About twenty-five days later, Tang Jianqiu, Qiao Yunsheng and others led their troops to Linyi County;
The county magistrate of the area had already sent people to wait at the border gate after receiving the news.
At first, he was very patient, but as time went by, he inevitably became a little anxious. It wasn't until he saw the large number of officers and soldiers coming this way that he could be sure.
The group of people waited for a long time, and the moment the army was about to approach, he immediately stepped forward and saluted to welcome the distinguished guest.
"You must be Mr. Qiao, right? I have long heard in my humble position that your Excellency is highly virtuous, always caring, and diligent in serving the people. When I saw it today, it turned out to be true! I wonder who this Sir is..."
As he said that, he looked at Tang Jianqiu sitting on the horse, feeling a little strange.
Upon seeing this, Qiao Yunsheng introduced the people around him: "This is Tang Jianqiu, the envoy in charge of Fusi in Beizhen. He is here to assist our bandits."
The county magistrate then realized that he was being a little abrupt, and immediately changed his face and hurriedly bowed to please him: "So this is the legendary governor Tang, disrespectful!"
Naturally, Tang Jianqiu would not worry about such a trivial matter. He waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to be polite, "I heard from the Minister of Punishment that strange things often happen in Linyi County, so why bother to lead the way for us?"
"That's natural. I don't dare to work hard for these two adults.
Why don't you guys open the door quickly? Don’t you see these two adults here? "
The county magistrate shouted loudly, how dare these officers and soldiers disobey? He immediately put on a flattering look and didn't dare to show any slightness.
After the city gate opened, the county magistrate quickly put on a smile and made a "please" gesture to welcome, "Two adults, please!"
Tang Jianqiu and Qiao Yunsheng nodded, and then ordered the officers and soldiers who stood up to follow them.
A large number of people and horses entered the city under the command of the two men, and the sound of horse hooves resounded from there;
The sound of the fallen leaves being swept by the breeze is a bit pleasant, but it is a pity that the sound of children laughing is missing. Think about how harmonious it would be to sit under the shade of the tree with your family and enjoy tea with the cool breeze.
This Linyi County is a little different from other places. Because the murders of Yin soldiers have caused panic, there are not many people coming and going, and most people will not think of going out if it is not necessary.
Of course, there were some idle people who came over to join in the fun. They just wanted to watch, but they didn't dare to get too close for fear of being punished by the officers and soldiers;
So, under the leadership of the county magistrate, Tang Jianqiu and Qiao Yunsheng stayed here temporarily. The door was heavily guarded, leaving only three people sitting in the hall to ask questions.
Qiao Yunsheng picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He felt the mellow flavor spreading in his mouth and felt a little relieved, and then he covered the tea cup with satisfaction.
"Hmm~ Good tea!"
Qiao Yunsheng put down the tea cup as he spoke, feeling much more relaxed.
The county magistrate who received Qiao Yunsheng's praise also had a smile on his face, as if a layer of light had passed through him, but the excitement hidden in his eyebrows could not be restrained from leaking out;
"Master Qiao is really a sweetheart! I believe you like to drink tea on weekdays. If Master Qiao likes to be a lower official, I will prepare some tea for you."
The county magistrate is eager to curry favor with the money-spinner of Shangzheng 2nd Grade. If he can get help from Qiao Yunsheng in the future, it will be a great success!
After hearing this, Qiao Yunsheng threw his head up and laughed loudly: "Hahaha! This tea should be drunk often, not too much. One person can get its charm, two people can get its fun, and three people can get its taste. I just don't know what Mr. Tang's opinion is?"
As he spoke, he turned his attention to Tang Jianqiu. Upon seeing this, Tang Jianqiu immediately put down the tea cup in his hand and said tactfully:
"I'm just a rough guy. I don't understand the logic behind this. I'm really ashamed to make adults laugh."
Qiao Yunsheng realized that this move was a bit abrupt, and immediately changed his words: "It doesn't matter, we should talk about business now. Have you found out the identity of the deceased?"
The county magistrate's eyes were full of embarrassment. He was feeling upset because of this incident. Now that such a shocking murder had occurred in Linyi County under his rule, how could he not be worried?
After thinking about it again and again, he still said truthfully: "Since the deceased's head was chopped off, it can only be seen from the physical characteristics. The deceased is a male and a mature man."
"Aside from the severed head, are there any other injuries?"
Tang Jianqiu wanted to find more detailed clues. If he was beheaded directly, it would definitely be a one-shot death! That would prove that this murderer is very powerful.
However, what the county magistrate said next made Tang Jianqiu even more disappointed, "No, but I did find an identity document from that person."
As he spoke, the county magistrate hurriedly took out the identity ultimatum hidden in his sleeve and handed it to Tang Jianqiu with both hands.
Tang Jianqiu glanced at it briefly, and then handed it to Qiao Yunsheng. Unexpectedly, Qiao Yunsheng's eyes flashed with confusion when he saw the identity ultimatum;
"Gu Xiaowei is from Linyi County, Shandong Province. He was born in the tenth year of Wanli and is a commoner."
Seeing Qiao Yunsheng like this, the county magistrate was even more incomprehensible. He thought he had discovered something and hurriedly asked: "Did your Excellency see it?"
