Chang Feng took a candle and shined it on Heiying's face.
It turned out to be Drunk Cat Inspector Gao Chenghu! Could it be that Gao Chenghu is a murderer pretending to be a transsexual?
Gao Chenghu looked drunk.
Chang Feng asked: "What are you doing here?"
Gao Chenghu replied: "I drank too much and came out to pee."
Fatty Xu and the others rushed over. Fatty Xu asked: "Did you catch the person pretending to be a transmigration woman?"
Chang Feng said: "Caught it. Come on, I want to interrogate Bianpo at night! Take Gao Chenghu to the lobby."
Everyone entered the lobby. Chang Feng planned to send away Jin Bao, Huang Liang and Lin Sanjiu.
He smiled and said, "Brother Jin, Brother Huang, and Brother Lin, you three will go inspect the body of the little scribe first."
The three of them looked at each other, as if they wanted to participate in the interrogation of Gao Chenghu.
But since Chang Feng was their new chief, they had no choice but to obey the order and leave the lobby.
Chang Feng then ordered the government officials: "You also go to each observation hole and arrow hole to be on guard. Prevent evildoers and evil spirits from causing trouble."
Not long after, only Chang Feng and Gao Chenghu were left in the lobby.
Zhou Wen asked Chang Feng: "Is Gao Xinxun going to become a mother-in-law?"
Chang Feng did not answer, but asked Gao Chenghu: "Isn't there a pail in your room? Why do you have to urinate behind the scribe's bedroom?"
Gao Chenghu replied: "I am from Wuzhou, Guangxi. People in Wuzhou never use a bucket in the room. They always urinate outside the room."
Chang Feng smiled and asked: "What kind of wine did Inspector Gao drink? How much did he drink?"
Gao Chenghu replied: "I drank three kilograms of prickly pear glutinous rice wine."
Prickly pear glutinous rice wine is one of Yinjiang’s specialties. It's a rice wine with no punch. Even women in confinement can drink it.
Chang Feng and Yang Yiqing drank once when they first arrived at Sinan Xuanwei Division. I know that drinking too much wine is a diuretic.
Chang Feng asked: "When you drink too much, do you always go to the clerk's bedroom for convenience?"
Gao Chenghu replied: "Yes, there is a loquat tree behind the clerk's bedroom. I planted it. Wuzhou people believe that defecation can be used as fertilizer."
Fatty Xu on the side was a little impatient: "Master Chang, don't listen to his clever excuses! Give him punishment! Tiger stool, nail board, and pipa. Once you use the great memory recovery technique, you won't be afraid that he won't use it!"
Chang Feng ignored Fatty Xu. Instead, he asked an unrelated question: "Gao Chenghu, as an official of the imperial court, why do you indulge in drinking all day long?"
"Don't you know that when you are in your position, you must seek your own government?"
"Some people say that you are drunk and depressed because you acted recklessly and improperly commanded during the Guangxi counter-insurgency war, which resulted in the death of eight hundred of your brothers."
Gao Chenghu's answer was particularly harsh: "I have never killed any brother! I drink because I hate the injustice of the court! The government is unjust!"
Fatty Xu got angry: "Damn it, you are an official who only knows how to drink all day long. Instead of doing your job properly, you are complaining about the court and the government!"
Chang Feng waved his hand: "Fat man, be silent. Let him speak. Gao Chenghu, I would like to ask you, how can the court be unfair and how can the government be unjust?"
With a tearful voice, Gao Chenghu recounted his experiences with the robes.
During the Guangxi rebellion war, he had 800 soldiers under his command. He was used as bait by Guangxi Dusi to lure the rebels into taking the bait.
The so-called bait is actually a dead soldier. He has to face rebels ten times his own.
Gao Chenghu believed at that time that soldiers should eat food, serve the country, and obey the general's orders. Even if he died on the battlefield, he would not hesitate.
