Solving crimes was not an easy task in ancient times. There were no technical investigation methods, not even the most basic video surveillance. Unless they were caught on the spot, few fools would be stupid enough to admit their crimes on the spot!
Fortunately, the facts of this case are relatively clear!
With the target person in mind, this matter is at least half easier to handle. However, for this kind of deliberate behavior to make things difficult, you still need to think of a countermeasure so as not to fall into a passive situation.
This incident sounds like a solved case, but the root of the problem lies in the conflict between two officials from the same department!
Liang Chuan thought about it for a while and then came up with a plan!
Song Kuan doesn't seem to be a tough person. Otherwise, to deal with Xie Siyi's dirty little tricks, he would just be pulled and beaten. How many scholars are tough? Even a tough guy wouldn't do such a weak thing?
To deal with unreasonable people, extreme measures must be used. Sometimes such seemingly direct and violent methods are more effective. After the beating, Xie Siyi must be sent to Dali Temple or directly sued to the officials. Isn't that right? Don't let him drink a full pot?
Scholars are timid in doing things and are not straightforward at all!
Ding Wei took a piece of northern purple wolf hair and wrote calligraphy leisurely on a piece of slightly yellowed rice paper.
Liang Chuan's mind was racing, thinking about how to help this person solve the problem. Although he did not have a close relationship with Song Kuan, Ding Wei's request for his advice represented Ding Wei's wishes. He could just say it himself. As for whether he would accept it or not, it was up to Ding Wei and Song Kuan.
Not long after, Liang Chuan clapped his hands and said happily: "I have a method!"
Song Kuan grabbed Liang Chuan's hand as if grasping a life-saving straw and said: "Little brother, you have to save my life. After this is done, if you have any errands that can help me, just ask, and I will give you a call." Guaranteed ticket!"
Liang Chuan slowly pulled his hand away, then smiled and said to Song Kuan in a low voice, Mr. Song, if you go back and do this, you can get the big seal back.
Ding Wei seemed to have not listened to the two people's little calculations from beginning to end. When he was writing, he suddenly became enlightened and praised: "Good!"
As soon as Song Kuan heard Liang Chuan's method, he slapped his thighs, sat up, and shouted: "Little brother, your incredible plan is indeed the best strategy. I will make Xie Siyi look good when I get back!"
The fire inside the university in early August came at a puzzling time.
When the new emperor came to the throne, he advocated social inspection and did not overhaul the palace. However, in view of the early meeting and late evening meeting, Empress Dowager Zhao Zhen, Liu and the ministers had no place to rest, and the Wende Hall where the affairs were discussed was in disrepair, which damaged the royal dignity. After repeated advice from his ministers, Zhao Zhen finally decided to renovate Wende Hall.
On this day, a fire broke out in the Wende Hall that was being repaired that night. The fire was very fierce and spread to Chongde Hall, Changchun Hall, Zifu Hall, Huiqing Hall, Chonghui Hall, Tianhe Hall, Chengming Hall, The eight palaces in Yanqing Hall were basically burned down.
Zhao Zhen and Empress Dowager Liu, who had already gone to bed at that time, ran to the Imperial Garden in a panic to avoid the fire. After the fire, the emperor had no place to live and had to move to Yanfu Palace.
Luckily for Zhao Zhen, the feud in his harem had been going on for a long time, which just gave him a reason not to move around. The environment in the imperial garden was quiet, and he felt comfortable alone!
Empress Dowager Liu was unhappy. There were too many mosquitoes in the imperial garden. After August, the weather began to turn cold again, with heavy frost and dew. Her body was already weak. She stayed outside for two days and began to wonder whether the official had deliberately released the mosquitoes. fire? Can anyone live in this place? After two more nights of sleep, she would have to reunite with Zhao Heng!
Whether the fire in the palace was planned for a long time or accidentally broke out, these are two completely different things. The Zhao and Song royal families are not monolithic. The relationship between Taizu's lineage, Taizong's lineage and Taizong's own back room are complicated. There is always a part of people with evil intentions, and there are always some stormy years in the palace.
