This world is a fairy world. Wenquxing is in charge of the Confucian Temple and Gongyuan. It is not surprising that there are some special places. Thinking of this, Feng Zhou put down the doubts in his heart. There is no problem with him. There must be a problem with this world. But
xingb No one, no matter who he is, can stop his determination to do practical things.
Hey, wait...
His mind was fluctuating, and the case file he had just opened in his hand suddenly flashed with a dark red light. He hurriedly gathered his mind and read it carefully. This was a case of a tenant retaliating against his master's family because of a personal grudge. The witnesses and material evidence were complete, and the Shuntian Prefecture sentenced him to a soldier.
The severe punishment was three thousand miles of exile.
This era is no different than modern times. There are still some undeveloped areas in the border areas. The natural environment and living conditions are very harsh. Basically, normal people had to lose half their lives in the past. However, the prisoners trudged all the way and slept on the road, and basically ended up at the end of the field.
There was no possibility of leaving alive.
Not to mention anything else, just traveling thousands of miles is a very arduous process. In some places, there is no standard official way. Moreover, in some places, the environment is special and it is easy to contract unknown diseases. Expulsion into exile seems to be a favor of the imperial court.
Given a chance, it's almost like a death sentence.
It would be good to be exiled to the barren land in the interior, but it would be unlucky to be exiled to the frontier fortress. The Oara tribe and the Tatar tribe on the border often threshed grass and grain, and if they failed, they would lose their lives. If they were unlucky, they would even be killed.
It is possible that they caught them and used them as two-legged sheep for food.
Those who can truly escape from the place of exile are all supported by the powerful people behind them and spend a lot of gold and silver to escape. Even so, they have to shed a layer of skin. As for ordinary people, being exiled to the army
Exile is almost like the death penalty.
Zhou Huaian asked Qiu Moyan to rescue the orphan Yang Yuxuan because he knew that if the two children were allowed to arrive at the border and work as hard labor, they would definitely die within a few days.
Of course, Yang Yuxuan's orphans were under the jurisdiction of Dongchang, and the Ministry of Justice had no right to interfere. Moreover, Feng Zhou also knew that Zhou Huai'an would definitely rescue them, so he did not deal with the matter.
Speaking of which, among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, apart from Yu Qian, which official did not have black spots on his body?
Saving him or killing him will not affect the operation of the entire Ming Dynasty.
The Ministry of Punishment is in charge of these prisoners. I heard Wu Fan, the chief officer, mentioned by chance before that some of the government officials who supervised the exiles were very dark-hearted and were unwilling to travel long distances to get into trouble. They would probably kill all the prisoners on the way and then report to the Ministry of Punishment.
It would be fine if he died of illness halfway.
I don’t know how many dead souls were born in this way during the exile.
After withdrawing his thoughts, he memorized the names of the places where the case was located and the names of the people involved. After returning home, he went to find someone to confirm it. Such a case was relatively simple, and the reason was that if there was something fishy, it could be easily found out.
.
In the next afternoon, he flipped through hundreds of case files that had been registered with the Ministry of Punishment by the Shuntian Prefecture in the past ten years, and found a dozen more case files with a dark red light.
He easily remembered all the people and things involved in these files, and then, under the diligent notification of the chief Wu Fan, he tidied up and left the office with his colleagues.
Feng Zhou had a calm expression on his face. No one knew what he had discovered in just half a day. He just followed his past habits and left the Penal Department Yamen in twos and threes, and then went back to each house to look for his mother, or call his mother.
I invited my friends to a nearby restaurant to have dinner and listen to music. It was a leisurely and relaxed atmosphere.
"Sir, do you want to go to Qingfeng Tower for a quick meal?"
Wu Fan, the chief officer, followed behind and carefully invited: "I have also invited a few colleagues, do you think?"
Feng Zhou originally planned to refuse to go back home. At this time, his mind was filled with what he had discovered this afternoon. He wanted to figure out the sudden changes in the case file. However, after thinking about it, he changed his mind again. Others were looking for opportunities to curry favor with him.
Naturally, you can't act too "out of touch with the masses", and you can also ask about some "interesting" things at the wine table.
"Okay, please ask Brother Wu to lead the way!"
Qingfeng Tower is not far from the official office of the Ministry of Justice. It is a mid-range restaurant, not a very eye-catching place in the inner city of Kyoto.
Counting Feng Zhou, the family including the principal, Wu Fan, were all from ordinary backgrounds and could not afford a carriage at all, so they simply walked over while chatting.
After arriving at Qingfeng Restaurant, we asked for a private room on the second floor. After the food and wine were served, there was a lively exchange of glasses.
As the person with the highest official position present, Feng Zhou was naturally the one who received compliments and flattery. He also showed his bold and generous side. Visitors were not afraid of drinking until their glasses were dry, and the atmosphere at the wine table was extremely enthusiastic for a while.
Absolutely.
"Master Feng is young, but he is so powerful. He is worthy of being a descendant of a famous minister. I admire him!"
However, after a while, the wine was already intoxicating and after a few kilograms of Qingfenglou's self-brewed Bamboo Leaf Green Wine, the few green-robed officials who did not often go to the restaurant could not stand the alcohol, and their faces were all red with admiration.
Feng Zhou's father, Feng Ye, was a minor official, serving as a member of the household transfer department. Speaking of which, you all have seen this in your interactions with officials in the household department, but you didn't expect that my son was just an ordinary person, but his son was so powerful. He became a Jinshi in February.
In March, he became the head of the criminal department of the sixth rank. In April, he was promoted to the fifth rank of the chief of the criminal department. In one step, he surpassed everyone who had more than ten or twenty years of service.
"You adults don't know something. I have practiced the inner martial arts when I was a child. Drinking is just a piece of cake. Let alone you, I can drink you all down even if I drink twice as much!"
Feng Zhou laughed loudly and boldly. Although he was only a teenager, he spoke with a mature tone and a forty-year-old domineering tone. Even the old officials present here couldn't help but feel surrendered.
With his physical condition at this time, even if he is not a quasi-sage, drinking alcohol is no different from drinking water. After the alcohol enters the blood, it will be broken down and digested immediately, causing no harm to the body.
"By the way, I have a doubt in my mind, I wonder if I should ask it?"
After having enough wine and food, when the waiter removed the leftovers and replaced them with tea to taste slowly, he suddenly said: "I have been familiar with the affairs of the Criminal Department these days, and I found a very confusing place!
"
"Oh, I don't know what Mr. Feng has any doubts about, just feel free to tell me!"
Wu Fan, the director, heard the song and knew its elegant meaning, and immediately expressed his position: "As long as we know, we will definitely know everything and tell you everything!"
"Yes, sir, if you don't understand anything, just tell me!"
"We can't do anything else, but we are quite familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Justice!"
"Haha, if you have anything to ask, just ask!"
"..."
The green-robed officials next to him were not willing to be outdone and started to flatter him one after another.
"That's right!"
Feng Zhou didn't mean to be polite to them at all, and said directly: "I looked through some of the case files of the Criminal Department and found that the introductions are very simple!"
All the officials nodded, this is not a shady matter. Not only the case of the Criminal Department, but also the case files in the other yamen are not much different. The eldest brother should not laugh at the second brother.
"I just have doubts. Wouldn't such a simple introduction of the case lead to a miscarriage of justice?"
Feng Zhou's eyes were clear and he didn't look drunk at all. He asked in a gentle and leisurely tone: "I have read through dozens of case files, but I still can't find any motive for the murderers?"