Chapter 39 Chapter Thirty-Nine

"My lord! Listen! Listen! Horseshoes, horseshoes! Presumably Zhu Zhifu and the garrison master have led the officers and soldiers back." Bo Qinruo, who was sitting behind the case in the lobby of Jinkou, was startled when he heard Li Xing's words, and immediately interrupted the interrogation.He rubbed his sleepy eyes, and ordered the yamen servant to take down all the dozen or so bandits who were kneeling in front of the hall, and prepared to go to the gate to meet the magistrate and the garrison master. When he walked down the hall in full clothes and hats, Bo Qinruo also heard the sound of horseshoes and footsteps from far to near.This voice was especially loud in the dead of night.

"The officers and soldiers must have won the battle! They must have taken all the rebels Ruan Dacheng! Mr. Bai, you have done a lot for the emperor! The prefect Zhu will definitely report your great achievements to the emperor!" Li Xing said excitedly while lighting the lantern. Bo Qinruo remained calm, and only asked indifferently: "What time is it?" Li Xing said: "It's just passed the third watch!" "Oh! It's three shifts before the two stubbles have finished asking?" "Yes, the little one just heard the bang of the watch." "Then, let's go!"

Bo Qinruo led Li Xing, Wang Tang, and seven or eight officials from the original Jinkou county government, carrying lanterns, and walked towards the gate of the county government. As soon as they arrived at the gate, they saw Zhu Jianning, the prefect of Linjiang, coming out of the flames. After getting off the sedan chair, the garrison of the green battalion stationed in Linjiang Mansion just got off his horse.While Bo Qinruo stepped forward to salute and greet, he saw a large group of officers and soldiers abducting dozens of drenched thieves and pouring into the county government office.

Bo Qinruo asked with concern: "Did Ruan Dacheng, the leader of the thieves, ever get it?" The guardian Hei Masan said disdainfully: "This little thief, can you let him escape?" Zhu Zhifu also said: "The one who died died, and the one who survived was captured, and none of them escaped!" Bo Qinruo hurriedly said: "Very good! Very good! Mr. Zhu, please go to the yamen to have a rest, I will immediately arrange for someone to bring some food!" "Don't be busy! It's important to do serious business. You come with me. I still have something to discuss with you!"

As Zhu Zhifu spoke, he walked towards the gate of the county government office as if there was no one else around.Bo Qinruo, Wang Tang, Li Xing and others also walked in. Arriving at the county government hall, the magistrate Zhu sat down on the grand teacher's chair in front of the hall without hesitation, and asked with a straight face: "Bai Qinruo, what is the situation in the county when we rush to Qingpu to chase down the rebels this afternoon? Is there a new one?" Rebellion sprouting?" Bochen Ruocha reported: "No! After Lord Zhu and the officers and soldiers left the city, the humble officials ordered the east and west gates to be closed, and the remnants of the rebels were hunted down."

Master Zhu asked again: "So far, how many people have been arrested in total?" Bo Qinruo said: "More than a hundred people have been arrested, and the humble official is interrogating. The outline of the rebellion has been roughly cleared. There are about ten thousand people who participated in the rebellion in Jinkou. , most of the more than ten thousand rioters have retreated, and now they are arresting the backbone of the gangsters stranded in the city. The reason for the riot is for relief money, and all the people say: the magistrate Chen Rongjun hid 60,000 taels of relief silver. This matter, the Lord went to the city at noon I reported it when I was humble."

The magistrate nodded, and asked again: "Chen Rongjun was greedy and hid the relief money, has it ever been verified?" Bo Qinruo said: "The rioters broke through the county, and it was impossible to check it in writing under the chaos. However, the humble officer made a thorough investigation and found out that the villages and towns in Jinkou have never seen relief money, and Chen Rongjun himself admitted that he had embezzled 20,000 taels before his death. , this is true." The magistrate sneered coldly and said, "Chen Rongjun has stolen 20,000 yuan, who will take the remaining 40,000 yuan? If you, Bo Qin, stabbed the old magistrate's neck, would he dare not accept 20,000 yuan? If you want him to confess 60,000 yuan , he can't deny it!"

Bo Qinruo was startled, knowing that something was wrong.He expected that the magistrate in front of him had no good intentions.The magistrate must have been afraid that he would be involved in the money relief, so he took the first step before the Futai Yamen intervened.The magistrate's wishful thinking, Bo Qinruo, is very clear: Chen Rongjun is dead, there is no proof, and the biggest remaining threat is him, the investigation and relief committee member.And it would be very easy for the magistrate to find an excuse to kill him. There was a layer of cold sweat on Bo Qinruo's forehead.

