Volume 1 Battle in the Sand Garden Chapter 48 Night visits to the prison
After midnight, Qin Chong and Lao Gui sneaked out of the military camp and went straight to the Shayuan Prison.
The prison is in the north of the city, next to the Shayuan prison yamen. Based on the distance traveled by the two of them, they have reached the vicinity of the prison in less than half an hour. The night is getting quieter, there are no people on the street, and everything is dark. Only the yamen gate is left.
Two lanterns were lit, giving off a faint yellow light that swayed in the wind.
Qin Zhong grew up in Beicheng, so he was very familiar with this place. He led the old ghost to a narrow alley.
I stopped and looked at the high wall. After climbing over, I found the backyard of the prison. This yard has always been vacant, with piles of messy things, and is usually unattended. Between the backyard and the front yard, there is a corner door with a sign on it.
Lock, but obviously can't stop the old ghost.
After passing the corner gate, there is a long corridor with dozens of steps. To the east is the prison officer's office, and to the west is the prison.
This prison covers an extremely large area, with hundreds of acres of land, and is divided into men's prisons and women's prisons. If you look at it from a high place, you can see that the buildings are scattered, but there are hundreds of prison cells. The prison cells are connected by narrow passages.
There is a gate every dozens of steps, and people are checking in and out. Logically speaking, it is difficult to sneak in.
The prison is divided into two floors, one underground and one above ground. Only serious criminals will be imprisoned underground.
The lock on the gate was useless to the old ghost. It could be opened with a little tinkering. Qin Zhong followed the old ghost, and the road was smooth and he reached the underground entrance easily. In fact, his smooth entry was entirely based on his understanding of the prison.
I understand that Shayuan Prison is different from other places in that there are not many prisoners at all.
So in the middle of the night, the only few jailers got under the covers and went to sleep.
Serious criminals are held underground, and the defense is a little stricter. The so-called stricter means that there is an extra sentry at the entrance and an oil lamp is lit.
However, there was no one at the sentry post at this time.
Hiding in the shadow of the corner, the two listened patiently for a long time, but there was no movement.
The old ghost waved his hand and made a gesture of action, and rushed out like a civet cat. He rushed to the gate, leaned against the wall with his body slightly turned, and looked inside. Qin Chong crouched on the spot and did not move, waiting quietly.
Following the old ghost's orders.
After a while, the old ghost reached out and grabbed the lock. A thin copper needle was firmly inserted into the keyhole. He gently moved it left and right a few times, and the copper lock opened with a "click". The old ghost gave
He gave Qin Zhong a gesture, then half-hunched his body, stretched out his hand and silently pushed open the gate.
When Qin Zhong saw the gesture, he crouched down and quickly approached, tapping his toes lightly and silently, and followed the old ghost into the dungeon.
He turned back and closed the door, reached out from the gap, and locked the copper lock again.
This detail was taught by the old ghost. Qin Chong once had doubts. Why should he lock the door? Wouldn't it be cutting off his own retreat?
That time, the old ghost didn't beat him, but told him a story.
In the story, the old ghost also leads a team of ten people into the enemy's prison to rescue their captured comrades. The ten people are all elites in the military. They all have extraordinary skills and can easily sneak into the prison and find their captured comrades.
Up until this point, the operation had gone smoothly. However, as they retreated, they were ambushed by the enemy.
The reason why the operation was exposed was an open lock.
The enemy general accidentally inspected this place and discovered the lock hanging on the door. He knew that something had changed, but he did not announce it immediately. Instead, he quietly mobilized his troops and ambush outside the prison door. When the old ghost and the others came out, the enemy general
A command was given and arrows were fired. In an instant, a large group of dozens of people fell down.
The rescued comrades were all injured and tortured, and they were unable to move. They were unable to resist this blow and were slaughtered by the enemy's arrows. Although the old ghost and others were highly skilled in martial arts, they were deeply surrounded and sacrificed their lives one by one.
After charging in the middle of the night, only two people escaped, and the rest were all killed in the enemy camp.
In that battle, the old ghost was hit by thirteen arrows and a hole was made in his lower back by a spear.
Being able to survive is purely due to fate.
The detail of the padlock on the door is a lesson learned from dozens of lives.
After entering the door, there is a downward corridor with torches on the walls on both sides. The fire light dances with the wind, and the corridor is also dim and bright, making it look eerie.
The old ghost frowned slightly and stopped suddenly. He turned back to look at Qin Zhong and made a gesture.
Qin Zhong could understand that it meant being careful.
After walking for more than ten steps, we have reached the bottom. Further forward is a straight underground cave. The top of the cave is more than ten feet high and five feet wide. Cave dwellings are dug out on both sides of the cave, and the entrance of the cave is sealed with a thigh-thick fence. The door is closed inside the cave.
The people standing there were all serious criminals, the smell was foul and unpleasant, and the sound of grinding teeth and snoring could be heard from time to time.
The seven or eight cave dwellings are all dark, but only the one at the back is filled with light.
As the old ghost expected, something tragic was happening in the prison at this moment.
Jailer Chen Qi was wearing official uniform, but it was slovenly and had not been washed for an unknown number of years. There was another person beside him, dressed in black, with his face covered tightly. At this moment, the two of them were staring at each other.
Staring at Qiu Min in the corner, he slowly approached step by step.
