Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 286 Zhu Jun, who suffered endless humiliation

On the tenth day of the eleventh month of the first year of the Hanxing era, the Minister of Justice...

In the dark corridor, footsteps approached from afar, interspersed with a few undisguised taunts and laughter from the jailers, piercing the deathly silence of the cells.

Inside the cell, there was only a cold, hard stone bed, sparsely covered with straw as a mattress, covered with a faded, worn-out coarse cloth sheet, and a linen quilt filled with old silk floss. These were all the things Zhu Jun had to keep warm in this cell.

Although the linen quilt filled with old silk floss was worn, it was still warm.

At this moment, the former General of the Western Garrison was lying face down on the stone bed with disheveled hair, his body stiff, and he dared not change to a lying position.

Fifteen days ago, he had been tortured. His pants were forcibly removed, and he was left naked by ten jailers who took turns flogging him, five strokes each, for a total of fifty strokes, leaving him with extreme humiliation and excruciating pain.

The crisp sound of bamboo sticks striking flesh and the cold yet slightly mocking counting of the jailer still echo in my ears.

The Court of Justice was originally a place specifically for trying and imprisoning criminal officials. Only a very few difficult and major local cases would be transferred to the Court of Justice. Therefore, the prison officials usually maintained some superficial restraint towards officials who had not yet been convicted, and would not be so rude and disrespectful.

The Court of Justice of the Later Han Dynasty followed the legal provisions of the Nine Chapters of Law on Prisons of the Former Han Dynasty, requiring that interrogations be conducted "according to law" and prohibiting arbitrary torture.

However, the prohibition against arbitrary torture does not mean that torture should not be used, but rather that "torture should not be repeated more than three times, and caning should not exceed two hundred strokes," meaning that torture should not be carried out indefinitely, and there are also strict regulations regarding the intervals between torture sessions.

In other words, if an official does not confess to a common crime, he or she may be tortured a maximum of three times, with at least five days between each interrogation, and the total number of strokes of caning or whipping during the three interrogations shall not exceed two hundred.

"If the flogging exceeds fifty strokes or the caning exceeds thirty strokes, the executioner must be changed to prevent personal retaliation."

The powerful and influential who were entitled to the "Eight Deliberations" could only be tortured once, and they had to report to the emperor before they could use torture and obtain his permission.

However, the "Eight Deliberations" were not written law; when and whether to adopt them depended on the emperor's wishes.

Therefore, even high-ranking officials could still be subjected to torture by the Court of Justice, with the emperor's tacit approval, as if they were ordinary officials.

Otherwise, even if Zhu Jun confessed, according to the "Eight Deliberations," he would only be stripped of his title, dismissed from his official post, and fined, which would be enough to absolve him of his guilt. What would be the point of further investigation?
As long as the official is not convicted, even if he does not have a good life in the Court of Justice prison, he will not be treated too harshly.

But Zhu Jun was an exception!
You old dog, you're calling us "despicable officials," aren't you!
Alright, alright, today I'll show you, you old dog, just how "noble" this "lowly official" you speak of really is!
The jailers were seething with anger, but they kept a perfect facade.

Of course, the Court of Justice has its own laws, and the prison officials would naturally not break the law.

However, laws always have loopholes, and there is a lot of room for maneuver in them.

For example, the prison guards refused to accept the food, clothing and bedding that Zhu Jun's family and retainers brought for him. What law has ever stipulated that prison guards must hand over private items for convicted officials? On what grounds should the prison guards help you hand them over?

If someone were to smuggle a sharp weapon to help them escape from prison or commit suicide, who would be held responsible?

According to the law, officials who were imprisoned were subjected to torture on the first day of their detention, which was also a way of intimidating the court.

The Later Han Dynasty had two types of torture: flogging and caning.

The caning punishment used a hardwood cane, which was used to strike the back. If someone intended to kill someone, it would be incredibly easy.

Many of the party members who were beaten to death in prison during the persecution of the party were beaten to death with broken spines.

The punishment of flogging was simply a bamboo board with the nodes removed, used to whip the buttocks. Therefore, when the punishment was carried out, the caning was naturally more severe.

It seemed that the prison guards were showing leniency towards the former General of the Western Garrison, but the pain of the flogging was much more intense. Originally, the flogging was supposed to preserve the dignity of the convicted official by removing only his outer garments and trousers, leaving only his underwear. However, the prison guards stripped Zhu Jun completely naked during the execution.

