Chapter 10: The Law is Not Merciful

Lao Yu was shocked. The imperial edict hasn't arrived yet, but you've already set up a government office.

Not bad, it looks decent and much better than the shabby county government office in Suiyang.

Lao Yu didn't say anything else, he just admired her secretly:

This brother cannot be ignored. As soon as Lao Yang and I left, he set up the case review bureau.

The place where the case is handled is quite grand.

Lao Yu looked carefully and found that besides the housekeeper Li Ai, whom he was familiar with, there were also a few thugs serving as errand boys around Li Ji.

The four bailiffs were as ferocious as wolves and tigers, looking ferocious and evil.

He nodded to the Censor Yuwen Zhu and sat quietly, wanting to see how Li Ji would begin his investigation.

"Send the message to General Linghu Da of the Left Guard!"

Li Ji threw the gavel with a loud bang, startling everyone in the room.

Linghu Da, General of the Left Garrison of the Sui Dynasty, was invited to the mountain temple at some point in time.

Li Ji's face was frosty, and he asked coldly:

"General Ling, open up the supervision channels and implement all-round supervision. This is the ancestral instruction of the emperor. Do you know?"

Linghu Da knelt on the ground and answered loudly:

"I understand!"

Li Ji raised his voice and said, "I'm glad you understand!"

"I would like to ask you, as the deputy envoy of the Tongji Canal, you once wrote a letter to accuse Zhao Er, the supervisor of the canal, of violating the law. Why did the matter end up in vain?"

Linghu Da was confident and answered loudly:

"Your Excellency, I did discover that the supervisor had committed some improper acts, and I promptly reported the case to the court, but..."

"Don't be secretive or hesitant, just tell me as soon as possible!"

"Your Excellency, I have submitted my petition to the Eastern Capital's Central Gate Envoy Duan Da Duan. As for why Central Gate Envoy Duan received it but did not report it, I have no idea."

Li Ji asked sternly, "Why don't you follow up and supervise?"

Linghu Da shuddered and turned to look at Lao Yu and the Censor.

"My Lord, you don't know that this government office has a strict hierarchy and is managed in sections. I dare not act beyond my authority!"

Li Ji raised his eyebrows and pointed with his finger.

"Isn't this too 'bureaucratic'? The case is obviously serious, but they concealed it, reported it late, or missed it. Someone come!"

The guards on both sides responded in unison: "Yes!"

Li Ji threw the token to the ground and shouted:

"First, give General Ling ten great blows to make him reflect on himself."

The runners on both sides of the yamen were all refugees taken in by Li Ji, and they hated the government’s bad habits and officialdom the most.

Now that I have the order in hand, I will vent all the new and old grudges at once.

"Snapped!"

…

Without waiting for Li Ji to shout " start" , they pinned Linghu Da down and started beating him up.

It's a pity that Linghu Da usually lives a life of luxury and has never received such treatment.

He was so embarrassed and confused that he suffocated and passed out.

Li Ji gave an order:

"Cold water hits the top!"

“Crash!”

A yamen runner poured a tray of cold water on Linghu Da's head.

Linghu Da shuddered and woke up suddenly.

He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Master Li, I am innocent!"

Li Ji threw the gavel and said, "General Ling, you are an official appointed by the imperial court, but you have neglected your duty and yet you still cry out for injustice. Someone, come here! Give me ten more blows!"

After twenty strokes of the cane, Linghu Da was almost dying.

Li Ji walked up to Linghu Da, leaned over and whispered in his ear:

"General Ling, this is the first time I'm handling a case. Please bear with me."

The yamen runners on both sides helped Linghu Da up.

Linghu Da was carried to a bench at the side of the lobby and made to lie down to rest. It was obvious that he had been beaten so badly that he could not walk.

Lao Yu thought to himself, this is simple, the Central Gate Envoy Duan Da must have accepted a huge bribe from Zhao Er.

