Chapter 202 [VIP]
At this moment, Ding Changsheng, the magistrate of Sitong County, was leaning on a warm couch eating candied dates, while a little girl of about ten years old was kneeling beside him, massaging his legs.
Nephew Ding Qi, sitting on a small stool next to him with one leg wrapped in bandages, said, "Uncle, those Qiang people are really too hateful. Why don't we just kill them all!"
"Hey, what's the rush? You can't just kill someone like that. Even if you execute someone in the autumn, you need the higher-ups' approval first. If something goes wrong, I can't take the blame."
“What could possibly go wrong? Those barbarians can’t even speak Mandarin properly. If we kill them, there’s no one to complain to.”
"Better safe than sorry. You don't need to worry about this. Just behave yourself these days. The prefecture should send troops over in the next few days. Wouldn't it be more satisfying to wipe out that Qiang village in one fell swoop?"
Ding Qi revealed a sinister smile, "Uncle is indeed wise! Then I will go back and wait for news."
"Go ahead, take good care of your leg. You're the only male in our Ding family, and your uncle will have to rely on you in the future."
"yes."
Two servants came over and carried Ding Qi on their backs, while another draped a cloak over him and led him outside.
The story begins half a month ago. After the Qiang people escorted Chen Qingyan and his group away, martial law was imposed in the city. Ding Qi was left speechless and had no one to vent his anger on, so he stomped his feet in frustration.
But if Chen Qingyan can't be found, can't he find those Qiang people?
From that day on, he began arresting people in the city. Any Qiang people who came to the city to buy or sell things were arrested and imprisoned in the laoli without explanation. He continued arresting people like this for four or five days until he finally caught the boy who had come down from the mountain to sell things that day.
Mai Lian went down the mountain to sell things all by himself this time. He thought that the matter should be over after so long, but he didn't expect to be arrested by two soldiers as soon as he entered the city.
He struggled fiercely, shouting, "Why are you arresting me?"
"Why? Kid, do you still recognize me?" Ding Qi strode over.
When Mai Lian saw him, she knew things were not good, and she kept a straight face and didn't say a word.
Seeing his appearance only fueled Ding Qi's anger. He went up and punched him several times, making the man bleed from his nose and mouth before stopping. "Take him back and lock him up! You think you can get away with offending me? I'll kill you!"
Mai Lian is the son of Chief Mai. He hasn't returned for more than a day since he went down the mountain, so the people in the tribe are naturally very worried. Coupled with what happened some time ago, Chief Mai knew that his son must have been arrested in the city.
Having no other choice, he took out the little money he had at home to plead for his son's release, but instead of getting his son out, he also got himself into trouble.
Now the village was leaderless. The already volatile Qiang people decided to storm the city to rescue their chief and young master. A brawl broke out in the county town, and in the end, they failed to rescue them and several of their brothers were injured.
Of course, things weren't much better in the county town either. The Qiang people made their living by hunting in the mountains and were very good at shooting. Ding Qi was also hit in the leg by an arrow, and it hasn't fully healed yet after so long.
Because there were no soldiers stationed in the county town, the Qiang people went berserk, coming down from the mountains to fight every now and then. The few dozen yamen runners and clerks were not enough to wipe them out in one fell swoop. Magistrate Ding had no choice but to send a message to the Shanzhou government office, asking the governor to send troops to support them.
*
Six days later, Chen Qingyan and his group arrived in Sitong County.
Lord Feng did not come on this trip, but sent his capable subordinate Lord Cai to accompany Chen Qingyan. Before leaving, he instructed his subordinate to take good care of his nephew.
Chen Qingyan was both amused and exasperated, but he had indeed been very considerate of him along the way. Normally, the march would have taken four days, but they had made an extra two days for him.
Upon entering the city, they first went to the county government office, where Magistrate Ding had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing them arrive, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your humble servant Ding Changsheng greets all the esteemed officials."
"Lord Ding, please rise."
Ding Changsheng had never met Chen Qingyan before, but he recognized his official robes. "This must be the newly appointed Prefect. I was pleasantly surprised and delighted that you would come in person. I have prepared a welcome banquet. It is freezing cold, so I hope you will have a cup of hot wine to warm yourself up..."
"Let's skip the drinks and get down to business first." Chen Qingyan interrupted him and walked straight in, with his deputy following closely behind.
Ding Changsheng's smile faded slightly as he followed the two men inside.
"Lord Ding's letter said that the Qiang people had revolted and were burning, killing and looting in the city, but when we entered the city, the streets were orderly and there were no signs of burning."
"My lord, you are unaware of the truth. Those Qiang people are truly despicable. Although they did not burn down any houses, they did indeed riot in Chengcheng. They carried bows and arrows and wounded many people!"
The adjutant beside him asked curiously, "Why would they come down the mountain to shoot innocent people for no reason?"
"The Qiang people don't speak the language, are uneducated, and are unreasonable and do whatever they want, so it's not surprising."
"So that's how it is."
Chen Qingyan pondered for a moment and then asked, "Have you captured any live Qiang people?"
Ding Changsheng nodded, "We did catch a few, but they can't even speak Mandarin, so there's no way to communicate with them."
