Criminal investigation in ancient times

Duan Xiaobai: "But there is one thing that my subordinates still don't understand. Why did your lord provoke Na Dutong just now? Although he is a subordinate of your lord, he holds the military power in Tongzhou after all. What if..."

Zhang Rui said: "There is no chance, Tongzhou has already been exterminated as a magistrate, if I die on the way, maybe it has nothing to do with him, if I die just after arriving in Tongzhou... Hehe, do you think the emperor can continue to let it go?

That's right, the emperor has begun to attach importance to Tongzhou. Although he didn't send any troops to Tongzhou to suppress the bandits this time, this has always been a serious concern for him. If Zhang Rui died just after he arrived, it would very likely anger the emperor. The wrath of the emperor has always been There are millions of dead bodies, and thousands of miles of blood flow!It is not impossible to destroy Tongzhou.

Zhang Rui himself has a youthful body that is easy to be underestimated. If he is suppressed by those all at this time, it will be even more difficult to turn around in the future, and he will simply offend him completely. His resounding slap let him know what it means to be overwhelmed by a higher official!

The prefect handover work is relatively complicated, with too many miscellaneous tasks. In addition to governing the people, judging lawsuits, there are also all government affairs such as inspecting treacherous officials, assessing subordinate officials, and collecting taxes.But Zhang Rui was simple this time, because the previous magistrate died too thoroughly, and he handed over the official seal directly, even if the handover was over.None of the other officials in the six departments of officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, and workers have reported to him. It would be good to think that the six departments of Tongzhou can actually keep three.

In the afternoon, all the Tongzhou officials knew that Zhang Rui had arrived, and they decided to come to the inn to meet him. After all, they would be their immediate superiors in the future.

There was a spectacle at the entrance of the Tongfu Inn, sedan chairs, large and small, were parked at the entrance, and everyone who could be named was standing in the lobby of the inn, because the previous magistrate had died for almost two months, and Tongzhou had been in a state of constant embarrassment. In the unsupervised state, the boss came unexpectedly, and these people were still a little uncomfortable.

After a while, Uncle Han came out from inside and said, "Your Excellency is exhausted from traveling and traveling, and it's not easy to see guests today, everyone, please go back."

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, so you have to quit.

Zhang Rui took a sneak peek from the side door, his heart pounding, this state capital is like a small imperial court, and there is no lack of dirty power struggles in it.Although I have been an official in my previous life, that official position is very different from this one. How many people's life and death can be controlled by the capital of a state!If he can't do well as the prefect, how many people will suffer?For the first time, Zhang Rui had doubts about his ability, wondering if he could be qualified for this official position.Forget it, take one step at a time, no one is born to be an official, besides, the ancients were able to do a good job in the official, and a modern person who is thousands of years later knows such principles and is much worse than the ancients.

Huzi came back in a hurry in the evening, bringing back a lot of news about the Tongzhou capital and the dead magistrate.

Zhang Rui: "So this county magistrate Xu has a good tongue in Tongzhou?"

Huzi said: "It's more than good! He is an upright official, and he is a clean and honest official, and he is justified and suppressed bandits for the people. The people of Tongzhou respect him like a parent."

Zhang Rui touched his earlobe and said, "What about Wu Dutong?"

Huzi: "Wu Dutong said less. Most people don't know much about him, and no one wants to talk about him."

This is wrong, how long has Master Xu been here? Wu Guan has been in Tongzhou for six years and has not been promoted. It stands to reason that the people should know him better. If it is not that Wu Guan is too low-key, it is that he is too ruthless. , no one should gossip about him.No matter which of the two, now let's find out why the previous magistrate died, otherwise I will not be safe in this position anyway.

Hu Zi rubbed his hands together and said, "That... my lord, you are talking about money."

Zhang Rui smiled and said, "Uncle Han, give him a tael of silver."

