Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Sooner or later, someone will break down!

Chapter 3906 When disaster strikes, everyone flies away

In the middle of the night, Bai Sheng suddenly arrived and threw out a pile of account books and paper money.

The two residences yielded a total of over 1.26 million strings of cash.

Moreover, according to the account book records, the later the dates, the faster Qin Hui embezzled, indicating that he became increasingly greedy and less cautious.

The embezzled funds in the last three years are more than the total amount in the previous ten years!

If this had continued unchecked for a few more years, Qin Hui would probably have been able to embezzle three or four million strings of cash.

"Minister Qin, you've made me work so hard to dig this up."

"Your Majesty can only harvest grains from farming, but you can grow Ming Dynasty banknotes!" Bai Sheng sneered sarcastically.

Wei Liangchen, Pan Lianggui, and others who were in charge of interrogating Qin Hui were terrified when they saw so many Ming Dynasty banknotes.

Looking at Qin Hui again, I found that he was already slumped in his chair.

It's all over, everything's over. The things buried in the ground have been dug up.

If only the unburied box is found, Qin Hui could easily argue that the banknotes inside are his savings accumulated over the years, and the account books are from his secret business dealings (although this is also against the rules, at most he would be dismissed from office, and Qin Hui did indeed register a business as a front).

But with over a million strings of cash dug up, how the hell can they still try to deny it?

Everyone knows that Qin Hui was very poor when he was young. He was not born into a prominent family, so the origin of this money is unclear.

Pan Liangui quickly flipped through an account book, then casually tossed it to Qin Hui: "Tell me, what kind of business is so profitable?"

"Your ledger contains records of many names and goods."

"The local tax bureaus, public works bureaus, and customs offices all have records of commercial tax goods. Perhaps you can find the records to clear your name."

Qin Hui decided to take another gamble: "These are all Wang family's assets. When the Wang family was dismantled, they lost many of their land properties and were afraid of being raided by our Ming Dynasty, so they entrusted their assets to me for safekeeping."

"As for those account books, they were all fabricated. If the court investigates them, it will have a pretext."

"Over a million strings of cash, entrusted to you for safekeeping?" Wei Liangchen sneered.

Qin Hui said, "It was entrusted to me by the eldest brother of the Wang family. After he died of illness, I coveted the money and buried it underground, intending to keep it all for myself."

"None of Wang's other brothers knew where the money went; only my wife knew."

Pan Liangui was speechless: "Do you think we're all idiots? These ledgers of yours all have dates written on them, and they've been going on for over ten years without interruption."

"Your wife's eldest brother is dead. Does he return to the mortal world every month to entrust you with money in installments?"

Qin Hui was parched and didn't know how to explain.

Pan Liangui said, "Bring Wang here and make this fellow give up completely."

Soon, Wang was brought to this room.

Pan Liangui said, "More than a million strings of cash were unearthed in Qin Hui's mansion. He said it was Wang family property entrusted to him by your elder brother. Are you aware of this?"

Qin Hui looked pleading, believing that husband and wife were in the same boat and that his wife would likely help him cover up the lie.

Wang looked at the banknotes on the table, both shocked and furious, and said, "You heartless bastard, you actually embezzled more than a million strings of cash?"

"I've been married to you for so many years, and I've never enjoyed any wealth or luxury. You're so greedy for money, you must have used it all to support vixens!"

Qin Hui was dumbfounded, completely unable to understand his wife's reaction.

Throughout the first half of his life, his wife, Wang, was always his advisor.

Chapter 3907 Not even a woman could see it clearly.

Doesn't this woman, so clever yet so cunning, know that confessing her guilt means death?

Why be jealous at a time like this?

Wang replied with a mocking look, "Why are you staring so wide-eyed?"

"Even the Imperial Guards have been mobilized, do you think you can escape?"

"You were doomed the moment the emperor ordered your arrest. Stop daydreaming!"

"Even if you didn't embezzle so much, you would still die. Otherwise, how would the emperor save face?"

These words struck Qin Hui like a bolt from the blue, leaving his mind reeling.

With his intelligence, he should be able to figure it out.

But he still clung to a sliver of hope, unwilling to give up until his wife exposed him, at which point he finally broke down.

Wang continued to distance herself from the matter, kneeling before the officials of the Three Judicial Offices and saying, "My lords, you are all wise enough to know that I have been separated from this man for a long time. He won't even let me set foot in the Minister's residence, and he hasn't spoken to me in years."

"I knew nothing about any of the corrupt and illegal things he did..."

……

"Qin Hui hasn't confessed yet?"

"He hasn't said a word. He neither admits nor denies anything, just sits there like he's lost his soul. Should we subject him to severe torture?"

"Don't torture him to extract a confession; after all, he is a high-ranking official. Just let him endure it, don't let him sleep, and see how long he can hold out."

"Yes!"

Throughout history, torture and forced confessions have always been considered legal methods.

According to the Tang law, the Song dynasty prohibited the use of torture on people over seventy years of age, under fifteen years of age, disabled persons, and pregnant women.

All the other criminal suspects are subject to criminal penalties.

If an official is accidentally killed, he or she will have to pay a fine, and killing too many people will affect his or her performance evaluation.

The Great Ming Code explicitly prohibited torture and forced confessions!

