Chapter 129 Bringing to Justice【VIP】
In order to bring these evil "bandits" to justice, the government must send people to arrest them as soon as possible.
In order to prevent this group of people from leaving Fang County, Yang Jizong and his family decided to go to the government office to talk to Li Mengan about this matter before it got dark.
"Zi'an, I'll go with you." Tian Baolai took out two axe from the storeroom at home, took one for himself and handed the other to Yang Jizong.
Tian Baolai's face was filled with rage. He had to participate in this matter and couldn't let Zi'an go alone.
Yang Jizong reached out to take the axe and went to the backyard to drive the ox cart to the front door. Just as the two were about to leave, they saw Chen Yao secretly chasing out from the side door.
"I'll go with you. Doctor Zeng said that there are not many hemostatic herbs at home, so we have to go to the city to buy some. We also need to buy some other herbs." Chen Yao climbed onto her own ox cart and was about to get on, lying without blinking.
Yang Jizong got off the cart and stopped Chen Yao from getting on it: "Ayao, you stay home and don't come with us."
This excuse of hers may fool others, but it won't fool herself.
Doctor Zeng not only has a medicinal field at home, but he also helped stockpile a batch of medicinal materials years ago. How could he be short of medicine at this time?
Tian Baolai also came over to persuade her, "Ayao, please stay home and help me take good care of Baozhu. Zi'an and I are going to chase those bandits this time, and it's not safe for you to go with us."
"Cousin, Zi'an, I'm a little scared. Those bandits are obviously not ordinary people. Today is New Year's Day. What if Lord Li doesn't intervene? Are you two the only ones going to chase those criminals?"
There was a deep fear in Chen Yao's eyes that she couldn't hide at all. Family members were injured, and her uncle's wound was the most serious, deep enough to see the bone. Doctor Zeng said that these few days were the most dangerous. If he didn't wake up, I'm afraid he would have no choice but to -
My aunt was so scared that she fainted.
Chen Yao was worried that if Li Menghong didn't send anyone, wouldn't her cousin and Zi'an also encounter the same danger if they went there?
"Ayao, this matter has far-reaching implications. Li Menghong will not ignore it."
Chen Yao's eyes flickered as she grabbed Yang Jizong's sleeve and pleaded, "Let me go with you. At least let me see that there are yamen runners with you, then I'll feel at ease."
Without waiting for her to continue pestering him, Shen Qingshan walked out of the house.
The three of them thought Shen Qingshan would persuade Shen Yao to stay at home, but unexpectedly Shen Qingshan said: "Ayao and I will go together. If Lord Li does not send yamen runners to accompany you, we will drive the ox cart directly to the capital."
"Dad, thank you." Chen Yao had tears in her eyes.
Shen Qingshan patted his daughter's hand. If he didn't still need to support the family, he would definitely follow the two boys to catch this group of criminals.
Only after having an elder accompany them did Yang Jizong and Tian Baolai finally agree.
Inside the house, after Doctor Zeng had bandaged the wounds of all the injured, he came out of the room and told Huang Xing, Huang Mei and Miao about the things they needed to pay attention to in their future recovery.
"I will grind and distribute the herbs and send them over later. You don't have to see me off. Just go into the house and stay. Use a towel to wipe their sweat and try to keep their clothes dry." After giving his instructions, Doctor Zeng raised his hand and beckoned Xiaobao to go home with him.
On the way, Zeng Xiaobao asked his father, "Dad, will they die?"
Basins of blood were brought out and poured into the ditch in the yard, dyeing the snow on the ground red.
Doctor Zeng walked home, carrying his medicine box in one hand and holding his son's hand in the other. "How could they die? Daddy is here. Daddy prescribed medicine for them. They have family members to take care of them. As long as they take the medicine well, they will be fine."
After hearing what his father said, Zeng Xiaobao happily pushed open the fence door of his home, went into the house to get hot water for his father to wash his hands, and helped to pack the medicinal materials.
Although he didn't know any of the injured people in Sister A Yao's family, as long as they were Sister A Yao's relatives, they were all good people, and good people should live long lives.
At the same time, the government office was decorated with lights and colorful lanterns.
As soon as Li Menghong submitted his political achievements at the end of the year, he immediately slapped Wang Xiang and his party in the face and received praise from the emperor, who rewarded him with many good things.
