Chapter 107 The Fog

It's really strange!

This is the first reaction of Li Ke and Qin Mubai after hearing that Zhu Chengwen committed suicide.

Of course, Qin Mubai will not talk too much in such a public place. After all, Li Ke is a person who has seen the world. He is not in a hurry to attack. He just said "Well" and followed Cheng Songnian's words, "I just saw a large number of people in exile in Jishan County on the way here, saying that the county magistrate Zhu Chengwen forced them to migrate. They also swallowed up their property and land. Presumably, Zhu Chengwen committed suicide because of this, right?

"That's true!" Cheng Songnian hurriedly arched his hand in surprise and said, "He was asked to comfort the people after the disaster, but he turned a blind eye to the order of the disaster, forcibly drove away a large number of disaster victims, and took the opportunity to plunder their cattle, sheep, livestock and food and property, and took the opportunity to swallow a large amount of land and real estate. This kind of corrupt official who made a fortune in the national disaster is really hard to atone for his sins! A humble position... If you are not strict, it is a crime of dereliction of duty. Your Highness, please punish it!"

"We will discuss this matter again. I came here by order not to hold anyone responsible and bring it to justice, but to help the people. Li Ke said, "I just want to know now, how is the disaster?"

"Your Highness, please enter the village to speak, and the humble position will report it in detail!" Cheng Songnian said.

"Okay, let's go." Li Ke raised his hand and pointed forward, paused for a moment, and said, "General Qin, please take a look at the flood situation as soon as possible."

"The humble position takes the order!" Qin Mubai hugged his fist and answered the promise, and thought that Li Ke was indeed careful and thoughtful. He wanted to listen to Cheng Songnian's report first, and then let me go to the field to investigate, and then come back to confirm whether Cheng Songnian was lying.

Li Ke, together with Cheng Songnian, Liao Lirong and others, took the royal family's own soldiers into the military village. Qin Mubai and Baiqi stayed outside the village. Ma Kun, the lieutenant of Jiangzhou Prefecture, stayed and accompanied Qin Mubai.

"General Qin's great name, humble position is thousands of miles away, and it's like thunder!" Ma Kun laughed loudly, quite cheerful and heroic, and said, "Today, in addition to the six and twelve guards, the Tang Dynasty has one more hundred riders. General Qin was the first hundred-rider to work beside the emperor and was deeply dependent on. That's more noble than the General of the Twelve Guards!"

Qin Mubai smiled at himself and said, "The official position is noble and lowly. No matter how big or small the title is, it is to share the worries of the emperor and work for the country. Captain Ma, you must have worked hard on disaster relief these days. I'm ashamed to wait late!"

"Haha, what is General Qin talking about!" Ma Kun smiled and said, "We have always been the soldiers of our twelve guards do this kind of dirty work. How can your royal guard lead the imperial army to do it, right?"

Qin Mubai frowned slightly - this man even sneered at me! The little five-grade military lieutenant, I'm polite to you, and you're still domineering. Probably I'm used to ramping around in places. I really don't know how to say it!

"General Ma doesn't need to say much. He is now ordered to inspect the flood-stricken area. Please send someone to lead the way." Qin Mubai said.

"All OK. Since it's General Qin who opened his mouth, he has to accompany him in person! - General Qin, please!" Ma Kun brought a horse on it, took more than a dozen entourage soldiers, and took Qin Mubai to the front of the military fortress.

Running out of three or five miles, Qin Mubai saw a high embankment with new soil, and some sergeants were carrying sacks to strengthen it.

Qin Mubai and others got off their horses and walked up to this high embankment and saw a depression in front of them. The muddy lake shows a reddish yellow color. The submerged mulberry fields and houses can be seen in the distance. From time to time, pigs and sheep floating on the water and even the bodies of people can be found.

"Is this the flooded village of Ji County?" Qin Mubai pointed to the area ahead and asked.

"Yes." Ma Kun frowned again and sighed, "It's miserable! More than 60 miles away, it became a depression overnight! If it hadn't been for the successful disaster relief, a flood control embankment would have been built in front of the county seat of Jishan County, I'm afraid the whole county would have been swallowed up, and it would have affected other states and counties.

"When we came just now, we found that the county seat of Jishan County has almost become an empty city, and there have been traces of flooding. What's going on?" Qin Mubai asked, "Isn't the flood blocked here? How did Jishan County become like that?"

"The general only knows one, but he doesn't know the other!" Ma Kun smiled and said, "It is said that Hong is like running a horse, and it will be slightly slower in a slightly higher place. This place is a slope facing a flood in Jishan County, so the flood is slightly slower. He has been in Jiangzhou for many years and has great experience in managing the floods on this side. In fact, when he received the news, the flood had rushed to the county seat of Jishan County. Fortunately, the water must not be fierce. Although it flooded part of the county, it was not as deep as one person. So he led our 5,000 government soldiers to build a dam here day and night, which blocked the flood. This is the scene that the general saw in the county before.

Qin Mubai frowned slightly and secretly said: Listening to Ma Kun's words, it is indeed seamless and completely able to justify himself. However, there are still many unexplained places - first, since the flood has washed through the county seat of Jishan County, where has the flood gone now? Second, since Hongfeng has passed, why did Zhu Chengwen, the magistrate of Jishan County, force the people to migrate? Did he really take the opportunity to occupy the people's property and then commit suicide with a batch of property? Unless he is mentally ill, he will definitely not be so desperate. He has to commit suicide with a pile of belongings!

