Huyang Pavilion Chang Mingzhen, in his twenties, lives in the county seat, is said to be a relative of the county Zuowei, inherited his father's title, and is the third-level "hairpin" (zān niǎo). He relied on his martial arts skills to pass the official assessment of the Qin State and was appointed as the chief of the Huyang Pavilion.

Maybe it's because Zhen has a title and official title, so he will tell the story first......

"So that the officers may know."

Zhen seemed to be very familiar with the interrogation procedure, and first bowed respectfully to the presiding judge, and said slowly:

"On that day, I was in the Huyang Pavilion, and I was practicing weapons with the second and third sons in the pavilion, when I suddenly received a local businessman Jia Bao to ask for help, saying that a group of thieves were attacking him nine miles south of the pavilion."

"I didn't dare to slack off, so I immediately summoned the thieves and the pavilion guards and went quickly. When they arrived at the place, they saw that the three thieves had been bound, but the two who had captured them were whispering in place, not knowing what they were discussing. ”

"I was suspicious in my heart, so I stepped forward to interrogate, and according to the usual practice, I checked and passed on the two people, and at the same time asked them how to capture the thief with two enemies and four enemies? Unexpectedly, the soldier named Heifu pushed back and did not agree with me, but he started to fight with me and beat me! Later, when he saw the chariot and horse of the official, he knocked down the thief and the pavilion guard, and ran into the middle of the road to falsely accuse me of stealing merit and cheating the reward...... That's the way it is, and I don't have to understand it. ”

"He's lying!"

Ji Ying was anxious, but he remembered why he was beaten just now, and he couldn't bear to say that after the Huyang Pavilion Chief finished speaking, he hurriedly refuted him.

"Pavilion Chief Huyang, I didn't know you before, and I have no grievances, why do I want to falsely accuse you? With my strength, how dare I beat you a pavilion chief in front of everyone in Huyang Pavilion? Heifu couldn't hold back and began to question him.

The chief of the Huyang Pavilion rolled his eyes: "Maybe you have something unspeakable, or maybe you rely on your martial arts to be strong and have no long-term officials." ”

At this time, Xi signaled that Heifu could state it, so Heifu repeated the fact that the Huyang Pavilion Chief coveted the rewards of the three thieves, first persuaded them to share the merits together, and actually planned to take them by force......

"It's just that the villain was too eager when he ran to the side of the road to shout grievances to the officials, and accidentally knocked down the thief and the pavilion guard, that's all. As for the pavilion chief's statement that I resisted with force and hit him, there is absolutely no such thing, I don't know why he said this...... That's the way it is, and I don't have to understand it. ”

Heifu has almost figured out the rules of operation of the Qin State Court, emphasizing procedural fairness, judges have a strong sense of thoroughness and logic, and present both human and material evidence, which is really very similar to the court trials of later generations.

In this case, the chief of the Huyang Pavilion still dares to say anything, is it a fluke? Or are you prepared?

Heifu felt a little uneasy in his heart, and then looked at Shang Jia Bao, who was still sweating profusely in the late autumn, and vaguely guessed the reason......

In the hall, the presiding judge Xi listened to the statements of the two men, and at the same time wrote down two places where their statements were contradictory and raised questions.

"First, Huyang Pavilion Changzhen, did he ever persuade the two black husbands to share the merit and deceive the reward?"

Of course, Heifu and Ji Ying said yes!

Pavilion chiefs, thieves, pavilion guards and others categorically denied it, saying no!

When the three thieves were asked, they said that they were tied up and far away from each other, and they could not hear clearly.

Therefore, the businessman Jia Bao, as a witness, became a key point, and he liked to look at him with an advisory eye, but after seeing Bao hesitate for a long time, he replied cautiously: "The villain didn't know about it......"

"Not good! This guy really retracted his confession! ”

As soon as these words came out, Heifu's heart sank, and Ji Ying was even more furious, shouting: "You profiteer, we obviously saved your life, but you will take revenge and gang up with your peers to deceive!" ”

"I have never been locked up with them, how can I collude with them to deceive?"

