In the early morning of the next day, Gao Shisheng took the people of the village to wait on the side of the road early, and it was not until noon that Beizhuang Wanjiro came back, and he came back with the county's general judge Lang and the criminal department Shaolu.

In front of them, there were four jailers holding long flags to open the way, and then there were six Fenggong warriors who accompanied the guards with their swords, and there were also servants, scribes, waiters and others to follow, and the pomp was huge. The travel of the shogunate officials represented the prestige of the imperial court and the guardian of the daimyo, and the honor guard entourage could not be omitted, so the road was not fast, and it was not until almost noon that he arrived at the Tokuhei Villa.

The second lieutenant of the procuratorial non-violation envoy is the official position on the seventh grade, and Tang called the criminal prison officer the general judge, and the positive seventh grade is the Lang official, so it was peaceful for a while, and most of the officials of the procuratorial non-violation embassy and the criminal department were the general judgment doctor, the general judgment office, and the general judgment Lang.

The name of the general judge Lang is Yamauchi Shifeng, and the name of the criminal department is Matsugami Shinzong, and both of them are also wealthy families of the 36 people of Yuanjiang.

The two of them were not busy entering the village, and after getting off the ox cart, after a few words of greeting, Yamauchi Shitoyo showed the order of the county guard, and said: "Yesterday, in front of the public, the "sect talked about killing", and the impact was extremely bad, and the county guard was very angry. The first of the two temples is guilty of a major crime, and the sinners on both sides can be detained in the village? ”

According to the law, both parties to the lawsuit, whether right or wrong, are guilty of a crime until the verdict is pronounced, and they must wear shackles and release the person to the county for questioning. However, due to the lack of public order, there were frequent incidents of gathering crowds to rob prisoners, and later the regulations were changed, and the village office temporarily detained the errand house, and the county sent people to come over for interrogation.

Yamauchi Shitoyo asked this question, not only because of the rules of arraignment, but also because he was a believer in the Rinzai sect, and he didn't have a good impression of the Pure Land Shin Sect and the Shingon sect, and his tone was also a little harsh.

"Both sides of the crime are monks, can enjoy" eight discussion forgiveness ", but not detained by the village, the monks of Zenko-in Temple know that they are guilty, panicked, after paying the fine yesterday, they are all forbidden to wait for the crime, please wait a while, I will send someone to summon them. ”

"Where are the monks of Umegawa-in?" Yamauchi asked again.

"I spent the deceased in the village last night, and now I don't know if it has happened, so I will send someone to invite it immediately." Gao Shisheng deliberately did not mention the monks of Meichuan Academy, in order to wait for this question.

Sure enough, Yamauchi Shifeng looked very displeased, and admonished: "Other sinners, if you don't take them in prison, you are already derelict in your duties, how dare you let them walk around at will in the village, could it be that you accepted bribes from them, and you want to bend the law for personal gain!" ”

Gao Shisheng arched his hand and replied: "My lord Mingjian, it is not that his subordinates are taking bribes for personal gain, but he really does not dare to offend the monks. ”

"Don't dare to offend, is this your reason for prevarication?" What kind of reason is this, it is determined that Gao Shisheng accepted bribes from the monks of Meichuan Academy, so he allowed them to be so fearless.

When Gao Shisheng heard this, he stood with his hands down, and replied without humility or arrogance: "The children of the Yuanjiang Gao clan are not good, but they can't be bought with money. ”

The Gao clan of Yuanjiang and the clan of Tianfang Yamauchi belong to the thirty-six people of Yuanjiang, on the status of the family, the surname of the Gao family is the high-level clan, the fifth male of the longhouse king, the marquis of the Ansu Mansion, the subordinate is lowered, and the name is high-level and true.

The high-ranking clan is a subordinate of the courtiers, and although the power position is not as good as the four major surnames of Genpei Fujitachi, it is also a famous samurai family of the four dynasties of Heian, Kamakura, Kenmu, and Muromachi.

Regardless of background, the Gao clan is a genealogy retainer of the Imagawa family for 200 years, and the Yamauchi clan is just a new member of the public, and it has only been a few decades since he was attached to the Jun Mansion.