As the saying goes: If you take something from someone, you will be grateful; if you eat something from someone, you will be soft-hearted. That's why I covered up for him. Is it because I took something from someone else?

Li Ji then announced the progress of the investigation into the case.

"After our investigation, we found out that the canal was dug to Suiyang City. The wealthy people in Suiyang City were afraid that their ancestral tombs and houses would be dug up, so they offered 10,000 taels of gold to Zhao Er."

Lao Yu nodded continuously, saying that the young man was very meticulous in handling the case.

"Take Zhao Er!"

Supervisor Zhao Er walked into the hall and saw a young man sitting there, he couldn't help laughing.

You're just a kid, and you want to punish me?

Li Ji shouted:

"What's your name, sir?"

Zhao Er opened his eyes and replied in a sarcastic tone:

"You're asking even though you already know the answer! My name is Zhao Er, what's wrong?"

Li Ji shouted angrily:

"Do you admit your guilt? When you were digging the canal, you made a detour of twenty miles to avoid Suiyang City."

Supervisor Zhao Er pointed at Li Ji's nose and started to curse:

"You little brat, you dare to interrogate me. I am an official appointed by the imperial court. I dug the canal in compliance with the imperial order. What crime have I committed?"

Li Ji was stunned, and a feeling of anger surged in his heart.

"Come here, the criminal dared to roar in court and defy this official. Slap him twenty times."

Li Ai gave a wink and the two fierce yamen runners took off their cloth shoes.

He went up and held Zhao Er's shoulders, and then there was a slapping sound.

Supervisor Zhao Er was unable to speak or move his hands, but was beaten by the yamen runners on duty until his mouth was full of blood.

After a while, his upper and lower lips became swollen. When Li Ji saw it, he almost laughed out loud.

Zhao Er's head instantly turned into a big pig's head.

Li Ai then suggested to Li Ji:

"This person is stubborn and obstinate, and should be severely punished."

Li Ji thought that it would be difficult to bring the criminal to justice without severe torture.

He turned around and asked Li Ai:

"Which kind of punishment is cruel?"

Li Ai replied quietly:

"The copper is melted and poured into the prisoner's mouth, destroying his intestines and stomach. This is the punishment that prisoners fear the most."

Li Jidian gave his first approval.

He stretched out his hand and swung the gavel, with a sound that shook the world.

"Come here, punish me severely!"

The yamen runners had already arrived and, as ferocious as wolves and tigers, they dragged Zhao Er to the iron pillar, stripped him of his clothes, and tied him to the pillar.

Another person brought the copper liquid, which was still boiling, and was about to be poured into Zhao Er's mouth.

Zhao Er was so frightened that he shouted loudly:

"I confess. Is it not enough for me to confess?"

Li Ji and everyone else had no choice but to listen to Zhao Er's tearful story.

It turned out that when the canal was dug to Sui Yang, Zhao Er received a group of visiting citizens.

A leading wealthy businessman named Wan Guanjun whispered to Zhao Er that if a canal was dug to take a detour, he would be willing to offer a huge sum of gold.

Zhao Er was also blinded by the money. He thought, as the supervisor of the canal, he had the final say on where to dig the canal.

It is not difficult to accomplish this task, and ten thousand taels of gold can be easily obtained.

The wages of avarice is death.

Take money from others and help them eliminate disasters.

Therefore, Zhao Er ordered the servants to take a detour to the west and head east, and they actually vacated Sui Yang City.

After Zhao Eryi finished speaking, Li Ji looked murderous and said coldly:

"Okay, Supervisor Zhao. I am also following orders. Don't blame me for being harsh. Someone, temporarily detain Zhao Er in Suiyang Prison."

When Linghu Da saw that Zhao Er had been taken away, he continued to report.

Zhao Er was caught eating the babies of common people.

He colluded with the local villain Wu Daode.

He privately accepted ten thousand taels of gold from the citizens of Suiyang.

All matters such as unauthorized changes to the river course were exposed.