After arriving at the palace, Zhang Yidu, commander of the Five Cities Army, received an order to continue clearing out the evil forces and all those who had been captured in prison.

Except for those who have not committed any crime, others will be dealt with seriously.

In Zhu Ying's view, this is equivalent to a large-scale anti-gang operation.

On the side of Jinyiwei Jiang Li, the same people were arrested, but there was an additional task, which was to monitor the Wucheng Bingmasi.

The procedure for releasing people must be reviewed by the Jinyiwei before it can be approved.

"Grandson, among these tens of thousands of people, we can see that many of them are probably wrongly accused. We need to investigate carefully."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not say this before, and only gave this instruction after the people left.

Don't take things like forcing someone to confess under torture too lightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang could even imagine that the random arrests by the Wucheng Bingmasi must have been based on injustice, so Zhu Yuanzhang seldom carried out such large-scale arrests of civilians, even if they were just hooligans.

Because in this way, it is impossible to distinguish them one by one.

"Grandpa, rest assured. This time, I will personally go to the prison of the Military Affairs Department to take a look. I want to reduce the punishment a little bit."

"Now that the Ming Dynasty is stable, overly harsh punishments will only make the people more afraid than loyal."

Zhu Ying said.

After these words were spoken, Liu He who was standing beside him couldn't help but shudder.

You must know that no one has ever dared to say more about the harsh punishments set by Your Majesty.

Now that His Royal Highness Chang Sun brought it up so casually and directly, it was really shocking.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't react much.

Unlike before, Zhu Yuanzhang is now in a much better state of mind with the company of his eldest grandson. He is not as irritable as before, and even has a bit of a Buddhist feel.

Of course, this is an illusion that only occurs when the eldest grandson is around.

Zhu Yuanzhang had a very high tolerance for his eldest grandson.

You should know that many harsh punishments were not introduced at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Instead, they appeared after the death of Empress Ma and Zhu Xiongying, as Zhu Yuanzhang's temper became increasingly violent.

People also became extremely cruel, and this cruel mood was directly reflected in the constantly revised Ming Dynasty laws.

Historically, Zhu Yunwen dared to abolish these tortures only after he ascended the throne.

"Grandson has many ideas, and we support them all. As for punishment, you can do whatever you want." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, not feeling offended at all.

Liu He, who was standing aside, felt relieved and even had a hint of excitement in his eyes.

This was the first time he saw His Majesty like this.

Zhu Ying was pleasantly surprised when he heard this.

In this way, the legislative power is in the hands of the old man and he has already got it.

Zhu Ying had wanted to get involved in the matter of revising the Ming Dynasty Law for a long time, but he was afraid of arousing the old man's disgust, or he was not clear about how important he was in the old man's heart.

"Thank you, Grandpa. I will never let you down."

Zhu Ying said solemnly.

"Silly child, why are you and I, grandfather and grandson, talking about this?" Zhu Yuanzhang replied with a smile.

…

What did ancient prisons look like?

Even before Zhu Ying walked into the door, he felt the scene was extremely eye-catching.

This is not a prison at all, it's clearly a cesspool. The stench is not enough to describe it. This kind of smell can only be brewed after the accumulation of time.

At this moment, Zhu Ying regretted coming to the prison to inspect. This was a complete attack on the spiritual level.

After entering with courage, I saw the jailer inside was still gnawing on a chicken leg. Doesn't it feel like eating shit?

Apparently, being a jailer is not that easy.

"Your Highness, please calm down. We have arrested more people these days, so the situation is a bit more serious. Normally, we don't arrest people this severely."

The commander-in-chief Zhang Yi, who was accompanying him, quickly explained.

It is naturally impossible for prisoners in the cell to go out to the toilet. Basically, there is only a wooden barrel where they urinate and defecate.

After just one night, you can imagine what the entire cell looked like.

You have to know that some large cells hold more than ten people.

In front of these cells, there are many horrifying torture instruments. Ordinary people would be frightened to death just by looking at them.

This kind of scene is hard to imagine for Zhu Ying, who lived in later generations.

Even in the first ten years of this life, in the Western Regions, there were not many punishments, but on the border areas, people were basically just beheaded.

