In Qinghe Prefecture, Li Qingyuan was having a rough time. He sat in the government office, with piles of files on his desk, the results of his interrogations.
"Okay, now it's available. Let me take a look. Three hundred and twenty-four people have admitted that they colluded with the Mongols. These people will be executed at a later date." Li Qingyuan was proudly holding a file.
The prefect Zhao Kangping below said angrily: "Master Li, these people were tortured into confessing. How can their confessions be counted?"
"Zhao Kangping!" Li Qingyuan slammed the table. "Stop trying to antagonize me. These 324 individuals have signed and sealed their confession to selling Song intelligence to Mongolia. It's written in black and white. How can you say they were forced to confess?"
Zhao Kangping sneered, "Master Li, have you forgotten that 177 people have been tortured to death? These people refused to confess because the charges were fabricated. These 324 people could not endure the torture and were forced to confess. I will tell the emperor everything that happened in Qinghe Prefecture. Your Majesty, please make your decision!"
Li Qingyuan's eyes flashed with murderous intent. If this guy went to the capital to report to the higher authorities, he would be in big trouble.
"Hmph! I am the envoy of appeasement. I handle cases on behalf of the emperor. If you want to appeal, then come and complain to me. To tell you the truth, I have already ordered the post station to be blocked. Your memorial is here!" As he said that, he threw a memorial on the table to the ground.
Zhao Kangping was shocked and angry: "You, you..."
Li Qingyuan sneered, "Humph! I have the final say in Qinghe Prefecture now. When I'm done with this matter and return to the capital, you can sue me however you want. I suspect you're involved in the leak. Come, escort Lord Zhao to the inner courtyard behind the prefecture and keep him under guard. No one is allowed to release him without my order!"
In order to prevent the power of officials from the capital from being restricted after they arrived at the local level, Zhao Huan gave the imperial envoys great power. The imperial envoys basically represented the emperor in person, so even the fourth-rank official of Qinghe Prefecture was arrested.
Of the more than 2,000 smugglers, more than 100 have already confessed without being tortured. After all of them have been tried, a group of them will be killed at random. This will both repay the emperor's kindness and achieve great merit. Upon returning to Beijing, the emperor will surely reward them handsomely.
As for Zhao Kangping, he'd already turned white into black. Zhao Kangping had no evidence, and even if he knew the smugglers were innocent, there was nothing he could do. If he dared to submit another petition to the capital, he would accuse him of slander.
Li Qingyuan was amused by the thought. Zhao Kangping was a prefect after all. He didn't dare to throw him into jail, so he imprisoned him in the backyard of the government office and had two people watch over him to prevent him from making noises in his ears.
"Your Excellency, no, this is not good!" An officer ran in in a panic.
Li Qingyuan, who was superstitious, immediately flew into a rage: "Pooh, pooh, pooh! I'm doing fine here, what's wrong with that?"
The officer hurriedly bowed and said, "The Kui County Magistrate, Zhou Guitong, has escaped."
"Run away? Where did he run to?" Li Qingyuan was puzzled. He was just a small local county magistrate, not even a sixth-rank official. Was there any need to make a fuss?
"I heard that Zhou Guitong hired a car and went to the capital by himself. He said that he was going to Bian Jing to beat the drum to report the incident. He said, he said, he said..." The official began to stutter.
Li Qingyuan said angrily: "What did you say!"
The officer whispered, "They said they were going to sue the governor for killing innocent people, abusing lynching, forcing confessions, and creating countless unjust cases..."
Li Qingyuan was truly terrified. This Kui County Magistrate was desperate. If the Qinghe Prefecture incident were to be reported to Bian Jing, and the emperor learned the truth, he would be killed without a burial place.
"Hurry, hurry, send someone after him! Hurry and send someone after him!" Li Qingyuan panicked. He stood up and walked down the government hall: "This Zhou Guitong is crazy, he must be crazy."
The yamen runner raised his head and glanced at him: "Sir, you, last time you gave the Kui County clerk twenty lashes of the cane, and he died shortly after returning to Kui County."
"What!" Li Qingyuan was shocked. "I just asked you to beat me with twenty boards, how did you kill me?"
The officer continued, "You said you wanted a heavy beating, sir. There are different levels of severity. A light one, even two hundred strokes, will leave you unscathed and able to walk the next day. A heavy one, even a dozen strokes, will leave you urinating and excreting, paralyzed from the waist down. That day, sir, you gave him twenty strokes of the cane, and Master Liu bled to death. He went home and wailed for two days before kicking his legs and passing away."
Li Qingyuan then realized he had caused such a commotion: "Why, how could he be so weak? I didn't mean to kill him. No wonder Zhou Guitong wanted to file a complaint in Beijing. It turns out he wanted to avenge his master."
"Sir, please allow me to say something. Lord Zhou has already prepared a carriage to rush to Bian Jing. I'm afraid it will take less than a month to reach the capital. By then..." The official was an old hand, and he was reminding Li Qingyuan.
Li Qingyuan waved his hand: "Come here and listen to what I have to say. First, take a few people with you, those who are not afraid of death, and chase Zhou Guitong for me. Then..." He made a 'click' gesture.
The officer seemed to have expected this: "Sir, this is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of your clan. I'm afraid few people would dare to take this job."
Li Qingyuan whispered in his ear: "Five thousand taels for each person, and there will be additional rewards after the task is completed."
This time the officer agreed readily. He hurriedly bowed and accepted the order: "I understand!" Then he was about to retreat.
Li Qingyuan stopped him and said, "Remember, never reveal your identity."
Yue Fei's troops, along the Lin Heng line, have already fought against Kublai Khan's Mongolian army.
At this moment, the atmosphere in Bian Jing suddenly became tense, and people's attention turned to the battle on the Linhuang front.
"How is the battle situation on the Lin Heng front?" Zhao Huan asked hurriedly as he entered the Wende Hall.
On the table was a criss-crossing map of the Song-Mongol border, and the generals of the Imperial Guard, including Wang Zongchu, Wu Ge, Kang Huojian and others, were all there.
"Your Majesty, the battle report from our capital arrived too late. We only received the news that Yue's army fought against the Mongolian cavalry. The Yue's army fought against the Mongolian cavalry seven times. Four wins, two losses, and one battle with both sides winning and losing." Wu Ge said.
Zhao Huan was surprised: "How come both sides lost?"
Wang Zongchu pointed to the mark on the map and said, "Yue Fei made the same mistake as Han Shizhong. Guanjiazhuang and Gaojiagou on the Linheng line were robbed by the Mongolian cavalry."
Cao Dongsheng and the eunuchs and palace maids behind him were even more nervous as they were facing a formidable enemy. They hurriedly brought over the dragon throne, tea, and snacks.
Zhao Huan sat down on the dragon chair beside the table, and the palace maids immediately prepared tea and snacks.
Zhao Huan looked at the map on the table: "Well, is there any movement in Qinghe?"
Kang Huojian shook his head: "I haven't received it yet."
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