Chapter 203 [VIP]
About fifteen minutes later, Ding Qi was carried over.
The servants on the way had already told him what had happened at the yamen, so Ding Qi knew that as long as he denied it, those Qiang people couldn't do anything to him.
Once in the main hall, he began his performance, kneeling and kowtowing, saying, "This humble subject, Ding Qi, greets Your Excellency."
Ding Changsheng spoke first, "These Qiang people said that you were bullying and extorting money on the street. Is that true?"
"I'm innocent! Although I haven't read many books, I know about propriety and shame. I would never do such a despicable thing. Besides, I am related to... the magistrate. If I did such a thing, wouldn't I be disgracing my uncle?"
Ding Changsheng smiled and nodded, "This child is indeed like that. Although he has a somewhat flamboyant personality, he would never do such a bad thing. These Qiang people are slandering people without any evidence. Please, sir, see the truth!"
Chen Qingyan chuckled, "Young man from the Ding family, raise your head and see who I am?"
Ding Qi was stunned. He hadn't dared to look up since he entered the room, so he naturally didn't know that the person sitting up there was the one who had made a move that day and was almost stopped by him.
He slightly raised his head, and the instant he saw Chen Qingyan's face clearly, he screamed in fright and stumbled backward, falling to the ground. "W-how is it you?!"
"Ding Qi, you mustn't be rude! This is the newly appointed prefect."
"No, Uncle... he... he... he..." Ding Qi was so frightened that he was completely at a loss for words, pointing at Chen Qingyan and unable to speak.
Chen Qingyan stood up and said, "Let me tell you. That day, your nephew led a few men to demand money from the Qiang people. When they refused, they started beating people. I happened to be passing by and saw what was happening, so I had my servants help out."
"I never expected that you, my good nephew, would feel that you had been wronged, so you actually led the constables and yamen runners to stop my carriage and even injured the coachman who was leading the way for me. You said that even if the Heavenly King himself came, he would have to be skinned alive before he could leave. What a show of power you have."
Ding Changsheng's face was deathly pale, and cold sweat streamed down his temples. Ding Qi hadn't told him about this.
Ding Qi, kneeling on the ground, was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe. He felt as if the sky had fallen and he was doomed...
Chen Qingyan came down from above, helped Mai Lian and Elder Mai up, and continued, "Fortunately, these people are grateful and did not hesitate to bring their entire clan to protect me so that I could leave the city safely."
I just didn't expect that even after so much time had passed, you still wouldn't let them go, and would even use the pretext of arson, murder, and looting to send troops from the prefecture to wipe them out!
At this moment, Mai Anming and Mai Lian were already in tears. If they hadn't met Judge Chen, their entire tribe would probably have been lost.
After watching the commotion from the sidelines, Deputy General Cai coughed and said, "Magistrate Ding, what do you think we should do now?" His words were full of pressure, making it clear that no one would leave without an explanation today.
Ding Changsheng knelt down, trembling, and said, "This official truly knew nothing about this matter. My nephew always seemed so good, trying to please me in front of me. I never expected him to do such a thing behind my back. It's simply too much!"
Chen Qingyan said, "You dare say you knew absolutely nothing about it?"
"My lord, I really didn't know anything about this. If I had known he had done such a despicable thing, how could I have let him off so easily!" With that, he snatched the stick from the bailiff next to him and started hitting Ding Qi with it.
He was quite ruthless; the blows landed hard on Ding Qi's body, causing him to writhe on the ground in pain, repeatedly begging for mercy, "Uncle, Uncle, I was wrong, I won't do it again, I'll never do it again..."
"How could you do such a thing? How can I ever hold my head up again!"
Chen Qingyan frowned and said, "Alright, if you want to teach him a lesson, wait until after this case is over. I don't have time to play along with your act!"
Ding Changsheng swallowed hard, unsure whether to hit or put down the stick.
"This time, thirty-seven Qiang people were captured, seven were seriously injured, and twenty-nine were slightly injured. Because of your personal grudges, the prefecture mobilized a thousand troops to make this trip. The total cost of the march and compensation is three thousand seven hundred taels of silver, and you will have to bear all of this money yourself."
"As for Ding Qi, relying on his status as the magistrate's nephew, he acted recklessly in the city, bullying men and women and robbing them of money. His crimes are unforgivable. According to the laws of the Wu Dynasty, he is sentenced to one hundred strokes of the cane on the buttocks and exiled to Cangzhou."
Upon hearing this, Ding Qi, who was lying on the ground, fainted from fright. After being beaten a hundred times on the buttocks, he was unlikely to survive.
Ding Changsheng knelt down and kowtowed, pleading for mercy, "My lord, my nephew is still young. Please, sir, show mercy and spare his life. I will do my utmost to make amends!"
"You should plead for yourself first." Chen Qingyan beckoned, and Huang Qianguan and Huang Baiguan escorted in two accountants. These two were responsible for doing the bookkeeping for Magistrate Ding, and they were the ones who helped him deal with the ill-gotten gains he had amassed.
Chen Qingyan had long been prepared to deal with the matter of Sitong County. After arriving in Shanzhou, he sent people to investigate secretly. He originally planned to deal with it after the New Year, but unexpectedly, the magistrate of Sitong County came first, which saved him a lot of trouble.
The two accountants were easily intimidated and, after being pressed several times by the Huang brothers, they revealed all the account books.
Over the years, Ding Changsheng amassed a considerable fortune. A minor prefect only received a salary of sixty strings of cash per year, yet his private account contained a staggering three hundred thousand taels of silver!
"A clean county magistrate for three years can amass 100,000 taels of silver!"
