Criminal investigation in ancient times

Zhang Rui's investigation into the death of the former magistrate has reached a stalemate. The little clues collected from the Tongzhou mansion can't be sure that Wu Guan did it, but his intuition cannot be separated from him.

Ever since Zhang Rui asked Huzi to spread those rumors that seemed true and false in the market, the effect was beyond his expectation.The lie was spread ten to ten times, and it turned out to be true. More and more people began to think of Xu Chao's good times, especially businessmen. When Xu Chao was alive, he focused on dealing with bandits. Tongzhou The domestic economy has a slight commission, and when Xu Chao dies, the bandits are completely left alone.Merchants in Tongzhou lost a lot of profits indirectly.

On the ninth day of April, when it began to rain slightly, Xu Chao's family was buried.

More than [-] coffins were carried out from Yizhuang to Xishan.Many people in the city came here admiringly, and knelt on the ground to see off the magistrate who died tragically.

Zhang Rui was dressed in a plain robe, and stood beside the carriage with his hands behind his back. Uncle Han stood beside him holding an umbrella, watching the coffins, big and small, being carried away with serious eyes, and the strong sadness made people breathless.

Uncle Han didn't say until he lost sight of anyone, "Master, let's go."

Zhang Rui sighed and nodded, and got into the carriage.

Wu Guan was also in a heavy mood these past few days. There were rumors everywhere in the street that he had sent people to kill Xu Chao, so he wondered, these people dared to talk about the government because they had taken the guts out of their ambitions? !After thinking about it, this matter is definitely not easy. Could it be that some new kid did it?But how could he have such great ability?Wu Guan didn't believe it, so he sent people out to investigate several times but found nothing.Anyway, this little magistrate can't prove that he killed the person without evidence, even if he sues the emperor, he can't convict himself!Thinking of it this way, I felt relieved and took the time to visit the magistrate's mansion. It was almost repaired, and it was time for the boy to come back.

When Zhang Rui came back from the suburbs and entered the inn, he saw Wu Guan sitting in the lobby with two attendants by his side.

When Wu Guan saw Zhang Rui, he hurriedly stood up and saluted, with an unnatural smile on his face. "My lord, the mansion has almost been repaired. Look... it's time to move back."

Zhang Ruidao: "Your Excellency Dutong has a heart, please sit down quickly, Uncle Han will order Xiao Er to serve tea."

Wu Guan was taken aback by Zhang Rui's polite tone, and thought to himself, what does this kid want to do?Could it be because of those rumors?Not likely.

Uncle Han poured tea for the two of them and retreated behind Zhang Rui.

Zhang Rui took a sip of tea and said, "Don't take offense at what you said to Mr. Wu in the magistrate's mansion that day. I also felt depressed when I saw the dilapidated mansion that day, so I vented my anger on you."

Wu Guan hurriedly stood up and said, "It's the lower officials who neglected their duties, and my lord taught me a lesson."

Zhang Rui said with a smile: "Sit, sit, today I went to see off the prefect Xu, he is also pitiful, his family was killed by bandits..." He looked up at Wu Guan's face.

Wu Guan's face froze and he said: "My lord said, it is really pitiful that Mr. Xu's family suffered such a disaster." After saying that, he stopped talking, drinking tea with his head down, not knowing what he was thinking.At noon, Wu Guan refused Zhang Rui to stay for dinner, and left in a hurry with his entourage.

Zhang Rui recalled his expression just now, touched his earlobe and fell into thought.

"My lord, my lord." Hu Zi hurried in.

Zhang Rui frowned and said, "Slow down, have you been chased by a dog?"

Huzi was stunned for a moment, shaking his head, and said, "No, sir, didn't you ask me to find those two beggars? I went to the magistrate's mansion and didn't see anyone, but the mansion was so beautifully repaired! You can't tell that it was the mansion of the magistrate. It looks burnt..."

Zhang Rui knocked on the table: "Let's get to the point."

Hu Zi said: "I didn't find the two old beggars in the mansion, so I asked the craftsmen there. One of the craftsmen said that the two old beggars were kicked out a few days ago."

Zhang Rui: "Oh?! Didn't I tell these two people not to chase them away?"

Huzi: "That's right, I went to ask the one who was off work. But the person didn't know who drove the two old beggars away, so I went to the ruined temple outside the city and asked them one by one. A little beggar said, I saw the old beggar's body in the mass grave, so I hurried back and told you."

"Dead? You actually died... You did a good job, go to Uncle Han to get the money." Huzi smiled and ran down to Zhang Rui.

Zhang Rui couldn't help but hammered a circle on the table. It was really a leaky house and it was raining all night. There were few clues in the first place, but now they are almost broken!Now I can only rely on Duan Xiaobai to see if he can find out anything.Now that the mansion has been properly repaired, it should be officially in place!

***

Lin Xiaoze hugged the book, bit by bit like a chicken pecking at rice. "Boom!" Hitting the table, he rubbed his red forehead and sighed, continuing to read.

