In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 1065 No one will die without a traitor
Deep inside the prison cells of the city garrison headquarters, it was dark and damp.

The air was filled with the smells of mildew, blood, and sweat, which were pungent and nauseating.

The oil lamp flickered, casting distorted shadows on the wall.
On the two pillars, Shen Junhao, the manager of Sai Shang Ju, and Wang Chengye, the manager of Mo Bei Lou, were tied respectively.

Their hands were tightly bound to the pillar with thick hemp rope.
Deep red marks have been left on my wrists.

The ground beneath my feet was wet; I couldn't tell if it was snowmelt or filth.

Zhang Bin sat behind a wooden table to the side.
On the table was a pot of cold wine, a short knife, and several sheets of paper and pens for taking notes.

His face was gloomy, his eyes sharp, and he stared at the two of them for a long time without saying a word.

Only heavy breathing and occasional screams could be heard from afar in the cell.

This silent oppression is more agonizing than any instrument of torture.

Shen Junhao had long lost his usual composure.

His face was deathly pale, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his eyes darted around, avoiding Zhang Bin's gaze.

He was just an ordinary shopkeeper, honest and hardworking his whole life.

I run a restaurant just to make a living; I've never seen anything like this before.
After being arrested, he had been living in fear and anxiety, and now he was terrified.

Wang Chengye, on the other hand, was relatively calmer.

He lowered his head slightly, making his expression unreadable.
But his clenched fists and slightly trembling body betrayed his inner tension.

He knew that this was definitely not a simple case of arresting the wrong person.

For the Commander-in-Chief to mobilize such a large force, something truly momentous must have happened.

His restaurant was likely caught in a catastrophic disaster.

"Go ahead."

Zhang Bin finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing together:
"What is your relationship with the traitors?"

The two of them suddenly looked up, a look of astonishment flashing in their eyes:

"Traitor? What traitor? I have no idea."

"do not know?"

Zhang Bin raised an eyebrow, picked up the short knife on the table, and tapped it lightly on the surface:

"Has your restaurant recently received any new or unfamiliar guests?"
Has anyone bought food from your restaurant, around thirty to fifty people?

Shen Junhao trembled and quickly shook his head:

"No, no, sir! My restaurant is full of regular customers."
Most of the customers were local residents and craftsmen; there were hardly any unfamiliar faces.

Zhang Bin continued to ask:
Do you have dishes like "ma shi" or "steamed pork with rice flour" at home?

"All of these are our store's specialties."

"Sold to whom?"

Shen Junhao was stunned, on the verge of tears:

"Sir, of course it's sold to the customers who come to eat!"

My humble restaurant specializes in Northwest Chinese cuisine, and everyone who comes here loves that kind of food.

There are so many people every day, I can't remember exactly who I sold to!

Zhang Bin's eyes turned cold, and he abruptly stood up.
He walked up to Shen Junhao, pressed the tip of the short knife against his chin, and forced him to raise his head.

The cold blade pressed against his skin, and Shen Junhao trembled with fear, tears welling up in his eyes.
"You'd better think carefully before you answer!"

Zhang Bin's voice carried a murderous intent:
"The assassin who tried to kill Lord Lu last night had a stomach full of Northwest cuisine, all of which are the signature dishes of your two restaurants!"

Can you honestly say this is just a coincidence?

"Assassinate Lord Lu?"

Shen Junhao's pupils contracted sharply, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face:
"This has nothing to do with me!"

"This humble citizen absolutely did not collude with the assassins! Your Honor, please investigate thoroughly!"

He never expected this.

His own restaurant was somehow connected to the major case of assassinating Lord Lu.

If this can't be explained clearly, not only will he be ruined, but his whole family will be doomed.

Zhang Bin snorted coldly, sheathed his short sword, and turned to look at Wang Chengye:

"Manager Wang, what about you? You also said you didn't have any?"

Wang Chengye slowly raised his head, his face pale, but his eyes held a hint of struggle.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke with difficulty:
"Sir, last night there were indeed a few unfamiliar customers who came to the restaurant to eat. They spoke with a Northwestern accent and ordered ma shi and tuo tuo mo."

