It is especially easy to get sleepy when traveling long distances in a sedan chair, so Dakui fell asleep in a daze. It was still a long way to go to Longping, and it would probably take several days to walk like this.
Dakui decided to wait until dark and settle down in Qingniu County. Qingniu County is located at the intersection of Zhenjiang Prefecture and Changzhou Prefecture. It is under the rule of Changzhou Prefecture and has a population of more than 30,000. Although it is a small and remote county with a sparse population, there is no need to alarm Zhenjiang Prefecture. Dakui has already declined the invitations from the local officials of the two governments. If he goes to Changzhou Prefecture, he will not be able to reply. After all, as a colleague, it is not a good thing to not give face to him. It is best to find a secluded place to stay. good.
Da Kui was sleeping, but was awakened by Zhou Kai who was accompanying him. Da Kui opened his eyes and realized that the sedan had stopped. Da Kui opened the sedan curtain and asked, "Why don't you leave?"
Zhou Kai rode on his horse and reported back: "Sir, there is someone blocking the sedan chair in front of you to complain."
"Who is it? Go and ask," Dakui ordered, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Zhou Kai took the order and went to the front line.
It is March in spring, it is rainy in the south of the Yangtze River, and the official road after the rain is quite muddy.
An old man in gray clothes and a man in green clothes knelt in the muddy water and stopped in front of the team. The soldiers who opened the way were scolding but could not move to pull the two apart.
Zhou Kai arrived in front of the team and ordered the soldier who was opening the way: "Step back, sir, I have something to ask this old man." The soldier took the order and stepped aside. Zhou Kai then walked up to the old man and stretched out his hand to help him: " Please get up quickly, old man,"
The old man's face was filled with tears at this moment. When he saw Zhou Kai came to help Buoyin, he cried out in grief: "Your Excellency, you have to make the decision for us." He ignored the muddy and dirty ground and kowtowed to the ground.
Zhou Kai quickly helped the old man up and comforted him with gentle words: "If you have anything to say, you can just say it. My family loves the people like a son. If you are wronged, he will definitely support you," he said to the man kneeling on the ground. The man in green clothes said: "You should get up too,"
The man kneeling on the ground just knelt in a muffled voice, with tears streaming down his face but said nothing.
The old man sighed: "This is my son. He suffered an illness when he was young and is deaf in both ears. Please don't take it personally, sir."
Zhou Kai said: "Please ask him to get up and come with me to see my master." The old man responded, turned around and asked the man in green to get up, and followed Zhou Kai towards the red-topped sedan in the procession.
Arriving in front of the sedan, Zhou Kai bowed to the sedan and clasped his fists, saying: "Sir, the people are blocking the road and complaining about injustice. It is an old man who is bringing his son."
Da Kui is not a person who puts on airs. Hearing this, he got off the sedan chair. When the old man saw Da Kui wearing a red robe, he knew he must be a high official. He quickly pulled his son and knelt down on the ground again. The old man choked and cried: "Sir, help me. ,"
Dakui quickly stretched out his hand to help, but the old man's arms were covered with mud. Dakui helped each other like this and couldn't help but get mud all over him. But Dakui didn't take it seriously and just asked: "I have something to say, but it doesn't matter. I can do my best." I will definitely uphold justice for you,"
The old man shed tears before he recounted his grievances.
The old man's surname is Zhou. His ancestral home is Qingniu County and he has been farming for generations. Old man Zhou has two sons, the eldest son Zhou Dingfang and the youngest son Zhou Dingyuan. Zhou Dingyuan has suffered from ear disease since he was a child. He is deaf in both ears and cannot hear, but he is kind-hearted, practical and capable. Apart from being unable to hear, he is also an expert at everything in the field.
