mage in the late qing dynasty

Chapter 867 Suicide

Zhou Shumo is a capable official.

He once went abroad for inspection with five ministers, and after returning he was promoted step by step.

He petitioned for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, but of course, like others, the petition ended in nothing.

Training troops, establishing schools, establishing industries, adjusting and recruiting farmers, setting up banks, etc., may sound cliché, but there may not be many frontier officials who can do it well.

Zhou Shumo is considered one of the best.

After hearing Zhao Chuanxin's words, Zhou Shumo's heart beat rapidly, but he pretended to be serious and asked: "What kind of industry?"

What Zhao Chuanxin values ​​​​is the advantage of Longjiang Prefecture as the provincial capital and the Guangxin Company that Zhou Shumo is reorganizing.

Guangxin Company is a money management bureau jointly established by the government and businessmen. Zhou Shumo also adjusted official funds, rents and taxes. He required that these must be paid with the official subsidy issued by Guangxin Company.

Official stickers are banknotes in units of hanging coins, which the common people call Ha Dayang. Because Zhou Shumo forcibly linked it to the payment of various taxes and public funds, Ha Dayang's popularity has gradually surpassed that of Xian Dayang. After all, it is portable.

"You said."

Zhao Chuanxin said: "I want to open a company in Longjiang Prefecture, called Xingyue Media Company. This is a chain industry."

Banknotes will promote local agricultural and commercial transactions and make trade more developed.

So when Zhou Shumo and Song Xiaolian felt like they were chatting, they wanted to use their chopsticks, but when they lowered their heads, they saw that the table was almost empty.

"It is a magical heavenly road that can bring the warmth of the world to the bitter cold frontier."

Zhou Shumo and Song Xiaolian barely moved their chopsticks, but Zhao Chuanxin was in a hurry and did not delay eating or drinking while talking.

Zhao Chuanxin stood up, patted his belly, and called to the waiter: "I still have something to do. I have to go first. The guy will settle the account. I'll take this meal."

How big is your belly?
Their faces turned dark.

Longjiang Prefecture may not suffer any losses, but Japan and Russia, which are domineering in the three provinces outside the customs, will definitely feel uncomfortable.

However, Zhao Chuanxin was unwilling to express his position, but he was even more convincing.

Tired.

But neither Zhou Shumo nor the senior officials of Japan and Russia could have predicted Zhao Chuanxin's next outrageous move. It can be said that the whole world had never heard of it at this time.

He felt that he was not at a disadvantage either way.

But Zhou Shumo didn't know.

But Zhou Shumo was different. Although he argued hard for territory and Tsarist Russia, he adhered to the will of the Qing court and adopted an attitude of "treating Russia with peace and firmness" towards Tsarist Russia.

Song Xiaolian was confused: "What is that?"

This idea is the same as Zhao Chuanxin.

But this is not what Zhao Chuanxin values. What he values ​​​​is Guangxin Company's ability to transport bulk grains, which can be called a primitive logistics company.

If he succeeds, Zhao Chuanxian will monopolize the financial industry of the entire Heilongjiang Province and even the three provinces outside the customs.

At least it shows that Zhao Chuanxin is not just talking nonsense.

Zhao Chuanxin's plan requires the help of Guangxin Company's logistics and transportation capabilities.

"I want Longjiang Prefecture to provide me with a piece of land to build a house free of charge. It should not be too far away from the business district and cover an area of ​​at least five acres. Guangxin Company has the ability to transport bulk grains. I need to cooperate with it and sign a treaty."

On the one hand, he wants to issue banknotes to compete with Ha Dayang of Guangxin Company, and on the other hand, he also needs to use his strength to make good calculations.

"Issuing a few military orders, all I can say is that I will do my best."

"More than that?" Old God Zhao Chuanxin said: "The tax payment is considerable, and at the same time it can help Longjiang Prefecture promote local industry. In the end, Old Zhou, you will gain more."

Zhou Shumo's nose was so hung up and crooked.

Although five acres of land was a lot of land, Zhou Shumo didn't have to worry too much about his status as governor. He immediately decided: "Okay, it's a deal."

