Lord of the Desert

Chapter 470 False
September twenty-first.

The handle of the dipper points to Xu, and it is the time of Frost Descent.

The yellow grass is like smoke, the cold wind is bleak, and Hegao County looks sick.

These two days coincide with the annual judicial inspection, and according to the law, prisons must be inspected and case files reviewed.

Geng Chi had been in office for many years and had done solid work. He usually took this kind of inspection for granted, but this time he felt uneasy for some reason. When he saw the mountain of documents and files piled up in the warehouse, he felt an indescribable fear.

[My child is still young, am I already old? ]

He felt sad and had nowhere to turn to, so he went to the market yesterday and bought a freshly slaughtered yellow dog. Today, he asked his wife to stew it for half a day. He ate it at noon to strengthen his body so that he could go to the government office for inspection.

Due to the existence of warriors as a decisive force, Dahua's political system values ​​order over checks and balances. All matters in the county, big or small, have always been decided by the county magistrate, including arrests and trials.

Generally speaking, the three-level chain of law enforcement and justice in Hegao County is the chief constable, the registrar, and the magistrate. The first two are of low rank and have no official rank, but the latter is a seventh-rank official. The deputy provincial governor who came to inspect the judiciary this time is a fifth-rank assistant of the Zhanzhou Judicial Inspection Office.

"I have already checked the prison in your county. It is generally good."

Yi Chenshi sat upright on the armchair, holding a teacup in his hand, and spoke at a neither fast nor slow pace.

"I started reviewing the case files three days ago, and I have only read three volumes today, but I find some problems in all of them."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expression of Wen Dianshi, who was waiting with his back bent, suddenly changed, while Geng Chi, who was standing in the hall, was sweating on his palms although he was trying hard.

"Captain Geng, right? I have heard of your reputation before."

After finishing his tea, Chenshi Yi stood up and walked to the long table. He picked up a black-covered case file and turned to the page with the folded corner.

"I have randomly checked three volumes this time. Let me first look at the fourth case in the second volume."

He held the case file diagonally towards the light, his eyes narrowed, and the pupil of his left eye could not be seen clearly.

Geng Chi couldn't help but feel horrified.

He just felt that there were invisible eyes staring at him. His hand unconsciously reached for the hilt of the knife, but where was the knife at his waist?

"In the 23rd year of Zhenghe, you found out that Village Chief Zhang was hiding refugees from Langhuan City, and after he was dismissed from his post, he was caned 80 times. Although he had good intentions, the evidence was irrefutable, and the sentence was correct according to the "Notice to the Citizens."

Yi Chenshi spoke in a flat tone.

“That year, the sea tribes invaded the land, and there were many refugees in the state, but I felt familiar with this case when I saw it.

At that time, there was a case in Langhuan City that happened to be supervised by this official. It was a local cowardly soldier who wanted to leave the army and a county magistrate who wanted to eat empty salaries. They hit it off and deceived the head of another village to obtain the status of a refugee. I guess the head of the village in your case, Zhang, became a vagrant. "

Geng Chi was now experienced and immediately realized the intricacies of the situation.

[The military households gathered and fled, pretending to be pitiful to deceive the head of another village to take them in. After deliberately committing a crime, they were sent back to their hometown as refugees. The county magistrate re-enrolled them as civilians, and the former military households became fake households with salaries but no people...]

His cheeks burned.

[Why didn't I think of it at the time? Why didn't the superiors bring it up during so many inspections before? ]

Geng Chi felt a chill in his heart, but at the same time, he couldn't help but have an idea.

If the law is still imperfect, what about people?
"This is Volume 7."

Chenshi Yi picked up the second case file, which also had a folded corner.

"Three months ago, Xu Yi in the south of the city poisoned his wife. The key witness, Wang the Peddler, said that he saw Xu Yi digging in the backyard at 11:00 p.m., and indeed, arsenic was dug out after the crime. The testimony also contains the fingerprints of Wang the Peddler and Zheng Ming, one of your constables.

After reading the case yesterday, I suddenly had the urge to look for Wang the peddler. I discovered that the address registered in the case file was overgrown with weeds and trees, and no one had lived there for at least a year.

I don't know the truth of this case, but Wang the Peddler's evidence is definitely problematic!" Geng Chi recalled that three months ago, he had a sudden cold and handed over all the cases to his subordinates.

[By the way, Lao He also moved here at that time. ]

His mind was distracted and he didn't even notice the angry look from his boss, Wen Dianshi.

"There is still a fourth volume, which is also the last volume that I will randomly check."

Officer Yi shook his head and took the third case file.

"The ninth case is the transportation of government salt. In this case, you saw the fire mark of 'Linqing Warehouse' on the sack of salt that was fished up from the bottom of the river, and you thought it was ironclad evidence. It was a coincidence that I once worked in Linqing, and I happened to know that the Linqing hemp thread used there was thinner than the evidence. I checked it again this morning, and sure enough, I found traces of the old mark being scraped off on the inside corner of the bag. This shows that the government salt had been swapped and sold privately, but you cleared the whole thing for them."

He sighed.

"I have only read these three volumes, and there are obviously three errors."

There were only three people in the hall.

Wen Dianshi has always been a hands-off boss. At this moment, he stood aside with his hands folded, completely at a loss.

Geng Chi stared at the files on the table in a daze, turning a deaf ear to what was happening.

"Captain Geng, I can see your dedication to your work. I cannot blame you for the three cases here."

On the contrary, Yi Chenshi comforted him with kind words.

"Humans are not gods, their intelligence is limited, and they are bound to make mistakes. And the laws of nature and human desires are so complicated. Not to mention one person and one government office, even the prime ministers of the current dynasty face a huge amount of information from all over the world every day. How can they distinguish the true from the false? Sometimes I often think that the essence of this world may be false, and seeking the truth is just asking for trouble..."

"Your Excellency is right, your Excellency is right!"

Upon hearing this, Wen Dianshi quickly agreed and smiled like a chrysanthemum.

"Humans are not gods, and the universe is illusory..."

Geng Chi's steps were unsteady, and he raised his eyes inadvertently, and was suddenly surprised to find that Shangguan's left eye, which had been narrowed all the time, was gray and misty, with a layer of film floating on it.

[The left eye again? ]

He suddenly realized that the hairs on his body stood up and sweat was like pulp, but after a moment they relaxed.

[Yes or no, so what? ]

Geng Chi thought of this out of boredom.

He has suffered repeated setbacks during this period and no longer has the courage and confidence he once had to argue and correct his mistakes.

【Human principles are not as good as destiny, and laws are also made by humans. I pursue justice and truth, but I don’t know if there is justice in this world; even if there is, how can a mediocre person like me have enough roots to pursue it?】

[The more people work hard, the more mistakes they make. What can we do? What can we do? ]

As he thought about it, he became so overcome with grief that he could hardly hold back the tears in his eyes. He had no choice but to make an excuse to get out of the yard under the watchful eyes of Yi Chenshi.

Outside, the north wind howled, breaking the grass and trees.

Geng Chi, alone, dared not look at the sky or the earth, and could only squat under a large locust tree for shelter from the wind, like a dog that had lost its home.

Above his head, the pinnate leaves of the locust tree were swirling and falling, exchanging their last body temperature with the earth.

(End of this chapter)