Overnight, the originally peaceful and prosperous Jinning County changed its appearance and became deserted and frightened. During the day, it was like at night. There were no few vendors on the street, but they could always see officers and soldiers passing by, which naturally made ordinary people feel more and more restless.

The melee that happened in front of the county government yesterday evening was naturally seen by many people, and no one took it seriously at the beginning. After all, such a fight between the Han and the Manchus occurred in various parts of the southwest, and it was not uncommon to kill people's lives. Compared with this, this dispute is nothing.

But the subsequent development of the matter was shocking. The county government not only seized all the people, but also used troops. In the end, hundreds of elite soldiers stationed outside the city were transferred in. This made the atmosphere in the whole city suddenly tense, and many barbarians and civilians dared not step out of the house.

You should know that there were only three or four hundred soldiers in the county town, but now they have suddenly doubled, with nearly a thousand people stationed everywhere. Does that mean that the government will do anything next? Everyone knows that over the years, the barbarians have repeatedly made the county government defeated each other, which naturally makes people worry about whether they will be settled by the autumn after the fall.

The nervousness became stronger and stronger as time went by and some rumors that had spread. It is said that the government would capture the barbarians in the city on a large scale. No matter whether you are a very familiar man or have any incidents committed, as long as you find out that you are not a Han citizen, you must be taken directly to the prison.

It is said that even the Han people may not be safe, because the county government will arrest all the Han people who have committed crimes or helped the barbarians. Even if they will not take your life, they will be imprisoned and have been jailed for a year or two.

No one knows where these statements came from, but it spread in a small county town where few people went out, which immediately caused panic. Some thought of escaping from the city, and some thought of just going to the county government to make a fuss, but more people didn't know what to do...

Under such a storm, something even more shocking happened - a group of caravans from the west found five or six bodies in the dense forest outside the city!

When these merchants reported the news into the city in fear, and the county government quickly sent someone to check, the answer was revealed. The deceased was Chen Jian's family of five who had left the county town two days ago, plus an unknown barbarian.

When the county government called Zhang Hang and others out to identify the bodies, they finally got the final result. The dead one was the barbarian who went to make a fight with them as a Black Bear Village the day before yesterday!

All these key figures involved were silenced, making it difficult for the county government to find out more even if they wanted to investigate again, because all the clues were cut off!

Who was secretly buying these little people with different identities and creating such a battle between the Han and the Barbarians? And what is their ultimate goal? No one can find the exact answer to these questions at least in a short time.

There are many problems in front of you. Not to mention Yin Taibei, even Xiao Chengzhi and Jiang Han felt embarrassed. Although they saw that the county was still under control and there was no chaos, the situation where people were plotting for trouble could always be solved was not something these two military officers could deal with.

Li Ling was naturally shocked at this time. The other party's actions were so fast and ruthless that he thought, which caught him off guard. But at least he was not really confused and knew that as long as he found a key breakthrough, he would have a chance to recover.

After all, this is not Xunyang, so it is impossible for someone like Tianwang Mo Li to design everything, and it is impossible for a guy like Long Tianxiang who holds the power to suddenly cooperate with the inside and outside. However, it is just a defense that cannot be achieved. You must take the initiative to solve the game.

Just as he had an idea in his mind, when he was about to speak, among the few people who gathered together, Jiang Han spoke first: "If the barbarians inside and outside the city join forces, we will be passive. The defenders in the city will be difficult to deal with."

"So what General Jiang means?" Yin Taibei was the most nervous among the few people. After all, Jin Ning was mainly based on him. If something really happened, the responsibility would be his.

"For the sake of the current plan, if you can't make trouble, you can only ask for help. Come to Kunzhou and the Marquis!" Jiang Han also felt the tension in the situation and actually proposed such a countermeasure.

Yin Taibei agreed quite well in this, but before he was about to speak, someone said first: "It's too late to ask for help. How could he give us such a chance with the meticulous means of the murderer behind the scenes?" It was Li Ling.

Now everyone knows that he is an official from the capital, so he doesn't treat him as an outsider, but his words still make people feel a little dissatisfied. Jiang Han said: "Director Li thinks that my Dingxi Army cannot solve such a problem?"