Uncle Han took out a piece of broken silver from his purse and handed it to him. Huzi hurriedly took the silver, put it in his mouth and bit it, and then said with a smile on his face, "The little one will mess with the adults from now on!"

Zhang Ruidao: "Okay, you can do one more thing for me..."

***

The last magistrate was surnamed Xu Dan Mingchao, forty-six, the champion of martial arts in the ninth year of Longxing, who was originally a fourth-rank official of Qingche Duwei, when he was about to show his strength, he offended You Cheng for some reason Li Qian was directly demoted to Tongzhou.

That Xu Chao was stubborn, and he was not discouraged when he came to Tongzhou. He focused on controlling the banditry in Tongzhou. At the beginning, it was quite effective. Caravans occasionally passed through Tongzhou and were able to go north safely. The difficult bandits came from nowhere, and they almost blocked the inevitable road to Tongzhou. Xu Chao was originally a military officer, and he hated such bandits, so he directly led the troops to the mountain to suppress the bandits. Every time they failed, because they couldn't find any trace of this group of people!

Wu Guan, who is also a military general, has almost been emptied of his power during this period. He was in charge of the military power in Tongzhou, but now almost all of the military power has been removed by Xu Chao. Wait, even if he feels dissatisfied, he can't.Later, Xu Chao returned to Wu Guan's hands after he was wiped out. This is also one of the reasons why he is now hard-backed. To deal with a brat who has no military strength, is there still a need to tidy up his mansion?

On the second day, Zhang Rui asked someone to call the man who examined Xu Chao's body. The man was in his 60s and trembled when he walked. Zhang Rui frowned at him, doubting what the old man could find out.

Wu Zuo called to the inn, saw Zhang Rui hurriedly knelt down and said: "Your official... I have seen... Lord Zhifu."

Zhang Rui: "No need to be too polite, let's talk about the results of the examination of the corpse of Mr. Xu's family."

Wu Zuo said: "Mr. Xu's family of 37 people were all killed on the night of February 11. Among them, 20 were injured, [-] died of injuries, and six... six children were burned to death."

Zhang Rui gasped, and clenched his fists tightly with both hands, "Boom!" He slammed it on the table next to him, it was outrageous!Even the youngest son was not spared and burned alive!

The old Wu Zuo was startled, lying on the ground trembling uncontrollably.

Zhang Rui: "Has the body been buried?!"

Wu Zuo hesitated and said: "This...there is no order from above, and I dare not bury it privately. The body is still in the Yizhuang. Although the weather is cold, it is still a bit rotten...so I beg my lord to arrange the burial of Xu's family. "

Zhang Rui knew that this must be due to Wu Guan's interference, otherwise how could the corpse be left unburied for such a long time.Although it was for his own personal revenge, he did Zhang Rui a favor by taking He Ming to Yizhuang tomorrow to see if there were any clues.

After retiring the old job, Uncle Han sighed and said: "Poor Mr. Xu and his family are still not buried in the ground after death."

Zhang Ruidao: "It's not important to go to the ground to be safe, the most important thing is to find the murderer and avenge his family! He Ming, come with me tomorrow to see the 37 corpses!"

He Ming moved his hands together and said, "Obey!"

Zhang Rui got up and stood with his hands behind his back, the anger in his heart had no place to express, he narrowed his eyes slightly, if he guessed right, even if he didn't instigate someone to do this matter, it has nothing to do with Wu Guan.I just took this opportunity to see what he looked like.

The tiger sent out in the afternoon hurried back to the inn for another day, saw Zhang Rui hurriedly knelt down and said, "My lord, what you told me to do has been done!" Since Zhang Rui gave him the money, this The child seemed to be a different person, seeing Zhang Rui was even more kissable than seeing his own father.

Zhang Ruidao: "What did you say?"

Huzi poured half a bowl of cold water and drank it, wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "I followed my lord's instructions, went to the place where the beggars gather, gave them ten big coins each, and told them what I said. It won't be long before the entire Tongzhou city will spread the word that Wu Dutong killed the county magistrate Xu."

