"Ask the pavilion chief to let me go!"

When he heard this, he looked over, but saw that the man was unkempt, still dressed in short brown clothes in the winter, and was tied to the post of the stable with a hemp rope.

He asked the crowd, "Who is this?" ”

The thief Dongmen Leopard replied: "This is the thief who has just been caught." ”

"I'm not a thief!" The young man shouted again, and although his body was tightly bound, his neck stretched hard, and he shouted: "Pavilion Chief, the villain is just an ordinary soldier, he has really been wronged!" ”

"Wronged?"

Dongmen Leopard sneered, raised his fist and waved at the man, scaring him: "Mao, on this snowy day, 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" shrank and muttered, "I...... I'm visiting a friend......"

"Visiting friends? Who is visiting? Where is his home? Can I testify for you? You are a person from Xiaoqingli, you have no relatives and no reason in the poplar tree, you say that you are visiting friends, but you do not go through the main gate, but wander outside the wall, I am afraid that you don't want to go over the wall to steal chickens and dogs! ”

Liham also joined in the questioning of the man, compared to Dongmen Leopard, Liham's questioning was more detailed, and every sentence hit the nail on the head, leaving Mao speechless, and also making Heifu look up to him again.

It turned out that as a police officer in the countryside, one of the daily duties of the subordinate officials of the pavilion was to patrol the area under their jurisdiction. If a sturdy man is found wandering around and not giving birth, he is to be questioned about his identity. If the interrogator is frightened and turns around and runs away, he can even be arrested immediately!

After the snow stopped this morning, the thief Dongmen Leopard discussed with a few people in the pavilion, and felt that every winter, the number of thieves would increase, so he went out to patrol with Lixian and Xiaotao.

Sure enough, in the "poplar tree" to the east of the Huyang Pavilion, they found Shi Wumao, a rat-headed rat-brainer, wandering by a collapsed inner wall. Dongmen Leopard shouted and questioned, Mao actually ran away, so they chased after him, and after running a few hundred steps, they captured him and brought him back to the pavilion and imprisoned him.

"This thief, you look vicious and have a loud voice, I thought you were a thief, how can you not run? Pavilion chief, I really didn't want to be a thief, just let me go. Mao was still quibbling, pleading.

However, everyone has ignored him, this person has a suspicious appearance, even if he is not a thief, at least it is a "general yang crime", that is, the crime of wandering, which cannot be put away. They began to discuss when to take them to the county seat or to the countryside.

You must know that although the pavilion has the responsibility of arresting thieves, it does not have the power to judge or execute, and at most it will ask a few simple questions, and if it is temporarily detained for a day or two, it will be transferred to the county or township and handed over to the commander or the township for trial.

In the past month, similar cases were originally discussed and decided by Dongmen Leopard and the three pavilion guards, and since the pavilion chief has come to take office, this matter is naturally decided by Heifu.

Heifu looked up at the sun hidden in the clouds, and after returning to this era, he gradually also had the skills that only those old country people had in his previous life, and when God knew it.

"It's past 17 o'clock in the city, whether it's sent to the county seat or to the township, it's a little late, the snow and the road is slippery, and it's easy to have accidents at night, so it's better to escort it out early tomorrow morning."

As he spoke, he asked, "Is there a prison in the pavilion?" ”

Xiao Tao was about to answer, but Yuliang hurriedly said: "Yes, it's in the front yard!" ”

Heifu nodded: "You two will take them over and lock them up." ”

"Yui!"

In the prison, which is a temporary detention center in the pavilion, Heifu saw that Mao's arms, legs and feet were red from the cold, and added: "Give him more straw to sleep with, don't freeze to death at night." ”

……

After Mao was escorted down by Yuliang and Xiaotao, Heifu continued to familiarize himself with the various areas of the pavilion, accompanied by Puzhang, Dongmen Leopard, and Lixian.

After stepping into the simple but sturdy courtyard gate, I saw that there were two courtyards inside.

Adjacent to the entrance of the front yard, there are two schools on the left and right, that is, two huts. The left room is the residence of Kasumo, and there is a low couch. As the pavilion father, Puzhang has to be by the door to guard no matter how much he captures the thieves, and he has to greet people passing by to stay overnight, or officials who come on a business trip to eat and feed the horses.

In the right room, there is only one cushion, a small desk, and a small gong hanging next to it, and a window is open to the outside, so that you can have a clear view of the road situation.

