In the third year of Yonghui (652 AD), August 16, unitary time.

A major homicide occurred in Wuzhou, and the ruffian gang was wiped out by Lin Pinglang. The murderer was unusually arrogant, and in broad daylight, he committed murder in front of bad people. Among the corpses, in front of the low couch built by the head, Wu Kang and the murderer drank happily, because they understood the "multi-money fraud" scam, so they peeled off the cocoon and elaborated.

Lin Pinglang realized it later, and was not surprised that the scam was meticulous, but only surprised that Wu Kang was thoughtful, and said with a wry smile: "I lost the lawsuit and was sentenced to sixty rods, and I was also sentenced to a liar for selling copper for tiger skins and tiger bones." I don't accept the verdict of the judiciary to join the army! ”

Wu Kang carefully recalled "The Law of Thieves", there are two ways to deal with secret thieves: if the theft is not successful, he will be whipped fifty lashes; If successful, the sentence will be based on the amount stolen. A horse of silk is 500 wen, and the stolen goods are folded into silk, which is enough for one foot to beat sixty rods, and enough for one horse to beat one hundred and twenty rods.

Lin Pinglang is really fierce and fierce, ordinary people are beaten with sixty canes, and they are bedridden for at least ten days and a half months. He turned out to be alive and vigorous, and he also wiped out the ruffians, and he couldn't accept it!

Lin Pinglang continued: "Tiger skin, tiger bones, if it were mine, I would consider myself unlucky. But that's everyone's, I can't explain when I go back, even if I tell the truth, the villagers will have a hard time believing it, and they will think that I want to take it alone. So after the torture, I followed them here..."

Footsteps sounded in the alley, interrupting his words, and then he scolded: the bad guards are arresting fugitives, and the idlers are evading, and they all dodge... The door was kicked open, and the tide of bad people poured in, surrounding the low couch and unsheathed, and the scene was suddenly murderous.

Wu Kang's heart with his throat hanging high finally put it into his stomach, and all thirty of his subordinates... No, it's not just Zhou Hao, who is still reporting the news. That little rabbit cub, won't you really run to my house and inform Wu Yuan to buy a tiger cub, right?

couldn't cry or laugh for a while, looked at Lin Pinglang, who was not afraid, turned his head to give Jiuniang a look, and motioned for her to retreat outside the circle. Who knows that this aunt and grandmother are not fuel-efficient lamps! The old trick was repeated, pouting and not turning his head, he was angry and wanted to scold his mother.

Turning her head helplessly, she interjected again: "Lin Dalang, you were wronged, why didn't you appeal?" If you appeal, yes... Cui Guild retrial. Cui Gong is the blue sky of Wuzhou, the iron mask is selfless and upright, and he will definitely wash away your grievances for you! ”

Lin Pinglang sighed helplessly and said, "I'm just a hunter in the mountains, how can I understand this?" At this point, it is futile to say this! ”

The corners of Wu Kang's mouth twitched, and it was estimated that in her heart, the old fox was the number one Qing official in the world. However, there is a strong interest in "appeals", did the Tang Dynasty also have intermediate and high courts? Thinking of this, he turned his head and asked her: "Tang Lu can appeal?" ”

"Of course you can", Cui Jiu opened the conversation: "If the bitter lord or the litigant is dissatisfied with the judgment of the county order, he can go to the state to appeal within a month, and the judiciary will participate in the retrial." If appealed again, the state will be retried. The assassin made the final judgment, if he was not satisfied, he could only go to Chang'an to sue the royal court! ”

Wu Kang couldn't help pouting, forget it, Li Jiu was busy mixing oil with Wu Zhaoyi, how could he have time to deal with you? Looking at Lin Pinglang again, he pondered for a moment and said, "Your Excellency came here, and he didn't do it immediately, but inquired about the situation of the ruffian, otherwise he wouldn't know about the fish that slipped through the net!" ”

"Wu Shuai guessed correctly, only by knowing oneself and knowing the other can one not be defeated in a hundred battles", Lin Pinglang looked at him and said: "When I entered the courtyard, I suddenly realized that they were in a group." I tried to get the tiger skin back, but they did. I killed one of them by mistake, and they struck me with knives. At that time, I was furious, anyway, killing one person pays for one life, and killing a hundred people also pays for one life! ”

Wu Kang sighed secretly, brewing emotions and just wanted to speak, Cui Jiu took the lead again: "Lin Dalang's words are wrong, the first person is a manslaughter, and the rest is a fight." "Yonghui Law" says that manslaughter and fighting killing, reduce the crime of homicide by one degree, and flow for 3,000 miles. If you turn yourself in, you will be commuted to another crime, and you will be 2,500 miles. You... You shouldn't have killed the ruffian just now! ”

