I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 236 Extreme Provocation! Shen Ziheng's Unexpected Discovery

The 18th day of the twelfth lunar month was the fourth day since Baji, the special envoy of the Anda tribe, was killed.

The investigation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard has stalled.

An investigation revealed that the Altan tribe delegation was very united and had never had any conflicts. Baji had a very good temper, and the delegation members were all very saddened after his death.

Both the Ryukyu and Siamese delegations claimed that they had no contact with the Altan Khan tribe, and that because Baji arrived at the Nanhuitong Hall relatively late, they had never even met him.

After investigation and questioning, no abnormalities were found among the more than 200 staff members (guards, laborers, maids, cooks, etc.) of the Nan Hui Tong Guan.

As for what the murder weapon was, nothing has been found yet.

Emperor Wanli was furious after hearing the report.

After communicating with Zhang Juzheng, he ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Three Judicial Offices, and the Shuntian Prefecture to investigate and produce results before the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, or the official in charge of the case would be severely punished.

The reason it was set before the 25th of the twelfth lunar month is that...

This is because, starting from the 25th, regular court sessions and daily lectures will cease, and all government offices in the capital will no longer require roll call.

If it is delayed any further, it will greatly affect the New Year atmosphere and may even cause the court to lose face and be humiliated at the New Year's Day court assembly.

Cao Wei, the garrison commander of the Northern Garrison, was almost driven mad with anxiety, but he was still clueless. Cases like this, where the motive was hard to find and there were no suspects, were extremely difficult to solve.

at the same time.

At the request of Grand Secretary Shen Shixing, representatives from the Six Ministries and various government offices, including the Hanlin Academy, the Court of State Ceremonies, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Court of Imperial Banquets, participated in the case to ensure that any government office involved could cooperate in handling any emergencies.

This move was also intended to make all government departments understand that the current requirement of the court for its officials is that, when it comes to official business, no matter what they do, they must help each other and work together as one.

At nightfall.

After dinner, Shen Nian went to the Beizhen Fusi to be on duty as a representative of the Ministry of Revenue.

In fact, the Ministry of Revenue could simply send a doctor or a clerk.

However, the Ministry of Revenue was still busy at the end of the year. Shen Nian was young and strong, and he couldn't let those officials in their forties and fifties, who had already been busy all day, stay up all night again.

They simply can't handle it.

In addition, Shen Nian herself was quite interested in this case for some reason.

At this moment, in a large hall of the Northern Garrison Command, a group of officials and clerks skilled in criminal cases were gathered.

Stacks of confessions were placed in the hall, and not far away was a coffin containing Baji's body.

For criminal officials, it was common to be in the same room as a corpse.

It doesn't affect eating or drinking at all.

Cao Wei, the pacification commissioner of the Northern Garrison, and the chief officials of the Three Judicial Offices sat at the innermost part of the room, carefully reviewing the investigation results submitted by the officials below them, sometimes remaining silent, sometimes engaging in heated discussions.

Shen Nian leaned back in a chair on the outer edge, listening attentively to their discussion.

It's not that people found nothing.

First, judging from the wound, the weapon that killed Baji was not a crossbow, because it wasn't very powerful. It was more like a sharp weapon similar to a hairpin, but longer than a hairpin.

Secondly, the killer's actions were precise and ruthless, striking the heart with a single blow and not continuing to stab, indicating that the killer was likely someone who had committed murder before.

Furthermore, through their observation of the walls and ground inside and outside the Nanhuitongguan, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) almost determined that the murderer was someone inside the Nanhuitongguan and had not yet left, because the murderer would have to climb over the wall to get out, and would inevitably have left some clues.

……

It's almost midnight.

The discussion between Cao Wei and the chief officials of the Three Judicial Offices suddenly grew louder.

"This is Baji's first time paying tribute. He has no enemies in the capital. The Ryukyu delegation and the Siamese delegation do not know Baji and have no competitive relationship with the Anda tribe in the north. They are unlikely to take action. The only one I can think of with a motive to kill him is the Tuman tribe!"

“Baj also intends to discuss with our dynasty the matter of annihilating the Tuman tribe. The Tuman tribe must be the ones who most want to kill him. I suspect that there must be spies from the Tuman tribe among the staff of the Southern Meeting Hall!” Cao Wei said.

“I think it’s possible, but it’s not the only possibility. We can’t rule out the possibility that the Altan tribe’s internal members caused trouble, nor can we rule out that the Ryukyu delegation and the Siamese delegation committed the crime for some reason. Right now, we still need to search the Nanhui Hall again. As long as we find the murder weapon, we can find the murderer!” said Yan Qing, Minister of Justice.

“But we’ve already searched the Nanhui Hall three times and found nothing. Should we search it again?” said Lü Hai, a commander of the Imperial Guards with dark circles under his eyes, not far away.

"Flip! Keep flipping!" Cao Wei said.

Helpless, Lü Hai quickly walked outside.

At this moment, Shen Nian, who was not far away, could clearly feel the irritability and helplessness of Cao Wei and the head of the Three Judicial Offices, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

These are the real professionals when it comes to solving cases.

