Qin Official

The thief Cao Yue Tang Qian was no stranger to the jailer Zuo Shixi. Although this man had only been transferred to the county for a year, he had already become somewhat famous and was highly regarded by the county magistrate and the county guard.

But Xi is a weirdo who doesn't know how to deal with anything. For example, whenever he takes on a case, he likes to investigate and investigate a little bit and follow the rules, instead of being like Tang Qian's jailer Ling Shi, who doesn't care about anything and everything, first and foremost. Beat the criminal severely and force him to confess...

The same goes for this "internal case" with wide implications. Dou Ran has been detained in prison and interrogated several times by several officials. However, this person has remained silent and refused to answer any questions...

"Exercise punishment!"

Tang Qian lost his patience and made his own demands to the warden.

"With a whipping, this pampered Duke of Chu County will definitely do anything!"

Xi but objected: "There is a saying in "Qin Code" that it is better to investigate the case based on the confession and to clarify the case without torture, and to use the method of examination and robbery to get the case is inferior. This is the first trial, and it has not yet arrived. Why should I be tortured after three terms?"

Tang Qian looked hesitant: "The county captain ordered that this case should be investigated thoroughly as soon as possible. If it is delayed and more secrets are leaked within the Chu country, what should we do?"

Xi but shook his head: "Dooran has been captured for more than half a year. He has no direct connection with the recent murders. The former officials of the Ruo Ao family who had contact with him are not necessarily insiders, so Douran is not a suspect, but a witness." In "Qin Law", the use of torture against criminals is a bad idea, let alone the use of torture against witnesses? Furthermore, Qin officials whipped the captured county magistrate of Chu State. This matter is not good to hear. The thief Cao must be patient and allow me to take my time. Trial and questioning..."

"Patience? The lieutenant didn't give you a deadline, so there's no need to rush!"

Seeing that the two started to argue, Heifu hurriedly came over to persuade him. In the end, Tang Qian and Xi reached a compromise and let Xi try again. If he still couldn't find out anything tomorrow, he would ask the county magistrate for permission to use torture.

"Xi Jun is still so against torture, even though Dou Ran is from Chu."

After Tang Qian left unhappily, Heifu and Xi chatted in the county jail. He remembered that when he and others were involved in a lawsuit in Anlu County Prison more than two years ago, Xi never said anything to them from beginning to end. No one uses torture, but relies on collecting evidence, interrogating, and questioning to slowly uncover the truth.

In the past few years, Heifu discovered that not every legal official could follow the rules of Qin's laws like Xi, but Xi was a special case.

"I had a case."

Xi sat behind the case table, flipping through the files about Dou Ran, and told Heifu an incident from the past: "When I first came to the county court last year, I received a beggar (ju) case."

"Begging" is equivalent to a retrial in later generations, that is, if the parties believe that the judgment is unfair, they can request a higher-level judicial department to retry their case. The county court's judgment can be retried by the county court. If there are still major doubts, the county court's The case can be reiterated by Tingwei, the highest court in Qin.

"On the 12th day of the 23rd month of the 23rd month of the twelfth lunar month, a man named Mao was sent to Dangyang County by the pavilion chief. He was charged with stealing cattle. Mao confessed to his theft and even bit out an accomplice. A musician named Dao, his testimony is that on December 5th, he and Dao stole a cow together, and took the cow to Dao's home..."

"Based on Mao's confession, the Dangyang County magistrate and several officials who tried the case believed that Mao was an accomplice and sentenced him to be tattooed as a Cheng Dan."

"I was dissatisfied, so I asked for help. This case came into my hands. It was already April of the 23rd year of the king's reign."

The period of begging was three months. The "speech" was on Guihai in February (the 16th day) and he was sentenced to Chengdan. The retrial was on Bingchen in April (the 11th day). There were 54 days in between, so he almost died. The review time has passed.

It was this short gap of six days that allowed Xi to save an innocent man who was beaten into a trap and almost ended up in the city.

