"You know how to cry -—— cry - crying——, what did you go to do earlier; If it weren't for your pampering of him, would he be like this now? Li Shanchang was dizzy by the constant crying, turned around and said angrily.

"Aren't you accustomed to him? When did you and your brother say a word about him, and now that something has happened to him, you are on our heads again. The brother-in-law argued while crying.

"Alright, alright; Don't talk about it either, let's find a way to get Li Bin out quickly. Mrs. Li hurriedly reconciled and said in a low voice.

"Think, think, think, what do I think? This damn Liu Bowen is a dead brain who can't eat water, and I can't think about him. Li Shanchang sat down at another table, constantly pounding the table in front of him with his hand, and said with annoyance.

"Do you want your nephew to die a tragic death on the execution ground like this? Son! Mom, I'm sorry for you! Mom, there's no way to just you! Li Shanchang's brother and daughter-in-law, when they heard this, beat their chests and cried loudly.

"Enough!" Li Shanchang slammed his fist on the table, only to hear a ping-pong sound, and the teapot and tea bowl on the table jumped and made a crisp sound.

The woman who was startled by the sudden sound of slapping the table suddenly 'clucked', stopped her crying, and turned her head to look at the angry Li Shanchang in a daze.

Seeing that he was gone, the woman howled again: "My son! My mother is also looked down upon now, and my mother is no longer alive, if you die, I will go with you. As he spoke, two fat hands kept knocking on the table.

Mrs. Li's face suddenly showed a hint of disgust, and then she began to persuade again; And Li Shanchang, who was next to him, flicked his sleeves and walked out of the room with a stiff face...........

*********

"Lord Liu, I heard that today's case went very smoothly." Chu Liuyan, who had been waiting in Liu's Mansion for a long time, said with a smile.

"This is all the emperor's wise proposition, I am just acting on orders." Liu Bowen clenched his fists with both hands, arched his hand in the direction of the palace, and said modestly.

"I heard that Li Shanchang, the old fox, was called to the palace by the emperor for a whole day today, so you seized the opportunity to finish the case, isn't that the case?" Xu Da, who was sitting on the other side, asked puzzled.

"That's true." Liu Bowen said affirmatively.

"Why is it so coincidental, if you want to handle the case, the emperor will call Li Shanchang into the palace to discuss matters." Chu Liuyan also asked with a smile.

"Didn't I say it, this is all done by the emperor's order, what's so strange about this." Liu Bowen said with a mysterious smile.

"Good! You guy is actually playing a dumb riddle with us; See how I clean you up? Saying that, Xu Da was about to get up.

"Don't, don't; We are gentlemen's friends, and you have heard people often say that gentlemen do not move their hands; We're just going to have to say it. Liu Bowen hurriedly waved his hand and said.

With a "flutter", Chu Liuyan, who had just taken a sip of tea, couldn't hold back his laughter, sprayed the tea in his mouth on the ground at once, and then coughed.

"You look at it and blame you, almost choked King Pingshuo." Xu Da immediately took advantage of the topic to play.

"Alright, alright; Don't amuse each other, but prepare well and don't let people mess with it. Chu Liuyan, who stopped coughing, reminded him.

"Yes! When you didn't see me return to the front of the house, Li Shanchang looked for me once, but I was blocked by my excuse; Looking at the way he is leaving, he will never give up; We're really going to take a good look at what to do next. Speaking of this, Liu Bowen's face also became serious.

"What's there to worry about, won't we just hand over the case to the emperor?" Xu Da looked at the two frowning friends in confusion and said.

"Old Xu! Arrange troops and command battles, you are a good hand; But in these officialdom intrigues, you are far behind; Some things are not as simple as we say, and you need to think about it a few more steps. Liu Bowen said with some emotion.

"I said that you civil officials are trouble, a very simple matter, and as soon as you stir it up, it becomes very complicated. With such a clear case, what else is there to study. Xu Da shook his head helplessly.

"Don't forget, what kind of person Zuo Xiangguo is, don't you know? He will never just give up and obediently let us punish his nephew who has done all kinds of evil. Chu Liuyan said with a frown.

"Yes! What kind of tricks will he use to stop us from moving the case forward? Liu Bowen walked around the room a few times, and said with a frown.

"What are you doing here? Wouldn't it be nice to eat and play like me, and then think of countermeasures when the time comes? It's not that I want to fight, and I'm afraid of delaying the opportunity. Looking at the sad looks of the two, Xu Da yawned and then said.

"That's right! What's the use of us being so foolish; Xu Da is right, it's not a battle, can't we just take it at any time? Chu Liuyan turned to smile and said.

Hearing the words of the two, Liu Bowen also laughed. Then, the three of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.

***********

"Your Majesty, this year, there is a general drought in the capital, and many people have been displaced. The waiter of the Ministry of Rites walked out of the queue and said to the emperor.

"Yes! I have heard of this matter, such a natural disaster, it is indeed irreparable by manpower; I will send you as a messenger to supervise the opening of warehouses and grain release in the disaster area, so as to solve the urgent needs of the people. The emperor sighed and immediately issued an order.

