Someone in the court immediately lit a lamp, Sima Chen, Sima Jing, who were wearing white fur like a lion dance, and Sima Liang, who was observing the restoration of the "beast" on the side, hurriedly rushed forward to hug the baby sister, and quickly asked the next person to ask for a doctor.

The three of them never thought that the "beast" put together together would have such power, and the little sister was scared to faint, although they were quite satisfied with the "beast", but they were distressed when they saw the little sister in their arms. Sima Chen and Sima Jing are determined to solve this case, and they must carefully prepare a generous gift for the little sister.

In the early morning of the next day, when the news came from Xiyuan that the little sister had woken up and was fine, Sima Chen and Sima Jing only took the "Beast" light car and dressed simply, bypassed the official road, and went all the way to the barren mountains of Longxian County.

Barren mountains on the outskirts of Longxian County

"The two boys of the Sima family are still investigating the case of the beast?"

"I left a few days ago, you didn't see the two of them who lost their souls after returning from the barren mountain that day, it really looks like they have seen a ghost alive."

"But isn't it, that Taoist priest collected so much money back then, how could he make those two people go up the mountain, plus the fact that the beasts in the city are now in the world, it is rumored, who would dare not believe in this evil?"

"Do you believe there really is such a beast?"

"Lao Tzu doesn't believe it, Lao Tzu only believes in silver"

"Lao Li, you. . . You see, how do I think there is a white shadow behind me."

"You let Lao Tzu see, I'm afraid there will be white bears in this barren mountain."

"Where is the white bear, look at the tail, the mouth"

By the moonlight, the two stopped and looked at the unknown thing not far behind them, and when they realized what it might be, the two of them intuitively stood upside down, and their blood and qi surged, even if they were strong men, they couldn't help but shout

"Ahhh It's a beast, it's a real beast. ”

"Quick, flee to the mountain, the beasts can't break that formation."

The two of them were so frightened that their legs were weak, and they almost got rid of the big box they were carrying on their shoulders, but they still insisted on staggering and running up the mountain. Brother Sima saw that the two of them were walking strangely, but they were quite disciplined, so they hurriedly followed.

After a while, the Sima brothers had followed the top of the mountain, and the two strong men turned around and didn't expect the beast to follow to the top of the mountain, so frightened that they almost lost their souls, and in a panic they groped to a tree on the top of the mountain, and looked down the trunk of the tree. As the two of them hurriedly lifted the big box into the dark passage, the stone slab was closed, and the weeds covered by the stone slab did not move in the process, and after the dark passage was closed, it was impossible to distinguish the direction of the dark room opening at all.

Knowing the situation inside, the Sima brothers didn't dare to follow up the dark room rashly, so they found a place in the weeds to take off the clothes of the "beast" and hide it, revealing the night clothes inside, waiting for the "beastcatcher".

Sure enough, within a moment, the two strong men before led the four people out of the dark room with torches, only to listen to the two strong men and the leader

"My lord, Lao Li Zhen and I saw the beast in the barren mountain, and we just chased it to this vicinity."

"Nonsense, the beast is a fabrication, I want to see who dares to pretend to be a ghost in front of the uncle today, and I will search for it separately, and I must not leave a living mouth."

I saw these people scatter in all directions, open the way with their swords, and begin to search carefully among the weeds. While carefully dodging, the Sima brothers put down the lone man, split the weeds, and covered the torches with earth.

Gradually, the fire on the barren mountain became less and less, and the leader only felt that his subordinates had gone and had not returned, but there were many comers, and he was about to escape back to the dark room, but was caught by the Sima brothers, who were gradually approaching lightly. The leader was quite good at fighting, and fought with the Sima brothers for a while, but after dozens of rounds, the two brothers' swords were already on the leader's neck.

"Hero, hero, spare your life" The leader saw that the fight was not enough, and quickly surrendered and begged for mercy

"Is there anyone else in the darkroom?"

"No. No," Brother Sima heard this, exchanged glances, and the two escorted him and asked him to open the dark room. It turned out that there was a round stone in the weeds, and when you rotate it, the stone slab will open.