Sure enough, the magistrate slapped the gavel and asked, "Bo Qinruo, are you convicted?" However, Bo Qinruo remained calm, and boldly asked: "I was ordered to search for relief in a humble position, and when encountering rebellion, I stepped forward to contain the chaos, what is the crime?" The magistrate angrily said: "Bold! If I say you are guilty, you are guilty!" "Where is the crime of humiliation?" "First, you are inciting rebellion in the name of checking relief! What are you talking about 'no crime against the people'! No crime against the people, is the court saint guilty? Am I guilty of Linjiang Prefecture and Jinkou County? Are you guilty of opposing the people? What is the intention of making such wild words? This is not inciting rebellion, what is it?"

Bo Qinruo reasoned and said: "Xiaozhi did say this. However, he said this out of helplessness. At that time, the rioters saw that they were going to break through the county government and form a general situation, so Xiaozhi had to use some small tricks. yes……" How can the prefect allow Bo Qinruo to continue talking, the gavel slapped again: "Shut up, these are all sophistry words! I know that your surname, Bo, is eloquent. Today I am not arguing with you, but You will be convicted of rebellion and rebellion! Your second major crime is to kill officials of the imperial court under the pretext of chaos, and your surname Bai will be sent to my place to make up for it. It's only been one year, but you can't wait. Now, with the pretext of finding relief, relying on anti-popular nonsense, you killed the honest and upright old magistrate! The rioters killed officers, soldiers, and servants, and you killed the magistrate's parents. What are you and the rioters if you are not the same thing?"

