After waiting for a whole day, Bao Ke arrived on Jingxi Road. The officials welcomed him into the post house and came to meet Du Zhongxiao.

After seeing the ceremony, the two sat down separately, and Bao Ke said: "Dengzhou is not connected to the railway, and it is very troublesome to take the train in Xinye." After getting the news, I set off immediately, but I still made Zhongcheng wait for two days, no wonder. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's okay, in a day or two, I will investigate the news here, and it is also my duty." ”

Bao Ke said: "Thank you Zhongcheng for your understanding. In the case of the Bai family, he reported it to the transfer envoy at that time, so I came to check it and found nothing wrong. I heard that Zhongcheng sent someone to Ye County and found a key witness? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's the director of the bookstore, the person who replaced the IOU back then." Cheng Laiguang, the official of the Imperial History Observatory, is in charge of the case and knows very well. I will find him later and ask him in detail. During the interrogation, Cheng Laiguang was also asked to bring the officials with him. ”

Bao Ke said.

In addition to being responsible for prisons, the Criminal Prosecution Division also has supervision functions, although it is not as clear as the Transshipment Division, and it carries many other duties. Nominally, Yu Shitai is also his superior, and Bao Ke is very respectful.

After drinking tea for a while and gossiping, Du Zhongxiao said: "Sentence, there are a lot of cases here in Ye County, and the county government can't check it, I don't know how to inspect it every year?" If there are too many doubtful cases, the Criminal Division should find a way. ”

Bao Ke said: "Back in Zhongcheng, the Criminal Department only investigates the case, and does not accept civil papers. Every year, I come to Ye County to investigate, although they are slow to handle many cases, and there is no big mistake in the case file. Just like the Bai family's case, the evidence was clear, and there was no problem at that time. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "The yamen can't control it, the officials collude with the local tyrants, how can they find out only by checking the case files?" The local government has been like this, and after a long time, where do you still know the imperial court! The sentence is here this time, and it happens that I am also here, so I will collect more cases and see how many big cases there are here! In recent years, Yexian County has gathered a large population and collected more money and grain, but the public security is really not good. ”

Bao Ke was a little embarrassed: "Zhongcheng, Jingxi Road is a vast place, there are too many things, I have been in Ye County for a long time, I am afraid of delaying other places." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I can't even manage a county, so let's talk about all the way!" You can transfer more people from the Criminal Investigation Division, and then select some officials from the surrounding prefectures and counties, and spend one or twenty days to carefully check this place. Yu Shitai allowed the people to surrender outside, and there was a case inside, which will be handed over to you. ”

Seeing that Du Zhongxiao's face was not good, Bao Ke hurriedly said yes. As the middle of the imperial history, Du Zhongxiao played a chapter and accused himself of being incompetent, which is not a trivial matter. If one is not good, it is not uncommon for him to be dismissed from his post.

There are not many people in the Criminal Division itself, and Bao Ke came here to bring a few officials. Du Zhongxiao wanted to investigate the case, so he had to transfer it from other states and counties. At that moment, he asked Du Zhongxiao for instructions, issued his own warrant, and transferred several counties from Ruzhou, Xuzhou and Tangzhou, which are adjacent to the railway.

After Du Zhongxiao arrived, in a day or two, he received nearly 100 people's votes. A lot of it is gossip, and a lot of it is the opinion of local readers about Ye County, but the most are cases. Cheng Laiguang took the officials to classify these papers, and if they needed to be retried or were cases that no one was in charge of, they would not make a volume and prepare them for the Criminal Division.

Everything was arranged, Du Zhongxiao's face calmed down, and said, "Come from afar, and I will pick up the wind and wash the dust for you tonight." In the next few days, I will stay in Ye County for a few more days and sort out the case here. After staying here for two days and receiving a lot of complaints, I'm afraid it's not easy here. ”

Bao Ke said: "Xia Guan usually heard that Ye County has a large population, and most of them are customers, so they are afraid of hiding demons. It's just that there are really not many officials in Ye County, and they are unable to strictly investigate the localities, and many cases are not reported at all. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It's not a way to go on like this, it's not good for the court, and it's not good for the people." ”

Bao Ke nodded silently and did not speak. The officials of Jingxi Road, who don't know the complexity of Yexian here, just don't talk about it. In a few years, the population suddenly increased so much, and no one organized it, of course, it was difficult to manage. In addition, with the development of industry, there are many big people and great local forces, so how can public order be better? Bao Ke was sentenced to death on Jingxi Road, and he didn't intend not to poke the basket here. The Bai family's case was not Yushitai's intervention, in fact, it passed like that, and what kind of storm could it set off.

There was nothing to say all night, and early the next morning, Du Zhongxiao and Bao Ke took people to the county government to formally retry the Bai family's case.

As soon as the criminals and witnesses were brought to the court, Li Qi looked at Bai Xian and said, "The descendants of the Bai family, remember that there is only one daughter left, isn't it you?" How to dress up for men? ”

Bai Xianluo was generous, and arched his hand: "Back to Zhi County, the little woman dresses up as a man, and it is convenient on the road." ”

Li Qi nodded, didn't dwell on this, and gave his hand to Bao Ke: "Raise the sentence, all the criminals have been brought." At that time, the supervisor of Zhang's bookstore secretly changed the IOU, and the old IOU was on the desk, and it had been checked correctly. ”

Bao Ke nodded, checked the evidence on the desk, and did not speak for a while.

