Two big black men walked to the prisoner's side, one carrying a braid, the other holding a ghost-headed knife, and waited for Long Keduo to wave his sleeves and give orders.

"Wait!"

Ma Qi was really anxious, the ticket was written by himself, as soon as the head fell, there was no proof of death, and he couldn't speak clearly, because he saw that Kangxi was still sitting still, he hurriedly leaned out of the window and shouted: "Leave people under the knife!" ”

The crowd immediately blew up the camp. The guards thought that someone had robbed the law field, and they "whew", some guarded the prison and beheaded the officials, and some protected the prisoners. Dozens of Goshha drew their knives and rushed into the building. Wu Dan jumped to the staircase with an arrow step, came up and threw down one by one, because he saw Tong Guowei and Ma Qi stunned, he was so anxious that he shouted angrily: "Ri Niang, you caused trouble for the master!" Find a way! Tong Guowei came to his senses, climbed to the window and shouted: "Long Keduo! I am your third uncle Tong Guowei, Tong Zhongtang! Ma Zhongtang is also there! Did the brute hear me? Tell your people to go back, you get me in! ”

Kangxi originally suspected that Ma Qi had been sold for his life, so he was determined to watch from the sidelines. When Ma Qi shouted out, he was relieved. At this moment, seeing that the two of them were in a hurry, Tong Guowei was "get out" again, and "get in" was incoherent, but he couldn't help laughing. I saw Long Keduo carrying the corners of his robe, trotting upstairs, "horn" hit the horseshoe sleeves, knelt down on the floor, and panted: "Knock on Tong Zhongtang, Ma Zhongtang - third uncle, your old man ......"

"What are you knocking on us for?" Tong Guowei snorted, "Long live Lord here!" ”

Long Keduo, who was inexplicable, saw Kangxi sitting silently beside Wudan at this moment. Shuntianfu is different from the prefect of other provinces, and it is an important person personally selected by the emperor. The Fu Yin at the feet of the Son of Heaven is the most difficult to be and the easiest to be promoted. Long Keduo saw that Emperor Kangxi was also here to watch the execution, and he didn't know what went wrong, so he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and kowtowed again and again: "Slave Long Keduo knocked on the holy driver, I don't know what the master is calling the ministers?" ”

Kangxi's cold gaze stared at Long Keduo. He felt a little familiar, but he couldn't remember how many times he had seen it for a while, and after a long time, he said: "You changed from a military position to a civilian official, right?" It's not easy to be the capital, this future, there are no mistakes, and it's not difficult to stay up for a superintendent, right? ”

"Yes......" Long Keduo was a little unsure of what to say, and glanced at Kangxi. When the third royal driver recruited Zhungeer, he was a soldier of the imperial tent and had saved Kangxi. But after a long time, the nobles have forgotten, Kangxi doesn't talk about it, how dare he mention it? Because I couldn't figure out the meaning of the question, I had to respond to it. Suddenly, I heard a commotion outside, the hooves of horses, the whips of horses, and the people making noise and shouting, but they could not hear what was happening. Wu Dan, who was standing by the window, hurriedly smiled and said, "Don't worry, master, it's Zhao Fengchun who commands the yamen of the infantry army." If there's something going on here, he's naturally going to come—he's chasing those who are watching the excitement! As he spoke, Zhao Fengchun, the commander of the Nine Gates, had already gone upstairs.

Zhao Fengchun is Wu Dan's old subordinate. Seeing him wearing a sword and coming to see Kangxi, Wu Dan lowered his face and said: "Fengchun, the master is here, what are you doing if you are not summoned?" The sword is unraveled, and you exit! The soldiers of Shuntianfu who brought him up opened their hands and smiled: "I said that the emperor is here, but the military gate doesn't believe it!" What do you think? ”

"Stay in the spring, you don't have to quit." Kangxi commanded, and said to Long Keduo, who was kneeling in front of him, "What I mean, the imperial court has not treated you Long Keduo badly. Why do you dare to be so bold and kill innocents in vain? Say, how much money have you received? Where is the real Qiu Yunsheng hiding now? ”

