The front of the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office was as solemn as ever. Although Kyoto Prefecture Yin Tiezheng was not considered to have a high position in the capital with many high-ranking officials, the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office was never looked down upon by anyone.
The position of the governor of Kyoto has always been a hot-butt place. After the Chu Empire established its capital in Ye, the Kyoto Prefecture was established. There have been at least seventeen or eight governors of Kyoto, but they can stay in this position. There are only a handful of long-term ones. Being able to stay in this position for three years is already a miracle.
After all, the Kyoto Prefecture is responsible for cases in the capital, not just cases near the capital. Any case that occurs in the capital will always involve some dignitaries. No matter how you decide, you will always offend one party, so even if you are assigned by the court When the governor of Kyoto takes office, the current officials will also try their best to find ways to move away from this pit of fire.
It wasn't until Tie Zheng was transferred to this post that Kyoto Prefecture became a truly eye-catching yamen.
Before Tie Zheng took office, he had a reputation for being upright and had not had many contacts in the officialdom. Although he had done a lot of practical work, he had never been promoted.
When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Of course Tie Zheng understands this truth, but he has never mixed in the muddy water and has always been independent. If the emperor hadn't accidentally discovered it, Tie Zheng would have been able to do nothing.
After Tie Zheng took office, he acted vigorously and resolutely. He would get to the bottom of every case handed over to the Kyoto Prefecture and make sure to get to the bottom of it. Many people secretly laughed in their hearts. Those extremely slick officials could not stay in office for long, let alone Tie Zheng. Zheng's temperament is incompatible with officialdom, and even if he is not dismissed from office, he will definitely be in bad luck in the end.
But the fact is exactly the opposite. Tie Zheng does not ask about his status when deciding cases, but only about the merits. For this reason, many officials in the capital were offended by him and even wanted to punish him behind his back. However, the cases he solved will leave traces of them. The rights and wrongs of the file are clearly clear in the file, and a lot of evidence is preserved, making it difficult to find fault with his case.
The most important thing is that the late emperor wanted such a person and tried his best to protect him. Tie Zheng has been in the position of the governor of Kyoto for more than ten years. It is precisely because of Tie Zheng's existence that those dandy boys are afraid that something will happen to Tie Zheng. In his hands, he didn't dare to be too arrogant, and the public security in the capital was also cleaned up.
When Qi Ning and Dou Lianzhong entered into a lawsuit and brought it to Kyoto, Dou Lianzhong did not dare to offend Tie Zheng in the slightest. This shows Tie Zheng's prestige in the capital. The people in the capital supported him very much. Those dignitaries knew that If you don't deal with this person as a last resort, you won't provoke this person again.
The previous time Qi Ning came to Kyoto, he was just the prince in Jinyi, but this time his status had changed and he was already a hereditary prince of the empire. After receiving the report, Tie Zheng went out to greet him in person.
Qi Ning did have some respect for this kind of people. The two of them exchanged a few words and went to the side hall without making any suggestions. They saw Duan Canghai sitting impatiently in the side hall, and the tea at his hand was too late. It was already cold. Tie Zheng took the lead into the hall. Duan Canghai hadn't seen Qi Ning yet and couldn't help but sneered: "Master Tie's official business is done? This is really hard to wait for."
Tie Zheng just smiled faintly. At this time, Qi Ning had also followed him into the hall. Duan Canghai was startled when he saw Qi Ning, but Qi Ning sighed in his heart.
Looking at the scene in front of him, he could naturally tell that although Duan Canghai had arrived in Kyoto early, he had never seen Tie Zheng before. Tie Zheng had obviously found an excuse to leave Duan Canghai here due to his busy business.
Although Duan Canghai's official position is not as high as that of Tie Zheng, he is after all an old subordinate of the Jinyi Qi family and a veteran who has come back from the battlefield. Tie Zheng dared to leave him here for a long time, which shows that he is not afraid of offending anyone at all.
Qi Ning winked, Duan Canghai suppressed the anger in his heart, and Tie Zheng invited Qi Ning to sit in the main seat, while he stayed by the side, and asked someone to serve tea, then dismissed the servants, and added He was ordered not to come near.
"The Marquis's visit is naturally about the Black Scale Camp case." Tie Zheng didn't mince words, and went straight to the point: "If the Marquis has any questions, it's okay to ask. If I know anything, I should tell you everything."
Qi Ning said with a smile: "Master Tie is straight to the point, that's good. Master Tie should also know that the person who committed the crime this time was someone from the Black Scale Battalion. I hold the position of commander of the Black Scale Battalion, and my soldiers committed such a serious crime. I I have to ask."
"Of course." Tie Zheng said immediately: "If the Marquis doesn't come, I will have to pay a visit to the mansion."
His skin was slightly dark, and his expression was cold, like a stiff rock. Every word he spoke seemed to make no one suspicious.
"I see." Qi Ning said with a smile: "Master Tie, I have something to ask you first, and please feel free to enlighten me."
Tie Zheng raised his hand and said: "Master Hou, please speak!"
"It is said that on the night of the incident, the soldiers committed the murder and were met by people from Kyoto Prefecture. This should be correct, right?" Qining asked, staring at Tie Zheng.
Tie Zheng nodded and said: "That's true. That night, Cai Feng, the head of the Kyoto Prefecture, happened to be passing by with someone, encountered the murder, and captured the murderer on the spot."
"I heard it was midnight when the incident happened?"
"Exactly."
