Daxing City is bounded by the central axis Zhuque Street, and is divided into two counties: Daxing County in the east and Chang'an County in the west. The official rank of the magistrates of the two counties is comparable to that of the governor of Shangzhou, and their salaries are very generous. However, the magistrate of the capital is definitely one of the most difficult jobs in the world.
On the one hand, the positions of meritorious officials, military officials, civil servants, military officials, and legal officials in the two counties of the capital have always been gilded positions for the sons of powerful men. Therefore, some seemingly inconspicuous minor officials may have been awarded titles because of their father's merits. The county magistrate, the county magistrate, and the three divisions of Yitong... If the county magistrate does not have the matching background, title, and prestige, he will simply not be able to control or dispatch this "little official."
On the other hand, when the county magistrate, county magistrate, county lieutenant, or chief registrar are interrogating a second-generation official or a third-generation official, their parents will definitely claim to be severely punished in accordance with the law, but if you really punish them severely in accordance with the law, in the blink of an eye, they will be punished severely. You will encounter all kinds of difficulties; if you are not punished severely in accordance with the law, the emperor not far away will let you know what the consequences of dereliction of duty are, so no matter what you do, you will suffer from both sides and be thankless.
In view of this, the county magistrates appointed by the imperial court were all figures such as national princes and county princes. The magistrates of Daxing County this time are Dou Rongding, the Duke of Chen Yi, and Dou Qing, the second son of Princess Wan'an.
In addition to being of Dou family and royal blood, Dou Qing also had the title of Duke of Yongfu County. It was precisely thanks to these three identities that he suppressed internal and external enemies and secured his position as magistrate of Daxing County.
During this period, due to martial arts events, a large number of warriors poured into the capital every day, and these warriors had been admiring Pingkangfang Nanli in Daxing County for a long time, so they were all concentrated here. These rebellious warriors were all familiar figures in Hengxing Township locally, but now they were concentrated in Pingkangfang. They would often fight over trivial matters such as a prostitute, a disdainful look, the order in which food was served, and so on. As a result, Dou Qing, who was in charge of this area, had a headache as big as a bucket and was very annoyed.
When a murder case occurred in Dongshi, Dou Qing was investigating a serious incident of a group fight. The cause was that a samurai glanced at the other party and then spit, causing the other party to mistakenly think that he looked down on people, so he stepped forward and killed the spitter. The fight started, and then friends from both sides joined in, and then it turned into a territorial fight. In the end, more than 300 people were arrested.
After Dou Qing finally settled the case, he received a report from a merchant in Dongshi that a fight had occurred in Dongshi and a life had been caused, so he immediately sent someone to arrest the murderer.
He originally thought that it was another fight between warriors who had nothing to do but after asking carefully, he found out that the two people killed were actually Yang Jian's subordinates. This suddenly shocked Dou Qing.
As the magistrate of Daxing County, Dou Qing knew very well what Yang Jian had done, but that was not a person he could control. Especially after his elder brother Dou Kang was arrested in Beijing and expelled as a citizen, he was even more afraid of his cousin Yang Guang who ascended the throne as emperor. Now even if he lends him ten heads, he does not care about the courage of Yang Guang's son.
Dou Qing knew that Yang Jian, who had done something immoral, could not see the light and was afraid of the light. He would definitely send someone to take the criminal Qin Qiong away, and then silence Qin Qiong without anyone noticing. But since he has been the magistrate of Daxing County, every time he encounters a case, he has to investigate the background of both parties and weigh the interests before making a judgment. The so-called impartial law enforcement can only be achieved when the backgrounds of both parties are equally matched and neither party has any background. It will happen next time.
Although the person who is now being killed is a subordinate of King Yuzhang, the murderer Qin Qiong still dares to kill him even though he knows his origin. This shows that Qin Qiong is not a simple person. If his backstage and background are also strong, then he will have to make a difficult balancing act. It’s time.
"For your humble position, please see the county magistrate!" Qu Tugai, the county magistrate, walked quickly into the back hall and saluted Dou Qing.
Dou Qing waved his hand and asked impatiently: "Are you sure? Where is Qin Qiong?"