Du Zhongxiao sat on the side, supervising the trial. I am an official of the Imperial Historical Tower, this is not an edict, and it is not good to intervene directly. The trial is still conducted by the Criminal Division, and the officials of the Imperial Historical Observatory are only supervising on the side. Cheng Laiguang brought two officials and sat on the side to record.

It has been a few days since Yushitai received the paper, and Bai Xian is not as haggard as before. She was originally a daughter, seventeen years old, dignified, and not a stunning beauty. sued her daughter for half a year, and sued until the Yushitai, Du Zhongxiao also admired her persistence.

Looking at the paper, Bao Ke raised his head and said to the simple staff under the hall: "In order to seize the land of the Bai family, you secretly exchanged IOUs and forced people to die, which is really a great crime!" What the hell is going on, call carefully, and suffer less! If there are not many, the punishment is waiting! ”

Jian Yuanwai shouted injustice: "Xianggong, the small one is a first-class good citizen, how can he do that kind of thing?" Bai Zhengran came to borrow my family's money, and at that time, he was a fellow villager, so he lent it to him, where did he think of what happened later? It's none of my business! ”

Bao Ke sneered: "The evidence and confession are here, Yi Li's confession has changed the evidence, you still dare to deny it!" ”

After speaking, he ignored the member and said to the chapter member on the side: "The bookstore belongs to your family, why did you steal the IOU and call it from the truth!" ”

Zhang Yuanwai said: "Back to the minister, half a year ago, Jian Yuanwai and Bai Zhengran went to the bookstore and agreed to write an IOU. After a month, Jian came to me, saying that he had given me thirty taels of silver and exchanged the IOU. The little one was greedy for his money, so he changed it. ”

Yi Li has already confessed, and there is no point in denying it outside the chapter, so he will say it as soon as he asks. He is only an accomplice in this case, and no matter what, he should not be sentenced to death. Jian Yuanwai is different, he is the main culprit in this case, and of course he denies it to death.

Bao Ke said: "Secretly exchanged IOUs, using the deed paper issued by the county government. Where does the deed come from? ”

Zhang Yuan said: "It was sent by Jian Yuan, and it was said that it was entrusted to the Jian Zhu Division of the county ya, and it was taken out of the yamen, which must not be wrong." ”

Bao Ke nodded and asked Li Qi on the side: "Has Jian Zhu Si ever been detained?" Bring it to the church! ”

Li Qi said: "Back to the sentence, the county detention department is concise and clear, and he took the deed paper out of the county office without permission, and he has been taken into custody for this illegal thing." ”

After a short time, Jian Zhongming was brought up and pressed under the hall.

Bao Ke interrogated carefully there, and asked several criminals to explain in detail what happened at that time, and Du Zhongxiao watched coldly. The people in Zhang's bookstore, including Zhang Yuanwai and Yi Li, were all cooperative, and they said as soon as they asked, and they didn't hide it. The people of the Jian family are not so easy to speak, no matter what happens, as long as there are no definite witnesses, they don't know. Obviously, they discussed it, but they didn't confess. There is really no way to admit some minor crimes, and the murderer will not admit to death. As long as it is not involved in murder, the heaviest sentence is a few years, and there is nothing wrong.

After repeated interrogation, Jian Yuanwai had no choice but to admit that he had sent money to Zhang Yuanwai and asked him to steal the IOU. But for other things, it is a denial of everything. only said that he used a new IOU to urge Bai Zhengran to repay the money, and there was no murder.

Unable to find a result, Bao Ke ordered several sinners to be imprisoned and retried at a later date. Several officials sat together and discussed the outcome of the trial just now.

Bao Ke said: "These people outside the Jian staff look extremely difficult. As long as there is no physical evidence, there is no guilt. Bai Zhengran's death is not even clear to the people of the Bai family, and the person who went to the autopsy at that time clearly wrote that he hanged himself, and it is difficult to do it now. ”

Li Qi said: "There are few people in this county, and it was Jian Zhongming who was detained who took people to the autopsy at that time. Now that I think about it, there must be something wrong with it. It's just that time has passed, and the corpse has long been buried, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to find evidence. ”

Bao Ke sighed: "Anyway, I still have to go and pick up the corpse and re-examine it." Regardless of whether evidence can be found or not, things must always be done, otherwise how to explain to the people of the Bai family? ”

Several people discussed there, and they all felt at a loss.

Du Zhongxiao did not participate, he was not the one who tried the case, he just came to supervise. He doesn't care what a few officials do with the case, as long as the case is clear and the trial is clear. Such cases are not good at themselves, and of course they must be tried by professional officials.

Bao Ke and Li Qi discussed there for a while, but there was no result, so they had to agree together to ask for clarification tomorrow and go to the coffin for an autopsy.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Jian Yuanwai has been arrested, what is the situation with the factory he opened on the ground that he stole from the Bai family?" ”

Li Qi was stunned for a moment and said: "Back to Zhongcheng, Xia Guan only arrested the culprit that day, and didn't ask about the rest of the things." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The factory has already opened, how can you not ask?" The Jane family committed the crime, how is this factory, you should be careful. ”

If Jian Yuan commits a crime outside the office, there are always people in his family who do not commit the crime, and in principle, his family wealth should not be touched. But that factory is involved in the case, and how to deal with it involves many things.

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