"Thank you so much, Shu Zhi, for your magnanimity." Han Qing bowed again, with as much respect as possible, "I really blame the official for not telling you clearly about this matter. However, I will never let Shu Zhi pay for nothing.
I promise that if the next actions go well, Shuzhi will be a living Bodhisattva in the eyes of the people on Jingdong East Road. It is possible for the people to take the initiative to build a temple for you!"
"You're talking nonsense again!" Ding Wei seemed to understand, and smiled and curled his lips, "How can you build a temple for a living person? I'm not a ghost or god, so what's the use of the incense?"
Although the expression on his face was disdain, deep in his heart, there was a hint of expectation.
The first-level transfer envoy on the road is the pinnacle of local civil servants. If you go up to the next level, you will either return to the court to serve as a minister and lead a certain road to comfort the envoy. Or you will become a political advisor and make suggestions for the king at any time.
No matter which one you choose, you can't just rely on your knowledge, political achievements and connections. In addition to the good luck of being directly favored by officials, your reputation among the people is also essential.
In terms of knowledge, Ding Wei was a first-class Jinshi during the Chunhua period, not much worse than Kou Zhun. (Note: During the Taizong period of the Song Dynasty, the Jinshi grades were not divided into grades. The first, second, and third-class Jinshi were awarded.)
In terms of political performance, no matter when he served as the judge of Dali Temple, the general magistrate of Raozhou and the transfer envoy of Kuizhou, his performance evaluation was all excellent.
In terms of connections and luck, the woman his wife had inadvertently helped in the early years has now become the official's favorite talent. She often mentions his benefits in the official's ears.
Compared with Kou Zhun, Wang Dan, and Wang Qinruo, what he calls inferior is actually his little reputation.
And if he can really be regarded as a living Bodhisattva by the people, no matter whether he builds a temple or not, his last shortcoming will be made up. As long as he doesn't make any big mistakes, he will be able to become a prime minister and become a marquis!
"Ding Shuzhi didn't know something. The reason why I had to hide it from everyone and didn't report to you and Wang Jinglue until the last moment was, firstly, to avoid leaking the news and to alert others. Secondly, it was to save people!"
Guessing that Ding Wei could not refuse the temptation he offered, Han Qing smiled and added in a low voice.
"Save someone?" Ding Wei's eyes lit up and he asked with a frown. "Who are you saving? Is this person's identity very important? Why are you so cautious?"
"It's not very important, but the number may be over a hundred. Most of them are sons and daughters of well-to-do families on Jingdong East Road and nearby places. They are all locked up in the same place right now. Han was afraid that if the news was leaked, the thieves would kill him and silence him, so he had to resort to extermination
The guise of the Chunyang Sect is getting closer step by step!" Now that Ding Wei has made the decision to advance and retreat with him, Han Qing no longer needs to hide it from the other party. After thinking about it, he explained patiently.
Ding Wei was horrified after hearing this, and blurted out his questioning words again, "More than a hundred, and they are all children of a well-to-do family? What are the thieves doing arresting so many children of a well-to-do family? Are they kidnapping for ransom? It is impossible to kidnap hundreds of people at once?"
"
"Ding Shuzhi, do you still remember that when I first arrived in Qingzhou, a housekeeper of the Yan family broke into my convoy in order to capture the two brothers and sisters who were running for their lives?" Han Qing did not directly answer Ding Wei's question, but whispered
Another thing happened.
"Of course I remember. I advised you several times to close the case as soon as possible. But you said that you had already obtained your confession and were about to follow the clues. As a result, I haven't seen you take out the clues until now!" Ding Wei frowned.
Immediately, he glanced at Han Qing warily and exclaimed in a low voice, "Could it be that the housekeeper of the Yan Mansion is in the same group as the thief? They captured the two brothers and sisters to give them to the thief?"
"Sure enough, Shu Zhi has a sharp eye!" Han Qing nodded slightly, but his face became extremely gloomy.
"What do thieves want with so many years of men and women? Do they want to imitate Xu Fu and go to sea to seek immortality?" Ding Wei's face quickly darkened, and he frowned to find out, "No, if he wants to seek immortality, he will pay to recruit ignorant men and women to go with him."
That's it, there's no need to go to such trouble. He, they..."
Suddenly, his face changed drastically, and he burst out with curse words, "They want to sell these men and women to other places to be slaves and maids! Damn it, they are catching people alive and selling them for money! I, I am incompatible with them!"
"The direction that Shuzhi guessed is correct, but it's still one level off!" Han Qing gritted his teeth and nodded again, "They want to sell these captured young men and women to Goryeo and Liao Kingdom! There are still floating boats on the northern sea right now.
The ice makes it impossible for the ship to move. As soon as the sea opens again, the sails and anchors will be set!"
"It should be killed, it should be killed. If this is true, I, I must report to the court and punish the nine tribes!" Even though he is an official veteran who is used to seeing the darkness in the world, Ding Wei cannot tolerate the crimes Han Qing said.
He was so angry that he banged the table with his hands. "Is the evidence for this matter conclusive? If there is conclusive evidence, there is no need to wait for Wang Jinglue's instructions. I will go with you to save people. There is no need to attack Chunyang in Haicang Town.
Teach the helm, I will lead the troops with you to arrest the real owner, lest he will be alert and eliminate the evidence of the crime first!"
"The lower official quietly took all the stewards and book boys of the Yan Mansion with him. Ding Shuzhi, I will interrogate them again in front of you later. I also ask you to be a witness for me!"
Han Qing thought for a while and responded seriously.
After hearing this, Ding Wei immediately understood that what Han Qing had said before should be entirely true. However, for the sake of caution, he still nodded lightly.
