Chapter 325 324 Threat Letter

Chapter 325 324 Threat Letter

There are two confessions in hand. The first one is much simpler and is the answer Wei Guangde wants, the origin and content of the "pardon edict", while the second confession is a bit beyond Wei Guangde's imagination.

There is no money in the file, which means that the money has been divided privately. But who are the people involved?

Hu Zongxian must have participated, and he even took the dignitaries in the capital to receive a share. But whether the upright and upright Lord Wang Bengu was involved, maybe it was true.

Wei Guangde didn't believe that Wang Bengu dared to arrest Wang Zhi, but he didn't know to seize the things Wang Zhi brought.

It is impossible for Wang Bengu to remain indifferent to such a large amount of money and have it taken away by Hu Zongxian alone.

Putting the confession on the table, Wei Guangde couldn't help but look at the young captain in Jinyi, "What's your name?"

"Liu Shouyou, a humble person."

"What is your position in Jinyiwei?"

Wei Guangde was a little curious. This man was obviously a scholar. It was said that those whose families could afford to send their children to study should be officials.

"The general flag of Beizhen Fusi."

Liu Shouyou replied neither humble nor overbearing.

"hereditary?"

Wei Guangde asked questions one after another like a curious baby.

Liu Shouyou had no recollection of the name and didn't know who it was, but judging from how he handled matters, he knew the importance of the matter, and he also knew how to copy Wang Zhi's words separately. It was obvious that he understood the value of Wang Zhi's confession.

But this is not surprising, after all, he was born in Jinyiwei.

"yes."

Hearing Liu Shou's answer, Wei Guangde thought that this person might be like his cousin. When his father was alive, he was studying, but when his father was gone, he could only join the Imperial Guard. After all, the court had a system.

But as soon as Wei Guangde thought this, he heard Liu Shouyou continue: "It is because of the merits of our ancestors that I was given the position of the Emperor's Protector of the Imperial Guard."

"Well, I wonder who our ancestor is?"

Wei Guangde was curious, Liu Shouyou was full of pride when he mentioned his ancestors just now. What he meant was that his position as commander-in-chief was passed down from his ancestors, but he was talking about the emperor instead of the late emperor. This means Interesting.

Which famous official in the Jiajing Dynasty?

The surname is Liu.

Wei Guangde was too lazy to think, so he might as well just ask.

"The ancestor of the family, Songshi Gong Liu Tianhe."

Liu Tianhe.Liu Tianhe.

Wei Guangde thought about this name silently in his mind. He must be a minister of the Jiajing Dynasty, otherwise Liu Shou would not have spoken like that before.

Soon, Wei Guangde found the name Liu Tianhe in his memory. He was really not a young official.

"Governor-General of Shanxi, Governor Liu who declares military affairs?"

Wei Guangde was not sure, but in his memory, it seemed that this was the only person named Liu Tianhe during the Jiajing Dynasty.

The reason why he is unsure is because in Wei Guangde's memory, that man died earlier than Zhou Shangwen.

Zhou Shangwen must be powerful enough, "In the Ming Dynasty, the chief military officer plus the three princes, Shangwen is just one person." This week Zhou Shangwen was Liu Tianhe's subordinate in front of the governor-general.

In other words, the main reason why Zhou Shangwen is able to stand alone is because of the training he received under Liu Tianhe.

"It's my ancestor."

Liu Shouyou admitted it generously.

"After the famous minister, have you had breakfast? Sit down and eat together."

Wei Guangde stopped being arrogant now. The other party was a descendant of Liu Tianhe, probably his grandson or great-grandson. Anyway, he was not familiar with Liu Tianhe, but it didn't matter. This man named Liu Shouyou seemed pretty good. Yes, he has a sharp eye and is worth wooing.

However, Liu Shou looked embarrassed at this moment, and Wei Guangde understood immediately.

There was also a member of the Jin Yiwei with him, who seemed to be older than him.

"We all sit down to eat together. I am also from a military family, and we are not outsiders. We can only do things when we are full."

Wei Guangde smiled and waved to another Jinyi captain.

In fact, the two people who came with him knew Wei Guangde's family background. Indeed, they were all military households, but Liu Shou's status as a military household was a little more special and short.

"I wonder if you have anything else to say, sir?"

At this time, Liu Shouyou, who had just sat down, stood up again and bowed and asked.

"Sit down, eat, and then go do it. It's not difficult. Just send the confession to Beizhen Fusi immediately and hand it over to the Governor of the Mainland. You Jin Yiwei should be able to do it."

I heard that I was just sending things to the capital, which was easy to say and not difficult at all.

In fact, when they got that confession, the two of them secretly recorded another one, which was intended to be reported to Beizhen Fusi. Fortunately, the copy they copied was useless, and they directly recorded Wang Zhihua's confession. Just send the original.