Gao Chenghu and Paoze regarded death as home. Before leaving, I drank Zhuangxing wine. As soon as the strong man left, the wind blew and the water became cold.
The battle is over. Seven hundred of the eight hundred warriors died in the battle, and only a hundred survived. Fifty of the hundred became disabled.
The main force of the government and army relied on their sacrifice to lure the enemy in and encircle the rebels.
After the counter-rebellion was over, according to the rules, the surviving family members of Pao Ze who died for their country could each receive ten shi of rice. Inheritable positions with heirs.
The disabled brothers can each receive eight shi of rice. If you are disabled and cannot continue to serve as a soldier, you can still inherit the position if you have children.
The scribes of Dusi Yamen secretly divided the rice that originally belonged to the loyalists! Sold the positions of loyalists!
The loyal martyrs shed blood and shed tears!
Gao Chenghu and the surviving brothers were angry and went to the guardhouse. The commander asked them to find Dusi Yamen.
Dusi Yamen asked them to go to the Ministry of War.
The Ministry of War is far away in the capital, 4,600 miles away. They are sincerely embarrassed.
Gao Chenghu and the two hundred households were very conscientious. He sold his property and bribed a magistrate in Wuzhou to open a road. Prepare to go to Beijing to complain.
On the day of departure, more than a hundred disabled or injured people came to see Gao Chenghu off.
They are full of expectations, hoping that Gao Chenghu can seek justice for them in the capital.
However, Dusi Yamen sent five hundred soldiers armed with big sticks to beat them up!
The Guangxi Dusi's idea is: the scribes have been greedy for your pension rice and resold your positions. I will handle it myself.
Of course, all the scribes are my relatives. The so-called disposal.
Although you have suffered a loss, take advantage of it. But the family scandal should not be made public. How could he go to the capital and embarrass people from the Guangxi Dusi Yamen?
What do the officials from the Ministry of War think of our Guangxi Dusi Yamen?
It really deserves a fight!
Pity the hundred-plus Paoze, who managed to escape death on the battlefield, but was beaten to a bloody head by five hundred Dusi soldiers who had never been on the battlefield!
Not only that after the beating, they were also thrown into prison.
Figure out the cell. Can! Write a letter of repentance and kneel down to read the letter of repentance in front of other people from thousands of households in Wei!
Pity the hundreds of loyal and brave survivors. He suffered nine deaths for his country and was covered in scars. In the end, he ended up kneeling down and "repenting".
The leader, Gao Chenghu, is a hereditary member of thousands of households. You cannot be dismissed from military service, but you can be demoted and appointed.
Dusi Yamen directly demoted him from the fifth rank of Thousand Households to the ninth rank of patrol inspector. Guangxi could no longer tolerate him and kicked him to Yinjiang, Qianjiang.
After Gao Chenghu narrated all this, he cried hysterically: "I failed to seek justice for the soldiers who were killed and disabled in battle. I have no ability!"
"I can only forget all this by drinking!"
He had never shed a single tear on the battlefield, but now his eyes were red and tears welled up in his eyes.
Fatty Xu was furious: "Guangxi Dusi deserves to die! I want to join him!"
Gao Chenghu turned his head and glanced at Fatty Xu: "You are just a subordinate of Chief Yinjiang. Can you join the second-grade Dusi?"
Fatty Xu knew he had spilled the beans, so he quickly said: "Ah, I'm here to fight for your injustice. If I have an official position in the future, I will definitely join those good-natured girls in Guangxi."
Chang Feng asked Zhou Wen: "Does everyone in the lawsuit know that Gao Chenghu drank too much and liked to urinate under the loquat tree behind the scribe's bedroom?"
Zhou Wen replied: "Yes. I just caught him peeing under the loquat tree more than a dozen times."
Chang Feng directly revealed his identity to Gao Chenghu: "Gao Chenghu, I am Commander Zuo Qian Shi Changfeng of the Jinyi Guards."
