Early the next morning, the entrance of the county government was full of people. Although there were judicial bureaus and courts at the end of the Qing Dynasty, they were generally decorations, and now the new county magistrate wants to decide the case, and everyone rushes here to watch.

Li Ling lingered on the throne of power, a symbol of power in this county government, and in a trance, he really thought that he was a magistrate, and slapped the shocked wood again, and said: "Someone shouted injustice yesterday, brought people up, and reported the details. "The whole tall and spacious lobby is full of a majestic and murderous charm.

After a while, those villagers came to the front of the hall yesterday, telling their grievances, and Chang Jingzhi was recording the case on the side.

The Tan family was not present and sent someone to summon them, but only a housekeeper came to listen and denied all the facts of the case.

Li Ling didn't have to think about it to know that it was the Tan family who oppressed the villagers. The Tan family is powerful, not to mention that those weak villagers are difficult to resist, even if they have a few guns in their hands, they are still grasshoppers shaking trees. With a move in his heart, he sent people outside the lobby to announce that the old celebrities, representatives of the people, and people of insight could enter and sit in peace.

The crowd at the foot of the stairs was suddenly surprised and noisy, and some bold neighbors and a few elderly people immediately climbed the stairs to greet the announcer politely, and were immediately ushered into the lobby. And some people crowded in the back, and for a while, the entire lobby was crowded with people.

Li Ling hugged his fists and said: "I came here today to publicly judge the case, and I also ask all the villagers to make a certificate, just to return the people to justice." Just tried Tan Xiangyang of Ginkgo Village, bullying people, forcibly occupying land, killing people, and occupying people's daughters. Today, under the pretext of not coming, he despised the court and sentenced Tan Xiangyang to death, which will be executed at a later date. ”

Suddenly, the whole noisy hall was silent, and everyone felt unbelievable. Who is Tan Xiangyang? Not to mention his external forces, he is a giant in Qingping County, representing the squire forces of the entire Qingping County, and was sentenced to death by this newcomer county magistrate. Although it is still to be arrested, it is the first time that the county magistrate and the squire have fought-for-tat. The squire is extremely powerful and can influence the pattern of the county. The county magistrate, on the other hand, represents the government.

Some people secretly regret coming here to listen to the acupuncture and moxibustion, while many more feel very happy. Tan Xiangyang is rich and unkind, and he has done a lot of evil, and it has long been a capital crime that is unforgivable. Although it is only a sentence, it is difficult to enforce. The villagers who complained in Ginkgo Village did not know what to do, and they were overjoyed when they heard the verdict, and the grievances of many days were pressed in their hearts. Some people even cheered loudly: "Li Qingtian." ”

Li Ling knew that he was a little messy, but when he saw the excited crowd below, he was also infected by it, and secretly said that he would run away after being a county magistrate for a day or two anyway, and he would still strive for some benefits for the people below. said: "Any other grievances will come one by one." ”

An old man with gray hair, leaning on a shiny cane, came to the lobby tremblingly, and said, "Lord Qingtian, I have a son who is now locked up in prison because he was beaten into a trick, and Rong Lao Yu will report the details to the county magistrate ......." ”

"No need to report it, I'm sure you're telling the truth." The Tan family will definitely check their origin when they get the news, and Li Ling didn't have time to delay here, so he said: "Pardon all criminals, unless they are extremely heinous, and release them all in court." ”

"Ah......?" Everyone was dumbfounded, how could there be such a willful and reckless county magistrate. Chang Jingzhi's cold sweat seeped through on the side, and he hurriedly stopped it, Li Ling ignored it, and ordered Sun Yuzhu to open the prison door and bring all those prisoners to the hall.

In less than half an hour, two or three hundred prisoners saluted gratefully and shouted "Master Qingtian" and left. Several of them knelt down on their legs and kowtowed before wiping away from their tears. One by one, ragged and weak, they ran out of the gate to call relatives and friends, hugged their wives and children, and cried. And the old man's son knelt in front of his father and shouted unfilial piety. made Li Ling and others on the stage sigh.

There is also a group of prisoners who are very different from the ones just now. All of them are held high and fearless. Silently walked to the center of the lobby and consciously lined up in two rows. Raising his head and quietly looking at Li Ling above, one of whom was a middle-aged man of forty-seven or eighteen, said, "We are from the Peasant Games, and the county magistrate let us go like this?" ”

"Oh?" Li Ling was puzzled, there were still people who were released and didn't want to leave, and asked, "I don't know very well what kind of organization the Peasant Games is."

The middle-aged man said with some pride: "We are political prisoners, and we are the organization that we have worked hard for the toiling masses to be the masters of the house, and we have been thrown into prison because of this, and I hope that we will not cause trouble to the county magistrate after we leave." ”

Li Ling nodded secretly, probably from the Northern Expeditionary Army, and said: "Today, China is full of wars and chaos, and the people are struggling to make a living, so I am about to send someone to buy food and make some porridge shops for the people to open for free." I admire you most of all, I have some coils on my body, please go all the way. ”

The middle-aged man was a little moved, and he unceremoniously took the entanglement and led people away.

Li Ling gave Chang Jingzhi 300 oceans in court, and asked him to quickly buy some rice and noodles, set up a cauldron at the entrance of the county government, and let those beggars in the streets and alleys line up to receive food. He also personally went to the warehouse where the county government collected grain for the army, and opened the granary to provide relief to the victims.

