Touring the Ming Dynasty

The police officers sealed He's mansion, tied a group of male and female prisoners together with ropes, and then led a group of girls, big and small, back to the Yangzhou government office.

On the way this group of women was escorted back to the government office, almost all the people in Yangzhou were shocked. Some clapped their hands and others did not take it seriously. Prisoners, what makes the onlookers very unhappy is that no matter the prisoners or the rescued girls, their heads are covered with cloth bags or ropas, so that people can't see the beauty and ugliness, and they don't know who they are. Who is it? There are a lot of gossip topics missing.

This group of people walked through Yangzhou Avenue in a mighty way. On the second floor of a bun shop with a Shanshui Pavilion signboard, a young scholar with a face like a crown was sitting by the window, and a little book boy was waiting on him.

Seeing this group of people approaching, the handsome scholar and the little bookboy looked down curiously, and suddenly saw Duan Fei walking at the end of the line, and said, "Look, son, does that catcher look familiar?"

The handsome scholar opened the folding fan with a bang, fanned it in front of him, and replied, "You don't remember? You scolded someone on the boat that day."

"Ah, it's him, that bastard-looking guy, heck, I didn't expect him to be a fast catcher! He really is an ignorant, literary and elegant person!" The little maid pretending to be a book boy said without hesitation.

Her voice was unpretentious, it was clear and crisp, and she spoke loudly, as if she was afraid that Duan Fei would not hear her. Sure enough, when the lady pretending to be a scribe turned her head and scolded the maid, Duan Fei raised his head and looked up. look.

Duan Fei looked up, just in time to see the pretty maid sticking out her tongue and making a grimace at him. The grimace was pretty and cute, but it was distorted after all. Duan Fei had only seen her profile before, so he didn't recognize her for a while, so he felt a little strange when he saw it He smiled at her, nodded, and then looked away.

At that moment, the lady upstairs turned her head and looked down, half of her face was covered by a folding fan, but Duan Fei recognized her immediately with those bright starry eyes, and the gaze she just retracted jumped immediately. , looked up with surprise and joy.

Looking at the past, I saw that the beautiful woman on the window on the second floor of Shanshui Pavilion had gone and disappeared, Duan Fei's heart was suddenly lost, he suspected that he was dazzled, and wanted to go upstairs to have a look, but finally held back. .

"Brother Fei, what are you looking at? Hurry up!" Shi Bin called back from the front, Duan Fei gritted his teeth, turned his head and walked away quickly.

"Miss, why are we avoiding him?" The little maid followed behind and pouted.

The young lady was holding the servant girl's hand, climbed over two high walls, and hid in a house. He heard the words and said: "He is an official and we are thieves. If we don't hide, why don't we go forward and introduce ourselves?"

"Hee hee..." The little girl said with a smile: "That's true, but the young lady is insulting herself too much by calling herself a thief. Be careful that the old man at home will not be happy when he hears it. Change to a high-ranking official who is ten levels higher than him... Lie down on the ground and try to lick the soles of Miss's shoes, but you can't lick them."

"Don't talk so disgustingly, you, you just talk a lot, be careful what comes out of your mouth!" The young lady adjusted the messy clothes behind the fast moving and climbing over the wall, and said, "Shut up, someone is here."

The servant girl stuck out her tongue and finally fell silent.

Along the way, Duan Fei returned to the government office in a state of ecstasy, and handed over the people captured by He's family to the government's police, and then Duan Fei was passed on by Xie Zhijun, the magistrate of Yangzhou.

After Xie Zhijun saw Duan Fei, he immediately said: "I heard that you went to arrest people. You handled it well. It seems that you have already made up your mind. With your talent, it is a pity to continue to stay in the small county government office." , if you go to Rugao County and solve the case successfully, I will transfer you to be the deputy of the arrester Shi when I come back, what do you think?"

Duan Fei was overjoyed, hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you for your cultivation, sir!"

Xie Zhijun gave him a slightly surprised look, and nodded, "If you have nothing to do, let's go on the road with Yan Butou immediately."

Duan Fei hesitated for a moment, then said again: "My lord, if I am promoted to Yangzhou, I will strictly arrest the head..."

