Dakui smiled and said: "If Zeng Xihuai really broke the law, then he should be beheaded."
He Chongzhi lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying: "Since ancient times, those who kill people will die. I don't know the meaning of Lord Zhang clearly. I hope you will make it clear."
Dakui chuckled and said: "My officer is saying that if Zeng Xihuai is indeed guilty of a crime that requires death, Sir He can behead him. If there are other hidden reasons, your Excellency can handle the case as appropriate."
"What is the measure?" He Chongzhi asked probingly.
Dakui smiled and said: "Let's take saving one's life as the standard."
He Chongzhi nodded when he heard this and said: "The lower official understands what Mr. Zhang means. It is within the lower official's job to handle the case in accordance with the law and not to wrong the people." Dakui and He Chongzhi looked at each other and smiled, and raised their glasses to drink together again.
What was said after that was all about romance and worldly affairs. Dakui and He Chongzhi were chatting happily. Maybe it was because of drinking. He Chongzhi opened up his chat box and gained some insights.
When everyone was satiated and the waiter served tea, He Chongzhi called the waiter to pay the bill with a smile on his face.
"How much money is it in total?" He Chongzhi asked drunkenly.
The waiter bowed and replied: "A total of thirteen taels of silver."
The waiter's words almost made He Chongzhi crawl under the table again.
Before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there was some confusion due to unclear official administration. However, since the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, the previous official positions have been unified and restructured. The prefect is the fourth grade, with a monthly salary of twenty-four stones, which is approximately twenty-four taels of silver. However, there are
Grain and rice also come with silver coins, so based on careful calculation, the silver coins given to me were less than twenty taels.
He Chongzhi was afraid of his wife. This was discovered by Dakui at the beginning. He Chongzhi was somewhat similar to Dakui. He paid all his monthly salary in full, but the difference between Dakui and Dakui was that he could get it from Huang Ying every time he went out.
They paid for it, but He Chongzhi’s wife had nothing.
He Chongzhi took out the money bag from his arms with trembling hands. It looked bulging and contained a lot of money. He Chongzhi smiled at the shopkeeper and said, "Your shopkeeper is here. I have something to say.
"
Dakui couldn't help but want to laugh when he heard these words. He thought that Dakui had also said this before, it was nothing more than a credit statement. Looking at the money bag in He Chongzhi's hand, although it was bulging, it must be copper coins. There must be two strings.
money.
Dakui smiled and turned to Panbu Bu: "Pay the bill." Upon hearing this, Panbu immediately took out his money bag from his arms.
When He Chongzhi saw it, he quickly waved his hand to Dakui and said, "Master Zhang, why is it that today's banquet counts as a subordinate?"
Dakui smiled and said: "As long as Mr. He does not follow the conventional rules when handling the case, I should naturally hold a banquet to reward him. Mr. He, there is no need to be polite, it's just a meal."
Pan Bu paid for the meal, and Dakui and He Chongzhi said goodbye. The two went to the guest room, leaving He Chongzhi and the other detectives in the front hall staring at each other. What should they do? Go to sleep.
When I asked, the upper room was fifty cents, the ordinary guest room was twenty cents, and the Datong shop was under renovation and would not accept guests for the time being.
He Chongzhi only has more than a bunch of money on his body. A total of ten subordinates came with him today. Even sleeping in an ordinary guest room is not enough. These agents are miserable. He Chongzhi cannot leave his subordinates wherever he has money to stay in a hotel.
I have to rest here by myself. I have no choice but to hold a candle and talk at night.
Since Emperor Taizu purged the officialdom, officials, big and small, have been walking on thin ice and being cautious. He Chongzhi, a dignified fourth-grade local official, was reduced to not even having money for a hotel. This is really laughable.
Not to mention the wife who is like a lion in Hedong at home, even if there is no control at home, what can He Chongzhi do?
The 'prefect' is the chief of a government, also known as the 'prefect'. He drives five horses and is of the fourth rank. He is awarded the title of 'Zhongxian Dafu' and is commonly known as the 'five-horse prince' by the people. Since he is an important official of the imperial court, he is naturally an important official. If you pay attention to your dignity, if you ride a horse, you should have a groom at home; if you ride in a sedan, you should have a sedan driver at home.