"People from Kyoto Prefecture appeared on the outskirts of the capital in the middle of the night, and happened to be involved in a murder. I wonder if it was a coincidence, or did Kyoto Prefecture know in advance that a case was going to happen there?" Qining said with an imposing manner.
Duan Canghai was also staring at Tie Zheng.
Tie Zheng was not in a hurry to reply, but took out a heart-to-heart letter from his arms and presented it to Qining with both hands. Qining didn't know what kind of medicine Tie Zheng sold in the gourd. He took the letter and saw that the outside of the letter only said Tie Zheng. There were four words of personal invitation, but no money was left. He frowned, opened it, glanced at it a few times, and his face became solemn. Duan Canghai was wondering when Qining had already handed over the letter, and Duan Canghai took it immediately.
Tie Zheng had already said: "Master Hou, this is the letter that someone threw in front of the Kyoto government office at noon on the day of the incident. No one knows who threw it there. The letter said very clearly that that night, in the dark A murder will occur near Camp Lin, and it involves high-ranking officials and nobles. If it cannot be stopped in time, the court will be implicated."
Qi Ning frowned and said, "In other words, someone had informed the case in advance before it happened."
"Exactly." Tie Zheng said: "Xiaoguan summoned the four major arrests in Kyoto Prefecture. Although some people suspected it was a prank, no one has made such a joke with him since he took office."
"The handwriting on the letterhead seems to be very ordinary, and the origin cannot be seen."
"Yes, any calligraphy seller on the street can write this letter." Tie Zheng's face was always serious: "The other party did it intentionally, just because he didn't want people to find the person who wrote the letter through the handwriting. "
Qi Ning pondered for a moment before asking: "Master Tie, are you saying that the Kyoto government official who encountered a murder that night rushed to the scene because of this letter?"
"The official thought over and over again and felt more and more that this was not a joke, so he sent two groups of people to patrol the area near the Black Scale Camp." Tie Zheng said: "In addition to Cai Feng, there is also Zhantang Zhan, the head catcher, who also led a team. The men from Cai Feng’s group arrived near the Black Scale Camp before dark, but for the sake of caution, they were all cruising around in disguise.”
Qi Ning nodded slightly, and Tie Zheng continued: "Cai Feng and the others broke into pieces and searched the area to see if there was anything fishy. Until one of the officers saw Mrs. Meng's car, the officer saw that they were on duty three times. I was on my way in the middle of the night, and was guarded by my family generals, so I immediately found Cai Feng and reported the matter."
"What happened next?"
"Cai Feng learned about this. Although he was not sure, he immediately summoned his men and caught up with the carriage. When they caught up with the carriage, a murder happened. At that time, three generals of the Meng family had been killed. Cai Feng Feng and others went forward and captured all three criminals." Tie Zheng's expression remained unchanged: "Cai Feng discovered that the three criminals turned out to be soldiers from the Black Scale Battalion. He originally wanted to take him to the Black Scale Battalion for questioning, but later he was worried that something would happen. , so the three criminals were brought back to the Yamen first."
Qi Ning frowned and said: "If this is the case, it means that someone has known about the murder for a long time and deliberately let people from Kyoto Prefecture catch him on the spot."
Tie Zheng said: "I believe this is what happened. After the criminals were arrested and brought to justice, after interrogation, they admitted that they were soldiers from the Black Scale Battalion. I was worried that these people were just pretending to be false and were not gullible, so I sent someone to The Blackscale Battalion notified this matter and confirmed the identities of these three people."
"The Blackscale Battalion did steal three soldiers." Duan Canghai said, "This is also my negligence."
Tie Zheng said: "That's the strange thing. Lord Marquis, the three soldiers sneaked out of the military camp after dark that day, but this letter was delivered at noon that day. Could the person who wrote the letter have the ability to predict the future?" , expected that those three soldiers would commit a crime? Apart from this murder, there were no other murders near Blackscale Camp that day, so the murder referred to in that letter could only refer to the murder at Blackscale Camp."
"I don't believe there is any way to predict the unknown in this world." Qining sneered: "If this is the case, there can only be one explanation."
"Master Marquis, please enlighten me."
"Those three soldiers stole out of the barracks not on a temporary basis, but on someone's instigation in advance." Qining said: "The Black Scale Camp was rebuilt and new soldiers were recruited. It is very likely that there were people with ulterior motives mixed in. I failed to guard against it. This was my negligence. On the day of the incident, the three criminals must have been instructed. They even knew in advance that Master Meng Guangren’s family members would pass by the Black Scale Camp, so they laid a trap."
Duan Canghai asked from the side: "Master Hou, are you saying that those three people who stole out of the military camp were going to the Meng family members?"
Qi Ning nodded and said: "When the incident happened, it was Mrs. Meng who wanted to be convenient and she seemed to be hit by the three criminals. But now it seems that this is not a coincidence. The three people were already preparing to intercept the carriage, but It is convenient for Mrs. Meng to make it easier for them to take action."
"It can be explained this way." Tie Zheng nodded and said: "But there is another question. If someone carefully planned it, how did they know that Mrs. Meng would rush back to her hometown that night? After the murder was caught, the chief steward of the Meng Mansion came to Kyoto I went to the house and learned from him that Mrs. Meng had to rush back because she got a letter from home at dusk that day. Mr. Meng’s father-in-law was dying. Mr. Meng was preparing for the royal wedding and could not get away. Mrs. Meng also saw her home. After reading the book, I suddenly decided to rush back overnight. Even Mrs. Meng herself didn’t know beforehand that she had to go back overnight.”
Qi Ning was thoughtful, and after a moment, he clapped his hands and said, "I know!"