Pu Zhang introduced: "I just manage the door at night, and during the day, there must be a pavilion guard here to watch the road, and there are cars, horses, and pedestrians passing by, so I go over to ask." If you are caught by the police, you should immediately sound the gong. ”

Pavilion people, stop also, similar to the highway card of later generations, maintain road security, check pedestrians, this is also the basic function of the pavilion, Heifu several times back and forth to the county, will be stopped by the pavilion along the way to ask, it is no stranger. So in the Qin Kingdom, unless you are in a hurry in the dark at night, otherwise, you will be checked for your ID card every time you walk.

Alas, poor Shang Jun, when he fled back then, he must have avoided the pavilion all the way, trekking hard among the artemisia grass, I don't know what kind of mood he felt about the system set up by his own hands, and he was very relieved? Regret?

When I entered the courtyard, the room on the left side was a latrine, and next to the latrine was the prison where the prisoners were detained.

Hefu glanced over and saw that the prison was cramped, and there was a foul smell of urine when he got closer, and Shi Wumao lay in the straw in a dejected manner, perhaps too hungry to have any strength, and no longer shouted at this time.

This person may be desperate and want to attempt to steal, at least he will be sentenced to a crime of impotence, waiting for him, maybe one to three years of labor reform, Anlu's civil engineering team, there will be another labor force......

After Xiao Tao and Yu Liang locked the door of the prison, they were sent by Heifu to watch the way.

Heifu then went around to the right side of the courtyard, which was a room where weapons were placed, and the pavilion chief was a military official who could have weapons, and this room had spears, halberds, bows, swords, five soldiers, and two armor clothes, and if you applied to the county, you could even get a military weapon: a crossbow.

Hefu was not in a hurry to check the weapon, his attention was drawn to the small pavilion erected in the middle of the front and back yards.

The pavilion is three zhang high, the top is oblique and pointed, there is a ladder for going up and down the pavilion inside, the steps are three feet, there is a ridge stove on the second floor of the pavilion, you can light the fire and make smoke......

Without the introduction of others, Heifu already knew in his heart: "Although Anlu County has not been fighting for many years, after all, it is close to the Hubei region of Chu State, and two years ago, there was a county-wide garrison. Therefore, the pavilion should have the function of defending against the enemy's stronghold, no wonder outside the courtyard, there is also a circle of trenches, if the two countries go to war, there are Chu soldiers crossing the river to cruise here, I have to close the door to defend against the enemy, and then light the fireworks of the pavilion, to the county side to send a warning......"

Bypassing the pavilion, there is the backyard, which is much larger than the front yard, and in the courtyard is a mulberry tree with its leaves gone. On the left, a bungalow is a guest house for officials who have traveled on business. On the right is a row of chambers, where the residences of the black man and the thief, the pavilion guard, and the postman are located, and there is a kitchen next to it.

At this time, Puzhang asked to retire, and he was going to eat in the kitchen.

Continuing on, the small hall directly opposite was the office of the lord of the pavilion of the Black Husband.

This hall has been built for some years, there is a layer of snow on the roof, a lot of dead grass emerges from the snow, the square bricks at the door are uneven, some are broken, the wooden door squeaks a little loudly, and after entering, the walls are also a little mottled, but the ground and the desk are cleaned and wiped spotlessly.

"I received news from the county that after the Heifla Festival took office, I asked Puzhang to clean up early."

Dongmen Leopard said with high morale: "As soon as Heifu comes, we will be able to show our skills in this Huyang Pavilion!" ”

"I'll have to rely on you." Heifu nodded with a smile, and said to Lixian again: "Listen to Puzhang, for more than a month, the Chinese books of the Pavilion have been kept by you?" Let's take it out and test it first. ”

In this pavilion, Puzhang, Yuliang, and Xiaotao are illiterate. Dongmen Leopard and Ji Ying are coarse and literate. Except for Heifu, the only person who can write official documents is Lixian, who has a better family background. Therefore, although he is a pavilion pawn, his importance in the pavilion is higher than that of Xiao Tao and Yuliang, and his status is second only to the thief Dongmen Leopard.

Leham immediately took out the two-foot stump, the paperwork, and even the wanted warrant in the house for Heifu to see.

Heifu sat at the edge of the desk, checking the paperwork and thinking about it.

Different from the Han Dynasty's "ten miles and one pavilion, ten pavilions and one township", the pavilion in the Qin Dynasty was not a subordinate unit of the township, but directly belonged to the county's lieutenant system.