Even Queen Mother Liu was wondering, could there be anyone still harboring evil intentions?
Thorough investigation!
Empress Dowager Liu was furious and ordered Cheng Lin, the governor of Kaifeng, to form a fire investigation team. She put aside all other things and took full leave from work to investigate the matter!
Cheng Lin could take it easy on other things and people, waiting for time to solve the problem naturally, but he did not dare to neglect this old woman at all. He had no doubt that she was not doing things well, and Queen Mother Liu just Dare him go home and raise pigs.
The name of the fire investigation lady is quite loud, and the members also think that they have important responsibilities and may investigate some major rebellion cases involving important people. Everyone is trembling with fear!
It is the practice of our country that as long as the court pays attention to it, it will definitely be solved.
The case soon came to light, but the results were disappointing. There was no shocking rebellion, let alone conspiracy. It’s a little embarrassing to say it!
It's just that the palace tailor forgot to remove the iron when ironing clothes. This kind of iron has been around for a long time. It just uses a copper pot with boiling water in it and puts it on the stove to heat it before use!
The unlucky tailor burned the bucket too red, and carelessly placed the bucket on the clothes to bake, causing the clothes to catch fire, and the fire spread quickly. The palace is entirely made of wooden structures, and the materials used are all oily old materials. When the old paint touches the fire, it is like adding fuel to the fire, burning more vigorously than firewood!
Everyone in the court thought this was a shocking case. Unexpectedly, the Kaifeng Prefecture found it very easy. I don't know if they were tortured to extract a confession. The tailor confessed to the 'crime facts'! It was so easy to come to such a seemingly absurd conclusion!
Everyone was in an uproar!
Cheng Lin has not yet made a final conclusion on the fire case, and the rest of the people at the Admonition Court and Yushitai immediately became impatient. Isn't this because they are being treated like monkeys and their IQs are not online?
Jiang Tang, the supervisory censor, fired first.
If the investigation is not enough, we must dig deep into the mastermind behind the scenes, find out the protection and umbrella, and severely crack down on the relevant criminals!
Cheng Lin had no choice but to find out the women who washed clothes in the laundry room, the eunuchs who delivered charcoal, and some of the underlings in the tailoring bureau and deal with them again. At most, they would fine them a little money and teach them a lesson. Is it possible to pay them back? Are you going to have trouble with his servants?
The censors were angry. Are you, Grandma Cheng Lin, just perfunctory with us like this?
We censors are also scholars, and of course we have sympathy. What we want is not that these people should be punished, but that there should be an explanation for this matter!
The trouble was huge, the court suffered heavy losses, and the emperor's safety was almost endangered. The loudest voice in the court was to execute the person responsible as a police officer!
At the court meeting, Jiang Tang bluntly said: "There is no obvious reason for this fire. There are no bandits or chaos in the Song Dynasty, and there is harmony between the top and bottom. According to Dong Zhongshu's inspiration, God is punishing Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you We should strengthen our moral cultivation to cope with this natural change, instead of just blaming the people in the harem. They are all vulnerable groups. Once thrown into the inner prison, they will have to be recruited even if they don't want to be killed. If His Majesty further punishes death, it will simply increase the punishment of heaven. .”
Since Dong Zhongshu developed the theory of induction of heaven and man, it has become a powerful weapon for ministers and emperors to argue with each other about various natural and man-made disasters in the past dynasties. If you hit them with accuracy, the emperor will not be able to argue with you and can only let you mess with you. rub.
That is to say, His Majesty is humble and kind-hearted by nature and does things tepidly. In addition, since the founding of the Song Dynasty, Taizu has made regulations to treat ministers and subordinates well, so these ministers dare to speak so wildly. Otherwise, it will be like the troubled times of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. When the generals were in court, they would rub someone's neck if they were unhappy and immediately send them to see the King of Hell. Whoever is an official in the government does not strictly keep his mouth shut, and if he talks nonsense, the sun will not be seen tomorrow. How can he have so many reasons to talk to a soldier?
