Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Zou Yan climbed up the wall by stepping on someone else's shoulders. He saw that the light was on in the house and there were shadows moving in the small window. He could tell at a glance that there were many people inside.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Zou Yan jumped down from the wall after finding out what was going on. "There should be quite a few people inside. Judging from the noise, they are gambling."

Yang Zheng immediately ordered, "Take the other two brothers who are good at fighting and jump in. Ask one to open the door quietly, and the other two to guard those people and beware that they have other passages."

Zou Yan nodded and quietly led the two of them in. Soon the courtyard door was opened from the inside.

The slight sound of the wooden door opening made Yang Zheng and others hold their breath. Fortunately, the people inside were immersed in gambling and did not hear the noise outside.

The next action was even faster.

Several people were guarding the doors. Yang Zheng led the rest of the people to kick open the door and went in with knives. The people inside were caught red-handed while they were still in a daze.

In just two quarters of an hour, Yang Zheng caught a group of gamblers and returned to the yamen.

Yang Zheng must inform Meng Changqing of such a big event.

Meng Changqing was eating a bowl of spicy sweet potato noodles when he saw Bafang rushing over and saying, "Brother Yang has arrested a bunch of people for gambling. Go check it out!"

Meng Changqing was so angry that he sneered, put down most of the bowl of noodles and rushed to the front yamen.

Seeing people kneeling in a row in the hall, Meng Changqing called Yang Zheng over to ask about the situation. He was not in a hurry to deal with those people, but followed Yang Zheng to the scene to see the situation in the room.

"Look, the wall is more than one person high. If you didn't look for it deliberately, who would have known that there would be someone blocking it." Yang Zheng pushed open the half-closed door. "Among so many families, this is the only one with the highest wall. Ma Lishan stole grain here before. I thought he was just preventing theft, but I didn't expect he wanted to make this kind of extra money.

After the incident with my grandson, we only looked out for empty houses, but we never thought someone would be bold enough to set up a trap in their own home."

Meng Changqing walked forward while listening and entered the room. He frowned instantly because the room was filled with a strange and foul smell.

Noticing Meng Changqing's actions, Yang Zheng immediately asked someone to open the window, "Sir, why don't you stand at the door and take a look? The urine bucket inside is almost full. The smell will be even stronger if you go in."

Meng Changqing covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves and continued walking inside.

The room was simply furnished, and after taking a quick look around, Meng Changqing hurried out.

There were two tattered square tables inside, with wooden dice and bowls of unshelled corn on them. There were also a few benches. Several bags of grain were piled in the corner, and next to the grain was a urine bucket.

"These bastards." Meng Changqing gritted his teeth, "They can't live in peace. They have to make trouble. So I'll help them."

Meng Changqing returned to the county government office and did not sit in the court to interrogate the people. He just stood in front of those people and asked, "Who among you wants to refute it?"

The whole group of people lowered their heads, trembling and looking pitiful, and no one dared to speak.

Meng Changqing asked again: "Do you admit to participating in the gambling?"

When she said this, her tone was calm, and it sounded like everything could be discussed.

As a result, those people were not as scared as before and they all accepted it.

"Since you admit that you have done something illegal, you will definitely be punished." Meng Changqing did not mention any punishment, but just walked to the side with Yang Zheng to explain, "Tie these people up here for the night."

Yang Zheng was surprised, "That's it? You are too kind."

Meng Changqing said: "I haven't finished yet, tie them up for a night and put them in the cell, and tell them to keep Ma Lishan company.

They were locked up in cells at night and driven to the mountains to chop firewood during the day. Each person was required to chop a certain amount of firewood each day. Those who chopped less than the required amount would be whipped when they returned.

Be sure to take good care of the brothers on guard, give them fewer axe, let them take turns using them, and try to create conflicts among them, don't let them unite. Don't go too deep into the mountains, and be alert. "

"Yes, I understand." Yang Zheng thought to himself, this is the Lord Meng he knew, and asked again: "Then how long will these people be detained?"

"That depends on them. I need fifty cartloads of firewood. They can leave when they finish chopping."

"Yes!"

"Remember to write down today's situation and post it outside the government office tomorrow so that these people won't be unable to find them at home."

The people who were tied up in the court kept looking to the side, wanting to hear what the county magistrates were mumbling, and more importantly, to know how the government was going to punish them.

Whether you stick your head out or hide your head, you will get the same punishment. Judging from the tone of the county magistrate just now, there shouldn't be a serious punishment. At most, he will be beaten with a few sticks.

They knelt there and waited, but the county magistrate did not come back. Those with less patience wanted to stand up and take a look, but as soon as he moved, the guard next to him swung his scabbard at him, "Don't move!"

Some brave people asked with a smile: "Sir, how long do we have to kneel?"

No one answered, and Meng Changqing specifically told them not to tell them.

The group of people knelt on the ground waiting. When their left knee felt numb, they shifted their focus to their right knee. However, no matter how they switched, both knees soon could not bear the pressure.

Some people wanted to ask questions, but as soon as they opened their mouths, the guards shouted at them to shut up.

They knelt like this until the yamen runners changed shifts. They had lost all feeling from their knees to their calves. Finally, they heard a yamen runner say, "My Lord, please be merciful. If you are tired of kneeling, you can squat."

Upon hearing this, someone immediately fell down, wanting to take the opportunity to rest for a while, and the others followed suit.

The guard deliberately waited for a cup of tea before urging them to squat.

It is said that squatting is more comfortable than kneeling, and some people can even fall asleep while squatting.

Some people can sleep, but some cannot. As the night passes, the government has not yet announced their punishment. Anyone with a little bit of common sense would know that the so-called punishment must be not simple.

"Get up! How can the lobby of the county government be a place for you to sleep?" The new bailiffs were irritable and kept cursing and kicking them on the buttocks.

They were tied together again and walked out of the county government gate. They didn't know where to go. They just walked to a place with people. The yamen runner in front suddenly struck a gong and said, "The county government has notified you that gambling is strictly prohibited in Beishan County. Violators will be arrested."

Zheng Linsheng huddled in the middle of the team, muttering to himself, "They want us to be paraded through the streets. It's just a game of dice. The government has nothing to do."

The person behind him encouraged him, "Speak louder so the police can hear you."

Zheng Linsheng was not stupid. He even knew to turn around and glare at the person who instigated him.

They thought that parading through the streets was the end of their punishment, but they didn't expect that once the prison door was closed, these dozen people were completely dumbfounded.

The yamen runner who was untying the hemp rope kindly reminded them, "Take this time to rest. We will go up the mountain to chop firewood in an hour."

Some people thought that this man had some good intentions, so they immediately asked the yamen runner, "How exactly is the yamen going to punish us?"

"Who knows?" The bailiff deliberately asked, "Who told you to cause trouble under Lord Meng? Lord Meng has many ways to torture people.

I'm telling you this with good intentions. The yamen runner who was involved in gambling, the one with the surname Sun, was beaten by the adults until he was covered in blood and then driven away.

As for you, it’s hard to say.” (End of this chapter)