In a dyeing workshop near the capital.

"Do you think something has been wrong lately?" A man in a green shirt fiddled with the curtain and said uneasily: "I haven't heard from me for three or four days. ”

"No news is good news, don't you like to go out and go on adventures every day?" Another sturdy man poured all of Bai Lian into a crimson dye vat, "I like to dye cloth here and then take out the stub and sell it, at least with peace of mind." ”

"That's true, but I always feel that it's not right......" The man in the green shirt patted the bamboo pole, "I hope I'm thinking too much." If something goes wrong, we'll still be able to make small talk here? ”

"Hmm."

In a dwelling that was contained.

Two spies in full suits were roasting pigeons on the stove.

The pickled pigeon is wrapped in the leaves that have come out, smeared with a layer of mud on the outside, thrown into the hearth, and roasted when the water is boiled.

"I said you two, you still have the leisure to roast pigeons here!" The leader of this team saw that a few of his subordinates were leisurely eating roast carrier pigeons, and he was angry, "Didn't you tell you to keep an eye on the suspicious people who came and went!" ”

"Little seven little eight little nine staring at it, in order not to leak the news, didn't we shoot a few pigeons, it's a pity to lose it, I'll add a meal to the brothers." Drunken Er looked at the leader with a smile.

"Boss, has the news come back?" Zuizan picked up the bowl and poured a glass of water for the leader. The spies in this stronghold have always been disguised as ordinary people, so there is everything in this house, and they stay here to "wait for the pigeon" and "wait for the people", and their lives are not bitter at all.

It would be nice to be so comfortable every time you keep watching.

"Passed it back. With so many strongholds, the manpower of Zuixiaolou is almost insufficient. Lou Qi complained every day, saying that it was better to run the hall. "The Dark Blade is a secret spy organization secretly established by the emperor, and there are three sects and nine streams in it, and the largest restaurant in the capital, Zuixiaolou, is their point of contact, responsible for monitoring.

A total of 100 people from the drunken department, the Xiao department and the building department poured out of the nest this time.

And there are members of the Dark Blade in the post stations all over Dachu, who are responsible for the transmission of news, the mobilization of soldiers and horses in various places, and so on. There are spies, messengers, and of course killers and assassins, but killers and assassins are rarely used.

This time, the ghost face shook out the location of the various strongholds in the capital, and the three departments of the drunken Xiaolou controlled all the strongholds together, leaving three or four unmoved, specifically to release the news out of the city, so as to know what they were going to do.

Most of the traitors in these controlled strongholds committed suicide, and the living ones don't know what the □□ behind the Dao is, and they are all working for money or having a handle on these people.

There is no correspondence in the past, and those who are not dead say that the people in charge of these strongholds never leave a single word written down.

The head of the drunken Xiaolou spy gave himself the nickname "Little Knife", everyone felt that calling him this title was really unimposing, and under his repeated persuasion, they called him "Chief".

This head goes back and forth seven or eight times a day, and he feels that his leg is about to run away, but he doesn't get much useful information.

"These people should have secret words, what are those on the letter we received the day before yesterday, 'I got 5,000 wen to buy three cars of firewood, rice, oil and salt, all of which are cheap, and I am very happy.'" Who would send such a thing with a carrier pigeon! Drunken San looked at the head who was drinking water, "Xiaobu went to chase the whereabouts of the carrier pigeon, did you find it?" ”

"The suburbs received from the direction of the capital, and the people in the capital received from the east city. But Dongcheng is too big, and there are many people in Dongcheng who keep carrier pigeons, and they can't find out for a while. Xiao Dao looked helpless, "There will be news from other controlled strongholds." ”

"The pigeon is good, come and eat the pigeon!"

"Boss! There's another pigeon over there! A man in black walked in briskly. Hand over the small bamboo tube in your hand.

The knife took out the note, and when he looked at the content, it was also the same message from last time.

"What is the message of 'getting 5,000 yuan'? Why did you get it at every base? "This must be very important......

Shinkoku Mansion.

Under the instruction of the saint, Li Mao reported the "wind cold" for a while, except for the three-day court to cough and go to the court, most of the time in the house.

The emperor was giving him time to clean up the palace.

There are many spies of the remnants of the Yin Dynasty in the Xinguo Mansion. Li Mao has arrested these known spies for various reasons, either that they stole the property in the mansion, or found other reasons, and imprisoned them in the government one by one.

If it is sent to the government, it is sent to the palace.

