Chapter 1020
1 and accepted the case
Chapter 1020: Collected the case together
Jiangnan,
It was already noon.
In the magistrate's yamen,
Everyone was arguing for nearly half a day, and they had summoned almost all the witnesses. The general process of the case was almost settled, except that Ma Guangcheng was still stubbornly refusing to plead guilty. Almost all the evidence clearly showed that it was Ma Guangcheng who ordered it. Of course, the most critical thing was the detectives from the water bandit squad. If they didn't show up, it would be inappropriate to close the case.
Su Chong and Lan Jili both looked a little tired and hesitant. At this point, the files were clear and they were afraid that Ma Guangcheng would make trouble. However, the Jinling government office was different from other prefectural offices. The worst ones were half a level higher. If they really wanted to deal with them, they would need to submit a petition to the cabinet.
Seeing that things were at a stalemate, Shen Wanhe and Lord Shen from the Weaving Bureau stood up and said;
"My Lords, Magistrate Xu, the so-called conviction of Lord Ma is nothing but the unreasonable demands of some unruly people. Now that we have just got a clue about disaster relief, the fields and farms are being built in full swing. In a few days, the fields and mulberry trees will be planted. Not to mention the stability of Jiangnan, the war on the west bank of the canal is in full swing. The court is in short supply of silver. If we really want to bring up a big case in Jiangnan, what can we get?"
Shen Wanhe was dressed in an official robe, and had a kind attitude, without his usual smoothness. His words were not meant to plead for Ma Guangcheng, but every word was meant to make everyone feel cautious. Jiangnan must not be in chaos now.
It seemed that he had stopped there, and his eyes turned to look at Lord Zhuang opposite him. Today's excitement might not be instigated by Lord Zhuang. No matter how well Magistrate Xu prepared, he was just a pawn. If the governor had made a hidden move, perhaps these would be useless.
But this was interrupted by Xu Changwen.
"It is said that there is a businessman in Jinling who is a troublemaker. Can't we stop it and say that it is Shen Wanhe and Lord Shen? Disaster relief is disaster relief, and punishment is punishment. If there were no such actions that harmed the country and the people, how could there be a disaster in Jiangnan? Even if it is a big thing, we have to distinguish it clearly.
You said that the White Lotus Sect on the other side of the river is causing a big disturbance. The more serious this is, the more we need to give an explanation to the people in Jiangnan."
Xu Changwen refused to give in. Seeing that the other officials were silent, Xu Dong, the magistrate of Yongning County, clasped his fists and said;
"Since the case has been accepted, and there is evidence, how can we not take him into custody? If he still wears this official robe, wouldn't it be a blasphemy to the court and His Majesty?"
Everyone was shocked, and they stood up and bowed towards the capital. Zhuang Shouzhi stroked his beard and sighed.
"Yes, if there is no punishment for the crime and no reward for the meritorious service, it will be our fault. Whether there is guilt or not, the Imperial City Division will have a detailed interrogation and will have its own explanation. Now Jiangnan is vaguely unstable, and the King of the East is in Suzhou Jiangnan Camp. What exactly is going on? How about reporting it to His Royal Highness the King of Chu?"
With this remark,
Everyone in the hall was silent. No one could guess what Lord Zhuang meant. Even the grain station commander Zuo Sangui frowned secretly. The Eastern Prince should still be in Suzhou and not in Tang County. The third prince, the Prince of Chu, lived in Jiangnan and did not ask about Jiangnan government affairs. Could Lord Zhuang's move be related to the fight for the throne?
His face suddenly became extremely ugly.
"Humph, Lord Zhuang is so proud of himself that you want to give the case to the Third Prince to win credit for the case that has not been solved yet. Is that why you are so anxious to convict Lord Ma?"
Jing Cunliang smiled sinisterly. Although he was a little surprised that this old thief actually wanted to involve the Third Prince, could it be because Prince Dong had sent a secret order that this man must not be allowed to get his way?
The rest of the people, many of them were smart and had many associations. If they were only talking about the affairs of the Jiangnan officialdom, it would be fine. But when it came to the involvement of the Eastern King and the Third Prince, everyone was shocked. Su Chong unconsciously clenched Jing Mu Tang, and Lan Jili frowned. After all, this was a hot potato that could not be held.
