"Take off your clothes. Wearing this to work in the well, you thought you were going to Beijing to take the exam." Boss Wu looked at Shao Tingcai's Confucian shirt and sneered.
"Damn it, I'm an official of the imperial court." Shao Tingcai was furious.
"Pah~pah~pah~"
Several whip shadows knocked him over.
"Master!"
Shao Yi rushed towards the savior and was knocked down by several thugs.
The situation was not up to anyone's control, even if he was an official of the imperial court, he would have to be stripped naked and work in the well. If the coal was less, he would be beaten.
After working hard all morning, "dinner is ready", and with a loud shout, several miners brought several large buckets.
Shao Tingcai took a look and saw that two large buckets were filled with gruel. It was very thin, and if he looked forward, he could see the silhouette of a human being. The other buckets were filled with steamed buns, black and white, which turned out to be white flour mixed with bran. There were also several plates of pickles. The slave workers swarmed over, grabbed the black and white steamed buns and stuffed them into their mouths. If they choked, they drank the porridge, which seemed to be the most delicious food.
"Eat quickly and go down to the well in a quarter of an hour." Boss Wu raised his whip.
Shao Tingcai sighed and took a bite of the "grain steamed bun". It was dry and hard and difficult to swallow, but he chewed it up and stuffed it into his mouth. There was no other way. Doing this job required too much physical effort. If you want to survive, you have to
Eat something.
"My little incompetence has made me wronged." Shao Yi was extremely sad.
"I brought this all on myself. If I hadn't paid a private visit incognito, how would I have known that such evil things could happen among the people!" Shao Tingcai sighed, "You can also eat some, no matter what, let's save your life first."
"Going down the well, going down the well," the thugs shouted, raising their whips.
The slave workers drilled underground one after another and worked for several hours. Then they had some dinner and continued working. They worked until the end of Haishi (11 p.m.) before finishing the work.
"Boom~boom~boom~"
The gong to end work sounded, and the slave workers lined up and walked forward as if they had been granted amnesty. Each person poured a few ladles of water on himself to clean up the dirt, and then he was escorted to the cave dwelling.
"Pah~pah~pah~"
The fierce thugs put shackles on each slave worker and drove them into the cave. The cave dwelling was dug in the mountain with no windows. There was a urine bucket next to the cave, making the entire cave dwelling filled with the smell of urine. The slave workers entered the cave,
The thugs locked the door, leaving a guard at the door.
Shao Tingcai felt cold in his heart. The guards were so tight that it would be difficult to escape!
It was late at night, and he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
"Mom~ I want to drink water~"
A half-year-old child beside him kept whispering in his dream.
Shao Tingcai was so noisy that he couldn't sleep. He wanted to wake him up, but found that his forehead was hot. "No, this child is sick!"
"Come quickly, someone is sick!" he shouted loudly.
All you got in exchange was the guard's ferocious threat, "If you make too much noise, if you keep making any more noise, I will skin you!"
"It's useless, don't shout. These people are heartless. Xiaodouzi has been sick and won't let him rest. He may not be able to survive this time." An old slave worker sighed heavily.
Deadly silence.
Shao Tingcai found a rag, moistened it with the water stored in the cave, put it on the child's forehead, and covered him with his own tattered quilt. Seeing the master like this, Shao Yi also took his own quilt and gave it to him.
Cover.
"These two young men are so kind! It's a cold day and you can't live without a quilt. Come here and share a quilt with me," the old slave worker murmured.
"Come and sleep with me."
"My quilt is big, come to me"??
The originally indifferent cave dwelling suddenly became alive.
Xiaodouzi finally came back to life, and Shao Tingcai became friends with the slave workers.
??
"Xiaodouzi, how did you get arrested?" Shao Tingcai asked him.
"Brother Shao, I had a hard life. My parents died when I was young, and I worked as a long-term laborer for the landlord's family herding sheep. After I was fired after the autumn harvest last year, I wanted to go to Kaifeng to make a living. When I walked here, I was hungry and thirsty, and I met a kind-hearted man.
