Su Jin, who had been busy most of the night, was still in a deep sleep when he was awakened by a burst of hurried shouting. Su Jin jumped up and saw Wang Chao standing at the door with his voice straight and shouting.
Su Jin scolded: "What do you call someone so early in the morning? Look at the light, I'm afraid it hasn't arrived yet."
Chao Chao said with a mournful face: "Master, do you think I want to come here to be scolded? The prefect of the Song Dynasty asked the villain to invite you, saying that we have something important to discuss."
Su Jin had no choice but to get up, wash up randomly, get dressed and go out. The place he stayed in was a guest room in the inner hall of the Yamen. It was not far from the Yamen lobby. He walked through a patio and went straight to the Yamen lobby in front. The roadside was white.
The air is covered with frost, and there is a chill in the air. The white breath that is exhaled is like a long dragon lingering around the face. The weather is really cold.
Entering the yamen lobby from the back door, Su Jin was stunned by the atmosphere inside. He saw Song Xiang sitting in the hall in a daze. A group of subordinate officials and yamen servants stood in awe below the hall. There were dozens of people tall and short, but they were quiet.
Surprisingly, there was dead silence.
After taking a look at the hall, Su Jin was startled. He saw four humanoid objects wrapped in white cloth lying on the straw mat in the hall. They were obviously four corpses.
When Song Xiang saw Su Jin, he immediately stood up from his seat and cupped his hands and said, "My special envoy, I invited you here early in the morning. You were so busy yesterday that I didn't let you have a good rest. It's really a sin."
Su Jin cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you're welcome." Pointing to the dead body, he said, "What's going on?"
Song Xiang sighed and said: "Early in the morning, people came to report to the government that this is Wang Laoliu's family in the west of the city. Wang Laoliu, his wife, and two underage children all died at home last night.
"
Su Jin frowned and said, "Kill the family? Are there any traces of the murderer?"
Song Xiang said with a bitter face: "I'm afraid the murderer can't be found."
Su Jin said: "Why? Isn't there any trace?"
Song Xiang said: "That's not true. Wu Zuo has just conducted an autopsy. All four people died after drinking arsenic. There was some wild vegetable soup at the bottom of the pot at home. After Wu Zuo's poison test, he found that the soup contained highly toxic substances."
Su Jin's heart tightened, and he gently stepped forward and lifted up a corner of a white cloth. He saw a man whose face was blue and black, his eyes were slightly open, and he was dead and in pain. It was obvious that he was poisoned.
Su Jin looked at several other corpses. Two children aged six or seven also died in miserable conditions. Su Jin felt sad and felt sick in his throat. Fortunately, he hadn't eaten anything in the morning, otherwise he might have vomited them all.
Su Jin stood up and asked: "Sir Song, can you find out why they took poison?"
Song Xiang said to an official beside him: "Ma Ti Xing, tell the envoy about the situation."
The official, who had a sharp face and looked like he was in his thirties, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty the Special Envoy, after we received the report, we led people to arrest the neighbors. According to the neighbor Mrs. Yan, Mr. Wang
Liu had said something about committing suicide in the past few days, and yesterday afternoon he was still cursing at his doorstep, not knowing what he was doing, and in the evening he heard his wife crying."
Su Jin frowned and said, "Why commit suicide? What does Wang Laoliu do?"
Ma Tixing sighed: "Your Majesty, Wang Laoliu was originally a coolie on the dock carrying goods. My wife lived with her two children at home. Ever since my Yangzhou grain store ran out of food, it is said that the whole family has not had any grains of rice for several days."
, the work on the dock is not always available, and the money earned is not enough to buy a handful of rice on the black market. In the past few days, the neighbors have always seen him cursing people, saying that life is meaningless and that he is exhausted and cannot support his wife and children.
, it would be better for the whole family to die cleanly. The neighbors wanted to help but couldn't take care of themselves, and they didn't expect to commit suicide."
Su Jin was silent, his heart was so congested and uncomfortable. He didn't expect that this matter had reached such a point. This was a precursor to an outbreak. Once the people were not even afraid of death, it would be the time for crises to arise. It was up to the officers and soldiers to suppress them.
Maintaining it is absolutely impossible.
Su Jin held on to the last glimmer of hope and said: "Mr. Ma, there is not enough evidence to conclude that it is suicide. You can go to the traditional Chinese medicine shop in the city to check and ask the medicine shop owner whether Wang Laoliu has ever purchased arsenic in a certain shop. If there is such evidence,
, before it can be ruled as suicide."
Ma Tixing knew from a few words that Su Jin was an expert. He put away his previous contempt and turned around and ordered the two detectives to investigate immediately.
Song Xiang came to Su Jin and said: "Special envoy Su, if this matter did not arise because of food, I would not trouble you. Now you see how this matter will end. Hey, I never thought that such a world would happen under my rule."
It’s a tragedy, this government is incompetent, and I feel unworthy of the grace given to me by the Holy One.”
