Qin Official

At dusk that day, in the main hall of the Anlu County Official Temple and the County Prison, the Anlu County Magistrate finally finished his day's work and raised his head from the pile of slips. Just as he was slapping his sore neck, he heard the sound at the door. The clerk came to report that the jailer was happy to be back.

"Come back so soon?"

The county magistrate was immediately overjoyed. He quickly adjusted his clothes and planned to go out to greet him in person.

Under the system of the Qin State, the county magistrate was the chief executive and was governed by the county temple, with a bronze seal, black ribbon, and a rank of six hundred stones. The county magistrate is a secondary official and governs in the county jail. He has a bronze seal with a yellow ribbon and a rank of 400 stones.

The county magistrate's duty is to assist the county magistrate in managing government affairs, which is equivalent to the deputy county magistrate and court president in later generations. The jailer is just an official under the county magistrate in charge of litigation and prison, equivalent to the president of the court. As a superior, there is really no need to personally greet him.

But the Anlu County Prime Minister knew very well that this "Xi" was not comparable to ordinary subordinates. This person had been a clerk and an official in Anlu County for many years and was known as a capable person. Later, he was transferred to the neighboring Yan County to work as a prisoner. He is responsible for legal interpretation and enforcement, and his reputation for impartial law enforcement has even spread back to Anlu.

In the fifteenth year of the Qin Dynasty, Xi joined the army again and participated in Qin's attack on Zhao. He defended Pingyang and made great contributions. He was never promoted to the fifth level of "doctor". Of course, this doctor was not the same as the doctor in the Spring and Autumn Period. A concept, just a middle-level title that is not high. Later, Xi was transferred back to Anlu County, where public security was extremely poor, as a jailer by the prefect of Nanjun, hoping that he could restrain lawlessness.

In the past few years, although Xi worked conscientiously and did not have any unjust cases, he had no outstanding deeds, so the Anlu County Magistrate initially treated him as an ordinary subordinate.

Until July this year, Xi's mother died of illness, and Xi returned to her hometown for burial. For more than two months, without Xi's help, the county magistrate was shocked to find that his work was more than three times heavier than before! Other matters related to prison management, medical sealing, and love affairs were not handled properly, and there were many mistakes.

It's right to think about it. Looking at the entire Anlu County, where can you find a Xunli like Xi who can copy the entire Qin Code stroke by stroke and memorize it backwards and forwards?

The Anlu County Magistrate came to his senses and realized that Xi was his right-hand man in running the Anlu Prison and he could not be neglected.

After going out, the county magistrate saw Xi's figure from afar, and laughed and said, "I have finally come to see you!"

"How dare I let the county magistrate personally welcome me? I'm really going to be killed."

Xi was born in the forty-fifth year of King Zhao of Qin. He was thirty-six years old this year. He had dark hair and a sagittal beard on his lips. He was wearing a dark dress with narrow sleeves and a standard civil servant dress. When he saw the county magistrate personally greeting him, he hurriedly He bowed and said he didn't dare.

The county magistrate helped Xi up and found that he was still the same as before. He often kept a roll of bamboo slips in his clothes for easy reading when eating or riding in the car. His fingers were always stained with ink. Who knows how many laws and regulations he had to copy in a 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 lamented the funeral in Xi's family, but Xi had long since recovered from the pain of losing his mother. This workaholic did not exchange more greetings with his boss. Instead, he went straight to the point and talked about the case he encountered when passing by Huyang Pavilion today. At the same time, he asked the county magistrate, who should be responsible?

The county magistrate frowned. This matter involved a pavilion chief who knew the law and violated the law, which was a bit tricky. In addition, he had been busy with documents in the past two months. He was eager to come back to share some work. He stroked his beard and said: "Since it is someone you met on the way. Wu Heifu also reported the case to you, so you will try it, how about it?"

"I will never turn down a happy event!"

Xi, this person has no hobbies. He just has a special liking for trial cases and copying Qin laws. He can solve any difficult cases easily. Having not been in prison for more than two months, Xi felt uncomfortable all over. He was like a rusty steel knife in urgent need of a case to sharpen it.

