Han official!

Chapter 105: Hanque Secret Grid (Long Chapter, Please Submit)

Guo Jie took the two of them out of the guest room and went to the county prison to inspect the prison and record the prisoners.

When the new county chief takes office, he needs to record all prisoners and find out the facts of their cases to avoid wrongful imprisonment.

The County Mansion's Changguan Temple is the same as the Chang'an Official Temple, with the yamen in the south and the prison in the north. The Han people believed that the north was the place for punishment and execution. Prisons such as Ting'an, Chang'an Prison, County Mansion Prison, etc. were usually set up in the north of the official temple. Walking out of the boudoir of Changshe and walking north along the rammed earth wall, you can see the Xiezhi Gate of the County Mansion Prison from afar.

A prisoner was being escorted by a police officer into the county prison. He looked around and saw Guo Jie in black clothes not far away, and immediately started shouting.

"You are the new mayor of the county residence? This is unjust. I was walking honestly along Zhangtai Street and passed by the Hanque at the entrance of the official temple. I just stopped to rest and was arrested by the personnel officer. This is a massive injustice!"

When the military officer heard him shouting and yelling, his face darkened and he hit the prisoner's back with the back of the ring-handled knife in his hand.

The military clerks were low-level military officers, the twenty personnel officers were knights-errant from Chen County and Linjin, and the two military clerks were all knights-errant from Chen County.

When Guo Jie heard the prisoner's cry, he was lost in thought. It seemed that this man was the first prisoner he had arrested since taking office.

The man at the gate of the county prison had disheveled hair and was wearing a ochre prison uniform. His hands were tied behind his back with hemp ropes. He looked at Guo Jie who was walking towards him with a pleading look on his face.

Guo Jie asked, "What crime did this man break?"

The military clerk bowed and looked at Guo Jie with respect. "Mr. Guo, this thief was walking on the road in front of the temple. If the clerk hadn't been sorting tools in the left school, he wouldn't have noticed him walking on the road."

Chidao means official road. The Chidao outside Chang'an City is the official road, and anyone can pass through it.

Chang'an City was an exception. The Chidao was the imperial road, and only the emperor and the empress's carriages could travel on it.

There are three gates on each of the four walls of Chang'an City. The middle gate corresponds to the Chidao, and the gates on the left and right sides are normal roads.

The official temple is located on Zhangtai Street. The Anmen in the middle is the highway, and the Fu'angmen on the east and Xi'anmen on the west are the roads for officials and people to travel on a daily basis.

When Guo Jie heard that this man deliberately stayed beside the Hanque and stepped on the road, his face changed.

The current period is a vacuum between the new and old officials. Everything in the official temple is lax, and the personnel officials are even assigned to live in the houses in the official residence. There is no one guarding the gate of the official temple.

This man deliberately took advantage of the fact that the county official was off guard and stepped on the road at the gate. If he was seen by the thieves, it would not be a big deal. But if the lieutenant's northern army saw him, Guo Jie would definitely be punished.

wronged?

This person may be instructed by a powerful person.

"Pooh!"

Wei Guang was furious. He was a cavalry officer and knew that the road in front of the temple gate had been trampled and the temple official was being questioned. He smashed the Jinwu in his hand on the prisoner and said, "Tell the truth! Today is the day my brother takes over as the mayor of the county residence. You didn't trample on the road earlier or later, but today. Who would believe you when you say you are wronged?"

Jinwu is a large stick covered with bronze.

It hurts when it hits someone.

"boom!"

A dull voice echoed, and the prisoner's thin body stumbled a few steps, almost falling to the ground. He cried out, "It's unfair, it's really unfair. I live in Dachanglu, how could I run to the county governor's official temple and deliberately trample on the road?"

When Guo Jie heard about Dachanglu, his face darkened. The more this person talked, the more mistakes he made. The more he spoke, the more flaws he found in his words.

Chang'an was very large, and there were two Disheguili where the powerful and wealthy lived, namely the Beidi and the Dongdi.

