Chapter 294 293 Visiting the Prison

"Clang, clang, clang."

The big iron lock was opened after the key was turned, and the iron chain hit the prison door with a harsh sound.

"Ka Ka."

The prison door was pushed inwards, and Wei Guangde, who was standing outside the prison door, also saw the environment inside clearly.

Wei Guangde had been back in the capital for three days. The next day, he returned to the Hanlin Academy to report for leave and give the gifts he brought from Jiujiang to his colleagues. By the way, he asked what the officialdom in the capital was saying about the case of Yu Dayou who was detained in the Northern Pacification Office.

However, what surprised Wei Guangde was that everyone in the Hanlin Academy didn't seem to care much about the life and death of a general. Everyone knew about this, but not many people really cared about this case.

The saying that civil officials are noble and military officials are humble was vividly reflected in the Hanlin Academy. Wei Guangde's colleagues were obviously indifferent to the life and death of a military general, even though he had made great achievements in the anti-Japanese battlefield.

Perhaps, in this person's eyes, military generals should be like this.

If they win the battle, they should be promoted and rewarded. If they lose the battle or make mistakes, they should be punished according to the law.

Rewards and punishments should be clear, this is the fundamental, and the system to maintain the operation of the court cannot be confused.

On the second day, when he went to visit the Duke of Dingguo's mansion with his wife Xu Jianglan, when Xu Jianglan went to the inner house to pay homage to the women of the Duke's mansion, Wei Guangde asked the Duke of Dingguo Xu Yande about the statement of the Five Military Commandery on the case.

The result still disappointed Wei Guangde. The nobles now are really corrupt. They are just busy making money and controlling their own base, and they don't care about the life and death of other military generals.

Yu Dayou is not a collateral branch of any noble family. His family is just a hereditary hundred households under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou Guard. Without the support of nobles, naturally no one will come out to speak for him at this time.

The three-court trial had already been held twice. Each time, the Jinyiwei people took the people out of the Northern Pacification Office and sent them to the Ministry of Justice for trial, and then took them back to the Northern Pacification Office.

In fact, at this time, the nobles in the capital also saw that Lu Bing seemed to want to save Yu Dayou. The specific reason was unclear, but it was rumored that Yu Dayou brought thousands of taels of silver with him when he came to Beijing, so the nobles naturally thought that Yu Dayou had given these money to Lu Bing as a filial gift, and Lu Bing would protect him so much.

At this point, even if other nobles knew that Yu Dayou had outstanding military exploits, they were unwilling to speak for him. Saving him would only help Lu Bing.

In fact, the nobles were not all good-for-nothings. They also knew that the ability of the family to make a fortune was military exploits. Now there was no one in their family who could go to the battlefield. Don’t look at those who served in the Beijing camp. They are all awesome, but if they really go to the battlefield, their legs will tremble and they may not be able to stand steadily.

They needed a general like Yu Dayou who had battlefield experience and was in trouble. They could win people over to their side by lending a hand.

But it was difficult for them to contact him since he was in the imperial prison, and seeing Lu Bing take action, they were naturally even less interested.

From Xu Yande, Wei Guangde knew that the case had been tried twice, but there was actually no result.

Yu Dayou's military exploits were there. After the Japanese pirates' riot, Yu Dayou was ordered to be transferred to the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian to fight against the Japanese pirates. He fought hundreds of battles, big and small. Before that, he led his troops to rescue the prefectures and counties besieged by the Japanese pirates and put out fires everywhere. Later, he participated in several major battles to encircle and suppress the Japanese pirates.

From the suppression of the Japanese pirates in Tuolin to the great victory of Wangjingjiang, he performed well in the famous battles to suppress Xu Hai and Wang Zhi. He could not be accused of poor military management. If he really had poor military management, how could he have fought these battles?

As for the fact that he allowed the Japanese to flee south and Hu Zongxian hinted that Yu Dayou was in collusion with the Japanese, it was even more nonsense. He just wanted to avoid passing the blame, and Yu Dayou was just used as a scapegoat.

If he did not put the blame on Yu Dayou, it would be inevitable that there would be censors who would find clues and impeach him in the future.

To convict Yu Dayou, there was a lack of evidence and reasons, so the officials of the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple naturally could not force a hat and torture him into confessing.

Although they wanted to take him away from the Jinyiwei, Lu Bing refused directly.

To do something dirty, there is probably no one who knows this operation better than the Jinyiwei. Zhao Wenhua's house was raided by Lu Bing and his men before his body was cold. The crime was embezzlement, and naturally not much property was seized. Now the male members of Zhao Wenhua's family were sentenced to military service to pay off the debt, and the female members were sold to pay off the debt. It was so miserable.

From Xu Yande, Wei Guangde at least knew that Lu Bing was still protecting Yu Dayou.