"Obey the order!" The waiter of the Ministry of Rites hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, and responded.

When the waiter of the Ministry of Rites got up and returned to the queue, Hu Weiyong, who was too often a young secretary, stepped out of the queue and saluted upwards and said: "Your Majesty, in such a year of great drought, the minister feels that he should give amnesty to the world, and at the same time, announce to the world that no killing is allowed, so as not to provoke the wrath of the heavens, which will make the disaster more serious." ”

Just when the emperor was still pondering, Li Shanchang also stepped out of the queue and said loudly: "Your Majesty, what Taichang Shaoqing said is extremely true, such a big natural disaster has occurred, I am afraid it is really caused by resentment; The minister also pleaded with the emperor to grant amnesty to the world, so as to comply with the will of heaven, so that the heavy rain would come. ”

After listening to the words of the two, Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while, turned his head to look at Liu Bowen, and said, "What is Zhongshuling's opinion on this matter?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister feels that in such a year of great drought, it is even more important to use heavy canons to bring those who do all kinds of evil to justice, so as to ensure that the victims of the disaster are not violated; We must not tolerate the treacherous and let the people suffer even greater disasters. I implore the emperor to issue this decree as an example. Liu Bowen stood up and said loudly.

As soon as this remark came out, it caused a commotion in the court; Hundreds of civil and military officials exchanged heads and ears, and the discussion continued.

"What the Zhongshu Order says, the minister finds it difficult to explain; According to the past practice, whenever there is a year of great drought, which dynasty and which generation is not united in the whole country, and is not allowed to kill, but prays for nectar from heaven as soon as possible; However, according to the Zhongshu Order, the more people killed, the sooner the heavens can rain nectar. Li Shanchang pointed directly at Liu Bowen.

"However, if according to Zuo Xiangguo's words, these criminals who have committed crimes are put into society and let them kill the people again; In this way, I am afraid that there will be more killings; I wonder what method Master Li has to control these people's killing behavior? Liu Bowen also said-for-tat.

"Lord Liu, don't go too far; We are discussing how we can conform to Providence in order to bring down nectar early. It's not about how to control other people's crimes. Li Shanchang was a little annoyed, and quickly led the topic to the matter of amnesty to the world.

"But I would like to ask Lord Zhongshu Ling, if it is not according to the custom, amnesty will be granted to the world; Can you guarantee that heavy rain will come? Li Shanchang also fought back without giving an inch: "Lord Zhongshuling, who has always known astronomy and geography, may really know when the heavy rain will come?" We'll see. ”

"Well, as long as all the laws are carried out normally, I guarantee that heavy rain is coming." Liu Bowen said with confidence.

Looking at Liu Bowen's calm appearance, Li Shanchang glanced at Hu Weiyong; This obviously had a look of help, which made Hu Weiyong stand out of the queue again and salute upward: "Emperor Qiqi, if it is really as Lord Liu said, killing should not be forbidden, and it will rain heavily from the sky; But once it really violates the virtue of God's good life and suffers from a greater drought, I don't know how to bear this responsibility? ”

The words of Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang made the emperor not know what to do? Just when he was embarrassed, Pingshuo Wang Chu Liuyan walked out of the queue and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what Lord Liu said is extremely true; In this year of great tribulation, we should not put those who are guilty into heaven; If this causes social unrest, I wonder who will be responsible? ”

The emperor pondered for a while, then turned to Liu Bowen and said, "Liu Aiqing, are you sure that the heavy rain is coming?" ”

Liu Bowen, who was in a heart, said to the emperor with a solemn expression: "If the emperor approves the execution of the criminals who were originally executed after the autumn, they will be executed now; I think the heavens will feel the emperor's heart for the people, and the nectar will be sent early. ”

"You talk nonsense!" When Li Shanchang heard this, he only felt angry, and shouted in disregard of etiquette.

"Master Li, don't forget, this is above the court, not in your Li Mansion." Chu Liuyan said in a low voice.

Li Shanchang, who was startled, secretly glanced at the emperor uneasily; Seeing that the emperor's face was gloomy, his heart was pounding, and he only felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his mouth.

The emperor, whose face was ugly, said to Liu Bowen: "Since Liu Aiqing is so sure, the widow will allow you to play; The widow will send you as an inspector to handle the case, and find out all the prisoners executed after the autumn in and outside the capital, and you will choose the time to enforce the law of the country. With that, he turned and walked to the apse.

"Congratulations to the emperor!" The civil and military officials shouted loudly; Immediately, the Huangmen official announced his retirement from the dynasty.

Li Shanchang, who was full of anger, looked straight at Liu Bowen with anger in his eyes, his lips trembled, but he didn't say anything.

Hu Weiyong, who came later, said: "Lord Liu, I don't know why you are so confident? Xia Guan can wait and see. With that, he clenched his fists and turned to leave.

And more officials cast different looks at him; Worried, gloating, and puzzled eyes appeared in the eyes of officials of different factions.

And Chu Liuyan and Xu Da looked at Liu Bowen with worried faces; "Don't be afraid, I've been observing the sky lately, and heavy rain should be coming soon." Liu Bowen leaned into the ears of the two and said softly.