Old man Zhou had saved most of his life through frugality, but he also gave some money and planned to marry his eldest son a wife. Unexpectedly, he was attacked by a thief in the middle of the night, and all his savings were stolen. At that time, old man Zhou's son Zhou Dingfang discovered that the thief was there. Fighting for his life, during the scuffle, they recognized that the thief was a gangster named Ge San from the town. Father and son Zhou worked together to twist Ge San to the government office. The county magistrate then interrogated the case and took Ge San to prison. All the money stolen by Ge San was returned.
Old Man Zhou thought that the matter would be over, but unexpectedly, Old Man Zhou's house was set on fire that night.
It turned out that the county magistrate accepted the deposit from Ge San's friend and was released on the same day. Old man Zhou's house was burned down, so he had to report it to the official. The county magistrate searched for three days but couldn't find any clues. He expected that this would happen. It must have been Ge San's fault, but who would have thought that the county magistrate who took Ge San's money actually insisted that Old Man Zhou was maliciously framed.
Old man Zhou had no choice but to take his two sons to live with relatives temporarily. Who would have thought that Ge San would be killed at home within a few days. Someone from the government took old man Zhou's eldest son Zhou Dingfang, saying that he had killed someone in revenge. He is now on death row and will be executed in a few days.
The old man heard that the Jiangnan General Secretary was about to pass through Qingniu County, so he rushed to intercept him on the official road, hoping that the General Secretary could clear his eldest son Zhou Dingfang's innocence.
When Dakui heard this, he couldn't help but asked: "Old man, do you have any evidence that Gesan burned your house?"
The old man shook his head, and Dakui asked again: "Where was your eldest son on the day when Ge San died?"
The old man said: "He is working outside,"
Dakui couldn't help but ask: "You said he was unjustly accused, do you have any evidence?" The old man shook his head again.
Dakui couldn't help but feel troubled, so it was reasonable and legal for the magistrate of Qingniu County to judge the case in this way.
After the thief is caught, he can be released if someone posts a bail guarantee, but now how can the old man reverse the case without any evidence?
Seeing the embarrassment on Da Kui's face, the old man said with certainty: "My eldest son is an honest man. He will not kill anyone. Please make the decision for me, please."
At this point, Dakui had no choice but to comfort the old man and said: "Old man, please be patient. I am about to go to Qingniu County. I will definitely investigate this case. If your son is really wronged, I will I will definitely give you justice,”
Old man Zhou thanked him for his kindness, and Dakui ordered someone to give up a horse for old man Zhou to ride on. Then he got into the sedan and ordered to continue marching to Qingniu County.
This place is not far from Qingniu County, and we arrived outside the county town in less than half an hour.
Although Qingniu County is called a county town, it does not even have a city wall. It would be more appropriate to call it a big town. Perhaps the people live scattered around the county town, so this small county is not very prosperous and lively.
The county magistrate of Qingniu County heard that the Jiangnan General Secretary had arrived in Qingniu County, and brought several government officials out of the county to welcome him early.
Dakui got off the sedan chair outside the county seat and walked to the front of the team to meet with the Qingniu County magistrate.
As a second-rank court official, Dakui actually got off the sedan chair to meet with a seventh-rank county magistrate. The magistrate was flattered and hurriedly greeted him and bowed to him: "Li Yuan, the magistrate of Qingniu County, has met the general envoy,"
Dakui chuckled and stretched out his hand to support each other and said: "There is no need to be polite, Magistrate Li, please get up quickly, please get up quickly,"
When County Magistrate Li Yuangang stood up, he couldn't help but be startled. There was mud on the hands and sleeves of the General Secretary. He was always doubtful, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Dakui said with a smile: "When I first came to your place, I was disturbed a lot. I hope County Magistrate Li won't take offense to it."
County magistrate Li Yuan couldn't help but beat his heart. Why did the dignified second-rank court official get off the sedan chair to meet him without saying anything, but still spoke so politely?
Li Yuan, the magistrate of Qingniu County, said with a smile on his face: "My lord, please get on the sedan chair and I will lead the way."