In the afternoon, Chen Qi got a hint from Shangguan that there was something big happening tonight. So, he pretended to pay attention to his colleagues and sent away the other two people.
Now he is the only one on duty in the dungeon.
At midnight, the man in black appeared in the dungeon. The two of them understood each other tacitly, and neither of them spoke. They locked the cell door and followed each other to Qiu Min's prison. This was not the first time Chen Qi had done this.
The door is clear. But he has a principle: don't tell, don't ask, don't interfere.
At this moment, there was a hint of pity in his cloudy eyes. Qiu Min's horse theft caused an uproar in Shayuan Prison, and even his home was ransacked. Naturally, he had heard about it while guarding the prison. Now it has reached this point.
, but there were still people who refused to let go and actually pursued him into the prison.
Being able to give hints to your superiors means that that person is more powerful and important. I am a small person and just obey orders.
It's just that this world is making people feel more and more disgusted, and they can't bear the slightest nostalgia.
Qiu Min was drunk and was already drunk. He huddled in the corner and fell asleep. The man in black slowly approached Qiu Min, stood there and looked at him for a while, then kicked him with his feet, and saw that he was sleeping.
Shen, he won't wake up at all. The man in black was relieved, reached out and took out a cloth bag from his arms, which made a soft jingle.
Unwrapping the cloth bag, there was a pile of iron pieces inside. The iron pieces were one inch square and thin and slightly heavy. He picked up a piece with his fingers and gently placed it on Qiu Min's chest, just above his heart.
Then, he sat down cross-legged on one side, silently counting the numbers and calculating the time in his heart.
After about a hundred breaths, he stood up again and placed another piece of iron on his body.
Time passed little by little, and Qiu Min had seven pieces of iron stacked on his chest. His breathing became shallow, and the rise and fall of his chest became slower and slower.
But Qiu Min was still asleep, showing no sign of waking up.
After another hundred breaths, the man in black added another piece. At this time, Qiu Min's chest no longer rose and fell, and he gradually became silent.
In an instant, the entire cell was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
.........
Qin Zhong, who was hiding in the shadows, witnessed the whole process and was already stunned with shock.
Fortunately, the old ghost was there. He secretly tugged on Qin Zhong's clothes and left the dungeon before the man in black came out. He unlocked the door again, returned to his original position, and walked out of the prison along the same path. But the old ghost and Qin Zhong
, did not leave just like that, but instead hid in the darkness and waited for the man in black to come out.
After a while, the man in black walked out of the cell, glanced around, disappeared into the darkness and hurried away.
Lao Gui and Qin Zhong followed quietly, forty or fifty steps away. If they were careful with their steps, there was no risk of being discovered.
The man in black was very familiar with the road. He turned left and right, going fast and slowly, and was obviously very cautious. But the man in black didn't know that the person following him was a top-notch scout who walked on the enemy's camp as if he were walking on flat ground.
The tricks of the men in black are bullshit in the eyes of the old ghost.
After half an hour, the man in black finally made sure it was safe and came to the door of a small courtyard.
There was someone waiting behind the door. Hearing the sound, he quickly opened the door. The man in black stepped in and the door closed silently.
Qin Chong looked around and recognized that this place was still in the north of the city, very close to the "river boundary".
"Let's go home." The old ghost said, turned around and left.
"Wait a minute." Qin Zhong was full of words and wanted to ask the old ghost if he would let him go.
"If you fart, hurry up." The old ghost was a little impatient.
"Do you know something is going on tonight?" This is what Qin Zhong wants to ask the most. How does an old ghost in the military camp know what is going on in the prison? He actually knew it in advance and took him to watch a shocking show. This is too
Is this fantasy? If he doesn't ask for a clear explanation, Qin Zhong will definitely not be able to sleep tonight.
"I don't know." The old ghost raised his head and looked matter-of-fact.
"Then you will take me to watch the show?" Qin Zhong wanted to jump away angrily, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Yes, the show is over. Let's go home and sleep." After saying this, he quickened his steps and ran into the alley.
"You?" Qin Zhong was discouraged. The old ghost didn't want to say anything, and there was no point in forcing him. Qin Zhong stood there, stunned for a long time, and finally sighed quietly, turning around and walking towards home. Qin Zhong
Until this moment, it is still hard to believe that Qiu Min died just like that and that the hidden dangers in his family were put to rest.
Someone took a step ahead of him and bribed the jailer to kill Qiu Min. It sounded incredible, but he saw it with his own eyes.
As the night wind blew, Qin Chong's chaotic thoughts seemed to suddenly clear up. He gradually calmed down and speculated on various possibilities.
Maybe, some people don’t want Qiu Min to reverse the case? Tongzhou came to investigate the case, and the targets were Shayuan Supervisor and Dali County officials. Qiu Min can only be regarded as a pawn, a pawn in the officialdom. As long as Qiu Min is induced to retract his confession,
Tongzhou has evidence against Shayuan Supervisor and Dali County.
No wonder, he would be charged with corruption, perverting the law, and seeking public wealth.
Thinking about it this way, there are indeed many people who don't want to see Qiu Min alive.
As long as Qiu Min dies, the crime of horse theft will be completely confirmed. No one can overturn his death without supporting evidence.
In this way, there was official justification for confiscating the Qiu family.
What a terrible officialdom, what a dark plot. For the first time, Qin Zhong had a deep understanding of the government and officials of the Song Dynasty.
It's like facing an abyss, like walking on thin ice.