Chapter 715: The Xiao Family at the Iron Mine
Wei Qing walked over and looked at the young man. His face was covered in blood and he had fainted. His wound was on the back of his head. Wei Qing first performed a simple heal to stop the bleeding and covered the wound.
This kind of thing is very common in the mines, and these are the descendants of criminals, that is, criminals, just like slaves, their lives are worthless, and once they die, they are dead.
Therefore, no one cared about this kind of fight in the mine, and dead bodies were seen everywhere. However, the Minister of Justice seemed to sympathize with the child, so Lu Tizhu asked someone to quickly call a doctor.
The doctor is the doctor in the mine. He usually treats the officers and soldiers in the mine or the able-bodied laborers.
The doctor arrived quickly and, following Lu Tizhu's instructions, examined the child's wound, stopped the bleeding, and wrapped it with gauze.
People in places like this have extremely strong vitality. The child woke up slowly after a while and shuddered when he saw Wei Qing.
"It was this gentleman who saved you," the doctor said.
The elderly and children were of little value to the mines, and outside the doctor's area of expertise. Doctors would secretly examine them, but they wouldn't prescribe medication, as mine managers considered it a waste. If they didn't, the managers would turn a blind eye. But if they did, the managers wouldn't sit idly by.
This adult looks fierce and ferocious, but he is actually a nice person. They actually asked him to treat a child.
When the child heard that it was Wei Qing who saved him, he looked at him in surprise and doubt and stopped hiding.
"Where do you live? I'll take you home." Wei Qing said.
As he said this, he helped the child to stand up.
The child pointed in a direction.
Wei Qing supported the child and Lu Tiju followed behind them.
The group came to a shabby tent and saw a middle-aged woman looking around.
When he saw the child being supported by Wei Qing, his expression changed immediately: "Goudan, where have you been?!"
He then looked at Lu Tiju, who was wearing an official uniform. His body softened and he said tremblingly, "Sir, what has Goudan done wrong? He is young and ignorant. Please spare his life!"
Although the middle-aged woman was trembling with fear, she still protected Goudan behind her.
"It's okay, he fell and there's a hole in the back of his head. Please take good care of him." Wei Qing said.
After saying this, he left with Lu Tiju and the doctor.
The woman breathed a sigh of relief.
"Goudan, what's wrong with your head?"
"Qin Chuan and the others beat me."
"Alas, I'll just avoid you next time I see you. Everyone in this mine doesn't like us..."
Wei Qing walked forward, and the voices behind him faintly reached his ears.
"What's going on with this family? Why do other people in the mine bully them?" Wei Qing asked.
Lu Tijiu opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.
"I want to know more about the mine. Please tell me the truth, Lord Lu."
"Sir, this matter is related to an old case. The family just mentioned is surnamed Xiao..." Lu Tiju paused and continued, "It's related to the Xiao family's rebellion case. The Xiao family was implicated, and these people were not among the nine clans, but they were also related to the Xiao family. As a result, the entire village was convicted and exiled to this mine."
Although Lu Tiju didn't say it too directly, Wei Qing guessed it all.
I think these people are from the same village, and they were implicated by the Xiao family and became criminals.
The other people in the village naturally blamed the suffering they had endured on the Xiao family, ostracizing and bullying them...
Wei Qing's expression remained calm, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.
He had secretly investigated the Xiao family's affairs before, but he only found out that all the Xiao family members had been beheaded, the Xiao family army had been completely destroyed, and his uncle and he were the only two survivors...
He didn't expect that there were still people involved who survived and became criminals, living in darkness in this mine.
"Take me to meet the iron official who manages this iron mine." Wei Qing said.
Lu Tijiu took Wei Qing to meet Tieguan, a middle-aged man who looked honest and simple.
Wei Qing wanted to see the accounts of the iron mine, and the iron official immediately took them out. Wei Qing looked through the accounts and found that the amount of ore produced matched the amount of iron used by Lu Tizhu to make arrows, so there was no problem.
After looking at the accounts, Wei Qing planned to go out for a walk.
Lu Tiju paused, exchanged a glance with the iron official, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Tiju hurried to follow.
"Lord Lu, go and take care of your own business. You don't have to follow me." Wei Qing said.
Lu Tiju paused and said, "Yes, Lord Wu."
Wei Qing walked alone in the mine, observing the lives of the people there and occasionally chatting with them.
But the people seemed to be hardly afraid of him and rarely spoke to him, so he could not get any useful information from them.
You can only see with your eyes.
The mines were short of food and clothing, and most people lived in tents, making life very hard. The children, after growing up through hardship, only inherited the same lifestyle as their parents, with no hope of making a breakthrough.
Among them, there are also people who have been burdened by the Xiao family...
Wei Qing took a walk, left the mine and returned to the post station.
late at night.
Wei Qing changed his clothes, covered his face, left the post station, and quietly came to the mine.
The mine was shrouded in silence late at night. Wei Qing followed his memory and came to the tent of the Xiao family. His figure was completely hidden in the darkness.
