Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 377: Neither too much nor too little
"Then where do you want to live?" Meng Changqing asked.

The man said, "Anywhere is fine, as long as it's far away from the mountains."

The woman nodded.

Meng Changqing was a person who was always very vigilant and liked to think about things in a darker way. After asking around, she found that apart from the two victims, no one else could prove the appearance of the so-called robbers, which made her even more suspicious. Fortunately, she was used to saying one thing in her mind and another in her appearance, so although her suspicion increased at this moment, her tone of voice was still relatively gentle.

"According to what you said, the people in the mountains are targeting you for revenge. Even if you move away, they will still find ways to retaliate. After all, your land is here." Meng Changqing said, "Moving away is easy, but it is not a fundamental solution."

After Meng Changqing finished speaking, he turned around and walked out of the house. Seeing that there were other villagers gathered in the yard, he called Yang Zheng over and asked, "Who among them speaks more coherently?"

Yang Zheng pointed at someone.

"Bring him here." Meng Changqing ordered.

Soon Yang Zheng brought people over, and the three of them walked away from the crowd and came to the place where the horses were tied outside the courtyard gate.

"What's your name?" Meng Changqing asked the man in front of him.

"The younger one is called Huang Liu."

"Huang Liu." Meng Changqing continued to ask: "Are you familiar with this family?"

"Ripe, ripe."

"Let me ask you another way. Do you have a good relationship with this family?"

This question made Huang Liu stunned for a moment. He thought for a moment before answering, "Not good, not bad either. We quarreled over a small matter, but it's normal between neighbors." He immediately added, "It's definitely not a grudge. I won't harm others."

"Don't be anxious." Meng Changqing said, "Tell me what you heard tonight."

What Huang Liu said was no different from what Yang Zheng had asked before. He only heard the noise at home but did not see it with his own eyes.

"You all waited until the bailiffs arrived before leaving the house. You really didn't see the robbers?"

"I really didn't see anything. I just heard the family shouting. Then I listened carefully and heard the noise of someone snatching something and the robbers cursing."

"Did you hear what they were saying?"

Huang Liu recalled carefully and said, "Listen carefully, this is your fate."

Meng Changqing lowered his eyes, "Based on this voice, can you tell who it is?"

Huang Liu had a hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.

Yang Zheng scolded: "What are you afraid of! Speak!"

Meng Changqing raised his hand to block Yang Zheng and played the good guy, "Don't scare me."

"It should be the Ma family from the mountain." Huang Liu said, "They are the only family that always hangs out in groups, and they don't get along with those of us who used to live in the mountain."

Meng Changqing said: "Just judge by the sound, don't make any guesses."

Huang Liu was embarrassed. "Based on just one sentence, I can't tell who it was." He paused for a moment and said, "But that person spoke Mandarin. Only the Ma family in the mountains speak Mandarin with that accent."

"The officer knows."

Yang Zheng waved his hand, "Back off."

After Huang Liu left, Yang Zheng approached Meng Changqing and asked, "Sir, do you think the couple in this family can't be trusted?"

"It's not that I don't believe it, but when investigating a case, you have to be more suspicious."

Meng Changqing's eyes were still on Huang Liu. He saw him return to the yard and pull a woman away. The woman had been standing with him and should be his wife.

At this time, Bafang and Xi Bei had already walked around the house twice and came to Meng Changqing. "We didn't find any marks." Meng Changqing nodded.

At this moment, Wanbao ran over and said, "Sir, those two people want to tell you something."

Meng Changqing: "If you have something to say, bring the person here. It's cold and the roads are slippery, so just bring this man."

Soon, the man was brought in front of Meng Changqing. There were still traces of tears on his face, but he was no longer crying. He knelt down in front of Meng Changqing.

The dirty snow on the ground was half-melted and could easily penetrate the clothes.

"Please, sir, help me get my food back." The man kowtowed and said, "I am willing to lead you all up the mountain."

Meng Changqing looked at the person in front of him and said nothing.

The man waited for a long time but saw no movement, so he stopped and looked at Meng Changqing eagerly.

"Get up and talk. Bafang, help him up."

Although he said he was helping, in fact Bafang just picked the man up.

"The situation on the mountain is unclear. Even if you lead the way, I don't want to let the runners take risks."

The man became anxious. "There aren't many people on the mountain, only about 200, and many of them are women and elderly people. If we send men to block a few intersections, none of those people on the mountain will be able to escape."

"We need to think about this matter carefully. It's still dark now. Please tell us the situation on the mountain and those intersections in detail." Meng Changqing said, "Let's talk in your room."

Meng Changqing took out the paper and pen he carried with him and marked the picture on the paper according to what the man said.

During this period, Meng Changqing continued to ask questions from different directions and angles, and revised the man's narration many times.

After about an hour, Meng Changqing obtained a map of the situation on the dangerous mountain.

The two dangerous mountains in the east and west are connected by two mountain ranges in the east and west. The mountain roads are interconnected and are connected to Hongjia County, Weishan County, and Yangmen County.

Even if the obvious way out was blocked, there were secret passages built on the mountain. Even the man in this family was not very clear about these secret passages.

If the situation in this picture is true, it would be difficult for Meng Changqing to eradicate this group of people with the strength of just one county.

Meng Changqing brought the picture back to the county government office and stared at it for a long time until Bafang came in with breakfast.

"Master, let's eat first." Bafang yawned after sitting down. "You can't get anything out of staring at him. Besides, you said it yourself, that person might not be telling the truth."

"Where's Captain Yang?"

"He'll go home and come after breakfast." Bafang urged, "Let's eat too."

Meng Changqing sighed. Since he couldn't make up his mind, he decided not to think about it for now.

We had just finished breakfast and the dishes on the table had not been cleared away when Yang Zheng came, and Qi Renli came with him.

"Sir, I heard that there was a robbery at the foot of the dangerous mountain last night?" Qi Renli said, "I slept so soundly last night that I didn't hear anything. If there is anything you want me to do, just tell me."

"I haven't decided what to do yet, and I don't need to do anything." Meng Changqing smiled at him, "Just take care of your own things first. I won't be polite when I need your help."

"Then...then I won't disturb you and Captain Yang." Qi Renli seemed a little disappointed, but he quickly regained his spirits and went about his business.

"Sit down and talk." Meng Changqing said to Yang Zhengdao.

"I have asked two groups of people to take turns guarding the village," Yang Zheng said. "Wang Gen sent a message back saying that the woman in that family is not well. I asked Wang Gen to invite a doctor over."

"She must be physically unable to handle crying like that."

After spending so much time together, Yang Zheng could sometimes see through Meng Changqing's thoughts. "Do you think it's very likely that the other party is trying to lure us up the mountain?"