Just when Qiu Er successfully pried open the mouth of the offending officer Qiu Jingwu, several other news also came. According to the clues, Qin Tai and his wife basically knew the ins and outs of this case. The officials involved in the case included Qian, Li, and Zhang, the governors of the yamen, and although the political envoys and the yamen were not involved, they were also suspected of failing to report and tolerating adultery. In the prefect's yamen, the prefect Tong, Tongzhi Qi, and the master Lu and Lu directly participated. Zhang Mou, the treasurer of the county government, and Qi Mou, the secretary of the office, are the handlers. The 1,000 and 100 households in the barracks were involved in the resale of military rations, and almost all the officers received a share of the benefits. Also involved in the case were the youngest son of Governor Ma, Yu of the provincial grain store and other unscrupulous businessmen.

Originally, the private resale of military rations was nothing more than the private work of the officers within the barracks, and local officials were not involved. The officers did not dare to do more, and only resold a little bit of military rations at a time. But the main reason why they joined forces this time was because of the governor's youngest son, Ma Gongzi. Because of his father's relationship with the governor, Ma Gongzi has developed a temper since he was a child. I don't like to study and be an official, I only like to bully men and women and loot the people's money. The women that Ma Gongzi has a crush on are rarely spared, and the things that Ma Gongzi has taken a fancy to are even more irreversible. Ma Gongzi learned that there was a strange stone here, so he came to see it in person. Unexpectedly, this strange stone is not only beautiful, but also estimated to be of great value. Of course, Ma Gongzi will not give money according to the market price, not only does he want to get this strange stone for nothing, but also takes a fancy to the daughter of this family. He used his father's name as the governor to ask his master Qian to ask for strange stones and beauties. Of course, the other party didn't agree, not only did they not give face to the governor, but also sent the arrogant Master Qian into the yamen. Master Qian thought that the county order Duan Xingao would treat him with courtesy, but he didn't expect Duan Xingao to not only be polite, but also punish Master Qian according to law. Master Qian was furious and threatened Duan Xingao in court, and Duan Xingao simply beat Master Qian thirty boards in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, there has been a certain grudge between Master Qian and Duan Xingao, and Master Qian has tried every means to deal with Duan Xingao.

After Ma Gongzi learned that Duan Xingao didn't give him face, he was a little unhappy, but he still held back. Because his father once said that this Duan Xingao is very popular in the local area, and he can't deal with Duan Xingao too blatantly. Ma Gongzi came to the place in person, and originally wanted to knock on this Duan Xingao, who didn't understand the rules. Unexpectedly, because of a meal at the post station, it led to even more unpleasant things. Although Ma Gongzi is not a current official, his father is the biggest official in Hubei Province, so he treats the post stations in various places as if they were his own home. Not only did he eat and drink for nothing, but he never gave money, and sometimes he would criticize the people in the inn. The Yicheng of this post station and Duan Xingao, the magistrate of the county, have a temper, and they are all some unenlightened guys. Not only did he not understand Ma Gongzi's behavior, but he also asked Ma Gongzi to pay for the meal. Asking the governor's son for food money made Ma Gongzi feel that he had received a great grievance. Ma Gongzi called someone to beat Yi Cheng on the spot, and Yi Cheng was unwilling to sue Ma Gongzi and others to the yamen.

Duan Xingao, who was also unenlightened, judged the case in accordance with the law, not leaving a little face for Ma Gongzi and his party. In the upper section of the court, Xingao sentenced Ma Gongzi to pay for the meal and pay three times the fine to Yicheng in accordance with the law. At the same time, he pulled out the subordinates of the Ma family who beat people and beat them heavily. Ma Gongzi was already very angry, but he didn't expect Duan Xingao to reprimand Ma Gongzi in the public court. Ma Gongzi was furious and said something threatening to Duan Xingao to be careful, and was imprisoned for three days by Duan Xingao for the crime of disturbing the court. Ma Gongzi was imprisoned in the county government prison for three days, and he lived three unforgettable days. After coming out, at the instigation of Master Qian, Ma Gongzi decided to deal with Duan Xingao.

Master Qian joined forces with Li and Zhang of the Yamen to come up with a way to deal with Duan Xingao. However, this requires the cooperation of the prefect's yamen and the military camp of the thousand households. Master Zhang knew an officer from the Qianhu Institute of the barracks and took the initiative to take the job of contacting the Qianhu Institute. Li has a connection with Qi Mou, the same acquaintance of the prefect's yamen, so he is willing to do Qi's work. Qianhu was having a headache to get rid of Duan Xingao, so he immediately agreed to Master Zhang's joint request. Qi Mou also wanted to change this stinky subordinate Duan Xingao for a long time, so he was also willing to help.

Several people sat down to discuss the details, but they didn't expect the prefect Tong to take the initiative to come in. It turned out that Lu, the master of Qi, the same acquaintance of the prefect's yamen, and Lu, the master of the prefect Tong, were not only fellow villagers, but also relatives. Lu told the news to Lu, and Lu told the news to his owner, the prefect Tong. Tong learned that the military and the governor's yamen had intervened in this matter, and Duan Xingao must have lost, so he simply participated in the benefit of sharing. With the support of the prefect, everyone will have more certainty. Master Qian and Li also said that they had a good relationship with the people from the political envoy yamen and the people from the yamen according to the inspection, and as long as it was not too excessive, the people from the other party's yamen were willing to cooperate.

