1. Bao Gong appears

During the Ming Dynasty, a serial crime happened in a place called Mingshui County.

Early that morning, Zhao Yan, the prefect of Mingshui County, suddenly received a report that Suo Zhen, the river supervisor, had died at home. When Zhao Yan heard the news, he ran to Suo's mansion without even wearing his clothes. Although Suo Zhen was not a big shot, his brother Suo Lei was the prefect and Zhao Yan's immediate boss. The prefect's younger brother died in his jurisdiction, could he not panic?

When Zhao Yan rushed to Suo Mansion, he saw Suo Zhen's head rolling to the ground and blood spilling all over the ground.

Suo Zhen's face was full of fear, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have seen. Suo Zhen was with one of his concubines last night, and the concubine was still trembling until now. Zhao Yan asked the concubine what happened at night. Her lips kept shaking, and she only said two words for a long time: "Lord Bao!"

Zhao Yan frowned, how could this matter be related to Lord Bao? Catcher Yang Gang handed over another thing, a token. This kind of token is used in the court case, and the word "Bao" is written on the back of this token, which turned out to be from the Bao Gong Temple.

After a while, the concubine calmed down and said to Zhao Yan, last night, when they seemed to be asleep, a tall and big figure suddenly flashed in front of the bed, and her face could not be seen in the dark. Before she understood anything, she heard a loud roar: "Daring Suozhen, this official is Bao Zheng of Kaifeng Mansion, the crime you committed, this mansion is like a fire, I came to interrogate you tonight, but I didn't come from the truth!" That person turned out to be Bao Gong! The place where Mingshui County believed in Bao Gong the most, Suozhen shivered when she saw Bao Gong, and she was scared to death when she saw him, and she passed out in shock, and she didn't know what happened later.

Zhao Yan heard it, but before he could ask in detail, someone else came to report that something had happened at Bao Gong Temple. Zhao Yan immediately took people to Bao Gong Temple.

Mingshui County is very close to Chenzhou. It is said that Duke Bao was here when Chen Zhou put grain and solved many cases here. The most respected person in Mingshui is Duke Bao, and the most popular temple in the county is Baogong Temple.

Zhao Yan went to the Bao Gong Temple and saw the image of the Bao Gong trial in front of him. The Bao Gong in front of the book case, holding a few cases with one hand and stroking his beard with the other, had a kind of prestige and righteousness on his face. In a tube on the book case, there are some tokens, and there are three dragons, tigers, and dogs on the side of the Bao Gong statue, which are all modeled after the appearance in the Bao Gong play. Now, the mantle of the tiger head has been uncovered, and there is blood on the knife edge, and the blood is still fresh.

Zhao Yan fell into deep thought: Could it be that what happened last night was really done by Duke Bao? But soon I felt that this idea was absurd. Duke Bao has been dead for hundreds of years, how can he come out again?

The day after Suo Zhen's death, the prefect, Suo Lei, came to the county yamen and was furious with Zhao Yan. He asked Zhao Yan to solve the case within a month, catch the real culprit, and avenge his brother. Otherwise, he would be removed as prefect.

How dare Zhao Yan neglect and take out all his strength to solve the case, but after investigating the case for a few days, before finding any clues, another person died in the county, and the death was the same as Suo Zhen, and it was also a strange place.

The deceased's name was Hai Gui, a lawyer who often dealt with the yamen. Next to Hai Gui's body, there was a crime written by him. Counting the various crimes he had committed over the years, the terms and conditions were very clear. At the scene of the murder, the token in Bao Gong Temple was also found, and the mantle of the dog's head in Bao Gong Temple was also uncovered, with blood stains on it.

Less than ten days after Haigui died, another person died just like the first two. The third deceased was Yuan Qing, a little gangster who did everything he could to eat, drink, buy, and gamble. Next to the body of the little gangster Yuan Qing, although there was no crime, there was the money he stole and cheated, as well as the fake dice he used to play gambling, the dog head in Baogong Temple, which was dyed red with blood again.

