Chapter 1172 Events ferment

Linde's remarks seemed to be made out of anger, but when he thought about it, he was very logical. He just pointed out several key points of this strange fire. First, the victims who died in the fire were all killed first.

The murderer tried to conceal the means of his murder in this way before setting fire to it; secondly, a large amount of cash on the ship disappeared without a trace, and the murderer's purpose was most likely to seek wealth and murder; thirdly, when the Haihan fleet arrived,

Hangzhou completed such a meticulous operation that night, which shows that the perpetrators have been planning for a long time, are well-trained, are familiar with the surrounding environment, and must have a large number of people involved in the crime.

Before and after yesterday's fire, the only armed personnel who publicly appeared near the fire scene were the Ming army who hurriedly came from Hangzhou after the fire. With the Ming army's organizational capabilities, professional skills, and familiarity with the surrounding environment,

It is indeed in line with the characteristics pointed out by Linde. Moreover, the murderer killed people and silenced them, destroyed the corpses and wiped out traces, and the method was brutal. This obviously has a deep grudge with Haihan, and it is well known in the vicinity of Hangzhou that he hates Haihan deeply.

It seems that only certain people in the government have the ability and means to harm him.

Lin De did not clearly identify the murderer, but what he said was very pointed. In just a few words, the fire was spread to the government. As a member of the public, Han Zhengshan naturally could not just watch the other party drag the Ming army into the water.

, No matter what the truth of this matter is, if Linde leads him to this rhythm, he will have to face more objective difficulties if he wants to investigate the case later.

Han Zhengshan refuted Lin De's remarks, and was secretly angry that these people under his command were too talkative. The information obtained was leaked before the on-site investigation was completed, which would inevitably make his situation very embarrassing. He was

It would never have occurred to him that these key information were not leaked by his subordinates, but because Linde was originally one of the planners of the arson case and had received instructions beforehand. All the words he said were arranged and every word was heartbreaking.

.If you want to whitewash the government, you must first clarify what Linde said, otherwise it will only have the opposite effect.

Sure enough, Linde immediately retorted: "If I'm talking nonsense, please ask Capt. Han to reveal the truth of the case and point out what's wrong with what I said. Even if Capt. Han can ban me, how can he ban everyone in the world?"

Speaking of right and wrong, people with discerning eyes will make their own decisions!"

Lin De was very sure that Han Zhengshan could not clarify anything, because the target of this fire was indeed the Ming Army. Even the scars on the corpses were made with Ming Army standard weapons, and there would be other points in the future.

The evidence of the Ming army will be exposed one after another according to the needs of the situation. Anyone who can deduce it from the various information left at the fire scene will generally not deviate from this direction.

Before Han Zhengshan could think of how to refute Linde's inflammatory remarks, many businessmen present were already making noises. The goods they had spent a lot of money to buy were completely burned by the fire last night before they could even get them.

, there is definitely an urgent need for the government to find out the truth. While Han Zhengshan is using official rhetoric on related issues, the key information has to be proactively disclosed by Linde, the victim. This situation will definitely make many businessmen who have suffered heavy losses feel dissatisfied and indignant.

When Han Zhengshan saw the scene, he couldn't control it, so he could only ask his officers to stop the excited victims first. It was understandable that these people wanted to know the progress of the case, but if the investigation results were announced in public, it would most likely make people like Linde

He seized another opportunity to set the pace. If he hadn't considered the impact, he really wanted to order Linde to be arrested first.

But it is a pity that Han Zhengshan did not know the inside story of this matter, and he did not expect that the impact of the case would ferment so quickly that it was far beyond his control. Just when the Ming army and the Hangzhou police were still

While the fire scene was being handled by the Qiantang River, various news about the unknown fire began to spread in many places inside and outside Hangzhou.

It is no longer news to the people of Hangzhou that Haihan people are doing business in Zhejiang. Various daily necessities from Haihan can often be seen on the market. Although the shipping department does not recognize this kind of transnational trade, even in

In the early days, there were attempts to impose heavy taxes on Haihan goods, but in places like Tongsheng Wharf outside the city, semi-open smuggling operations have actually been operating very smoothly. Driven by profits, many local businesses will sell them as agents and make huge profits.

