Among the witnesses of more than a dozen moorings, Jiang Tian was the one with the highest rank and official duties; in the end, the Pinglu County magistrate who rushed over at a very fast speed after hearing the news from the other side; 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 living ones continue to be stranded on the pebble beach on the shore, letting the water splash.
However, the villagers who gathered on the shore and the traveling merchants 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 looking at each other with different expressions.
He was looking at the stranded flat-top boat, pointing loudly and saying something.
Those people who had been on the ship, although they had been gathered together, looked like they were still in shock or too frightened. As long as someone questioned them, they would say a few words back and forth with lingering fear and tongue-tied: "Many people died."
They are all dead." "What a miserable death!"
Every time he heard this sentence, the Pinglu County Magistrate who was present and could barely maintain his composure became paler; and the (Dayangqiao) City Customs 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 a blank expression; 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 felt as if he had been granted amnesty after seeing Jiang Tian's identity and trustworthiness. He wished he could hand over all the control over the scene. Therefore, not long after, the subordinate Pinglu County
A team of bridge-defending soldiers also rushed to the scene from the other side.
In this connection, together with more than 200 county squad members, white servants and Zaoli, they were placed under Jiang Tian's temporary team. Because his official position was to supervise the censor Li Xing (from the seventh grade)
, together with the post envoys from the two capitals of the inspection school; therefore, this kind of incident on the post road between the two capitals is within the jurisdiction.
Despite this, Jiang Tian made some preparations after ordering the sealing of the scene. 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-head boat.
.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 less demanding requirements for short and medium distances.
The flat-head 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 about 700 materials. It is considered to be placed on the coast where there are many large ships, and in the outer sea area.
Nothing much; but there are only a handful of big boats on the inland waterways.
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 boat. But once you get close to it in a small boat, you will immediately feel a strong and stale coating.
The fishy smell seems to linger for several days after drying out.
There was also a hint of peculiar smell mixed with it, which made people feel vaguely. As Jiang Tian jumped onto the ship's deck, Zhang Wusheng, who was the first to bring people on board for inspection, reported in a low voice from the side: "Sir, a preliminary investigation has been carried out.
After exploring the inside and outside, there was no one alive anywhere on the ship, and there were no whole corpses.”
Immediately, Jiang Tian looked through the fully opened slipway and lower warehouse board, and suddenly realized the so-called "no living body, and no complete corpse". Because there was no complete corpse inside, and it was like
It was dehydrated in a high-temperature closed environment and has become shriveled and blackened.
This scene makes people feel a little familiar, just like... the tragic scene encountered in the pagoda cave of Fengxian Temple in Longmen Mountain. No wonder those who boarded the boat before were frightened into that complete speech.
General virtue cannot be explained clearly;
"Sir, can you confirm that it's a beast?" Lin Jiulang, who was fully dressed at this time, also boarded the boat and asked, "A beast?" The Pinglu County magistrate who was waiting not far from the boat couldn't help but feel shocked when he heard this.
My whole body trembled, and my 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 stain on his seniority evaluation and subsequent accountability. But if the murder was not caused by human factors, but by an external "animal disaster"
, then the responsibilities of being a local parent official are 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 a beast 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, and I'm just waiting for the follow-up screening."
At this moment, he was somewhat congratulated. In order to be able to use it to reduce his responsibility and serve as a candidate for culpability, he ordered everyone on the spot to arrest everyone at the scene. Then he turned around and
And shouted loudly: "Bring the people up quickly."
At the same time, Jiang Tian also said to Zhang Wusheng: "When you boarded the ship, were all the flesh and blood like this? Did you feel that something was wrong?" Zhang Wusheng was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but he didn't say anything.
Hesitantly, he suppressed 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 instinct 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 shallow."
"No wonder I found that the roof 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, but 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, County Magistrate Zhao also escorted the people who had escaped from the ship one after another. A large pavilion was set up on the deck of the waterwheel; various public table furnishings were placed, and in a very short time Within a short period of time, a somewhat stage-like trial scene was set up.
Then, an old boatman with dark skin, a face full of vicissitudes, and chapped hands and feet was brought up first. Before anyone could ask questions, he just knelt down on the deck and kowtowed, saying 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 he still stuttered, he tried his best to repeat the description. What I 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 taking notes on Xin Pingyi and copied down a thick stack of case files.
However, these people came from humble backgrounds and had limited verbal expression ability. Therefore, even if they talked over and over again, 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 show a serious attitude.
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 official authority and had a hunched back. After being brought up, he just stuttered: "Little... little... ...There is no such thing as a human being...nothing to say, he is just like others."
"Then let's talk about the things you took 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...". This person He was shocked when he heard this, but was pushed to the ground by the sergeants on the spot.
Amid the exclamations from all around, the villager couldn't help but screamed: "Little man...little 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 seemed that nothing could be saved in this bare and thin body with visible bones; there was nowhere to hide anything. Seeing this scene, County Magistrate Zhao couldn't help but coughed and wanted to speak, to find someone for this Shangxian. As he walked down the steps, he saw Li Huan suddenly punching the villager in the ribs with an expressionless face.
In an instant, the naked villager screamed and hunched over on his hands and knees, and then started coughing and vomiting violently. However, before he could choke a few times, something suddenly hit him. 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 again. He only heard a strange scream and a pop from under him.
A large puddle of filth was released; 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 the two police officers who were in custody next to him; he rushed towards them.
He fled among the crowd on the shore.
"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 beside him and was so shocked, heard this and couldn't help but defended quickly:
"Shang Xian forgives me, I'm an official... I'm an official, it's 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 also appeared one after another.