In this way, in less than a month, three people were beheaded in a row, in exactly the same situation, and they were all related to Lord Bao.

By this time, there were already rumors outside that Duke Bao had appeared. The evil deeds of the three people were seen by Duke Bao, so they tried them at night. Zhao Yan was determined to catch the real culprit as soon as possible, get the case to light, and return the truth to the people.

2. Fake drama dead real people

Since these cases all happened at night, Zhao Yan asked the police officer, Yang Gang, to lead the soldiers on patrol at night, and they were not allowed to be distracted for a moment. As soon as they saw a suspicious person, they immediately arrested him. This was hard for Yang Gang, who had to handle cases during the day and patrol everywhere at night.

For several nights in a row, Zhao Yan didn't hear anything. The fourth night, Yang Gang hurriedly came to report: "My lord, this time I found a suspicious person."

Yang Gang said that these few days, he and the soldiers were patrolling everywhere, and he didn't dare to blink his eyes. Tonight, he was walking with a few soldiers when he saw a person walking on the road. He was carrying a burden and looked flustered, and he just walked forward with his head lowered. Yang Gang felt that something was wrong, and someone came out so late, there must be something wrong. He shouted, "Where is it, stop!"

The man was not scared, and when he heard this, he ran away. This confirmed that the man was guilty. Yang Gang led a few soldiers and chased after him, but they spent a lot of effort to catch up with the man. After the man was caught by them, he kept silent and could not ask a word. As if he was dumb in the first place. Yang Gang thought this man was very suspicious, so he brought him here.

Zhao Yan immediately ascended the hall. When the unknown person was brought up, he was tall and burly, with a dark face. Although he was wearing shabby clothes, Zhao Yan felt that this person was unusual, and asked him what his background was.

But the big black man knelt under the hall but was dumbfounded, looking straight at Zhao Yan, as if he was deaf.

Zhao Yan asked a few more questions, but he knelt down in the hall and said nothing.

Zhao Yan asked the servants to search for his body, but found a token in the Baogong Temple in the bag.

Holding the token, Zhao Yan thought that there were tokens around the deceased, and he also had such tokens on him, so this person must be related to this case. Zhao Yan asked the officers to put him in prison first, and then he would talk about it after finding out his identity.

The next day, Zhao Yan ordered his subordinates to check in the city. Whoever loses someone, report it immediately after finding it.

In less than a day, Yang Gang reported that a long-term worker named Shunzi from the Ma family said that he lost a long-term worker there yesterday. He was dark and tall, just like the mute yesterday.

Zhao Yan immediately sent that straight in.

Shunzi came in and described the long-term worker who had run away. Sure enough, he was exactly the same as the big black man in the prison. Shunzi said again that the man was called Old Hei, who came from other places and had only worked for less than a month. He left without saying a word to anyone that night.

Zhao Yan asked Junzi, what other characteristics does that old black man have?

Junzi blurted out, "He talks in his sleep, but he is good at singing." Just said one thing:

The long-term workers all lived in a large courtyard and slept in the big shop at night. They stayed together for a few days, and everyone found that Lao Hei had a problem, that is, he liked to talk in his sleep, and he sang in his dream. After falling asleep, he suddenly shouted "Zhang Long Zhao Hu Dynasty Ma Han", and said that people are not people, which scared everyone. After repeated questioning, he said that he was a rich boy who liked to sing Bao Gong plays, and his family wouldn't let him sing, so he ran out in anger and wandered here.

Zhao Yan thought that he must be hiding something and didn't dare to say it, so he simply pretended to be dumb. Zhao Yan didn't say that Lao Hei was here, but asked Shunzi to go back first.

But Shunzi took two steps and suddenly stopped. Zhao Yan felt that he remembered something and asked him to come back.

Junzi knelt down in the lobby again, but said, "There is something that I 'm afraid that my lord will not believe me!"

Zhao Yan said, "But it doesn't matter."

Only then did Shunzi say, "I vaguely feel that the matter of Bao Gong's appearance that has been rumored outside is related to this old black."

