In early spring, the moon is not yet bright, and the clouds are deep and there is no place to look.
The disaster of the great plague has been resolved, and what remains is the state affairs of Fan Tingnan, the governor of Zhangwu County, and the family affairs of the Fan family of Zhangwu County, Zhangwu County!
There is no airtight wall in the world.
On the day Fan Guanbei was arrested, there was a mixed crowd in the broken house, with countless county soldiers and civil servants coming and going. There were also many bystanders on the way as Fan Guanbei was being escorted to the county jail. Although the case of Fan Guanbei's poisoning was still under trial, the county The governor did not provide any explanation on this matter. However, the people in Zhangwu County have been slowly blowing to every corner about this matter. The people have different opinions. Most of them firmly believe that Mr. Fan will give them a fair explanation.
After early spring, the cows will start calves, and the wild pheasants will call the females. The farm work cannot be slowed down. In order to appease people's hearts, the lights in the county governor's house have been brightly lit at night these days. In order to close the case as soon as possible, Fan Tingnan did not avoid suspicion and summoned the people in the house to record things, report things, judge Cao Xing, resign Cao Xing, and Fa Cao Xing. A number of clerks and clerks under the sect organized a separate courtyard and strictly controlled access, hoping to put a complete end to this matter before February 2nd.
After repeated deliberation and trial through a series of criminal processes such as letter handwriting comparison and witness testimony verification, the county governor's office formed a file. After the county governor and the policemen stamped the official seal and private seal, Fan Tingnan immediately sent the county guard chief three hundred li to pay. Urgently, send some materials to the Bozhou Prefectural Animal Husbandry Office and Polu City.
As the official in charge of a county, the county governor had the power to make decisions in Linji. In order not to miss the farming season, Fan Tingnan agreed with a group of officials on a date for the public trial before Polu City could give the approval.
"History of the Han Dynasty" records: AD 341, the year of the Xin Chou Ox, at the end of the first month of the lunar month. The New Year is a clear scene, with green willows half yellow. Fan Tingnan, the governor of Zhangwu County, complied with the decrees, was benevolent and wise, offered sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth, cut off flesh and blood relations, punished and punished, and established laws to set the record straight.
There were many generous and elegiac people from Yan and Zhao, and many poets from Wu and Chu wrote beautiful and graceful poems.
Bozhou is composed of the old Yan legacy land and the northern pioneer land during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. It has been bitterly cold since ancient times, and the folk customs are simple and tough. In recent years, the world has been peaceful. Although there are no generous and tragic people, the people still have the legacy of Yan and Zhao. Although private fights are strictly prohibited by the officials, there is always a martial arts school in the center of most Bozhou counties, where heroic warriors can use force to resolve their grudges. If both parties sign a life-and-death certificate under the supervision of the disciple Yi Cao, That is life and death!
Today's martial arts tournament is extremely lively, for the same reason. Yesterday, a bulletin board posted a list that read: Sheriff Fan Tingnan will explain the plague and hold a public trial today.
Before three o'clock in the morning, a crowd of people had already crowded the school ground. Some were wearing sackcloth and mourning to seek justice, some were just looking at the excitement, and some were curious to see the truth...
Seeing this, Xia Qing laughed and said, "Today's school day can be regarded as 'Pengpi Shenghui'!"
Liu Yi and his entourage and Han Li were mixed in the crowd, standing at the front. From time to time, they saw the common people who were covering their faces. They came up to say hello to Shi Chen and Han Li, and expressed their admiration. Although the two responded humbly. , but his eyes were full of pride.
The purpose of being in the world is 'face'. The people of Zhangwu today can be said to have given two people enough face, which makes people unhappy.
Gongsun Haojin, who likes to have fun and have fun, was uncharacteristic of himself today and did not follow him. It seemed that not even one of the Gongsun family's servants came. It seemed that they did not want to cause more trouble and deliberately evaded.
Three poles up in the sun, the time has come. Fan Tingnan slowly walked to the center of the school grounds, surrounded by soldiers and civil servants from various counties. When the people saw Fan Tingnan, they immediately cheered and raised their hands, "Greetings to Mr. Fan, Mr. Fan is well!"
I saw the county soldiers surrounding the school grounds, and the civil servants turned to the audience. Fan Tingnan wears a small crown and a green ribbon with a silver seal. He hides his hands in his sleeves, presses his right hand with his left hand, raises his hand and forehead, and bows ninety degrees. The people knew that this was Fan Tingnan's salute before he spoke, and there was silence for a moment.
