Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

The guard of the Thebes Land Registry was awakened by a sudden sound in his sleep. He thought he was having a nightmare, but later found out that someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" "The Chief of Police, and the Prime Minister." "I hate pranks, especially in the middle of the night. Hurry up, or you will regret it." "You'd better come and answer the door right away." "Go away, or I will call someone." "Go and call, just in time for them to help us knock the door open." The guard looked out suspiciously from the stone window stick, and saw the huge figures of the Nubian and Fufu standing in the moonlight.It's Cam and his baboons!Their fame had long spread throughout Egypt.He immediately unbolted the door: "I'm sorry, but this was too unexpected..."

"Turn on the lights, the prime minister wants to examine the cadastral map." "Is it better to inform the director?" "Then ask him to come over." The person in charge of the cadastral department ran over with a straight face and angrily. When he saw the prime minister, his anger disappeared. It turned out that the guards were not talking nonsense.The Prime Minister did show up in his office at this unexpected moment!He immediately fawned and asked, "I don't know which pictures the Prime Minister wants to see?" "Cadastral Information on the Karnak Temple Estate."

"But... a lot." "Start with the farthest village first" North or South? " "North." "Small village or big village?" "The most important village," The director spread out the map on the long wooden table, which clearly marked the boundaries, canals, and settlements of each area. Pazar couldn't find the village he just visited, so he asked, "Are these the latest information?" "Of course." "Hasn't it been changed recently?" "Yes, three village chiefs came to ask for a change."

"why?" "Because the village boundary was flooded, it needs to be re-measured and demarcated. The work is carried out by experts, and my subordinates are responsible for recording observation reports." "He shrunk Karnak's territory!" "This has nothing to do with our Land Registry Office, we are only responsible for records." "Could it be that you haven't informed High Priest Carney?" The director took a few steps back, as if he didn't want his face to be exposed to the light: "I'm planning to submit a complete report to him."

"It's only now, isn't it too late?" "Due to lack of manpower..." "What's the name of this measurement expert?" "Su Meinu." "Where do you live?" The director hesitated, "He's not from here." "Not from Thebes?" "No, he's from Memphis..." "Who sent him?" "Of course they were sent by the palace, who else?" * * * On both sides of the avenue leading to the Karnak Temple, the red and white laurel trees exude a soft and charming atmosphere, and the sense of solemnity propped up by the tall walls around the sanctuary has also been discussed a lot.As Pazar came to visit again, Kani walked out of the quiet temple to talk with him.These two great figures, second only to Pharaoh, walked slowly between the two rows of sphinxes, which symbolized protection.

"My investigation has made progress." Pazar said the good news first. "What's the use of investigating?" "You can prove your innocence." "But I'm not innocent." "You've been tricked." "I'm just being fooled by my own abilities." "You are wrong! There are three villages farthest away, and they sent their harvests to Coptos, so your assets will decrease." "Are they under the jurisdiction of Karnak?" "After the last flood, the cadastral information has been changed." "Without my consent?"

"Performed by a Memphis land surveying specialist." "It's incredible!" "I have already sent people to Memphis to bring back this man named Sumeru." "If the king himself ordered the withdrawal of these villages, what's the use of doing so?" * * * Meditate by the holy lake, participate in morning, noon and evening ceremonies, participate in astrological work on the roof of the temple, read ancient myths and related materials of the underworld, and talk to dignitaries who retreated in the Temple of Amun ... This is how Pazar spent his life in the temple.He feels the bright eternity carved on the stone, listens to the voices of the gods and the kings of all dynasties, and immerses himself in the eternal life shown by the reliefs and carvings.

Several times he meditated in front of the statue of his mentor, Blarney, which represented an elderly clerk with a book in praise of heaven and earth open on his lap. After Kem brought back the news, Pazar immediately went to the Land Registry Office.The director seemed very happy, because the prime minister came again and said that he was indeed quite important. "You say the land surveyor's name in Memphis again," Pazar said. "Su Meinu." "are you sure?" "Yeah...he told me." "I checked." "It's not really necessary because everything is in compliance with the regulations."

