Chapter 333: The Siege of Jiangning (VII)
In the early morning of summer, the patrol teams in Jiangning City began to take over. Those who had been patrolling all night went to the dormitory to rest, and those who had slept well came out of the dormitory.
Zhu Xiucai went to the patrol team's canteen to eat breakfast and wanted to go back. When he arrived at the entrance, he asked the guard. Seeing that this was not a guard he was familiar with, Zhu Xiucai took out his badge and said, "I am in charge of logistics and transportation. There are a batch of items to be sent to the back. Brother, please help me."
The guard looked at Zhu Xiucai, his face showing no hostility, and said, "Comrade, we have received orders that no one can pass without a pass."
"Brother, please give me some favor." Zhu Xiucai pleaded.
The guard sighed and said, "Comrade, instead of wasting time here, why don't you go back and ask someone in your unit to issue you a pass?"
Zhu Xiucai was unhappy when he heard this. After all, he was also a member of the Huaxia Dynasty, and he could read and write, and was assigned to the logistics department. Even if he was not an official, he was still a cadre. How could he be blocked by a big-headed soldier who was a private?
In a fit of anger, Zhu Xiucai tried to get away with it vaguely. Unexpectedly, the soldier grabbed Zhu Xiucai and shouted to the people around him: "There is someone trying to get away. Catch him and take him away!"
The soldiers nearby immediately came up and held Zhu Xiucai down and dragged him to a small room next door. Seeing how vicious the soldiers were, Zhu Xiucai shouted, "We are all family members."
The soldiers didn't beat Zhu Xiucai, they just asked him to be more obedient and then locked him up.
Although someone was arrested, the checkpoint remains normal.
An hour later, a group of people came straight here. They passed the checkpoint with their badges and went straight to where Zhu Xiucai was. The leader went in and asked where Zhu Xiucai was. Although the person in charge here didn't know what happened, he hurried to ask first. However, after asking for a while, no one knew where Zhu Xiucai had gone.
Those who came to arrest him did not recognize Zhu Xiucai, so they naturally thought that Zhu Xiucai had escaped after hearing this. They left some people to search the place and sent someone to report to the headquarters.
Although he was just a shitty scholar, Lei Hu still had to pay attention to him. Hearing Zhu Xiucai running away, Lei Hu got angry and cursed Zhu Xiucai in the air. Because Lei Hu felt that he could not target anyone else at this time. Apart from cursing Zhu Xiucai, Lei Hu would only make everyone lose face if he accused anyone else.
After some deductions yesterday, based on various records and people's recollections, we finally found a possible way for the unidentified male corpse to sneak in.
After finding out what went wrong, everyone was finally relieved, but only some people were relieved.
The logistics manager's face turned green with anger. It turned out that many arrangements were not the same as imagined or even arranged. There were really too many lazy and sloppy things in the process.
The head of the security department also had a bad look on his face, and the same was true on his side, as many situations that looked problematic at first glance appeared.
The two men looked equally unhappy. The security chief stood up and shouted, "I'm going to catch this guy."
Lei Hu replied unhappily: "Don't worry. Since this guy has escaped, he will blend into the crowd. Now people are busy everywhere. Are we going to stop all the projects just for this guy?"
The security chief felt that his reputation was more important at this time. As long as Zhu Xiucai was not caught, his black mark would not be cleared. So he replied, "Do you think we can let this evil thief walk around?"
When Lei Hu saw this, he knew that the other party was confused. He immediately shouted: "You are confused! Why should a birdman alarm the entire Jiangning City!"
"I'm not dizzy!" the person in charge of security answered loudly.
Lei Hu frowned, thinking about how to solve this problem. In fact, there is a way, for example, Huo Chong's way is to tell what he encountered in the past, how to trigger Huo Chong's incorrect reaction and lead to wrong judgment.
However, Huo Chong also made it clear that this method should be used on people who understand. If someone does not understand, or may understand in the future but has not yet reached the level of understanding, it will have a bad effect. Those useless people will regard everything around them as their excuse.
If this happens, it means that the overall evaluation of this guy will be low, which will affect the development of this guy.