Qu Tugai cupped his hands and answered: "The humble position has been clearly examined. The prisoner Qin Qiong is from Licheng County, Qizhou. His ancestors were officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, and Northern Qi Dynasty. His father, Qin Ai, was the king of Xianyang in the Northern Qi Dynasty. The recorder of Wudu joined the army. After the death of Qi, Qin Ai returned to his hometown and is still alive today."
"In other words, Qin Qiong is no longer a member of a famous family?" Dou Qing asked urgently.
Qu Tu Gai nodded: "That's right!"
"What is Qin Qiong's background in the capital?" Dou Qing breathed a long sigh of relief. If so, there would be no harm in handing it over to Yang Xian directly.
Qu Tugai was Qu Tutong's younger brother. The reason why he became the magistrate of Daxing County was because of his brother's contribution to the burning of Gaobiling. It's just that although he became this official through connections, he is honest and upright, and he hates Dou Qing's style of judging cases based on the background. As soon as Dou Qing asked this question, he knew that he was going to bend the law for personal gain again, so he cupped his hands and said, "Qin Qiong is the confidant of General You Xiaowei who came to protect his son! He was killed because the evil slaves of King Yuzhang robbed his younger brother Qin. Chong’s wife, this is how you help me. As for hurting people, it’s because Chen Zhiwei and other evil slaves drew their swords first.”
Dou Qing's brows furrowed as he heard this. He only remembered Qu Tugai's words about "the beloved general who came to protect his son." As for the latter, he didn't take it to heart at all. After Lai Huer entered the court, he was canonized by Yang Guang as General Zuo Xiaowei, Duke Rong Guo, and Doctor Guanglu. He received a courtesy and courtesy that was rare in the world.
If he handed over Qin Qiong to King Yuzhang, would the holy family member Zhenglong come to protect him and cause trouble?
"County magistrate, what should we do now?" Qu Tugai couldn't help but ask when he saw Dou Qing was silent for a long time.
"What else can we do?" Dou Qing sighed and said calmly: "When King Yuzhang's people come, hand Qin Qiong over. This matter has nothing to do with us."
Although Qu Tugai expected that Dou Qing would say this, he was still deeply angry when he said it: "County magistrate, if we do this, wouldn't we be ignorant of right from wrong, bullying good and fearing evil? It will encourage criminals..."
"Qutu County Magistrate!" Dou Qing waved his hand to interrupt Qu Tugai's unfinished words. His face was dark and he said in a long voice unhappily: "Is King Yuzhang someone we can afford to offend? Let's take him to prison. If you leave it to him, you will be safe, otherwise not only will your official title be in danger, but your life will also be in danger."
"Qin Qiong was forced to drink, but it is an indisputable fact that he killed people and should be punished according to the law. I think we can do it according to the law. This can not only exercise the power of the county government, but also maintain the majesty of the law. At the same time, it also gives King Yuzhang A perfect explanation can be said to accomplish multiple things with one stone. Since we can have a fair and just trial, why should we secretly hand over the criminal?"
Qu Tugai didn't care where Qin Qiong came from or how deep his background was. What he cared about was the law of the Sui Dynasty and justice.
Dou Qing glared at Qu Tugai fiercely and said angrily: "Can I not understand? I want this too. But once the case is filed, the file will be reported to the Ministry of Punishment."
"So what?" Qu Tugai asked coldly.
"What else can we do? Naturally, the incident of King Yuzhang robbing civilian girls will be exposed. At that time, this incident will become a handle for political enemies to attack King Yuzhang." Dou Qing said angrily: "This is still a minor matter. , if the saint feels that this incident has disgraced the royal family, do you think we can survive?"
"I don't agree with what the county magistrate said!" Qu Tugai shook his head and retorted unceremoniously: "I think it's enough for us to do our duty well. As for other things, it's not something we should consider at all. Things. The county magistrate thinks what the prime minister thinks and what the saints think. Isn’t this too much?"
Qu Tugai was upright and strict, not afraid of powerful people, not interested in selfish interests, and he was not a good-tempered person. He had long been dissatisfied with Dou Qing's style of bullying the weak and fearing the hard, bullying the good and fearing the evil. When he was annoyed, he simply took away the money he had accumulated for many days. He expressed his dissatisfaction all at once.
"How can you become prime minister if you don't even want to?" Dou Qing was furious, but he had to endure it.
