Chapter 302 Two hundred people who mysteriously disappeared
"Hit with your hands or use a dick, it's your choice."
"No, no," Liang Yuyao said with a blushing face, "Don't worry, let me ask you, how do you know that the Blood Evil Sect will not appear in Lincong County?"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "Your aunt also said that this place is only a hundred miles away from the capital. If you are the Blood Evil Sect, do you dare to fight an army here?
If we win, the Bloody Evil Sect will have no way to escape. The surrounding prefectures and counties have already stepped up their guard, and the Bloody Evil Sect will be completely destroyed.
Even if we lose, we are still close to the capital and can summon reinforcements at any time, and the Bloody Sect will be defeated sooner or later."
Liang Yuyao thought for a long time, shook her head and said, "Then why did aunt come to Lincong County?"
Xu Zhiqiong smiled: "The formation of the evil-suppressing army is not just for fighting and hunting down the blood evil cultivators. In the final analysis, it is also the task of various states and counties.
If all the prefectures and counties go all out to hunt down, the Bloody Sect will soon be forced into a desperate situation, and they will naturally have to fight us to the death.
If the prefectures and counties are lax and lazy, even if we go all the way to the south, we will return without success."
The role of the evil-suppressing army is equivalent to an inspection team, intimidating various states and counties to take the court's orders seriously. This kind of method was often used by Xu Zhiqiong in his previous life.
"What you said makes some sense," Liang Yuyao nodded, "In that case, there is no Blood Evil Sect in Pingman County."
"So," Xu Zhiqiong patted his knees and said, "get over here quickly."
Liang Yuyao covered Feitao and said, "Don't hit me there. It's embarrassing. You can find another place."
Change place?
You are a golden branch and a jade leaf, and you are not suitable for fighting anywhere.
"It doesn't matter if you don't fight. You have to promise me one thing. I won't be in the military camp tomorrow night. You have to find a way to cover it up for me."
Liang Yuyao shook her head repeatedly: "What are you talking about? How can I help you cover it up? But you don't know what my aunt's temper is? I might as well let you hit me twice to save me from getting another military cane."
Xu Zhiqiong snorted and said: "Since you say so, come over here!"
"Wait a minute!" Liang Yuyao frowned, "What do you want to do when you leave the military camp? Are you going to meet some bitch woman again? Qingyi Pavilion is full of women, so such a good place can't keep you?"
Xu Zhiqiong frowned and said, "You, like the second elder, only speculate on the bad things about me. I am here to do serious things."
"Are you really not looking for a woman?"
"It's not a woman, it's a man."
"What serious business is that?"
Xu Zhiqiong coaxed for a long time, and Liang Yuyao reluctantly agreed: "That's fine, I'll just help you, but we have to keep our word. You must come back before dawn!"
…
The next day, when the army arrived in Pingman County, it was a different scene.
The streets and alleys are covered with notices, all of which are wanted documents ordered by the imperial court to arrest suspected blood criminals.
Xu Zhiqiong read a few notices and asked: "These are all thieves, are they really related to the Bloody Sect?"
The county magistrate Xiao Zhenggong said: "This group of thieves has been robbing homes and houses very rampantly recently. They must be raising money for the Bloody Sect to prepare for war!"
Liang Xianchun nodded and said, "What Magistrate Xiao said makes sense!"
Xu Zhiqiong pointed to a notice and asked: "This person is a martial arts practitioner and is also wanted?"
Xiao Zhenggong smiled calmly and said: "Those who harvest and cut raw materials are all entertainers. They usually pretend to be warriors, but secretly use the cut monsters to earn rewards. This kind of thing is not uncommon in this county!"
Liang Xianchun nodded repeatedly and said, "What Magistrate Xiao said is very reasonable."
What Xiao Zhenggong prepared was not just these few notices: "General, please go to the post to rest for a while. In the afternoon, you will follow your humble duty to interrogate the important criminals."
Liang Xianchun said in surprise: "Did you catch the prisoner?"
