Chapter 17 Court Ceremony
On the third day after receiving the seal, at Yinshi (five o'clock in the morning), Yang Mingzhen was lying on the bed tossing and turning, covering his head. Suddenly, he received a report: someone violated the night ban and beat the patrolman Zaoli. The prisoner has been captured. Please take care of him.
After hurriedly washing up and going to the hall, the yamen servants pulled someone over: the bright red sea python robe was torn, revealing the deep purple tunic underneath. One foot was bare, and the other foot was wearing a brown silk plaid soap boot. Her hair was disheveled, and the Zaoli next to her was holding a Zhongjing crown (similar to a black gauze hat, with a square top and three ridges) inlaid with gold wire and covered with mud. Liang), apparently dropped during the fight. Although this man had a bruised nose and a swollen face, he was still quite arrogant. He stood tall and straight, and the smell of alcohol in his mouth was very choking early in the morning. Next to him lay the beaten watchman, with his nose broken and his face covered in blood, moaning half-seriously.
Yang Mingzhen, who had not slept well all night, was still on an empty stomach and was a little nauseous from the smell of alcohol so early in the morning. The colorful man in front of me is too weird: If you say he is an ordinary citizen, you will definitely not dare to make a big move of "seeing an official but not bowing to him". That is asking for death. If you say this person has the status of an official, even though Fengyang It's possible that I didn't recognize the palm-sized world when I first arrived, but the Zhongjing crown should be paired with the Zhongjing official uniform. How could I wear a marginal sea python robe? Grandpa Taizu stipulated that civil servants' uniforms should be embroidered with birds and military officers' uniforms with animals. Embroidering sea pythons, flying deer and other things that were not involved in customization was only something that only the nouveau riche liked to play. If he was a scholar with a good reputation, where did he have the courage to do it? The square scarf has been replaced by an official hat, and only those of rank four or above can be matched with gold rims! Besides, judging from his appearance, he is definitely not a scholar!
In ancient times, it was too easy to tell whether someone was a scholar or not. After the imperial examinations were adopted in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, until the Qing Dynasty, most of those who obtained official positions through the proper path or gained fame were scholars. At that time, it was all private schools, and the teacher would just shake his head and recite, and knock off the ruler if he made a mistake. The habits and manners developed over more than ten years could not be learned by anyone else. Therefore, despite the fact that there were no accurate identification methods such as photos and instant communication methods in ancient times, there have been only a handful of cases of impersonating officials over the past thousands of years. One of the reasons is that the cost of education is too high. More than 95% of people who are completely illiterate will definitely not be able to do such things. The other reason is that their speech and behavior can easily be seen through, even if they are actors with good acting skills. It won't take more than half a day for colleagues in the officialdom to see the flaw. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were too many official donations and it was too shabby. Anyone could get an official position as long as they paid for it, and this kind of thing gradually became more common.
While he was thinking about it, the chief clerk, Meng Gaodi, came over and whispered in his ear: "Master Yang, this is the third uncle."
Yang Mingzhen said in confusion: "What third uncle? Is he your third uncle?"
Meng Gao first stuck out his tongue: "You can kill the villain..." Then he lay down and muttered in Yang Mingzhen's ear. It took the latter a while to figure out that this was the third cousin of a distant relative of the Zhu family. husband.
The third aunt was watching in the hall with squinting eyes. She waited patiently until Meng Gaodi finished explaining his identity and straightened up, then pointed a careless finger to the lying watchman: "Please Yang County, please sentence this guy quickly. "Then he pointed at the strong slaves one by one: "And this, this, and that! Beat them all hard! I can't swallow this breath of shame!"
After hearing the news, Gu Ayi, the squad leader, also hurried over, saluted, and approached Yang Mingzhen's case and began to argue in a low voice with some grievance: "Mr. Yang, there is nothing we can do! The imperial court has stated that the land of Longxing was destroyed to prevent illegal traitors. Dragon Vein, the night ban is particularly strict. Don’t check, if something goes wrong, no one will be able to escape the crime of exterminating the family. Check, you can’t recognize who the uncle is in the dark, please show mercy!” said Then he knelt down again.
Seeing that Gu Bantou had no confidence in what he said, the third uncle became even more arrogant: "A dog-killer farts! You are so noisy! Do you even dare to stop me and beat me? If you don't kill me alive today, you are a bitch like you! Are you? The leader of the dogs is not a good person, so I have to beat them all together!"
Gu Bantou, who was kneeling on the ground, did not dare to get up. He moved his direction, kowtowed to his third uncle and argued in a low voice: "Third uncle, don't you ask someone to hold a lantern with a name? (The night ban is only for the common people, officials handle official business." When going out, you can put out lanterns with official titles and the journey will be smooth), set off the "Qiuyue Pavilion" hook lanterns, and even kick down the street fences, so the kids mistakenly think they are bad guys..."
