One hundred and fifty-four
When County Magistrate Zhou heard about Fu Wei's plan, he would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised.
Fu Wei is indeed very brave.
He even dared to use the old man who just passed away to plot against him.
Besides, if any one of these links went wrong, he would be the one who would be in danger if he used himself as bait, and even he, the county magistrate, would be implicated.
Although County Magistrate Zhou scolded Fu Wei, he was persuaded by his few words.
Even if Lord Fu Weidao returns to Yu County to serve as the magistrate, he must go back with a clear record, rather than carrying a false charge.
Also, when the young man and girl grow up, they can do anything with dignity instead of being hindered by their father's unfounded stain.
Rather than being persuaded by Fu Wei, this was actually a thorn in County Magistrate Zhou's heart.
It was the best time to investigate, but he was transferred away from Yuzhang and his old subordinates were driven out of the barracks one by one.
Four years had passed since the incident, not to mention that he was still far away in Yu County. If he didn't take a radical approach, the road to finding out the truth would be long and difficult.
Although Fu Wei's plan is risky, it is also a rare opportunity.
I didn't sleep all night and thought about it all night.
After much thought, he decided to accompany Fu Wei in taking the risk, but there was a prerequisite.
If the first assassination attempt did not happen as Fu Wei expected, then the matter would be dropped.
Unexpectedly, things not only turned out as Fu Wei predicted, but also went unexpectedly smoothly.
There was an unexpected surprise. Among the assassins of Huo Taishou's son □□, there were his old subordinates.
The injuries on County Magistrate Zhou were all intentional.
He was confident that he could avoid getting hurt when dealing with those assassins, but how could people be convinced if Fu Wei didn't use some self-torture tactics?
Fu Wei took the risk of his own life, and County Magistrate Zhou was willing to sacrifice his life to accompany the gentleman, and was injured in a conservative and cruel place.
The injury in the arm would not cause him to be bedridden, but it is the most fatal part of the body for those who practice martial arts and serve in the military. If they are not careful, they may be in danger of losing their arm.
This way, it is easier to convince people.
The one who struck this blow was an old subordinate who was collaborating with them.
Only five people knew about this operation.
He, Fu Wei, Luo Zhubu, and two old subordinates whom he particularly trusted.
Apart from the one who mixed in with the killers, there was also an old subordinate who stayed in Yuzhang and secretly investigated the truth. He had always been in contact with County Magistrate Zhou.
After the plan was finalized and news of the assassination came out, County Magistrate Zhou secretly sought out this old subordinate and asked him to pretend to be a mysterious man.
County Magistrate Zhou put on his inner shirt and a fur coat, walked out of the outer room, and sat down at the table.
Fu Wei walked to the table, turned over a cup and placed it in front of County Magistrate Zhou, then picked up the teapot and slowly poured a cup of tea.
Magistrate Zhou picked up the tea he had poured with his left hand, took a sip, and glared at him: "The eldest son of the Huo family hired assassins to kill you. Does Magistrate Huo know about this, or doesn't he?"
Fu Wei put down the teapot and asked slowly, "Do you think he knows or doesn't know?"
Magistrate Zhou seemed to have heard something profound in his words and raised his eyebrows: "If he knew, why would he let Huo Minzhi kill you?"
County Magistrate Zhou had been puzzled by this question when he was in Yu County.
Fu Wei's broken leg and torture, as well as being forced to marry an ugly wife with a bad reputation, and the previous incident of buying a broken leg for 500 taels, each of these was not a trivial matter. It is really unreasonable for Prefect Huo to say that he did not know.
Fu Wei sneered helplessly: "Who knows, he might think I might be a threat to him in the future."
County Magistrate Zhou was suspicious, so how could he threaten him?
Threat to Huo Minzhi?
How can a father who allows his own child to kill and do stupid things care about his own child?
