Peach and plum spring breeze and a glass of wine

"Ah...ah...I told you...ah..."

The jumping firelight illuminated the dark cell, and pitiful howls like slaughtering pigs came one after another.

Yang Ge was sitting in the duty room at the head of the cell, reading the prisoners' confessions that had just been released today. The prison cow embroidery on his embroidered clothes seemed to come alive under the dancing firelight, cold and ferocious.

"grown ups."

Deputy Qin Qianhu wiped his bloody hands and bowed in, clasping his fists and whispering: "They've all been bitten to death. If I ask any questions, I'll push them on the chief ministers of Jiangsu and Zhejiang..."

Yang Ge glanced sideways at him.

Deputy Qin Qianhu quickly lowered his head.

Yang Ge withdrew his gaze and picked out two confessions from the desk and put them in front of him: "These two people are serious about making breakthroughs in smuggling... I will bear the responsibility if they die!"

Deputy Qin Qianhu picked up two confessions and saw that one of them was Liu Yaozu, the salt transport envoy of Jiaxing Prefecture who had murdered many people for their property, and the other was Gong Qing, a fellow magistrate of Ningbo Prefecture who instigated the Changfeng Gang to acquire 3,000 acres of land last year. .

"this……"

Deputy Qin Qianhu was a little hesitant and was in a dilemma with the two confessions.

Yang Ge nodded on the table without looking back: "Are you afraid that I will sell you, or are you afraid that I can't afford it?"

Deputy Qin Qianhu quickly replied: "I don't dare, but..."

He lowered his voice and whispered: "Sir, if these people fall into the hands of our embroidery guards, they will definitely be thrown on the nail board three times, but if they die, it will be another matter... The Salt Transport Envoy can They are all serving as the Salt Class Censor of the Inspectorate!"

He talks about what's going on behind the scenes.

Yang Ge responded to him with what happened behind the scenes: "The confessions of the two of them are very sufficient and the chain of evidence is also complete. No one can save them. They are all dead... Does it matter where they die?"

Deputy Qin Qianhu said again hesitantly: "My lord, please think again!"

Yang Gewen said: "I have thought twice about it, let's do it quickly..."

Deputy Qin Qianhu could only clasp his fists and say: "Here!"

He put down the two confessions, rolled up his sleeves and turned to go out.

After a while, the screams that had just stopped sounded again.

The firelight jumped more and more violently...

Yang Ge picked up the tea bowl on the desk, slowly leaned back on the chair, and sipped the tea with heart-rending wails.

"grown ups!"

Another strong figure covered in moisture and cold air bowed and walked into the small room.

Yang Ge glanced at the water stains on his body, raised his hand and pointed to the chair opposite: "Thank you for your hard work, sit down and talk."

The visitor clasped his fists: "Your Excellency, you are still sleepless and busy with paperwork. Why is Fang Ke so hard at work?"

Yang Ge picked up the teapot he was sitting on and slowly poured a bowl of hot tea. He smiled and said, "Whether I work hard or not has nothing to do with whether you work hard or not... Sit down quickly!"

Fang Ke stood up: "Thank you, sir."

Yang Ge pushed the tea bowl in front of him: "How?"

Fang Ke held the tea bowl in both hands and sighed softly: "I'm late. There are forty-seven members of the Wu family in Jinling, and no one is alive."

Yang Ge's eyes darkened and he asked softly: "Can you find out who did it?"

Fang Ke hesitated for a few seconds.

Yang Ge tapped the table gently: "Tell the truth."

Fang Ke could only say: "It's the tactics of the army... The person who did it didn't hide it at all!"

Yang Ge slowly frowned.

Fang Ke looked at his expression and whispered: "Sir, do you think this is a knock on the mountain to scare the tiger, or... a dog jumping over the wall in a hurry?"

"It's too late to knock on the mountain and scare the tiger, but it's too early for the dog to jump over the wall!"

Yang Ge frowned and responded in a low voice: "I feel... it seems like he is motivating me to make a mistake."

Fang Ke suddenly reacted: "Turn passivity into initiative?"

Yang Ge pondered for a long time before saying: "Children who cry should have candy..."

Fang Ke was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and sighed heavily, tiredly.

Yang Ge was also at a loss.

That old fox has been running the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang for more than 20 years, and his network of relationships is intricate and pervasive.

When he catches people with his front foot, that old fox can wipe his butt clean with his hind foot. All the lawsuits pointed at him are either lacking in witnesses or physical evidence.

Even the people caught in the prison were still controlled by him. When asked about questions related to the old fox, they would either push back or insist that they were ordered by the chief minister.

Yang Ge clearly took the initiative, but he felt like he was being led by the old fox everywhere.

High-end game!

