Chapter 180: Song People Love to Write Letters

Although Fang Caixia married the eldest son of Zhou at the age of sixteen, she was a widower. Before the wedding, the eldest son of Zhou slipped and drowned.

So until now, she is still a young lady.

There were many ways to prove one's innocence in ancient times, such as sneezing wind, palace guarding sand, and blood tests. However, there are only two most reliable methods, one is to watch Luo Hong, and the other is Wen Po's body test.

Among them, the latter has been the main method for the royal family to select concubines to verify their innocence since the Han Dynasty. The same is true for marriages in wealthy private families, which is comparable to pre-marital examinations in later generations.

Zhao Jun had long known that the other party might coerce the villagers, and even if Wen Po showed up directly, she would also be coerced by the other party. Therefore, without Po Wen's knowledge, he paid them to verify it, and then wrote a document and asked them to sign it, which constituted a legal effect.

At least in the Song Dynasty, a dynasty that valued contracts, the legal effect was already established after the signature was drawn. This means that those stable women can indeed testify that Fang Caixia is still innocent until now, and the adultery is completely false.

As soon as this document came out, it basically slapped the face of Magistrate Shi and everyone present, so that everyone looked very ugly, especially the villagers who had just perjured themselves.

Because they had perjured themselves before, they could comfort themselves in their hearts. They themselves did not know whether Fang Caixia had committed adultery. What if there was really adultery and the Zhou family discovered it, so they asked the Wang family to send someone to soak the pig cage? Fang Caixia's death has nothing to do with them.

Now that Fang Caixia's innocence has been proven, it means that they were actually framing an innocent woman before, causing her to almost lose her life in vain. If someone hadn't come out to see injustice, an innocent soul might have appeared under the water.

It was banned on the field for a while.

Landlord Wang coughed and said: "It is still unclear whether this document is true or false. What's more, even if it is true, it is possible that you intimidated Po Wen."

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "This is interesting. How about this? I will write to the transfer envoy on Huainan Road and the Tiju Division. Under the witness of the transfer envoy and Tiju, I will find other Wenpo to verify my identity. You guys think it's okay. OK?"

Magistrate Shi smiled dryly and said: "It's just a small matter, so don't bother the transfer envoy and the lifter."

"Little things?"

Zhao Jun glared and said: "Human life is more important than heaven, is it a trivial matter to take human life lightly? Shi County Magistrate is a good official! As a parent in charge, you should maintain the peace of the people, but you deceive the superiors and conceal the inferiors, and aid the evildoers. You are also worthy of being a court official. official?"

Magistrate Shi's face turned cold and he looked around. If he had said it before, he could have refused by pretending that he didn't know or that he respected the local clan rules and regulations.

But now people are directly saying that they colluded with the landlords and ignored human lives. This is a shame.

Scholars also need face.

Some things can be done secretly, but they cannot be exposed in broad daylight. Although it is night, there are too many people around. If his reputation spreads, his career will be completely ruined.

Therefore, Magistrate Shi refused to admit it and angrily said: "What nonsense are you talking about, what are you talking about, how about taking human lives? This is the Zhou family's own family matter, and it must be punished according to the clan rules. What does it have to do with this county? What crime should you commit for slandering the imperial official?" ?”

"What I saw with my own eyes is also called slander?"

"hehe."

The county magistrate sneered: "This is all just your own speculation. Do you have any evidence?"

"interesting."

Zhao Jun smiled and nodded, waving his hand and saying: "It is an indisputable fact that the Wang family takes human life lightly. We will arrest them all for interrogation, but any resisters will be killed without mercy."

"you dare!"

The county magistrate opened his eyes wide and couldn't believe it.

But at this moment, a shocking roar erupted around the village, and hundreds of guardsmen swarmed in, surrounding the village and everyone.

These soldiers all wore leather armor and carried crossbows. They had sword and shield bearers in the front row, spearmen in the back row, crossbowmen in the back row, and even cavalry.

The county magistrate was shocked and said: "How can your imperial army arrest people at will in the local area? Who gave you the power?"

"Given by the officials!"

Zhao Jun took out the badge of the Imperial City Division from his waist and said: "I am still from the Imperial City Division. Since last year, the officials have given the Imperial City Division the power to review and arrest. I bumped into this incident. The Imperial City Division Handling the case is reasonable!”

The county magistrate was stunned for a moment, then shouted: "Even though you have the important task of going to Yingzhou to establish the Imperial City Division, this is Bozhou!"

"It doesn't matter."

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "At least the Imperial City Division has not yet demarcated the jurisdiction of each region. The officials and the magistrates have given us the power to act conveniently, which means that as long as we bump into it, we have the power to take care of it."

The county magistrate's face turned ashen in an instant.

The news that the Imperial City Division showed its power in Bianliang last year naturally spread throughout the world. It has long been known how many corrupt officials were arrested and how many criminals were beheaded.

Although the power of the Imperial City Division is now limited to Kaifeng Prefecture, it has long been spread among the government and the public that the Imperial City Division will spread throughout the country and set up branches in every county, state, and road.