Long Kedo was stunned by this question. He and this "third uncle" in the phase have a hard time. On the same day, his father died, he studied in Songyang Academy, and the people in the clan coveted a piece of feng shui land in his family, forcing his widowed mother to almost commit suicide. Although Tong Guowei did not interfere, as the patriarch, he watched the fire from the other side and let a few of his own families make noise. It wasn't until he made the county order that the third uncle recognized this nephew. Although there is nothing to face, how can he forget this old idea? He stared at Tong Guowei and said with a sigh: "Long live don't listen to slander - this is something that a slave can't accept!" The slave also didn't understand, could it be that this prisoner was not Qiu Yunsheng? Tong Guowei naturally understood when he heard it, and he couldn't help but be angry in his heart, blushing and turning away, without saying a word. Kangxi didn't expect Long Keduo to be so bold, so he couldn't help but smile and said to Wu Dan: "Listen, he doesn't understand, and he wants to ask who is slandering and asking someone to spread the word about this prisoner!" ”

The prisoner was soon brought up. The two Goshkha put "Qiu Yunsheng" tied up like rice dumplings and kicked him violently in the crook of the leg, and the prisoner was already kneeling on the ground. Dozens of people upstairs and downstairs were immediately silent. The original shopkeeper of the tea shop hid behind the elegant seat and eavesdropped, and at this time, he was slapped by Wu Dan. Kangxi shouted: "Wu Dan must not be rude!" He's the owner, we're the guest officers - come on, boss, come and sit here! The shopkeeper stroked his hot cheeks and sat down with his ass carefully slanted. After listening to this for a long time, he already knew that this thin old man was "Kangxi Lafayette". I didn't expect to have this fate sitting opposite each other, and I couldn't help but secretly say: "The ancestors are virtuous, this slap was cultivated in the previous life!" Kangxi then asked the prisoner: "What's your name?" ”

"Reply," the prisoner was not afraid, and replied on his knees: "Qiu Yunsheng! ”

"Where are you from?"

"People from Miyun County."

"Who's in the house?"

"Three sons and three daughters-in-law."

"Don't you have grandchildren?"

The prisoner hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes." Qiu Yunsheng's eldest grandson is already twenty years old, and he is very afraid that Kangxi will ask about this. Kangxi didn't dwell on this matter, and asked, "What is the name of the girl you forced to die, and who called her to your house?" "Qiu Yunsheng" leaned over uneasily, and said loudly: "I've asked this hundreds of times, can't I die?" What kind of dick are you talking about so far? Hearing his rudeness, Ma Qi shouted beside him: "Presumptuous! Slap your mouth carefully! ”

"You don't have the right accent!" Kangxi stopped Ma Qi and said, "You are from Shandong, and you impersonate Qiu Yunsheng in Miyun, why do you want to die for others?" What benefits did Qiu Yunsheng give you? ”

The prisoner's mouth opened wide in astonishment, and for a moment he could not answer correctly. After a while, he said: "I am Qiu Yunsheng, anyway, I am Qiu Yunsheng......" "You are not Qiu Yunsheng!" Kangxi cut it off, "Huang Ying'e, the woman who was raped by Qiu Yunsheng, was asked by Qiu Yunsheng's granddaughter-in-law to enter the house to make needle money." Do you have grandchildren and daughters-in-law? How old are you this year? ”

…………

"Qiu Yunsheng is already in the age of six, can you pretend to be successful?" Kangxi Gege smiled and said, "Young man, tell the truth!" If you are willing to be punished for others, there must be a reason, say it, and I will save you! But the prisoner bowed his head and did not squeak. Kangxi was anxious, the shopkeeper sighed on his knee on the right, looked at Kangxi timidly, and said: "Long live Lord, this matter is clear, it is a white duck!" Sin ...... Amitabha. ”

"Slaughtering a white duck?" Kangxi was stunned and asked, "What do you mean by slaughtering a white duck?" ”

