. He slowly slid off his chair, like a pile of mud!

Zhu Jinhai's gaze swept over every official present. Whoever met his eyes instinctively avoided them, fearing they might be implicated.

After looking around, Zhu Jinhai's gaze finally fell on He Guangxian. "Hehe, a high-ranking general of the court has such little courage, truly laughable! Indeed, after I faked my death, General He's subordinates were transporting grain. He sent people to pretend to be Jurchen invaders to attack his own subordinates. One grain convoy disappeared, and the one I led became the grain convoy. Zhang Feng had one more charge against him!"

"What a shameless He Guangxian!" Deputy Censor Ge Chunfang suddenly stood up, bowing to Xiong Tingbi. "Your Excellency, it turns out that everything was a conspiracy between He Guangxian and Zhu Jinhai. I suggest that He Guangxian be immediately arrested and sent to the prison for interrogation!"

Hearing Ge Chunfang's words, many present secretly despised him, thinking that with his constant jumping around, he couldn't possibly be unaware!

Hong Fugao smiled. "Indeed, Censor Ge is righteous! However, let's clarify the facts first!"

"Have the family members outside the door heard clearly? It was He Guangxian who sent people to kill your relatives! You claimed that the Jurchen invaders killed them, helping the scoundrels to frame the loyal. Do you know your crimes?"

These family members had never seen such a scene. They had never seen so many officials in their lives, and now they were all trembling with fear, their foreheads drenched in sweat.

An old man knelt at the front, sobbing. "Your Excellency, we are innocent! We truly don't know what happened. Someone brought our son's body back and gave us a hundred taels of silver, telling us not to make a fuss. After three days, they sent another hundred taels, telling us to hold a grand funeral, saying our son was killed by the Jurchen. We had never seen so much money in our lives, so we did as they said!"

"A hundred taels, then another hundred taels. Two hundred taels of silver can make you forget the true murderer of your relatives and become accomplices in framing the loyal. Truly despicable!"

Hong Fugao gritted his teeth. "Compared to these foolish and ignorant people, he is even more shameless!"

He pointed at the collapsed He Guangxian, and all eyes in the hall fell on him.

"As a court official and a military commander, you actually massacred your own subordinates. Truly remarkable!" Hong Fugao walked to He Guangxian, squatting down.

"General He, you are aware of the charges of framing Captain Zhang. Now, you have delayed military operations, causing the soldiers to mutiny due to lack of food, allowing the Jurchen to take advantage. Additionally, you colluded with merchants, framed the loyal, and massacred your subordinates. All these charges are on your head. Do you know what your fate will be?"

His words were like knives, piercing deep into He Guangxian's heart. He had been terrified, but Hong Fugao's words brought his soul back!

He Guangxian suddenly struggled to his knees, banging his head on the ground. "Your Excellency, I am just a minor general. How could I have such audacity? Everything was done under someone's orders. I am just a dog, a dog following orders!"

Xiong Tingbi asked sternly, "Whose orders did you follow?"

"Your Excellency..."

He Guangxian secretly raised his head, his eyes sweeping over the seated Governor Zhou Yongchun and Censor Ge Chunfang. Zhou Yongchun was so frightened that his soul left his body, and his hands and feet trembled.

He suddenly slammed the table, shouting, "He Guangxian, you are insane! The court will surely punish you severely, but if you dare to falsely accuse, you will be guilty of a heinous crime, and your entire family will be exterminated. Think carefully!"

Hong Fugao glanced at Zhou Yongchun, smiling coldly. "Governor, why are you so anxious? If all the charges are on General He, it's enough to exterminate his family. If he was indeed following orders, the most he would face is exile. General He, you know what to do!"

In the hall, all eyes were on He Guangxian. He felt as if a mountain was pressing on his shoulders and a hand was choking his neck.

"I, I will speak!" He Guangxian suddenly raised his head. "It was Little Fifth Eunuch. It was him, he found Jin Sheng and forced Jin Sheng to help, replacing the goods on the seized carriage with grain. Later, he had Jin Sheng killed!"