But the officials below still had to judge the cases, so they came up with all sorts of ways to ensure that criminal suspects would not be left with any marks after being tortured.

The practice of interrogating people under duress quickly gained popularity and has become a regular feature of government offices at all levels.

In the dimly lit interrogation room, Qin Hui's eyelids were drooping, and he was about to fall asleep.

A clerk from the Ministry of Justice strolled over, not only glancing at Qin Hui's eyes but also without shouting, he had his own way of keeping Qin Hui awake.

He grabbed Qin Hui's right hand, pricked his fingertips with a thin needle, and then squeezed his fingers to release a few drops of blood.

Each of the ten fingertips has an acupoint, collectively known as the Ten Xuan Points.

It is usually used in traditional Chinese medicine for emergency treatment; a single needle can revive someone from a coma or shock.

Even in modern times, acupuncture at the Ten Xuan points can buy time for patients with stroke, hypertension, and cerebral hemorrhage.

This clerk from the Ministry of Justice, after pricking one of the ten acupoints,

Then he stabbed three acupoints on the arm and palm.

"Ok!"

Qin Hui groaned and woke up with a start, feeling extremely tired but unable to fall back asleep.

The clerk chuckled and said, "Prime Minister Qin, I advise you to confess honestly."

"The Ten Xuan Points and the Twelve Jing Points can be needled in different orders to create a variety of effects."

"Even if I use up all these acupoints, there are still other acupoints to use. Don't force me to use all my methods."

“My children are all minors,”

Qin Hui said weakly,

"I need a promise that if I tell the truth, their lives will be spared."

"At the very least, I must ensure that the Qin family line continues."

The official replied, "Our dynasty does not kill young children."

Chapter 3908 The Name of the High-Ranking Official

Qin Hui shook his head: "I will implicate many people, and their relatives and friends will likely retaliate in secret. My children may die one day."

The official retorted angrily, "I've already said that this dynasty does not kill young children, so what more guarantee do you need?"

"I need the Emperor's personal guarantee; I only trust the Emperor now," Qin Hui said resolutely.

In this timeline, Qin Hui had biological children—three sons and two daughters.

The clerk was furious: "You can wait and see how long you can go without sleep!"

Two hours later, Qin Hui was jolted awake several times by the needles, and he finally confessed to naming a person: "Min Zishun, the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review."

Upon hearing the name, the clerk was so startled he almost jumped up and hurriedly ran outside.

Qin Hui forced a smile, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair. He could finally get some sleep.

The officials of the three judicial departments were interrogating other suspects and soon received the news one after another.

They disregarded the need to continue the interrogation and immediately gathered together to discuss what to do next.

What?

Let's serve it cold.

Go report to the Emperor immediately!

After being recalled to the capital, Min Zishun initially served as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and was later transferred to the Ministry of Revenue as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Vice Minister of the Granary, commonly known as the Minister of the Granary, was responsible for managing the national treasury and granaries.

They could even mobilize the imperial guards near the granaries without relying on official documents from the Ministry of War.

This year, Min Zishun was transferred to the position of Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs.

Although the official rank of these three positions remained unchanged, their actual power was increasing, and the next step should be to enter the cabinet as prime minister.

Upon hearing Qin Hui implicate Min Zishun, Zhao Yuan was taken aback: "How many did he implicate?"

“This is the only one,” Wei Liangchen said.

Zhao Yuan instructed, "Interrogate him thoroughly. Ask as many questions as possible, and don't let this fellow make baseless accusations."

"As you command!" Wei Liangchen bowed and took his leave.

Zhao Yuan's words had two meanings:

First, we can investigate Min Zishun, but we shouldn't arrest him yet, as it would have a negative impact if we arrested the wrong person.

Secondly, when it comes to important officials of the court, one must be extremely cautious to prevent Qin Hui from making baseless accusations.

Forty minutes later, Qin Hui was awakened again by needles.

All the chief officials of the three judicial departments have arrived.

Wei Liangchen slammed his fist on the wooden board: "Min Yintai is an old friend of His Majesty. They even went to the capital together to take the imperial examination and passed the examination in the same year."

"You scoundrel, in order to save your own life, you dare to falsely accuse others? Do you want to compound your crimes and die an even more gruesome death?"

After sleeping for a while and regaining some of his energy, Qin Hui asked in return, "Do you dare to investigate him?"

Wei Liangchen angrily said, "To confess to important officials of the court, you must provide evidence."

"Otherwise, if you confess to all the officials in the court, are we supposed to arrest them all?"

"If you say I am also guilty, am I supposed to interrogate myself?"

"Of all these officials, how many are truly clean? Do you really dare to arrest them?" Qin Hui revealed a mocking smile.

Pan Lianggui forgot to use the gavel and slammed his hand on the table, shouting, "If you can produce evidence, I dare to arrest even the Prime Minister!"

Qin Hui fell silent, his arrogance vanished.

After a long silence, Qin Hui spoke again:

"Feng Youlai, formerly a secretary in the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department, has now been promoted to Right Vice Minister of Shandong Province, in charge of the province's industry and commerce."

"He was the brother-in-law of Min Zishun's cousin, Min Zimao, and joined the army after His Majesty conquered the entire Sichuan province."

"The year after Min Zishun was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, he also promoted Feng Youlai to the capital."