Zhang Rui smiled and said, "You did it beautifully." As he spoke, he threw a dime of silver at him.Hu Zi hurriedly caught it, took a bite, and laughed so hard that he couldn't see his teeth.

Duan Xiaobai, who was standing beside him, sneered and said, "See money."

Huzi opened his mouth, but he was afraid that he would give him acupuncture points again, so he curled his lips and rolled his eyes.

Zhang Rui: "Okay, you go down."

Huzi: "Hey~" He said and stepped back, closing the door behind him with good eyesight.

Zhang Rui: "Xiao Bai, I have something for you to do."

Duan Xiaobai said seriously: "My lord, please tell me."

Zhang Rui: "Help me explore the Dutong Mansion tonight! I suspect that this matter has something to do with Wu Guan. I know you are good at lightness kung fu, but you must be careful. If you find any abnormalities, come back immediately and don't fight with their people." , it is best not to expose the target."

Duan Xiao smiled and said: "Your Excellency, I have forgotten what I used to do. I am not talented. Although the martial arts are not particularly high, the things on the beam are still easy."

If the matter is properly arranged, it depends on whether Wu Guan is provoked by himself or not.With his temperament, it is not easy to endure Xu Chao's oppression on his head for a year, and now he has sent a half-grown child to continue to oppress him, one can imagine how angry he is.If you can't bear it, you will naturally take action. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win a hundred battles.

Here Wu Guan is very angry by Zhang Rui, after much deliberation, it is not suitable to tear face with him now, not to mention that he just arrived in Tongzhou, no matter how powerful he is, after all, he is only in his teens and has no military power in his hands.Now that I am angry with myself, I am afraid that I am angry with this dilapidated mansion, and I will repair it properly for him, and coax him well, it is not me who has the final say!After figuring this out, he sent people to find dozens of skilled craftsmen to renovate the magistrate's mansion, and it seemed that they did their best.

***

A few days ago, Lin Xiaoze was not acclimatized to the environment on the road, and he was sluggish every day. He Ming prescribed medicine for him, and he was relieved in the past few days, and he was alive and kicking after eating well.I go to the streets to have fun every day, and my life is more comfortable and enjoyable than in Kyoto.

Zhang Rui couldn't see it and confiscated all the money in his hand, and said: "If you want to buy something and ask Uncle Han for money, if uncle knows that you have lived so well in Tongzhou, he will not break your legs when you go back."

Lin Xiaoze was too frightened to resist, ever since Zhang Rui became an official, he felt that the two of them were not of the same age, Lin Xiaoze always had a sense of his father's impression of Zhang Rui, obediently obeying everything he said.

Zhang Rui threw him a copy of Dazhou Law: "Recite ten pages every day, and I will test you regularly."

Lin Xiaoze took the book with his face on his back. He had read the Law of the Great Zhou in his brother's study before, and it was so boring, but now he actually wants to memorize it... Hey, whoever asked me to come, since it was agreed to go to Tongzhou Follow Zhang Rui's arrangement, and just recite it.

Early the next morning, Zhang Rui and He Ming went to Yizhuang with a few guards. This Yizhuang is ten miles outside Tongzhou City. There are three or four green tile houses, and only one old man is watching.

The two got out of the carriage, and the smell of corpses wafted out before they got close.

He Ming took out a cloth towel from the bag and handed it to Zhang Rui and the guards, and everyone covered their mouths and noses.Because there will be bad things after the corpse rots. In ancient superstitions, it is dirty things. In modern times, it is bacteria. If you inhale the nose and mouth, you may be infected with diseases.

The smell became stronger as we walked forward, He Ming said: "My lord, why don't I go in by myself, you... may feel uncomfortable after seeing this corpse."

