Chapter 4 Murderous Case
It has been almost two years since the last time the Beibei invaded.
Although the northern captives fought all the way to the capital and returned plundered, this was because Lu Yong "was greedy for merit and brought quarrels upon himself." In the final analysis, it was more or less "because" the Holy Emperor had rewarded Lu Yong heavily first, and he was so bold that he caused such a huge disaster, so the court did not make it difficult for the adults in the Xuan Mansion. Xuanfu, which had been well prepared, not only did not lose, but reported a great victory to the court. Even though there is no decapitation skill, if it is not lost, it is not lost, and the Holy One will always give him condolences and praise. So what should be promoted should be promoted, and what should be awarded should be awarded. Officials at all levels expressed with gratitude that the emperor's thunderous wrath against the culprits and the rain and dew grace for the loyal civil and military personnel were really clear rewards and punishments. The emperor's sage in our dynasty was simply unique in the past three generations. The ministers looked at the tower and worshiped each other, and they all made vows. A solemn and solemn vow: The Ming Dynasty will be destroyed...
At this point, a lively drama with the border military generals as the core audience has achieved performance effects far beyond expectations, and it has reached the final happy ending: some of the other generals "will not retreat from the bloody battle", and some because " "Hearing the police and coming to aid", and some because of the "tail-to-tail attack"... they have also obtained tangible benefits: some have been promoted, and some have been expanded - the establishment of Lu Yong's three battalions has been reported, and now people They are all dead, and the quota will be divided among everyone. Although there was no head, on the one hand, there were civil servants at all levels swearing for merit and endorsement, on the other hand, the court wanted to appease the military morale in the important border town, and there was a tacit understanding among the high officials in the court. The disobedient Lu Yong broke his family and died. The obedient military leaders were all assigned their own piles of large or small candies.
Civil servants gained the most. Recruiting brave men to defend the city requires money, the defenders must eat, killing and injuring thieves requires heavy rewards, sacrificing one's life for the country requires pensions, fighting wars consumes astronomical military reserves, and thieves have looted and robbed, tax exemptions and exemptions... all of them are exactly the same. The accounts were reported, and the cabinet had no objections. The Ministry of Personnel agreed with the Ministry of War, and the inspection was correct. The Ministry of Accounts paid for it, and the Ministry of Grain and Industry allocated materials. The Ministry of Ceremonies clamored that the Holy Father should host the suburban ceremony and we should host it. Hurry up and pay for it. Otherwise, God may not bless us next time. The Ministry of Punishment said, could it? Don't we have any merit? Everyone said that there should and must be. In the end, everyone in the court said that it was inseparable from Bingbi. The eunuch once mentioned that he should treat the soldiers kindly... Everyone was happy. Except for a few thorns in the Metropolitan Procuratorate who would curse a few words without any pain - that's what they do anyway, who would be as knowledgeable as a mad dog.
Make a lot of money.
The actors, theater critics and audiences all made money, and Ming paid for the tickets. Of course, the court has a lot of money, so this little money is naturally nothing. However, the dead people... well, there are also many ants in the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, Deng Changjiang also became a guerrilla general under the guidance of Deputy Commander Ma Xing, who had the title of "unparalleled loyalty and bravery" and was promoted to the commander-in-chief. The commander ordered the garrison at Zhangjiakou Fort. .
One day I received a report that a group of bandits massacred the entire family of the magistrate last night, and then went to the prefect's office and killed many of the magistrate's children - if he hadn't happened to be out, the prefect's life would have been in danger - and then He set a fire, rushed out of the city gate and ran away.
Deng Changjiang thought in his mind that if a large group of guys with unknown origins entered the important place of Bianzhen, they would definitely be stopped by the soldiers guarding the gate. Therefore, these bandits must have sneaked into Fucheng separately in the past few days - this shows that , this gang of bandits is obviously not only organized but also has a clear plan. However, this incident reveals something strange: ordinary thieves should never be so bold!
The bank treasury in the border town is mostly filled with military pay, and its defensive strength cannot be attacked by dozens of bandits. If you are looking for money, you should go to the wealthy households in the surrounding villages. Although it is definitely not ordinary people who can accumulate wealth in this place, it is still easier to deal with than the heavily guarded city. Moreover, the strange thing is that it doesn't look like they are trying to rob money. There is no trouble in the bank. Instead, they slaughter the family of the imperial officials and then go straight to the next family. The purpose is very strong - no matter how they look at it, they are asking for their lives. ! Reminiscing that the judge Gao Sheng was a state judge before, Deng Changjiang couldn't help but feel a string in his heart suddenly twitch. He felt something vaguely, but he couldn't say it for the moment.
Zhangjiakou Fort was the closest to Fucheng. Deng Changjiang knew that most of the responsibility for suppressing the bandits would fall on him, so he called all his soldiers to wait in the camp. Sure enough, the order came soon.
The soldiers in Deng Changjiang's camp were divided into four teams: A, B, C and D. After Nai Qianhan's breach of the border last time, the preparation of the frontier army was more or less similar than before. Not only that the two teams of A and B were really capable of fighting in the field, but that the two teams of Bing and D were able to defend the camp for a while. Although I don’t know the specific number of the gangsters, after analyzing various circumstances, they will not exceed 20 or 30 people. To deal with these unarmored bandits, a centurion wearing half armor is enough. Because there was a ban on field troops not being allowed to enter the city without the express permission of local civil officials, Deng Changjiang ordered Team B to prepare for battle and wait at the gate of the camp. He took a few soldiers into the city to see if he could find any clues at the scene.