Moreover, to demonstrate their impartiality and lack of selfishness, each jailer was given five lashes, totaling fifty lashes. This was not to allow ten people to see Zhu Jun's naked buttocks, which would have been a disgrace to Zhu Jun, but rather to divide the punishment among ten people to avoid any personal revenge.

As Zhu Jun was being whipped, he continued to curse the prison officials in extreme pain and anger, insulting their female ancestors and repeatedly calling them "lowly officials."

Instead of being angry, the jailers laughed and summoned a physician for Zhu Jun, ordering him to apply ointment to Zhu Jun's wounds and prepare an old silk-lined quilt for him.

Although this kind of quilt was old and worn, it was considered a high-quality item in the Tingwei prison. Ordinary criminals were covered with quilts filled with straw and fallen leaves.

Although the jailers hated Zhu Jun, they knew their limits and understood that he could only be humiliated and bullied, but not killed. Therefore, they prepared this set of bedding for Zhu Jun, which was enough to keep him warm through the winter.

As for Zhu Jun's arrogance?
This was the case for all the officials who were tortured on the first day of their imprisonment in the Court of Justice. If one show of force was not enough to subdue them, they would take good care of the former General of the Western Garrison during the fifteen days between the second interrogation and the first. If all else failed, they would have two more opportunities to be tortured.

The prison guards even set up betting odds on whether Zhu Jun would be able to maintain his unruly demeanor after being tortured a second time.

Today marks the day of the second round of torture.

Zhu Jun, disheveled, was dragged off the stone bed, stripped naked, and forced to perform the duty of examining his wounds. The "Nine Chapters of Law - Prison Law" stipulated that torture was not permitted if the wounds had not healed.

After confirming that the external wounds had healed, the jailers changed Zhu Jun into a plain white prison uniform, then pushed him out of the cell door, causing him to stumble.

Normally, even if there were three, five, or even ten people, Zhu Jun was confident he could kill them on the spot with his bare hands. However, his neck and hands were locked, and his feet were shackled, making it impossible for him to move freely.

This set of iron locks was quite heavy. He had been in the Tingwei prison for half a month and was getting weaker and weaker. Just carrying this heavy set of locks had already exhausted most of his strength.

"How have you been eating these past few days? Does it suit your taste, you old dog?" Two jailers shoved Zhu Jun from behind, occasionally tapping his back with wooden spears as if driving livestock forward.

Zhu Jun remained silent. For the past two weeks, Zhu Jun had been eating only coarse bean rice!
If it were Zhu Jun twenty years ago, he would have enjoyed this bowl of bean rice immensely. However, for him now, the bean rice was too coarse to swallow.

People who have eaten refined rice will find it difficult to swallow this kind of bean rice that is still mixed with some rice bran.

This food was certainly not the result of the jailers' mistreatment. What good food could the Tingwei Prison possibly provide for prisoners?

A small bowl of bean rice and a small dish of pickled vegetables provide the basic energy needed for the prisoners' lives. This is the food that the Court of Justice Prison can provide for each prisoner.

Vegetables are expensive this season, and the Tingwei Prison can't afford to buy more refined rice and fresh vegetables to feed the prisoners. What human rights do the prisoners have?
The reason why the cheapest bean rice is provided is because after eating bean rice, drinking some water will easily cause bloating and a feeling of fullness, but it cannot provide much energy.

What, do you want the prisoners to be well-fed so they can escape?
This is also the reason why Zhu Jun, who was once a formidable figure on the battlefield, now appears sickly and weak.

Just as Zhu Jun was about to undergo his second interrogation, in the Yuntai Pavilion, Liu Bian was coldly reading a letter pleading for Zhu Jun's life, casually tossing it into a nearly full wooden box beside him.

This wooden box was full of memorials and letters pleading for Zhu Jun's life.

Having handled these memorials and compiled and categorized all the memorials pleading for Zhu Jun, Du Xi and Chen Qun naturally knew exactly how many people had pleaded for Zhu Jun.

However, Chen Qun looked at Du Xi and shook his head slightly.

Du Xi understood and nodded three times.

Although neither of them uttered a word, both being among the "Four Great Scholars of Yingchuan" and having been friends since childhood, they could understand the meaning behind each other's body language.

Chen Qun was saying that there were too many fools, and even if they wanted to protect Zhu Jun, they shouldn't have bothered with so many court officials and powerful families submitting memorials to plead for him.