There are torches on all four walls of the dark room, which is not very bright. First go down the stairs, more than ten steps can see a small inner room, the ground is neatly stacked with a little like the two strong men carried by the big box, near the stairs there is a box uncovered, inside is actually white silver, there is a fresh ink account book next to the box, obviously a few people are in the dark room to reconcile.

"Who Are You?"

"If you go back to the hero, the villain is the head of the government of Longxian County"

"Servant? Why build a dark room in this barren mountain?"

Seeing that this person was still hesitant and unwilling to reveal the truth, Sima Chen made a look, Sima Jing understood, suddenly took a sword and cut off this person's hair bun, and then put the sword back to his neck and threatened

"Not to mention that next time it's your head cut"

"Villain. The villains were ordered by the county order of Longxian County to guard here. ”

"Guards? When did this barren mountain become the storehouse of Zhong Pin? Where did so much silver come from? ”

"Yes. . . It's the tax money collected by the prefectural magistrate."

"Every month, the tax money of each county is personally inspected and sealed by the household department, and then handed over to the state treasury. How could it be hidden in a barren mountain by a small county order. It's not really coming. ”

"It's true, the villain didn't lie, the taxes and silver in each county of Yuanzhou are 20%, and only 30% in Longxian County."

"Thirty percent? Why didn't the people protest about this, and why did the court never hear about it? ”

"The land of Longxian County is fertile, the wind and rain are smooth, the annual harvest is quite abundant, even if the tax is three percent, the life of the people of Longxian County has not been worse than that of other counties, the county order is the first year of Xiangyong Jinshi and the first, as the county commander of Longxian County, this tax burden is the first year of Xiangyong Zhong County Commander Fu was set as soon as he took office, the people thought it was so, and Zhong County Commander took office to love the people, and the case was fair, and the people did not doubt what Zhong County Decree said. And Longxian County has been in the counties of Yuanzhou over the years, and there is nothing eye-catching, except for the monthly household department to check the tax silver, there are no other adults in this year. Every month, a special person from the household department comes, and Zhong County will send someone to serve all the way, and will never let the special person ask about the tax burden. ”

"No wonder it's the fifteenth day of the month, but those two people are carrying it today?"

"Yes. . . It's the tax money drawn this month."

"Several people died on the outskirts of Longxian, but you killed them?"

"Yes. . . A few months ago, when we were about to go up the mountain, we accidentally let the villagers who were passing by the county road late at night find out, and they were forced to kill people and kill people. Unexpectedly, there are still a few unbelieving people who want to come to the barren mountains to explore, so the villains have been ordered to guard here secretly in recent months, and if anyone approaches, they will kill people and kill them. ”

"What a ruthless heart, then why did some people say that they had seen the beast with their own eyes?"

"That's a rumor spread by the county commander, and if it's like this, no one will be able to find out here."

"But you said that in this Zhongpin County Ya, the furnishings are simple, and it doesn't look like a person with a thousand gold." Thinking back to what he saw in the county office, Sima Jing felt a little puzzled.

"I only thought Zhong Pin looked strange, but his clothes and room decorations made it difficult to connect it with the boxes of silver in the dark room. Could it be that the stolen money has another place to go? Sima Chen pushed the knife edge closer to the officer's neck and asked

"Do you know where the silver that Zhong Pin embezzled is going?"

"Small, villain doesn't know."

"You dare to shield Zhong Pin when they are dying, do you know the identities of the two of us? We are officials of the Criminal Department, and we are ordered to thoroughly investigate this case, and if you tell the truth, you will be considered the first to be the first to complain, but if you don't say it, you will murder people, and you will wait to be beheaded. ”

"The villain has eyes and doesn't know Mount Tai, begging the two adults to spare their lives, the villain said. The villain said.

The county ordered the silver to be used in a house on the outskirts of the city. ”

"What house needs so much silver taels to maintain?"

"In the courtyard, all the decorations are made by craftsmen who are proficient in garden structure in Jiangnan, the scenery is elegant, the furnishings are luxurious, and it is believed that the palace is believed. The food and clothing in the house are all of the highest quality, and the county order buys any rare objects to send to this house. ”

"Who lives in the house, and why is it so extravagant?"

