The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua

Chapter 59

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Henan is the birthplace of Yin and Shang. Since ancient times, Henan has become the center of the world. Since ancient times, it has become the center of the world. The seven emperors and eight tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty are all buried here.

However, as the Song Dynasty moved to the south, Henan gradually lost its former status. After the Jin people invaded, it was the turn of the Mongolian iron cavalry to step on the Central Plains. The wheel of history rolled forward, and the people of the Central Plains encountered wars again and again. It will be more than a hundred years since the emperor of this dynasty took over the world.

When Emperor Taizu passed through Gongxian County, which had just been pacified by the war, he found that the original majestic and solemn Mausoleum of the Song Emperor had already suffered devastating damage. Almost all the ground buildings were destroyed, and the barren fields were full of broken and messy stone carvings. The original face is unclear, and among them, the tombs of Emperor Gaozong, Xiaozong, and Emperor Huiqin of the Northern Song Dynasty were excavated and destroyed with the tacit approval of the former Yuan court.

It is said that several emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty even had their bones dug up and burned, and countless treasures were donated to the Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan and used to decorate the temple.

Feeling this, Emperor Taizu ordered that those imperial mausoleums that had been dug up for robbery should be refilled and repaired, and people were prohibited from plundering woodcutters. Taxation, this has curbed the trend of robbery.

However, this is already an old event when the Ming Dynasty was founded. After all, the imperial mausoleum is there. There will always be young people who take risks in order to get rich overnight. Even the Qin Huang Mausoleum, who does not know the exact location, has someone to make an idea, not to mention the location. Definite Song Emperor Mausoleum.

And it should be noted that the tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty is slightly different from the previous dynasties.

Before the Tang Dynasty, many imperial mausoleums were not erected, but were buried underground, the most typical of which was the Qinhuang Mausoleum.

After the Han Dynasty, tombs gradually became popular, "because the mountain is a mausoleum, and the mountain is a treasure". This method was formally established in the Tang Dynasty. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty basically carved their own tombs in the mountain tombs and hid the tombs in the deep mountains. , on the one hand, it looks bold, and on the other hand, it can minimize the visit of tomb robbers. Of course, human means are endless, and the latter role is basically void.

When we arrived in the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the consideration of feng shui at that time, the emperor's mausoleum was not cut into the deep mountain like the emperor's mausoleum in the Tang Dynasty, but was selected on the hill opposite Songshan Mountain, with Luoshui in the north and the Yellow River not far ahead. .

In addition, the tombs of the seven emperors before the Song Dynasty moved south are all here, not far from each other, so it is quite convenient for those with malicious intentions to steal.

Therefore, even if there are civilians guarding nearby, the tomb robbery incidents of the Song Emperor Mausoleum still occur sporadically.

In addition to the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial courts of all dynasties have paid more attention to protecting the tombs of the previous emperors, and this dynasty is no exception. The imperial court clearly banned the robbery of mausoleums, but it has been banned repeatedly, and it has not formed a large scale in the past, so the local government found it and arrested people, and it did not get out of hand.

However, just recently, in Gongxian County, where the Northern Song Dynasty Emperor Mausoleum is located, a very strange and appalling thing happened.

It is said that since a year ago, in the middle of the night, people nearby will always hear strange noises coming from Yonghou Mausoleum and Yongzhao Mausoleum. Voice.

Yonghou Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Song Yingzong Zhao Shu, and Yongzhao Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Song Renzong Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Shu was Zhao Zhen's successor, but he was not Zhao Zhen's biological son, because Zhao Zhen's biological sons were all dead at that time, so he had to adopt Zhao Shu from the clan.

But these are not important, the question is, how can there be crying in the imperial mausoleum in the middle of the night

The emperors of the Song Dynasty have been dead for many years, and there are no filial sons and grandsons for a long time. Even if there are, why would they choose to go there in the middle of the night and cry

This is really strange.

The people of the nearby villages are also responsible for part-time guarding of the mausoleum, so after hearing the cries for several nights in a row, several villagers went to Yonghou Mausoleum to check.

As a result, he went and never came back.

