Li Rui recognized the middle-aged policeman. He was the armed policeman who had been guarding Liu Erkui's house earlier. The smell of gunpowder could be smelled in the air, and there was also a faint smell of blood.
"Where's the village chief?"
Li Rui squeezed through the crowd and asked a red-faced man beside him. The man pointed at Liu Erkui's house and said, "He's over there. He was shot dead by Er Gou Zi with a gun. What a horrible death …" He then shouted, "Kill the one who fired the gun. We can kill him with one hit each. It's fine even if we kill him. The law doesn't punish the majority."
Li Ruixin thought that this was a typical person who didn't mind watching a show. He turned to look at Liu Erkui's house. He couldn't see clearly through the crowd. He could only see a few people squatting there and crying, but he couldn't see Liu Erkui. He was probably lying on the ground.
"Kill him!"
"Kill his son of a bitch!"
"Kill him to avenge the village chief!"
The villagers were all agitated and attacked the five policemen in the middle. Although the five policemen had guns in their hands, they didn't dare to shoot at the villagers. After all, one of them was already dead. If another one died, the situation would be completely out of control. The five of them just kept repeating, "Don't come over, don't do it!" "Spread out, don't gather, or we'll arrest all of you." "Don't attack the police, it's a crime, don't be instigated!" "I didn't do it on purpose, he wanted to take my gun, don't be impulsive …"
However, it was as if these voices did not exist in front of the furious villagers. They were quickly drowned out by the tide of curses and shouts. Following that, the villagers rushed up and aimed their fists and kicks at the five policemen. Soon, they were thrown to the ground and beaten up.
Li Rui knew that the five policemen would be fine for a while. Although the villagers were angry, they knew that it was against the law to beat the police, and it was even more against the law to kill the police. He guessed that they wouldn't be too heavy-handed when they attacked, so he ignored them and went around the crowd to Liu Erkui's house. It was fine if he didn't walk over, but once he did, his eyes immediately became red and wet.
Liu Erkui, who had accompanied him to investigate the village not long ago, was now lying on the ground with his face facing the sky. His face was full of shock and pain. His eyes were rolled back, and he died with his eyes open. There was a pool of blood on his chest, and a small pool of blood had accumulated on the ground below his left chest. A few women and children were crying beside his body. They were probably his grandchildren. The door was wide open, and the yard was empty. The scene of a dead man at the door was even more desolate and lonely.
Li Rui looked at Liu Erkui's miserable death and thought of the scene when he accompanied him to investigate the village. His heart was extremely bitter, and he couldn't control his emotions anymore. His tears fell down, and a flame of anger exploded in his body. He wanted to immediately kill the policeman who shot Liu Erkui to avenge him. Of course, he also understood that he didn't know the truth yet, so he couldn't make a judgment. He had to first figure out whether Liu Erkui was wrong or the policeman was wrong. According to the policeman's words, he shot Liu Erkui because Liu Erkui wanted to snatch his gun. With Liu Erkui's temper, it wasn't impossible for such a thing to happen.
He wiped his tears, squatted down, and asked a woman in her forties who was crying the loudest beside Liu Erkui, "Sister, don't cry first. Let me ask you, when Old Village Chief Liu was shot, who was watching at the side? Who was the witness?"
The woman looked back at him with tears in her eyes. She didn't recognize him, so she sobbed and asked, "Who are you?"
Li Rui whispered, "I'm a cadre from the city. I'm here to seek justice for the environmental pollution in your village. I'm a friend of Old Village Chief Liu. Just now, he went from the backyard to the old locust tree behind the house. When he came out, he bumped into me. Then I asked him to take me to the village to check the environmental pollution situation. I just left him for a while, and I didn't expect such a thing to happen so soon. I'm very sad, but the most important thing now is to find out the cause of his death. Don't let him die unjustly. "Tears fell again as he spoke.
In fact, he didn't have much of a friendship with Liu Erkui. The reason why he was crying now was not only because he lamented his tragic death, but also because he pitied his tragic fate. The sorrows of a small character often aroused the most sympathy and compassion from people.
The woman nodded and said, "I'm his second daughter. My name is Liu Huiping. When he died, I was at the scene, right in front of our house. I saw everything."
Li Rui hurriedly said, "Then tell me quickly. Did he snatch the policeman's gun?"