On the other hand, Jiang Qi's words also excused the unlucky tailor. The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty saw that there was no good show to watch, and they were also lacking in interest. Who would be so full that they would have to talk to someone with no background and no benefits? Tailoring rivalry?
The final conclusion was that the tailor could escape death, but he could not avoid prison, so the case was concluded.
So far, the first large-scale fire in Renzong's reign has been concluded, and the fire case, which was barely considered a major case, has come to an end. The palace of Renzong was burned several times, and each time it caused quite a stir, some It also involves the queen, and some involves important ministers, and almost every time there is bloodshed!
Fortunately, the fire ended with no one dead. Except for the emperor who was a little unhappy because his family was gone, the ministers were still very happy because the officials were merciful and such a big event ended successfully. They saw hope and even the court. The future of the bureau.
The case has been finalized, but the post-fire reconstruction and a series of aftermath have not yet been settled.
There are still sporadic flames dancing on half of the palace and many ruins in the palace, and signs of resurgence occur from time to time.
The Privy Council strictly controlled the movements of the Forbidden Forces. Although these people could be used to put out fires and were very efficient, many people were more worried that these people would become unstable factors and promoters of coups.
There are too many examples of this. They are the force that has the most ability to directly control the entire palace, and they are the force with the strongest combat effectiveness. If the courtiers and officials fall into the hands of big heads like them, the situation in the court will change immediately!
If the soldiers can't move, then someone else has to move!
This was very painful for the eunuchs and civil servants in the palace. In order to show their loyalty, these scholars who usually had no strength at all became the main force in putting out the fire. They took wooden buckets and ladles little by little. The earth brought water to put out the fire.
Anyway, what they said was what they said. If they were afraid that the people from the Forbidden Army would mess around, they would have no choice but to wrong them!
The Yamen of the Ministry of Industry.
The Yamen was also affected by the fire, and a material warehouse was burned down. There was a lot of wood stored in it. Fortunately, it did not burn down important confidential areas such as the desk room. All important documents and archives were stored in it, as well as buildings from past dynasties. Design drawings and classics can be said to be a collection of architecture and design.
Just take out a piece of paper from it, and a thousand years from now it will be a super historical material that will cause a sensation in the cultural relics, architecture and calligraphy circles. Unfortunately, these treasures have faced natural disasters and man-made disasters, and less than one of them can be left to future generations. people.
On this day, under the premise of deliberate action by "careful people", the ashes of the Ministry of Industry's warehouse rekindled. Although the fire was not big, they were afraid that the fire in front of them would be carried away by the wind and burn in front of the official's house. The good days are coming to an end.
Everyone in the Ministry of Industry was on duty because it was the day when Lord Shangshu went to court to hold a meeting to study post-disaster reconstruction matters. The Ministry of Industry was the leading department. In the past, in addition to controlling the Bianshui River, Luoshui River and other important water systems such as the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the Ministry of Industry and Industry held a meeting. On weekdays, the Ministry of Works is full of dispensable idlers, who have to lean to the side when walking, not daring to block the way of big bosses like the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Etiquette.
Now that eight palaces in the imperial palace have been burned down, the post-disaster reconstruction and reconstruction ministry has taken the lead, and the opportunity to shine has come. The old minister has wind in his steps when he walks on the road.
They hold meetings in government agencies, which makes it difficult for grassroots cadres.
Now the biggest person in the Ministry of Industry is Song Kuan, the doctor. He gave an order to summon everyone to gather in the courtyard of the Ministry of Industry.
He shouted an order: "Although the fire has been put out and the tailor in charge has been obtained, there is another fire in our warehouse today. If it burns down one and a half of the official palace again, you and I will still have a bright future decades ago." All the fame and honors will be destroyed. This fire must be extinguished. All the ashes will be cleared away within today. Lord Shangshu told him before leaving, don't let a single spark of flame escape. Now his mother's warehouse is on fire again. Put out the fire for me, and I want whoever is lazy to look good!"