"Dear elders, in the autumn of the Gengzi Year of the Rat, a great plague descended on Zhangwu. The sky was nowhere to be seen, and the clouds were dim. The people suffered, and their relatives perished. They died without guilt and were punished for their actions. There were 3,740 dead. , a family of nine hundred and seventy-six people... What a pity! What a pity! What a pain! What a sorrow!"
Fan Tingnan went straight to the topic. At the beginning, he explained in detail the casualties and losses of the people since the great plague. After finishing his words, he couldn't help but burst into tears and felt sad in his heart.
"There is a real person in Shuihe, named Five Talents. He carries thousands of gold and good prescriptions, spends his whole life cultivating, and saves 2,100 people. Today, the truth has been revealed, and I hereby confess my love to Mr. Zhangwu!"
After Fan Tingnan explained the whole story in detail, the people were in an uproar and wanted to punish Fan Guanbei to correct the criminal law.
Fan Tingnan did not command the county soldiers to stop, but took off his small crown and sealed the letter, raised his head and knelt in the middle of the school ground. On his left and right sides, Fan Guanbei and Li Yanfeng, escorted by the county soldiers, also knelt on the school ground. Three people tied.
The school grounds became calm again, and Fan Tingnan knelt down with the two criminals. This scene caught everyone in the audience by surprise.
Fan Tingnan turned around and winked at Jue Caoyu who had just come on stage. Jue Caoyu understood the idea and hesitated for a moment before taking out a piece of yellow paper from his sleeve, unfolding it shakily, and read out loud, " The Great Plague in Zhangwu was actually a man-made disaster. The first culprit, Fan Guanbei, treated the people like grass and grass in the name of being narrow-minded and selfish. According to the "Civil Code of Han Dynasty", he abandoned the city as a tyrant, and the accomplices were flogged three hundred times and deposed. On the right arm, the accomplices of the three clans of his father, mother and wife were seated together, and were sentenced to move and were not allowed to live in Zhangwu again. The second crime was Li Yanfeng, who was ignorant and ignorant of the truth. Although he was blinded, he still needed to be punished. He thought of his master to drive away the plague and cure the problem. He refused to sit down and abandoned the city with his head. The governor of the county, Fan Tingnan, failed to educate his younger brother, failed to treat him properly, was incompetent in his investigation, and had no plan to act. He should be held accountable. In order to rectify the measure of the world and understand the standards of the ruler, the county Keep your self-criticism, follow it, and abandon the market!"
Jue Caoyu finished reading the last two words with difficulty, then fell to his knees on the ground, and after saying "Sir", he burst into tears.
There was a dead silence and an uproar. Except for the five officials who participated in the trial, no one expected that in the results of the trial sent to Polu City, the county governor Fan Tingnan actually sentenced himself to death.
"Execution, swordsman!" Seeing the stalemate, Fan Tingnan angrily scolded, then looked at Fan Guanbei, who was kneeling on the left, and said with a warm smile, "Brother, I will accompany you all the way. In the next life, You’re my brother!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Guanbei burst out crying, "I was wrong, brother! Will I do what I did in the next life to repay you this kindness? I was wrong, brother!"
As soon as the words fell, Fan Guanbei's head that claimed thousands of innocent lives finally fell to the ground!
After beheading Fan Guanbei, the sword and ax hand moved behind Fan Tingnan and raised the sword in his hand, but it still lingered. The big and thick sword and ax hand suddenly said with tears like a sissy, "Sir, I turned out to be Cheng Zhao Yuan, who raises pigs at the west entrance, three years ago, my pig was bitten by a wolf cub in the Lingyuan Mountains. You arranged for me to be a swordsman. Two years ago, my mother was critically ill, and you paid for it. Treat illnesses. I haven’t read a book, but I always talk about repaying kindness. Today, I can’t do this!”
"Zhao Yuan, live a good life. You are right. You must always repay your kindness. After this incident, my Fan family owes the people of Zhangwu too much! Come on, give me a good time and forget it. It has relieved my heart. Come on, I won’t blame you, neither will Mr. Zhangwu.”
After saying that, Fan Tingnan slowly closed his eyes.
Seeing this, many common people knelt down one after another, pleading for mercy. Some people tried to rush to the school grounds, but were stopped one by one by the county soldiers.
Faced with Fan Tingnan's life-and-death stakes, the honest Zhangwu elders put aside their grudges and chose to support their county magistrate.
The dead are great, the living are great!