Junzi told Zhao Yan one thing.

When the long-term workers knew that Lao Hei liked to sing Bao Gong's plays, they let him sing a paragraph when they had nothing to do. Everyone had never been to the theatre to hear the play, and listening to Lao Hei's singing was considered an addiction.

Once, a long-term worker's home was demolished by Suo Zhen to expand the mansion, leaving him homeless. He could only complain to his accomplices.

Everyone was very angry when they heard it, especially Old Hei, whose face was so black that it was purple. There was a suggestion that it was better to let Old Hei play the role of Duke Bao and give Suo Zhen in the play! Although no one cares about people like Suo Zhen in this world, it is also good to relieve hatred. As soon as the proposal was said, everyone agreed.

As a result, everyone sang a play by "Bao Gong Rising Hall." Lao Hei shouted: "Open the rope -", and put the rope made of grass in the guillotine and gave it to the guillotine.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Suo Zhen really died.

A few days later, everyone thought of Haigui, the evil litigator. Haigui was insidious and vicious, often colluding with the rich, and the black and white were reversed, allowing the poor to lose the lawsuit. This person should have died long ago. If Lord Bao was alive, he must not be allowed to live in the world. As a result, everyone played a play of "Bao Long Tu Angry Sea Litigator" in the courtyard, and Lao Hei gave an order to give Haigui the grass again.

The next day, Haigui also died.

Everyone wonders, how to play who will die, could it be that the old black act is too real, the Bao Gong Temple in Bao Gong was moved?

Once again, the long-term workers remembered Yuan Qing, who was playing a rascal everywhere, and this person deserved to die, so everyone played another rascal play.

As a result, Yuan Qing also died the next day, and the news of Bao Gong's appearance quietly spread outside. Everyone believed it.

Unexpectedly, on the fourth time, everyone thought of Long Qing, the village owner of Luming Mountain. Long Qing had done a lot of evil, and should have been placed under Bao Gong's guillotine. But when it came to Long Qing, Lao Hei stopped singing, saying that his throat was sore, and he would talk about it in a few days. A few days later, people did not wait for Lao Hei and Long Qing, but he quietly ran away.

Zhao Yan listened to Shunzi's words and thought for a while, then suddenly smiled, asked him to step back first, and told him not to tell about it. Shunzi left in a panic.

3. Murder in a dream

As soon as Shunzi left, Yang Gang asked Zhao Yan, "Sir, is there any idea about the case?"

Zhao Yan said, "In the evening, let's put on a play, and we'll understand everything."

In the evening, the oil lamp in the county yamen's prison was on and off, and the old black was also asleep in the cell, snoring loudly.

At this time, a man with a half-cloak covering his head quietly opened the prison door and came in. He came to Lao Hei, squatted down, and quietly shouted in Lao Hei's ear: "Master Kaifeng Mansion Bao is here!"

Old Hei just sat up, but his eyes were still closed, but he opened his mouth and said, "Lord Bao, the villain Long Qing is guilty!" - - Isn't he dumb? How can he speak?

The man said in a very loud voice, "The crimes you have committed over the years, this official has already seen through the fire. You haven't come one by one, can't you ask this lord to judge you?"

Long Qing closed his eyes and said, "I, Long Qing, have occupied Luming Mountain. Although I have not provoked the people of Mingshui over the years, I have robbed and killed many merchants passing by here, not only silver taels, but also people's lives. I have killed thirteen people in the past few years, and all of them are innocent. I know that my crime is extremely evil, and I can't escape this calamity."

The man said again: "Zhang Long, Zhao Hu Dynasty, Ma Han, the dog head will serve you!"

Long Qing was so scared that his scalp was sweating, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "My lord, forgive me."

Only then did that person uncover his cloak, and it turned out to be Zhao Yan. Several lanterns were also raised in the prison. Someone took a basin of cold water and poured it on Long Qing's head, and Long Qing also opened his eyes.