Zhou Shumo was suspicious: "Can Xingyue Company make up for the tax deficit of Lubin Mansion?"

Zhao Chuanxin vowed: "At least I can make up for the land tax within a year, not to mention driving Guangxin Company's transportation business. If not, the house I built will be confiscated."

Zhou Shumo's heart was pounding.

so rude.

Zhao Chuanxin added: "But I also have a few conditions."

Zhou Shumo stared: "What a huge appetite. Although Longjiang Mansion is not as good as the capital, it still has a lot of money."

The Lubin Prefecture and the Dongqing Railway are in a stalemate. Even though Tsarist Russia appears to be subdued on the surface, it can actually cause obstacles for the Lubin Prefecture secretly.

Song Xiaolian: "..."

It's just that Zhao Chuanxin called "Old Zhou" in his mouth, which made Zhou Shumo unhappy.

Zhou Shumo's old face darkened.

Then Zhao Chuanxin paid the money while the waiter looked at him in astonishment.

Five acres?

"Do you dare to issue a military order?"

Having said that, Zhao Chuanxin said in his heart: To promote the logistics industry, we must also strangle your financial institutions.

Okay, okay, you eat everything yourself, but you earn a treat, right?
So neat, right?
But before Zhao Chuanxin left, he said, "You two eat slowly, I'm going back to Lubin Mansion first."

The two of them had dark faces and didn't speak. What's wrong with this?

Zhao Chuanxin went out in a hurry.

"Damn, there are really very few people as open-minded as me nowadays. They are all just people who take advantage of the autumn wind." Zhao Chuanxin went out, stroking his belly and walking out with a figure-footed step.

He ate too much today and he needs to digest it.

……

Hulan Mansion.

A Russian ship slowly sailed into the Hulan River along the river channel exposed by the cut ice.

There were policemen on the shore shouting and trying to stop him. The Russian on the boat was holding a wine bottle in his hand and yelling at the patrolman on the shore with a red face. There was also a Russian who took off his pants and urinated and humiliated the patrolman on the shore across the water.

The patrolman was furious.

"How to do?"

"Go and inform the prefect."

So some people stared at the Russian ship, while others hurriedly turned around and went to inform the prefect.

The prefect of Hulan Prefecture is called Huang Weihan. He was promoted by Zhou Shumo, the governor of Longjiang Prefecture. In addition to being the prefect, he also serves as the general office of the Hulan Taxation Bureau.

At this time, Huang Weihan was leading the patrol outside the gambling house opened by the Japanese to prevent Chinese people from entering and gambling.

"Integrity and shame are gone, how can there be any etiquette and justice?" Huang Weihan angrily stopped a group of gamblers at the entrance of a Japanese gambling house: "The Japanese only want to enrich themselves, regardless of ruining the customs of the country, seducing other people's children, destroying Destroying other people's property, even disturbing the dignity of the elders and children, destroying people's minds and lives, upsetting the country's constitution, and ruining the people's customs. You are so foolish to give money to others, how stupid is it?"

A group of gamblers drooped their heads with no regrets on their faces.

The Japanese are even more angry.

They opened a gambling house, and Huang Weihan came to stop them. Wouldn't this ruin their business?
Therefore, Etajima, a Japanese who runs a gambling house, said angrily: "Master Huang, don't bully others too much."

Huang Weihan glanced at him coldly: "Humph, as long as I, Huang Weihan, am in Hulan Mansion, I will definitely stop you from ruining the order in which our farmers, industry and merchants can do their own business. I can't control you, and I can't control the people under my rule. What?"

Etajima was speechless.

Yes, what's wrong with people managing the people within their own jurisdiction?

But that made him angrier.

Huang Weihan saw that he was at a loss for words, so he turned to the gamblers and said: "Today I am just trying to persuade you. If you continue to be stubborn tomorrow, there is no need to lose all your family wealth in the gambling house. I will confiscate all your money." To prevent the young people of Hulan Prefecture from getting used to the bad habits of gangsters, this is the basis for eradicating evil!"

