Chapter 152: Interrogating Gao Yuan

The maid heard this and replied, "You are truly brilliant, My Lady. This Zhu Youjian is definitely no match for you! But your humble servant doesn't understand: clearly, it was you who helped him in secret, so why won't you tell him?"

Ziyan shook her head slightly at the maid's words and said, "Actually, I quite envy someone like you. Sometimes, being a woman who is too clever is not a good thing. Everything I can do is to help him on the premise of not violating my adoptive father's interests. But I know that one day, he and my adoptive father will stand on opposite sides. If I openly help him now, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for me to assist my adoptive father when that time comes. Alas!"

Following this sigh, Ziyan waved her hand at the maid, and the maid retreated.

Naturally, Zhu Hao was unaware of this scene unfolding in secret. After instructing Wei Xiaobao to keep an eye on Ziyan, he gave it no further thought and went to bed.

The night passed quietly. Early the next morning, just as Zhu Hao finished washing up and before he had time to have breakfast, Wang Dazhi, the Regional Commander of the Hangzhou Rear Guard, came to see him. Putting aside his breakfast, Zhu Hao received him in the main hall.

Seeing that Wang Dazhi looked travel-worn with bloodshot eyes, Zhu Hao knew he must have been busy all night. He spoke up, "Commander Wang, you haven't rested at all the entire night, have you? Why didn't you go back and rest first?"

Hearing this, Wang Dazhi hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, this general was executing Your Highness's command to take over the Hangzhou Vanguard, and then came directly to see Your Highness. Military orders are like mountains; this general did not dare to delay!"

Zhu Hao was quite pleased in his heart that Wang Dazhi took his words so seriously, but outwardly he said, "Commander Wang, this Prince is not your direct superior, nor is there a subordinate relationship between you and me. Therefore, you do not need to treat my words as military orders. You should go and get some rest first! We can talk once you are well-rested."

Hearing this, Wang Dazhi bowed deeply and said, "Your Highness, although there is no formal subordination between you and this general, I have always held Your Highness in high esteem. Even though Your Highness is not my direct superior, in my heart, you are my commander!"

Wang Dazhi's words were a bit convoluted, but Zhu Hao understood that he was pledging his loyalty. Nodding in great satisfaction, Zhu Hao decided to return the courtesy and asked, "Commander Wang, this Prince intends to transfer you to the capital for an official post. What are your thoughts on this?"

Wang Dazhi fell silent for a long time after hearing Zhu Hao's words, and then said, "Your Highness, this general appreciates your kind intentions, but if there is an opportunity, I wish to go to Shanhai Pass to fight to the death against those northern barbarians who repeatedly invade our borders. While official posts in the capital are fine, this general is a military man. Dying in battle wrapped in a horse's hide is my true pursuit!"

Hearing this, Zhu Hao was deeply moved. In this era, everyone wanted to go to the capital to serve as officials and enjoy wealth and glory; how many people still thought of dying for their country on the battlefield? How could Zhu Hao fail to be moved by such words from Wang Dazhi?

After Wang Dazhi finished speaking, Zhu Hao stood up, gazed at him for a long moment, and said, "With brave warriors like Commander Wang in our Great Ming, why should we worry about unsettled borders or an unstable realm? If the opportunity arises, this Prince will surely fulfill your long-cherished wish!"

Upon hearing these words, Wang Dazhi hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "This general thanks Your Highness for fulfilling my wish!"

Seeing this, Zhu Hao took a deep breath. He knew in his heart that a battle between him and those Later Jin bandits was inevitable, but not right now. When the time came for him to head beyond the Great Wall, he would definitely take Wang Dazhi with him. Although he thought this way, he still had to face reality at the moment. Taking another deep breath, he asked, "Commander Wang, what do you know about the official circles in Zhejiang?"

Knowing that this was the real purpose behind Zhu Hao summoning him to the temporary headquarters, Wang Dazhi replied promptly, "In this general's view, eight out of ten of these men are greedy wretches. The entire administration of Zhejiang is rotten to the core. Apart from Hangzhou, which teems with merchants, the people throughout the rest of Zhejiang are living in dire poverty!"

Hearing this, Zhu Hao thought to himself, "The situation in Zhejiang seems even worse than I imagined. However, due to the current political structure, I am powerless to change it all at once. I can only target a few corrupted worms and execute them as a warning to others!"

With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Hao asked Wang Dazhi, "Commander Wang, how would you evaluate the two Administration Commissioners?"

Wang Dazhi shook his head slightly and said, "This general has had little contact with them, so it is hard to evaluate them. No doubt Your Highness has already gained some understanding of these two men through your interactions with them recently."

Zhu Hao nodded slightly and asked, "Have Gao Yuan and the other two been placed under custody?"

Wang Dazhi nodded hurriedly and replied, "This general did not dare to neglect the matter entrusted by Your Highness! They have all been detained."