Under Master Qian's plan, a conspiracy against Duan Xingao gradually began to take shape. First of all, Qi Mou, a fellow of the prefect's yamen, went to other places in the name of the yamen to transfer a batch of old rice that was almost moldy. This grain is inedible and there is no famine nearby, so the price is quite cheap. The price was less than 20% of the normal rice price, and Qi still felt that it was too expensive, so he bargained to 1/20% of the normal rice price. Then he secretly transported this batch of old rice to the vicinity of the county government, and used the relationship of his distant relative Qi as a secretary in the county government to win over Zhang, the treasurer who was relatively easy to woo.

Next, the people of the Thousand Households appeared, and they came to the county government to extract the old rice from the war granary according to the custom. Originally, the people from the county government were supposed to escort them to the governor's yamen, but because the people from the county government beat the people from the governor's yamen not long ago, in order to avoid embarrassment, the people from the county government did not follow. According to the rules of previous years, this receipt should have been sent by the person who patrolled the yamen, but according to the relationship between the county yamen and the governor's yamen, it was impossible for the governor's yamen to send it over. asked Duan Xingao to ask for a receipt in person, Duan Xingao felt that he would definitely be troubled, so he was a little hesitant. The officer came out to be a good man, and said that after the grain was delivered, he brought the receipt to Duan Xingao. Duan Xingao thanked the officer, and the officer escorted the grain. Unexpectedly, this officer not only did not get back the receipt to Duan Xingao, but also secretly sold this batch of military rations to the grain store, and did not hand it over to the governor's yamen. Master Qian of the Governor Yamen deliberately did not report it, just waiting for the future to deal Duan Xingao a heavy blow.

The officer came to the county office again and said that he had forgotten where he had put his receipt. When he finds it, he will definitely keep it and hand it over to Duan Xingao when he comes at the end of the year. Duan Xingao believed too much in the officer's character, so he didn't ask for a receipt immediately, which led to a series of problems later. Just when the officer deliberately diverted Duan Xingao, the treasurer Zhang and the secretary Qi Mou exchanged the old rice outside the county government and the new rice in the county government warehouse, and then transported the old rice in the warehouse into the war preparation granary. In this way, the new rice in the granary of war readiness is actually old rice that is no longer edible. Once the matter is exposed, Duan Xingao, as the person in charge of care, will be a capital offense.

After the new rice was secretly shipped out of Hubei, it was sold to merchants from other places at a high price. These people came and went and sold two batches of grain, not to mention, and completely loaded Duan Xingao into it. According to the military's meaning, it is not to expose this matter, and wait for the incident to break out in a few years. But the local faction led by Ma Gongzi and Master Qian didn't agree, they couldn't wait so long, and the sooner they saw Duan Xingao die, the better. This led to the later year-end audit of the accounts, which found that the number did not match, and the on-the-spot inspection of the grain found that the new rice had become inedible old rice.

Duan Xingao knew very well what was going on, but first, there was no evidence, and secondly, the relevant personnel either disappeared or resigned. It is impossible for the other party to give himself a chance to explain and investigate, and it is even more impossible for him to live. In order not to implicate his subordinates, in order not to implicate too many people, Duan Xingao decided to admit all the charges and end his life with his own hands. But Duan Xingao's death did not sober up these people, and they intensified their efforts to deal with Duan Xingao's family and local people. This is the current situation, once the matter is made public, the people will have a civil uprising, and even a real rebellion. This is also the main reason why other people know the truth of the matter, but they dare not disclose it easily. It was also for this reason that Duan Xingao did not dare to tell the truth. Once Duan Xingao tells the truth, the common people will seek justice for Duan Xingao, and even have a conflict with the officers and soldiers, and Duan Xingao will be a sinner for the ages. For the prestige of the imperial court, for the stability of the situation, and for the peace of the people, Duan Xingao decided to admit the crime in humiliation. If Qin Tai disclosed the truth of the case, Duan Xingao's sacrifice would be in vain.

Qin Tai thought about it again and again and decided to leave this problem to the imperial court to solve. Anyway, Qin Tai didn't have the right to deal with this case, and Qin Tai didn't want to be famous anyway. Just leave this problem to Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng to have a headache. Qin Tai divided the confession and clues of the case into three parts, including the secret arrest of the treasurer Zhang and the secretary of the office Qi, as well as the confession of the governor Yamen Li, plus the officer Qiu Jingwu, all in triplicate. One secret was given to Feng Bao, one secret was given to Zhang Juzheng, and one was given to the cabinet through normal channels. Feng Bao's letter was delivered by Jinyi Wei Feige, and it could be received in three days at the latest. What was given to Zhang Juzheng was to be sent urgently by Jinyiwei's fast horse, and it was estimated that it would be received in five days. At this time, the one sent to the cabinet had just left Hubei, and it would take at least ten days to send it to the capital. During this time, Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao could discuss countermeasures, whether to try it openly or secretly, or directly destroy all the evidence as if this incident had not happened. Qin Tai's original intention was to have an open trial, to give Duan Xingao a fair hand, and to give the people a clear understanding. But this is unlikely, because the imperial court needs face and peace. Once this matter is made public, there will be chaos in the yamen and barracks. Even if it is not implicated in other places, this time it will take down a large number of civil and military officials, and this will affect the situation in Hubei. Qin Tai was the last reluctant to see the last way. If Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao can't decide, they will find a way to prevent the last piece of information from reaching the cabinet. In this case, it means that Zhang Juzheng does not want to deal with this matter, and Duan Xingao has no chance to overturn the case. Qin Tai most hoped that the imperial court would pay attention to this matter and send a minister to find a reason to go to Hubei. Dealing with this matter in secret has given some of the most heinous people a reason to deal with it. Some officials who were not deeply involved in the case warned him, and finally restored Duan Xingao's reputation on a small scale.