Little Detective of the Tang Dynasty: What to do if you are beheaded at the beginning?

Yongzhou had a large area during the Tang Dynasty, but only had four counties.

In the 17th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of Tang withdrew Daozhou from the neighboring state and merged it into Yongzhou.

As a result, Yongzhou had six counties.

Generally speaking, the more counties, the more people there are.

The Tang Dynasty divided the level of each state according to the number of households.

For example, Luoyang, the eastern capital, had 20 counties, which was a well-deserved upper state.

Yongzhou had few counties, but it had a very large area. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it became one of the 13 large counties in the country with a population of over one million. So in the Tang Dynasty, it was still at the level of an upper state.

Of course, in the second year of Shangyuan, Daozhou was restored and separated from the jurisdiction of Yongzhou.

Yongzhou has many talents, and the most praised one is Liu Zongyuan, one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties. He was once demoted to Yongzhou as an official.

Secondly, in the Three Kingdoms period, the "willing to fight and willing to be beaten" Huang Gai also came from Lingling, Yongzhou.

There is also Jiang Wan, who is known as the "Four Prime Ministers of Shu Han" together with Zhuge Liang, Dong Yun and Fei Yi.

And the famous calligrapher Huaisu, whose cursive script is as famous as Zhang Xu, is called "Crazy Cursive" by the world.

Lu Qizheng is not doing anything and has no achievements in Yongzhou, but he can be transferred to another upper state to be the governor. It can be imagined that he has a close relationship with Lai Ji, the current Zhongshu Ling.

However, according to historical records, Lai Ji did not jump for a few days.

In the second year of Xianqing (657), that is, this year, he was falsely accused by Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu of forming a party with Han Yuan and Chu Suiliang, intending to rebel, and was demoted to the governor of Tingzhou, and was not allowed to return to Beijing for life.

Even if he was not falsely accused of treason, Lai Ji would not have a good life for a few days, because he opposed Li Wu.

To be honest, the charge of treason is really useful.

......

Fortunately, Song Zhen prepared realgar in advance. He knew that there must be snakes in Yongzhou, and there might be quite a lot of them in the wild mountains and wilderness.

Liu Zongyuan once wrote an essay called "On the Snake Catcher".

Of course, the snakes mentioned in the article not only refer to poisonous snakes, but also refer to the strict officialdom.

Song Zhen sprinkled the crushed realgar in the package in the carriage and surrounded it.

As for why he didn't sprinkle realgar in advance?

It can only be said that Song Zhen didn't know whether there was realgar in Yongzhou, so he used it less.

The snakes appeared too early, and we had to be on guard.

Realgar is a mineral, also known as stone yellow, golden stone, and cockscomb stone. It is the common name for tetraarsenic tetrasulfide.

It can be used for medicinal purposes, but be cautious when taking it and keep it in a cool place.

Because when realgar is heated to a certain temperature, it will oxidize into a highly toxic component in the air, arsenic trioxide, or arsenic.

Song Zhen also found a kind of yellow flower on both sides of the official road.

This herb is called "Snake Destroyer" and also has a very nice name, "Wang Jiangnan".

As the name suggests, it has the function of driving away snakes.

After Song Zhen and Di Renjie tossed around, they were both tired, sat down face to face, and closed their eyes.

The carriage traveled for two and a half days until noon, when it arrived at Lingling County, the county seat of Yongzhou.

"Wu Lang, Song Lang, we're here." Uncle Guang glanced at the carriage.

Song Zhen opened his eyes in confusion. These days, he has not been able to sleep well because the smell of realgar is really a bit pungent, uh, a little bit smelly.

The two got off the carriage and saw that there was no one in front of the Yongzhou government office, not even a guard?

Is it reasonable?

"Let's go, let's go in directly."

Song Zhen was wearing a scarlet official uniform that only fourth-rank officials were qualified to wear, while Di Renjie was wearing dark green.