There are always servants to do the laundry, cooking, chopping wood and carrying water, so there are still maids, wives and servants in the house. After all, the prefect's monthly salary is stretched thin.
Fortunately, He Chongzhi was talkative and chatted with the other detectives in the front hall, which attracted everyone to listen attentively. By midnight, everyone was a little sleepy, and no one was willing to listen to what He Chongzhi said, even if he had to talk nonsense.
At the last moment, Panbu came upstairs again, raised his hands to He Chongzhi and said: "Master Zhang has opened the upper room for Mr. He, and the others all have guest rooms. Mr. He and the other detectives, please take a rest early." ,"
Pan Bu's words were tantamount to a panacea. Everyone who was in trouble stood up after hearing the words. He Chongzhi was the first to clasp his fists and say thanks: "Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your kind words."
Pan Bu smiled and said: "No need to be polite, Sir, why are you inviting me?" With that, Pan Bu extended his hand to invite you, and He Chongzhi stopped being polite and quickly went downstairs with the other prisoners.
Early the next morning, the Qingpu County government opened a court hearing on the case.
Since Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to lead troops to annihilate Zhang Shicheng's tribe entrenched in Pingjiang area of Suzhou the year before last, there have been few major wars in Suzhou and Songjiang Prefecture, and even the number of rapes and crimes has been reduced a lot. .
As ordinary people, we naturally want to live and work in peace and contentment. A murder suddenly occurred in the peaceful Qingpu County, which naturally attracted people to come to watch. For a while, the yamen gate was crowded with people watching the excitement.
Da Kui was sitting at a tea stall not far from the Yamen, drinking tea. This case no longer required Da Kui to interfere, but he asked Pan Bu to mingle with the crowd to find out the truth.
He Chongzhi was indeed very efficient in his work. He arranged for the police to bring all the persons involved in the case to court early in the morning.
After simple questioning, the matter finally came to light.
The deceased, Wu Jiyuan, was a government tax collector who abused his power to levy site taxes privately to make a profit. The criminal Zeng Xihuai had no money to pay taxes. Wu Jiyuan wanted to use the livestock sold by the criminal Zeng Xihuai to deduct the tax. Zeng Xihuai refused and was beaten by Wu Jiyuan and several others.
During the scuffle, Zeng Xi stood up angrily, picked up stones from the ground and threw them randomly to protect himself. Unexpectedly, he accidentally injured the tax collector Wu Jiyuan, who was seriously injured and died.
After everything was clarified, He Chongzhi concluded the case in court: "Due to years of wars in Songjiang Prefecture and the prefectures and counties under its jurisdiction, people's livelihood has been in dire straits and needs to be revitalized. In the past, Taizu issued an edict that all prefectures and counties with a population of less than 3,000 households would All taxes were exempted for three years. Today, the tax collector Wu Jiyuan openly levied miscellaneous taxes privately, corruptly and perverted the law, and even died in a fight with Zeng Xihuai.
Although Wu Jiheng, the magistrate of Qingpu County, has little political achievements, as an elder brother, he cannot escape the blame for what his younger brother did. I now pronounce the verdict: Wu Jiheng, the magistrate of Qingpu County, will be dismissed from his post and investigated." As soon as he finished speaking, the police rushed to the court. Come and kidnap Wu Jiheng, the magistrate of Qingpu County, and take him down to court.
He Chongzhi added: "Zeng Xihuai refused to obey the government's control and accidentally injured someone's life in a fight. Although the circumstances are excusable, the national law cannot tolerate it. I now pronounce the verdict: The criminal Zeng Xihuai will be escorted back to Songjiang Prefecture and put on death row to wait for questioning in the future." He Chongzhi slapped the gavel tree and shouted: "Retreat,"
"Mighty," the yamen officers on both sides of the hall chanted "Tangwei". Two policemen walked up to the hall and shackled Zeng Xi and took her out of the hall. The people watching the excitement in front of the county government office couldn't help but comment when they saw He Chongzhi pronouncing the sentence like this. One after another, Panbu heard it and quickly turned around and ran towards the tea stall.