Xu Yande still attaches great importance to the people coming from the Duke of Wei's Mansion in Nanjing. In fact, he knew about it when the Wei and Xu families just got engaged, and he also sent people to Nanjing to send gifts at the wedding, so he was not surprised at all that Wei Guangde came to the Duke of Ding's Mansion.

In Xu Yande's view, Wei Guangde is already a member of the Xu family. Of course, he is not a son-in-law, but a very close relative, and it is worth investing in the future.

They also want to gain the right to speak in the court, but if they show a little sign, they will be severely suppressed by the civil officials, so now they don't try to seize high positions, but choose to fight for low-ranking but powerful and beneficial jobs.

In fact, this is also the default rule within the civil service group. If people give up something, they must be given enough benefits.

Although the civil service group is dominant in the court, they don't want to really fight with the noble group. This is not good for anyone. The emperor will not punish the nobles, but often punish the civil officials, because there are only so many nobles, while the civil officials are constantly produced through the imperial examination.

Talking about the latter part, Xu Yande also told Wei Guangde that he should avoid running here if there is nothing to do in the future. In the future, Xu Jianglan could come to the house more often to contact the female relatives. After all, they were thousands of miles away from home and they were the only relatives in the capital. It was right for them to move around more. Information can also be conveyed.

avoid arousing suspicion.

Wei Guangde understood what Xu Yande meant and naturally nodded in agreement.

In any case, in the eyes of outsiders, he, Wei Guangde, is a promising new political star, so he naturally has to avoid some things, not to mention that he does not want to be branded as a member of the Xungui Group.

Today, Wei Guangde finally came to the place he didn't want to set foot in - Beizhen Fusi Prison.

Wei Guangde came to Zhao Prison for the first time. When he entered, it was quite in line with his imagination of Zhao Prison. It was eerie and terrifying. There was still a gust of wind blowing around, exaggerating the chilling atmosphere in this place.

The so-called imperial prison is actually not a cell built on the ground, nor is it a dungeon. There may be a dungeon, but Yu Dayou is not locked in it.

This is a semi-buried cell. Most of it seems to be built under the ground, but the window above the cell is on the ground. The jailer can see the prisoners in the cell directly from outside.

Walking through this row of cells made of huge stones, you can see clearly what is going on inside through the windows. The cells are divided into small single rooms with wooden fences, and figures sitting or lying down can be vaguely seen in the single rooms.

Wei Guangde had no intention of asking who those people were. He knew that these people must have offended the emperor severely before, so they were arrested and imprisoned here under the emperor's order.

After passing through the cells and reaching the back, there was an independent house made of huge rocks in front of it. There were two jailers with waist knives guarding the door. The jailer leading the way stopped and said to Wei Guangde with a smile. : "Master Wei, the person is inside."

"Thank you."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly and put a silver coin in his hand into the jailer's hand.

"What do you say? Your Excellency has given the order, you see."

The warder took the money handed over by Wei Guangde and said.

"Drink, you're welcome."

Wei Guangde didn't want to talk to these people. He felt that these jailers seemed to have been in this prison for a long time, and they had a cold aura all over their bodies. It was really uncomfortable to watch.

"Open the door."

The jailer was probably used to receiving officials like Wei Guangde, and he knew that people with his status were not well received by the officials.

In fact, that is human nature, who would want to deal with these people.

What's more, the group of subordinate officials has never been looked down upon by the officials in the Ming Dynasty. This has been the case since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Civil servants in this era were roughly divided into three categories. The first category was naturally officials, who passed the imperial examination and became official.

The second category is the officials in the yamen. Officials are different from officials. Officials do not enter the mainstream. There are six rooms under the ordinary county government: workers, punishments, rituals, officials, and soldiers. The ordinary clerks in the six rooms are the so-called officials. They are responsible for writing official documents and handling matters. Archival documents are the main force of literary work in the yamen.

The third category is Yamen servants, and there are three groups of Yamen servants.

One of them is called the station official, who wears a red and black uniform. In the Ming Dynasty, he also wore a square scarf and a flower. In the Qing Dynasty, his boots were one color at a time, one red and one black. They were responsible for shouting and clearing the way for the county magistrate. When the court was opened for trial, he would hold a water and fire stick, shout "power~wu~", and beat the prisoner according to the master's instructions.

Secondly, the arresting team is a criminal police officer who arrests criminals. It is a common character in martial arts novels.

Third, Zhuang Ban Min Zhuang is responsible for various chores, including prison guards, sedan bearers, city gate guards, transportation and logistics, and canteen management.

The above three categories are collectively called the three classes of government officials.

As people in the yamen, the scribes are referred to as "officials" and the yamen servants are referred to as "xu", and the two are collectively called "subordinate officials".