Lord Tuiguan's house is neater than expected, and there is not much mess after a group of thieves robbed it. Deng Changjiang himself was originally a bandit who was sent to the army in Liubian. After a few glances, he knew in his mind: this group of bandits must have stepped on it beforehand, and he had determined the patrol time. When the watchman passed by, he would divide it into two groups. At the same time, he took a ladder from the front and back yards and jumped over the wall. And the division of labor was clear, those in the front yard went straight to the servants' room, and those who climbed over the back wall went straight to the side bedroom - everyone died in the room, and no one escaped.
The doorman on duty was probably dozing off. He was neatly dressed and sitting on the floor of the porter's room, his chest was red - he had been stabbed through the heart in his sleep.
Mr. Tui Guan, oh, well, to be precise, it should be Mr. Tui Guan - because the body has no head - naked, leaning on the bed. The wall at the head of the bed is covered with blood. He should be someone who was raped in his sleep. He picked up the hair and cut the throat with a knife, then cut the head directly. A few steps away from the bed, there was a naked female body lying there. It might be the adult's wife or a maid. The same headless corpse had an obvious mark of blood on its chest. It looked like it had been rubbed by some gangster after death - obviously, other people had prevented further intrusion. The suitcase at the end of the bed and the drawer next to the bed had been rummaged through, but there were two or three heavy pieces of loose silver in the corner, indicating that the rummaging was very sloppy.
The headless child corpse in the wing is undoubtedly the young master. The young master's nanny died beside him, but his head was still there. Nearly twenty people, from servants to the head of the household, had died, with fatal injuries either on the chest or on the abdomen and back, and the heads of all the servants were there!
The murder case that destroyed the family was related to the court official. The widower in Fucheng had already checked the bodies: they were all sword wounds, and there was nothing to analyze and judge. However, the same scene is very different in Deng Changjiang's eyes! Seeing the broken neck, Deng Changjiang immediately came to the conclusion: This was done by professional soldiers!
The job of cutting off the head is much more difficult than imagined - if you are a novice, there is a high probability that you will cut the neck bone, so you have to change the place to cut, and the fracture will be messy. Even if it is a heavy, thick-backed ghost-headed knife on the execution ground, a seasoned executioner will cut it close to the bone seam, otherwise the blade will often break even if it is not embedded in the bone. These heads were not chopped off but cut. The three blades were neatly cut along the bone seams. The operator was obviously an experienced hand. More importantly, the neck stump of the push officer is very short, while the other two are longer - the head of an adult male is cut with the Adam's apple attached, which is the subconscious habit of the murderer!
A habit that only professional soldiers have!
The whole family was wiped out, there was time to cut off the head but not the property was collected carefully, the head was taken with him when he fled in a hurry after killing, the victim worked as a grain security officer, the murderer was a professional soldier, and then he went to slaughter another family... various signs showed that , this is seeking revenge, and it is a blood feud.
Deng Changjiang felt something strongly in his heart again, as if the truth was right in front of him, but it was separated by a thick layer of fog, making him unable to grasp the clue.
The situation in the magistrate's residence is similar. The young master and his companions disappeared in the backyard. It is estimated that the murderer could not identify who they were and simply cut them off - the same went for the ladies. Fortunately, there were people in the official hall in front who were waiting for the magistrate to return home and were awake. They heard something wrong and started shouting. The government office was next to the vassal treasury. The bandits were afraid that the guards would come upon hearing the police, so they cut the unfortunate guy down with a knife in his pocket, set a fire, held the treasury soldiers in place, opened the main gate and rushed towards the city gate...
There were two soldiers guarding the door, most of whom were sleeping in the house. It was locked outside and could not get out for a while. The five or six night watchmen were not wearing armor, so they were no match for this group of desperadoes, but none of them suffered any serious injuries - the city gate officer only had his forearm broken by the back of a knife - this was a bit strange. Everyone said that under the force of bloody steel knives, everyone put long ropes on the battlements and were driven down the city wall. The gangsters lowered themselves on the ropes... There was also support outside the city: a long ladder was set up on the other side at one end and angled at the other end. In the moat. Apparently the thief took it out after he passed by.
Anyone who opened the city gate without permission in an important place in the border town was executed. The soldiers who came after hearing the news watched dozens of gangsters swaggering on the wall and disappearing into the night...
At this point, a question suddenly popped up in Deng Changjiang's mind: Why did this group of desperadoes, who wiped out the whole family without blinking an eye, let go of the gatekeepers who were the greatest threat - each one was stabbed directly with a knife, or they were all rushed into the room and locked outside. Isn't it easiest to set a fire? Why just disarm and drive away?
Deng Changjiang called the city gate official who was resting and recuperating.
The city gate official was an old soldier. Although he couldn't recognize his name, his face looked familiar. From his flashing words, Deng Changjiang discovered some clues.
Of course the city gate officer knew Deng Guerrilla, and even more about his experience. Under questioning from General Deng, who had rich industry experience in both soldiering and thieves, he gave the latter an imperceptible look.
Seeing Deng Changjiang ordering Team B to set out to rendezvous ten miles outside the city, the city gate officer stopped grinning and pretended to hum. He knelt down with a plop and whispered: "General Deng, forgive me, little man." It was really self-inflicted!" Before he finished speaking, hot tears burst into his eyes, leaving two mud marks on his dirty face.
Deng Changjiang stared at this guy calmly and listened to his ramble on: "Sir, I used to beg for food in General Lu's camp. How pitiful is it that when the Tatars broke through the border, they were lucky enough to escape. He was killed and his leg was injured, and later he was thrown here and became a gatekeeper. Sir, please spare this young man for the sake of General Lu... The leader of that group of heroes is Fourth Master Lu!"
a bolt from the blue!
The fog that had been covering Deng Changjiang's eyes suddenly lifted.
