"Li Bo, you are suspected of killing the Zhao family's subordinates, can you plead guilty?" Wang Mang shouted.

Li Bo saw that Zhao Ping was beaten miserably, and Zhao's house was also raided, and he had a lot of evil anger in his heart, and he was very happy.

Now when he heard Wang Mang asking, he hurriedly replied: "Back to the words of the adults, the criminals admit their guilt, and the criminals are willing to accept the punishment." ”

"Okay, since you have pleaded guilty, then this case can be closed, and there is no doubt about it."

Wang Mang pronounced the verdict: "Criminal Li Bo, you are suspected of killing the Zhao family, the facts of the case are clear, the evidence is conclusive, and there is no denial. According to the law of the Han Dynasty to pay for life by killing people, it should be beheaded.

But because your wife was defiled by Zhao Ping, the second son of the Zhao family, there is still a trace of discretion in this case. Therefore, this official sentenced you to be assigned to the Gansu border to fill the army, and you will not be allowed to return to Qingzhou for ten years, nor can you take any meritorious service, do you have any doubts about this matter? ”

"The sinners are all arranged by the adults, and there is no doubt about it." Li Bo replied.

"Knowing that mistakes can be corrected, and good is great. Li Bo, this official will soon lead the army to fight against the Xiongnu and quell the war. Now that the army has begun to move to Gansu, you can wait here for some time, and then go with your officer to Gansu to replenish the army and go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. ”

"Yes, sir." Li Bo nodded.

After the trial of Li Bo, Wang Mang sneered at Zhao Shan: "Old man Zhao, according to the law, it's okay for me to pronounce the verdict like this, right?" ”

"Humph!"

Zhao Shan snorted coldly and did not answer.

Originally, the prisoners were sent to the frontier to serve in the army, and basically nine out of nine people would die halfway.

But now, Wang Mang used the excuse that he was about to send troops to the frontier and asked Li Bo to go to the frontier with him to be punished and confiscated, which is also reasonable. After all, the final result is that Li Bo still has to go to the frontier to fill the army.

After finishing speaking, Wang Mang ordered again: "Keep beating me, if you don't have two hundred spines, you can't stop." ”

"Yes, sir!" The official waved the stick in his hand and continued to hit Zhao Ping and Zhao Shan on the back.

Zhao Ping burst into tears and begged bitterly: "Lord Wang, please stop fighting, don't fight, I'll recruit everything, I'll recruit everything." I have defiled all those women. It was I who relied on the prestige of the Zhao family to forcibly rush to their house to do evil. It's me, it's all me. Ask for the grace of the adults, ask the adults to be merciful. ”

"Oh? You did it? Didn't you just say you didn't do it? This official has never wronged a good person, nor will he add charges to others for no reason. You must not talk nonsense, and the official will have a bad reputation of being tortured to extract confessions and beaten into confessions. Wang Mang kindly reminded.

"Lord Wang, it was Xiaomin who forcibly denied it just now, and I listened to my father Zhao Shan's nonsense. Now that I know I was wrong, I plead guilty. I am willing to tell all the evil deeds that my father has committed before, I only ask for the mercy of the adults, and stop beating again..."Zhao Ping begged for mercy.

Wang Mang nodded and said in a deep voice: "Since you have confessed your guilt, then it is easy to say." ”

Wang Mang once again asked the officials to stop and examine the other things committed by the Zhao family.

After some interrogation, when the affairs of the Zhao family were thoroughly investigated, Wang Mang said to Wei Yuanjie: "Wei Yuanjie, as the city lord, not only did you not seek justice for the people, but you knew the law and broke the law, which is really a great crime. Now I remember that you repented in time, and helped the official find out what the Zhao family had committed. Therefore, the magistrate has decided to confiscate all your ill-gotten assets and confiscate the state treasury.

As for the position of the lord of this city, it is still up to you to take it for the time being. But you must repent earnestly, avenge the people's grievances, and find out all the previous wrongs, and at the same time you must urge the other major families to sort out the tax matters without delay. If you break the law again, you will not be forgiven. ”

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. The lower officials will sincerely repent, be a new person, uphold justice for the people, and find out the taxes. Wei Yuanjie wiped his cold sweat and said.

