When it was Wuxin's turn to be interrogated, he was first taken to a dimly lit room and then bound to a chair. Across the table sat five people: one in a flying fish suit, one dressed as a guard, two in seventh-rank official robes, and the last a minor clerk with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone piled beside him.
This grand display sent Wuxin's heart plummeting.
Two seventh-rank officials were roughly equivalent to two county magistrates. How many counties were there in total in the Great Ming?
To put it plainly, although a seventh-rank sesame official was a jest at the magistrate's small power, to those outside the officialdom, a seventh-rank official was already a high position that most people could only dream of reaching in their lifetime.
Of course, having two seventh-rank officials to hear the case was still somewhat manageable. However, the Jin Yi Wei sitting in the very center was not, as Wuxin had initially thought, a military subordinate, but a Jin Yi Wei captain wearing a flying fish suit!
Firstly, not just anyone could wear a flying fish suit. Jin Yi Wei subordinates were not qualified to wear them; only officially appointed Jin Yi Wei captains were.
Secondly, even for a Jin Yi Wei captain, wearing a flying fish suit was not an everyday occurrence. It was only permitted when an imperial decree was issued. Once the flying fish suit was worn, it signified a higher rank, even above a grand secretary like Zeng Cheng.
Such a formidable assembly…
Wuxin shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his movement immediately noticed by the Jin Yi Wei, the guard, and the two seventh-rank officials opposite him.
The leading Jin Yi Wei cleared his throat and asked, "Wuxin? A Japanese Buddhist monk registered at Hongfo Temple?"
Wuxin immediately bowed his head and replied, "Yes. I arrived at Hongfo Temple in the fortieth year of Qianlong's reign, when I was only nine years old. By now, I have been in the Middle Kingdom for twenty years."
The Jin Yi Wei captain smiled and nodded, then continued, "You've been in the Middle Kingdom for quite some time. Just listening to your accent now, one can hardly tell you're Japanese."
This left Wuxin somewhat bewildered.
Having been in the Middle Kingdom for over twenty years, especially in the last decade, Wuxin had heard many legends about the Jin Yi Wei.
In Wuxin's impression, these Jin Yi Wei might begin by torturing him, employing all sorts of cruel punishments like beatings, shackles, fetters, leg irons, joint clamps, finger presses, knee presses, and torture boards.
Wuxin wasn't afraid of these tortures and had even prepared himself mentally.
But he never expected that this Jin Yi Wei captain wouldn't resort to torture immediately, but would instead engage in casual conversation.
However, as the conversation progressed, the Jin Yi Wei captain suddenly asked, "Have those children been dealt with properly?"
Wuxin blurted out, "Of course, Master..."
Realizing his slip, Wuxin quickly corrected himself, "What children?"
But the Jin Yi Wei captain, who had been so amiable just moments before, suddenly transformed. With a sinister grin, he picked up a hammer from the table, walked over to Wuxin, grabbed Wuxin's left hand, placed it on the table, and brought the hammer down with a thud. "Speak! How were they dealt with? To what extent? How were these children abducted, and who were your accomplices?"
The Jin Yi Wei captain paid no mind to whether he hit Wuxin's hand or fingers – it would all be smashed slowly anyway, so which part to start with didn't matter. He was a grown man, and there were plenty of places to strike.
After two more hammer blows, seeing that Wuxin could only let out pained cries and show no sign of confessing, the Jin Yi Wei captain turned to the two seventh-rank officials and the guard and said, "This might get a bit bloody, so if you can't stand it, cover your ears and turn away."
The guard remained composed, smiling. "By the way, I've survived battlefields. I've seen all sorts of gruesome scenes. Continue."
One of the two seventh-rank officials also chuckled. "Although the two of us haven't been to the battlefield, we've read about such scenes. To witness it firsthand now would be quite an eye-opener. We mustn't miss it."
Seeing that none of the four showed any signs of fear, the Jin Yi Wei captain chuckled and instructed those outside the door, "Guards! Prepare all the torture instruments. Today, we'll let our colleagues from the Guard, Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Justice broaden their horizons!"
With that, the Jin Yi Wei captain put down the hammer.
If he wanted his colleagues to broaden their horizons, he couldn't just use a hammer anymore. Hammers were only for smashing people; they lacked any technical skill!
After waiting for over half an hour, a group of Jin Yi Wei subordinates entered the room carrying a variety of torture instruments.
The Jin Yi Wei captain casually grabbed a red-hot iron from the brazier and thrust it into Wuxin's body. The smell of burning flesh filled the room along with Wuxin's screams. The Jin Yi Wei captain, after Wuxin passed out, smiled and said, "This is called branding. It's a bit of a show of force."
After saying this, the Jin Yi Wei captain gestured for a subordinate to douse Wuxin with cold water to revive him. Then, he proceeded to demonstrate the usage of various other torture instruments.
"This is called 'scrubbing.' Pour boiling water, sprinkle salt, and then scrub away the flesh."
"This is the 'joint clamp.' If you aim to kill, clamp it slowly, making them suffer immensely. If you aim to cripple, apply full force at once, and both feet will be essentially ruined."
"But ruined feet are not an issue, as they can still feel pain. That's when we introduce the 'red embroidered shoes.'"
"This is called 'promoting the official.' Paste paper onto the face layer by layer, dousing it with water each time. This ensures they can neither live nor die."
"Those who bite their tongues to commit suicide are fools, because they won't die. Look at him, he's still alive, isn't he?"
