Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 725 Ji Xin's Judgment

"My father, Uncle Zhou and three young apprentices were separated when the village was broken!" Qingxia said.

Seeing what shopkeeper Chen wanted to say, Ji Xin roughly understood what happened, and immediately waved his hand, "Since there is an injury, I will send it to the doctor for treatment first."

At the moment, the notice is to take Qingxia and others into custody first, and send all their belongings and luggage to the office.Shopkeeper Chen made a fuss and didn't get anything. Although he was relieved, he was afraid that if the Australians were tempted by this woman, he would be unable to eat and walk around, so he went back anxiously.

Ji Xin called one of his native clerks, gave him the materials, and told him to immediately go to the captives to investigate the report materials of Shopkeeper Chen.Then he moved on to the next case.

The clerk came back more than two hours later.Ji Xin listened to his report.Sure enough, what shopkeeper Chen said was true: Qingxia and the young man named Jiang Suo had been teachers of village courage and fought in watchtowers.Even Qingxia's archery skills are extraordinary, and the fact that Luo Tianqiu gave her a bow was also revealed.

As for Jiang Niang, she and a man named Zhou led Xiangyong to take over the battle with the Australians. The man surnamed Zhou was killed in the scuffle, and Jiang Niang's injury report in the temporary hospital also proved: It was indeed stabbed by a bayonet-this kind of weapon is not used by the aborigines, and it is absolutely impossible to be the so-called accidental injury during martial arts training.

The clerk's ability greatly exceeded his expectations. He not only learned about the situation and collected testimonies, but also found the whereabouts of Qingxia's father and three young apprentices.They were all held in prison camps.

Ji Xin reviewed the report. From this point of view, except for Qingxia's father who was not involved in the battle, the three young apprentices could be released at best as courageous men without public outrage.As for Qingxia, Jiang Suo, and Jiangniang, according to the regulations this time, they would all inevitably die.

Thinking of this, Ji Xin couldn't help feeling a little pity: I think it's too unfair for these people to die: but earning money for a living, and not even getting involved with the bottom "vested interests" group, so I have to stay with the Luo family It is a fact that they acted as teachers of village courage and directly participated in the battle.

He talked to Wen Desi about this issue, meaning to see Wen Desi's attitude.

"If you want to ask my opinion, my opinion is clear," Wen Desi said, "follow the rules."

To do it according to the regulations is to execute.He then smiled: "These two girls look good?"

"Looks good." Ji Xin replied honestly, "But I think they are a little wronged... The few martial artists who were executed yesterday, at least got a few months' salary. These people didn't even get a monthly payment." But, it’s just living in Luo’s house for a few days and eating food for a few days for nothing..."

"If they didn't directly participate in the war, I think it doesn't matter whether they are executed or not." Wen Desi said, "But since they have directly participated in the war, this chick may have killed and wounded our people, so it is too cheap to forgive them. Of course, now You are the head of the court-martial, and the sentence is up to you. I will never interfere."

"You're right." Ji Xin nodded. He has a lot of discretion in this matter, but he is afraid that his discretion will destroy his consistent concept of "everyone is equal before the law".But it was hard for him to let go of ordering the execution of these people.

Wen Desi suddenly smiled: "It's okay if you want to look at these two women..."

"No, I definitely didn't look at them—"

"Okay, brother, don't deceive yourself. If this group is all a few strong men or something, would you still be so entangled? At most, let's just feel emotional. We are all men, and I understand this pity "Wen Desi said, "Most of these people are women and children - what we lack in Lingao is women and children. I think you can save them from death by following the idea of ​​being brave and not angry with the people. It’s better not to be a slave.”

Jiang Niang cleaned the wound in the temporary hospital. Seeing that her wound was severely inflamed, the hygienist not only gave her external anti-inflammatory powder, but also gave her oral sulfa tablets.

Jiang Niang was sent to the house where they were held—this was a large hall in which many prisoners were held.Qingxia and others were placed in a corner. Qingxia's father and three young apprentices had already been sent here, and when they were crying, they saw that Jiang Niang had also been sent back. Sadness: In this accident, everyone was finally reunited, but Uncle Zhou was already dead.

"I don't know what the thieves are going to do to us." Qingxia wiped her tears, "As long as they inquire, our affairs will be clear. People here may not hide it for us."

"So what? The worst case is death." Jiang Suo still looked fearless.

"I think it's time to recruit honestly when you go to court next time." Her father sighed and said, "Please show mercy to the Australian master. I think they behave very righteously and treat the common people well. We are just a few performers Yes, there is no need to kill us."

"Is it not uncommon for officials to borrow the heads of ordinary people to demonstrate?" Jiang Suo muttered dissatisfiedly, "I would rather die to beg for mercy."

"If you want to die, you must die!" The old man was furious. After all, he had been there before and knew the value of life.He scolded Jiang Suo, "Heads are not radishes in the field, they can grow back if they fall off! What are you doing in such a hurry to die at such a young age?"

Jiang Suo didn't dare to speak.He felt quite wronged.At the beginning, he was resolutely opposed to working for the Luo family. It was because of the senior sister's willingness and the acquiescence of the master that it turned into today's situation.

