The Hairpin of the Red Chamber

Chapter 196

When the water bandits were making troubles, the prefecture and county strictly restricted their pursuit, but found nothing. Baoyu was also really worried. Seeing that Baochai refused to talk about the future with him in detail, she had to force herself and said, "Sister Bao, in my opinion See, the matter of water bandits will ultimately fall on Liu Xianglian's head."

Baochai just wanted to tell him to think more, so he smiled at him and said, "Go on."

Baoyu said: "I haven't asked him yet, but he has been with me for so long, but he hasn't mentioned a word about the island. It's no accident. Last time you asked him, he said that someone was arrested. After checking the official documents, the arrested person is under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Mansion, more than 100 miles away, and Liu Xianglian was arrested a few days before Liu Xianglian was injured, I suspect...he was not injured by officers and soldiers."

Baochai looked at him with a smile. Seeing that she had no intention of refuting, Baoyu said slowly: "When I saw him, he was still carrying a weapon. With his skill, one or two people can't beat him. Five or six If they beat him one by one, they may not be able to escape, so I thought, could it be... There was a scuffle before, and they fought in their own dens? If they were really fighting among themselves, it would be easy to deal with, so we will send people out to provoke and divide them. Hit it."

Baochai said, "You have an interesting idea."

Baoyu said: "Sister Bao...do you think I'm wrong?"

Baochai laughed and said, "Do you know why the magistrate has been searching for so long and can't find any trace of the water bandits?"

Baoyu said: "We have too few soldiers under our command, and we are not very familiar with the water properties of Taihu Lake..."

Baochai shook her head and smiled, "You have no one under your command, so is it true that there is no one under your prefect's command? He has been here for so long, can't he even find a few fishermen who are familiar with the landscape?"

Baoyu asked suspiciously, "Then...in Sister Bao's opinion, why?"

Baochai said, "Do you know who those water bandits are?"

Baoyu said: "Naturally, they are thieves and bandits who do all kinds of evil."

Baochai said, "Do you think Liu Xianglian does all kinds of evil?"

Baoyu was speechless for a while.

Baochai said: "Have you ever thought about why Liu Xianglian, as a child of a noble family, was reduced to become a water bandit, and after being rescued by you, she refused to tell you a word? Why every autumn, The water bandits gradually became rampant, and in the spring, there was no more news?"

Baoyu shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Baochai said with a smile: "It's normal if you don't know, you are a wealthy son, no matter how poor your family is, you have never experienced the feelings of these lowly people - if there is plenty of food and clothing in peacetime, who would pay for the lives of the whole family?" Does it matter?"

Baoyu was startled and said, "Sister Bao is saying...these people are good people?"

Baochai said: "Not all of them are, but if you really count, most of them are ordinary islanders. When the weather is good, they are good villagers. They are diligent in fishing and farming. Robbers and robbers are running around. There are very few robbers who are truly heinous, and most of them hide everywhere, targeting wealthy households and merchants. Ordinary islanders may not notice them.”

Baoyu said: "According to what Sister Bao said, I just need to catch those who are really heinous?"

Baochai laughed and said, "Why don't you understand that these water bandits are endless."

Baoyu said: "Even if you can't catch them all, if you can catch some, it is to eliminate harm for the people."

Baochai sighed: "Forget it, let me tell you straight away, those people who have no choice but to become bandits are the easiest to arrest and the easiest to question. If you really want to save Liu Xianglian, you just have to catch her It is the safest and easiest way to gather dozens of people, say that they are water bandits, beat them into tricks, and then give the credit to Liu Xianglian. But if you take them, you will have a bad conscience on the one hand. The imperial court always has rules for paying taxes. If you arrest these people, the taxes they should pay will fall on the fellow villagers. Next year, these people will have no food, no taxes, no way out, and they will inevitably become new bandits again, causing trouble Thirdly, have you ever wondered why, with such a convenient method, why is there such a tight hunt these days, but no bandits have been arrested in Suzhou Mansion? Your superiors and colleagues are conscientious among officials. The bandits have been making trouble for so many years, and I haven't seen them randomly arresting people to fill them up. They have been officials for so many years, of course they know the tricks here. If you behave rashly, who knows if others will hate your behavior and report it to the higher authorities In a word, it hasn't been long since the Wang family was copied, if someone makes trouble again..."

Baoyu said solemnly: "Sister Bao, although I am not a virtuous and capable person, I have read the books of sages and sages. I will never do such a thing for my own self-interest. Don't worry, Sister Bao."

Baochai said with a smile: "Now you are like this, but if... Liu Xianglian's life is at a critical moment, will you be willing? Or if one day, you can easily exchange the lives of dozens of people for Liu Xianglian's life." Xianglian's life and your family's future, or even deeper, if other people's lives can be exchanged for your father's, mother's and your own lives, are you willing to do so?"