Zhang Rui shook his head and said, "It's okay, let's go." What kind of corpses have you never seen in your previous life?At any rate, he still looks like a person. In his previous life, he watched a lot of corpses dismembered by a perverted murderer. The first time he watched it, he didn’t eat for three days. Afterwards, he gradually got used to it. The two cigarettes slowed down.

As soon as he walked into the Yizhuang, he immediately felt shady and shady. The old guard knew that the people from above had come to check on the corpse and hurriedly opened the mortuary room.

There were 37 large and small coffins neatly placed in the house. The guards pushed away the lid of Xu Chao's coffin, and suddenly a smell of corpses spread over the surface, blinding the two of them.

He Ming stepped forward and saw that the corpse had been burnt beyond recognition, but the wounds on his body could still be seen.Zhang Rui also stepped forward and looked down at the corpse. There was a fatal wound on the chest, and there were no big and small knife wounds on his body.

Zhang Rui closed his eyes and said silently: "Offended." Then he nodded to He Ming.

He Ming took out a three-inch long silver needle from the bundle and stabbed it at the corpse's throat, and when he pulled it out after a while, it turned out that the silver needle had turned black.

He Ming: "Master Xu was poisoned first."

Zhang Rui: "Sure enough, as I expected, he is the champion of martial arts in the ninth year of Longxing. He has a lot of abilities. How can ordinary people do anything to him. He must have been drugged first. These people took advantage of his poisonous hair Kill him now, and open the other coffins to see."

In addition to Xu Chao's body, several of his domestic slaves were also drugged, which seemed to be premeditated.In the end, they were all old and weak, women and children, and the youngest child was still in his infancy and burned to death.

He Ming watched it for a while and sighed: "These people are really inferior to beasts!"

Zhang Rui smiled wryly: "Cut the weeds but not the roots, so wait for the spring breeze to blow? Since that person wants to destroy Xu Chaoman's family, naturally he won't leave any flesh and blood for him."

He Ming: "My lord, where do we start to investigate now?"

Zhang Rui pulled off the cloth scarf on his face and walked out: "From the investigation of... the fire, the murderer can kill people without anyone noticing, but the fire can't. It is impossible for the magistrate's mansion to catch such a big fire without alarming everyone around." People, someone will definitely see something..."

He Ming nodded and said, "Then what about these corpses?"

Zhang Rui paused: "Choose a day and bury it."

As soon as he walked out of Yizhuang, the sky suddenly changed, and the wind suddenly picked up and the horses whirled and neighed.Zhang Rui didn't believe in ghosts and gods in his previous life, and he doesn't believe in gods in this life either, but he believes in reincarnation, and everything has a reward in the end.

Zhang Rui said loudly: "Xu Chao, rest in peace, I will definitely seek justice for you!"

The wind seemed to have a spirituality, and it stopped immediately. He Ming was startled and grabbed Zhang Rui and said, "Old man... my lord, what was that just now?"

Zhang Rui wiped off his cold sweat: "Cough... I don't know, don't tell them what happened today."

He Ming nodded quickly, this is too evil, Amitabha... Bodhisattva bless...

The two came back from Yizhuang and quickly boiled water to take a bath. After washing, there seemed to be a strong smell of corpses on their bodies. Zhang Rui was wiping his hair when a letter on the table suddenly caught his attention.

Zhang Rui opened it and was stunned, it was written to him by Zhou Yin!

"Visual Wisdom

I don’t know if you have already arrived in Tongzhou. I figured it was almost there. A few days ago, I learned that the army sent by the emperor to suppress the bandits in Tongzhou was transferred away by the eldest prince... The emperor was furious because of this, and locked the eldest prince in the mansion to reflect. go out.The second prince's studies are getting better and better, many people have started to pay attention to the second prince, and even Wen Taifu admires him quite a lot.The emperor's health has improved recently, the Prime Minister on the Right has calmed down, and the situation in the court has fallen into silence again.Be careful in everything in Tongzhou. If you need help delivering the letter to the secret guard, I will send someone to Tongzhou to wish you a helping hand.