But saying this is not only useless, it will only hurt people in vain.Jiang Suo had no choice but to shut up.Like most people in the team, he is a carefree person, and there is nothing he can't let go of behind him.However, even though he said that he was not afraid of death, thinking that he might be hung alive on a rack and kicked his legs to die after a while, his back felt a chill.

"Don't daydream!" said a sad-faced Xiangyong next to him, "Just because you gave Master Luo... Luo Tianqiu was a teacher of Xiangyong, you are enough to be hanged. Australians treat the common people well, but If you have fought them with a knife and gun, they will not be lenient at killing people. The three Xiangyong teachers who were hanged yesterday were all greedy for the monthly money of Master Luo's 18 taels of silver. Now it is better to leave the old family I left by myself——they are outsiders, probably the family didn't know that the person had died..."

Qingxia cried: "If I had known this, I would have agreed to give the horse to that black-hearted shopkeeper Chen. If I insist on being brave, I will kill everyone..."

Seeing her crying sadly, Jiang Suo didn't feel sad, and didn't know what to say.As soon as he thought that he would die here for no apparent reason, he immediately became enraged.

Everyone also felt that the future was at a loss, and the three young apprentices also burst into tears.The captives in the hall were originally gloomy, but after being seduced by someone like this, they all started crying too, making the huge hall like a mourning hall.In the end, even the guarding sea soldiers came in and yelled at them seven or eight times before they stopped crying.Everyone stopped talking and bowed their heads in silence.

Seeing that Jiang Niang was sent back, everyone was finally not so depressed.Quickly put her on the straw mat.I heard that Kun Thief helped her re-treat the wound, and now the wound is no longer swollen and painful, and her forehead is not so hot anymore.

"Senior Sister," Jiang Suo whispered, "Don't cry, I don't think the Kun Bandit will kill us... They want to kill us, why bother to treat Jiang Niang?"

Early the next morning, a clerk came to pick him up, saying that the military court would continue the trial.After ordering Qingxia's name, she wants to take it away.Jiang Suo was afraid that punishment would be imposed in court today, and that the senior sister was a woman after all, and he was afraid that she would suffer too much, so he hurriedly asked himself to go to court with him.

"You don't have to go. It's none of your business." The clerk said without expression and took Qingxia away.

In the hall, Ji Xin asked people to show the testimony of many people, and found a bow from her carry-on luggage. Qingxia could no longer deny it, so she knelt on the ground and begged bitterly, saying that her father was ill and owed the Luo family money. Later, he was favored by Luo Tianqiu, and he had no choice but to become a village teacher for the Luo family.

"...Master Mingjian, people's daughters really have something to do. People's girls are always confused, unable to distinguish between good and evil for a while..." When she said this, she thought of Luo Tianqiu who was hung on the gallows, and her heart felt sour for some reason. A few tears fell, "All the ideas are from the daughters of the people. If you hurt everyone in the class, the responsibility for the crimes will be borne by the daughters alone. Please don't drag the good people..."

"It's good that you know you're confused." Ji Xin saw her crying sadly, the pear blossoms were raining, and her withered mind like an ancient well unconsciously had a little ripple, so she quickly restrained her mind.He ordered people to be taken down.

Then he drafted the verdict: Jiang Suo, Jiang Niang and the three young apprentices were convicted.Because the Luo family has served for a short period of time, and there has never been any public outrage, the crime is reduced by one class, and he is not a contract slave, and the period is seven years.Immediately send it to Lingao for listening.The old squad leader did not participate in the battle, nor was he a brave man, and was acquitted.

As for everyone's luggage and belongings, they will continue to be protected as private property and can be taken to Lingao with you.Weapons collected.As for the public property in the class, return it to the class owner.

The rest is Qingxia.Ji Xin wanted to spare her.But the testimonies were heavily against her.Not only were many village braves testifying that she fought bravely on the watchtower, but she was also seen shooting several sailors, and one of them seemed to be an officer—this officer was probably Shi Zhiqi.

For such a crime, even if Mr. Wen agreed to use the power of amnesty to spare her from death, many people in the Senate would strongly oppose it.From the perspective of legal fairness, it cannot be justified-why she could not die, but other teachers who participated in the resistance were executed, and they have only been here for a mere one or two months, so there is no public outrage .

Ji Xinchang sighed and signed the death sentence.

"In the name of the Senate and the people, I order the following to be dealt with as necessary."

He signed his name after this sentence.Then a sense of exhaustion and powerlessness enveloped his heart, just like when he encountered the accident of losing his wife back then.Sometimes manpower cannot defeat destiny, and sometimes manpower cannot fight society.Thinking of this, Ji Xin shed tears.

The aftermath work in Sanliang City lasted for a week. During this week, fewer people were killed.But a lot has been gained.All reasonable burdens have also been collected.Wen Desi led people to search for a large number of spoils and prisoners, and at the same time formed an "underground government" in Sanliang City.