But... I really didn't know they were assassins!

"Oh?"

Zhang Bin's eyes narrowed:
"Tell me in detail! When did they arrive?"
How many people were there? What did they look like? Where did they go after they finished eating?

Wang Chengye swallowed hard, trying to recall:

"It was probably around 5 PM; about fifteen or sixteen people arrived."

He's quite muscular and looks rather fierce.

They ordered quite a lot of food, ate quickly, and didn't talk much.

After they finished eating, they paid and left, and I don't know where they went.

"Quite sturdy, looks rather fierce?" Zhang Bin pressed.
Did they say anything unusual? Did they reveal where they lived?

Wang Chengye shook his head:
"No, they didn't say a word except when ordering food. They paid with small change and left nothing else."

"you are lying!"

Zhang Bin slammed his hand on the table, causing the oil lamp on it to flicker.
"Fifteen or sixteen people, acting suspiciously, didn't you ask them a single question? Didn't you feel anything was wrong?"

Didn't the commander warn many merchants in the city to be on the lookout for suspicious individuals?

Wang Chengye's face turned even paler, and he quickly said:

"My lord, I run a restaurant, and all the guests are customers. How dare I question them casually?"

Moreover, the city of Daning is a melting pot of all sorts of people.

Countless merchants come and go; I truly didn't think much of it!

Zhang Bin stared at him for a long time, and seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, his eyes darkened.

He then turned to look at Shen Junhao:
"Shen Junhao, think about it again?"

Shen Junhao trembled with fright, quickly and carefully recalled what he had just heard, and after a long while, he said uncertainly:
"It seems...it seems there were a few a few days ago. There should have been seven or eight, but they didn't say anything."
I ordered steamed pork with rice flour and oil tea, and left after eating.

I...I thought he was a businessman there to do business, so I didn't pay any attention."

Zhang Bin's expression grew increasingly serious.

Both restaurants had served suspicious-looking guests from Northwest China.
Zhang Bin walked to the center of the cell and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

The air in the cell was still; the oil lamp flame flickered in the wind.
The iron chains, branding irons, and other instruments of torture hanging on the wall gleamed with a cold, menacing light.

Zhang Bin stared at the two men's evasive eyes, his suspicions growing stronger.

"It seems you won't tell the truth unless you get serious."

Zhang Bin's voice was as cold as ice. He raised his hand and shouted towards the door:
"Somebody come!"

Two burly jailers entered in response.

He was carrying a water-soaked cowhide whip with tiny iron spikes hanging from the tip, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

"Hit me!"

Zhang Bin pointed at Shen Junhao:

"Until he tells the truth!"

Without a word, the jailers stepped forward and grabbed Shen Junhao's arms.

The leather whip whistled through the air and lashed hard across his back.

With a sharp crack, Shen Junhao's cotton robe was instantly torn, and a bright red bloodstain immediately seeped out.

"what!"

Shen Junhao let out a piercing scream, his body struggling violently.

The rope tightened around his wrists, causing him so much pain that tears and snot streamed down his face.
"My lord! I'm innocent! I truly know nothing of any assassin! Please spare me!"

Zhang Bin sneered:

"Keep fighting! Fight them until they confess!"

The leather whip fell one after another.

Shen Junhao's screams rose and fell, and his back was soon covered in blood and flesh.

The cotton robe was soaked in blood and stuck to his skin; each pull brought a tearing pain.

He went from crying and begging for mercy to becoming hoarse, his body going limp, with only his body still twitching instinctively.

"Sir, I really didn't ask you to investigate."

Shen Junhao was barely breathing, his eyes were unfocused, and his lips were cracked and bleeding, but he still didn't give in.

Zhang Bin turned to look at Wang Chengye, his eyes sharp as knives:

"Manager Wang, would you like to try the taste of this whip?"

Wang Chengye shuddered as he looked at Shen Junhao's bloodied and mangled appearance.

His face was ashen, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

But he gritted his teeth and shook his head:

"My lord, I am telling the truth. I really didn't know they were assassins."
If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to receive them even if I had ten lives!