"My lord, you need to make a decision soon..."

Fang Ke whispered with a worried look on his face: "If this drags on any longer, even if the capital can still withstand it, there will probably be a big mess here!"

In the past two months, they have captured half of the officials from the eleventh government in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and sent them to prison in Yangzhou. The vacated carrot pits are currently being replaced by the deputies or subordinates of the prisoners.

There shouldn't be any big trouble in the short term. After all, the knife they have hanging over the officialdom of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has not gone away yet!

But after a long time, it becomes difficult to tell. What those underlings are best at is cutting flesh with blunt knives...

"It's time to make a decision early!"

Yang Ge also agreed with Fang Ke's point of view, and his knitted brows slowly dispersed: 'Well, we can't deal with that old fox this time, we can just break his foundation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang first! ’

He can think about it.

He is in a high position and also has the home field advantage. If he really breaks it up by dividing it by two, wouldn't he be worse than Emperor Jianwen?

Mainly because of the python robe on the old fox, it was too tricky!

Yang Ge simply couldn't treat that old fox simply and roughly like he treated other corrupt officials.

He couldn't afford to spend that time playing a game of tricks within the rules...

'Except for that old fox, there are only three mountains left in Jiangsu and Zhejiang: the Chief Secretary, the Dusi, and the Punishment Division. As long as these three mountains collapse, the old fox will be severely damaged even if his previous efforts are not wasted...'

When Yang Ge thought of this, his brows slowly knitted together again.

He already had the chain of evidence of many corrupt officials in the three departments who were involved in driving up food prices and extorting land to take bribes.

The reason why he hasn't moved yet is not because he is afraid of the local officials in the Third Division, nor is it because he insists on leaving the hard nut for last...

But he suspected that as long as he touched the local officials of the Third Division, Wei Heng's secret decree would take effect immediately!

His suspicion is not unfounded.

The full names of the three departments are the Department of Administrative Affairs, the Department of Punishment and Prosecution, and the Department of Capital Command.

The Chief Secretary is the chief administrative organ of a province.

The Criminal Division is the general judicial organ of a province.

Dusi is the military headquarters of a province...

The three departments are not subordinate to each other and each performs its own duties, forming the highest local administrative center of the Wei Dynasty.

In terms of grade, the chief officials of the three divisions are all high-ranking officials of the second or third grade.

In terms of status, the head of the Third Division is not only a court boss who has been transferred from the capital court to the local government, but also an important reserve candidate for the local government to enter the six-ministry cabinet.

Dealing with them, whether in terms of political significance or rules and means, is completely different from dealing with those prefects, county magistrates, and thousands of households!

To put it more bluntly...

When it comes to dealing with county magistrates, prefects, and thousands of households, even if Yang Ge doesn't have the Holy Purpose, he can openly use tricks on them and play dirty tricks on them.

As for the chief officer of the Third Division, even if Yang Ge had the Holy Purpose, he could not openly use tricks or play dirty tricks on them.

Because once there is no bottom line in political struggle...

Even the king of a country may not be able to bear the consequences!

Therefore, Yang Ge concluded that the secret order in Wei Heng's hands must be to restrict his anti-corruption actions in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the Third Division!

In order to avoid "collapse in the middle before starting a business", he has always been careful and has not had a direct conflict with the leaders of the three companies.

The chief officer of the Third Division seemed to understand this "tacit understanding" and allowed Yang Ge's men to rush into the San Division's Yamen and capture their subordinates without even sending a note to Yang Ge.

Perhaps in the eyes of people at their level, the focus of the anti-corruption campaign in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was not in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, nor in Yang Ge.

But in the court, with the emperor...

Now, the three Jiangsu and Zhejiang divisions that were left to the end are finally in front of Yang Ge.

Yang Ge was faced with a very difficult choice at this moment.

In the end, it was the corrupt officials who arrested them in Yangzhou who must be dealt with in a down-to-earth manner.

Let's take a big gamble and go to Hangzhou carrying the flag of the Imperial Envoy to capture and imprison the prisoners of the Third Division of Jiangsu and Zhejiang...

Yang Ge's thoughts collided violently and he thought about it for a long time, but finally sighed heavily.

He said in a low voice: "Fang Ke, please help me one last time!"

Fang Ke immediately straightened his body, clasped his fists solemnly and said, "Please give me instructions!"

Yang Ge smiled and pressed his hands gently: "Relax, let's talk..."

Facing his forced smile, Fang Ke not only failed to relax, but became more and more uneasy. He asked cautiously: "Don't you want to... lead troops to rush into Prince Ning's Mansion to arrest people?"

Yang Ge said speechlessly: "Am I the kind of fool who is so bold and cares about his head rather than his body in his eyes?"