It has been raining continuously in the past few days in Kyoto. I don’t know how the weather is like in Xuzhou. You and I have been together for more than a dozen days and then we separated. May the three-year period end soon, see you and me...

May you be well

Zhang Rui reached out to touch the handwriting on the letter, read it word by word many times before putting it down, and let out a long sigh.Suddenly I became resentful, why there were no telephones, computers and videos in ancient times!Now he really wants to hear Zhou Yin's voice and see his appearance.Even a word is fine, it's better than scratching the heart and liver through a layer of paper, but unfortunately this is ancient times after all, the two can only miss each other and cannot see each other.Speaking of which, the two had only been together for a few days, but they didn't expect their relationship to be so deep, even he himself found it inconceivable.Zhang Rui finally realized what is meant by "love does not know where it started, but it goes deeper and deeper".

He folded the letter carefully and put it in his own package, changed his clothes and came out of the room.

Duan Xiaobai stood at the door and saw him coming out and whispered: "My lord, I was at Wu Guan's residence yesterday..."

Zhang Rui waved his hand to stop him and said, "Come in with me."

Duan Xiaobai took out a piece of paper with a corner burnt from his arms and handed it to Zhang Rui.

Zhang Rui looked at the ghost-like talisman and asked in confusion: "What is written on this paper?"

Duan Xiaobai said: "Your Excellency may not know it, this is the Xiongnu character, then Wu Dutong may be related to the Xiongnu."

Zhang Ruidao: "Do you know what is written in this letter?"

Duan Xiaobai shook his head and said, "I only recognize a few of the numbers, but I don't understand the others."

Zhang Rui put the letter away and said, "Will he find out if you take the letter from Wu Guan rashly?"

Duan Xiaobai: "Probably not. I saw him throw the letter on the candlestick to burn it, and then he went out. I took the opportunity to steal the letter, tore a piece of toilet paper from another place, threw it on the candlestick and burned it." clean."

Zhang Rui: "Good job, I have one more thing to hand over to you."

Duan Xiaobai: "My lord, please tell me."

Zhang Rui rubbed his forehead and said, "Help me find out what Wu Guan was doing when the prefect's mansion was on fire that day?"

Duan Xiaobai nodded and said: "I'll go right away." After saying that, he turned and left the room, and when he opened the door, he saw Huzi standing at the door.

Duan Xiaobai: "What are you doing here?"

Huzi said with a flattering smile, "Master Duan, am I not here to talk to you?"

Zhang Rui said, "Come in."

Huzi: "Hey~" He bowed his body and entered the house, saying, "My lord, now there are rumors in the streets and alleys that Wu Dutong killed Master Xu's family, hehehe, look..."

Zhang Rui frowned: "Didn't I already give you the money?"

Huzi: "Yes, yes...but I work so hard, won't your lord give me some rewards?"

Zhang Rui sneered and said: "If you get it cheap, you'll be good. If you don't want to follow me, go back to your Niujiazhuang."

Huzi smiled flatteringly: "My lord, don't be angry, we can discuss it. There is no righteousness in buying and selling. Although I, Huzi, have no skills, at least I can help you run errands. Your lord..."

Zhang Rui approached him and said, "You still haven't recognized who you are? I'm the governor of a state. Killing you is as easy as crushing an ant. Now you've done something for me. Even if you leave me, those who oppose me will never use you, instead they will arrest you and torture you to ask you for news about me, do you think there is still life left?"

Huzi swallowed and shook his head.

Zhang Rui stretched out his hand and patted his face and said: "It's good that you know, now you have only one way to go, and that is to follow me and help me do things, the money will not be short of you, if you do well, maybe you will pay me back." I will give you a petty official."

Huzi's eyes lit up and he said, "My lord didn't lie to me?!"

