Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 593 Tang Yin Returns

After Xu Ze was tortured to the point of being in agony by the Jinyiwei in Datong, Wei Wenli finally brought him back to the capital and handed him over to the Ministry of Justice.

During this period, Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao made two personnel appointments.

The first was to transfer Zhang Cai to be a Langzhong in the Ministry of Justice, and the second was to transfer Tang Yin back from the southwest and promote him to the position of Yuwenlang in the Ministry of Rites and Director of the Newspaper and Publication Department.

This was what Emperor Hongzhi had long ago instructed Zhu Houzhao to do. From now on, public opinion in the world could not be entirely controlled by civil servants, and the emperor also needed to firmly grasp some of the power over public opinion.

The establishment of the Newspaper and Periodical Department is undoubtedly the best tool to divide the power in the hands of civil servants.

However, Tang Yin has been transferred back now, and the opportunity to build the Newspaper and Periodical Bureau has been temporarily shelved. It was because of the more than 600 Han people who died in Datong Prefecture that the court had to deal with this matter as a priority.

After Xu Ze was transferred back and sent to the Ministry of Justice, he had been holding a grudge for a long time. He wanted to avenge all the torture he had suffered in the Jinyiwei prison in Datong!

In any case, the Ministry of Justice also needs to follow legal procedures. With this process, he has the possibility of overturning the verdict.

To take a step back, the Ministry of Justice also consists of a group of civil servants. It is impossible for them to favor the Neichang and Jinyiwei!
On the first day Xu Ze was sent to the Ministry of Justice prison, he asked the Ministry of Justice to review his case, and the Ministry of Justice naturally fulfilled his wish.

In early October of the 17th year of the Hongzhi reign, Zhang Cai, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, interrogated the Xu Ze case.

"grown ups!"

Xu Ze cupped his hands and said, "I want to impeach the Jinyiwei for abusing private punishment and forcing them to confess!"

"The evidence I handed over to the Royal Guards was all forced by them to be submitted. Your Excellency, please take a look!"

Xu Ze took off his clothes, and his body was covered with marks from the branding iron.

Zhang Cai took a look and said calmly, "Can I interpret this thing on your body as a tattoo? This was very popular in the Song Dynasty."

Xu Ze's eyes widened. Are you blind? This is called a tattoo? This is clearly caused by torture by the Jinyiwei!
Xu Ze said: "Your Excellency has misunderstood. These are not tattoos. They are all evidence of torture and forced confession by the Jinyiwei!"

Zhang Cai shook her head and said, "This cannot be used as evidence. On the contrary, the confession you submitted has your signature and seal on it. You have admitted the crime, and this cannot be refuted."

Xu Ze said: "Sir! I was forced to do this!"

Zhang Cai said: "If you were forced, why did you sign it? They wouldn't chop off your hand to sign it, right? Even if your hand was chopped off, it's still you who signed it. They can't hold your hand to sign it, right?"

"As long as you don't admit it and don't sign, the Royal Guards can't do anything about it."

Xu Ze was shocked. He felt that the official from the Ministry of Justice was a fool!
"Master Zhang! I demand that an official from the Ministry of Justice review this case! I demand that the three judicial departments conduct a joint trial! Otherwise, I will not accept the result!"

Zhang Cai smiled and said, "The evidence in this case is irrefutable. Why would we need a joint trial by three judicial departments? You have already pleaded guilty. How can we still have a joint trial by three judicial departments?"

"I am only responsible for sentencing you, not for listening to your defense."

"You!" Xu Ze pointed at Zhang Cai, his whole body shaking with anger, and said, "I want to impeach Chen Ce, Marquis of Tai'an Chen Ce! He was the one who instructed the Inner Factory Commander Fu Yuan to collude with the Mongols!"

Zhang Cai sneered at him coldly and said, "Master Xu, if I were you, I would admit it without hesitation. Then I can still respect you as a man and a civil servant with an upright character."

"You are... embarrassing the civil servants now!" "It's obviously your own fault, why are you blaming others? Do you think the emperor and the prince are fools?"

"Do you think the Crown Prince doesn't know what you want to do? Do you think you can get away with it by creating a conflict between the civil officials and the inner factory?"

"More than 600 civilians' lives! They all died because of your words. You are the commander-in-chief of Datong. The defense of Datong rests entirely on you. How could you be so stubborn and self-righteous?"

"I look down on you!"

Xu Ze's eyes widened and he pointed at Zhang Cai: "You! You...you are also Chen Ce's man?"

Zhang Cai smiled and said, "Sir, please don't talk nonsense. I am the prince's man, the emperor's man."

"It's the Emperor and the Crown Prince who want to deal with you this way. Don't even think about getting away with it. I'm putting my words here. You're dead!"

"If you confess your guilt quickly, perhaps the Crown Prince will not kill your entire family. If you still want to play tricks with His Royal Highness, then I'm sorry, I can convict you right now according to your confession. Not only will you die, but all your family members will die too!"

Xu Ze was stunned. It was the prince and the emperor... No wonder the Jinyiwei went directly to Datong to arrest people. The emperor and the prince never believed what he said from the beginning to the end.

In other words, they believed in Fu Yuan.

The Crown Prince and the Emperor both knew that if the matter was handed over to the Three Judicial Departments for trial, the final result might not satisfy them.

That's why they arranged for the Jinyiwei to conduct the trial first, and then hand over the evidence to the Ministry of Justice, so that the Ministry of Justice could convict directly!
If he admitted it, the matter would end with his death...so the prince and the emperor had long wanted to kill General Xu!

If he did not admit it, the prince would take his life and implicate his family.

By doing this, the prince would at most sacrifice his own reputation.

If he admitted it, it would be easy. The prince and the emperor could let the Ministry of Justice convict him openly without damaging their reputation in front of the civil officials.

As for how to deal with it, it all depends on Xu Ze's own consideration.

If he wanted to ruin the reputation of the Crown Prince and Emperor Hongzhi, then his entire family would be buried with him.

Or he could confess his crime and die, thus saving his family.

Thinking of this, Xu Ze's whole body trembled more and more violently... No matter what, the emperor and the prince had no intention of letting him live at all!
But in this matter, he had already committed a heinous crime. If he had not acted on his own, if he had listened to Fu Yuan, why would he have ended up like this?

Xu Ze shed tears of regret, but now regret was of no use. Xu Ze's fists went from clenched to gradually loosening. He sighed slightly, glanced at Xu Ze, and said frankly: "I, the guilty minister... plead guilty!"

Xu Ze smiled and said, "It seems that Master Xu has made his choice. Then please tell us all your crimes."

"Come here, find the recorder to record Lord Xu's confession. Write it down word for word!"

"Here!"

Xu Ze panicked and told the whole story in detail, and finally signed and sealed the Ministry of Justice's file willingly!
(End of this chapter)