Xiao Zhenggong nodded and said: "This man wandered around the village and kidnapped good women. He was caught on the spot by the county and tortured for several days, but he still refused to confess!"
Liang Xianchun sighed: "The bandits are rampant, we don't need to rest, and we will join the magistrate and county in jointly investigating the case."
After eating two steamed buns and a bowl of soup, everyone went to the Yamen to review the case.
When the prisoner was brought up, he could no longer see his human form. He was beaten like this and still refused to confess. Could it be that the bones of the bloody cultivator were really hard enough?
Thinking too much.
This guy is just a bitch.
Most of the blood evil cultivators are Ren Ya Zi, but not all Ren Ya Zi are blood evil cultivators.
He has recruited everyone he can, but he has nothing to do with the Bloody Sect.
Xiao Zhixian didn't believe it, and Liang Xianchun didn't believe it either. They spent the entire afternoon using all kinds of torture, but they still couldn't get out what they wanted to ask.
Xu Zhiqiong had no sympathy for Ren Yazi, and naturally he would not help him get away with it.
In the evening, Liang Xianchun once again summoned the battalion officials to discuss matters. There must be a meeting every night. This is obviously Liang Xianchun's habit.
Seeing that Xu Zhiqiong's seat was empty, Liang Xianchun frowned and said, "Where did Captain Xu go?"
The sergeant replied: "I just went to Qingyi Camp, and the sergeants in the camp said they didn't know."
Liang Xianchun said angrily: "Leaving the camp without permission will be punished as fleeing from the battlefield!"
Lin Tianzheng was shocked and didn't know how to excuse Xu Zhiqiong.
Liang Yuyao stood up and said: "General, during the day, Captain Xu and I found some suspicious people in the county. I asked Captain Xu to go and investigate. Captain Xu will rush back to the camp before dawn."
"You ordered him to investigate?" Liang Xianchun was furious, "Why did he obey your order? What qualifications do you have to issue an order?"
Liang Yuyao was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised her head and said, "I am the princess, and he is my father's servant. Naturally, he must obey my orders."
"How presumptuous!" Liang Xianchun shouted, "There is no such thing as a princess in the military camp. You, like him, are both camp officers in the military."
Liang Yuyao calmly replied: "Yuyao is responsible for this matter alone. He will be beaten with military sticks and whips. I can bear it, but Captain Xu should not be implicated.
Lieutenant Xu also has his own difficulties. After all, after leaving the military camp, he is still a courtier and I am still a princess."
While talking, Liang Yuyao looked directly at Liang Xianchun.
In terms of scheming, Liang Yuyao cannot be compared with Xu Zhiqiong.
But when it comes to domineering power, Liang Yuyao is no less powerful than anyone else after fighting with the prince for so many years in the palace.
Liang Xianchun is also a princess, why are we still afraid of her?
She is indeed a princess, but since joining Canglong Palace, Liang Xianchun has lost all the privileges of a princess.
She also didn't understand the real situation in the palace. She still thought that Liang Yuyao was the emperor's most beloved princess. Seeing how tough Liang Yuyao became, Liang Xianchun was really hard to get angry.
Liang Xianchun softened his tone: "I want to stay in Pingman County for a few more days. Xiaozhi County has found a lot of clues here, and they need to be reviewed one by one."
After everyone dispersed, Liang Xianchun stopped Liang Yuyao and said: "If Xu Zhiqiong does not return to camp before dawn, and he is dealt with according to military law, Yuyao, I will not argue with you today, and this will not happen again!"
Liang Yuyao bowed and left very calmly.
But when she returned to the camp, Liang Yuyao was no longer calm.
Can this thief come back before dawn?
If he doesn't keep his word, I can't save him!
…
Xu Zhiqiong went to Lincong County and went directly to the Lincong County Yamen.
Hearing that a school captain from the Suppressing Evil Army had returned, the county magistrate Zheng Quanming hurriedly greeted him warmly: "Sir, Colonel, this county has followed the teachings of General Suppressing Evil and posted notices in the city to apprehend the suspects. Twenty-three people have been arrested so far.
