Chapter 34 Section 34 Two versions of a case

It turns out that this Wandian history, Mingfu, was originally a servant of Zhili Fantai.Na Fan's Taiwanese nationality is under Fengtian (bannerman), and he was born in martial arts, so he has a defensive foundation.Relying on his military merits, he has been recommended by his superiors to the top rank of the second rank, and sent to Zhili as an alternate.First he acted as the procuratorate, and then the chief envoy was vacant, and the Zhijun appointed him as the acting envoy again. It has been more than two years now.That fantai is the most playful among the bannermen, and there are already ten wives in the mansion, and it still feels insufficient. There will always be six or seven out of ten days spent in the fireworks alley, and every month they have to spend money in the prostitutes. Thousands of taels of silver will make you happy, otherwise you will have problems.Among the prostitutes like a cloud, he had a special liking for a woman named He Xiang, and he spent the most money on He Xiang. Later, he couldn't hold back He Xiang's softness, and took out the money to redeem her body. Those who dared to marry into the door to be the "Eleventh Concubine", first recognized their goddaughter, and accompanied some dowry, and let the door marry.Later, he donated a family background to that door, and he hung up the card as soon as there was a vacancy in the opportunity.

These are known to everyone in Zhili.Zhitai ① has some opinions on this fantai, thinking that what the fantai does is completely disregarding his face. , and dropped it.Who knows that Fantai is not a fool, he has already seen the intention of making the platform.He remained calm, but in secret, someone took the money and went to Beijing to play the bad idea of ​​making a platform.Sure enough, not long after, a censor participated in the making of a book, and the making of Taiwan had to temporarily leave his post and go to Beijing.The errand of the governor's defense and nursing then fell to him.Just imagine, with a backer like Wan Dianshi and Mrs. Dianshi's ability, how capable Baoding Mansion is, how dare you say no!

The shopkeeper said at the end: "I heard people say that most of the houses in Baoding Mansion are owned by Wan Dianshi!" Hearing what the shopkeeper said, combined with the rumors in the tea shop, Zeng Guofan decided that tomorrow morning he must go to commemorate the history of Wandian.After thinking about it again, Wan Dianshi's native place is Xiangtan, Hunan, so he should pay homage to a fellow villager. After breakfast, Zeng Guofan and Changshun bought sacrifices, hired people to carry them, and the porters knew the way, so they went straight to Wanfu. Wanfu is a relatively grand mansion in Baoding. Four white lanterns with the word Wanzi are hung high on the ground. On the left and right are two stone lions, both of which have their mouths open. There are quite a few arresters, and the few people I met at the tea shop yesterday are also here, but there are not many people coming and going to pay homage.

As soon as Zeng Guofan and Chang Shun stepped into the gate, a few maids and housekeepers came over and kowtowed to them indiscriminately. Zeng Guofan and Changshun went to the coffin, put the sacrifices on it, lit incense again, and saluted. At this time, someone went to the back hall to report to his wife.That wife was born in Yanhualiu Lane, so she doesn't know much about these etiquettes.Her husband had been away for two days, but she did not keep the coffin. She only took inventory of the family property in the inner room of the back hall.Hearing the news that a person with the same accent as the old man came to pay homage to the old man, he hastily put down the account book and asked someone to come to the lobby to meet him.Mrs. Dian Shi was still wondering, Lao Wan suffered such a disaster, she patronized to clean up the property, but she didn't bother to notify the people in his hometown, why did people come from his hometown?Didn't they come to divide the family property?Those who come out of Fireworks and Willow Lane value money more, but favor less.

He Xiang was accompanied by the maid to the lobby, saw two people sitting and chatting with two butlers, she hurried over, sang a big promise, rubbed two tears out of her eyes, and cried. Zeng Guofan said: "Sister-in-law, please express my condolences. In Xia Wanshun, I was born in the countryside. He and Wanfu are brothers in the same family. This time, I was going to Beijing to participate in the next year's test. I didn't know that my elder brother is an official here until I passed by Baoding. Why is my elder brother so young? But how did he go? It doesn’t hurt to kill people!” He also shed tears as he spoke.

When He Xiang first heard the words of the brothers in the family, her heart thumped, and then she heard about participating in the test, and then her heart fell into her stomach, and she thought to herself: "As long as you don't come to seize the family property, that's fine!" His face became brighter, and he stole a few glances at Zeng Guofan, seeing that although Wan Shun was not very dignified, his behavior was a thousand times better than that of Wan Fu, and he was famous, so he couldn't help but have countless thoughts , I yelled at my second uncle one by one, and asked someone to set up a meal to entertain my younger brother.

After the meal, Zeng Guofan and Chang Shun saw that Wan's house was full of people from the yamen, and they expected that Mrs. Wan would not stay overnight, so they bid farewell to He Xiang before he could. Zeng Guofan said to the butler who was sitting with him: "Please tell my sister-in-law that the elder brother's affairs are handled by the yamen, and I can't get in the way, so I will leave. Tomorrow, I and Xiao Shunzi will go to Beijing." The butler hurried in to announce, After a while, he came out and said, "madam, please come to the back hall to speak."