……

As the night drew to a close, everyone, whether leaning back in chairs, lying on the ground, or reclining on soft couches, had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Shen Nian pushed the two chairs together, covered herself with a blanket, and drifted off to sleep.

Once he had stayed up until dawn, someone would replace him, and he could go home and sleep until the afternoon. After finishing his urgent official business at the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Revenue, he would come to the Northern Garrison Command.

Wow! Wow!
At dawn, Shen Nian was awakened by the sound of documents being turned over.

A little later, a member of the Imperial Guard came over, just as they were about to take Shen Nian home to rest.

Two Imperial Guards carried a stretcher and hurried to the front hall.

A white sheet covered the stretcher, and there was something inside the sheet. Judging from its shape, it looked somewhat like a person, but not quite.

Cao Wei, Yan Qing, and the others quickly surrounded them.

Wow!

The white sheet was lifted, and lying on the stretcher was a large black dog whose blood had congealed and whose body was stiff.

Cao Wei glared at the two Imperial Guards and asked, "Why did you bring a dead dog here?"

"Reporting to the commander, this dog was just found at the entrance of the Confucian Temple. Its cause of death is exactly the same as that of the envoy from the Anda tribe: a sharp instrument as thick as a chopstick pierced through its heart, and there was only this one wound!"

"Coroner! Coroner! Come and examine the body immediately!" Cao Wei shouted.

Soon, the two coroners carefully examined the black dog's wounds.

About half an hour later.

A coroner cupped his hands and said, “Commander, the blow that pierced the heart is exactly the same as the death of the special envoy of the Anda tribe. It is very likely that it is the same murderer. In addition, it is quite difficult to pierce the heart of both a human and a dog. Without long-term practice, it is impossible to kill with one blow. The murderer must be a skilled practitioner. He must have killed more than one person and more than one dog!”

Cao Wei nodded slightly. As a martial artist, he knew very well how difficult it was to pierce a person's or a dog's heart with a single blow.

Only people who frequently kill others would study and practice these things.

"Damn it! Throwing a dog's corpse in front of the Confucian Temple is a provocation! This person must be chopped into a thousand pieces when caught!" Chen Kai, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, couldn't help but curse in anger.

The Confucian Temple is a symbol of orthodox Confucian culture, as sacred as the ancestral temple.

Placing a dead dog in front of the Confucian Temple is no less than urinating in front of the Meridian Gate.

Those who engage in such behavior will be punished with a hundred strokes of the cane and exiled for two thousand miles; in serious cases, it can be upgraded to the crime of "great disrespect" and be sentenced to death.

It's obvious. This is the murderer or his accomplices openly provoking the Ming Dynasty.

Just then, Cabinet Minister Yin Zhengmao strode over and, before even reaching the hall, shouted, "Where's the dead dog? Where is the dead dog?"

When Yin Zhengmao saw the dead dog on the stretcher, he looked at Cao Wei and asked, "Are you sure this was a provocation by the murderer?"

“The murder weapon and method are exactly the same. He must be the murderer or an accomplice!” Cao Wei replied.

"How dare they provoke us like this during the New Year? Once we catch them, I'll skin them alive!" Yin Zhengmao said, clenching his fist.

Immediately, everyone lowered their heads helplessly.

This is not an ordinary murder case; it is a blatant slap in the face to the Ming Dynasty.

If the murderer cannot be found, they will not be able to have a good New Year.

"Let's eat first!" Yin Zhengmao looked around and said, "His Majesty specifically ordered the Guanglu Temple to send this. Only after we've eaten our fill will we have the strength to investigate the case!"

Immediately, the clerks from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices brought in the food boxes.

Upon seeing Shen Nian, Yin Zhengmao said, "Ziheng, after you finish eating, go back and rest. I will keep watch here during the day!"

“Okay!” Shen Nian nodded.

……

A moment later, Shen Nian left the Northern Garrison and headed home under the escort of six Imperial Guards.

The main hall of the Northern Garrison Command.

There was a human corpse and a dog corpse, and Shen Nian simply couldn't eat them.

At this moment, Shen Nian was wide awake, still pondering who would have the motive to do such a thing.

I thought and thought, but still couldn't come up with a single clue.

Just then, the image of Rama, the Siamese envoy, suddenly appeared in Shen Nian's mind.

He always felt that this Siamese envoy was a bit strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was so strange about him.

The more he thought about it, the more energetic Shen Nian became.

Shen Nian is the kind of person who likes to get stuck on things. When he can't figure something out, he likes to think about it hard until he can resolve his confusion.

A moment later, he pulled back the curtain and said to the Imperial Guards driving the horses, "Turn around and go back to the Hanlin Academy!"

"Yes," the Imperial Guard replied.

……

Fifteen minutes later, Shen Nian returned to the lecture hall of the Hanlin Academy.

He ordered the clerks in the hall to find all the congratulatory messages, tribute documents, and information about the Siamese mission over the past three years.

The Hanlin Academy had the authority to review documents from various government offices. In addition, Hanlin Academician Wang Xijue was also the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Most of the documents Shen Nian needed were in the Ministry of Rites, so he could easily see them.