Only then did the village chief realize that something was wrong. While mobilizing the villagers to look for the missing person, he reported it to the Gongxian government. The government sent someone down and searched around, but the missing person was not found, so the imperial mausoleum was built. On the edge of the Luo River, the official guessed that these people might have accidentally fallen into the river when they were walking at night.

With a conclusion, the matter will be over.

For a long time after that, the crying did not sound again, and the village seemed to be quiet again. Except for the few villagers whose relatives died, everyone has gradually forgotten about it.

But just half a year ago, the terrifying cry appeared again, and it was louder than before, accompanied by the faint sound of thunder, the village chief did not dare to be careless, and hurriedly reported it to the government again. , I felt that the village chief was making a big fuss, and disapproved very much, but because the emperor's mausoleum was there, he still asked the county's arrest to bring a few people to the village to check the situation.

This investigation found two or three robbery holes near Yonghou Mausoleum and Yongzhao Mausoleum. It seems that there were tomb robbers who took a fancy to the tombs of these two emperors and came to visit them.

It was related to the theft of the imperial mausoleum. The magistrate of Gongxian County did not dare to be careless, so he ordered a few arresters and six young and strong villagers to squat near the imperial mausoleum, hoping to catch the group of tomb robbers.

Although the village chief is very old, as the chief of a village, he has a duty and responsibility, and he is also one of them.

The first day passed, and the vicinity of the Emperor Mausoleum was quiet, the moonlight was like water, and there was the sound of the Luo River flowing by. Other than that, there was nothing, everything was calm.

The next day passed, and the same was true.

On the third day, something happened.

Three arrests, six villagers, plus the village chief, there were ten people when they went.

But in the end only two came back.

One is the catcher, and the other is the village chief.

One crazy, one stupid.

The crazy thing is to catch fast. He ran back from the vicinity of the Emperor Mausoleum with the village chief one after the other. He was confused. Seeing who beat whom, let alone speaking clearly, the village chief was horrified and covered in blood. , it's almost time to go with the catcher.

After the doctor's diagnosis, the catcher was overly frightened and lost his mind. It is estimated that it will be like this for a lifetime. If it can't be cured, the village chief is old and weak, but after all, he has experienced a lot of things, so he can endure it better than young people. Some, after recuperating for a period of time, the spirit will slowly recover.

But as long as he mentioned what happened that night, the village chief kept silent and refused to say more. It was not until the magistrate of Gongxian came to ask questions in person, that he repeated things like "Damn it" and "there are monsters" over and over again. He couldn't even say why.

The county magistrate had no choice, and felt that the matter was very strange, so he had to report it to the capital.

"Damn? Monsters?"

In the small courtyard, Tang Fan pondered these two words and asked, "Are tomb robbers pretending to be ghosts?"

Suizhou shook his head: "I also just received this case, and it is difficult to make an accurate statement based on the one-sided words of the magistrate, and I have to go and see it in person to find out. This matter is within the jurisdiction of Henan, and it is estimated that the cabinet will also be responsible for it. The investigation by the Ministry of Punishment may be sent to the head of the Qing officials in Henan at that time.”

Tang Fan smiled bitterly: "It seems almost inevitable."

He stretched his waist again: "Alright, anyway, I'm a born scumbag, and I can't sit still. Zhenri is tired from sitting in the yamen. If there is a chance, I'd rather go down for a walk!"

Sui Zhou pondered: "I also plan to go there in person."

Tang Fan was flattered and said, "Could it be that Sui Zhenfu wants to fight with me? That's a great honor to be an official!"

Although Suizhou is only a real employee of thousands of households now, he is actually the boss of the entire Beizhen Fusi, and Yuan Bin is the next one. In the officialdom, everyone is used to shouting at Gaoli. Fu Shi" and "Sui Zhen Fu Shi" shouted.

Of course, when the words came into Tang Fan's mouth, there was a bit of ridicule.

Sui Zhou leaned back on the chair, took the buckwheat tea that A-Dong handed over, and said leisurely, "It's not always possible to fight side by side, since you're the envoy, naturally you want to pacify the Quartet, you five-rank petty official, come here It's time to listen to my command."

Of course, this is more of a joke.

