Chapter 53 Section 53 Ordered to go to Sichuan to investigate the case

It was the first time for Li Hongzhang to enter Sichuan, and it was also the only time in his life that he entered Sichuan. Therefore, before entering Sichuan, he took the song "The Road to Shu" by Li Taibai, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, with him, and chanted it for the journey and chatted to relieve boredom. After Li Hongzhang really entered Sichuan, he found that the road to Shu was not too difficult. Although Guangshan Road took him for many days, but because he was sitting on the shoulder, he did not think it was hard, but he felt happy. When Li Hongzhang and his party went up the mountain, the season was midsummer, and on this day, there was a thick fog and clouds locked the thousand mountains.The mountain road is rugged and winding, dozens of people hugged and protected the shoulders, a dozen people led the horses, and more than 20 personal soldiers pressed the team, almost crawling.It took two full days to go down the mountain.Li Hongzhang thought that there would be mountains blocking the road not far ahead, and thousands of trees would shade him, but he didn't know that since he traveled here, there was a plain, and he had never seen even a shadow of a mountain in the distance.

Li Hongzhang couldn't help but rolled up Li Taibai's poems and put them aside, he laughed and said, "It's better to have no books than to believe in books. Taibai Shixian said that the road to Shu is full of hardships and difficulties. According to our department, it is no different from Anhui. , is nothing but a false name!" Seeing what Li Hongzhang said, an officer hurriedly interjected, "Your Excellency is absolutely right. Shu Mountain looks steep and unattainable, but when you walk up it, you realize that it is not much higher than the flat ground." After the officer said this, what he was thinking in his heart was: you who sit in the sedan chair don't know the hard work of the one who lifts the sedan chair!If Shushan is not steep, can it still be called Shushan?The old man doesn't hurt his back when he stands and talks!

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, gradually unfolded before Li Hongzhang's eyes.Wu Tang, the governor of Sichuan and the governor of Sichuan, took the cloth, the press, the two divisions, and the officials of the road and the government, and asked them to carry a green wool sedan chair with eight people, and went out of Guo Shili to meet him.Li Hongzhang was helped out of the horse-drawn car. Wu Tang took two quick steps, knelt down on both knees, and said in a clear voice: "Shang Yipin wears Wu Tang, the governor of Sichuan and the governor of Sichuan, and the criminal minister of Sichuan, and I am ordered to welcome the Minister of Investigation, Mr. Li! The criminal minister has packed up the Xingyuan. The governor's customs has been sealed, please show me."

As Wu Tang said, he took out the governor's and governor's two guards from his bosom, held them in both hands, and held them up in front of Li Hongzhang.Li Hongzhang helped Wu Tang up with a smile and said: "Master Zhijun, you don't have to do this, get up and talk first." Wu Tang got up and said, "Your Excellency is ordered to go to Sichuan to investigate the case, and this case involves criminal officials. Your Excellency, please accept Guan Fang, and the guilty officials will follow you." After Wu Tang finished speaking, he raised Guan Fang again. Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "My lord, please take back the Guanfang. Although the headquarters came to Sichuan according to the order, when the case is not clear, you should take care of everything in Sichuan as usual, and you must not ignore it. Please lead the way ahead, my lord." After walking all the way in the hall, I am a little tired and need to go to the post house to rest."

When Wu Tang heard this, he hurriedly put the two guards back together, and then said to Li Hongzhang: "The guilty minister has prepared a big sedan chair for the prince, my lord, please get on the sedan chair." Li Hongzhang nodded and was helped into the sedan chair.Wu Tang also hurried to his sedan chair.A group of people went to Chengdu in a mighty way. Li Hongzhang rested in the official post that night, and designated this post as the temporary official office of the minister of investigation. The arrival of Li Hongzhang made everyone in Sichuan afraid and frightened, fearing that the case would be investigated and found out on their own heads, which would be called injustice.Xu Qian came to the posthouse to report to Li Hongzhang with several officials who came with him at dinner time that day.