Those who rape, kill, bet, and robber are close to others. If a person loses his eyes red, he will do anything.

Huang Weihan is a very down-to-earth official, and he is well aware of the various habits of the people.

A group of gamblers heard this, and this time they were really scared.

What a ruthless prefect.

Just as he was talking, a patrol came in a hurry, and Huang Weihan said: "Your Majesty, there are Russian ships trespassing in the Hulan River. We stopped them, but they not only refused to listen, but also humiliated and caused trouble."

These patrol officers looked capable and quick in speech and movement. When Huang Weihan first took office, the patrol police in Hulan Mansion were not like this.

Huang Weihan used military law to restrain and train patrol police, which was very effective.

Huang Weihan remained calm and nodded calmly: "I know, I'll come right away."

Hulan Prefecture is located to the north of Harbin and is close to the Songhua River, so it is inevitable to have contact with the Russians.

The Japanese opened gambling houses in Hulan Prefecture, but Huang Weihan was not too fond of them.

But the Russians are different, because Harbin is almost under the control of the Russians at this time, and one thing that cannot be handled well is a diplomatic incident.

Huang Weihan hurriedly got on the carriage and headed towards the Hulan River.

Huang Weihan attaches great importance to the development and utilization of land and rivers.

Normally, during the freezing period, the Hulan River becomes too sluggish to allow boats to pass through.

But since Huang Weihan took office, in winter he specially found someone to use the heavy blow method to break the ice every day, leaving a channel for the passage of a section of the river connecting the Songhua River. Although the channel is very short, it is extremely beneficial to Hulan Prefecture's transportation.

When they arrived at the river bank, the Russians were already on the bank, pushing and shoving the patrolmen, and some people spit on the faces of the people watching the excitement.

The people who were vomited dared not speak out in anger, so they could only retreat in disbelief.

"Khitans, you'd better not anger me!"

"You should be afraid of us and forget about Blagoveshchensk. How did we teach you a lesson?"

Hearing this, Huang Weihan was furious: "Come here, arrest these gangsters."

Blagoveshchensk, also called Hailanpao.

There was a blood feud there, which still makes people outside the pass hate the Russians.

In fact, the patrol policemen had already been angry. Since outsiders were involved, they did not dare to make any independent decisions.

But when Huang Weihan gave an order, this group of patrol officers who were trained according to the art of war were fearless and swarmed forward.

"How dare you! Let me go..."

"Humble Khitan people, how dare you..."

At this time, the people watching the excitement around were also talking about it.

"It's very satisfying." "Prefect Huang is mighty!"

But in any era, at times like this, there are inevitably people with yin and yang.

Someone said: "Humph, Mr. Huang is used to being reckless, but these are Russians, and they are Russians. He dares to arrest Russians, for fear that he will be punished by the court, so-called shooting the first bird."

The person next to me spat: "Bah, you are still a scholar, you have read the book into the dog's belly."

The man looked dismissively: "What do you, an illiterate idiot, know? It's the so-called golden mean..."

Before he finished speaking, his face was suddenly slapped.

"Snapped……"

"Who? Who hit me?"

The scholar covered his face and looked around.

The people around him were gloating about his misfortune, but they were also puzzled as no one could see clearly who slapped this person.

"Snapped……"

Good guy, in front of everyone, the scholar's face tilted, and there was a red palm print on the other side.

student:"……"

"Who on earth committed the murder in broad daylight..."

"Snapped……"

At this time, someone in the crowd shouted: "Wow, it's unbelievable that something like this can happen. Is it moral decay or inner distortion..."

Everyone looked at each other.

The voice shouted again: "This scholar is eating him inside and outside. I think everyone is shoulder to shoulder, so there is no need to be polite to him and beat this bitch."

Just as he finished speaking, the scholar's stomach seemed to be hit hard again. He bent over involuntarily to cover his stomach, and his facial muscles twisted.

The onlookers were eager to try, but no one dared to take action.

"What are you afraid of? The law does not punish everyone, so take action."

As he said this, the scholar tilted his buttocks, as if he had been kicked.

The man who had just argued with the scholar couldn't help but punched him, and the scholar was immediately overwhelmed by the crowd.

