Despite the resounding assurances from the thieves outside the city, Yuan Suhe and the officials at the county government and guarding the mission still did not place all their hopes on this matter. [New] From this day on, Yuan Suhe and the guarding officials still did not place all their hopes on this matter.
The mission frequently mobilized troops, and sometimes took action together with the foreign garrison in Beidaiheyang Diocese.
Since this matter is related to those refugees, before the kidnappers are found, it is natural to start with the refugees.
For a whole day, the government and the army cooperated with the relief center to lure some refugees into the city under various pretexts. After entering the city, these people were immediately thrown into county jails and tortured, regardless of whether they had any contact with the kidnappers or not.
Regardless of whether they were involved in those refugee groups, there was more or less exchange of news and gossip in the refugee area east of Fenghuang Mountain.
What's more, Yuan Su and the garrison office did not arrest people indiscriminately, but through the people who helped the government and the information collected in the refugee area, the refugees they arrested were the most suspect people. Either way.
It is true that he has had friendships with evil gangs. He is either a family member of a gang member, or his whereabouts have been suspicious recently, or his life is good.
Even though Yuan Su has advanced ideology, he tried his best to help these refugees, but in the end there are still some bad apples who will seek revenge. In this matter, he has no mercy. Those who deserve to be tortured are definitely indispensable, and those who deserve to be lured are inevitable.
They will also be dealt with appropriately. The purpose is nothing more than to extract useful information or clues from these people.
In addition to starting with these refugees, Yuan Su has never forgotten the suspicious nature of Wanfutang. The previous problem with the disaster relief carriage out of the city, and Chen Huandao's "I knew the news seven or eight days ago", obviously there is too much
Many things are not at all what the French say.
The reason why he actively mobilized the foreign parish security team to participate in the operation was because these foreigners were too conspicuous and actually did not arrange specific tasks. The purpose was to attract the attention of the foreigners and make Logan and the people of Wanfu Hall think that
The Chinese government is now putting all its energy into refugees.[ ]
Secretly, he specially ordered Du Yu and Wu Like to secretly arrange for people to investigate Wanfu Hall, starting with the Chinese church members and surrounding Chinese residents. He also specially prepared a scientific questionnaire to let the investigators
People will conduct inquiries and surveys according to this questionnaire.
By the evening of August 24, this was already the last day for the kidnappers to ask for a ransom, and they had to go to the agreed location to pay the ransom at noon tomorrow.
At this time, Yuan Su was handling the disaster relief accounts in the barracks, including the previous disaster relief records of Linyu County and the cost of the disaster relief materials he brought from Luanzhou. For him, he did not actually solve the problem of Father Dou’s suffering.
The kidnapping case is the first priority, and the most important task at the moment is still disaster relief. This is where the responsibility lies.
The reason why the foreigners came to him to take charge of this case was because they thought that as a military escort, he was the highest commander here.
But in fact, the main person in charge of this case should be the Linyu County Government and the Shanhaiguan Envoy Office. He knows very well where his bottom line is. The reason why he took this case is simply to establish a high-ranking position for everyone.
The impression of weight. Obviously, he wanted to pave the way for the annexation of the Shanhaiguan Defense Zone.
When they were halfway through handling the accounts, there were hurried footsteps outside the door. Chen Wennian and Zhao Shanhe stepped over the threshold and walked in.
"Sir, there is news. The situation seems to be completely different from what we imagined." Chen Wennian said immediately, but there was an obvious suppression when he spoke, as if he was afraid that the walls would have ears if his voice was too loud.
"What news? Where did the news come from?" Yuan Su put down the notebook in his hand, looked up at Chen Wenian and asked.
"Old Zhao and I just came back from the county jail. We tortured thirty-seven refugees all day today. Finally, a few refugees finally relented. [ ]" Chen Wenian said with a serious face.
"At first, these people were very tough, and they kept saying they didn't know anything. After being tortured for several hours, and then even offering conditions to protect their lives and giving them bounties, these people finally relented. But after all,
It’s strange, these people all said they must explain to Mr. Chen and me alone, and refused to explain to the county government or the foreigners. Especially the foreigners, they also said that they would not speak until the foreigners left." Zhao Shanhe said in a very solemn tone.
"Is there such a thing? Are the tortures conducted separately?" Yuan Su asked, frowning.
"Yes, they were all isolated and tortured according to your instructions." Zhao Shanhe nodded in response.
"Then what did they say? Do you have the whereabouts of the kidnappers?"
"These people all said they didn't know where the kidnappers were hiding, and they also said they were just helping to keep tabs on them, follow up and collect information. They had never participated in any of these people's actions from beginning to end. Moreover, they felt that they had not participated in anything.
The gang is just for a piece of steamed bun and a piece of sweet potato." Chen Wennian said.