"The villain kills a lot of people downstairs, and it is not unusual to slaughter white ducks." The boss smiled bitterly, "There is a large family that violates the law, and he is not punished, so he pays a lot of money to buy a stand-in, and buys it with money from the ministry to the county." Some of those criminal masters are very powerful, if the criminal is not caught, he will quietly ask the white duck to change his name to it, or automatically surrender. If the owner has been taken to prison, it will be much more expensive, and the layers of silver will be fed, and when he is delivering food or visiting the prison, he will secretly change it, which is called slaughtering the white duck! Some prison officials found out temporarily, and they didn't dare to speak out in their hearts—if they shouted out, they would offend a large number of people. After that, he let out a long sigh and recited the Buddha: "This brother, maybe something happened in the family, come out and punish others for their crimes!" What a sin, some of them have a 'white duck' because of their old age, and they can change their lives for a different family; some of them have parents, wives and children who are sick and work their lives to save people...... Children are raised by their parents, it is not easy to come to this world, and it is really a last resort to fall to this point......"

The prisoner was stiff at first, holding his neck motionless, but after listening to the boss's words, he was moved by emotion, and gradually trembled all over, and finally couldn't help crying "woo". Because of the backcut with both hands, he only slammed his head against the floor slab, "Daddy...... Oh my daddy...... My son is not filial, I'm sorry...... I'm sorry for you...... I'm sorry for you...... My miserable old daddy......" His throat seemed to choke on something, and his hoarse and terrible cry pierced people's hearts. Kangxi Yuan was so angry by the boss's words that he trembled, and when he saw this tough man on the execution ground crying in despair, he jumped up in shock, held on to the back of the chair, and got goosebumps all over his body. After a long time, he stammered and said, "You...... You...... Don't do that. Just tell the truth, I am in charge of the big things. Did you know? I am the emperor, and I am the son of today! "Say goodbye, let people loosen.

This sound immediately shocked the prisoner to stop crying, looked at Kangxi with blurred teary eyes, stroked the deep marks on his body, and kowtowed: "Long live the master!" My father, Zhang Jiuru, is now detained in Miyun Qiu's house. If the Qiu family wants to know that the villain is not dead, the father has to ask someone to strangle him...... Long live ......"

"Got it." Kangxi nodded, turned his face and said coldly to Long Keduo, "This is the matter of Shuntianfu." Detain all the people who collected the bodies of the Qiu family, regardless of men, women, old and young! Dead Zhang Jiuru, I will take you to your fate! Long Keduo agreed, got up and ordered his own soldiers: "Divide into three groups, one group of fast horses go to Miyun to seal the Qiu family and arrest the culprit; a group of people here were detained; A group of people who intercepted the Qiu family at the intersection of Jingshi Road - listen, this messenger is going to be smashed, long live my life, I will take you on your back first! With that, he hurried downstairs. Kangxi smiled at the prisoner: "Now rest assured, right?" What is your name and why do you go to death for others? Let's talk about it! ”

It turned out that this prisoner was Fifth Brother Zhang. He was originally from Shandong Xincheng, and ten brothers of his father's generation were all martial arts masters and ran a dart game. Twenty years after Kangxi, the world gradually became peaceful, and the business of the dart bureau was depressed, so he abandoned the military and went to farming. It has two acres of land, and it is also a well-off family. Later, the family was separated, Zhang Jiuru was not good at farming, and his family fell into the middle of the road, and he was returned to Lu again, and the family property was burned to the ground. Fifth Brother Zhang was helpless, so he asked a few brothers from his family to go out to make private salt. The emperor's brothers left Tongcheng, Shi Shilun was ordered to leave office, and Wei Laojiu, a salt merchant, immediately gained power. The fifth brother and brother were cornered, and they smelled the drought in Shandong, and there was no grass. Because they were worried about their families, when the brothers rushed back to the new city in the starry night, the Zhang family's huge family had starved to death and only two people left.