After thinking for a while, Lei Hu suddenly had an idea and said to Yu Qianming: "Yu Qian, take your big brother to find someone. Remember, nothing this guy says will work."
When they heard that a kid was to lead the team, most of the adults changed their expressions. Lei Hu didn't wait for these guys to object, and immediately shouted: "When you get your heads around, you will understand what's going on. Now you all feel that you can't save face. I can't explain it clearly, so I can only tell you brothers. If the governor was here, you would know that you are no match for him, so you wouldn't take yourself so seriously. If Commander Qian was here, if you dare to take yourself seriously, Commander Qian would beat you up. As for me, I scold you, but you think I am not good enough. I scold you, but you think your face is more important. Yu Qian is the apprentice of the governor, and he is definitely not as good as us in other aspects, but there is one thing I am sure of. What do you think it is?"
After hearing what Lei Hu said, most people were confused. They all looked at Lei Hu, not knowing what Lei Hu was going to say, nor how they should answer.
In this silence, Lei Hu replied: "The good thing about Yu Qian is that he never takes himself seriously. Since he doesn't take himself seriously, all his face is empty. People dare to use people like this. The governor has said so many times that first, you need someone to teach you. Second, you need to be able to afford to lose. If we all take ourselves as important people, and see that things are not going well, we will not quickly follow the situation. That means we can't afford to lose! If we can't afford to lose, we have to let others admit defeat. If you can't afford to lose, can others afford to lose? I still say that you shouldn't take yourself too seriously!"
After being scolded by Lei Hu, everyone understood a little and nodded slightly. Although the security director also felt that it was written clearly, he still couldn't help but say: "I feel a little sorry for everyone."
"Confucius said that knowing shame is the beginning of courage. You feel ashamed, that's right . If you don't care about anything, how can everyone dare to teach you such a big responsibility. But now is the time to face reality. You have to face what has happened. Not only do you have to admit it, but you can't let others clean up your mess! Don't say so much, just follow Yu Qian to do the work and see how the little kid handles it."
“I…”
Lei Hu shouted: "Stop talking nonsense, go now!"
After all, it was wartime, and there were strict controls everywhere. At this time, except for the patrol teams composed of civilians on the top of the city, Jiangning City was busy everywhere.
In particular, Lei Hu decided to follow Huo Chong's request and take advantage of the current situation to complete some infrastructure construction in the city first.
Not long after Yu Qian and the others came out, they arrived at the Qinhuai River. The Qinhuai River had different names at different stages.
Outside the city, the Lishui River and the Jurong River form the main channel of the Qinhuai River below Xibei Village in Jiangning District. They flow northward along the west side of Fangshan Mountain, pass Dongshan Street and Shangfangmen and enter the main city of Nanjing. The Yuntaishan River, Niu Shoushan River, and the suburban Yunliang River and Zijinshan Valley converge into the river. The main river splits into two branches at Jiulong Bridge outside Tongjimen in Nanjing.
One branch goes straight west over Jiulong Bridge and enters Nanjing City from East Water Gate. It flows west to Huaiqing Bridge and meets Qingxi River. Then it turns southwest to join the Small Canal at Lishi Bridge. Then it passes Wende Bridge, Wuding Bridge and Zhenhuai Bridge and turns northwest. It passes Xinqiao to Shangfu Bridge and Doumen Bridge, meets Yundushui River, then crosses Xiafu Bridge, goes west through Confucius Temple and exits the city from West Water Gate. Inner Qinhuai is the main stream.
What Yu Qian and others saw in the city was the Inner Qinhuai River, also known as the Ten-Li Qinhuai River. The Inner Qinhuai River flows through the six districts of Qinhuai, Yuhuatai, Jianye, Xuanwu, Qixia, and Gulou in the 21st century. It is the most important part of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing and is also considered the most purified part.
