Han San was very nervous at the beginning. As he spoke, he kept turning his head to look at the several supervisors standing on the edge of the official road with their hands lowered. He was afraid that they would rush up and interrupt him, so his words were inevitably a little incoherent.
Fortunately, when he later saw that those people did not dare to come over, Xiao Feng continued to listen patiently to his story, and then he gradually became less panicked and became more organized in his speech.
"The villain was blinded at that time, and he rushed over with the workers from the same village. Several supervisors had already picked out Boss Han. Boss Han's head was covered with blood and he had already expired.
The supervisor said that Boss Han was careless in his work, which caused the path to collapse. But we all know that Boss Han is an excellent craftsman, so how could he make such a mistake?
Han Jiu, the most attentive person in the village, discovered the problem. Boss Han's fatal injury was on the back of his head. It was obviously hit by a very hard object and his skull was shattered.
There was only dirt and gravel in the collapsed path. How could there be such a big hard object? The supervisor said that a large piece of coal fell from above.
But we have been in coal mines all year round, and the paths can only allow people to stand upright. Even if coal falls from above, there is no height, so how can we smash people like this?
The most terrifying thing is that if you look carefully at the shape of the wound, you can vaguely see the mark of the head of a hammer, but Boss Han's hammer is outside the hole and has been washed clean by the water.
Naturally, the villagers and I refused to believe what the supervisor said, so we wanted to report it to the officials, but the supervisor said that we were going to rebel and had us arrested."
Xiao Feng looked at the mining area next to the official road. There were more than a hundred miners and only four or five supervisors. They were all gathered on the roadside and were blocked by Yu Dayou's soldiers.
"How many supervisors are there? How many miners are there in your village?
?”
"Sir, there are five supervisors and twenty of our fellow villagers."
"Twenty of you were arrested by five overseers?"
"Back to your lord, originally there was only one supervisor, who was sent from the county. The remaining four supervisors were all promoted by him from among the miners.
Many miners hope to be appreciated by the supervisor and be promoted to supervisor, so they all help the supervisor, and the same goes for the people who just scuffled with the villain..."
Xiao Feng sighed, as expected. He once read a book that described that during the Japanese invasion of China, there were only five Japanese soldiers with guns in a certain county. These five Japanese soldiers actually controlled a county!
"What happened next?"
"Later, we were beaten so hard that we didn't dare to mention the complaint again. There was a shortage of labor in the mine, so they let us go and continued working in the mine, but they kept a close eye on us. When we went to the mine and returned to the work shed, we were surrounded by people.
They are all monitored by miners arranged by them.
The villain can't leave the mining area or enter the county town, so blocking the road and complaining has become the only way. Fortunately, this is an official road, and officials' cars pass by from time to time, so there are not many opportunities..."
At this point, Han San burst into tears and was choked with tears. Xiao Feng sighed inwardly, having already guessed what would happen next.
"Sir, it was Han Jiu who blocked the road for the first time and complained, but the sedan didn't even stop and went straight over. Han Jiu was stopped by the official's servants on the roadside and kowtowed until the ground was covered with blood.
.
After the official left, Han Jiu was beaten to death by the foreman and a crowd, and his body was thrown into the charcoal kiln. The foreman also warned that anyone who dared to block the road and complain again would be doomed."
Xiao Feng said lightly: "Say,
Two of you have died?"
Han San kowtowed loudly and loudly, and his forehead was soon stained with blood.
"Sir, we are not willing to give in, and we heard from the local miners in Shantun that secretly told us that Boss Han's wife hanged herself, but luckily she was saved.
A woman can be so fierce. As brothers of the same race, how can we remain indifferent? So we agreed that when a bigger official passed by, another person would complain about the injustice.
As a result, this time, the official stopped the sedan chair, but after listening to the narrative, he just said that he would negotiate with the local magistrate, and then disappeared without a trace.
The brother who blocked the road to complain was beaten to death again, and then all the people from our village were moved to a mine far away from the official road.
At first, the villain was so heartbroken that he did not dare to step forward to pass the car anymore, so the supervisor gradually relaxed his supervision.
But today, the villain has never seen such a formation passing by, so he is risking his own life!"
Xiao Feng glanced at the five supervisors who were stopped by Yu Dayou and nodded: "Let them come over."
The foreman walked in front. The four overseers promoted by the miners were obviously a little timid and lagged behind slightly. The foreman saluted neatly.
"My lord, I am the head catcher of Zaozhuang County. I supervise the work in the mining area here. There are many officials passing by on this official road. I don't know the official taboo of your lord, so I don't dare to come forward to greet you rashly. Please forgive me."