"Oh, you are a Beijing official who has come from afar. I am sorry for not welcoming you." The man who came out was too young.

He bowed slightly and said, "I am the governor of Yongzhou, Wen Youliang, and I am honored to meet you two."

Song Zhen and Di Renjie returned the greeting and said straight to the point, "Governor Wen, we are ordered to review the assassination case of three governors who have been appointed as governors."

"Oh?" Wen Youliang raised his eyebrows, "Didn't this case be closed long ago?"

"It's not closed, but the Dali Temple has not had time to investigate." Di Renjie lied. It's not that he didn't have time, but he forgot about the former Dali Temple Minister Duan Zhengxuan.

"In that case, the two of you follow me."

Wen Youliang led the way in front, and strangely, he actually brought more than 20 clerks behind him.

When they came to a desolate place, Wen Youliang pointed to the graves on the ground and said sadly: "We only found the bones of two governors, what a pity."

Song Zhen stepped forward and asked the clerk to dig out the coffin.

Wen Youliang's face changed: "Isn't this a bit bad? Minister Song."

"We are here to find the truth for them. I believe that the three governors will not blame us if they know about it in the afterlife."

Not to mention ancient times, even in modern times, digging up human graves is a common practice.Disturbing the deceased is illegal and constitutes the crime of theft, insult, and intentional destruction of corpses, bones, and ashes.

Article 277 of the Tang Law Commentary stipulates: "Those who open graves shall be sentenced to forced labor and exile; those who have opened the coffin shall be strangled; those who have not opened it completely shall be sentenced to three years in prison."

Di Renjie tugged at Song Zhen's sleeves and whispered, "Shouzheng, why don't we not look at it?"

"How can we not look at it? We don't know how they died without an autopsy!"

"But..."

At this time, Wen Youliang spoke: "Minister Song, I personally think that your behavior is very inappropriate. You are breaking the law knowingly."

"It is inappropriate, but now is a critical moment. If we want to restore The truth must be revealed. "Song Zhen said stubbornly, "Could it be that Wen Changshi has other evidence?"

"Well, that's not the case."

"In that case, dig it up."

Di Renjie dragged Song Zhen aside: "Shouzheng, it's really not good to do this, it has a great impact."

"Huaiying, do you know what we are here for?"

"I know, but there is still a lot of time, we can slowly find clues."

Just as the two were discussing how to investigate the case, the twenty clerks behind them slowly approached.

Wen Youliang quietly made a gesture behind him, and the clerks stopped immediately.

Di Renjie said with an apologetic look on his face: "Wen Changshi, don't worry, we won't dig graves."

Wen Youliang smiled: "It's okay, I can understand your Dali Temple's eagerness to investigate the case."

Di Renjie bowed: "In that case, let's leave first."

"By the way, I want to ask, where is the crime scene?"

Wen Youliang pointed to the corner in front: "Yes, it's under the cliff in front."

"Thank you, goodbye!"

"Di Sicheng, Song Shilang, wait a moment." Wen Youliang called the two people who were about to leave, and an inexplicable smile appeared on his face.

"Actually, it's been so long since the incident, the truth is no longer important."

Di Renjie didn't look back, his face sank, and he slowly responded: "In my opinion, it's very important."

When the two figures disappeared from his sight, a clerk stepped forward.

"Sir, are we just going to let them go?"

"What else? We are civilized people, we can persuade them with reason and emotion. It's not good to shout and kill all day long."

Wen Youliang smiled contemptuously: "When they can't find out the good or bad, they will naturally choose to give up."

"But, what if they come into contact with that group of unruly people and find out what the family has done?"

Wen Youliang's expression suddenly turned cold, and he snorted: "If that's the case, then, kill them. Anyway, so many have been killed, and they don't matter if they are two."

......

"Huaiying, hold my hand, I'll pull you up!"

Di Renjie and Song Zhen climbed the mountain road and finally came to the scene of the crime.