However, apart from the official status of the pavilion chief, the case encountered today is not complicated. Xi already had a plan on how to try it, so he asked the county magistrate for instructions:

"In my opinion, this case can be divided into two. The first is that the merchant Bao sued himself for robbery. The second is that the scholars Wu Heifu and Ji Ying sued the chief of Huyang Pavilion for seeking robberies. The merit fraud and reward case...the subsequent case can only be tried after the crime of the thief in the previous case and the process of his arrest are confirmed."

Similar to lawsuits in later generations, litigation and interrogation in Qin had a fixed process. For a case to enter this process, someone must first report it, and then a trial can begin. If the victim reports on himself, it is a "self-reporting", which is equivalent to the "plaintiff" in later generations.

Xi also said that the three thieves have now been imprisoned in the county jail, and doctors have been arranged to treat the injured thieves and stop the bleeding. He also brought back all the self-reporters and defendants in the two cases, and the case will be officially opened soon!

"Xijun is really resolute and decisive. I can rest assured that you will do things well." The county magistrate was very satisfied, so he became the shopkeeper with peace of mind and let Xi make his own decision...

…

After saying goodbye to the county magistrate, he rushed to his office without stopping. His two subordinates, the official "Nu" and the jailer "Le", had been waiting here for a long time.

The name of his subordinate was also a coincidence. Le Chang told Nu that by finding someone named "Ai" to serve as a clerk, their small office would have the four emotions of "joy, anger, sorrow, and joy."

Xi did not have time to joke, so he wrote the "closed examination procedure" on the case, which is the interrogation principle and procedure of this case, and said: "You should know that before the interrogation begins, the criminal and the self-reporter must first be identified. name, identity, and place of origin.”

The two nodded: "This is natural."

Xi then arranged: "Ang, your fierce face and harsh voice make people scared. Tomorrow I will be responsible for questioning the three thieves and intimidating them a little."

"Le, you have a kind face and a pleasant voice, so you are responsible for questioning the three self-reporters so that they do not panic and can wait for the trial in peace."

Nu Hele quickly said yes. From the moment they knew their boss was back, they knew that the hard days of working overtime were coming again. Fortunately, the jailer Xi had rich experience in handling cases and knew what methods to use to deal with what kind of people. But in the chest.

"As for the Huyang Pavilion Chief, Qiu Pi and others..."

Xi stopped writing, raised his head, and said coldly: "As the chief of the pavilion, he knows the law and breaks the law. It can be seen that he is a bold and reckless person. I heard that his family has some background. I'm afraid you can't handle it, so let me go and see it in person." he."

Nu and Le only agreed, saying that they would do these things early tomorrow morning.

"Tomorrow morning?"

Xi shook his head and said: "It seems that you have slacked off a lot during my absence for the past two months."

He stood up and began to lecture the two of them: "As early as when Shang Jun was reforming the law, he required the government to finish handling the official business of the day and not delay it overnight!"

Nu and Le both felt numb. The person this boss admired the most was Shang Jun. He liked to imitate him in everything and always followed his words.

Sure enough, Xi pointed his finger upward and quoted Shang Yang's words.

"Shang Jun said, those who rule by day will be king, those who rule by night will be strong, and those who rule by night will be weakened!"

A country that can handle all its government affairs on the same day can be king in the world; if it waits until the evening to finish it, the country can be strong; but if it delays it overnight and waits until tomorrow, such a country will be weakened!

He said earnestly and sincerely: "Although we, the local officials, dare not say that what we do can help the king rule the world, nor can we say that it can make Qin strong and prosperous. But at least, we cannot weaken the country because of our laziness. ... "

Nu and Le looked at each other in confusion. Wasn't it just working overtime? Why did it get involved in national affairs?

In fact, there is another sentence that Xi did not say clearly.

He has already heard that the Huyang Pavilion Chief who committed the crime is actually the nephew of the County Lieutenant (Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau)!

Under the system of the Qin State, large counties had two lieutenants, left and right, in charge of organizing theft and military service. Youwei is the fourth highest official in Anlu County, ranking above Xi. The reason why the county magistrate handed over the case to Xilai for trial was because he was afraid of enmity with Youwei.

Youwei's family has a good background in Anlu County and has many guests. If Xi cannot handle the case quickly, I'm afraid it will be a long night and give people room to manipulate and engage in malpractice for personal gain!

With this thought in mind, Xi picked up the pen on the desk, sharpened it, and strode out.

"You don't have to wait until tomorrow, Angry and Le, you can go out with me immediately and interrogate me all night long!"