Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 70 Xi'an Prefecture

In the imperial prison of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei, Wang Yue had become a prisoner at this time, and as a member of the rebel party, he naturally had no good end. From the moment he entered the imperial prison, he was placed in the most gloomy and terrifying area for serious criminals.

Wang Yue's hands were tied with iron chains and hung on an iron pillar, while his feet were clamped tightly by iron clamps fixed to the ground. Even his neck was pulled by two iron chains in front and behind, and a cloth ball was stuffed in his mouth.

Therefore, now Wang Yue could only move his eyes. Apart from that, he could not move at all. Even though he had been standing for a long time and his muscles were sore, he could not bend down to sit down.

The Jinyiwei in the imperial prison did this naturally to prevent Wang Yue from committing suicide.

Like Wang Yue, Lu He, Zhang Zhao and other rebels had their hands hung and their feet shackled in the imperial prison.

When Gu Dayong appeared in the imperial prison, he just waved his hand and asked Guo Rong to take the cloth balls out of Wang Yue and others' mouths.

After the cloth balls in Wang Yue and others' mouths were removed, Gu Dayong, who was already sitting on a chair, asked, "Wang Yue, have you ever thought that you would end up like this?"

Wang Yue smiled bitterly: "Now that things have come to this, I don't want to say anything more. I just want to die quickly. I hope that the father-in-law and the emperor will grant my wish!"

Gu Dayong, who had been ordered by Zhu Houzhao to pry out the secret of the sudden death of Emperor Hongzhi from Wang Yue and others, smiled slightly. He might have been very afraid of this so-called ancestor in the past, but now he was very pleased to hear Wang Yue calling him father-in-law. However, it could not offset Gu Dayong's hatred for Wang Yue who had forced Emperor Zhu Houzhao to kill him.

Gu Dayong did not let the Jinyiwei take action. He first snatched a whip dipped in salt water from a Jinyi warrior and lashed Wang Yue's face with it. "It's not that easy to seek a quick death. You are blinded by greed and dare to force the emperor to abdicate! Now I will give you a chance to suffer less physical pain. Tell me everything about how you killed the late emperor. Otherwise, I will make you live a life worse than death!"

Wang Yue, whose face felt like it was burning from the beating, bit his lips and teeth and stared at Gu Dayong in front of him. He was angry and in unbearable pain. He had never thought that one day he would be bullied by someone like Gu Dayong. Before this, he only thought that Gu Dayong was just a small eunuch beside Zhu Houzhao.

But Wang Yue also knew that he could no longer do anything to Gu Dayong. He even laughed and looked down on Gu Dayong: "We don't know the secrets of the late emperor's sudden death. Eunuch Gu, you should ask someone else!"

Gu Dayong also smiled coldly: "You really don't want to drink a toast, but you want to drink a penalty. Wang Yue, you are doomed to die anyway, so why bother to cover for others? What benefits can they give you now? Can they rescue you or help you turn the situation around? If you tell the truth, at least you can suffer less."

Wang Yue did not answer, but expressed his resistance to Gu Dayong with silence. However, he knew clearly in his heart that although he could not expect the civil officials outside to give him any real help, at least their pens would not write any bad names for him. On the contrary, eunuchs like Gu Dayong and Liu Jin who were against the civil officials would be infamous for eunuchs forever!

Gu Dayong was naturally not polite. Seeing that Wang Yue refused to speak, he naturally asked the Jinyiwei to torture Wang Yue directly.

At the same time, Gu Dayong began to interrogate Lu He, Zhang Zhao and others. Lu He and Zhang Zhao talked about everything and just begged for mercy, but they didn't know much about the secrets of the death of Emperor Hongzhi.

Wang Yue could not withstand the various tortures in the Jinyiwei prison and finally spoke, but he still said that he didn't know and said that he went to Wanshou Temple to fulfill a vow that day.

Seeing this, Gu Dayong had no choice but to have Wang Yue tortured. Wang Yue still claimed to be ignorant, and even asked Gu Dayong to ask Zhang Yu, saying that it was Zhang Yu who accompanied Emperor Hongzhi in the last few days. Zhu Houzhao also learned from Gu Dayong that Wang Yue had been denying his knowledge, and he could not help but frowned: "Now it seems that we can only see if Ma Yongcheng and his men can bring Zhang Yu and others back to interrogate them for evidence. However, Wang Yue should not stop here. Whether they really don't know or are just being stubborn, continue to interrogate them strictly!"

Gu Dayong accepted the order and retreated.

At this time, Ma Yongcheng and Wang Yangming were on their way to Xi'an Prefecture with the Juesheng Guard.

Not long after the death of Emperor Hongzhi, Ma Yongcheng followed Zhu Houzhao's instructions and sent his confidants to disguise themselves as Taoists or monks, as well as other low-class people such as peddlers and hawkers, to track down Zhang Yu and others.

Although Ma Yongcheng was just a personal eunuch beside the emperor before and had not yet become a senior eunuch in the inner court, it was not difficult for him to get some certificates of ordination or travel permits. Now that he has become the commander-in-chief of the East Factory, these people have naturally transformed into spies of the East Factory.

After Ma Yongcheng, Wang Yangming and others arrived at Baqiao, a spy under Ma Yongcheng who was stationed there hurried over to greet them: "Greetings, Master Ma!"

"Now that Master Ma is the director of the East Depot, you are all East Depot staff. It's time to change your address," said a captain of the East Depot, and then retreated behind Ma Yongcheng and Wang Yangming.

At this time, the people in Xi'an still didn't know about the downfall of Wang Yue and others. The spy now heard that Ma Yongcheng was already the director of the East Factory, and naturally guessed that something big might have happened in the capital. And he, Master Ma, was obviously the one who benefited, otherwise he would not have become the director of the East Factory. He also became a member of the East Factory, and felt happy for a moment. He felt that he would have a bright future if he followed him, and his enthusiasm increased a lot.

Ma Yongcheng didn't wait for the spy to congratulate him before asking directly, "How is the wanted criminal you were monitoring now?"

The spy replied, "In reply to the governor, we are watching them. However, they just moved to Mount Li a month ago and built a new manor there. It is very solid, like a new city. However, because the prefect of Xi'an is a disciple of Li Gefu, he keeps an eye on them but does not care about them seizing the people's land in Mount Li to build their own private garden."

Wang Yangming couldn't help but frown after hearing this.

On the way to Xi'an with Ma Yongcheng, Wang Yangming also learned from Ma Yongcheng the real mission of his visit to Xi'an. Naturally, he did not object to a detailed investigation into the cause of Emperor Hongzhi's death. After all, he was still just a minor official and did not have too many interests involved in the struggle among the upper echelons.

But at this moment he frowned because he thought that Zhang Yu and others had their own manors and cities in Mount Li to protect them, and they also had the support of the Xi'an prefect to monitor and protect them, so it seemed not easy to arrest Zhang Yu and others and bring them to Beijing.

Ma Yongcheng also felt embarrassed, but at the same time he was glad that he had been prepared and was directly leading an army of guards, and that they had all been equipped with sophisticated equipment through the Ministry of War.

At this time, it was Wang Yangming who spoke first: "Governor, we must go to Mount Li as soon as possible to arrest Zhang Yu and others and bring them to Beijing. We cannot delay too long. First, they will know about our presence in Xi'an sooner or later. Second, I cannot guarantee that Li Dongyang and others will not be aware of our purpose of leaving Beijing. It is very likely that they have already sent people to intercept us on the road or even take action first!"

(End of this chapter)