Be a master through ancient times

"My lord, it is now clear which is right and which is wrong. Han Xiucai and others insisted on boarding the boat despite the advice, and then they were blackmailed by others because they couldn't resist the temptation of those women. They have brought the blame on themselves, and have nothing to do with the boat boss and his wife."

Han Xiucai still wanted to argue, but was glared back by Magistrate Wu.He said: "Since the facts of this case have come to light, the judge will revoke yesterday's judgment and let the boss of the boat go home. Come here, untie their shackles and let them go."

The three boat bosses were naturally grateful, and they were about to kneel down to thank them, but they were interrupted by Chu Ci.

"Hold on, my lord, this case is not yet closed!"

County Magistrate Wu's eyes were unfriendly: "This case is not settled? Why is it not settled?" Is it possible that you still want him to pay compensation to these unscrupulous people?

"Of course it's because everyone has not arrived yet. This case involves three parties, but there are only two parties involved in the trial. Master Du on the flower boat has not yet appeared."

"But, no one sued Mr. Du." County magistrate Wu didn't want to cause more trouble.

"How can there be no one? Isn't Han Xiucai the one who sued? In his confession, he has always said that the boss of the boat and the boss of the flower boat blackmailed him. Now that the boss of the boat has cleared his suspicion, the person who blackmailed him It must be the owner of the flower boat."

"But Han Xiucai insulted the girl there..."

Chu Ci shook his head: "My lord, this is obviously the conspiracy of Mr. Du. Which decent family would take a boat full of beautiful women to swim in the middle of the night? And which decent family would specially ask the maid to send a strange man into the sea?" The room? According to Han Xiucai, at that time, after the woman led him into the room, she spoke frivolously and deliberately flirted with her gestures, which was clearly a temptation. In the dead of night, a lonely man and a widow are in the same room. It is very normal for a man to have a lover or a concubine. If he had forced it then, the woman only had to yell a few words, and people outside would have heard it, so how could he have succeeded?"

Everyone couldn't help nodding when they heard that, the boat was really weird.Even Han Xiucai felt wronged when he heard it.

"That's why I believe that Mr. Du has a private prostitute and is suspected of going out to sea to pick up customers. According to the laws and regulations of the Great Wei, all prostitutes and gambling houses are not allowed to operate businesses that are not beneficial to people's livelihood. They must obtain documents from the court. , pay taxes on a monthly basis, and operate on a regular basis. In other words, this Master Du is not only suspected of blackmailing the people, but also violated the regulations of the Great Wei Law. Sir, think about how many people they have blackmailed in the past three years. How much ill-gotten wealth did they get? They haven't paid a penny of tax!"

Everyone was stunned by Chu Ci's remarks. If he didn't analyze it, Mr. Du was just blackmailing. Once he analyzed it, everyone felt that Mr. Du was heinous.Especially County Magistrate Wu, he has fallen into Chu Ci's plan, blackmailing one person for 20 taels, and a dozen people at a time, how much money is that!

The imperial court has very strict control over prostitutes and gambling houses, and the taxes collected are much higher than other businesses, almost reaching ten taxes and five, which is half of their income.This shows that the imperial court does not support the establishment of this kind of business by the people, but because of the quick money, there are still many people who want to obtain operating documents through managing the yamen.

"It seems that this person is very problematic, and he must be brought back to the county government for strict interrogation!" Magistrate Wu was very serious, "Catcher Wan, take someone to... By the way, where is the flower boat docked?"

The people below shook their heads one after another, even the boss of the boat, who has been on the sea for many years, didn't know.He had never seen this flower boat at the pier, it was like a ghost on the sea, it always appeared suddenly and then disappeared inexplicably.

"Wan Butou, take the brothers to the pier to check the origin of the flower boat. Once there is news, they will be arrested and brought to justice!" Wu County Magistrate said. The boss of the boat also mentioned that the flower boat has some relationship with the people at the pier. Yes, go to the pier and ask and you will know the result.

"No!" Master Fan said, "If you move too much, you may startle the snake and make him take precautions. It's better to arrange people to lurk in the pier, pretend to be boatmen, and go out to sea with the boat boss tomorrow, waiting for the flower boat to arrive. Now, capture them in one fell swoop."

Chu Ci agreed. This is the difference between civil servants and military officials. In terms of arresting criminals, professional people are needed.In fact, even if Mr. Fan didn't say anything just now, he still wanted to stop it. This matter is of great importance, and it is by no means an ordinary blackmail case. If you escape, you will escape.But he has said enough today, if he can say a few words, he can say a few less.

The next day, dozens of yamen servants in Luotan County were distributed on three requisitioned boats, acting as boatmen and guests respectively.They sailed in the evening according to the rules, and then followed the passenger ship of the boss all the way.