Su Jin said: "Your Majesty, you don't have to blame yourself. The situation is rotten, but the main responsibility does not lie with you. If it wasn't a natural disaster, how could this human tragedy have happened."
Song Xiang said: "Having said that, I cannot absolve myself of the blame. Envoy, I am not afraid of offending you. The imperial court appointed you as the envoy, but you came empty-handed. How can you solve my difficulties in Yangzhou? What you said
When will the five hundred thousand shi of food arrive?"
Su Jin did not blame Song Xiang for being abrupt. Anyone under the control of this matter should be anxious and angry. He thought for a while and said: "The food is shipped from Luzhou, and it may take ten days to arrive at the fastest."
Song Xiang said: "There is still something we can do if we arrive in ten days, so we will wait for ten days. I hope everything goes well."
Su Jin shook his head and said: "I'm afraid we won't be able to wait for ten days. The current situation is that we can't wait even for ten days."
Song Xiang said in astonishment: "What? The envoy is afraid of...?"
Su Jindao: "When the people are not afraid of death, chaos will arise. Although Lord Fu has troops at his disposal, can he really attack these people who have no way to go because of hunger? In fact, they are the only ones who have no way to go.
He is an innocent person."
Song Xiang said doubtfully: "That's not the case."
Su Jin said: "Sir, as soon as this matter spreads, the people will gather together to petition today. Don't you see that Wang Laoliu is already desperate? I think there must be many people in similar situations to him. These people are no longer afraid of life and death.
,Don’t you, Lord Fu, arouse your alarm?”
Song Xiang was surprised. After thinking for a while, he quickly ordered: "Head of the Guard, please pass on the order and send more people to patrol the streets. If you encounter people gathering in groups, disperse them immediately."
The leader of the capital guard followed the order and left. Su Jin shook his head when he saw this and said: "At this time, it is not appropriate for the master of the government to use heavy pressure. You must be gentle and appeasing."
Song Xiang spread his hands and said angrily: "What do you want me to do? You are the imperial food envoy but you haven't brought a single grain. What can I do?"
When several subordinate officials saw Song Xiang losing his composure, they hurriedly gave him a look. These words had already lost his grace. Su Jin was a special envoy sent by the imperial court to take charge of raising food. Although he did not clearly say what his rank was, in fact
Just like an imperial envoy, Song Xiang did not solve the problem and offended the imperial envoy. He was afraid that things would get worse.
Su Jin didn't take it seriously, looking at the angry Song Xiang, he sighed in his heart, this Song Xiang is actually not suitable for being an official at all. Good knowledge does not mean that he will be a good official. It is reasonable to send him to the Hanlin Academy to compile history books, or
It's not bad to go to the emperor's side and serve as a Zhizhigao drafting imperial edict. As a state official, it's okay if nothing happens, but if something happens, he has no way to deal with it.
"Lord Fu Zun, in short, I'm afraid it's too late to wait for Luzhou to bring in food. Looking at the weather, the wind is turning to the northwest, the clouds are getting thicker, and the fog is very thick in the morning. I'm afraid the first snow of the year is about to fall. Once
Falling snow is likely to make it even worse; with hunger and cold, a large number of people may not be able to make it through, so they must make a prompt decision."
Song Xiang was angry and said angrily: "Then what do you think we should do?"
Su Jin quietly approached his ear and said, "Master Fu, how about I lend you a step to speak?"
Song Xiang glanced at Su Jin, and when he saw Su Jin's serious expression of entreaty, he didn't want to refute his face too much, and immediately brought Su Jin to the inner hall.
The two sat down and Su Jin said: "Master Fu, tell me the truth. Is there any food in the official warehouse in Yangzhou now?"
Song Xiang glared and said: "Where did the food come from? The official warehouse now only has two thousand shi of grain. That is the salary ration for the officials and officials. Two thousand shi of grain cannot last for even half a month. Besides, even if these two thousand shi are taken out,
What’s the use of it?”
Su Jin smiled and said: "Are you serious? Think about it again?"
Song Xiang said with an ugly face: "Is it possible that I, the magistrate, are still lying to you?"
Su Jin put away his smile and said softly: "How come I heard that there are still 100,000 shi of grain in the official warehouse in Yangzhou that have not been touched."
Song Xiang changed his expression and said: "How can those 100,000 stones be moved? That is military rations. The rations collected after autumn. The canals are dry and water transportation is blocked, so the Third Division postponed the transportation and temporarily put them in the Yangzhou official warehouse. This grain has been moved.
It’s a crime of beheading.”
Su Jin said seriously: "Can't we borrow it first? Once the grain arrives in Luzhou, we will replenish the warehouse as soon as possible. It can solve the urgent need without causing any trouble. What do you think about it, the prefect?"
Song Xiang said flatly: "Absolutely not. I don't know where your five hundred thousand shi of food is still. Once this matter is leaked, you and I will be executed. This government categorically disagrees with this matter."
Su Jin looked at his pedantic look, and an unknown fire arose in his heart. He felt like a dynamite barrel, the fuse had been lit and was about to explode.dd