Zhang Rui: "Why should I lie to you? What do you have that I can lie to?"

Hu Zi hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "The young one knows his mistake, please forgive me, the young one will serve the adult faithfully in the future, please promote the young one."

Zhang Rui said: "Get up, go and bring those two old beggars who were in the magistrate's mansion that day." Do things faithfully?I still can't believe it for the time being, there are not many people available around me, and I can't do many things for the time being, if it goes too far, Zhang Rui himself is not sure whether he will end up like Xu Chao.

***

In mid-April, the list will be released in Beijing.

Not surprisingly, Wen Zhongxin, Jiang Tai, Lu Zhanyuan and others all came in first place, among them Wen Zhongxin was the best in the exam, No. 2 in the palace examination, followed by Jiang Tai and No. 1 in the second class.Only Zeng Zijin didn't pass the exam, he was intoxicated in restaurants every day and didn't even go to school.Jiang Tai had gone to persuade him several times, but every time he drove him away with cynicism.In the end, the elders saw that he was really outrageous, so they had to remove him from the school.It is a pity that the former romantic talent has been reduced to a street alcoholic.

Jiang Tai's father also lived up to expectations, successfully climbed to the pinnacle of life, and was appointed by the emperor as Prime Minister Zuo.The struggle for power in the court has always been like this. After you sing, I will appear on the stage, and a new force rises suddenly. The Jiang family is infinitely prosperous, and it is approaching Youcheng.

The first prince over there is not strong enough, and the emperor intends to make the second prince the crown prince. Li Qian's faction finally can't sit still. Now the emperor looks fine, but whoever said it is right, if the second prince really succeeds, then the first prince The end of the party faction will definitely not be too good. The removal of officials is secondary, and I am afraid that even my life will not be saved!Taking a step back, if the second prince is established as the crown prince, even if the eldest prince overthrows him to take the throne in the future, people will still be criticized for being injustice.Instead of endless troubles, it is better to strike first!

Zhou Yin and the second prince Zhou Yong were playing chess at his mansion this day.

Zhou Yin holds the white pieces, Zhou Yongzheng holds the black pieces, and the black pieces are dotted on the chessboard, blocking the white pieces to the end.

Zhou Yongzheng put down the chess pieces and said, "Uncle Twelve is not thinking about this chess, so it's fine if he doesn't play."

Zhou Yin nodded, threw the chess piece in his hand on the chessboard, pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I've been restless for the past few days, and I feel like something is going to happen."

The second prince joked, "But are you worried about your little blue face?"

Zhou Yin raised his eyebrows and said: "I will marry him in the future, and he can be regarded as your uncle."

The second prince stared blankly and said: "Uncle Twelfth... Are you kidding me?! You married him? Don't you want any heirs?"

Zhou Yin nodded: "I didn't intend to have an heir. If he wants me in the future, I will adopt one from the Zhou family. Anyway, our family has no shortage of children."

Zhou Yongzheng said: "Uncle Twelve, how do men marry men? Are you kidding me?"

Zhou Yin: "Why should I tease you? It's not like I didn't have it in the previous dynasty. It's okay for a man to get married as long as both parties are willing."

Zhou Yongzheng raised his forehead, and said from the bottom of his heart: My little uncle is hopeless, I don't know what's so good about Zhang Rui, but he is so fascinated by his cold-blooded and cold-hearted Twelve Uncle, I must see it when I have a chance!

Zhou Yin: "Don't talk about me, but you, what are you thinking about now? That old fox can't sit still, do you want to wait and see?"

Zhou Yongzheng frowned: "Then what can I do, Twelfth Uncle also knows that I don't have many available people in my hands, if I fight with him now, I will make my father loathe me even if I lose my balance."

Zhou Yin said: "Then what do you want, just sit and wait for death?"

Zhou Yongzheng picked up the sunspots from the chessboard, raised one corner of his mouth and said, "Advance is based on retreat."