After walking for about two hours, the sky gradually darkened. The boat boss stopped the boat and signaled the other boats to keep a hull distance from him and spread out, leaving a place in the middle to wait for the arrival of the flower boat.

For some unknown reason, the people on these boats waited all night with their eyes wide open, but there was no sign of the flower boat.They had no choice but to go back home. On the evening of the second day, they regained their strength and went out to sea with the boss of the boat.

"Boss, do you think that boat will come today?" Yacha Xiaojia was so bored waiting, seeing his brothers lying on the ground in a mess and sleeping to death, he lowered his voice and asked Wan Butou.

Wan Butou was a little depressed, and said harshly: "How do I know, I'm not a flower boat."

"Just ask." Xiao Jia said shyly, and after a while he asked again, "Boss, do you think the women on the flower boat are so beautiful that even Mr. Xiucai fell for her?"

"When they come, you boy will go on board and have a look yourself." Catcher Wan rolled his eyes. There is a tigress in his family. No matter how beautiful these other women are, they won't do his business. He just hopes to catch them as soon as possible. If you live here, you don't have to come here every day.

"I'm not going!" Xiao Jia shook his head violently, "I can't afford 20 taels of silver. Besides, they might not be as good-looking as the girls from Wanhualou!"

"Have you ever been to Wanhualou, kid?" Wan Butou was shocked, this is a place that burns money.

"No, I was just passing by and took a look inside." Xiao Jia smirked.

"Nothing. You're not too young. You should talk about marriage as soon as possible. Don't always think about brothel girls. Ordinary people like us can't get involved with them." Wan Catcher tried earnestly to persuade him. I have handled many cases, and I know the truth of a knife on the head of the color.

The two were talking in the boat, when they suddenly felt the boat shake, they immediately became vigilant.

"The big fish is here, brothers, don't sleep!" Wan Butou woke everyone up, and acted according to the assigned identities.The same was true for the catchers on other boats. Everyone was waiting in full battle, waiting for the flower boat to put the board on board.

After a while, the boat swayed again, Wan Butou opened the curtain and walked out, and saw a half-foot-wide wooden board connecting the boat and the big boat decorated with lights and festoons.Two graceful girls walked down the board slowly with a lantern in their hands. They were about to say hello, but suddenly they frowned, and lifted the lantern and placed it next to Wan Butou's face for careful observation.Wan Butou and the others had already made a disguise, but he was afraid that he would show his feet after watching for a long time, so he turned his head away and asked her why she wanted to take care of him.

"Isn't this Liu Laosan's boat? Who are you?" The girl's voice was like that of a yellow warbler, but the expression on her face was very fierce.

Wan Butou acted honestly and explained: "Third Uncle is not feeling well today, so he asked me to go to sea for him."

"You don't look like him." The girl was still somewhat suspicious.

"There are some uncles and nephews who don't look alike, not to mention my third uncle with a hunched back, which makes him even less so." Wan Butou replied calmly.

Seeing his calm demeanor, the girl also mentioned the characteristics of Liu Laosan, so she stopped asking more questions and asked about the guests in the cabin.

After that, they used the excuse from last time to lure those guests onto the boat.Wan Tutou pretended not to know and wanted to follow, but was stopped by a strong man.

"Are you new here? Why don't you know the rules? You can only go aboard this ship if you have guests, you poor ghosts just stay below." The man who came came laughed loudly, and was called a poor ghost again.

After the guests from these ships had all boarded, the strong men guarding the edge of the boards relaxed a lot, and they all sat on the deck and chatted indiscriminately.

Botou Wan and the rest of the men pretending to be boatmen tied their weapons to their bodies and hid near the boards in the dark, ready to rush up as soon as there was a signal.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of bowls and plates breaking suddenly came from inside the flower boat. While those strong men got up and rushed in, the catchers on several small boats also jumped onto the flower boat.

Shouts, smashing sounds keep coming, tonight is destined to be a sleepless night...

Chu Ci, Master Fan, County Magistrate Wu and others were all at the pier at this time.Someone lit a few fireworks to the sky last night, and the brilliant colors showed that they had succeeded.So they stayed here early in the morning.

"Here we come, master, the boat is coming!" Chang Xiao's eyes were good, and he could see a black spot on the sea level heading towards him from a distance.

The flower boat experienced a frightening night, and all the utensils on it were damaged. The whole ship looked a bit dilapidated, and it couldn't find the gorgeous feeling that night.

After the boat docked, everyone boarded the boat, and they found a dozen strong men squatting on the deck, their hands were tied behind their backs with ropes, their mouths were tightly gagged, and the injuries on their faces were very obvious.