Although Gao Shisheng's status is low now, he was also a direct minister of Junfu before his debriefing, and the two of them are equal in status, no matter in terms of family name, origin or qualifications, they are not a six-rank judge of the Yamauchi clan, and they can be reprimanded in public.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the criminal department Shaolu Matsugami Shinzong hurriedly stood up and played a round: "The sentence is heavy, the words are serious, I have known Xin Jiulang for a long time, he is honest and honest, known as a virtuous name, how can he accept bribes for personal gain, know the law and break the law?" I'm waiting for a long time, but I don't know that the people's feelings are going to rely on Shinjiuro's assistance, so it's not good to make mistakes. ”

When the official of the village heard the judge Lang ask whether he had taken bribes, he couldn't help but get nervous. This crime can be big or small, Junfu law strictly prohibits officials from accepting bribes, and the law is so strict that those who accept bribes of more than 100 liters will be given 30 rods, which is the same as the crime of fighting lawsuits.

Although the law is strict, the practice of bribery has always existed.

Even Imagawa Yoshimoto himself openly accepts bribes from large merchants in the country every year, clearly marked the price, and sells the franchise of various commercial goods in Tokaido, which has an upward and downward effect, and the officials collect money for personal gain, as long as it is not too excessive, no one will be overly investigated.

Matsugami Nobumune didn't care at all about the service of the shosho, whether he was bribed or not, and it was his duty to deal with the current case, even if it was really corrupt and bribed, it was also a clean government matter managed by the embassy.

He and Gao Shisheng have served in Junfu City, although they are only general friends, but they still believe in their reputations, but this time they are wrong. Gao Shisheng did accept bribes, but what he received was a bribe from Zenko-in.

A few words reluctantly revealed this, Gao Shisheng invited the two officials of the Yamauchi clan and Matsugami Shinzong to enter the backyard and sit down first, and after offering clear water, he instructed Murono Heizo to invite Yun Shouni's mother and daughter.

I went to call the monks of Meichuan Temple, and last night I was busy for half a night, and it was almost dawn when the monks rested.

The servants of the village did not wait to see the monks of Meichuan Temple, so in the morning, under the leadership of Gao Shisheng, he quietly left the manor, left them, and waited alone on the side of the road.

When the county magistrate took the large and small attachés into the village, the monks heard the movement, and half-asleep and half-awake opened the door of the entrance door and quietly observed.

When the monk saw that the Shangguan from the county went to the backyard, he couldn't help but be secretly anxious, he was more concerned about how the case was decided than Meichuan Yuan's Kongshan, if the county didn't pursue it, Meichuan Yuan's Kongshan just died of a son, if he chased it to the end, the next person to die might be himself.

Seeing Gao Shisheng coming out of the backyard, he hurriedly pushed open the entrance, greeted him and asked, "Zhuangtou, but someone from the county is here?" ”

"Exactly, I was about to ask you to answer."

"Please also Zhuang Tou, you must speak up, the little monk is here to thank you." After speaking, he bowed.

Gao Shisheng hurriedly avoided it, unwilling to accept his worship, and said in his mouth: "Don't dare!" Can't! "What I thought in my heart was that I really wasn't the kind of person who didn't enter a temple.

When the matter comes, it is better to use empty vernacular to shake this point, and there will be a time for you to cry.

A few words sent away the monk of the clear space, and asked him to lead the Meichuan Yuan Kongshan and others to the backyard to reply.

Then he came to a secluded place in the front yard of the shosho, avoided the attachés brought by the two Lang officials, and called the Kitasho Manjiro and the Kimura brothers: "The three of you go and invite the monks of Zenko-in, Hasegawa Hayabusa, and Nagata Mori respectively, and be sure to find them all before noon." ”

The three of them responded, turned around and were about to leave, Gao Shisheng grabbed the three of them and whispered, "Wait! ”

"What else does the head of the village command?"

"The county guard not only sent two Lang officials and the accompanying jailers, but also brought a seizure warrant, and after the trial of the case, he would inevitably go to seal the two monasteries. Zen Master Zhenghong, the head of the Zenko Temple, a good monk, really shouldn't be implicated in this, and yesterday I also begged you and me to help... In this way, Manjiro, you go to Zenko-in Temple, tell Zen Master Zhenghong to let the temple prepare early, and Heiroku and Heihachi will go to Hasegawa and Nagata to come and ask for guilt. ”

The general judgment and criminal department are the more important judicial officials in the county, and they also have their own responsibilities when it comes to specific work.

Reporting prisoners, adjudicating lawsuits, etc., are all responsible for general judgments; The property of the convict was confiscated, and the arrest and imprisonment were placed under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Department. If you only investigate and collect evidence, you don't need to come to the criminal record, and the order that the two officials showed him clearly stated that the two monasteries should be banned and confiscated.

Gao Shisheng took people's money and eliminated disasters with others, he couldn't control the outcome of the county's verdict, so he could only use this almost metaphor to remind the monks of Zenguang Monastery that they should hurry up and transfer the gold and silver in the courtyard before the criminal department sealed it, so as not to empty both people and money.

