Qing Yao

Chapter 128 The most amazing thing is still the old master.

A bit of a miscalculation.

They thought that killing the men of the Qian family would prevent the orphans and widows from causing any trouble, but they didn't expect the eldest daughter-in-law of the Qian family to be such a shrew who actually brought her parents-in-law and two sisters-in-law to make a big fuss about it.

Because the Qian family's case was not disclosed in detail to the public, and because the people naturally sympathize with the weak, the Qian family's group of women and children in mourning made a big fuss. Many ignorant people, driven by a surge of righteous indignation, spontaneously joined in and cheered for the Qian family, unaware that they had already "aided and abetted the evildoer."

The number of people on the scene had exceeded several hundred and was growing. The dozen or so constables responsible for stopping them were having trouble managing the situation. Zhao An knew things were going badly, so he quickly turned and ran into the Ganquan County Government Office.

They thought the county government was on high alert and that Lao Ding and his team had set up a command group to deal with emergencies, but Lao Ding and Lao Song were leisurely drinking tea in the study.

On the desk were a batch of asset certificates, worth far more than 200,000 taels of silver, hastily prepared by the Household Registration Office and the Tax Office.

They all belong to Teacher Lou.

The paper was new, the ink was new, and the seal was new, its bright red color quite glaring.

Seeing Zhao An rush in, covered in sweat, Instructor Song asked in surprise, "What has made you in such a hurry, sir?"

"You don't know?"

Looking at his two steady partners, Zhao An was both amused and exasperated.

"what do you know?"

Old Ding picked up his teacup with a puzzled look on his face.

Zhao An said anxiously, "The Qian family is about to cause trouble at the yamen, and you, the county magistrate, still have the leisure to drink tea?"

The county magistrate looked unconvinced: "What's the big deal? What can a bunch of women cause? We'll just have the people from the torture chamber scare them a bit and then take the body back."

Instructor Song nodded and said, "Have the prison tell the jail to tell the Qian family that they don't need to pay any more money; the county is making special arrangements for them."

Zhao An wasn't sure if these two were genuinely unaware of the seriousness of the situation or just teasing him, so he said anxiously, "Don't underestimate the masses. Don't underestimate the power of the people. It's not just those few women from the Qian family outside; there are many other people as well. If the county doesn't suppress this matter, what will happen if they run to the prefecture?"

Old Ding still didn't take it seriously, because the government had already determined the nature of the Qian family's case: the eldest son of the Qian family deliberately retaliated against the professor, and the second and third sons of the Qian family were accomplices. If the second son of the Qian family hadn't died suddenly, the relevant case files would have been prepared.

"Lord Zhao, please put your mind at ease. Those women in the Qian family can't cause any trouble. Even if they make a scene in the provincial capital, it won't make a difference."

Instructor Song stepped forward and poured a bowl of tea for the professor.

Taking the teacup, Zhao An blurted out, "If the provincial authorities are useless, what will we do if they want to go to the capital to appeal to the emperor?"

He uttered the words "appeal to the emperor" almost subconsciously, because it was something he would do if he had filed a complaint in his previous life.

"To file a complaint with the emperor?"

Old Ding and Old Song were taken aback at first, then they both burst into laughter, as if this was the biggest joke in the world.

"No, we're in a real bind, what's so funny! If the Qian family really files a lawsuit, we'll be in big trouble even if we didn't eat any mutton."

There's no way to overturn this case involving Boss Qian; the evidence is irrefutable.

However, Qian Lao Er and Qian Lao San are problematic. After all, the former did not directly participate in the murder and died in prison for no reason, which inevitably arouses people's suspicion that he was silenced because he knew something.

Qian Laosan was an innocent person implicated by his two older brothers. If it weren't for the need to completely eliminate future troubles, Zhao An would have released him according to his wishes.

So if the Qian family really makes a big fuss about the case, the higher-ups will definitely send an investigation team down. Even if it doesn't affect the course of the case, isn't that just making trouble for no reason?

The investigation team could be dismissed without spending several thousand taels of silver.
They have too much money to burn.

"Don't worry, the Qian family can't appeal to the emperor."

Old Ding put down his teacup and said slowly, "The Emperor said more than ten years ago that all cases of people gathering to file complaints are because the court cares too much for the common people and is too considerate, which has led to the people becoming arrogant and spoiled. As a result, weeds cannot be eliminated and good crops cannot be grown."

What does that mean?