"We have never seen anything from the identity ultimatum alone. We will combine it with the identity ultimatum for verification after seeing the body." Qiao Yunsheng said as he closed the identity ultimatum;
"In that case, I will invite the two adults to come over."
"Very good."
The county magistrate led Tang Jianqiu, Qiao Yunsheng and some officers and soldiers to the place where Gu Xiaowei's body was placed.
Taking into account that too much time may cause the body to stink, the body is specially treated so that it will not be easily corrupted, and the case will naturally be handled much more easily;
Seeing the beheaded young man Tang Jianqiu showed no fear at all, as if he was used to it. He just watched quietly and circled around the corpse.
The county magistrate handled more or less hundreds of cases, but when he saw the decapitated corpse, he would still be a little scared, but there was no way he could be as bold as Tang Jianqiu.
As if he noticed the clues, Tang Jianqiu immediately stepped forward to check, and then discovered something was wrong.
The deceased was a civilian, not an official. Why was he killed? And what exactly did he see during his lifetime?
Tang Jianqiu thought for a moment, then he thought about his chin and expressed his opinion: "This person is indeed a commoner. The hands of the deceased have calluses from years of hard work, which is completely different from those of martial arts practitioners.
Another point is that this person's skin was shiny and did not look like an old man, but he had not yet reached the age of officialdom. The identity of the deceased was completely consistent with the identity ultimatum.
Let me ask you something, are all the dead civilians? Or are there civilians as well as officers and soldiers? "
After hearing what Tang Jianqiu said, the county magistrate quickly raised his hands and responded: "That's right, sir."
"Since they are all civilians, don't you think it's suspicious?"
Tang Jianqiu's words can be said to be very touching. It was this reminder that made the county magistrate wake up from a dream.
"Ah! This..."
The county magistrate hesitated for a long time and couldn't figure out the reason. You must know that he was worried about the case and had been investigating for so many days without finding any clues.
Now Tang Jianqiu and the others discovered this weird thing just by looking at it, and they were really ashamed.
Tang Jianqiu also felt strange. He glanced around the deceased, then looked at the deceased's neck where the blood had coagulated. His pupils shrank, and then he told Qiao Yunsheng what he found:
"Lord Shangshu, with all due respect, the murderer was committed by one man. This man is extremely skilled in swordsmanship and can kill with one strike. Even I, who have been wielding a sword all year round, can't help but sigh."
Tang Jianqiu was not sure what his chances of winning were in a confrontation with the murderer on the spot. This man was very skilled in swordsmanship and had at least twenty years of experience. If he really wanted to fight, he might not have a chance of winning.
"Let's not say that the murderer committed the crime for one person. How can you be so sure that it was a stab wound?"
Qiao Yunsheng was only a first-term civil servant, so he couldn't be as thorough as Tang Jianqiu. He was a little curious, how did Tang Jianqiu figure it out?
However, Tang Jianqiu seemed unhurried and introduced the injuries on the deceased as if they were commonplace: "Sir, please see, there is only one injury on the deceased, and that is the neck where the head is connected.
If the murderer is a person who likes to use light weapons, he can naturally be killed with one blow, but the murder weapon will be left at the scene. Judging from the performance of the county magistrate, the murderer should be a thoughtful person.
In the Ming Dynasty, most people used knives as weapons. Among weapons such as guns, sticks, and hammers, which ones are the fastest to remove human heads? Definitely a sword,
Even with the above, even if these things can directly kill people in an instant, they will leave traces.
Sir, please think about it, since the other party has already killed the person, why would he cut off his head? What is his purpose? Now that the identity ultimatum does not match the identity of the deceased, why did the murderer resort to tricking the civet cat in exchange for the crown prince? Are you hiding something? "
Tang Jianqiu's soul test surprised the patrolling officers and soldiers. At first, they only focused on looking for clues, but ignored this crucial issue.
Qiao Yunsheng seemed to understand when he heard Tang Jianqiu's words. He hesitated for a moment, and then boldly expressed his guess:
"This...are you saying that the deceased was not Gu Xiaowei, or that the murderer wanted to use this opportunity to interfere with our thinking and misjudge the case?"
"Is it possible that the murderer directed and acted all of this?"
The county magistrate thought this was unlikely, but said it anyway;
"All the above possibilities are possible, but they are just speculations at the moment. Are there any suspicious traces at the scene?"
Tang Jianqiu asked again. Since they had not been to the scene yet, it would be better to glean some useful clues from the county magistrate first.
"Hiss... There are no suspicious traces left at this scene, but sir, do you think it is possible that a ghost is seeking life? It seems that there was no too fierce struggle at this scene.
I have asked the local people, but the strange thing is that they did not hear any noise. If the underworld soldiers did not kill people, how could they cut off the heads quietly without making any noise?
Moreover, what these deceased people have in common is that they were close to the temple. How many people in this world can die together under various coincidences? This is definitely a case of underworld! "
The county magistrate was so heartbroken that he no longer had any hope in this case and could only classify it as the work of ghosts and gods;
Tang Jianqiu was also a little annoyed after hearing this. He thought for a moment, put his hands behind his back, and after some calm analysis, he came to his own point of view_
"I think we have entered into a misunderstanding, that is, we have been struggling with who the murderer is. The top priority is to start with the identity of the deceased.
Check the identities of all the deceased people who were massacred by the murderer, and see if they have anything in common except that they all went to temples! "
"yes!"
