Hei Fu heard the sound and looked over, only to see that the man was unkempt, still wearing short brown clothes in the winter, and was tied to the stable post with a hemp rope.
He asked the people on the side: "Who is this?"
Dongmen Bao, who asked for a thief, responded: "This is the thief who was just captured."
"I'm not a thief!" The young man yelled again. Although his body was tied tightly, his neck stretched hard and shouted: "Pavilion Chief, this villain is just an ordinary soldier. He was really wronged!"
"Unjustly accused?"
Dongmen Leopard sneered, raised his fist and waved at the man, scaring him and saying: "Mao, it's snowing, why don't you stay at home and wander around in the poplar trees alone, what do you want to do?"
The young man named "Mao" shrunk and muttered: "I...I'm going to visit a friend..."
"Visiting a friend? Who is visiting? Where is his home? Can I testify for you? You are from Xiaoqingli and have no relatives or friends in Yangshuli. You say you are visiting a friend, but you do not go through the main entrance. Instead, you wander outside the inner wall. I’m afraid you don’t want to climb over the wall and sneak in!”
Li Xian also joined in the questioning of the man. Compared with Dongmen Bao, Li Xian's questioning was more detailed. Every sentence hit the point, leaving Mao speechless and making Hei Fu look down on him again. one cent.
It turns out that as a rural police officer, one of the daily responsibilities of the officers under the pavilion is to patrol the area under their jurisdiction. If a strong man is found wandering around and not engaged in production, his identity must be interrogated. If the person being interrogated looks frightened. , turn around and run away, or even be arrested immediately!
After the snow stopped this morning, Dongmen Bao, who was looking for thieves, discussed with a few people in the pavilion. He felt that the number of thieves would increase every winter, so he went out to patrol with Li Xian and Xiao Tao.
Sure enough, in the "poplar tree" east of Huyang Pavilion, they found Wu Mao, a rat-headed and rat-brained scholar, wandering near a collapsed inner wall. Dongmen Leopard shouted and questioned, but Mao ran away, so they He chased him and after running a few hundred steps, he captured him and took him back to the pavilion to imprison him.
"This thief, you look ferocious and your voice is loud. I thought you were a thief. How could you not run away? Pavilion Chief, I really didn't do it for the thief. Just let me go." Mao Yiran was still arguing and pleading. .
However, everyone has ignored him. This person has suspicious behavior. Even if he is not a thief, he is at least a "jiangyang crime", that is, a crime of loitering, and he cannot be released. They began to discuss when to take him to the county or the countryside. .
You should know that although the Tingbu has the responsibility to arrest thieves, it does not have the power to judge or execute people. At most, they can simply ask a few questions, temporarily hold them for a day or two, and then transfer them to the county or township and hand them over to the magistrate or the village husband. trial.
In the past month or so, similar cases were discussed and decided by Dongmen Bao and three pavilion guards. Now that the pavilion chief has taken office, the matter will naturally be decided by Heifu.
Heifu raised his head and looked at the sun hidden in the clouds. After returning to this era, he gradually gained the ability to see the sky and tell the time that only those old people in the countryside had in his previous life.
"It's past the end of the day (17 o'clock). It's a bit late whether we send him to the county town or to the countryside. It's snowy and slippery, and accidents are easy to happen at night. It's better to escort him out early tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he asked again: "Is there a prison in the pavilion?"
Xiao Tao was about to answer, but Yu Liang rushed to say: "Yes, it's in the front yard!"
Heifu nodded: "You two will take him over and lock him up."
"only!"
The jail was a temporary detention center in the pavilion. Seeing that Mao's arms, legs and feet were red from the cold, Heifu added: "Give him more straw to hold him to sleep, so he doesn't freeze to death at night."
…
After Mao was taken away by Yu Liang and Xiao Tao, Hei Fu, accompanied by Pu Zhang, Dongmen Bao and Li Xian, continued to familiarize himself with various areas of the pavilion.
After entering the simple but sturdy courtyard gate, I saw two courtyards, front and back.
Next to the door of the front yard, there are two private schools on the left and right, that is, two small rooms. The left room is Pu Zhang's residence, with a short couch. As the father of the pavilion, Pu Zhang does not care about catching thieves, but only welcomes and sends people to and from them. He has to be by the door.
On guard, he had to greet people who were passing by to stay overnight, or officials who were on a business trip to eat or feed their horses.
The right room only has a cushion, a small table, a small gong hanging next to it, and a window opening to the outside. Sitting here, you can have a clear view of the road conditions.