Two days later, Hangzhou Fugong Port was already crowded with people, and a large number of Hangzhou people gathered here to wait.

A few days ago, news spread throughout the streets and alleys of Hangzhou that the Japanese pirate leader Wang Zhi was beheaded by the government.

The Japanese pirates are all hated by the people along the coast. Since the other party is the leader of the Japanese pirates, they naturally hate them even more.

On the prison platform, Wang Bengu and Wei Guangde sat on the left and right respectively, looking towards the street in the distance.

Not long after, a group of Ming soldiers appeared in front of them, followed by a group of government officials. They waved their swords and guns to separate the crowded crowd, and the lively street suddenly showed a scene of chickens and dogs jumping around.

Wang Bengu looked at everything in front of him expressionlessly. People loved to watch the excitement, so he was not surprised that such a scene would occur.

Wei Guangde on the side shook his head. These ignorant people did not know what was happening and were still interested in watching the excitement here.

With a slight sigh in his heart, Wei Guangde couldn't help but turn his head and glance at the stern Lord Wang Bengu, and said in a low voice: "Lord Wang, are you really waiting for news from the capital?"

"Master Wei, please go ahead and wait for a reply. How long will the delay last? The execution time is set by the court, so there is no way to delay it."

Wang Bengu heard Wei Guangde's words, glanced at him sideways and said.

"I still think we should be cautious about that letter. After all, it concerns tens of thousands of people along the coast. If it is true as the letter says, killing one person will bring harm to the people along the coast."

Wei Guangde had just said a few words, but was interrupted by Wang Bengu: "Master Wei, the Japanese pirates have become so arrogant that they dare to directly write a letter to threaten us and other imperial officials. If the execution is really suspended, the Japanese pirates will follow suit in the future. What if we threaten the imperial court with such means?"

Just yesterday, someone sent a threatening letter to the governor's residence. The letter stated that if the imperial court really killed Wang Zhi, the Japanese pirates would attack Zhejiang in a large scale and bloodbath Zhejiang.

After discovering the letter that had been sent in, the subordinates did not dare to neglect it and hurriedly handed it over to the governor Hu Zongxian.

In fact, such a threat is really nothing to Hu Zongxian, but the current season is sensitive. If the Japanese pirates really invade Zhejiang in a large scale after Wang Zhi is killed, it would be better to block the Japanese attack. If there is a mistake, he, the governor, will have to bear the responsibility. responsibility.

Who can say for sure what happens on the battlefield?

Although the Ming army had reversed its previous decline in the past two years and repeatedly won victories on the battlefield against Japanese invaders, Hu Zongxian was still unsure, probably because the Japanese invaders came by ship and the landing site was erratic, making it difficult to defend.

Therefore, after Hu Zongxian saw the threatening letter from the Japanese pirates, he invited Wang Bengu and Wei Guangde. They were the officials responsible for supervising the execution. They needed to discuss it.

The result was naturally doomed. Wang Bengu insisted on executing Wang Zhi in accordance with the court's order, but Wei Guangde refused to comment.

The result of the discussion was that Wang Zhi must be executed on time. At the same time, Hu Zongxian urgently ordered the coastal counties to strengthen their defenses to guard against possible retaliation by Japanese pirates in the near future.

As for the threat of Japanese pirates, Wei Guangde, as a bystander, was naturally unable to say much. He just suggested that the letter should be submitted and Hu Zongxian would report the matter.

Although the outcome is difficult to change, it is still best to report all the contacts with the Japanese pirates to the court to avoid being accused of secretly colluding with the Japanese in the future. Wei Guangde does not want to take such a blame.

At that time, there were only three people in the room, Hu Zongxian, Wang Bengu and him. Wei Guangde didn't have much thoughts at the time, but today, looking at the people crowded around the stage, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that the threat of Japanese pirates was really worthy of attention.

Most of these people are kind people. When they encounter the vicious Japanese pirates, they are just like pigs being slaughtered and have no power to fight back. You can know it by looking at their reactions in front of the officers and soldiers.

These days, most of those who are brave and want to make a fortune join the Japanese pirates and engage in business without capital, killing people and looting goods.

The so-called Japanese pirates are actually mostly composed of forced coastal people and local ruffians who are bold and want to make a fortune. There are really not many real Japanese pirates.

Soon, after the officers, soldiers and government officials opened a passage, a prison van appeared at the end of the street. There was a person in the prison van, and naturally it was Wang Zhi.

The prison car was closely guarded by armored officers and soldiers on both sides and front. Ever since yesterday's threat letter, Wang Zhi's security level had been increased indefinitely.

Hu Zongxian not only issued a warrant to transfer armored warriors from the elite Supervisor Biao Battalion directly under him, but also secretly ordered Tan Lun, who was training the new army near Hangzhou, to gather the entire army near the palace port and be on standby today to guard against possible Japanese pirates' hijacking of prison cars.