Sure enough, as Bo Qinruo expected, the magistrate made a big fuss by taking advantage of this thorny issue. On the contrary, Bo Qinruo calmed down, he knew in his heart that just like he had no right to behead Chen Rongjun, the prefect who was corrupt and perverted the law in front of him also had no right to behead him. In the hands of the magistrate, Yu Lianrong, the master of Futai, will not fail to ask.Therefore, he decided that the dog magistrate in front of him would not dare to kill people easily. He sneered, and said: "Master Zhifu is ridiculous. As a member of the investigation and relief committee bathed in the mighty grace of the emperor, he killed the magistrate of Jinkou just because he was obsessed with officials. Then, I have to ask, if or If I, Bai, don't kill Chen Rongjun, what will happen to the current situation? My lord, can you sit quietly in the lobby and ask about the crime of inferiority? It's not a lie of a humble position. Without Bai's actions like this, the tens of thousands of rioters would have already occupied Jinkou City , is attacking Linjiang Mansion again! Sir, are you not afraid that the Holy Majesty will ask you about the crime of tyranny and cruelty and stirring up civil uprisings?" If Bo Qinruo decides to counterattack and defend, let Zhu Jianning see the hole cards in his hand first. "Just now, you said that Chen Rongjun embezzled 20,000 of the 60,000 taels of relief money. Where did the remaining 40,000 go? Now let me tell you, I heard that 19,400 taels of the 40,000 taels fell into your lord's hands." Your fanny pack!" The magistrate was not surprised, and said with a cold smile: "I have long heard that you, Bo Qinruo, are a treacherous villain, but now it seems that you are really good! You colluded with the rioters, killed the court officials, and you didn't know how to plead guilty, but instead took a bite and said The prefect participated in the embezzlement and concealment of the relief money, now, you show me the evidence!" "Before Chen Rongjun was beheaded, he confessed the truth!" The magistrate slapped the table: "And show me the confession!" When the magistrate said this, he had already thought of a countermeasure: if Bo Qinruo produced the confession slip drawn by Chen Rongjun, he would pull it off, saying that it was a false confession made by coercion; Single, it is useless for Parkin to argue. Bai Qinruo was very calm and composed, and said flatly: "There is no confession, but Chen Rongjun's confession has been heard by many people!" The magistrate was a little panicked: "Who are the people who heard it? Please send me a question." Bo Qinruo said: "Excuse me for being rude, these witnesses can only be called after they have met Master Futai!" The magistrate stood up hastily, gritted his teeth and said: "That... that is framing! The magistrate must not let you off lightly! You...you pressed the knife on the old magistrate's neck and instructed him to harm me!" Bo Qinruo laughed loudly and said, "You can say this in front of Mr. Futai! Don't be afraid of a lowly position! Let's make it clear, even Mr. Futai believes that Chen Rongjun's words before his death are not credible, and his testimony on the spot is also not credible. , there is also convincing evidence here!" "What... what evidence!" The hands of the magistrate holding the koan were already trembling. Bo Qinruo ordered the yamen servants in front of the hall to retreat.The magistrate was very knowledgeable, waved his hand, and let the cronies he brought leave the lobby.After everyone had retreated, Bo Qinruo said loudly: "There is a handwritten diary written by Chen Rongjun on July 7th as evidence, why don't you recite a passage with you right now in a humble position: 'Daoguang six years, age Bingxu, On July 3rd, the government reported to the county. The imperial court released 93,500 taels of relief for the county's tide disaster. The prefect Zhu Jianning was really greedy and kept 19,400 taels privately. The county actually received 74,000 taels ...'Is that enough? On July 7th, I, Bai, didn't press Chen Rongjun's neck with a knife, did I?" After the recitation, there was another burst of laughter. Only then did Bo Qinruo feel that he had the upper hand in this fierce confrontation.The magistrate in front of him can no longer be prestige!Although right now he can't bring down the prefect.But the fate of the dog magistrate is undoubtedly firmly in his hands. This is really a life-and-death struggle, and its degree of danger is no less than fighting with the rioters!The problem is very clear, either he died at the hands of Zhu Jianning before Master Futai arrived; or Zhu Jianning died at his hands in the future, there is no room for reconciliation between the two sides.Bo Qinruo believed that he represented the emperor, the Lord Futai, and the common people loyal to the Qing court. He could not tolerate such corrupt officials to bully the king and harm the people. If Boqin was smart, after the rebels left Tianjin, he ordered the officials of the government to arrest the remnants of the rebels, and at the same time searched Chen Rongjun's property and belongings, trying to find evidence that Chen Rongjun hid the money and sparked the riots. He knew that he would not If one finds such evidence, one must be harmed by the Linjiang Mansion who participated in the embezzlement of corruption—and besides, the decree of beheading a county without the imperial edict Zhu approved is also in violation of the court's laws and regulations. On this one, Linjiang Mansion can also put him in prison first.Therefore, while painstakingly dealing with the remnants of the rebels, he had to deal with the corrupt officials of Linjiang Mansion and the Qing court to which he was loyal.Fortunately, after searching for an afternoon, I found out the diary of Qingzhaitang in Chen Rongjun's handwriting, and got the evidence of greed and concealment.With this confirmation, he has the possibility of defeating his opponent to make up for his own mistakes.He believed that the Holy Spirit, the Lord Futai, was forced to borrow the dog head of a corrupt official who would be killed sooner or later in order to curb the rebellion, and he could be forgiven and forgiven. He was not surprised after reading the diary of Qingzhaitang——at the banquet held by Linjiang Mansion, he had doubts, and he suspected that Zhu Jianning's warning had ulterior motives. What he said was neither for him, Bo Qinruo, nor for Chen Rongjun, but for himself in his heart!If he had no ghosts in his heart, he would never say such nonsense as "going through the motions"! However, when Zhu Jianning was welcomed into the county government, he was not ready for a showdown.He knew that an immediate showdown would be unfavorable to his situation, and Zhu Jianning would try his best to get rid of him. He hoped that Zhu Jianning would not ask about this matter, nor would he mention it himself, and that he would report everything when he saw Mr. Futai.But Zhu Jianning is not a foolish person either. In order to protect his official