At this moment, an old Taoist priest with green robes and purple crown, cloud shoes and whiskers, white hair and white beard, carrying an ancient sword on his back, flashed left and right, and walked onto the school grounds in a graceful manner.
The person who came was surprisingly the Five Talents Master!
Since rescuing people, Shuihe Temple has always kept its doors closed, and no one has come to visit to express gratitude or pilgrims have burned incense and prayed for blessings. Today, when the Five Talented Masters come here, there must be something big going on.
Han Li off the field sighed, "Looking at his pace, he must have lost all his imperial skills!"
Wucai Zhenren waved his arm gently at the swordsman and the axe. The swordsman reached the steps, immediately put away his sword and stepped down, running away without a trace. If he really killed Mr. Fan, wouldn't he be drowned by the neighbors' spit? ?
The 'immortal' appeared, the swordsman retired, and the audience became quiet again. They hoped that this real person would be kind and save Master Fan.
Wucai Zhenren stood tall with white hair and looked up at the clouds. After exhaling deeply into the sky, he sat cross-legged on the stage and said softly, "Everyone, today I want to tell a story."
The old Taoist priest pointed at Li Yanfeng and said, "The boy next to me is named Li Yanfeng, whose courtesy name is Boyi. His grandfather Li Jigeng and I are close friends of Qingzhu. A good man should make contributions on the battlefield. Forty-six years ago, the Qin Dynasty took advantage of its elite soldiers to defeat the enemy. When the Han Dynasty invaded the Han Dynasty, Shenwu Emperor Liu Chen personally led the army to the north. His grandfather Li Jigeng went to the house of a Zhonglang general under General Hongnong Yuanyan and found a job to join the army in Zhonglang's house. In the Battle of Yelangtian, Zhonglang General Lang's army of 7,000 men was heavily surrounded, and everyone below the general and above the soldiers died in battle. My poor brother didn't even get his head back, and they were all fed to the wolves."
Master Wucai's thoughts were like a long river, flowing towards the haze of the past that he didn't want to touch.
Wucai Zhenren sighed with emotion, "Before the Northern Expedition, Li Jigeng had a son, Li Lie. After the news of his death in battle came back to Zhangwu County, my already weak brother and his wife were full of lingering thoughts, heartache, and finally became depressed. And finally. At that time, I had fallen into the world of Taoism, and I devoted myself to practicing in this water river view. The righteousness of heaven and earth was mixed and flowing. If I left this matter unchecked, I would end up with a knot in my heart, which would destroy my Taoist heart and morality. "
"So, I took the infant Li Jigeng back to Shuiheguan, taught him learning, supported him with martial arts, educated him in Taoism, and treated him like a son. Although this child was not smart, he was practical and practical. , self-cultivation and career, while traveling in northern Xinjiang, I was favored by Sun Wencheng, the governor of Sunjiang County. I went to the state shepherd and became the county magistrate. I settled down, got a wife, and gave birth to Yanfeng. My merits are considered complete. From now on, I will concentrate on enlightenment in this Shuihe Temple and ignore worldly affairs."
Wucai Zhenren was wandering in a daze, his eyes were blurred and painful, and his face looked miserable. "The good times did not last long. Sunjiang County was often harassed by the Qin Dynasty because it was located in the northernmost part of Northern Xinjiang. At that time, the Great Wall of Han Dynasty was not built, and the Qin Cavalry had three cavalrymen." It is a common thing for groups of five to plunder property. As long as no one's life is harmed, it will be a trivial matter for both parties."
The people gradually became fascinated.
"Eighteen years ago, there was a severe drought in the northern pastoral states. Not even a blade of grass grew. The drought spread to the northern frontiers of the Qin Dynasty. The spies in the army secretly told the governor of Sunjiang County that 'the Qin Dynasty will seize grain during the autumn harvest.' The Northeast was already poor, and the people relied on a year Is it okay if the harvested crops are used to make a living, but if they are all plundered? So the governor of Sunjiang County gathered the county soldiers and commanded the Sunjiang County border troops to prepare to protect the people's autumn harvest."
Wucai Zhenren was obviously a little emotional and said in a trembling voice, "Once, my adopted son, Heigen, led two hundred county soldiers to escort the people to collect grain. They encountered dozens of Daqin cavalry who plundered them. The two sides fought fiercely, and several people charged. When we came down, the county soldiers were attacked and suffered heavy casualties, and my adopted son was even dragged to death by the Qin army, using their war horses!"
