Seeing that Mengran refused to speak, Yue Yang prepared to use pepper water.

It's not that Yue Yang is ruthless, but Meng Ran still hasn't admitted any mistakes, which is obviously a problem. No one can be perfect.

"Put her face up on the wooden table."

With a wave of his hand, Mengran was placed face up on a wooden table. Her hands, feet, and neck were fixed by the iron rings on the wooden table, preventing Mengran from moving at all.

Yue Yang took out two handkerchiefs and soaked them in pepper water for a while, then picked up one and covered Mengran's face directly.

Drops of pepper water immediately flowed into Mengran's mouth, nose and eyes. Mengran suddenly felt an indescribable smell and hurriedly closed her eyes and held her breath.

But how long can she hold her breath, up to two minutes? You must know that if the holding time is slightly longer, she will definitely be gasping for air when she breathes again.

When Mengran felt that she couldn't hold it in anymore, she hurriedly opened her mouth and took a few deep breaths of air, but the chili pepper water instantly entered her nasal cavity and respiratory tract.

Mengran suddenly felt a pungent and spicy smell coming over him, and he couldn't breathe for a moment. At the same time, his nose and respiratory tract began to feel as if they were on fire, and he immediately began to cough repeatedly.

"Cough cough cough..."

But just as she coughed twice, a handkerchief soaked in chili water was placed over her face again.

Mengran's breathing became more difficult, and her pale face began to turn purple. She twisted her head desperately to no avail...

Just when Mengran felt like she was suffocating, two handkerchiefs were suddenly lifted off her face, and she hurriedly began to gasp for air.

But at this time, the nose, mouth, respiratory tract, and eyes began to hurt. Especially the respiratory tract, every breath was torture...

Just after taking a dozen breaths, two handkerchiefs soaked in pepper water again covered her face. Once again, she felt even more uncomfortable than last time. Mengran could do nothing but cough violently...

"I...recruit..."

Mengran was not afraid of death and could endure physical torture, but she could no longer bear the torture and shouted two words hoarsely with all her strength.

"Get out!"

"Here"

A sneer appeared at the corner of Yue Yang's mouth, and then with a wave of his hand, two wet handkerchiefs were removed from Mengran's face.

But Mengran didn't feel very relaxed. The entire respiratory tract and nasal cavity seemed to be burned by fire, and her eyes also experienced bursts of burning pain. The only difference was that she could breathe, but breathing caused more pain in the respiratory tract...

Yue Yang snorted coldly:

"If you don't give up until you reach the Yellow River, if you confess earlier, you won't suffer such torture. Bring me a bowl of cold water."

Yue Yang gave the order, and one of the Jinyi guards immediately brought a bowl of cold water. Another Jinyi guard let go of the iron rings on Mengran's neck and arms to help her up, and poured a large bowl of cold water into her.

As a large bowl of cold water entered her throat, Mengran felt her pain immediately ease a lot. She hurriedly and greedily took a few deep breaths of fresh air.

Meng Ran has a sweet appearance and a plump body. At this time, the clothes on her chest have been soaked with pepper water and water. As she breathes rapidly, the mountains rise and fall violently. Yue Yang and several Jin Yiwei feel a little thirsty...

Yue Yang closed his eyes to calm down and said calmly:

"Tell me, who do you belong to? As long as you cooperate honestly, I will never torture you!"

Mengran wanted to speak, but found it difficult to speak, so she hurriedly took the opportunity to ask for another bowl of water:

"Sir, give me another bowl of water..."

Yue Yang nodded:

"Bring water."

Jin Yiwei hurriedly went to bring another bowl of cold water. Meng Ran raised her neck and drank it all in one breath. She took a few deep breaths of air before saying:

"The parents starved to death, and the little girl was bought into the palace. At that time, the little girl was only eight years old. In the next four years, the little girl lived a good life, and was sent to the palace when she was twelve years old."

"I was about to starve to death, but unexpectedly became the young lady of the noble family. In order to repay my benefactor for saving his life, the little girl will cooperate whenever he needs it."

"The empress is very kind to the little girl. She never scolds her. The little girl was originally unwilling to poison the empress, but they said that the dose of the medicine is small and will not kill her. She will recover after lying down for a few days at most."

"They also said that the purpose of the poison was mainly to scare the crown prince and the emperor, hoping that the crown prince would stop, but the empress actually fell into a coma after being poisoned..."

Sure enough, it was Mengran. If it were not for the people around the empress, it would not be easy to poison the empress. The poison must be tested before eating every time.

When Yue Yang heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time felt his scalp numb. In the majestic Ming Dynasty Palace, the number of eunuchs and maids had actually been arranged and bribed to the tune of a hundred people.

Yue Yang shook his head and asked again:

"Mengran, who is so bold as to instigate you to poison the empress?"

Mengran looked back at Yue Yang:

"Brother Li Guozhen of Xiangcheng and Duke Xu Yunzhen of Dingguo!"

Yue Yang was shocked when he heard this and jumped up from his seat:

"Dong Guo and Uncle Xiangcheng? Meng Ran doesn't want to slander anyone..."

Mengran was already in tears at this time, whether it was regret or fear. Seeing that Yue Yang didn't believe it, he wiped away his tears and said calmly:

"Sir, the little girl is about to die. Is it necessary to bite the nobles of both families?"

Yue Yang stared at Mengran for a long time before nodding:

"Come here, put her in solitary confinement, and serve her well and well. Don't let anything happen to her. I want to see His Highness immediately."

"Here"

Yue Yang carefully put away the interrogation records, then left Zhao Prison and went straight to Zhongcui Palace...

