The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Please let me go, Chief!"

He looked over when Hei Fu heard the voice, but saw that the man was disheveled, still wearing a short brown shirt in the middle of winter, and was tied tightly to the pillar of the stable with a hemp rope.

He asked the people beside him, "Who is this?"

Dongmen Bao, the thief, replied, "This is the thief we just caught."

"I'm not a thief!" The young man yelled again. Although his body was tied tightly, he stretched his neck and shouted, "Captain, I'm just an ordinary soldier. I'm really wronged!"

"Wronged?"

Dongmen Bao sneered, raised his fist and waved at the man, threatening him, "Mao, it's snowing, why don't you stay at home and wander around in Yangshu alone? What do you want to do?"

The young man named "Mao" shrank and muttered, "I... I'm visiting a friend..."

"Visiting a friend? Who are you visiting? Where is his home? Can you testify for you? You are from Xiaoqingli, and you have no relatives in Yangshuli. You said you were visiting a friend, but you didn't go through the main gate. Instead, you wandered outside the inner wall. I'm afraid you want to climb over the wall to steal chickens and dogs!"

Li Xian also joined in questioning the man. Compared with Dongmen Bao, Li Xian's questioning was more detailed, and each sentence hit the nail on the head, leaving Mao speechless and making Hei Fu think more highly of him.

It turned out that as a rural police officer, one of the daily duties of the clerks of the pavilion was to patrol the area under their jurisdiction. If a strong man was found wandering around and not working, he would be questioned about his identity. If the person being questioned showed fear and turned around to run away, he could even be arrested immediately!

After the snow stopped this morning, Dongmen Bao, who was seeking thieves, discussed with several people in the pavilion and felt that every winter, the number of thieves would increase, so he went out on patrol with Li Xian and Xiao Tao.

As expected, in the "Yangshuli" east of Huyang Pavilion, they found the rat-headed soldier Wu Mao wandering by a collapsed inner wall. Dongmen Bao shouted and questioned, Mao actually ran away, so they chased him, and after running a few hundred steps, they captured him and took him back to the pavilion and locked him up.

"Hey, you look fierce and have a loud voice. I thought you were a thief, how could you not run? Pavilion Chief, I really am not a thief, please let me go." Mao was still quibbling and begging.

But everyone ignored him. This man looked suspicious. Even if he was not a thief, he was at least a "Jiang Yang crime", that is, a vagrant crime, and he must not be let go. They began to discuss when to take him to the county or the township.

You know, although the pavilion department has the responsibility to arrest thieves, it does not have the power to judge and execute. At most, it will ask a few simple questions and temporarily detain them for one or two days, and then transfer them to the county or township to be tried by the magistrate or the township official.

In the past month or so, similar cases were originally decided by Dongmen Bao and the three guards. Now that the guard has taken office, the matter will naturally be decided by Hei Fu.

Hei Fu looked up at the sun hidden in the clouds. After returning to this era, he gradually acquired the skill of reading the sky and knowing the time that only the old countrymen in his previous life had.

"It's past the end of the market (17:00). It's a bit late to send him to the county town or the township. It's snowy and the roads are slippery. It's easy to get into trouble at night. Let's escort him out early tomorrow morning."

Then he asked, "Is there an 'an prison' in the pavilion?"

Just as Xiao Tao was about to answer, Yu Liang rushed to say, "Yes, it's in the front yard!"

Hei Fu nodded, "You two can take him there and lock him up."

"Yes!"

The 'an prison' is a temporary detention center in the pavilion. Seeing that Mao's arms and legs were red from the cold, Hei Fu added, "Give him more straw to sleep with, so he won't freeze to death at night."

...

After Mao was taken away by Yu Liang and Xiao Tao, Hei Fu, accompanied by Pu Zhang, Dongmen Bao and Li Xian, continued to familiarize himself with the various areas of the pavilion.

After entering the simple but sturdy courtyard gate, he saw two courtyards in front and back.

Next to the front door, there are two small houses on the left and right. The left house is Pu Zhang's residence, with a low couch. As a pavilion father, Pu Zhang does not catch thieves, but only welcomes and sends people. He has to guard the door. If there are passers-by who come to stay overnight, or officials who come to eat and feed horses on business, he has to greet them.

The right house has only a cushion, a small table, and a small gong hanging next to it. There is a window to the outside. Sitting here, you can have a clear view of the road conditions.

