Urgent need for folk stories

Bao Zheng tried the case of "Tibetan inkstone"

Song Renzong ushered in the second year (1042), and Bao Zheng, who is known as "Bao Qingtian", will leave office in three years. Duanzhou is known as "one stone and one city" and "China inkstone capital".

There is a literati named Wu who is very good at abusing power for personal gain. Seeing that he was about to leave, Wu decided to seize the last chance and take a "big" vacation. His goal is a valuable Guangdong inkstone. It is said that a man of letters spent three years on an inkstone in China, but he couldn't "get" an inkstone, and he will definitely regret it in the future.

Wu was about to sleep when someone brought a good pillow. In a famous quarrying and inkstone village, two brothers fought for property because of their father's sudden death. How big is wealth? It's really big. There are eight inkstone factories, but it is not as simple as four inkstone factories for each brother. It is necessary to evaluate the points according to the value of this inkstone, so the brothers want to ask Bao Gong to make a decision. On the surface, things are easy to handle, but they are not. Because my brother hid several famous inkstones in advance, my brother had doubts, but there was no evidence. Wu reconciled with China, and advised both sides to be good people, and put in a good word for his brother in front of him. In the end, the property was divided smoothly, and my brother gave Wu a sum of money. My brother gave him the stone "After the rain clears" and "After the rain clears", which was produced in Daxi Cave in Duanzhou and is the most precious stone in Duanyan. Wu was ecstatic after winning the title of "Rain".

Wu hasn't figured out how to send these people back to their hometown, but suddenly he received an order from his boss to leave Duanzhou as soon as possible and take office in Kaifeng within a time limit. Because I left in a hurry, the precious "Blue inkstone after the rain" was put in my carry-on luggage for fear of being found. Wu used his quick wits, disguised himself, chose the evening before sailing, rushed to the hired ship, said that he would check the safety facilities on board, hid the inkstone in the "Dongsi" (toilet) on board, and disembarked as if nothing had happened.

The next morning, Bao Gong's boat left Duanzhou and sailed eastward along the Xijiang River. Just after the narrow Antelope Gorge, the clear sky suddenly changed color and dark clouds were gathering. At the moment, the wind is crazy and the rain is sudden, and the white waves are monstrous. One moment the ship was lifted to the top of the wave, and the next moment it was thrown to the bottom of the wave. Fearing an accident, the ferryman and sailors quickly moored to the shore, dropped the iron anchor and stopped.

Bao Gong is worried about missing his trip. He looked at the rainstorm and thought for a while. Suddenly, he ordered his followers to set up incense tables and pray for God's mercy.

After praying to God, Bao Gong called all his shipmates to give a speech. He said: "I think there must be a reason for the sudden change of face in heaven." As the saying goes, people can't see the sky, so you and I have to pray to the sky and swear that we have done nothing wrong to the people. If anyone finds someone taking bribes and bending the law, they must report it to me. When Bao Gong said this, his face became more gloomy. If the voice is Hong Zhong, lightning explodes behind him. He looks like a god falling from the sky, which is very scary.

After Bao Gong finished speaking, he first prayed to heaven and solemnly swore.

At this time, Bao Xing, a family member, held out an inkstone platform, saying that an old worker who made inkstones appreciated the official's incorruptibility and gave it to Bao's adult on behalf of the people, but he was afraid that he would accept it directly and let him take it on board. Hearing this, Bao Gong was deeply loved by the people, but he still threw the inkstone into the river.

At this time, there is less wind and rain, but the ceremony of praying to heaven by subordinates is still going on. The expressions of subordinates are all natural. Only when Wu Xiangtian swore, his voice became smaller and smaller, and he was still shaking.

Next, Bao Gong ordered all his subordinates to put their luggage together and carry out inspection. Everything was turned upside down. Wu has the most money, as much as 1320. Bao Gong asked him before, and he said it was three years' money. Bao Gong didn't say anything either.

At the end of the ceremony, Bao Gong ordered: "Search the whole ship to see if there is anything corrupt, and don't let go of every corner!" Hearing the word "corner", Wu breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily. The inkstone he brought was hidden in a place that people never thought of.