"Lord Zhuang's words are reasonable. The matter in Jiangnan must be thoroughly investigated. Prince Mu and the Third Prince have been traveling a long way and are organizing their troops in the Jiangnan camp. We should not disturb them. Since there are both witnesses and evidence in this case, we need to interrogate them carefully. Ning Jian should be detained."
"Yes, Lord Lan,"
Ning Kai, the Imperial City Department's thrifty official, had a gloomy face. He waved his hand and a guard from the Imperial City Department came in and took off Ma Guangcheng's hat. He was about to suppress him, but Ma Guangcheng threw away his sleeves, struggled out, and said sternly;
"Master Su, Master Lan, I have always done things uprightly and have never been as dirty as you. Since you dare to detain me, I have nothing to say. But if you can't handle it well, I'm afraid you can't deny your involvement. Don't move, I will leave."
The people from the Imperial City Bureau wanted to take action, but were coldly rebuked by Ma Guangcheng and were escorted away. Lan Jili, with an extremely ugly expression, snatched the Jing Mu Tang from Su Chong's hand and slammed it hard on the table.
"Order to immediately escort Hu Wenxuan, the deputy magistrate of the prefectural government, to the Imperial City Prison for a thorough investigation. Then the court is dismissed."
With a "bang," the Jingmu Hall fell down, startling everyone. They shuddered and the servants in the government office immediately shouted.
"Mighty, withdraw."
Many officials who were still listless jumped up immediately as if they were frightened. Without even saying goodbye, they ran out of the government hall without looking back. Only Lord Jing and Shen Wanhe were left. Their livid faces even had a hint of anxiety. They looked at Lord Lan and Lord Su who were sitting in the main seats. Suddenly, their angry eyes gradually dissipated and they smiled.
"Since Lord Su and Lord Lan are so impartial, I heard that there are many old cases waiting for you in the government office. I am afraid that you two gentlemen will be troubled. Moreover, since you two gentlemen have accepted this case, you must investigate it thoroughly and must not leave anyone unjustly accused. By the way, I heard that the government treasury has lost a lot of silver, which was used by Lord Zhuang. I wonder if you two gentlemen will accept the case of misappropriation of silver from the government treasury."
Jing Cunliang suddenly smiled, and Jiang Xiyu, the prefect of Jinling, suddenly took out a memorial and a petition, and placed them on the desk, clasping his fists and saying;
"Lord Lan, Lord Su, I am suing the Jinling prefect Jia Yucun for privately misappropriating the treasury silver and using false accounts to pass the court assessment, thereby privately embezzling the treasury silver. The clerk of the inner treasury has explained that the treasury silver is in the old house of the governor Zhuang. I cannot find out the connection between them, so please make the decision, Lords."
Jiang Xiyu looked solemn and bowed. This made many officials who were slow to stand up sit down again. Today's show was really tortuous and thrilling. As the saying goes, there is a give and take, and it really fits the saying.
Not to mention the Imperial Censor Lan Jili, even Su Chong was in a dilemma this time, not to mention Ning Kai who had just escorted the two officials back to the imperial prison. He was already sweating profusely at this moment. It was unheard of in the interior to capture three officials from the government office within one day. If Commander Du knew about this, he would be skinned alive.
"Hey, Jiang Zhizhou, do you have any evidence? If not, please stop making trouble."
Lan Jili had no choice. If there was no hard evidence, it would be easy to fool him. However, Jiang Xiyu nodded and took out a file and a confession document from her bosom.
"My Lord Lan, this is the clerk, as well as the confession of the accountant and the duplicate copy of the account books. All of them are here. There are witnesses and evidence. Please order a thorough investigation of this case. If it weren't for the deficit in the treasury, how could the disaster relief be delayed again and again, causing trouble to Jiangnan?"
He spoke with great righteousness, and many officials nodded secretly. It seemed that the two sides were really evenly matched in today's fight. However, if the three officials of the government office were all arrested and put in the imperial prison, and the news spread to the cabinet in the capital, it would cause a lot of trouble. Su Chong hesitated, looked at Xu Changwen in the hall, and suddenly asked;
"Xu Zhixian, how do you think we should deal with this?"
Xu Changwen looked calm and clasped his fists.
"Since Lord Jiang has provided all the evidence, we must investigate it thoroughly. The matter of the treasury is of great importance. If it is true, it will help the court recover its losses. If not, it will also help the prefectural government to clear its name. How can we ignore it?"