"Fart, fart!" The third uncle didn't even look at the squad leader, and continued to yell at Yang Mingzhen, "Hurry up, County Yang! Teach the killers to recognize your third master!"
The third uncle was going to play in the Goulan and wanted to stay here for the night. He didn't want his sweetheart to be chosen by others, so he waited until the middle of the night for the girl to escape. One was drinking alone until he was half-drunk and full of regrets, while the other was listless after being tortured. They started to quarrel, and in anger, the third uncle insisted on going back. The madam couldn't stop him, so she had to prepare a lantern from the courtyard for him. Carry it to light the way. After the dusk drum sounds at three o'clock every night, the barrier will be pulled up at the intersection of the main road. When the yamen on duty saw the bright lanterns in the Goulan Courtyard, they naturally stepped forward to investigate. The drunken and angry third uncle not only kicked down the fence without saying a word, but also hit someone, so he was taken away by everyone... …
At this moment, Yang Mingzhen has not made up his mind about the choice between national law and reason, so he wants to follow the example of his predecessor Yan Zhiqing and delay for a while before making a decision. Master Meng saw that Mr. Yang was thinking deeply about his words, so he smoothed things over and said with a smile: "Third Master, please calm down first. You are so blind that you can't blame the brothers for not recognizing you for a while. They didn't know that you were on official business..."
Meng Gaodi wanted to find a step for Yang Mingzhen that could go down from both sides: on the one hand, he was blind and blind, and on the other hand, he was out on business. No one was responsible on both sides, and the matter was over with a careless eye. But the unlucky third uncle became more and more annoyed the more he thought about it. He was even more afraid that the embarrassing story of being kicked out by a bitch in the middle of the night would spread and make people laugh. After hearing Meng Gaodi's "business" words, he thought it was a deliberate mockery and said angrily: "Fart, fart, fart." ! Yang County, hurry up and beat these dogs to death with me! And him," pointing at Meng Gaodi, "this guy is also a bastard, beat him together!"
Within three days of taking office, he beat all his subordinates including watchmen, strong officials, squad leaders, and chief clerks? I’m going to do a lot of fucking shit from now on! Yang Mingzhen, who had just taken office, was really worried: "Shut up! I have my own opinions, how can I allow you to roar in court!"
The third uncle, who was accustomed to being arrogant, did not take the young new magistrate seriously at all. Hearing this, he became even more angry and angry: "What do you say, Yang? Even if the magistrate sees me, he will call me Third Master! Let go!" Understand better and take it out on me quickly!"
At this point, the young and energetic Yang Mingzhen couldn't bear it anymore, and he was shocked: "How dare you be so bold and crazy! I want to ask you: Do you have an official status? Do you have any fame?"
Even though they are just starting out, the minds of scholars are different. The third uncle was a rough man, and of course he didn't realize that Yang Mingzhen was setting a trap that he couldn't get out of. He frowned and said, "Bah! Fame? Who cares about such trouble! My official status is Zhongxian Colonel!" The official title is much higher than yours!"
Yang Mingzhen suddenly felt confident. Zhongxian Xiaowei is a fictitious official from the sixth rank of Wu Sanguan, and it is only a first-time conferment. After a certain period of time, he will be promoted to Zhongwu Xiaowei. The rank is the same, and he is still from the sixth rank. The country's dynasty relies on civility to control military affairs. Even a third-rank official who meets a seventh-rank county magistrate often dares not to show his dignity, let alone an official who is in vain! Seeing that this person was almost forty years old before being awarded an entry-level honorary title, it was obvious that he was not well received by the clan. And he has no idea about the different paths of civil and military affairs. He is just a fool who relies on the old Zhu family to make a fortune by going all the way with the distant relative's daughter-in-law.
"Hey! What a madman! Grandpa Taizu respects Confucius, sacrifices to Tailao, treats scholars, and respects education. How dare you bark and talk nonsense! You are clearly contemptuous of the court's laws! How can you be allowed to roar in the land of Longxing? Court! Come here, slap me twenty times, give me a hard beating!" Logically speaking, in order to show respect for the official position of the imperial court, if a person is guilty of an official status, he must first remove his crown, which means that he will be deprived of his official status before being punished~ The punishment is not Are you going to be a doctor? Since this person's loyalty and respect were not on his head, Yang Mingzhen naturally no longer had such scruples.