Pu Zhang introduced: "I only guard the door at night. During the day, there must be a pavilion guard here to watch the road. If there are cars, horses, and pedestrians passing by, they will go over to ask. If there is an alarm, the gong should be struck immediately."

Pavilion means to stop, which is similar to the road checkpoints in later generations. Maintaining road security and checking pedestrians are also the basic functions of the pavilion. Hei Fu was stopped and questioned by the pavilions along the way several times when he went back and forth to the county town. He was no stranger to it. So in Qin, unless you travel in the dark at night, your ID card will be checked every time you walk a distance.

Alas, poor Shang Jun, when he fled, he must have avoided pavilions and trudged through the weeds. I wonder how he felt about the system he established himself, was he very happy? Or was he full of regrets?

After entering the yard, the room on the left was the toilet, and next to the toilet was the prison where prisoners were detained.

Hei Fu went over to take a look. The prison was small, and there was an unpleasant smell of urine when he got close. The soldiers lay dejectedly in the straw, perhaps because they were too hungry to make any noise.

This man might have been desperate and wanted to commit theft, but he failed. At least he would be sentenced to a crime of thiefdom. What awaits him may be one to three years of labor reform. There will be one more laborer in the civil engineering team of Anlu...

After Xiao Tao and Yu Liang locked the door of the prison, Hei Fu sent them to the door to watch the way.

Hei Fu went around to the right side of the yard, which was the room where weapons were placed. The pavilion chief was a military officer who could have weapons. In this room, there were five weapons: spears, halberds, bows, swords, and halberds, as well as two pieces of armor. If he applied to the county, he could even be allocated the standard weapon of the army: the crossbow.

Hei Fu was not in a hurry to check the weapons. His attention was attracted by the small pavilion standing in the middle of the front and back yards.

The pavilion is three feet high, with a slanting top. There is a ladder inside for going up and down the pavilion. The steps are three feet high. There is a stove on the second floor of the pavilion, which can be lit to produce smoke...

Without the introduction of others, Heifu already understood: "Although Anlu County has not been at war for many years, it is close to the E area of Chu State. Two years ago, there was a county-wide alert. Therefore, the pavilion should have the function of a stronghold to defend against the enemy. No wonder there is a circle of trenches dug outside the yard. If the two countries go to war and Chu soldiers cross the river and cruise here, I will inevitably have to close the door to defend against the enemy, and then light the fireworks in the pavilion to warn the county..."

After passing the pavilion, it is the backyard, which is much larger than the front yard. There is a mulberry tree with all its leaves fallen in the yard. The row of bungalows on the left is the guesthouse for entertaining officials on business trips. There is also a row of side rooms on the right. Heifu, Qiudao, the pavilion guards, and the postman all live here, and there is a kitchen next to them.

At this time, Pu Zhang asked to leave, he was going to the kitchen to prepare food.

Continue walking forward, the small hall opposite is the office of Heifu, the owner of the pavilion.

This hall has been built for some years, there is a layer of snow on the roof, and a lot of dead grass emerges from the snow. The square bricks at the door are uneven, some are broken, and the wooden door creaks a bit. After entering, the wall is also a bit mottled, but the floor and the table are all cleaned and wiped spotlessly.

"I received news from the county that Heifu will take office after the La Festival, so I asked Pu Zhang to clean up early."

Dongmen Bao said with high morale: "Once Heifu comes, we can show our skills in this Huyang Pavilion!"

"I have to rely on you." Heifu nodded with a smile, and then said to Li Xian: "I heard from Pu Zhang that you have been keeping the documents in the pavilion for more than a month? Take them out and check them first."

In this pavilion, Pu Zhang, Yu Liang, and Xiao Tao are illiterate. Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying can read roughly. In addition to Heifu, the only person who can write official documents is Li Xian, who has a better family background. Therefore, although he is a pavilion guard, his importance in the pavilion is higher than Xiao Tao and Yu Liang, and his status is second only to the thief Dongmen Bao.

Li Xian immediately took out the two chi slips, documents, and even wanted orders in the room and let Heifu take a look.

Heifu sat at the desk, checking the documents while thinking.

Unlike the "one pavilion every ten li, one township every ten pavilions" of the Han Dynasty, the pavilions of the Qin Dynasty were not subordinate units of the township, but were directly under the system of lieutenants in the county.