Song Kuan is usually a fair-faced middle-aged man, a scholar who is usually gentle and gentle. He usually has a cheerful expression on his face when he meets everyone. Because he is angry and still worried about Dayin, today he made up his mind and lit the fire. I was about to take the big seal back. I used so much force that the veins on my face popped out. I spoke too loudly and lacked enough energy. My voice got higher and higher as I spoke, and I felt a little excited. I almost yelled after that, with a bit of a broken voice and a high pitch. And sharp.
In the courtyard, starting from him, the doctor, there are all kinds of people including the minister, the minister, the secretary, and the government servants. They are all sweating profusely. They are either carrying buckets or ladling water in their hands. Their trousers and sleeves are all covered with sweat. The volume is high, so I will pay full attention to it.
They knew that Song Kuan didn't use chicken feathers as an arrow to trap them. He really let the fire be lit again. If something happened, everyone would have to pack up and go home. That tailor was lucky, so they didn't think they had such good luck. They didn't lose it. All my brains are earned.
Song Kuan glanced at everyone. No one dared to guarantee that nothing would happen if there was a fire. He said to Yuanwai Lang Zhang Ze: "Bring me my seal and the seal of Lord Shangshu!"
Zhang Ze naturally knew what to worry about when taking the seal. The big seal is the certificate they wrote for you. Without the official seal, you would take off your pants and run naked on the street. If you burn it with fire, it is no joke that the big seal will disappear. Even if the files in the house are gone, they are still public property. These are truly your own things.
Zhang Ze was an honest man, so he immediately brought the minister and Song Kuan's seal.
Liang Chuan had already arranged a package for this seal!
After Song Kuan went to see Ding Wei, Liang Chuan gave Song Kuan an idea. He should go to the craftsmen under the overpass in the west of the city and spend a little money to carve a fake carrot seal!
The craftsman under the overpass would not dare to act so recklessly even if he had the guts to do so. If something like this goes wrong, it would be a matter of a family beheading their heads together. He is not that stupid!
However, Song Kuan couldn't resist Song Kuan's eagerness to find seals, so he spent a high price and had people promise to send the craftsmen far away so that they wouldn't have to show up in Bianjing in the future. This dispelled the craftsmen's worries and followed Song Kuan's instructions. Got a fake stamp!
Song Kuan put a fake seal into the seal box. There were some differences, but you couldn't tell the difference without looking carefully. Except for Xie Siyi who stole the seal and thought that the seal was fake, who would be so bold as to doubt the authenticity of the seal? It would be better to directly suspect that the official jade seal is also fake, wouldn't it be more bold and bold!
Song Kuan took the seal and said to everyone present in the Ministry of Works: "The seal of Lord Shangshu cannot be lost. I want to direct the fire extinguishing. The seal including mine will be handed over to the person in charge, Sir Xie, for safekeeping."
Song Kuan turned around and looked at Xie Siyi and said, "Master Xie, please take care of my seal too!"
Xie Siyi was horrified. He clearly had the big seal of Song Kuan in his hand, so why did he give him a new seal?
The moment he took the seal, he suddenly reacted and made a vicious calculation. If he took the seal, he would receive the real seal. If he gave him a fake seal next time, then the blame would be all on himself. The eyes of these people can see. To be honest, if you are transferred, it will be your fault. The yellow mud in your crotch will be either feces or feces!
According to what Liang Chuan said, Song Kuan had achieved his goal. He said to Xie Siyi with a sinister smile: "Master Xie, please return the jade to Zhao intact!"
Xie Siyi broke his teeth and swallowed it in his stomach, he could only take the seal bitterly.
After receiving the instructions, everyone acted quickly to put out the fire in the warehouse.
Xie Siyi picked up the big seal that Song Kuan handed him and looked at it. He saw four big words written on it: "Fuck your mother!"