The County Residence Changguan Temple is located on Zhangtai Street, close to Dongdi, to the east of Weiyang Palace.

Beidi is located to the north of Weiyang Palace, so it is called Beidi. Dachangli is near Beidi and is quite far from the county residence Changguan Temple in Dongdi.

Guo Jie looked at the prisoner who was lying and knew that he had not told a single truth. He must have other purposes for coming here today, otherwise he would not have run from Dachangli in Beidi to Changguansi, the county residence in Dongdi.

It is equivalent to a person who has nothing to do and runs from Haidian District in the north of the capital to Dongcheng District. It takes dozens of minutes to drive. Who would believe a person who runs there on foot and keeps saying that he has no purpose?

"Go to the Chang'an official temple."

Guo Jie instructed, "Go and fetch Yi Zong, my brother-in-law. If he's with Zhang Tang, our superior, don't worry for now. Wait until he returns home. While you're at it, just go and handle the criminal case and fetch Yi Zong to interrogate him."

As he spoke, he kept paying attention to the prisoner's expression.

Yi Zong was not Zhang Tang, who was famous in Chang'an. Not many people knew Yi Zong's reputation. Only the knights-errant and powerful people in Chang'an had heard of Yi Zong, who was good at Qin Dynasty torture. The common people in the neighborhood did not know Yi Zong.

The honest common people in Luzuo did not break the law and worked hard to make a living. They had never been imprisoned in Chang'an Prison and had never hung out with the wanderers in Chang'an. How could they know Yi Zong's name?

The moment this person heard Yi Zong's name, a look of shock appeared on his face.

Guo Jie understood that the prisoners arrested by the military officials were not innocent. Even if they accidentally stepped on the road next to the Hanque, they were not good people. They should be arrested and imprisoned in the county prison.

He waved his hand and said, "Send him to the county jail and hold him there until my wife's brother Yi Zong arrives. Then he will interrogate him."

"What an injustice! What an injustice!"

When the prisoners heard that Yi Zong was personally interrogating them, they cried out loudly. Their voices gradually became shrill due to their fear. It was obvious that they knew that Yi Zong was using Qin Dynasty tortures during interrogations.

Zhang Tang knew that today was the day Guo Jie was going to take up his post, and Yi Zong was his brother-in-law, so he would most likely go to celebrate. He did not take Yi Zong with him to continue his work, but left him sitting there to handle paperwork and official documents.

A military official on leave walked into the official temple of Chang'an and happened to meet Yi Zong who was about to go out to inspect the prison. They went to the official temple of the county governor together.

The prison inspection was just an excuse. The purpose was to go to the County Governor's Temple to congratulate his sister-in-law on his promotion to the position of County Governor.

"Sister-in-law!"

Yi Zong walked into the gate of the county residence of Guansi, his face full of joy: "My sister is now a real lady. I have written a letter to the ranger of Chen County to tell my sister the good news that my brother-in-law is now of use to the head of the county residence of Hanque."

Yi Shuo often went in and out of the noble houses and knew many nobles from the northern and eastern parts of the country. Her superb medical skills made her a distinguished guest of the noble houses.

No matter how many nobles and dukes she knew, she would never think that her humble origins made her noble, and she would never look down on the common people.

On the contrary, Yi Shuo was very clear about his own identity. After receiving the letter of promotion from Guo Jie to the head of the county residence, he immediately organized a grand celebration like a community sacrifice in Jinchengli to tell the residents the good news.

At the same time, it also deepened Guo Jie's influence on the people of Jincheng.

Guo Jie said with a smile, "Let's talk about congratulations later. First, go and interrogate the prisoner in the county jail. Get the truth out of him. You've made the long journey through the North and East Courtyards to the gate of the County Court's Changguan Temple."

