There is indeed something fishy!
This was the first reaction of Li Ke and Qin Mubai after hearing that Zhu Chengwen committed suicide.
Naturally, Qin Mubai would not talk too much in such a public place. After all, Li Ke was a man who had seen the world. He was not in a hurry to get angry. He just said "Huh" and followed Cheng Songnian's words and said: "I just came here." On the way, I saw a large number of people in Jishan County fleeing, saying that the county magistrate Zhu Chengwen forced them to move and annexed their properties and land. Is that why Zhu Chengwen committed suicide in fear of crime? "
"That's true!" Cheng Songnian said in surprise and hurriedly held up his hands. "His humble post gave him repeated orders to help the people after the disaster, but he turned a blind eye to his humble post's orders, forcibly drove away a large number of victims, and took the opportunity to plunder their cattle, sheep, livestock and food. property, and took the opportunity to squander a large amount of land and real estate. This kind of corrupt official who has made it difficult for the country to make money will never be able to redeem his crime! He is despicable... His Majesty is guilty of neglecting his duty. Please punish him!"
"This matter will be discussed later. This king is here with an order, not to hold anyone accountable or to bring anyone to justice, but to relieve the disaster and appease the people." Li Ke said, "I just want to know now, how is the disaster?"
"Your Highness, please go to the stronghold to speak, and I will give you a detailed report!" Cheng Songnian said.
"Okay, let's go." Li Ke raised his hand and pointed forward, then paused and said, "General Qin, please check the flood situation as soon as possible."
"I humbly accept my order!" Qin Mubai clasped his fists and agreed, thinking that Li Ke was indeed careful and considerate in his work. He wanted to listen to Cheng Songnian's report first, and then asked me to conduct on-site inspections, and then come back to confirm whether Cheng Songnian was lying.
Li Ke, Cheng Songnian, Liao Lirong and others led the royal soldiers into the military stronghold, while Qin Mubai and Baiqi soldiers stayed outside the stronghold. Ma Kun, the captain of Jiangzhou Prefecture, stayed behind to accompany Qin Mubai.
"The great name of General Qin and his humble position are like thunder even thousands of miles away!" Ma Kun laughed heartily and boldly, and said, "In addition to the six and twelve guards in the Tang Dynasty, there are more A hundred cavalry. And General Qin is the first envoy of a hundred cavalry. He is deeply relied on and relied on by the emperor. He is more noble than the general of the Twelve Guards!"
Qin Mubai smiled slightly to himself: "Official positions have no distinction between high and low. Regardless of their rank, they are all for the purpose of taking care of the emperor and serving the country. Ma Duwei, you must have worked hard these days to provide disaster relief. I'm so sorry that I was late. !”
"Haha, what are you talking about, General Qin!" Ma Kun said with a smile, "The soldiers of our Twelve Guards have always done this kind of dirty and tiring work. How can we let your dignified royal guards lead the imperial army? What are you doing here, huh?"
Qin Mubai frowned slightly - this guy even mocked me! I'm a little fifth-grade military captain, I'm polite to you, but you're still so domineering. Probably because he is used to being rampant in the local area, and he really doesn't know how to appreciate it!
"General Ma, there is no need to say more. I am now ordered to inspect the flood-stricken areas. Please send someone to lead the way." Qin Mubai said.
"Okay. Since it is General Qin who speaks, I have to accompany you in person! - General Qin, please!" Ma Kun got a horse and rode on it. He took more than ten soldiers with him and took Qin Mubai to the front of the army stronghold. And go.
After running for three to five miles, Qin Mubai saw a high embankment with fresh soil, and some sergeants were carrying sacks to heighten and reinforce it.
Qin Mubai and others got off their horses and walked onto the high embankment, and saw a vast ocean in front of them. The muddy lake water is a reddish-yellow color, and submerged mulberry fields and houses can be seen in the distance. From time to time, pigs, sheep and even human corpses can be found floating on the water.
"Is this the flooded Ji County village?" Qin Mubai asked, pointing to the area ahead.
"Yes." Ma Kun frowned and sighed, "What a misfortune! A radius of more than sixty miles has turned into a vast ocean overnight! If the governor Cheng had not been able to provide disaster relief under the leadership of the governor, there would be no place in Jishan County. A flood control embankment must be built in front of us. I am afraid that the entire county will be swallowed up and spread to other states and counties.”
"When we came here just now, we found that the county seat of Jishan County was almost an empty city, and there were signs of raging floods. What's going on?" Qin Mubai asked, "Isn't the flood blocked here? Well, why did Jishan County become like that?”
"The general only knows one, but not the other!" Ma Kun chuckled and said, "It is said that floods are like galloping horses, and they will slow down only in places with slightly higher terrain. This place is where Jishan County is facing floods On a sloping land, the flood flow was slightly slower. Cheng Jishi had been in Jiangzhou for many years and was very experienced in controlling floods in this area. In fact, when he received the news, the flood had already reached the county seat of Jishan County. Fortunately, the flood was bound to stop. It was not violent. Although it flooded part of the county, it was not as deep as one person. So he led five thousand of our soldiers to build a dike here day and night, and then the flood was blocked. The scene I saw in the county before.”
Qin Mubai frowned slightly and thought to himself: Listening to Ma Kun's words, it is indeed perfect and can be fully justified. But there are still many things that cannot be explained - first, since the flood once washed through Jishan County, where has the flood gone now? Secondly, now that the peak of the flood has passed, why did Zhu Chengwen, the magistrate of Jishan County, force people to move again? Did he really want to seize the opportunity to seize people's property and then commit suicide with a batch of property? Unless he was mentally ill, he would definitely not be so desperate for money and life, and would commit suicide with a pile of belongings!