Wang Bengu, on the other hand, mobilized all the manpower available from the Procuratorate and the Hangzhou Magistrate's Office. From the Hangzhou city gate to the streets in the city, official patrols could be seen everywhere. He was also afraid that an accident would happen today.

After passing through layers of people, the prison car entered the execution ground. When the door of the prison car was opened and Wang Zhi was roughly pulled out by the guards, the crowd outside finally broke out into a commotion.

Today's Wang Zhi should have taken care of himself simply, not as unkempt as when Wei Guangde first met him a few days ago.

After he got off the bus, several people standing next to him suddenly rushed up and pulled Wang Zhi away from the government servant to hug him.

Wei Guangde knew that these people should be Wang Zhi's relatives.

According to Wang Zhi's request, he just wanted to see his family before the execution. Even Wang Bengu had no reason to refuse. He accepted it straightforwardly and made arrangements.

Wang Zhi's family had been brought to live in Hangzhou by Hu Zongxian a long time ago, so there was no need to travel long distances from South Zhili to pick them up.

For Wang Zhi's family, Wang Bengu did not make it too difficult for them. After all, Wang Zhi had been at sea for more than 20 years and had never returned home during this time. He had little contact with his family. Wang Zhi did the evil that the Japanese pirates did. This stubborn old man has nothing to do with his family.

However, due to court laws, Wang Zhi was convicted, and his family would still be affected, and he was still unavoidable.

It was still early before the execution, so Wang Bengu and Wei Guangde did not break up the meeting between Wang Zhi and his family, letting them hold their heads and cry there.

Perhaps twenty years have made Wang Zhi's relationship with his family become estranged, but during the more than a month since Wang Zhi arrived in Hangzhou, his contact with his family gradually eased the family relationship, but he did not expect the final outcome. It’s a field like this today.

At first, Wang Zhi's family was very happy when they learned that Wang Zhi had chosen to abandon the dark side and surrender to the imperial court. At least they did not have to continue to bear the hat of a prisoner's family member and escape from prison. It was a pity that fate played a role in people.

"Is that Wang Zhi's son?"

Seeing Wang Zhi and a young man holding each other and crying, he asked strangely.

"Yes, Wang Zhi had a son before he went to sea to become a pirate. He has been living in She County, Huizhou Prefecture. Since Wang Zhi has never contacted his family, the local government only detained him. Now he still lives in Hangzhou."

Zhang Ji on the side replied hurriedly.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, and then saw that after the two of them were in pain, Wang Zhi seemed to take something off his head and handed it to his son. His bun was then spread out, and he looked embarrassed.

Wei Guangde knew that it should be the last thing on Wang Zhi's body, the hairpin. This might be the last relic left to him by his father.

Wei Guangde shook his head, thinking that Wang Zhi had more than a million assets at the beginning, but in the end he didn't know who got advantaged, and all he could leave his son was a hairpin.

After all, gold and silver are things external to the body. If they are not brought with them in life, they will not be taken with them in death.

Not long after, a minor official came up to the high platform, knelt down in front of Wang Bengu and Wei Guangde and said, "I would like to inform you two adults that the execution time has come."

Wang Bengu turned his head and looked at Wei Guangde and said, "Then let's prove his identity and execute him."

"That's fine."

Wei Guangde nodded, and then followed Wang Bengu and stood up beside the high platform.

Despite their actions, the government officials surrounding Wang Zhi moved. They pushed away the people around Wang Zhi, lifted him up one on the left and the other on his right, and dragged him to the prison table, and then pushed him to his knees on the ground. .

"Let him look up."

Wei Guangde said loudly on the stage.

"yes."

A servant below agreed, then grabbed Wang Zhi's hair and asked him to raise his head.

Wei Guangde took a closer look and found that it was consistent with the people he saw in the cell that day. Then he nodded and motioned to the two officials around him and Liu Shouyou and others to confirm the prisoner's identity.

Wang Bengu had been in contact with Wang Zhi for a long time, and naturally he had confirmed Wang Zhi's identity when he was dragged over, which was correct. Therefore, there was nothing good to say about Wei Guangde's actions of repeatedly confirming the prisoner's identity.

He was upright and not afraid of slanting shadows. He had no intention of cheating and pretending to be a king to fool the court.

Until now, Wang Bengu believed that what he did was right. Pirate leaders like Wang Zhi should be punished and killed as a warning to others.

Soon, everyone nodded to Wei Guangde and confirmed Wang Zhi's identity.

"Master Wang, the execution is ready."

At this moment, Wei Guangde turned sideways and said to Wang Bengu with a fist in his arms.

"Then let's execute him."

Wang Bengu ordered with a wave of his hand.

The two executioners in red clothes on the execution platform immediately stepped down, took Wang Zhi from the hands of the Yamen servants and put them on the execution platform.