"My lord, it's a good luck for this subordinate to arrest and bring to justice all the more than forty people on and off the flower boat." Wan Butou knelt on one knee, his expression hard to hide his excitement.

County Magistrate Wu was also full of joy: "Well done, you will be rewarded a lot when you go back! By the way, are any brothers injured? If so, send them to Ji Ren Tang first."

Chu Ci turned to look at him in surprise. It seemed that County Magistrate Wu was quite nice to his subordinates. No wonder everyone had no objections during the task.

Master Fan looked at the people tied up on the boat, his face paled, he gave Chu Ci a look, Chu Ci understood instantly, walked around among the tied people, asked each of them a few words, and then frowned. lock, shook his head at Master Fan.

"Is everyone here?"

"Responding to my lord's words, the thugs are all here, and there are dozens of female relatives and Mr. Du." Wan Butou replied.

"No one else? Could it be that someone jumped off the boat and escaped?" Master Fan questioned, but Chu Ci clearly said that there was a Japanese on board.

Wan Butou shook his head again and again: "My lord, that sea area is far away from the shore, and there are no small islands around where people can hide. If ordinary people jump into the sea, they may drown before they reach the shore."

What's more, they don't need to do this, and it's not a big deal to behead, is it worth betting with their lives?Not stupid!Although Wan Butou didn't understand, he didn't dare to say this sentence.

When the group returned to the county government office, County Magistrate Wu was already gearing up, ready to calculate with Mr. Du the taxes he should pay and the punishment he should receive.

Master Fan and Chu Ci entered the inner hall to discuss about the water bandits.

Master Fan asked him: "You hid under the window that day and didn't see the face of the Japanese man, how could you have directly concluded that the Japanese man was not among the group of people just now?"

"My lord, it's hard to change your local accent. If you want to know where a person is from, you just need to listen to the accent that is inadvertently revealed when he speaks. Just like you, my lord, you probably came from Sichuan, right?" Chu Ci explained that he often speaks with a northern accent when he speaks, and if he doesn't pay special attention, it will inevitably reveal his secrets.Since the last time that Yicheng made a point, Chu Ci consciously avoided it.

Master Fan was a little surprised: "You really hit the mark, but according to the last time I left, it has been seven or eight years and I haven't been back. Is my accent so strong?"

"No, your lord's official words are very standard, but occasionally one or two words will be brought out, and you need to observe carefully." Chu Ci didn't want to discuss this matter with him again, so he changed the subject and talked about the fact that he had just tested those thugs thing.

"The lower officials know a little bit about the Japanese language, and I just asked them to learn it alone. Judging from their reactions, they probably don't know about this, and they have never seen those Japanese people. I think the key point is still that Master Du. , this flower boat is his, and he will definitely know who is on board."

Mr. Fan nodded: "I think so too, now let's go to the cell to interrogate Mr. Du and see what he has to say."

"Yes, but County Magistrate Wu..."

"I'll let someone tell him. Is it possible that he still dares to stop you?" Master Fan snorted, lifted his foot and walked out.

Chu Ci was very helpless. He was not afraid that County Magistrate Wu would stop them, but he was just afraid that County Magistrate Wu would misunderstand that they were going to "rob money". Isn't it because he was so active in handling the case to get out of Mr. Du's money?

But now it's not up to him to make the decision, Mr. Fan can take care of things.Chu Ci shrugged and walked out.

The official uniform worn by Mr. Fan is a passport in this county yamen. Everyone in the yamen knows each other. From the inner hall to the prison, they can go all the way without hindrance.

"Is he Master Du?" Master Fan stared at the fat man in the cell with unfriendly eyes through the cell door, and asked the cell boss beside him.

The jailer immediately nodded and bowed his head: "Yes, yes, he is that Mr. Du. When Wan Tou sent him here, he told us to take care of him."

Chu Ci also looked at Master Du. The first time he saw him, he was like a smiling Maitreya. This time, when we met again, he looked a lot messier.He was wearing shackles, and there were thick dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn't had a good rest yesterday.

"You go down, I have a few questions I want to ask him." Master Fan waved his hand, signaling the cell boss to back down.The cell boss hesitated for a moment, but went out obediently.

"Master Du, do you still remember me?" Chu Ci stepped forward with a smile on his face.However, this smile was very dazzling in Master Du's eyes.

"Are you...?" Master Du remembered seeing this face, but he didn't know what his name was.

"It seems that Mr. Du is a nobleman who forgets a lot. I drank with you a few days ago, and you have completely forgotten it now." Chu Ci said with a smile, "But it doesn't matter, after today, I think Mr. Du Will definitely keep it firmly in mind.”