It didn't take long for the imperial historian Bingji to arrive, and Liu Xun always respected Bingji, got up to greet him, and beckoned him to sit down.

Bingji didn't know what to announce him, so he hurried over, his eyes full of confusion.

Liu Xun looked at this benevolent elder, and a warm current unexpectedly surged in his heart, and said with a smile: "If you are in such a hurry, take a breath first." ”

Bingji was cramped and uneasy, neither standing nor sitting, and said with a long sigh: "The minister is waiting for His Majesty's will." ”

Liu Xun smiled, sat down by himself, beckoned him to sit down, and after a while, he said: "Binggong is well versed in the law, and I have something to inquire about." Bingji hurriedly got up and avoided the table and said, "The minister is afraid-"

Liu Xun waved his hand: "Gong Bing doesn't have to be polite, sit down, sit down." ”

At this time, Prime Minister Wei Xiang also rushed over and entered the palace to give gifts. Liu Xun motioned to Shi Gao to talk about Shuo Fang's imprisonment, Bingji listened carefully, and asked a few words if he didn't understand. Wei Xiang had previously investigated the Shuo Fang border dispute, and also learned from the Tingwei Mansion that there were Shuo Fang suspects who were sent to Beijing. But he didn't know about arson, and when he heard it, he was also surprised.

Liu Xun looked puzzled and asked, "Is it in accordance with the law to be imprisoned like this?" ”

Bingji hesitated for a moment, and said slowly: "Han Lu is guilty of connivance and usurpation. Therefore, indulgence is the deliberate indulgence of criminals, and usurpation is the unlawful release of prisoners. Shuofang County Prison convicted Cao Peng Pang Meng of what he did, or sat on these two crimes. ”

Speaking of this, he stopped and glanced at Liu Xun and Shi Gao Junchen. Both of them listened attentively to what he was saying, and when they saw him stop, Shi Gao answered: "Cao Peng Pang Meng knows the law and breaks the law, and these ten prisoners are also suspected of escaping. ”

Bingji shook his head: "As far as the current situation is concerned, Shuo Fang's decision to imprison Cao Peng Pang Meng, and the ten suspects who came to Chang'an to bring them to justice, are not conclusive. ”

Shi Gao was puzzled and asked, "How do you say this?" ”

Bingji said: "I am a great Han law, and the master of virtue is a criminal auxiliary." Shuo Fang's ten prisoners should be sentenced on suspicion, and the edict and prison arrest are Chang'an, which is also in legal theory. As for how to come to Chang'an, whether it is escorted by the jailers or the prisoners returning themselves, it's just that the process is different, and if a lot of them are brought to justice on time, then there is no problem. ”

Shi Gao thought in his heart, this Imperial Doctor was really a benevolent elder, and he could also find a reason to be tolerant of such a violation.

"At the moment, Cao Peng, Pang Meng and Shuo Fang's ten prisoners are still on the way to be detained. Therefore, before noon on September 15, no one could be said to have been convicted. Bingji said.

"This is unheard of. Aren't you afraid that someone will escape on the way? Liu Xun said thoughtfully.

The minister couldn't figure out why Pang Meng wanted the ten prisoners to come to Chang'an to return to the case. These 10 prisoners have not yet been convicted, life and death are uncertain, and it is reasonable for anyone to escape on the way. After all, survival is also a human instinct. At this, Bingji lowered his head, as if thinking about something.

Wei Xiang's lips moved, but he hesitated for a while, and finally didn't say anything.

There was a moment of silence in the hall. After a while, Bingji straightened up and sat upright, and said, "The minister thinks that if the ten prisoners are all brought to justice on time, it will be a faithful act of fearless life and death, which has never been done before. He was such a calm person, and he couldn't suppress his inner excitement at this time, and his voice trembled a little.

"Never before." Liu Xun pondered, pondered for a while, suddenly gasped, looked up and asked, "What will happen if someone can't be brought to justice on time." ”

Hearing his question, Bingji couldn't help but look solemn, thought for a moment, and replied: "If someone fails to return within the time limit, it will be guilty of escaping, and it can also be regarded as escaping from prison, which is a serious crime. ”

Shi Gao was surprised: "It's so serious." He suddenly thought of another question: "What if you didn't intend to escape, but really missed the time because of the difficult journey?" ”

Hearing this, Bingji stared at him for a long time. Shi Gao was furious when he was looked at, so he had to smile awkwardly. Bingji said slowly: "The death of Qin lies in Chen Sheng's first righteousness. The reason why Chen Sheng made a big plan was to miss the deadline. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang 900 people sent Lu Zuo Shishu Yuyang, it will rain heavily, the road is impassable, all have been lost, and they should be cut if they are lost. So he raised his arms and shouted, and stood up. ”

Of course, Liu Xun is familiar with this historical material, and said with emotion: "This is indeed the case. The delay caused by a heavy rain actually caused a huge strong Qin to collapse with a bang. Wei Xiang also nodded frequently.