Officials were looked down upon by others, let alone subordinates. People in the Ming Dynasty were divided into four categories: scholars, farmers, soldiers, craftsmen, etc.

In addition to this, there is also a class of untouchables, such as beggars, degraded people, Danhu, Lehu, government servants, and widowers. These are all classified as untouchables.

The jailer, although there is a clerk behind him, is actually just a small leader among the jailers. Although he serves in Fusi Chao Prison in Beizhen, he is no longer in the Jinyi Guard establishment. He is not a military household, but a pariah.

The door opened, and the cell door was pushed inward. What Wei Guangde saw was Yu Dayou, wearing a light shirt, lying on a wicker chair with squinted eyes, fanning himself leisurely, and there was a pot on the table next to him. The fragrant tea is exuding a faint fragrance of tea.

This treatment is so different from the treatment in the dark cells that Wei Guangde passed before that people have to sigh, "It's good to have people on top."

"Who's coming?"

Yu Dayou, who was lying on the wicker chair, didn't even open his eyes and just asked lightly.

"Uncle Yu is living a leisurely life in prison. I think the emperor also thought that Uncle Yu had made great achievements in conquering the West over the years, so he came to the capital to rest for a while, haha."

Although Yu Dayou did not look at him, Wei Guangde still bowed to Yu Dayou after entering the door.

Yu Dayou is comparable to his father, uncles and brothers in Zhejiang. He can also be regarded as Wei Guangde's elder. The etiquette cannot be broken, not to mention that he is a member of the Hanlin Academy.

While Wei Guangde was speaking, Yu Dayou had already opened his eyes, looked at Wei Guangde at the door, bowed and saluted, raised the corner of his mouth, and showed a smile on his dark face.

"It's your boy. Are you returning to Beijing to resume work after your wedding leave?"

"Yes, please forgive me, Uncle Yu."

Wei Guangde stood up straight after the salute and smiled at him.

"I heard after arriving in the capital that you went back to Jiujiang to get married, and you married the daughter of Duke Wei. Not bad."

Yu Dayou, who was lying on his back, had sat up straight at this time, and his eyes were still staring at Wei Guangde with such spirit.

When he met this gaze, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of the time when he met Yu Dayou in the wild, he also stared at him like this, which made him feel a little scared, and he unconsciously felt that he was trying to rob him again.

"Hehe."

Wei Guangde laughed dryly twice, then took out the letter written by his uncle and father to Yu Dayou from his arms, and presented it with both hands, saying: "My father and uncle heard that Uncle Yu was wrongly imprisoned and were very anxious. I wrote this letter to let me bring it to Uncle Yu when I came to the capital this time."

"Alas"

Yu Dayou sighed, reached out to take the letter handed over by Wei Guangde, and opened it and read it directly.

Soon, after reading the two letters, Yu Dayou folded the letters and put them back in the envelope, then said in a low mood: "They also said at the beginning that the people I only have are not suitable for being officials, and they are easy to offend people. It is already a great honor for my ancestors to be able to command."

Yu Dayou has no problem fighting. When he governs the army, he will clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, and he will be thorough in everything. He will arrange the troops and the troops, and he will make every effort to plan everything. However, this person is not suitable for officialdom.

In fact, Yu Dayou is suitable for being on the battlefield, which is also Yu Dayou's own cognition.

He will not curry favor with the powerful, bully the poor and the weak, and will not bribe the superiors, because he is different from other generals. One of the important reasons why the Yu family army can maintain a strong combat effectiveness is that he does not suck the blood of the soldiers. With his salary alone, he naturally has no money to bribe.

Therefore, he believed that only by relying on his own ability to make achievements on the battlefield could his superiors look at him with new eyes. After all, a general still needs capable officers under his command, otherwise how can he win the battle.

But he didn't expect that he would be put in jail just like this.

In fact, Yu Dayou is not stupid, nor is he a pedantic person. He knows how to adapt.

The Yu family inherited the post of a hundred households, which is the lowest-ranking military officer in the Ming army. The sixth rank, with an annual salary of 120 stones, has no problem maintaining food and clothing. Therefore, the family has spare money to send him to school. Yu Dayou lived up to expectations and passed the examination for a scholar at the age of 15.

But he didn't continue to make progress afterwards. I don't know how many scholars were stopped by the hurdle of Juren.

After Yu's father died, Yu Dayou entered the army and inherited the post of a hundred households, becoming a hundred households officer of Quanzhou Wei.

The Ming army stipulated that without military merit and military examination, one could not be promoted. The arrogant Yu Dayou chose to go to Beijing to participate in the military examination, and ranked fifth on the list, and passed the military examination. Therefore, he was promoted to a thousand households to guard the Golden Gate. It is a bit too much to say that Yu Dayou is a versatile man, but Yu Dayou is indeed a rare versatile man in the Ming army at that time.