Master Yuan, start!

The onlookers all looked sideways, thinking that the grand ceremony of the Seventh Duke of Yansheng was so grand that even three governors had to go out to greet them.

In fact, this is not the case.

According to the established practice in the Qing Dynasty, when the chief official welcomed or saw off guests, he only needed to bow and greet them under the eaves of the yamen.

But this is for ordinary people. The person facing Song Qing is the Duke of Yansheng, a person with a super-class title who does not bow even when meeting princes.

As a second-rank governor, Song Qing should have set up an altar in front of the yamen and knelt to welcome the arrival of Duke Yansheng, but now he blocked the way in the street and was quite perfunctory, just bowing.

"Those who come with evil intentions will not be visited by those with good intentions." Through the gap in the curtain, Kong Lingyi, who was sitting in the eight-man sedan chair, had an unwavering expression.

As the contemporary Duke Yansheng, he was the local emperor in Qufu. Not to mention the governor, even the governors from the south and the north would politely invite him to accompany them and pay homage to Confucius when they passed through Qufu.

This was the first time that he was stopped in public by a mere governor, so he naturally felt dissatisfied.

"He's just a governor, and I wanted to get away with it, but I didn't expect this old man to refuse my toast and drink the forfeit wine.

This official is not someone you can easily manipulate!"

Determined to teach Song Qing a lesson, Kong Lingyi took the initiative to lift the curtain of the sedan chair. At that moment, the gloomy expression on his face disappeared.

Kong Lingyi stepped forward and said with a smile:

"Lord Song is over seventy years old, yet he remains strong and hale. I am truly humbled that he has taken the time to greet me."

Although Kong Lingyi's official position was higher than Song Qing's, he was only 19 years old. It was understandable that he expressed fear in front of the 70-year-old Song Qing.

As soon as they met, he praised Song Qing highly. However, although his words seemed to praise Song Qing, they actually contained a derogatory meaning.

The word "weak" is not a problem when read alone, but "not weak" is more of a compliment.

But the four words "old but not weak" together are Kong Lingyi's subtle mockery of Song Qing.

Weak not only means weak, but also refers to death. Another way to say "old but not weak" is "old but not dead".

To be too old to die is to be a thief!

The words that Confucius used to curse people are now used by his 76th generation descendants to mock others.

After Kong Lingyi finished speaking, he still looked at Song Qing with a smile, but in his heart he felt relieved. He felt that the humiliation of having his sedan chair stopped just now was finally paid back.

You, a warrior, will never understand the affairs of scholars in your entire life!

Sure enough, Song Qing did not realize the sarcasm in Kong Lingyi's words. After hearing these words, Song Qing even felt a good impression of Kong Lingyi.

Yuan Xiangcheng had previously specifically instructed Song Qing to stop the sedan chair in the street, which led to the scene just now.

It can be seen that although Kong Lingyi holds the title of Duke Yansheng, he is so polite in his treatment of others. Song Qing couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Does Lord Yuan really want to take action against this person?

Not only Song Qing, but the common people along the street also felt that Duke Yansheng was really gentle and elegant, and was worthy of the title.

How could the common people know the twists and turns between these scholars?

Seeing that the Duke of Yansheng coming out of the sedan chair was so young and so respectful to the governor, he immediately gained a lot of favorability.

Since Kong Lingyi cooperated, Song Qing did not bother to further pursue the issue.

"Please come in, Lord Kong," Song Qing said, extending his hand to make way for him. He pointed to the Governor's Office at the end of the street and said, "The criminal is already in custody. We only need Lord Kong to arrive before the trial can begin."

"Okay!" Kong Lingyi agreed, and the two walked towards the yamen side by side.

On the top of the building, Yuan Xiangcheng and Xu Shichang witnessed the whole scene of Lu. Xu Shichang passed the imperial examination and became a juren, and also passed the jinshi examination twice, but he was not included in the list of successful candidates. However, he could still be regarded as a well-read man.

Therefore, he could naturally hear the hidden meaning of Kong Lingyi's words.

Yuan Xiangcheng was already dissatisfied with Kong Lingyi, so he was naturally confused when he heard him speak like this. It was only after Xu Shichang explained that he suddenly understood.

"This damned Duke Yansheng really has the sour energy of a corrupt scholar."

Hearing this, Xu Shichang didn't say much. After all, Kong Lingyi's curse was indeed very unpleasant.

"Let's go, Juren." Yuan Xiangcheng turned and went downstairs: "As planned, we also have to go to the trial and witness this big drama in person!"

"Weiting!" Xu Shichang called out to Yuan Xiangcheng, "Don't provoke opposition from the Confucian scholars of the world!"

After saying that, the corners of his mouth twitched again, but in the end he said nothing and chose to follow Yuan Xiangcheng's footsteps.

On the other side of the tall building, Lu Zhengxiang sighed as he watched the receding figure of Duke Yansheng Kong Lingyi.

"I never thought that a newly crowned Duke Yansheng would possess such a scholarly demeanor."

Zhang Taiyan replied disdainfully: "You have such a demeanor? I'm afraid you haven't heard the meaning of his words yet!"

"What's the meaning of your words?" Lu Zhengxiang didn't learn the Four Books and Five Classics when he was young, so he didn't understand as much as Zhang Taiyan, a genuine scholar.

Zhang Taiyan did not explain first, but instead said bluntly: "Duke Yansheng, Duke Yansheng, is for the purpose of spreading the holy way. But hundreds of years ago, in order to survive, they took the initiative to shave their heads and change their clothes. They have reproduced until now. Can they still be called descendants of the saints?

But I wonder if Confucius, the sage 2000 years ago, also wore a long braid behind his head and a shirt with no front and centipede buttons as he walked through the streets like today.