Dakui chuckled and said: "As a parent official of Qingniu County, County Magistrate Li has worked hard and accomplished a lot. I am just passing by here, so I am so annoying, hehehe." Dakui was full of politeness, and Li Yuan didn't know why for a moment.
Dakui continued: "There is no need for Magistrate Li to see anyone else. You and I will walk into the city hand in hand, just to see the public sentiment in Qingniu Town."
Upon hearing this, Li Yuan extended his hand to invite, and walked into Qingniu Town with Da Kui. Da Kui's entourage followed closely behind, and several Yamen officials who came with Li Yuan took the lead to clear the way and went all the way to the county Yamen.
The people on the street paused and waited on both sides of the long street, pointing and talking at the procession of people on the street.
It turned out that Old Man Zhou was still sitting on the horse in the team, with his son following beside him. The army and horses were neatly organized, and Old Man Zhou seemed quite conspicuous among them. Tian Feng rode his horse to Old Man Zhou and whispered: "Old Man Zhou, you are here. Get off your horse, find a gentleman to write a petition, and then go to the Yamen to beat drums and complain, so that my family can use the opportunity to investigate the case."
Old man Zhou suddenly realized what he was told, and he quickly dismounted and followed Tian Feng's instructions to find Mr. Zhou. A business has emerged called Mr. Ghostwriter,)
Da Kui and Li Yuan came to the back hall of the Yamen. Li Yuan made way for Da Kui to take his seat, and then ordered tea to be served before sitting beside him. Da Kui praised with a smile on his face: "Qingniu Town is a scene of peace. This is thanks to County Magistrate Li’s good governance,”
Li Yuan cupped his hands and replied humbly: "Your Excellency, the envoy of General Affairs, is ridiculously complimentary. Xiaguan is just doing its duty."
Da Kui smiled and said: "Master Li is too modest..." Da Kui chatted endlessly with County Magistrate Li, asking questions here and there. Li Yuan had to answer one by one. Li Yuan had already organized a banquet in the restaurant, and now he was looking at the sky. Hei, originally wanted to invite the General Secretary to the banquet, but the General Secretary seemed to be in a lively conversation, and Li Yuan could not lose his interest, so he had to accompany Da Kui to continue chatting.
Da Kui and Magistrate Li were having an interesting conversation when they heard someone beating drums from a distance.
Dakui couldn't help but ask: "Hey, when I first came to your place, someone beat a drum to complain about grievances. Magistrate Li, how about you and I go together to inquire about the case?"
County Magistrate Li did not dare to disobey, so he stood up and asked: "In this case, Mr. Zhang please go first."
Dakui stood up with a smile and walked to the front hall first. Li Yuan followed behind and couldn't help but murmured in his heart: "Who is so ignorant that he has to complain at this juncture?"...
"Shengtang, Mighty," two teams of government officials stood in the lobby of the county government and sang "Tangwei".
Dakui and Li Yuan came to the lobby. Li Yuan accompanied them and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, please take a seat. I will open the court to inquire about the case."
The Yamen official had already brought a chair, and Da Kui took a seat at the side of the main hall. He knew who was beating the drums to complain, but he didn't know the details of the matter. At this moment, he happened to be listening to find out what happened.
Not long after, Old Man Zhou was brought to the court and entered the lobby. Holding the paper in his hand, Old Man Zhou knelt down and shouted: "Master Qingtian, I was wronged."
Sitting in the hall, Li Yuan couldn't help but frown and said: "Old man Zhou, your son's case has been settled, why did you come to complain again? Tell the truth about your grievances."
Old man Zhou couldn't help but said sadly: "My son has been wronged. Please, Mr. Qingtian, please look into it and make decisions for the people." As he said this, he fell on the ground and cried bitterly.
Li Yuan couldn't help waving his hands and said: "Stop your mourning first. Today, the General Affairs Minister came to the county for inspection. I will try the case so that you can be convinced." After saying this, he motioned to the Yamen to go over and take the petition. Get it in front of you,