The sun was high in the sky, not a single cloud in the sky, and the golden sunlight illuminated the world. A group of people dressed as traveling merchants came to the west gate of Jingnan County, led by a middle-aged man in his thirties. This man was none other than Tan Lun, the prefect of Taizhou, who was dressed as the owner of a traveling merchant. Behind Tan Lun were five people dressed as traveling merchants' assistants, led by General Zuo Zhen, and the other four were all extraordinary soldiers.
Today, Taizhou prefect Tan Lun came to Jingnan for a private visit.
Yesterday, not long after the scout reported the battle report from Jingnan, Tan Lun received an official battle report sent by Zhu Ping'an, the magistrate of Jingnan County.
The official war report was more detailed and the data was more specific, but firstly, the matter was serious, and secondly, the content of the Jingnan war report was too unexpected, especially the 795 heads of Japanese pirates captured, which was unbelievable. Tan Lun decided to verify it in person. So, early this morning, Tan Lun took Zuo Zhen and others to take off their official uniforms, dressed up as merchants, and went to Jingnan County for a private visit to verify whether the war report was true.
After Tan Lun arrived at the west gate of Jingnan, he did not rush into the city, but stopped in front of the west gate to check.
Although several days have passed, a faint smell of blood can still be smelled at the west gate of Jingnan County.
The battle marks on the gate from knife hacking, axe chopping and fire are still vivid. The stone bricks in front of the gate seem to be infiltrated by blood. Although it can be seen that Jingnan County has been washed with clean water many times, the stone bricks still have blood-red marks. There are also many battle marks on the walls on both sides of the gate. Several sections of the wall still have traces of fire, which are black. The soil under the wall is blood-red. When a gust of wind blows, the earthy smell on the ground is permeated with a faint smell of blood, which should be caused by the soil being soaked in blood.
All the scenes in front of the West City Gate confirmed to everyone how cruel and fierce the battle in Jingnan was on that day.
"Your Excellency, judging from the traces in front of the city gate, the battle to defend Jingnan City was very tragic that day."
Zuo Zhen carefully observed the traces of battle in front of the city gate, pointed to one of the traces, and whispered to Tan Lun.
"Haha, there is no such thing as a fu zun here. I am the owner of Taizhou Fu Jing Ming Tea Shop."
Tan Lun smiled slightly and shook his head, then patted Zuo Zhen on the shoulder, reminding him that this was a private visit and secret investigation.
"Yes, Boss." Zuo Zhen clasped his fists and changed his address. "From these traces, it can be seen that the battle to defend Jingnan City was very tragic."
Tan Lun nodded slightly and said softly, "Indeed, I believe the Jingnan battle report even more."
"Let's go in and take a look." After looking at the city gate for a while, Tan Lun said to Zuo Zhen and others.
"Please come in, Boss." Zuo Zhen extended his hand and invited Tan Lun to go first.
The group walked into Jingnan County. As soon as they entered Jingnan County, they couldn't help but sigh at the prosperity of Jingnan.
Jingnan County doesn't look like it has ever experienced Japanese invasion.
The streets of Jingnan County are bustling with people. Although not as busy as Taizhou Prefecture, there are still many pedestrians on the streets. Some are walking and shopping, some are carrying loads on their shoulders, some are delivering goods in horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts, and some are stopping at roadside stalls to select goods and bargain... ... There are rows of buildings on both sides of the street, including teahouses, wine shops, grocery stores, etc. There is a constant flow of customers, and it seems that business is booming. There are also many small vendors on the open spaces on both sides of the street, shouting loudly and promoting their products eloquently.
Tan Lun walked for a while and noticed that the buildings in the city were intact, pedestrians were constantly coming and going, and shops were doing a booming business. He nodded slightly and said to Zuo Zhen beside him, "The buildings in Jingnan City are intact, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. It can be seen that Jingnan has indeed never been captured by the Japanese pirates."
Seeing that there was indeed no sign of Jingnan County falling, Tan Lun felt much more relieved. Even if the Jingnan battle report was exaggerated, he would feel much more at ease as long as Jingnan County was indeed not captured by the Japanese pirates.
"What the boss said is true. There is no sign that Jingnan City has been captured by Japanese pirates." Zuo Zhen clasped his fists and shook his head slightly. He said doubtfully, "However, the number of Japanese pirate heads captured in the Jingnan battle report may be exaggerated. It is not easy for Jingnan to defend itself. It is difficult to capture 795 Japanese pirate heads... But the scout said that he had counted the heads himself, and there were indeed 795 heads. If these heads were not from Japanese pirates, then these heads..."
Zuo Zhen was a general of the new army. He had experienced the power of the Japanese pirates in the battle to defend the city of Taizhou. The new army under his command was no match for the Japanese pirates, so how could the young and strong civilians temporarily recruited from Jingnan be their opponents? More than half of his new army was killed or wounded when defending the city, and they only beheaded more than 200 Japanese pirates. The people of Jingnan County were temporarily recruited to defend the city, and not only did they defend the county, but they also beheaded 795 Japanese pirates? He didn't believe it.
He suspected in his heart that most, or even the vast majority, of the 795 Japanese pirate heads were heads of dead or wounded civilians.
However, he had no evidence, so he didn't say it explicitly, but the implication was obvious in his words.
If these heads are not from Japanese pirates, then these heads... needless to say, they must have been impersonated by heads of innocent civilians.
Kill innocent people and take credit for it!
In fact, even without Zuo Zhen's reminder, Tan Lun had this suspicion. As early as when he heard the battle report from Jingnan, Tan Lun had already had this suspicion.
Throughout the dynasties, even in this dynasty, there have been many absurd and cruel acts of killing innocent people and claiming credit. Tan Lun remembered clearly that he had seen in the court newspaper that Zhu Ping'an had impeached Zhao Daying for killing innocent people and claiming credit a few months ago, and the impact was still great.
Tan Lun hated the act of killing innocent people and claiming credit for it. Although Zhu Ping'an had made contributions in defending the city and recovering Taiping County, and had made indelible contributions to saving his political career... However, if it was verified that Zhu Ping'an was indeed suspected of killing innocent people and claiming credit for it, Tan Lun would never condone it.
Killing innocent people to claim credit is no different from being an animal! Such people must not be tolerated, otherwise the people under their rule will suffer.
Zhu Pingan, Zhu Pingan, this government hopes that you will not become the kind of person you impeached...
Tan Lun looked towards the direction of Jingnan County Government Office. His eyes were complicated and finally became cold.
"Let's go. I see that teahouse is the busiest with people coming and going. Let's go sit in the teahouse and get some information."
After walking along the street for a while, Tan Lun noticed a teahouse called "Qiwanzhai" not far ahead. The teahouse was located in a central area, occupied a large area, and was very busy with people coming and going. Thinking that all kinds of people gathered in the teahouse and it was the most well-informed, he turned around and said to Zuo Zhen and others.
Since the Lord of the Mansion had spoken, Zuo Zhen and the others naturally had no objection, and soon the group walked into the "Qiwanzhai" teahouse.