Daily life of slaying demons in the government

Chapter 62: It is easiest to break through from the inside
"Captain Yang, please forgive me. This is the only oxtail knife with a weight. If it's heavier, I have to go to the official sword shop in the prefecture to order it."

The weight of an oxtail is just over three pounds, and this is already the result of adding iron material, considering that the constables are skilled in martial arts. An ordinary single sword weighs just over two pounds.

But even so, Yang Qian still felt that the oxtail knife in his hand was a little light, so he went to find the storeroom official of the government office and wanted to exchange it for a heavier one, preferably one weighing about six pounds.

But the official in the warehouse said helplessly that the heaviest oxtail knife in the warehouse was only four and a half pounds, and there were only two in the Three Cities, one in Wang Hai's hand, and the other was the one in Yang Qian's hand now.

If it is still not enough, you need to go to the provincial capital to customize it. Because this kind of standard military equipment can only be made in designated places, and it is a serious crime to forge it in other places.

"How long will it take?"

"If it's fast, it will take half a year, if it's slow, it will take a year and a half. After all, few people use the four and a half pound oxtail knife. The six-pound one you want may need to be re-weighted and forged, and ordinary masters may not have the skills to do it.

I would say Captain Yang, why don't you use this 15-pound knife first, and then apply for a heavier knife later?"

If someone else came, the storehouse official would definitely not have such patience. After all, Yang Qian was a big celebrity in the government office. Even in Sandao City, he was known as a "master of solving crimes". He had to give him some face.

But I didn't think Yang Qian was bragging. A single sword weighing six kilograms is scary to think about.

The storeroom official didn't find it strange. After all, compared with others, Yang Qian had been practicing secretly for three days under the one-on-one instruction of a great immortal master. How could he be the same as an ordinary warrior?

There must be some trick.

And looking at Yang Qian's highly bulged temple, how come it looks even more exaggerated than that of Wang Hai, the number one expert in Sanda City?
Seeing that the other party had made his point, what else could Yang Qian say? He could only nod and agree to the other party's plan. He replaced his previous oxtail knife with the heaviest four and a half catties standard in the Sandaocheng government office.

The extra weight of more than one pound was very noticeable for a single blade. This weight was too heavy for an ordinary constable, but in Yang Qian's hand, he felt that "it would be better if it was heavier."

"I will leave it to Mr. Zhou to customize the six-jin long sword for Chaozhou Prefecture. Yang Qian thanks you in advance."

"Hahaha, Captain Yang, you are too polite. It's just my job. There's no need to thank me."

After a few polite words, Yang Qian returned to his own squad C in the police station.

I ran into Chen Dong as soon as I entered the door.

Recently, because Yang Qian gave Chen Dong the "informant" at the Wuxiang Copper Mine, Chen Dong's progress is much faster than Wang Shigui's.

After entering Yang Qian's duty room, Chen Dong closed the door and began to report.

"Master Yang, Liu Heng's stuff was delivered yesterday evening. We sorted through it and found a lot of useful things.

Look here"

As Chen Dong spoke, he took out a stack of papers covered with handwriting and many marks from his arms and placed it in front of Yang Qian.

"Master Yang, starting from the year before the disappearance, the actual work roster at Wuxiang Copper Mine was very different from the roster they reported to the government. We roughly calculated that there were about 30% to 40% fewer people! The difference was mainly in the laborers.

Wuxiang Copper Mine recruited a large number of coolies from other places without reporting to the government, and many of them should still be refugees. And the slaves are not only criminal slaves, but also many black slaves sold by human traffickers." Black slaves are illegal slaves. Basically, they are slaves abducted and sold by missing people. But it is difficult to verify the source, and local areas have no energy to investigate. It is impossible to investigate all the local evil spirits and bandits, let alone investigate the people abducted from other places.

So although it was strictly prohibited and considered a felony, the slave trade was very rampant, and the risks were much lower than other murder and arson activities.

Yang Qian did not interrupt and let Chen Dong continue speaking.

"But when we combine the purchase records of the kitchen staff at Wuxiang Copper Mine in recent years, we find that their food rations are far from enough to support the number of workers.

If the situation on both sides was normal, these rations would definitely starve at least 20% of the people to death, especially the coolies who were treated the worst.

The case became a hot topic because a distant relative of several missing refugees worked in the state government.

At that time, the Wuxiang Copper Mine reported only a few deaths and injuries each month, and the total number for the whole year was less than 20. Later, the Dingzi Squad took over the case and investigated it, and corrected it to 113.

But according to our review, the actual number of missing people is likely to be far more than a hundred, and double that would definitely be enough.

Looking at the Wuxiang Copper Mine in the two years after the incident, the number of mine accidents they reported was pitifully small, and it seemed that things had returned to normal.

However, the number of workers and the amount of food purchased by their kitchen still did not match. Although it was not as exaggerated as before, at least 50 to 60 people disappeared from the roster inexplicably every year.

I asked Liu Heng, but he said he had no great impression of the changes in the mine's manpower. He also said that the Wuxiang Copper Mine had always had people coming and going, especially the coolies, and no one cared who would work tomorrow, let alone remember the slaves who died every few days.

Master Yang, based on the information we have now, it is very likely that the Wuxiang Copper Mine is secretly a cover for devouring population.

And it's not just the case a few years ago. They are probably still doing this until now, just a little more restrained than before.

As for where these people were taken, I think there is no reason to take away so many coolies and slaves, except that they were eaten by evil spirits. "

After listening to Chen Dong's words, Yang Qian was silent for a while before he said, "What kind of person is Liu Heng? Do you think we can continue to win him over? Is he very useful?"

Yang Qian was not surprised by Chen Dong's conclusion. After all, this case itself was full of doubts. If the result was "the mine took the initiative to help the evil spirits kidnap people", there would be a self-consistent logical thread. This time, it was just to prove that this logical conjecture was correct through empirical evidence.

The next step is to determine what role the Song family garrison plays in this. Once this issue is confirmed and evidence is obtained, we can consider whether to arrest people. At least some important figures in the Song family system must be arrested.

It turns out that it is always easier to find flaws from the inside than to attack from the outside.

"I think Liu Heng is worth winning over. I have the conditions to win him over, but I need to tie him up to death."

"How do you tie him up?"

"I investigated Liu Heng and found that he was dishonest in the copper mine. He not only sold the stones from the mine privately, but also secretly refined copper ingots and sold them. He also took advantage of both sides. He not only took advantage of the miners, but also took advantage of his master's lineage. The latter is a taboo in the mine. If anyone knew about it, Liu Heng would be dead for sure."

(End of this chapter)