Hu Xiaotian didn't have much favorable impression of this Li Mingcheng. Li Mingcheng was originally a deaf ear decoration in Dongliang County. Now that Hu Xiaotian is here, the court has not made other arrangements for Li Mingcheng, so Li Mingcheng still stays in Dongliang County.
, but now it’s not even considered a decoration.
In fact, Li Mingcheng is an honest man, but he is cowardly and useless. Hu Xiaotian has been here for a month and found that this guy has no independent opinions at all. It is no wonder that he was blackmailed by a group of businessmen from Dongliang County.
Hu Xiaotian said: "You don't need to panic, what's the big deal?"
Li Mingcheng said: "A caravan was robbed in the west of the city. It was the refugees who did it. Twelve people died in the caravan."
Hu Xiaotian was startled when he heard this: "Where is the caravan?"
"Dayong...Da...Dayong..." Li Mingcheng had already stuttered.
Only then did Hu Xiaotian realize the seriousness of the matter. The Dayong caravan was robbed and killed while passing through his territory. If this matter was not handled properly, it might become the trigger of the war. With the current situation in Dongliang County, it would be difficult to even protect itself.
, the newly formed army does not have any combat effectiveness, not to mention that the truth in this matter is not on your side at all.
Hu Xiaotian asked: "Are there any survivors?"
Li Mingcheng nodded and said: "There is... there is one injured person, and the others... have escaped. It is said that they went to move reinforcements." He complained endlessly: "Master Hu, we are in big trouble. If it's Dayong,
After receiving the news, a large number of troops will inevitably come to seek justice, what do you think we should do?"
Hu Xiaotian said: "First send the injured person for treatment and count their goods. I will handle the refugee camp myself."
"Yes...yes..." Li Mingcheng walked away uneasily.
After Li Mingcheng left, Hu Xiaotian said to Liang Dazhuang: "Go find Xiong Tianba and ask him to bring five hundred brothers."
"Yes!" After Liang Dazhuang agreed, he reminded Hu Xiaotian: "Master, you haven't eaten noodles yet."
Hu Xiaotian waved his hand and motioned for him to make arrangements as soon as possible. He turned around and saw Zhu Guanqi standing not far behind him. Hong Lingxue had just woken up. Zhu Guanqi saw that his wife was fine, and then he remembered to come over and thank Hu Xiaotian, but he didn't want to
What happened just now happened.
Hu Xiaotian smiled at Zhu Guanqi and said, "Brother Guanqi, have you heard it?"
Zhu Guanqi said apologetically: "Don't blame Mr. Hu. I just came here to express my gratitude, but I didn't want to hear what happened just now."
Hu Xiaotian said: "Brother Guanqi, there is no need to be so polite. I have to leave now. Let's talk another day."
Zhu Guanqi said: "Does Mr. Hu plan to go to the refugee camp to capture the real murderer?"
Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "This matter must be clarified first. Today's Dongliang County is not qualified to confront others head-on."
Zhu Guanqi said: "There are probably nearly 30,000 people living in the refugee camp now. If Mr. Hu wants to find the murderer, he is just afraid of finding a needle in a haystack, right?"
Hu Xiaotian pursed his lips. Zhu Guanqi was right. He thought for a while and said: "Although it is difficult to find the murderer, it should not be difficult to find the missing goods."
Zhu Guanqi said: "These soldiers under your Excellency are all selected from refugees. If it is really discovered that the murderer is their parents and brothers, do you think they will kill their relatives out of justice?"
Hu Xiaotian was startled when he heard this. How could he be so confused on such an important matter?
Zhu Guanqi said: "This matter is indeed very difficult. I personally think that adults should not mobilize troops. It is best to investigate privately. Even if this matter is really done by those refugees, if it is not handled properly, it will definitely cause a turmoil. As for Dayong
On the other hand, even if we hand over the murderer, I'm afraid it won't be that easy to solve the problem."
Hu Xiaotian humbly asked for advice: "Mr. Zhu, how do you think this matter can be resolved?"
Zhu Guanqi said: "Your Excellency, you should be prepared. This place is not far from Dayong Nanyang Water Village. Those Dayong merchants most likely fled to Nanyang Water Village for help. Nanyang Water Village has 50,000 navy troops. According to reports
It is said that there are two hundred warships, not to mention anything else. When they come down the river and go straight to Xiasha Port, our Dongliang County military strength alone will not be able to prevent them."
Hu Xiaotian has been to Nanyang Water Village and dealt with Tang Boxi, the commander there. He still has a certain understanding of Tang Boxi. If there is a one-on-one competition, Hu Xiaotian will never be afraid of anyone, but now he is not alone.
His decision affects the life and death of nearly 100,000 people in Dongliang County.
Zhu Guanqi said: "Don't worry, sir. What I said is just the worst possible scenario. Maybe things will not evolve to such a bad situation. I just want to remind you to prepare early. As for the killing of Dayong merchants, although it happened
Near the refugee camp, there is no definite evidence that it was the refugees who did it. If you send troops to investigate immediately, it will definitely cause the refugees to panic and even become hostile to you. Even before the foreign enemies arrive, internal conflicts have already arisen.
, this is not a good thing.”
The more Hu Xiaotian thought about it, the more it made sense. Zhu Guanqi was right. You can't just listen to Li Mingcheng's words. Now no one can conclude that the refugees were robbing and killing people. If he had focused his doubts on them from the beginning, it would inevitably arouse the refugees' resistance.