Liu Huiping shook her head and said, "No, definitely not. He definitely didn't snatch the gun. He just fought with the policeman who was holding the gun … Did he go out with you just now? Then when he came back, he was stopped by the policeman at the door and they quarreled. When we came out, he was quarreling with the policeman. He said that he didn't break the law, so why didn't he let him out? Now that he's back, why didn't he let him in? That policeman stopped him from going home. The two of them first scolded each other, then they started to pull each other. That policeman took out his gun. My dad said, "Who are you trying to scare with a gun? How dare you shoot me?" That policeman kicked my dad, and my dad went up to slap his face. We were about to stop the fight when the gun went off. We were all scared. When we looked again, my dad was already on the ground. His chest was bleeding, and he was about to die. He didn't even say a word before he died. My dad died unjustly. Leader, you have to uphold justice for him. Wah … Wah … Ahh … "
Li Rui comforted her, "Sister Liu, don't worry. As long as what you say is the truth, I will definitely seek justice for the old village chief. Who else saw the scene? "
Liu Huiping looked around and said, "There's the Ma family opposite, as well as the two village committee cadres and a few policemen."
When Li Rui heard that there was a third party other than the Liu family and the police as witnesses, he felt slightly relieved. This could prevent lies and disputes. If there were only the Liu family and the police as witnesses, it was very likely that each side would speak for themselves and push all the blame to the other side. Since there was no third party to testify, it didn't matter what they said.
Li Rui stood up and looked back at the scene. He saw that the five policemen had been beaten to the ground by the villagers. Blood spurted out of their noses and mouths, their clothes were dirty, and their hats and shoes were on the ground. They were huddling on the ground with their hands covering their heads to prevent their vital parts from being seriously injured. There were a few policemen who came to help, but they didn't dare to go forward to rescue them. They were afraid that they would also be implicated if they went forward. They all stared at the scene with a panicked expression. Some were even making phone calls to ask for backup.
Li Rui saw this scene and was a little worried. Putting aside the fuse of Liu Erkui's death, if this conflict between the police and the villagers was allowed to continue, it was likely to lead to an even larger scale of group violence. It would also have an extremely bad social impact. It could also tarnish Qingyang City's image. For example, modern technology was so advanced, and information spread so quickly. If someone took a picture or video of this conflict and posted it online, it would instantly spread all over the country. It could have an extremely bad impact on Qingyang City's image. It could also cause trouble for his boss, Song Chaoyang, the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. No, this conflict must be quelled as soon as possible!
He thought for a moment and quickly came up with an idea. He stepped forward and shouted, "Is the Dongshui Village Party Secretary and Village Director here? If so, please step forward. "
As soon as he said this, two men immediately looked at him from the periphery of the crowd. These two men looked like villagers from their skin color, but their clothes were more tasteful. At a glance, one could tell that they were different from the rest of the villagers. The two men sized up Li Rui without saying a word.
Li Rui stepped forward and asked, "You two are the Village Party Secretary and Village Director, right?"
One of the two men nodded, while the other did not react at all. He just stared at him.
Li Rui asked the man who nodded, "Are you the Village Party Secretary?" The man nodded and said, "Yes, I am. Who are you?" Li Rui took out his work permit and gave it to him, saying, "I am a cadre of the Municipal Party Committee. I say, the two of you are too idle. You just watched the villagers beat up the police. Why didn't you step forward to stop them?"
The Village Party Secretary did not say a word. He just carefully looked at his work permit. The Village Director next to him also came over to take a look. After the two men saw the work permit, their expressions changed drastically. They looked at Li Rui again. No one dared to believe that such a young man was the director of the First Department.
Li Rui took back his work permit and said to the Village Party Secretary, "Don't just stand there and watch. Hurry up and stop the villagers. If they really hurt or killed the police, the two of you will not be able to escape responsibility." The Village Party Secretary complained, "Our words are useless. If they were useful, they would have said it long ago. After all, someone in the village died. They are all so angry. If it weren't for our status as cadres, we would have gone forward to beat them up. They are such bullies." Li Rui said, "You were right not to go forward. That police officer killed Old Village Chief Liu. Naturally, the law will punish him. How can the villagers punish him? Hurry up and stop them. Otherwise, you will also be responsible. Don't tell me that your words are useless. If your words are useless, why would the villagers choose you to be the Party Secretary? "
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