In fact, Li Mu had seen Lord Zhang just now and guessed that he might be scared when he saw the situation.
But he had to stand up in front of so many people since he had caught them. After all, Li Mu was only an arrester. He only had the power to catch people but not to try cases.
Li Mu walked to the back of the office and saw a figure about to slip away from the back door.
Li Mu raised his hand and said, "Lord …"
It was impossible to slip away now. Zhang Chun turned around and coughed softly. He put on a serious face and said, "It's Li Mu. I just came back. What's the matter?"
Li Mu went straight to the point and said, "A few officials' sons were riding horses on the street and almost hurt the people. I brought them back and need you to try them."
Zhang Chun said, "What's there to try? According to the law, they should be flogged 30 times and imprisoned for seven days. You decide."
Li Mu said, "I'm just an arrester. I don't have the power to punish them."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Wu suddenly ran in and said, "Lord, the Prime Minister is here."
Among the three officials in the government office, the positions of Divine Capital Magistrate and Prime Minister had always been held by officials from other offices because of the frequent changes. The Prime Minister was the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Rites.
Zhang Chun walked out and a man in official uniform looked at him. He cupped his hands and said, "I'm Zheng Bin. Is this the new Commandant of the government office?"
Zhang Chun cupped his hands in return and said, "I'm Zhang Chun. Greetings, Lord Zheng."
After that, he changed his tone and pointed to the people in the government office and said, "It just so happens that there's a case in the government office to deal with. Since Lord Zheng is here, Lord Zheng should start the trial …"
"It's just a small matter like riding horses on the street. There's no need to start the trial …" Zheng Bin waved his hand and said, "Just keep an eye on them and make sure they don't do it again."
"I'm afraid that's not good." Zhang Chun looked at the people outside the government office and said, "Riding a horse on the street harms the people. According to the law, he should be flogged 20 times and imprisoned for seven days as a warning to others."
Zheng Bin frowned. He thought for a moment and said, "If it's just riding a horse and not harming the people, according to the law, we can also pay for the crime. Twenty beatings can be paid for two taels of silver. Seven days of imprisonment can be paid for seven taels of silver …"
Zhang Chun nodded and said, "There is indeed such a clause in the law. Lord Zheng is really astute."
Zheng Bin acted as if he didn't understand the hidden meaning of his words. He walked over to them and said, "According to the law, each of you will be fined nine taels of silver. Don't do it again."
The young man named Zhu Cong lowered his voice and said, "You know that's not what I want …"
Zheng Bin said in a deep voice, "There are so many commoners watching outside. If the guards are alerted, it won't just be a matter of fine."
Although Zhu Cong was the son of his superior, Zheng Bin didn't want to stand up for him in this kind of matter.
Riding a horse on the street was against the law. If the government office insisted on doing it according to the law, they would be flogged and imprisoned for seven days. It would be the best outcome if they could get away with the fine.
This matter had nothing to do with him. If it weren't for Zhu Cong's status, Zheng Bin wouldn't have bothered to interfere.
The situation in Luoyang was unclear and there were undercurrents. It was best to solve it this way. If the matter was blown out of proportion, it wouldn't end well. Wouldn't he be in trouble?
Zhu Cong finally fell silent. He took out a banknote and handed it to Zheng Bin. He said, "This is our fine. Keep the change …"
He walked past Li Mu and grinned at him. "We'll meet again."
With that, he strode out of the government office with the others.
Zheng Bin handed the banknote to Zhang Chun and said, "I'm leaving too. Before I go, I'd like to remind Lord Zhang that we, as officials, must teach our subordinates well. Don't meddle in things that shouldn't be meddled in, and don't say things that shouldn't be said. Don't be dragged down by them …"
Zhang Chun glanced at him and said lightly, "I've taught my subordinates well. Lord Zheng, you don't have to worry."
Zheng Bin looked at him one last time and turned to leave.
Li Mu sighed and said, "I've troubled you again."
Zhang Chun patted him on the shoulder and comforted him. "You're just doing what a bailiff should do. You're in your position and you're in charge. This is my trouble."
"You mean you're not afraid of me causing trouble?"
"I'm afraid. You have His Majesty behind you, but I don't …"
Li Mu said, "Are you complaining about His Majesty?"
Zhang Chun said, "How would I dare to complain about His Majesty? His Majesty is wise and observant. He serves the country and the people. Other than being a little biased, he's good in every way …"
In fact, Li Mu didn't want to cause trouble for Lord Zhang, but he was just a lowly bailiff. Even if he wanted to bear the burden for him, he wasn't qualified.
He sighed and said, "If only I could be the Shendu Commandant."
Zhang Chun looked at him and said, "If you're the Shendu Commandant, what will I do?"
Li Mu explained, "I'm saying if …"
"If that's what you mean, that's what you really think …"
"No …"
Zhang Chun suddenly looked at Li Mu and said, "I understand. You want to keep causing trouble so that you can send me in as soon as possible. That way, you'll have a chance to replace me, right?"
