Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 168: Plea guilty and surrender to the law
A group of people were driving on a country road. Many people saw the sturdy and shiny horses and their extraordinary clothes, and they all retreated and dared not get close to them.

After Yang Chen and his companions left their sight, the people working in the fields dared to slowly look up, looking at their backs with envy in their eyes.

There are even many people who use this to persuade and educate their children, hoping that their children will become successful and lead the whole family to prosperity in the future.

They have now entered Ningming County. Naturally, there are villages and cities in the county, but the cities are not big, with a population of only tens of thousands.

These people are scattered among their own fields, making the area seem very sparsely populated.

When they wanted to inspect a more desolate place, the carriage could not enter, so Zhou Shizhong had to change horses and ride the horse himself.

Nowadays, almost all people in high positions and with high power know how to ride horses. Anyone who cannot ride a horse will be laughed at when he goes out.

Although Zhou Shizhong is already in his fifties, he can still ride on a horse in no time. Most people who see his expression would want to beat him up.

No wonder Zhu Chong disliked him. Yang Chen was also extremely unhappy when he saw it.

But he didn't say anything, instead he followed the path and entered.

Soon they could see one dock after another.

Yang Chen looked at the people around the fort who were watching him openly or secretly and asked:
"Prefect Zhou, I heard that there is a family member in Zhenjiang Prefecture that you support. I wonder if this rumor is true?"

When entering this location just now, Yang Chen had already observed that there was no one hiding around, and it was completely impossible for Zhou Shizhong to take the risk to deal with them.

Just in case, he also carried five grenades with him. As Old Wen's nitroglycerin gunpowder technology gradually matured, these grenades already had half the power of later grenades.

The iron pieces ejected by the explosion can easily penetrate two centimeters into human flesh.

If the throat or some important blood transfusion parts are scratched, with the current backward medical treatment technology, the person can only wait for death and there is no possibility of survival.

That's why he dared to ask Zhou Shizhong directly.

Besides, he knew that Zhu Chong could no longer hold back. If he delayed any further, this guy would probably wear a nightgown and sneak into the other's house in the middle of the night to kill him.

Rather than putting Zhu Chong in danger, it is better to take action today.

Zhou Shizhong obviously didn't expect the topic to be about him. His expression immediately turned ugly and he said in confusion:
"Yang Yushi, you are joking. Ever since I was punished by His Majesty and left the capital, I have been in Zhenjiang Prefecture. Since then, I have understood that the way to be an official is to be honest and upright and not to take a penny from the people. How could there be rumors that I am corrupt and accept bribes, and support a family?

Besides, Censor Yang, aren't you also a popular person around Prime Minister Hu? Since you are Prime Minister Hu's people, then you and I should be colleagues. His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin is here, Censor Yang, you must not say something that is completely untrue. If you are misunderstood by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, it will not be a trivial matter.

Don’t you know if what I said is right or not?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Shizhong glanced at Zhu Chong in fear and found that this guy seemed to be very cruel to him. He didn't know when his palm was tightly grasping the handle of the knife, and he could chop him with the knife at any time and anywhere.

Faced with the current situation, Zhou Shizhong was frantically thinking of ways to solve it.

Hearing this sophistry, Yang Chen smiled indifferently. The other party had no idea what his action was.

Until the Cui family’s affairs were brought up.

"Since you are still resisting, why don't you follow me?"

If Zhou Shizhong looked directly into Yang Chen's dark eyes at this moment, he would find a gloomy look in the depths of the other's eyes, which was the look of a hunter who had caught his prey.

Now Zhou Shizhong is trapped in a jar. All he can do is keep resisting, but resistance is useless.

Pretending to be relaxed, Zhou Shizhong could only take a gamble, betting that the other party was testing him. It was possible that Yang Chen was acting in front of King Qin to scare him.

Once I had my own judgment, my initial panic gradually disappeared.

Instead, he pretended to be calm and agreed:
"Okay, since Censor Yang has said so, then I am naturally willing to accompany you. However, since Censor Yang asked me to follow you, then the rest of the journey will naturally be led by you. I dare not lead the way rashly."

As he spoke, Zhou Shizhong began to give in. Yang Chen was not polite and just let the horse go straight down.

Originally, Zhou Shizhong wanted to take this opportunity to let the horse jump into the field, pretending that the horse was frightened, and then flee back to Zhenjiang Prefecture and escape from this chaotic place personally.

Unfortunately, the reality was quite cruel. His retreat had been blocked by Zhu Chong, and it was impossible for him to escape.

In the end, he could only hold his nose and move forward. If he didn’t move forward, he would die now!

Soon, the three of them arrived in front of a "dilapidated" fortress.