Wu Kangqi's face darkened, but Cui Jiu ignored it and continued: "The ruffian's hands were tied, and he had no power to fight back, so he killed him for 'killing for the sake of murder', and he was put on death row and beheaded after the autumn." ”

Without waiting for Lin Pinglang to speak, Wu Kang lowered his voice and begged her bitterly: "Jiu Niang, don't make trouble, don't you?" This is a huge murderer case, not a child's house, what are you talking about? If you are so capable, why don't you become a lawyer? Stay honest with me, shut up... Oops! ”

The back of the neck was pinched, and the faces of all the subordinates were weird... Wu Kang turned his head in embarrassment, looked at Lin Pinglang and said, "Your Excellency is brave and strategic, I used the name of buying tiger cubs to let my men move troops, presumably you have already found out." With your skills, it's easy to escape. But did you choose to stay, in order to cut the grass and eradicate the roots? ”

Lin Pinglang replied: "What Wu Shuai said is right, I have inquired with the neighbors, and there are nineteen people in this gang of miscellaneous fish. At that time, it was decided to cut down the grass and eradicate the roots, and only by killing them all would the family not be retaliated against! ”

Wu Kang continued to ask: "If you hadn't met us, and you had unknowingly killed the fish that slipped through the net, what would you do next?" Absconded in fear of crime, or surrendered? ”

Lin Pinglang drank the wine in the dry bowl, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Afraid of crime and absconding? Inexistent! A manly man, born between heaven and earth, dare to do it! I don't want to hide my head and tail for the rest of my life, and I don't want my family to worry about my stomach and be at peace! ”

This time it was Wu Kang's turn to be surprised, and it took a few minutes to come back to his senses, pick up the wine jar and pour a full bowl. Lin Pinglang drank it all, shouted twice in a row, patted his chest and said, "Surrender? Nor does it exist! I'd rather die than be bullied by the pickled jailers, and I don't want my family to go around with debts to feed the jailers for me! ”

Lin Pinglang looked around at the bad people, stared at Wu Kang and smiled: "It seems that Wu Shuai's home is far away from here. The men you sent out should first go to the yamen to move troops, and then go to your house to report the news. Presumably your family has already gone to buy tiger cubs. A-Niang and Xiaomei have ten times, and I can go on the road with peace of mind! ”

Saying this, he stood up suddenly, and with a hook of his toes, the horizontal knife flew up, and the blade rested on his neck.

Wu Kang shouted in a hurry: "Brother Tai is slow, death can't solve the problem, I have a way to help you!" ”

As the saying goes, ants are still greedy, Lin Pinglang stopped his movements and looked at him lightly.

Wu Kang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, he had a heart of love for talents, Lin Pinglang was brave and strategic, if he was placed on the battlefield, he could not only champion the three armies, but also deploy troops. Next year, Chen Shuozhen rebelled and waved his army south to attack Wuzhou, which was the main battlefield.

It is difficult to find a thousand troops, and it would be a pity if he wiped his neck. Just now, I was in a hurry and thought of a way to help him get rid of his crimes. brewed emotions, organized language, and was about to make a long speech, Cui Jiu was unwilling to be lonely again!

The tone was very stern: "Erlang Hugh is talking nonsense, he has killed too many people, and he will definitely be beheaded after the autumn." What's more, committing murder in front of unscrupulous people, the crime is completely exposed, and it is not in line with voluntary surrender and commutation. This is an ironclad case, no one can overturn it, I don't allow you to bend the law for personal gain, and yes yes won't agree! ”

Wu Kang's scalp was numb, and he said in his heart that we were just dating, and the eight characters hadn't been skimmed yet, so it would be managed? However, she said it well, the case cannot be overturned under normal circumstances, but I am not without purpose, and the killer feature of understanding history comes in handy at critical moments.

There was another sound of footsteps in the alley, and Zhou Hao appeared at the gate, sweating profusely and panting. Without saying a word, he showed his horizontal knife and joined the encirclement. This kid is so embarrassed, he must have gone to Nancheng District and notified Wu Yuan to buy tiger cubs.

I was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, looked at Lin Pinglang, thought about it and said: "You are a bright and upright man, and you are handsome and have a heart for talent." Today is the fifth day of the seventh month, and the autumn queen is August 16, and there are still 40 days left. Until the last moment, don't give up lightly, there will be a glimmer of life. ”

There was a labor pain in his left waist, needless to say that he was pinched again, the corners of Wu Kang's mouth twitched, and he pouted and continued: "I will greet the jailers and not let them embarrass you, nor let them blackmail your family." Lin Pinglang, for yourself, there is not much difference between making a decision on your own or asking for a beheading after the autumn. But for the family, if you live longer, they will despair for one less day... Live for them for these forty days! ”

Lin Pinglang's brows were tightly locked, his eyes were a little tangled, and his expression was a little loose. Wu Kang struck while the iron was hot: "If you think I'm talking nonsense, just cut it off yourself; If you think it makes sense, throw away the knife in your hand and follow me to the case! ”

After about five minutes of silence, Lin Pinglang let out a long sigh, the long knife fell to the ground, and he closed his eyes in pain.

