Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 274: Probably a way to confuse people

"There's nothing to investigate here. The right thing to do is to investigate the movements of the troops stationed nearby during those days!"

After this sentence was uttered, not to mention Lu Shaochun who was not very familiar with the three officials of Anji, even the other two officials of Anji stared at that reckless Niu Junchang with wide eyes.

What he said couldn't be more obvious. He suspected that Ruan Dacheng's death was caused by the army.

But everyone knows that this layer of window paper cannot be broken. Even if this old soldier who retired from the army due to injury has identified some clues based on his own experience, who among the people present dares to admit it?
"Ahem, I wonder why Niu Ziyi came up with this idea?"

After all, Lu Shaochun climbed to his current position step by step. While the other two were still confused by the lame man's recklessness, he had already made his own plans.

"We have been in Anji for several months. Although there are bandits in this place, I have never heard of any of them being able to eat more than a hundred soldiers. Moreover, if there are a few wounds on the corpse caused by military weapons, we can say that they were accidentally leaked by weapons, but if every one of them is like this, there is no other explanation."

After pouring out all his reasons in one breath, Niu Junchang looked at Lu Shaochun without blinking, as if his speech was not simply due to his recklessness, but there were other considerations behind it.

If it were any other time, Lu Shaochun would probably just treat these words as nonsense. If this lame man dared to insist on pestering him, it is possible that he might accidentally fall off the cliff.

But his purpose of this trip was to "please the emperor's favor" by properly handling the matter. If he did nothing but killed one of the emperor's men first, then this "please in the emperor's favor" might be a fatal disaster.

"Niu Junchang! Are you out of your mind? How can you make such statements without solid evidence?!"

Just when Lu Shaochun was about to use his own method to stabilize the lame man, he saw another consultant, Fu Rongfa, directly scolding Niu Junchang.

He was originally a clerk in the Yingtian government, and his current situation came about because he chose to listen to Wang Fuping's advice on certain matters.

As a person who had worked in this special government office, he was well aware of the various methods used by those below and was also aware of the undercurrents above. How could he not understand that what Niu Junchang said was probably the truth?

But this is not Yingtian after all.

Although Anji belongs to the jurisdiction of Nanzhili, it is much closer to Zhejiang and Suzhou than Yingtian. Moreover, such a big event not only involves a wide range of people, but the real mastermind must have already made preparations from beginning to end. How could small minions like them reveal any flaws when the enemy and us are unclear?
"How can we be talking nonsense? After investigating for several days, do you dare to say that you can't see these?!"

"Evidence! Evidence! What if there is no evidence and it is obvious?"

"Humph! Killing an official of the imperial court is like a rebellion. As long as your majesty gives an order, let alone the hundreds of thousands of troops, even useless people like us have the ability to wipe out his entire clan!"

Faced with Niu Junchang's murderous words, Fu Rongfa immediately realized what it meant to be a scholar meeting a soldier, unable to explain his reason clearly. But when he was thinking about how to suppress this reckless man first, he heard a leisurely voice coming from the main seat in the tent.

"Whose whole clan will be exterminated?"

"Of course it belongs to those traitors!"

When Niu Junchang heard these words, he seemed to be almost laughing at Lu Shaochun's pedantry, as he already had all the murderous aura in his body.

According to his thinking, ordinary trials naturally require evidence, but now the rebels are already tantamount to rebellion, as long as the slightest clue is found, a group of people will be sent to wipe them out. Do they have the ability to stop the battle-hardened army in His Majesty's hands?
Although everyone has a head on their shoulders, the way that thing inside their head works is very different due to differences in knowledge and experience.

"Can Niu Advisor point out whether the traitor is Zhang San, Li Si or Wang Ermaizi?"

"If you allow us to investigate, we will definitely be able to find out which garrison committed such a heinous act!"

"and then?"

Then? What then?
When Niu Junchang heard Lu Shaochun's question, he was stunned for a moment. When he looked at the figure in the green official robe with a puzzled look on his face, he saw that person's lips moved slightly.

