Chaozhou Guangji Gate).
In the early years of Yongzheng, there was a place in Guangdong called Chaozhou, which is today's Chaozhou City, the famous hometown of world cuisine.
Of course, during the Qing Dynasty, this place was called Chaozhou Mansion.
Chaozhou Prefecture has eight county seats, of which there are two county seats, one is called Puning and the other is called Chaoyang.
Puning and Chaoyang are two places, it is near the sea, the climate is good, the humanities are abundant, and the hydrology is developed.
This water, it is the source of life, people need to drink water to live, animals need to drink water to survive, and water is also needed for plant irrigation, and the landform of these two counties, it is a flat river, very flat, so the fertile land is rich, and it is particularly fertile.
Puning and Chaoyang are two counties, but the county orders of these two counties are all done by one person, and the county officials of these two counties are called Lan Dingyuan.
Ladies and gentlemen, the story that the author wants to tell is not a folk tale, it does have historical data, and Lan Dingyuan is not a person I made up blindly, there is really such a county order in history.
Lan Dingyuan, small character Yulin, self-named Luzhou, he is a native of Zhangpu, Fujian, Yongzheng came to Puning, Chaozhou to do the county order in the fifth year, when he arrived, the Chaoyang County order was also vacant, and the court simply let him do it.
When Lan Dingyuan first arrived in these two counties, the people lived a relatively good life, because the people in this place not only had a grain harvest, but they could also go to the sea to fish at ordinary times, so that they could have another livelihood to support their families.
Moreover, in the sea area near Puning County, there are special products, specializing in the production of white ** and cockle seedlings, the former can be caught into medicine to make a home remedy, and the latter of this cockle seedling is also called a big clam, not only can be used in medicine, the meat is more tender, and it is more delicious than the fish in the sea.
In ancient times, the people were trapped all year round, that is, of course, relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the water to draft, there are special products in the sea, and they can be exchanged for money when they are sold, so there are many people who do this fishing business in the sea, so it is not surprising that there are thousands of boats on the sea at ordinary times.
Go out to sea to fish) However, where there are interests, it will compete for it, and catch up with the sea to make money by fishing, and slowly some people will be eyeing this piece of fat.
Some local rich and powerful portals, they sent their men to gather on the seaside, opened their eyes and said blindly, saying that the sea was their ancestral property and belonged to their own management, and then occupied the coastal ports, and did not allow ordinary people to salvage, which was tantamount to monopolizing this way of making money.
After the county magistrate Lan Dingyuan knew about this, he was quite angry, because before Lan Dingyuan became an official, he was also from a poor background, and it is said that when he entered Beijing to take the exam, he was poor, and he didn't even have the money to buy a steamed bun, and when he went out, he had a few grains of salt in his pocket, and when he was hungry, he fed it into his mouth.
He himself came out of the toiling people, so it is unreasonable to say that the local gentry and bullies are so monopolistic, and from an emotional point of view, Lan Dingyuan is also more willing to help the people.
Therefore, he immediately posted a notice, strictly prohibiting this kind of behavior, and demanding that the squires return the sea to the people.
However, prohibition is forbidden, and there are always people who do not listen to persuasion.
One day, Wu Yunfeng, a citizen of Puning, beat a drum and complained to the local prison students, Zheng Zhifeng and Zheng Zhixiu, two brothers, for occupying the sea.
According to Wu Yunfeng's confession, the Zheng brothers are not simply not allowed to let the people go to the sea, they are also very "business-minded", and they make rules externally, as long as they want to go to the sea to fish, they must pay them 30 "bonus money" every month, that is, management fees.
The people couldn't fight the squire bullies, and in order to make a living, they could only think that they were unlucky and reluctantly paid the money.
Wu Yunfeng usually pays money on a monthly basis, this month alone, something happened at home, the expenses are not small, the thirty copper coins were paid a little late, but they were also paid, but they didn't think about it, the Zheng brothers bullied people, thinking that this money should be honored early, you pay late, you just don't look down on our brothers, so after the Zheng brothers received the money, they not only did not let Wu Yunfeng go to the sea, but also took a few family mates to smash the boat used by Wu Yunfeng for fishing.
In the end, a few guys pressed Wu Yunfeng to the ground and beat him again, and then he walked away.
Moreover, such a thing is no longer together, Wu Yunfeng's Wu family, buddy brothers, and the thirty-fifth person, who are usually bullied by the Zheng brothers.
Jingshi Guozijian).
There is a Qing generation, and the ordinary people want to be officials, which is nothing more than a road for the imperial examination, but the imperial examination is a single-plank bridge crossed by thousands of troops, starting from the age of teens, until the examination is full of white hair, and even a person can not be mixed abound, so what should I do if I really can't take the exam and want to ask for a meritorious name?
The imperial court has a national eunuch, which is equivalent to a government-run university at that time, you spend some money to pay some blood and buy a prison quota, even if the imperial court has a meritorious reputation, then you are equivalent to being exempted from the imperial examination and have the qualification to be an official.
Of course, in fact, in essence, this prisoner is a name, you buy the index of the prisoner, and you may not have an official to do it, but after all, this is a striking fame, so those squires who have spare money and nowhere to spend it often flock to it, when you don't buy the prisoner, you are a rich man, you buy the prisoner, then you are half of the court.