"Tough mouth!"

Zhang Bin roared angrily:
"Give me a beating too! I want to see just how tough you guys are!"

The jailers immediately turned to Wang Chengye, and their leather whips fell just as fiercely. Wang Chengye was slightly more robust than Shen Junhao.
At first, he could grit his teeth and endure it, but after a few lashes, blood seeped from his back.

The pain made the veins on his forehead bulge, and cold sweat streamed down his cheeks, soaking his shirt.

"Ah! Stop hitting him! Sir! Stop hitting him!"

Wang Chengye couldn't help but cry out:

"I really didn't lie! Those people were just ordinary customers!"
They finished eating and left! I really had no idea they were going to assassinate Lord Lu!

Zhang Bin sat to the side, watching the two being tortured with a blank expression, his face somewhat grave.

Are these two really that stubborn?

Just as he hesitated about whether to continue the torture,
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the cell.

A soldier came running in, panting, his face a mixture of excitement and seriousness:
"Sir! We found it! We found something in the cellars of the backyards of two restaurants!"

Zhang Bin suddenly stood up, his eyes lighting up:
"What is that? Bring it here and let me see!"

The soldier quickly pulled out a stack of documents and several tokens from his pocket and handed them over with both hands:

"My lord, this is the travel document we found in a hidden compartment in the cellar of the backyard of the Sai Shang Ju residence, along with several wooden plaques engraved with special marks!"
Similar documents, along with a burned letter, were also found in the cellar of Mobei Tower!

Zhang Bin grabbed the documents and tokens and quickly walked to the oil lamp to examine them.

The official seals on the travel documents were clearly those of the Shaanxi Military Commander and the Beiping Military Commander.

The wooden plaques were engraved with special markings, but their purpose was not immediately apparent.

Looking at the letter again, the paper was torn and the handwriting was not very clear.

But the fact that it could be hidden in a secret compartment of the cellar speaks volumes.

"Snapped!"

Zhang Bin slammed the document on the table.
His face instantly turned ashen, and the murderous intent in his eyes was almost overflowing.

He almost got scammed by those two shopkeepers!

This is no ordinary restaurant manager; he's clearly an inside man!

"Good! Very good!"

Zhang Bin gritted his teeth, turned to look at Shen Junhao and Wang Chengye, who were beaten to the point of near death, his voice filled with rage:
"You two scoundrels! How dare you feign madness and stupidity in front of me! Do you think you can get away with this?"

Shen Junhao and Wang Chengye saw the travel document and wooden plaque in Zhang Bin's hand.
His face turned ashen instantly, and his eyes were filled with terror.

They never expected that something so well hidden would still be found.

"My lord... I... I..."

Shen Junhao opened his mouth, as if to say something.
However, he was so panicked that he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Wang Chengye's body went limp, his previously maintained momentum completely collapsed, and his lips trembled:

"No, it wasn't intentional. They forced us to agree, and we didn't dare disobey."

"Forcing you?"

Zhang Bin sneered and walked up to Wang Chengye.
She grabbed his hair and forced him to lift his head:

"We forced you to hide the travel documents? We forced you to cover for them?"
I see you are all blinded by greed and have long since sided with the traitors!

Wang Chengye grimaced in pain, tears streaming down his face.

"Sir, you were really forced into this!"

They threatened us with our family's lives! If we didn't agree, my wife, children, and elderly parents would all die!

"Make it up! Keep making it up!"

Zhang Bin released his grip, and Wang Chengye fell heavily to the ground.

"Even now, you still dare to argue! It seems the whipping just now didn't teach you a lesson!"

He turned and shouted sternly at the jailers:
"Torture me severely! Use branding irons, clamps, everything!"

I'd like to see how long you can hold out!
"Don't expect to leave this cell alive unless you reveal who's behind this!"

The jailers immediately responded:
"Yes! Your lord!"

Soon, a red-hot branding iron was brought in.

The tip of the branding iron glowed with an orange-red light, radiating a scorching heat wave; even from several steps away, one could feel the intense heat emanating from it.

