It was already late at night when Sun Tu led people to escort Cai Jiu back to Jiangzhou. But even though half a day has passed since the previous incident, the various scars left by those Liangshan heroes can still be seen everywhere in the city. There are still large groups of blood stains on the streets, main streets and city gates. Many nearby buildings were still smoking, and the city's defenders even lit torches and wandered around to ensure that no thieves would cause trouble at night...
Seeing this scene, Sun Tu's heart suddenly moved, and he seemed to have a different emotion: "Are my previous opinions and decisions really correct? I paid such a huge price just to let them rescue Song Jiang. Is there really no problem?”
With thoughts swirling in their minds, everyone quickly arrived at the state government office, which was still heavily guarded. After learning that the prefect had finally returned safely, a group of subordinate officials who had been staying in the government office without peace of mind hurriedly came up to welcome them. It was Lin Henian, the governor of the capital. As soon as he saw Cai Jiu being helped out of the car, he quickly knelt on the ground and gave a great ceremony: "I have seen the prefect in my humble position. I know that I am guilty because of my carelessness." , those thieves almost hurt the prefect... "
The others all cheered and gathered around, asking about Cai Jiu's situation. In fact, there is nothing to worry about for these people who have been staying in the state government today. No matter what happens, they will not be held accountable. They are just doing this to please the eunuch and plan for their own future.
Without Sun Tu's reminder, Cai Jiu would have ordered Lin Henian to be taken down for questioning as soon as he saw him. But now, he just smiled at him and said, "It should worry Lin Dujian and all his colleagues." Yes, I just suffered some cold and fright. I will be fine after a few days of rest. Although you made a small mistake this time, Director Lin, you still have merit in leading the troops against the enemy. How can I blame you? ? I will be entrusting the security of Jiangzhou City to you these two days."
"Xiaguan... Xiaguan will do his best to make Jiangzhou settle down, and the governor can rest assured." Lin Henian couldn't believe his ears. Before, he didn't dare to go out of the city to rescue Cai Jiu except for fear that the people in Liangshan would be detrimental to him. In addition, I was also worried that the prefect would punish me severely if he saw me. Why was he completely different now? But this was of course the best result for him. In excitement, he hurriedly swore and the worries in his heart finally dissipated.
"The Japanese official will discuss the aftermath with you in two days. Now that I am in dire straits, I will go back and rest. If you have anything to discuss, you can discuss it with Sun Tuanlian." Cai Jiu was frightened and soaked in the river for a long time. When he reached his limit, after giving some instructions, he got into the car again with the help of a few confidants and went back to the mansion not far away to rest.
After sending him away, everyone's eyes fell on Sun Tu who said nothing, especially Lin Henian, whose eyes were filled with gratitude when he looked at this young man who was supposed to be his subordinate. color. He knew very well that the reason why the prefect was willing to let him go today was probably because of Sun Tu's great efforts.
Sun Tu also took a step forward without hesitation: "Since the eunuch ordered so, then the subordinates can only commit tyranny. I hope you can tell me all the current situation in the city, so that we can come up with various methods to appease the people as soon as possible. Come."
While talking, a few people came to a room where they had ordered
In the lobby where many lights were lit, after everyone took their seats, some officials truthfully told them what they knew about the situation in the city.
"The riot caused by the thieves today has resulted in more than 70 civilians being killed in the street, 47 soldiers died in the line of duty, and as many as 120 people were injured."
Hearing this series of figures, Sun Tu frowned quickly: "How could there be so many casualties? There were not many of them on the execution ground at that time, so how could the number of casualties among the officers and soldiers be close to two hundred?" "
Lin Henian sighed in shame: "This is because those thieves were really fierce and killed the soldiers by surprise. Secondly, it was also because the brothers below were worried and could not let go for fear of hurting the innocent people nearby. , thus allowing those thieves to find the right opportunity. And not only the execution site, but also the officers and soldiers in the North Gate area and other key locations were attacked by the thieves. They set fire and killed people, and the officers and soldiers really couldn't resist it, so The casualties were particularly serious…”
When Sun Tu heard this, his expression became a little gloomier. Although he knew that this incident would cause considerable harm to Jiangzhou, he did not expect that the harm would be so great, with as many as two hundred soldiers and civilians killed or injured.
"Speaking of arson, they caused particularly serious damage to our city. Several streets and alleys in the city were set on fire by them, and more than 30 people lost their lives because of this. Many shops and houses were also set on fire by them. If the officers and soldiers had not rushed to the rescue in time, I am afraid that those few fires would have burned out, and the damage would have been even greater. The number just obtained is that I am afraid that no less than 30 houses and shops were burned. The loss should be more than 100,000 yuan." Another state government official said with a sad face.