Pu Zhang introduced: "I only manage the door at night. During the day, there is a pavilion here to watch the road. If there are cars and horses, pedestrians pass by and ask questions. If you encounter the police, you should ring the gong immediately."
The pavilion is a stop. It is similar to the highway checkpoints of later generations. It maintains road security and checks the pedestrians. This is also the basic function of the pavilion. Heifu has been stopped by pavilions along the way several times to ask questions. Hei Fu is no stranger to this.
.So in Qin, unless you are traveling in the dark at night, your ID card will be checked every time you walk.
Alas, poor Lord Shang must have avoided pavilions and trudged among the wormwood all the way when he fled. I wonder how he felt about the system he established with his own hands. How comforted was he? How could he regret it?
After entering the courtyard, the room on the left is the toilet. Next to the toilet is the prison where prisoners are detained.
Heifu went over and took a look. The prison was a small place, and there was an unpleasant smell of urine when he got closer. Shiwu Mao was lying slumped in the straw. Perhaps he was too hungry and had no energy. He stopped yelling at this time.
This person may be desperate and try to steal, but at least he will be sentenced to death. What awaits him may be one to three years of labor reform, and Anlu's civil engineering team will have another labor force...
After Xiao Tao and Yu Liang locked the prison door, Hei Fu sent them to the door to check the way.
Heifu went around to the right side of the courtyard, which is a room where weapons are placed. The chief of the pavilion is a military official who can possess weapons. In this room, there are spears, halberds, bows, swords, five weapons, and two pieces of armor.
If you apply in the county, you can even be assigned a military-standard weapon: a crossbow.
Heifu was not in a hurry to check the weapons. His attention was attracted by the small erected pavilion in the middle of the front and back yards.
The pavilion is three feet high, with a sloping top. There is also a ladder for going up and down the pavilion. The steps are three feet. There is a ridge stove on the second floor of the pavilion, which can light a fire and make smoke...
Without any introduction, Heifu already understood in his heart: "Although Anlu County has been without war for many years, it is close to the Hubei region of Chu State. Two years ago, there was a county-wide alert. Therefore, the pavilion should have a guard."
The function of the enemy's stronghold is no wonder that a circle of trenches was dug outside the courtyard. If the two countries went to war and Chu soldiers crossed the river and cruised here, I would inevitably have to close the door to defend against the enemy, and then light the fireworks in the pavilion to warn the county town.
warning……"
Bypassing the pavilion, you will find the backyard. The backyard is larger than the front yard. In the courtyard is a mulberry tree with all its leaves gone. A row of bungalows on the left is a guest house for officials who have been on business trips. There is also a row of wing rooms on the right, where Heifu and Qiu
The residences of thieves, pavilions, and mailmen are all here, and there is a kitchen next to it.
At this time, Pu Zhang asked to leave, and he was going to prepare food in the kitchen.
Continuing to walk forward, the small hall directly opposite is the office of Heifu, the owner of the pavilion.
This main house has been built for several years. There is a layer of snow on the roof. There are a lot of dead grass sprouting from the snow. The square bricks at the door are uneven and some are broken. The wooden door creaks a bit loudly. After entering, the walls are also a little bit...
It was mottled, but the floor and tables were all cleaned and wiped spotlessly clean.
"After receiving news from the county that he would take office after the Hefula Festival, I asked Pu Zhang to clean up early."
Dongmen Leopard said with high spirits: "As soon as Hei Fu comes, we can show off our talents in Huyang Pavilion!"
"I have to rely on you." Heifu smiled and nodded, and then said to Li Xian: "I heard from Zhang Zhang that you have been keeping the documents in the pavilion for more than a month? Let's take them out and check them first."
In this pavilion, Pu Zhang, Yu Liang, and Xiao Tao are illiterate. Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying have a rough understanding of writing. Besides Hei Fu, the only person who can write official documents is Li Xian, who comes from a better family.
Therefore, although he is a pawn in the pavilion, his importance in the pavilion is higher than that of Xiaotao and Yuliang, and his status is second only to the thief Dongmen Leopard.
Li Xian immediately took out all the two-foot slips, documents, and even wanted warrants in the house and showed them to Hei Fu.
Heifu sat beside the papers, checking the documents and thinking.
Different from the "one pavilion in ten miles, one pavilion in ten pavilions and one township" in the Han Dynasty, the pavilions in the Qin Dynasty were not subordinate units of the township, but directly subordinate to the officer system of the county.
