Snapped!
"Wang Dachou, your groom has already confessed, do you still need me to find other witnesses? If you recruit them now, I can reduce the penalty by one or two. If you dare to shirk your denial again, once the evidence is confirmed, the crime will be Wait a minute!"
"The grassroots people - they are guilty. It was the grassroots people who urged the horsemen to go on the night road and galloped their horses so much that they knocked Li Da to the ground and the carriage ran over him, causing his death. Because he was afraid of taking responsibility and had no control at night. People, feeling lucky, escaped..."
"Let him draw the mark!"
"Wang Dachou was above the official line and drove a horse to death. And because you escaped and did not rescue him at the time, and when the government pursued them, you bribed the official Wang Xinqian to clear the suspicion, leaving his family to search for the murderer. After more than a year, I now pronounce the sentence in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty, with a hundred rods and forty taels of silver for the burial!"
Gu Zhengchen threw down his signature and ordered execution.
There is no way to make Wang Dachou pay for such a case. It can be said to be a "traffic accident." The "Da Ming Code" has clear items for "killing and wounding people by cars and horses." The most severe punishment is nothing more than a hundred sticks and a run of three thousand miles.
But Gu Zhengchen could not choose this option, because this option did not provide compensation to the family members of the deceased. For Li Da's family, the dilemma remained, and they could only be sentenced to a hundred rods and pay compensation for burial silver.
Originally, the law only required compensation of ten taels of silver for the burial, but Gu Zhengchen increased it to forty taels. With this money, Li Da's family could at least survive.
Yan Sangsang stood in the crowd, looking at the majestic Gu Zhengchen in the lobby, and couldn't help but secretly admire him. .??m
The trial was as fast as thunder and lightning, and the majesty made people outside the hall feel cold. The person who committed the crime was trembling and frightened when he saw Gu Zhengchen before he said a word.
In an interrogation, witness witnesses are presented first, and physical evidence is presented next if no confession is given. If no confession is given, it means that the sentence is reduced or increased, and the sentence must be carefully considered.
When three axes hit them, few people could withstand them.
In addition, those who confessed earlier, as long as they were not guilty of capital crimes, were basically beaten. Although their skin and flesh were bruised, they would not die after all. After a few months of lying down, the matter was completely over, and there was no need to live in fear anymore.
The onlookers like to watch the beating scene, and they will call for help from time to time. Yan Sangsang looked at it and blushed a little. He didn't know what was so interesting about this...
After a trial, Gu Zhengchen was not able to rest until noon.
As soon as they arrived at the second hall, Yamen servant Huang Tudui came in and announced: "There is a girl named Yan Sangsang in front of the house asking to see her. She says she is an old friend of the government official."
Gu Zhengchen was stunned for a moment. After assassinating him once, he still became an old friend?
not see.
It doesn't matter if you don't see him, this guy asked the Yamen servant to run away three times.
As a last resort, Gu Zhengchen finally let him in.
When Yan Sangsang saw Gu Zhengchen and Xiao Cheng, he didn't dare to get close and stopped five steps away: "After thinking about it carefully, I was blinded by hatred. There is really no need for you to kill my father." , but I believe you should know the truth, can you tell me?"
Seeing that Yan Sangsang had figured it out, Gu Zhengchen breathed a sigh of relief and sighed: "The truth is an accident."
Yan Sangsang shook his head and stared at Gu Zhengchen with a pair of big watery eyes: "Dare you ask Magistrate Gu, if there was a shipwreck and drowning under your rule, you would not even investigate or ask questions. Is it an accident?"
Gu Zhengchen did not avoid Yan Sangsang's aggressive gaze and said calmly: "Of course someone will investigate what happened in Jinling. Go back and observe filial piety for your father, it is better than staying in Quanzhou Mansion."
Seeing that Gu Zhengchen didn't say anything, Yan Sangsang didn't force anything: "I heard that you are in some trouble. Before I leave, I can help you solve a few troubles. I'll repay you for not killing him."
Gu Zhengchen frowned slightly and refused: "I don't need outsiders to interfere with my troubles, and you don't owe me any favors."
Yan Sangsang looked at Gu Zhengchen who rejected him, with a sullen look on his face: "If you don't agree, I will really leave, and you and I will have nothing to do with each other from now on."
"Go slowly, don't send me away."
Gu Zhengchen waved his hand, showing no intention of holding anyone back.
Yan Sangsang was very dissatisfied. He had good intentions and returned the favor, but he was driven away.
Just go!
My father, Yan Dun, once patrolled Fujian and went to Hui'an County. He admired the stone carving skills there. He could go there and take some back with him to place them in front of his father's grave, which would be a comfort.
Gu Zhengchen closed his eyes to rest, and asked softly: "Why do I always have a feeling that this Yan Sangsang is different from ordinary people."
Xiao Cheng glanced at Gu Zhengchen and replied: "If I guess correctly, she should be a person from outside the world and has not been in the world for a long time."
"A person from outside the world?"
Gu Zhengchen opened his eyes.
Xiao Cheng explained: "At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the world was in chaos, with frequent famines and epidemics. Only later did heroes compete with each other and fight each other. Under such circumstances, some families would send their children to temples or temples in order to survive. Taoist temples are places outside the world to seek peace. Temples and Taoist temples will select talented people to teach them their skills."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly.
Didn’t Lao Zhu also become a monk?
It's just that the temple that Lao Zhu went to was in an area with severe famine. The monks could not just ring the bell to gain experience, but also had to go out to ask for alms and order food to make ends meet. That's why Lao Zhu wandered around the Huaihe River, and later returned to the temple. He could not "be born out of the world", so he had to "join the world" and join the rebel army.
