Among the witnesses of more than a dozen moorings, Jiang Tian was the one with the highest rank and official duties; the Pinglu County magistrate who was finally heard from the other side and rushed over very quickly; and the local mayor of Dayang Qiaotou. Ambassador Guan and the inviters came to the scene of the collision and capsizing of the ship.
Compared with the two passenger boats that were knocked over one after another, but the passengers and watermen were rescued, and a shed was built on the shore to accommodate them; the remaining flat-headed boat drifting down was still lifeless and The ones that are still alive continue to be stranded on the pebble beach on the shore, letting the water splash.
However, the villagers who gathered on the shore, the merchants and travelers who got off the boats, as well as the watermen and boatmen on other boats, were blocked by the officials and white servants brought by the county magistrate on the shore, and they were facing each other with different expressions. He was looking at the stranded flat-top boat, pointing loudly and saying something.
The people who had been on the boat, although they had been gathered together, looked like they were still in shock or too frightened; and as long as someone questioned them, they would reply with a few tongue-tied words: "Many people died. "They're all dead." "What a miserable death!"
Every time he heard this sentence, the Pinglu County Magistrate, who was barely maintaining his composure, turned paler; and the (Dayangqiao) City Ambassador, who was the first to bear the brunt, was crying as if a disaster had come from heaven. If it weren't for someone to help him, He almost collapsed to the ground the next moment.
On the contrary, after Jiang Tian got off the boat and showed his identity, he just watched all this with an expressionless face. He only said three sentences before and after: "Control the people on site and conduct identity screening." "Prepare to board the boat for inspection." "Clean the waterway nearby to avoid causing more congestion.”
The middle-aged and skinny Pinglu County Magistrate, after seeing Jiang Tian's identity and trustworthiness, felt as if he had been granted amnesty and wanted to hand over all the control over the scene. Therefore, not long after, a team of bridge guarding troops from Pinglu County also rushed to the scene from the other side.
In this connection, together with more than 200 county squad members, white servants and civil servants, they were placed under Jiang Tian's temporary staff. Because his official official position is to supervise the censor Li Xing (from the seventh rank) and to supervise the post envoys of the two capitals; therefore, this kind of incident on the post road between the two capitals is within his jurisdiction.
Despite this, Jiang Tian made some preparations after ordering the scene to be cordoned off. He looked at the few sergeants who had boarded the ship first and leaned forward one after another to make a no-danger agreement gesture. Then he personally boarded the stranded flat-headed ship. . This is also the most common flat-head boat on the waterway.
Under normal circumstances, this type of ship has a simple structure, requires few operators, and is easy to modify and build; therefore, it is mainly used for transporting cargo, sometimes for the sake of cheaper prices, and for travel conditions Passengers with low requirements for short and medium distances.
The flat-top boat in front of us is a standard model without any modifications; therefore, from the inscription engraved on the bow, it can be seen that it has a carrying capacity of approximately 700 materials. It's nothing in coastal and offshore areas where there are so many big ships; but in inland waterways, it's only a handful of big ships.
And it seems to be in new condition, that is, it has been used for three to five years. There are not many scratches, scratches, and repaint marks on the side of the ship. But as soon as I got closer in a small boat, I was immediately hit by a strong and stale fishy smell, which seemed to have been drying for several days.
There is also a hint of peculiar smell mixed in, which makes people feel faintly. As Jiang Dan jumped onto the ship's deck, Zhang Wusheng, who had led people on board for inspection first, reported in a low voice from the side: "Sir, we have preliminarily inspected the inside and outside, and there is no living person anywhere on the ship. Whole body."
Immediately, Jiang Tian looked through the fully opened slipway and lower warehouse board, and suddenly realized the so-called "no living persons and no whole corpses" reason. Because there was no complete body to be found inside, and it was as if it had been dehydrated in a high-temperature, closed environment and had become shriveled and blackened.
This scene feels a bit familiar, just like... the tragic scene encountered in the pagoda cave of Fengxian Temple in Longmen Mountain. No wonder those who had previously boarded the ship were so frightened that they could not express their general virtues in complete words;
"Sir, can you confirm that it's an animal disaster?" Lin Jiulang, who was fully dressed at this time, also boarded the boat and asked, "Animal disaster?" The Pinglu County Magistrate, who was waiting not far from the boat, couldn't help hearing this. His whole body trembled, and his face suddenly turned from pale to red and looked much better.
After all, the occurrence of such a tragic murder in his Pinglu County would undoubtedly be a heavy stain on his seniority evaluation and subsequent accountability. But if it is not a human-caused disaster, but an external "animal disaster", then the responsibilities of the local parent official will be greatly reduced.
"It's definitely an animal disaster, but it's not entirely an animal disaster." After holding his nose and walking around the ship, and having people pull and turn over the wreckage, Jiang Tian nodded and shook his head and said, "At least It’s not an animal disaster in the ordinary sense, but a scene with something unusual.”
However, in Jiang Tian's field of vision, he did not see any hint of the existence or residue of abnormal objects; then, he carefully looked at the traces on the side of the ship, turned to the absent-minded Pinglu County Magistrate and shouted: "Zhao County Order, have all the people who got off the boat been under control?"
