Kneeling at the front was Wei Bifu, the former general magistrate of Guangzhou Prefecture. When he saw the thief Shangguan getting out of his sedan chair, he quickly reported loudly: "Wei Bifu and other Guangzhou civil and military officials have surrendered to see Mr. Liu."
Only then did Liu Xiang pay attention to the group of people in the darkness in front of the screen wall, and saw that there were dozens of people kneeling below, all prostrate on the ground, not daring to breathe. Unable to control his "official addiction", he coughed and said, "Who are you kneeling down?"
Wei Bifu hurriedly said: "The criminal Wei Bifu has led the civil and military surrender of one prefecture and two counties in Guangzhou to see you here."
When Liu Xiang saw that Wei Bifu's beard and hair were all white, and that a man of his age was still trying to look servile, he couldn't help but sigh to himself: Fame and wealth are really good things to waste away people! He said: "You can wait and talk."
Wei Bifu took the lead and stood up tremblingly. The people behind him also stood up, bowing respectfully and not daring to look up.
Tongpan is an assistant officer of the prefecture. He is usually responsible for one aspect of specific affairs. He is quite an official in a prefecture. However, the biggest official who surrendered in Guangzhou was just a general judge, which made Liu Xiang a little disappointed. Although the Foreign Intelligence Service has said that there may not be too many local officials surrendering, Liu Xiang still hopes that the Guangzhou prefect will surrender.
"Where's the prefect?"
Wei Bifu's body was trembling slightly and he said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Dong... resisted the heavenly soldiers and committed suicide by taking poison in Houya..."
This prefect Dong took office less than half a year ago. Being able to come to Guangzhou as a prefect was considered a good thing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and no one expected that it would become a life-threatening talisman.
"There are quite a few officials in Guangzhou, so how many of you are there?"
"Reporting to your lord, many of them are stubborn people. Some have committed suicide to resist the heavenly soldiers, and some have abandoned their official positions and do not know their whereabouts."
Liu Xiang nodded and said, "Let's go in and have a look."
When Zhu Yuanzhang was in power, he formulated the "national standards for the construction of government offices at all levels across the country", so government offices in prefectures and counties all over the country were basically built according to the same form. Liu Xiang visited the Hongdong County Government Office and the Nanyang Government Office when he was traveling in the past. Now he has also visited all the county offices and government offices on Hainan Island. Apart from differences in size and architectural sophistication, the basic shapes are similar.
But this is the first time that he has taken over a government office as a winner. The taste is different again.
Wei Bifu hurriedly said: "Rong humble position will lead the way for you."
At present, Wei Bifu is leading the way. The front of the screen wall is an archway with the inscription "Chengxuanfang", and the left and right are "Shenming Pavilion" and "Jingshan Pavilion". After entering the door, there is a screen wall. The so-called Xiao Qiang. Go around the Xiao wall and come to the courtyard. Then I saw the second gate. There are two courtyards on the left and right of Yimen. To the east is the Yin Hotel, to the west is the Prison Secretary and the Earth Temple. Liu Xiang saw five or six corpses lying in front of the prison gate. Startled, he asked, "What's going on?"
"Reporting to your lord, the heavenly soldiers came to the government office to release the prisoners and executed several jailers..." Wei Bifu said uneasily.
"Where are the prisoners?" Liu Xiang heard something was wrong. This was not included in the reception plan.
"The heavenly soldiers have already used their full strength..."
Liu Xiang's expression changed and he couldn't help but whisper: "Nonsense!"
Although Wei Bifu didn't hear what he said, he saw that his face suddenly became very ugly. He didn't know what touched his back scale, and he was afraid and quickly bowed lower.
Liu Xiang didn't want to talk nonsense with him. He called a naturalized cadre next to him: "Go to the security headquarters immediately and convey my order: If you see anyone wearing prison clothes or half-clothed on the street who is suspected of escaping from prison, call them immediately." Capture.”
"Yes! Chief!"
In any rebellion, every time a city is conquered, they will often "leave all the prisoners free" to show their contempt for the old authority, embody benevolent governance, and at the same time strengthen their own power. But that was not the case with the Senate. Even though there are many innocent people in prison, many are incarcerated for trivial "crimes." There are also a large number of genuine "criminals" among them, ranging from robbers and bandits to murderers and thieves... What's more, the Guangzhou prison is different from the county prisons in Shunde and Nanhai. The prisoners were from more than a dozen states and counties throughout Guangzhou Prefecture. Once these people are released directly into society, returning home without money and without food and clothing, they will immediately become an unstable factor for social security.
When making the plan to enter the city this time, Liu Xiang paid special attention to the acceptance policy of prisons at the prefecture and county levels, which is to "accept them as they are and not deal with them for the time being." Unexpectedly, it was still disturbed.
He asked again: "Which army is here and who is responsible for receiving it? Call me the chief officer leading the team!"
Wei Bifu saw that he looked unkind and quickly stood back. However, he saw the "fake Kun" officer who was the first to enter the government office just now trotted over, stood at attention in front of the chief, and raised his hand to his forehead - this was the military salute of a Kun thief. Just listen to him say loudly:
"Commander of the 1st Platoon of the 4th Company of the 4th Infantry Battalion, Second Lieutenant Wu Baliu."
"It was you who destroyed the prison and killed the jailer. Freed the prisoners?"