For the first three days, Li Hongzhang neither asked anyone to ask questions nor stepped out of the post house. He just sat in the office and drank tea while listening to Xu Qianshen describe the results of the investigation. Wu Tang sent people around the post house to inquire about the news for three days in a row, but there were many sentinels surrounded by personal soldiers. Except for a few people coming out occasionally to buy food, no officials were seen either going in or coming out.He was really anxious like an ant on a hot pot, and he couldn't calm down for a moment, and said repeatedly: "This time, the Benbutang is really planted! This time, the Benbutang is really planted!"

When Xu Qianshen and others rushed into Chengdu, the words "Li Hefei was ordered to come to handle Wu Shuai" were already spread in the streets and alleys of Chengdu. Xu Qianshen and others found a clean inn to stay that night. In the early morning of the next day, Xu Qianshen and others dispersed and went to teahouses, theaters and other lively places to visit and listen. They also found some people who were working in Shou County. They really tried their best. What illegal things did Wu Tang do after entering Sichuan? After Wu Tang resigned from Beijing last September, although he did not use more than 3,000 husbands, more than 100 four sedan chairs as mentioned in the package, drinks and water were included as needed, and every stop was not two. Three thousand pieces of gold are not worth it," but it is true that there are nearly a thousand pieces of labor, and there are more than seventy four sedan chairs, as all the people in Chengdu can testify.As for the section "Wine and water package is required, and every stop must be two or three thousand gold", there are different opinions. Some say it will cost one thousand, and some say it will cost two thousand. You can't do it unless you ask the manager Verify.Shen Zhe also said that after Wu Tang took office, he "ordered Shouxian County to make dozens of wooden barrels for the cashier's use." Xu Qianshen and others had no way of investigating it.In addition, among the original participants, Wu Tang "dismissed the admiral Hu Zhong and the entire garrison army because of his vengeance due to the failure of the request", and Cen Yuying, the governor of Yunnan, who "sent personnel to Sichuan to bribe" and other items. rise.

After Li Hongzhang heard Xu Qianshen's words, he asked Xu Qianshen to take someone to the back to rest, while he put his hands behind his back, pacing and thinking of ways. After thinking for two days, Li Hongzhang decided not to make direct contact with Wu Tang, but to open gaps from Wu Tang's servants and the states and counties along the way. On the fourth day, Li Hongzhang first followed Xu Qian and took people to Shouxian County to transfer all the instruments of torture, and put them one by one in the hall for questioning cases. Then he ordered people to clean up an idle room behind the post house and use it as a temporary prison.This was actually a case-investigating method commonly used in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty at that time, and it had a name called breaking the problem.Just make it for people to see.

After Li Hongzhang finished these, the first person he passed on was Sheng Gui, Wu Tang's second housekeeper.There is also a title here, which is called starting, which means to start. When Sheng Gui came to Detang, he first politely saluted the hall and greeted his host, then knelt down on his knees and let him be questioned. Li Hongzhang looked at Sheng Gui, who was about sixty years old, of medium build, with a big square face, a big braid dragging behind his head, it was obviously a little gray, his eyes were not very big, his cheeks were pouty, and there were a few rats on his cheeks. Beard, very playful.

Li Hongzhang asked quietly: "Shenggui, I would like to ask you, how many years have you been working for your master? I heard that many of your master's affairs are handled by you, but is it true? What do you want?" To tell the truth, don't hide it!" Sheng Gui replied: "As adults said, the younger one has been serving my master since he was fifty years old, and now it has been ten years. At first, the younger one worked as a porter, and after my master took the post of Caodu, he let the younger one take care of him." Became the second housekeeper. In fact, it’s just running errands, learning the tongue or something, and it’s not a big deal.”