You can appeal to the emperor, and the old master will resolve it for you, but after it's resolved, all of you who made the appeal will be killed. The reason is that the old master believes there are no good people who appeal.

The most recent case of filing a complaint with the emperor occurred in the forty-third year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. At that time, a scholar named Liang Luye from Jingxing County, Zhili Province, joined forces with his uncle Liang Jinwen, friends Li Wangchun and Li Fu to report to the county magistrate Zhou Shangqin for embezzling people's property.

After overcoming numerous obstacles, Liang Luye's petition finally reached the old master's hands. The old master took the case very seriously and specially sent his son-in-law, Fulongan, to Jingxing to investigate.

The investigation results showed that Liang Luye's statement was true. County Magistrate Zhou Shangqin did indeed embezzle and oppress the people during his tenure. Moreover, Prefect Fang Lijing and Governor-General Zhou Yuanli also committed serious dereliction of duty in handling this matter.

With sufficient evidence, the old man made the judgment without hesitation.

Zhou Shangqin, the magistrate of Jingxing County, was sentenced to death by hanging for embezzlement and bribery.

Fang Lijing, the prefect of Zhengding Prefecture, was dismissed and investigated for distorting the truth.

Zhou Yuanli, the Governor-General of Zhili, was demoted to a third-rank official for dereliction of duty and sent to Zhengding Prefecture to build Xinglong Temple as atonement for his sins.

Just as Liang Luye and the others were applauding the old master's wisdom and prowess, the old master sentenced Liang Luye and the others to immediate execution on the grounds that "wicked people gather to accuse the officials, and they must be punished."

Not only that, all the property of the complainants was confiscated, the male members were demoted to government slaves, and the female members were demoted to government prostitutes.

Liang Jinwen, 83, Liang Luye, 47, and more than 30 other people who participated in the appeal were all beheaded in the street in Jingxing County after the old man's verdict was issued.

After this case was published nationwide in the official gazette, no one in the Qing Dynasty dared to file a complaint with the emperor again.

That completely solves the problem.

Therefore, Lao Ding and Lao Song are not afraid of the Qian family suing them at all, because in the end, they will only face certain death!
"."

Zhao An was completely dumbfounded. Even though he knew that his grandfather was quite confused in his later years, he never expected that his grandfather would be so confused.

On second thought, the old man's actions, though seemingly absurd, were actually aimed at completely severing the "gene" of Han people daring to resist the government, hoping that Han people would become submissive.

This was the foundation of the Qing Dynasty's rule.

The so-called righteous men who gathered people to resist officials every day and were always ready to file complaints were the biggest threat to the Qing Dynasty's rule.

“Even if the Qian family doesn’t dare to file a complaint, their commotion has attracted many people to the yamen, and it’s not good to let them talk nonsense outside.”

Zhao An hoped that Lao Ding would deal with this matter quickly to prevent the killing of the professor by Qian Laoda from becoming the focus of public opinion in Yangzhou.

He's trending on social media now, and I wonder how many netizens are scrutinizing him with a magnifying glass.

Can this professor really withstand scrutiny?
Old Ding agreed, and his proposed solution was to order the police station to mobilize all constables, runners, and able-bodied men to forcibly disperse the people, and also take the Qian family's women home.

"inappropriate!"

Zhao An was worried that doing so would provoke public anger, especially since taking away the Qian family woman in front of them could easily trigger a massive attack on the county government office by thousands of people.

After all, such incidents are often accompanied by a lot of rumors, and the public is naturally susceptible to being misled by rumors. When public sentiment is high, it is hard to guarantee that chaos will not break out.

Besides, if something like ten thousand people besieging the county government office really happened, could you, Old Ding, still hold the position of county magistrate?

Old Ding also realized the seriousness of the problem and asked nervously, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Zhao An thought for a moment and said, "Qian Laosan is still alive, so let him go out first and persuade his family to go back. In addition, the county will give him another three hundred taels of silver."

"What if the Qian family takes the money and then makes a scene?"

Having served as magistrate for so many years, Old Ding didn't believe that matters involving human life could be resolved with just three hundred taels of silver. Moreover, if the Qian family had tasted the benefits of giving him three hundred taels this time and realized that making a fuss would bring them rewards, what would happen if they pulled the same stunt again?

"If the Qian family gives up, that's fine. Otherwise, whatever demands the Qian family makes, the county will agree to them and then send them to the prefectural leprosy clinic."

The "leprosy sanctuary" that Zhao An mentioned was a place that housed leprosy patients in those days.

(End of this chapter)