Zeng Guofan hurried to the back hall and saw Mrs. Wan sitting alone in a daze. Zeng Guofan bowed deeply and said: "Sister-in-law, the yamen is helping to take care of the elder brother's affairs, and I can't interfere with it, so I will leave. I don't know what else my sister-in-law can order?" Mrs. Wan came back to her senses, paused and said: "What does Second Uncle know! Don't look at the people coming and going in the yamen, they are actually urging funerals! The death of your elder brother ruined a big deal!" Zeng Guofan immediately lowered his voice and said: "Someone is relying on sister-in-law's money? I want to fight for this fame and seek justice for my sister-in-law!"

Seeing Zeng Guofan speak like this, He Xiang was greatly moved. She wiped her tears and said, "Do you know about Li Chungang's case?" Zeng Guofan said: "The next thing I want to do is go to Beijing to gain fame, but I never paid attention to the case you mentioned." He Xiang said: "The case of Mr. Li was all done by your elder brother under the instigation of that dog magistrate, and even the butcher Gou Er who sued was bought by your elder brother for a hundred taels of silver! What a credit! It’s a bit of a disadvantage, but once your eldest brother dies, not only will the words of adding two to five be gone, but the dog official of the magistrate only gave my sister-in-law 10,000 taels of silver! It’s not because of my sister-in-law that I went to court There was a fuss last night, and the Gou Zhifu finally agreed to add another 10,000, or the loss would be even greater! Second uncle also doesn’t think that the sister-in-law will talk to you as soon as they meet, because the sister-in-law has been so useless that she has not closed her eyes all day and night.”

Zeng Guofan asked: "Brother, I don't know, but how big is Li Daguan's family business? Is it a loss for my sister-in-law to get 20,000 taels?" Mrs. Wan's eyes widened all of a sudden, and she said angrily: "Hmph! I really don't care about other things for my sister-in-law. Only this matter is your elder brother who told me clearly before he was alive. It is scary to talk about Mr. Li's property! Even the real estate With real estate, pawn shop and money bank, there are more than three million yuan! Otherwise, how could the magistrate do such a murderous thing! If this property is counted, let alone the magistrate or Daotai, it is the governor and governor, and he will never be an official for a lifetime It's enough to spend."