After hearing this, Lan Dingyuan immediately sent the officials to arrest the Zheng brothers, but the Zheng brothers are full of words, and in their mouths, it is a completely different story.
The Zheng brothers said that Wu Yunfeng is a tenant in our family, wrapping our land, living by farming, we collect rent on a monthly basis, he doesn't give it, and he also relies on the Wu family to surround us in the yard and beat us.
What the Zheng brothers said is presentable, and this Zheng Zhixiu among them, he really came with an injury, and at first glance, he didn't let people beat him.
Wu Yunfeng wants to sue us, and we have to sue him!
In Lan Dingyuan's view, the verdict of the case is nothing more than four big words: common sense and human feelings, righteousness and justice.
Lan Dingyuan) We ordinary people, from the perspective of bystanders, of course, are more sympathetic to the weak, and probably think that the Zheng brothers are quibbling, but Lan Dingyuan went down to the people to visit, but most of the people supported the Zheng brothers and were willing to testify for them, and they all said that fishing and fishing in the Puning Sea were very free, and they had never heard of anything being occupied by bullies and paying red money.
The more the people said this, the more Lan Dingyuan felt that something was wrong, he thought that there were two possibilities for this matter, one was that the people were forced by the Zheng brothers to be obscene and did not dare to offend them, so they were more protective of them, and the other was that the Zheng brothers had money and skills, so they bought these people out.
Man, he often believes not the truth, but the truth that he himself wants to believe.
The general folk tales and wild histories are all interpreted in this way, but this time, it is really a bit reversed.
Lan Dingyuan turned around and interrogated Wu Yunfeng again, this shocked wooden shot, the officials on both sides knocked on the bottom with sticks, shouting "mighty" in their mouths, where did Wu Yunfeng experience this battle, it was all over in two minutes.
It turned out that the so-called sea affairs were all nonsense by Wu Yunfeng, and the real situation was that the Zheng brothers went to collect rent, and the Wu brothers had a conflict with the Zheng brothers, and the Wu family beat the Zheng brothers.
The facts of the case came to light, but Lan Dingyuan couldn't help but wonder, this folk brawl is common, and it's just a matter of fighting, even if it comes to the government, it is just dealt with in accordance with the law, and if you don't cut off your head, you can't be exiled for 3,000 miles, why did you come to the government to bite the Zheng brothers?
After asking carefully, it turned out that behind Wu Yunfeng, there was another master.
This person is a well-known lawyer in Puning County, called Lin Jiongbi.
In modern times, you have to find a lawyer, and in ancient times, you had to find a lawyer.
Moreover, the process of fighting lawsuits in ancient times is still relatively cumbersome, and it cannot be said that if you have a grievance, you will go to the yamen to beat the drum and voice the grievance, and if you go to report to the official without any preparation, it is very likely that you will be beaten with sticks.
You have to file a complaint, you can't dictate, you have to write a good form of complaint, what reason, what thing, what person, what place, you have to write clearly, you have to follow the process step by step.
Wu Yunfeng owed the Zheng brothers' land rent, not to mention, and reached out to beat them, he was panicked, so he found the lawyer Lin Jiongbi to give him advice.
In Lin Jiongbi's view, Wu Yunfeng's matter can be big or small, but the key is to seize the opportunity.
If the Zheng brothers go to the yamen to sue you for rent arrears and beating people, then you will definitely not be able to eat and walk around, but if you go to file a lawsuit first, and then make up a story about the Zheng brothers who bullied the good and ran rampant in the township, then you will become the plaintiff, and you will have the initiative.
It is not common for the people to beat the squire, and even fewer things beat the prisoners, but the story of the squire bullying and oppressing you, the flat-headed people, is not uncommon, you go to sue first, the county lord may have preconceived ideas, and he has a lot of sympathy for you, not to mention, the story you made up is that they occupy the sea, and the dividends are divided, and the county government has long banned it, they belong to the crime against the wind, and they really want to confuse you and convict you, that is a serious crime, and it is normal to be locked up for three years and five years, and as soon as the Zheng brothers are imprisoned, who else will collect your land rent？
It seems that this Lin Jiongbi is not a lawyer, but a solid lawyer, and thanks to this Lan Dingyuan's delicate mind and lack of partiality and belief, this is why the case is clear.
In the historical data, we can see the final verdict of this case:
Wu Yunfeng first. Thirty rods of each man, and he took out the stolen silver, and the clothes and the accounts, and the grain that had been rented, and returned them to the landlord, and they were still in shackles for two months.
The military division of the detention forest is in prison, waiting to be investigated and prosecuted in other cases, the amount of stolen money is confirmed, and the punishment is created according to the law.
Wu Yufeng and others who participated in the beating of the Zheng brothers were each given 30 strokes, and they were asked to pay the land rent in time, and then brought two months' shackles to set an example, while Lin Jiongbi was temporarily imprisoned to investigate these crimes of falsifying his testimony, and then wait for the punishment.
Interestingly, in the record, we can also see that the yamen also asked Wu Yunfeng to return the clothes and stolen silver, which shows that when the Wu family and the Zheng brothers were fighting, Wu Yunfeng not only beat people, but also robbed the Zheng brothers of their money, and even took off the clothes they were wearing and took them away.
The reason why you are clear is that you also listen, and those who are dark are biased to believe.
The county order is like this, and the people are like it.