"The imperial court has long had a ban, and horses, cows and donkeys can all go a long way, and they can be used by people and not slaughtered."

On the county hall.

The county magistrate Du Ruhui opened the court to try the case.

With a heavy slap of the startling wood in his hand, the soap class officials who stood in the hall suddenly shouted in unison ~~Wu~~

"The law of great cause clearly stipulates that anyone who intentionally kills another person's horse or cow shall be punished with seventy rods and one and a half years in prison. and he that slaughtereth his own horses and cattle shall have a hundred rods. If the ploughing ox dies of injury or disease, it will not be reported to the government, and it will be flogged forty times without permission! ”

Du Ruhui was very clear about the legal provisions of the imperial court, and he came as soon as he opened his mouth.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, killing cattle was even a capital crime, and in the Qin Dynasty, the law also clearly stipulated that those who steal horses will die, and those who kill cattle will be shackled. In the Great Sui Dynasty, ploughing cattle were important materials, even strategic materials. At the beginning of the founding of the Great Sui Dynasty, the system of equalizing land was implemented, and even stipulated that if there were cattle in the family, the cattle were also eligible to be distributed to the fields.

The imperial court also registered all the cultivated cattle and protected them very much.

Nowadays, although it is said that there is no longer more land for cattle, cattle are still the key protection objects, and private slaughter is prohibited. Even if the cow dies of illness and falls, it must be reported to the government, and then the government will send someone to slaughter and peel it. The three things that were peeled off, such as cowhide, horns, and tendons, could only be handed over to the imperial court.

As for beef, it is generally bought by the government.

Slaughtering a plough cattle without registration is a felony.

Even buying bootlegged beef that has not been slaughtered by the government is a crime.

It is recorded in the history books that in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a famous Qing official named Fu Zhao, when his daughter-in-law gave him a bowl of beef, when he saw the beef, he said, I eat it is a crime, but what, the law stipulates that relatives are hidden, you are my daughter-in-law, and I can't sue you, so he said, he can't eat this beef, let his daughter-in-law bury the beef.

"Liu Da, you opened a restaurant in the county town and bought and sold beef privately, can you be guilty?"

Boss Liu knelt on the ground, still wearing a flail, and was terrified by this situation.

"Ask the county lieutenant for forgiveness."

"Let me ask you Liu Da, where did your beef come from, and it is better to recruit it truthfully."

"Someone else sold it to me."

"Who sold you, when did you sell it, how many times it sold you, and how much did you buy in total, but they are not all truthfully recruited!"

Although Liu Da was trembling with fright, he was still smart, and at this time he insisted that this was the first time he bought it, so he bought a few catties of beef, and was copied by the officials.

"Bastard, you dare to deceive the official, come and give me a cane for twenty!"

"Wait!"

A voice sounded outside, but it was the county commander Zhang Yichen who came.

Du Ruhui got up, "County order? ”

"I heard about the case of slaughtering cattle privately, so I came to hear about it."

Slaughtering cattle is a felony, and for magistrates, it is also a matter of political performance. There are regulations in the imperial court that if there are more than seven cattle slaughtering cases under the rule of a magistrate during his tenure, then it is a serious dereliction of duty, and the evaluation will be unqualified, and even promotion will not be allowed.

The slaughter of cattle is even listed as a felony on the same level as murder and arson.

Under the rule, there was a matter of private slaughtering of cattle, but it seriously affected the performance of local officials, Zhang Yichen came to listen, but he also said it in the past.

"County lieutenant, it seems illegal for you to rebuke Liu Da with a cane." As soon as Zhang Yichen sat down, he picked a thorn.

"The county order, beef was found in Liu's restaurant, and the source is unknown, it is privately bought beef."

"Even if the source is unknown, do you have any other evidence?"

"No, so the lower official asked Liu Da to beat Liu Da with a cane and asked him to explain the source of the beef."

"Do you suspect that he is secretly colluding with the people who slaughter cattle privately?"

"Exactly."

"Is there any evidence for that?" Zhang Yichen turned back again.

The result was no.

So Zhang Yichen said that Du Ruhui's handling was wrong, torture to extract confessions is not a method of interrogation, if it is forcibly beaten with a cane, even if it is confessed, how can it be guaranteed that it is not tortured?

"Then dare to ask the county order if there is a method of interrogation and can get a confession?"

"If you don't have any evidence, then look for it." Zhang Yichen said very politely.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Since Du Ruhui took office, the county commander Zhang Yichen has let him everywhere, but now, he openly refutes him in court.

"According to the law, if it is only a private purchase of beef, it is not a felony, and it can be fined according to the severity of the crime. The official only found ten catties of beef in Liu's restaurant, so according to the law, he only needed to be fined 1,000 yuan and 10 canes. ”

"Zhang County Order." Du Ruxuan's face sank like water.

"Is County Lieutenant Du dissatisfied with my verdict?" Zhang Yichen also had a black face.

"I suspect that Liu Da has bought beef privately many times, and the circumstances are particularly serious, and the impact is very bad, and he must be severely punished."

"Is there any basis?"

Zhang Yichen had already simply torn his face, "If there is no basis, then the county thinks your verdict is inappropriate and can be vetoed." Now the county has personally tried the case, sentenced Liu Dazheng to 10 flogs, fined 1,000 yuan, and ordered his restaurant to close down for rectification before it was allowed to reopen. ”

Du Ruhui's face was very ugly.

But as Zhang Yichen said, he is just a county lieutenant. In the fourth-class official system of the Great Sui, when trying cases, he was only a judge, but Zhang Yichen was the chief official.

And so the case was closed.

No matter how dissatisfied Du Ruhui is, it is useless.

Liu Da was dragged out and beaten with ten sticks in public, and then fined another 1,000 yuan, and the Liu family was acquitted on the spot.

When the case ended, Zhang Yichen threw up his sleeves and left, leaving Du Ruhui to sit there with a dark face for a long time.

He knew that the situation had changed, but he didn't know why Zhang Yichen suddenly changed so much. Thinking of Luo Cheng's previous visit to the city and seeing Zhang Yichen, Du Ruhui understood that it must be Luo Cheng's reason.

It was Luo Cheng who persuaded Zhang Yichen and went against him.

What is the rationale?

"Call the head of the fast shift!"

Du Ruhui was furious at the head of the fast shift, and the biggest reason why this case was interfered by Zhang Yichen was insufficient evidence. Only ten catties of beef were copied, and there was no other evidence at all. Don't say that the Liu family slaughtered the cattle privately, but they couldn't buy beef privately many times.

"This official gives you three days to find out where the Liu family's beef came from! After three days, if you can't find out, you will be dismissed from your post. ”

The catcher reluctantly confessed and left, and when he returned to the hunting room, he scolded all the trappers, and then gave them two days to find the cattle slaughterer.

A group of dogs who caught and were scolded came out bloody.

sighed one by one, and had to go to the street in the cold wind, no matter whether there were clues or not, it was better than staying in the fishing room and being scolded.

On the street.

The two catchers got together.

"Lao Wang, this matter seems to be in trouble."

Indeed, no one could have imagined that such an accident would occur. It seems that we have to notify the brothers of the Ma family and let them settle down recently and stop committing crimes against the wind. ”

"Just let them go out to avoid the limelight and wait for this gust of wind to come back."

"Hmm."