And in the house, because of the existence of that group of traitors, the torture room is now overcrowded, and there are generals outside who guard it day and night, just for fear that the ghost-faced Ma Xing who is locked up inside will be killed or commit suicide.

Li Mao is waiting for the Holy Lord to wipe out all the strongholds, and he will move him to the palace, otherwise if he alarms the spies outside the mansion, the news will be revealed, and I am afraid that the Holy Lord's arrangement will be ruined.

In the past few days, the strongholds of the remnants of the Yin Dynasty in the capital have been controlled one by one, and news has frequently spread to the palace. When Li Mao went down to the court in the morning, Emperor Chu Rui gave him a note, asking him to go back and show it to Ghost Face, and be sure to let him crack the content on it.

This has always been the case since the interception of carrier pigeons flying out of the base, but no one has been able to understand it. In addition to those strongholds of the Ghost Face Zhilu Dao in the capital, there seem to be other nests. But when I asked Ma Xing again, he said he didn't know.

There are too many people in the capital, and he only knows what he is on this line.

The spies who intercepted all kinds of news did not dare to slack off, and immediately sent the news to the palace.

In the next day or two, this content was passed from one to the other, proving its importance.

Li Mao, accompanied by several generals, entered the interrogation room of the torture room, which itself did not have a separate compartment, but there was a small fighting room in this interrogation room full of torture instruments.

As a result, this cell became a place where Ma Xing was temporarily held, or protected.

Li Mao entered the room, handed the note in his hand to Ma Xing through the railing of the cell, and said to him:

"This is a message from the carrier pigeon received inside and outside the capital, and it is difficult for the strong man to explain one or two."

The first time Ma Xing heard others call him "Ma Zhuangshi", he felt very fresh. He took the note, glanced at it casually, and his expression suddenly became strange, staring at Li Mao with eyes like a joke.

Ma Xing is known as "Ghost Face", and is called this code name, precisely because of various scars on his face, Li Mao is stared at quite uncomfortably, and recently he has been pretending to be sick again, habitually coughing lightly.

"Ahem, Ma Zhuangshi, is there something wrong with the note?"

"The note is right, but why are you giving me the note?" Ma Xing grinned and laughed at them, "You don't really think this is intelligence, do you?" ”

"Huh? Isn't it? Li Mao asked puzzled.

Obviously it was taken off the leg of a carrier pigeon!

"The information is in the bamboo tube of the carrier pigeon. This note is a fool. Ma Xing threw the note on the ground, "Li Guogong, didn't I tell you?" ”

Li Maoqi's beard was shaking.

"When did you tell me?!"

"Oh, that's what I forgot! Ha Lu Ha, Ha Lu Ha ”

Li Mao didn't talk nonsense with him, turned around and walked out, and the two generals stared at Ma Xing, who was laughing happily in the cell, and they couldn't wait to draw a knife and stab him a few times.

This person is so presumptuous, he really bites that no one can do anything to him!

Li Mao immediately sent people to a controlled stronghold somewhere in the capital to pass on the information in a bamboo tube instead of paper. The spies who received the news continued to pass it on, and within half a day, all the spies who had occupied the stronghold and waited for the rabbit to learn.

They went to the pigeon room to catch the pigeons, removed the rings and small bamboo tubes from their feet, and carefully cut them open.

These carrier pigeons have always been in the pigeon cage, when they controlled the various strongholds, in order to fear that the news would leak out of the pigeon, His Majesty also transferred a lot of good hands from the Shengong Battalion to cooperate with the drunken Xiaolou to annihilate the traces. For so many days, they had been in various strongholds, and only received a message from the flying pigeon once two days ago, and then they never received any news.

When the news reached the spies of the "drunken department" on the outskirts of Beijing, these spies were stupid. Many of the pigeons they shot were eaten or thrown away, and they couldn't remember where they were with the little bamboo tubes tied to their feet. They are different from the stronghold in Kyonai, they haven't received a carrier pigeon for so long, and the stronghold where they want to stay is not taken seriously.

All the spies who found the bamboo tube cut open it, and the same words were written inside.

It says yes

- "The inside of the house responds, and the outside of the house acts according to the original plan." ”

Inside the house, outside the house......

What was the original plan? What is the original plan?

These letters have only been received in the last few days, and must have been drawn up by some previous plan. It's hateful that Ghostface doesn't know what to say, he is not in the same line as the one in charge of intelligence, he is the head of all the assassins.