Haihan products, and after getting enough benefits, the people in the Shipping Department pretended to be deaf and dumb to this illegal operation method. If the top officials of the government had not relented, it is estimated that the Haihan people would have long ago

I went to Hangzhou to open a store myself.

Naturally, local businessmen have mixed feelings about the impact of Haihan's business. It is inevitable that some businesses will be dissatisfied with this strong competitor, but generally speaking, the public does not have any bad feelings towards the emergence of Haihan.

, after all, most people don’t know that Haihan stationed thousands of armed personnel in the Zhoushan Islands outside Hangzhou Bay, and forcibly occupied a large area of ​​​​the sea area that originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty. His actions are no different from invasion.

The top officials of the government did not dare to take responsibility for this loss of land, so they did not publicize this matter, let alone use troops to start a war. They could only create a small stumbling block for Haihan in the field of trade.

In this environment, the occurrence of the fire outside Hangzhou inevitably became a hot topic on the streets. While discussing the cause of the fire, who will be the biggest loser of the fire has also become the issue of greatest concern to the public.

one.

While Han Zhengshan was still investigating the fire scene, the news of Haihan's losses in the fire had spread very strangely in the city - except for a few people who came to the city to spend the night, the 20 people who transported the goods were

Many sailors were all killed in the flames, and the three sailboats became burial objects. Even the goods that had been carried ashore were not spared. The warehouse where the goods were stored was set on fire. In addition, tens of thousands of taels collected by Haihan the day before

The money for the goods was also lost in the fire.

This kind of tragedy, in which people and money were lost, is naturally very sympathetic. And the ruthlessness of the perpetrators also made the local people panic. This is nothing compared to the inn fire last summer. It is said that the tragedy was caused by a fire in the kitchen stove.

It was caused by an unextinguished fire, which can be regarded as a natural disaster, but this fire is obviously not that simple, and judging from the results, it does not seem to be a disaster caused by coincidence.

By noon, updated versions of the fire began to circulate in restaurants, teahouses and hotels inside and outside the city. More than twenty people died in the fire, but the cause of death was that they were shot with weapons.

After the killing, he set fire to destroy the corpse and wiped out traces. The Ming army blocked the fire scene immediately, which seemed to be covering the murderer's whereabouts. Han Zhengshan, the head of the Hangzhou Prefecture who was responsible for investigating the case, hesitated about the case after surveying the scene.

I refused to speak openly and did not allow the sufferer to reveal his true feelings. My behavior was extremely strange.

All the information seems to show that the background of this fire is not simple. While people are guessing the identity of the murderer, they can't help but wonder how the Haihan people, who have never suffered a loss, will react to this. But the vast majority of people are skeptical.

I looked at this incident with the mentality of watching the excitement, and could not imagine how serious the consequences would be.

Han Zhengshan stayed at the crime scene at Tongsheng Wharf all day, and hurried back to the city government office when it was almost dark. Before he could take a sip of water, his subordinates came to inform him that Wang Tongpan was going to summon him immediately.

he.

Han Zhengshan knew that the Tongsheng Wharf industry was related to Wang Yuan, and that the other party was an official in charge of criminal litigation in the government. It was reasonable to be eager to understand the case and the progress of the investigation. He did not dare to delay at the moment and quickly got up to see his boss.

.

When Wang Yuan saw Han Zhengshan, he immediately greeted him warmly: "Sit, sit, sit down, someone, come and show Han Captou some tea!"

After Han Zhengshan took two symbolic sips of tea, Wang Yuancai asked with a smile: "What are the results of Captain Han's investigation into the fire at Tongsheng Pier?"

Han Zhengshan had been working under Wang Yuan for a long time, and he knew that he had a smiling and tiger-like temperament. Even when he had a smile on his face, he was still calculating in his heart. He did not dare to be careless at the moment, and answered honestly: "There are many doubts about this case.

, what I can determine so far is that the fire was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster. The victims all had fatal injuries, and there were signs of arson at the fire scene. In addition, the owner's property stored at the fire scene was missing. From the viewpoint of the judge, this case

It must be an act of seeking wealth and murder. However, no relevant clues have yet been found as to who committed the crime."

Wang Yuan nodded slightly and said: "To be able to commit such a major crime overnight without leaving any traces, the perpetrator is not a novice. Since he still has the energy to move away the property after committing the crime, he must have formed a team to act."

