Sun Shiliu retorted calmly: "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. If anyone gives you any advice, it's just a little old man asking people on the street where the case will be tried.
Your Excellency, you think it's suspicious for a little old man to play drums and complain about injustice. Isn't it suspicious for hundreds of people to come to Beijing to complain? "
"You are so brave, you dare to question the imperial officials!" Yang Yin was furious immediately.
"I don't dare, I don't dare," Sun Shiliu chuckled, "Maybe it's because of Longxi's Feng Shui! Some people even dare to falsely accuse the prince, wouldn't they be even more bold?"
"Okay, you said you wanted to confront me, what did you use to confront me?" Yan Yu didn't want to keep asking, "Empty words are not enough."
"Sir, I don't have any other skills. I've been running a tavern in Longxi for 20 or 30 years. I know everyone who is a local." Sun Shiliu said, "Your Excellency, you might as well call up those people who complained. Little old man, identify them one by one and see who they are?"
Those who originally complained were kneeling on the other side of the courtroom. Duke An Guo ordered those people to come closer and let Sun Shiliu and his son identify them.
When those people came over one after another, the two leaders looked at the Sun family father and son.
A discerning person would know at a glance that they knew each other.
"I do recognize these people. They are indeed locals from Longxi." Sun Shiliu said, "But let my son do the talking."
His son Sun Shuanzhu had not spoken since he came to the court, and his head was hung low.
He didn't raise his head until his father mentioned him.
Everyone was very surprised at first glance, because this man looked like a fool. His eyebrows were widely separated, his eyes were extremely small, his nose was flat, his mouth was grinning involuntarily, and saliva was dripping from time to time.
"Your son is obviously a fool," Yang Yin said angrily, "You are contemptuous of the court and fooling the superior!"
"Elder sir, calm down, how dare you, little old man?" Sun Shiliu kowtowed quickly, "It's true that my son is a fool, but a fool also has the benefits of a fool, he won't lie.
Even if someone taught him to lie, he would never lie.
In addition, my son has been helping in the pub. Many of these people are regular customers of our family, and he recognizes them all. "
"What this old man said makes sense," An Guogong said. "As the saying goes, a child's mouth will tell the truth, and so will a fool."
Then he called the fool's name and said, "Sun Shuanzhu, do you recognize these people?"
The fool blinked his little eyes, pointed at one of the leaders and said, "This is Li Guandai. It hurts when he hits people. He goes to our house to have a drink and never gives us money!"
"You stinking fool, you are talking nonsense! When did I stop paying for the drinks?!" Li Baozhong glared and murmured, but his voice was very low, and only people close to him could hear it.
"That's right, this man's name is Li Baozhong. He is the commander of our Longxi military camp. He is not a commoner." Sun Shiliu said.
"This is cell leader Zhang. He specializes in bullying the young wives who deliver meals to prisoners. He ruined Yinsuo's mother and hanged her to death." The fool Sun Shuanzhu pointed at Zhang Lianjiu and resented her.
"This man is the head jailer in our Longxi Prison, and he can be regarded as a local tyrant." Sun Shiliu said, "If anyone is imprisoned, he has many ways to exploit them!"
"Sun Shiliu! You old thief is really talking nonsense! We are all peaceful and kind people. It is because we have been greatly wronged that we have to go to Beijing to complain.
You have been a lackey all your life, flattering others and confusing right and wrong. This is your special skill.
You loaned loan money to open a restaurant in the local area and married twenty or thirty wives. Which one of us has not borrowed money from you? Which one has you not sucked blood from? ! "
"Yes, you actually brought your stupid son here today just to pour dirty water on us!
You are a native of Longxi, where do you come from relatives in the capital? !
When there was a disaster, you sold rice at a high price. How much money did you steal? ! "
Li Baozhong and Zhang Lianjiu were not easy-going people, so they began to fabricate and slander Sun Shiliu.
Anyway, if you want to verify it, you have to spend time, and the other party's words are unfounded. In this case, just muddy the water and make it difficult for people to distinguish the true from the false.
"Sir, please let the farmers make the decision! We are innocent farmers!"
"Sun Shiliu has ulterior motives! He was bewitched by someone unknown and falsely accused us. Please make a clear decision!"
The complainants pleaded one after another, and the court became noisy and chaotic for a while.
"Quiet!" Yan Yu slapped the gavel into pieces, "You all these unscrupulous people, please shut up!"
The two squads of government officials also stabbed the water and fire sticks into the ground and shouted "Quiet" together.
The hall gradually became quiet.
"Both sides are insisting on their own opinions, and it is difficult to tell the truth from the false for a while." Yang Yin said, "It is better to keep the father and son in custody for the time being!"
This is a delaying tactic.
Who would have thought that as soon as he finished speaking, Sun Shiliu immediately shouted: "Wait a minute, little old man, I have evidence."
An Guogong immediately asked: "What evidence do you have? Tell me quickly."
"The adults don't need to send people to Longxi to inquire," Sun Shiliu said, "these two people have the evidence with them."
When everyone heard what he said, they couldn't help but turn their attention to Li Baozhong and Zhang Lianjiu.
The two people also looked at each other, and then showed a look of fear.
"One of these two works as a servant in the military camp, and the other works as an errand in the prison. They are both considered members of the public family.
It is a custom in Longxi that all officers will have tattoos on their bodies, and these two people also have tattoos on their backs.
The tattoo on Li Baozhong's back is "Open Eyes Guan Gong", because he is the commander of the military camp and advocates bravery.
Opening one's eyes and Guan Gong's flower embroidery are not allowed to people who are not members of the public family. This is a rule and cannot be wrong.
The tattoo on Zhang Lianjiu's back is the eye-catching white tiger. He is the prison head, and the white tiger is in charge of punishment and is the prison god.
It stands to reason that the white tiger is a fierce god, so how dare ordinary people have it tattooed on their bodies? But being a jailer is another story.
They often go to the little old man's tavern to have drinks, and often wear shirtless clothes when the weather is hot, so they know it. Sun Shiliu said, "If you don't believe it, just take off their clothes in front of the court to verify it." "
Speaking of this, even if Yang Yin and Yan Yu wanted to, they couldn't. After all, the emperor was listening behind the screen.
So he had no choice but to say: "Come here, take off the clothes of these two people and see if there are any embroideries on their backs."
The officer stepped forward and took off the shirts of the two men in a few strokes.
As expected, one has a tattoo of Guan Gong with his eyes open, and the other has a tattoo of a white tiger head.
There is indeed a custom of tattooing in Longxi, and everyone knows it.
Both of these two people have their backs covered with flower embroidery, and the tattoo master’s skill is such that the tattoos look like they are alive.
He looks really murderous, fierce and fierce.
"Who among the good people in An An would have such a sinister embroidery tattooed on their back?" An Guogong sneered, "Even if the fifth prince bullies the people during disaster relief, he can't bully you, right?
It is possible for you to be the talons of the hawks and work for them. "
Regarding tattoos, you should have heard of some relevant rules, such as: a dragon tattoo cannot go beyond the shoulder, a tiger tattoo cannot go down the mountain, Guanyin will not save the world with his eyes closed, and Guan Gong will kill people with his eyes open.
When I was reading "Water Margin", my favorite character was Lu Zhishen, who served as governor in Kansai and was all embroidered. This was quite popular in the military camp at that time.
According to historical records, the origin of tattoos is the words tattooed on the face or body of prisoners when they were tattooed. Later, people beautified it and it became a fashion. It can be regarded as an art with origins. I wonder if you have any tattoos?
(End of chapter)