Nodding slightly, Zhu Hao instructed, "Commander Wang, please dispatch a squad of men to clear out the Provincial Surveillance Commission. This Prince will personally interrogate these three men in the main hall of the Surveillance Commission."

Wang Dazhi immediately acknowledged the order and left to make preparations. After Wang Dazhi departed, Zhu Hao had his breakfast and waited at the headquarters for news.

Less than half an hour later, the two restless Administration Commissioners of Zhejiang jointly requested an audience with Zhu Hao. Zhu Hao did not avoid them and received the two men in the main hall. After exchanging formal greetings, Xiao Jinggao asked with a trace of displeasure, "Your Highness, Surveillance Commissioner Gao is a senior third-rank official of the imperial court locally. Matters of life and death and official discipline should be decided by the imperial court. By detaining Commissioner Gao without authorization, doesn't Your Highness find this somewhat irregular?"

Hearing Xiao Jinggao's words, Zhu Hao sneered and said, "Judging by Magistrate Xiao's words, must this Prince wait until Surveillance Commissioner Gao has murdered me before I am allowed to detain him? Is that it?"

Acting as if he had no idea what had happened, Xiao Jinggao replied, "Your Highness, how can you say such a thing?"

Zhu Hao truly had no patience to bicker with Xiao Jinggao, so he went straight to the point: "Lord Xiao, there is no need for you to play the fool in front of this Prince. I know you are well aware of all this, and the mastermind behind the scenes may very well be you! Whatever you have to say, we can discuss it slowly after I finish interrogating Gao Yuan today. At that time, the two Administration Commissioners are also welcome to attend as observers! Very well, this Prince has no time to waste words with you now. You may withdraw!"

Zhu Hao's words were utterly devoid of politeness. But after all, he was a prince, and now, having secured the allegiance of Wang Dazhi, he controlled all the military forces in Hangzhou. The saying that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun holds true in any era.

Therefore, both politically and militarily, the two men had lost the ability to challenge Zhu Hao. There was nothing they could do about Zhu Hao's discourteous words. After he finished speaking, the two men could only depart in gloom and dejection.

Roughly another half-hour after Xiao Jinggao and Li Shoujun left, Wang Dazhi returned to report to Zhu Hao that the task had been completed. Zhu Hao immediately rose, took his accompanying guards, and headed to the Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commission to interrogate Gao Yuan and the other two.

Upon arriving at the Surveillance Commission, Zhu Hao noticed that the usual runners and bailiffs were nowhere to be seen; their places had been taken entirely by the soldiers of the Hangzhou Rear Guard under Wang Dazhi's command.

Zhu Hao made no comment on this. Although Wang Dazhi's approach of detaining all the officials and clerks of the Surveillance Commission was somewhat extreme, Zhu Hao knew that he did so entirely out of concern for his safety. After all, Gao Yuan had operated within the Surveillance Commission for several years, and no one knew how many loyal partisans he had planted there. Should any of them harbor desperate thoughts of a desperate man driven to bloodshed, the consequences for Zhu Hao would be disastrous.

Once Zhu Hao took his seat in the main hall of the Surveillance Commission, he struck the gavel and shouted, "Bring in the prisoner Gao Yuan!"

Zhu Hao had no interest in small fry like Gao Naiqian and Feng Gongcheng. He knew very well that to uncover the full story behind the Zhejiang imperial examination scandal, he had to start with the Surveillance Commissioner, Gao Yuan. Therefore, he interrogated Gao Yuan first.

As Zhu Hao's voice fell, Gao Yuan was brought into the main hall. Compared to his spirited demeanor yesterday, today's Gao Yuan had dull, lifeless eyes and an air of absolute despair.

Seeing this, Zhu Hao sighed inwardly. It seemed that Gao Yuan no longer held any hope of survival. With a mind bent on death, it would likely be difficult to extract any useful information from him.

Although he thought this way, Zhu Hao still spoke up, "Surveillance Commissioner Gao, things have come to this. Do you have anything else to say to this Prince? What on earth happened with the Zhejiang imperial examinations? Exactly who was involved in planning this corruption scandal?"

Though kneeling on the ground, Gao Yuan showed no trace of respect for Zhu Hao on his face. Instead, he said coldly, "Your Highness the Prince of Xin, matters have come to this. Winner and loser, I have nothing more to say. Don't expect to get the answers you want from my mouth! I only ask Your Highness to grant me a quick death. However, Your Highness, I can give you a piece of advice: the matter of the Zhejiang imperial examinations is not as simple as you think, and its primary purpose was not embezzlement or bribery. At the very least, I, Gao Yuan, did not take a single coin of benefit from it!"

Hearing this, Zhu Hao slammed his gavel down onto the desk and demanded, "Since you claim you did not take any benefit from it, let me ask you: how did Qian Qianyi die? How did Cheng Sanjin die? Were all these matters directed by you? And where are those twenty-three scholars currently detained? Don't tell this Prince that you have nothing to do with these matters! If what you did was not to cover up the truth of corruption, then what on earth was the purpose? Give this Prince a reasonable explanation!"