In fact, this case is not complicated. According to the woman, thirteen of them had complained many times. As long as all thirteen victims were summoned and the facts were verified, the truth would be revealed.
But Liu Changqing did not rush to Zhenyang. Instead, he went to find Lin Chu after going to court.
Inside the Lin Mansion.
Upon learning of his arrival, Lin Chu naturally greeted him with courtesy. The two of them sat down in the living room. After serving tea, he also asked with a smile: "I don't know why Mr. Liu is here today. What are you doing?"
"I would like to ask General Lin to assist me." Liu Changqing got straight to the point.
"Assistance?" Lin Chu's face showed confusion.
Liu Changqing said: "It's like this. There is an important case in Zhenyang now and we need the help of General Lin's spies."
"This..." Hearing this, Lin Chugan laughed: "In Zhenyang, there are indeed non-staff personnel from the Military Aircraft Department, but these spies cannot be exposed easily. If I am not willing to help, I hope Master Liu understand."
Lin Chu was in charge of the military intelligence of the Qin army. He was like a pair of heavenly eyes. He was meticulous in many places and could be said to be all-pervasive. With his help, he could get twice the result with half the effort.
But when a civilian official came to ask for military assistance, he obviously did not dare to agree easily.
Liu Changqing was not in a hurry and said in a calm voice: "In the case of Zhenyang, I am following the king's order. The king also made it very clear that if you encounter difficulties, you can ask the various ministries for assistance."
"Ah?" He moved out of Xiao Yuan. Lin Chu had no choice. After rolling his eyes, he smiled and said: "Since it is authorized by the king, I will naturally obey the king's order. Please tell Mr. Liu how to help."
"Well..." Liu Changqing thought for a moment and said directly: "In this case, please ask General Lin to send an order to the Zhenyang secret agents to secretly monitor these twelve households."
As he spoke, he also handed over a list.
The latter took it, glanced at it briefly, and said simply: "No problem, please wait for the good news, Mr. Liu."
"Well, thank you, General." Liu Changqing stood up and cupped his hands.
After leaving the Lin Mansion, he still did not arrange a trip to Zhenyang to investigate the case. Instead, he planned to summon Huang Ziling and the complainants to Qinzhou and have them confront them in court, in order to arouse the suspicion.
Liu Changqing has a good way of handling cases. Sometimes, he will disguise himself to conduct secret visits. Sometimes, he will deliberately bluff to make the other party confused and then look for loopholes.
A few days later, Zhenyang County, Lanping County.
As Huang Ziling, of course he had already received the news.
At this time, the Lanping County Magistrate was with him. He said with a worried face: "I didn't expect someone to run to the capital. What's more terrible is that he met Liu Changqing."
If a commoner wants to go beyond the local government and file a complaint higher up, and the people who sue are powerful people and officials, the difficulty is imaginable. Not to mention the system problems, even if you are intercepted at all levels, you will not be able to succeed, but that woman , but by chance, Liu Changqing was stopped in the street.
This was simply an accident, and it was even more bad news for Huang Ziling and the others.
As the saying goes, the people don't fight with the officials. They didn't take it seriously before, but now they heard that Liu Changqing wanted to investigate the case, and the county magistrate was already panicked.
"Liu Changqing is a stubborn person. If he gets involved in this matter, he will definitely get to the bottom of it..."
"How can this be good..."
He kept talking, and Huang Ziling was upset for a while. He couldn't help frowning and shouted: "Why are you panicking! Investigations require evidence. Liu Changqing hasn't come yet. We have a lot of time to deal with the aftermath. Besides, my sister is here." , the sky won’t fall!”
"Then, what does Mr. Huang plan to do?" Hearing him mention Mrs. Dening, the county magistrate felt a little relieved.
Huang Ziling said gloomily: "The first thing Liu Changqing must do is to find those unscrupulous people who complained. We can handle it in advance so that they will never be able to talk!"
Hearing this, the county magistrate was startled and said quickly: "Master Huang, please don't do this. Now Liu Changqing has brought the matter to the court. Once these unruly people die suddenly, it will mean that there is no silver in this place!" By then, things will only get more out of control! Don’t harm this county..."
This is not unreasonable. If you kill the witness, it only means that you have a problem, and the court will definitely investigate more deeply.
After Huang Ziling thought deeply, he smiled coldly: "There are many ways to shut them up. They are just some unruly people. The big deal is, just spend money to avoid disaster."
That afternoon, under Huang Ziling's instructions, the housekeeper of the Huang Mansion began to deal with the aftermath.
In a dilapidated dwelling.
After the housekeeper of the Huang Mansion came in with two servants, he first glanced around with his hands behind his back, and then gave a slight signal to the servants.
The servant stepped forward, took out a bag of silver and gave it to the owner of the house. He said in a cold voice: "This is two hundred taels of silver. You count it."
"Ah?" The owner of the house held the bag of silver, neither accepting it nor accepting it. He was obviously at a loss.
The housekeeper said arrogantly: "Even if your daughter is sold, will it be worth fifty taels of silver? These two hundred taels are rewarded to you by my young master. It should be regarded as a betrothal gift for taking your daughter as a concubine." ”
"This..." The house owner didn't know how to answer.
"You should know that you are not someone you can afford to offend my young master. Don't be ignorant!" The butler's face turned cold.
The house owner couldn't help his Adam's apple sliding and swallowed secretly.
This was the family that Huang Ziling had raped and complained about before. In that era, there were many people who signed the deed of sale, and there were many poor families who could not feed their children and sold their daughters.
As the saying goes, money can make the world go round. These two hundred taels of silver are enough for ordinary people to make a fortune. You can imagine what the result will be.
No doubt this happened to the other eleven complainants as well.
Two days later, an order came from above to summon Huang Ziling and twelve complainants.
Liu Changqing was ordered by the king to handle the case. No matter how arrogant Huang Ziling was, he did not dare to disobey. He could only arrange everything, get on the carriage and rush to Qinzhou.
Zhenyang was in Huandi, a long way away, and the people were escorted by officers and soldiers until they finally entered the capital more than half a month later.
On this day, the highest official in Qinzhou.
Liu Changqing was dressed in official uniform and was behind the desk directly above. On both sides below, there were several guards with swords standing.
"Biography, Huang Ziling, and thirteen people who complained of grievances in Lanping County."
Not long after, the woman who stopped the driver on the street and twelve other villagers entered the hall and knelt on the ground.
Then, Huang Ziling stepped in.
He was dressed in luxurious clothes, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist. He was dressed like a kid from a wealthy family. After he came in, he stood in front of the villagers and only slightly raised his hands upwards: "I have met you, sir."
"Bold!" Liu Changqing slapped the table: "How dare you not kneel down when you see me in court!?"
(End of chapter)