"Thank you, General Ma, you have worked so hard!" Qin Mubai held down these ends and said, "When the flood comes, you 5,000 elite soldiers must have to step into the flood to build the dam?" That's really hard!"

"It's not just hard work, we have also paid the price of more than a dozen lives for it." Ma Kun sighed and said, "It's true that it's true that there are floods and beasts. Few of us northern troops know how to water. Everyone gritted their teeth and jumped into the water with courage to build a human wall to block some water, then piles, pressed rice bags, and then carried a load of soil. They fought hard for two days and two nights before building this ten-mile long embankment to block the flood peak. Some brothers are overworked and accidentally washed away, so they will never come back. Up to now, I don't know where the body is, hey!"

"It's respectable and admirable." Qin Mubai nodded and sighed and casually asked, "I don't know much about things like flood control and embankment, but after listening to General Ma's words, he thought that you have thrown all the rice bags into this dyke, so what else can the army eat?"

Ma Kun was slightly stunned and said quickly, "General, you don't know anything. Who is willing to throw the white rice in the south of the Yangtze River into the flood? In fact, the best way to fight against floods is rice bags. Because the rice is swollen and heavier and sinks by water, only in this way can the dam be built to stop the flood. Then add earth and stones to it, and then the dam can be built. We just threw all the 5,000 stones of rice into the flood. It's a pity... The three-month rations of all the soldiers in the whole house are gone."

Qin Mubai's heart moved: No wonder those exiles said that soldiers robbed people's food and livestock because they had lost their food? However, flood relief is a major event of the imperial court and government. As the governor of Jiangzhou, does Cheng Songnian condone the government soldiers to rob the people like this?

"General Ma, what do you eat these days?" Qin Mubai asked.

"There is still some surplus food in the army. It's no problem to support it for three or five days." Ma Kun seemed to be ready in his heart and said, "In addition, the assassin has also transferred a batch from the state grain depot, which is enough to eat."

"However, on the way to accompany His Royal Highness, I have repeatedly heard that the government soldiers robbed the people and took food. What is this?" Qin Mubai knocked on the mountain and shocked the tiger and asked.

Ma Quin's expression suddenly changed, and the tiger's eyes stared and shouted, "No such thing! General Qin, think about it, our soldiers are so desperate to build the dam and don't even want their lives. Isn't it to protect the people all over the city? How can it be possible to plunder people's property and food in turn? This is slander! Slanding! The slander of all the soldiers in our whole army! This is a slander that hurts people's hearts and morale!"

"Okay, General Ma, you don't have to be excited. I don't believe in such a thing, otherwise I won't have said anything to ask you. Qin Mubai smiled indifferently, "You have worked hard and made great contributions, and you would have conveyed everything to His Royal Highness the King of Wu. Presumably, Your Highness will also report directly in front of the emperor after returning to the court, and it will not swallow up your credit.

"Don't take credit, and reward is not delusional!" Ma Kun was also angry and said angrily, "We government soldiers, who have no food, no salary and no grievances, work for the country. If we risk our lives to do good deeds and still feel wronged, we won't do it!"

"Presumptuous!" At this time, a military commander who followed Qin Mubai couldn't see it and shouted in a low voice, "Bold Ma Kun, how dare you contradict General Qin!" Are you dissatisfied with the court and venting your anger on your majesty?

Ma Kun was stunned, as if he remembered that Qin Mubai was a confidant general beside the emperor. He hurriedly restrained his anger and apologized to Qin Mubai: "The humble position was angry and rude for a while. Please don't blame General Qin! He is a rude person. He doesn't study much and is straightforward. He hangs out with those rogue soldiers in the military office all day long, and his temper is also used to hot. If there is something wrong with the collision, I will make amends here!"

"It doesn't matter." Qin Mubai said lightly, "The people in the army are all bloody men. They have a rough temperament, which is a common thing. I won't be so stingy and I won't take it to heart.

Later, Qin Mubai returned to the military village and met Li Ke. Li Ke also listened to Cheng Songnian's report and had a lot of doubts.

The two of them discussed together.

"Mu Bai, I just heard Cheng Songnian talk for a long time, and then I heard you talk about the situation of the dyke. I think there are many problems." Li Ke said, "One of the most strange things is the suicide of Zhu Chengwen, the county magistrate of Jishan County. His behavior is too incomprehensible. The sudden flood broke the lake embankment, flooded the countryside of Jishan County and hit the county. His county magistrate was guilty, but the crime did not die. When the flood rushed through Jishan County, the water was not fierce. At this time, the most important thing he should do was to help the people and minimize losses. But how does he force all the people to move out of Jishan? In addition, why did he commit suicide after moving out of the people? Cheng Songnian explained that he took the opportunity to plunder the people's property and land, which I didn't believe at all. The legal network of the Tang Dynasty has been restored. He is a small county magistrate. Does he have the ability and courage to swallow a hundred hectares of fertile land? Second, the flood actually passed through Jishan County and disappeared, so where did it go? I asked Cheng Songnian, and he was vague and said that the flood flowed into the lower river ravines. Because the flood peak was blocked, the amount of water was not large. It's weird. How could the flood that washed up a county disappear like this? The third is the problem of sergeants robbing the people. Cheng Songnian and Ma Kun both denied it, claiming that their soldiers would rather be hungry than never do such a thing. It's impassioned and a little angry - that is to say, food is a very ** topic for them!"

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[The power has been out all day, it's very helpless... Now the two chapters are presented together]