career, wealth and life, he actually preempted him and tried to convict him of the crime first, making it hard for him to speak. He was forced to Reluctantly, they forced a showdown. This showdown has its own advantages: first, it has won the initiative to defend; second, it naturally constitutes a serious deterrent to the opponent, making the opponent dare not act rashly.This intention was undoubtedly achieved.After reciting the words in Chen Rongjun's diary, the mighty magistrate collapsed.Bo Qinruo saw that the magistrate's shiny forehead was covered with cold sweat, and his hand holding the case trembled even more. Bo Qinruo was in a hurry, and said coldly: "Now, I have to use your words to ask a question: As a prefect, what crime should I do if I collude with my subordinates to steal money and cause civil unrest?" The magistrate was flustered, and he sat limply on the grand master's chair, using the boxing case, repeatedly said: "Shacai! Chen Rongjun is an old Shacai! Old Shacai! He is harming people! He has become a ghost under the sword and will still harm people! Brother Bai Xian, I...I, Mr. Zhu, was killed by that old killer! The truth is not what he described. The truth is that he wanted to hide the relief money. He was afraid that I, Mr. Zhu, would find out and ask me for the crime, so he urged me to take it too. What, I... As an official of the imperial court, how can I do such things that bully the emperor and harm the people? I scolded him harshly, but he promised to retreat. My scolding hit me back! This is a killer, this old killer!" Bo Qinruo said: "The humble official believes this, but I don't know if Master Futai believes it or not? Maybe Master Futai will believe it. Then, you can tell Master Futai like this!" The magistrate was completely confused, walked down the high hall quickly, disregarded his identity and face, knelt down on the ground with a "plop", and said to Bo Qinruo: "Brother Bo Xian! My good brother! How can we explain this matter clearly?" This old killer will put me to death with only one page of notes! Brother, save me! Only you, brother, can save me! If... If brother saves me, I, Zhu, will definitely not treat my brother badly in the future Your!" Bo Qinruo looked at it coldly for a while, and then helped the magistrate up: "Oh, my lord, if you do this, you will ruin the villain's life! My lord, please! Please! My lord, don't panic, as long as this matter is indeed a false accusation, the Holy Majesty and Lord Futai will make a judgment! Really, Mr. Zhu is an upright official, well-known by all the people in the prefecture and county, how could he do such a deceitful thing? If your lord says this, you will not believe your lowly position!" The magistrate dared not get up.He secretly scolded Bo Qinruo thousands of times in his heart, but he had to put on a very earnest and pitiful look on his face.He decided that the relief committee member surnamed Bai in front of him was cruel and merciless, and he was by no means a spotless and upright official.He acted like an upright official in order to squeeze out the relief money he was greedy for, and he also shared some of it himself.It is obvious that Chen Rongjun is dead and there is no way to verify it. You mean that all the relief money was stolen by him and buried, and others have nothing to say. He believes in his experience as an official. He learned from Bo Qinruo before the showdown He ordered all the yamen servants to retreat for the next section, and he saw his cunning.He didn't let his subordinates hear it, just to bargain with him alone. The dignified magistrate was forced into such a position, so he had no choice but to accept his fate, and praised: "My dear brother, my good brother! Now that the matter has come to an end, I will not hide it from you, then... the relief money, I... I took 19,400 taels, I am guilty! I... I only ask my virtuous brother to show me your hand and let me survive! I will give you five thousand taels of silver!" Bo Qinruo smiled and said: "Is it only worth 5,000 yuan to check the relief committee?" "Ten thousand! Ten thousand taels! How?" Bo Qinruo asked calmly, "When will the money be paid?" Seeing that things had turned around, the magistrate hurriedly got up, leaned his head in front of Bo Qinruo and said, "Whenever you say, it will be at that time! It's just...it's just that Lao Shacai's Qingzhaitang diary is for me. , Hand it over to me personally! Also, those who hear about this, shut up!” Bo Qinruo said: "Your Excellency does not need to explain this! Your Excellency's affairs are also my Bomou's affairs. How can I, Bomou, allow those servants to point at Your Excellency's back and make irresponsible remarks! I really respect Your Excellency." What about you! Last month, Master Futai told me about your mature way of being an official! I will ask you to take care of me in the next day or so!" Bo Qinruo tried his best to speak sincerely and calmly, and tried his best to dispel the prefect's doubts. The magistrate seemed to believe in the vicious opponent in front of him, and hurriedly said: "My dear brother, I, Zhu, also respect you! You don't panic in the face of chaos, and you stand up, and you are just a dog's head with that killer, and you are flattened." A big wave is really a pillar of the sky! I, Zhu, will benefit in the future, and I dare not forget you, my brother!" Bo Qinruo smiled and shook his head: "Don't dare! Don't dare!" Afterwards, he said again: "Master Zhu, do you think Chen Rongjun should be killed?" "It should be killed! It should be killed! If you kill him, you can silence him. The Heavenly King and Lao Tzu will not be able to find out about the money relief! My virtuous brother is smart, and my virtuous brother is even better than the foolish brother! Let's talk about it in Linjiang Mansion through wine." At the same time, I was afraid that the younger brother would use Fang Gang's blood to mess around! I didn't expect that the younger brother came here in time. If the younger brother doesn't come, things will be worse!" Bo Qinruo waved his hands and said: "Where! Where! It was when I was eating wine in Linjiang mansion, after listening to the teachings of the adults, the humble staff realized some ways to pick up money! This is really a good teaching of the adults, oh , oh, don't talk, don't talk..." However, it is too late to talk about it.As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Bo Qinruo immediately discovered the irony in his words, his heart tightened, and a gust of cold air rushed straight to the top of his head. The magistrate didn't know whether he was pretending to be stupid or really stupid, he didn't seem to understand the sarcasm in the words, and he kept trying to get close to Bo Qinruo. This night, everything is fine, the rebellion has been completely subsided, all the bandits have been arrested, the authority of the government has been re-established, the laws of the Celestial Dynasty have been unimpeded, and the ancient county called Jinkou on the map of the Qing Dynasty has restored its inherent order ...