According to his usual method of handling cases, Xi first collected all the records and documents about the case, and then asked all relevant witnesses to come to the county for interrogation. The testimonies of the three witnesses were all favorable to the case.

I couldn't help but be surprised, with such an obvious loophole, why the officials in Dangyang County seemed to be blind and found guilty, and when they were first interrogated, they confessed that they were an accomplice of cattle rustling...

Under Xi's careful cross-examination, Xiao finally revealed a hidden fact from the first trial: Because he refused to admit his participation in cattle rustling, he was beaten by Dangyang County Magistrate Shi "Cho" and even poured cold water on him. After a physical examination by the prison historians from the county court, they found that "Jiao"'s back was indeed injured. There were thirteen large wounds as thick as fingers, and small wounds were also intertwined, stretching from his shoulders to his back. waist……

What is even more surprising is the re-interrogation of the cattle thief Mao, who was actually tortured to extract a confession: Mao did initially admit that he stole the cattle alone, but Shi, the Dangyang County magistrate who was responsible for interrogating him, recognized that he could not A man stole a cow and beat him on the back, buttocks, and thighs with a bamboo stick until blood flowed all over the ground.

"Mao" was in unbearable pain, so he had to drag his neighbor "Huo" into the water, in order to stop the beating. The physical examination revealed that "Mao" had countless scars on his body. At least four of the scars on his butt and legs were as thick as his fingers...

Under Xi's thorough investigation, the truth of the case came to light. Dangyang County Magistrate Shi, who had been tortured to extract a confession, knew that he could not deny it, so he had to accept the punishment dejectedly. The county magistrate and several officials involved in the trial also had to admit that they had existed during the first trial. Any mistakes at work will be punished as dereliction of duty.

As for the wrongly accused musician, he was able to clear his name and regain his identity and reputation. The wives and children who had been sold as slaves were redeemed by the government, and the property that had been confiscated and sold was also repaid at the price. Because his face was tattooed and he could no longer work as a musician, the county government also resettled him in another county and granted him a hundred acres of farmland to support himself and his family...

After telling this story, Xi said to Heifu meaningfully: "This is the reason why the law advises the judicial officials not to use torture at all times. Only when the prisoner is questioned, he has cheated many times, and changed his confession and refuses to accept it." Only when someone commits a crime can they be tortured and robbed according to law, and the reasons for the torture must be recorded in the love letter. "

Heifu understood that because it was only a "suggestion" rather than a strict prohibition, the officials of Qin did not abide by this clause, and only a few people such as Xi silently implemented it.

In later parlance, Xi is a judge who believes in "procedural justice." He will do his best to maintain fairness in the refereeing process, so as to achieve "justice according to Qin law".

Heifu couldn't help but feel ashamed. He still remembered that when he first became the chief of the pavilion, he was also a good policeman who pursued "justice." But after experiencing a lot of things, and after two rounds of fighting in the officialdom of the battlefield, Heifu's state of mind began to change, some principles were abandoned, and he began to do things unscrupulously, and this time he did not hesitate to involve Dou Ran in this matter." The "case" in the inner room was mainly for the purpose of dragging Lu Yun's family into the water...

Xi is also from Anlu County. He knows about the feud between Heifu and the Yun family and can guess his purpose of actively participating in this matter. However, Heifu is cautious in doing things and has no handle.

So when parting, Xi said meaningfully to Heifu: "Zuo Bing Cao Shi, although you have made meritorious service at a young age and are in a high position, you must remember that wrong actions will lead to wrong consequences!"

It is not advisable to seek personal revenge in the name of official duties!

There was something in the happy words. Hei Fu listened respectfully on his face, but he sighed helplessly in his heart.

He will not laugh at Xi for being pedantic, but will admire Xi.

Everyone in the world follows the trend and pays attention to changing with the world, but Xi always stands on the same spot, holding several volumes of "Qin Code" in his hands, insisting on the principles in his heart.

But Heifu would never follow suit.

"The winner is justice!"

