Khoa Dang Nguyen

Once upon a time, the country had a mandarin, named Khoa Dang Nguyen who was known by ability solving cases and his kindness. He used to be assigned to go other districts and managed the area.

One day, he was assigned to a district and there had a case. A person had destroyed all cucumber trees of his neighbour in field because they had hatred. The next morning when the neighbor went to the field and found out that all trees had died. He saw cucumbers which would harvest in few days withered, that made him painful. He creamed and cried and found the way to find the mandarin and asked him to punish who had done the thing. Mr. Dang went to the field and observed. All marks pointed that accused had used a spade. The accused had used the blade to cut top of tree and used handle to crushed roots. But the accused was wise that he or she had cleaned footprints. Mr. Dang turned to the neighbor, the plaintiff and asked:

“Do you think about anyone?”

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The neighbor gave him few names including name of his neighbor. Later, Mr. Dang requested soldiers to go and confiscated all spades in the village. They wrote names of their owners on spades. Mr. Dang considered each spade and he kept aside spades which made him feel doubting. Then, he asked a person to lick on the handles. Course, they found out a spade which had biter on its handle. He asked others to crush some root and took the liquid from the roofs and tasted. Course the biter on the handle and the biter from the liquid were same. He reviewed the name on the handle and realized that was a person the neighbor had said.

Immediately, he forced soldiers to catch the person who had the name on the handle. The person didn’t admit but he couldn’t do that anymore as Mr.Dang showed him all things he had found out. The person, accused had no choice but to admit. Mr. Dang judged he had to pay for cucumbers at twice of their price.

Another day, an oilman found him and presented his case. That, while the oilman was selling, a person stole his pocket of coins. As the oilman discovered, the thief had gone. Then the oilman remembered the blind person who had wandered around him and didn’t move though he said him to go away had disappeared. He thought the thief was none but the blind person. Then he asked the people who sat next to his stall to take care of his stall, went to find the blind. But, when he found the blind, he didn’t admit. They had argument. Soldiers who were patrolling brought them toward Mr.Dang.

“Do you have coins?”, said Mr. Dang.

“Yes, I have. But, they are mine”, said the blind.

“Give me them. I will find out who is their owner”, said Mr. Dang.

The blind gave him pocket of coins. Mr. Dang turned to a soldier and asked:

“Take a pot of water to here”.

Later, the soldier brought a pot of water to. Mr. Dang put the coins into the pot. Later, oil emerged on water. Mr. Dang showed people the oil on water. That time, the blind couldn’t deny anymore. He admitted and accepted punishment but Mr. Dang still didn’t convict. He turned to the thief and said:

“Theft was only one of your guilty. If you were blind, you couldn’t steal. You pretend as if you are blind, isn’t you?”, he turned to soldiers, “Take him out and beat till he opens his eyes”.

Later, because he could not bear the pain, he admitted that he was not blind.

Another time, a paper trader brought a cart of paper to the district to sell. He rested in an inn in Ho Xa village as it was dark. When he set off in the next morning, he found out that his cart had gone. Mr. Dang requested soldiers to search for new days but they couldn’t catch any news. At last, Mr. Dang himself went to the village to search. He summoned people living in the village and neighboring villages to come and request them to write their names, ages and addresses on a paper and gave him in few days.

The order was issued. All people made their ways to buy papers. That made price of paper increased. The thifef till had not sold the paper since he had them. Now, he heard people was competing to buy paper, he brought some paper to market and sold. But, he had never thought that Mr.Dang had set watchers in all market. They waited for him. Therefore, the thief was caught and Mr.Dang convicted he had to return the papers and besides, he had to pay for papers people had bought following Dang’s order.

Another time, Mr. Dang was assigned to go to other district. This place was known as the place which had many thieves, robbers. Mandarins who had managed there had given up. When he arrived the district, the first thing he do that asked his servants to investigate about the thieves and robbers.

One day, he went cross a village and saw a big rock was in middle of road. He asked people.

“Why don’t you move the rock?”

“This is Mr.Moc. He was powerful. If you want anything, take to him and you will have the thing”.

Mr. Dang pretended as if he believed. He approached the rock and prayed Mr. Moc helped him catch thieves and robbers.

Then he turned back to other. He said:

“Mr. Moc said me that few days later he will come back and help me catch the thieves and robbers”.

Days later, he asked soldiers dig a hole in his office in secret. Then he asked his servant to hide in the hole. The next morning, he forced soldiers to bring the rock to his office. Front people’s faces, he shouted:

“I hear you are a powerful rock which can response all requests. I am the mandarin who has come here to manage the place but the place has many thieves and robbers, so I want to catch them. I need your help and if your help is useful, I will report to the king rewarded you”.

But, course, the rock couldn’t answer. Mr. Dang shouted:

“You are one of them, aren’t you?”, he turned to soldiers, “beat it till it opens its mouth”.

That moment, people heard about judging the rock came to see. While the soldiers was beating, people heard cry. Then the rock prayed soldoers stopped to talk. Then name of each thief and robber was said. The names were written carefully and gave soldiers to go immediately and catch. Till afternoon, they had caught 30 people. When thieves and robbers were escorted to office, they were surprised as they knew how the mandarin found out them. They thought that they could not hide any thing fom the rock. Therefore, Mr. Dang didn’t need to ask them, they themselves admitted their guilty.

In the time he managed in Quang Tri, the place that time was wild. It was filled by forest but the road which led to South crossed the place. Therefore, the forest was place robbers stayed. When Mr. Dang arrived here, he thought about catching robbers. He asked carpenters to make coffins which were only locked by people who stay inside and course they could easily open. Then he chose some people who was great in martial arts, gave them weapon and asked them to stay in the coffins. Then he requested soldiers to pretend as servants who shouldered the coffins cross the forest. Besides, he asked others to spread the news that a mandarin was going carry treasures to his hometown. The robbers heard the news and thought that was their chance. They robbed the coffins and brought them to their camp but as they put the coffins on ground and tried to opened them. Suddenly, people with sword in hands appeared from the coffins and fought them. While the robbers were confused, they heard terrible news that soldiers were rounding the place. Robbers seemed to lose their willpower, they surrendered.

Then he asked people to exploit the place and changed the wild place to be fields. He advised more people came and lived there. Later, people came to live more crowded that made the wild place before became a crowded place with. Because of that, forest was not yet the place robbers hid themselves.

THE END

"Translated by Hung Nguyen"

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