Lao Zhu wanted to live in the world, but he could not use his talents to join the world. However, not all the Yuan Ting troops killed people and took credit. Some places were no longer under the control of the Yuan Ting. Temples and Taoist temples in other places were relatively safe. In some places, especially Jiangnan, Shanxi and other places, there are many outsiders.
Gu Zhengchen picked up the tea bowl, blew on it and said, "This can explain it. Because I have been born for too long, I am a little indifferent to family ties, so I chose not to mourn and left. And because I have some family ties in my heart, I am also paranoid and chase after him all at once." I came to Quanzhou Mansion to seek revenge. We’d better not mess with this kind of heroine.”
Xiao Cheng thought for a moment and said seriously: "She has some abilities. You should really keep her. This way, you can have a better guard by your side. You also know that women acting as guards are less likely to cause trouble." The alertness of the opponent also makes it easier for him to hear the news..."
Gu Zhengchen took a sip of tea and shook his head slightly: "I can entrust my life to you, but I can't entrust it to her. The origin of this kind of person is unclear. He does things based on his heart and does not care about the consequences. It is better to have less contact with him."
Zhao Sanqi, who had been transferred from the groom to the team leader, hurried in. Seeing that Gu Zhengchen and Xiao Cheng were the only ones in the second hall, he walked forward quickly and whispered: "Master, someone outside has sent news."
Gu Zhengchen took the bamboo tube handed over by Zhao Sanqi. After checking it, he saw that the seal was intact, so he opened it and took out the paper inside, his face suddenly became solemn.
"What happened?"
Xiao Cheng felt something was wrong.
Seeing that Gu Zhengchen was silent, Zhao Sanqi bowed and left.
Although Gu Zhengchen trusted Zhao Sanqi and investigated his background, he was indeed bullied by the government officials and could not be with Tang Xian and others. Therefore, when the government officials were seriously short of staff, he was transferred to the squad leader. position, and even chose him as the connector with Mei Hong, Qin Song and others.
It's just that this matter is too important to let others know.
After Xiao Cheng checked and found that no one was eavesdropping, Gu Zhengchen said with a gloomy face: "Zhang Pei sent news that Wu Kang met with Shi Ruji and Zhou Yuan last night. Zhou Yuan wanted to use the pirates In the name of causing trouble in Quanzhou Prefecture, Gao Shenzheng was also mentioned, and the pirates outside Hui'an City were also among their people."
Xiao Cheng looked shocked and shouted angrily: "They are so crazy that such a thing could happen!"
Gu Zhengchen rubbed his eyebrows.
If you don't come up with the imperial edict, the power in your hands is really limited.
The Quanzhou Guards did not obey their own orders. Although they cooperated in fighting against the pirates, this was their own responsibility and not an order from the government.
Now that Zhou Yuan was acting recklessly, Gu Zhengchen felt powerless.
If Wu Zhen, Marquis of Jinghai, hadn't deliberately left some naval forces stationed at Quanzhou Port, I might not have been able to prevent this disaster.
But even with naval help, this disaster is likely to happen again.
These people disguised themselves as pirates and burned and looted. How many people there were in total, how many groups they were divided into, where they went to set the fire, and when they set the fire were all unknown.
Chu Xing hid in the dark with his men. When they saw the light of the fire and chased him, they would probably all run away and continue to set fire to another place.
Everyone has two legs, so it’s not easy to catch up.
Gu Zhengchen stood up, a little anxious: "Didn't your Majesty say that he would transfer someone from Yunnan to serve as the commander of the Quanzhou Guard? Why hasn't this person come yet?"
Xiao Cheng shook his head, expressing his ignorance.
Due to the sudden change in the situation, Gu Zhengchen had no time to think about the case. He only briefly handled three cases in the afternoon and then returned to the magistrate's house on the grounds of physical discomfort.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the sun, hoping it wouldn't set in the west.
The most likely time for pirates to cause trouble is at night, and Quanzhou is still seventy or eighty miles away from Hui'an County, and I don't have many people at my disposal. If this group of people really makes trouble, I don't know how many people will have trouble. .
"Ready your horse!"
Gu Zhengchen thought about it again and again, gritted his teeth and shouted.
Xiao Cheng quickly stopped him: "You are the prefect, not the general. Besides, there are many crises in Hui'an County..."
"We can't watch them bring trouble to the people, right? Hurry up and we can arrive near Hui'an County before dusk. We don't need to enter the county. We only need to go to the villages to guard. Chu Xing will land in Chongwu. He is relatively north. We Just go south!”
Gu Zhengchen changed out of his official uniform, took off his sword and hung it on his waist.
Xiao Cheng said with a bitter face: "If you go to the village to guard, you will be lucky if you don't encounter pirates. If you do, I'm afraid it will be a fight to the death. By then, I can't guarantee that I can protect you."
Gu Zhengchen patted the sword on his waist: "Why do you think I practice swordsmanship every day? It's not for this situation today! Stop pushing, prepare your horse, and order Qin Song to lead the three of them to follow. "
"The government office doesn't have that many horses."
Xiao Cheng said frankly.
Gu Zhengchen said with a smile: "The horse delivering the documents at the inn has not been taken away yet, the government has requisitioned it!"
Xiao Cheng opened his mouth but did not refute.
No one can ride the horses at the inn without special permission. But the county man in front of me holds a permit in his hand...
"I was out on business, so I was delayed. I'll update it today. Thank you for your understanding."