Long Qing looked at the people in the prison and thought about what he said just now, and he knew in his heart that he had been exposed. Long Qing's meal was mixed with a drug, which made him fall into a deep sleep, unable to control his will, and unable to control the old habit of talking in his sleep. As a result, Zhao Yan's inquiry really revealed the truth.

Zhao Yan asked Long Qing: "Long Qing, how did you come here? You haven't recruited it from the truth."

Long Qing sighed and said,

Although Long Qing is a mountain king who kills people without blinking, he is still a fan of drama, and he especially likes Bao Gong drama. Whenever he hears a Bao Gong opera, he will definitely go there. A month ago, a famous actor came to the county to sing the Bao Gong opera. He came. Bao Gong opera sang in the county seat for seven days, and he watched it for seven days, and the more he watched it, the more he felt that he could not be the king of the mountain. He likes Bao Gong, but he is doing something shameful. If he was going to put himself in the Bao Gong drama, it would be a role in the dog's head. What's the power of this?

He became more and more conflicted in his heart, so he decided to give up Luming Mountain and become a responsible person. After the play in the county was over, he did not return to Luming Mountain, but went to the house of the rich man Ma and did a long-term job.

Zhao Yan asked again, "Then why did you run half way?"

Long Qing sighed and said, "It's only the long-term workers who insisted on letting me play the role of Bao Gong's current person, but after singing three times, three people died. I was a little scared, it seems that Bao Gong of Mingshui County is really spiritual! Later, they asked me to sing Long Qing's play, how could I do it myself? I ran out, but I didn't expect that I still couldn't escape."

Zhao Yan said, "Now that the case is finally solved, you are the murderer who killed Suo Zhen, Haigui and Yuan Qing."

Long Qing said, "My lord, I have never killed anyone since I arrived in Mingshui."

Zhao Yan said, "You have the problem of talking in your sleep, do you also have the problem of doing things in your dreams?"

Long Qing said, "I really have this problem. I often do something at night and don't know anything during the day."

Zhao Yan said: "That's right. You played the role of Duke Bao during the day, but the person was still alive, so you felt that this was not complete, so you went to kill the people during the day at night. That's why those people all died at night, and they died the same way. And you executed them in the way of Duke Bao's trial. You also brought those tokens to the scene of the murder, and you smeared the blood on the guillotine afterwards."

After hearing Zhao Yan's story, Long Qing couldn't help but laugh: "It's really a joke. I, Long Qing, have done many evil things in my life, but in my dreams, I became a good person and got rid of evil." He said to Zhao Yan, "My lord, Long Qing deserves to die, but the brothers in Luming Mountain are innocent, please don't make things difficult for those brothers." After saying that, he suddenly pulled out the waist knife of a soldier beside him and stabbed himself in the chest with a knife.

Zhao Yan looked at Long Qing's corpse and sighed, "This person is also a man of temperament. He still cares about his brother when he dies, but he took the wrong path and became a thief."

Yang Gang said, "The case can finally be closed, and we can also report to the prefect."

Zhao Yan said, "If the case is reported like this, the character of the prefect of Yisuo will definitely not let his brother die in vain. At that time, Shunzi, those long-term workers and the bandits of Luming Mountain will become Long Qing's accomplices, and they will not die alone."

Yang Gang asked, "Then, Lord Yi, what should we do?"

Zhao Yan said: "I always feel that there is something missing in this case. It's a pity that Long Qing died too fast and didn't ask clearly."

The next day, Zhao Yan went to Baogong Temple again. He and Yang Gang went to investigate separately, but after searching for a long time, they couldn't find anything useful. Suddenly, Yang Gang pointed to the hand stroking the beard of Baogong and shouted, "Sir, look here."

Zhao Yan stepped forward to take a look and saw a book stuffed into the sleeve of Duke Bao's hand. Since the cuff was facing up, the book could not fall off. And when people come to buy incense, no one dares to approach Duke Bao, but they are not discovered.

