Chapter 343 Interrogation
Before Zhou Tongchun could even recall the details, Jiang Yuan had already turned his gaze back to Zhou Hao.
He sat upright in the main seat, his fingers tapping on the pile of confessions and physical evidence on the table. His expression was calm but revealed a chilling murderous aura that left no room for doubt. "Zhou Hao, the witnesses and evidence are all there. Why don't you confess?"
Zhou Hao's hair was disheveled, his clothes were filthy, and his original arrogance had long since vanished. Looking at the few confessions and two packets of medicine on the table, his face was ashen.
He knew he had no room for argument, so he struggled to raise his head, his eyes fixed on Zhou Tongchun standing to the side, his voice hoarse and pleading: "Sir, save me! Save me! I know I was wrong, I was just confused for a moment! Please, please save me for the sake of our past relationship!"
Zhou Tongchun stood to one side, his brows furrowed and his face a mixture of emotions.
Although Jiang Yuan reminded him that Zhou Hao's act of saving his life might be tainted, he still couldn't immediately become suspicious of Zhou Hao without solid evidence.
However, despite his reluctance, he couldn't really do anything about it.
With witnesses and physical evidence at hand, Zhou Hao's crimes are undeniable. Even if he wanted to protect him, he would be powerless and have no way to do so.
“Zhou Hao, now that things have come to this, no one can save you.” Zhou Tongchun sighed, his tone filled with disappointment, heartache, and helplessness. “You were bewitched by your own wickedness and plotted to harm the new Commander of the Guards. You have no one to blame but yourself for this predicament.”
After saying that, he looked up at Jiang Yuan, cupped his hands and bowed: "Lord Jiang, Zhou Hao made a mistake out of confusion and should be punished. However, I really had no knowledge of this matter. I beg you to investigate thoroughly."
Zhou Tongchun wasn't sure whether Zhou Hao's actions were simply driven by greed or because he had become more deeply involved with other forces, but none of that mattered anymore. Regardless of Zhou Hao's motives, he was beyond redemption.
Zhou Tongchun couldn't save Zhou Hao, so he could only try to protect himself first.
Fortunately, Jiang Yuan did not intend to hold a grudge. He nodded slightly and said in a calm tone, "Commander Zhou, rest assured, I only act based on evidence and will not implicate the innocent."
The premise is that Zhou Tongchun is indeed innocent.
Zhou Tongchun breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He took another deep look at Zhou Hao, who was slumped on the ground, but ultimately said nothing more. Instead, he respectfully bowed and took his leave.
Having failed to get help, Zhou Hao was completely hopeless. He slumped to the ground, his face ashen and his whole body trembling.
He didn't want to suffer physical pain, much less face immediate execution or drag his family down to hell with him.
“My lord…” Zhou Hao raised his head, his voice filled with urgency and sobs, “I confess, I confess everything! I, I’m not human, I was greedy for money, I took the silver Han Shun gave me, and secretly instructed Wang Sao and Liu Ertian to drug you.”
Seeing Jiang Yuan squinting and remaining silent, Zhou Hao began kowtowing repeatedly, "It was all my fault, I know I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again. Please, sir, spare my life, considering that I have not caused any harm to your family."
Jiang Yuan laughed in anger. His family had not been harmed because they were vigilant enough. How come their safety has now become a bargaining chip for Zhou Hao, this wicked guy, to exonerate himself?
Too lazy to say anything more to him, Jiang Yuan waved his hand and ordered his personal guards, "Drag him out and interrogate him carefully."
Several of his bodyguards responded with a "yes," and ignoring Zhou Hao's pleas and struggles, they grabbed him and dragged him away.
In less than an hour, the guards who had left returned.
They told Jiang Yuan that Zhou Hao not only confessed to his actions of harming Jiang Yuan and his group, but also revealed his past deeds of impersonating his companions and claiming to be Zhou Tongchun's only savior.
"This Zhou Hao is truly despicable. According to him, not only did he take credit for others' work by relying on his own unverifiable story, but he also suppressed the families of Zhou Tongchun's dead soldiers all these years because he had something to hide."
Jiang Yuan sighed, "Looking at it this way, Zhou Tongchun is also a fool."
Leaving aside the fact that Zhou Hao must possess extraordinary abilities to rescue Zhou Tongchun single-handedly on the vast ocean, just consider Zhou Tongchun's personal guards, who were people Zhou Tongchun had once trusted and relied upon immensely.
Even Zhou Hao, who wasn't particularly outstanding among his personal guards at the time, risked his life to find him. How could his personal guards possibly abandon him and leave on their own?
Not to mention that none of them came back alive. Did Zhou Tongchun never have any doubts about the reasons behind this?
If he doesn't, then he's stupid; if he does, but deliberately pretends to be ignorant, then he's bad.
Whether he was stupid or wicked, he was clearly not suited to continue sitting in such an important position as a commander.
Considering that he had already expressed his intention to step down and make way for a more capable person, Jiang Yuan decided to save face for him and let him choose a suitable time to vacate the position of commander.
As for his eldest son, although the child could inherit his father's position, he could not start directly from the rank of commander.
Upon entering the army, he had not yet achieved any merit, and the highest position he could have attained was that of a squad leader.
However, now that his father is implicated by Zhou Hao, even if Jiang Yuan shows leniency and doesn't label them as accomplices, they, as the head of the household, still have to bear the blame for failing to manage their subordinates properly.
With such a prior record, the child can forget about starting from the position of captain. If he can get the position of junior captain, the father and son will be secretly happy.
Zhou Tongchun was well aware of this, which is why he regretted not disciplining Zhou Hao properly in his earlier years.
After discussing the two most crucial matters, the guards briefly reported to Jiang Yuan on the other bad things Zhou Hao had done.
With so many crimes piled up, Zhou Hao could easily die three times over.
After recounting all of the man's crimes, the guard then explained Zhou Hao's motive.
"That guy was extremely greedy and lustful, and had no regard for the law or military rules. Han Shun found him, gave him two beauties and a thousand taels of silver, and he happily went to do things for Han Shun."
"The method of manipulating Wang Sao and Liu Ertian was also taught to him by Han Shun."
In short, Zhou Hao is a brainless idiot who was completely used as a pawn in this whole affair.
As for the person behind the gambling den, Zhou Hao did know something about him.
According to him, although the other party was just a merchant, she had a sister who became a concubine of the prefect and gave birth to two sons for him. She was always very favored, and even the childless wife of the prefect had to give her some leeway.
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