The whole ship has been searched, but there is still nothing of value.

After a while, Bao Gong suddenly said loudly to Bi Gong, "Pull it up, I want to see what happened!" Hearing this, the subordinates were frightened. I don't know what happened. They followed the ferryman to the "East Division" and watched him bend down and kneel. When they pulled up a green rope, they found something wrapped in oil paper tied to it. They opened it and found an inkstone wrapped in it. It was wet and looked blue or green.

Just then the rain stopped and it cleared up after the rain. People are secretly amazed.

Bao Gong looked at the inkstone and asked his subordinates about how much it was worth. No one can say, because inkstone, like jade, is difficult to evaluate. Even the ferryman, a Duanzhou native, said that he didn't know its specific value.

Seeing that there was no appraisal, Wu was afraid of not returning it, so he ventured forward and said, "Lord Bao, this inkstone was bought by his subordinates, so he put it under the boat for fear that his colleagues might suspect that its origin was unknown." In fact, it is not too expensive, only worth more than three hundred taels of silver. Please understand my love for inkstone as a literati. "

Hearing this, Bao Gong asked in a clear voice, "Where did you buy this inkstone?" It must have a name, right? " At that time, the title of "after the rain cleared up" inkstone was quite loud. How dare Wu name names? He doesn't want to talk about it, but at least tell me where he bought it. As a result, he couldn't answer at random. It's no use answering at random. Bao guild sent someone to visit.

Wu was so anxious that his face was sweaty. Bao Gong asked again, "What is your annual salary?" This is not difficult for Wu. He quickly said: "The annual salary is more than 400 liang."

Bao Gong pointed to the silver in the luggage and asked, "Since you spent more than 300 taels on the inkstone, why is there so much money in the luggage?" ? Tell the truth quickly, or you will feel guilty! "

Unexpectedly, Wu worked with him for three years, and then he just got some silver. Finally, he got a famous inkstone, but it was so embarrassing. Wu had to tell the truth. When he finished, Bao Gong said, "Your crime will be investigated in Kaifeng. Now, you throw this inkstone into the river! "

Wu secretly told Bao Laohei that he didn't know the goods and threw away the inkstone as an ordinary stone in vain, trying to punish me. Wu had to throw the inkstone into the middle of the river in frustration. He wanted to plead with Bao Gong, explaining that this inkstone was a treasure, so don't throw it away, but he had to hold back for fear of making himself more guilty.

Wu's incident of "hiding inkstones" was unfair after his indecent behavior of hiding inkstones was discovered in Qi Huangong. While people were busy loading the boat with luggage, the duke quietly reported it to Bao Gong. He said, "Lord Bao, the inkstone is a gentleman in the stone. Even I am a clown, and I know that if I regard it as a treasure, I can never tie it to the East Division and leave it inside. I pulled up the rope and looked at it. Although I don't know what inkstone is made of, as long as it is an inkstone, it is one of the Four Treasures of the Study and should be respected by everyone! "

Because Wu disguised himself when he hid the inkstone, he could not tell his true face, so he could only report that his subordinates boarded the ship to hide the inkstone. Many people saw Bao Gong off when the boat just left the shore. He kept saying goodbye to the people and tried the case of "hiding inkstone" The weather had just changed when the ship left Antelope Gorge. If the case of "hiding inkstone" is no longer tried, times have changed and the greed of subordinates will be tolerated. Then, Bao Gong used the weather and people's fear of heaven to drill to the bottom of the inkstone.

Bao Gong threw his own inkstone, which was recorded in the Biography of Bao Zheng in the Song Dynasty. It has been called "returning without holding the inkstone" and has become a much-told story. The trial of his subordinate Wu Zangyan is just a laughing stock.

The place where Bao Zheng threw the inkstone suddenly grew a land boat, which became an inkstone island, shaped like an inkstone. Out of their love for Bao Zheng, the local people built a Baogong Temple on Yantai Island, which is still there today. This is the "breeze on inkstone island", one of the 20 scenic spots of Xijiang River in Zhaoqing, Guangdong.