At first, when Zhou Shizhong saw the fortress, he subconsciously felt a little worried, but his worries soon disappeared, and were replaced by a relaxed look.

It turns out that this fort was originally built by a clan of Ningming County people for the purpose of keeping each other warm. Later, Zhou Shizhong took a fancy to the nearby poisonous salt mine and secretly sent people to disperse all the people here.

Without vitality, the fort naturally began to decay and become filled with weeds.

However, the quality of the dock is very good. Even if no one lives there for a short period of time, it can remain intact and the interior can still be used.

Thus, this fortress became the place where Zhou Shizhong secretly hid the embezzled funds.

If it was embezzled funds, how could he be so calm?
The reason is simple, that is, the things inside had been quietly moved away last night.

Although he didn't know why Zhu Chong was so hostile towards him, there would be no problem in making preparations in advance.

Seeing the two of them stop, he asked with a proud tone:
"May I ask Censor Yang, why are we here in this dilapidated fortress overgrown with weeds instead of looking for the common people to question?
Is there someone else in this place? If Censor Yang has such an idea, then I will disappoint you. This place has long been an abandoned house and may collapse at any time. "

Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh when he saw Zhou Shizhong controlling the overall situation. He tried his best to keep his expression straight and said indifferently:
"Your Highness, Prince Qin, what do you think is suitable for hiding in this place?"

Zhou Shizhong was slightly confused. The other party did not ask him, but instead asked Zhu Chong what this meant.

Hearing Yang Chen's words, Zhu Chong's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a barely perceptible expression, and said in a stern tone:

"If you ask me, this place is perfect for hiding filth."

"Prefect Zhou, if there is something to be hidden in this place, what do you think would be the most suitable thing?"

Even though the words had been spoken out in the open, Zhou Shizhong was not at all flustered. In his mind, this place had already been cleaned up thoroughly. Even if the other party could suspect him, they could not do anything to him as long as there was no substantial evidence.

With this as confidence, Zhou Shizhong responded calmly:

"Your Majesty, you are joking. I have never known what could be hidden in these abandoned forts. If there is something inside, it may not have anything to do with me.

I don't know how I feel honored to be remembered by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, but please don't talk nonsense, otherwise it will be a serious crime of defaming the official position!"

There was only a little distance between them and a falling out, so Zhou Shizhong suddenly became bolder and didn't worry at all that Zhu Chong would attack him right away. The reason was simple, if the other party really wanted to attack him, he would have been unable to hold back, and he must have considered something if he hadn't attacked him until now.

In this case, Zhou Shizhong naturally did not fear and followed the opponent's moves, countering them.

Zhu Chong was very satisfied with the opponent's dying resistance.

He said nothing, but raised his hands into the air and slapped them three times in a row in a regular pattern. The sound of the slaps colliding soon echoed around.

It was nine o'clock in the morning. The sun was slowly emerging from the white line in the sky, and the dazzling light just happened to shine into the main gate of the fort.

While Zhou Shizhong was looking at astonishment, two people suddenly stood out from the deep and dark doorway.

One and a half to be exact, one of them was wearing coarse cloth, but it was tailored by an experienced tailor so that the clothes were very decent.

Moreover, his expression is bright and his eyes are lively.

In comparison, the other man looked very miserable. His hands and limbs were all broken, his face was bruised and bloody, and his nose and face were swollen.

Seeing that Zhou Shizhong was not far away, he tried to raise his hand to signal for help in his direction.

"woo woo woo woo"

Unfortunately, he was seriously injured and his throat was also severely damaged. He couldn't even speak clearly and could only make whimpering sounds.

It's really terrifying.

Yang Chen glanced at the Second Prince of the Ming Dynasty beside him and said:
"I'm not saying anything bad about you, but your men were too harsh, weren't they? They tortured him like this, even if we interrogate him, what can we get out of him?"

Facing Yang Chen's teasing, Zhu Chong felt a little embarrassed and said in a teaching tone:
"Bao Lai is tough! How could you be so unrestrained and abuse this guy so much that he can't speak? Tell me how we should confront each other in court later!"

As he spoke, Zhu Chong looked at Yang Chen and explained:

"Ahem. This guy is a centurion under my command, a capable general of Cui Zhengfeng, and one of the few skilled fighters who followed me back to the capital from Xi'an.

I thought that since this guy actually attacked the Cui family, I would naturally take special care of him, but I didn't expect that he would be so ruthless, which led to an awkward situation. I hope you don't mind it."

After explaining to Yang Chen, Zhu Chong looked at Zhou Shizhong again and said in a joking tone:

"Sir, you just said that there couldn't be anything here, so may I ask, does this guy look familiar to you?"