"I will seek justice for your robe!"
After speaking, Chang Feng threw Jin Yiwei's waist card to Gao Chenghu.
Gao Chenghu was stunned after reading the waist card: "Are you Jin Yiwei?"
Fatty Xu was a little anxious: "Master Chang, how come you leaked our details to the murder suspect?"
Chang Feng smiled slightly: "He is not the murderer at all! He is the scapegoat used by the murderer to mislead us!"
Chang Feng turned around and said to Gao Chenghu: "Let me tell you the truth. The purpose of our trip is to find out the truth behind the murder of the fourth official in the official hall!"
"You have to cooperate with us. As long as the murderer is caught, I will immediately break the law and seek justice for you!"
Gao Chenghu said: "If you can bring justice to my father, I won't hesitate to let me die!"
Fatty Xu was confused: "Master Chang, how do you know he is not the murderer?"
Chang Feng smiled and said: "He was transferred to Yinjiang just two years ago. How could he kill the previous four officials."
"Let me tell you. The murderer of the little scribe has always been with us. He was one of Jin Bao, Huang Liang, and Lin Sanjiu!"
Madam Ninth was a little strange: "Brother, you are not mistaken! You said that when the scribe died, they were with us!"
Shi Wenyi interjected: "Maybe there is an accomplice?"
Chang Feng shook his head slightly and asked, "How did we know that there was another murder tonight?"
Madam Ninth replied: "Of course I heard the ghostly scream of the transfiguration woman."
Chang Feng asked again: "When the ghost screams appear, it must be when the scribe is killed?"
"If the murderer kills the scribe quietly first, then he can fake the scene of the murder."
"Then you come to us and get evidence of your alibi. Then you ask your accomplice to scream and pretend to be a woman and scream?"
Sun Guishou was the first to react: "We were almost fooled! The murderer is deliberately creating evidence of alibi!"
Chang Feng nodded slightly: "What happened tonight just proves that the murderer is among Jin Bao, Huang Liang, and Lin Sanjiu!"
"The murderer's plan is to kill two birds with one stone! One is to clear himself, and the other is to frame Inspector Gao."
"Oh, they know Gao Xingjian's habits. When Gao Xingjian was peeing under the loquat tree behind the scribe's bedroom, he deliberately led us there. Catch Gao Xingjian and do it!"
Fatty Xu still had doubts: "Why did the murderer frame Inspector Gao? Just to divert our attention?"
Chang Feng thought for a while and replied: "I'm afraid it's not just to divert attention."
"In the eyes of big shots like us from the capital, the position of patrol inspector is just a low-level official who is not even a sesame seed or a mung bean."
"But in Yinjiang, he is a real official with great power! He is in charge of the military preparations and public security of the entire Yinjiang."
"Someone wants to squeeze out the high inspection officer and replace him with someone of his own!"
Fatty Xu finally understood. He waved his fist and said, "Ahem, I almost fell into the trap of the murderer!"
Chang Feng smiled and said: "The murderer has many tricks up his sleeve, let's take advantage of them. Let's see what other tricks they have."
After a moment, Chang Feng called the person with the lawsuit into the lobby.
Chang Feng was shocked and said: "When I first arrived here, I solved a major case of the patrolman pretending to be a ghost and killing people! Gao Chenghu, the government official Li Qi and the little clerk tonight, were both killed!"
"Oh, I have a pair of fiery eyes. I can see through all the monsters in the world!"
"Haha, I solved the murder case smartly when I took office. Report it to the Xuanwei Department, and the Xuanwei Department will probably praise me!"
Chang Feng pretended to be overjoyed.
Jin Bao, the chief official, raised his thumb: "Master Chang, you are so smart!"
Chang Feng smiled and said: "Now that the so-called 'Chan Po' has been caught, Mr. Zhou's life is not in danger. I don't think there is any need to face the enemy all day long!"
