Seeing that Ji Changdu had committed the crime, the other Ji family stewards naturally no longer insisted on keeping secrets from the main family, so they also revealed everything they knew about the robbery of the birthday card -
It turned out that all of this was indeed based on Hutou Village. It was because Du Hu and other strong men coveted the 100,000 yuan of property that they had the courage to launch a surprise attack on the passing escort team in Yuncheng County. Ji Yang's role in this was to explore the way forward for these bandits and help them figure out the route of the escort team.
However, although Ji Yang was bold, he did not dare to take on such a huge relationship, so he begged Du Hu to find a way to protect himself, so there was a scene where Du Hu managed to invite Chao Gai to his cottage, in order to get better afterwards. Such a serious crime was all blamed on Chao Gai, leaving him unable to defend himself.
After listening to these people's stories, Magistrate Liu became even more angry. He slapped the tree and shouted, "You and other thieves are really lawless and daring. Come on!"
Lei Heng and Zhu Ding hurried forward to listen to the order, only to hear Liu Yaochen order: "You two will take people to Jijiazhuang immediately and arrest all relevant people, especially the culprit Ji Yang. We can't let him get away!" He hates that, if Ji Yang hadn't colluded with the bandits in Hutou Village, how could he have caused such a big thing and made himself uneasy.
Both Zhu Lei and Zhu Lei didn't dare to neglect. They quickly accepted the order and left in a hurry. Magistrate Liu comforted Chao Gai with a few gentle words and sent him away. Then, he set his sights on Sun Tu who was standing in front of the door: "Sun Tu, it is because of your report that this county was able to solve this robbery. I will definitely reward you well. You should first Let's go back."
Sun Tu thanked him quickly and left the hall. At this time, everyone in the Ji family had been taken down to watch and be detained. Only Magistrate Liu and the two jailers were left in the hall. He frowned and walked around from behind the case to Song Jiang: "Song jailer, How do you think this should be handled?"
Song and Jiang knew the meaning of his words very well. Since this case was committed by thieves from Hutou Village in Xishangang, his responsibility as the local magistrate was not small. If the truth is reported to the court, I am afraid that the accusation of lax governance will definitely not go away.
Liu Yuan did not dare to speak at this time because he also felt guilty. Whether it was his previous words and deeds or Ji Fang's subsequent mention of his relationship with Jijiazhuang, it was difficult for him to escape from the case. Even if the other members of the Ji family didn't bite him again because they had learned from Ji Chang's mistakes, the suspicion on him was not small.
So in the end, the matter still had to fall on Song Jiang. He frowned and thought for a while before saying: "County Yin, this robbery has already alarmed Jeju Prefecture. Maybe people in Tokyo will know about it by now." It's not easy to make a big deal out of a big deal. Even if we can convict everyone in Jijiazhuang, we still can't explain to the court that we failed to recapture the stolen birthday property."
This sentence directly broke Liu Yaochen's fantasy - he originally expected to put all the blame on Jijiazhuang and Ji Yang and capture them. But now it seems that this obviously cannot fool the superior Yamen: "What should we do now? Are we really going to attack Hutou Village and capture Du Hu and other bandits?" At this point, his His face has become very ugly.
Liu Yuan still didn't speak, but he was deeply disapproving of it. Because he knew very well that with the small number of rural soldiers under the jurisdiction of this county, it was impossible to attack Hutou Village. You must know that Du Hu has been entrenched in Xishangang for many years. The county had sent troops to suppress the bandits before, but the troops returned in embarrassment several times. The last time, nearly a hundred soldiers were lost.
Precisely because they knew it was impossible to win by storming the stronghold, the county finally turned a blind eye. Fortunately, Du Hu is also a smart man. He knows well that rabbits do not eat grass beside their nests. He has never disturbed the people in Yuncheng County. Therefore, the officials and the bandits have been living in peace in recent years, resulting in the current situation. It's a bit of a weird situation.
But now, with the robbery of the birthday card, this peace has been completely broken, but Liu Zhixian still feels embarrassed, and he has no confidence that he can conquer Hutou Village.
