Lin Ming had a thorough exchange with the chief of the fast team of the county government in the past few days, and initially grasped the pattern of Gao Shunqin's activities in Guangzhou. Like all officials, Gao Shunqin's activities in Guangzhou were not extensive, except for going to the government office, visiting guests, and bureaucrats Except for socializing among wealthy families, he rarely goes out. [No pop-up novel website] Because of his strong anti-barbarian views, he has great political differences with the local Guangzhou officialdom, which has gained a large amount of profits from foreign trade, so he does not have much contact with the Guangzhou officialdom. He spends most of his time in his own mansion.
Lin Ming specially visited the entire high house. The Gaozhai is not large in area. It is a medium-sized residence with three courtyards in front and back, two courtyards in the east and west, and a garden outside. It used to be the residence of a foreign businessman in Guangzhou. Because it was a wealthy businessman's home, the materials used in the house were very particular when it was built. The plain-faced brick walls were extremely high, at least two feet, four or five feet. It is impossible to climb up the wall without using tools.
All doors are locked, and the keys to each door are controlled by the housekeeper and returned to the upper room every night. After nightfall, all the courtyards are locked and the main doors are guarded by dedicated personnel. Along the entire wall, watchmen are patrolling and guarding the entire courtyard. It should be said that this arrangement is quite rigorous.
Moreover, the inner study is at the core of the mansion. If someone can climb over the high wall in the dark night, evade patrols, go deep into the mansion, and finally take a living person like Gao Shunqin away without anyone noticing, Go, Lin Ming thought this was impossible. Although there are many legends of snitches circulating in the world, Lin Ming's family is a hereditary royal guard. He has been exposed to many cases since he was a child. He has heard many cases from his elders. He is well-informed at a young age. He has handled many cases himself and knows that there are many exaggerations in them. He believed that if someone really kidnapped Gao Shunqin, there must be someone inside Gao Shunqin's house.
When it came to interrogating suspects, he was not as hesitant as Yu Jiancun. He looked forward and backward. Yu Jiancun did not even dare to torture the prominent maid in the high house. He only summoned him for questioning a few times and it was a formality. In Lin Ming's opinion, it was simply "indulgence".
In addition to the fact that Su Ai is Gao Xunjian's concubine, Pirou is temporarily exempted from suffering until the matter becomes unclear and she is only allowed to "judge". The Guangzhou Prefecture issued a sign, and then all the servants, watchmen, servants who were guarding the house that night, the housekeeper in charge of the keys, and even Su Ai's personal maid were all brought in and tortured overnight. The banging of whips and boards, and the howling of the criminals... made pedestrians prefer to take a long detour rather than pass by the Guangzhou government office.
Lin Ming once suspected that the housekeeper was from Guangdong Province and had a natural advantage in colluding with local gangsters. Moreover, she held the keys and knew the roads and routines in the mansion very well, making her an extremely useful internal agent. Therefore, he ordered Li Yongxun to focus on questioning this person. .
Because Li Yongxun came to "handle cases" with his cousin-in-law, he worked very hard in torturing the prisoners in order to show that he was not a useless burden. Her family originally had ancestral craftsmanship. She was even more reluctant when it came to punishing female prisoners, and she tortured all the slaves and slaves to death. The "juror" Su Ai was so frightened that she fainted. When the caregiver helped her away, Li Yongxun felt that she was lying on the stool.
"I've seen people frightened to death after being whipped a few times." Li Yongxun looked disdainful, "She's really a eldest lady than a eldest lady."
The housekeeper's wife was tortured but finally confessed: on the morning when Gao Xunwen disappeared, the watchman found that the lock on the backyard door was unlocked. The report was sent to her at that time. The housekeeper was afraid that she had neglected her duty and failed to investigate. Once the report was reported, the master would be blamed. Moreover, there were no traces of theft, so she ordered someone to lock the door again and tell everyone to be silent. When I later heard that the master was missing, I didn't dare to make the matter public anymore.
As if Lin Ming had found a treasure, he tortured several other people at that time, and their confessions were indeed consistent. Now it is generally clear how Gao Xunjian disappeared: whether Gao Xunjian was kidnapped or walked out on his own, he obviously got out through the open door in the backyard.
The problem is that there are still many links that are not clear, and even if you keep asking, you still can't find out who is responsible. But at this time he got the news from Jinghai Men. Lin Ming felt that there was a new breakthrough in this matter, and immediately led people to investigate along the way.
With the momentum of the Jinyiwei, as long as the brand is shown, all the people, civilians, businessmen and merchants along the way will ask and answer questions without daring to hide anything. And the sedan horses leaving the city early in the morning were really eye-catching, so they got the news quickly. After leaving Guangzhou, the group immediately took the official road to Foshan Town.
After arriving at Foshan Town, I heard that a group of people were getting off their sedan chairs and getting started.
The host is quite decent. Surrounded by several servants, we had dinner in a private room of a local restaurant. The shot was quite generous. Although the store owner and "Qitang" couldn't see clearly, the appearance and characteristics they described were somewhat similar to Gao Xunjian.