"After you finished discussing with Brother Yang yesterday, you sent people over to dispose of all the stolen goods and evidence stored in these forts, but you didn't know that I had already sent people to prepare in advance.

I'll have to trouble you to explain the following matters to the prefect clearly."

Zhu Chong handed the right to speak to the centurion Bao Laiying, who raised his hand in salute.

"Sir, this guy should be the head of the servants in your mansion. Last night, he wanted to come here according to your order to cover up all the evidence.

Unfortunately, the moment he walked out of the door, I followed him quietly. Besides him, there were three other men. Now these three men have almost all been subdued by me, and are now tied up inside. I wonder if the prefect would like to go in and take a look?
Can you identify them as servants in your mansion?"

"Do you know if Magistrate Zhou has anything else to say? While you can still speak, please stand up and say a few words. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be able to say anything in the future."

Yang Chen smiled, his eyes were clear and calm, his mood was as peaceful as a deep tank, and his voice was without any ripples, as if he sincerely wanted Zhou Shizhong to leave a last word.

Faced with the desperate situation, Zhou Shizhong felt his whole head buzzing. When he was waiting to come to his senses, the three people around him looked at him as if he were dead, which made his whole body extremely cold and he couldn't help trembling.

After a few breaths, his stiff neck slowly turned and looked at Yang Chen, questioning the reason:

"Yang Yushi! Who are you? Yesterday you had an envelope from Prime Minister Hu in your hand! There was a word 'Shan' written on the envelope. Could it be that you are not Prime Minister Hu's man at all? Why did you betray me?"

After being treated like this, Zhou Shizhong had already become a little crazy, even mentally ill.

His words were full of confusing rhetoric, and it was impossible to tell what he was trying to say.

"I get it! Prime Minister Hu is killing me after he has done his job! Hahaha! I get it! It turns out he wanted to kill me! Damn it! Damn it! This guy Hu Weiyong is really despicable.

I will return to the capital to report to His Majesty, Censor Yang, and Your Highness the Prince of Qin. I ask the two of you to make the decision for me. It was this guy Hu Weiyong who bewitched me. He told me that as long as I used my power to win over the hearts of the people and give him a portion of the embezzled money during my tenure as the prefect of Zhenjiang Prefecture, he could make His Majesty forgive the mistakes I made before and give me a chance to be transferred back to the capital from this remote area!
There are a total of 5 million taels of silver in this dock, plus 700,000 taels of gold, and many rare treasures obtained from ships. Many of these things are tributes!
Your Highness, Prince Qin! I heard that you like to collect treasures in Xi'an. I am willing to give you all these treasures, as long as Your Highness allows me to return to the capital and report everything to His Majesty!"

At this point, Zhou Shizhong's dying struggle made him pay any price, even if it meant losing everything he had.

However, the answer was unexpected.

Yang Chen said calmly:

"Prefect Zhou, you should know that if you are allowed to return to the capital, the punishment you will receive is death. If that's the case, why do you want to return to the capital? Aren't you worried that His Majesty will torture you?"

How could Zhou Shizhong not know what would happen to him next, but he still wanted to make amends. He couldn't escape at all in the current situation. Rather than dying without knowing how, it would be better to fall into the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang than to die on the side of the road.

It was actually Hu Weiyong who made him make this decision.

If Yang Chen hadn't taken out the letter, he would have had no precautions at all. He didn't expect that such an absurd thing as a horse stumbling would happen to him.

The retribution of cause and effect actually exists, which makes Zhou Shizhong feel very complicated.

After thinking for a long time, he seemed to have aged ten years, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Haha. I just want to leave my name behind so as not to die in obscurity. Besides, I don't want to leave this world like this.

This guy Hu Weiyong actually broke the oath he promised me, so I don’t mind letting him know. Even if he is the prime minister, I dare to stand beside Your Majesty.

Please give me this opportunity, I will tell you everything I know! There are all kinds of account books in this fortress. As long as these account books are made public, Hu Weiyong will become the target of public criticism. Even if I die, I will drag him into the abyss! Otherwise, I will be too lonely on the road alone! "I am unwilling to see such a scene!"

On the horse, Zhou Shizhong screamed at the top of his lungs, his pupils full of hatred. He could not beat the King of Qin nor could he defeat Yang Chen. In that case, he chose Hu Weiyong as the only person who could vent his emotions.

If the other party betrayed him, he must pay the price of betrayal. Why should he become a prisoner while the other party can still live in power for a long time?

The dust has settled, Yang Chen has achieved his goal, and there is no reason for him not to agree to the other party's request.

The task that Lao Zhu asked me to do has been completed.

"Okay, in that case, I promise you, as long as you confess, I will give you a quick death."

(End of this chapter)