After receiving Lu Yan's message, the Zhu family ran non-stop back from Hengshan County to Gaoyi and Hao County to investigate what had happened to the local farmland.
"Oh~ stop! Stop everyone."
Zhu's family was galloping when suddenly his face turned red, he reined in his horse and started shouting, and everyone traveling with him didn't understand what he meant.
"Xu~"
"Sir, what's wrong?"
"What happened?"
"You all look over there."
Everyone followed the direction pointed by the Zhu family's horsewhip and saw a large river rushing past in front of them. It turned a corner here, and something seemed to be floating densely on the shoal at the corner.
"Sir, those are...a lot of fish, a lot of dead fish."
The Zhu family jumped off their horses and asked them to follow, "Let's go, all follow me."
A group of people came to the river beach and frowned. The weight of these dead fish was quite large, and the fishy smell made them unbearable.
The Zhu family asked: "Which river is this?"
Someone took out a map of Zhao Jing and said, "This is a branch of the Sang River."
“Where is upstream?”
"The upper stream passes through Gaoyi and Haoxian, and then reaches the main road of Sishui."
"Gaoyi, Haoxian..." The Zhu family looked at the vibrant and surging river in front of them, and they already had doubts in their hearts.
There are dead fish siltation here for no reason. Generally speaking, these dead fish drifted here at roughly the same time. A large number of dead fish were produced in a period of time. Could it be that someone poisoned the water.
"Everyone, get on your horses, let's walk along the river."
"yes."
The Zhu family and others walked along the river and took a lot of twists and turns. No one in the group raised any objections. Everyone was not a fool. They all knew that there must be dead fish accumulating this season, so there must be something wrong with the water source. It was very possible.
This is the reason why the farmland between Gaoyi and Haoxian is deserted.
As they got closer to the scene of the incident, they also saw more and more corpses, mostly small animals that lived in the water, fish, frogs and the like. Larger corpses such as rats and snakes,
I've almost never seen it.
Every household of the common people was praying to God, and many people went to block the government offices unarmed. It was even said that a group of people were going to Handan to seek explanation from Lu Yan.
Including the relatives of the previous victims in Gaoyi, the whole place is filled with an unpleasant atmosphere, and the local government is struggling to maintain order.
"My lord, my lord! I've been waiting for you."
The Zhu family and his entourage were warmly welcomed by the local magistrate, who burst into tears and was so sincere that they even felt like kneeling down.
The Zhu family didn't have time to chat with him, so they directly pulled him and asked: "County magistrate, can the local people still go to the river to get water now?"
"Some dare, some dare not. Anyway, I haven't heard of anyone getting sick.
Sir, we have also speculated that there is a problem with the water source, but not only is it okay for people to drink this water, but it is also okay for domestic animals and rats to drink it. We asked doctors to check it, and they all said there is no problem. "
The Zhu family themselves are farmers and medicinal herbs, so they know this situation well.
The seeds sown in spring plowing are just waiting to sprout. Not to mention the slightly poisonous water, even if a person urinates in it, it can kill them directly.
The mastermind behind the scenes thought very well. It only takes a short time for the poisonous water to be washed away by the running water, and no traces will be left except for the corpses of those small animals for a while.
The people did not understand the truth, and various rumors would bury the truth, arousing people's panic and anger, making it seem as if Lu Yan was the culprit of everything.
"County magistrate, take me to the government office and give me this land survey map here."
"Yes Yes."
…
The messenger caught up with the Zhu family, and the Zhu family turned back to the place where the incident occurred. As time went by, what happened in Gaoyi had already spread, and the entire Zhao region was in an uproar.
Lu Yan, the state minister, ruled the land unethically and slaughtered the people. The innocent souls of Gaoyi could not rest in peace. God was angry and punished him. Between Haxian County and Gaoyi, all the fish swimming in the sky turned white in one night, and the lives were wasted and the grains were not grown.
The rumors became more and more exaggerated as they spread. At first, there were more than 2,000 hectares of land, but later there were tens of thousands. There were also rumors that a large number of people died of illness for no apparent reason, and that Haxian County and Gaoyi had become a desperate place in the world.
When the people in Handan heard the rumors, they were doubtful. When they looked again, it turned out that Lu Yan had not been farming with them for several days. As a result, Handan City also fell into a public panic.
…
At the official office in Handan City, Feng Quji listened to the reports from his subordinates, with wrinkles on his face turning into a mess.
"What on earth are you doing, Master National Preceptor? Are you just letting the rumors spread? It took a lot of effort to stabilize the situation. If it's such a chaos, wouldn't all the previous efforts be wasted."
"The Imperial Preceptor said that this matter is very strange. If the mastermind behind it cannot be caught and solid evidence can be found, then rash suppression of the people will be carried out, which may lead to even greater disasters."
"A bigger disaster? Isn't this disaster big enough now?" Feng Quji angrily slapped the case, flung his sleeves and stood up, "Where is the Imperial Master now? I will go find him personally."
The subordinate quietly took a look at his face and said hesitantly: "I mean, I went to inspect the city defense."
"Inspecting the city defense? What does this have to do with him? He can't distinguish priorities. It's really unreasonable."
Feng Quji ran out of the official office angrily and bumped into his son.
"Father!" Feng Jie grabbed his father, helped him stand upright, and asked, "Father, what happened, why are you so anxious to go out?"
When Feng Quji saw it was him, he straightened his hat and asked, "What are you doing back here? Where's Lu Yan, have you been inspecting the city defenses?"
"The Imperial Preceptor asked me to allocate grain, grass, equipment, and some soldiers and horses to build a camp outside Handan City. He said that soon a large number of people from Gaoyi and Ha County would come to ask for explanations. First, arrange food and accommodation for them.
.”
Feng Quji was dumbfounded by what Feng Jie said. He jumped up and slapped his son on the helmet, "What are the arrangements? You have lost your mind! The people are struggling to ask the government for an explanation, and condoning this behavior is simply ridiculous.
It is a disguised form of condoning rebellion."
Feng Jie took two steps back helplessly and said seriously: "Father, more than two thousand families received the seeds distributed by our Qin State, but they couldn't grow any food. How many two thousand families are there in the entire Zhao land?"
If we cannot give a satisfactory explanation to the people of the world about this matter, people everywhere will be in danger, and our country, Qin, will only lose its majesty."
"Then what to do with this rumor now? If this rumor is allowed to rage, I, Da Qin, will be thrown to the ground like me. Where is Lu Yan? I want to find him."
Seeing that his father's face was full of blood and he was blowing his beard and staring in anger, Feng Jie could only helplessly confess: "The Imperial Master is here, at the gate of the city."
"Absurd! After the storm has passed, I have to tell the king properly." Feng Quji said, taking three steps at a time and walking away quickly.
Feng Jie stood there and shook his head.
On that snowy day, they went to look for evidence that might have been missed at the scene of the fight. The embarrassing look of Lu Yan himself melting the snow with his martial arts was deeply etched in his mind.
"Father, what happened this time is the continuation of the Gaoyi fight. I can already feel Lu Yan's murderous intention. This time, the mastermind behind the scenes can't escape."