amaotonovel Chapter 641 Even such severe punishments couldn't scare them?
Chapter 641 Even such severe punishments couldn't scare them?
Empress Ma was a true lady of high birth.
Old Deng's descendants are all eccentric, so the problem certainly can't be with my mother-in-law.
It's definitely still a problem on Old Deng's side.
Tsk.
Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting about Emperor Zhu, but Emperor Zhu, though unable to hear Yang Shaofeng's thoughts, could tell from the strange expression on Yang Shaofeng's face that this scoundrel was probably up to no good.
So, we were thinking about your safety, and yet we messed things up?
The more Emperor Zhu thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn't help but slap Yang Shaofeng on the back of the head again and said angrily, "Are you talking about us in your heart again?"
Yang Shaofeng retorted, "No! I was just thinking about how to make a trip to Zunhua."
Emperor Zhu was so angry that he laughed.
It's confirmed now. That bastard was just talking about us in his heart. Otherwise, after getting slapped, he would only be thinking about how to torment us instead of explaining so many useless things.
As for going to Zunhua?
Emperor Zhu sneered and said, "We, the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, and your mother-in-law, are both still in Ningyang County. We still have to go to Dengzhou Prefecture. You are going to Zunhua?"
Ok?
What the hell!
I was so focused on the matter of the Marquis of Champion that I forgot about this!
So, coming to Ningyang County was something you planned long ago, and having Xu Da lead troops through Ningyang County was also something you planned long ago. And having that dead eunuch Chen Zhong block my way was also your mother-in-law's idea, right?
If so, then this is going to be troublesome.
Zhu Chongba, that old tyrant, is nothing to fear.
On the contrary, it's not so easy to fool my mother-in-law.
Or should we wait until we reach Dengzhou Prefecture before fleeing?
Or perhaps we could try to trick Lao Deng into ceding places like Fuzhou and Jinzhou to Dengzhou Prefecture, and then I could use the pretext of going to Jinzhou as an excuse to run away?
No.
That reason is a bit too far-fetched; Old Deng probably wouldn't agree.
Why not try to trick Old Deng into returning to Beijing?
Once he returns to the capital, who can stop me from going to Zunhua to obtain the title of Marquis of Champion?
Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering this, a guard from the Imperial Son-in-Law's residence rushed over and bowed to Emperor Zhu and Yang Shaofeng, saying, "Your Majesty, Imperial Son-in-Law, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Dengzhou Prefecture have an urgent report."
Emperor Zhu reached out and took the secret report from the guards of the Imperial Son-in-Law's residence. After just one glance, his face darkened.
"Go to hell!"
Emperor Zhu gritted his teeth and cursed, "This is never going to end!"
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback.
What do you mean?
Could it be that a new warrior has emerged in the Ming Dynasty?
Yang Shaofeng took the secret report from Emperor Zhu with great curiosity, glanced at it, and then sneered, "There really are some who are not afraid of death."
An urgent report from Dengzhou Prefecture stated that a large number of children had gone missing in the ten counties under its jurisdiction.
The urgent report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard indicated that a large number of children had gone missing in many coastal prefectures and counties.
The term "large number" refers to the fact that Dengzhou Prefecture has seen hundreds of missing children cases recently, while the total number of missing children cases in other coastal prefectures and counties combined is at least one or two thousand, if not ten thousand.
This is fucking mysterious.
The Ming Dynasty Code stipulated severe penalties for child trafficking.
For ordinary acts of child trafficking, traffickers will be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane and exiled three thousand li away.
If a child is trafficked and the child is injured or killed, the ringleader will be executed by slow slicing.
Even if the family members of human traffickers are unaware of the crime, they will be implicated, all their property will be confiscated, and they will be exiled two thousand miles away.
If the head of the village or community where the human traffickers live and their neighbors know about it but fail to report it, they will also be considered accomplices and will be beheaded along with the human traffickers.
Of course, even with such severe penalties stipulated in the Ming Dynasty Code, some people still dared to take the risk.
However, regardless of the circumstances, the severe punishments, such as being flogged a hundred times, exiled for three thousand miles, or even executed by slow slicing, did deter child trafficking to some extent.
Therefore, the large number of child trafficking cases in Dengzhou Prefecture and other coastal prefectures and counties indicates that there must be an organized and premeditated scheme behind it.
Especially since these children are all around ten years old—if it's a normal case of child abduction, they usually choose younger children because younger children don't have much memory, making them easier to deceive and sell.
However, children around ten years old can already remember many things, making them unsuitable for sale to families who lack sons.
While pondering to himself, Yang Shaofeng looked at the guard from the Prince Consort's residence and asked, "Have you found any clues?"
The guards of the Prince Consort's residence bowed and replied, "Your Highness, the officers of the Thousand Households Office have already sent out men to investigate, focusing on workshops in various places and the movements of ships along the coast. Magistrate Xu has also instructed the counties to notify the villages and communities to organize people to check for any traces of strangers recently, and has also sent people to search along the coast."
Upon hearing the reply from the guards of the Imperial Son-in-Law's residence, Emperor Zhu was first filled with envy, then his anger flared, and he even began to question the meaning of life.
"Haven't we killed enough people?"
Emperor Zhu looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "The fact that people readily confiscate property, execute, or even exterminate entire families—such punishments—do not frighten these people?"
Yang Shaofeng was also very curious about the answer to this question.
Yes, the punishments set by Lao Deng, or rather the Ministry of Justice, were undeniably severe.
Although there aren't many instances where the punishment of "exterminating nine generations of one's family" can be applied, for certain crimes, beheading and hanging are almost the lightest punishments; confiscating property and implicating family members are the norm.
Not to mention that a new regulation was later added prohibiting his relatives within three generations from taking the imperial examinations and becoming officials.
Such severe punishments, yet they still can't scare those people?
From the Plowshare case, to the Sun Gupu rebellion case, to the blank seal case, and the black coal mine case before the Lunar New Year, now there is another case of a missing child.
Do these Ming warriors really not care about their nine generations of relatives?
Or perhaps these people all harbored grudges against their own extended families, wanted revenge but were powerless to do so, and therefore specifically used Old Zhu to exact their revenge?
Or perhaps these people are bound to some system, and as long as they are killed by Old Deng, they will receive some benefits. The more miserable their death, the more benefits they will receive.
That's not right either.
Whether you want to take revenge on your entire family or die at Old Deng's hands, why don't you just come and assassinate Old Deng directly?
Regardless of whether the assassination succeeds or not, as long as there is an assassination attempt, the final result will be the same.
Why do they have to target innocent civilians?
Or perhaps, the shady things they do really do generate that much profit?
The more Yang Shaofeng thought about it, the more confused he felt.
After a long while, Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "Father-in-law, I request permission to investigate this case."
"I'd like to see what drives these people to commit such a heinous crime!"