This is also right, the five gold small judgments sent by Zheng Hong, the head of the Shan Guang Academy, as for whether the monk Zheng Hongda can understand it, it is none of his business.

Beizhuang Manjiro, who was clever and thorough, promised in a loud voice, and said: "I already know all the meaning of the head of the village, and the villain will definitely be able to convey it truthfully and handle this matter well." ”

Kitazhuang Manjiro and the Kimura brothers took their own lives and parted ways.

After Gao Shisheng sent the three away, he walked back to the village.

In September, the autumn breeze should have started in the mountains, but this year's Tokaido is different from previous years, and the weather is still very hot. The two Lang officials rode in an ox cart, and they still had to drink water and enjoy the cool in the backyard house, not to mention the jailers and samurai who followed all the way on foot, who were already thirsty and tired, and miserable.

With no one to serve him, he had to do it himself, so he borrowed two wooden barrels from the village officials and went to the well to fetch water, and Sun Ichiro Shinjin brought them from the longhouse with a stack of pottery bowls for the county officials to scoop water to quench their thirst.

People are tired and the cattle are thirsty, and the cattle have to drink water when they are full, and the little attendant who drives the car carries the bucket in the horse shed to fill the water, and is about to send it to the cattle when he goes out.

"Oops! You... How are you? The two of them invariably let out an "oops", looked up, but recognized each other.

The messenger who brought water to the cows, not tall, dark complexion, his real name was Itakura Shiro Uemon, who was originally a novice who was a monk at the Eian Temple of the Pure Land Shinshu of Mikawa Province, and a few years ago Gao Shisheng went to the temple with his mother to worship incense, and he was also served by him at that time, because he was too dark, so he was impressed.

It's just that I don't know when I returned home, and I came to Fuzhi County in Yuanjiang Country as an errand boy.

Itakura Shiro Uemon hurriedly put down the bucket and saluted: "Itakura Shiro Uemon was rude and collided with the adult, please forgive me!" ”

"It's okay, you and I are old acquaintances." Gao Shisheng let go of the door and let him pass first. At that time, it was very common for the children of the samurai family to become monks, and some samurai even became monks many times in their lives for various reasons, such as the governor of the Echigo Nagao clan, who confronted the Takeda family on Kawanaka Island this year.

"Jiaci was still talking before, when I went to Yong'an Temple to worship incense this year, I would bring some clothes that I didn't wear to my junior brother, but I didn't expect you to be vulgar."

"There is labor, the eldest uncle is worried, in June this year, Junfu recruited the children of the martial arts family to serve the public, and the parents of the little monk let the little monk return to the vulgar service." Every year, the Imagawa clan sends an order to each county to elect the children of the samurai family of the right age to replace the vacant sons, and the name of the Itakura Shiro Uemon family is not obvious, and he is also old, so after being selected, he went to Sunfu Castle to go through the motions, and was directly sent to the county as a clerk.

Gao Shisheng's mother, in front of the cloud hall is a monk monks, many years ago has escaped into the empty door, the worship of the Zen master is the presiding officer of Yong'an Temple, the Itakura family is its Sakurai Matsudaira clan samurai retainers, every time he goes to care for him extraordinarily.

Itakura Shiro Uemon can return to Shijun Mansion, or the premise of Gao Shisheng's mother Yundian.

The Pure Land Buddhism believes that all beings are equal in Buddha nature, and that everyone has Buddha nature, but because of their gender, they suffer from different sufferings and evils. In terms of behavior, men are braver and stronger than women, and they are more murderous and more obstacles: psychologically, women are more jealous, hateful, and calculating than men.

The Buddha said in the Sutra of the First Stunned Samadhi: "Good man! Those who have developed Mahayana do not see men and women, but there is a difference. So what? If the heart of the sapa is not in the Three Realms, there is a distinction, there are men and women. For ordinary ordinary women, once the bodhichitta is initiated, the distinction between men and women is immediately transcended, because there is no male or female path.

For both men and women to be called "brother", Gao Shisheng's mother's name was chosen by his father, Matsudaira Izumo Mamoru Mamoru Naga, so the name Nagaqin layman, Itakura Shiro Uemon will be called Shishu.

Note 1: Itakura Shiro Uemon Katsushige, known as the "Itakura dignitary" of Edo.

Born in the 14th year of Tianwen, Yonglu was only 13 years old in the first year, and he should still be a monk at Yong'an Temple of the Sanhe Pure Land Shinzong, and the plot needs to make him born four years early.

Note 2: The Marquis of Ansu Mansion said that he was the father and son of the King of Nagaya and the King of Anjuku.