"No, I mean there is not enough time. If you go to Queensland to ask for help, no matter how fast it is, reinforcements will arrive in three days. Do you think we still have so much time? Judging from the development of this matter, they are walking very fast step by step, and they are linked together. I think that tomorrow will lead to new changes, and it is even more likely that chaos will begin."

"But there are already thousands of soldiers in my city, and I can still suppress it for a few days." Xiao Chengzhi also had his own ideas, which were obviously similar to Jiang Han's idea, and believed that seeking help from Queensland was the best countermeasure.

Li Ling looked at the two of them and sighed softly: "There is naturally a guarantee under the pressure. But this will inspire conflicts between the Han and the Manchus. Is this what you really want to see? County Magistrate Yin, even if we can help you stabilize the situation this time, what will happen later? When we leave, the danger still exists. At that time, your county government encounters a sudden chaos, how should you deal with it?"

This time, Yin Taibei was really asked, and his doubts were even heavier. He turned to Xiao Chengzhi: "Little Marquis..." He spoke with a heavier pleading meaning.

Li Ling said sincerely: "This time things are like floods. Of course we can erect dams to guard them strictly, but this is only a temporary solution. Maybe when we relax, the flood will flood again and destroy the entire dam. Therefore, it is better to clear the dams than to block them. The safest countermeasure now is to resolve the current conflicts, at least so that the Han and the barbarians will not resent each other because of this incident and fight again."

"It's not easy..." Yin Taibei immediately looked bitter. He was an official here for several years, working diligently and cautiously. All he could do was to try his best to maintain the situation, but he could not let the Han Man put aside his years of grievances and prejudices.

In fact, this is not a matter for Jinning County, but a problem faced by officials in southern Yunnan and even the entire southwest. Over the years, the disputes between the two tribes have never stopped, and it is too difficult for the government to be stuck in the middle.

Li Ling pondered for a moment. He knew that this fundamental contradiction could not be solved in just a few words, and he did not intend to provide suggestions. What he is most concerned about now is to resolve this conflict and crisis, and he already has some ideas on this point.

"Mr. Yin County, what do you think is that the people in the city are now in danger, and the conflicts between the Han and the Manchus continue to accumulate?"

"This...is naturally the melee yesterday, plus several people died."

"No, in my opinion, it is a kind of depressing and suspicious atmosphere that is causing trouble, guiding everyone to think about the most unfavorable side for themselves. In fact, in the past half day, there has never been any statement from our government office, but the people still feel uneasy. This is obviously distrust or even suspicion of the government office. Do you understand what I mean?"

Yin Taibei was still savoring the meaning of Li Ling's words. Sun Bi, who was standing beside him, had already flashed his eyes and spoke: "I understand, Lord Li said that the key is that the people do not trust the government enough, and they feel that the government will not protect themselves in the future, and may even attack them, which is why they cause panic?"

"That's right, not only the barbarians think so, but even the Han people have similar views. Once the government takes action, the one who suffers will inevitably suffer!"

This made Yin Taibei's face even more pale. He was saying that he was unpopular. But what they said could not refute, because these were all facts on the surface and no one could deny them.

Needless to say, the barbarians are insecure. They feel that they are not on the same path as Han officials. Now that something happens, their own safety will naturally be unsecured. As for the Han people, it is because the government has been fighting against the Han and Barbarians for many years. Sometimes they suffer losses for the so-called overall situation, but they have nowhere to appeal, which gradually makes them lose their trust and recognition of the government.

Perhaps the Han people are usually very obedient, allowing them to serve and pay taxes, but once they really have a dispute with the barbarians, they will bypass the government and fight against each other. After all, the reason for this melee is that the local Han people have long stopped relying on the government.

Li Ling glanced at Yin Taibei and said sincerely: "This game was set up by them for the people who do not believe in the government, so our best way to break the situation is to regain the trust of the people and make them believe that the government is fair. In the county government, there is only right or wrong, regardless of origin. As long as they do this, their tricks will not be disrupted by Jinning."

After hearing this, Sun Bi's eyes were full of glory and couldn't help but look at Li Ling carefully for a while. The others also looked like they were suddenly aware, but in the end, Yin Taibei was still worried: "How can we win the trust of Yumin in a short period of time?"
Chapter completed!