"Master, you have worked hard this year." The old wife poured him some wine, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise. Her husband was successful in his official career, and her son could stay in the old house in Beijing and fulfill his filial duties to his elders.
Li Menghong knew that his political achievements were remarkable and that promotion after the new year was just around the corner. Even those relatives who lived far away in Beijing and whom he had no contact with sent him gifts this year.
This year he finally felt proud of himself.
Looking at the gifts on the table, Li Menghong was about to tell his wife that he would let his son take the exam again after the New Year when he heard the voices of Li Xin and Liu Chuang calling out from the back door.
"Sir, sir, are you home? I have an urgent matter to report."
"Sir, please open the door!" Li Xin, who was impatient, slammed the back door loudly.
"Master, today is Chinese New Year. Are these two crazy? How dare they come to disturb us at this time? I have to chase them away."
Li Menghong had just nodded in agreement to his wife when he heard the door panel of his back door bang on the ground. Li Menghong was so frightened that he hurried out to take a look.
Broken into two halves.
When Li Xin and Liu Chuang broke in, they saw
"Sir, why don't you open the door when you are home?" the subordinate asked.
Li Menghong looked at the two wronged subordinates in front of him. His good manners prevented him from cursing. He could only point at their faces and scold them: "You, you are rebelling against the heavens. How dare you force your way into my house? How is this any different from a robber breaking into my house?"
Li Xin held the knife at his waist and didn't take his scolding seriously at all. He saw the table in their room.
Li Menghong was so angry at his mockery that he jumped up and down on the spot. These two people were becoming more and more arrogant and undisciplined.
"Sir, when the Shen family members were returning home from Jiangnan, they were attacked by gangsters near Baihe Town. Not only did they lose two trucks of goods, but they were also seriously injured and their lives are unknown." Liu Chuang stopped Li Xin and signaled him not to make trouble, as business was more important.
Little did they know, Li Menghong didn't believe them at all. Who would be so bold in his jurisdiction? How could such a thing happen?
He doesn't believe it.
"Sir, if you don't believe me, I will ride on horseback to find Young Master Yang and ask him." Liu Chuang pulled Li Xin and turned to leave.
As soon as the two stepped onto the broken door panel, Li Menghong called them to stop.
"Come back here."
Li Xin stood there nonchalantly. "Sir, you'd better mobilize the troops as soon as possible. Otherwise, once these people leave Fang County, we really won't be able to deal with them. When Young Master Yang and his relatives come to the government office, how will you explain it to them?"
How could something like this happen in such a good year?
Li Menghong asked his wife to go back to the house first, and then asked an old official to repair the back door of his house. He then led the two of them to the government office in front to talk.
There was no one on duty in the courtroom, and it was as cold as an ice cellar.
Li Menghong took off the transfer order badge, glanced at Li Xin and Liu Chuang, and finally decided to hand it to Liu Chuang, asking him to quickly recall all the yamen runners.
Just as Li Xin said, these criminals must be caught before they leave Fang County, otherwise how can we explain to Yang Jizong?
"Go quickly, and come back soon. I'll be waiting for you here." Li Menghong said with a frown.
Li Xin and Liu Chuang immediately went to get two fast horses and called the squad leader and the constables back to the yamen.
The sound of horse hooves made a rapid clattering sound in the quiet long street.
When all the yamen runners were at home reuniting with their families and eating New Year's Eve dinner, they were summoned back. They were all upset and were complaining in the hall.
Who wants to be an official during the Chinese New Year?
These words happened to be heard by Yang Jizong and others.
Yang Jizong and Tian Baolai drove an ox cart to the gate of the government office. Before the four of them went in, they heard an official complaining to Li Menghong.
"Uncle, is it reasonable for you to call your brothers back to work during the New Year?"
Many people in the hall echoed what Wang Gongcha said.
"Uncle, under your rule, how could there be murderous bandits in Fang County? I think Li Xin and Liu Chuang are dissatisfied with you assigning them to guard the city gate during the New Year holiday, so they came up with this trick to torment us."
"That's right."
Li Menghong looked up at this so-called cousin. If it weren't for his old wife, why would he use him?
And it was when he looked up that he saw Yang Jizong and others standing outside.
Without saying a word, Li Menghong raised his hand and slapped his cousin in the face.
“Uncle!!”
The crowd below watched Wang Gongcha being slapped by the adult, and suddenly fell silent.