"Yes!" Wu Baliu said loudly, "It is simply not a place for people to live in there, it is simply a living hell. The prisoners' hands and feet were so rotten in the shackles that they were covered with maggots. I saw there were a few more bodies wrapped in reed mats in the back. The corpses were all bleeding from the orifices - the prisoner said that the jailers had gotten money and killed people quietly in the past few days... I was so angry, is there any justice in this? Just kill the jailers and let the prisoners go. Done!" After saying that, he felt a little proud, as if he had done justice for heaven.
"You're stupid!" Liu Xiang shouted. When he saw the other party's shocked eyes, he realized that he had overreacted. He softened his tone and said, "The jailer tortures and kills prisoners. He deserves it. The prisoners deserve it. There are those who have been wronged and those who have been wronged, and they must be screened one by one. This is a matter for the national police and the courts, not your job!" He took a breath, "There are good people and bad people in this cell. You put the prisoners Let go of everything. Who will go to the victims who have had their relatives killed and their money stolen? Who told you that there are all good people in the cell? "
"This..." Wu Baliu scratched his scalp. He said angrily, "I think it was wrong."
"How many prisoners did you let out?"
"No... I can't count..." he stammered, "When I opened the cell door, a lot of people rushed out. Now, there are only a dozen injured and sick people left in the prison. First... Chief... Chief, did I make a mistake..."
Liu Xiang said, "Your mistake will be dealt with by the army. You return to the army now and wait for the National Army to take over." After that, he turned back to Wei Bifu and said, "Keep going."
Wei Bifu felt a little relieved and did not dare to join in the fun anymore. He just led the way. After passing the Yimen, you can see a pavilion in the middle of the courtyard, called "Jie Shi Pavilion". This is also the form formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang. Liu Xiang knew that the inner side of the stone facing the lobby was engraved with the following words: "Your salary and your salary are favored by the people; the people are easy to abuse, but the gods are hard to bully." The words "Gong Sheng Ming" were engraved on the outside.
There are official residences in the east and west of the main hall. To the east is the Jingli Department (in charge of receiving and issuing documents; to the west is the Zhaomo Office (in charge of collecting the files of Liufang). Behind the main hall is the cabinet library that Liu Xiang is most concerned about - it has been sealed and guarded by soldiers. .The rest of the place is also sealed.
Liu Xiang asked a few questions and learned that the Yongping Treasury (Fu Treasury) had also been sealed and sent troops to guard it. There were no flaws in the two things he was most concerned about in the government office, so he felt relieved.
After the lobby is the second hall, which is used for hearing general cases on weekdays. After passing through the second hall, you will reach the flower hall-this is already the residential part of the government office. The flower hall is a place where the chief officials of the Yamen hold public and private banquets and entertain guests. Some cases that are not suitable for public hearing are sometimes held here. Therefore, the layout is more life-like and not as solemn as the lobby or the second hall.
But at this moment, the seats in the flower hall were in a mess and it was chaos. There were several corpses on the ground, all covered with white cloths. There is a naturalized citizen clerk guarding the place.
"This is--"
"These are the bodies of Mr. Dong... Nihe's family, waiting for inspection by your Excellency." Wei Bifu said quickly.
Liu Xiang nodded, and Zuo Zuo, who was waiting by the side, lifted up the white cloth and said flatteringly: "Please see, sir, it is indeed poison."
The deceased prefect was a middle-aged man, not wealthy, even a little old, and probably not from a wealthy family. Liu Xiang remembered that Lin Baiguang told him that Mr. Dong was very close to Guangzhou, accepted Guo Yi's "gifts" and "allowances" without hesitation, and turned a blind eye to the affairs of the Senate in Guangzhou. He originally thought that someone like Mr. Dong would surrender, but he didn't expect that he would commit suicide so decisively.
"Dong Ni's follower is waiting for orders in the corridor. Do you want to call him over for questioning?" Wei Bifu asked.
"good."
Wei Bifu quickly waved at the steps of the flower hall, and a middle-aged man ran in from the corridor. When he came in, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Liu Xiang: "I say hello to the great master."
"Get up." Liu Xiang waved his hand, "Are you Mr. Dong's follower?"
"Yes, slave Dong Qing."
"Do you recognize any of the corpses here?"
"Yes, they were all buried by slaves and slave women." Dong Qing looked sad, "It was Master Dong, Mrs. Dong, Mrs. Dong's personal maid and Master Dong's nephew. They all committed suicide by taking poison."
Liu Xiang sighed, waved his hand and said, "Find a few coffins and bury them as soon as possible."
"Yes, thank you for your grace." Dong Qingyou knelt down and kowtowed several times.
Liu Xiang asked again: "Is there anyone else in his family?"
Before Dong Qing could answer, Wei Bifu rushed over and said: "There is also an aunt and a young lady. There are also several maids and servants. They are all detained in the back. They are under the supervision of someone in their humble position and are not allowed to commit suicide. They are waiting for the adults to deal with them."
"Oh?" Liu Xiang was a little surprised. He has participated in public security wars and destroyed many strongholds owned by powerful landlords. Every time after the stronghold was broken, not only the master's family members, but also the maids and maids would commit suicide for fear of being humiliated. Therefore, every time a stronghold is breached, a special team must be sent to intercept and dissuade them. (To be continued.)
