As a professional in the history of the judicial system of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Qin Dewei certainly knew that the county government was the most basic judicial unit in this era. Due to his professionalism, he was very interested in visiting the county government on the spot.
It was still stipulated by Taizu Gao Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang that all county offices in the world were built according to the same pattern and the form was quite uniform.
For example, the outermost gate is the gate. On both sides of the gate are sloping splayed walls, which are used to post notices and orders. The gate can be freely entered and exited during the day, and there is no access control.
Uncle Qin Xiang is one of the strong guards here at the gate. His main job is just to maintain order, not to prevent others from coming in and out, so there is almost no money or water.
The second gate, or Yimen, is the main area of the county government. It has access control and cannot come in and out at will. However, with Qin Xiang leading it, the gatekeepers will certainly not stop Qin Dewei.
Just after passing through the Yimen, suddenly five or six men, led by a middle-aged man with a square face and a beard, tied up another person and came towards me, shouting and shouting.
Qin Xiang, Qin's officer, was very clever. He immediately stepped aside, got out of the way, and bowed slightly, showing good basic training.
But Qin Dewei didn't react. Besides, in his modern soul mark, he didn't have this habit of avoiding roads and saluting.
Immediately two people rushed forward from the opposite side, pushed Qin Dewei to the ground, and yelled at Qin Dewei: "Where are the blind boys blocking the way here? Didn't you see the gentlemen walking!"
Qin Xiang also regretted that he had just avoided it by himself and forgot to pull away from his confused nephew.
He hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile to the square-faced and bearded man: "Uncle Dong, don't be upset! This is actually my nephew's first time coming to the county government, and he is not sensible yet. Uncle Dong, don't argue with the younger generation!"
The man called Uncle Dong squinted at Qin Xiang and said scornfully: "It turns out he is your man, Old Qin. Teach him more rules. Next time, I will teach you a lesson!"
"Yes, yes!" Qin Xiang nodded in agreement and watched the group leave. Looking back at his nephew, he found that there was nothing serious except for a few pieces of dirt on his body, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Dewei, who was pushed down "in vain", got up from the ground. How could modern people have ever experienced such personal humiliation? His face was trembling with anger.
He couldn't help but ask his uncle: "Who is this person? He doesn't look like an official, but he is so domineering!"
Qin Xiang pointed out: "That is the boss of the county's fast class, Dong, a person who must not be provoked!"
After seeing that there was no one around, Qin Xiang told his nephew: "There are four tyrants in this county, and Dong Baotou is one of them. I will explain it to you in detail later. Anyway, if you come to the county government, be sure not to offend him."
These four people."
Qin Dewei changed his concept in his mind. The government officials were divided into three classes. The fast class was similar to the role of the police, and the head catcher was similar to the chief, or at least the captain.
"You are indeed being domineering!" Qin Dewei said bitterly. Just because he didn't get out of the way in time, he was pushed to the ground and made disgraced. He was really unhappy.
Qin Xiang taught him a lesson: "It's useless if you don't believe it. If you don't believe it, you have to hold it in your heart! In a place like the county government, you are not allowed to be young and energetic, unless you sit in the hall and become a master!"
As he spoke, he pointed at the Jiangning County government office in front of him.
There is a straight corridor from Yimen that leads directly to the lobby. This is where the magistrate sits in public to hear cases. It is one of the most frequently seen places in costume movies and TV dramas.
Looking at the lobby that symbolizes the core of county government power, Qin Dewei couldn't help but sigh.
He realized firsthand that the era he lived in was a real old feudal society, an era where the "big shots" were dealt with before they had time to get out of the way.
Seeing the big from the small, you already have golden fingers, why don't you find a way to work your way up and wait to be oppressed, exploited and cut off?
In the middle of the corridor, there is a small pavilion with a small stone tablet inside, which is the famous Jie Stone.
On it are engraved the three characters "Gong Sheng Ming" facing south, and the famous sixteen characters engraved facing north: "Your salary is your salary, and the people support the people. It is easy for the people to be abused, but it is difficult for God to deceive."
