Chapter 64: The Whole City Is in Turmoil
The sky gradually changed from pitch black to deep blue, and a touch of fish belly white floated at the end of the sky.
The days are long in summer, and soon it will be bright.
It was very hot and muggy in Jinling Mansion at this time, and there was not even a breath of wind. Some people had already gotten up early and came out to fetch water.
Not all people in Jinling drink water from the Qinhuai River or other major rivers. There are still many wells in Jinling Mansion. Usually more than a dozen households share one well, and they usually queue up to get water, so they sometimes have to rush early in the morning.
At this time, many people were discussing in front of the well. Later people saw it and went forward. They saw a strange fish in the water pulled out of the well. It was completely black and had four limbs, like a four-legged snake. , and like a toad, the skin is full of pimples, a little disgusting and oozing.
At this moment, a Qingluan guard ran over with a sword in his hand and a small flag behind his back, which shocked the people and dispersed one after another.
The Qingluan guard came to the well, glanced at the bucket, and said loudly without taking a breath: "The county government has issued an order. A thief poisoned the well in the city. The well is temporarily closed and cannot be used!"
Jinling Prefecture is a trinity, it is both a state city and a prefecture city, and there is Fuguo County under the prefecture city. In other words, the county government office, the government government office, the provincial government office, the governor's government office, and the governor's government office were all in the same city. That is to say, the county magistrate, the prefect, the envoy, the governor, and the governor are all in the same city.
There is a saying in the official circles: If you were not good in your previous life, you will be a magistrate in this life; if you were evil in your previous life, the magistrate will be attached to Guo; if you are full of evil, you will be attached to Guozhou City. The other magistrates of other counties were Bailihou, but the magistrate of Fuguo County was like a servant girl, staggering and swaying, with hundreds of millions of servants, and exhausted. People in the officialdom thought that it was too difficult to be the magistrate of Fuguo County, and he was not worthy of it. That's why it is said that those who have done evil in the previous life should be attached to County Magistrate Guo. This is retribution. If you do more evil, the retribution will be heavier.
At this time, when dealing with ordinary people, the county government must come forward, so what Qingluan Guard passed on was the county government's order.
When the people heard this, they were startled again and started talking about it. An older man asked: "I dare to ask this superior, when can we use water? We can't go without drinking water all the time. That's it." A well, we are far away from the water hall."
Qingluan Wei replied: "The water in the water hall cannot be used for the time being. When the Taoist priests come to purify the water and they say it can be used, that will be fine."
With that said, Qingluan Guard took out two yamen seals and pasted them above the well mouth to form the character "乂", and pasted the prepared notice on the wall not far away.
After doing this, Qingluan Guard went in another direction without stopping.
The people gathered in front of the notice, and some literate people stood up and read the notice loudly.
Speaking of which, this is also a merit of this dynasty. There are more than ten times more literate people than in the previous dynasty. Basically everyone can write their own name and understand ten numbers, which is enough for daily life.
After more than half an hour, two Taoist priests who were sweating profusely ran over. They had large and small satchels hanging on their bodies, wooden boxes in their hands, and a large box similar to a scholar's box behind them. They looked at the seal on the well. , stopped, put down the large and small boxes, took out the talismans and various bottles and jars, and began to prepare to purify the curse of Zhiming Cult.
The Taoist sect and the Zhiming Sect have been enemies for more than a day. There are ways to crack many of the Zhiming Sect’s methods. This is also the duty that Taoist sects should fulfill, otherwise why would Taoist priests be respected by others, and why would they have such a transcendent status and hold great power? They just have to stand up and protect the safety of a party at critical moments.
It's just that Jinling Mansion has been in peace for a long time, and there are too many Taoist priests in the flower garden. This sudden change made it inevitable that everyone was in a hurry, whether it was the high-quality Taoist priests responsible for dispatching and commanding or others above.
As far as Jiangnan Provincial Government is concerned, the old city is fine and well organized, and the situation can be easily understood. The difficulty is in shantytowns and other places, where there is a mixture of good and bad. In addition to the complex composition of the people, the environment and terrain are also very complicated. Even the government officials and Qingluan guards who interact with various forces are also difficult to explain clearly.
Fortunately among the misfortunes, Li Mingcheng transferred a large number of Beichen Hall spiritual officers into the shanty town, nominally to arrest the Beggar Clan. It was a mistake, but it indirectly maintained the situation here and did not turn into the worst situation.
But even so, the situation is still not optimistic.
In a low and messy shanty town in the outer city, a man was fetching water. The well was very crude and did not even have a pulley. He could only lift it up slowly with both hands. Without strength, he really couldn't do the work of fetching water. . But even so, it is still much less laborious than carrying water to the Qinhuai River.
It is precisely because this well is so simple that even the military command department does not know its existence, and no one comes to put a seal on it.
After a while, the man finally lifted the barrel up and placed it on the edge of the well.
At this moment, a strange fish with wings jumped out of the barrel and bit the man on the shoulder.
The man screamed and stretched out his hand to tear off the strange fish. Unexpectedly, the strange fish had a pair of sharp teeth and tore off a piece of the man's flesh. Dark blood immediately flowed from the wound.
