Chapter 191: The government is acting like hooligans.

The death of a magistrate is not surprising, especially those who die in office.

What’s strange is that this magistrate died in the dungeon.

Dingyuan’s dungeon is located in the southwest corner of the county office. Strictly speaking, calling it a dungeon or prison is inappropriate. The names for ancient prisons have changed over time, such as ‘夏台(Xia Tai)’ and ‘羑里(You Li)’ in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, ‘圜土(Huan Tu)’ and ‘囹圄(Ling Yu)’ in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and ‘狱(Yu)’ in the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. The term ‘监狱(Jian Yu)’ appeared only in the Qing dynasty.

In the Ming dynasty, the ‘监(Jian: Prison)’was also called ‘南监(Nan Jian: South Prison)’ due to its location, divided into inner and outer sections, male and female sections, and various rooms.

The inner section was a luxurious residence for serious and notorious criminals, while the outer section was for less prominent prisoners.

Wu Maocai was detained in the inner section.

To enter the inner section, one had to pass through the hall, gatehouse, and case room.

“Boss Cheng, based on the current situation, he was poisoned. There are traces of blood at the corners of his mouth, and there are no external injuries. The swelling of the abdomen and chest indicates poisoning after eating,” After examining Wu Maocai’s body, Tang Buping from the Security Bureau reported to Xiong Wucheng.

“Bring the prison officials and clerks over!.”

Xiong Wucheng sternly commanded.

Soon, the prison officials and clerks were brought to the inner prison. The two of them, looking at the deceased Wu Caimao, turned pale.

Xiong Wucheng sat on a stool and said coldly, “Wu Caimao is dead, but you two are still alive. However, in my opinion, you two will soon join him, unless…”

The prison officials and clerks quickly begged for mercy.

“Speak up. Who killed Wu Caimao?”

Xiong Wucheng’s sharp gaze focused on the two, and seeing the uncertain look in the eyes of the prison official, his face turned pale, he then looked at Tang Buping and said, “It was the clerk who did it. Take him out and interrogate him harshly!”

“My Lord, it wasn’t me, I didn’t do it…”

The clerk, terrified, tried to defend himself but was taken away.

Xiong Wucheng walked towards the prison official and, leaning over, said, “Now there’s no one else. Will you talk, or your bones can withstand torture?”

The prison official collapsed in fear, seeing Xiong Wucheng holding a dart, tremblingly retreated, and mumbled, “I… don’t kill me, it wasn’t me…”

“Not you? Do you want me to give you a chance to correct yourself?”

Xiong Wucheng stepped forward, grabbed the prison official by the neck, lifted him, pressed him against the wall, and pointed the dart at his eyes.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk…”

The prison official was terrified to the extreme.

Just as Xiong Wucheng was about to ask questions, he smelled a nauseating odor. Lowering his head, he saw that this guy was a coward. How could such a coward still be capable of murder?

Releasing the prison official, Xiong Wucheng stepped back, sternly saying, “Speak!”

“It’s the Vice Magistrate, it was him who ordered me to deliver food to Magistrate Wu. I didn’t know there was poison in it…”

The words of the prison official made Xiong Wucheng’s expression turn cold. He quickly walked out of the prison cell, glanced at the official, and threw a dart at his hand, saying, “How to deal with you is Lord Yu’s business.”

The official cried.

Since it’s Lord Yu’s business, why did you still throw a dart at me?

Xiong Wucheng’s intuition was correct; more than just the county magistrate Wu Caimao had died. Vice Magistrate Zhou Zhong had also hung himself.

Upon hearing Xiong Wucheng’s report, Yu Xin solemnly said, “Killing the magistrate in front of us and driving the vice magistrate to suicide, such a character is rare in the capital. It seems that the background of the other party is not simple. Bring in the clerk.”

Xiong Wucheng looked towards the door, and the clerk, Xie Gang, staggered in, kneeling down and shouting, “Please, sir, save my life.”

“Whether you live or die depends on your performance. Speak up; there are no other ears here.”

Yu Xin walked down the hall, speaking in a deep voice.

Xie Gang, with a look of fear, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, “Sir, in Dingyuan City, there is another mountain!”

