Gulin City is located on the coast of the East China Sea, only thirty miles away from the Donghai Navy's garrison.
Although the Donghai Navy intends to deter the East China Sea, under normal circumstances, the military will never easily interfere in local government affairs openly. After all, military interference in internal affairs has always been a taboo.
But the tiger is by your side, so Gulin City has always been stable, at least on the surface, with a lot of traffic and an endless stream of people coming and going.
Before Kuaiji County was divided into two, Gulin City was just a small city on the seaside. After Donghai County was established, Gulin City was established as a prefectural city, and then it was repaired and expanded. However, after all, it was not long ago, although all the major yamen in Donghai County were in Gulin. Inside the city, but overall, Gulin City can only be regarded as a medium-sized ancient city, with a population of less than 200,000.
It was already evening when Qi Ning and his party entered the city. After entering the city, Mrs. Tian had to go separate ways.
There are chambers of commerce in various places, and in order to promote trade between various places, chambers of commerce have also set up guild halls to accommodate merchants. Mrs. Tian is considered the number one figure in the Medicine Stores Chamber of Commerce in the capital. She has a name card from the Medicine Stores Chamber of Commerce. When she comes to the East China Sea, , the Donghai Chamber of Commerce naturally takes more care of it.
Qining assigned two people to escort Mrs. Tian to the East China Sea Chamber of Commerce. He went straight to the East China Sea Navy Commander's Palace with his men without stopping.
The Donghai Navy is stationed to the east of Gulin City, but there is a Dudu Mansion in Gulin City. The Navy Commander Tantai Zhilin lives in the Dudu Mansion for several days during the month, and Tantai Zhilin’s The family members also live here.
As soon as he approached the Dudu's Mansion, Qining felt that the atmosphere was indeed unusual. Although it seemed that there were only a few guards guarding the door of the Dudu's Mansion, there were many men in fine clothes walking around around the Dudu's Mansion. At first glance, it was arranged by the Dudu's Mansion. People were guarding nearby, but they were afraid that a big fight would attract criticism, so they disguised themselves as guards around the Dudu Mansion.
As soon as Qi Ning got off the carriage, Wu Dalin quickly stepped forward to announce the arrival of Jinyihou. The guard guarding the gate did not dare to delay and immediately went into the house to report. After only a moment, a person hurried out from inside, and a dark gray armored voice sounded. He was not wearing a helmet, and the armor on his shoulders and elbows was decorated with fish scale-like armor. He looked like a naval general.
This man is over forty years old. Because he has been at the beach all year round, his complexion has a healthy bronze color. He has a calm temperament, thick eyebrows and big eyes. He must have been a handsome man when he was young. Although he is wearing armor, he looks elegant and elegant. Like a Confucian general.
The man glanced and saw Qi Ning. He took two steps forward, knelt down on one knee, and said respectfully: "Shen Liangqiu, the deputy general of the Donghai Navy, pays homage to the Marquis!"
Qi Ning was startled, thinking that this person was Shen Liangqiu.
Before Qining came to the East China Sea, Jin Daohou Tantaihuang specifically mentioned this person. This person and Tantai Zhilin were sworn brothers. He had a deep connection with the Tantai family and was loyal to the Tantai family. After Tai Zhilin committed suicide, Shen Liangqiu immediately blocked the news, and then quickly sent people to Beijing to report the news.
"General Shen, please get up." Qi Ning stepped forward to help him up and said straight to the point: "According to the emperor's decree and the entrustment of the old Marquis Jin Dao, I am here to handle the matter of the governor."
Shen Liangqiu raised his hand and said: "Master Hou, come into the room to talk." He then ordered: "Come here, the brothers in Beijing have worked hard all the way. Take them to eat first."
Someone immediately led Qi Ning's soldiers to eat. Qi Ning did not stop him, but left several officials from the Ministry of Justice behind to let Wu Dalin lead the troops to settle down first.
Shen Liangqiu then led Qi Ning and others into the lobby. After sitting down, Shen Liangqiu raised his hands and said: "Of course the Marquis knew that the Governor was suddenly killed. This was because he was caught off guard. In order to prevent something unexpected from happening, the humble general sealed it off. The news has not been disclosed to the public until now.”
"General Shen, you said the Governor was killed?" Wei Yujiang and others' expressions changed drastically, and they were shocked. Although this group of people followed Qi Ning from the capital, Qi Ning kept a tight lip and did not reveal anything about Tantai. When Shen Liangqiu revealed the news of Zhilin's suicide, Wei Yujiang and others were shocked, and some even stood up in shock.
When Shen Liangqiu saw the situation, he knew that Qining had sealed the news, and there was a hint of appreciation between his eyebrows.
Qi Ning raised his arm and signaled everyone to stop talking. He looked at Shen Liangqiu and asked: "General Shen, I learned this news from the old marquis, but what is the specific situation? I need you to elaborate. Once again." He raised his hand and said: "These are all capable people selected from the Ministry of Justice to cooperate with me in investigating this case. The specific details must be clear."
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "It should be so." His expression was solemn, but he was still calm. He pondered for a moment and then said: "Today is the eighth day of August. The general's accident happened on July 29th, and today it is only ten days." Days of time.”