Zhao Chuanxin quietly exited the group chat.

Haha, the loudmouthed king and keyboard warrior should pay the price.

He had seen these Russians a long time ago, but this time he was traveling in a low profile and it was difficult to take action.

If he acted secretly without revealing his reputation, it might implicate Magistrate Huang.

Zhao Chuanxin has always been responsible for one person's work.

So I could only watch the Russians being domineering, and I was itching with hatred.

Especially when he heard the Russians mention the massacre of Hailan Pao, Zhao Chuanxin's murderous intention surged and he almost lost control.

I silently recited "A small impatience will ruin a big plan" more than twenty times before I suppressed it.

There happened to be a bitch who was studying and had a weird temperament. If Zhao Chuanxin didn't hit him, who would he hit?
However, I didn't expect that Magistrate Huang was so stubborn that he didn't give up at all and took the Russians directly.

What Zhao Chuanxin didn't know was that Huang Weihan's determination was consistent throughout. This is the case now and will remain the same in the future. Even his immediate boss and the younger brother of the person who promoted him are still not used to it.

Of course, this is all for later.

After Zhao Chuanxin succeeded, he retreated to the periphery and asked someone to inquire about Huang Weihan's deeds.

Fight banditry, abolish excessive taxes, ban smoking and gambling, innovate learning, and never tolerate the Japanese...

Zhao Chuanxin's eyes lit up when he heard this. This was very satisfying to him.

When it comes to having a strong head, Zhao Chuanxin's head is comparable to a diamond.

People often say to him: "I don't know how you lived to this age..."

I also heard that before coming here, Huang Weihan blocked gamblers from entering Japanese gambling houses in the city.

Zhao Chuanxin thought for a while and walked towards the city.

"Xingyue, investigate the gambling house and find the Japanese named Etajima."

Soon, Xingyue gave the answer: I drew a topographic map for you. The probability that the man in the first office on the left on the second floor is Etajima is 80%.

80% probability, that's enough.

Zhao Chuanxin jumped up to the second floor from behind, took out the elf carving knife and quietly cut off the window hinges. After entering, he took an iron block, used the Old God's crucible brand to smelt a new hinge, and used a hammer to gently and randomly nail it. On the window frame.

When he pushed open the door and entered, Etajima, who was writing something with a Parker fountain pen, looked up in shock: "Who are you?"

This tall man in cotton-padded clothes looked very familiar. Judging from his height and appearance, he was definitely not Japanese, so Etajima spoke Chinese.

Zhao Chuanxin bared his teeth and smiled: "Hello, are you Etajima?"

Etajima frowned: "Exactly, who are you, breaking into my office without permission?"

Zhao Chuanxin said with a smile: "Because the passenger flow is blocked, the gambling house cannot make money, so you feel depressed, confused, and gradually despair, so you think of ending your sinful life."

"..." Etajima said angrily: "What are you talking about? Someone..."

Just as he was about to shout, Zhao Chuanxin stepped forward and blocked his mouth.

Then he took out the prepared hemp rope and strangled Etajima's neck from behind.

If Zhao Chuanxin wanted to strangle someone to death, that person would not be able to struggle at all.

Even Zhao Chuanxin only used one hand to tighten the hemp rope like a rein, while the other hand took the Parker fountain pen on the table with great interest.

This is a fountain pen produced in 1903. It is a classic and popular fountain pen. In 1894, Parker invented the pen tip with a curved rear end. The curved end ensures that the ink will not flow back into the ink bag due to surface tension and cause the pen tip to drip. This will keep your fingers clean when writing and will not cause the pen tip to drip when you insert it in your pocket. There was ink everywhere on the grinder. Five years later, Parker solved another ink leakage problem.

On this 1903 pen, Parker tried his best to create a classic and perfect pen.

Apart from being expensive, there are no drawbacks.

Zhao Chuanxin had always wanted to buy it, but the price was a bit high, and even he was reluctant to part with it.

I didn’t expect to miss something today.