Du Xi agreed with Chen Qun's idea and said that the more people pleaded for Zhu Jun's life, the less likely he was to survive.

The reason why the emperor disliked Zhu Jun was precisely because he was determined to join the ranks of the gentry and constantly gravitate towards powerful and influential families, completely forgetting that he was a military general whom the emperor had promoted.

If the emperor had not given him this opportunity, he would still be a mere lowly official with no real power, a mere rank of 600 shi (a unit of grain), and would not have the prestige he enjoys today.
If one forgets the well-digger when drinking water, how could the emperor not despise Zhu Jun?

However, the emperor is tolerant. As long as Zhu Jun fights this battle well, the emperor will at most stop favoring Zhu Jun, but it won't escalate to the point where Zhu Jun is disliked by the emperor.

However, Zhu Jun's disregard for this battle and his prolonged reluctance to leave Luoyang for his post in Shu finally caused the emperor to lose his respect for him.

Liu Bian glanced at Chen Qun and Du Xi, who were secretly communicating with each other through gestures, but didn't pay much attention to the two cabinet ministers' little actions.

In fact, without Liu Bian's interference, the officials of the Attendant-in-Ordinary were now referred to as "Cabinet Ministers" in the court and among the people, and even the Attendant-in-Ordinary was called the "Inner Cabinet".

Although Yuntai Pavilion was a place where the emperor convened important ministers for small meetings, its main function was to serve as the emperor's office. The ministers of the Attendant-in-Ordinary assisted the emperor in handling government affairs within the pavilion, hence they were called "pavilion ministers".

Unlike the Shangshutai, which is located in the outer palace, Yuntai Pavilion is a pavilion that is truly located in the inner palace, hence it is called the "Inner Pavilion".

Liu Bian didn't care much about this; what could a title possibly mean?
The most important thing was the power held by the Attendant-in-Ordinary to handle the affairs of the Secretariat, and the trust and respect the emperor represented behind it.

The morning passed quickly. The past few days had been filled with tedious tasks, but not many major events, which was typical of the normal functioning of the imperial court.

If major events happen frequently, it indicates that there is a problem with the operation of the imperial court.

After catching his breath, Liu Bian looked at the memorials piled up in three wooden boxes, and the temperature in his heart seemed as cold as the howling wind and snow outside Yuntai Pavilion.

To be honest, Liu Bian had already begun to consider whether to kill or punish Zhu Jun.

After the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou was quelled, Zhu Jun frequently befriended Han Chinese strongmen and Qiang and Hu chieftains from various parts of Liangzhou, often swearing brotherhood with them.

That's alright. For the sake of stability in Liangzhou, Liu Bian could understand Zhu Jun's actions.

In a place like Liangzhou, simply implementing benevolent policies and bestowing favors would only be seen as a sign of weakness and vulnerability. Instead, the method of subduing the enemy and then swearing brotherhood, using so-called loyalty to bind their allegiance, has proven to be surprisingly effective. At least Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song both believed there was nothing wrong with it, only that the degree of implementation needed to be carefully controlled.

However, Zhu Jun gave too many preferential treatment to many Han and Hu powerful families in Liangzhou during his tenure as governor, which made Liu Bian somewhat dissatisfied, but he still did not directly interfere.

During the abdication ceremony on New Year's Day this year, Zhu Jun was able to temporarily return to Luoyang to observe the ceremony, but he stayed in Luoyang for more than half a month.

This scoundrel actually sent out visiting cards and invitations throughout Luoyang, making connections with many prominent families and powerful officials in the city.

For the sake of the war in Yizhou, after Liu Bian summoned Zhu Jun back to Luoyang, this fellow, after a hasty audience with him, immediately went on a long journey to visit many powerful and wealthy families.

As the commander-in-chief of an army, after returning to Luoyang to pay homage to the emperor, his first priority should have been to visit Cao Song, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and Liu Tao, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, to confirm the court's logistics routes and other issues, and then immediately begin preparing a strategy for conquering the south to report to Liu Bian. However, he did none of these things and instead went to curry favor with powerful and influential families.

Liu Bian despised Zhu Jun's groveling and fawning behavior towards the gentry. He did not forbid military officers from associating with the gentry, but as a high-ranking official with a salary of 2,000 shi, why did you demean yourself so much and lower yourself to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy families?

Is the official rank bestowed by my own decree less valuable than the status of a member of the aristocratic family?
What a loyal and capable minister and general!
(End of this chapter)