In addition to the Inner Qinhuai River, there is another branch that goes around the city from Tongji Gate through Zhonghua Gate, which is the Outer Qinhuai River or the Southern Branch of Qinhuai River. It is also called the Old Qinhuai River after Saihong Bridge. The Outer Qinhuai River goes around the south of Nanjing City. It is a moat dug during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It turns south and west after Jiulong Bridge, merges with Luomajian after Changgan Bridge, flows west to Saihong Bridge and Midu Bridge, and reunites with the Inner Qinhuai River outside Xishuiguan. After the merger, it flows north through Caochang Gate, Dinghuai Gate, Shitoucheng, and flows into the Yangtze River through Sanchahe.
Even though he knew that these Qing Dynasty subordinates did not understand the so-called urban governance, Huo Chong still ordered to take advantage of this situation to solve the problem of widening the inner Qinhuai River. In particular, he ordered to take advantage of the situation in Jiangning City to build sewage canals.
Because there was no water supply and drainage system in Jiangning City at that time, Yu Qian saw people washing toilets upstream of the Qinhuai River and people fetching water for cooking downstream.
Seeing this situation, Yu Qian couldn't help but turn away. Yu Qian felt a little uneasy when Lei Hu openly said that he was Huo Chong's apprentice. This matter itself was true, but the longer Yu Qian followed Huo Chong, the more he felt, just as Lei Hu said, the less willing he was to take himself too seriously.
After all, following Huo Chong means that Yu Qian will do things badly and have to endure criticism while also enduring other people's pointing fingers at him. "The governor's apprentice is only capable of this." This has been said not once or twice.
But Yu Qian couldn't stand such a living environment. After all, she had been with Huo Chong for so long. She knew about water supply and drainage, the breeding of bacteria, and that trouble comes from the mouth. Seeing that the same river had to be used for both sewage disposal and drinking water, she couldn't stand it at all.
Perhaps because they saw Yu Qian turned away, the people around him asked, "What's going on among these people?"
Yu Qian didn't dare to say anything. He felt that Senior Sister Qian Qing was more like his teacher over the years, because Senior Sister taught Yu Qian many things. Especially in the understanding of human heart, Master Huo Chong didn't really tell Yu Qian too much about the details.
According to senior sister Qian Qing, Yu Qian was more like Huo Chong's adopted son. Yu Qian had lived with Huo Chong since he was seven years old. Yu Qian still remembered that when many Qing troops came to Zibo County, Huo Chong arranged for Yu Qian and his younger brother Yu Cheng to live in other families. Yu Qian felt like the sky was falling, so he held Huo Chong's hand and cried and refused to let go.
Finally, Master Huo Chong sighed, "If you stop crying from today on, I will take you away."
So from that day on, no matter what happened, Yu Qian never cried again, because if she cried again, her master Huo Chong would give her to someone else.
Following Senior Sister Qian Qing , Yu Qian finally understood that it is better to fight with a smart person than to say a word to a fool.
Trouble comes from the mouth, disease comes from the mouth, this saying is more correct. If I say that I can't stand those people's water habits, it will only make people think that Yu Qian is too pretentious. The senior sister said that whether it is pretentious or not is your own business. However, people who have not reached that level just don't accept people who are different from him, and don't accept different opinions from him.
At this time, either learn to keep silent or learn to tell white lies.
Yu Qian shook her head. "I just thought that Mr. Zhu might not be among those people, but when I saw so many people, I couldn't help but feel that there could be people hiding anywhere."
After hearing this, the people in the security department immediately agreed. It was obvious that they were thinking about where Zhu Xiucai would hide. However, Jiangning City was so big, and there were so many projects going on in the city. Trying to find a person was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Seeing that he had avoided trouble, Yu Qian felt relieved, but he did not continue to talk about this topic.
Senior Sister Qian Qing is the pillar of the Chinese court. Yu Qian heard Master Huo Chong praise her, saying that Qian Qing is the conscience of the Chinese court. As long as Qian Qing is involved, she is considering the right path. Master Huo Chong is one of the few people who criticizes human nature. He is not afraid of no good things but no good people.
Originally, it was not a big deal, but as long as someone deviates from science and democracy, it will definitely become a fight for personal interests. When it comes to personal interests, it can basically be considered that everyone is a bastard!
