Wei Chong came back from prison and took a nap. When he woke up, he saw that the sky was slightly bright and there was a layer of mist in the sky. He heard that a few more 'dead criminals' had died in the prison, but it didn't matter to the overall situation, and everything was about to be settled. Wei Chong took the officers and soldiers back to the palace and went to Hu Qi to deliver the goods.
Hu Qi was still sulking at the table grading documents. When he saw Wei Chong coming back from a busy night, he motioned for him to sit down and rest.
"I asked that group of soldiers to wait outside," Wei Chong asked for a cup of tea, "Thank you for your help."
Hu Qi's face was like a flat lake, and he quickly wrote a few words on the paper: "How many are captured?"
"About twenty people, just enough for me." Wei Chong said calmly.
"This soldier is not under my control," Hu Qi snorted dissatisfiedly, "What did you do... I am not responsible."
"Of course you don't have to take responsibility, it's just the young ones who make their own decisions..." Wei Chong didn't dare to contradict, so he had to swallow these words.
"Is there anything else?" Hu Qi asked impatiently.
"One more thing," Wei Chong smiled a little apologetically, "When I went to arrest Wang Liangguan, I had some misunderstandings with the guards at the granary. I got rough and killed three or four people. Look at this. What should I do?”
Hu Qi raised his head in astonishment, his anger rose, and he scolded: "What good things have you done for me!"
Wei Chong said nothing. Then Hu Qi calmed down and could only sigh: "Forget it. I can help you hide it for the time being, but the paper can't cover the fire after all. The people in the granary have complaints against us, and they might expose this matter. We need someone." It’s a surefire strategy.”
"This little guy is here to ask you for advice."
Hu Qi pinched his nose, pondered for a moment, and then said: "Let's go to King Wanjun and persuade him to care for the dead and injured, and instruct the king's grain officer to assist the thieves. He shall be deprived of his official position and shall not be reinstated. This is A combination of kindness and power may work."
"Shang Shu's wonderful plan! I will go to the palace immediately to advise the prince." Wei Chong bowed.
"Then go ahead, I'll wait for your good news." Hu Qi picked up the pen again.
Wei Chong's actions at night were so fast that Ye Yongjia didn't even know how many new people had been added to the cell. He only heard about Captain Mao's capture from Inspector Jiang.
Impulsively, he wanted to take a look in the cell, but because Liu Dang had not expressed his position yet, if he entered the prison without permission and saw Ma Si, he would be in trouble whether to save him or not.
After all, he is the prefect of Nanjing City, and he cannot treat this as a child's play and make rash actions. It's best to wait and see.
Ye Yongjia walked into the yamen's study. He wanted to ask Wei Chong for a few questions, but he couldn't find him. I had no choice but to ask the clerk to bring the document, but I saw him taking a half step back, as if he had something to say. He was feeling agitated, so he asked, "What's wrong? Tell me something quickly."
"Prefect Chen of Yangzhou has written to you." The clerk took out a letter from his arms. "The person he sent asked me to forward it to the study... It's no coincidence that you arrived."
"Has that person left?" Ye Yongjia asked.
"I guess we're out of town," he replied.
Ye Yongjia looked at the letter handed by the clerk, pondered for a long time, and finally took it hesitantly, opened it, and read the words above in a low voice:
"Yangzhou Tongpao Chen bowed respectfully to Nanjing Magistrate Tinglong Xiandi: I haven't seen you for many days. I wonder if you are in good health?" Is everything safe at home? I really think about the robe. As for the robe, there are governors on top to protect me, and on the bottom there are favors from Guo clan. The situation is already very difficult. The pawnshops of the Hunan people are becoming more and more prosperous, and many are opened in various places. However, Lu Jifu has recently fallen ill and is about to die. This is really a good thing. After Jifu's death, the Lu family merged with him as a passing family, and Chen could live in peace. There is an undercurrent surging at Tinglong, and it may not be determined overnight. If there is any difficulty, please tell me your sincere heart, Brother Yu should be the one who can help you to solve the problem. '
Ye Yongjia picked up his pen and wanted to reply with something, but then he hung the tip of the pen in the air, unable to make up his mind. Subsequently. He dipped in ink several times and wrote only a few words: "Nothing happens, Brother Chen, don't worry about it."
As noon approached, Wei Chong came out of the palace and, following the imperial edict, went to tell the family members of the people who accidentally killed the grain soldiers, generously gave them gold and silk as compensation, and added posthumous titles to the deceased, etc., which I won’t go into details here. Then he went to the granary and distributed money and silver to the grain soldiers, euphemistically called money to soothe their mood. He also sternly reprimanded Wang Liangguan in front of the public for his illegal behavior and that he acted entirely according to Hu Qi's plan. The grain soldiers were happy to get the money; and they knew that the king's grain officer was really guilty, so they did not dare to make mistakes.
Seeing that the storm had subsided, Wei Chong didn't stay long, so he hurried to the cell and saw the cell leader taking out a confession. The paper was densely packed with red palm prints, which looked shocking.
"Master Wei, we spent one night on trial, asking the more than 20 people of Ma Si's gang to be detained. You can hand it over to Mr. Ye for information." The prison chief said with a smile, as if he wanted to take credit.
Wei Chong laughed heartily and patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, the credit must be yours!"
He took out this confession, which represented the settlement of the dust, and placed it in front of Ye Yongjia, then stepped aside and bowed to salute.
"This is..." Ye Yongjia shivered all over when he saw those blood-red handprints.
"Ma Si's comrades told me." Wei Chong said with a smile.
Ye Yongjia grabbed the so-called real evidence with a few fingers and made a crunching sound. "More than twenty people, are you going to kill them all?"
"Among them, Wang Liangguan, Cai Shuli, and Liu Yamen have been officials for many years and do not need to be killed; but the vast majority of these people are desperadoes from other places. They killed people, set fires, and robbed homes for Ma Si. They deserve to be killed. What's more..." Wei Chong's eyes sharpened, "If we don't kill these prisoners on death row, the people will not be angry!"
After Ye Yongjia heard this, he slammed the table so hard that the confession fell to the ground.
"Did you get the consent of me, the prefect of Nanjing, to arrest these people?" Ye Yongjia said in a stern voice, "Tell me! Where did you arrest these people and when?"
Wei Chong was also driven into panic and pointed his finger at the sky: "The Emperor has a decree to abolish redundant officials and rectify the administration of officials. I hope Lord Ye will not forget it!"
Ye Yongjia's face turned red with anger and his eyes widened: "Abolition? The emperor didn't give you the power to arrest and kill people, did he?"
Wei Chong sneered with contempt: "Master Ye...not only the emperor, but also King Wanjun and Duke Lu Yue gave me the power to investigate people. Since I can investigate, I can get to the bottom of it!"
"I asked you where you caught these people, don't keep talking to me!" Ye Yongjia shouted loudly.
"Donkey Skin Alley," Wei Chong tugged at his beard, "there are many thieves hiding in this alley. I searched them from house to house and found them."
"A thief? That's nonsense!" Ye Yongjia stood up and grabbed Wei Chong's collar, almost tearing it off. "You just said it blatantly. You are clearly scapegoating ordinary people. Yes or no?!”
Wei Chong's face showed a trace of a sinister smile, and he admitted generously: "Yes."