"Remove all the people who protect Mr. Zhou day and night! Let them have a rest."
"In addition, the Minzhuang people on the watchtower have also been removed. Just leave eight of ten people to watch the night!"
In fact, the murderer went to great lengths to frame Gao Chenghu, and his biggest purpose was to make Zhou Wen think that the "transformed woman" had been caught and that his life was safe, so he relaxed his vigilance.
Zhou Wen was accompanied day and night by ten followers brought by "new commander Chang Huayu" for personal protection, making it difficult for the murderer to kill him.
Chang Feng guessed the murderer's purpose. Just use the trick to lure the snake out of the hole.
There are still two days until Zhou Wen takes office.
The night falls and day falls.
Follow Chang Feng's instructions. The four chieftains of Yinjiang Miao, Tu, Dong and Yi came to the gate of Changguan Si.
But they did not file a lawsuit: the new chief would have no problem talking to us. The conversation will take place outside the gate, just set up a big tent.
The four chieftains were suspicious by nature and were afraid that the new chief would catch a turtle in an urn or beat a snake within its grasp.
Three poles in the sun. A big tent was set up outside the lawsuit.
Chang Feng led thirty robes, hundreds of people, and a host of attendants and officials, walked out through the suspension bridge, and entered the big tent.
Everyone sat down.
Chang Feng held up his hand and said, "I'm new to Yinjiang as a chief. In the next three years, I will need the help of four chieftains."
All four chieftains can speak Chinese. In name, he is a local official who handles lawsuits.
They said politely: "It all depends on your orders."
Chang Feng got to the point: "Before I came to Yinjiang, the Xuan comfort envoy Yang Yiqing, Master Yang, ordered me to carry out the reform of the land and return to flow in Yinjiang."
"Change the long lawsuit to Yinjiang County Yamen. All tax collection, punishment names and other matters in Yinjiang are in accordance with the rules of Zhongyuan County Yamen."
The eyes of the four chieftains focused on Huang Liang.
It seems that the Huang family is indeed very powerful in Yinjiang.
Even though Huang Liang, a lustful man, was just a tax collector, the four chieftains all followed him.
Huang Liang coughed: "Don't look at me, everyone! You have to listen to Master Chang."
The chieftain of the Miao family smiled slyly: "That's okay. Everything will be done as Master Chang said. From now on, the government will directly send people to our Miao village to collect taxes."
"But I have something to say first. Now that I have changed my position, I, the chieftain, no longer have the responsibility to collect taxes for the government."
"If my people are not willing to pay taxes to the government, don't come to me then!"
The chieftain of the Dong family said: "What's more! In the eyes of the Han family officials, we Dong people have always been aggressive and ruthless barbarians. In fact, this is indeed the case."
"Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand of my tribe are illiterate. They fight with swords every day if they disagree."
"Your Excellency said that from now on, the government will directly handle the punishment. Then I won't care about it. If there is a case, you can send the government officials to arrest people!"
"If during an arrest, the criminal attacks the government officer with a knife, I won't care!"
The chieftain of the Yi family smiled and said: "What the two chieftains said is true, and so do I!"
Only the Tujia chieftain said nothing.
To change the status of native people to return to local rule means to deprive the chieftains of their power. Of course, the chieftains would not agree.
They "extracted everything from the native people to pay for fireworks, rice, funerals, marriages, husbands and horses."
"If a chieftain marries a wife, the native people will not be able to marry for three years. If the native people are guilty, the chieftain can be executed. Relatives still have to pay in advance."
"The native people will never see the light of day."
The chieftain is simply the local emperor. To seize their power is to cut out their flesh.
The attitude of these chieftains was not beyond Chang Feng's expectations.
Chang Feng smiled and said: "That's good. Let's talk about the matter of reforming one's native land and returning to local life later. I will prepare a small amount of wine in case of a long lawsuit. Can you please appreciate it?"