"Uncle Mei, please be careful with your words!" Lu Zhengxiang gave a slight reminder.

"Well!" Zhang Taiyan stopped talking so recklessly and explained, "What Duke Yansheng said just now actually means this."

"Is there such a thing?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhengxiang quickly turned around and jokingly glanced at Tan Sitong standing beside him: "Fusheng, Confucius' words, they do have some merit!"

However, Tan Sitong was seen frowning and thinking about something, and it was obvious that he had already understood the meaning of the words.

Seeing this, Lu Zhengxiang had no choice but to give up and picked up the teacup and drank it all!

Tan Sitong had just said that Confucius' words had some merits, and Duke Yansheng humiliated him in the street.

This boomerang seemed to come too fast.

"Let's go to the Governor's Office and see what kind of person this Yansheng Duke is!"

Zhang Taiyan was the first to walk down the stairs. Seeing this, Lu Zhengxiang could only hurriedly pull Tan Sitong to follow.

Chapter 161 The Qing Dynasty Chief Justice

Song Qing brought Kong Lingyi and quickly arrived in front of the governor's office. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, they were greeted by an open space in the courtyard covering several hundred square meters.

On the other side of the open space is a semi-open building with a plaque reading "Qinmin Hall". There is no wall in front, only a few pillars.

In the back room, one can see a trial table, and on the wall behind the table hang four large characters: "A clear mirror hangs high."

"Sir Kong, this is the Governor's Office." Song Qing pointed to the courtroom and said, "Please wait on the left. I will have the officers bring the prisoner in for interrogation."

The governor personally judges the case, but what about the provincial judge?

Kong Lingyi was puzzled: "I wonder where the Censor is?"

Song Qing was not surprised to hear this and explained, "Master Kong, you may not know that being in charge of criminal matters in a region is indeed the job of the Censor.

But the post of Governor of Jiaodong is not a common practice after all. It was established to deal with the tax-free sector. Therefore, I, the Governor, simply took on the role of Censor.

"I see," Kong Lingyi said, cupping his hands and pretending to praise him, "Sir Song is truly an old horse in the stable, yet he still has no time to stop."

"Mr. Kong, you are too polite." This poem by Cao Cao was widely circulated, and Song Qing had also heard of it.

He thought Kong Lingyi was praising him again, so he clasped his fists in thanks, then went to the back hall and left.

Little did people know that the next sentence after “an old horse in the stable” should have been “his ambition is to run a thousand miles”, but Kong Lingyi followed it with “there is still no end in sight”.

Even the tortoise may live long, yet it has its end; even the old horse, still in the stable, has the ambition to run a thousand miles. This is the original line of the poem.

If the first half of the sentence is translated, it means that although the divine turtle is long-lived, its life will eventually end. It expresses an attitude of not admitting defeat and becoming stronger as one grows older.

But if it is changed to "An old horse in the stable, still has no time to finish."

If you read it carefully, you will feel the aggressive feeling of "You old man have been on the battlefield for a long time, why are you still alive?"

It was because Song Qing couldn't hear it that he was humiliated by Kong Lingyi many times without realizing it.

At this moment, Yuan Xiangcheng happened to walk in from the back hall with Arthur Morgan, and happened to hear these words.

Arthur Morgan was specially invited by Yuan Shikai to come and see the actual practice of judging cases in China.

As soon as Arthur Morgan heard that he could witness the "Chinese version of court trial" in person, he happily accepted the invitation.

"Sir Yuan." Song Qing bowed.

"No need to be so polite," Yuan Xiangcheng looked at Song Qing with some pity. His low level of education was indeed not good, as he had been taken advantage of several times.

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But it doesn't matter, I'll let you get back on track in a moment.

Yuan Xiangcheng continued, "Sir Song, please go to the back hall for questioning."

After hearing the conversation between the two, Kong Lingyi realized that the person who came in was Yuan Xiangcheng, the governor of the three northeastern provinces.

Before he could react, Yuan Xiangcheng took the initiative to step forward and greeted him: "Ah, the name of Yanshenggong is really better than seeing it once.

Although Master Kong has just come of age, he is also a handsome man, a rare talent among men!"

So you're behind me? Sikong Lingyi squinted his eyes, thinking quickly in his mind.

Song Qing and Yuan Xiangcheng both belonged to the Jiashen Five Armies. When Yuan Xiangcheng entered the pass, he defeated Song Qing's Jiashen Front Army, but Song Qing did not become a prisoner. Instead, he rebelled on the spot and became a member of the National Defense Army.

Now Song Qing is interrogating the tenants of the Kong family in front of me. Is this at your instruction, Governor Yuan?

But I have no grudge against you in the past and no hatred against you today, so why do you treat me like this?

However, at this moment, Kong Lingyi, even if he had a lot of doubts, could only keep them in his heart. After exchanging a few words of greeting, he quietly walked to the armchair on the side of the trial table and sat down leisurely.

Seeing this, Yuan Xiangcheng also sat down on the other side and settled Arthur Morgan at the edge of the court. After a while, the sergeants from the third shift and sixth room also walked into the court and stood still.

The trial begins!

There are generally three places for local government offices to judge cases, namely the main hall, the second hall, and the third hall.

The first court decides major cases that affect interstate governments, while the second court decides medium-sized cases that affect local areas.

As for minor matters such as neighborhood disputes and trivial matters, they are usually heard in the third court.

Please note that the three local halls here are not the three central halls.

The three halls in the local area refer to three rooms, which are arranged in order from the front to the back after entering the yamen gate.

The three central halls refer to the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate, which are the three institutions in charge of criminal supervision.

A three-court trial refers to the cooperation of three parties to judge a case.

Old man 8607380*