The county magistrate and the county lieutenant are the right-hand men of the county magistrate. They also control the county magistrate's power and position, especially in cases of homicide, which cannot be decided by the county magistrate. If he wants to give Qin Qiong to Yuzhang King Yang Jian, he must get the consent of the county prime minister Qu Tugai. If the other party doesn't agree, he has nothing to do.
"Bah, bang, bang..." Just when Dou Qing was running around anxiously, a burst of applause suddenly came from behind him. The two of them suddenly turned around and saw a group of people rushing into the central hall.
Qu Tugai didn't know the famous young man at the head, but how could Dou Qing not know this cousin who didn't recognize his relatives and even stabbed his old cousin several times?
He hurriedly stepped forward, nodded and bowed in salute: "As a humble servant, I see King Wei. If I have anything to do, I can just give you an order. Why should I bother you?"
Yang Ji cupped his fists and returned the salute, and said formally: "I don't dare take it seriously! I came to the Daxing County Government Office today to discuss something."
As the saying goes, "One generation is close to the second representative, and the third and fourth generations will not leave." But when it came to the Yang Ji and Dou families, even "the second representative was not leaving." Firstly, their mother and son are quite different, and secondly, there is a big age gap between the cousins, so they can't play together.
The most important thing is that in the arson case at Dongshi Bi Store, his Wen Hanxuan home was the first point of fire, but Dou Qing and his yamen arrived at the scene of the "fire" with many fire-fighting tools shortly after the fire broke out; In addition, he had a grudge against the Dou family, and Dou Qing was the biggest beneficiary after the incident. Yang Ji knew that 90% of the arsonists were from the Dou family, but Yang Guang wanted to use Dou Kang and Dou Qing to split the Dou family. , so in the end it was settled.
Naturally, Yang Ji didn't have the slightest fondness for such a relative who harmed others and benefited himself. He stabbed Dou Kang several times in Youzhou, but he had no intention of avenging his private revenge.
"King Wei, please tell me, as long as it is within the scope of my humble position, I will do my best to cooperate." Dou Qing saw that Yang Ji looked like he was doing business, so he did not say anything to leave room for himself.
"You should know the cause and effect of the murder that happened today." Yang Ji looked at Dou Qing and said, "I am here to take away the suspect Qin Qiong, and I also ask Magistrate Dou to cooperate."
Dou Qing couldn't help but glared at Qu Tugai next to him. He remembered that this guy just said that Qin Qiong had no backstage background. How could he bring out the evil star Yang Ji now? He thought for a while and said: "This is more difficult to handle!"
Yang Ji said: "Tell me your reasons."
Dou Qing showed an expression of embarrassment: "Although I want to hand Qin Qiong over to King Wei, Qin Qiong has killed two people after all. If I just hand over people to King Wei like this, I won't be able to explain it to the Ministry of Punishment, and I won't be able to explain it to the people of Daxing." .”
"Since Magistrate Dou wants to enforce the law impartially, I don't have anything to say." Yang Ji glanced at Dou Qing and said with a smile, "I just want to learn how the 'upright' Magistrate Dou resolves the case. Please You should file the case as soon as possible, then summon the criminals and witnesses to confront Bo in court!"
"This..." Dou Qing complained in his heart. This request was exactly the same as what Qu Tu Gai said before. If he could do this, he would have agreed long ago. How could he wait until now?
"What's wrong?" Yang Ji looked at him teasingly and said with a smile: "Upright Magistrate Dou, do you have a problem?"
Along the way, Yang Ji studied Yang Jian and reflected on the way he handled the horse robbery case. He felt that although his private method protected the face of the royal family and Yang Jian received the punishment he deserved, It is also a kind of disguised care and pampering. If he had not been punished by law, cast aside and reviled by public opinion, his scars would still be healed and the pain would be forgotten.
If Yang Jian's rape of civilian women was revealed to the world, it would certainly embarrass Yang Guang, but if he severely punished Yang Jian, it would not only restore the reputation of the royal family, but also gain him a reputation as a selfless man.
It is precisely because of this awareness that it doesn't matter whether Yang Ji is doing it privately or arbitrarily.
But Dou Qing has something to say!
If he hands people over to Yang Ji or handles official business, Yang Jian will definitely settle the accounts later, but compared to Yang Jian, Dou Qing is undoubtedly more afraid of Yang Ji. Yang Jian could only give him little boots for official business, but Yang Ji was an evil god who knew how to stab and chop people.