"In the house, it is the old mother of the county order."

"What? His old mother deserves to enjoy the people's fat and people's anointment? ”

"No, no, the old lady doesn't know. The county commander was born in a mountain village, his father died early, and his mother supported the family alone. The old lady used to help people sew clothes day and night to earn silver taels for the county order to study, and her eyesight was not very good for a long time, and she lost her sight as early as the year when the county order took office. Where can you see the luxury of the house. And the old lady has not studied, how can she know how much a county order is a month, only when her son is out of breath and honors herself, she took herself to live in the mansion. Every time the county ordered Xiu Mu to visit the old lady, the old lady also told him to devote himself to the people. The villain thought that the old lady must be unaware. ”

When Brother Sima heard this, he felt a lot of flavor for a while, and he didn't know what to say. The official immediately wrote a confession and signed it, escorted him to the carriage at the foot of the mountain, tied it up and went all the way to the Yunzhou Criminal Department.

"Big brother, this bell is really powerful, in this Longxian County, he covers the sky with one hand, blocking the eyes and ears of the imperial court. didn't expect Zhong Pin to have such a story behind it. ”

"It's a shame indeed. It's not that there have been several murders in recent days, and I'm afraid that Zhong Pin's corruption will never see the light of day. ”

"But what we saw in Longxian at the beginning, although Zhong Pin was corrupt, he couldn't deny that he governed the land well, the people lived and worked here in peace and contentment, he was diligent and loved the people, and he was still a filial son, what a pity."

"Second brother, Zhong Pin is already guilty of embezzlement, and he killed several innocent lives to cover up the dark room, which is even more wrong. But the merits and demerits cannot be offset, so we hurriedly submitted this matter to the Yuanzhou Criminal Department Division and handed it over to the master in charge for disposal. ”

At this time, the officials who were put down by the Sima brothers on the top of the mountain had woken up one after another, and everyone ran back to the dark room, and found that the team leader was no longer there, and the box was affixed with the seal of the criminal department.

"Big, big, my lord, it's not good, the barren mountain dark room has been sealed by the Criminal Department."

"The Criminal Department? How did they break the mountainside maze? ”

"The villain didn't know, at that time, Lao Wang and I were transporting this month's tax money up the mountain, passing by the mountainside only to see a beast infested, in order to avoid the beast, we fled all the way to the dark room, and cooperated with the brothers who counted in the dark room to come out to hunt beasts. Can.. But we didn't expect to see the beasts, but we ourselves were knocked unconscious. ”

"Fool, you've shown them a good path. Who is coming, but the two Sima brothers? ”

"The villain doesn't know, but didn't the two Sima brothers leave early, the villain saw it with his own eyes, and the two adults returned to the Zuo Prime Minister's Mansion in Yunjin City, there will be no mistake."

"Who would that be."

"My lord, Brother Wang was also arrested"

"How is this good, the king leader has followed me for many years, and he knows everything about the tax and silver, if he is captured and confesses everything to the criminal department, it will be all over."

"Hurry up and take the old lady out of the city, and escape as far away as possible, so as not to be discovered by others."

Zhong Pin was sweating profusely, thinking wildly about any life-saving straw in his head. Suddenly, I remembered that I was quite appreciated by Yao Xiang at the time of the written examination in the first year of Xiangyong, and I have been writing with Yao Xiang for many years since then.

"Come on, prepare the carriage, and prepare a generous gift for me, I will enter the capital to meet Prime Minister Yao."

Three days later, Yao You's Prime Minister's Mansion

"Lord Yu, at the door, Yunzhou Longxian Zhong County Ling asks to see you"

"Oh? Zhong Pin? I haven't seen you in years, so please come in. Yao Xingben read at night in the study, sorted out the important events in the recent compromises for the emperor, listened to the report, got up and sorted out his clothes, sat down on the soft couch in the study, and waited for Zhong Pin to come with some expectations.

After a while, the subordinate led Zhong Pin in, Yao Xing saw that he was in the dust, and he was still holding two brocade boxes in his arms, not at all like he was just here to reminisce about the past, and his heart was cold

"You are all waiting outside, let me catch up with Zhong Xianling."