"How can you starve to death so much!" Kangxi was shocked and said, "This is not the truth! I knew that it was Alinga who went to give alms! ”

"Long live Lord, you are the most holy: there are many ways to put grain! Ten percent of the emperor's favor and the people can get two percent, even if they burn high incense! Fifth Brother Zhang said, "Only the lonely old woman and my aunt and my father are left in our village, and when they saw us coming back, they hugged their heads and cried, complaining that we were 'young, ignorant, and shouldn't come back to die' - it was really like a nightmare!" ”

"It was March, and the snow had not yet melted. We stumbled home, crying under the oil lamp, the fat man kicked the door open, and spread the word that the county master had an order, and anyone who came back from exile was not allowed to go out again. All the arrears of the previous year will be paid off within one year! ”

Kangxi pondered: "The court has a will for this. There are so many people fleeing from the famine, and there must be someone to plant the land, so it is not appropriate to let people out, but the endowment is exempt! Even if it is inevitable, pressing 'never give' will not make a few dollars! ”

"Hooray! There is 'never increase in endowment', and naturally there is 'never reduce endowment'......" Fifth Brother Zhang kowtowed, "Ten father and brothers, ten poll taxes, and two hundred acres of grain tax, even if we are tired, we can't afford to pay it!" Jin Da Fat Man opened a crude medicine shop, and the bigger the plague, the richer he became! It is said that we have finished the tax per mu on behalf of us, and it is converted into 117 taels of silver. He also said that we made a lot of money outside and had to pay it off immediately...... Kangxi couldn't help but groan when he heard it, although the fat man was unkind, he was in accordance with the law of the country, and it was really helpless, so he asked: "What happened later?" The fifth brother lowered his head and said for a long time: "My father asked him for a certificate, but he couldn't take it out, so he changed his face, so he asked someone to snatch our luggage and packages, and beat my father with a stick so that he fainted to death, and blood came out of his neck." I was so annoyed that I rushed up and slapped him...... Breathless. ”

Kangxi was silent after hearing this, and only took a heavy breath for a long time.

"Our father and son escaped that night," the fifth brother also gasped, "fled to Zichuan, and met the notice at the gate of the city to capture us." Pity his old man, sick, angry, and afraid, saying that he can't stay on the ground in Shandong, so let's go away and fly high...... According to his wishes, he told me to go alone, and he went to turn himself in. I said, 'Daddy, I'm the one who caused the disaster, and I can't bother you with it.' I can have a good place to settle you, and I will go to Fufa by myself...... 'I carried him all the way out of Shandong.' ”

"Then how did it get connected with the Qiu family's affairs?" Kangxi asked in deep thought as he listened.

"Alas, it's all fate!" Fifth Brother Zhang sighed, "...... After leaving Shandong, I worked in Henan and Shanxi. Listening to the sound of the wind, he was relieved, thinking that there were many rich people in Zhili, so he carried his father all the way to Miyun, and he didn't expect to be recognized by Qiu Shanren. pointed to the matter of the fat man of Jin, and blackmailed half a year's savings to others. Later, I learned that Qiu Yunsheng and Jin Da Fat were cousins! Hooray, you say, isn't this our father's bad luck? Since then, it has become more and more difficult to pass the time, and all the money from the daily performance will be taken by him on the same day, it is really like drilling a wolf's den, what kind of work! As he spoke, two lines of tears burst out of his eyes, and he hurriedly wiped them and said: ...... It was also a coincidence that the surname Qiu also suffered. raped the daughter of a tenant family, forced people to commit suicide, and was scolded by his eldest wife in the street, couldn't hide it, and was taken to prison. Qiu Yunsheng couldn't endure the punishment, so he recruited as soon as he asked, and was convicted of a capital crime. Later, somehow retracted the confession, the woman's family took the money, and she also insisted that her daughter was arguing with the old man in the family, and she couldn't think of committing suicide. Originally, the matter was over, but when I heard that Wang Zhongtang of the Criminal Department found out that the case was suspicious, he transferred all the people to Beijing, interrogated the truth, and sent Qiu Yunsheng to death row in Shuntianfu.