Xin, having said that, even if the refugees planned this incident, finding the murderer now will not help. It cannot be solved simply by handing over the murderer.
Hu Xiaotian cupped his fists and bowed to Zhu Guanqi: "Thank you, Brother Guanqi, for reminding me."
Zhu Guanqi said: "Sir, you don't have to be polite to me. Guanqi is also a member of Dongliang County. Of course he doesn't want to see the disaster of war coming."
At this time, the sound of horses neighing could be heard outside the door, but it was Xiong Tianba who gathered five hundred soldiers and horses to wait for dispatch. Hu Xiaotian walked to the door, Liang Dazhuang brought his Xiao Hui over, Hu Xiaotian got on his horse, and the soldiers
I don't know what happened, and everyone looked panicked. Only Xiong Tianba was at the front of the team, looking extremely excited. He shouted loudly: "Uncle Third! Is there going to be a war?" He was clearly impatient.
Hu Xiaotian saw the expressions of the soldiers behind him and sighed inwardly. With such a mental outlook, he still wants to fight? He is afraid that all of them will become deserters as soon as the war starts. It is no wonder that this group of people were refugees who had fled from famine, so they chose to join the army.
It's not just because I want to beg for food. I don't want to risk my life even if I have some options.
Hu Xiaotian waved his hand and said: "Leave twenty people here, and the rest go back to the camp!"
"What?" Xiong Tianba's eyes widened and he said to himself, Third Uncle, Third Uncle, are you sure you are not teasing me? But Xiong Tianba was extremely obedient in front of Hu Xiaotian. He did whatever Hu Xiaotian said, leaving ten people behind.
The confidant asked the others to return to the military camp first. He rode up to Hu Xiaotian and whispered: "Third uncle, aren't you going to fight?"
Hu Xiaotian glared at him: "Hit you on the head!" He pointed in the direction of Ximen: "Let's go out for a walk!"
When several people were about to leave, they suddenly heard a voice coming from behind: "Master Hu, I will accompany you to take a look!"
Hu Xiaotian turned around, but Zhu Guanqi walked out. Hu Xiaotian said with a smile: "Sir, you are willing to go with me. Hu is very happy!" At that moment, someone found a horse for Zhu Guanqi to drive, and a group of more than ten people came out.
West City Gate ran straight towards the refugee camp.
The place where the caravan was ambushed was only more than three miles away from the refugee camp. The scene had been blocked by the soldiers who arrived first. All twelve corpses were lying side by side on the roadside, with white cloths temporarily covering their faces. Yizhuang also sent troops from the city.
They took the vehicles and only waited for the government to give word before transporting the corpses back to the city for burial.
Li Mingcheng and several newly recruited government servants were there to help with the autopsy, and the boss of Yizhuang temporarily acted as the autopsy. There were a lot of goods scattered around the scene. Hu Xiaotian came to the scene and casually uncovered the white cloth on top of a corpse.
, I saw that the neck of the corpse had been cut open with a knife. Judging from the shape of the wound, it should have been a single blow. The knife was not only accurate but also decisive.
Li Mingcheng said from the side: "Sir, basically all of them are killed with one knife. The robbers must be masters!"
Hu Xiaotian nodded and looked to the side, only to see Zhu Guanqi dismounting and coming to the scattered goods. He carefully inspected the goods and found that there was a lot of rice left on the scene.
Li Mingcheng said: "The caravan transported a lot of food and cereals and was preparing to transit Dongliang County to Dayong. Those refugees must have gotten the news and organized people to rob their goods here."
Zhu Guanqi picked up rice from the ground, rubbed it in his hands, then stuffed a few grains into his mouth and bit it without saying anything.
Hu Xiaotian came to Zhu Guanqi and whispered: "Brother Guanqi, what do you think?"
Zhu Guanqi asked: "Is the leader of the businessman still there?"
Li Mingcheng said: "The leading merchant has escaped, but I heard from the survivors that they picked up a batch of grain from Xiasha Port and prepared to transport it to Yongdu. Somehow the news was leaked, so they were robbed here."
Zhu Guanqi asked: "How many cars are there in total?"
"Seven carriages."
"Why not go north via the canal via Nanyang? It seems cheaper and safer to go by boat. But why do you choose to go by land from Dongliang County? Don't they know that there are already 30,000 refugees in Dongliang County?
?”
"Uh...this..." Li Mingcheng also felt a little strange now.
Zhu Guanqi said: "Porcelain is of no use to the refugees. As for food, Dayong is not short of food. It has been a good year in recent years. It is better to transport food to Dayong and sell it to merchants in Dongliang County. May I ask?
Who among businessmen is willing to engage in such a loss-making business?"
Li Mingcheng's face drooped, why didn't he think of such a simple truth?
A smile appeared on the corners of Hu Xiaotian's lips. Although it was just a trivial matter, he had already seen that Zhu Guanqi was definitely an extremely intelligent and observant person. Hu Xiaotian did not express his opinion.
Although Li Mingcheng admitted in his heart that what Zhu Guanqi said was reasonable, he felt that he had lost face in front of Hu Xiaotian and said coldly: "Who are you? Who is your turn to speak here?"
Hu Xiaotian said: "Mr. Zhu is my good friend, Mr. Li must not lose his etiquette."
Li Mingcheng's old face turned red with embarrassment. Hu Xiaotian obviously had no intention of giving him any face. This Zhu Guanqi's status in his heart was much higher than his own. Anyway, he had better say less to avoid humiliating himself.
Please give me some more recommendation votes! (To be continued)