“Who?”

Yu Xin’s eyes lit up.

“The magistrate called him Mr. Gu Jin^[1]Ancient Modern.”

Xie Gang said through clenched teeth.

Xiong Wucheng quickly asked, “Where does he live?”

“I don’t know.”

“You know this person, but you’re telling me you don’t know where he lives?”

“My Lord, I really don’t know. Mr. Gu Jin is mysterious and unpredictable. Even when he visits the county office, he only comes at night, wearing a black cloak. His true identity, I truly don’t know. Only the magistrate and the vice magistrate have seen him.”

Xie Gang explained hastily.

Xiong Wucheng furrowed his brow. In a county, the magistrate held the primary position, and the vice magistrate was the second-in-command, with the clerk considered a supporting role.

If he didn’t know, it made sense.

“No need to ask. Follow a lead, and you will eventually find this mysterious Mr. Gu Jin,” Yu Xin said to Xiong Wucheng, speaking with seriousness.

“Which lead?” Xiong Wucheng was somewhat puzzled. Now that both the magistrate and the vice magistrate were dead, and the clerk was unaware, how could they proceed with the investigation?

Yu Xin uttered only one word in response: “Grain.”

Xiong Wucheng suddenly understood!

Of course!

Grain was the key. This mysterious Mr. Gu Jin controlled all the grain shops in Dingyuan, right? By following the thread of grain, they would surely find the person in charge. Even if that person wasn’t Mr. Gu Jin, they must have a close connection with him.

He realized he had narrowly escaped being led astray due to the deaths of the magistrate and the vice magistrate.

Xiong Wucheng bowed, saying, “Thank you for your guidance, sir. I will investigate immediately.”

“Investigate discreetly. Also, arrange a banquet at Wanchun Tower. I will personally invite local gentry from Dingyuan to attend. If they refuse even this courtesy, hehe, it indicates that the gentry in Dingyuan is no longer loyal to the court.”

Yu Xin said with a cold gaze.

Xiong Wucheng nodded and went off to make arrangements.

By the Mu Chun River, a small black boat was moored on the riverbank. Sitting at the bow of the boat was a middle-aged man wearing a green hat and holding a fishing rod. As the fish float slightly sank, ripples spread across the water.

“The fish is hooked.”

An elderly man with a cane, his hair somewhat gray, walked over. His movements were not very agile, and he walked with a slight limp.

“Uncle Wu Yuan, this is not the fish I wanted.”

Qu You put away the fishing rod, and the hook hung empty.

Wu Yuan watched as Qu You put the bait back on the hook and cast it into the river again, smiling. “Sir, there are article to write today. Will you write or not?”

“Tell me about it.”

Qu You asked calmly.

Wu Yuan looked around and then bent down, saying, “Secretary Yu, invited the local gentry to the banquet. This seems like a significant matter, doesn’t it?”

Qu You looked at Wu Yuan, a smile playing on his lips, and said, “We are just the ink grinder. The ones who can write articles are those court ministers who hold brushes.”

“Should we go or not?” Wu Yuan asked for guidance.

Qu You chuckled, “Go, why not? We still need to give face to the secretary in the Grand Secretariat. However, attending a feast is one thing, providing grain is another. You know how to handle the situation, right?”

Wu Yuan tapped the ground with his cane, making a thud-thud sound, and said, “I understand. I’m just worried they might use their power to forcefully seize the grain.”

“Then tell them all the grain has been sold to the capital.”

A trace of resentment flashed in Qu You’s eyes.

Wu Yuan nodded, then slowly walked away, leaning on his cane.

Wanchun Tower was bustling with activity.

Yu Xin and Huang Zicheng sat at the main seats, inviting over thirty local gentry and wealthy households from Dingyuan as guests.

As the people arrived and the dishes were served, after the initial greetings, Yu Xin got straight to the point, “Following the court relief policies for disaster victims, refugees from Huaiyuan will temporarily relocate to Dingyuan until the floodwaters recede. Now that the disaster relief grain in Dingyuan has been completely sold by the magistrate, we need your support to settle the refugees.”

The local gentry from Dingyuan remained silent.