It is said that from this year to next year, it will be established across the country to restore the glory of the martial arts soldiers in the past.

And what's even worse than Wu Dezu is that Wu Dezu did not have the right to arrest at least locally in the past. Now that the Imperial City Division has it, if the other party can go up to the sky to listen, the matter will be really difficult to handle.

"Arrests!"

Zhao Jun didn't bother to talk nonsense with him. He gave an order and, amid all the panic, hundreds of soldiers swarmed in and captured them.

Landlord Wang still shouted that his brother and Guo Zhizhou would definitely report to the court to impeach him for abusing the law.

Obviously, he was used to being arrogant in the local area. He thought that since his family had a middle-to-high-level magistrate official, he could do whatever he wanted in a county, but he didn't know that the court had already changed.

The surrounding imperial guards quickly controlled all the Wang family members.

Magistrate Shi's face turned pale and his whole body was trembling with anger. He never expected that the Imperial City Division would be so arrogant now and dare to arrest people at will when they got to the local area.

So why did the other party dare to do this?

Because the other side has soldiers and horses.

After all, Magistrate Shi only had dozens of government officials and police officers under his command. Compared with the opponent's regular army of hundreds of people, they were not at the same level at all.

So he did not act rashly, but forced a smile and said: "Okay, you have arrested the person, then the interrogation should be handed over to the county."

"What are you thinking about?"

Zhao Jun glanced at him and said, "Didn't you understand just now? The Imperial City Division has the power to arrest and interrogate. If your affairs are found out here, don't even think about running away."

The county magistrate's face suddenly turned dark.

Zhao Jun waved his hand and said: "Bring all the people involved in the crime back to the ship."

At that time, the imperial guards arrested more than a hundred people, including members of the Wang family and Zhou family. They were all tied up with ropes and taken away. They kept wailing and begging for mercy along the way, but the soldiers remained unmoved.

These people were the two battalions of soldiers sent by Zhao Zhen to protect him. Zhao Jun had already joined them when they were in Yingtian Mansion.

Since Bozhou is just south of Yingtian Mansion, it is not far away, so although Zhao Jun took the water route and they took the land route, they were still able to follow him. The distance between them was less than twenty miles, and they could catch up quickly at this time.

After taking the man back, Zhao Jun ordered Jiang Dalang to interrogate him, and then asked himself to personally lead a team to the county seat of Fuxian County overnight and ransacked Landlord Wang's home.

Firstly, they were looking for evidence of guilt, and secondly, they couldn’t lose sight of the Imperial City’s tradition of confiscating their homes.

From now on, this is an ancestral craft and must be carried forward.

At the same time, Magistrate Shi was no longer in the mood to care about the canal blockage. Zhao Jun arrested Landlord Wang. The matter was too big for him to deal with.

But he didn't dare to report it to the Huainan Road Transfer Envoy and the Criminal Division, so he could only immediately order his men to prepare carriages and rush to Qiao County overnight.

Fuxian County is the area around Fucheng Town in Yongcheng City, Anhui Province in later generations, and is only less than 40 kilometers away from Qiao County.

The carriage trotted all the way, and Magistrate Shi arrived at Qiao County within two hours. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the curfew was relaxed and night markets were allowed to appear. As a result, the city gates in inland counties were not closed at night, but security was strictly enforced.

For example, Zeng Bu recorded: "Lü Jia asked about Jingnan. He left the city gate open at night and went to his house to have a banquet. He sat with his maidservant and composed poems and short poems."

It can be seen from this example that people at that time were free to come and go at night without any hindrance, and even the government did not strictly control this phenomenon.

So Magistrate Shi's carriage entered the city smoothly.

It's just before twelve o'clock in the evening. As the capital of Bozhou, Qiao County is also praised as the capital of medicinal materials. The night market is naturally bustling. Although it is not as good as Kaifeng Prefecture, it still has a unique flavor.

However, Magistrate Shi had no control over this, and the carriage drove all the way to Bozhou Zhizhou's government office.

What is Guo Chengyou, the governor of Bozhou, doing now?

At a banquet.

This person has always liked luxury. Historical records record that "wherever he receives blessings, he will cause many troubles and troubles, and the people will suffer."

The reason why he dared to do this was that he was the grandson of Guo Congyi, a general in the early Song Dynasty, and his wife was the daughter of King Shu Zhao Yuanqi. He was also the East Palace official of Song Renzong when Zhao Zhen was the crown prince, and was one of Zhao Zhen's early East Palace team members.

Therefore, although this person had stolen gold from the palace in history and committed mischief in the local area, the admonishment officials impeached him for not doing the same thing. He also kept the food plan without permission, criticized the leader, did not send troops to return troops, and violated the law and staff, which is a misdemeanor. , tortured and killed the people, borrowed Hanlin weapons, carried flags and guns when going in and out, banned soldiers and Zhou Wei, engaged in wild arrogance, had no courtiers, and other actions, but he has always stood firm.

In the final analysis, it was Song Renzong and Zhao Zhen who protected him.