Now there are still many people who do not know that he has disappeared, and only think that he led people to chase the traitor too far and did not return for a while.

Chu Rui held the small bamboo tube in his hand for a long time, and then said to Xie Yifan:

"Go and take the rest of the strongholds, this time I don't want to see a thief kill himself!"

"Yes!"

At the same time, a well salt workshop in Shudi.

"What about my brother's letter?" Since Ma Fu and his mother were sent here, they have been responsible for registering the amount of salt, counting accounts, and so on. He offered his mother several times to leave this dark and damp place and live elsewhere, but his requests were denied.

He knew in his heart that he and his mother were afraid that they had already become pawns to contain his brother, and these people nominally wanted to honor their "loyal ministers", but in fact they wanted to use them without even the dregs.

In this way of employing people, not to mention that the Yin Dynasty has perished, even if it is still there, it will be the fortune of the country sooner or later.

If he hadn't had to serve his old mother, he would have wiped his neck and killed himself, lest he would have dragged his brother back.

"It rained heavily this month, and several roads were blocked by boulders rolling down from the mountains a few days ago, and now our people are still moving stones, and I'm afraid that the letters are also blocked on other roads, and they haven't been delivered yet." The consul tried his best to appease the ancestor, "Young Master Ma, we can't even transport salt now, I'm more anxious than you!" ”

Their salt mill is regulated by the above to produce how much salt they have to produce each month. Now that the salt cannot be transported, the upper and lower levels will be punished. The reward here is rich, but the punishment is also extremely heavy, he doesn't want to be punished, so he can only let the salt workers and the soldiers in the workshop go out to open the way.

"Didn't you walk by the river?"

"There are also a lot of mountain roads along the river road. It's not that you don't know the difficulty of the Shu Road, and the boat is difficult, so you can wait. ”

This place is called Lei Gong Mountain by them, because there is always thunder in the mountains. This is a remote stone mountain in the stretching mountains of Shudi, there are no prefectures and counties around, and there is a river under the mountain, and they are digging wells on this stone mountain to extract salt.

The circumference of the salt well head is only a few inches, and the depth of the salt well must be dug to more than ten zhang to reach the salt brine layer, so the cost of sinking the well is very high. At first, they used their own people to dig wells in the mountains, but many people died, and the digging was hard, and some local workers who knew how to mine well salt began to escape, and in the process of arresting, many more were killed.

Later, they captured a lot of local barbarians and bought some barbarian slaves, and then gradually began to dig out salt wells one after another.

"Most of their men have gone to move the big rock we have sealed the road, what now, we will attack it?" It was the army that had been ordered to exterminate this illegal salt farm, and they had secretly climbed Leigong Mountain from another road under the leadership of the local Miao people, and were now lying in ambush on the mountainside behind the stone mountain, and their mixed Miao and Han Chinese troops could attack at the first order.

"Wait a little longer and see if anyone else comes out."

Half an hour later.

"Let's go, go around, no one is allowed to run!"

In the salt factory, Ma Fu was sorting out the tent in the account room of the salt mill behind, and there was a sudden commotion at the door. There are guards in and out of here, and there has never been such a noise, Ma Fu opened the door to see what was going on, but saw a bunch of soldiers dressed in Chu army armor searching this way, and suddenly saw him, and immediately rushed over.

Ma Fu was taken aback, and before he took two steps, he chased after him, and was tied up by these Chu army flowers.

Ma Fu secretly complained in his heart.

This place is so remote and difficult to find, and the mountain road is difficult, easy to defend and difficult to attack, I can't imagine that it can be discovered by the Chu army who smuggled salt!

Ma Fu has been living on Lei Gong Mountain for the past few years, and naturally knows how many people these people have arranged around the salt field, and they all hold soldiers and canes, and they are by no means powerless. And these soldiers of Da Chu can rush to the account room at the back of the most cloud, and they think that the outside has been wiped out by these people.

Faced with a group of soldiers armed with sharp blades, Ma Fu did not dare to resist.

It is a capital crime to open a salt well and sell illegal salt, but he is just an account house, and he is not guilty of death. Even if he wanted to die, he would have already put his life and death out of the way.

It's just that his mother is still in the back room, and I don't know what these soldiers will do to her.

Ma Fu was pressed forward by these soldiers, and all those who were caught were tied up and thrown into a large row somewhere in the decoction room where the brine was cooking.

