Qin Official

Anlu County is connected to Xiapu in the south and Sui and Tang in the north. It is an important transportation route in Nan County, so boats and cars come and go frequently throughout the year. In addition, there are merchants who go to the city to buy and sell, people who sell rice and grain, and soldiers who go north to serve. There is a lot of floating population.

But no matter how many people are waiting outside, the time the city gate opens every day is still the unshakable sunrise.

However, there are always exceptions. On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, before dawn, the south gate of Anlu County opened early.

In the darkness, officials in black clothes and crowns drove out at a rapid pace, with two people on the carriage behind them.

“Isn’t that the fun of the county jail?”

The county guard guarding the city gate yawned and said. Under the light of the torch, he recognized at a glance that the small official driving the car was a subordinate of the county jailer, jailer Le.

The jailer is the chief officer of the jail, responsible for prosecuting all matters in the prison, while the jailer is his subordinate official. The jailer is located in the county seat. When a case occurs, he will usually send the jailer to the place where the crime occurred to deal with it.

So before daybreak, Le used his emergency certificate to open the city gate and hurriedly led people out of the city. All the county soldiers speculated that there must be another case happening in other places...

This year has been really uneventful. The county soldier couldn't help but sigh.

Their guess was correct. At the man-made time last night, when the night curfew had just begun, Le Zheng, who was on duty at the county jail, was lying on the desk and fast asleep. However, he was hurriedly woken up by the jailer, saying that there was someone from another country outside. The waiter called the door, there is an urgent case to report...

Le was woken up from a sweet dream. He wanted to let the unruly pavilion stay there for a good night, but he remembered Doctor Xi's nagging that official business should not be delayed overnight, so he had to let him stay there with a look of displeasure. Open the door and let the guard who reported the crime come in.

But it was someone he knew who came, Ji Ying, a postman from Huyang Pavilion.

After Ji Ying finished telling what happened, Le's drowsiness suddenly disappeared!

He realized that this matter involved anonymous letters, gangs robbing graves, and local officials guarding and stealing from others. It was a huge case!

The matter was so important that Le didn't dare to make his own decision, so he hurriedly sent someone to invite his superior, the warden Xi.

Xi Xi took a rest today and rested at home, but soon came to the county jail. However, he did not listen to the oral accounts of Le and Ji Ying, nor did he interrogate Quji, the official involved in the case. Instead, he first reviewed the love letter hastily written by Heifu, the head of the Huyang Pavilion, which contained a brief account of the incident.

The Qin Code's Internal History Miscellaneous stipulates that when officials ask for instructions, they must do so in writing and are not allowed to make oral requests!

Xi is a person who pays attention to legal procedures. After all procedures are correct, he begins to question the criminal, analyze the case, and give instructions.

The matter is urgent. It's too late to ask the county captain to send troops for help after dawn. Le, you drive quickly and take the car with Ji Ying and Kong Wu, a jailer, out of the city gate and rush to Huyang Pavilion. Ask everyone in Huyang Pavilion to help you. Control the prison gate in Chaoyangli and ask him to confess his crime and where the tomb robbers are hiding. After daybreak, I will personally lead the county soldiers there and kill them all!

Xi handed over the certificate for leaving the city to Le, and Le took the order and left. By the time he actually left the city, it was already dawn time...

…

Warder, is this case a big case? The warden was so solemn just now that I didn't dare to say anything.

The car was going very fast and was bumpy. Ji Ying held on to the railings of the car and asked carefully.

Don't say you don't dare to speak out. When the prison guards speak, we don't dare to breathe. If we accidentally say something wrong, we will be punished with twenty bamboo slips. Who would want to... Le secretly cursed in his heart.

The last time we met, Ji Ying was still the plaintiff in the case, but this time, he was already a postman, and we were all civil servants within the system. So Le didn't have to hide it. He smiled while driving: Of course, this is probably the biggest case the county jail has received since the beginning of October!

Let’s not talk about the rare anonymous letters, nor the scandal of colluding with thieves as a prison guard, let’s talk about those tomb robbers. Le Ming clearly remembered that a few days ago, the county issued a document, claiming that the tomb robbing in Nan County had become too rampant and must be cured!

