The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 831 The truth comes out
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the internal security investigation was gradually coming to an end. The fifteen internal security investigation teams found fifteen wealthy families based on the list, and all two hundred and fifty slaves were found. They all had one thing in common: they all had families and children. They did not want their children to continue to be slaves and longed to be freed from slavery.

This was completely different from what Governor Wang Younan and Prefect Qi Pei had said. Shi Xiaozhen immediately transferred 1,500 Imperial Guards from Tangyin County to arrest Governor Wang Younan and Prefect Qi Pei, as well as all fifteen wealthy families. A total of more than 400 people were arrested.

The 250 slaves involved were all transferred to civilian status by the county government. In addition, the other slaves of these 15 wealthy families were also released.

However, there was still no news about the most crucial fugitive. No matter how they interrogated the governor and the prefect, the two remained silent. Since they were only suspended from their posts and not dismissed, it was not appropriate to use severe torture.

If coercion fails, then bribery may be a good alternative.

That evening, Shi Xiaozhen visited Magistrate Pei Xuanying. Pei Xuanying came from the Pei family of Puzhou. He entered officialdom through the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Daye era and was transferred to Anyang County as magistrate three years ago.

"I'm here to make a deal with Lord Pei. If Lord Pei is willing to tell the truth behind this, I guarantee I will recommend Lord Pei to the Emperor to serve as the Prefect of Wei Commandery."

Pei Xuanying smiled and said, "Didn't General Shi find out the truth?"

Shi Xiaozhen shook her head. "You're asking a question you already know the answer to. If you hadn't seen that list, you wouldn't have handed the case over to the prefectural government. It's fine if you don't say anything, but you need to understand that knowing the truth but not saying it is tantamount to deceiving the emperor!"

Whether Pei Xuanying became the prefectural magistrate or not was irrelevant, but the weighty accusation of deceiving the emperor was too much for him to bear.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I put the note in Governor Wang's office. Actually, I was reminding him that he could hand the scholar over to the Imperial Guard and get away with it. But I don't know why he didn't accept my offer. Perhaps he thought the excuse of an old slave was better."

Shi Xiaozhen understood his implied meaning and asked, "Where is this scholar?"

“I can tell General Shi, but I cannot bear the weight of the charge of deceiving the emperor.”

"Sure, as long as you let me find this scholar, I'll consider you to be cooperating with the Imperial Guard."

Pei Xuanying then slowly said, "This scholar is named Zhang Baocai. Prefect Qi wanted to kill him to silence him, but I hid him."

Pei Yingxuan took out an address and handed it to Shi Xiaozhen, then sighed and said, "This scholar is a kind and upright person. Please treat him kindly, General."

In a small village south of Anyang County, Shi Xiaozhen personally led more than a hundred Imperial Guard soldiers to surround a house. Shi Xiaozhen knocked on the door, and a young woman opened it. She was taken aback and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

“I’m looking for Zhang Baocai. Magistrate Pei sent me here to find him.”

At this moment, a scholar appeared behind the young woman, cupped his fists and said, "I am Zhang Baocai. No matter where you are from, I can go with you, but please do not make things difficult for my wife."

Shi Xiaozhen said calmly, "We are the Imperial Guards sent by the Emperor to investigate the case. We only investigate the truth and do not kill the innocent. You'd better come together. The Imperial Guards can protect you."

Upon hearing that they were from the Imperial Guard, Zhang Baocai breathed a slight sigh of relief and nodded, "We'll go with you!"

The couple boarded the carriage, and the imperial guards escorted them back to the county town. Shi Xiaozhen arranged for them to stay, and summoned Zhang Baocai to the main hall. Zhang Baocai took out a list and handed it to Shi Xiaozhen. Shi Xiaozhen looked at the list and was immediately shocked. No wonder the local officials and censors dared not investigate; the person they had missed was Cui Hongzhou, the Empress's father.

