Chapter 787 Inquiry
County Magistrate Tang also taught him, "In a small village, nothing can be hidden from the local headman. You can ask the headman. If he still can't tell you, find a timid and poor villager in the village, arrest him for any reason, and scare him a little, and you'll get the answer."
"Interrogating a case requires some skill. Once you've arrested someone, don't ask them a step-by-step approach. Just ask the one question you most want to know, the one you're sure they know. Even if you can't get the answer from them, you should know it from their face and eyes."
County Magistrate Tang knew that his classmate and good friend was not very familiar with criminal law, and Luojiang County was a small county, where a homicide might not occur even once in three years. It was impossible to expect him to accumulate much criminal experience in these three years as a county magistrate.
So County Magistrate Tang asked in his letter, "What's up? Are there any major thefts or robberies happening in your county? Would you like me to come to your county on business for a few days and help you?"
County Magistrate Yang put the question aside and began to think.
He thought that he still had several days before going out and there was plenty of time, so he asked someone to call the head of Qili Village.
In less than half an hour, County Magistrate Yang sent the head of the village out the door. He watched the head of the village walk away, and the servant Wantian followed and stood behind him.
After everyone had left, Wan Tian saw that the young master was still motionless, so he asked, "Young master, aren't we going back? The village head really doesn't know."
"Don't you know?" County Magistrate Yang lowered his eyes and thought for a long time before muttering, "But I always feel like he's lying to me."
Wan Tian scratched his head. "The village head has always been very respectful. He answered everything the young master asked. How could he have lied to you?"
County Magistrate Yang smiled slightly. "Perhaps I'm overthinking it. By the way, Manbao once said, what was the name of the poorest family in their village? The one who's lazy and likes to gamble."
Wantianji has always been good at his job. He thought for a moment and said, "I think there's a guy nicknamed 'Lady Head'. He's a generation younger than Miss Man."
County Magistrate Yang nodded and said, "Have the officers keep an eye on him. If he comes to the county to gamble again, bring him here."
He thought that he would have to wait until he returned from the capital to see the person. After all, Qili Village was not very close to the county town, and it was still the first month of the year. Even if the other party liked to gamble, it was impossible for him to come to the county town every day.
Who knew that as soon as he gave the order, the bailiffs went around the gambling street and caught the bald man with his neck hunched.
County Magistrate Yang nearly spit out the tea in his mouth. He stared at the dirty bald man for a long time and asked, "It's only the seventeenth day of the first lunar month. Why are you out gambling?"
The bald man knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I will never dare to do it again, never again. I beg the county magistrate to spare my life, the county magistrate, please spare my life..."
County Magistrate Yang reached out to interrupt him, but found that the other party was only concerned with kowtowing and not even looking at him, so he withdrew his hand and let him kowtow.
The bald man kowtowed for a long time, and his forehead hurt and his head felt dizzy. Seeing that the person sitting above him was silent, he stopped and quietly raised his head to look over.
County Magistrate Yang smiled at him and asked, "Can you speak properly now?"
The bald man nodded repeatedly and said in a trembling voice, "Whatever the master asks, I will answer honestly."
County Magistrate Yang asked, "Then please tell me why you are gambling in the first month of the year?"
The bald man whispered, "I have nothing to do at home, so I thought of going out to earn some money for the family..."
"Do you earn money from gambling?" County Magistrate Yang sneered, "Have you earned any money?"
The bald man's face turned red and he lowered his head and shook his head.
County Magistrate Yang asked, "Where does the money for gambling come from?"
"It's the New Year, and I still have some savings at home..." Under the increasingly cold gaze of County Magistrate Yang, the bald man gradually fell silent.
County Magistrate Yang thought of what Manbao and Bai Shan and Bai Erlang had said that night and pondered, wondering what would happen if he banned gambling in the entire county.
The Jin Dynasty did not ban gambling, cockfighting, dice, and even fighting with living people. As long as the casino had documents issued by the government, it was legal.
It is impossible to ban gambling nationwide. He, a mere county magistrate, cannot do it. I am afraid that even the two prime ministers combined cannot do it.
However, it is still very likely that gambling will be banned in Luojiang County.
As the local official, he has the right to add these regulations.
County Magistrate Yang looked at the bald man and pondered.
Seeing that the county magistrate had been silent for a long time, the bald man could not help but tremble. He kowtowed tremblingly and said, "Sir, I know I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again."
Magistrate Yang took a sip of tea from the bowl and said, "Oh? Then I'll give it a try. I'll ask you some questions. If you answer truthfully, I'll trust you for once."
The bald man nodded repeatedly, looking at County Magistrate Yang with longing eyes.
County Magistrate Yang suppressed his smile, leaned forward slightly, stared intently at him, and asked, "I'm asking you, has Zhou Yin ever been back to Qili Village?"
When the bald man suddenly heard Zhou Yin's name, his face turned pale with fear. After a long while, he stammered, "Zhou, Zhou Yin?"
"You don't know Zhou Yin? Isn't he your neighbor?"
The bald man swallowed his saliva involuntarily, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. County Magistrate Yang slammed the table and shouted, "Hurry up and tell me!"
Baldy was so frightened that he fell to the ground, tears and snot streaming down his face. He shook his head and said, "I don't know. I, I haven't seen him. I haven't seen him..."
When he said he had never seen such a thing, even the old official guarding the gate with blurry eyesight would not believe him, let alone County Magistrate Yang.
He asked in a deep voice, "You still dare to lie? This county has investigated everything thoroughly. Tell me, when and what month did Zhou Yin return to Qili Village?"
Baldy kept shaking his head and crying, "No, I don't know. Don't ask me. I, I really don't know..."
County Magistrate Yang squinted his eyes and looked at him for a while, then dropped a signature and said, "Come here, take him to wake up."
A bailiff came up to drag him away, but found that he was too limp to be moved, so he called another person over, and the two of them dragged the bald man, who was as wet as mud, away together.
It was said to wake him up, and it really did. The yamen runner splashed cold water on his face and then took a rag to wipe his face. It turned out that it really cleaned his dirty face a lot.
But washing his face with cold water in the first month of the year, and the cold water even splashed on his neck, made Baldy shiver with cold, and he suddenly woke up.
When he woke up, his face became even paler.
The bailiff dragged the man back to the lobby.
County Magistrate Yang got down from his seat, walked over to his side, squatted down, looked at him, and stared into his eyes and asked, "This county has always disliked the use of torture, but if you force me, I am not against it. Come, tell him about the eighteen major punishments in the county government."
The next update will be around 6:00 PM
(End of this chapter)
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