Wu Kang was reassured, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Where is the responsibility of bad people, please also ask for your understanding." Now I want to arrest you and bring you to justice, please cooperate with my brother, don't make it difficult for me! ”

Lin Pinglang didn't open his eyes and nodded slightly.

Wu Kang waved his hand, Jiang Daniu and Xu Sanjiao came to the circle, and instructed him to lie on the ground according to the procedure, first tie his hands on his back, and then tie them up with flowers. Zhou Hao took out the linen cloth on his body and wrapped the blood knife of important physical evidence.

The overall situation has been decided, and Wu Kang began to arrange errands: "Qian Shun, Tong Lin, you block the gate, and without my order, no one is allowed to step into the scene for half a step; Erniu, Zhao Qing, and Sanjiao visited nearby neighborhoods to confirm the identity of the deceased and notify the family to collect the body. If you have to take it away within two days, and if you don't get it after two days, you will be cremated on the spot! ”

After thinking for a moment, he continued to give orders: "Xiucai, Wen Ruo, stay to investigate the scene, record the fatal wounds of each corpse, and report the autopsy to me before noon tomorrow; Zhou Hao handed over the physical evidence to Sanjiao, and immediately set off to Tianzhuang Terrace to inform Lin Pinglang's family. The bull stays for the time being, and the rest returns to the bad guard..."

After thinking for a moment, he made sure that there was no omission, straightened up and said solemnly: "You take turns guarding day and night, and the suspect is not allowed to have any mistakes during the bad guard!" Ben Shuai once again reiterated that this is a big and important case, and I should be cautious. Where something goes wrong, you don't need to look for Ben Shuai, roll up and leave by yourself... Let's do it! ”

All the subordinates agreed in unison, and there was a crowd of people, and there were five people left in the courtyard. Xiucai and Wen Ruo had bitter faces, and they wanted to cry; Jiang Daniu squeezed his eyebrows, his face full of schadenfreude; Wu Kang was very helpless, the Tang Dynasty did not do anything, and the corpses were handed over to the untouchables and slaves.

Xiucai and Wen Ruo are the only ones who can write, so they will naturally be arrested to be strong men. Of course, both of them have an additional bonus every month, rewarding ten copper coins, which comes from the funds for bad guard activities.

kicked on the big cow's ass and reprimanded with a straight face: "Don't you want to try it too?" You kid... I went to the judicial yamen and informed the prison keeper that tomorrow afternoon, at two o'clock in the afternoon, in the Tianzihao box of Huamanlou, Ben Shuai invited him to have a drink. ”

Jiang Da Niu was still smiling, and he said, "What kind of thing is he?" Don't deserve to eat Wu Shuai's wine! In Wuzhou, an acre and a third of land, except for Cui Gong, the record of joining the army, and the six major joining the army, which one dares to refute our face? So-and-so went and commanded, if he dared to slacken, so-and-so hung up and whipped him! ”

"Okay, okay, don't be poor", Wu Kang glared at him, muttered for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, then don't invite!" You go to the bad guard first, take 200 wen from the fund, and send it to the prison guard. I was in a hurry to go out today, and I didn't have any money with me, so I'll make up for it tomorrow. ”

"Okay Wu Shuai, I'll go now", Jiang Da Niu grimaced at the two of them again, and went out of the door.

Wu Kang looked at Xiucai and Wen Ruo, sighed helplessly, turned to Cui Jiuniang and said, "It's not too early, I'll send you back, it's too late for the Cui Guild to worry!" ”

On the way back to Cui's house, Cui Jiu was sullen all the time, no matter what jokes he told, he still had a stiff face. In this case, we must tell the truth, Wu Kang said with a hippie smile: "Jiu Niang, don't worry, I have always been law-abiding, I will not engage in crooked ways, and I will not bend the law for personal gain... Okay, come over with your ears, I'll tell you how to help Lin Pinglang get rid of his crimes! ”

Cui Jiu finally reacted, his raised face was full of disbelief, Wu Kang was happy, and bent down to her ear. The single dog stabbed Lou Zi again, obviously forgetting that this was Datang, Cui Jiu blushed in an instant.

However, in a few breaths, the blush turned into flushing, and a pair of fawn eyes became brighter and brighter, and finally nodded again and again, followed his example, and gave a thumbs up: "This idea is so good, no one can find fault with such a way of exonerating!" Lin Pinglang is lucky, those liars are rampant in the township, they deserve to be unlucky! ”

Wu Kang smiled without saying a word, and after a moment fell into deep thought. In this era, it is much more difficult for ordinary people to sue than in later generations, and there are only two ways. First, find bad people as intermediaries, and the government will accept them; The second is to write a pleading, if there is no pleading, the government will not accept it at all.

