County government
The county government office is located in the north and faces south. It covers a vast area and has a gate, lobby, second hall, welcome hall, and third hall. There are courtyards and accounting rooms on both sides, and it has a strict atmosphere.
At this time, the county magistrate had gotten up, and the county magistrate's wife had already served food. They were about to have breakfast when a government servant rolled and crawled towards the county government office. A policeman at the gate of the county government office stopped the government servant and shouted: "What happened?" , How can you behave like this in such an embarrassing state?"
The officer pulled the catcher and whispered in his ear. The catcher was shocked: "What? This is a big deal. Are you telling the truth?"
The officer said: "Sir, I am absolutely right. It is absolutely true."
After hearing this, the catcher's expression changed, he turned around and ran towards the county government office.
"Sir, something bad is going to happen!" The catcher rushed into the office. The county magistrate had just had a few bites of breakfast when he was interrupted. He almost choked and glared at the catcher.
The catcher lowered his head and reported: "Sir, just now at the gate of the city, hundreds of people wearing white scarves and mourning clothes, carrying dozens of coffins, have arrived at the gate of the county town. They said it was, they said it was..."
"What?" The county magistrate was shocked when he heard the arrester's words. This was a major public security incident. Could it be that someone had gathered to make trouble? He immediately urged: "Quickly tell me, what is it?"
"There are soldiers among those who came, and they are also wearing white scarves and mourning clothes."
"What? Prepare an ox cart quickly and take me to the gate of the county town." The county magistrate was shocked. Is there still a mutiny? He immediately ordered someone to prepare an ox cart.
Although there were so many people at the door at this time, the soldiers guarding the city gate, who were retired soldiers, still took a step forward. Their bodies were shaking a little, and they shouted loudly: "Who are you? Why are you wearing white scarves and mourning clothes and carrying coffins to make trouble in the county town?" , do you want to rebel?"
Pei Ziyun took a step forward and yelled loudly: "I am Pei Ziyun, the newly promoted official. Last night my village was attacked by thieves and dozens of people died. Today I am here to file a complaint. Do you dare to stop me?"
"Mr. Jie Yuangong?" The soldiers in this room were trembling and their expressions changed. They looked at Pei Ziyun, whose face was livid and who was wearing a military uniform. He hesitated for a moment.
At this moment, Cao San also stepped forward and shouted angrily: "Li Si, are you blind? You can't even recognize Mr. Xie Yuang. What's more, the inspection master is dead. Let me tell you, something happened today." It's a big deal, please get out of the way quickly, otherwise you won't be able to bear the consequences later."
Pei Ziyun led the villagers one step forward, but the soldiers retreated and did not dare to stop them.
This group of people went straight into the county town, playing mournful music all the way, and the streets were quite lively. As soon as the mourning procession entered the city, there was silence for a while, leaving only the mournful music and the cries of women and children. Many people came to watch, and children crowded in. Let the adults scold you.
The county magistrate's ox cart had just been prepared. Not far away, the ox cart stopped and a yamen servant shouted: "Wang Captou, where are you going? Don't go. The roads are blocked now. Mr. Xie Yuangong is leading the way. The people carrying the coffin said they wanted to file a complaint, so we had to report it to the county magistrate as soon as possible, this matter is really serious."
The catcher's expression changed, and just as he was about to speak, the county magistrate had already opened the curtain and asked, "Tell me in detail, what is the situation now?"
The county magistrate listened to the report from the government servant who came over again. After just a few words, his expression changed drastically and he ordered the arrester: "Go back and prepare quickly!"
After a while, the county government office arrived. Pei Ziyun saw that the county government office was sitting in the north and facing south, with a large gold plaque hanging on the wall. There was an injustice drum in the front half for people to beat the drum to complain about grievances. He went up and beat: "Bang." , bang, bang.”
Suddenly the sound was so loud that a yamen servant who had just started the morning shift and didn't know the situation raised his head and asked: "Who is playing the drum? What can I complain about?"
The yamen officer's eyes glanced over, and the coffin was placed all the way down, blocking the street. The funeral procession crowded the gate of the county yamen, and he took a breath for a while.
"Shengtang!" At this time, two rows of officials had arrived and filed in, beating the ground with their killing sticks. The county magistrate was sitting on it, and a bright mirror and a plaque were hung above it.
Pei Ziyun led the village chief and Cao San into the hall. As soon as the village chief entered the hall, he knelt down and cried: "Sir, please avenge the villain. Last night, Zhang Jieyu, the most talented thief, led the thief into the village in the middle of the night and killed twenty There were three villagers. Fortunately, the inspector was in Woniu Village at the time. He led his sergeants to kill the enemy bravely in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, the thieves were brutal. Even the inspection officer died on the spot. However, the thieves did not get any favors. Several villagers were led by Cao San. They surrounded and pursued them, and then all the thieves were beheaded."
Cao San, who was following on one side, also stepped forward and knelt down, shouting: "Your Majesty, the junior official is the military officer of the inspection department. He follows the inspection chief to patrol the countryside. He doesn't want to be attacked by thieves."
"This piece of jade is probably a demon. Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, but he also uses demon magic. The inspection master was struck by the demon magic and was killed by thieves. Among the people who attacked were the thieves on the water rudder and the Yinlong Temple. The monk-minor caught several thieves alive."
As he spoke, Cao San waved his hand, and four archers pressed four men in black up. These men in black were all injured. When they arrived in the hall, they were forced to kneel down, their turbans and masks were torn off, and they entered One of them is a monk with a few ring scars, and the other three look like fierce gangsters at first glance.
The county magistrate suddenly felt a little weak. Both Yinlong Temple and Heduo had heard about it. The family had a big business and it was said that they had connections with many dignitaries. If this case was to be brought forward, it would be a big case.