Li Hongzhang nodded, and then asked again: "Sheng Gui, don't be afraid when the Headquarters asks you. The Headquarters asks you, how much labor did your master spend when he traveled from Beijing to Chengdu to work? The Headquarters When I came to Chengdu, I heard rumors from the people that your master used his husband to serve no less than three thousand, and he lined up for several miles, like a large army crossing the border. Is this true?" Sheng Gui replied: "Responding to the adults, if the adults ask about other items, the young ones really don't remember clearly, but the husband's service is the only one, because it is a small account from the beginning to the end, but I remember it clearly. When I was young In Yangzhou, the master had gone to Beijing to ask for training, and soon he received a letter from the master, saying that the governor of Chuan was released, and ordered the younger one to transport the family's luggage, etc. The younger one hired two boats the next day after receiving the letter, and another More than 300 servants and 100 bearers were hired. However, when the boat reached Longdong Beach, the two boats bumped into one place, the sail was broken, and the mast was broken. They could not move forward any more, so they had to stop It was repaired on the shore. The small ones had to go ashore and hired two other large local boats, and then continued to sail.” Li Hongzhang asked hastily: "Sheng Gui, you haven't explained how much silver taels it cost to hire the boat? How much money did the husbands spend? How much gift money did the local yamen pay along the way?" Sheng Gui thought for a while and replied: "The young one hired a boat in Yangzhou. The agreed price was 100 taels of official silver per ship, but because the anchor broke down midway, the young one only gave them forty taels. The young one hired another boat. , but only used thirty taels. These, the small ones are recorded on the account, and they will not be missed at all. The servants and bearers cost less than one thousand taels in total. As for what your lord just asked, I really don't know how much gift money was paid by the yamen along the way. The younger one is the second housekeeper, who only pays out money, regardless of taking in money. The money is in the hands of the big housekeeper Zhang Denggao. If you want to check this account, you have to If you can ask Zhang Denggao to ask for it, I really don’t know.” Li Hongzhang nodded and said: "Okay, you go down first. The hall has already hired someone to clean out a spare room for you to rest. If there is anything, the hall can let you know at any time. Go down." Sheng Gui was taken down the hall.Li Hongzhang then sent Zhang Denggao to the hall for questioning. Zhang Denggao quickly came to the front of the hall and knelt down. Li Hongzhang looked at the picture of ascending heights, but his appearance was quite different from Sheng Gui's.Zhang Denggao was about thirty years old, with delicate features and a tall figure, with a thin braid that stretched to his waist. Li Hongzhang got up and walked out of the hall. Seeing Xu Qian sitting and talking with several messengers, he said, "Zhong Yun, what is the origin of this Zhang Denggao? Have you ever found out?" Xu Qian put his mouth in Li Hongzhang's ear and whispered, "Responding to my lord's words, the officials just found out. It turns out that this Zhang Denggao is the elder brother of Mrs. Wu Shuai Liuru, who was born as an actor and can sing well. He is the one who handles all the money in the Wu family, and he is quite favored." Li Hongzhang smiled, put his hands behind his back and went back into the lobby to take a seat. Li Hongzhang asked: "Zhang Denggao, how long have you been in the Wu Mansion?" Zhang Denggao hurriedly replied: "Back to the adults, the younger one has been in the Wu residence for six years, and has been helping the Wu family with some housework." Li Hongzhang asked: "Zhang Denggao, I have a few questions to ask you. You have to tell the truth, and you are not allowed to hide anything. I want to ask you, your family has traveled across states and counties before coming to Chengdu." , Was it by water or by dry land? How much labor was used? How much money was spent?" Zhang Denggao replied: "Responding to my lord's words, my family and my family set off from Yangzhou and came to Chengdu by boat. They used a lot of labor, probably four or five hundred people. I don't know how much money they used, because Only the second master's grand cooking, the little ones dare not talk nonsense." Li Hongzhang gave a "hmm" and asked again: "You have traveled all the