He listened to the noises in the tent and heard faint voices.
"Goudan's brain..."
"We were beaten by other kids. They hated us."
"well."
"Actually, this can't be blamed on us. If it weren't for General Xiao, how could the people in the village survive? They are repaying kindness with enmity. Now that life is hard, it's General Xiao's fault." The woman said in a low voice.
The man sighed again.
"I just feel that General Xiao was wronged. He's such a good man, how could he commit treason..."
"Why are you saying this? Do you want to die?"
"Speak so quietly, no one can hear you..." the woman said, and perhaps because she was stared at by the man, she suddenly fell silent.
After a while, a hunchbacked man in tattered clothes came out and walked in one direction.
Wei Qing followed quietly.
After following for a while, we came to a hillside. The man squatted down, took out some yellow paper from his arms, lit it with a flame, and started burning.
"General Xiao, today is your death anniversary. I, Xiao Laojiu, can't do anything. I can only burn some paper for you. Please buy some more food on the ground." Xiao Laojiu whispered.
Then he put more paper into the fire.
Wei Qing was listening on the side. Today was indeed the day when the entire Xiao family was executed.
He didn't expect that besides him and his uncle, someone else remembered it.
After a while, when the paper was burned, the man dug a hole and buried the ashes in it.
Then he stood up and wanted to leave.
When I turned around, I saw a tall figure standing silently behind me.
The man was startled and almost fell to the ground. He asked in surprise, "Who are you?"
Wei Qing had his face covered, revealing only a pair of eyes, staring at the hunched middle-aged man: "Xiao Laojiu, are you offering a memorial to General Xiao?"
Xiao Jia's body trembled unconsciously. He had been cautious for decades and never expected to be discovered.
It's over now!
Xiao Laojiu turned around and tried to run, but was grabbed by Wei Qing and was completely unable to move.
"I have great respect for General Xiao and won't tell on you. I just want to ask a few questions, and you can just tell me." Wei Qing continued.
Xiao Laojiu looked at him in surprise and doubt. His secret was discovered and he was caught and couldn't escape. He had no choice but to nod.
"You...you let me go first." Xiao Laojiu said.
Wei Qing let him go.
"What is your relationship with General Xiao?" Wei Qing asked.
Xiao Laojiu glanced at Wei Qing and felt that his eyes were intimidating and a little scary, so he had to tell the old story obediently.
"I'm originally from Xiaojia Village in the southern suburbs of the capital. Actually, Xiaojia Village isn't called Xiaojia Village, but Quanshui Village. Quanshui Village has many hot springs and is well-known far and wide. A relative of the then Minister of Personnel took a fancy to our village and wanted to take it over as an estate. If the villagers were left without a place to live, they would be left homeless, so naturally they refused. Several conflicts arose between the villagers and that powerful figure. During one intense conflict, General Xiao passed by, saved the entire village, and punished that powerful figure. Finally, peace settled in our Quanshui Village."
"At that time, the village chief was my father, also surnamed Xiao. General Xiao joked that he and my father were one family. General Xiao was a very kind person and treated us very kindly without any airs. He even hugged me. My father said that he would remember General Xiao's kindness for the rest of his life. To thank General Xiao, our village was renamed Xiaojia Village."
After hearing this, Wei Qing realized that there was such a connection.
His grandfather was indeed a man who hated evil and was generous. He was straightforward and this affected the interests of many powerful people and offended many people.
Later, when the incident happened, everyone turned against him and those powerful people wanted to step on him.
Those who had received his favors, such as those who bullied and isolated the Xiao family at the mine, had forgotten the favors their grandfather had brought them and only remembered the consequences they had suffered.
However, there are always people who remember him and hope that he can be cleared of his grievances one day.
Wei Qing looked at the huddled Xiao Laojiu and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I told you I won't tell your secret to anyone. Look how powerful I am. If I really want to deal with you, can't I just kill you? There's no need for you to tell on me. It's not worth it. Don't worry."
Xiao Laojiu looked at the tall and elusive man beside him, and felt that what he said made sense. There was no need to lie to him like that, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
"You've been working in this mine for almost twenty years, right?" Wei Qing asked. "I want to ask you a few questions about the mine."
Xiao Laojiu quickly said, "You say."
"Are you responsible for mining or iron smelting?" Wei Qing asked.
"Iron smelting requires experience. I am an iron smelter." Xiao Laojiu said.
"How much iron ore can this iron mine produce in a month?" Wei Qing continued to ask.
Xiao Laojiu said a number.
"How much iron ore was produced last year?" Wei Qing asked.
Xiao Laojiu estimated a number.
Wei Qing frowned and fell into deep thought.
This amount does not match the amount on the bill that Tieguan gave to Wei Qing at all.
Does Director Jian know about the iron mine?
I'm afraid there are problems with the iron mine and arrow bureau in Long County.
Maybe we can uncover some bigger secrets.
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