Yuan Su thought for a while. Since it was an isolated torture, and they could all say in detail that it was for a piece of steamed buns and a piece of sweet potato, on the surface, what these people said should not be false.
"Although they did not give any actual clues, they did tell us the purpose of these people kidnapping and extorting the priest. The kidnappers once promised that all ransoms obtained would be distributed to the refugees, so there were many refugees to help them." There was a pause.
After a pause, Chen Wenian continued.
"So, the kidnappers really had a premeditated plan!" Yuan Su said coldly.
"Yes, according to their explanation, this matter was reported through the refugee groups five days ago. Those refugee groups asked everyone to pay attention. Whenever foreigners are found out of the city in the past few days, they must report it as soon as possible.
I think there is no truth to this. Father Dou’s volunteer team left the city in the morning, and nothing happened during the whole day. It was only when they were about to return to the city in the afternoon that something happened. Apparently, the kidnappers spent some time after receiving the news.
To arrange the kidnapping plan," Chen Wennian said.
"It is indeed possible. However, I don't believe that there are any thieves, righteous thieves, or thieves with moral principles in this world. So, what else did these people say?" Yuan Su continued to ask with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Sir, most of what they said next is hearsay. No one knows whether it is true or not, and it is of great importance." Chen Wenian did not answer Yuan Su's words immediately, but said this first in an increasingly solemn tone.
"What's going on?" Yuan Su stared at Chen Wenian seriously.
"They said that a rumor has been widely circulated in the east of Fenghuang Mountain recently, that is, the foreign priest is not a good person, but no one can tell what is going on. Some people say that the foreign priest goes around deceiving people under the guise of doing good deeds, and some say that the foreign priest is not a good person.
The religion is a cult, and this famine is a curse cast by foreign religions. Some people say that foreign priests defraud believers of their money. In short, there are all kinds of things." Chen Wenian's expression and tone were both meticulous, as if he didn't think much about this matter.
Suspect.
"Wanfu Church is full of doubts, and it is nothing new to say that the priests of foreign devils are not well-intentioned. In the Juye Mission Case, it was because the missionaries did evil things, which aroused people's anger and killed the foreign priests. However, we Chinese are good
Superstition, and now we are in a disaster situation, it is impossible to spread rumors. The key is to have evidence." Yuan Su said with deep approval.
"But how to collect evidence now? Although the foreigners in Beidaihe are few in number, they are powerful and cannot be easily provoked." Chen Wenian sighed.
"Sir, if there is really something wrong with this foreign priest, the kidnappers obviously know the reasons why this happened, so they attacked the foreign priest." At this time, Zhao Shanhe said emphatically.
Yuan Su looked at Zhao Shanhe and immediately understood what Zhao Shanhe meant. In fact, he had thought of this a long time ago. As long as he could catch the kidnapper or establish contact with the kidnapper, the matter could be handled through negotiation. As long as the kidnapper can
Hand over the evidence of the foreign priest's crime, and the next thing will be much easier to handle.
But the problem is that the news is just hearsay by some refugees, and it is completely unknown whether it is true. What's more, these kidnappers may not be a group of chivalrous people as the refugees say, just to make a living, do whatever they want.
It is almost a common tactic to compile a high-sounding reason.
Sighing slightly, Yuan Su said deeply: "There is no way to draw a conclusion on this matter for the time being. Without evidence, even if it is true, we can't do anything to the foreigners."
Chen Wennian thought for a while and said helplessly: "Sir, what should we do next? This matter may not be groundless. All the clues we have now prove that this kidnapping case is not trivial."
Yuan Su pondered for a moment, and then said in a serious voice: "Now that these people have relented, let's continue to ask. No matter what method is used, money, torture, even if we can't find out the whereabouts of the kidnappers, at least we must know the whereabouts of the kidnappers.
Where are the refugee gangs hiding? As long as we can find these gangs, catch a few people and torture them, we might be able to figure out where the kidnappers are now."
Chen Wennian hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and said, "I know what to do."
Zhao Shanhe's face was uglier than Chen Wenian's. He liked to do things that went back on his word, but the problem was becoming more and more complicated and confusing, and there was not much time left for them. In extraordinary times, extraordinary means could only be used.
Not long after Chen Wennian and Zhao Shanhe left, an orderly from the front office hurried in to report that Du Yu and Wu Like had returned to the camp and that they had urgent matters to report to Mr. Yuan.
Ever since hearing the news brought back by Chen Wenian and Zhao Shanhe, Yuan Su now has a lot of preconceived notions in his mind. Combined with all the previous doubts, he always feels that there is indeed something wrong with the group of Wanfu Hall. He was previously sent to secretly investigate Wanfu.
Du Yu and Wu Like from the church not only came back to report at this time, but also said it was an important matter, which shows that they have found out the details of Wanfu Hall.
He immediately asked the orderly to invite Du Yu, and Wu Like came to the room.