"How dare you think of putting on a show in front of me, Zhang Yi! You are so brave!"

Zhu Ying snorted coldly and scolded Zhang Yi directly.

With just two glances, he saw through the trick.

Apparently Zhang Yi had already reported this to the prison. Such a stench, and even the jailer happened to be eating, were basically performed for Zhu Ying to see.

The biggest goal is to force Zhu Ying away, and it would be best if he doesn't go to jail.

The detail here lies in the chicken legs on the table, which are still slightly hot, and obviously have just arrived.

Then there were the bite marks on the food. All the food was hardly touched, and the chicken legs were only eaten in one or two bites. Zhu Ying saw that the jailers were disgusted by the chicken legs.

If they really have been eating in this kind of environment for a long time, this would never be the case.

If you look closely, you will find that it is dirty and lame everywhere.

Or if it was someone else, someone who grew up like Zhu Yunwen, there would really be a remarkable effect.

The reason for this is probably that after Xu Miaojin's incident, the people from the Military Department immediately realized that the opportunity to make a fortune had come.

Zhu Ying's original intention was not to let the real criminal go, but the Bingmasi, including the commanders, were all thinking about how to make a fortune.

With so many people, if each of them could squeeze something out of them, it would be enough for the patrol officers of the Wucheng Bingmasi to make a fortune.

Moreover, the means of exploitation in prison are even darker, crueler and more inhumane.

"Your Highness, you misunderstood. I am accompanying Your Highness here, so how could I have the time to arrange these things? Moreover, I have accompanied Your Highness here, and I have not spoken a word to anyone on the way here."

"Your Highness, I know the situation in the cell, which has polluted your Highness's eyes. It's just that there are too many people in the past two days, and it's really difficult to manage. This is all my fault."

When Zhang Yi heard this, he couldn't help but tremble, and then immediately began to cry out for injustice.

Zhu Ying looked at Zhang Yi coldly. More than a dozen officers, including the commanders beside Zhang Yi, were trembling with fear.

The Wucheng Bingmasi is a very small department in the capital.

A commander-in-chief like Zhang Yi was only an official of the sixth rank. He had enough weight in the local areas, but in the capital, where there were royal nobles and ministers everywhere, he was just an insignificant official.

A minister of the second rank might go to court upright and return home lying down one day. As for ministers of the sixth rank, no one cares when they die in recent years.

"Humph, that's how it is. That's why you guys are so proficient at it. You can work together so well without even making eye contact. That's really rare and precious."

"You really want to make a fool of me."

Zhu Ying sneered and said that what Zhang Yi said was indeed right. He has been accompanying and serving him since he came to the Wucheng Bingmasi.

But this does not mean that the current situation was not arranged by him in advance.

Such a skilled technique obviously shows that the censor is already very familiar with inspections.

Hearing His Highness Changsun say this, Zhang Yi was completely frightened and immediately kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, I am innocent, I am innocent!"

Zhu Ying glanced at him and said calmly, "Follow me first. I will deal with your matter later."

At this moment, Zhang Yi, including the dozen or so officials following behind him, all had cold sweat on their foreheads. When it came to their lives, they seemed to subconsciously ignore even the smell in the prison.

"It's unfair, it's unfair!"

"Master, I really didn't do anything wrong, please let me go, please let me go!"

"My dear sir, these jailers confessed under torture!"

"Master, Master, please be kind. This man has been beaten to death. He is not breathing any more. Take him away and bury him."

"Your Highness, it's Your Highness, Your Highness! These jailers are unkind and black-hearted. They have cheated me of all my money and have not let me out yet. Please show me mercy, Your Highness!"

“Your Majesty!! Your Majesty!!…”

Everything at the gate can be seen by people in the nearby cells.

They didn't recognize Commander-in-Chief Zhang Yi, nor did they recognize Zhu Ying, but they saw this man in luxurious clothes and this official who was usually high and mighty to them, following him like a servant.

It was obvious that the person who came was of a very high status.

The chief of the jailers was so frightened that he fell to his knees, not caring at all about the dirt on the ground.

Many prisoners felt that this was their chance and began to protest their injustice.