Xiao Feng was slightly startled. He didn't expect that this supervisor was not only neither humble nor arrogant, but also spoke in a well-organized manner. He was actually the county's head catcher.
"You are the head catcher, why do you work as a supervisor here?"
The supervisor saluted again: "I don't know, sir, but Zaozhuang is quite different from other counties."
At the same time, the county seat is small and the city wall is very large.
Because most of the Zaozhuang area relies on coal mines for a living, a large number of disputes and cases actually occur in the mining areas, but there are very few incidents in the county.
For this reason, most of the county's police officers are dispersed in various coal mines to serve as supervisors and maintain order. Otherwise, the county would not know about the deaths in these places, and it would be beyond the reach of the police."
Xiao Feng looked at the face of the foreman. It was covered with coal powder due to the wind and sun, and was as dark as a miner. He did not look pampered. The four overseers also looked normal.
"So, it is true that police officers in this county have a much harder time than in other places. Is this always the case?"
The supervisor shook his head and said: "It turns out that's not the case. It was the rules set by this county when they came to Xinzhi County three years ago. Not only the police, but sometimes even the history officer would come down to inspect.
This approach, although hard work, has indeed stabilized the mining area a lot. Not only has the output increased significantly, but disputes and crimes have also been reduced a lot.
What adults don’t know is that mining areas are the most prone to accidents. These miners fight, gamble and drink on a daily basis. If there are women, they are even more aggressive and aggressive, and they are everywhere."
Xiao Feng nodded, and there was some truth in what he said. Throughout the ages, the various mining areas where men gathered were indeed wild and lawless places.
"You have heard everything Han San said. What's your excuse? I never listen to one side of the story, so tell me."
Xiao Feng's tone was light, but there was a chill in his bones. This feeling was like Zhang Wuxin's murderous aura, invisible but felt.
The supervisor smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, what this man said is half true and half false. Boss Han did collapse while digging a path."
Fang was hit on the back of the head by a piece of coal, and was covered by soil for a long time.
No one can tell whether he was suffocated to death or crushed to death. These miners from the same village joined forces to demand compensation from the villain. The villain has already paid the pension money to Boss Han’s wife according to regulations, but where can he find the money to give it to them again? ?
They went around to complain to the officials, saying that Boss Han had been killed. Sir, in this mining area, he is the miner and I am the supervisor. We all rely on our own strength to make a living.
I have no enmity with him, so why kill him? He was working by himself that day, and there were no other miners around, so it couldn't be a vendetta against other miners."
Xiao Feng frowned and looked at Han San, who kowtowed repeatedly, extremely sad and angry.
"Sir, if that's the case, why did he ask someone to throw Boss Han's body into a charcoal kiln for cremation on the spot? He clearly destroyed the body and destroyed all traces!"
The foreman said angrily: "Han San, you are also an old man in the mine. People who die in the mine are most afraid of the plague, and most of them are cremated on the spot.
But you used this matter to frame me. It is obviously because you don’t understand the affairs of the mine and you want to deceive me!
If you don't believe it, you can ask the miners on the spot, this kind of thing happens so often, what does it have to do with the destruction of corpses and the destruction of traces?"
Xiao Feng looked at the miners. Most of the miners did not speak. They were obviously staying out of the matter and remaining neutral. A few nodded and shouted.
"That's true, it's the miners in Hanjia Village who are rogues!"
Xiao Feng pondered for a moment: "If Boss Han's death was indeed an accident, you cremated the body without the consent of the family. Although you are at fault, you are still excusable.
But how did the two people who stopped the road to complain later die? Is what Han San told the truth?
Also, when Han San stopped on the road to file a complaint, you said that he had stayed underground for too long and had gone crazy.
How can I explain that I lied?"
This matter is very critical, and it is also an important basis for judging who of the two parties is telling the truth. Mistakes cannot be made all the time. Mistakes made all the time are not mistakes, but sins.
The supervisor shook his head repeatedly: "Sir, this is unfair. The miners in Hanjiacun saw that the trouble was not going to work, so they clamored to file a complaint.
It’s not that the villain won’t let them go to the county, it’s just that they signed a contract until the end of the year. This is the busiest time for production in the mine. If more than a dozen people leave at once, what will happen?
The mine has always been extremely chaotic. If they were allowed to succeed, the mine would be abandoned and could no longer be managed. Therefore, the villain had someone beat them up as a warning to others, but no one was killed.