Yi Zong rubbed his hands, his face full of excitement. He immediately took a basket from the saddle of the stable horse and placed it with torture instruments used for torture such as drilling through the head (piercing through the top of the head with iron tools), pulling out the tendons and bones, and cooking in a cauldron (cooking to death).

He found a craftsman to make Qin Dynasty torture instruments, and finally found a place to use them. With a look of excitement on his face, he pulled the basket and walked into the county prison.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Not long after, miserable cries were heard from the county prison, followed soon by weak pleas for mercy.

Several officials stood at the door. They were still frightened by the screams coming from the county prison. Their palms holding the spears were sweating. They thought to themselves that Mr. Guo's brother-in-law was another cruel official.

Yi Zong walked out of the county prison wearing an iron crown and black clothes. The black clothes were stained with a lot of blood in the past and were difficult to wash clean, so they were slightly red. Today, the black clothes were even redder and stained with a lot of blood.

Guo Jie stood at the gate of the county prison, awaiting Yi Zong's interrogation. Seeing him emerge, he asked expectantly, "How is it going? Have you found out the prisoner's motive? Why did he deliberately trample on the road next to the Hanque while I was on my way to take up my post?" Yi Zong frowned and said, "The interrogation did reveal the prisoner's identity and motive. He's a doctor living in Dachang. He didn't know the county governor and the county magistrate had been replaced. He came here today to deliver medicine to the former county magistrate."

Food doctors are responsible for the taste, warmth and coolness of food, as well as the amount of food.

A doctor who specializes in food supplements often goes in and out of the houses of nobles and wealthy people all year round, selling some nourishing medicinal herbs.

"Send tonic?"

Guo Jie also frowned. "It's just delivering tonic medicine, not something shameful. We can just deliver it to the county chief's official temple. Even if the county chief and the county magistrate have changed, they'll see he's just delivering medicine and is a food doctor. They'll ask him a few questions and let him go. They might even buy some tonic herbs. We shouldn't be sneaking around like a thief."

His doubts were also the ones that Yi Zong couldn't figure out.

The food doctor's actions were too sneaky. They didn't seem like they were delivering a tonic, but more like a group of thieves being hunted.

Could it be that the food doctor and the county magistrate are doing something shameful?

"Who was the last County Secretary?"

Guo Jie asked, "My dear fellows, does anyone know the identity of the last County Magistrate? What was his name? Which neighborhood in Chang'an did he live in? And what powerful family did he come from?"

Yi Zong and Mang Tong shook their heads. They knew very little about the officials in various government offices in Chang'an. They had no idea who the previous county governor was. They only knew that the head of the county residence was a guest of the Dou family, a relative of the emperor's wife.

Guo Jie also knew that he had robbed the official position of Dou's guest, but the person who robbed it was Sang Hongyang, so no one paid attention to him.

After all, Guo Jie, a commoner with a plain hat, had no say in who would hold the position of county chief. Only Sang Hongyang, the emperor's attendant, could decide who would hold the position.

"hehe."

Guo Jie shook his head and smiled, "We are once again entangled with the guests of the Dou family, our in-laws. The entanglement is really deep. We can't avoid dealing with the guests of the Dou family, our in-laws, every time."

It was not that he had to deal with the Dou family, the foreign relatives, many times, but that the power of the Dou family was at its peak and many people defected to them.

There were many mulberry trees planted at the gate of the county prison. No one knew who the county chancellor was, so they could only bring the doctor out and tie him to the mulberry tree.

Yi Zong continued to question the frail food doctor, who was tortured to the point of breathing in more than out. His ochre prison uniform had been dyed red and was covered with marks from whipping, and he barely looked like a human.

The food doctor was tied to a mulberry tree, fell into a coma, and could not utter a word.

Yi Zong looked embarrassed and said, "I may have used too harsh a punishment."

Is that simply too heavy?

The food doctor was almost tortured to death by him.

Seeing that the food doctor was speechless, Wei Guang's face was full of joy. Making friends widely has another benefit. Hearing all kinds of rumors and news about the officials and temples in Chang'an is also a different kind of erudition.