Under normal circumstances, the jailers would have stepped forward to teach him a lesson, but when Zhu Ying gently raised his hand, no jailer dared to move.

The prisoners' voices were very noisy, and coupled with the darkness of the place, it really sounded like the howling of ghosts and wolves.

Zhu Ying took a quick look and saw that 90% of the prisoners had scars all over their bodies. Without much thought, almost all of them who came in were severely beaten, regardless of their background.

Zhu Ying raised his hand to signal the prisoners, and everyone who saw it suddenly became quiet.

All the prisoners, whether they had really committed a crime or were wrongly imprisoned, knew very clearly that the prince in front of them was their ultimate benefactor.

No one dared to say a word, and even if someone didn't see it, their mouth would be immediately covered by the person next to them.

"This prince knows that many of you were wrongly accused. You were arrested before you even knew when, and you didn't even have a chance to defend yourself."

"This prince also knows that among you, there are many people who have indeed violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty. These people, especially the kidnappers, should be punished."

"I came here today to give you a chance, a chance to survive, a chance to escape!"

Having said this, Zhu Ying paused for a moment. Now the entire prison, even in the deepest part, was silent, and everyone was listening with their ears pricked up.

In the prison, only Zhu Ying's voice continued to echo.

"From now on, I will order that all those who enter the cell will no longer be tortured. Each of you must tell us who the biggest criminal is."

"The more people who confess, the more solid the evidence will be, and the more credit you will receive. I will also punish you as appropriate."

"If you are innocent and have done good deeds, you will be able to walk out of this cell with your back held high, and the cost of seeing a doctor will be borne by the military department."

"But let me be frank. If someone slanders others without evidence or out of revenge, then that is an even greater crime."

After the words were spoken, the prisoners in the cell had different expressions.

Some people looked deathly pale and collapsed to the ground.

Some people were nervous and looked around.

There were also many people who were ecstatic and felt that they saw the light of hope.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!!!"

There was an overwhelming sound in the cell. Originally only a small number of people were expressing their gratitude, but soon everyone knelt down to express their gratitude.

If you don't say anything at this time, you will be confessing yourself.

But among the subtle sounds, there are always some that sound like gnashing of teeth, or some that sound weak and powerless.

"As the king just said, organize personnel to conduct individual interrogations of all the arrested persons."

"This is not just the case here. The same is true for the Five City Military Departments. I emphasize once again that during this interrogation, no one can use torture. This will only be recorded."

"And during the interrogation, no one is allowed to hint or communicate with the prisoners. I just said this to them, and I will say the same to you."

"Interrogate in groups of three. If one of them communicates with the prisoner, the one who exposes him will be rewarded. If you violate the rules, you will be put in jail."

Zhu Ying said coldly to Zhang Yi and others beside him.

"Your servants obey my orders!"

Zhang Yi didn't dare to say more. He already felt that his head was about to fall at any time. He was originally full of greed, but now he was empty-handed.

He didn't even care about his official hat and just thought about saving his life first.

If a person is gone, then there is really nothing left.

Zhang Yi had no idea why His Royal Highness Chang Sun knew so much about the prison, as if he had experienced it himself.

"Do it well. This time I'm giving you a chance. If you do it well, I think you can do something after all."

"If you can't do this well, then I know that you are good for nothing except oppressing the people."

Zhu Ying glanced at Zhang Yi and others and said.

After saying that, he didn't bother to pay attention and just turned and left.

Song Zhong and others hurriedly followed.

Zhang Yi and the others were left looking at each other, feeling cold all over.

"Sir, with so many people, according to His Highness's intention, the trial will probably take quite a while."

After Zhu Ying left, an official whispered.

"Isn't it good to live a few more days? Conduct a thorough investigation. This time, I will personally supervise the investigation. Everyone must act according to your will."

"If my life is in danger, don't even think about having a good ending!"

Zhang Yi spoke viciously to the officials around him.

He knew very well that it was impossible for him to continue in this position of commander-in-chief, but if he did things well and impressively, there was still hope that he could be demoted.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yi's eyes began to become fierce.

Not to the criminals, but to these subordinates.