"Uh... um." Magistrate Zhao, who was busy thinking about how to clarify his relationship in the report to the superior, and emphasized the role of the supervisory censor, was shocked when he heard the words and responded hurriedly. : "I've caught all the good ones, just waiting for the follow-up screening."
At this moment, he was somewhat congratulated. In order to be able to reduce his responsibility and serve as a candidate for culpability afterwards, he ordered no one to be arrested on the spot and arrested all the people at the scene. Immediately, he turned and shouted loudly: "Bring the people up quickly."
At the same time, Jiang Tian also said to Zhang Wusheng: "Did the flesh and blood look like this when you boarded the ship before? Did you feel that something was wrong?" Zhang Wusheng was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but he did not hesitate to suppress his nausea and jumped into the cabin again, rummaging through it carefully.
"But I overlooked some places." Then he climbed up again and said with a heavy face: "These corpses are broken, but after being put together, they don't seem to have many organs! This does not seem to be the instinctive behavior of ordinary ferocious beasts. and habits.”
"Yes, if it is a ferocious beast, it will not be so wasteful, let alone such a picky eater." Jiang Tian nodded and said: "Therefore, this scene is more like it was deliberately created to destroy some kind of deeds. ; after all, the scratches scattered on the siding are too few and too shallow.”
"No wonder I found that the top of the lower warehouse was not stained with much flesh and blood and was very clean. I'm afraid it was out of reach for a while, and the result of the aftermath." After hearing this, Zhang Wusheng said thoughtfully: "So, before Among those who escaped from the ship, there is actually some suspicion."
Later, Magistrate Zhao also escorted the people who had escaped from the boat one after another. A large pergola was erected on the deck of the waterwheel. Various public table furnishings were placed, and a somewhat formal trial scene was set up in a very short period of time.
Then, an old boatman with dark skin, a face full of vicissitudes of life, and chapped hands and feet was brought up first. Before anyone could ask questions, he just knelt down on the deck and kowtowed, claiming that he had been wronged. Then there was the ship owner. Inside, many people stood up to prove it.
"You don't need to be nervous. I just want to prove something on the spot." Therefore, Jiang Tian also nodded to him and said calmly: "Since you don't know and have nothing to do with it, then it is a good thing to act bravely for justice. I will naturally I will exonerate you and give you corresponding rewards."
So there was this beginning. After the old boatman went down and another waterman who was still wet was brought up, he was not so nervous. Although I was still stammering when I spoke, I tried my best to repeat the description of what I saw and experienced after boarding the ship.
Then, he was rewarded on the spot with a large piece of white money worth fifty cents. After this example, the next few people who were interrogated all spoke as if they knew everything, and tried their best to describe the situation at the scene; Let Rang be responsible for recording Xin Ping from the side and copied down a thick stack of scrolls.
However, these people came from humble backgrounds and had limited verbal expression ability. Therefore, even if they repeated their stories over and over, they could provide very little new content and details. However, Magistrate Zhao, who was standing by as a jury, was made sleepy but strong. Pull yourself together and make a serious gesture.
Until one of the last three people was left, a villager who seemed to be a bit honest and well-spoken. He seemed to be extremely afraid of the official power and hunched his back when he spoke. After being brought up, he just stuttered: "Little... little ...There is nothing to say about human beings, they are just like others."
"Then let's talk about the things you took away from the ship!" Jiang Tian suddenly said suddenly: because in his field of vision, there was a certain prompt: "Residues of biological radiation were detected...". The man was shocked when he heard this, but was pushed to the ground by the sergeants on the spot.
Amidst the exclamations everywhere, the villager couldn't help but screamed: "Young man...Young man, I really don't know what the official is talking about..." The next moment, Li Huan, who received the signal, He suddenly stepped forward without making a sound and pulled off his short shirt a few times, revealing his lean body.
However, it seems that nothing can be stored in this body that is bare and skinny with visible bones; there is nowhere to hide anything else. Seeing this scene, County Magistrate Zhao couldn't help but coughed and wanted to speak to find a way for Shang Xian to get down the steps. He saw Li Huan expressionlessly punch the villager in the ribs.
In an instant, the naked villager was seen screaming and crouching on his hands and knees, which turned into violent coughing and vomiting. However, before he could choke a few times, something suddenly happened. A lot of saliva fell to the ground; he couldn't help but reach out to catch it.
However, Li Huan quickly stepped on his palm with his foot, and screamed again. However, Li Huan did not let him go, and punched him in the waist with his fingers again. He only heard a strange scream, and a pop from under him. A large pool of filth leaked out; there was a sound of hard objects falling to the ground.
Among the last two people awaiting trial who saw this scene, one of them fell to his knees on the spot with his legs weak; while the other person did not hesitate to push away, and the two police officers who were in custody beside him rushed towards him. The crowd on the shore fled.
"Interesting..." Seeing this surprise, Jiang Tian showed a smile at the corner of his mouth: "The fox's tail is finally exposed..." County Magistrate Zhao, who was stunned and stunned when he heard this, couldn't help but defended quickly: "Shang Xian forgives me, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm really..."
"I'm not talking about the two in front of me." Jiang Tian stood up meaningfully and said: "But the ones hidden in the crowd on the shore...". At the same time, the accompanying sergeants who had been arranged around him appeared one after another and gathered around.