The two people who died had stopped the road to complain. The adults passing by thought their talk was nonsense and ignored them.
But every time such a commotion occurs, work must be stopped. Once the work stops, the miners will have no money to take. Other miners were so indignant that they beat up the troublemakers.
The villain was incompetent and failed to stop the group fight in time. This group of miners did not attack lightly and killed people. This is indeed caused by the villain's ineffective supervision.
The adults are responsible for starting to lie, and the villain is worried about this commotion. Production will have to be suspended today, and the miners will cause trouble and beat people again. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Xiao Feng sneered: "I'm afraid it's not that you are incompetent, but that you didn't even think about stopping it in time, right?"
The supervisor's face turned pale and he kowtowed: "My lord, your eyes are as bright as a torch. This villain does have selfish motives, and he is indeed very angry because of the troubles made by these people. He allowed this to happen. Please punish me."
Xiao Feng compared the words of both sides repeatedly, and it was indeed difficult to tell who was who.
What is said is true, whoever said is false.
When it comes to witnesses, the ones from Hanjiacun are naturally of one group, but more miners are obviously on the side of the supervisor.
Although the foreman's behavior was selfish, it is unrealistic to expect him to be a humble gentleman when managing such a large mining area.
Xiao Feng looked at Yu Dayou, and Yu Dayou was a little confused at this time. What these two people said made sense. He had been traveling in the world for many years. Although there were many cases of government oppression of civilians, he had also seen many unruly people gathering together to make trouble.
"Master, in my opinion, this matter is very complicated and trivial. Master has a great responsibility and should not be too distracted by this matter. You can leave this matter to the local magistrate."
Xiao Feng nodded: "It makes sense. Let's take it with you. Take Han San with you to prevent him from being beaten to death by other miners. As the supervisor, you appoint someone else to watch the mine and go with the team to Zaozhuang County.
.”
The supervisor hesitated for a moment and said with a wry smile: "I will obey my orders. I will give you a few words to tell them not to be confused and to work hard. This production cannot be delayed. How many people are waiting to eat."
The supervisor turned around and gave detailed instructions to the four supervisors. He also shouted a few words to the miners. The arrangement was very orderly. Xiao Feng nodded slightly. Regardless of whether he was a good person or a bad person, this man was still capable.
The team moved forward again. The remaining miners finished the black-faced steamed buns and pickle sticks in their hands and stood up to prepare for work. The four supervisors glanced at the miners coldly.
"Don't be sneaky and work hard! Whoever digs more and does better will be rewarded when he comes back first! Who dares to cause trouble and delay everyone's eating and making money? Will everyone agree?"
"No!"
A deafening shout rang out, which could be heard clearly even by the team who had walked far away, and a smile appeared on the mouth of the foreman.
Han San, who was sitting in the same cart pulling groceries with the foreman, lowered his head, and his eyes that were glaring at the foreman became a little dull.
Xiao Feng's forward sentry had been running non-stop, exploring the terrain and delivering news. Therefore, when the large force arrived and rushed to Zaozhuang County, Zaozhuang Magistrate Li Tianyao had already received the news and was waiting at the city gate with a group of people.
Xiao Feng saw that Li Tianyao was in his thirties. Although he was wearing the official uniform of a county magistrate, his appearance and extraordinary temperament were not inferior to those of the court officials. He couldn't help but think to himself, this man is comparable to my brother Qin.
The two sides dismounted to greet each other. The magistrate first performed the courtesy of the officials, and then bowed again, even lower than before.
Xiao Feng said in surprise: "Guixian has already saluted you just now. When we meet for the first time, we don't need to be so polite."
Li Tianyao smiled and said: "The battle in Qingzhou shocked the whole world. Needless to say, my lord's reputation spread far and wide. I just learned that Princess Chang'an also traveled with me, so this gift is indispensable."
After the Battle of Qingzhou, although the imperial court had not publicly announced the whereabouts of Princess Chang'an, private information often spread faster, so it was not surprising that Li Tianyao knew about it.
But the local officials usually knew about this kind of thing and pretended not to know about it. After all, the princess traveled with Xiao Feng, and it was quite embarrassing to talk about it. At this time, Li's family gift was even more confusing.
Xiao Feng was unexpectedly surprised when a handsome young man with delicate features who was following Li Tianyao suddenly ran towards the large RV and An
Qingyue immediately pressed the handle of the knife with her hand, and her whole body tensed up.
"Chang An, Chang An, aren't you afraid of getting bored in the car? Come down quickly and I'll take you to see the coal spirit!"