Observing the situation, Huang Zicheng spoke sternly, “The court doesn’t want you to incur losses. We can purchase the grain at a high price of one silver per stone. With this arrangement, what reason do you have to be dissatisfied? If anyone tries to hoard and inflate the price of grain, the loss will outweigh the gain.”

“Our ‘Great Ming Law’ explicitly states that in all buying and selling of goods, if two parties collude to manipulate the market, taking advantage of high prices when selling and low prices when buying, the punishment is eighty strokes of the cane. Now, how will you gentlemen decide? Give us an answer.”

The gentry glanced at each other. Wu Yuan sighed and, shaking slightly, stood up, saying, “I, Wu, am just a grain merchant from Dingyuan. Unfortunately, gentlemen, your arrival is untimely. Some time ago, the capital constructed granaries outside Jinshui gate. Seeing an opportunity for profit, we sold all our surplus grain to the capital. At present, there is no grain available for sale. If you don’t believe me, feel free to search my residence.”a

“Yes, we’ve already sold our grain. At the moment, the remaining grain in our hands is just enough to feed our families. Sir, as a court-appointed official, you must be just and fair. Surely, you won’t take away our means of survival to help the refugees, will you?”

Qiu Dalai came forward, expressing his concerns.

Yu Xin’s gaze turned cold. These people seemed quite stubborn, even displaying some resistant emotions.

As for the reasons, Yu Xin could make some educated guesses. Dingyuan had experienced the cases of Lan Yu and Li Shanchang. Li Shanchang was implicated in the Hu Weiyong case and died, not to mention the fate of Lan Yu. Both were executed on charges of “conspiracy,” implicating numerous officials and military officers.

As for their hometown Dingyuan, the settlement was undoubtedly severe, with numerous families suffering devastation and loss of life due to the reckoning for the cases of Lan Yu and Li Shanchang.

Not to mention the settlements related to the cases of Lan Yu and Li Shanchang, but also the policies enacted after Zhu Yunwen came to power. These included the Single Whip method, the policy to curb land consolidation, and the taxation of all land policies. All of these policies directly impacted the interests of the gentry, and it’s likely that they suffered significant losses as a result.

While these individuals might not dare to openly confront the court, if they didn’t cooperate in disaster relief, the court didn’t have many options against them.

Forcibly seizing grain from the gentry?

This was something that refugees might do, but the court couldn’t.

The reason was simple: if the court arbitrarily seized the property of the gentry, what credibility would the court have?

If such a precedent were set, any official could find an excuse to confiscate all the property of the gentry. In order to protect their own wealth, the gentry would undoubtedly stand against the court, leading to a potential uprising.

Unless the court had evidence or could fabricate evidence, proving their criminal activities and confiscating their properties.

However, judging by the calm demeanor of these people, it seemed that the grain had already been hidden away, making it difficult to find evidence.

Seeing that these people were unwilling to provide grain, Xiong Wucheng banged on the table and said in a cold voice, “Gentlemen, the refugees are hungry and asking for food. If we can’t find grain, and they starve to death with red eyes, they will become unruly mobs. At that time, we won’t be able to guarantee our own safety. What about you? If any of your doors are not tightly secured, and an accident happens, will you regret not agreeing now?”

Listening to Xiong Wucheng’s blatant threat, the faces of the gentry turned somewhat unpleasant.

The officials from the court were acting like hooligans. Were they planning to wash their hands of the matter and let the refugees bully the gentry?

This was indeed a problem. Although they had a few guard dogs at home, they couldn’t contend with thousands of refugees.

It seemed that these ministers were planning to kill a thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of their own men.

“Sir, we do not have extra grain on hand. As you all know, the court urgently needs grain for disaster relief. Therefore, we arranged for people to purchase grain from the surrounding prefectures and counties yesterday. However, it will take five or six days to transport the grain here…”

Wu Yuan said with difficulty.

Xiong Wucheng stood up abruptly and shouted, “Do we need to wait for five or six days for you? The court relief grain will arrive by then! Let me make it clear here. If anyone refuses to provide grain today, and one person from Huaiyuan dies of starvation, the Security Bureau will keep an eye on you until your funerals!”