Although Xu Changwen didn't say much, his tone showed no hesitation at all. Even the officials who were watching didn't know how to describe it. Could it be that this county magistrate was not the governor Zhuang's man? Seeing this, Zuo Sangui realized that something was wrong and wanted to speak, but was stopped by Zhuang Shouzhi.
"Okay, since we are going to investigate, we must investigate thoroughly. Lord Lan, let's investigate."
Zhuang Shouzhi narrowed his eyes, a hint of ill intent flashed in his eyes. Fortunately, those things were handled cleanly. In the entire Jiangnan officialdom, who dares to say that there is no shit under his buttocks?
"Okay, in that case, let's investigate this case thoroughly at the same time. Lord Ning, have the Imperial City Division go to the backyard of the government office and ask Magistrate Jia to go back. By the way, have someone invite a doctor to check on the three of them, so they don't get hurt."
The last word of advice was to Ning Kai. If someone died in the imperial prison, it would be like having mouths all over the body, and he couldn't explain clearly. Ning Kai nodded and said yes. With a bitter face, he personally led people to the back court. He saw Magistrate Jia lying on the bed with a face full of sorrow. How could he be arrested? So he decided not to go in, and ordered his attendants,
"Go and get a bed board, and then carry Magistrate Jia back safely. I will not go in."
"Yes, my lord,"
Several guards from the Imperial City Department responded by gathering their men, and then found a bed board and directly lifted Jia Yucun onto it. Jia Yucun did this on purpose, and he didn't know why, so he was shocked and asked anxiously:
"I wonder what Master Ning means?"
"Please be at ease, Magistrate Jia, and ask Magistrate Jia to go to the prison to help investigate. If the matter is clear, the master will come back naturally," Ning Kai sighed in his heart, but it was just a comforting word. When he went to the prison, he would be able to come back safely. Perhaps Jia Yucun knew it in his heart, and he sat up.
"Sir Ning, this is a matter in the front hall. I am an honest official and would never cause trouble. Is there some misunderstanding? Sir Ning, please give me some convenience. I will go to the front hall to talk to the others."
Jia Yucun was no longer lying peacefully at this moment. If he had known what would happen today, he would have taken the case himself and would not have ended up in this situation. Ning Kai was unmoved. Since the adults had already made their decision, why bother making trouble?
"Governor Jia, please don't say too much. Please come in."
A cold remark made Jia Yucun shudder all over. As the saying goes, a running dog can only be cooked like this.
"Okay, okay, I'll just follow you. I wonder what case I'm involved in?"
Ning Kai's eyes flickered and he replied,
"It's the case of the Treasury Bank,"
"Oh, nevermind, nevermind."
Jia Yucun instantly recalled what Master Zhuang had said. He should pay back for what he had done in the past. If it had not been for Master Zhuang's support, he would not have been able to sit on the position of prefect.
He sighed almost in defeat, and stopped lying on the bed. Instead, he went into the room, took a robe, put it on, took a bag of loose silver from the closet, put it in his arms, and walked out silently.
It was not until this time that Jia Yucun realized that the three of them, or everyone in the government office, had all been abandoned. It was a pity that the three of them had put in so much effort and tried their best to do things, but in the end, it was all in vain.
Ning Kai was suppressed with a depressed look, but his steps were not slow. Since the person had been caught, he had to go back and report to the commander. As for the investigation, how should it be investigated?
Just as the people from the Imperial City Bureau were escorting the two gentlemen out of the government office, the remaining officials came to their senses and quickly left, leaving Master Zhuang and Master Jing staring at each other in anger. Lan Jili said nothing more, but instead put away the two files and the confession evidence, and prepared to go to the Imperial City Bureau to file them.
"Everyone, the case has been accepted. I will not stay here any longer. After reviewing the case files, I will submit it to the cabinet for review. The rest will be handled according to the court laws. As for other matters of the two adults, I will not ask any questions."
He turned around to look at Su Chong who was still sitting there and continued;
"Sir Su, since the case is handled by you and me, we need to review it together. County Magistrate Xu, County Magistrate Jiang, you two should also go to the Imperial City Office to fill in the files. If anyone has any questions, we can attend the trial together."
"Yes, sir,"
The two men did not retreat, but clasped their fists and accepted the order. The rest of the people did not know what to think. Seeing the two leaders, they did not want to get involved.
"Well, in that case, for the sake of fairness, I will go too."