"This is called 'manicure.' First, insert steel picks under the fingernails, then slowly pry them off."
"Using whips is the most basic method. We hardly ever use them in the Jin Yi Wei."
"There's also pouring molten iron, and 'double wind piercing the ears,' among other assorted techniques. The conditions here aren't ideal, so I won't demonstrate them all."
"Of course, you can rest assured, not many people know these tortures, and they are not permitted to be used on ordinary citizens of the Great Ming, not even those sentenced to death. They are mostly used on foreign spies."
"Like... this Wuxin."
The Jin Yi Wei captain spoke as he demonstrated. Wuxin was tortured to the point of near death but unable to die. The guard and the two seventh-rank officials, who had been so composed moments ago, now turned pale.
The Jin Yi Wei captain, however, remained unfazed. "Don't think it's cruel. In reality, if our people fall into the hands of the foreigners, the punishments they suffer are not much lighter than this."
The guard asked, "Then what can be done? Can you withstand it?"
The Jin Yi Wei captain shook his head and said, "Some can withstand it, others cannot. Those who can withstand it are often killed by the foreigners. Those who cannot and survive by betraying us will be purged by us. Therefore, we all have a final resort, ensuring that we do not fall into enemy hands alive."
After chatting with the guard for a few more sentences, the Jin Yi Wei captain stopped his actions and asked Wuxin with a smile, "Confess? Or not?"
Wuxin no longer had the strength to even scream, let alone speak. Hearing the question, he could only let out a cold snort from his nose, indicating his absolute refusal to confess.
The Jin Yi Wei captain was unconcerned. He simply smiled and instructed someone to bring Wuxin some opium and then force-fed him some nourishing broth before continuing the torture.
It turned out that Wuzhi's worries were not unfounded, and Wuxin's confidence was indeed a bit excessive.
Under the hands of the Jin Yi Wei, who were said to be able to make the dead confess, Wuxin soon divulged everything he should and shouldn't have.
"I learned this method from a book. It said that by torturing and dismembering forty-nine young children every year using a specific method, for forty-nine consecutive years, one could achieve immortality."
"Over the past two years, the entire Hongfo Temple has been dragged into this. Therefore, the monks of Hongfo Temple are not greedy for lust or pleasure, nor are they greedy for money or alcohol. They are single-mindedly focused on finding ways to achieve immortality."
"As a result, Hongfo Temple's incense offerings have become even more prosperous, and our begging for alms outside has become more convenient."
"However, this time, we did not expect to fall into your hands."
The final interrogation results were indeed as Zhu Jinsong had anticipated.
The children they had taken had indeed not left Fengyang Prefecture, but they had indeed been dismembered.
Furthermore, it was not just Wuxin, Wuzhi, and their master who were involved in this matter, but also a large number of various monks, Taoists, nuns, and Confucian scholars.
The list of those implicated eventually spanned twenty-four布政使司 (provincial administrative divisions), over a hundred prefectures, and more than seven hundred counties in the Great Ming. Tracing this line led to a total of over two thousand people!
The crux of the issue lay with these over two thousand people. Over fifteen hundred of them were from the various布政使司 of Jiangnan, while the remaining five hundred-plus were from the northern布政使司.
If the case were to be handled according to the provisions of the "Great Ming Law · Criminal Law · Child Procurement and Dismemberment," at least ten thousand people would have been implicated in the end.
This was almost comparable to the massive case at the very beginning of the Great Ming's founding, which implicated over ten thousand people during the crackdown on corrupt gentry.
Zeng Cheng, the Grand Secretary of the Great Ming, had also rushed to Fengyang from the capital, hoping for leniency from Zhu Jinsong. "Your Majesty, the principal offenders in this case are only about two thousand people. If we were to strictly punish them according to the 'Great Ming Law,' there would be at least ten thousand principal and secondary offenders. This case is simply too large!"
"Moreover, Your Majesty's trip to Jiangnan was originally intended to stabilize the hearts of the people in Jiangnan. However, initiating such a massive case, I fear..."
Zeng Cheng's implication was clear: if such a large case were to unfold, it would be fortunate if Jiangnan did not descend into chaos. How could Emperor Zhu possibly win the hearts of the Jiangnan populace then?
But Zhu Jinsong simply refused to believe it.
It was said that after the Qin and Han dynasties, and before the Qing dynasty, the reach of the imperial court generally only extended to the county level. The countryside was a blind spot for imperial governance. Such a large case involving tens of thousands of people could easily be misconstrued. If influential individuals were to stir up trouble, it could indeed lead to estrangement between the populace and the court.
But why would Zhu Jinsong worry about this?
The governance structure of the Great Ming extended from the court to the布政使司, then to prefectures, counties, and even townships and villages. If necessary, the court could at any time bypass any of the intermediate levels and issue direct commands to the farmers' associations in a particular village.
With such a tight structure, who could stir up trouble?
Even if someone could, what about the "Great Ming Daily"?
The literacy campaign that Zhu Jinsong had been promoting since his ascension to the throne was not for naught!
Therefore, Zhu Jinsong directly rejected Zeng Cheng's proposal. "The 'Great Ming Law' dictates how it shall be handled, and so it shall be."
"If I were to show leniency because of their sheer numbers, then you tell me, how many families lost their children because of them? Who will show them leniency?"
"Jiangnan, I will definitely visit."
"As long as I am alive, the Great Ming will not fall into chaos!"