Lin Ming was overjoyed, this was probably Gao Shunqin! As for whether he was coerced or voluntary, it didn't matter. The important thing was that Gao Xunjian was still alive.
"This is such a great joy!" Yu Bangcun was beaming with joy after hearing what he said about his investigation. As long as Gao Xunping is not dead, things will be much easier to handle. Yu Bangcun was most afraid that Gao Shunqin would die on the boundary of Guangzhou Prefecture. It would be difficult for him, a local official, to escape responsibility.
"Haha." Lin Ming sneered twice. He knew the governor's thoughts very clearly, "Mr. Suan! You are thinking too simplistically. Although Master Gao was still safe and sound when he was in Foshan, seven or eight days have passed. How do you know if he is safe at this moment?"
"Yes, yes, dear dear, thank you for your hard work." Of course Yu Jiancun understood what Lin Ming meant, and quietly stuffed a Delong noodle note, "Brothers, you have worked hard, let me drink tea for you."
Lin Ming curled his eyes: Fifty taels. He was quite satisfied with this figure. Before the case was concluded, he would have to bargain with him for a thousand dollars.
"Easy to say." Lin Ming sat on the chair. Foshan is his hometown, and the number of people is more familiar. The men went out for a while and got important news: the group stayed in Foshan for half a day, during which they bought a lot of dry food and things needed on the road. Then we booked a passenger ship bound for Sanshui County and left.
Yu Jian was surprised and puzzled: "Go to Sanshui?"
Lin Ming and his men were very puzzled by this: they were very familiar with these waterways: passenger ships could go up the river, not only to Sanshui County, but also to the north, passing through Qingyuan, Yingde, Shaozhou, Shaoguan, and finally Arrived in Nanxiong Prefecture. Take Route 6 from Nanxiong Prefecture to Dageng Ridge and leave Guangdong.
"Yeah, brother, I'm also very confused. Does Mr. Gao have any old friends or relatives in Sanshui?"
"I've never heard of it." Yu Meancun frowned, "Besides, even if we are visiting relatives and friends, is there any reason to say goodbye without saying goodbye?"
"Exactly."
Lin Ming immediately sent out all his subordinates to investigate along the river, checking Master Gao's movements along the way. He took the others back to Guangdong - he felt that the root of this matter should still be in Guangzhou. He believed it was necessary to find out what happened in Guangzhou.
Now he thinks that the possibility of Gao Xun's escape on his own is very slim. Mr. Gao was serving as an official in Guangdong properly, and it was impossible for him to leave Guangdong without receiving a transfer order from the imperial court or receiving a letter that an elder in his family had died of illness and that he had to go home to mourn. Therefore, it is possible to abandon the official position and leave.
"Master Gao was probably kidnapped by some gangsters." Lin Ming said, "I just don't know who these gangsters are and why they kidnapped Master Gao?"
"Is it for money?"
"It's not the same." Lin Ming shook his head. There are no such bold gangsters in the world who kidnap local officials for money. Is it safe to kidnap wealthy people to bring in money?
"Could it be the work of the Australians or the Francois?" Yu Jiancun asked. Gao Shunqin's political views were to resist the foreigners, and his sudden disappearance would be very beneficial to both the Australians and the Francons. The anti-barbarian faction in Guangzhou will lose a lot of influence if they lose such a strong official supporter.
Lin Ming thought that this was very possible. However, if it was really their fault, the route should not be from Foshan to Sanshui, but directly from Huangpu to the Pearl River Estuary. Regardless of whether it is Haojing Ao occupied by the Francois or Xiangshan Ao occupied by the Australians, they are both south of Guangzhou.
"I'm afraid this is a plan to make a splash in the east and attack in the west." Lin Ming said slowly, "I have sent people to Sanshui to track down Master Gao's whereabouts. I will also send people to the south to investigate."
"Thank you for your hard work. If you need any help from students, students will definitely help you!"
The place where Lin Ming and his men stayed was in a courtyard of Gao Residence. After running back and forth for the past few days, he was very tired. After hurriedly washing and changing clothes, he lay on the bed but couldn't fall asleep. There were too many details in Gao Shunqin's disappearance that he couldn't figure out. On the whole, it seems that it is very possible that Mr. Gao was forcibly abducted, but who was the abductor, what was the motive, and how did they do it? It was still a series of tricks.
Overall, the Francois and Australians are the most suspect. But there was no evidence that they were responsible, and the escape route didn't match up. Lin Ming thought: It is necessary to immediately send a few more people to the Pearl River Estuary area to inquire about the news. Try your best to find out the whereabouts of Gao Shunqin.
Only after you find out everything about the situation can you bargain.
Lin Ming's tenure as an official was not too long, but the rules of officialdom were very clear. Sometimes the truth of the incident is not the most important, but how to reduce "trouble" as much as possible is the most important. The disappearance of Gao Shunqin seems to be a source of tension in the officialdom, but what they are nervous about is not the safety of Inspector Gao, but the negative impact this matter will ultimately have on his career. Guangdong officialdom can no longer withstand a new round of strong winds. Wang Du's death can be regarded as taking the blame for Qiongzhou's fiasco. If another Gao Shunqin case breaks out, Guangdong officialdom will no longer be confused. (To be continued.