Shi Gao said: "That is to say, if the date is delayed, no matter what the reason is, it should be cut according to the law." ”

Bingji said: "Qin law is a heavy punishment, and Han law is virtuous, so Xiao Xiangguo became "Nine Chapters of Law", and the law was punished. However, the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, conviction and sentencing, and there are many similarities, and they should be beheaded for missing the deadline, and they will sit together for the same crime. If the ten prisoners of Shuofang miss the date, ten people will sit together and be beheaded. And Shuo Fang decided that Cao Peng and the relevant officials were guilty of dereliction of duty. ”

Liu Xun stood up and wandered around the hall with his hands behind his back, and Bingji, Wei Xiang, and Shi Gao also stood up and stood aside.

"It is truly unprecedented for a 600-stone official to do such a shocking act, or to demonstrate his faithfulness, or to incur death. Wasn't he worried? Liu Xun still felt that this was incredible, and shook his head frequently.

He turned around and saw Bingji still standing beside him, thinking that he had already asked about this matter, so he said, "Binggong, stand down." ”

Bingji bowed and said, "The minister retreats." Wei Xiang didn't know whether to leave or stay, and looked at Bingji slowly withdrawing, hesitated for a moment, and froze there without moving.

Seeing this, Liu Xun thought for a while, and felt that it was better to discuss some words with Shi Gao first, so he said, "Wei Qing, you should also step down." ”

Liu Xun watched Bingji and Wei Xiang leave, and asked, "Do you understand?" Shi Gao said respectfully: "At noon on September 15, between life and death, I can't wait to see the results. ”

Liu Xun laughed noncommittally, returned to the bookcase and sat down, flipped through the bamboo slips, and asked, "What are the charges of these ten prisoners?" ”

Shi Gao said the charges of the ten people, Liu Xun sometimes frowned, sometimes shook his head, and after listening, he pondered for a moment, and said suspiciously: "Among the ten prisoners, seven of them were convicted because of the Shuofang side dispute." ”

Shi Gao suddenly felt a pang in his heart, remembering that Zhang Zhang, the groom of Huofu, had said that Fan Mingyou had gone to Shuofang during that time. He hesitated whether to report the situation to the emperor, and when he looked up, he found Liu Xun staring at him with blazing eyes. He smiled reluctantly and said, "Your Majesty suspected that there might be a hidden story in the border dispute between Shuo Fang, and the minister also sent someone to inquire, but the road is far away, and there has been no reply so far. However, it is reported that the general of Duliao, Pham Minh You, had been to Shuofang, and the minister also found out from the case file that one of the ten people had a strange background. ”

"But it's a few."

The emperor said this name coldly, Shi Gao was stunned for a moment, and then his face turned pale, and he thought to himself: "The king actually knows how many Chun Yu, but I am deceiving the king." So he threw himself on the ground and kept kowtowing: "The minister is guilty of death." ”

"Why?" Liu Xun said coldly.

"Ministers should not know and not report it, there is a crime of defrauding the king." Shi Gao became more and more frightened, and the floor of the kowtow also rattled.

Liu Xun snorted: "Get up and talk about it." ”

Shi Gao stood up, didn't dare to straighten up, bowed down and peeked, and found that the emperor's expression was calm, as if he didn't mean to blame him, and his heart was a little calm. So he hesitated for a moment, his face flushed, and then he stammered: "When the minister checked the case file of the ten prisoners of Shuofang, he also noticed this Chun Yuji, he was the nephew of Chun Yuyan, the female doctor of the palace back then. It is rumored that Chun Yuyan poisoned Queen Xu. It's just that the minister has no definite evidence, so he doesn't dare to report it to His Majesty. ”

"You went to check it back then." Liu Xun looked directly at him and said.

"At that time, Chun Yuyan, the imperial physician of the palace, was the most suspicious, and I have taken her into custody, and if there is enough time, I will be able to judge the result. It's just that, it's just that the general is not allowed to pursue it. Scoot sputtered.