Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

086: The Murder Case of the Buddha of Shazhou

Zhang Xizhou looked at Su Wen and said, "Imperial Envoy Su, you were absolutely right. What should we do now?"

Su Wen strode toward the courtroom and said, "Rumors couldn't have spread throughout Shazhou in a single day. They must have been circulating for a long time, only causing ripples after the death of the Tibetan envoy today. I'll deal with this matter first. You should immediately send someone to investigate where these rumors originated!"

Zhang Xizhou nodded in agreement.

Su Wen arrived at the front of the courtroom and saw that it was almost overflowing with people, with many more gathered outside.

When Su Wen arrived at the court, the people who saw him wearing a red court robe immediately fell silent.

A woman in her early forties, quite bold, pushed her way through the crowd and asked loudly, "Shangguan, seeing you're wearing a red court robe, you must be Shangguan. May I ask who you are?"

At this moment, Su Wen raised his voice and shouted loudly: "I am Su Wen, personally appointed by the Emperor, Imperial Envoy, Acting Prefect of Shazhou, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, concurrently Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, former Magistrate of Luoyang County, Chief Director of the Ministry of Justice, County Commandant of Jiaoshui County, and Doctor of Criminal Justice!"

Su Wen's title was so long that many people were almost confused, but they were less noisy than before.

After all, the longer the title, the more powerful the person is, which is what the ancients believed. That's why the titles of the gods they worshipped were all particularly long.

Of course, the most important thing is that Su Wen doesn't have any prominent family background. Otherwise, just saying "Fanyang Lu Clan, Qinghe Cui Clan" would be enough to deter others from causing trouble!

Seeing that his title had intimidated many people, Su Wen said, "The Emperor has specially summoned me to Shazhou to investigate this case. Please do not disturb the government office!"

The woman then spoke up, "Imperial Envoy Su, have you found anything out yet?"

In fact, Su Wen had a clue, but he couldn't reveal it, otherwise the real mastermind would find out and ruin things.

Therefore, Su Wen hesitated for a moment and said, "There are no clues yet!"

At this moment, someone in the crowd said, "Sir, rumors are circulating that there is no murderer in this case at all, and that the nine dead were all killed by the Buddha. It is also said that people are foolish and deceived by false Buddhas, thus committing many evil deeds. Now, to set things right, ten people are to be killed to uphold the Dharma. I wonder what you think, sir?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen immediately understood what the other party wanted to do. It seemed that the mastermind was in a hurry; how could they say such things so easily?

Su Wen then shouted, "There are no gods or Buddhas in this world. If there were, look at all the disasters in the world, where are they? How many people suffer in this world, where are they?"

"This case is clearly a case of someone impersonating Buddha to confuse the public and commit murder. The murderer is not Buddha, but a charlatan. I promise you all that I will solve this case within ten days. Therefore, please return to your homes!"

At this moment, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment and began to discuss among themselves.

Just then, a furious roar came from outside the door: "Everyone, get out of the way!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards the door, where they saw Zhang Yi leading several soldiers, all clad in armor, escorting a person into the government office.

Zhang Yi bowed to Su Wen and said, "Imperial Envoy Su!"

After speaking, he looked at the crowd and said, "Gentlemen, I am Zhang Yi from the Zhang family of Dunhuang. Since Imperial Envoy Su has said that this case will be solved within ten days, please do me the favor and leave the government office so that Imperial Envoy Su can investigate the case!"

Upon hearing the name Zhang Yi of the Zhang family from Dunhuang, the crowd discussed it for a while. Then someone shouted, "Alright, since it's the young master of the Zhang family who has spoken, let's give him face. Let's go back and wait ten days. If this so-called imperial envoy can't solve the case, then we can come back to him!"

After he finished speaking, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Su Wen then looked at Zhang Yi and couldn't help but think: This is the influence of aristocratic families. In such a remote area, the titles of imperial envoy and vice minister of prison are not as useful as those of aristocratic families!

This is what is meant by "imperial power does not extend to the countryside"!

After everyone had dispersed, Su Wen looked at Zhang Yi, the soldiers, and the man who was tied up.

This person has dark skin and is dressed in very ordinary and simple clothes.

Su Wen asked, "General Zhang, who is this person?"

Zhang Yi said, "Imperial Envoy Su, this man is a Tibetan spy that our brothers discovered while patrolling the outer city today!"

Su Wen looked at the man with a puzzled expression and asked, "A Tibetan spy? How did you know?"

Zhang Yi said, "Imperial Envoy Su, you are unaware of this, but I am very familiar with the Tibetans and have dealt with them for many years. This man is clearly Tibetan, and he has been lurking suspiciously around the outer city walls. He must be a Tibetan spy!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen looked at the man and asked, "What's your name? Why are you acting so suspiciously outside the city of Shazhou? Are you trying to find out something?"

This person simply gritted his teeth, gave a cold snort, and remained silent!

Su Wen sneered, "Actually, even if you hadn't said anything, I already guessed it. You were waiting for backup or to give orders to someone, weren't you?"

Upon hearing this, the man's face remained expressionless, clearly showing that he completely ignored Su Wen.

Su Wen frowned and said, "General Zhang, this man is stubborn. He's yours to interrogate."

Zhang Yi responded, "Yes!"

Zhang Yi turned to leave, but Su Wen suddenly remembered something and asked, "General Zhang Yi, I'd like to know, how many men are there in the entire Shazhou army?"

Zhang Yi glanced at the Tibetan scout, then looked at Su Wen, pondered for a moment, and slowly said, "If we add up the entire Shazhou region, there are about 30,000 troops, but if we only consider Dunhuang County, there are less than 1,000!"

Su Wen nodded thoughtfully and said, "Okay, I understand. Go and interrogate him first!"

Zhang Yi responded and left with the man.

Su Wen then began to ponder. Back in Qingzhou, Su Wen had guessed that Yi Tian was colluding with the Tubo and plotting against Shazhou. Now it seemed that he was right!

A thousand soldiers might not be enough to stop anything!

Thinking of this, Su Wen wanted to order the Grand Commander of Shazhou to send troops here, but then he thought again and dared not send troops, because at this time Su Wen had no idea what the other party wanted to do.

Because Su Wen could not find the motive or method of the murder, and did not even know what the other party wanted to do.

If troops are rashly deployed, leaving other areas vulnerable, and the enemy attacks those vulnerable spots, then we'll be in big trouble.

At present, the most important thing is to find out the motive and method of the murder, and then find out what the former governor and the Tibetan envoy were discussing. This is the most urgent task!

Thinking of this, Su Wen quickened his pace and went to check the things left behind by the former governor, especially the Arabic numerals, which were definitely hiding some very important information.

Perhaps if we can find this information, we can unravel all of this and find out what the other party really wants to do.

Back in his room, Su Wen examined the former governor's belongings.