Before Etajima was dead, Zhao Chuanxin released Xingyue and the black puppet craftsman. Xingyue controlled the puppet craftsman to pick up the Parker pen.

Zhao Chuanxin said: "Looking through Jiang Tiandao's handwriting, I imitated writing a suicide note, and said - I, Jiang Tiandao, opened a gambling game in Hulan Prefecture, luring ignorant gangsters to gather together, causing the social customs of Hulan Prefecture to gradually drift away, and People’s hearts are not as old as they used to be. Now that I heard Magistrate Huang’s denunciation, I suddenly realized that I, Jiangtiandao, am willing to die to apologize, to uphold the moral standards and uphold the customs, so that the children of Hulan Prefecture can all work in their own profession, and the rule of the Tang and Yu dynasties can be restored..."

Xingyue wrote quickly and wrote it in a moment.

Mimicking handwriting is too easy for it.

Etajima looked at the black puppet craftsman, his bloodshot eyes and pupils constricted - what kind of things are these?

Before he died, his eyes were filled with surprise, doubts and unwillingness.

When shit and urine flowed out, and Etajima was dead, Zhao Chuanxin put one end of the hemp rope on the beam, lifted Etajima up and tied it up.

Then the ink on the paper was dried, folded in half, put into an envelope, and asked Xingyue to write two big words on the envelope - a suicide note.

In this day and age, it doesn’t matter whether fingerprints and DNA are left or not, and there is no information database for comparison.

Etajima was committed suicide in this way.

After doing this, Zhao Chuanxin left gracefully.

In the afternoon of that day, Huang Weihan received the news of Etajima's "suicide".

When the Japanese in the gambling house saw the hanged Etajima and the suicide note, they immediately felt that this was Huang Weihan's revenge.

But then I thought about it and felt that something was wrong. If Huang Weihan wanted revenge, he would have taken action long ago. Why wait until now?

What's more, when Etajima committed suicide, Huang Weihan was dealing with the Russian riots. How could he be distracted and send someone to spy on Etajima?
So I could only report to the official.

Huang Weihan even personally brought the inspection history and a group of patrol officers to the "suicide scene" of the gambling house.

Examining history is the work of old times.

Local officialdom habits have always been inherited from top to bottom.

Huang Weihan is smart, capable, and down-to-earth, and the people below him will learn from him.

After inspecting the scene quickly, the inspector whispered to Huang Weihan: "Sir, based on my many years of experience, I judge that this Etajima was killed."

His voice was so low that only the two of them could hear it clearly.

"Oh?" Huang Weihan was surprised: "What's the basis?"

Could someone help him find a place?
"I've seen people who hanged themselves before. Although they were ferocious, they didn't have the horror and confusion on their faces like Etajima. In addition, there were scratch marks on his neck. It seemed that when someone strangled him from behind, he wanted to After struggling to untie the rope, the urine stain on the ground was obviously under the chair and not dripping after hanging up. In addition to this obvious sign, there was another very suspicious trace on the window in the corridor outside Etajima's office. After Dao finished writing his 'suicide note', his fountain pen disappeared..."

Detailed inspection history report and due diligence.

Then wait for Huang Weihan to express his position.

In his opinion, Etajima's death means death. To describe it in two words - he deserves it.

He felt that Huang Weihan should settle the case perfunctorily.

But he underestimated the degree of Huang Weihan's stubbornness: "Tell the relatives and friends of the deceased about the case you have deduced, and immediately start to hunt down the murderer."

"Ah this..."

It's completely incomprehensible.

……

If Zhao Chuanxin was careful, he could actually create a perfect "suicide scene".

But he didn't pay attention at all.

A Japanese deserves to die, no big deal.

As long as it doesn't bring trouble to Huang Weihan.

He headed east along the Songhua River, bypassed Yilan Mansion, passed through a large field of farmland, and entered the territory of Tsarist Russia.

Zhao Chuanxin looked at the rolling mountains and was confused: "Zhuo, you said that you can reach the southern end of Sakhalin Island by passing through here. But how to get there?"

Xingyue didn't reply for a while.

Finally, it said: Morrison misled me, the map in the library was wrong...

(End of this chapter)