"Prefect of Qutu County, hand over the prisoner Qin Qiong to King Wei." Dou Qing weighed it in his mind and decided to hand the person over to Yang Ji. If Yang Xian was blamed, the worst he could say was that Yang Ji came to rob the person. He wouldn't I dare not give it.
Qu Tugai frowned and said: "County magistrate, is it not good to hand over the prisoner to King Wei?"
"What's wrong?" Dou Qing looked gloomy, pointed at Qu Tu Gai's nose and cursed: "This case is related to King Yuzhang, is it something we can try? It's best to leave it to Zongzheng Temple."
"Here!" Qu Tugai retreated in response. He is indeed an upright and honest person, but it does not mean that he does not understand the ways of being an official and the world. It is not that he does not know Yang Jian's power. The reason why he insists on filing a case for trial is because he does not want to The law has become a tool used by the rich and powerful to oppress the good.
Judging from Yang Ji's posture, it is obvious that he came for Qin Qiong. If the prisoner is handed over to Yang Ji and taken to Zongzheng Temple for trial, the result will not only protect Qin Qiong who acted righteously, but also make Yang Xian receive the punishment he deserves. He can also pass this hot case to others, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.
After a while, Qin Qiong was brought to the central hall.
This was also the second time Yang Ji saw this door god. The last time was at night. Qin Qiong was beaten again with a bruised nose and face, so he couldn't see clearly what he looked like. Only then did he realize that he was not a thick Shandong man. Instead, he is a handsome man with sharp eyebrows and clear cheeks. He has a short beard on his chin, giving him a clean and neat look.
When a group of people left the county government office, a large group of people galloped towards them and surrounded them from a distance.
The leader was none other than Yang Jian, the king of Yuzhang, who was wearing regular clothes. His confidant Ku Di Zhongqi came to the county government first, intending to arrest Qin Qiong and kill him, but their secret work in the county government actually said that Wei Wang Yang Ji had also come to rob him, and Ku Di Zhongqi did not He also tried hard to challenge Yang Ji, so he had to send someone to inform Yang Jian.
After hearing this news, Yang Xun couldn't help but panic. The last horse robbery case suffered a big loss from Yang Ji and was severely punished. This time it was undoubtedly several times more serious than the horse robbery. If Yang Ji told his father about this , let alone the position of crown prince, the title of county king may be unstable.
Yang Jian did not train Qin Qiong in the crowd, but Ku Di Zhongqi had been beaten. When he saw Qin Qiong among the palace guards, he quickly stepped forward and whispered to Yang Jian: "Your Majesty, the murderer Qin Qiong is among the palace guards. middle."
Yang Jian's face darkened, and a trace of anger and horror flashed in his eyes. However, no matter how angry he was, he had no choice but to urge his horse forward, salute to Yang Ji and say, "Greetings, Uncle Wei!"
"No need! Get out of the way." Yang Ji looked at Yang Jian coldly and waved his hand in disgust. The bastard in front of him was indeed a handsome and handsome boy. He was so handsome and elegant. From the looks of it, no one thinks of him as a villain, a nymphomaniac, etc. However, it is a pity that this is a scum and scumbag who is beautiful on the outside but corrupt on the outside.
What's even more shameful is that he clearly has the appearance, identity, power, and wealth that makes women fall in love, but he likes to rob and destroy ordinary families.
Dou Qing and Qu Tugai, who were seeing each other off, looked at this scene speechlessly. Yang Ji did not take Yang Jian seriously at all, which shocked them.
Although you, Yang Ji, are also a prince, this King Yuzhang is the second son of a saint. Once he is promoted to a prince, his status is not that of your cousin, a saint. Does it really matter if you do this?
However, Yang Jian's attitude shocked them even more.
Yang Jian was indeed irritated by Yang Ji's attitude, but he knew the relationship between Yang Ji and his parents. Even if he was extremely angry, he dared to vent his anger on Yang Ji. He gritted his teeth, forced down his anger, and spoke in a condescending tone. He said: "Uncle Wang, Qin Qiong was lawless and despised the royal family. He killed two of our powerful officers in the street. This is a great shame and humiliation for our royal family. Please leave it to me to punish according to law."
"Ahai, you're thinking too much." Yang Ji decisively refused without even thinking about it.