The chief of the pavilion is not responsible for managing Liju, and does not need to get involved in administrative details, such as registering household registrations, collecting taxes, etc. He only needs to take care of the public security of the surrounding ten miles, supervise illegal activities, train pavilion soldiers, and occasionally greet and send off.
Postal officers, garrison soldiers, and public servants passing by, that's it.
To put it bluntly, it is the function of the street police station, guest house, and post office in later generations. It is neither a subordinate to the township government nor a superior to the village community, but it has to manage the public security in the middle. Therefore, there are not many documents, and most of them are from the county.
, the township requested to strengthen local order, an order to beware of thieves after winter, and several wanted orders.
The wanted poster is made of wooden boards and has simple content. It basically copies the prisoner's "examination", plus his physical characteristics, what he has committed, and even his portrait. It is really difficult to catch the right person based on this information.
Heifu took a look and found that the "Mao" outside was indeed not the murderer and thief on the wanted list, and there would be no merit in catching him.
Heifu finished flipping through the documents in just a moment, and was about to chat with Li Xian for a few more words. He was very curious about the reason why this man, who was both capable and well-established, was reduced to being a pawn...
Unexpectedly, at this time, there was a burst of noise outside.
"I'm back!"
Before anyone arrived, the voice arrived first. Heifu raised his head and looked at Dongmen Bao who was playing with the hilt of his sword out of boredom.
No need to ask, you will know as soon as you hear that Ji Ying's guy is back...
…
When the three of them walked out of the hall, they saw a skinny boy wrapped in a thick winter coat and his shoes covered with snow and mud walking into the backyard. It was Ji Ying.
Ji Ying didn't even have time to put down the backpack on his back. When he saw Hei Fu, he came over with a big smile and hugged him.
"Brother Heifu, you are finally here!"
He was covered in snow, water, and mud, and Heifu's new clothes were all stained. Heifu raised his hands helplessly and said, "Sit down first."
Ji Ying was not particular about it. He put down the backpack on his back, sat down on the steps, took off his shoes that were covered with snow and mud, and complained: "Hei Fu... Pavilion Chief, I have already done this."
I have been mailing for almost a month and my legs are almost broken! This is such a hard job!"
"How many miles did you walk today?" Heifu threw him a piece of cloth and asked with a smile.
"Three of them still have no luck. They have to run from east to west, then from west to south, and then circle back to the north..."
Ji Ying complained endlessly and shouted to the kitchen: "Pu Zhang, help me boil some water! My feet are almost frozen!"
After getting Pu Zhang's response, Ji Ying opened his backpack, which was the standard equipment of Daqin postmen. The backpack was also covered with cloth, and the letters inside were all written on wooden slips. Even a little rainwater would be spent in it.
"Huh!? Didn't I deliver all the documents sent by the countryside to those three places? Why is there still one letter left?"
Ji Ying said, taking out a "letter" from it.
"I'm afraid you forgot it again." Dongmen Leopard laughed at Ji Ying. This month, Ji Ying had already missed it twice. Fortunately, it was delivered on time in the end, otherwise he would have enjoyed his good harvest.
"Absolutely not! I have indeed finished delivering the goods today!" Ji Ying argued hard.
Heifu glanced at it and was surprised: "Wait a minute, this letter is not sealed, it is not an official document."
The letters of this era were composed of two pieces of wood. The lower slip was used to write text, and the upper slip was blank to cover the content of the lower slip. Then a string made of Sedge and Cattail called "焉" was used
, tie the upper and lower slips tightly and put them together to form a letter.
If it is an official document, in order to prevent people from stealing it, it will be "sealed", that is, a layer of special red sealing mud will be put on the knotted place of the rope, and then the official seal will be stamped.
Could it be a private message? But it stands to reason that except for letters sent back by frontline soldiers, Qin's postal service does not accept private letters.
When Ji Ying looked at the letter in his hand, he saw that it was indeed the case, and he was even more surprised: "Not only was it not sealed, but the letter did not even include who wrote it, where it was sent, or who received it?"
The postman in the countryside would not deliver such a thing to the booth. Several people present looked at each other, so to speak, it was not a private letter, but an... anonymous letter?
"Whoever slipped this in secretly, let Mr. Nai know it, and you must teach him a lesson!"
Ji Ying was so angry that he was about to tear off the straw rope on the letter, open it and see who wrote the letter!
"Wait!"
"stop!"
Soon after saying it, Heifu and Li Xian suddenly changed their colors. At the same time, they stretched out their hands, one on each side, and firmly grabbed Ji Ying's hand that was reaching for the straw rope!