Three feet of ice is not a day's cold. Grave robbing in Nan County has a long history, and it is not just in the past few years. It can be traced back to the story of Wu Zixu digging up the tomb of King Ping of Chu and flogging three hundred corpses. More recently, it can be traced back to more than fifty years ago, when Qin general Sima mistakenly entered Yiling and burned down the tombs of the Chu kings...

During the war between the Jiang and Han Dynasties, many tombs of Chu kings and Chu nobles were destroyed by the Qin army, and many burial objects were leaked. The tomb robbers who took advantage of the fire made a fortune because of this. He discovered the tombs of Chu nobles scattered all over the country and began to dig wildly.

Although I have to ask myself, if the tombs of those Chu nobles were stolen, Qin officials like Le who were born as common people would gloat and say, Well done! However, no matter how you say it, tomb robbing is a sinful thing and is clearly prohibited by law. . Destruction during war is one thing, protection during peacetime is another. Regardless of whether the tombs of Qin people or Chu people are stolen, they should be arrested and severely punished.

Now, just a few days after the county document was issued, a tomb robbery case occurred in Anlu. If it can be cracked, it will be a great thing for the Anlu warden. If it cannot be cracked and the tomb robbers escape, they will have to be reprimanded by the county, and maybe their merits will be deducted...

I'm afraid I'm too late and the tomb robber can escape... Le thought so.

While talking, the sky was gradually getting brighter. When the sun completely jumped out of the east, the carriage driven by Le and others also arrived outside Huyang Pavilion...

What a coincidence. Heifu, the director of the pavilion, had just changed his clothes. When he heard the sound of carriages and horses outside, he walked out of the pavilion, bowed to Le Zuo and said with a smile: Your Majesty, long time no see!

Heifu, now is not the time to be polite.

Le jumped out of the carriage and didn't even have time to return the favor, so he took Heifu's arm and hurriedly confessed: The warden has already known about your request for instructions. This case is not trivial. He specially sent me to handle it. Please hurry up. Let the soldiers gather in the pavilion and choose weapons, and you will set off with me in a moment.

Heifu grinned: Gather, where are we going?

Of course I'm going to catch thieves!

Le arranged it as a matter of course: You and I will go to Chaoyangli first, take down the prison door there, and then interrogate him and pry out the hiding place of the tomb robber from his mouth, and then...

After saying this, Le remembered something again and began to encourage Heifu: Speaking of which, although Heifu was an official for the first time, he was sophisticated and resourceful in his planning. Not only did he find a way to find out the anonymous poster, but he also concealed himself. The real reason for his arrest did not arouse the suspicion of Chaoyang Lili Prison.

He patted Heifu on the shoulder and said with a smile: Now, what you, the pavilion chief, should do have been completed. Next, you only need to follow the county's instructions!

Le has a good heart and feels that if Heifu encounters such a big case just a few days after taking office, even if he is brave and knows the rules and regulations, he will be a little at a loss. After hearing that he was in charge of the case and was responsible for formulating the arrest plan throughout the entire process, Heifu should be relieved, right?

However, Heifu just looked embarrassed.

Le spoke too fast, leaving no room for anyone to speak. Heifu opened his mouth several times without finding a chance to speak, so he had to listen helplessly with a smile.

Oh, I just hope that the prison guard there has not become suspicious and fled, and I hope he knows where the thieves are hiding... Although I rushed here before dawn, it was a little late after all. I was afraid that the thieves were cunning and had already finished digging the grave and ran away all night. ”

After Le finally finished speaking, Heifu opened his mouth to speak.

Unexpectedly, the bloody Dongmen Leopard burst out of the door and shouted: Hei Fu, I have tied up the tomb robber and the inner prison door in the yard!

After hearing this, Ling Lile, who was encouraging Heifu, suddenly became very strange.

Hei Fu, could it be possible that you... Le looked at Hei Fu with a stunned look on his face.

Heifu could only hand over to Chao Le and said: Your Majesty, I didn't even have time to tell you, those tomb robbers, as well as the prison gate in Chaoyanglili... were all captured by me overnight! Everyone got the stolen goods, and everyone was rich!