At this time, in the south of the Yangtze River, the gentry, powerful landlords and wealthy merchants were still increasing their hoarding of grain. The grain shipped from other places was immediately divided up by them not long after it got off the ship.

In the back hall of a large grain store in Suzhou, a handsome young man was asking the shopkeeper about the recent situation of the grain market in Suzhou.

The young master is none other than Princess Baiyun Zhu Yun, the second most powerful person in the royal group, who is also Li Yun, whose surname was given by Chongzhen.

"Shopkeeper, how are the food prices in Suzhou in the past few days? When I came here, I saw many people rushing to buy food on the street. There are complaints about these people in the prosperous Jiangnan."

The shopkeeper placed a cup of Biluochun tea on the coffee table in front of Li Yun and said:

"These people are getting more and more crazy. The price of food on the market has been increased to more than 7 taels of silver per dan, and it is estimated that it will definitely reach 8 taels of silver per dan in a few days. It is really shocking."

Li Yun smiled lightly when he heard this:

"Let them speculate vigorously. Starting tomorrow, the Royal Group will restrict purchases at all grain stores in Jiangnan. Each person can buy up to ten kilograms a day. We also need to stock up on some grain."

The shopkeeper was shocked:

"Master, seven taels per kilo of grain is the right time to make a lot of money. Why do we need to limit purchases?"

Li Yun shook his head:

"We have already made enough money. Besides, the Royal Group is not mainly about making money. It is still a strategic weapon in the hands of the boss and cannot let the people starve."

"Yes, yes, the young master is smart!"

The shopkeeper knew very well what the young master meant. The powerful families in the south of the Yangtze River would not rush to buy food at every pound. Only the common people would do this.

Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan at the gates of Anqing, and his adopted son Sun Kewang also died in this battle.

After discussing with Luo Rucai, they decided to cross the river and go south in order not to fight with the National Protector Army.

As a result, on the fifth day when they were crossing the Yangtze River and heading south, they were attacked again by Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan. They lost more than 20,000 people again and fled to the south of the Yangtze River in embarrassment.

On the sixth day, Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan led their troops to cross the Yangtze River. At the same time, they sent people to notify Zuo Liangyu, hoping that Zuo Liangyu would block the bandits' retreat route.

What Sun Yingyuan meant was that the Ming army attacked Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai in front and back. Even if they could not eliminate them, at least the main force of the rogue bandits would be destroyed and they would no longer be able to threaten other parts of the Ming Dynasty.

Zuo Liangyu originally wanted to take the opportunity to attack Zhang Xianzhong, but after receiving Sun Yingyuan's request for help, Zuo Liangyu actually retreated directly, allowing Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai to easily go south to Jiangxi.

In fact, Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan had no choice. The two armies, with more than 40,000 troops, needed a large number of ships to cross the river. In addition, the local government was not cooperative, so it was difficult for the army to cross the river quickly.

By the time the Longteng Army and Huben Army had all crossed the Yangtze River, the defeated bandits led by Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai had already entered the territory of Jiangnan.

Shengjing

After the destruction of the eight imperial merchants, the Ming Dynasty tightly closed the door to trade with Mongolia and Jian slaves, strictly prohibited grain and all goods from leaving the customs, and began to impose trade sanctions on Tatar Jian slaves.

The Tatars and Jiannu did not know how to farm, and the Han people outside the Pass were almost killed by wild boar skins. They relied entirely on plundering food and people from within the Pass to make a living.

The last time he entered the customs, not only did he find nothing, but he also encountered Azigyanguli and tens of thousands of troops, which made Huang Taiji temporarily cautious.

In order to counter the Ming army's firearms, the crown prince ordered Kong Youde to form the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty. All the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty used firearms, and Kong Youde served as Gushan Ezhen.

In the past, it was called the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty. In fact, the Han army only had three banners. This time it was the real Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty. At the same time, it was ordered to form the Eight Banners of Korea, which also focused on firearms.

However, if they did not enter the customs and plunder, their lives would be problematic. In the end, the slave establishment placed its hope on North Korea and demanded that all the military supplies and food needed for the establishment of the slaves would be provided by North Korea.

The North Korean people are already living a poor life. Under the harsh exploitation of slaves, the people are living in dire straits, and starvation has become a normal phenomenon.

But they had no choice. The leader of the country, Li Zong, was well aware of the huge gap in military strength between North Korea and Jiannu, and he did not even dare to have the slightest thought of resistance.

Recently, Huang Taiji received intelligence that the Ming Dynasty began to use force against the bandits. The fifth battalion of Gezuo had been destroyed. Li Zicheng was also compressed in the northern Shaanxi area. Under normal circumstances, he would be destroyed quickly.

Two rogue bandits, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, who were operating in the south, were also attacked by the Ming army and were fleeing to the southern mountains. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty was about to put down the rogue bandits who had suffered from cholera for many years.

Historically, when the rogue bandits were about to be exterminated, Jian Nu repeatedly and decisively sent troops into the pass to plunder, and finally allowed the rogue bandits to escape death. Otherwise, the rogue bandits would have been pacified long ago.

It was not that Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others colluded with the Jiannu slaves. Although they were officially called rogue bandits, they also looked down on the barbarians outside the customs and disdained to cooperate with them.

The main problem was Huang Taiji's strategic vision. He didn't want to see the rogue bandits destroyed. Huang Taiji knew very well that once the rogue bandits were destroyed, the Ming army would use all its strength to deal with them.

Drawing on the lessons learned from the last time he entered the pass to rob and was destroyed by the regiment, Huang Taiji did not plan to enter the pass for the time being before Kong Youde's musketeers were trained.
To be continued...