Silently reciting Gu Meimen Kensuke's famous saying in his heart, Heifu walked into the dark streets. He would also visit the thief Cao Tangqian overnight to discuss with him that he should let the "thief Cao and" the Provincial Court as soon as possible from the Provincial Public Security Department "The wardens compete for the right to interrogate this time.

…

Just as Heifu expected, Dou Ran was a proud county magistrate of Chu State, and he had a lot of aristocratic feelings in his heart. He would not reveal a single word of it without being punished. The next day, the only response Xi received from repeated interrogations was Dou Ran's contemptuous look on the back of his head.

So under Heifu's instigation, Cao Cao and Tang Qian began to request the county guard and the county magistrate to hand over Dou Ran to Cao Cao, ensuring that he could find out something!

Considering that Dou Ran was not a suspect, but just a witness, and he was the captured County Duke of Chu State, he might be sent to Xianyang to meet the king in the future, so the county magistrate threw a difficult problem to the thieves: they could interrogate him, but No visible scars should be left...

Tang Qian was a little worried, but Hei Fu was overjoyed. He happened to know a lot about torture methods that would leave no scars in future generations!

After being transferred from the Prison Cao to the Thief Cao's Prison, Dou Ran discovered how courteous the Qin official's unhurried questioning was...

He first experienced an ordinary interrogation, but Dou Ran still chose not to answer silently. After that, he was roughly tied to a long table. The Qin official Heifu who had captured him appeared in front of him and commanded a group of men with grinning faces. The jailer walked towards Dou Ran.

"Shu Zi! This county official will never say a word!"

Dou Ran had already expected this day, but this tough nobleman was not afraid. Whether it was a whip or a knife, he was willing to take it!

He is of the Zhu Rong bloodline and is a nobleman of the Chu Kingdom. He is not afraid of killing himself with a sword. What punishment are he afraid of?

However, what followed was not the whips or wooden sticks as imagined. The jailers just covered his mouth and nose with layers of thick linen towels.

This kind of torture was not included in the "Top Ten Tortures of the Qin Dynasty" that were widely circulated in Chu State. Dou Ran was a little strange. As the linen became thicker and thicker, he subconsciously opened his mouth and breathed hard to swallow. However, then, the cold Cold water poured on his face...

A large amount of water was sucked into the stomach, lungs and trachea, and the feeling of suffocation soon came over. Douran's throat spasmed, and he began to vomit and cough.

Dou Ran struggled desperately, stroking his hands and kicking his legs. Just when he thought he was going to suffocate to death, the wet cloth on his face was taken away, and the faces of Heifu and Tang Qian appeared in front of him.

"Recruit or not?"

Tang Qian's voice came to his buzzing ears: "Who is the Anlu clan that you have written letters with?"

Dou Ran gritted his teeth and didn't say a word.

Heifu smiled and instructed the jailers: "Continue."

So next, he repeatedly enjoyed the taste of "water torture" and continued to enjoy the near-death experience of drowning. His lungs and trachea secreted a large amount of thick nasal mucus, blood flowed from his mouth, and he even became incontinent. He suffered indescribable pain. Pain and humiliation…

Finally, when Dou Ran was tortured to the point of near mental collapse and his consciousness gradually blurred, he couldn't stand the pain anymore and murmured what Xi had not asked.

"I said……"

"stop!"

Tang Qian was overjoyed, raised his hand to stop the jailers who were still interested, and approached Dou Ran with Hei Fu.

But Dou Ran took a few deep breaths of air, closed his eyes, and moved his lips slightly: "The person I have been writing to is an old minister of the Ruo Ao family..."

"Yun family..."

Hearing that it was the Anlu County Lieutenant, Tang Qian looked solemn, and a sneer appeared on Heifu's face. With Dou Ran's confession, plus the dirty information collected by his subordinates Li Xian and others in the past six months, Yun Man had enough to drink. It’s the pot!

Unexpectedly, Dou Ran hadn't finished speaking yet.

"And...Richie!"