Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 263 Incredible Murder Methods

Murdered in full view of everyone!

"They still haven't figured out how he died?"

Tao Dianzhen stood before Hu Sandao's corpse, his face extremely grim.

They had already thwarted the assassination attempt by the thieves, which further spurred Wang Zuo to show himself. But before they could even rejoice, the imperial guards in the same room suddenly came to report that Hu Sandao had gone missing!

The Taoist priest from the Mingtian Palace had been keeping a close eye on the situation the whole time. By the time he arrived, he found that the person had no pulse and had stopped breathing!
There were no professional coroners in the southern inspection team. After all, that profession was taboo and carried a rather cursed connotation, as if people hoped for an accident to happen...

Tao Dianzhen disregarded all taboos and examined the body himself.

There were no bloody external wounds from being stabbed or cut by swords.

There were no signs of cyanosis (bluish discoloration) on the lips of someone who had been poisoned.

There were no marks on the neck.

That's how he died.

"Could it be a poisonous insect biting me?"

"The wound is extremely small? So small that I can't even see it?"

"No! If it were really about killing people like that, why go to all that trouble and use poisonous snakes in the first place?"

Tao Dianzhen composed himself and looked around: "Did you see anyone come or go? Did you hear any cries for help?"

The Taoist priests all shouted in unison, "No! Absolutely not!"

Tao Dianzhen gritted his teeth and said, "Where is the Imperial Guard who was closest to Hu Sandao when he died? Bring him here!"

Before long, four pale-faced imperial guards were brought before them.

Tao Dianzhen said coldly, "How exactly did Hu Sandao die? Speak!"

"We don't know...we don't know!"

All four of them shook their heads.

“You all need to explain yourselves. If you can’t explain clearly, you’ll be suspected of murder!”

Tao Dianzhen's voice sharpened: "Let me tell you the truth, Hu Sandao is related to the Jinyiwei's loyalty to His Majesty. This is a matter of great importance. If you conceal anything, you'll be thrown into prison!"

The four were shocked and began to tell their stories all at once.

In short, after Wang Zuo appeared, he reprimanded the imperial guards who were watching. They dared not linger outside and went back inside to lie down, but they could not sleep and were all talking in hushed tones.

The four men were sleeping around Hu Sandao. At first, they surrounded Hu Sandao and asked him questions, but as they asked, they noticed that his voice was getting softer.

They hadn't paid any attention at first, thinking he was just asleep. But suddenly, Hu Sandao rolled over, sat up, muttered a sentence, and then collapsed back down.

Upon hearing this, Tao Dianzhen asked in a low voice, "What did he say?"

The four men looked at each other, their eyes reflecting the same terror: "He said—'Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!'"

"We laughed at him for being a coward, but His Majesty had no idea about him. When he saw him collapse and something seemed wrong, he checked his nose and found... he really wasn't breathing!"

Tao Dianzhen repeatedly inquired about the details but still got nowhere, so he could only wave his hand and say, "Take them away first..."

"Could he have died of fright? But even a death from utter annihilation shouldn't look like this. He was murdered! Who? Who could it be?"

Tao Dianzhen was completely baffled: "How could they have murdered the witness so quietly right under our noses!"

The Taoist priests looked at each other and whispered their opinions:

"It must have been Wang Zuo who dispatched skilled members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"But my fellow disciples are guarding the area closely, making it difficult for even a moth to get in or out..."

"Unless it's some kind of supernatural magic, it's absolutely impossible!"

……

"That's it!"

Tao Dianzhen closed his eyes and walked outside.

Hu Sandao is a key witness; though not enough to directly gain His Majesty's trust, he can become a sword hanging over Wang Zuo's head.

The sword didn't even need to fall; just the flickering of its shadow was enough to throw the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard into disarray.

The serpent's fangs tonight are proof of this.

Although the assassin failed to capture the chessboard, the venomous snakes that flew everywhere had already soaked the board. The more Wang Zuo tried to erase all traces, the more and more obvious the flaws he revealed became.

But now...

Hu Sandao is dead.

Without this key piece that could turn the tide, Wang Zuo could remain as stable as Mount Tai. On the contrary, the Taoist priests of Chaotian Palace would become conspicuous as they jumped around. If they were to be falsely accused, their fate would be miserable!

So Tao Dianzhen immediately went to the courtyard where Haiyue lived, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

The pageboy Gonghao led him inside, where he saw Haiyue wearing an outer robe and sitting at the desk.

Tao Dianzhen bowed down with deep remorse: "I have failed the trust placed in me by Hai Hanlin..." Hai Yue was indeed awakened by the commotion earlier and learned that someone had attempted to assassinate the witness but failed. Afterwards, Wang Zuo appeared and pressed her aggressively.

All of this unfolded as expected. Unlike Tao Dianzhen, he knew very well that Wang Zuo's loss of composure was an opportunistic act, a way to lure the bandit leader out through pressure from all sides.

Seeing Tao Dianzhen's reaction, Haiyue frowned slightly: "What's wrong?"

"Witness...witness Hu Sandao..."

Tao Dianzhen said in a hoarse voice, "He's dead!"

Haiyue said in a deep voice, "The assassins ambushed you, taking advantage of your carelessness to launch a surprise attack?"

"No!"

Tao Dianzhen hurriedly explained, "My fellow disciples and I dared not slack off, but the assassin used some unknown means to silently kill Hu Sandao..."

Haiyue asked, "The cause of death?"

Tao Dianzhen said in a low voice, "I have examined the body. There are no external injuries, and it was not poisoning. This person was muttering to himself just a moment ago, and then suddenly died... The cause of death is a mystery!"

"His murder is our responsibility!"