Master Wucai tried his best to control his emotions and continued, "In order to take revenge, Yanfeng's mother tattooed her face and disguised herself as a cook. After going through all kinds of hardships, she found the camp of that group of bastards and tried to poison the food."
Just imagine, how thoughtful a peasant woman can be. This plot was immediately discovered. Yanfeng's mother was cooked alive and her meat was eaten by the bandit army.
At this point, Li Yanfeng was already crying. No one knew how this young man, who had no father or mother and grew up in a Taoist temple, was feeling at the moment!
Master Wucai gently supported Li Yanfeng's back, his eyes were extremely soft, "Later, I went to Sunjiang County, just like I held his father before, and took him back to Shuiheguan, just like I educated his father back then. , watching him grow up slowly. In the blink of an eye, this child has already reached adulthood!"
"I am not saying this to win everyone's sympathy, but I want to tell everyone that this child is not a bad person! Humans are not grass and trees, how can they be ruthless! If this child dies in such a cowardly manner, how should I tell my brother when I get down there? Explain it? You can’t say that he used all the skills he learned to torture the people, right? "
Master Wucai slowly stood up and stood the ancient sword on the ground, "The law is nothing more than human kindness. The sin of my child's ignorance, the sin of Governor Fan's incompetence, and the poor Taoism should all be repaid. !”
"No!" Death Shi Chen wanted to fly into the arena and save Wucai Zhenren who was about to commit suicide, but Han Li grabbed him and shouted, "It is better to die in vain than to establish a festival, and to die is worse than to become famous. This is his It’s your choice, let him be!”
At the same time, Liu Yi grabbed the deceased Shichen's clothes and advised, "Master, I'm afraid there is no better solution to today's matter than the death of Wucai Taoist Priest."
While the three of them were whispering, a sound of "Big Father" sounded on the school grounds. The sound was extremely miserable. The ancient wooden sword carried by Master Wucai went straight into his own belly.
Li Yanfeng's arms were tied and he couldn't use his arms, so he turned around and knelt beside Wucai Zhenren, pressed his face tightly against Wucai Zhenren's chest, and cried loudly, "Father, I was wrong! I will never make elixirs again." Come on, don’t die!”
From the beginning to the end, Wucai Zhenren's sharp eyes showed soft and kind gaze. At this moment, this dying person stretched out his wrinkled hands and touched Li Yanfeng's face, "Why are you crying? Wouldn't it be nice to trade my old immortality for you to be in your prime of life! You and I will eventually give an explanation to the thousands of dead souls in the east of the city for you, right? And, my child, there is nothing wrong with alchemy. It’s just that there are too few honest people in the world. Ahem, from now on, when the Father is no longer by your side, you must learn to discern people’s hearts!”
Master Wucai's voice became smaller and smaller, "Child, you have to remember, the more you are struck by darkness, it means you are a person of light. Let's go! Let's go!"
Master Wucai gently lowered his hand and slowly closed his eyes!
I'm sorry, but I have nothing left for you except missing you, Great Father!
...
On the stage, Li Yanfeng burst into tears, and Fan Tingnan also shed tears.
Under the stage, some friendly people also shed tears from the corners of their eyes; some who wore sackcloth and wore filial piety slowly left as they said, "That's it, that's it."
Gradually, there were not many people left in the audience.
Suddenly, a horseman came running from the north gate, and a herdsman rushed over, shouting as he ran, "The state shepherd has issued an edict. The principal culprit shall be punished, the executioner shall be given a lighter sentence, Yanfeng shall avoid death, and the county guard shall be innocent!"
Hearing the approaching shouts, Fan Tingnan could no longer hold back and started crying together with Li Yanfeng.
Liu Yi looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help himself.
"The water and rivers are green, the way of heaven is boundless, the wind of the true man is high, the mountains are high and the rivers are long!"
There are gods in the water and rivers, whose hearts can penetrate the sun and the moon, and their fierceness will last forever!
...
Three days later, in a small wine shop in Zhangwu City, Grandpa Dongfang, who was about to go on stage to recite a book, received two bamboo slips from Li Yanfeng of Shuihe Temple. The writing on the bamboo slips was scrawled, but the content was very eye-catching.
Dongfang Chunsheng trembled with his hands, slowly unfolded them, and read, "If you don't know someone well, you should have an eye destroyed; if you help a tyrant to do harm, you should have an arm cut off; if the great road is not hidden, the world is one family."
Twenty-four words, each one touching the heart.
"Grandpa, what are you talking about when you recite books today?"
"There are many children in the world who have great ambitions and keep their promises to keep the people safe and healthy!"