, are being interrogated strictly..."
Zheng Quanming is thirty-nine years old this year. He was admitted to Jinshi last spring. He is not young, but he has not long been an official. He has been a county magistrate for less than a year.
From him, you can see how a good person who wants to do the right thing is forced to become a bad person who doesn't do the right thing.
Xu Zhiqiong said: "Zheng Zhixian, Xu has seen everything you have done. Searching the files and looking for clues is the right way to catch the bloody villain."
Zheng Quanming's cheeks twitched. Since the Suppression of Evil Army came to Lincong County, this was the first time someone gave him a word of affirmation.
"Xu Xiaowei, if our guess is correct, your subordinate should be Xu Qianhu from the Imperial City Department, right?"
Xu Zhiqiong nodded.
Zheng Quanming took a deep breath and said: "Seeing the true hero in the world, even if Zheng was wrongly killed by the officials, he would never complain."
This sentence has two meanings:
The superficial meaning is that Xu Zhiqiong is a great hero, and I, Zheng Quanming, admire you very much.
The deeper meaning is that Xu Zhiqiong is a great hero, and I, Zheng Quanming, have been unjustly killed. Can you help me?
Xu Zhiqiong naturally understood what Zheng Quanming meant: "Zheng Zhixian, you used the right method, but I don't know how much effort you put into it?"
Zheng Quanming understood what Xu Zhiqiong meant and quickly handed Xu Zhiqiong the clues he had found in the files in the past few days.
He had indeed put in the effort to conduct a census of the missing persons in Lincong County in the past five years.
In the past five years, more than 3,000 people have disappeared in Lincong County.
Lincong County has a population of more than 80,000, and 600 people disappear every year. This number is normal, and it is only the number of missing persons reported to the official.
But something happened last summer: Liu Jiangpu, the former magistrate of the county, was promoted.
He served as the magistrate of Lincong County for a total of two years. During these two years, more than 1,400 people disappeared, which was a normal number.
But before leaving, in order to ensure his political performance, he canceled a case in which more than 200 people disappeared.
Can such a big case be dismissed?
Liu Jiangpu did not use any special method. He just persuaded the family members to withdraw the case. Those who agreed to withdraw the case would be exempted from one year's land tax. If they did not agree to withdraw the case, they would be taken to the Yamen and slapped with a beating before continuing to persuade.
After only half a month of persuasion, Liu Jiangpu successfully dismissed the case. Logically speaking, the file should be destroyed.
However, there was a clerk in the county who was too careful and feared that he would be implicated in future investigations, so he secretly kept a file.
This chief clerk was a classmate of Zheng Quanming. This time he was investigating the Blood Evil Sect. The chief clerk handed the file to Zheng Quanming. Zheng Quanming had no evidence and did not dare to say that Liu Jiangpu had anything to do with the Blood Evil Sect.
But this dossier caught Xu Zhiqiong's attention.
The file said that more than two hundred people were recruited to work by a wealthy foreign businessman and never returned. This reminded Xu Zhiqiong of something.
At first, the Ascetic Workshop recruited laborers in the north of the city, and when they arrived at the Ponuyuan Cultivation Palace, they were turned into blood trees.
Could this matter also be related to the blood tree?
When Xu Zhiqiong first cast the poison, he didn't find any blood trees in Lincong County. Could it be that there was an unexpected gain from this trip?
Xu Zhiqiong then looked down the file. After the incident, the wealthy businessman disappeared, but among those who were deceived into working, there was one survivor.
The chief clerk said from the side: "This man is crazy. He said that all the people who work are eaten by a mountain."
Eaten by a mountain?
Xu Zhiqiong was shocked: "Where is that madman?"
"He died. After he came back, he went crazy for two months and threw himself into the river."
Xu Zhiqiong asked: "Has he ever said where that mountain is?"
"Say, otherwise he is a lunatic, and there is no mountain at all in that place!"
No mountains?
Are there no mountains in the first place, or have mountains come and go?
Xu Zhiqiong said: "Take me to that place to have a look."