Fox Road Travel Notes

Chen Zican smiled unfathomably.

"He is really keen on catching people with long hair. His hands have even reached out to neighboring counties!"

"Tsk, tsk, you can imagine that the people of Xiuwu County have been ravaged by him in these years!"

"No wonder the people were so panicked when they heard that my brother was going to be deposed."

"This person has to die when compared with others, and he has to throw away goods when comparing goods..."

"How do you describe it?" Chen Zifu said displeasedly: "Why do your words sound harsh to me?"

"Are he and I comparable?"

"What I am competing against is a famous official in history!"

Chen Zican smiled and said: "Okay, but I remember who seemed to have said such a thing."

"If you want to be a famous minister, you must be more treacherous than a treacherous minister."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid you will have become a loyal minister early and be engraved on your tombstone before you can achieve success and fame..."

Chen Zifu clapped his hands and praised: "Well said!"

"These words deeply touched my heart. After hearing them, it made me enlightened!"

"Those famous ministers in history who can be remembered for centuries and turned the tide, such as Chen Ping of the Han Dynasty, Di Renjie and Guo Ziyi of the Tang Dynasty, Kou Laigong of the Song Dynasty..."

"Which one is not so clever and cunning as a ghost?"

"In my heart, I have my own principles!..."

"That's too far away!" Chen Zican interrupted him: "Brother, now you have to treat yourself as a villain and a traitor."

"Let's think about it carefully. If you want to deliberately bring down a guy like Magistrate Ye, what methods can you use..."

Chen Zifu frowned and nodded.

Thinking from another perspective is really helpful.

He murmured: "I can peek into his private parts——"

"Oh, no, I can't do this!"

"I can still deliberately create an unjust case——"

"Oh, it's too late!"

"I can still incite..."

Chen Zican's heart suddenly moved and he stretched out his hand to stop him: "Stop!"

He stood up, paced back and forth, and suddenly asked: "If an official decides the wrong case, what punishment will the court have?"

"Is it serious?"

"Actually, he remembered what later generations had seen, "Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai."

In the case of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai, the truth was finally revealed and the government and the public were shocked.

Dozens of officials, including the governor of Zhejiang, the prefect of Hangzhou, and the prefect of Ningbo, were punished.

Some were sent to the army, some were dismissed, and some were punished with rods. If...

Thinking of this, Chen Zican had an idea.

He blurted out: "What if there is a pak choi in the case that Magistrate Ye decides?"

Chen Zifu was stunned: "What kind of cabbage?"

Only then did Chen Zican realize that he had made a mistake.

He told the story of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai to his brother, but omitted the date and said he read it in a storybook.

Chen Zifu couldn't help but nodded after hearing this.

“The laws based on this story are indeed similar to the Qing Code.”

"For example, according to the article "Crimes of Entering and Entering People in Official Cases", if an official commits the crime of entering or leaving another person, he will be punished for the crime of entering or leaving, and he will be punished with a rod, a prison sentence, exile, or death."

"Those who make mistakes will be punished with reduced punishment..."

Chen Zican was confused after hearing this and looked at his brother blankly.

Chen Zifu smiled slightly and said: "That is, if the officials deliberately frame people for crimes, or give serious sentences lightly."

"Then he must be punished according to the punishment he gave to others, or the punishment reduced for others."

"There is another situation where officials mistakenly convict someone or reduce their culpability due to negligence."

"Then, let's convict him with a reduced sentence."

Chen Zican said "Oh~" to indicate that he understood.

Then he asked: "Then, what if, like Yang Naiwu, he was mistakenly sentenced to death?"

Chen Zifu said with a smile: "If this really happens, according to law, there are two situations."

"One is that the prisoner has been executed. In this case, the presiding judge of the case should also be sentenced to be beheaded."

"Also, like Yang Naiwu, the prisoner has not yet been executed, so the punishment can be reduced."

Chen Zican nodded.

Having said that, in fact, not one of the officials involved in the Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai cases were beheaded.

The person directly responsible, the magistrate of Yuhang County, was simply exiled.

Sure enough, no matter when and where, officials protecting each other is the norm in officialdom. Even the emperor is not exempt from this custom!

He half-jokingly asked: "Then, you say that Magistrate Ye is fatuous and corrupt. He has been an official for many years. Didn't any of his subordinates wrongly sentence Yang Naiwu? Did Xiao Baicai die unjustly?"

Chen Zifu solemnly said: "The Book of Changes says: Use punishment with caution."

"Being an official is more difficult than being imprisoned!"

"If you are not careful, you can injure people's limbs, separate their flesh and blood, and take their lives."

"Even honest officials are bound to be limited by their knowledge and deceived by others, leading to big mistakes!"

"What's more, those who are corrupt, pervert the law, and are ignorant and incompetent?"

"They are officials, and the innocent souls of these subordinates - haha..."

He shook his head and smiled bitterly, but said no more.

"Then, you mean that there must have been unjust, false and wrongful convictions in the hands of Magistrate Ye?"

"And there will definitely be no less?" Chen Zican's eyes lit up.

Chen Zifu nodded: "Of course!"

"You want to start with the cases he has judged, right?"

"However, time has passed, and some of the people involved have died, and some are missing. Even if there is evidence, most of it has been lost."

"Is this difficulty different from finding a needle in a haystack?"

Chen Zican nodded on the table: "He left Xiuwu County only two years ago."

"And we are now at the Xiuwu County Government Office."

"The case files are all there, and the evidence is still there. As long as you are willing, I think you will be able to find a flaw!"

The two looked at each other and Chen Zifu said: "Okay, I'll go find Yang Jiaoyu now."

"I think he will give me this face. The case file is not a problem!"

Chen Zican smiled and said: "Just in time, I have something to do and I need to go out first."

When I arrived at the gate of the county government office, I saw Gao Xinzhi looking uneasy and lingering with his head lowered.

Seeing Chen Zican come out, the joy on his face flashed away.

Grabbing his arm, he asked eagerly: "Are you okay? Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Through fire and water, I..."

Chen Zican looked around and waved his hand to stop him: "Keep your voice down and follow me."

He found out that Zhang Qian, the yamen guard who guarded the prison last night, was a mole.

Helping Qi Dalang secretly communicate the news, nine times out of ten, it was the nail left by Magistrate Ye.

Now, he could no longer fully trust the people in the county government.

Walking to the corner, Chen Zican looked at Gao Xinzhi: "I have something I want you to do, but -"

Gao Xin was so anxious that his features wrinkled together: "But what!"

He patted his chest: "Just say it, if Gao Xinzhi shirks it, I will be raised by Erweizi..."

Chen Zican laughed: "I'm just afraid you can't do it!"

Gao Xinzhi raised his eyebrows, his face full of murderous intent.

"You want me to kill the dog officer named Ye, don't you?"

"Okay, just wait..." After saying that, he turned and left.

Chen Zican was a little speechless, but also a little moved: "Hey, wait, who told you to kill someone?"

Gao Xinzhi was stunned: "Then, what do you want me to do?"

Chen Zican muttered: "I'm afraid that if three days is not enough, I want you to go find Leopard and intercept the messenger sent by the Huaiqing government office to the provincial capital."

"Kill him?" Gao Xinzhi still looked fierce.

"Oh! Can you stop being so violent?"

Chen Zican secretly cursed: "Why do all these ancient people like to kill people so much!"

"You don't need to kill him, just follow him to the provincial capital."

"Just take away his official documents so that he can't deliver the work."

"In this way, we can get six more days. I think this should be enough no matter what..."