The group continued to move forward and soon arrived at where Zhu Xiucai was. When the cadres who stayed behind saw the people from the security department coming, they immediately came up and said anxiously that Zhu Xiucai was missing and everyone was very worried.
Yu Qian listened quietly, and in the midst of everyone's anxiety, Yu Qian heard a piece of news. Zhu Xiucai did not act strange, he just went to have breakfast and disappeared.
Hearing this, Yu Qian felt a little suspicious. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the security director ask, "Brother Yu Qian, when do you think he knew something was wrong?"
Yu Qian wanted to ask something, but he didn't dare to ask. He could only answer: "Let's go see where he's eating first."
The first person who came to investigate replied helplessly: "We asked, and the people over there said that Zhu Xiucai left after dinner! We haven't seen him come back here! If he wants to escape now, there are plenty of places to run."
Yu Qian felt that this was all the information he had, so he could only ask everyone to go to the checkpoints to see if they had caught any strange people. When the director of the security department heard this, he frowned and asked, "Brother Yu Qian, do you think that guy is stupid? Why did he dare to go to the checkpoint instead of finding a place to run?"
"Uh... just go and ask." Yu Qian answered in his most humble tone.
There was nothing they could do. Although the director of the security department thought this was a waste of time, Lei Hu had ordered him to listen to Yu Qian. Now that Yu Qian had spoken, he couldn't just pretend he didn't hear it. He could only send someone out in dismay.
After the people were sent out, the director of the security department called everyone together for a meeting and also invited some local people to ask them where would be the most appropriate way to go if they wanted to escape secretly.
When the locals heard this question, they all looked helpless, "Sir, Jiangning City is so big, there are too many roads that others don't know about."
Hearing such a depressing story, the director was furious and asked what other options were available. The locals began to talk about it. Soon, the director's face was full of frustration.
Yu Qian sighed in his heart, not daring to say a word. In comparison, he was not someone who was familiar with the roads, and Yu Qian even felt that he was a bit directionally challenged.
"Report! The person has been caught!" A shout of great joy suddenly came from outside, and then a captain rushed in. He was one of the people who had been sent out before.
The director of the security department was shocked and asked quickly, "Where was he caught?"
"He was caught at the checkpoint. Mr. Zhu tried to break through the checkpoint, but was caught by the guard. He was locked up in the guardhouse."
The director looked incredulous and looked at Yu Qian with confusion in his eyes. Then he asked, "Did they arrest the wrong person?"
The captain replied happily: "I found several people to identify him. They all confirmed that it was Mr. Zhu. We didn't make a mistake!"
The director left immediately, and Yu Qian did not follow him. Senior Sister Qian Qing said that at times like this, we have to let those people do their best. If they can't fully control the situation, they will feel as if they have no credit. As long as they have enough credit, these people will feel that they still have a certain say.
Yu Qian had seen ordinary people do this, but she didn't expect the director to do the same. It seemed that the reason why the senior sister could control so many masters was that she understood the nature of these guys.
On the way back, the director had already rushed back to the headquarters with his men. Yu Qian returned to the headquarters almost alone.
Thinking that this might be what Senior Sister Qian Qing said about human nature, Yu Qian felt that he had to be more careful. A guy like him was average in strength and could not compare with Master Huo Chong at all. The gap between him and Senior Sister Qian Qing was also huge. If he behaved himself, he would not cause trouble. If he jumped out randomly, he would be scolded to death.
"The teacher said that any city must have a broad core. Passing by the Qinhuai River, Yu Qian saw both banks of the Qinhuai River. During the Six Dynasties, the Qinhuai River was at least 100 meters wide. This is basically consistent with historical records." Mr. Xue Bing said that through the study of the ruins, it can be seen that during the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Qinhuai River had begun to narrow, with the east and west sides "shrinking" by about five or six meters each. "In the Song Dynasty, the Qinhuai River narrowed faster, with the east and west sides narrowing by 10 to 20 meters each, and the entire river channel shrunk by 30 to 40 meters. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the pace of narrowing slowed down again."