Most of the people are illiterate and can only ask someone to write on their behalf. In this case, there was a birth of lawyers, who helped people write pleadings and fight lawsuits, which was equivalent to lawyers in later generations. In fact, the lawyer profession has a long history, and the grandfather's name is Deng Xi, Zheng Guoren in the Spring and Autumn Period, a famous thinker, jurist, and enlightener of civil rights law.

The pain in his waist interrupted his thoughts, looked at the puffing Jiuniang, and looked at the gate of the Cui Mansion in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and the date time was distracted. I just wanted to say a few good words, but suddenly I had a bad taste, and he said twice: "Jiuniang's legal knowledge is perfect, it is better to open a law firm and provide legal aid to the people." ”

"Lawyer? Office? Jiu Niang blinked her confused fawn eyes, and asked tentatively every minute: "Erlang is talking about the lawyer, the firm... Is it a store? Do you want me to show up and open a shop as a shopkeeper? ”

"Why not? A woman can hold up half the sky", Wu Kang spread his hands and said with a smile: "Take Lin Pinglang as an example, he doesn't know about appealing at all." If there is a law firm, he happened to enter the store to consult, and with Jiuniang's ability, he will definitely help him wash away his grievances. Then this heinous homicide would not have happened! ”

Jiu Niang smiled when she heard this, and nodded excitedly, but soon became gloomy again, and said with a bitter face: "Lawyers, like bad people, will also be discriminated against. Even the Yonghui Law has a clause to punish lawyers. A woman runs a shop, or a lawyer's shop, yes yes won't agree! ”

"If Cui Gong doesn't agree, let's cry, make trouble, and hang ourselves, don't believe him and don't compromise", Wu Kang smiled evilly, and then reasoned: "The lawyer is much better than the bad person, the lawyer is a lower-class scholar, and only the upper-class scholar discriminates against them." But the most important thing is to be respected by the people. The scholars despise it, the people respect it, which is more important, at a glance! ”

Wu Kang incarnated as a dog-headed military advisor and continued to give advice: "Jiu Niang runs a law firm, as the president... The shopkeeper doesn't have to bow down to everything. Gather some lawyers, give them guidance, and take small cases to them; In a big case, Jiu Niang will go out in person! ”

Cui Jiuniang glanced at him and said angrily: "One crying, two troubles, and three hangings, that's a shrew's trick, yes hurts me so much, he will agree to be reasonable." What Erlang said makes sense, if you talk about whether the lower-class scholars are lawyers or not, the upper-class scholars will discriminate against them. Hee-hee... I'm going to pull the fifth brother into the water and make him a pawn and a Jeyeti!" ”

Wu Kang was happy and continued to draw cakes: "The first law firm in Datang is absolutely unprecedented, and maybe it will go down in history." Even more than a thousand years later, the lawyer will worship you as an ancestor... Grandma. When the time comes, he will replace Deng Xi and become the originator of lawyers! ”

"Don't curse me, Deng Xi didn't have a good death, and besides, I can't compare to others", Jiu Niang finally had a smile, looked at the maid who was probing her brain in the door, and said to Wu Kang: "Law firm, I will ask Ye Ye to agree." It's getting dark, go back, be careful on the road! ”

Wu Kang smiled and nodded, watching her disappear into the corner gate, and when the corner door closed, he turned around and went home.

Back in the bedroom at home, sit in front of the desk, and write a diary with a quill pen: in the third year of Yonghui (652 AD), on August 16, a major homicide occurred in Wuzhou. Lin Pinglang is a general, I want to keep him, and Jiu Niang also agrees with the way to get rid of the crime.

Today, on the fifth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, just three days ago, Li Jiu made Li Zhong the crown prince. He is a tragedy, and the only benefit is to bring amnesty to the world. The so-called amnesty of the world is to empty the Datang Prison. Except for the "ten evils", all the crimes committed by the prisoners are not to be blamed in the past.

The document should have left Chang'an City, but unfortunately there was no phone and could only be delivered through the post station. The documents are prioritized, which is the so-called three hundred, eight hundred miles expedited, and so on. Eight hundred miles is impossible, and during the Anshi Rebellion, the transmission speed was only five hundred miles.

Wuzhou is more than 1,600 kilometers away from Chang'an, and the lowest speed of the post station is 100 miles per day. According to this speed, it will take at least 32 days for the documents to arrive in Wuzhou. After the autumn, the sixteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, there are still 40 days.

If nothing else, the clerk arrived before the slash, and Lin Pinglang escaped. If there is an accident, consider yourself unlucky.

May Buddha, Lao Jun, Allah, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary, be with you, Lin Sang! Amen...