Collection of strange powers and chaotic gods

In June of the Renzi year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, there was a heavy thunderstorm one night. In the west of Xian County (now a county under Cangzhou City, Hebei Province), a villager was killed by lightning.

Lord Mingsheng, who was the magistrate of Xianxian County at the time, went to inspect the scene. Although he felt that something was fishy, ​​he did not say anything, but calmly ordered the officers to put the villager's body into a coffin and bury it.

More than half a month later, the county magistrate Ming Sheng suddenly arrested a person without warning. When he was brought to the county government hall for trial, he asked him: "What did you want to use the gunpowder you bought before?"

The man replied: "I use it to shoot birds."

Magistrate Mingsheng asked: "If you use a gun to shoot birds, the amount of gunpowder is very small. It only costs a few dollars at a time. At most, you only need to buy one or two, which is enough for you to use it for a whole day, but you You bought twenty or thirty kilograms at a time, what are you going to do with so much gunpowder?"

The man defended himself by saying, "I am buying more at one time and planning to use it for many days, so that I don't have to buy it often."

Magistrate Mingsheng asked: "I believe what you said for the time being. But what I want to know is: it has been less than a month since you bought the gunpowder. Even if you shoot birds every day, count the gunpowder you have used." , only one or two kilograms, where are the rest?"

The man hesitated and couldn't answer.

Upon seeing this, the magistrate of Mingsheng County ordered his men to drag him down and torture him.

After some torture, he was taken back to the lobby for interrogation.

That man was honest and confessed everything!

It turned out that this man had an affair with a woman in the village, and the woman's husband was the villager who was killed by lightning.

As time went by, the adulterer and adulteress felt that the villager was a hindrance to their tryst, so they secretly discussed murdering the woman's husband.

The man usually liked to shoot birds with a blunderbuss, so he wanted to use gunpowder to blow up the woman's husband.

So, he bought a lot of gunpowder in advance, ready to take action when he found an opportunity.

Ten days later, there was sudden thunder and rain. When the man saw an opportunity, he took advantage of the thunder, ignited gunpowder under the cover of thunder, and killed the woman's husband. He claimed that he was struck to death by lightning.

The man thought he had done a perfect job, but he didn't expect that the magistrate Mingsheng, who was very aware of everything, found out and solved the case.

Seeing that the matter was exposed, the man also confessed his concubine, and finally the adulterer and the adulterer were punished together.

People admired Magistrate Mingsheng.

Someone asked him: "How do you know that the villager was not killed by lightning? How do you know that the murderer is this person?"

Mingsheng County Magistrate said: "If dozens of kilograms of gunpowder are not used, it will not be disguised as the scene of a lightning strike. To use gunpowder to prepare explosives, sulfur must be used."

The man asked again: "Sulfur is also used in making fireworks and firecrackers. How do you know it must be used to make explosives?"

Magistrate Mingsheng said with a smile: "It is midsummer now and it is not the time to set off firecrackers during the New Year. Not many people will buy sulfur.

I secretly sent people to the market to find out who bought the most gunpowder and brimstone. The investigation revealed that it was a craftsman who made fireworks and firecrackers. He also went to secretly investigate who a certain craftsman had sold the gunpowder to, and they all said it was this person. So, I knew that the murderer must be him. "

The man asked again: "How do you know, sir, that the scene of the lightning strike was faked?"

Magistrate Mingsheng said: "Thunder and lightning strike people from top to bottom and will not explode the ground. They may damage houses, but they also strike from top to bottom."

Now at that villager's house, the roof and beams of the thatched house were flying up, and the surface of the earthen kang in the house was also uncovered. It was clear at a glance that the fire started from below.

Also, the villager's home is only five or six miles away from the county seat, so the lightning should be the same. On the night of the thunderstorm, although the thunder and lightning struck quickly and violently, they were all coiled in the clouds in the sky and did not appear to hit the ground. Therefore, I knew that the lightning strike scene was faked.

After that time, the deceased's wife had already returned to her parents' home, making it difficult to arrest her for interrogation. Therefore, the gunpowder buyer must be caught first, and after he confesses, the woman can be arrested and brought back for interrogation. "

Everyone was amazed: Ming Sheng, the county magistrate, is really thoughtful and perceptive!