Shi Xiaozhen pondered for a long time. There was still room to salvage the situation. Cui Hongzhou was currently serving as the Crown Prince's tutor and was not at the Wei County manor. He should be unaware of this matter. Shi Xiaozhen immediately led a hundred imperial guards to Cui Hongzhou's manor. The manor was located twenty miles southeast of Anyang County. It was a two-thousand-mu manor with sixty-seven serf households responsible for cultivating the two thousand mu of land.

Seventy of the slaves came from twenty-eight households, mostly families with children. This was Zhang Baocai's main purpose in organizing this collective release of slaves from slavery, so that the children would no longer be slaves.

Upon hearing that the Grand General of the Imperial Guard had arrived, the manor's head steward dared not be negligent and hurriedly came out to greet him.

"I am Li Shen, the chief steward, paying my respects to the General!"

Shi Xiaozhen didn't waste any words with him and immediately asked, "Are there any members of the Cui family here?"

Li Shen quickly replied, "This is the private estate of the Duke of Wu, and has nothing to do with the Cui family. I am the only one in charge of managing it, and there are no other members of the Cui family."

"Has this never happened since the beginning of this year?"

"Usually I'm the one who goes to Beijing to report the accounts, so the master doesn't have time to come here."

Shi Xiaozhen immediately said, "You must immediately send all the slave records of the manor to the county government to remove them from the slave register, and then re-sign the tenant contracts, splitting the rent 50/50 according to the imperial regulations. Do it now."

"Ah! I cannot make this decision myself; I must report to the master."

"The reason your master hasn't been arrested by the Imperial Guard is because he doesn't know. If he did, he would be the first member of the imperial family to be beheaded for the abolition of slavery. The emperor is going to make an example of someone; don't send your master to the guillotine."

Li Shen turned pale with fright and quickly said, "But their slave contracts are all in the hands of their masters."

"It's alright. I've already had the county government prepare certificates of release from slavery. Once all the slaves are organized and have their fingerprints pressed, they'll be released from slavery, and their original slave contracts will be void."

This was a convenient system specifically designed for escaped slaves in the abolition of slavery. It did not require a contract of sale in the hands of the master. As long as the slaves pressed their fingerprints on the certificate of freedom of slavery in the county government, they were freed from slavery and became commoners. They would also be registered in the yellow register of commoners, and the contract of sale in the hands of the original master would be automatically invalidated.

All sixty-seven households, nearly two hundred people, came out and, at the request of the Imperial Guard, all pressed their fingerprints to sign the certificate of release from slavery.

Shi Xiaozhen then had the inner guards take a statement from Li Shen to ensure that Cui Hongzhou had nothing to do with the matter before returning to Anyang County.

Five days later, Shi Xiaozhen returned to Luoyang and reported the results of his investigation to the emperor. The results truly angered Xiao Xia. Using personal connections and the system for bargaining was one of the most hateful evils in officialdom.

But Xiao Xia remained cautious and asked again, "Are you sure that Governor Wang Younan deliberately fabricated this lie, or that he was deceived?"

"Your Majesty, he did not send anyone to investigate at all. We have questioned them in detail. Only the Prefect Qi Pei sent people to investigate. More importantly, none of the sixteen households had slaves over forty years old. We learned from our detailed questioning that slaves are usually released from slavery by their masters after they reach forty years old, saving them the trouble of providing for their old age. Those with a better conscience are allowed to continue as tenant farmers to support themselves by farming. Those with a worse conscience are simply kicked out of the household and sent to seek refuge with relatives and friends."

Xiao Xia closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "This case is being treated as a violation of the abolition of slavery decree. Governor Wang Younan and Prefect Qi Pei openly defied the abolition of slavery decree by allowing escaped slaves to be sent back to their masters. They are to be executed for defying the emperor's decree. In addition, fifteen other masters prevented their slaves from returning to their homes, and the entire families were exiled to the frontier. This case is to be copied and distributed to all prefectures and counties throughout the country, so that all officials may take this as a warning. Anyone who secretly obeys but secretly disobeys the abolition of slavery decree will be executed, taking this case as a precedent!"

(End of this chapter)