"You are a yamen runner in Fang County. Your duty is to protect the safety of every citizen in Fang County. I never thought you would be so lazy and unwilling to work. Then why are you wearing this uniform?"
Before Wang Gongcha could react, his uncle continued, "Since you don't obey my orders, you will take off your uniform from today onwards and no longer need to serve."
"Uncle?"
Li Menghong shouted, "Why, you still don't listen to me?"
"No, it's not."
"Then hurry up and leave. Don't hang around in front of me. It's annoying." Li Menghong stood up and looked at everyone in the hall. "Is there anyone else who wants to go with him?"
Everyone shook their heads.
This trick of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys frightened everyone in the hall so much that they dared not say a word.
After the play was over, Li Menghong pretended to see Yang Jizong and eagerly stepped forward to express his sympathy: "Zi'an, I have heard from Li Xin and Liu Chuang. I will definitely see to the end of this matter."
Yang Jizong bowed in thanks, then bowed to the other yamen runners in the hall and said, "Then I'll trouble you all to join me and search for the criminals."
Li Menghong patted Yang Jizong's shoulder and said, "This is their responsibility."
The yamen runners went to the classroom at the back to change into their uniforms.
After Li Xin and Liu Chuang called the rest of the people back, Li Menghong issued a death order that they must find the bandits, otherwise he would take off his clothes.
Knowing that Yang Jizong and Tian Baolai would also go together, he asked all the yamen runners to follow Yang Jizong's arrangements and equipped the two with regular self-defense weapons and mounts.
Shen Qingshan and his daughter looked at Yang Jizon and Tian Baolai sitting on horseback, and repeatedly reminded them to be careful.
If a fight really breaks out, you are not allowed to risk your life.
He didn't want to lose any of his family.
Especially Baolai, who didn't know how to ride a horse and could only sit on Li Xin's horse. When he heard this, he nodded repeatedly to assure him.
After everyone left, Shen Qingshan brought his daughter and Li Menghong to express his gratitude.
After Li Menghong sent these people away, he immediately took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Fortunately, he was not confused.
Otherwise, it would be bad if Yang Jizong was offended.
When Li Menghong returned to the backyard, he heard his cousin crying to his wife again, asking to put on the uniform again.
It’s New Year’s Day, and you’re still crying!
Li Menghong scolded his wife and nephew as well, and only then did he feel a little better.
This time, Yang Jizong, according to Yue A Shui's reminder, drew out the places where these criminals would pass. If they settled in the village, they would be able to find them by searching along the way and patrolling each village one by one.
But the prerequisite is that it must be fast.
The gang couldn't move fast with two mule carts unless they left their cargo somewhere.
The yamen runners held torches in one hand and the reins in the other, trying their best to keep up with Yang Jizong in the front, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
Because their superiors said that anyone who disobeyed their orders would have their uniforms stripped off.
The salary for this job is not much, but it is also the source of livelihood for the whole family. How can I just refuse it?
The flames burned on the winding mountain road like a fire dragon.
Li Xin rode a horse with Tian Baolai on his back, and followed Yang Jizong with Liu Chuang. The snow particles in the wind hit his cheeks and hurt, but he was very happy.
I felt extremely happy, as I had finally kicked out that bad apple named Wang.
Everyone set out on this trip in such a hurry that they didn't even have time to prepare some dry food. They were truly sleeping in the open air and shivering with cold. They were just hoping to find a place to stay at an old farmer's house so they could warm themselves up and have some hot soup.
When we arrived at the scene of the incident, fortunately there had been no heavy snow in the past few days, everyone looked at the dark bloodstains that had seeped into the snow and couldn't help but be shocked.
Fortunately, their relatives were lucky enough, otherwise they would all have died here.
Someone in the crowd cursed, "How dare these sons of bitches hurt people in our adult jurisdiction!"
Tian Baolai's butt was almost broken into four pieces, and his thighs were rubbed so hard that they hurt. If it weren't for his thick cotton pants, he really couldn't stand the bumps on the horse's back.
Looking at the group of officers who looked as if nothing had happened, he felt a little admiration for them and forced himself to walk up to Yang Jizong.
"Young Master Yang, there are several intersections here. How should we find them? Should we search separately?" Li Xin asked while rubbing his frozen face with a handful of snow in the grass on the mountain path.
Yang Jizong raised his hand to signal them to wait there, and then he and his cousin identified the wheel marks of their own mule cart in the snow.