A flash of approval flashed in Xie Zhijun's eyes, and he said, "I know better than you what Lao Yan's ability is. I will not take away the credit for his success in solving the case in Rugao, and he will make proper arrangements. Don't worry."

Duan Fei bowed again and said, "Thank you sir for your understanding... and... I have another unkind request, please forgive me, I heard that the person who is currently in charge of solving the case in Rugao is Master Shi, the chief arrester, I'm afraid of him..."

Xie Zhijun said decisively: "Don't worry about this. I have already ordered someone to go ahead and tell Lao Shi that he is not good at solving cases. After you go, he will cooperate with your actions. The case is imminent and cannot be delayed any longer. You can do things cheaply! Everything is focused on solving the case! And if you have nothing to do on weekdays, you can learn more official etiquette from Yan Butou, go..."

Duan Fei took a reassurance and came out, feeling a little embarrassed. He really didn't understand the official etiquette of the Ming Dynasty. Fortunately, everyone knew that he was just a scoundrel. up.

After meeting Duan Fei and Yan Butou, they immediately took an official ship—the Lianghuai salt ship, and headed for Rugao County along an east-west salt transport river.

Just as he boarded the boat, a carriage rushed out of the government office, and sent the three women, who were all wrapped up tightly, directly onto the official boat going south along the river...

The canal road for more than [-] miles went smoothly, but it was not until midnight that he arrived at Hai'an Town under the Rugao County. Yangzhou chief arrester Shi Yufeng had already received the news, and he went to the pier to greet him before he rested.

Boss Yan and the others were flattered, and Duan Fei also showed a face full of gratitude. I saw that Boss Shi was full of red eyes and exhausted. Order, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, he will be overjoyed and invite Duan Fei back like a guest.

Deputy chief arrester Wang and three other arresters from Baoying County also came to greet them. Two of the four were wrapped in bandages, which showed that this case was extraordinary.

Seeing that Duan Fei was so young, Shi Yufeng couldn't help being a little disappointed and suspicious, but he still remained patient and didn't show it, and brought Duan Fei and his party back to the government office in the town.

The lowest level of government in the Ming Dynasty was the county-level government, and there were no modern institutions such as mayors and town offices. A mile below the county level was usually a large local landlord or squire who was responsible for the government. For rent collection and management, in places where there are many residents but not enough to become a county, that is, in modern town-level units, the most powerful Lizheng is actually the number one leader in the town. Shi Yufeng led Duan Fei and the others back. That government office is actually the mansion under the name of Wang Dequan, the largest squire in Hai'an Town, which is equivalent to the modern town hall.

After Shi Yufeng greeted them, he briefly explained the case.

It is said that the Wang family used to do business in the Northeast, and they moved to Hai'an Town, Rugao County more than ten years ago. The whole family is businessmen, both men, women and children. The family business is getting bigger and bigger, and the population is also increasing. One of the largest households.

Everyone in the Wang family is kind and never argues with others. Every winter or in a disaster year, the Wang family will arrange porridge sheds to relieve beggars and refugees. It is the Buddha of all families!

But on a certain day last month, Wang Shanqian, the eldest son of Wang Dequan, an old man, was suddenly killed at home, which shocked not only Hai'an Town, but also Rugao County. The murder case hadn't been solved yet, but Wang Dequan's third son, Wang Shanru, was killed on the way back to Hai'an Town.

Next, Wang Dequan's nephew, second daughter-in-law, fifth daughter-in-law and two family members died one after another in the closely guarded Wang family. When Rugao County magistrate was in a big fight, someone suddenly sent a letter to the county government late at night, reporting the Wang family in Haian Town. Tax evasion and tax evasion colluded with the Japanese for smuggling. Ma Ruhai, the magistrate of Rugao County, felt relieved when he saw the huge amount.

Immediately, the Yangzhou government mobilized elite troops to settle in Hai'an Town. Before finding any clues of smuggling, the murders happened again and again, which seemed to have become a shocking case. For their own black hats, the Yangzhou government and the various ministries involved in the case tried their best to cover up the matter , secretly stepped up to solve the case, more than a month passed, but there was no progress in the case, and it was almost impossible to hide it until now, even a newcomer like Duan Fei, who had no qualifications, was treated as a thousand-mile horse.