Chapter 647: Big Accident
Chapter 647: Big Accident
After Zhang Yunqiu left, Xiao Xia paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. He felt quite uneasy. A time when he was stopped on the road to complain made him realize the difficulty of governing a country. There were obviously all kinds of systems and regulations, but when it came to the lower levels, they would change and people would find ways to exploit loopholes in the system.
Is it that the officials don’t understand? Not entirely. At the root of the problem is still interests. Only interests can lead to collusion between officials and gentry and use loopholes in the system to harm the people.
Of course, there is another more important reason, which is something in the cultural roots, order. For the past five thousand years, it has been about these two words: which is more important, fairness and justice, or order and stability?
Xiao Xia let out a long sigh. Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. It's so difficult!
The official sent by Zhang Yunqiu was called Ma Yuan, one of the twelve inspectors of the Ministry of Justice. He was a veteran in handling cases, having worked his way up from the lower levels for thirty years before rising to the position of county lieutenant. He was fifty years old this year and had extensive experience in handling cases.
Ma Yuan, along with his five men, left Jiangdu by boat and headed for Jing County along the Yangtze River. They would turn into the Qingge River at Wuhu Town, Dangtu County, and Jing County was located in the middle reaches of the Qingge River.
Five days later, Wuhu Town was in front of us. Wuhu Town is today's Wuhu City. In the Sui Dynasty, it was just an important commercial and tourist town under Dangtu County. Because the Qingge River flows into the Yangtze River here, there are many inns and taverns in Wuhu Town, and merchants gather here.
When the ship docked, Ma Yuan also took his men ashore to eat and rest. They walked into a restaurant and found a private room on the second floor. They sat down and ordered a few jugs of wine and more than a dozen dishes.
After two glasses of wine, one of the men asked, "Master Ma, do you think this case is a big problem?"
Ma Yuan nodded. "It must be a big problem. I knew it as soon as I saw the complaint. The county government is not immune from responsibility."
"What's wrong with the county government?"
Ma Yuan sneered and said, "The county government has already sent someone to confirm that the wasteland was reclaimed by the Chen family, but how come it suddenly became the Wang family's land? I have encountered this kind of thing before, and I know there is a loophole here."
"What loophole?" everyone asked together.
“The wasteland is first of all an unowned land. If the refugees want to turn it into their own land without spending any money, then according to the regulations, it must first be turned into fertile land. Only after the government confirms that it is fertile land will they issue you a land deed.
But the powerful Wang family can also buy it as forest land, which is very cheap, and they can get the land deed by paying money, and the government will not notify the Chen family. After the Chen family has worked hard to turn the wasteland into fertile fields, the Wang family will throw away the land deed, and the Chen family will have worked for two years in vain. "
Everyone nodded. The loophole was that there was no regulation prohibiting the sale of land that had already been reclaimed, so it was easy for someone to take advantage of it.
"But the government didn't notify the Chen family to stop clearing the land!"
"Yes! That's the problem. I guess the county government has already notified the local baozheng, but the baozheng concealed the truth. This baozheng was in collusion with the Wang family, so he deliberately added the sleeping companion clause when writing the maid's contract, and he didn't tell the Chen family."
"But the county government was very dishonest later! They only paid ten strings of cash as compensation for the mastiff killing someone, and also required Chen's daughter-in-law to serve as a maid for three months as per the contract. It was clearly bullying a foreigner. This dog county magistrate must have taken advantage of the Wang family."
Ma Yuan waved his hand. "This time we are investigating the case, just to find out the real situation, to confirm whether the land reclamation is real, to get the copy of the land deed, and then get the maid's contract, to confirm whether the security guard concealed it, and also how the person died? Was he bitten to death by a dog, or was it his own fault? After these are clarified, the Supervisory Council will send people to conduct an in-depth investigation. Remember, we are not investigating the county government this time, that is the Supervisory Council's business."
Everyone agreed, and after dinner, they bought some food and drinks for the journey, and then went to the dock to board the ship.
The boat had been fully replenished, and the boatman started sailing towards the Qingge River. Just as the boat entered the Qingge River, a large ship came rapidly at a very high speed. With a loud "bang", the passenger ship was overturned. All the people on the passenger ship fell into the water. The large ship did not rescue anyone, but fled directly into the Yangtze River.
When the people in Wuhu Town heard the news, they rushed to the rescue by boat. Unfortunately, the time interval was too long, and Ma Yuan and his five men all drowned, and two of the three boatmen also died.
When the news reached Jingkou, Xiao Xia was extremely furious. The entire investigation team was killed. This was the first time such an incident had happened. He stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, and asked coldly with a stern face, "All six people drowned, and no one could be saved. How can this be possible?"
Zhang Yunqiu also said in a sad tone, "Your Highness, this matter is very strange, there must be something hidden!"
"What's so strange?" Xiao Xia asked.
"I have asked around and found out that these six people can swim. Ma Yuan grew up by the Qiantang River. Besides, even if the six of them can't swim, at least the boatman should be able to swim! It's ridiculous that two of the three boatmen drowned in the Qingge River." "Where is the other surviving boatman?"
Zhang Yunqiu shook his head and said, "I don't know where he went, Your Highness. Does this mean that this case is very complicated, so the talent was drowned?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Well, since the water is deep, I will let the internal security to investigate, and the Ministry of Justice should not intervene for the time being, and provide proper compensation to the family of the deceased."
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Zhang Yunqiu sighed, bowed and left.
Xiao Xia immediately ordered, "Ask Li, the chief steward of the inner guard, to come see me."
The follower hurried to summon.
Xiao Xia paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. If the people from the Ministry of Justice were really killed, how did they get the news before? How did they track them? This is the real horror.
Not long after, Li Luming hurried over, bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness!"
Xiao Xia said slowly: "Does Manager Li know that someone stopped me on the road to complain a few days ago?"
"I have heard something!"
Xiao Xia added: "I ordered the Ministry of Justice to send people to investigate this case. As a result, all six members of the investigation team fell into the water and drowned in Wuhu Town. Two boatmen also drowned."
Li Luming was stunned. "How could the boatman drown? This is their livelihood!"
"So it's very strange. This case seems to be unusual. I decided to let the internal guards take over. You arrange for General Shi, who investigated the major case in Zhongli County, to investigate this case. No matter how deep the water is, we must investigate it thoroughly. For those below the county governor, I allow them to kill first and report later in critical situations!"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Li Luming first went to the Ministry of Justice to get the file, then returned to the Internal Guard Office and sent someone to find Lang Jiang Shi Xiaozhen.
"I am here to see the chief steward!"
Li Luming threw the file bag on the table. "There is a big case here, which is related to the resettlement of refugees. The Ministry of Justice sent people to investigate, but the entire investigation team drowned in the river. There are many strange things. King Jin ordered the inner guards to take over, and specifically mentioned your name, and you will handle this case!"
Shi Xiaozhen bowed and said, "I obey your orders!"
Li Luming added: "First go to the refugee camp and have a good talk with the victims, and then set off for Jing County."
Shi Xiaozhen hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Can I take my wife with me?"
Shi Xiaozhen is already married to Zhao Juaner, so having his wife along would be a great help to him.
Li Luming nodded, "Approved!"
(End of this chapter)