"Let's put aside the matter of Magistrate Huo for now. The most important thing right now is to investigate the accusation against you within these twenty days." He paused for a moment, then asked, "Could you please share the details of the accusation?"
Magistrate Zhou put down his cup and was silent for a long moment before he spoke slowly, "That year, the flood in Zhoukou County, Yuzhang County, was very severe. Thousands of families were affected. Houses and fields were submerged, and tens of thousands of people were killed or injured. I volunteered to lead the army to control the flood and the disaster."
Zhoukou County is a large county, and Yu County is like a small town compared to it, with a large population.
"It so happened that 20,000 taels of military pay disappeared when I left. A month later, traces of the pay were discovered in Zhoukou County."
In addition to copper coins, silver ingots in each county have different stamps.
"Father ordered an investigation and arrested the village chiefs of several affected villages for interrogation. Although they didn't directly identify anyone, they said someone secretly gave them silver. The man simply said he was following orders from his superiors and repeatedly urged them to melt the silver before using it. But who knew that someone had stolen the silver, which led to the leakage of military funds."
"When I received the silver, I happened to be working on flood control in Zhoukou."
Fu Wei: "There are no coincidences without reason. If there are too many coincidences, it means someone is planning to steal military funds for disaster relief and put the blame on you, sir."
County Magistrate Zhou nodded, then sneered, "At first I really thought that man had used all the stolen military pay for disaster relief."
His tone changed, and he said sarcastically, "But the village chiefs of the four villages were forced to confess that they only received 200 taels. After questioning a number of people one after another, the total amount of military pay was less than 3,000 taels, and the remaining 17,000 taels is unknown."
Fu Wei frowned slightly.
Magistrate Zhou: "The evidence is clearly insufficient, yet it all points to me. When I was suspected, a lieutenant under my command, named Wu, disappeared along with his newlywed wife and ailing father. A portrait of Lieutenant Wu was drawn, and those who had received silver were asked to identify him. They all identified him as the one who gave him the silver."
"Captain Wu's superior is me, and given his position, he has no access to military pay. So, in the end, the blame falls on me, doesn't it?"
"My father pressed me to find out where the other military pay was, but I refused to reveal it. After four months of detention, he couldn't find any, so he demoted me to be the magistrate of Yu County."
At the end of his conversation, Magistrate Zhou took up half a cup of tea and drank it, then said, "Stealing military pay is a capital offense. Since I am still useful to the Zhou family, he concealed the embezzlement of military pay and said that he made a mistake during the disaster relief work."
Fu Wei was puzzled and asked, "There are more than just one or two suspicious points here. Why did the Sect Master decide that it must be you who embezzled the military funds?"
Magistrate Zhou sneered, "So the people who framed me found a good way to harm me, using disaster relief as an excuse. If they embezzled the funds for personal enjoyment or other purposes, I would definitely not believe it."
"I've seen civilians displaced and dead in the wilderness, and I couldn't bear it, so I spent almost all my wealth on disaster relief. Now that he knows I did this, do you think he'll believe it or not?"
Fu Wei understood that Patriarch Zhou believed that his son had kindness in his nature, so he believed the false accusation.
Besides, the reason for not continuing to investigate the remaining military pay was also because he believed in his son's character and believed that he had used it for disaster relief or that it had been robbed by the captain. That was why he avoided the important issue and exiled him to the poorest place in Lingnan after detaining him for four months.
Fu Wei pondered for a while, then said, "From what you said, the captain is indeed involved. We just need to find this person and we will have a clue."
Magistrate Zhou shook his head. "I've secretly had people searching for him for four years but haven't found any trace. I think he's probably been silenced."
Fu Wei disagreed: "If he can hold the position of captain, he must be a man of great intelligence."
County Magistrate Zhou nodded: "Indeed, Captain Wu is quite smart."
"Since he's so smart, how could he not know that after framing you, he'd be silenced and left with no witnesses?"