Qi Ning nodded slightly. At this time, an accompanying official from the Ministry of Justice was already sitting at the table with pen and paper ready to record what Shen Liangqiu said.
"The Governor is always at the military camp, sharing weal and woe with the soldiers." Shen Liangqiu said: "But the family members are here, and the Governor just gave birth to a son half a year ago. The Governor is overjoyed and regards it as life, so every day I will take a few days every month to come back and spend a few days with the young master."
Qining thought to himself that the Tantai family was indeed extremely low-key. Tantai Zhilin had a son. Logically speaking, it was a big event. At least with the status of the Tantai family, it should be a big deal. However, there was no such thing in the capital. I have never heard of it, and the Tantai family has never held a wedding banquet. If I hadn't come to Donghai, I wouldn't have known that the Tantai family had a new member.
"The governor's wife and the young master...?"
"Madam is heartbroken." Shen Liangqiu frowned: "Madam and the Governor have a very deep relationship. How can Madam accept the sudden death of the Governor? She hasn't touched a drop of rice for several days. It's really not possible. The humble general ordered her to drink ginseng soup. It was only after he stabilized himself and was persuaded that although the Grand Governor is no longer here, the young master is still there." He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Madam thought about the young master, and it took these two days for her to feel better."
"Can I see my wife later?" Qining asked.
Shen Liangqiu hesitated for a moment and then said: "I will go and ask Madam first. If Madam agrees, can I... Please be considerate, Lord Marquis."
"I understand." Qi Ning nodded and asked, "Was General Shen also in the city when the incident happened?"
Shen Liangqiu shook his head and said: "Although the humble general and the chief governor will enter the city every month, they never return to the city at the same time. One person must be left behind with the navy to ensure everything is in place."
"That's it." Qi Ning understood that Tantai Zhilin and Shen Liangqiu were the two pillars of the navy. In order to prevent abnormal situations from happening in the navy, it was indeed a proper way to keep one person in the military camp at all times.
"General Bei estimated that someone would arrive in Beijing in the next two days, so he rushed back to the city yesterday afternoon." Shen Liangqiu explained: "But we can't stay in the city for too long."
"Once word spreads about the death of the Governor, people will panic." Qi Ning nodded and said: "The imperial court is indeed worried that something unexpected will happen on this side of the East China Sea due to the death of the Governor."
Shen Liangqiu also nodded and said: "Although the news of the murder of the Grand Governor has been sealed, the general is really worried about an accident, so the Navy has implemented a curfew. After dark, no one in the Navy is allowed to leave the camp. Those who disobey orders. Fortunately, the Governor has always maintained strict military discipline, and he often did so in the beginning, so he will not arouse suspicion in a short period of time."
"Did General Shen receive the news that night?" Qining asked.
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "Exactly. At midnight, someone from the Governor's Mansion went over to summon the general to come over...!"
Wei Yujiang asked from the side: "General Shen, may I ask boldly, who was going to inform you that night?"
"Mr. Hou." Shen Liangqiu explained: "Mr. Hou is an old man from the Jindao Hou Mansion. He is also one of the earliest people who followed the old Marquis when he followed Emperor Taizu."
"It turns out he's an old hero." Qi Ning nodded slightly. At this time, someone had already served tea. Shen Liangqiu said, "Please ask Mr. Hou to come." The servant agreed and retreated.
"General Shen continued." Qining picked up the tea cup and blew on the tea foam, but did not drink the tea.
Shen Liangqiu nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said: "General I still remember that that night, the general manager found me that night. I saw him running to the military camp in the middle of the night. I guessed that something big might have happened at that time and asked what it was. , but General Manager Hou only said that the Governor had summoned him for an urgent matter and he must return to the city quickly." His expression was solemn, but his fists were clenched: "General, I didn't even think that something happened to the Governor himself at that time, he only thought that something else important had happened. , so rush back to the city immediately."
The official from the Ministry of Justice had been writing on paper and was meticulous. Now that he knew that this case actually involved Tantai Zhilin, he knew that this was a huge case and there was no way he could be careless in the slightest.
"Back in the city, I went straight to the Governor's Mansion." Shen Liangqiu recalled: "It should have been around three o'clock in the afternoon. General Manager Hou arrived at the military camp near Zishi. The general made some arrangements and set off quickly, always We have arrived at the Governor's Mansion before Chou Shi."
"What was the situation at the scene?" Qining asked.
Shen Liangqiu shook his head and said: "After General Bei came back, he was not taken to the study immediately. Manager Hou led General Bei to the east courtyard, which is where the Governor and his wife live. As a general, I shouldn't have gone near it. But the humble general only thought it was the general's order from the Grand Governor and did not dare to disobey, so he passed by."
"General Shen met Madam first?" Qining asked.
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "Exactly. At that time, the madam looked completely frightened and the general was shocked. When the madam saw the general clearly, the first thing she said was... that the governor had committed suicide! "Although he tried his best to stay calm, at this moment, his eye circles were slightly red. He took a deep breath, clenched both fists, and his eyes became very cold.