Tianjie Temple, the first Zen forest in the early Ming Dynasty.
Known in the Yuan Dynasty as Jiqing Temple, it is located on the east side of the Chaotian Temple in Jinling City. It was originally the latent residence of Emperor Wenzong of the Yuan Dynasty, Tiemur, when he lived in Jinling in hibernation.
The temple is solemn and majestic.
The presiding officer Zong Ling sits in the north, and the elder Ru Qi sits in the east.
Monk Dahong of Chongming Temple in Jurong entered the Zen room under the guidance of the novice and closed the door.
In the Zen room, it was extremely quiet.
From the incense burners on both sides, the smoke curls up and lingers lightly, making people feel peaceful.
"Dahong, a disciple of Zen Master Zhizai of Chongming Temple in Jurong, has met the elders and abbots."
Dahong performs Buddhist rituals.
Abbot Zong Li opened his eyes slightly and spoke calmly: "Old monk, wise, we had a chance encounter many years ago. Now I send you here to see you again. I guess there is some cause and effect."
Dahong was a little nervous. The eminent monk in front of him could be said to be the first person in Buddhism. Not only was he profound in Buddhism, he was also proficient in hundreds of schools of thought and was deeply valued by the royal family.
"Abbott, I don't know about the cause and effect. I just sent a letter on the order of the master. The master has told me to deliver it personally."
Dahong took out the letter from his arms, took a few steps forward, and placed it on the incense table in the middle.
Ruqi stood up, took the letter and handed it to Zong Lai.
Zong Long took the letter and looked at the cover. It was blank. He couldn't help but smile and said, "What a blank."
Dahong said nothing.
Take out the letter and unfold it.
The smile on Zong Li's face slowly faded, and his expression became extremely solemn. He pondered for a long time before looking at Dahong: "Who wrote this letter?"
Dahong frowned, thought for a while and said, "Master's explanation was written by Gu Zhengchen, the new magistrate of Jurong."
"County magistrate?"
Zong Li was very surprised, looked at Ruqi, and handed over the letter.
Ruqi took the letter and smiled calmly: "Don't worry about knowing the county and not knowing the county, just let your mind be natural——"
"What? Sakyamuni Buddha's relic?!"
Ruqi exclaimed.
Zong Lai rolled his eyes at Ruqi and said, "Your mind should be natural."
Ruqi looked at the contents of the letter, her mouth trembled slightly, her beard trembled, and she shouted: "When has it happened that we are still natural? Buddha bone relics! Gu Zhengchen, right? This person is really bold, he dares to use Buddha bone relics The information is sold for money! Abbot, do you think this is true?"
Zong Lai calmed down the turmoil in his heart and pinched the Buddhist beads in his hand.
The content of the letter is very simple, just two sentences:
[I have news about the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Make a deal for a thousand dollars. 】
Zong Lai didn't know whether what was said in the letter was true or false, but one thing was certain, as long as there was a one in ten thousand chance, Tianjie Temple could not let go of this opportunity!
There are no relics in Tianjie Temple. Once the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha are found, Tianjie Temple's status in Buddhism will be more stable! In fact, with the support of the royal family, Tianjie Temple will become a unique holy place in the hearts of Buddhists all over the world!
"Elder Ruqi, would you like to go to Chongming Temple in Jurong to give lectures?"
Zong Lai regained his composure.
Ruqi nodded heavily: "I am determined to teach the Dharma, but I am just going to Jurong. Do you want to bring more things to cheer me up?"
Zong Lai raised his left hand and spread his fingers.
Ruqi understood and looked at Dahong: "Please ask the young monk to lead the way."
Dahong performed Buddhist rituals and followed Ruqi out of the Zen room.
Zong Li closed his eyes and murmured softly: "Is the relic of Sakyamuni Buddha really going to be born? Gu Zhengchen, although you are not a monk, please don't lie and deceive me as a Buddhist..."
Jurong, county government.
After Gu Zhengchen arranged matters related to the corvee service, he sat in the lobby for the first time and clapped the gavel: "Tisunniang!"
Prison warden Zhou Hong led people to lift Sun Niang from the women's prison to the lobby.
The shackles on Sun Niang's body were gone, but the shackles were still there. Looking at the majestic Gu Zhengchen in the hall, she knelt down and shouted: "Sun Niang, a common man, please bow to the county magistrate."