The pavilion chief is also not responsible for managing the inner gathering, and does not need to get involved in administrative cumbersome things, such as registering household registration and collecting taxes. He only needs to take care of the security in the vicinity of ten miles, supervise illegal activities, and train the guards. Occasionally, they can greet the passing postmen, soldiers, and messengers, and so on.

To put it bluntly, the street police station in later generations, which also served as a guest house and a post office, was neither a subordinate of the township government nor a superior of the village community, but it had to manage the security in the middle. Therefore, there are not many documents, most of them are county and township orders to strengthen local order, beware of thieves after winter, and several wanted warrants.

The wanted warrant is made of wooden boards, and the content is simple, basically copying the "examination" of the prisoner, plus his physical characteristics, what he has committed, and even the portrait is not respected, and it is really difficult to rely on this information to catch the right person. Heifu took a look and found that the "Mao" outside was indeed not a murderer and thief on the wanted notice, and he didn't have much credit if he was caught.

Heifu finished the paperwork in half an instant, and was about to talk to Leham again, he was very curious about the reason why this man had both ability and family background, but was reduced to being a pavilion pawn......

Unexpectedly, at this time, there was a commotion outside.

"I'm back!"

Before anyone arrived, the sound arrived first, and Heifu raised his head and glanced at the Dongmen leopard who was bored playing with the hilt of his sword.

You don't need to ask, as soon as you hear it, you know that Ji Ying's guy is back......

……

When the three of them walked out of the hall, they saw a thin boy wrapped in a thick winter coat and shoes full of snow and mud walking into the backyard, it was Ji Ying.

Ji Ying didn't have time to put down the basket on his back, and when he saw Heifu, he laughed and came over with a full hug.

"Brother Heifu, you're here!"

He was covered in snow and mud, staining Heifu's new clothes, and Heifu raised his hand helplessly and said, "Sit down first." ”

Ji Ying didn't pay attention to it, put down the basket on his back, sat on the steps, took off his shoes full of snow and mud, and complained: "Heifu...... Pavilion chief, I've been a postman here for almost a month, and my legs are about to break! It's a chore! ”

"How many miles did you walk today?" Heifu asked with a smile as he threw him a piece of cloth.

"Three, they don't go along the way, they have to run from east to west, and then from west to south, and then go back to the north......"

Ji Ying complained, and shouted loudly into the kitchen: "Puzhang, help me boil some water!" My feet are freezing! ”

After getting Pu Zhang's response, Ji Ying opened his back basket, which is the standard equipment of Daqin postmen, the back basket is also covered with cloth, and the letters inside are written on the wooden basket, and a little rain will be spent when it goes in.

"Huh!? Didn't I already deliver all the paperwork sent by the township to those three miles? Why is there one left? ”

Ji Ying said and took out a "letter" from it.

"I'm afraid you forgot about it again." Dongmen Leopard laughed at Ji Yinglai, in this month, Ji Ying had missed it twice, but fortunately it was delivered on time in the end, otherwise there would be his good fruit to eat.

"Never! I'm really done with it today! Ji Ying argued vigorously.

Heifu glanced at the back and was surprised: "Wait, this letter is not sealed, it is not an official document." ”

The letters of this era were made up of two pieces of wood, the lower one used to write the text, and the upper one was blank, covering the contents of the lower one. Then use a thin rope made of Suga grass and pampas grass called "缄", and tie the upper and lower pieces firmly together, which is a letter.

If it is an official document, in order to prevent people from stealing it, it will also be "sealed", that is, a layer of special red sealing mud is pasted on the knotted place of the rope, and then stamped with the seal of the official.

Could it be a private message? But it stands to reason that except for the letters sent back by the front-line soldiers, the postal service of the Qin State does not accept private letters.

Ji Ying looked at the letter in his hand, it was indeed the case, and he was even more surprised: "Not only is it not sealed, but it is not even written on the seal, where to send it, and who received it?" ”

The postman in the countryside would not send such a thing to the pavilion, and several people present looked at each other, so that it was not a private message, but a ...... Anonymous letter?

"Who secretly stuffed this in, let Naigong know that it is, and he must be taught a good lesson!"

Ji Ying was huffing, and he was about to tear the straw rope on the letter, open it and see who wrote the letter!

"Wait!"

"Stop!"

When it was too late, Heifu and Lixian suddenly changed color, and at the same time stretched out their hands, one by one, and grabbed Ji Ying's hand stretched out to the straw rope!

"This letter! Can't be dismantled! ”