Zhou Xing looked cold and stern, and said calmly: "Master Governor, there is no need to be angry. These criminal evidences were personally identified by Magistrate Mao, and it was he who ordered the arrest."
Mao Yizhi's expression suddenly changed, but Fan Yang said slowly: "The Hangzhou prefect's Yamen is indeed responsible for the criminal justice in Hangzhou, but it only handles some ordinary cases. When it comes to major cases such as rebellion, the prefect's Yamen is not qualified to convict on its own and needs to report
Governor's Office. I have not received any report from the governor's office, so how can he make decisions on his own?"
"It's the lower official's fault." Mao Yizhi said hurriedly.
"This is not a matter of right or wrong." Sha Deyu on the side said solemnly: "This is a crime of transgression. Prefect Mao, why did you order the arrest without authorization? You need to give an explanation to the governor."
Mao Yizhi was sweating on his forehead. He glanced at Zhou Xing and then at the three giants in Hangzhou. From the expressions of the three people, he had already noticed the clues. He suddenly gritted his teeth and cupped his hands and said: "I don't dare to make independent decisions.
Just because the governor was ill earlier, Zhou Langjiang brought evidence of the crime, and the official went to see the governor, but he could not see him. Zhoulangjiang said that there was no need to report these things to the governor, and he could just arrest the person directly. At that time, the official
He also advised you to act with caution, but General Zhou Lang threatened that the official was harboring a rebellious party, so the official had no choice but to obey his orders."
Zhou Xing said angrily: "Master Mao, what do you mean by this?"
"At this point, I can only tell the truth." Mao Yizhi said loudly: "General Zhou, you have let the officials from the prefecture's Yamen follow you to arrest people these days. Many of the criminal evidences are simply ridiculous. Today's
A few cents of the bill will not convict the Sun family."
Zhou Xing sneered: "Master Mao, do you know what you are talking about?"
"It's nothing more than death." Mao Yizhi said simply: "In the past few days, I have been forced by the Shence Army. I have wronged a good person, and I beg the governor to punish me. But your Shence Army arrests people indiscriminately, and you, General Zhou, are turning things upside down.
, it’s hard to escape the blame.”
Zhou Xing held the sword at his waist, and Sha Deyu said in a deep voice: "Is General Zhou Lang going to kill someone? Who do you want to kill? We are all officials of the imperial court. To perform a sword attack requires an order from the imperial court. It is not your turn, General Zhou Lang."
Take action." He waved his hand and said, "Someone, come and untie their ropes."
The soldiers from the Governor's Mansion immediately stepped forward, but the Shence officers and soldiers had already drawn their swords from their sheaths.
"We can't convict them, but we have to arrest them by force." Fan Yang sneered: "The world is bright and the laws of the Tang Dynasty are supreme. I want to see who dares to turn black and white and take human lives?"
Zhou Xing stared at Fan Yang, his eyes cold and stern, then he glanced at the faces of Sha Deyu and Zhao Biejia one by one, sneered, and said in a deep voice: "Let's go!" He went over and got on the horse without saying anything, leading his men.
Shence officers and soldiers quickly evacuated.
When Sun Mao saw this, he kowtowed repeatedly, and the whole family thanked him profusely.
"We did become heroes for once." Fan Yang looked at the retreating figures of Zhou Xing and Shence Army and sighed: "Now that we are at odds with An Xinghou, there is no way out."
Sha Deyu said: "Sir, we have had no way out from the beginning."
"Master Sha, you said that the princess sent Qin Shaoqing to Hangzhou, is he really able to reverse the situation?" Zhao Biejia, who had been silent until now, finally said: "The Anxing Marquis is not a good one. I'm just worried that Qin Shaoqing is not the Anxing Marquis at all.
opponent."
Fan Yang smiled faintly and said: "The princess knows all about An Xinghou's intentions. She will never sit back and watch An Xinghou make trouble in the south of the Yangtze River. Since the princess can send Qin Shaoqing here, this Qin Shaoqing is naturally not an ordinary person."
"As far as I know, Qin Shaoqing has won the respect of the saint even though he has not been in Beijing for a long time." Sha Deyu said: "This person can become the Shaoqing of Dali Temple in a short period of time, and even the Ministry of Punishment does not let him go.
In my eyes, he is indeed not an ordinary person."
Zhao Biejia sighed: "He is not an ordinary person, and An Xinghou is not an ordinary person either. It is already extremely dangerous for us to take this step."
Fan Yang said calmly: "We are all the people supported by the princess. Now that things have happened, there is no way out. Although An Xinghou went on a killing spree in Hangzhou, he cannot be without scruples." After a pause, he said softly: "
If he really didn't care, he wouldn't have to lay any charges and just kill us all. Such a big event happened in Jiangnan, attracting the attention of the whole world. If An Xinghou really had no scruples in killing innocent people indiscriminately, the saint would not agree, and the court...
...You still have to have some face."
"Sir, what should we do next?" Sha Deyu asked softly.
Fan Yang thought for a while and then said: "Let's jointly make a statement to Beijing. We don't have to point to Anxing Hou. We just need to report the current situation in Hangzhou truthfully." Looking at the frightened Mao Yizhi, he asked coldly: "
Magistrate Mao, do you want to die or live?"
Mao Yizhi fell to his knees and his voice softened: "Master Governor, I am really helpless and I beg you to convict me!"
"You are carrying the princess's rice bowl." Fan Yang sneered: "Now you are riding for the Shence Army. If the princess knows that you are eating the inside and outside, do you still want to survive? Do you really think that if you do this, the Shence Army will let you go?"