"Father, what's wrong, Mr. He has sentenced Zeng Xihuai to be beheaded," Panbu shouted before he even ran up to Da Kui.
Dakui didn't panic, but still drank tea slowly.
"Father, please think of a solution quickly," Pan Bu couldn't help but feel anxious.
Dakui put down his tea bowl and said: "I'm here to investigate corrupt officials, not to rescue prisoners on death row. What can I do?"
Pan Bu was stunned when he heard this, and then asked: "The tax collector Wu Jiyuan is so hateful, he was beaten to death, why did he need to take another innocent life?"
Da Kui looked at Panbu for a long time, and then said: "Although Wu Jiyuan has committed a crime that cannot be redeemed by death, he has his own national law to deal with it. As a commoner, Zeng Xihuai should kill and injure people at their own risk. Is there anything wrong with this?"
Pan Bu was still arguing, but Dakui stretched out his hand to stop Pan Bu and said: "If Zeng Xihuai allowed Wu Jiyuan to snatch the livestock, and then filed a complaint with the county government, then there would be national law to redress his grievances. If Qingpu County Wu Jiheng bent the law for personal gain and had his own theory. As a common man, he can complain and file complaints, but he must not kill anyone, because the murderer will die."
When Pan Bu heard this, he said angrily: "It was just an accidental injury at that time. Zeng Xihuai made a mistake."
"Panbu, you're still so stubborn after talking to me for a long time, come on, sit down and talk," Dakui pointed to the bench next to him.
Pan Bu angrily sat down and Dakui said: "The tax collector Wu Jiyuan levied land taxes privately to make a profit. This was Wu Jiyuan's fault. Although his brother Wu Jiheng, the magistrate of Qingpu County, had never participated in his brother's activities, he turned a blind eye and it was Wu Jiheng. It is his fault, and since Zeng Xihuai is a commoner, he is naturally based on serving the public and abiding by the law. He killed and injured people is his fault. Even if others have all sorts of wrongs, they are not something that a commoner can control."
Dakui looked at Pan Bu who was fuming, and then said: "If he were sitting in court for his father, he would judge the case in the same way."
Pan Bu stood up abruptly and said, "I understand what my adoptive father means. If someone puts a knife to my neck next time, if I don't resist, I will just report it to the official with the knife on my neck."
Hearing this, Dakui said angrily: "How can there be any comparison between being presumptuous and self-protecting and knowing the law and breaking the law?"
Pan Bu only had his back on his back, and although he said no more, Dakui could tell that he was very angry. Pan Bu had an upright temperament, and Dakui knew it well, but uprightness and recklessness and ignorance must be distinguished, one yin and one yang. This is the Tao. Everything has both positive and negative sides. As for how to grasp it, it is all about propriety and warmth.
Before Dakui could discuss the pros and cons with Pan Bu in detail, he saw two carriages driving up the long street. Two prison cages were pulled on the carriages, which must have been escorting Zeng Xihuai and Wu Jiheng.
Sure enough, two carriages stopped in front of the county government office. Not long after, several police officers came out from the county government office to disperse the people. Then, another police officer took Zeng Xihuai and Wu Jiheng into a prison car.
When Songjiang Magistrate He Chongzhi led several other policemen out of the Qingpu County Yamen, and the team of carriages and horses headed for the county town, Songjiang Magistrate He Chongzhi came to the tea stall, raised his hands to Da Kui and said, "Master Zhang, Zeng Xihuai The case has now been concluded. I have fulfilled my duties as a subordinate. I hope Mr. Zhang will forgive me."
Dakui stood up and said with a smile: "Master He is so unselfish and selfless, Mr. Zhang is very impressed...,"
At this moment, Wu Jiheng, who was in the prison car not far away, let out a scream, but was shot to death by a cold arrow shot from nowhere. Dakui was shocked, and ran out of the teahouse and ran to the street, looking towards where the cold arrow came from. , but saw a figure disappearing in the distance in the long street.
Da Kui didn't stop any longer and rushed towards the alley where the killer disappeared.