Zeng Guofan was surprised: "If my sister-in-law said so, wouldn't my elder brother be killed by that dog magistrate?" He Xiang shook his head: "That's not true. It's because your elder brother is unlucky. He was happy when he saw a large sum of money. He eats one or two hundred mouthfuls every day and then goes to bed. Who would have thought that he was happy that day?" , Even eating more than five hundred mouthfuls was not enough, so I ate three bowls of ointment water. He also said that there were millions of taels of silver out of thin air, not to mention five hundred mouthfuls, but thousands of mouthfuls a day , is undefeated! Tell me, isn’t this trying to fight to the death? I can’t persuade you!” In a word, he uttered Hexiang's tears again.At this time, the housekeeper came in and reported that the monk Zhang Butou had invited had arrived, and asked his wife to show him. Mrs. Wan said anxiously: "What a fool who doesn't know the fun, you just remind me over and over again when I say a few words to my second uncle! Do you want me to teach you what to do?" The housekeeper was trained repeatedly, Back out the door. So far, Zeng Guofan has confirmed that Li Chungang was wronged.The so-called joint trial of the three judiciaries must also be the conspiracy of the magistrate, the governor, and the governor to break through the joints in advance and turn the case into an imperially determined iron case.Even if you have great ability, you can't overturn the imperial case. Can the emperor overthrow him by himself?However, the difference between Daoguang and Qianlong is precisely that Daoguang is an emperor who dared to overthrow himself, while Qianlong is a master who is always right. Zeng Guofan was about to leave, when a house slave ran in in a panic, looked at Zeng Guofan first, did not speak, obviously he had some scruples. He Xiang hurriedly said: "This is my second uncle, what are you doing sneaking around!" Then the house slave lowered his hands and replied: "Returning to the wife, Wang Xingming just sent someone to say that the butcher Gou Ermazi hanged himself in the main room at night, and his wife reported the case." Zeng Guofan's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "This magistrate is so delicate, if we kill this key person, we just want to turn this case over, and I'm afraid it won't turn over." He Xiang said: "That old dog is not dead, why are you in such a hurry! Send two people to the inn and bring the second uncle's luggage here, how can there be such a huge house idle for my second uncle to live in?" Reason outside." The house slave promised yes, and was about to leave, Zeng Guofan got up quickly: "You don't need to worry about my sister-in-law, it's easy for me to live in the inn. I'll come back tomorrow. I don't know when my brother will wake up?" He Xiang said disconsolately: "Just tomorrow, my family is worthy of your elder brother." "Okay," Zeng Guofan clasped his fists together, "Little brother and Xiao Shunzi go back to the inn first, and come to wait on me in the morning." He Xiang said: "Second Uncle can come earlier, I still have some matters to discuss with Second Uncle." Zeng Guofan promised to know, pushed the door open and walked out.When they arrived at the living room, seeing that Chang Shun was taking a nap, he coughed and winked, and the two went out. In the courtyard, more than 20 monks were sitting in front of the coffin, and the sound of chanting sutras was to save the souls of those thousands of classics.There was not a single servant in the yamen, only a few people who looked like housekeepers were busy inside and out.The mother-in-law and the maid stood here and there listlessly. Back at the inn, Zeng Guofan first explained the situation to Changshun, and then expressed his own thoughts, but Changshun laughed and said, "If it's really what Mrs. Wan Jia said, this case would be easy. What the housekeeper heard was another story." Zeng Guofan was taken aback, and hurriedly asked the following.Changshun first asked the shopkeeper to make a pot of big-leaf tea and brought it up, then closed the door, and then said: "My lord, you have to take a low-ranking test, do you know who is the chief soldier of Baoding Mansion?" Zeng Guofan replied without thinking, "Isn't it the Ange'an army? It's the rank of admiral." Chang Shun first poured a cup of tea for Zeng Guofan, filled another cup himself, took a sip, and then said: "This is Mr. An, who relied on the military achievements of his ancestors to reach the position of the general soldier, and he has played nonsense not once or twice. You can always hear news about this Anjunmen in Beijing, what a mess!" Zeng Guofan asked again: "Why didn't the admiral not restrain this soldier's nonsense?" Changshun sighed and said, "This Mr. An is a commander in chief in name, but he is actually the Supreme Emperor of Zhili! Mr. An's Taishan is the county prince of our Qing Dynasty! As for which county prince it is, the humble I won’t talk about it. When I left Beijing, I thought about it. People who can make such a big case, let alone a small prefect dare not, even the governor of Zhili should think twice! Mr. Zeng, the humble position is also Banner people also entered the palace compound by relying on their ancestors' military exploits. The humble official said something that the banner people didn't want to hear today, and the country of the Qing Dynasty will sooner or later be buried in the hands of their own family!" Zeng Guofan stood up, walked to the door, pushed it open, looked out, and closed the door after confirming that there was no one there, saying: "The chief guard, it is about the country and the country. There is no evidence, so don't talk nonsense!" Chang Shun smiled: "Your Excellency's behavior is really funny! If I am not afraid of people in the banner, what are you afraid of as a scholar?" Zeng Guofan hurriedly said: "The chief guard misunderstood what I mean. I came from a humble background, received the royal grace, and was an official to the fourth rank. I hope for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty every day. Whether I am in the flag or not, who is not me What about the people of the Qing Dynasty? Especially people like An Junmen, isn’t the emperor’s country the same as his country? How can he not only not love it, but ruin it instead? The long guard dares to speak the words of the county prince, but I dare not.” Changshun smiled: "Look, I scare you! The lowly position should be that of General An. I heard from the housekeeper of the Wanfu privately that the officials of Zhili, big and small, can't mess with Master An. As long as Master An looks at them Whoever is not pleasing to the eye, the unlucky days of the officials will come. Therefore, the civil and military officials who are vacant in the Zhili Administration, the first person to worship is neither the superior, nor the military, but the commander-in-chief. Although no one Tell me about Li Chungang's case, from my point of view, it must be the work of the Anjunmen. What do you think, my lord?" Zeng Guofan pondered for a while before saying: "But what Mrs. Wan said is reasonable. Now that I think about it, if I infer according to Mrs. Wan's words, unless the magistrate wants to rebel, otherwise, he would definitely not dare to do so. But when we first came , why do the people in the tea shop talk about the church? Even if the magistrate is a Hui, but Anjunmen is a person in the banner, so he must not be a Hui, right? " Chang Shun said: "Of course Anjunmen is not a Hui, but Mrs. Ru of Anjunmen is a Hui. Anjunmen is so domineering in Zhili, there is another layer, that is, the daughter of An's family is the goddaughter of our Lord Seng Gelinqin." Upon hearing this, Zeng Guofan said: "No wonder! The Mongolian cavalry of the Monk King is the pillar of our Qing Dynasty! The goddaughter of the Monk King is Qian Gege. The Monk King is loyal to the Qing Dynasty. My Holy Lord Ping San Fan, the cavalry of the old monk king is also the main force!" Changshun said angrily: "My Qing Dynasty is like a monk and prince, can I still be like this? If I, Changshun, can enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister, I must punish these scumbags! Unfortunately, I will never be able to worship the prime minister in my life." Zeng Guofan suddenly smiled: "The chief bodyguard is now working beside the fourth elder brother. Are you afraid that this day will not happen? I am looking at the future of the elder brother, I am afraid it is not just about entering the cabinet to pay homage to the prime minister..." Chang Shun smiled: "Is it still possible to become a Marquis or a King?" Zeng Guofan smiled, but didn't answer, leaving Changshun with a suspense. After deliberating for a while, the two decided to act separately.Zeng Guofan still went to Wanfu to help with the funeral, while Changshun went to Ange's General Military Mansion to play by ear.The two agreed to meet at the inn at dinner time. The plan is proper, each rests, and there is nothing to say all night.