Shang Jia Bao also went out, took out the posture of arguing in the bazaar, patted his chest and said: "It is true that you two saved me from the hands of the bandits, but in this class, in front of the prison, I dare to say half a untruth, so let the Qiu ghost visit my house!" ”

The mound ghost is one of the many ghosts and gods of local superstition, and it is said that whoever it visits, whoever will be poor, as a businessman to say such a poisonous oath, it is also hard enough.

Ji Ying was so angry that he wanted to jump over to hit Shang Jia, but Hei Fu grabbed him and said to Xi: "Prison Peng, this Shang Jia is from Huyang Pavilion, and he is familiar with the pavilion chief and others, so he was a lobbyist for him that day, and wanted us to share the credit with Huyang Pavilion, his testimony is not credible!" “

"Believe it or not! It's up to the prison to see it! ”

Seeing that the situation had reversed, the head of the Huyang Pavilion began to smile.

However, instead of listening to either side, Xi turned the page and asked the next question.

"Second, did Heifu really do something to the Huyang Pavilion Chief?"

Heifu knew why the Huyang Pavilion Chief and others wanted to smear him so much, Qin Law stipulates that when a soldier fights with someone, he commits the crime of "private fighting". Because the other party is an official, the crime will be increased by one degree, and it will be punished according to "thief hurting people". He should shave his hair and be punished with a year of hard work, such as repairing the king's tomb and building the city wall.

Therefore, the chief of the Huyang Pavilion and the others insisted that Heifu had made a move, and his intentions were really sinister.

Of course, Heifu and Ji Ying denied it, saying that they knew that this was not allowed by the law, and they did not have the courage to use force against officials.

Everyone in Huyang Pavilion said that they saw Heifu beating people, probably because he relied on his strong martial arts and had no officials.

As for the three thieves, they said that their vision was blocked by the pavilion guards at that time, and they did not see clearly.

The two sides said the opposite, so the businessman Jia Bao became a key witness again......

"I saw with my own eyes that Heifu punched the pavilion chief!"

Bao didn't care about any uneasy conscience at this time, and began to desperately pour dirty water on Heifu, how Heifu quarreled with the pavilion chief, how he was annoyed and angry, and how he relied on his martial arts to fight with his fists...... The description is colorful.

When Bao stated, Heifu pursed his lips and didn't speak, and Ji Ying listened to all this and became an ant on a hot pot.

"We are in danger, we are in danger!"

Ji Ying knew that things were already very bad, the two questions raised by the prison Peng, and the final testimony were not good for his side, if they were all confirmed, he and Heifu would face heavy punishments!

Not to mention the "crime of thieves and wounding people" for beating officials, if the two of them sue the chief of Huyang Pavilion for merit and deception, they will also face the "crime of false accusation!" According to Qin law, the person who makes a false accusation will be punished with a punishment corresponding to the false charge, which is "false accusation and reverse".

Punished for the two crimes at the same time, he and Heifu will not only not get the reward, but will also be severely punished, maybe tomorrow they will be blackmailed, become an official slave, be assigned to the frontier as a soldier, and even implicate their families.

On the other side, Huyang Pavilion Changzhen seemed to see that the balance of victory was slowly tilting in favor of his side, and he was suddenly triumphant.

It seems that the news from outside is correct, those who operate secretly are still somewhat useful, this merchant Jia Bao has always been timid, and after a little scare, he came to their side.

He was already thinking about how he would celebrate when he won the case, maybe he could go to the girls in the city and laugh at the stupidity and incompetence of the black man to the women who snuggled up to him......

Little Shiwu, dare to sue the official? Amusing!

By this time, Shang Jia Bao had already finished his statement.

After writing down the key testimony, Xi looked at the two Heifu: "You wait, but do you have anything to say?" ”

This is their last chance to defend themselves, otherwise, they will have to pin their fate on the verdict of joy.