At this time, on a street in the old city, two soldiers from the Military Command Department were prying open the stone slabs above the culverts on both sides of the street. Two Taoist priests were standing not far away. Although it was early in the morning, it was still a bit hot. The two Taoist priests were not sufficiently cultivated, and sweat could not help but flow from their foreheads. They could not help but use their sleeves as fans to fan themselves.
A Taoist priest said, "Oh my God, I heard that other places are reinforcing dams to prevent floods. It's good here, with no wind and no rain. It's really a world of difference. That's fine. There was a fire last night, and the Zhenwu Temple was burned to the ground. This morning, there was a demon again. What kind of world is this?"
Another Taoist priest whispered, "Shut your stinky mouth. What kind of world is this? Of course, it's a peaceful world. If people hear it, if there is any trouble today, you and I will be scolded."
The two soldiers of the Military Command were also whispering. They were not authentic black-clad men, but auxiliary soldiers. They were responsible for transporting food and grass, digging fortifications, and various chores during wartime. One of their duties during peacetime was to dredge ditches. The sewers of Jinling Prefecture were very large, divided into underground and open channels, and were complicated. The specific maps were in the hands of the Military Command. Early this morning, before dawn, the Military Command issued an order to cooperate with the Jiangnan Daofu to dredge the ditches.
According to the rules, the ditch should be cleaned every year and repaired every three years. It was just cleaned once this year, why do we need to clean it again? Isn't this just because they have nothing better to do?
But there is no other way. The orders from the superiors cannot be disobeyed. They can only come to compete with the stinky ditch early in the morning.
One person whispered: "Lao Xu, you said to clean the ditch, so clean the ditch. Why are you involved with these Taoist priests? These Taoist priests usually don't get their shoes dirty. How can they care about these things? They used to stay away when they saw us cleaning the ditch. Why are they actively coming to us this time?"
Another person said weakly: "It must be the same as us. It's a task imposed by the superiors. Otherwise, they are happy to be supervisors here?"
"That's the reason. I don't know what the masters above want to do. Is His Majesty the Emperor going to come to the Jinling Palace?" The previous person couldn't help but guess.
"Don't guess, get to work, or the sun will come out soon, and you'll be in trouble."
As he was talking, the heavy stone slab was finally pried open, revealing the underground canal below, and a damp air mixed with a foul smell surged up.
The two of them took a closer look, ignoring the stench, and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
They saw that there were many strange fish swimming in the underground canal, with tentacles, but not squids.
The two Taoists stepped over, and their faces became solemn after seeing the strange fish in the underground canal.
The door of the Jiangnan Daofu warehouse at Dinghuai Gate was pushed open heavily by several people.
A Taoist priest in charge strode into the warehouse, looked around, and immediately cursed: "You bastards, didn't you configure the 'Little Dragon Ball'? Why don't you use it? Are you waiting for a fire?"
It's not his fault. It's hot in the summer, and the warehouse is full of all kinds of supplies. After entering, it's like entering a steamer, sweating profusely. The Taoist priest in charge had just been angry with the deputy hall master, so it's natural that he got angry.
The Taoist priest who followed in was scolded by the Taoist priest in charge, and immediately turned back to scold the Taoist priest guarding the warehouse: "It is clearly written in the warehouse regulations that the 'Little Dragon Ball' must be opened for twelve hours. Who closed the 'Little Dragon Ball'?"
The so-called "Little Dragon Ball" is the Taoist imitation dragon ball, which is divided into several models. It cannot drive the flying boat for the time being, but it can effectively reduce the temperature and has a fire prevention effect. However, it also needs "Xuanhuang" as a supplement.
Another Taoist priest in charge said, "This month's supply of 'Xuanhuang' has been used up."
"Why are the accounts reimbursed by the Xuanhuang Division all at the highest level? I think you are crazy because of poverty!" The Taoist priest in charge cursed again, "You are greedy even for 'Xuanhuang'? Just connect a pipe directly to Zhenwu Lake, and even save the water fee!"
The Taoist priest in charge felt guilty after all, and did not dare to retort. He turned his head and reprimanded his subordinates, "Why are you standing there like an idiot? Why don't you start the 'Little Dragon Ball'?"
A Taoist priest immediately started the 'Little Dragon Ball'.
The Taoist priest in charge exhaled heavily and ordered, "Prepare disaster relief supplies. It's best if they are not used. If they are needed, they can be shipped out immediately. If there is a shortage of weight, I don't need to say anything more. The investigation team is in Jinling Prefecture."
The two Taoist priests in charge quickly agreed.
Seeing that the two were still dealing with each other as usual, the Taoist priest in charge suddenly raised his voice: "I'm talking about serious matters this time. Don't think about perfunctorily dealing with it. I tell you, this is a matter of life and death. If you can't do it, or don't want to do it, tell us in advance and let others do it. If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will do it!"
The two Taoist priests in charge quickly straightened their faces and agreed timidly.
Similar scenes occurred in various places in Jinling Prefecture. It can be said that except for the men in black, all the available manpower was mobilized.