"The first evil plots rebellion, endangering the country, the second evil plots great rebellion, destroys ancestral temples, mausoleums and palaces, and the third evil seeks to betray the country..."

He Ming heard his voice from outside the door, and the image of the child reciting with his eyes rolled up naturally appeared in his head, and he quietly pushed the door open with a smile on his face.

When Lin Xiaoze saw him coming, his eyes lit up, he put down the book and said, "Doctor He, why are you here?!"

He Ming said: "Cough, let me see how your memorization is going."

As soon as the memorization was mentioned, Lin Xiaoze's face collapsed again and he said: "This criminal law is really hard to memorize. Ruier asked me to memorize ten pages a day. But I haven't memorized even half a page." head, with an angry face.

He Ming said: "If you really don't want to memorize it, don't force yourself. Even if you memorize it, you won't need it in the future. It's not a waste of effort."

Lin Xiaoze sighed and said, "But I don't want Rui'er to be disappointed in me. I made an agreement with him when I came here, and I can do whatever he asks me to do when we arrive in Tongzhou."

Seeing his small appearance, He Ming couldn't help feeling sorry for him, stretched out his hand and rubbed his head and said, "Don't make it difficult for yourself, you are always lively, it's too embarrassing to force you to calm down and read this kind of book, if you like The same is true for other studies, Ruier only asked you to recite this law because she saw you idle around every day."

Lin Xiaoze said: "Is that so? If I learn something else, he will agree?"

He Ming said: "Naturally."

Lin Xiaoze scratched his head and said with a smile, "I don't have anything else to learn, though I'm really thinking about it."

He Ming: "Think slowly and don't worry, only if you love this thing can you learn it well with half the effort."

Lin Xiaoze said: "Then you also like studying medicine?"

He Ming was stunned, and sat next to him and said: "This is the first time someone asked me this question. I grew up in a medical family since I was a child, and I have been exposed to herbal medicines except for patients since I was a child. My sister and I followed our father one by one." If you can identify a herbal medicine, and you can make medicine to save people, you will naturally practice medicine."

Lin Xiaoze nodded with his hands on his chin and said: "Oh, me, I have been spoiled by my mother and elder brother since I was a child, and I didn't study hard when I went to school. I just dawdle every day. Thinking about it, my past ten years are really useless. gone."

He Ming: "It's not too late to learn now, as long as you don't half-hearted." Lin Xiaoze blushed and nodded.

***

In mid-April, the magistrate's mansion had been repaired, and the weather was fine these few days, Zhang Rui chose a day to move out of the inn.When I first arrived at the house, several craftsmen were pulling the old pagoda tree in the backyard with saws.

Zhang Rui walked over and saw that although half of the old pagoda tree was burned, new buds had sprouted on the other half, and hurriedly persuaded the two of them: "It is a blessing that this tree survived such a disaster, so keep it." .” The two craftsmen hurriedly kowtowed and retreated.

The mansion of the magistrate of Tongzhou is relatively large, with four courtyards and more than 30 houses. Except for the main house that was burned, the front hall was not seriously damaged, and it looked like a newly built one after a little repair.I have to admire the skillful craftsmen of ancient times. After a few days of hard work, it seems that the backyard has been refurbished. The most severely burned houses have been demolished and converted into several gardens. Sophisticated decoration.The other rooms also looked changed, and it was almost impossible to see that they had encountered a fire at all.

The ancients were superstitious. Houses like this that have been murdered are generally called haunted houses, and few people are willing to live in them.But Zhang Rui is a modern person, and he has no scruples about such things. Besides, it will cost a lot of money to build another mansion, and it will take a long time.He couldn't let Tongzhou continue like this.

Tongzhou is originally an important place for commercial routes. Although the road conditions are not good, it is the shortest only way to the border.Now this pipeline is completely deserted, and shrubs have grown on many roads. If it goes on for a long time, this road may not be found!Who would believe this?It's almost like a joke.

After moving to the mansion, those subordinate officials, as well as magistrates from all over the country, came to pay their respects one after another.The county magistrates of several counties under Tongzhou hurried to Tongzhou Prefecture with the county magistrate.Among the dozen or so people, Zhang Rui only recognized the slick-faced Qiuhe county magistrate.

The magistrate of Qiuhe County hadn't stopped shaking his legs since he entered the door, and his official uniform was soaked with sweat. The magistrate Zhaoshui of Lin County who was next to him whispered to him, "Master Feng, what's wrong with you?" ?”

Feng Bao, magistrate of Qiuhe County, shook his head, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said, "Nothing...it's the first time I've met the magistrate, and I'm a little...excited, excited."

The county magistrate Zhaoshui said: "I heard that the new magistrate is a baby, I don't know why he was sent to us..."

Feng Bao smiled wryly, little baby?Now that I have the handle in the hands of the magistrate, I don't dare to act presumptuously even though he is extremely courageous.