But Ji Ying had no other way, muttering that she had been wronged, but her head drooped lower and lower......

At this time, Heifu stood up, and he asked for joy: "Superior, can I ask Shang Jiabao and the others a question?" ”

I was slightly surprised that Heifu could be so calm in a desperate situation, and said, "But it's okay to ask." ”

Heifu paced in front of Shang Jia Bao: "You said you saw me swing my fist at the Huyang Pavilion Chief?" ”

Bao tried to straighten up: "I see." ”

"How many punches?"

"One...... One punch. ”

In order not to make the testimony too untrue, he only dared to fabricate that Heifu punched the pavilion chief, and was stopped by everyone.

"Then let me ask you, can you see clearly which hand I hit him with?"

Heifu raised his hands, his family has been farming for generations, this is a pair of perennial labor hands, the palms are calloused, the arms are thick and powerful, as if a light hand forward, can strangle the roe head mouse Shang Jia Bao to death......

Bao took half a step back with a weak heart, his two little eyes looked left and right, and he couldn't pay attention, and finally he could only follow his common sense and say firmly: "It should be the right hand!" That's right, right-handed! ”

Heifu smiled and said nothing, turned around again, and asked everyone in Huyang Pavilion: "You also claim to have seen me punch someone, which hand did you use?" ”

The thieves and pavilion guards looked at each other, and finally chose to echo Shang Jia Bao's statement: "It's the right hand." ”

In the end, Heifu stood in front of Huyang Pavilion Changzhen, the two of them were about the same height, their eyes were facing each other, and they both regarded each other as enemies, today is either you die or I die!

Heifu sneered: "Pavilion Chief, you won't remember the beating you were beaten yourself, right?" ”

The chief of the Huyang Pavilion felt that this matter might be deceitful, but now, if he said a different answer, it would definitely make the prison suspicious, but it was not good, so he impatiently pointed to Heifu's right hand: "It was the right hand that hit me, hitting me in the abdomen ......."

As he spoke, he lifted his shirt, and there was indeed a shallow bruise on his abdomen - this was caused by the head of the Huyang Pavilion to let one of his pavilion guards beat him hard.

Before he finished speaking, a burst of laughter suddenly broke out in the corner of the hall!

"Hahaha, ridiculous, ridiculous!"

Everyone looked at it, but it was the bearded thief "Pan" who was wearing shackles, trembling with laughter.

"Criminal, why are you laughing?" Hi stopped the jailer who was going to punish Pan.

Pan raised his head and said: "I laugh at the stupidity of this pavilion chief and Shangjia, I remember clearly, Heifu pulled out the sword with his left hand, and he has always held the blade in his left hand since then, which made us unexpectedly his moves and was calculated." ”

"When he fought with my bare hands, he also had more strength with his left hand, but whenever he punched me, he would use his left hand first to hit him and cause pain. Pavilion chiefs and businessmen don't know, isn't it ridiculous to accuse them of hurting people with their right hands? ”

As soon as these words came out, Shang Jia Bao, Huyang Pavilion Chief and others were stunned, and the voice of the scribes who quickly recorded their testimony sounded in the hall.

"Yes, how can I use my right hand?"

Heifu also rolled up the sleeve of his right hand and handed it to the angry official, but saw that there was a scabbed wound on his right elbow: "The official clearly checked, my right hand was injured when I captured the thief, and I am still unable to move, how can I hurt people?" ”

"Doctor, that's true." After careful inspection, he turned around and reported.

Xi was surprised, and Xiao listened to Heifu's statement with interest, and the head of the Huyang Pavilion and the merchant were already like ashes.

Heifu slowly walked to the center of the hall, and at this moment, he had become the well-deserved protagonist of this interrogation.

"What's more, just like Pan confirmed, even if I don't get hurt, when I move with people, I always punch with my left hand, as for why ......"

Heifu smiled at them, bared a mouthful of large white teeth, and then raised his left hand, high above his head, like an athlete announcing victory after a match:

"Because, I'm left-handed!"