The pavilion chief was not responsible for managing the villages, and did not need to get involved in tedious administrative matters, such as registering household registration and collecting taxes. He only needed to manage the public security of the ten nearby villages, supervise illegal activities, and train pavilion soldiers. Occasionally, he would greet and see off the passing postal officials, garrison soldiers, and public errands, and that was all.

To put it bluntly, it was the street police station of later generations, which also served as a guesthouse and post office. It was neither a subordinate of the township government nor a superior of the village community, but it had to manage the public security in between. Therefore, there were not many documents, most of which were orders from the county and township to strengthen local order and be careful of thieves after winter, as well as several wanted orders.

The wanted poster was made of wood and had simple contents. It basically copied the criminal's "verification" and added his appearance, what he had done, and even his portrait. It was really difficult to catch the right person with this information. Hei Fu took a look and found that the "Mao" outside was indeed not the murderer and thief on the wanted poster, so it would not be a big deal to catch him.

Hei Fu finished flipping through the documents in a short while and was about to chat with Li Xian. He was very curious about why this man, who had both ability and family background, had fallen to being a guard...

Unexpectedly, at this time, there was a commotion outside.

"I'm back!"

The voice came before the person arrived. Hei Fu raised his head and looked at Dongmen Bao, who was playing with the hilt of his sword out of boredom.

No need to ask, as soon as you hear it, you know that it is Ji Ying who has returned...

...

When the three of them walked out of the hall, they saw a thin boy wrapped in thick winter clothes, with shoes full of snow and mud, walking into the backyard. It was Ji Ying.

Ji Ying didn't even have time to put down the backpack on his back. When he saw Hei Fu, he laughed and came over and hugged him.

"Brother Hei Fu, you are finally here!"

He was covered in snow and mud, and stained Hei Fu's new clothes. Hei Fu raised his hand helplessly and said, "Sit down first."

Ji Ying didn't care. He put down the backpack on his back, sat on the steps, took off his shoes full of snow and mud, and complained, "Hei Fu... Pavilion Chief, I have been a postman here for almost a month, and my legs are almost broken! This is really a hard job!"

"How many miles have you walked today?" Hei Fu threw him a piece of cloth and asked with a smile.

"Three, none of them are on the way. I have to run from east to west, then from west to south, and then go back to the north..."

Ji Ying complained and shouted to the kitchen: "Pu Zhang, help me boil some water! My feet are almost frozen!"

After getting Pu Zhang's response, Ji Ying opened his backpack. This is the standard equipment of the Qin postman. The backpack is covered with cloth. The letters inside are written on wooden tablets. A little rain will make them rusty.

"Huh!? Didn't I deliver all the documents sent by the township to the three villages? Why is there still one left?"

Ji Ying said, and took out a "letter" from it.

"I'm afraid you forgot it again." Dongmen Bao laughed at Ji Ying. Ji Ying had made mistakes twice this month. Fortunately, he delivered them on time in the end, otherwise he would have suffered the consequences.

"Absolutely not! I really delivered them today!" Ji Ying argued vigorously.

Hei Fu looked at the back and was surprised: "Wait a minute, this letter is not sealed, it is not an official document."

The letters of this era are composed of two pieces of wood. The lower piece is used to write text, and the upper piece is blank, covering the content of the lower piece. Then use a thin rope made of sedge and cattail called "sealing" to tie the upper and lower pieces tightly together, and put them together to form a letter.

If it is an official document, in order to prevent people from secretly opening it, it will also be "sealed", that is, a layer of special red sealing mud is pasted on the knotted part of the rope, and then the official seal is stamped.

Could it be a private letter? But in theory, except for the letters sent back by the front-line soldiers, the Qin post office does not accept private letters.

Ji Ying saw the letter in his hand and found it was indeed like this. He was even more surprised: "Not only is it not sealed, but it doesn't even say who wrote it, where it was sent to, and who received it?"

The postman in the village would not deliver such things to the pavilion. The people present looked at each other in bewilderment. In this case, it was not a private letter, but an... anonymous letter?

"Who secretly put this in? Let Nai Gong know, and I must teach him a lesson!"

Ji Ying was furious and was about to tear the straw rope on the letter and open it to see who wrote the letter!

"Wait!"

"Stop!"

In a flash, Hei Fu and Li Xian changed their colors and stretched out their hands at the same time, one on each side, and tightly grabbed Ji Ying's hands that were stretched out to the straw rope!

"This letter! Don't open it!"

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