Mentioning Little Fifth Eunuch, everyone felt a chill, their eyes falling on He Bian. No wonder this supervising eunuch suddenly appeared; it involved him!

At this moment, Ge Chunfang's eyes lit up. He had finally waited for this opportunity!

Ge Chunfang jumped up, shouting, "Good, Hong Fugao, your fox's tail is finally showing! What is your purpose in involving Eunuch He? Eunuch He serves the Emperor with loyalty and dedication. Just now, didn't a eunuch come to deliver a message, saying someone had gone to the supervising office and captured Little Fifth Eunuch? Who is it? Have the courage to stand up and let us see who has the nerve to defy the law!"

Zhou Yongchun's eyes gradually brightened. Old Ge's idea was good! By involving He Bian, the sky would fall on the big ones, and they would be safe!

Zhou Yongchun also hurriedly said, "Indeed, if an inner court official makes a mistake, it should be dealt with by the inner court. If outsiders interfere, it is a crime of defying the Emperor, punishable by death! Censor Hong, you always talk about rules. If a disciple commits a crime, it should be handled fairly!"

He Bian raised his eyebrows, smiling coldly. "Although I am a servant, I am the Emperor's servant. You are causing chaos, but when the fire reaches me, I cannot ignore it. Hand over Little Fifth Eunuch to me immediately. Arrest the liar He Guangxian and the audacious person who dared to capture Little Fifth Eunuch at the supervising office. I will handle them personally!"

As soon as He Bian finished speaking, a dozen soldiers rushed in, heading straight for Zhang Ke.

He Shixian and Hong Fugao were stunned. They never expected He Bian to be so domineering, daring to turn the tables on his own subordinate's mistake!

They were both angry and frustrated but had no plan. He Bian was the supervising eunuch, representing the Emperor! He Shixian, with his large frame, blocked Zhang Ke.

Hong Fugao hurriedly said, "Eunuch He, Zhang Ke was eager to save his brother and did not mean to offend!"

He Bian smiled coldly. "Censor Hong, in the future, be more careful when choosing students to avoid trouble! Are you even willing to disobey my orders? Arrest him!"

Would Zhang Ke have a good end if he fell into the hands of the eunuchs? The people present all gave him sympathetic looks. A brave young man was about to meet his end!

Despite the death sentence these people had given Zhang Ke, he remained calm, showing no panic.

"Eunuch He, if you want to arrest me, I have no objections, but Little Fifth Eunuch was not captured by me!"

"Not you? Then who?"

"It was me, I had someone capture him!"

The same sharp voice rang out. He Bian and Xiong Tingbi hurriedly looked outside, seeing another eunuch in a qilin robe walking in. He was in his forties, fat and well-fed, with puffy eyes and a face full of smiles. As he walked in with a spring in his step, the people present all stared with wide eyes, as if they had seen a ghost!

This person was none other than the mining supervisor eunuch, Zhang Ye!

In the late Ming political arena, mining supervisor eunuchs were not good people, all notorious. Among them, the Liaodong mining supervisor Gao Huai was the most notorious, known to all!

Gao Huai came to Liaodong in the 27th year of the Wanli era, opening gold and silver mines, collecting commercial taxes, and exploiting without limit. His subordinates extorted and plundered everywhere, even robbing the horse market. By the 36th year of the Wanli era, a mutiny broke out, and Gao Huai fled to the interior, disappearing from then on.

His successor was Zhang Ye, who learned from his predecessor's mistakes. He turned a blind eye to what he should manage and said nothing about what he shouldn't. Initially, the people of Liaodong were worried that Zhang Ye would cause trouble, but over a decade, everything was calm, and they almost forgot about the existence of the mining supervisor eunuch.

Now, he suddenly appeared. What did he want to do?

He Bian and Xiong Tingbi were full of doubts and had to stand up to greet him.

"Why did you come, Brother?" He Bian forced a smile.

Zhang Ye sat down without hesitation, smiling. "Brother He, I heard that some people in the palace are becoming more and more unruly, colluding with merchants and generals, forgetting their place! Brother He, do you think such audacious servants should be arrested?"