Standing to the side, Deputy General Cai said, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I have some Qiang people under my command who can speak Mandarin. Bring them over and we'll find out."
"This, this, this, this..." Ding Changsheng hadn't expected there to be Qiang soldiers in the army. He was at a loss for how to deal with them and broke out in a cold sweat.
Chen Qingyan stood up with a stern face and said, "What, can't you bring the person up?"
"No, no, those Qiang people are unruly and filthy. Please allow them to clean themselves up before bringing them over for questioning..."
"No need. I've seen dirty people before. I'm not that fussy. Just bring them up directly."
"Yes..." Ding Changsheng was filled with regret. He should have listened to his nephew and killed those people directly, rather than being questioned and having any clues revealed. Now he was in a dilemma.
Ding Changsheng originally planned to poison the people when he sent two of his men to pick them up, but he didn't expect the new prefect to be so meticulous as to send his men along. This time, he didn't even have a chance to make a final move.
Soon, more than thirty people were brought out of the prison. Among them were the chieftain and the young master, as well as many innocent Qiang people. They were not even from the same tribe, but were all arrested together.
During this time, they were locked in the cell, cold and hungry. Old Mai fell seriously ill, and Mai Lian was also injured. Their condition was very dangerous.
Upon seeing the two, Chen Qingyan immediately guessed what had happened and became increasingly angry. However, he still had to follow the proper procedures. "Why have you repeatedly sent your people into the city to kill and plunder?"
Neither Old Mai nor Mai Lian recognized Chen Qingyan. The two stood together in silence, while several Qiang people nearby chattered excitedly.
The Qiang soldier beside them helped translate, saying, "They said they hadn't done anything; they were just arrested for coming into the city to buy and sell things."
Ding Changsheng hurriedly said, "It was too chaotic at the time, and I had no choice but to arrest all the Qiang people in the city. If there were any wrongful arrests, it was a last resort. I hope Your Excellency will investigate thoroughly."
Kneeling below, Mai Lian glared at Magistrate Ding. If his hands and feet weren't bound, he would have rushed up and torn him apart.
"Since it was a wrongful arrest, we should investigate thoroughly and release the person. They can't be kept in jail indefinitely."
"Yes, yes, yes. We were previously troubled because no one could understand the Qiang language. Now that you have help, we will deal with it as soon as possible."
After being questioned carefully, the Qiang people were removed from their chains and allowed to go home, leaving only the people of the Mai clan behind.
Ding Changsheng said, "These people were the ones who came into the city to kill and plunder a few days ago. Several yamen runners were shot and wounded while trying to capture them. Even my own nephew was not spared. He was injured in the leg by these villains and can no longer walk."
Chen Qingyan thought to himself: Good riddance. This kind of bully should have both his legs shot off so he can stay at home and not go out and cause trouble for others.
"Why are you men from the hall entering the city to kill and plunder?"
The soldier translated it once, but unexpectedly, Mai Lian immediately spoke in broken Mandarin: "Bah! You corrupt officials, just kill me if you want, why do you have so much to say?"
"You rude brat!" Ding Changsheng ordered the yamen runners to beat him hard with sticks, causing Mai Lian to almost faint from the pain.
Chen Qingyan angrily retorted, "Who gave you permission to hit someone!"
"I...I saw that he was disrespectful..."
"How dare you resort to torture without my orders?!"
Ding Changsheng was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and said, "This humble official knows his mistake..."
Chen Qingyan was furious. He quickly had someone help Mai Lian up and then went over to ask her, "Are you alright?"
Mai Lian was in so much pain he wanted to curse, but then he recognized Chen Qingyan as the person who had saved him that day, and his eyes widened instantly, "You..."
Chen Qingyan gave him a look, and the shrewd young man immediately understood. "You corrupt officials, you've been bullying us with your power. Now that we're in your hands, kill us if you want!"
"Bullying others by abusing your power? Tell me how you bully others by abusing your power."
Mai Lian then recounted everything that had happened during this period from beginning to end, starting with the trouble caused by Ding Changsheng's nephew demanding money from him and him refusing to pay.
"Moreover, my people did not burn, kill, and loot in the city as he claimed. They only wanted to save my father and me, and the arrows they shot were not aimed at vital organs. Otherwise, with our skills in hunting wild animals, how could we have only injured one of his legs?"
After listening, Chen Qingyan asked, "Lord Ding, is this the case?"
"Nonsense! My nephew is the most honest and upright child. How could he possibly rob him in the street? This Qiang boy is really cunning. He should be severely tortured to get the truth out of him!"
Chen Qingyan sneered, "Bring your nephew over for a confrontation first."
"I will send someone to bring him here immediately. I hope Your Honor will make a wise judgment and clear my nephew's name."
Ding Changsheng was naturally not worried about Ding Qi, after all, that kid was better at acting than him. As long as he didn't admit it, the Qiang people couldn't do anything to them no matter how much they argued.
Standing to the side, Deputy General Cai looked ready to watch the show. The governor had told him the whole story when he arrived, so he knew exactly what was going on. He was just waiting to see how Magistrate Ding and his nephew would handle the situation.
A note from the author:
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