At dusk that day, in the main hall of the county prison in the Anlu County Temple, the Anlu County Magistrate finally finished his day's work and raised his head from the pile of bamboo slips. Just as he was patting his sore neck, he heard the clerk at the door come to report that the prison official was happy to come back.
"Back so soon?"
The county magistrate was overjoyed and hurriedly straightened his clothes, intending to go out and greet him in person.
In the Qin system, the county was headed by the county magistrate, who governed the county temple, with a copper seal and black ribbon and a rank of 600 stones. The county magistrate was the second official, who governed the county prison, with a copper seal and yellow ribbon and a rank of 400 stones.
The county magistrate's duty was to assist the county magistrate in managing government affairs, which was equivalent to the deputy county magistrate and court president in later generations. The prison official was just a subordinate of the county magistrate in charge of litigation and prison, equivalent to the court president. As a superior, there was really no need to go out and greet him in person.
But the county magistrate of Anlu County knew very well that this "Xi" was not an ordinary subordinate. He had been a clerk and clerk in Anlu County for many years and was known for his ability. Later, he was transferred to the neighboring Yan County as a prison official, responsible for legal answers and law enforcement. His reputation for impartial law enforcement even spread back to Anlu.
In the 15th year of Qin Wangzheng, Xi joined the army again and participated in the Qin attack on Zhao. He guarded Pingyang and made meritorious contributions. He was promoted to the fifth-level "doctor". Of course, this doctor is not the same as the doctor in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is just a medium-level title that is not high. Later, Xi was transferred back to Anlu County, where the public security was extremely poor, by the prefect of Nanjun Ping to serve as a prison official, hoping that he could restrain lawlessness.
In the past few years, although Xi worked diligently and did not have a single unjust case, he did not have any outstanding deeds, so the county magistrate of Anlu County also treated him as an ordinary subordinate at first.
Until July this year, Xi's mother died of illness, and Xi returned to his hometown to bury her and mourn. In more than two months, without Xi's assistance, the county magistrate was shocked to find that his work was more than three times heavier than before! Other subordinates were not as good as Xi in managing the prison, sealing the diagnosis, and writing the imperial edicts, and they also made many mistakes.
Think about it, it makes sense. Looking at the entire Anlu County, where can you find an official like Xi who can copy down the entire Qin Law stroke by stroke and recite it by heart?
The Anlu County Magistrate woke up and realized that Xi was his right-hand man in managing the Anlu prison, and he must not neglect him.
After leaving the house, the county magistrate saw Xi's figure from a distance and laughed, "I finally waited for you to come!"
"How dare I let the county magistrate come to meet you in person? It's really killing me."
Xi was born in the 45th year of King Zhao of Qin. He is 36 years old this year. He has black hair and a crown, two arrow-shaped beards on his lips, and wears a narrow-sleeved long gown, a standard clerk's dress. When he saw the county magistrate coming to meet him in person, he bowed and said he dared not.
The county magistrate helped Xi up and found that he was still the same. He often put a bamboo scroll in his clothes so that he could read it while eating or riding. His fingers were always stained with ink. Who knew how many laws he had to copy every day?
"Xi Jun really hasn't changed at all." The county magistrate sighed in his heart.
The two returned to the hall hand in hand. The county magistrate sighed about the funeral of Xi's family, but Xi had already walked out of the pain of losing his mother. This workaholic did not exchange more pleasantries with his boss, but went straight to the point and talked about the case he encountered today when passing through Huyang Pavilion, and asked the county magistrate who should be responsible?
The county magistrate frowned. This matter involved a pavilion chief who broke the law knowingly, which was a bit tricky. In addition, he had been busy with papers for the past two months, and he was eager for Xi to come back to share some of the work. He stroked his beard and said, "Since this is a case you encountered on the way, and Shi Wu Heifu also reported it to you, you will be the judge. How about it?"
"Xi will never refuse!"
Xi didn't have any hobbies, but he had a special liking for trying cases and copying Qin laws. Any difficult case could be easily solved. After not being in contact with the prison for more than two months, Xi felt uncomfortable all over. He was like a rusty steel knife, and urgently needed a case to sharpen it.