Song Jiang felt a headache when his boss looked at him like this. He understood earlier than Liu Yaochen how difficult it was to break through Hutou Village, and even if all the troops in the county were mobilized, they might not be able to pose any threat to these bandits. After pondering for a moment, Song Jiang said: "County Yin, in my humble opinion because of my humble position, now the only way to get back their stolen birthday card is to seek help from Jeju Prefecture, and give an explanation to the court."
"Ask for help from the Jeju government?" Magistrate Liu frowned when he heard this: "Is there no other way?" Doesn't this tell the superior Yamen how incompetent he is? This will greatly affect your career.
Song Jiang was silent. If there were other ways, would he not mention it? If the county could defeat Hutou Village with its own strength, it would be impossible for this group of bandits to remain until now.
"Liu Yasi, what do you think?" Finally, Magistrate Liu turned his attention to Liu Yuan, and his expression was not as kind as when he was treating Song Jiang.
Liu Yuan's heart tightened even more when he was glared at by his own county magistrate. He knew very well that he had something in the hands of his boss, and if he couldn't help him get through the difficulties this time, I'm afraid he would pursue it to the end. This made Liu Yasi's mind spin rapidly, and in desperation he actually came up with a countermeasure: "County Yin, there is indeed a way, but..."
"What is the method? Tell me quickly!" Liu Yaochen urged.
"This..." Liu Yuan glanced at Song Jiang, and then lowered his voice and said: "Actually, it is not difficult to give an explanation to the Jeju government and the imperial court. All you need to do is hand over the robbed items in the birthday card and the robbers. Just escort them up. The latter can be handled by everyone in Jijiazhuang. As for the former, we can buy back those treasures from Hutou Village!"
These words made the two people in front of them stunned. Song Jiang looked at his colleague in surprise. He really didn't expect that he would come up with such an idea of dealing with the bandits. Liu Yaochen was about to scold his idea for being ridiculous, but then he swallowed the words that came to his lips because this seemed to be the last resort.
But he still had some difficulties: "Where should the money come from? The county's public funds are not so easy to come up with." It was even more impossible for him to pay for it out of his own pocket.
"I think this is easy, I can use Jijiazhuang's property to buy it." Seeing the county magistrate's heart move, Liu Yuan was even more convinced. Then he narrowed his eyes and said, "If it's not enough, we can also let Chao Gai buy it." Pay some money. After all, this matter has something to do with him. He has to contribute to the government. I think everyone in Hutou Village will not refuse. Originally, they robbed the birthday card in exchange for money. Now we directly give They will definitely want their money!"
"Okay, this is indeed a good idea. Just do what you want!" Liu Yaochen said and glanced at Song Jiang who was about to say something next to him. The warning in his eyes made him dare not dissuade him. Maybe they, the superintendents, could usually use some means to suppress the magistrate, but once it really affected their own future, Magistrate Liu would definitely not be able to give in and compromise.
Liu Yuan also understood this, so he chuckled and said: "Song Yasi, I know that you have a good relationship with Chao Baozheng, so I have to leave this matter to you. Jijiazhuang should be able to make up seven or eight hundred thousand coins." After Wan Guan comes, the remaining twenty or thirty thousand Guan will fall on Chao Baozheng, so don’t let the county official down."
Song Jiang secretly sighed to himself that this was not the way of the world. The facts of the case were clear, but instead of thinking about suppressing the bandits, the government actually started to think about doing business with the thieves. But this is the reality of the Song Dynasty at the moment. The imperial court is trying hard to negotiate peace with the outside world. For this reason, it has to deliver a large amount of annual coins to the Liao Kingdom in the north and Xixia in the northwest every year. However, the local officials actually have to ask for peace from the thieves and bandits. This is a typical example. The ups and downs are effective.
After being silent for a long time, Song Jiang finally bowed his head and agreed: "I accept my order. I will go and discuss this matter with Chao Baozheng." After saying that, he walked out. Seeing his angry but helpless look, Liu Yuan felt very happy, and this time he was so angry.
Unexpectedly, when almost all his plans failed, there would be such a turning point to deal a heavy blow to Song Jiang. Moreover, after this incident, with a common secret, Liu Zhixian would not pursue the case between himself and Jijiazhuang anymore. relationship, and will regard himself as a confidant...