I heard the grievance drum sounding again, and the yamen brought the complaint. A man with loose hair was followed by several scholars. This man rushed up and cried: "My lord, county magistrate, please help me, my lord magistrate, please help me."
When the county magistrate saw these men with wild hair coming in, he picked up the gavel and slapped it hard, shouting: "Quiet!"
The scholar raised his head, and it was Tang Zhen who stepped forward and cried: "Sir, I am unjustly accused. I am Tang Zhen who was deprived of his reputation as a scholar. But I am not ridiculous, but I have an inside story. There have been several scholars who were deceived by this man in the past." I was framed and fell into Zhang Jieyu’s poisonous plan. If you don’t obey, you will die.”
Behind Tang Zhen, there were several scholars who swarmed up and cried loudly.
While these scholars were crying, several more old women came. The women came to beat the grievance drum. These old women came in and cried: "Sir, please redress your grievances."
The county magistrate asked: "You women are not at home. Who do you want to sue when you come to the county government?"
"My lord of the county, I am the mother of the scholar Zhang Quan. Zhang Quan drowned in the river a year ago. Before his death, he left a letter saying that he had been coerced. If something happened, someone must have killed him. Please don't appeal immediately. In the future, Come back and file a complaint after the incident to avenge him.”
Seeing the evidence presented to the court, the county magistrate was trembling with fear—this was a heinous case!
When such a big event happened, there were twenty-three coffins blocking the door. The county chief registrar came and listened on one side. Listening to this big event, everyone's face turned blue and bloodless.
The county magistrate was sitting high in the lobby, with the plaque and mirror hanging high. He was on pins and needles at the moment, as this matter had become big.
The chief registrar sighed and went in, only to hear the county magistrate whisper: "Damn it, how dare this person, how dare he, this is threatening the government, doesn't he want to take the imperial examination?"
This situation is obvious. It was Pei Ziyun who joined forces to raise public opinion. Officials, scholars, and victims all came to create a solid case. However, this move was extremely taboo in the officialdom. Isn't he afraid that he would not be able to win the Jinshi
"The county magistrate, he is a civil servant. The next step is to take the exam in Kyoto. It is a big deal for the local government, but not for Kyoto." The boss reminded: "Besides, I have heard this matter clearly now, I'm afraid I can't suppress it. ”
"Not to mention that the thieves entered the village and killed more than 20 villagers, but the body of this patrol is still outside. What's even more frightening is that this person was working some time ago, and now the order for promotion in the government has been issued, and he was promoted to county captain, from ninth grade Transformed into the ninth level, this is the official body."
"When Da Xu started his dynasty, he was killed by thieves. This matter cannot be suppressed."
The county magistrate trembled all over, and whispered to the chief clerk: "But if such a big thing happens, all of us will have finished the evaluation. Not to mention relocation, even if we are demoted, it will be difficult to stay in office."
"My Lord County Master, it is no longer a question of whether he can stay in office. It is a question of whether he can keep his position." The head clerk rolled his eyes and had a plan. He lowered his voice and said, "My Lord County Master, for today's The only plan is to deal with this case in a big way, and make sure it is inspected and investigated by the county, so that the thieves will take action without thinking, and the matter of Heifeng Village will be involved, and it will be settled."
"This matter is that my lord, you are fighting against the thieves and bandits, and you are trying your best to eliminate the harm. Who can say that your lord is not the one who killed us. A county captain died in the line of duty. It was the thieves' deliberate revenge."
When the county magistrate heard what the chief clerk said, he was startled at first, and then he laughed. It is not easy to handle a case lightly. Some people gossip, but it is necessary to handle it more seriously. He digs into the case and seizes the suspects. Several people Can it be clean
As long as he bites the bullet, if so many people die and so many things happen, he might even be promoted instead of being demoted and sent to jail.
The chief clerk stepped aside. The magistrate's face was thoughtful, thinking about the conversation just now. After a while, he continued to ask questions, patted the gavel, silenced the hall, and asked: "Shen Jing, report the case to me. I want to check them one by one."
The county magistrate asked questions and the master took notes. Every confession was signed by the person involved. Tang Zhen looked at the confessions, his face turned livid, thinking about the hardships of these days, he pressed his fingerprints fiercely.
The officials, archers, soldiers, women, and children were also imprisoned one by one. The Yamen servant handed over the confession. The county magistrate looked at the confession and said: "This county has understood the facts of this case. Everyone should go back. This thief has already been informed by me." I heard about it and ordered the patrol to investigate secretly, but I never thought that this thief would attack Woniu Village in the middle of the night and kill the patrol and the villagers. I will give an explanation to the people of Jiangping County for this matter."
The county magistrate stood up and said righteously. After sending everyone away, the magistrate said to Pei Ziyun again: "This time, Pei Juren has been implicated. We didn't expect that the monster was rampant, so we investigated. The monster killed officials while he was out on patrol. , I will definitely report this kind of monster to the court and rain down thunder."
If a Taoist refuses to be restrained by the imperial court, the law says: "It is a monster."
Pei Ziyun couldn't help but wonder, but what the county magistrate said seemed to have some kind of inside story? However, it would be to my advantage if I handed over my hand and thanked the county magistrate profusely.
The county magistrate then went to the inner courtyard and called the county chief registrar to discuss it. He entered the inner courtyard and said: "Li Xiancheng, although we are all fighting with each other, this matter now affects our hats. You What should I do?"
The chief registrar and the county magistrate were staring at each other. Li Xian Cheng sat firmly and seemed to be thinking. After a while, he raised his head with a murderous look in his eyes and said, "This matter must be settled. As for the aftermath, , it’s not too late for us to work together!”
(End of chapter)