'I was invited to a restaurant for dinner. After dinner, the man said he was going to settle the accounts and disappeared. Not long after, the restaurant manager came and said that it was the 'good Samaritan' who sold me for two taels of silver. Then a few more came.
A thug dragged me here."
Xiaodouzi’s experience resonated with everyone.
"Alas! I was originally a clerk at Taiyuan Fuji Trading Company. I came out to collect an account and was deceived into entering here."
"I was visiting relatives, and I met these damn people halfway there"??
Each pile, each piece, is filled with endless blood and tears!
No, we can’t die here, we have to find a way out!
Shao Tingcai was a scholar after all, so he thought of a way to bite off his fingers every day and write his job title in blood on a piece of coal: "Shao Tingcai, the same magistrate of Zhangde Prefecture".
Seeing that the master was like this, Shao Yi did the same. For a time, more than 30 slave workers in the entire cave followed the same example, and wrote in blood on the big block of coal the words "Zhangde Prefect Tongzhi Shao Tingcai".
??
"Damn it! Shao Tongzhi went to Hebi for a private visit incognito, but why has there been no news for a whole year? If you want to see people alive, you want to see corpses if you die, you must find out for me!" Lin Shiyi, the prefect of Zhangde, said to the official Xu
I slapped the table.
He has always regarded Shao Tingcai as a rising star in Shilin. He has been missing for a year and there is no news. How can he not be anxious?
"Master Fu, there are high mountains and dense forests around Hebi. Could it be that we encountered wild beasts or thieves?" Xu Shi speculated.
"I don't want speculation, I want facts." Lin Shiyi's voice was cold, "Xu Tuiguan, the court's assessment is about to begin. The case of Shao Tongzhi's disappearance has not been solved for a long time, which will be very detrimental to your future."
Xu Shi felt a shiver in his heart, "Don't worry, Lord, I will go all out!"
After returning from the magistrate's office, Xu Shi summoned the head catcher Chen Hu. This man was a well-known case-handling expert in Anyang County, Zhangde Prefecture and had rich experience. "Head catcher Chen Hu, what do you think of the disappearance of Shao Tongzhi?"
"In my opinion, since Shao Tongzhi disappeared in Hebi, whether he is alive or dead, he should be near Hebi."
"Well. I sent several groups of people to Hebi for inspections before, but there was no news. This time, you will go for another inspection and make sure to get to the bottom of it."
"Yes!"
Hebi produces coal, so Chen Hu pretends to be a coal businessman and patiently inquires about the news.
Sometimes, if you want to become a master of solving crimes, luck is more important than ability.
Chen Hu had just arrived in Hebi a few days ago when he found a piece of coal that was black and red in the coal sample provided by a coal shop owner. The red blood stains on it were clearly the nine characters of "Zhangde Prefect Tongzhi Shao Tingcai". "Sir, shopkeeper, which coal mine produces this coal?" Chen Hu asked.
"My guest has good eyesight. This is coal produced in the local Zhaolichen Coal Mine. It burns with less impurities and is truly top-grade coal."
Chen Hu nodded, asked for directions and left.
"Kill~kill~kill~"
Lin Shiyi, the prefect of Zhangde, personally led the government officials and invaded the Zhaolichen Coal Mine. Zhao Bingyi, Li Xiang, and Chen Conghui were captured without a fight.
"Mr. Lin! I never thought I would be alive to see you!" Shao Tingcai burst into tears when he saw Lin Shiyi's face.
The talented scholar in the past is now thin and skinny. Lin Shiyi also has mixed feelings, "Nian Lu, people's hearts are sinister. From now on, please don't pay any more private visits in disguise!"
The case alarmed the Qianqing Palace in Nanjing. Emperor Longyan of Guangwu was furious, "How can such a demon be so evil in this bright world! The generals Zhao Bingyi, Li Xiang, and Chen Conghui were executed, their family income was confiscated, and their families were exiled. Zhang Fenglai, the magistrate of Tangyin County, protected the black coal mine.
, beheaded together."
The emperor also personally issued an edict: "I have heard that in mines in various places, good people are sometimes coaxed into working in the kilns, and cruel people are driven to death. There are departments in various places to strictly investigate and make secret visits. Once discovered, they will be severely punished!"