There were scattered carriage fragments here, which was terrible.

Song Zhen stood where he was. He first took a deep breath and carefully observed the traces at the scene. In his eyes, a simulated picture suddenly appeared.

He was calculating the trajectory of the carriage falling.

"Huaiying, the carriage fell straight down."

Di Renjie frowned: "You mean, the carriage rushed out of the official road from the corner uncontrollably and then fell down?"

"Yes."

"Let's see if there are any new discoveries."

The two searched the scene, and Song Zhen suddenly found that under a wooden board in the carriage, there was a dried snake.

"Why is it a snake again? Could it be that the driver was bitten by a venomous snake and then fell into a coma, causing the carriage to lose control?"

As we all know, snakes are actually more afraid of humans than humans are of them.

It is basically impossible for a snake to climb up a moving carriage, and the silver ring snake found in the carriage before fell from a high place to the roof of the carriage.

It is not uncommon for silver ring snakes to climb trees. They usually climb trees to find food, but it is very rare.

In addition, silver ring snakes usually eat midnight snacks, rarely move in broad daylight, and usually do not actively attack humans.

On the contrary, the snake in the carriage tried to bite the two people when it saw them. Isn't that strange?

This makes people wonder if someone deliberately threw a tamed snake?

"No body was found." Di Renjie sighed. It seems that the body was collected.

That's right. After all, they are third-rank ministers. We can't let them lie dead in the wild, right?

The two returned empty-handed and discussed going back to the Yongzhou government office in Lingling County to look through the case library to see if there are any new clues.

"Is anyone there?"

When they returned to the Yongzhou government office and saw no one at the door, Di Renjie tried to call out.

Seeing no one answeringIn response, the two walked in directly.

After walking around, someone came out. Seeing the color of Song Zhen's official uniform, the other party was excited.

"Two officials, the people in the government office have gone out for an outing."

"Outing?" Song Zhen frowned. It was the end of May, and it was not the Cold Food Festival. What were you going out for?

The clerk smiled awkwardly and did not explain.

"Where are they? Where are they now?"

The clerk hurriedly invited the two into the government office, pulled two chairs, and acted very attentive.

"Two officials, please wait a moment, I will notify them to come back."

Di Renjie stood up to stop the other party's behavior and said lightly: "No need, we will check it ourselves."

Song Zhen laughed and said: "Yes, if there are any fun activities, I can also participate."

The clerk wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. How could he let you see it?

So, he thought of a solution in a hurry.

"My two young men, the people from the government office are now enjoying a spring outing in Miaolong Village in the southwest."

"Really?"

The clerk dodged his gaze and bowed, saying, "I dare not lie."

"Okay, Huaiying, let's go."

After walking out of the door, Song Zhen pulled Di Renjie to a corner.

"Huaiying, I suspect he is lying."

"I can see that too."

"So, we wait here, they will definitely send someone to tip us off."

Sure enough, three minutes later, the clerk who had just spoken sneakily poked his head out and looked around.

Five minutes later, he came out again to observe.

Ten minutes later, another clerk ran out, got on a horse, and galloped away.

"Let's go." Song Zhen and Di Renjie rode on their horses at the same time.

"Huaiying, I'll go after him. You stay in the government office and look through the case files."

Di Renjie thought about it and nodded in agreement. After all, his official position was not as prominent as Song Zhen's, and his skills were not as good as his.

If he blindly followed him, he would probably become a burden to Shouzheng.

"Okay, then I'll stay. Be careful."

Song Zhen patted his chest and smiled, "Don't worry. Don't you know my kung fu? Even Qianniuwei Xiaojunjun can't beat me."

"You just brag."

Along the way, the clerks didn't even slow down when they passed the village.

Due to his recklessness, some people were knocked down and trampled by the horses and injured.

Song Zhen whipped the horse's butt with a whip and left in a cloud of dust.

......