Gu Zhengchen looked at the haggard Sun Niang, opened the file, glanced at the scribe Lin Shan, and saw that Lin Shan had picked up his pen and was ready, so he asked: "Sun Niang, tell me, your husband Sun Yiyi's grave is here where?"
"Go back to the county, Grandpa, in Hezhuang."
Sun Niang lowered her head and replied.
Gu Zhengchen stared at him and asked, "You are from Zhishui. Why was Sun Yiyi buried in Hezhuang after his death?"
Sun Niang was sad and sobbed in a low voice: "My husband died under a pile of rocks. We couldn't dig him out, so we could only use the stone as a grave."
Gu Zhengchen frowned: "Died under a pile of rocks? So you didn't see Sun Yiyi's body?"
Sun Niang grieved: "Although I didn't see her husband's body, I saw her husband's torn bloody clothes, and many people saw her husband buried deep under the stone with their own eyes, so I had to believe it."
Gu Zhengchen lowered his head and glanced at the file and asked, "You said that many people have seen it with their own eyes. Is there a person named Guo Jie among them?"
Sun Niang was a little surprised. She looked at Gu Zhengchen and nodded repeatedly: "He is."
Gu Zhengchen stared at several files, filled with doubts.
This Guo Jie is really everywhere.
Gu Zhengchen asked again: "Half a year ago, your son, Sun Er, disappeared. I did not find the case file in the county government files. Did you not report it to the official, or was it because no one accepted it after reporting it?"
County Magistrate Liu Boqin and Chief Secretary Zhao Doubei looked a little ugly after hearing this.
Sun Niang glanced at Liu Boqin and lowered her head without daring to speak.
"Liu County Cheng, has this person reported missing?"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Liu Boqin and asked majestically.
Liu Boqin stood up and replied: "Your Majesty, the county government has a lot of things to do, and it happened half a year ago. I can't remember it anymore. Sunniang, have you applied for an official position or not? Don't you know what to do?"
Sun Niang lowered her head and said in a weak voice: "The common people never report to the official."
"really?"
"really……"
Gu Zhengchen stared at the shivering Sun Niang and said, "Since you didn't report it to the official, let's make it up. Tell me when and where Sun Erkou disappeared. How did you know about his disappearance? Do you have any clues?"
The county magistrate Liu Boqin looked at Gu Zhengchen and reminded: "Your Majesty, what is being heard today is the case of Sun Niang digging her grave, not the case of the disappearance of Sun Er's family. Besides, according to the rules, unwritten papers will not be accepted."
Gu Zhengchen looked at it coldly and said without giving in: "There are many doubts about Sun Niang's grave digging case. There is a case within the case, and only one pleading is needed. If the county magistrate thinks that this is not enough, then I will write it for her. How about a piece of paper?"
The flesh on Liu Boqin's cheeks trembled slightly and he stopped talking.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Sun Niang: "Tell me, if you don't tell, no one will be able to find your son. If you tell me, there will at least be a glimmer of hope!"
Sun Niang heard this and cried quickly.
On March 2, the sixth year of Hongwu, Sun Erkou had just turned eighteen.
At midnight on the fourth day, Sun Niang fell ill.
Sun Erkou went to Hezhuang to ask for Dr. Guo Ning. Doctor Guo went to the outpatient clinic for treatment, prescribed medicine and ordered Sun Erkou to take the medicine according to the prescription.
That night, Sun and his family left and never returned.
Seeing that her son had not returned for a long time, Sun Niang was worried. She dragged her sick body to look for him, but she only found three packets of traditional Chinese medicine on the bridge between Yifeng Township and Xiaoyi Township.
As for Sun Erkou, he has disappeared so far, and his life and death are unknown.
Gu Zhengchen imagined that time and asked, "Has anyone been searching for it in the middle and lower reaches of the river?"
Sun Niang wiped her tears: "That night, some village chiefs and elders asked the villagers to help search, but after walking along the river for five miles, no one was seen. It was just summer, and the river was not deep and not urgent."
Gu Zhengchen knocked on the table and said in a deep voice: "It is impossible for people to disappear for no reason. This matter is indeed suspicious. Liu Xian Cheng, Chief Secretary Zhao, and Chen Dianshi, what do you think?"
"But it's up to the county magistrate to send him."
Liu Boqin and three others spoke in unison.