Haiyue stood up, her voice heavy: "Take me to the scene!"

The witnesses were handed over to Chaotian Palace, and the news was deliberately leaked in order to cooperate with Wang Zuo and speed up the process.

At the same time, it was also a matter of trust in Tao Dianzhen, after all, this historical Shenxiao Celestial Master was quite capable, and Haiyue believed that he could protect the witnesses.

But now something unexpected has happened...

Tao Dianzhen didn't care about Hu Sandao's life; he was just a lowly Imperial Guard, a worthless life. His regret was that he hadn't completed Hu Sandao's mission and had lost the right to confront Wang Zuo.

So when Hai Yue felt heavy-hearted at the loss of this life, he felt nothing at all. But when he saw that this person was actually willing to step forward, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, while he pretended to hesitate: "If that's the case, Wang Zuo will surely know that it was Hai Hanlin who was orchestrating things behind the scenes. This man is vindictive..."

"It doesn't matter!"

Haiyue strode out the door, the night wind whipping his clothes: "The dead are gone, but at least we must find the real culprit and avenge them! Let's go!"

When Haiyue and Tao Dianzhen arrived at the Imperial Guards' residence, the east was already bright with the first light of dawn. They saw a group of Imperial Guards and Taoist priests locked in a standoff in the courtyard, their faces filled with fear.

Upon seeing Tao Dianzhen return, a young Taoist priest rushed forward, exclaiming, "Senior Brother! Wang Zuo sent men to forcibly seize Hu Sandao's body!"

"you!"

Tao Dianzhen's expression changed drastically: "Why not try to negotiate?"

The Taoist priest looked distressed: "Those Imperial Guards are heavily armored, their swords drawn. If they disobey even slightly, they will be killed on the spot. We...we can't stop them!"

Haiyue raised her hand to stop the argument: "The commander of the capital city is in charge of the palace's defenses. Since the imperial guards were killed, he does have the authority to collect the bodies... Let's go in and examine the scene first!"

Tao Dianzhen was somewhat dejected. He led Haiyue into the house and pointed to a bed near the back: "Hu Sandao will sleep here..."

Haiyue looked around at the beds on either side: "Are all these beds full of people sleeping here?"

"Yes."

The house where the Imperial Guards lived was originally the residence of the Prince's Imperial Guards. However, the original Prince Xing's Mansion could not possibly have two thousand Imperial Guards to protect it, so the living conditions were now very cramped. Dozens of big men had to sleep in one room, packed tightly together, making it extremely crowded.

Haiyue then asked, "Was the accommodation allocation based on the 12th Regiment's arrangements?"

Having dealt with the Imperial Guards these past few days, Tao Dianzhen had learned quite a bit and replied, "No! These are all elite soldiers, arranged by Minister Mao..."

The Ming Dynasty's Imperial Guards initially consisted of three major battalions in the capital, namely the Five Armies Battalion, which were elite troops drawn from various provincial garrisons; the Three Thousand Battalion, which was initially formed from three thousand surrendered Mongol cavalrymen and later expanded to tens of thousands; and the Divine Machine Battalion, an established firearms unit.

Later, many reforms were carried out. For example, during the Jingtai reform, the three major battalions were reorganized into ten battalions, and later into twelve battalions. During the Zhengde period, two offices were established, one in the east and one in the west, making the organization increasingly complicated.

The state of the Imperial Guard in the capital was a cycle of decline, reorganization, and further decline during the reigns of each Ming emperor, and the same was true during the Jiajing era.

In the early years of Jiajing's reign, he also reorganized the military affairs several times, but with little effect. In the 29th year of Jiajing's reign, after Altan Khan's invasion, the emperor and his officials in the capital were in a crisis of survival. They "disbanded the Tuanying and restored the old system of the Three Great Camps" and renamed the Three Thousand Camps as the "Shenshu Camp". In fact, it was not very useful. At that time, the whole country was corrupt. Could the army reform be expected to rely on the Yan faction?

It's still in the 12th Regiment stage. The Imperial Guard sounds impressive, but it's actually full of mediocre soldiers and severely understaffed.

Taking advantage of this southern tour, Minister of War Mao Bowen pointed out three major problems with the military regiments and directly counted the number of troops in each regiment. He found that the troop strength in the capital was 380,000, but the actual number was less than 140,000, and only more than 20,000 could be selected to participate in the war.

Such alarming data shocked the entire court and the public. The emperor was furious and ordered rigorous training.

Therefore, soldiers aged 20 to 40 who were physically strong were considered to be in good health and trained in the regiment, while the old and weak were sent back to their hometowns in the three battalions.

Among the able-bodied soldiers in each battalion, they were further divided into regular troops and reserve troops. Regular troops were equivalent to privates of the first rank, while reserve troops were equivalent to privates of the second rank. Their rations and pay were also graded.

Therefore, those who were able to accompany the southern tour were all elite soldiers selected from various battalions. Mao Bowen selected this group of people, and once they returned to Beijing safely, they could be promoted to junior officers and transferred to various battalions. This was the foundation for reorganizing military affairs.

"So, all the Imperial Guards in this room are young and strong, but they don't know each other..."

Haiyue gave a brief summary.

Tao Dianzhen also had doubts: "I have just summoned the four Imperial Guards closest to Hu Sandao for questioning. The murderer may be among them. Should we continue the interrogation, Hai Hanlin?"

"No! With such methods of murder, the scope of suspicion cannot be limited to those nearby..."

Haiyue looked around and said, "Summon all the Imperial Guards who stayed overnight in this courtyard, along with the Taoist priests on duty at Chaotian Palace, for questioning!"

(End of this chapter)