jdhmnovel Chapter 1224 Would Lord Shen possibly lie to me?
Chapter 1224 Would Lord Shen possibly lie to me?
The officers and soldiers of Yanzhou were extremely uneasy.
No matter how hard they tried, they never imagined that the troublemakers who came to chase the escaped criminals would actually manage to catch up with the Provincial Inspector and Lord Shen.
"My lords..." The officer in charge of the soldiers glanced furtively at Shen Zheng and Xin Shunyun's expressions, carefully choosing his words: "We are soldiers from Yanzhou Prefecture, ordered by the Prefect to arrest a farmer who has fled. We have disturbed you, my lords, and beg your forgiveness..."
The officers and soldiers racked their brains but still couldn't figure out what those two giant statues were doing standing on the border between the two prefectures in the pitch black of the night...
"Apprehend the farmers who have absconded?" Xin Shunyun had just arrived and was completely unaware of the details of the incident, so he could only ask, "Their fields and houses are still there, why did they want to escape?"
After a moment's thought, his gaze sharpened: "Could it be that Wei Shunzhi did not take my words to heart and did not open the granaries to distribute grain and appease the people?"
Upon hearing this, the officer in charge trembled and hurriedly replied, "Lord Xin, you are wise! At dawn today, Lord Wei ordered all counties to open their granaries and distribute grain, showing no regard for the people! These farmers fled because some people in Qinghe County fell ill, and the county government, fearing the disease would spread, ordered the villages to be sealed off. Who would have thought these people would disregard the order and flee overnight!"
Upon hearing this, Xin Shunyun's expression darkened, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out from his back.
Post-disaster illness?
Fear of the disease spreading?
Could it be...
An epidemic?!
Having served in local government for a long time, he was well aware of the principle that "a major disaster is always followed by a major epidemic."
Ultimately, however, locust plagues are different from major natural disasters such as floods and droughts.
Floods, with their inundation of muddy water and floating corpses, easily breed resentment and hostility.
Droughts leave land barren and water sources depleted, making them prone to causing epidemics.
But locust plagues are different...
Locusts mostly devour crops, so theoretically, as long as their carcasses are cleaned up promptly and drinking water is kept clean, foul odors shouldn't be able to breed...
Could it be...
Xin Shunyun became increasingly alarmed as he thought about it. Just as he was about to ask further questions, he heard Shen Zheng beside him say, "Lord Xin, those farmers from Yanzhou just now said that the people of Qinghe Town contracted the epidemic because they drank dirty water, and it even endangered their lives."
Life-threatening?!
Upon hearing these four words, Xin Shunyun's face instantly turned ashen. He roared at the Yanzhou soldiers, "Before I left, I repeatedly ordered Wei Shunzhi to order the cleanup of the insect corpses and to prevent the people from drinking the contaminated water! I've only been in Fuzhou for a day, and you've already caused a death?! How can Wei Shunzhi bear such a grave offense!"
The officer was terrified by the angry shout and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "My lord, please calm down! My lord, please calm down! No one was killed in Qinghe Town, really, really no one! I, I dare to swear on my life!"
"No one was killed?" Xin Shunyun was only stunned for a moment before choosing to believe Shen Zheng without hesitation: "Would Lord Shen lie to me?"
Shen Zheng was also taken aback.
Although she wouldn't lie to Xin Shunyun, there's no guarantee that the people of Yanzhou wouldn't lie to her...
"Lord Xin, please wait a moment." A hint of uncertainty flashed through Shen Zheng's mind. She raised her hand and called over the middle-aged man who was leading the farmers in Yanzhou: "Come here and answer me."
The middle-aged man was so frightened by the scene that his legs went weak, and he staggered forward, saying, "This humble one, Luo Hou, greets... greets Lord Shen, greets... greets Lord Xin..."
Jiang Zhiming touched his nose.
Well, he's been standing here for so long, and not a single person has "seen" him.
"Just stand there and answer," Shen Zheng said, gesturing for Luo Hou to stand downwind of the others. "You said earlier that there was an epidemic in Qinghe Town, and many people died after drinking dirty water?"
Luo Hou trembled, his fingertips twisting the tattered hem of his clothes, and he bowed his head, replying, "Yes, sir..."
Shen Zheng asked again, "Did you see it with your own eyes, or did you hear it from others?"
Luo Hou's face froze, and he stammered, "We... we heard it from the uncles and aunts at the village entrance. Uncle Wang said that his nephew's wife's neighbor's son drank water from the well and then started vomiting and having severe diarrhea. He was on the verge of dying..."
"They're about to be gone?" Shen Zheng immediately grasped the key point: "So, the person is still alive?"
Luo Hou's scalp tightened, and he hurriedly replied, "They said the person is still alive... but... but Uncle Wang also said! When this family went to the clinic to fetch a doctor, the clinic was overcrowded, and two people even died on the spot as soon as they were carried in! Everyone said it was a deadly plague, and that's why I... that's why..."
"You're talking nonsense!"
Before Luo Hou could finish speaking, the soldiers on the ground couldn't kneel down any longer and hurriedly defended themselves: "Your Excellencies are wise! It is true that many people in Qinghe Town have stomach problems, but it is not as serious as he said, and no one has died from the illness!"
The claim that he "died as soon as he arrived at the clinic" is utterly alarmist!
Compared to the confident expressions of the soldiers, Luo Hou was clearly less confident.
Shen Zheng stared directly at Luo Hou: "Where is the 'Fourth Uncle of the Wang Family' you mentioned? Did he escape with you?"
Luo Hou glanced at his companion subconsciously and slowly shook his head: "Reporting to Lord Shen, Uncle Wang is old and has difficulty walking, so he did not come out with us."
"..."
Shen Zheng was so angry she almost laughed: "You mean, Uncle Wang knew the plague was dangerous, but still chose to stay in the village and watch you escape to safety?"
Luo Hou turned pale at the questioning and stammered, "Uncle Wang... he said he's an old man and not afraid of death, so he advised us young people to run away quickly, saying that keeping our lives is better than anything else. We thought that if we lost our crops, or even our lives, we might as well go to Liuyang Prefecture..."
At this point, while Shen Zheng was still pondering the authority of the "village intelligence group," Jiang Zhiming understood everything.
Jiang Zhiming's lips curled into a sneer, his expression slightly displeased: "So you mean... you don't really know what the illness is all about, and this escape was just to go to Liuyang Prefecture and make Lord Shen the scapegoat?"
Shen Zheng, the "sucker," was stunned upon hearing this.
It seems... that's somewhat the case?
Luo Hougang's face, which had just turned pale, flushed red: "No, no, I didn't mean that..."
"Bullshit! That's exactly what you think!" Jiang Zhiming strode up to Shen Zheng, his brows furrowed and eyes wide. "Fuzhou is clearly the closest to you, so why don't you come to Fuzhou to make a living instead of trying your luck in Liuyang Prefecture? Isn't it because you think Lord Shen is kind-hearted and can't bear to see people displaced, so you want to settle down in Liuyang Prefecture again?"
As he spoke, Jiang Zhiming exclaimed "Oh!" as if in realization: "You've all heard about the deeds of the school principal of Tong'an County, haven't you? You know he was once a refugee, but now he's become a Tong'an County resident that everyone envies. Not only that, you've surely also heard that Tong'an County distributes land and grain seeds to refugees. Families who grew high-yield rice last year built new houses after the autumn harvest and are now living in peace and prosperity, isn't that right?!"