Fang Ke: "This...hehe..."

Yang Ge stood up and patted his shoulder gently: "Don't worry, I won't touch Prince Ning rashly. There is insufficient evidence and time, so we can't bring him down for the time being!"

When Fang Ke reached this point, he still couldn't let go of his anxious heart: "Then the Lord is not going to... lead troops to attack the Chief Secretary, is he?"

Yang Gewen said: "Don't be anxious first, listen to what I have to say..."

Fang Ke jumped up with a "swish" sound, clasped his fists in a mournful voice and said: "My lord, think twice!"

Yang Ge stood up and pushed him to sit down: "I told you not to be anxious first. It's not too late to listen to what I have to say before you become anxious..."

Fang Ke: ‘Is there a difference? ’

Fang Ke sat back on the stool in confusion, his eyes like a frightened herbivore cub, staring at his immediate boss with fear and vigilance, always ready, as soon as he said to go to Hangzhou, he would immediately Stand up and persuade him again.

Yang Ge smacked his lips, turned around and picked up the tea bowl on the table, drank it all in one gulp, and then said concisely and concisely: "I won't go to Hangzhou, but I need you to go to Hangzhou for me..."

Fang Ke's heart suddenly relaxed when he heard this, and he nodded without hesitation: "No problem, my subordinates will get ready now!"

Although he had just returned to Yangzhou from Jinling.

But as long as the immediate boss does not try to force the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Divisions.

He would be happy to go there again...

"Listen to what I have to say!"

Yang Ge waved his hand to stop his interruption, and then said slowly: "Later, you will disguise yourself as me, carry the flag of the Imperial Envoy of Baishi Cavalry out of the city, and go straight to Hangzhou. You can take a short rest on the way, but you can't Stop, keep going!”

"If, unfortunately, you are still overtaken by someone, you can say that you and I split up in two groups and agree to meet outside the Chief Secretary's Yamen in Hangzhou... You can make up your own mind. Anyway, the purpose is to catch the person who is chasing you. Coax him to go to Hangzhou!"

"least……"

He pondered for a few breaths and raised four fingers: "Give me four days!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he lightly patted his forehead again: "It's better not to make up too much lies. Anyway, just say that after I leave the city with you, we will split into two groups and agree to meet in Hangzhou. If your pursuers ask again, you will blame everything on me, and say that I was the one who took you out of the city, and it was I who ordered you to go to Hangzhou, and you don’t know anything else!"

His attitude was very gentle and his words were very detailed.

But the more Fang Ke listened, the more frightened he became, and the more he listened, the more thirsty he became.

Based on his understanding of his immediate boss...this reckless man must be planning to cause big troubles if he does so many tricks!

"grown ups!"

He cupped his fists with a grimace and said: "Even if you ask your subordinates to draw a knife and wipe their necks, they will not say anything, but can you make your subordinates understand? If you do this... it will be difficult for my subordinates to handle!"

Yang Ge put on a straight face: "Is it difficult to do? Then don't do it!"

Fang Ke quickly lowered his head and said, "I don't dare!"

Yang Ge felt guilty and said softly: "You are also an old man of Xiuyiwei. You know the rules. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Don't know what you shouldn't know. You are just a householder who obeys orders. What problems will follow? , I can’t trace it to you...I also pointed out how many meals you can give me in the back."

He didn't want to make it clear.

But when Fang Ke heard this, he suddenly realized something. When he thought about it more... he suddenly opened his eyes in horror: "Sir, you don't want to... there are more than four hundred here..."

He spoke in a low voice with trembling lips, and made a chopping gesture with his hands.

Yang Ge hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly and said: "According to your understanding of the Sanfa Division and the gang of people in the court, what will be the result of escorting these prisoners back to Beijing..."

Fang Ke said anxiously: "But you don't have to go into this muddy water... just listen to your subordinates' advice. Although we can do things a little too much this time, the result is good after all, even if the boss If we want to fight, the best we can do is to keep you idle for a while. With your ability and character, you will surely rise again one day. There is no need for our bright future to be ruined by these unconscionable bastards!"

Yang Ge pursed his lips hard, and suddenly smiled softly: "I just can't calm down. I won a lot of money, but I lost three cups of self-punishment. What a good thing in the world, how can I just do it?" Did they all pay for it?"

He turned the confessions of the prisoners in the case to Fang Ke: "Look at the terrible things they have done, who deserves to live in this world? If I allow them to just walk away from under my hand, I’ve never been happy in my life!”

"You and I can't become officials, so I'm not afraid of things getting bigger!"

"Whatever the court decides in the future, I will continue..."

"If a person dies and a bird looks up to the sky, he will not die for tens of thousands of years!"

Ah, it feels so uncomfortable to have a cold...