The popularity of these carvings in yamen in this era is similar to that of "Serve the People" in later generations. It is said that when sitting in the lobby, you can see the sixteen characters as soon as you look up.
The layout of the front half of the county government office is roughly like this. As for the second half of the inside and the inner government office, it is very secretive and cannot be easily observed by outsiders. Qin Xiang, the Qin officer, cannot take his nephew there.
Putting aside the unpleasantness of the encounter for the time being, Qin Dewei adjusted his mentality and asked professionally: "Why didn't the lobby open today? Isn't it the day for the announcement of the indictment and the day for the trial?"
According to the system, cases are not heard in court every day, so there is a system of announcement days and trial days. The specific frequency depends on the diligence of the county magistrates.
Qin Xiang shook his head and explained: "The eldest gentleman in this county has noble aspirations and is impatient with secular affairs. The handling of punishments is all assigned to the county prime minister. Therefore, cases are usually tried in the county prime minister's office in the east courtyard.
side."
Qin Dewei curled his lips, "What are noble aspirations and what is impatience with worldly affairs are taboos for the venerable, right?" I guess it's just one word, "lazy!"
Look at the domineering behavior of the arrester Dong just now. If it weren't for the inaction from above, how could a mere arrester be like this!
Qin Xiang, the Qin officer, can see that the eldest nephew seems to be very interested in the matter of punishment, which is a good sign. Interest is the best teacher. As long as the eldest nephew is interested in county government affairs, he is afraid that he will not come to pick him up in the future.
class?
Immediately he led Qin Dewei through the Moon Gate and headed towards the East Crossing Courtyard. There was only a small hall in the middle of the East Crossing Courtyard, which was the County Prime Minister's Hall.
Today happens to be the announcement day. The county magistrate is sitting in the hall, and people in groups of three or three are standing outside the hall, waiting for the results.
Qin Dewei looked across the courtyard and found that the county magistrate was very young, only in his twenties. At this age, to be the seventh-rank Jing County magistrate (Nanjing is also the capital), he must be a Jinshi.
Thinking of this, Qin Dewei couldn't help but feel envious, even a little jealous.
Being able to become a Jinshi in your twenties during the Ming Dynasty should be similar to being successful in starting a business, having wealth and freedom in the 21st century.
Damn it, how come you can meet people like this anywhere!
The so-called release date is to conduct a preliminary review of the complaint and decide whether it is accurate or not. If the complaint is approved, it will be kept in the county government office and will be formally heard on the trial date; if the complaint is not approved, it will be directly dismissed and will not be heard.
At this time, a guard suddenly came over and called Qin Xiang: "Wang Bingshu is looking for you! Go see him quickly!"
Wang Bingshu means the scribe of the military room named Wang. The military room is one of the three and six offices of the county government office, and is generally in charge of the government officials of the strong team.
It sounded like there was official business. It was not convenient for Qin Xiang to take Qin Dewei to the back office barracks, so he told his nephew: "I will come as soon as I go. You can walk around by yourself and don't cause trouble or trespass."
Qin Dewei agreed and stood in the east courtyard to watch the young county magistrate review the petition. After watching it for a while, he felt that it was no longer interesting.
Because examining pleadings is different from formal trial of a case, it is more like a kind of paperwork. For outsiders, what is the value of being immersed in signing official documents?
When I was thinking about changing places to visit, a familiar and graceful figure suddenly appeared in my field of vision. Although the veil covered her face, the white mourning dress still pointed out her identity.
This should be the little widow Mrs. Gu? Qin Dewei is 80 or 90% sure about this guess. After all, he only saw her not long ago and still has some impressions in his mind.
Did she come to complain? Not only Qin Dewei, but also other interested people also noticed this rich little widow.
Immediately, a yamen servant quickly walked out of the county yamen gate, came to the nearby private ward of Dong Battou, and reported to Dong Battou: "An interesting person just appeared! Maybe he can squeeze out some oil and water!"
Dong Baotou heard this and laughed ferociously: "Who is this blind rich man who dares to enter this Yamen?"
Several losers around were flattering and hooting: "You must know that our Mr. Dong is short of money, so he sent us some money!"