Ding Changsheng, who had originally wanted to plead for his nephew, collapsed to the ground. He grabbed Chen Qingyan's trouser leg and cried, "Your Excellency, please take all this silver as a token of my respect. Please spare my life."
Chen Qingyan disgustedly shook him off and said, "Keep those words to the prefect. Men, seize this man and escort him to Shanzhou!" A sixth-rank magistrate does not have the authority to deal with people directly; he can only take them back to Shanzhou for punishment.
"yes!"
The chains that were originally on the Qiang people were re-bound to the Ding family uncle and nephew. The Qiang people kneeling on the ground cried loudly with excitement, kowtowing to Chen Qingyan repeatedly while speaking in a language they couldn't understand.
"Get up quickly, Elder Mai is telling your people to get up."
Mai Anming spoke a few words in Qiang language in a low voice, and the people stopped kowtowing and got up from the ground, wiping away their tears.
"I have already sent someone to fetch a doctor. Don't rush back yet. Let the doctor treat your injuries before you leave."
"Thank you, Magistrate." Mai Anming was about to kneel down and kowtow again.
Chen Qingyan held his arm and said, "I was able to arrive in Shanzhou safely to take up my post last time thanks to your help. It is my duty to punish evil and uphold justice, so there is no need to thank me again."
Mai Anming held Chen Qingyan's hand, a grateful and gratified smile on his face. After so many years, Sitong County had finally found a good official!
Because the magistrate of Sitong County had been arrested, Chen Qingyan had to stay here to handle the aftermath. So, Deputy General Cai led his men back to Shanzhou first, and Chen Qingyan would return after things were settled here.
As for the 300,000 taels of silver that were seized, part of it was put into the county treasury for use in bridge and road repairs and for the people's livelihood, while the remainder was also taken back to Shanzhou and confiscated.
The arrest of Ding Changsheng was a great relief to the people. On the day he was escorted to Shanzhou, despite the freezing weather, the people of the county town all came out to watch the spectacle, and the streets were packed with people.
The man in the cart was no longer as arrogant as before. He was disheveled and huddled inside the wooden cart. The onlookers spat at him and cursed him, saying he deserved it!
"That beast has finally been caught. He took a fancy to my youngest daughter and forced her into the mansion as a concubine. As a result, she got pregnant but couldn't give birth and died in childbirth at the age of thirteen..." The old woman wiped away her tears as she spoke, her heart filled with hatred for Ding Changsheng. However, she had been unable to seek justice for her daughter all these years.
Another ragged beggar next to him laughed and said, "Good job! My family is a wealthy family in Sitong County. Back then, he coveted my family's land and framed my father for theft. He arrested my father, tortured him to death in the yamen, and then drove my mother and me away and seized my family's land and house."
"My mother and I were displaced and begged for a living. My mother fell ill but we had no money for treatment. In the end... in the end, she died tragically in a dilapidated temple..." The man choked up and could not speak.
Some people were also harmed by Ding Qi, who plundered all the money they had earned over the years, leaving their families in dire straits. Now that his backer has finally fallen, how could everyone not be happy?
Ding Changsheng's misdeeds are too numerous to recount. For seventeen years, the people of Sitong County suffered greatly under his oppression. Finally, he got his just deserts, and the people were happier than if it were the New Year.
*
That evening in the experimental field, Chen Qingyan told Wang Ying about what had happened during the day.
"I never imagined that Magistrate Ding had committed so many evil deeds. Luckily, we ran into him, otherwise who knows how long he would have continued to wreak havoc!"
"Yes, it's thanks to my timely arrival that the Mai family father and son escaped unscathed. Mai Anming fell seriously ill and is still receiving treatment at the government office. His son was also injured in the lungs and internal organs and will probably need some time to recover. I'll probably have to stay here for a while until things are settled before I can go back."
Wang Ying stroked his cheek and said, "It is only right. We must not only appease the local people, but also the Qiang people. It's good that no one died in this incident. If someone had died, it would have created enmity, making it even more difficult for the local people and the Qiang people to interact in the future."
"That's what I'm thinking too. I'll discuss it with Chief Mai again after he recovers, and we plan to register the Qiang people in Sitong County as well. That would make management much easier in the future."
"Go ahead and do it. Don't worry about things at home, I'll take care of things."
The couple didn't need to say anything; they understood each other with just a glance.
"Oh right, you left in such a hurry that day that I forgot to show you the letter." Wang Ying brought the letter in from outside and handed it to him.
Chen Qingyan first read Qinghuai's letter, and then opened his fourth uncle's letter.
The letter said that he didn't expect him to eventually choose to go to Shanzhou, but it was also a kind of experience.
Fourth Uncle explained in detail the relationship between several major families in Shanzhou and the capital, making Chen Qingyan understand the implications and advising him to make good relations with them if possible, and not to provoke them unless there is a major incident.
Secondly, he recommended several capable people, all of whom had worked under him before, including the clerk surnamed Cao and an official named Zhang Wei.
He also gave Chen Qingyan a detailed account of everything in the eleven counties, including which county was poorly managed and which had a development plan, writing down seven or eight pages of information.
The letter also mentioned that the current prefect, Lord Xu, was kind and easy to get along with, and advised Chen Qingyan to cultivate a good relationship with him. As for the governor, although he was not a bad person, he had a terrible temper and was difficult to befriend, so Qingyan was advised not to offend him and to treat him with respect.
Chen Qingyan couldn't help but laugh. Who would have thought that this hot-tempered governor was now his uncle? After reading it, he felt a warm glow in his heart. With the support of an elder, the official path was indeed easier.
A note from the author:
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