Guo Chengyou was sitting in the lobby of the back hall of the government office. The banquet was attended by several of his friends, all of whom were big businessmen in Bozhou. They conveyed profits to and from each other. They often held such banquets and entertained them all night long.

At this moment, the servant sneaked in and informed him that the magistrate of Fuxian County had something urgent to see him.

"Emergency?"

Guo Chengyou frowned, and after thinking for a moment, he asked many friends to continue the banquet, and went to the back room under the pretense of going to the toilet.

Magistrate Shi came in through the back door. When Guo Chengyou entered the house, he saw the anxious man. He couldn't help but wonder: "Shi Zhiqi, what are you doing here in Qiao County in the middle of the night?"

Under normal circumstances, unless they are on a business trip to the state capital, local officials cannot leave the county at will without orders from their superiors.

However, this rule is not strict to begin with, so you can just find any excuse to get by.

Magistrate Shi said in a deep voice: "Prefect, something happened."

Taishou was an elegant title for a state magistrate in the Song Dynasty. Guo Chengyou frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Wang Qian's son died. He always wanted to find someone to match his daughter's bones, so he targeted a keeper widow in Dingliu Village. He wanted to drown her in a pig cage and drown her in a river on the grounds that she was not a woman and had committed adultery. Then use his body to perform a secret marriage."

Magistrate Shi said: "As a result, just when they were about to drown the people, a yamen who was transferred to Yingzhou as a commander happened to pass by and ordered the imperial army to rescue them and arrest the Wang family."

"Yanei?"

Guo Chengyou said in astonishment: "Which yamen?"

"The name of Liu Yanrang's family is Liu Bin."

"This person? I know him, but he is a junior, and I am not familiar with him."

"The governor should think of a way. Now he has taken the Wang family. I heard that he has sent people to Ling County to search the Wang family."

"What?"

Guo Chengyou was furious: "This guy is so brave!"

Taking the people of the Wang family is another matter, but the search of the house is a problem.

Because he often communicates with Wang Qian, and also communicates with Wang Qian's brother Wang Zai, there may be evidence in the Wang family.

So he must not let the other party confiscate the Wang family's house.

"Why don't you stop it?"

Guo Chengyou asked.

Shi County Magistrate smiled bitterly: "There are hundreds of imperial guards, how dare I stop them."

"Hmm"

Guo Chengyou sobered up immediately, and then thought about the situation clearly.

The current situation is that the other party relies on the troops to forcibly search for evidence.

So he must get ahead of the other party and stop them.

If necessary, if the other party really gets the evidence, he must find a way to destroy the evidence.

Even if he offended the nobles of Bianliang, it would not matter. After all, the Liu family was not a big family.

As long as he could arrange things well afterwards and negotiate deals with the people of the Liu family, Liu Bin, a junior, would not be able to cause any trouble even if he wanted to uphold justice.

So what should he do?

The other side has regular troops.

But he has them too.

The Song Dynasty was divided into the Imperial Army and the Wing Army. The Imperial Army was mainly stationed on the northern border. In addition, there were Imperial Army stationed in the four capitals, Huainan, Huaibei, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The local armies of each prefecture were mainly Wing Army, but Bozhou also had Imperial Guards.

On weekdays, Guo Chengyou always treated the Imperial Army and the Wing Army as his own private army, and the Imperial Army was used to protect him when he went in and out. These were recorded in many historical materials.

So Guo Chengyou had more than 2,000 local Wing Army and a battalion of Imperial Guards with hundreds of people.

At that moment, Guo Chengyou said without hesitation: "Let's go to Ling County now."

He changed into his official uniform and ordered his men to mobilize troops.

In less than half an hour, the Bozhou wing troops and the imperial guards were ready and hurriedly headed towards the direction of Lu County.

At the same time, Zhao Jun had led people to raid the home of the landlord Wang.

The whole county was in an uproar.

A large number of people who had not yet slept came to watch the excitement.

This landlord Wang was obviously not a good person. A lot of evidence was found in his home, including correspondence, forged account books, and a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, money, treasures, land deeds, and so on.

Many of them were taken by trickery and robbery.

Moreover, this guy also likes to show off. He directly talked to his friends in the letters about how he tricked the farmers and made them spit out the land obediently.

If the tenants had no money to pay the rent, they were forced to sell their children. One case after another was placed in front of them.

"The crimes of the landlords and officials in the Song Dynasty were really not concealed."

Looking at the evidence at hand, Zhao Jun could only sigh.

Just like Han Qi's investigation of the four prime ministers Wang Sui, Chen Yaozuo, Han Yi, and Shi Lizhong, the breakthrough was also their letters.

Why did the people of the Northern Song Dynasty like to talk about bad things in their letters?

This is not a branch line, for example, if you want to go to a certain place, some processes in the middle are actually part of the main line. The main line of the protagonist is to reform the Song Dynasty, strengthen the Song Dynasty, investigate corruption, go to the grassroots to investigate, and prepare for the future, which is also part of the main line.