Ma Fu was pushed into the crowd, and he looked around to find that his mother and other old fathers' daughters were tied up with their mothers-in-law, and they were guarded alone in a clean and cool open space, which was relieved.

Ever since his mother arrived here, she had been suffering from paralysis, and it was so hot and humid that he was really worried about her getting sick.

Seeing that everyone was escorted, and that there were soldiers everywhere guarding the entrances and exits, the general of this unit glanced at everyone on the ground, and suddenly asked:

"Which one is Ma Fu?"

This question was like a thunderclap in Ma Fu's ears, and he shrank slightly, hiding himself behind a laborer in front of him.

Knowing who Ma Fu was, their own people naturally wouldn't say it, although they didn't know what Lu Dao was for, this Chu army wanted to find Ma Fu. But Ma Fu and the other descendants of loyal ministers are important hostages, and they still have to do their best to protect them.

Along with these Chu troops, there were also some local barbarians.

The barbarians walked about the salt workers, and when they saw people from their own tribe or acquaintances from other tribes, they immediately loosened the rope and began to talk about it.

The rescued barbarians were all excited, and after a while, the torture room was full of barbarian shouting and screaming.

The general frowned, and his voice was a little louder.

"I was entrusted by Ma Xing to save his brother Ma Fu and his mother Fan. Ma Gongzi, your brother has understood the meaning of the salt grains in your letter, come out and see it. ”

The ladies around Fan instantly looked at Fan. There was even one who spat on her.

When Ma Fu heard the general's words, he raised his head in the hateful eyes of many people around him, as if he had killed his father and mother.

"I'm Ma Fu."

"It turned out to be the officers and soldiers you recruited!"

"Phew, I would have killed you if I knew the Dao!"

The general's visit was to save people, and another army attacking Lei Gong Mountain was gathering at the foot of the mountain, and when they successfully rescued Ma Fu and Fan, they began to attack the mountain.

The local Miao people are the most grudgeful, pay attention to blood for blood and tooth for tooth, open salt wells here, capture many of their clansmen, have long been the bottom of Lei Gong Mountain, but because of the lack of strength, dare not act rashly.

They met the Chu army scouts who came to investigate the situation in the mountains, and wanted to kill people, but after the mistake, they found that both sides wanted to save people, so they hit it off and cooperated to come in to save people.

At this time, the people had been rescued, the Miao people took the rescued compatriots and other barbarian people, and the Chu army retreated from the back mountain with Ma Fu and Fan. The people in the refining room were all tied into rice dumplings, and the gate was sealed, and it was not too late to wait for the troops under the mountain to attack and escort them down the mountain.

Ma Fu was carried down the mountain from a dangerous road by these people, and his mother was carried on the back of a sergeant and left the mountain safely.

Until now, Ma Fu still looked incredulous. He sent a letter to his brother, naturally hoping that his brother could get the information and try to save them, but in fact, he didn't have much hope for this, seeing that someone really came to save him, and it was still the army of Da Chu, he only felt that his mind was in chaos.

Brother has returned to Dachu?

What about the restoration of the country?

May 18, Xinguo Mansion.

Gu Qing got up early in the morning, was served by the girls and grandmothers for breakfast, and changed into a new dress, and when he arrived, he happily went to the "flower meeting" appointment of the Deyang County Lord's Mansion. She will stay at the Deyang County Lord's Mansion until the evening and return, so the people will have a lot to prepare.

Old Taijun Qiu's vermilion lacquer carriage was already waiting outside the palace gate, followed by several carriages carrying subordinates, and under the protection of the generals, they set off towards Dongcheng.

The mansion of the Lord of Deyang County is the largest mansion in Dongcheng, Gu Qing has never been to someone else's house as a guest, only once she followed Li Mao to mourn, and something happened, this time she went out, she was a little nervous and a little excited.

An hour after the old lady set off, Li Mao, who was riding a fast horse back from the palace, asked the disciple sweatingly.

"Where's the old lady?"

"Gone an hour ago. Today, Mrs. Tai went to the appointment of the lord of Deyang. ”

"It's broken!"

The author has something to say: the wonderful will be tomorrow.

Small Theatre:

Ghost Face's subordinate A: The boss deserves to be the head!

Subordinate B: Why?

Subordinate A: I couldn't bear it after being tortured for half a day, the leader was locked in the interrogation room for so many days, and I don't know how much torture Lu Dao suffered, Xin Guogong had no choice but to lock him up and continue the trial. See, this is called an iron-blooded real man!