However, apart from the official status of the pavilion chief, the case encountered today was not complicated. Xi had a plan for how to try the case, so he asked the county magistrate for instructions:
"In my opinion, this case can be divided into two. The first is the case of the merchant Bao self-reporting robbery. The second is the case of Wu Heifu and Ji Ying self-reporting Huyang Pavilion Chief, Qiu Dao and others to defraud the reward... Only after the crime of the thieves in the previous case and the process of being arrested are determined, the latter case can be tried."
Similar to the lawsuits in later generations, the litigation and trial in Qin State had a fixed process. If a case wants to enter this process, someone must first report it before it can be used as the beginning of a trial. If the victim reports it himself, it is "self-reporting", which is equivalent to the "plaintiff" in later generations.
Xi also said that the three thieves have been imprisoned in the county prison, and doctors have been arranged to treat the wounded thieves and stop bleeding. The self-reporters and defendants in the two cases were all brought back by him, and the case can be officially opened soon!
"Xi Jun is really swift and decisive. I can trust you to do things." The county magistrate was very satisfied, so he became a hands-off manager and let Xi make his own decision...
...
After Xi said goodbye to the county magistrate, he rushed to his office without stopping. His two subordinates, the clerk "Nu" and the jailer "Le", had been waiting there for a long time.
His subordinates were named by coincidence. Le often said to Nu that if they found someone named "Ai" to do the clerkship, their small office would have the four emotions of "happiness, anger, sorrow and joy".
Xi had no time to joke. He wrote "sealed diagnosis" on the case, which was the principle and procedure of the interrogation of this case, and said: "You should know that before the interrogation begins, the name, identity and place of origin of the criminal and the confessor must be determined first."
The two nodded: "Of course."
Xi arranged: "Nu, you look fierce and have a stern voice, which makes people scared. You will be responsible for questioning the three thieves and intimidate them a little."
"Le, you look kind and have a pleasant voice, so you will be responsible for questioning the three confessors, so that they will not panic and wait for the interrogation at ease."
Nu and Le hurriedly agreed. Since they knew that their boss was back, they knew that their hard days of working overtime were coming again. Fortunately, this prison official Xi had rich experience in handling cases and knew exactly what methods to use to deal with different types of people.
"As for the Huyang Pavilion Chief and Qiu Dao and others..."
Xi stopped writing, raised his head, and said coldly: "As a pavilion chief, he knows the law but breaks it. It can be seen that he is a bold and reckless person. I heard that his family has some background. I am afraid you can't deal with it. Let me go and meet him in person."
Nu and Le both agreed and said that they would do these things tomorrow morning.
"Tomorrow morning?"
Xi shook his head and said: "It seems that you have been slack in the past two months since I was away."
He stood up and began to teach the two: "As early as when Shang Yang reformed, it was required that the government must handle the official business of the day and not delay it overnight!"
Nu and Le's scalps tingled. The person this boss admired most was Shang Yang. He liked to imitate him in everything and always praised him.
Sure enough, Xi pointed his finger upward and quoted a sentence from Shang Yang.
"Shang Jun said, those who rule by day are kings, those who rule by night are strong, and those who rule by night are weakened!"
A country that can handle all government affairs on the same day can be king of the world; if it is delayed until the night, the country can also be strong; but if it is delayed overnight and done tomorrow, such a country will be weakened!
He said earnestly: "We are just local officials. Although we dare not say that what we do can help the king rule the world, we dare not say that we can make Qin strong. But at least, we can't weaken the country because of our laziness..."
Nu and Le looked at each other. Isn't it just overtime? How did it get involved in national affairs?
In fact, there is another sentence that Xi didn't say clearly.
He has heard that the Huyang Pavilion Chief who committed the crime was actually the nephew of the county Zuowei (Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau)!
In the Qin system, large counties have right and left lieutenants, who are responsible for arresting thieves and military service. Zuo Wei is the fourth most senior official in Anlu County, ranking above Xi. The reason why the county magistrate handed the case to Xi for trial was because he was afraid of making enemies with Zuo Wei.
Zuo Wei's family has a strong background in Anlu County and has many friends. If Xi cannot handle the case quickly, it may be a long and arduous process, giving people room to manipulate and commit corruption!
Thinking of this, Xi picked up the pen and knife on the table and strode out.
"No need to wait until tomorrow, Nu and Le, follow me out immediately and interrogate overnight!"
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