In less than half an hour, the document that Shen Nian wanted to see appeared in front of him.

He brewed himself a strong pot of tea to refresh himself, and then quickly began reading.

at the same time.

The news of the murder of Baji, the special envoy of the Anda tribe, at the Nanhui Hall, and the fact that a suspected murderer threw a dead dog in front of the Confucian temple gate in the middle of the night, quickly spread to the streets.

The people of the capital were abuzz with discussion, speculating on all sorts of possibilities.

Some speculate that Baji, as Altan Khan's son-in-law, had surpassed Altan Khan's son in merit and ability. It is possible that one of Altan Khan's sons arranged for an assassin to kill Baji within the mission, and then ordered his companions to kill a dog outside the South Meeting Hall, so as to clear himself of suspicion while also disgusting the Ming Dynasty.

Many people in the Ming Dynasty disliked the Anda tribe, thinking that the Mongols and Tatars were insatiable ingrates.

Some speculate that the murderer might be a disgruntled scholar who hated the imperial court after failing the imperial examinations multiple times. He infiltrated the Nanhuitong Hall as a servant, killed Baji to embarrass the court, and then secretly threw the dead dog in front of the Confucian Temple to express the unfairness of the imperial examination system.

This must be the guess of some failed scholar.

Some speculate that Baji fell in love with a woman at first sight on his way to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and they became engaged. After he brought her into the Nanhuiguan as a member of his delegation, the woman discovered that Baji was Altan Khan's son-in-law and that it was impossible for him to take her back to Altan Khan's tribe to get married. Therefore, she used the hairpin that Baji had given her to end his life, and then threw a dead dog in front of the Confucian Temple, implying that all men in the world are all hypocrites who are all talk of benevolence and morality but are actually scoundrels who are actually wicked and immoral.

This is something only a woman who has suffered enough in love and encountered more than one unfaithful man could imagine.

……

The stories circulating on the streets and among the people are getting increasingly outrageous.

However, the more outrageous the rumors, the more people believe them and the more willing they are to listen.

This is the current state of affairs in the Ming Dynasty.

Everyone has a desire for fun, but they don't really care about the court being humiliated.

Three poles in the sun.

The streets of the capital were filled with soldiers from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Five City Garrison.

Soldiers were stationed to patrol the Zhengyangmen, Damingmen, Chengtianmen, Shejijiemen, Taimiaojiemen, Duanmen, Wumen, as well as various government offices in the capital, the Confucian Temple, the Imperial College, the Beihuitongguan, the Gongyuan, the Shuntianfuxue, and other major public places.

If more dead dogs or victims were to die in these places, it would be a slap in the face to the Ming Dynasty.

……

Around noon, Shen Nian carefully reviewed all the documents about the Siamese, but found nothing of particular interest.

He was still puzzled as to why he felt the Siamese envoy was somewhat strange, and what exactly was strange about him.

The Siamese were in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty, while the Anda tribe was in the northeast. These two countries (tribes) were separated by the behemoth that was the Ming Dynasty, and it was difficult for them to have any contact for generations.

……

As dusk approached, after leaving the yamen, Shen Nian went to the Northern Garrison Command.

Not long after his arrival, an urgent report from Shen Maoxue, the trade envoy from the northern border, was delivered to Cao Wei by a palace attendant.

Shen Maoxue stated that a few days ago, several spies from the Tuman tribe were captured. In order to save their lives, these people confessed that in June of this year, the Tuman tribe had sent a team of about fifty spies to impersonate merchants and form a caravan to enter the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Their destination was the capital, and they were very likely to cause harm to the young Wanli Emperor or a certain cabinet minister. He hoped that the court would pay attention to this.

The confessor had no idea what the spies looked like or what their mission was.

"Entering the pass in June? Then they can arrive in the capital in August. It's impossible for them to pretend in the capital for several months. Whether they are merchants or others, as long as they are strangers who have been living in the capital for more than a month, they cannot hide it from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Even if they do business honestly, as long as their place of origin and information are incorrect, and they have no fellow villagers or relatives to testify, they will be investigated!" Cao Wei said.

"Even if they are currently in the capital, they must have arrived not long ago and are trying to take advantage of the chaos during the New Year. I immediately ordered people to investigate all suspicious outsiders in the capital. No matter how well they hide, the earthy smell of these barbarians will never be hidden from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But I wonder if this matter is related to what we are investigating?"

"Could it be that there are spies from the Tuman tribe hiding inside the Nanhui Hall? Did they kill Baji?" Cao Wei speculated.

“That’s possible! I think this murderer is so arrogant that he won’t stop. If he shows his face again, we will definitely be able to catch him!” Yin Zhengmao said.

And this moment.

Shen Nian murmured to herself what Cao Wei had just said: "No matter how well a barbarian hides, the earthy smell on their body will never escape the notice of the Imperial Guards." Suddenly, she realized where the Siamese envoy, Rama, was.

He plans to visit the Siamese delegation tomorrow to verify his suspicions; perhaps he can find the murderer who killed Baji.

(End of this chapter)