The chieftain of the Miao family shook his head: "No! I still have something to do in the village, so let's go first."
The Yi chieftains and the Dong chieftains also refused.
The Tujia chieftain glanced at Chang Feng. Without saying a word, he followed the crowd and left.
Chang Feng sighed: "Oh, it seems that it is really difficult to implement the reform."
Huang Liang said: "Sir, my ancestor worked as a floating official in Yinjiang during the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. In all dynasties, which floating official did not want to implement the reform of the land and return to the river?"
"But taking away people's authority is like killing their parents. The chieftains will naturally resist."
"If we forcibly implement the reform and return to local rule, we might even trigger a rebellion."
"So, it is proper to serve as an official for one term, accumulate more money, respect the superior, and be transferred to a prosperous place in the Central Plains and Jiangnan as soon as possible."
Jin Bao agreed: "That's right!"
Chang Feng pretended to be greedy again: "You said the tax amount is 30%. Can I really take away all the 30%?"
Huang Liang said: "This is natural. You only need to report to the court and say that the foreign barbarians are unreasonable and refuse to pay taxes and silver."
Chang Feng asked: "But I did collect the tax money! If the chieftains find the court and overthrow me, shouldn't I lose my official position and lose my head?"
Huang Liang smiled slightly: "Don't worry, sir. They got 70%!"
"Thirty-seven percent of the tax money, to put it bluntly, is a tacit agreement between the chieftain and the official. They use 30% of the tax money to silence the official."
"The official just took the money and didn't care about the affairs of the chieftain's family."
"The wool comes from the sheep, and the taxes and money come from the native people."
Chang Feng nodded frequently: "As expected of you, you are all old officials in the government office. I have learned a lot from your words!"
Everyone filed a lawsuit.
Zhou Wen found Chang Feng: "Mr. Chang, I still feel uneasy. You'd better send a few people to protect me day and night!"
In front of Jin Bao, Huang Liang, Lin Sanjiu and others, Chang Feng could only comfort Zhou Wen: "Master Zhou is overly worried!"
"The murderer Gao Chenghu who pretended to be a cross-dresser has been caught by us and is under custody. Just pack your bags and prepare to leave the country in two days."
"It's really unnecessary to act like you're facing a formidable enemy."
After saying that, Chang Feng looked at Lin Sanjiu: "Boss Lin, are you right?"
Among the three, Chang Feng still felt that Lin Sanjiu was the most suspicious.
Lin Sanjiu said: "That's what Mr. Chang said."
Zhou Wen was helpless: "Okay. I've been staying in the bedroom for the past two days without leaving the house. Waiting for Ren Man to leave and start the lawsuit."
Changfeng returned to the lobby. Drink tea and chat with the officials.
Chang Feng asked Lin Sanjiu: "How long has it been since Lin Bantou joined the Yamen?"
Lin Sanjiu replied: "Sixteen years."
Chang Feng smiled and said: "It is said that you are a hunter? I am a fun-loving person. How about you take me to hunt in the mountains in a few days?"
Lin Sanjiu smiled and said: "Sir, you like hunting? You are in the right place! There are a lot of game in Fanjing Mountain."
"The skin is peeled off, the hair is removed, and it is roasted over a fire until it becomes oily and delicious."
Chang Feng smiled and said: "Then it's settled. I've only been hunting for fun in Yinjiang for the past three years. I don't have anything to do with playing with foreign girls."
"When my term is over, I will leave with 30% of my tax money."
Chang Feng keenly noticed that when he said "playing with foreign girls", Jin Bao's expression changed!
It was a fleeting look of anger.
Chang Feng suddenly remembered the legend of a woman-turned-mother in the Guiyamen.
Legend has it that Chief Lin fifteen years ago robbed a Tujia girl while drunk before leaving office and raped her to death, causing the girl to turn into a woman and seek her life?
Is the anger of Jin Bao, the chief official, related to this legendary girl?
(End of chapter)