Later, some people reported that because of the turmoil, some gangsters in the city also took the opportunity to cause trouble. There were more than ten vicious cases of vandalism, looting and theft in half a day. If the government and the army had not stepped in to suppress it in time, I am afraid the situation would have been worse. Even worse. But even so, Jiangzhou City, which was originally prosperous and peaceful, has turned into a complete mess today. The people have been in panic all day long. Tomorrow, more people will definitely come to the Yamen to report the crime...
One incident after another was reported to Sun Tu one after another, making his face become increasingly ugly, and he felt even more regretful. I thought I was just saving a friend, but in the end it resulted in hundreds of casualties and plunged the entire Jiangzhou City into chaos.
At this moment, he finally regretted it. If he had known that those innocent people would have to pay such a huge price to rescue Song Jiang, he would never have joined forces with Chao Gai and others just because of his temporary preferences. From this point of view, the so-called Liangshan heroes are just the beautification of some people. In the final analysis, they are just a group of thieves whose main method and purpose is killing, looting and destruction. In their eyes, the life and death of the people are nothing.
Unfortunately, it was too late, and he had to bury the matter deeply and not let anyone know that he was one of the culprits of this turmoil.
After a while, Sun Tucai asked with a dark face: "Except for those who kidnapped the prefect and fled out of the city, have any of their accomplices been arrested?" If anyone is captured, he will never show mercy again. .
Lin Henian's old face turned red again when he heard this: "We are incompetent. Although we did kill several thieves, we were not able to truly
Capture even one thief alive. Moreover, the leaders of the bandits had already fled after setting fires and wounding people early in the morning, giving us no chance to suppress the bandits.
"In addition, according to what some soldiers said, many of the people who robbed the execution site this time were from my Jiangzhou city. One was Li Kui from the state prison, and the other was Zhang Shun, the fishmonger leader in the city. There are several other people who have been seen hanging out by the Xunyang River... I just sent people to their residence to pick up people, but in the end they came to nothing. Not only have they left long ago, but even their families have disappeared. , I’m afraid he also escaped with those Liangshan bandits.”
Sun Tu was not too surprised by this. After all, since those people had already decided to rescue Song Jiang, they naturally solved their worries first. The only good thing is that he, Zhang Shun and others met in secret, so no one would find out about him.
In order to express his position, Sun Tu said seriously: "Even so, we should continue to send people around the city and outside the city to search for clues about these thieves. Maybe there are still people hiding somewhere. This time we must not Let them escape again. Since the four gates are closed tonight, starting tomorrow, we should send more people to check the relevant people entering and leaving the city gates, and we must not let some people get away with it again. "
Lin Henian nodded with deep understanding and said: "I will ask my troops to handle this carefully so as not to cause any further trouble."
"There are also those ordinary people who have been implicated. Our yamen cannot abandon them. We should send people to visit them tomorrow to express condolences. Even if they come out with some money, it will be good. For those whose houses were burned down and become homeless, we will do more. We should resettle them properly and help them rebuild their homes as soon as possible." At this time, because Sun Tu was determined to make up for his mistakes, he even took up the idea of appeasing the people, which should not have been decided by him.
Fortunately, the civil servants in this state's government office were accustomed to obeying the orders of Cai Jiu or Yuan Wang, so they were not here now. And Cai Taishou had given orders before, so they also approved Sun Tu's arrangements and all agreed.
In this way, Sun Tu explained all the ways to deal with the aftermath that he could think of, and gave some serious warnings. It was not until after the third watch that everyone dispersed with tired faces.
When Sun Tu staggered out of the gate of the state government office, the surroundings were completely deserted. Only three familiar figures were still waiting for him outside, namely Lu Da, Yang Zhi and Tang Feng. This made Sun Tu feel warm in his heart, and he greeted me with a smile on his face: "I didn't expect you to come over to see me."
"Is Saburo (team trainer) okay? Those guys probably didn't hurt you, right?" Several people asked almost in unison.
Sun Tu shook his head: "Of course I wasn't injured, but the people in this city suffered..." Then he lowered his voice: "I didn't realize how naive I was until now. It turns out that I and those people have been on different paths for a long time. I am a soldier, But they are thieves. If you insist on being friends with them, you will only end up harming others and yourself... "
At this moment, Sun Tu had an epiphany and had made a new decision. From now on, he would no longer be emotional, and he would no longer let his established knowledge before time travel affect his judgment of the current era.
After all, stories are just stories, but what I am facing now are real people...