Tang Fan laughed when he heard the words: "Then I'm going to fight with you. You are now a fifth-rank military officer, and I am a fifth-rank civilian officer. Since the orthodoxy of Ming Dynasty, we have always been civil and military commanders. According to the fifth-rank civilian officer The principle of being able to command fourth-rank generals is that you, Boss Yuan, are here. I am afraid that you have to listen to my command. Otherwise, I can't lift my hands and shoulders. What can I do when I go? stop?"

He winked at A-Dong again: "Are you right, girl?"

A-Dong nodded: "Yes."

Tang Fan raised Erlang's legs and said proudly to Suizhou: "It's good to have a girl, look at how caring my family A-Dong is!"

A-Dong: "I mean Brother Sui is right."

Tang Fan was very dissatisfied: "Why are you turning your arms out!"

A-Dong giggled: "Of course I'm going to abduct out. Brother Sui, your money is all in the hands of Brother Sui. Without him, the two of us won't have to drink the Northwest Wind!"

Tang Fan couldn't help but retorted: "What all! I just gave him half of it. Isn't it okay to give you the money to buy vegetables every month!"

Suizhou: "Then tell me how much money you have now?"

Seeing the two of them looking at him with four pairs of eyes, Tang Fan said boldly, "A man's private money is a secret, you can't ask it casually!"

A-Dong asked Sui Zhou again: "Brother Sui, how much money do you have now?"

Suizhou didn't say "you can't ask casually", and said calmly: "Last year, I saved 30 taels for him, including the 350 taels that I handed over to me before, a total of 380 taels. I also had some savings before. A total of about 1,400 taels."

A-Dong exclaimed again and again: "Brother Sui, you are so rich!"

Tang Fan couldn't help protesting: "There is also a painting of Wang Ximeng in my room, which is worth more than his 1,400 taels!"

A-Dong revealed the secret at a glance: "That was obviously left to you by your parents!"

Tang Fan snorted: "The weather is really nice today, that crystal dish has been lonely for a long time, and it's waiting for us to feast on it. Talking about money is so vulgar, it smells like copper!"

A-Dong covered her mouth and smiled: "Obviously, you secretly hid the writing fee under the pillow and didn't hand it in. I thought you could hide it for how long, but in a blink of an eye, I bought a bunch of idle books!"

Tang Fan's old face couldn't bear it: "What is a useless idle book, it is "Spring and Autumn Zuo Chuan Zhengzheng", a Song edition book that can't be bought with money, I bought it after a long time!"

A-Dong blinked: "Obviously there is also a book of "Spring Tide"."

Sui Zhou frowned: "Why does the name sound a bit strange?"

Tang Fan felt a little guilty: "That's a serious monster, don't think about it in the wrong place!"

He doesn't say it's okay, the more he describes it, the darker it gets.

Suizhou: "Go back and show it to me."

A-Dong made a face to Tang Fan: "I want to see it too!"

Master Tang was heartbroken: "Last time you took my copy of the "Warring States" and still haven't returned it to me!"

Although Mr. Tang can write idle books for entertainment in his spare time, and he can also get some money for writing, but to say that all he writes are Fengyuehuan, he is indeed wronged. For example, "Warring States Records", it is him The historical romance written in the background of the Eastern Zhou and Warring States period, because the content is complex, and he is often not free, so he has only completed two-thirds of the writing.

Sui Zhou innocently said: "I haven't finished reading it yet, and I will return it to you after reading it."

Tang Fan: "When did you finish it?"

Suizhou: "Wait until you promise not to secretly hide the writing fee next time."

Master Tang was wicked and courageous, and expressed his protest and dissatisfaction with this unequal system: "Then you didn't give me the money!"

Sui Zhou ended all the disputes with one sentence: "But I don't have the problem of spending money indiscriminately."

Tang Fan: "..."

With a bang, his self-esteem shattered to the ground.

This year, the bigger the official is, the lower the status in the family, which makes it impossible for people to live!

He is leaving home...

Seeing that his ears seemed to be drooping down, Sui Zhen Fu stroked his friend's dog's head lovingly and lovingly: "I'm not greedy for your money, I just keep it for you, who makes you happy when you read the book, The study is almost too crowded, so restraint."

