After hearing this explanation, Sun Tu had no other thoughts in his heart except contempt. He immediately laughed and said: "Yuanzhou's recommendation is really a good trick. While he is an upright official in our city of Jiangzhou and is respected by the people, he secretly You do such evil things, thank you for being able to enforce the laws and regulations with dignity every day!" After saying that, he turned back and saluted Cai Jiushen: "Prefect, since Yuan Zhoutui has confessed all his crimes, I think he should be arrested. Please make all his crimes known to the public in order to rectify the laws of the Song Dynasty!"
But to his surprise, Cai Jiu was indifferent to this suggestion. He waved his hand and said: "Qianli, please be patient and listen to what he has to say." After saying that, he looked towards me with a half-smile. He looked at Yuan Wang, who looked a little nervous: "Yuan Zhoutui couldn't tell everything to me because he had concerns or regrets, right?"
"I know that my sin is serious, but I have no choice but to do it. I hope the eunuch will forgive me." Sensing that the other party did not immediately question his intentions, Yuan Wang finally felt relieved, and then gave an explanation Said: "Since Cheng Jichang has fallen into the hands of Sun Tuanlian, and he is your person, the magistrate knows that this matter cannot be concealed for long, so it is better to tell the truth. Maybe the prefect will still tell me after knowing my sincerity. He would be so generous as to let me go."
"Ha, why do you think that I will not investigate further? With all your actions against me over the past year, I should take this opportunity to eradicate you!" Cai Jiu asked with a sneer.
"Because the current subordinates no longer pose any threat to the prefect, I have already fallen into the hands of the prefect. From now on, I will obey the prefect's orders and do not dare to disobey. Therefore, keeping me as an obedient official is better than getting rid of me. It will be much more beneficial to the prefect if I have another subordinate who is bent on embarrassing the prefect." Yuan Wang had already thought of his words and immediately explained the reason without hesitation.
These words made Cai Jiu's thoughts change, and the hostility in his eyes became less and less: "It makes some sense. Is there any other way to say it?"
"Actually, have you ever thought about it? It may not be as easy as imagined to get rid of the official based on this crime. Those stolen money not only involved many merchants in Jiangzhou City, but also many officials in the court, especially It was in the eunuchs of Taifu Liang, but the lower official himself was left with nothing. If the eunuch really wanted to investigate this time deeply, he would inevitably drag all these Jiangzhou merchants into the quagmire, and it is hard to say what the outcome would be. As for the There are a lot of variables in the court. With Taifu Liang’s status in front of the officials, he will definitely be able to make a difference. At that time, the case will only become more confusing, and it may even turn into a party dispute between Taishi Cai and Taifu Liang! I want to use The magistrate is so wise that he doesn't want this incident to lead to a dispute between the DPRK and China and destabilize Jiangzhou, right?" At the end of the sentence, he looked deeply at Cai Jiu: "So I hope that the magistrate will think twice before acting, and stay here. I will gain nothing but no harm, please weigh the gains and losses carefully, the eunuch."
Cai Jiu's face really showed a tangled look this time. He really didn't expect that the other party would come up with such a sufficient reason to excuse himself. But after thinking about it carefully, I felt that this reason was indeed reasonable. Now that Jiangzhou has just eradicated the water bandits who have caused trouble for many years, there will indeed be no more trouble. Moreover, Jingcheng's father probably didn't want to make himself a direct enemy of Master Liang because of a trivial incident in Jiangzhou.
Seeing that he seemed to be moved, Sun Tu was suddenly shocked.
: "Prefect, this matter is related to the dignity of the government. Yuan Wang's collusion with the water bandits is a serious crime. How can he be let off lightly? And just because of his greed, hundreds of officers and soldiers and innocent people died in vain. If he cannot be severely punished How can he comfort those who are suffering?"
As he said that, he took another step forward: "Prefect, I think right is right and wrong is wrong. Even if more people are dragged into this case, we must judge it impartially and return the truth to the people of Jiangzhou. Please also ask the prefect to show his caution!"
After another long pause, Cai Jiufang slowly spoke: "Yuan Wang, I want you to write down the confession in your own hand and sign it, are you willing?"
"Everything is at the discretion of the prefect. I will write down a confession right now." Yuan Wang didn't mean to shirk the slightest embarrassment. He immediately got up and took the pen and ink and paper from the desk beside him. He wrote down all the crimes in a few strokes. He wrote it down truthfully, signed it and pressed his fingerprints, and respectfully held it up to Cai Jiu. His attitude of sincerity and respect was completely different from that of Yuan Tuiguan in the past.
Cai Jiu took it away with satisfaction: "Since you are determined to change your ways, I can't punish you without teaching you. I will spare you this time, but if you dare to commit another crime again, I will definitely punish you for both crimes." It would be easy to destroy your whole family!"