Li Ling's move won the support and love of the county's fathers and villagers, and his momentum was unparalleled for a while.

"County Magistrate Li is like a god in judging the case, and he is a parent official who is the master of the people."

"Li Qingtian paid out of his own pocket to deliver porridge for free."

"Lord Qingtian has opened a warehouse to release grain."

“……”。

Those villagers spread the gods, for a time Li Qingtian walked away, everyone rushed to tell each other, and came to the county government to receive porridge and food, and some hungry people were tearful and worshiped in front of the county government.

Li Ling's eyes were red, and his heart was sour, but it was a pity that he was not the real county magistrate, otherwise he could also help one party. Although the amount of rice and noodles is not large, for those who are hungry and starving to death, it is not as simple as sending charcoal in the snow.

Rao is He Jiatang and Jing Lian and others are very moved, as outlaws, they can make some contributions to those toiling people, especially when they see the look of gratitude and worship in their eyes, there is a sense of satisfaction in their hearts.

Sun Yuzhu was very addicted to officials, and when Li Ling led people to open a warehouse to release grain, he declared that he was acting as the county magistrate, sitting in the mirror hall, and hearing the case.

Because he was born in poverty and grew up eating hundreds of meals, he hated those dignitaries, landlords and squires. When adjudicating cases, they are often biased in favor of those who work hard, and they are very arbitrary. But the cases handed down are basically reasonable, after all, it is those powerful people who bully the defenseless poor. And few poor people dared to tickle the heads of the landlords and squires. Of course, there are also some cases of theft and robbery, and the circumstances of the cases are somewhat complicated, so they will be postponed for retrial.

The case has been broken a lot, but it only involves the interests of those local tyrants and inferior gentry, so it is difficult to implement it. Of course, Li Ling and others are naturally not clear about these situations.

――――――――――――――――――――

Tan Xiangyang, the Tan family of Ginkgo Village, listened to the report of the housekeeper who returned from the county government, and was a little stunned in disbelief for a long time. His eldest brother was assassinated by a gangster named Li Ling, and he had just returned from a funeral in Qingdao when he learned that he had been sentenced to death by a new county official. Whoever dares to brush the tiger's beard is either arrogant and ignorant, or the forces are directed at themselves. What's more, opening a warehouse to release grain, but it is a capital crime, no magistrate dares to do this, could it be that Liu Heiqi's bandit armed pretend, and then shook his head, those bandits only want money, how can they care about the life and death of the people.

He couldn't figure it out and didn't dare to delay, so he sent someone to Qingdao overnight to tell the second brother Tan Xiangsen, and then ordered the housekeeper to take thousands of oceans to Jinan, the provincial capital, to inquire about the origin of this Li county magistrate, and then bribed some important officials.

Just as the housekeeper went out, Chang Jingzhi, the county master, came to Tan's house on the order of Li Ling. As soon as Chang Jingzhi entered the gate of Tan's house, he hurriedly confessed.

Tan Xiangyang hurriedly invited him into the house and asked very politely, "What is the county magistrate's whereabouts?" Please also tell the master one or two. "I think Tan Xiangyang was arrogant to the county magistrate that day, how could he pay attention to this master.

Chang Jingzhi was mixed with the two forces and complained bitterly, knowing that the person in front of him could not afford to offend, he replied respectfully: "I also just received this new county magistrate yesterday, but I can be a county magistrate at such an age, and I must have a strong background behind him, so he didn't say anything specific." ”

Tan Xiangyang rolled his eyes and said, "In your opinion, will he be a fake, or a member of the Southern Revolutionary Army?" ”

Chang Jingzhi was taken aback when he heard this, thought about it carefully, and said, "Probably not, I have read the appointment letter, and it is indeed true." Just some time ago, there was an official document saying that someone from Li Yanlu came here to serve as the county magistrate. ”

After thinking for a long time, Tan Xiangrong said, "What is the important matter for Brother Chang to come here?" ”

Chang Jingzhi suddenly came to his senses and said, "I was ordered by County Magistrate Li to invite Master Tan to go to the county office. County Magistrate Li said that he didn't see Master Tan at the reception banquet yesterday, and he was in a very bad mood, so he targeted you when he tried the case today. ”

Tan Xiangyang let out a long sigh of relief, laughed angrily for a while, and said: "I thought it was some big man coming, it turned out to be a Qiu Ba who didn't know the height of the sky and dared to commit Longyan, hmph, I let him not eat and walk around in the future." I broke my fortune and went to Jinan to pull relations. Let's go and meet this boy who doesn't understand the world. ”

At this time, the sun is setting in the west, and twilight is about to fall. Tan Xiangyang took more than a dozen guards and rushed towards the county seat in a carriage. He also had to go, the county magistrate who came before changed one after another as if he was watching the lights, who dared not to be polite to him, at least the surface work had to be done. And this new young county magistrate does not play cards according to the routine, although he is not afraid, but as the leader of the squire in this area, his reputation is still very important, and he was sentenced to death by the county magistrate.

Just when we reached the three-way intersection not far from the county seat, seven or eight people riding tall horses rushed out of the oblique spurs, all with guns in their hands, indiscriminately, and went straight to the carriage to greet them.

Chang Jingzhi and Tan Xiangyang came over together, fortunately they didn't sit in the same carriage with him, they were paralyzed in fright at this time, and when he reacted and opened the curtain of the carriage, Tan Xiangyang was already full of holes, blood was gurgling, and people were already dying.