Li Cunfa and Monk Daoliao came forward as public figures in this underground government. These days, they have come forward to deal with Australians, handle supplies, collect corpses, etc., and a series of actions to maintain the place have been recognized by the local people.Among the three liaison officers who were originally elected, the shopkeeper Chen of the inn was reported because of repeated extortion of money, and he was also executed the day before the withdrawal.At Ji Xin's request, after the execution, the corpse would not be hung for public display, but immediately buried and cremated.

The real power figure of the underground government is a latent team sent by the Foreign Intelligence Service.They have quietly entered Dongguan, and some of the various contract certificates seized in Sanliang City and eliminated by the wealthy and powerful gentry have been quietly transferred to their hands.After the situation calms down a bit, the latent personnel can openly hold contracts to occupy these industries.The gangsters of the Traveling Group used this to go deep into various villages and towns in the Pearl River Delta, and finally achieved the goal of "poisoning" and "reforming" the grassroots.

The large-scale invasion of the Pearl River Basin by the task force plunged Guangzhou into unprecedented chaos and instability.All kinds of true and false news flew to Guangzhou like a snowflake, causing great panic in the city.A large number of wealthy families began to flee Guangzhou.Li Fengjie had originally urged Xu Tingfa and the others to strengthen their combat readiness, preparing to fight the Kun bandits before negotiating a peace deal. Unexpectedly, the Kun bandits would not come to the Wuyong Fort, which he was waiting for, but instead looted everywhere. fly into Guangzhou.

Everywhere there is news of villages and towns being captured, news of rich gentry being killed everywhere, and news of villages and towns being forcibly "taxed" everywhere.When the news that the Dongguan county magistrate was forced to pay the "redemption fee" to the thieves reached his ears.Not only was Li Fengjie not angry about this, but he was also a little relieved - at least the county seat was saved, otherwise the situation would be even more ugly if it was captured by the thieves.

The officers and soldiers feared the enemy like tigers, and could not protect the people at all, and the township braves from all over the country with strong combat effectiveness also retreated in front of the bandits.Shawan, Sanliang, Dajiao, Dafen... In a series of battles, the multi-village joint protection team was defeated by the gangsters who had only a quarter or even a fifth of their number.Originally it was hoped that the villages and towns would be able to protect themselves, and the strong walls and clear fields forced the thieves to retreat without any supplies. Now the thieves have not only looted a lot of spoils, but the villages and towns they pass have to provide them with supplies-with such sufficient resources Supply, they can stay as long as they want.

In desperation, Li Fengjie sent Humenzhai guerrilla Chen Qian to lead [-] newly recruited water warriors to attack, looking for an opportunity to destroy the small fleet of the bandits, but as soon as he left Wuchong, he was caught by a squadron of spy boats patrolling nearby looking for fighters , Eight spy boats launched an attack on this improvised navy equipped with salt boats and rice boats. After the first round of artillery fire, the sailors abandoned their boats and fled. The water warriors had no intention of fighting at all, and escaped separately.Chen Qian's boat was quickly exposed to the muzzle of the spy boat. Under the fierce artillery fire, the boat caught fire and almost died. Fortunately, his own general rescued him in time to save his life.

This battle completely shattered Li Fengjie and others' hopes of fighting on the water.No matter whether it is the official navy or the recruited water warriors, they are all useless under the gunfire of the thieves.His last hope had to be pinned on Li Luoyou - he had secretly gone to Haojing to discuss with Frangji about borrowing troops, but until now no news came back.

Macao, Society of Jesus.

"Mr. Lando is back?" Jalanzani asked, frowning.

"Yes, he said he has something urgent to report to the president."

"Let him in." Gelanzani remembered that he had just read Jin Lige's letter not long ago, in which he praised "God's light shined into his dark heart" and mentioned that the Italian prostitute was in poor health. , dying in an Australian hospital, I am afraid that he will be called by the Lord soon.

It's only been more than two months, and he has recovered physically?Jalanzani was skeptical.He picked up an ivory ball and played with it in his hands.

Lando walked in still wearing his stylish clothes, and his complexion looked very good, not sick at all.Let Jalanzani wonder if there is something wrong with Jin Lige's observation ability.

He knelt down and kissed the chairman's ring.Then stood up respectfully.

"My lord, I have important news to report."

Jaranzani nodded to his servant, who immediately disappeared behind the curtain.

"My child, why are you so anxious about news?" Jalanzani was a little dissatisfied. Although Lando was able to do things well and contributed a lot to the Society of Jesus, he was only a secular entourage of a priest after all. It is reasonable to report the news to Jin Lige or Lu Ruohua first, and let them report to him.Such a leapfrog report is too crazy.

This **** must have gotten some news that he thought was very important, so he thought of doing this.

"Chinese officials in Guangzhou are trying to harm Macau."

"What did you say?!" Gelanzani's hand trembled.The ivory ball in my hand almost fell off.

Jalanzani, while not a member of Macau's municipal council, is one of the most powerful men in the city.Nothing can be hidden from him.He knew that in recent days, the envoys sent by Guangzhou were negotiating on behalf of the Ming Dynasty officials to ask the Portuguese to help suppress the "Australian pirates" who were wreaking havoc in the Pearl River.

(End of this chapter)