Zhao Yan took out the book from Lord Bao's sleeve and unfolded it to see that it was an account book. The owner of the account book was Suo Zhen. Inside, every account of the river builder was recorded, and it was a real account. When Suo Zhen made the account, he made two accounts, and the fake account was handed over to fool the court. This real account should have been left to him by Suo Zhen, and it was top secret. It clearly recorded every silver that Suo Zhenyin oversaw the river worker's embezzlement, and there was also a place to remember the silver he gave to his brother Sole Lei.

Zhao Yan let out a sigh of relief and said, "That's right, did you notice that the two dead people left evidence behind, so why didn't Suo Zhen leave it behind? In fact, he was left behind and put into Lord Bao's sleeve by Long Qing - in fact, even Long Qing didn't know about this matter. Now we can finally settle the case."

4. Bao Gong really appeared

The one-month deadline for Prefect Suolei to Zhao Yan is coming soon, and Zhao Yan goes to the government office to see Prefect Suolei.

Sorley asked Zhao Yan how the case was going.

Zhao Yan said, "Sir, the case has been solved. This case is indeed the manifestation of Duke Bao!"

Sorley was furious and said, "These rumors are just for common people to talk about, how can you believe it?

Zhao Yan said, "I have evidence." He unhurriedly handed Suo Zhen's account book to Sorley, but now the account book handed over to Sorley is somewhat incomplete, and all the good noodles have been torn off.

Sorley took the ledger and took a breath of cold air. The more he turned down, the uglier his face became.

Zhao Yan takes the opportunity to say, "I found this in the sleeve of Duke Bao's statue. I think it must be Duke Bao who broke through Suo Zhen's privacy and felt that he deserved to die as a crime, so I killed him. Our Duke Bao in Mingshui has always been effective."

Sorley suddenly threw the ledger on the bookcase and said, "We have such a scum in our Suo family. If Suo Zhen dies, he will die. I think this case should be closed."

Zhao Yan immediately retired.

After leaving the prefect's mansion, Zhao Yan ran to Mingshui County. Yang Gang couldn't hold back his words and asked, "Sir, is this case really closed? Prefect Suo really believes in the appearance of Duke Bao?"

Zhao Yanzai immediately said, "He has a ghost in his heart. People with ghosts are afraid of gods, especially gods like Duke Bao."

Zhao Yan added:

Before giving Sorley the ledger, he deliberately made the ledger incomplete. He tore off half of everything about Sorley and exposed half of it. Let him know that his brother Suo Zhen still left a hand on him, and this kind of brother died just right.

Yang Gang directly praised Zhao Yan's wisdom, but said, "Why didn't the lord use this ledger to poke out the corrupt official Sorley, wouldn't it be another harm?"

Zhao Yan said, "Solei had deep roots in the dynasty, how can an account book get him off the stage? Or what I said, those who have ghosts in their hearts are afraid of God. Sooner or later, Bao Gong will appear and use a guillotine to kill this corrupt official."

Yang Gang asked again, "How can we explain to the people in the county when we go back?"

Zhao Yan said, "Bao Gong's appearance! Do you know that those long-term workers in Shunzi want to play the show of Bao Gong? And why did the news of Bao Gong's appearance spread so quickly? In fact, all the common people hope that Bao Gong can really appear, and hope that an honest official like Bao Gong will make decisions for them and clean up the bad people. Don't we just conform to public opinion by doing this?"

After Zhao Yan returned to the county office, he issued a notice informing the whole county: The case has finally come to light, and it is indeed Bao Gong's manifestation. The three people who died were all worthy of death, and God did not wrong them at all. It can be seen that Bao Gong's heroic spirit has not dissipated, and justice has always existed. If anyone does evil so that he can't see it, he will come out and appear.

Soon, the story of Bao Gong's appearance spread all over the county, and it was also spread as an anecdote from other places. From then on, the incense of Bao Gong Temple became more prosperous, and people from all over the county came to Bao Gong Temple to drink incense. Mingshui County also did less evil, probably because they were afraid of Bao Gong's appearance. And the bandits on Luming Mountain also broke up, probably because they saw Long Qing's end and understood the truth that evil will not last long.