"Niu Advisor must understand that no matter who committed the crime, they are just a knife in someone else's hand. If they want to truly relieve your majesty's worries, they must not only find out who committed the crime, but also find out the origin of the mastermind behind the scenes."

"Then shouldn't we hurry up? If we move too slowly, won't it give them time to cover up the clues?"

Being in the officialdom, Lu Shaochun has always been reluctant to speak out. If it weren't for the fact that Niu Junchang was a member of the Advisory Council, he would never have said such things.

But he didn't know whether it was because his usual habits had made him lose the ability to speak clearly, or whether Niu Junchang was really a hopeless case. Even though he had almost made everything clear, this rough man still focused on investigating the garrison. His behavior made him, the prefect of Huzhou, feel helpless.

However, no matter how helpless he was, the key to his plan was to establish good relations with the people in the Advisory Council. Under such circumstances, Lu Shaochun could only patiently continue to explain.

He understood clearly that there was nothing to investigate about the surrounding garrisons. If he really focused on these people, not only would he go in the wrong direction of the investigation, but he would also be looked down upon by those above him.

The reason for this idea is simple. If it was really the surrounding garrisons that took action, wouldn't it be difficult to exchange some weapons?
After all, the Ming Dynasty relied heavily on firearms when it was founded, and it never prohibited civilians from using weapons. If the murderer did not want to divert the investigation, why would he use military weapons to kill people in public?
Do they really think that the army that will drive the Tartars back to Jiangbei will be unable to do anything to the troops stationed in these places?
From this, Lu Shaochun was able to conclude that the so-called clues left at the scene were just a means of confusing the public, and the actual perpetrators could not have been the surrounding garrison troops.

After the words fell, the county magistrate and Fu Ziyi did not react much, but Niu Junchang could not help but show a thoughtful look on his face.

Seeing this, Lu Shaochun knew that his words had worked, but after finally calming this rough man down, he had to take advantage of this opportunity to take care of all other matters first.

"Liu County Magistrate, since your county magistrate has contracted phlegm, there is no need for him to stay in this wilderness any longer. Send some people to send him back."

"Yes, I will obey the order of the governor."

After answering, County Magistrate Liu went out of the tent. After he left, Lu Shaochun did not seem to make any move, but two of the officers who came with him quietly followed him.

Such situations are of course hidden, but how could Fu Rongfa, who has been a clerk for half his life, miss them?

"The situation is unclear, and this government cannot help but take precautions."

Seeing his expression change slightly, and then pretending to be indifferent, Lu Shaochun did not hide anything. He said something lightly and stared at the table and thought. He could conclude that this case had nothing to do with the local garrison, but it did not mean that he knew who the real murderer was.

This is understandable. To put it bluntly, if someone has the guts to commit such a serious crime, he must have been fully prepared and was sure not to leave any clues.

Otherwise, as Niu Junchang said, facing such a major event that could be considered a rebellion, as long as they had a guess that was 80% accurate, the powerful army would directly strike down the enemy like a raging wave. How could they collect sufficient evidence as usual?
But where exactly is this clue?

Thinking of this, even though Lu Shaochun had solved countless cases, he couldn't help feeling melancholy. But this was his only chance after all. If he didn't want all the efforts of the first half of his life to go to waste, he could only try his best to find clues.

"Why is the governor so sure that there is no problem between us?"

Just when Lu Shaochun was still thinking in his mind, Fu Rongfa's voice pulled him back.

But when he heard this question, he was stunned for a moment before he thought about how to answer it.

In his opinion, Fu Rongfa worked in the government office, and it seemed that he should not ask such a question based on his background. However, since the other party asked, there was no need to hide it. After thinking of the wording, he smiled and said.

"First, you two have only been in Anji for less than two months. Second, you are members of the Advisory Council. There is really no need for you to get involved with those traitors. If they can still bribe you two under such circumstances, then there is no need to investigate this case."

"Best regards, my lord."

As soon as Lu Shaochun said this, Fu Rongfa's flattery came over, but when he was about to make a few humble remarks, he heard another sentence from the back.

"But what about you, sir?"

Ok?
I?
The thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before Lu Shaochun immediately understood the meaning of the words.