way from Yangzhou and passed through many yamen, and there will be entertainment in the local area. You should know the amount, right?" Zhang Denggao replied: "As for the adults, there are naturally a lot of entertainment in the local area. It's just sending someone to the boat to say hello to the grandmothers in the house. If there is any need, some money is indeed collected, some of which are one hundred taels. Some of them were two hundred taels, and the total amount did not exceed one thousand taels. That’s all the little ones knew, and they didn’t hide anything.” Li Hongzhang asked again: "Zhang Denggao, whether you concealed it or not, and how much you concealed, you only need to compare it with the Ministry to know afterward. It is not that the Ministry does not know the difficulties of you servants, but there is always a standard for protecting the master. Some things , naturally you have to defend, but there are some things that you cannot defend. If you blindly defend, you will harm your boss and yourself. Well, I will not ask you any more. You should think about it after you go down. If you figure it out, let me know, and the hall will tell you. The hall has prepared a resting place for you, so go down." Zhang Denggao was taken down the hall. Li Hongzhang passed Xu Qian in, and ordered: "Sheng Gui and Zhang Denggao are to be detained separately, and they are not allowed to meet each other, and no outsiders are allowed to approach each other. Let the two of them eat and sleep well, and not be wronged." Xu Qian asked in a low voice. Said: "My lord, do you still pass it on to others?" Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "Can we tell the truth if we pass it on? Some people wish that the headquarter would pass him on as soon as possible, but the headquarter will not pass it on to anyone from now on. It will be decided after ten days." Xu Qian asked again: "My lord, what are you going to do in the afternoon?" Li Hongzhang said: "In the afternoon, the two of us will sit here drinking tea and playing chess. When you are tired from playing chess, you can take people out for a walk, listen to operas, and go shopping in the street. It is up to you. The main hall is here to read "Hanshu" "." Xu Qian retreated out of the hall suspiciously, and went to make arrangements. In the next ten days or so, Li Hongzhang did not summon anyone anymore, except for reading books, he just played chess with Xu Qian, as if the errands had been finished. When Li Hongzhang got up early one day and was writing a letter to a friend at his desk, Xu Qianshen walked in quietly.Li Hongzhang didn't look up, and asked while writing: "Zhong Yun, why did you come in without being summoned? But what's the matter?" Xu Qian said: "I also know that the official came abruptly, but I dare not not come. My lord, I was listening to an opera in the teahouse yesterday, and I heard from the people next to me that Ding Baozhen killed An Dehai! Everyone praises him." Ding Gongbao's guts." Upon hearing this, Li Hongzhang hurriedly put down his pen and asked, "An Dehai is a popular eunuch in the palace. How could Ding Baozhen kill him? Could it be a rumor?" Xu Qian said: "I heard that the surname is An. He was ordered by the Empress Dowager Cixi to go to the south to buy something. He was domineering all the way, blackmailed the place, and brought a monk and a few actors to annoy Ding Gongbao. So he sent his confidants to lure An Dehai to the provincial capital alone, put him in a big prison, and beheaded him without an order." Li Hongzhang pondered for a while, nodded and said, "This is really a big deal. This An Dehai has been domineering for a long time. The head of the Ministry went to Beijing to ask for training last year, and had a face-to-face meeting with him. An Dehai went there without even inviting him. The hall later told Prince Gong about this matter, and Prince Gong hated him too much. This An Dehai has a deep grudge, even if Ding Gongbao let him go, the other governors would not let him go. This is what is called heaven has eyes.” Xu Qian hurriedly said: "Isn't that what your lord said? When I was in Shanghai, I heard people say that this An Dehai, sometimes even the emperor is angry with him. Isn't this a slave than a master?" Li Hongzhang smiled, and said: "Zhong Yun, let someone come over to play chess, we have to play a few rounds." Xu Qianshen hurriedly agreed and withdrew. Li Hongzhang put his hands behind his back, and while pacing, he said to himself: "Ding Baozhen, you would be very happy to kill a eunuch, what should you do after you can? Don't think about it, don't think about it!"