"Since they knew they would be silenced, they naturally made preparations in advance. Your Excellency just mentioned that of the 20,000 taels of military pay, only less than 3,000 taels were used for disaster relief, and 17,000 taels are missing. I suspect that Captain Wu embezzled some of it, which is why he fled with his family."
"For the sake of money, you're giving up your future and stable life?" County Magistrate Zhou asked in confusion.
Fu Wei: "If we use his closest relatives as a threat, will your Excellency tell him to do it or not?"
County Magistrate Zhou frowned and said nothing.
He thought that many people would choose to do it.
Fu Wei got the answer from Magistrate Zhou's silence and continued, "Since he did it, he must have known the consequences, so after doing it, he simply took some of the money and left."
Magistrate Zhou pondered for a moment and felt that Fu Wei's words made sense. "Then, how much silver did he take away?"
Fu Wei analyzed, "Three thousand taels is too little for the false accusation. It should be at least five thousand taels or more. The remaining two thousand taels is enough for Captain Wu to find a small place, use his connections, and get a fake household registration, so he can live out the rest of his life in peace."
County Magistrate Zhou: "Even if he's not dead, how easy is it to find someone who's hiding on purpose in 20 days?"
Fu Wei raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "That's why others thought that the old man had been investigating for four years and finally found the key witness. The Lord also met the witness."
Magistrate Zhou seemed to understand what he meant: "Are you trying to be mysterious and lure the snake out of its hole?"
Fu Wei nodded: "That's right, using Captain Wu as bait to lure out the person behind the scenes."
After a pause, he added, "There are rumors circulating secretly, saying that because of the sudden assassination, the Lord has not yet figured out who ordered it, and the witnesses are nowhere to be found. Once the person behind the scenes knows about it, they will definitely secretly search for Captain Wu and then kill him."
Magistrate Zhou was no fool. He immediately understood Fu Wei's intention and said, "Then I will arrange for someone to pretend to be Captain Wu."
Fu Wei: "But we still need capable personnel. After all, the assassins who come again won't be as vulnerable as the ones Huo Minzhi temporarily gathered. I'm afraid they will be even more difficult to deal with. The yamen runners we brought with us are not enough. If we let them go, they will only die in vain."
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zhou fell into deep thought.
After a long time, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Just borrow people from my father, don't tell him the plan, just let him act. After all, they are my father's people, so letting them catch the thief and take the dirty work will be more convincing."
*
In Yu County, Yu Ying was going to open a school, so she prepared the tables, chairs, and a diagram of the human meridians.
A small courtyard was rented, and several rooms were used as dormitories for male students, while a shed was built in the front yard.
Spacious, bright and airy.
She also made a bamboo board about three feet long and two feet wide. Everything was ready, just waiting for the students to come to class.
But the number of people who signed up far exceeded the number she wanted to recruit.
After all, they had just paid taxes and their families couldn't even afford a full meal. Going to the clinic was a way to learn skills and have enough food to eat. Almost everyone of the right age and who could read a few words came to sign up, and even those who couldn't read pretended to be able to.
Nearly a hundred people came.
With so many people, they definitely need to be screened.
During the first round of screening, Yu Ying asked Fu An to take out a copy of the Thousand Character Classic. When someone came to sign up, he would point to ten characters. Those who could recognize more than eight characters would be temporarily allowed to stay.
After this first round of screening, only forty-eight people were left.
The second round of screening is to test their memory.
She asked all these people to come to the courtyard, fetch seven kinds of herbs, and carefully explained the characteristics and medicinal properties of the herbs to them. She recorded them without writing, and asked them to remember them carefully and test them again in an hour.
An hour later, everyone else was waiting outside the courtyard, while Yu Ying and Fu An's sister-in-law were in the main room, calling everyone in one by one for the test.
Forty-eight people, it will take about half an hour.
Yu Ying didn't intend for them to answer all the questions. Those who could correctly answer three medicinal herbs and their medicinal properties were considered to have barely passed.
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