Know all kinds of family news.

"Brother."

Wei Guang shook his silk robe and began to show off his erudition: "The previous County Magistrate's surname was Du, and he was also a member of the Du clan of the Western Road. He resigned from his position a few days ago and has left the East Palace."

Guo Jie looked at Wei Guang who was talking with a surprised look on his face. He didn't expect that Wei Guang knew so much gossip and had a future as a top paparazzi like Zhuo Wei.

Today is not the era of developed information. Information is blocked. The more information a person knows, the more valuable he is.

Because all kinds of secret information can be exchanged for money.

Guo Jie continued to ask, "After the previous County Magistrate left the County Magistrate's Temple, where did he go to work and what position did he hold?"

Even in later times when information was well developed, it was difficult for ordinary people to know the promotion and demotion of officials. Burning incense and worshipping in a temple was useful when asking for help, and news about officialdom was even more valuable.

It even gave rise to a kind of political broker.

Guo Jie said it casually, not expecting Wei Guang to know the whereabouts of the county magistrate.

"Haha."

Wei Guang was delighted again and said clearly, "I know many poor people living in poverty, including slaves and prostitutes in the homes of officials in Chang'an. I heard from one of the prostitutes about the whereabouts of the county magistrate. He is a relative of the Du family in the Western Road. He is now serving as a medical officer in Dai State and living in the Dai Mansion."

The Western Han Dynasty had a county-level system in which counties, prefectures, and towns existed in parallel.

Just as counties and states are on the same level, prefectures, counties and towns are also on the same level.

The Du people of Xidao can also be called the Du people of Xixian.

"Among the Du clans of the Western Dao, there emerged a judge, a doctor, and the three elders of the capital and Chang'an."

Guo Jie said sternly, "It seems that the Du clans in the Western Road are not ordinary powerful people. The three elders of the county must be eliminated, and the Cao clans in the Western Road must also be destroyed to prevent future troubles."

The medical officer is in charge of medical matters.

Dai was a relatively large vassal state with the surname Liu. Emperor Wen of Han was once enthroned as King of Dai. After he succeeded to the throne, he enthroned his third son Liu Shen as King of Dai.

The official position of Du Yicao is equivalent to the Health and Family Planning Commission of a large county, managing all hospitals and doctors within the administrative area.

There is a lot of money to be made.

The Dai Di where Du Yicao lived was a li named after the Dai State, belonging to a li of Beidi. There were also other li such as Qin Di Ting, Chu Wang Di, and Xiao He Di.

Beidi is not a neighborhood, but refers to all the neighborhoods and villages north of Weiyang Palace.

Dai Residence, Chu King Residence, and Xiao He’s House are all neighborhoods.

When the food doctor regained consciousness and heard Wei Guang detailing Du Yicao's various conditions, he shuddered inwardly. Not wanting to be tortured by Yi Zong any further, he hurriedly said, "I came here to deliver violet poison to the County Minister, er, now Du Yicao. He always hides it in a secret compartment next to the Hanque, not resting next to it."

Violet poison?

Their hearts sank, and they did not dare to stay and hurried out of the county prison.

Guo Jie and his companions immediately walked out of the official temple and found a secret compartment on the rammed earth ground next to the base of the Hanque, which contained several short arrows and a bunch of violets.

"How dare you hide short arrows smeared with violet poison at the gate of the official temple? I suspect that the doctor is using witchcraft to murder my brother."

Wei Guang was furious and reached out to grab the short arrow, breaking it that seemed to be stuck in the hay.

"No!"

"Wait a minute!"

Guo Jie and Mang Tong's faces suddenly changed, with a look of shock on their faces. They hurriedly stepped forward to grab Wei Guang, one on the left and one on the right, tightly grasping the arms of the man wearing a red and yellow silk robe, preventing Wei Guang from touching the short arrow.

"Short arrows, don't touch them!"

(End of this chapter)