To put it bluntly, the county magistrate was a local official in his eyes, and in Fu Rongfa's eyes, wasn't he also a local official?
What’s more, the case had only been reported a few days ago, and there had been no order from above for the Huzhou government to take over.

At such a sensitive time, he rushed here in such a hurry. Anyone who has some understanding of the workings of officialdom would be suspicious.

just
"After all, he was sent by His Majesty, but he didn't take me, a small prefect of Huzhou, seriously."

Lu Shaochun's face was full of smiles as he spoke, but the meaning of his words could scare anyone without rank half to death.

But he was right about one thing. These advisors in the Advisory Council had either been with His Majesty through thick and thin or had helped His Majesty stabilize the situation in Yingtian. Even if they did not have the title of imperial envoy, how could they possibly take a local official seriously when they could hear directly from the emperor?

"Let Your Excellency know that I am not a clerk in the ministry like my colleagues. Even though I have met Your Majesty a few times, I would never dare to be disrespectful to you. But as Your Excellency said, we are not sure who is the enemy right now, so we have to be a little more cautious."

"Well, well, well, what a good way to say that we are not sure about the enemy," Fu Rongfa was very polite when he spoke, and even bowed down, but the meaning of his words was obviously another kind of recognition of what Lu Shaochun said. Even though Lu Shaochun had already made up his mind to build a good relationship with the people in the Advisory Council, he could not help but feel depressed: "I will not hide it from you. When the Tartars came, I was forced to surrender. Later, Your Majesty recovered the lost territory, and my official career came to an end. That's it..."

"I understand. The governor wants to gain the emperor's respect by solving this case, but..."

This is the benefit of talking to smart people. You don’t need to explain everything, and the other party will be able to understand what you mean.

But then again, given the current situation, if one wants to solve this case, one not only has to face the various difficulties of the case itself, but one also has to be on the lookout for both open and hidden attacks.

Given the difficulty, how could it be as simple as saying that solving the case would earn His Majesty's favor?
The word "but" after Fu Rongfa's sentence also falls here.

"This case is neither difficult nor easy, but everything is tied to a clue. If we can't find anything from Anji this time, then we are going to alert the enemy."

"Dare to ask."

"Master, if the garrison hadn't taken action, this clue would have been lost."

Just when Fu Rongfa was about to find out what tricks the Huzhou prefect had up his sleeve, Niu Junchang, who had been immersed in his thoughts for a while, suddenly said this.

Seeing that this rough man was slow to react and didn't even hear the conversation, the two men felt helpless.

"Old Cow, don't interrupt me. Let the governor finish what he is saying first."

"It doesn't matter. From now on, the three of us must work together. Only in this way can we catch the traitor in the dark. If Niu Ziyi doesn't understand the whole story, our concerted efforts will not be realized."

Of course, Lu Shaochun's words were so right that they couldn't be more right. When he spoke, not only did Niu Junchang nod his head repeatedly, but even Fu Rongfa couldn't help but show a look of enlightenment on his face.

It is indeed the truth, but from Lu Shaochun's perspective, it is inevitable that some selfish motives are involved.

Why?

This strategy of alerting the enemy was a way he had thought of all along, but if he revealed it before his name was passed to His Majesty, who knew if anyone would be tempted to steal the credit?
This was not because Lu Shaochun was overthinking. After all, although those two men were of no rank or status, their actual status and position were higher than that of a prefect whose official career had been cut short, simply because they had the ability to reach the emperor's ears.

What's more, one must be on guard against others. Why should he use something that concerns his own future to test other people's nature?

Therefore, when Niu Junchang's words suddenly came out, he took this opportunity to directly avoid Fu Rongfa's question. Fu Rongfa didn't know whether he reacted or really felt that his words were very reasonable. Anyway, he didn't pester him again after that. He just focused all his energy on how to explain the current situation to Niu Junchang, this rough man.

Afterwards, he left the camp under the pretext of investigating the scene, leaving Fu Rongfa alone to deal with this reckless man.

When he returned again, night had fallen, and the two officers who were sent out had also returned.

(End of this chapter)