"When I was a junior judge in the district, I had the habit of asking the truth. It usually took a lot of time to do so, but it was very useful. You said his name was Sumenu, didn't you?" "I may be mistaken..." "Su Meinu, the land surveyor in the palace, passed away two years ago. You must have used his name." The director half opened his mouth, but no sound came out. "It is a crime to tamper with the cadastre. Have you forgotten that the prime minister has the power to decide the ownership of villages and land? The person who bought you is because the high priest of the Karnak Temple and myself are inexperienced, but he is wrong. "

"The person who made the mistake is you, the Prime Minister." "We'll know soon: ask a blind person to review the identification immediately." * * * The president of the Thebes Association for the Blind is a serious-looking man with a full belly and a rather thick chin. Whenever the river floods and washes away the boundary markers and industrial landmarks, if disputes arise, the administrative agency will ask him or other members for help.As the president, he knows the land like the palm of his hand. Since he has traveled all over the fields and cultivated land, if you want to know the correct size of the land, you can just ask his feet.

When he was eating figs under the pergola, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching, and said: "There are three of you: one is tall and burly, the other is of medium build, and there is a baboon. Could it be the chief of police and he is famous all over the country?" His subordinate killer, right? Could it be that the other person is..." "Prime Minister Pazar." "So it's a state-level matter. What kind of land does someone want to steal? No, don't say it! My appraisal must be absolutely objective. Which area will I be re-examined this time?" "The rich villages near the provincial border of Coptos to the north." "The crew in that area complained a lot. They heard that the crops were infested by insects and trampled by hippos, and the rest of the harvest was eaten up by rats, grasshoppers and sparrows. What a big lie! The farmland there is as good as it gets. Well, this year is still a bumper harvest." "Who is the expert in that area?" "It's me. I was born and raised there, and the boundaries haven't changed in twenty years. I won't invite you to eat figs and drink beer, because I think you should be in a hurry." * * * The Master of the Blind holds in his hand a cane with the head of an animal with a sharp beak and long ears (this ceremonial staff is of the same shape as the Uvas, except for this exception, which only the gods can wield. Yes, because the animal carved on the head of the staff is the symbol of Seto, the god of wind, rain, thunder and lightning), and a surveyor is accompanying him, setting out the line according to his instructions. The president never hesitated for a moment. He pointed out exactly the location of the four corners of each field, and found the boundary markers, the statues of gods with the crop protection god python as the main one, and the Karnak Temple gifted by the court as the boundary stone pillars.The clerk on the side was busy recording, drawing, and making books. After the appraisal, everything became clear: due to the falsification of the cadastral data, the fertile harvest that originally belonged to Karnak belonged to Coptos. "'It is the prime minister's duty to define the boundaries of each province, to watch over the supply of offerings, and to leave no place for all illegal squatters': this was the task the pharaoh gave me at my inauguration, as all pharaohs have done to all prime ministers Normal expectations, right?" Governor Coptos was about fifty years old, and he came from a famous family. Faced with the prime minister's questioning, his face turned blue. "Quickly answer," Pazar shouted, "You were also there." "Yes...the King did say so." "Then why did you accept wealth that wasn't yours?" "That's because the cadastre has been changed..." "That was forged, neither I nor the High Priest of Karnak stamped it! You should have informed me. What are you waiting for? Wait for these months to pass quickly, wait for Carney to resign, wait for me to be dismissed, and the Prime Minister Give up to your comrades?" "You can't spout blood..." "You obviously provided assistance to the conspirators and murderers. With Meifeng's scheming, the relationship between you and the Shuangyuan must have been cleared in advance, and I will not be able to prove that you are related. However, just because of your corruption One crime is enough, you are not worthy to be the governor of a province at all. You just wait to be dismissed." * * * Pazar opened the court in the gate hall in front of the Karnak Temple in Thebes.Although Keim repeatedly reminded him to be careful, he still did not accept the defendant's request of "no hearing", and the court was crowded with people. The Prime Minister briefly reported his main investigation process and read out the complaint. Witnesses attended the hearing one by one, and the clerk recorded the truth.As for the jury, it was composed of two priests of the Kagank Temple, the mayor of Thebes, the wife of a nobleman, a midwife, and a high-ranking official. Nature. Judgment result: Governor Coptos was dismissed, sentenced to 15 years in prison, and had to pay a large amount of compensation to the temple; the three village chiefs were demoted to farmers because of concealing the facts and embezzling public grain, and the original family property was transferred from the village The poorest households in the village were equally divided; as for the director of the Thebes Land Registry, he was sentenced to ten years of hard labor. The prime minister did not increase the sentence, and the criminals did not appeal. Mei Feng's network was cut off.