Han Zhengshan hurriedly raised his hands and said, "Your Excellency, you are really enlightened! I think so too, even if you are a humble official."

Wang Yuan asked again: "Are there any gangs near Hangzhou Prefecture that could be responsible for this case?"

Han Zhengshan hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "I have never heard of such a gang of gangsters in the nearby state capital. Moreover, this matter was done cleanly and neatly. It cannot be accomplished by a temporary team."

Wang Yuan put away the smile on his face and his voice became colder: "Captain Han, please answer me honestly, who is the most suspect in this matter?"

Han Zhengshan hesitated: "This matter... the evidence is not conclusive... I don't even know who the murderer is despite my humble position..."

"It's not that you don't know, you don't dare!" Wang Yuan snorted and said: "Who dares to touch the goods of the Haihan people and do it so brilliantly, except the gang of reckless warriors from Zhejiang Dusi!

"

Han Zhengshan didn't dare to accept his words at all. In fact, he had already had such suspicion when he was surveying the site at Tongsheng Pier today, and Linde was also setting the pace in this direction intentionally or unintentionally, which was more or less true.

Han Zhengshan's ideas for solving the case also had an impact.

This can't be blamed on him not being smart enough. It's really that the scheme set up by Haihan was too misleading. Anyone who saw the scene of such a major crime involving murder, expropriation, destruction of corpses, and traces of corpses would not have thought that the biggest sufferer in the case was the perpetrator.

He was so crazy that he staged such a cruel trick. As a crime solver, Han Zhengshan deduced conclusions based on the clues left at the fire scene, and he would naturally step into the trap set by Haihan.

But even if he had such a guess, he would never dare to say it in public. Although he is the head catcher of Hangzhou Prefecture and eats public food, he is still an ordinary person in front of the army. Offending the Haihan people may not have a direct impact.

Han Zhengshan's future official career, but he offended the army, and a small man like him may not be able to gain a foothold in Hangzhou in the future.

Wang Yuan was able to express his thoughts so frankly. Whether it was out of righteous indignation or because of the losses suffered by his property at the dock, Han Zhengshan still admired his courage. After all, with Wang Yuan's position and rank, he still could not afford to offend Zhejiang Dusi.

Those big shots. But he had no idea that his seemingly angry boss was also one of the conspirators in the Tongsheng Pier arson case. Wang Yuanke knew much better than Han Zhengshan about what happened last night.

If the pace led by Lin De before could only make Han Zhengshan doubtful, then after Wang Yuan expressed his opinion, Han Zhengshan became even more convinced of the so-called "truth" of this case. People who can implement this method include the resident Ming army and

Who else could it be?

But reason reminded Han Zhengshan that the evidence available for drawing a conclusion is not yet sufficient, and there is no empirical evidence to prove that this matter is directly related to the military. So although he wanted to echo his boss, he finally endured it.

Wang Yuanyuan said without hesitation: "Not counting so many lives on Haihan's side, the direct loss of one entry and one exit would be worth at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. The matter is so big, I'm worried that they won't

I will give up and give up!"

Han Zhengshan answered in a strange way: "It's impossible for the Haihan people to raise their troops to attack Hangzhou City, right?"

After Wang Yuan heard this, he stared at him without saying a word. Han Zhengshan thought that this was a bit inappropriate and quickly apologized: "I just said it casually, please don't take it seriously."

Although Wang Yuan roughly knew Haihan's plan, he was not sure whether the other party would stage a well-measured drama or take the opportunity to cause chaos and attack the city. Han Zhengshan's unintentional words just now did mean that

It hit the part that he was most worried about. If Han Zhengshan hadn't immediately changed his mind, he would still have some doubts about whether his subordinate knew something he shouldn't know.

However, Wang Yuan also understands that this kind of thing is good if it is pointed out. Talking too much can easily appear deliberate, not to mention that a sufficient fermentation time is needed from the time the news spreads to the public opinion effect. The effect Haihan people want is to make a big deal out of a small matter.

, a major matter has reached a deadlock, and this can be used to launch a bigger action. Wang Yuan does not have to rush to force Han Zhengshan to track down the garrison at half a minute. Tomorrow at the latest, Haihan should have a document handed over to the government office.

Here, that's when the real drama begins.
Chapter completed!