Jing Cunliang was still worried. If he really turned a blind eye, what if that mediocre person made random accusations? Who would be innocent? Zhuang Shouzhi also nodded in agreement. At this point, no one could back down. As long as they could get the other party's confession, the case would be an ironclad one. No one would give in. They left the government office together and headed for the Imperial City Office.
However, Shen Wanhe didn't know that Jiangnanchun Restaurant was here. He hurriedly got on the carriage and ordered the driver to go back to the restaurant.
"Hurry up and go directly to the restaurant courtyard."
"Yes, sir, please sit tight, drive, drive,"
The driver waved his whip and lashed the horse hard. This movement made the carriage go faster. At the corner of the street ahead, it turned a corner and arrived at the Jiangnanchun Restaurant. Before getting off the carriage, a shrill voice came from the gate of the courtyard.
"Master Shen, you are here?"
When Shen Wanhe heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and quickly jumped off the carriage. Looking back, he saw that it was Eunuch Gui who was standing at the door with two eunuchs. He did not dare to neglect them, so he stepped forward and asked,
"I didn't know that Eunuch Gui was waiting here. I am sorry for being so negligent."
"Hey, we are all family, why should we be so polite? I am also following orders. I wonder if Lord Shen went to the government office. Did something big happen there? Why did Lord Lan Jili go there today?"
Xiao Guizi was also a little curious. Although he had met most of the officials in Jiangnan, he had not met all of them. However, the Transport Commissioner and the Jiandu Censor had never shown up. Now that they suddenly intervened, there must be something fishy going on.
"Replying to Eunuch Gui, something happened at the government office. Ma Tongpan, Hu Tongzhi, and Jia Zhifu were involved in the case and have been arrested."
Shen Wanhe did not say anything extra. Eunuch Yang must have spies on the government office, but Lord Jing and himself were one step behind. Magistrate Xu was really brave. In this way, even if he was a disciple of Marquis Luo Yun, he would have no place in the officialdom in the future.
"What? They were all caught. What a coincidence."
Xiao Guizi was a little confused. Someone actually came to report what happened in the government office. She originally thought that only Ma Guangcheng was on trial, but she didn't expect that three people would be in trouble.
"Okay, godfather is still waiting upstairs, Lord Shen, please come in."
"Thank you, Eunuch Gui,"
Shen Wanhe nodded, knowing that the news received by Eunuch Yang was not accurate. It seemed that Lord Jing did not inform Eunuch Yang in advance. At the government office, Jiang Xiyu, the prefect of Jinling, should have been ordered by Lord Jing to set up a secret move.
With his mind turning, he quickly followed Eunuch Gui into the restaurant. The courtyard was still the same courtyard, but the atmosphere at the moment seemed a little solemn. He hurried up the stairs and entered the hall, only to see Eunuch Yang sitting in the main seat in the hall, and more than a dozen people kneeling below the hall. They looked so familiar at first glance, but when he looked carefully, they were not the people he had arranged. How could they be here?
Shen Wanhe's hurried steps immediately slowed down, stepped into the entrance of the stairs, and stood there, not daring to move.
Then, a laughing voice came in.
"You all wanted to do good things, but now you dare to hide your thoughts under my nose. Tell me, how did it get your turn to buy the land?"
Yang Chi narrowed his eyes, half lying on the chair, and when the faint words came out, he originally thought that it was those wealthy businessmen, but who knew that it was just a group of eunuchs dressed up. More than a dozen people quickly knelt on the ground and said;
"Godfather, how dare the sons go to that place and act recklessly? It's nothing more than the instructions of Shen Wan and Lord Shen. The sons are just to make evidence, so they are waiting to come back and guard it for Godfather."
A dozen young eunuchs sold Shen Wanhe out without saying a word. At the same time, they took out a stack of banknotes from their arms, put them in their palms, and held them in front of them. Yang Chi glanced at them and knew that these were not a small amount.
"Haha, interesting, really interesting. You're full from food, but now you're still thinking about eating out. You don't even try whether it's poisonous or not. You're really rich. You're offering one thousand taels of silver per person. There are more than a dozen of you, so that's more than ten thousand taels of silver. How did you buy you?"
"Godfather, your sons don't dare to do that. Shen Wanhe just has a few stinky money. Your sons don't care about him."
"That's right, godfather, your sons are guarding it for you, and we are afraid that Shen Wanhe will ruin it."
"That's it, ugh!"
(End of this chapter)