"Students see adults."

"Zhong County Order, don't be polite. Although you and I haven't seen each other for many years, we have been exchanging letters. I remember that you were the first year of Xiangyong, and the emperor ordered me to read the paper that year, and I was deeply impressed by your farming endowment. So dusty, visiting in the starry night, what are you doing?"

"Yes, thanks to the love of the adults, the student is indeed a Jinshi in the first year of Xiangyong, and there is indeed a matter of requesting the adults today."

"Oh? Zhong County, please speak. Yao Xing knew in his heart, and he really had something to ask for.

"The student was seized by the adult of the Criminal Department in a private house on the outskirts of Longxian County, and I didn't want to bother the adult in this matter, but there was a treasure of the student's family in that private house, so I came to disturb the adult, and asked the adult to help the student go to the Criminal Department to ask for a favor for many years. The two students also brought the silver used in this dotting, and prepared a small gift to hope that the lord would smile."

Yao Xing took the brocade box, slowly opened a corner, saw Yu Ruyi lying inside, and threw the lid of the brocade box back into Zhong Pin's arms

"Hmph, Zhong Pin, are you really confused? You and I are generally poor bachelors, how can you come to the family heirloom. Your jade Ruyi is worth a lot of money, and Ben Cheng has rarely seen it, not to mention that you are a small county order. Tell me the truth, what happened tonight"

"My lord, save me!" Zhong Pin saw that Yao Xing was furious, lost his strength under his feet, collapsed to the ground, and crawled to Yao Xing's seat in front of the collapse.

"What the hell are you going to seal up your private house?"

Zhong Pin raised taxes privately, hid the money he had collected in a secret room in the suburbs, and spread rumors to prevent people from coming to the mountains and other things to confess to Yao Xing.

"Brute!" Yao Xing was so angry that he threw the teacup on the collapsed tea table at Zhong Pin

Zhong Pin hurriedly explained

"It's a good year now, what's the harm if you deduct some. The imperial court drew two cents of the tax, and Longxian drew three cents. It hasn't affected the people's livelihood."

"A good year? If there is no hard work of the people day and night, how can there be a good year? And how can you raise this locust that sucks human blood? ”

"The students have been wronged, since the first year of Xiangyong, the students have been buried in the case day and night, the granary of Longxian County is abundant, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. How did the locusts come from. The students worked hard for Longxian, why can't they draw this point. ”

"You, do you still have a trace of Confucian spirit in you now? You are a protégé of the Son of Heaven, how can you fill your own pockets for this selfish desire and disregard people's lives? ”

"Your Excellency, please help. Students, there is an elderly mother to support at home. Have not adults been tempted by selfish desires? ”

"What kind of face do you have to plead here? I originally thought that you and I were both born in a poor family, and by this emperor's grace, I will redouble my devotion to the Holy Lord, and treat you with a green eye. Who would have thought that you are such a selfish person, go away, I can't save you. Yao Xing said, and the substitution carried Zhong Pin, who was paralyzed on the ground, out of the house along with the brocade box.

When Zhong Pin was gone, Yao Xing's heart was still difficult to calm down, and he felt that Zhong Pin had negative holy hopes, and it was really difficult to forgive.

I think back then, in the previous dynasties, I was a poor cloth, only the hobby of reading, during the day farming and spare time to hold books and read hard, at night I like to lie on the mat with my eyes closed and memorize what I read during the day, and my family is poor and even has no money to go to the country to take the exam.

Isn't it that year, my father was seriously ill and had no money for medical treatment, and when he saw a notice posted outside the palace to recruit talents, there was a reward of 100 taels for those who could improve people's livelihood, and he went to try it. I never thought that the Holy Lord had never neglected me because of my humble background and shabby cloth, so I was invited to sit down and listen carefully to my humble opinion.

After the implementation of the New Deal, the Holy Majesty not only gave full support, but also made my meager contribution public when the people wrote the Book of Thanksgiving for All Peoples.

After healing my father, the Holy Lord even recruited me as a staff member, handed over many fiefdom governance matters to me, and trusted me in every way. If you are like this, what more can you ask for? In this world, only the holy virtues can reign. Thinking of this, Yao Xing tightened his fist tightly in his sleeve.