They had long since followed A Yao's advice and wrapped iron chains around the wheels of their own mule cart before it snowed to prevent the road from being slippery. The difference could be seen if one looked carefully.
The yamen runners sat on horseback and watched the two men searching for something in the snow.
After a long while, they finally determined the whereabouts of the criminals.
"Chase towards Chengguan Town!"
In one word, everyone followed immediately.
Following the wheel tracks, everyone basically didn't stay for long except for spending some time in the village to buy some food and hot water.
Because they did not cook on the road and saved time, on the fifth day of the New Year, they saw the group of bandits in Mengusi Village.
The bandits knew that their mule cart would attract attention, so they didn't dare to enter the village.
In addition, the snowy ground was slippery, so in order to return and report as soon as possible, the chain on the mule cart was not removed.
Who could have imagined that someone would come after them so soon.
When Yang Jizong led the yamen runners to surround them, the gangsters drew their swords and attacked them on the spot.
Yang Jizong and Tian Baolai did not need the protection of the yamen runners.
Yang Jizong was an expert in riding and shooting, even better than the yamen runners. Tian Baolai had collected goods in the village earlier, and had seen all kinds of people. Just by looking at the expressions of the bandits in front of him, he could predict their next move.
Tian Baolai and Yang Jizong coordinated seamlessly, one attacking at close range and the other shooting from a distance.
In order to boost morale, Yang Jizong shot and killed one of the gangsters with his first arrow, and then cooperated with everyone else and did not take the life of any more gangsters.
But his arrows still hit the arms and legs of the gangsters accurately.
The number of yamen runners who came this time is twice that of the criminals, so this battle is bound to be won.
"Catch the rest alive!" Yang Jizong gave the order while sitting on horseback, and everyone shouted yes.
The clash of weapons was particularly harsh in the snow, and the yamen runners were all injured to varying degrees. Fortunately, they managed to capture the criminals alive.
"Tell me, who sent you here?" Yang Jizong asked, holding the knife to the neck of the leading gangster.
There were ten gang members in total, two of them died, and the remaining eight were all tied up and curled up in the snow, struggling. No matter how Yang Jizong questioned them, they refused to answer.
Liu Chuang looked at the gang of criminals who were ready to die and whispered, "Why don't we take them back for interrogation first?"
Li Xin also said: "Take them back for interrogation. We have many torture instruments in our yamen. Let's go through them one by one. I don't believe that all of them are tough."
Eight people were hung on the back of horses and dragged in the snow. Listening to the shouting of these criminals along the way, the blood of the yamen runners was boiling.
They have made great contributions on this trip, and they no longer have to worry about Lord Li stripping them of their uniforms when they return.
On the tenth day, Li Menghong finally got everyone back.
The return of this group of people to the city also caused quite a stir. The long street was crowded with people, all discussing what crimes these people had committed and why they were dragged back by the yamen runners.
Those who knew the inside story, such as Shopkeeper Ren and Shopkeeper Tong, mixed in with the crowd and said, "These are murderers and robbers. Fortunately, they were caught by our masters. Otherwise, who among us would dare to leave the city alone in the future?"
When the people heard the words "murder and robbery", they were immediately frightened and shouted that the murderer must pay with his life and they must not be let off.
This group of criminals were tortured to death on the road. Now that they had entered the city and heard the shouts of the people, they wanted to bite their tongues to commit suicide immediately, but their mouths were tied tightly with hemp ropes.
The leading criminal looked at his colleagues behind him. If they really entered the government office, he couldn't guarantee that some of his colleagues would not tell the truth in order to save their lives.
"Someone go and give Huang Ji a message, asking Madam Shen and the others to go directly to the yamen." Shopkeeper Ren touched the jade ring on his hand and called on the people to go to the yamen.
They must see what happens to this group of people.
Chen Yao has been running back and forth between the city and home with her father these days.
My uncle, my cousins and I have long passed the critical period. Now they lie in bed every day to recuperate, and family members take turns to take care of them.
When they woke up, they learned that Yang Jizong and Tian Baolai had gone with the yamen runners to catch the criminals, and they were terrified.
Even if Shen Qingshan tried to explain, the two children would definitely not risk their lives. They knew the seriousness of the matter and did nothing to appease everyone.
So during the days of recuperation, they were always concerned about them and asked every day whether Yang Jizon and Tian Baolai had returned safely.
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