Mao Yizhi was about to burst into tears: "Sir, I should deserve to die. I will never serve them."
"If you really want to survive, there is only one way to go." Fan Yang whispered: "Do you have any case files for the gentry arrested these days?"
Mao Yizhi said hurriedly: "The lower officials simply made the case files."
"If they want you to arrest someone, naturally they can't just say it without proof. They will always give you some evidence of guilt." Fan Yang said: "Just like today when we arrested the Sun family and got a few bills, besides that, the case of the Sun family
Is there any other evidence of guilt?"
Mao Yi said: "There is no other evidence. According to Zhou Xing, there are only confessions from several witnesses."
"Immediately sort out all the case files from these days." Fan Yang said: "Each case must be brought with the evidence provided by Shence Army."
Mao Yizhi said hurriedly: "I will go and take care of it immediately."
Zhao Biejia said with some confusion: "Sir, what are you doing to sort out these case files?"
"You still don't understand the princess's intention?" Fan Yang smiled faintly and said, stroking his beard: "Qin Xiao is the young minister of Dali Temple, and Dali Temple is the Fasi Yamen, which has the power to review every case. After the saint ascended the throne, Dali Temple was
The Ministry of Punishment was suppressed and became the Qingshui Yamen. But before that, Dali Temple was the highest judicial bureau in the empire. Every year, Dali Temple would send officials to patrol the states. When reviewing the case files, if there were any doubts in the case files, they could be found on the spot.
Retrial.”
Sha Deyu nodded and said: "That's right. Dali Temple has the right to review the local plan files. Qin Xiao is the Shaoqing of Dali Temple. He is qualified to review the files related to the recent rebellion in Hangzhou."
"Marquis Anxing holds thousands of elite soldiers, and they came to Jiangnan to quell the rebellion." Fan Yang said slowly: "Under this situation, of course Qin Shaoqing cannot directly stop Marquis Anxing. Even if he does, he will not be able to stop him.
The only way is to overturn the conviction of Shence Army. Qin Shaoqing has such qualifications. Even with the laws of the Tang Dynasty, Anxinghou cannot stop him. As long as Qin Shaoqing examines all the cases in these days one by one, Anxinghou will not be able to stop him.
Continue to convict others."
Zhao Biejia spread his eyebrows and said: "So the princess wants Qin Shaoqing to deal with Anxing Hou according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Changshi Sha, you and Magistrate Mao rush to the magistrate's office now." Fan Yang ordered: "After sorting out all the files, send them to the governor's office immediately." Thinking of something, he waved his hand and said: "There is no need to sort it out at the magistrate's office. After taking it out,
, sent directly to the governor's office. This matter is of great importance, and there must be no mistakes in these files."
Sha Deyu didn't waste any time and waved, "Let's go!" He led Mao Yizhi and a group of officials from the prefect's Yamen to leave quickly.
"My lord, I can't repay you for saving my life." Sun Mao stepped forward and bowed deeply: "If you can find anything useful, please feel free to give me your instructions."
Fan Yang said: "Stay at home with your family and don't go anywhere. If someone comes to arrest you again, don't be afraid. As long as you are innocent, you will fight to the end. Even if your head falls on the ground, you cannot suffer unjust injustice."
.”
"Young man, I understand." Sun Mao knew what Fan Yang meant: "As long as there is breath left, I will cry out for justice to the end."
Sha Deyu followed Mao Yizhi to the magistrate's office and immediately packed up all the case files for the past few days.
The Shence Army used Mao Yizhi to arrest the rebels. Although Mao Yizhi knew that most of the evidence was fabricated, he still recorded every case. Although it was only a few days, there were so many gentry involved that the files were hard to come by.
Two large boxes were filled.
Fan Yang had given instructions, so the two of them did not delay, loaded the two boxes on the carriage, and then asked the government officials to escort them directly to the governor's mansion.
As soon as he walked down a street, he heard the sound of horse hooves and shouts in front of him. Sha Deyu's face darkened and he turned to Mao Yi: "The Shence Army has got the news. You can take the box and take a detour to the governor."
Come on, I'll lure them away."
"Sir, you...!"
"You know the importance of these files." Sha Deyu said with a serious expression: "They will definitely snatch these files away when they see them. Prefect Mao and the governor are waiting for you. Once you enter the governor's office, they will not dare to rush in for a while.
Go in." He cupped his hands and said, "Please!"
Without Qin Xiao, these files would naturally be useless and no one would care. But now that officials from Dali Temple have come to Hangzhou, these files have become extremely important.
Mao Yizhi knew it was too late, so he handed over his hand, stopped talking nonsense, and called two government officials to join him, and asked the carriage driver to drive the carriage into the alley on the street. Sha Deyu led the other government officials to continue moving forward.
, not far away, he saw Zhou Xing appearing with a group of officers and soldiers. Seeing Sha Deyu, Zhou Xing waved his hand, and his officers and soldiers quickly came forward and surrounded Sha Deyu and the others.
"General Zhou Lang, what does this mean?"
"If you need anything, An Xinghou, please come over." Zhou Xing got straight to the point: "Master Chang Shi, come with us." He glanced at the crowd, frowned, and asked, "Where did Magistrate Mao go?"
Sha Deyu smiled and said: "The prefect is naturally at the prefect's Yamen. You can just go to the prefect's Yamen to find him."
At this moment, a man came close to Zhou Xing's ear and whispered a few words. Zhou Xing said in a deep voice: "The cavalry is coming with me. The others will take Mr. Sha to see the Marquis." Without any delay, he patted the horse and left.