"Ah, you, you dare to hit me?" As soon as the third uncle screamed, he heard "offended" in his ears. There was a sharp pain in his knees, and he couldn't help but kneel down - the government officials who had long hated him Of course I won't miss this opportunity. Anyway, Mr. Yang will be responsible for anything in the future! He made a habitual noise and kicked his feet down skillfully. The two of them grabbed his left and right hands respectively. The third one pulled the third uncle's hair firmly on the back of his head. The fourth one pulled out a bamboo board half a foot long and half an inch wide from the back waist and walked to the front. He rounded his arms and pulled it down. Tell the number loudly as you hit.
Yang Mingzhen, who was not yet familiar with the unspoken rules of officialdom, made a slip of the tongue - slap on the mouth punishment. In fact, there is a code for execution in the yamen. "Hit me" ~ This is beating with hands, you can release water. At most, the cheeks will swell. It will only take a few days. It will not be any serious problem. "Hit me hard" ~ This is beating with bamboo slices, and the result will be inevitable. His gums are rotten and all his back molars have fallen out. Even if he survives, he will have to rely on liquid food in the future. Mr. Yang, who was newly appointed as an official, had not had time to understand such profound and profound mysteries, so he blurted out in desperation.
After about ten minutes, the third uncle's molars had all been laid off. Some were splashed in front of the hall, and some were washed down by bloody water. After twenty rounds of playing, the third uncle who had been struck by disaster was completely unrecognizable.
The third uncle, who had been running rampant in the area for many years, did not expect to be treated like this. He lay down in the hall and hummed, looking at everyone fiercely from the corner of his eyes. Unfortunately, he didn't know that his bad luck had just begun. Yang Mingzhen once read the sage's teaching of "eliminate all evil": Anyway, it has been done, so do it to the end!
"When did you get this guy?"
"Back to my lord, it's time for the fourth watch."
"According to the "Da Ming Code", those who violate the prohibition from the second to the fourth watch will be flogged forty times! Taizu's ancestral system, loyal and respectful crowns and uniforms, are allowed to be worn by frontiers, palaces, prefectures and counties, and Confucian instructors outside the country, and military attachés are limited to governors and above. The rest are not allowed to be used indiscriminately! Those who are above the fourth rank must use gold thread! Anyone who violates the rules of clothing will have his limbs cut off! This offender is a first-time offender, and he will be punished for both crimes, with a cane of sixty..." His ears were beaten to the point where he was almost deafened. The third uncle could not hear the verdict at all. He only knew that he was being held up again and his pants were taken off. One of the yamen servants sat on his back and held him down, while another man pressed his ankles with both hands. The other two men, one on each side, swung The board greeted Bai Huahua fiercely, singing and counting while playing...
Whipping and cane are two of the five punishments - whipping, cane, apprenticeship (hard labor), exile (exile in the army), and death (various fancy cracks). The main difference lies in the severity. Whipping is a form of whipping. In some places, thorns and leather whips are used, while in other places, small wooden boards or bamboo pieces are used, starting from ten to fifty times. The cane punishment is drawn with a large wooden board, and the specific specifications are divided into three categories: large staff, magic staff, and small staff. It starts at sixty and stops at a hundred (except for Ultraman, no one can handle a 100-strength stick - not even Schwarzenegger as long as the body is made of flesh).
There is a poem that praises: screams and sticks fly together, feces and urine are the same color as blood and water...
After dragging away his third uncle who had suffered a bloody misfortune and lost most of his life, Yang Mingzhen, who had completely risked his life, still resented himself. He personally wrote an original and full-fledged official report. In addition to the one sent to the prefect, he copied two more copies and directly Postage horses were sent to the capital and Jiangning, the capital of southern Zhili.
This is also the cleverness of Yang Mingzhen: since he has already done it, he will tell the truth to the sky. Even if he causes a big disaster, he can still get a good reputation. At the same time, no matter who comes out to clean up his own, he must also take advantage of his own. reputation.
However, Yang Mingzhen was still young, and he didn't know that these were actually of little use: the memories of the people of the Ming Dynasty would not last long, and officials - there were so many people who exchanged reputation for wealth, who cares about the trouble...
Not to mention that when the magistrate received the official letter, he was as shocked as a toad struck by lightning with his mouth open and stunned. He ran to Bozhou to deal with "urgent matters" and hid. If it had been any other time, whether it was Yang Zhi County or Li Zhi County, Zhang Zhi County Wang Magistrate, anyone who does this will end badly - but this time he is indeed lucky: the adults in the imperial household and rites departments are in a state of distress.
*The third shift of Yamen.
Zaoban: Responsible for guarding the prison.
Zhuangban: Standing in the lobby and shouting "Mighty", responsible for conducting torture and interrogation.
Quick class: Responsible for arresting thieves and arresting people.