Dingtao Imperial Palace Imperial Study

"I have already seen the twists and turns of the two Shangshu of the Criminal Department and the Ministry of Officials about the matter of Longxian. The two Aiqing have their own opinions, and they invite them to come here today to discuss this matter. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the county order of Longxian County is corrupt and perverts the law, carelessly disregards people's lives, and should be beheaded according to the law." Cui Min, the secretary of the Criminal Department, took the lead and said with his hand

"Lord Cui's words are wrong, and the two members of Yunjin Division also said in the case letter that although the county order of Longxian County increased the tax burden privately, when he was in office, there was no backlog of affairs, the granary was rich, the people were peaceful, and his mother was old and blind, and she still needed to be taken care of." Ruan Hua, the secretary of the ministry, hurriedly followed up and did not let too much

"Then Ruan Shangshu's words are that the county order of Longxian County can be free from legal principles?"

"Weichen didn't say this, Master Cui don't mess up. Nonsense, Weichen thought that although the county order had been made, it had also been meritorious, so why not offset the merit and exempt him from the death penalty. ”

"Then Ruan Shangshu has ever thought about how to explain to the family of the deceased? It is said that the murderer has been brought to justice, although he has taken several lives and increased the tax burden due to his own selfish desires, it can be remembered that he has made meritorious contributions, so he is still at large. ”

"Then how can Lord Cui think about the other people of Longxian, and even the other people of Dingtao, Zhong Pin is a good official in the eyes of the people for Longxian, and he is deeply loved by everyone, and he still bends the law for personal gain, so who else can be trusted?"

Ruan Rang's words struck Qingyang Xiu's heart, but also, if the people of Longxian County knew that their parents were full of private money and even killed people for this, and the county orders in the hearts of the people were still like this, then there would be something unspeakable behind the other officials, and then the people's faith in the Dingtao officials would collapse. How can the people be unstable in their hearts and minds to govern the country and the country?

Qingyang sighed slenderly, "Longxian County ordered to increase the tax burden privately, and the corrupt law should be beheaded according to the law, but during his tenure, he was diligent in public affairs and governed the people in a good way, and his crimes did not involve his family, so he must not make this matter public and leave a name for him." Two Aiqing, please do it. ”

"Yes, Weichen takes the order." Cui Min and Ruan Rang listened to Qingyang Xiu's words, exchanged glances, and hurriedly retreated.

Soon there was a notice in Longxian County: "Yunzhou Longxian is suspicious of beasts, and after investigation, it is said by the mountain thieves to deceive people." A thief's lair was found in the barren mountain, and the recent murders were all killed by thieves to protect their wealth. Longxian County Commander Zhong Pin was just and loved the people, and unfortunately died in the line of duty in the process of suppressing bandits, and the imperial court hereby commends him. Since then, the tax burden of Longxian County has been reduced to 20%. ”

Nanming Academy

"Wan Ting, I heard that your two brothers have made a great contribution this time and solved the case of the beast in Longxian County." Mu Qingmo, who has been taught repeatedly and still likes to speak in class, poked Sima Huanting, who was sitting in the front seat, and attracted Xin Zixi on the side to join the conversation

"Yes, I didn't expect this beast to be a lie made up by bandits. I heard that the county magistrate of Nalong County also lost his life because of the bandits, and he is really a parent official who cares about the people. ”

"Don't talk about the beasts, I heard that the horse thieves in Dingdi are back, and it is difficult for the local people to trade normally, and my father said that the emperor has a headache." Sima Huanting couldn't help but skip a beat when she heard the word beast, and she was ashamed to tell her two friends that she was scared by a fake beast at home, for fear of being ridiculed, so she quickly changed the conversation

"Haha, your news is too closed, my father has gone to ask the emperor for his life, and he will set off to suppress the bandits in a few days." Hearing this, Mu Qingmo raised his head and said proudly. But his eyes fluttered, and he saw that the master was already staring at the three people gathered, Mu Qingmo quickly retracted his head again, hiding in the book standing on the table, not daring to look at the master's face again.