I

Xi'an, Shaanxi Provincial Command and Envoy Department.

This yamen is under the dual leadership of the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office, and has two types of officials, civil and military.

Civilian officials are responsible for the province's military logistics, personnel files, military courts, military promotions, job transfers, etc. Military officials are responsible for the recruitment, training, command, mobilization, operations, etc. of the province's regular army, patrol troops, and peasant soldiers.

Jiang Liang's troops are stationed in Qinzhou (Tianshui). Whether there is a foreign invasion in Hami or Qinghai, he can quickly lead his troops there.

Hearing that something had happened to the General Inspection Office, Jiang Liang left the defense area without authorization and rode a fast horse straight to Xi'an Fucheng.

Then, he was left standing outside the interrogation room, smoking cigarettes one after another.

The person being interrogated at this moment is none other than Yu Xian, who surrendered. When Yu Xian first joined the army, he fought with Fei Ruhe. For the next few years, he was a soldier under Jiang Liang. It can be said that Yu Xian's rapid promotion is inseparable from Jiang Liang's promotion and employment.

Xiaohong suddenly appeared behind Jiang Liang: "Go back to Qinzhou quickly, you are leaving your post without permission!"

Jiang Liang and Xiao Hong were from the same village. They stood up quickly and said, "Xiao... Huang Xiantai, I know Yu Xian. He is very brave in fighting, and he obeys military orders and never commits crimes. This time, it's my fault." If the discipline is not strict, please ask Huang Xiantai to show his respect..."

"stop!"

Xiaohong immediately interrupted: "First of all, the trial of Yu Xian is not under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Before the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office come, we are just cooperating with the Shaanxi Governor to review the case. Secondly, Brother Jiang, you are the Marquis, and more He is the deputy commander of half of Shaanxi (similar to the deputy commander of the Shaanxi Military Region, responsible for the western and southern parts of Shaanxi). How can he leave Qinzhou without receiving an order?"

Jiang Liang was about to speak but stopped.

Xiaohong said: "The matter of your coming to Xi'an can be big or small. In view of our past friendship, I will help you excuse this violation of the law. Just say that Dusi and I asked you to return to Xi'an to help with the investigation. Now follow me in and put the Tell me about Yu Xian, and you must return to Qinzhou immediately after assisting in the investigation!"

Jiang Liang lowered his head, followed Xiao Hong into the house, walked a few steps and said, "Yu Xian saved my life. On the battlefield, he helped me block the knife. Can I use my title to save his family?" life?"

Xiao Hong said in a low voice: "He surrendered himself voluntarily and gave a lot of useful information. He should be able to survive without you asking for mercy. But the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped. The final decision on how to convict has to be decided by the Ministry of War. Shaanxi The Inspection Department is as leaky as a sieve, and you don’t know anything about it when you are stationed in Qinzhou?”

Jiang Liang complained bitterly: "I am leading regular soldiers, how can I take care of the affairs of patrol soldiers?"

Another room.

"Name."

"Yu Xian."

"age."

"Thirty-six years old."

"Hometown."

"Originally from Jishui, Jiangxi, now from Chang'an, Shaanxi."

"Position."

"Inspection Commander of the General Inspection Administration of Shaanxi Province."

"Confess your crime."

Yu Xian rubbed his face and sighed: "Let me smoke a pipe. I take off my clothes and there is a pipe and tobacco inside."

Not long after, the smoking utensils were brought in.

Yu Xian's hands were trembling slightly as he took out the tobacco from the tobacco bag and tried several times before stuffing it into the pipe.

Li Ran took a deep breath, and Yu Xian leaned back on his chair and puffed away. After calming down, he said: "When we regained Shaanxi, I was disabled and transferred to my current position. At the beginning, some merchants were investigated for smuggling, and they wanted to give me money." To be accommodating, I always followed the rules. Then one day, Li Chun...that is, Li Huchong, suddenly took me to go hunting at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, and went into a big house at night..."

"I was a little drunk that night. I saw Li Huchong being served by maids and slaves, and a beautiful lady was waiting and drinking. I felt a little envious and a little unconvinced. How could he enjoy it like this? Li Huchong persuaded me, saying Soldiers fight for wealth. When we were young, we suffered from poverty, and now we are disabled and have become patrol soldiers. What else can we pursue besides enjoyment?"

"I took in a beautiful woman, but I was very scared and didn't dare to take her home to raise her. Then I took in a beautiful woman and kept her there."

"At the beginning, there were no bad rules. I just sold the seized smuggled goods back to the original owners at low prices. I didn't even dare to collect money and let the smugglers go. Then, I couldn't take it anymore. It's not that I couldn't take it. , it’s the people below who can’t contain it.”

"When I open a hole for smugglers, I definitely need the cooperation of the people below. Many of them are my old subordinates. They dare not disobey my orders and can only follow me to make money. How did I know that they are getting more and more ruthless, Sometimes they even go behind my back and release the smugglers directly.”

"In the end, we simply stopped investigating the smuggling and instead helped the smugglers to get through the border."

"Those merchants became more and more courageous and their appetites grew, and they actually started smuggling iron and grain. When I first found out, I was so scared that I couldn't sleep for days and nights. But what can I do? I'm already dirty. , I have been pulled into the water."