"Good! It rains or not, we're on your side. Xu Da secretly glanced at Li Shanchang, who was constantly staring here in the distance, and said softly.

"Well, with your words, I will be satisfied; I will stick to my own principles. After speaking, Liu Bowen hugged his fists, turned around and walked outside the noon gate; Looking at his firm steps, Chu Liuyan and Xu Da knew that he was ready to throw everything away and make up his mind to be the master of the people.........

***********

"Hey! Did you know? That lawless Li Bin is going to be executed. A person walking by on the street, when he met person B, said happily.

"Really? When did this happen? People B also shouted excitedly and inexplicably.

"I have just passed in front of the Imperial Palace, and there is a big notice pasted there; I listened to one of the people who was there watching the post, and there were a lot of people around there to see it now. Citizen A excitedly talked about what he had seen and heard.

"You're not talking nonsense, are you? Although Lord Liu sentenced Li Bin to death, it was impossible to execute it so quickly; Besides, I've heard people say that Li Bin's uncle is Lord Li of Zuo Xiangguo, and it is impossible for such a hard backstage to be executed like this. Among the onlookers, there was a well-informed person who interjected.

"I don't know, anyway, that's what the notice says; If you don't believe it, see for yourselves; Besides, the proclamation also used a red pen to approve a lot of executions, who knows what is going on? People A continued to shout.

"We don't listen to him, let's go and see for ourselves." There were anxious people next to him, and they immediately beckoned everyone to run outside the Imperial Palace.

When the panting people and others came to the outside of the Imperial Palace, the place had already been surrounded by crowds; More people are asking each other non-stop.

"Dude, what the hell is written in it?"

"I heard that Lord Liu of the Imperial History wrote to the emperor, because there were too many evildoers, which led to a great drought in the capital; Lord Liu asked the emperor to behead a group of death row prisoners, so as to comply with the will of heaven and rain nectar as soon as possible. ”

"How do you really know that well?" Another onlooker interjected and asked; This time, more people gathered around this little psychic master.

Seeing that everyone was looking forward to him, the man stretched his neck, stroked his beard, and coughed a few times before continuing: "What's this, one of my relatives is working in the Imperial History Yamen; He's well-informed, and we're fine, so he'll tell me anything first. After saying that, the man looked at everyone smugly.

"I said, brother, what are your relatives doing in the Imperial History Yamen? Why is it so well-informed. One of the people next to him asked suspiciously.

"It's a secret, how can I tell you; Besides, how would I have known so much if I hadn't gotten the inside scoop. The man argued with a reddened face.

"No, man; is on an errand in the imperial history yamen, what secrets are there; Your brother isn't bragging, otherwise why wouldn't you tell your relatives' names and whatever? ”

"You are talking nonsense, it is my relatives who said it!" The man's neck was stretched in arguing, and his face grew redder.

"Then you say!" Onlookers cheered.

"Okay, I say! There is a Liu Xianglei, you know, that is my relative. The man's face was flushing and turning purple, so he had no choice but to speak.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a few people around him burst into laughter. One of them said, "It's the one who digs the thatched house in the Imperial Palace; No wonder, it's always convenient for him to eavesdrop on other people's convenient conversations. As he spoke, the laughter around him became louder.

At this moment, several officials walked out of the Imperial History Yamen, and one of them, who looked like a team leader, stood outside the gate and said loudly: "Fathers and fellow villagers, this time the Imperial History Lord wants to meet and behead a few people who have committed great crimes; Therefore this proclamation is hereby issued, that the people may go and see it; I hope that after you go back, you will inform each other, and in three days' time, it will be carried out on the river beach outside the south of the city; At the same time, Lord Liu will hold a ceremony to pray for rain. After saying that, the team leader once again bowed to everyone.

Soon three days passed, and on the morning of the fourth day, many people came to the river beach outside the south of the city early, in order to find a good corner of the official website. In those slightly higher positions, it can be said that you are hugging me and squeezing, and fighting for each other constantly; Even the trees that were a little closer were covered with people, almost bending the trees. And where it is very close to the river beach, not to mention, it is almost people next to people, and it becomes impossible to even turn around, so they can only stand there upright, swaying with the flow of people.

When the sun was on the third pole, the sound of the opening gong in the distance let people know the arrival of the execution procession; All the people looked intently in the direction from which the gong sounded.

Soon, a long line of several carriages and many cavalry accompanying the carriages appeared in people's field of vision; As the procession approached, it became clear that a cage was erected on each carriage; The criminal's head is stuck at the top of the cage, exposed.

Gradually, people saw the face of each prisoner awaiting execution; And the people in the cage in the first carriage, almost many of the people present, stared at him fiercely; Wait until one of the people shouts, "A thousand knives cut this bastard!" When he threw the stone in his hand, the stones, mud, and mud that followed fell one after another on the head and body of the condemned prisoner in this prison car. In an instant, his face turned into a miserable ball of red mud.

The soldiers of these escort teams had no one to stop this from happening; Exactly like someone who has nothing to do, keep going.

(It's repeated, it's changed.) ）