If the case involves large-scale human trafficking, the participants cannot be just a few daring thieves.
The other generals in the navy, local officials, officers, and even the magistrates of several counties and prefecture governors all have inseparable ties.
In other words, the local officialdom is completely rotten and there is no cure!
He was about to face so many enemies at the same time, so he couldn't be too cautious.
Han Qing also understood Ding Wei's difficulties. He simply ordered people to clean up the Juyi Hall and turn it into a court hall.
The first person to be brought to court was Yan Siren, the second manager of the Yan Mansion. Although he had not exchanged news with the Yan Mansion for more than two months, he still firmly believed that his master could control the situation.
After going to court, this person just confessed that he was blind that day, and in order to hunt down the escaped slaves, he contradicted the court official. As for other things in Yan's house, he either shook his head and denied it, or he didn't know anything about it!
Ding Wei had also been a local official. One look and he knew that this person would never reveal any useful information without being punished. However, Han Qing just smiled and shook his head, and ordered people to put him under strict control.
The matter was put aside, and then Zhang Fan was asked to bring in the Liu brothers and sisters.
The Liu family brothers and sisters were both very smart. When they saw an old man with a gray beard wearing an official robe sitting next to Han Qing, they immediately guessed that it was this person who really wanted to question him today. Therefore.
, although this is not the first time he has answered relevant questions, he still stated it very seriously.
The case is actually not complicated.
The father of the Liu brothers and sisters is a scholar. Although he has not yet passed the imperial examination, he has already gained some reputation among the local scholars. Especially his skills in Yan and Ti calligraphy are highly praised by his peers.
It’s just that Liu’s father is not very good at business, so although the family has dozens of acres of land, he can’t make ends meet. It happened that last year, the Yan Mansion had a collection of books that needed someone to sort out and copy them. In order to supplement the family income, Liu’s father accepted them through the introduction of an acquaintance.
This "yach".
As a result, this copying caused disaster.
One day, Liu's father came home and suddenly became very drunk. He cried bitterly in front of the books in the room, saying that he had received the saint's teachings in vain and saw that the Yan family was doing evil in broad daylight and did not have the courage to stop it.
When the brother, sister, and their mother asked them what was going on, their father refused to reveal a word. He only said that he was going to the Yan Mansion to quit his job of copying books, and took his children to join his father-in-law's family in the south of the Yangtze River.
The next day, the Liu brothers and sisters and their mother were packing up and waiting for their father to come home. From morning to sunset, there was no sign of their father. It was not until ten minutes in the night that they suddenly heard the bad news. Their father actually slipped and fell into the lake after being drunk.
A tragedy occurred in the pond in the back garden of the Yan family.
Liu Xiucai's wife fainted on the spot, and the brother and sister were in chaos under the sudden blow. After rescuing their mother, the brother and sister handed their mother over to the care of a neighbor. Then, holding back their tears, they borrowed a carriage and went to Yan's Mansion to pick up their father's remains.
Home,
However, he never expected that instead of being able to take his father's body back and bury him in peace, he would be forcibly detained by the Yan Mansion.
Immediately afterwards, the steward Yan Siren took action, claiming that before Liu's father was drunk, he accidentally knocked over an oil lamp and burned the only copies collected by the Yan family. In order to compensate for the losses of the Yan family, all the property in the family, as well as the two brothers and sisters, had been sold.
He gave it to the Yan Mansion. He also took out Liu's father's signature and stamped it.
Of course, the brother and sister refused to believe it and asked to go to the government to have the painting appraised. Their mother also went to the state government office to beat drums and complain about the injustice, asking the officials to bring justice to their family.
Unexpectedly, the scribes in the Yamen, who had been bribed by Yan Mansion for a long time, actually came forward to confirm that Liu's father's pledge was genuine. The deed of sale was valid, and the Liu brothers and sisters should be slaves in Yan Mansion for ten years, and their father's debt should be repaid by his son.
Their mother refused to believe the result and stepped forward to argue, but was kicked in the chest by Yan Siren. She vomited blood and fainted on the spot. When she woke up, she found that her children had been taken away. Out of grief and anger, she bought a bag of arsenic and swallowed it.
Falling to his stomach, he struggled to the gate of Shiyan Mansion and died with hatred.
The Liu brothers and sisters were imprisoned in a courtyard on the outskirts of Qingzhou by Yan Siren and his evil servants, and were trained by another steward. They learned the Khitan language and the etiquette of serving nobles.
At first, the brother and sister were in tears all day long and were at a loss. A few days later, they discovered in the yard that there were more than a dozen other young men and women about the same age as themselves, all of whom were forced to live in the yard because their parents owed debts to the Yan family.
Sold into slavery.
And these young men and women are in the same situation as the brothers and sisters. They are all proficient in writing and can read and write!
By this time, if the Liu brothers and sisters still couldn't guess why the Yan family detained them, they would have read so many sage books under their father's guidance in vain.
In order to avoid being sold to the Khitan and unable to come back to avenge their parents in this life, the two tried every means to find an opportunity to escape. Finally, one winter morning, under the cover of thick fog, they knocked out an evil servant and robbed the livestock.
, escaped from the door.
Immediately, they were chased and intercepted by Yan Siren and other evil servants. The brother and sister panicked and rushed into Judge Han's motorcade!
"They both lied, they both lied." Yan Siren had never had a chance to confront the Liu brothers and sisters. When he suddenly heard the accusations made by the brothers and sisters, he immediately jumped up and defended loudly, "Han Tixing, the villain is blind and has offended you. The villain deserves it."
.However, my master, the Yan family, is from a scholarly family and has been good for generations. They will never forge documents and force people into slavery! You cannot let them ruin the reputation of my master!"