Master Tang burst into tears.

The words were divided into two parts. As Suizhou expected, the case was brought to the cabinet and then transferred to the emperor. Sure enough, even the Chenghua Emperor, who was not a manager, was disturbed. He not only conveyed his importance to the cabinet. , and also asked the cabinet to send people to investigate together with Jinyiweiyi. It is necessary to get to the bottom of the case. If there are indeed tomb robbers who are robbing the emperor's mausoleum, they must be caught and punished severely.

Could it be that the Son of Heaven, once enlightened, was heartbroken because of the death of fourteen lives

Of course not, just because everyone is an emperor, the emperor's tomb was stolen in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the emperor was saddened by the death of a rabbit. Pay attention to scrutiny.

The cabinet took a look and sent the matter to the Ministry of Justice, because after all, the tomb robbery case is still within the scope of the Ministry of Justice's responsibilities.

As a matter of course, as the leader of the Henan Qingli Division, Tang Fan is duty-bound.

Zhang Shangshu called Tang Fan over and asked him to take someone in person to investigate the case together with Jin Yiwei's staff.

Since Tang Fan confronted Liang Shilang last time, Zhang Shangshu was inexplicably pleasing to the eye, and he did not hesitate to express his appreciation for Tang Fan in public. Even though Tang Fan knew that this was because Zhang Shangshu and Liang Shilang could not get along, So he used himself as a spearman, but Tang Fan himself did not gain benefits, at least he used this to win the hearts of Henan Qingli Si.

So no matter what, the relationship between him and Zhang Ying is a win-win situation. Of course, Zhang Ying is a dignified book and wants to ask Tang Fan to do something, and Tang Fan has no room for shirk.

For this reason, Zhang Ying specially called Tang Fan to his duty room. First, he asked a few questions about how he was doing recently, and whether he encountered any difficulties in his work. Try to help you as much as possible. Of course, Tang Fan also said that thanks to the care of adults, everything is fine.

The two sides chatted a little, and Zhang Ying went to the main topic: "You already know the case of the theft of the Song Emperor's tomb?"

Tang Fan nodded: "The official document has been sent to the Henan Qingli Division, and the lower official has read the file."

Zhang Ying asked, "Then what do you think?"

Tang Fan said, "Excuse me, it's a little tricky."

Zhang Ying sighed slightly: "Yeah, those villagers and government officials may not have fallen into the river and died, and there may not be any ghosts at work, but since the other party was able to kill more than a dozen people in a row, if it was man-made, it must be extremely vicious. Disciple, this case is really not easy to solve. However, "

He paused: "No matter how tricky it is, you must do your best. If this case can be solved, I will report to the elders and give credit to you."

Tang Fan hurriedly said: "The lower official must do his best, and dare not say his merits!"

Zhang Ying suddenly asked again: "I heard that behind your back, you all refer to me and the other five Shangshu as clay sculpture Shangshu, right or not?"

Tang Fan was stunned: "Where did this word come from, but the lower official has never heard of it!"

Zhang Ying smiled slightly: "You don't have to pretend to be confused, I didn't blame you, I just wanted to hear the truth."

Tang Fan said: "Others don't know, but for the third year of Chenghua, you were governor of Ningxia as the censor of the right deputy capital, and it was with your advocacy and presidency that Ningxia city changed its face from soil to masonry. Later, you personally presided over the river course, and led the Yellow River water to irrigate more than 700 hectares of farmland in Lingzhou, benefiting countless living people. These few moral policies are vividly remembered. The people of Ningxia regard you as a reborn parent. Chao Wenwu really has few ministers who can do things!"

Yes, although Zhang Ying is listed in the Clay Sculpture Books, he was not like this from the beginning. He was also full of enthusiasm, serving the country and benefiting the people. He also made a lot of political achievements and considered himself a minister. Many people see tea drinking now. Zhang Shangshu, who was messing around, thought he had been drinking tea all the time.

If Tang Fan hadn't seen Zhang Ying's resume from Suizhou, he wouldn't have known that Zhang Shangshu had such a capable and progressive side.

Sure enough, Zhang Ying's face was moved: "How do you know this?"