Gu Zhengchen said no more, took out a wooden sign four fingers wide and one foot long from a sign box on the table, picked up his brush and wrote:
The plan is to interrogate He Zhuang, Guo Jie, Guo Ning and Guo Liang.
The card comes out: Jurong County Government.
It was given on September 3, the sixth year of Hongwu.
The sale is limited to the fifth day of this month.
After finishing writing, Gu Zhengchen took out the magistrate's official seal, pressed it with red clay, pressed it heavily on the wooden sign, and looked at the class leader Xu Lin: "Let these three people come to the county government office tomorrow."
Xu Lin took the letter and took the order to step aside.
In the Ming Dynasty, county government successors could not just say a word and arrange for a government servant to pick up the person. They must have a letter of trust.
Similar to law enforcement in later generations, you must have documents.
In the Han Dynasty, when Yi Chuan was used, there was a saying of "holding a five-inch piece of wood to deliver the letter and sealing it with the seal of the imperial censor".
In the Tang Dynasty, post riders were given silver medals, but "wooden talisman letters" also appeared.
In the early Song Dynasty, postmen began to popularize silver medals into wooden medals, probably to save costs...
When the Ming Dynasty was founded, the imperial court was in dire straits.
Lao Zhu himself was reluctant to use pure gold, and mostly used copper-plated utensils. It was even more impossible to popularize bronze medals in prefectures and counties all over the world. Wooden medals were better, simple to make, and cheap. Regardless of whether it was Yichuan or prefectures, they were all used...
The function of this kind of wooden letter board is to "do official business for the people", and the rule is to "send the letter to the countryside".
A yamen servant who went to the countryside to do business without a trustworthy card was punished with a hundred sticks.
In addition, not to mention that government officials cannot easily go to the countryside, even subordinate officials, county magistrates, and county magistrates cannot leave the county government office and go to the countryside casually.
Many people don’t know that there is a rule in Ming Dynasty officialdom:
County officials are not allowed to go to the countryside.
The county magistrate cannot leave the county government office at will, except to "visit bridges and banks, relay shops, inspect disasters and injuries, conduct autopsies, catch thieves, and copy letters." However, during the implementation process, this rule often means that county officials cannot leave the county at will.
Just when everyone thought it was time to retreat, Gu Zhengchen suddenly asked Sun Niang: "A few days ago, the Japanese officials visited the prison, and you got violent and hurt people. I guess there is a reason, right?"
Dianshi Chen Zhong narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Sun Niang with a sharp gaze.
Sun Niang was afraid: "The common people were confused for a moment and accidentally hurt someone. There is no other reason."
Gu Zhengchen knew clearly that she didn't believe he could protect her.
really.
Although I am the magistrate of Jurong County, I do not have the final say here.
Among the officials and government officials around you, which one has no attitude or care?
Dianshi controls the prison, so it's not difficult to do something about it.
"Let her sign and withdraw."
Gu Zhengchen stood up and walked to the second hall. The clerk handed Sun Niang the recorded conversation in the hall. After signing it, a yamen servant took it back to the female prison.
After passing the court trial, Gu Zhengchen had an intuition that there was a secret hidden in Hezhuang.
Sun was buried and his body was not found in Hezhuang.
The disappearance of Sun Er's family, and no bodies were found alive, is related to Dr. Hezhuang.
And Guo Jie, who always has two fingers broken, is from Hezhuang.
Gu Zhengchen looked through the files and found no other clues. If Guo Jie, Guo Ning, and Guo Liang were interrogated and still couldn't find any clues, they would have to find a reason to go to Hezhuang.
"Master, Sun Shiba is back."
When it got dark, Gu Cheng came in to report.
"Oh, let him come."
Gu Zhengchen put away the file.
Sun Shiba walked into the room with a serious look on his face: "Master, Hezhuang is not simple."
Gu Zhengchen smiled slightly and said, "If it were simple, the matter wouldn't have been hidden until now. Let's talk about it."
Sun Shiba asked Gu Cheng to guard outside and whispered to Gu Zhengchen: "According to information, the old man of the Guo family in Hezhuang is named Guo Yan. He is a branch of the Guo family in Jurong City. Guo Jie has a cousin. This person The master also knows him."
"who?"
Sun Shiba said solemnly: "Guo Xu, the ritual student when entering the city to offer sacrifices..."