"That bastard Li Huchong said that since he was responsible for everything, nothing would happen to him. Damn it, he didn't come forward to do anything bad. After the incident, he must have wanted to clear things up. He just pushed me out to take the blame. But I I don’t know what the Tongsheng from the previous dynasty, that mud-legged Li Huchong, had in mind?"

"I've buried all the money I've collected over the years in the ground. Except for the few hundred taels I spent at the beginning, I don't dare to spend the rest. I'm really scared of the people below. They're fucking bitches." , when you are greedy, you are simply lawless. I have reprimanded you many times, but it is of no use at all. The more greedy you are, the more vicious you become!"

"Damn it, there's Li Huchong above, and there's a bunch of greedy people below. I feel uncomfortable being caught in the middle! I've long wanted to surrender, but I didn't dare. I haven't slept well in the past two years. I heard that Du Cha When the court arrested merchants in Huayin, I knew something was going to happen, which made me feel more at ease, so I rode on horseback overnight to surrender."

"The people in my family don't know anything. They are innocent. The beauties I took in are also pitiful people. Please show your respect..."

Liu Wenchao, who was in charge of the interrogation, suddenly turned to his colleagues and said, "Lao Meng, would you like to go out first?"

Lao Meng was stunned: "This is against the rules."

"Be accommodating, I want to say a few words to this bastard," Liu Wenchao said, "Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the case, I just can't help it."

Lao Meng hesitated again and again, and finally stood up: "I will stand at the door, smoke a bag of cigarettes and come in."

The door closed and there were only two people left in the room.

Liu Wenchao walked over with an angry look on his face, kicked Yu Xian in the chest, knocked him and his chair over, then stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar: "Have you been knocked out of your mind? What the hell are you planning? ? In the case of beheading, just to sleep with a few women and spend hundreds of taels of silver? "

Yu Xian did not resist, but said with a wry smile: "If you make a wrong step, you will not be able to look back."

Liu Wenchao was even more angry: "Where are the women? Although the imperial court prohibits taking concubines, the people do not hold them accountable. Even if you take concubines, who will sue you? I have a concubine at home, and her appearance is definitely not as good as the beauty you have, but women Isn’t it the same when the lights are turned off? Damn it, you only spent a few hundred taels of silver to do such a big thing, and your net worth is only a few hundred taels? You are a dog, even if you don’t commit any crime, you quietly raise ten houses You can afford to keep a concubine! Even if you want to be greedy, who will come to check you if you are just a little bit greedy? Why do you have to lose your head and be greedy to death!"

Yu Xian sighed: "I said, I want to stop. Once the mouth is opened, the people below can't stop it. Brother, you must take this as a warning. Everything cannot have a beginning. If you open the bow, there will be no turning back."

Liu Wenchao released Yu Xian and sat down on the ground next to him: "Give me a puff."

Yu Xian handed the half-smoked pipe to Liu Wenchao. The latter didn't even wipe the saliva from the cigarette holder, so he took it in his mouth and started sucking it hard. He even shed tears while sucking.

Liu Wenchao couldn't stop his tears and quickly fell to his chin. He recalled: "I think back then, my family was poor and couldn't afford books, so I had to borrow your books to read. Your mother took pity on me and made you more cakes. Make one and let you take it to school for me to eat. Your family has been invaded and you can’t afford the land tax so you can only sell the land. We both stopped studying and went to the county to run errands for others."

Yu Xian suddenly laughed, seeming to recall interesting things from that year.

Liu Wenchao said: "What did you say when we joined the army together? You said that you would follow His Majesty and kill all the corrupt officials, evil gentry and powerful people in the world! Have you forgotten that your family originally had land, and you could have studied. It was the evil gentry who colluded with the corrupt officials and spread their land in your father's name, asking your father to pay an extra fifty acres of land! Your family was forced to sell their land by corrupt officials and evil gentry, and you were so harmed that you couldn't read. Look. Look, what are you doing now? You have become a corrupt official yourself, colluding with those evil gentry and wealthy businessmen!"

At this point, Liu Wenchao became angry again: "You just smuggled a few pots, but you actually smuggled grain and ironware! If there is a war in the future, the enemy will eat the grain you smuggled, and the enemy will have you in his hands." The smuggled weapons, in turn, killed the brothers in the Datong Army. Are you still a fucking human being? Are you worthy of your dead brothers?"

"Stop talking," Yu Xian said with a pained expression, "Give me the pipe."

Liu Wenchao stuffed his pipe back and lay on the ground, looking at the roof without knowing what he was thinking.

While smoking, Yu Xian muttered: "This man is so desperate. I thought I could control the situation, but I really looked down on myself. Being an official is like leading soldiers. On the battlefield, the army is defeated like a mountain, and in the officialdom, soldiers are also like The defeat was like a mountain. I asked my men to open an opening for the smugglers, just like I asked my soldiers to retreat before the battle. I only planned to withdraw a few miles, but once I retreated, my army became disorganized. As I retreated, the whole army collapsed. No matter what I did, Even if you blow the trumpet, you won’t be able to gather them together.”

Liu Wenchao didn't seem to want to hear this anymore, and stood up suddenly: "Explain all the principal criminals and accomplices!"

With that said, Liu Wenchao shouted outside: "Lao Meng, have you finished smoking? Come in and do some work!"

Lao Meng pushed the door open and came in, seeing the unwiped tears on Liu Wenchao's face. He lowered his head and pretended not to know anything. He sat down and said to Yu Xian, "Keep talking."