Chapter 1173: Private Visit by the Master in Incognito
The sun was rising three poles, there was not a single cloud in the sky, and the golden sunshine shone on the heaven and earth. A group of people dressed as businessmen came to the west gate of Jingnan County, led by a middle-aged man in his thirties. This man was Tan Lun, the magistrate of Taizhou, who pretended to be a shopkeeper. Behind Tan Lun were five people pretending to be merchants. The leader was General Zuo Zhenzuo, and the other four were all sergeants with extraordinary skills.
Today, Taizhou Magistrate Tan Lun came to Jingnan for a private visit.
Yesterday, shortly after Tan Ma Xiaobing reported the battle report to Jingnan, Tan Lun received an official battle report from Zhu Ping'an, the magistrate of Jingnan County.
The official battle report records are more detailed, and the data are also more specific. However, first of all, it is a major event, and secondly, the content of the Jingnan battle report is too unexpected, especially the capture of 795 Japanese pirate heads. Unbelievable, Tan Lun decided to verify it himself. Therefore, early this morning, Tan Lun took Zuo Zhen and others, took off their official uniforms, dressed up as businessmen, and came to Jingnan County for a private visit to verify whether the battle report was true or not.
After Tan Lun arrived at the west gate of Jingnan, he was not in a hurry to enter 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 traces of fighting such as knives, axes, and fires are still vivid on the city gate. The stone bricks in front of the city gate seem to have been penetrated by blood congestion. Although it can be seen that Jingnan County has been washed with clean water many times, but The stone bricks are still stained with blood-red traces. There are also many traces of battles left on the city walls on the left and right sides of the city gate. Several sections of the city wall still have traces of fire. They are dark. The soil under the city wall is red with blood. A gust of wind blows, and the smell of earth on the ground rises. There is a faint smell of blood in the smell, which should be caused by the soil being soaked in blood.
The scenes in front of the Xicheng Gate all confirmed to others the cruelty and fierceness of the battle in Jingnan that day.
"Master Fu, judging from these traces in front of the city gate, the battle to defend the city in Jingnan that day was very tragic."
Zuo Zhen carefully observed the traces of the battle in front of the city gate, pointed to one of the traces, and whispered to Tan Lun.
"Haha, there is no official here. I am the shopkeeper of Taizhou Fujing Tea Shop."
Tan Lun smiled slightly and shook his head, patting Zuo Zhen on the shoulder. Remind him that this is a private investigation.
"Yes, boss." Zuo Zhen clasped his fists and changed his title, "Judging from these traces, the battle to defend the city of Jingnan that day was very tragic."
Tan Lun Weiwei He nodded and said softly, "That's true. I have more faith in the Jingnan battle report."
"Let's go in and take a look." Tan Lun said to Zuo Zhen and others after looking in front of the city gate for a while.
"Master, please." Zuo Zhen stretched out his hand and asked 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 bustle of Jingnan.
Jingnan County does not look like it has experienced Japanese invasion at all.
There are people coming and going on the streets of Jingnan County. Although it is not as busy as Taizhou Prefecture, there are still people on the streets. Some are shopping on foot, some are carrying burdens, and some are riding horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts. Those who deliver goods, stop at roadside stalls to choose There are shops selling goods and bargains. 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 business seems to be booming. There are many small stalls and hawkers in the open space on both sides of the street, shouting and selling in an articulate manner. Promote goods.
Tan Lun walked for a while and noticed that the buildings in the city were intact, pedestrians were constantly coming and going, and the shops were booming. He couldn't help but 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. There is not much that can be seen." influence, it can be See, Jingnan has indeed not been captured by Japanese pirates.”
Seeing that Jingnan County has indeed not been captured, Tan Lun feels much more relaxed. After the Japanese invaders fell, I felt more relieved.
"What my boss said is that there are no signs of being captured by Japanese pirates in Jingnan City." Zuo Zhen said with clasped fists. After finishing speaking, he shook his head slightly and said with suspicion, "However, Jingnan City The number of Japanese pirate heads captured in the Nanzhan report is probably not very clear. It is not easy to defend Jingnan. It is difficult to say that 795 Japanese pirate heads were captured. It’s just that Tan Ma Yan has personally counted the heads. , there are indeed seven hundred and ninety-five. If these heads are not Japanese pirates, then these heads"
Zuo Zhen is a general of the New Army. He has experienced the power of Japanese pirates in the defense battle of Taizhou Prefecture. His subordinates The new army was not a match for the Japanese pirates, so how could the young and strong people temporarily recruited from Jingnan be a match for the Japanese pirates? When the new army under his command was defending the city, more than half of them were killed or injured, and they only beheaded more than 200 Japanese pirates. Jingnan County temporarily mobilized people to defend the city. Not only did they defend the county, but they also captured 795 Japanese pirate heads? ! He didn't believe it.
He suspected in his heart that most, or even the vast majority, of the 795 Japanese pirate heads were made up of the heads of dead and wounded civilians.
However, he had no evidence, so he didn't say it clearly, but the implications were obvious.
If these heads are not Japanese pirates, then there is no need to say that these heads must be pretended to be the heads of innocent people.
Kill the good and take credit!
In fact, there is no need for Zuo Zhen to remind Tan Lun of this suspicion. Tan Lun had already suspected this when he heard the Jingnan battle report.
Throughout the dynasties, even this dynasty has committed absurd and cruel acts of killing good people and taking credit for their merits. Tan Lun remembered clearly. He had read in the Di newspaper that Zhu Ping'an had impeached Zhao Daying a few months ago for killing a good man and taking credit for his crimes, which had a great impact.
Tan Lun deeply abhors the act of killing good people and taking credit for their merits. Although Zhu Pingan served well in defending the city, regained Taiping County, and made indelible contributions to saving his political career. However, if this investigation proves that Zhu Pingan is indeed suspected of killing good people and taking merit, Tan Lun will never tolerate it. .
Killing good people and taking credit for their merits is no different from beasts! Such people must not be tolerated, otherwise the people under their rule will suffer.
Zhu Pingan, Zhu Pingan, I hope you will not become the kind of person you impeached
Tan Lun looked in the direction of Jingnan County Yamen, with a complicated expression in his eyes. It finally cooled down.
“Come on, I see that the teahouse is the busiest with people coming and going. Let’s go sit in the teahouse and find out some news.”
After Tan Lun walked along the street for a while, he noticed that there was a teahouse called "Qiwanzhai" not far ahead. The teahouse was located in the center, covering a large area, and was very lively with people coming and going. He thought that teahouses have three religions and nine streams. Concentrate, the information is the best, so he turned to Zuo Zhen and others and said.
After Fu Zun spoke, Zuo Zhen and others naturally had no objection, and soon the group walked into the "Qi Wan Zhai" teahouse. (End of this chapter)