The two small countries clearly pushed the responsibility. Nanzhao stated that Hong'e was a married princess and what her subordinates did had nothing to do with the motherland. Wuhuan said that Hong'e assassinated the envoy and disrupted the peace between the two countries. The position of queen has been abolished, and her life and death are at the discretion of the Emperor of Da Chu.
Shen Jie also contacted two cities around Jiannan to investigate Ruan Hu's movements. Contact the new governor of Jindu and uncover the bandits' hideout.
March passed quickly, the summer lotus flowers were dyed with autumn, and the pond was filled with withered leaves.
In early October of that year, the emperor passed the throne to the crown prince, regarded himself as the emperor emeritus, and moved to the royal garden on the outskirts of the city to spend his remaining years.
When the prince ascended the throne, he issued a general amnesty and named his younger brother Chu De as King of Fu, which means happiness and health, and granted him a fiefdom. The minister Chen Jie was appointed as prime minister, commanding all officials and assisting in government affairs. Among them, dozens of officials, both large and small, were promoted or demoted, causing turmoil in the court.
As a former counselor of the Eastern Palace, there is no doubt that Chen Jie is a popular figure in front of the new emperor.
The new prime minister asked the emperor for permission at the end of October of the same year, and led his troops to recapture Jiannan and kill Ruan Hu.
From spring to autumn, the Chu government issued three summonses, ordering Ruan Hu to return to the capital. Ruan Hu delayed his departure on the pretext of handing over military affairs, and assassinated the spies sent by Chu Zheng in the city.
This was intolerable, so Chu Zheng sent 100,000 troops to follow Chen Jie in the expedition. Together with the 100,000 troops led by King Liangchuan of Zhennan, a total of more than 200,000 people marched towards Jiannan in a mighty force.
Chen Jie informed the two cities next to Jiannan in advance and besieged Jiannan together with the generals. In order to show that his country had no connection with the traitor Ruan Hu, Wuhuan Khan sent a large number of horses and cotton clothes to comfort the Chu army.
Within a month, Jiannan City was captured, the soldiers threw down their swords and surrendered, and the people opened the city gates and lined the streets to welcome them.
They were unwilling to follow a rebel, they recognized the orthodoxy of the Great Chu.
Ruan Hu was escorted to the capital by the King of Liangchuan, and Chen Jie led the remaining troops to attack the bandit den in Jindu.
The bandits were strong, but they were no match for the well-trained soldiers.
In just seven or eight days, hundreds of bandits were killed or injured. Shen Jie picked out the criminal who raped the woman in early June and interrogated him personally.
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In the eerie and dim torture chamber, several people in prison uniforms were kneeling shivering in the hall.
Chen Jie sat in the main seat and slowly opened a scroll, "Have you seen this woman?"
His voice was low and cold, like the wind and snow in winter.
Several people shuddered and slowly looked up.
The woman in the painting is wearing purple clothes and has black hair. She has small features and a pair of big eyes that are cute and lively, as if they can speak. Her temperament is like a lotus or a peach, pure and beautiful.
The bandits had lived in remote areas for a long time, so how could they see such a stunning beauty? Furthermore, the painter had put so much effort into depicting the scene that they were so amazed that they could not take their eyes off it and were stunned.
“Have you seen it?” Shen Jie put away the painting angrily and asked harshly.
“No, no, no…” They all shook their heads.
Shen Jie didn't quite believe it, and was worried that they would collude with each other in advance to give their confessions. He winked at his left and right, and one soldier stepped forward to hold down one of them, while another took a red-hot iron and burned the bandit's chest hard.
"Ah——" The bandit only uttered half a scream as his open mouth was tightly stuffed with a cloth.
After a sharp sizzling sound, the air was filled with the aroma of barbecue.
The others huddled and trembled with fear; one timid one even had a wet spot on his crotch.
"Tell me in detail how you committed the crime against that woman on June 3rd this year." Chen Jie knocked on the table and said calmly.
His attitude was very clear. If anyone spoke falsely, he would brand them all with an iron.
"Sir, I, I have never seen such a beautiful girl..." One person kowtowed in fear.
"Yes," one person continued, "the woman we were with was a peasant girl who went up the mountain to cut grass for pigs. She was plain-looking and not very good-looking."
"You painted a fairy like this. Even if we meet her, we dare not take action. At most, we will tie her up and give her to our big brother to enjoy." One person stated the rules of the bandit's den. The eldest brother refers to the bandit leader.
"The peasant girl was a virgin with a hot temper and a lot of blood. She was screaming and struggling, and the brothers covered her mouth and nose and accidentally suffocated her to death. We ran away before we were done, and we really didn't throw the body into the water..." one person explained clearly.
Shen Jie considered the truth of what the people said.
He raised his sleeve and gestured, and the soldiers pressed an iron brand on the belly of the captured bandit. The man convulsed with pain and his feces and urine flowed everywhere.
Everyone was terrified and kowtowed in tears.
"Sir, we are telling the truth..."
"I have never seen the girl in your painting..."
"The woman we raped is from Xujia Village. If you don't believe me, you can ask her parents..."
Amidst all the discussions, Chen Jie locked onto the place name "Xujia Village" and decided to go and find out.
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