"That's very good. From now on, if the annual tax paid by Wei Cheng is not enough for the prescribed amount, you can write a book to explain the reason. It is not permissible to increase the taxes of the people to fill the vacancy without reason.

If, in the process of collecting taxes, those wealthy and wealthy families with family backgrounds hinder them and do not pay their taxes in accordance with the amount, you can send someone to my general's palace, and I will send someone to help you in your work. As for those in need, you may consider tax relief and relief as appropriate, as well as financial assistance.

When acting, all matters must be registered. In the future, I will send someone to investigate this matter from time to time. If there is the slightest loophole, the punishment for several crimes will still be combined. Wang Mang commanded.

Wei Yuanjie replied: "Your Excellency, please rest assured, the lower officials will strictly follow your orders, and dare not bend the law for personal gain." ”

"Okay, then from tomorrow onwards, you can go to other families and urge them to pay their taxes. Also, if they have a previous murder, they can pay money to redeem their lives and compensate the families of the victims, and then be imprisoned for eight years. If the sin they committed was a heinous crime, such as Zhao Ping's, it could not be pardoned.

All in all, you can consider the previous case at your discretion and seek the opinions of the majority of squires. After today, there will be no pardon for anyone who violates the law. This Wei City, I want you to ensure that you will not close your door day and night within three years. The people live and work in peace and contentment, and there is no more grievance. ”

"Yes, my lord, the lower officials can use their lives as a guarantee, and they will definitely handle this matter properly." Wei Yuanjie said respectfully.

Wang Mang turned his head and said to the onlookers: "Fathers and elders, this official has arranged this way, are you still satisfied?" If you have any comments, you can mention them one by one. Also, if Wei Yuanjie knows the law and violates the law in the future and shields others, you can also come to my general's mansion to complain, and I will take him down and behead him at that time. ”

When the people heard this, where did they have any other opinions? So they all spoke: "Lord Wang enforces the law impartially, and the grass people are convinced, and there is no doubt about it." ”

"That's great!"

When the people saw that the matter was over, they dispersed one by one, and told each other the news.

When the people were about halfway through, a servant rushed in in a panic with a look of urgency.

"Oh no, big things are bad. Lord Qiyu Wang, just under the orders of the adults, raided the Zhao family, but was stopped by the Zhao family's slaves. And they also brought in many horses and horses from other places to reinforce them.

Now there are more than 1,000 people in the Zhao family, and there are only about 500 people on the subordinate side, so the subordinates can't match them, can't carry out the orders of the adults, and ask the adults to call the shots. ”

"What? How dare they resist the law and disrespect the court? ”

Wang Mang was furious and said, "Can you find out which forces are the people who came?" ”

The official replied: "Back to the adults, they seem to be from the imperial capital. Since they learned that your Excellency wanted to investigate the Zhao family thoroughly, the elder of the Zhao family urgently sent a message to the imperial capital for help. ”

"Imperial capital? Could it be that the Jia family and the Feng family sent someone over? ”

Wang Mang sneered three times, "Okay, you Zhao family, this official wants to see if you are still dominating Weicheng today, or whether this official is purging the government." Come on, you and others will go to Zhao's house with me. ”

He knew very well in his heart that if the Zhao family couldn't take it, then he would also find out about the tax in the future. As for the measures just mentioned, the other major wealthy families disdained it, and followed the example of the Zhao family, resisting the law and disrespecting it.

Now only by killing chickens and monkeys and completely destroying the Zhao family can we warn other families and implement the regulations according to the law. At the same time, it can also continue to hear the tax affairs of other major cities in Handan County.

The first shot of tax examination must be fired, it must be sensational, it must be smooth, and there must be absolutely no mistakes.

When the remaining part of the people who had not dispersed heard the news, they were also angry, and they all shouted: "The Zhao family is so bold that they dare to rely on the large number of people to disrespect the orders of Lord Wang and confront the imperial court. Ladies and gentlemen, let's quickly call someone to help Lord Wang seal up the Zhao family. ”

(End of chapter)