Six years later, early autumn.

Stone City.

As an important pass on the way from Douchuan Pass to the south, since the fall of Douchuan Pass, Shicheng has become the frontline against Donghao's invasion.

Even so, Shicheng is still bustling and lively.

In the early morning, as soon as the city gate opened, there were all kinds of people waiting outside the city gate, lining up to enter.

Firewood cutters, merchants, vegetable sellers...all set up stalls on the main street of Shicheng, waiting for today's customers.

The sudden burst of screaming broke the order of the street, causing everyone to stand up and look around in shock.

"It's not good, it's not good, people are dead!" Someone ran out of the alley, raising his hands and shouting in panic.

Soon, the police from Shicheng Yamen arrived.

"Hello, Mr. He!"

"Lieutenant He County, you are here!"

Everyone looked at the young officials walking at the front, and greeted each one of them enthusiastically.

"Hello, father-in-law, are you here to sell vegetables again? The wild vegetables look quite fresh today, so why not send them directly to my house? My grandmother likes this!"

"Uncle Huang, you are in good spirits. Are you so happy watching the excitement?"

Lieutenant He County has a well-proportioned figure, a fair complexion, and a thick mustache. He is quite majestic. However, when he greets these people, he has a friendly look on his face. From time to time, he will make a few jokes, causing bursts of laughter from the people around him.

However, when he reached the entrance of the alley, the expression on his face became serious.

Behind him, the police officers stopped the people who were following them and did not allow them to enter the alley. Only the middle-aged man who found the dead man brought Lieutenant He and the police team leader to the scene of the incident.

Shicheng is not big. The alleys next to the main street are deep and dark, and there is a dark ditch at the end of the alley.

The underground ditch is full of stagnant water. Over time, it has become a place for discarding garbage. It exudes a pungent stench no matter in winter or summer, so that few people usually come near it.

The deceased was lying on the slope of a hill of garbage beside the ditch.

"It's Lezi Liu." The head of the police squad recognized the deceased's identity at a glance, his eyebrows tightened, "Another one."

Lieutenant He County also became serious, "Is he also a thief?"

The head of the police squad nodded "Yes."

Lezi Liu is a native of Shicheng. He is not a good guy. He usually idles around, steals, and is disliked by everyone.

"But he was timid. He only wanted to get a little money secretly, but he didn't dare to do anything serious. So he was caught a few times and was released."

The head of the police squad had a dark expression on his face, "This is the fifth one."

Although Shicheng often faces Donghao's army, perhaps because of this, the people in the city are very united, and there are rarely any major cases of murder and robbery.

But in the past month, something has gone wrong. Several thieves have died one after another, and Leizi Liu is the fifth.

Not long after, Wu Zuo completed the initial inspection, stood up and reported to County Captain He, "Sir, the deceased should have been killed after being tortured."

The injuries and causes of death were the same as those of the four previous victims, but the degree of torture was much more severe.

Lieutenant He County leaned down, completely ignoring the stench around him and the stains on Lezi Liu's body. He carefully examined the marks on the body and nodded to express his agreement with Wu Zuo's conclusion.

He personally searched for all kinds of traces at the scene, and only after he was sure that nothing was left behind, he called someone over and took the body back to the county government office.

"Send someone to investigate Leizi Liu's whereabouts these days to see if he has any grudges with anyone." Lieutenant He County told the police team leader as he walked, "At the same time, pay attention to see if he has any unusual behavior these days.

.”

There were people greeting Lieutenant He County everywhere along the way. Some were hawkers on the street, some were party members wearing fine clothes, and some were strong men with unruly faces. But when they saw Lieutenant He County, everyone was like

The same expression - respect and intimacy.

Sitting by the window seat on the second floor of a street restaurant, two drinkers saw all these scenes.

"This Lieutenant He County seems to be very popular with the people." The slightly fat drinker picked up a peanut, threw it into his mouth, and said while rejecting it.

The drinker sitting opposite him was young, handsome, elegant, and had a gentle smile on his lips, "That's natural."

"This County Captain He Zhaohe led them to defend the city more than once and saved their lives, old and young. How can they not be grateful?"

The fat bartender poured him a glass of wine. "Then what does Master Lu want to investigate him? No one has reported him for corruption or bribery, and there is no information that he bullied the people and colluded with Dong Hao. What are we doing here?"

Mr. Lu laughed softly, "I just came to see Shicheng and see what this city looks like under the governance of He County Lieutenant."

"After all, this is the front line against Dong Hao, so we must not relax."

The fat drinker snorted coldly, "Those noble men in the court are usually very good at grabbing credit, but when they heard that they were coming to Yong County to be the governor, they all shrank their heads for fear of losing their lives!"

"Only you, my lord, have the courage and ability to take over the position of governor of Yong County."

"But this Shicheng County has not been able to elect anyone who dares to be the county magistrate. They are really a bunch of cowards!"

The smile on Mr. Lu's lips was also a little cold. "Of course they don't dare to come. Everyone knows that in just a few years, three Shicheng County magistrates have already died in battle."

The fat drunkard exclaimed, "Why didn't you just lift Captain He up there? All three county magistrates were dead, and every time he rushed to the city wall personally and led the soldiers to kill the enemy. Isn't this credit enough?

?”

Mr. Lu sighed and said no more.

He Zhaohe County Lieutenant's merits are certainly enough, but today's Bei'an court, because of King Li's wanton massacre in Shangjing City, is very wary of these officials who were promoted due to their military merits at the border.
Chapter completed!