His wicked woman also panicked at this time. I don't know how much it cost to get through the joints, and finally they came to me and said, 'You're a damn person anyway.' Rely on me, go to prison and replace my old man. I'll put a thousand taels of silver here, and your father's pension is all my business. If you don't follow, the old lady will spend money to find another substitute. I'll have to put you out first, and the reward will be enough. 'Hooray, at this point, can I choose another way?' ”

At this point, the reason for the stand-in has been revealed. Kangxi looked at Fifth Brother Zhang, whose face was full of tears, and his heart sank vigorously. If the fifth brother's words hadn't been said to his face, he wouldn't have believed it anyway. The "prosperous era of the Xi Dynasty", which he has always been proud of, turned out to be like this, and a chill hit him from the bottom of his heart. Kangxi couldn't help but shudder, and when he thought about it carefully, he hesitated again: Fifth Brother was a person who deserved to die for breaking the law, and he wanted to protect him, but it was difficult to say anything, so he asked Ma Qi: "Fifth Brother Zhang has unforgivable feelings?" ”

"If you go back to Long live," Ma Qi had already seen Kangxi's thoughts, and said with a busy smile, "Fifth Brother Zhang's matter is a small case in a big case." The most important thing now is to find out how Qiu did his hands and feet, whose joints he opened, and actually deceived Shengcong and exchanged the prisoners with a package transfer scheme. It's about the national code, it's not trivial! Tong Guowei also said: "The reason why Fifth Brother Zhang killed Jin was that Jin blackmailed and injured his father, and he lost his hand in anger, and there is no capital crime." Later, he was imprisoned for his father's generation, and he was clearly a sincere and filial person. I have always ruled the world with filial piety, how can I kill such a person? ”

Kangxi couldn't help but smile when he heard this, Fifth Brother Zhang killed the department officer, escaped away, and was punished on behalf of others, two crimes were stacked, and he was also qualified for execution, but he didn't want to break through this layer, because he turned around and asked Zhao Fengchun: "Is the Shanpu camp now under the control of your Jiumen Admiral?" ”

"On the surface, it belongs to the emperor, and this messenger has always been a guard." Zhao Fengchun listened in a daze, saw Kangxi asking, and said with a smile, "In fact, since the corruption of Suo Etu, the Shanpu Battalion has been referred to as the commander of the Yamen of the Guibu Army, because it is an oracle, and now the Shanpu Battalion is under the jurisdiction of the Oro Dai and also under the control of the slaves. "Needless to say, who will test you better?" Kangxi said with a smile, "Send Fifth Brother Zhang to the Prison Temple for detention first, and wait for the big case to be tried, and ask him to serve in the Shanpu Camp." Listening to what he said, it seems that there are some martial arts, and I only take him the word 'filial piety'. But neither can impunity. According to the example of surrendering, he went to the camp and was punished for three days, and then he was heard. After escorting the fifth brother out, Kangxi smiled and said to Tong Guowei and Ma Qi: "Qiu Yunsheng's life and death are also trivial matters. Now that his case has been reviewed and approved, the person who has been decided, can still make such a big move, which shows how bad the officials are! That's what really surprises! The Ministry of Punishment will be sealed from tomorrow, and the whole country will be suspended this fall, and all death row inmates will be retried. The criminal department, from the squire to the judges, and the provincial envoys, must be checked one by one! Wang Shizhen, the scholar, seems to have a conscience, but unfortunately he returned to his hometown last month...... Alas, maybe it will also be squeezed away. It is a shame and awesome that the rule of law has been corrupted to such an extent! ”

Ma Qi hurriedly said: "Yes! However, for such a big event, someone has to preside over it, please long live the decree! ”

"Hmm." Kangxi thought for a moment. He was not at ease with Ma and Tong, and Zhang Tingyu couldn't leave for a while, and muttered: "The prince is busy cleaning up the deficit, and the fourth elder brother and the thirteenth elder brother should not move." People say that Yinxi is shrewd and capable, so tell him to do it. With that, he got up and went downstairs. Tong Guowei and others followed. Ma Qi stepped forward and said: "The slave is reckless today, long live the shock, please long live the crime and punish him!" ”

"Huh?" Kangxi, who was going downstairs, stopped and said with a smile, "If you don't stop the execution, your top has already been picked off by me." It is the duty of the prime minister to assist in the administration of the government and handle the maintenance of the aircraft. Kangxi turned his face and asked Tong Guowei again, "This Long Ke is so familiar, is it from your Tong family?" ”

Tong Guowei was stunned and hurriedly said: "It's the slave's distant nephew." When he was on the western expedition, he fought in Kobdo with his master. ”

"Hmm," Kangxi's eyes lit up, he had already thought about it, but he didn't say anything. Take a sedan chair back to the palace at the moment.