"Thank you, General Ma. You have really contributed a lot to your hard work!" Qin Mubai said without saying anything about the end points, "When the flood comes, you five thousand elite soldiers will have no choice but to step into the flood to build the dam? That's true. Hard!"
"Not only was it hard work, we also paid the price of more than a dozen lives for this." Ma Kun sighed and said, "They say there is a scourge, and it's true. Few of us in the Northern Army are good at water. Everyone. He gritted his teeth and had the courage to jump into the water and build a human wall to block some of the water. Then he drove piles, pressed rice bags, and carried loads of soil. It took two days and two nights of hard work to build the ten-mile embankment to block the flood peak. Some brothers were overworked and accidentally washed away, and they never came back. To this day, we still don’t know where their bodies are.”
"It's admirable." Qin Mubai nodded and sighed, and asked casually, "I don't know much about things like building embankments to fight floods. I just listened to what General Ma said and thought about it, you threw all the rice bags in In this dam, what else can the army eat?”
Ma Kun was startled for a moment and then said hurriedly: "General, you don't know something. Who is willing to throw the white and fine Jiangnan rice into the flood? In fact, the best thing to use in fighting floods is rice bags. Because the rice swells when it is soaked in water. , become heavier and sinker, so that we can build a dam to block the flood. Then we can build the dam by adding soil and stones. It is a pity that we have thrown all the five thousand stones of rice into the flood. Ah... three months of rations for all the soldiers in the government are gone. "
Qin Mubai's heart moved: No wonder those refugees said that the people who served as soldiers did this because they had run out of food and livestock? However, flood fighting and disaster relief are a major matter for the imperial court and the government. As the governor of Jiangzhou, does Cheng Songnian condone the government soldiers to rape the people like this
"General Ma, what have you been eating these days?" Qin Mubai asked.
"There is still some surplus food in the army, which can last for three to five days." Ma Kun said, as if he had already prepared in his mind, "In addition, the governor Cheng also transferred a batch from the state government's grain depot, which is enough to eat."
"But on the way down with your Highness, I repeatedly heard that the government soldiers were raping the people and seizing food. Why is this?" Qin Mubai asked as he knocked on the mountain to shock the tiger.
Ma Kun's expression suddenly changed, his eyes widened and he said loudly: "That's absolutely not the case! General Qin, think about it, our soldiers are working so hard to build the dam even if they don't even risk their lives, isn't it just to protect the people in the city? How is it possible? Go back and plunder the people’s property and food? This is a slander! This is a slander that hurts the hearts and morale of all our soldiers!”
"Okay, General Ma, you don't have to be excited. I don't believe such a thing, otherwise I wouldn't have come to ask you." Qin Mubai smiled calmly, "You have worked hard and made great achievements. I will convey all of it to His Highness King Wu. Yes. I believe that His Highness will report it directly in front of the Emperor, so that your merits will not be swallowed up."
"Don't take the credit for your merits, and don't expect the rewards!" Ma Kun was even more angry, and said angrily with his eyes widened, "Those of us who serve as government soldiers serve the country with no food and no pay, and we don't have to risk our lives to do it. To do something wrong while doing something good is a life-and-death thing!”
"Presumptuous!" At this time, a brigade commander who was following Qin Mubai couldn't stand it and shouted in a low voice, "How dare you contradict General Qin, Ma Kun! You are venting your dissatisfaction with the imperial court and venting your dissatisfaction on His Majesty. Angry?"
Ma Kun was startled, as if he had just remembered that Qin Mubai was a trusted general around the emperor. He hurriedly restrained his anger and apologized to Qin Mubai: "I was so angry and disrespectful, General Qin, please don't blame me! I am a rough man, He doesn't study much and has an upright nature. He spends all his time hanging out with the rogue soldiers in the military mansion, and he has a bad temper. If I offend him in any way, I apologize for my humiliation!"
"It doesn't matter." Qin Mubai said lightly, "The people in the army are all bloody men with rough and straightforward temperaments. That is a common thing. I am not that stingy and won't take it to heart."
Later, Qin Mubai returned to the military camp and met with Li Ke. Li Ke also listened to Cheng Songnian's report and had many doubts.
The two of them discussed together.
"Mu Bai, I just listened to what Cheng Songnian said for a long time, and I also heard you talk about the situation of the dams. I think there are many problems in it." Li Ke said, "First, the most strange thing is that Jishan County Magistrate Zhu Zhu Cheng Wen committed suicide. His behavior was too incomprehensible. The sudden flood broke the lake embankment, flooded the countryside of Jishan County, and hit the county town. He was guilty as a county magistrate, but the flood did not cause death. In Jishan County, the flood situation was not fierce. At this time, the most important thing for him to do was to provide relief to the people and minimize the losses. However, he forced all the people to move out of Jishan. Furthermore, why is he here again? What about committing suicide after moving out the people? The explanation given by Cheng Songnian was that he took the opportunity to plunder the people's property and property. I don't believe this at all. The law of the Tang Dynasty is huge. He, a small county magistrate, has that ability and ability. Do you have the guts to swallow hundreds of hectares of fertile land? Secondly, the flood actually passed through Jishan County and disappeared, so where did it go? I asked Cheng Songnian, and he was vague and said that the flood flowed into the lower rivers and gullies. , because the flood peak is blocked, the amount of water is not large. This is strange, the flood that washed away a county can actually disappear like this? The third problem is that the soldiers and the people both denied it. Their soldiers would rather go hungry than do such a thing, he said impassionedly and a little angry - in other words, food is a very sensitive topic for them!"
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[The power outage lasted a whole day, and I was very helpless... now two chapters are presented together]