Tang Fan smiled and said, "Xiaguan's teacher Qiu Jun has repeatedly praised Zhang Shangshu as a competent official in front of Xiaguan. After hearing that Xiaguan came to the Ministry of Punishment, he wrote to Xiaguan to learn more from you!"

Of course, Tang Fan was simply putting gold on his teacher's face, and by the way, he also gave Zhang Ying a reasonable explanation. He couldn't say that I saw your resume at Jin Yiwei, right

Zhang Ying was a little moved, but also a little ashamed: "I didn't expect Qiu Qiongshan to say such a thing to me, but unfortunately Lian Po is old now, I am not the same person I used to be!"

Tang Fan said earnestly: "Whether Zang is slandered or not, the people of the time say that it doesn't matter. After a hundred years, the history books will definitely give a fair evaluation to the ministry!"

Zhang Ying has been involved in the officialdom for a long time. Originally, he was not so easy to be emotional, but Tang Fan’s speech today brought into his heart. Now everyone avoids troubles and has to live by it. , the more disheartened, he simply buried the passion of the past, and also learned from others that he did not do business as usual, and spent his days wandering.

As a result, others put him side by side with Yin Qian, Liu Zhaona and other mediocre people, and made fun of him with the nickname "Liu Shangshu of Clay Sculpture". After listening to it for a long time, Zhang Ying became numb.

Unexpectedly, today, it turned out to be a little Shi Lang who revealed his deep grievance and depression in one sentence, how could Zhang Ying remain silent

With this out, the relationship between the two suddenly became much closer.

Zhang Ying directly addressed Tang Fan's words: "Runqing, don't look at this case as tricky, but it has already left a number in front of His Majesty. If it can be done well, it will be of great benefit to your career future. of."

Obviously, Zhang Shangshu has now regarded Tang Fan as half his "person", otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned him like this.

This is not only because Tang Fan just said something to open the other party's heart, but because Tang Fan has no foundation in the Ministry of Punishment and had a falling out with Liang Shilang before, the only person he can rely on is Zhang Ying, the minister.

For this smart young official who knows how to advance and retreat, Zhang Ying naturally gave birth to the meaning of cultivation.

Tang Fan really knew what to do, and thanked him solemnly: "Thank you for the suggestion, the lower official will definitely investigate this case with all his strength!"

Zhang Ying nodded with satisfaction: "The only inconvenience is handling the case with Jin Yiwei. I heard that this time the commissioner of Beizhen Fusi will also go in person. The cabinet's intention is to let you be the official, he is the deputy, the two of you. Everyone is an imperial envoy. Jin Yiwei has always been special and may not be willing to obey your arrangements, but since you were able to ask Jin Yiwei to help you investigate the case handled by Yin Yuanhua last time, I think you have some friendship, so I don’t need to worry about you. ."

Tang Fan was a little embarrassed: "Last time, the officials were reckless and caused trouble for Butang, please forgive me."

Zhang Ying said with a smile: "Liang Wenhua is always arrogant, thinking that the Ministry of Punishment is his one-word hall, and it is time for someone to kill him, but after all, there are differences between the superior and the inferior, when you face him, you should still be more respectful. Well, don't let anyone get caught."

Tang Fan was naturally only taught.

This matter should be done sooner rather than later, sooner rather than later, hand over the work with Dai Hongming, let him take charge of the Henan Qingli Division during this period, and leave him two officers for dispatch, and he will bring Yin Yuanhua and Cheng Wen and Tian Xuan went to Henan with the staff sent by Jin Yiwei.

According to the rules, Yin Yuanhua did not need to accompany him originally. As Tang Fan's deputy, when Tang Fan was away, it should be his turn to take charge of the Henan Qingli Division, but he did not know what to do, so he took the initiative to apply for a follow-up appointment. Tang Fan went with him, and Liang Shilang also spoke, saying that the case was serious, and the chief and deputies of the Henan Qingli Division should go at the same time to show their importance.

In this way, it was cheaper for Dai Hongming, who temporarily took over the position of Langzhong as the principal and was in charge of the Henan Qingli Division.

At the end of May, the group left the capital and went to Gongxian County in Henan Prefecture.