Li Mu hurriedly said, "You're mistaken, Lord. I don't mean that …"
Zhang Chun said angrily, "I don't dare to do anything that you dare to do. Don't call me Lord. You're my Lord!"
Li Mu thought about it and said, "Old Zhang, listen to me …"
Zhang Chun stared at him and said, "Okay, I'm still here and you don't even call me Lord. Have you not put me in your eyes since long ago?"
At this moment, Li Mu really wanted to send him in.
Zhang Chun left in a huff. The bailiffs led by Wang Wu looked at Li Mu with admiration.
Li Mu looked at Wang Wu and asked, "Does the Shendu Commandant really have a law that uses silver as punishment?"
In the North Commandery, silver was fine, but the punishment couldn't be reduced. This was the first time Li Mu saw that silver could be used as punishment.
Wang Wu nodded his head and said, "Unless it is a murder case, all other cases can be reduced or exempted from punishment through the fine of silver. This is the law set by the previous emperor. At that time, the national treasury was empty, so the previous emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice to change the law in order to enrich the national treasury …"
Li Mu shook his head. No wonder the Xiao Dynasty was getting worse and worse every year after Emperor Wen's death. Even if it was a rich and powerful family that enjoyed special privileges, the dynasties that openly displayed such privileges all died very quickly in the end.
On the surface, this law was targeted at everyone. As long as one had money, they could use silver as punishment.
However, ordinary people couldn't afford the silver used as punishment. To the officials and rich and powerful families, silver was nothing. This was why they were so unscrupulous and caused the current chaos in the Shendu Commandery.
Li Mu walked out of the yamen. Some of the people outside had yet to disperse.
This time, Li Mu felt an extremely weak telekinesis from them. It couldn't be compared to when they punished the old man.
It was clear that although Li Mu brought the officials' sons into the yamen, they swaggered out of the yamen. This would only make the people disappointed in the yamen and not trust it.
Li Mu returned to the yamen and asked Wang Wu to find a thick Law of the Great Zhou. After reading it carefully, he found this law.
This was simply a way to let the privileged enjoy more privileges. The law that was supposed to protect the people had instead become a tool to oppress them. The decline of the Xiao Dynasty was not surprising.
Li Mu flipped through a few more pages and found that the law of using silver as punishment had been abolished before. A few months later, it was reintroduced.
Regarding this, the book only briefly mentioned it and did not elaborate further.
Li Mu checked the Law of the Zhou Dynasty again and found the reason.
This book was a supplement to the explanation of the law. It also recorded the development and changes of the law. The book recorded that more than ten years ago, a young official from the Ministry of Justice proposed a change in the law. One of the changes was to abolish the use of silver as punishment. Unfortunately, this change only lasted for a few months before it was declared a failure.
Li Mu was not surprised by this. The various changes proposed by that official were from the perspective of the people. They harmed the interests of the privileged and would inevitably encounter unimaginable resistance.
Li Mu walked out of the yamen with a helpless expression.
As long as the law was still in place, he couldn't do anything to these people. As an arrester, he had to act according to the law.
The sound of hurried horse hooves came from the front. The young man galloped past Li Mu and turned his horse back. He said, "Isn't this Arrester Li? I'm sorry, I was riding on the street again …"
He had a mocking expression on his face. He threw down an ingot of silver and said, "I'm a just and law-abiding citizen. Here's ten taels of silver. Arrester Li, help me hand it over to the yamen. The remaining one tael is your hard-earned money …"
The people behind him threw down the ingot with a smile and rode away.
Wang Wu's face showed anger. He shouted, "These bastards are too arrogant!"
Deputy Arrester Sun shook his head and said, "What can we do? They didn't break the law. We can't do anything to them …"
Li Mu suppressed the anger in his heart and continued patrolling with Xiao Bai.
Not long after, the sound of horse hooves came from behind again.
Li Mu turned around and saw the young master riding a horse galloping towards him. When he was only two steps away from Li Mu, he tightened his grip on the reins. The handsome horse raised its front hooves abruptly and slammed down heavily.
"What a coincidence, Arrester Li. We meet again …"
He reached into his pocket and took out a banknote. He threw it to Li Mu and said, "This is a hundred taels. I'll buy it ten times. The rest is yours …"
The first time was a coincidence, but the third time was obviously an undisguised insult.
The few arresters who followed Li Mu turned red, but they didn't dare to do anything.
Wang Wu looked at Li Mu and said, "Boss, bear with it …"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "I really can't bear it."
Some things could be tolerated, but some things could not. If he could swallow it after being insulted like this, how could he face Xuandu next time? How could he be qualified to call him brother?
Zhu Cong was still riding on the horse with a mocking expression on his face. Suddenly, he felt his chest tighten and was pulled off the horse.
Li Mu's right hand moved like a shadow and slapped Zhu Cong's face left and right. In the blink of an eye, Zhu Cong's head swelled.
Li Mu kicked him away and took out an ingot of silver from his pocket and threw it at him. "You're fined ten taels of silver for fighting on the street. Keep the change. We're so close, so don't be polite with me …"
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