"Yes, I will strictly abide by the prefect's teachings. From now on, I will obey the prefect's orders in everything." Only then did Yuan Wang truly feel relieved. He knew that his risky gamble had finally come true. If he had not taken the initiative to see Cai Jiu and allowed the matter to develop, or if he had thought of killing someone to silence him, his situation would have been much worse than it is now. At least now his official position and reputation were temporarily saved. As for Liang Shicheng How to explain it there can only be discussed later.
Sun Tu's face changed greatly: "Prefect..." But before he could say his objections, Cai Jiu interrupted him with his hand: "Sun Tuanlian, you don't need to persuade me anymore, I have made up my mind. I, Jiang The state has been beset with internal and external difficulties this year, and the officials are exhausted and the people are really unable to cause more trouble. As for the inability to give an explanation to the soldiers and people you are worried about, it is easy to say, haven't you already killed the fierce Jiao and a group of water bandits this time? Have they all wiped out and brought back more than a hundred prisoners? As long as they are punished in public, it will naturally be a good explanation for them. As for Yuan Zhoutui, he has always had a good reputation among the people, and he is the leader of our Jiangzhou city. If an upright official is a good official, why should he make his crimes public and make the people suspicious of the court?"
"But..." Sun Tu wanted to say something else, but at the moment he didn't know what reason to object to. He just felt chilled. He didn't expect that the victory he had achieved through fighting desperately with his troops was nothing in Cai Jiu's eyes. It's just a bargaining chip that can be given up at any time.
This is how dark the officialdom of the Song Dynasty is now, and this is how black and white are reversed in the world of the Song Dynasty!
Seeing his sad and angry look, Cai Jiu smiled, stood up, walked up to him, patted his shoulder gently and said, "Sun Tuanlian, you came to Jiangzhou as a Tuanlian at the request of my father. Now, You did a good job, I will come to the table soon to ask for credit for you, please don't let me down."
These words may sound simple, but they contain a hidden secret. Sun Tu came to Jiangzhou because Cai Jing wanted you to help Cai Jiu deal with Yuan Wang and win over the locals.
In the military and political power, if things go awry because of some of your own ideas, it will be contrary to Cai Jing's ideas, and then they will attack you, Sun Tu!
After making this vague threat, Cai Jiu added: "This time Sun Tuanlian, you and your fellow soldiers have made great contributions, and I have decided to reward you heavily, which will definitely not chill the hearts of the casualties. Also, you are For the city's regiment training and the talent in military training, it is a bit unfair to only manage hundreds of township military committees. Yuan Zhoutui, what do you think about leaving all the affairs of the prison camp to Sun Tuanlian?" This is to use various advantages. To appease and win over Sun Tu.
The corner of Yuan Wang's mouth twitched slightly, feeling a wave of heartache. This prison camp was the only way for him to obtain money legally and compliantly, and now Governor Cai was going to take it away from him with just one word. But now, he no longer had any room to resist in front of Cai Jiu. The confession of guilt was still in Cai Jiu's hand, so he could only nod with a wry smile: "The prefect is wise, this is how people can make the best use of themselves." With Sun Tuanlian's talents, he will be able to take care of the prison camp from top to bottom, and tomorrow, my subordinate will hand over the prison camp to Sun Tuanlian."
"Qianli." Cai Jiu looked at Sun Tu again. Although there was a smile on his face, the threat in it could not be hidden.
Sun Tu clenched and unclenched his fists. After repeating this process several times, he let out a long breath, cupped his hands and said, "I would like to thank the governor for your kindness. I will take good care of the prison." The city camp has lived up to the trust of the prefect."
"Okay. What I, Jiangzhou, want is a talented and responsible official like you Qianli. I believe that with the joint efforts of you and me, Jiangzhou will surely prosper again." Cai Jiu touched his long beard with satisfaction. Laughed. Then Yuan Wang also laughed along with him, but Sun Tu couldn't laugh...
When the three of them returned to the front yard from the back office, the celebration banquet was already halfway through. Many of the soldiers had already been drunk on the spot, talking nonsense or singing loudly, obviously expressing their anger at the secrets that had been suppressed for nearly a year. For the army, the suppression of the water bandits this time really made them feel bad, and they also relaxed.
Not only them, but also some local soldiers and Luda became drunk because of drinking too much toast. When they saw Sun Tu, although he spoke, people couldn't understand what he was saying. Naturally, they became even more drunk. You won't notice that Sun Tu's mood has changed.
Only Yang Zhi, who was cautious by nature, was still awake at this time and noticed something strange, so he found an opportunity to ask Sun Tu what happened behind him.
Sun Tu looked a little lonely: "I told Brother Lu before that I could do more things as an official, but now that I think about it, it's really a joke. In fact, in the eyes of those officials, the suffering of the people and the truth of the case are just empty talk. That’s all, all they really value is their own interests. Although we defeated the water bandits this time, the real evil cannot be eliminated."
Yang Zhi was a little confused when he heard these words, but he could see that Sun Tu was in trouble.
That day and night, when the city's officials and people were still celebrating the annihilation of the water bandits, an important but ignored witness named Cheng Jichang in the state prison suddenly died suddenly. After that, no one mentioned this person again, as if he had never appeared!