After a while, Zhang Rui came out from the back hall, wearing an official hat, wearing a crimson five-rank court dress, with cloud patterns embroidered on the front, a black jade-inlaid leather belt around his waist, a jade sword on the left, a fish bag on the right, and feet Wear white silk socks and black leather shoes.At such a young age, he actually wears this dress to show his whole body righteousness.

All the county magistrates knelt down and said, "I pay my respects to the magistrate."

Zhang Rui waved his hands and said, "You don't need to be too polite, just sit down." The people on the ground thanked them and got up, and retreated to the seats on both sides.

"Presumably everyone already knows me, so I won't introduce it. I'm calling you adults today because I want to get to know you adults. Then you can introduce your jurisdiction and the situation in recent years one by one."

The first person to get up was a young man in his early thirties. He was a little famous. The magistrate of the product.

The man got up and cupped his hands towards Zhang Rui, "My surname is Wang Dan, and my name is Yun. I am the county magistrate of Changxing County. There are many bandits in the county. Although they are often suppressed, they are not clean. In the final analysis, it is because of being too poor. Going down is the last resort to hijack the merchants who come and go."

Zhang Rui nodded and said: "The banditry in Tongzhou has existed since ancient times, and it is caused by the people's sentiments. It can't be solved in a short while. I will report to the Holy Majesty to reduce taxes appropriately to ensure the basic life of the people."

Several people stood up and said: "Your Excellency is wise."

The next two county magistrates, one surnamed Gong, was the magistrate of Zhaoshui County, and the other surnamed Liu was the magistrate of Lutai County.

Feng Bao got up and wiped the sweat from his cheeks and said, "Old and big... my lord, the young one is Qiuhe County... County magistrate."

Zhang Ruidao: "I met Mr. Feng when I passed by Qiuhe County."

Feng Bao said in a trembling voice: "Yes... yes, my lord, my lord... my lord." He knelt on the ground with a plop and said: "My lord offended you, please forgive me!" He kowtowed his head.

Zhang Rui sneered and said, "Oh? What is Mr. Feng's crime? Is it buying an official or robbing a young man? Is it exploiting the people's fat and anointing or spending money to buy and sell death row prisoners?!"

When Feng Bao heard it, his face turned pale with fright, panting like a dying fish.

Zhang Ruidao: "Come here! Take off Feng Bao's official hat for me, today I am going to eliminate harm for the people!" Two yamen servants came in to support Feng Bao, and put the official hat on his head on The leather belt around the waist was taken off.The other three county magistrates were too frightened to breathe, and watched Feng Bao being detained.

"Is the magistrate of Qiuhe County here?"

The county magistrate standing aside hastily knelt down and said, "I'm here." The county magistrate of Qiuhe County, surnamed Gao, is a local, and he was born in Juren, so he can be considered responsible for promoting him as a county magistrate.

Zhang Rui: "From now on, I will appoint you as the magistrate of Qiuhe County. Remember, you must not follow Feng Bao's path, otherwise I will punish you severely!"

The county magistrate hastily kowtowed, both surprised and happy in his heart, he didn't expect such a big advantage to fall on his head.With a steady mind, he secretly thought that he couldn't be like Feng Bao, otherwise he wouldn't even know how he died in the end!

After dealing with Feng Bao, the next few county magistrates immediately looked at Zhang Rui with admiration. They didn't expect that this young magistrate would do things with sophistication and vigor at such a young age, without any jerky appearance at all.Unknowingly put away contempt.

At noon, Zhang Rui left them to have a meal in the government office. This meal was the most embarrassing meal they ate. It's like chewing wax in your mouth, you can't taste the slightest taste.Which county magistrate is not a bit dirty, let alone this kind of place, if the salary of fifty shi is really used, it will not even be enough for the usual government expenses!

Zhang Rui also knows the truth that when the water is clear, there will be no fish. Today is just to scare the chickens and monkeys and vaccinate them. Then don't blame him for being ruthless.

In the afternoon, several counties resigned one after another, and the county magistrate Qiuhe was thrown into prison.

Lin Xiaoze thought it was funny seeing the frightened looks of those county magistrates, and after they left, he said to Zhang Rui: "Ruier, you are too powerful! I saw you so frightened that your legs are so weak that you are even stronger than my father." There is...official authority."

Zhang Rui smiled helplessly: "I'm young, if I wasn't like this, I wouldn't be eaten to death by these people."

Duan Xiaobai said: "Your Excellency has done a good job. If you want to gain a firm foothold in Tongzhou, you can't just make an agreement with them. Only by giving them kindness and power can they respect and fear you."

Zhang Rui: "Before I left, Mr. Zhang told me so many ways to be an official, but now I have used them all. I don't know how he is doing in Beijing."

Duan Xiaobai: "My lord will be happy if he knows that you are like this now."

Zhang Rui secretly sighed in his heart: Mr. Zhang is like a mentor to him, and he will visit him after returning to his hometown in three years. I only hope that the old man will be in good health...