Chapter 724: Fighting
When investigating the case, County Magistrate Tang told the county lieutenant and the yamen runners that it was strictly forbidden to spread the cause of the incident to anyone.
Anyway, they have the portrait in their hands, so the investigation is much easier. They can just find an excuse, such as theft in a certain place, or something like that. No matter whether it is money lost or cows lost, it is the two people in the portrait who did it. Catch them first, and then it will be easy to find the rest.
Anyway, it can't be robbery on the official road.
If someone robs someone on the official road, then he is a robber.
Yizhou had just been settled down, but now there was a group of bandits robbing passing merchants on the official road outside Yizhou city. Not only would it cause panic, but would he still be able to serve as the county magistrate?
He had just snatched a piece of land from the Ying family and others, and many people wanted to step on him or drive him out of Yizhou City.
But he didn't expect that the village under his jurisdiction was so ignorant, and the people he sent out couldn't even find the two people.
County Magistrate Tang questioned Zhou Silang carefully and confirmed that this was done by someone who was very familiar with the official roads.
1. The traveling merchants who frequently travel this official road;
Second: the refugees who often wandered along this official road;
3: The villagers nearby.
Even if the traveling merchants were poor, they would not look down on Zhou Silang's cart of wheat seeds. What's more, poor traveling merchants usually traveled in groups of two or three, and traveling merchants who could gather more than a dozen people would not take Zhou Silang's small business seriously.
If it was done by refugees, they would not only steal the wheat seeds, but also the horses and carts.
Walk down the official road and directly into the small path, or if you are more cruel, beat Zhou Silang to death and throw him into the woods. If you are unlucky, the body will be found in two or three days, and no one will know where they have run off to.
They would go to another place, sell the food and horses on the cart, divide the money, and then blend in with the refugees, following them to all corners of the world.
Even if County Magistrate Tang could eventually find out where the carriages and horses had gone, and even draw portraits of most of them and submit them to the Ministry of Justice, and then issue a wanted notice, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to try to find a dozen people in such a vast sea of people, especially among so many refugees who had lost their household registration books.
Only people with families would be so cautious and would not dare to steal the overly conspicuous carriages and horses.
Therefore, County Magistrate Tang could be certain that the perpetrators were the villagers nearby.
But when the yamen runners took the portrait to the village, they found nothing.
There was no way those two people could have popped out from between the rocks. County Magistrate Tang knew that he had encountered the most difficult and annoying situation he had ever encountered in his career.
His father used to work in the Ministry of Justice. He said that the cases he hated the most were those involving local people, or crimes committed by a family, a clan, a village, or even a township against outsiders.
It is obviously a well-known matter, and they will discuss it privately without hesitation, but when officials go down to investigate, from the village head to the children, everyone keeps their mouths shut and knows nothing about it.
I'm just afraid of offending people.
Before he came, his father had told him that, first, he should be neither humble nor arrogant when facing the powerful, and should think about the people under his rule. If he was investigating a case, he should give the victims the explanation they deserved, no matter who they were.
Second, for those villagers, village heads, and neighborhood heads who concealed the case, we must be moderate in both soft and hard approaches. It would be best if they could understand the other party in a friendly manner.
No, and no, sentence should not be too harsh.
At that time, County Magistrate Tang did not take it seriously. He did not think that anyone would obstruct the officials from investigating a case for something that had nothing to do with them.
But now…
I'm still very angry.
So County Magistrate Tang thought that since everyone was making him unhappy, he might as well make everyone unhappy.
County Magistrate Tang said to the legal advisor with a sullen face, "Go back and have a rest." Then he turned around and called out the names of three yamen runners and asked his servants to quietly call them over that night.
"Sir!" The bailiffs bowed and saluted.
County Magistrate Tang nodded and asked, "I remember you were all from the Yanjiawan and Dahuaping areas?"
"Yes, sir, you have a very good memory." The yamen runners complimented.
County Magistrate Tang smiled slightly and asked, "Do you have any relatives in the Dagongling area?"
The three yamen runners looked at each other and shook their heads, saying, "Your Excellency, Yanjiawan and Dahuaping are far from Dagongling. We don't have any relatives there."
County Magistrate Tang nodded in satisfaction, then said, "That's perfect. I have something to entrust to you."
County Magistrate Tang asked them to change into casual clothes and squat on the mountain near Da Gongling waiting to arrest people. Then he handed them two portraits drawn by the painter.
The bailiffs took it quickly and looked at each other with some worry on their faces.
They all knew that County Magistrate Tang was currently handling an important case.
After all, their county government office is so small and has so many people.
This case is not easy to handle. In the past, when we went to the countryside to ask the village head, even if he didn't know anything, he would actively help to ask the villagers. As a result, this time, the people who went to the countryside were neither soft nor hard and were met with resistance.
The brother who took over this case recently was very angry. It is said that even the county lieutenant smashed a set of cups and plates. It is obvious that he was very angry.
A case that so many people couldn't handle was relied upon by these three newcomers who had been working in the county government for less than two years?
Yes, these three yamen runners are very young. Not only are they young in age, but they have also been in the county government for a very young time.
It was only after County Magistrate Tang came and recruited yamen runners that they were recruited.
After all, after the flood, many of the former yamen runners died, ran away, or disappeared.
The county government is very short of staff.
Although County Magistrate Tang did not form factions, the three men still considered themselves to be County Magistrate Tang's men, so even though they found it difficult, they nodded in agreement after some hesitation.
County Magistrate Tang smiled slightly when he saw them, his expression softening considerably. He encouraged them and said, "Don't be afraid. You rarely appear in the Dagongling area, so you're unfamiliar faces."
County Magistrate Tang said, "I don't want you to go into those two or three villages. I've already asked people to find out. The villagers in the villages around Dagongling prefer to go to Nanling and Dongling to collect firewood. Now that the weather is getting colder, every household needs a lot of firewood, and they are no exception."
"I'll have Sun Da and the others withdraw from Dagong Ridge and investigate elsewhere. Once they let their guard down, they'll naturally appear. Then, if you see one of the people in the portrait, just pounce on them and arrest them."
County Magistrate Tang said, "I don't want to arrest both of you, just one will be enough."
One of the yamen runners couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what if they show up in large groups? I'm afraid they'll kill us before we can even catch them."
Judging from this case, these villagers are obviously very united. If they really caught someone on the spot, and he was wearing plain clothes, they would definitely be mistaken for a thief and beaten to death.
They couldn't speak for themselves then.
County Magistrate Tang glanced at them and said, "Can't you wait until the man is alone before arresting him?"
He said, "I don't care about time. You can take three days, or even five. I have time too. You just have to keep the man down, gag him, and capture him. As long as you can capture him, I will reward you with great merit."
The next update will be around 6:00 PM
(End of this chapter)
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