There was also a pair of pitch-black clamps covered with sharp spikes, which looked terrifying.

When Shen Junhao saw the branding iron, he was terrified.

Struggling to shrink back, she kept crying out:

"My lord! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Zhang Bin's eyes narrowed:
"Wouldn't it have been better to do this sooner? Tell me! Who's behind this?"

How did those assassins infiltrate Daning City? Were there any accomplices?

Shen Junhao trembled all over, his face was ashen, and his lips quivered.

Just as he was about to speak, he caught a warning look from Wang Chengye out of the corner of his eye.

Shen Junhao's words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

He knew that once he confessed,
Even if he survives today, the people behind him will never let his family off the hook.

But if he doesn't confess, the torture he's being subjected to will make him wish he were dead.

Caught in a dilemma, Shen Junhao's body trembled even more violently, his face covered in tears and snot, making him look extremely disheveled.

"What? You're too scared to say it?"

Zhang Bin noticed his hesitation and snorted coldly:
"Looks like you won't tell the truth unless I teach you a lesson!"

He winked at the jailer:
"Pour it on!"

A jailer immediately raised a red-hot branding iron and burned it against Shen Junhao's chest.

The scorching heat hit me.

Shen Junhao's pupils constricted in terror, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream:

"I'll talk! I'll talk! It's a general from the Northwest!"
He asked us to meet some guests in Daning City, promising us a thousand taels of silver after the deed was done!

"Which general? What's his name?"

Zhang Bin pressed on, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

"I don't know. I don't know his name!"

Shen Junhao cried out:

"He only allowed us to call him General, and all contact was made through letters. We never met him in person!"

"lie!"

Zhang Bin roared:

"No name? No address? How do you receive instructions? How do you collect the bounty?"

He turned to look at Wang Chengye:

"Tell me! If he dares to lie, I'll burn your tongue first!"

Wang Chengye shuddered in fright and quickly spoke:
"Sir! He's telling the truth! We really don't know that general's name!"
He always sent someone to deliver letters, instructing us on what to do.
After you finish, the reward will be placed at the agreed location!

We dared not ask any more questions, nor did we dare to follow them!

"How did those assassins infiltrate Daning City?"

Zhang Bin continued to press for answers.

Wang Chengye swallowed hard and spoke with difficulty:
"No, we really don't know."

"Execution!"

Zhang Bin stopped wasting words with them, and the jailers immediately began to torture the two men, filling the prison with screams of agony.

This time, Zhang Bin remained silent for a long time, determined to make them suffer enough.

Two quarters of an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Bin looked at the two men, who were already covered in blood, and sneered:
"You can say it now."

"Tell me, they came in through the north gate."
Disguised as merchants and refugees, carrying travel permits,

The commander guarding the north gate was one of their men; he let people through as soon as he saw the wooden sign.

"Who is the commander guarding the north gate?"

Zhang Bin's eyes darkened; there really was a mole!
"It is Commander Li! Li Mo!"

Wang Chengye dared not hide it any longer and quickly said:
“He always let us pass, and we gave him five hundred taels of silver as a bribe!”

Zhang Bin's expression grew increasingly serious.

Li Mo was a commander of the city's defense forces, responsible for guarding the north gate, but he never expected to be bribed.

"Are there any other accomplices?" Zhang Bin pressed.
"Besides Li Mo, who else knows about this?"

"That's all! Really, that's all!"

Shen Junhao quickly said:
"It's just the people from our two restaurants and Li Mo; nobody else knows!"
After those people entered the city, they hid in several houses on West Heng Street, which we had rented in advance!

Zhang Bin stared at the two men for a long time, noticing the fear in their eyes; they didn't seem to be lying.

Feeling a little more at ease, I waved goodbye again:

"Keep fighting, keep an eye on them, don't let them die!"

"My lord! We've told you everything!"

The two of them cried their eyes out.

Zhang Bin, however, had a grim expression. He stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at the two men, and cursed:
"You bastards, you almost killed me!"

Do you think you're done once you've explained everything?

Beat them! Beat them hard! Give them all the torture instruments in the cell!

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)