To be honest, Xiao Jing really didn't expect the trip to Hedong to be like this.

In his original assumption, if Hedong really has many shortcomings, then it must be full of chaos; It's easy to pull out the fox's tail when you come, and then you can continue the normal operation.

We will strive to identify the most representative cases and report them, and reflect the suffering of the people as much as possible...... Even if you can't return the east of the river to a prosperous place, at least you must help as many people as you can within your ability.

However, things seemed to be a little different from what he expected.

On the way east from Quanxi County, the group encountered four or five groups of bandits. Although the Xia family's guards easily defused the danger, the strange thing was that Xiao Jing did not get much valuable information about Huangzhuang from the bandits.

It's just weird.

Most of the people who gather in the mountains and forests are locals. If even they don't know much about this, then did Chen Zhongwen provide the wrong information?

After careful analysis, Xiao Jing believes that this phenomenon confirms his initial judgment: the area with more serious problems should be in the north!

However, new questions arise.

Although it has just entered the territory of Hedong, it is not difficult to see the geographical conditions of the south and north of Hedong from the two place names of "Quanxi County" and "Hongze County". The former is a vast plain with a dense water network and a large area of fertile land; The latter also has large lakes, but the whole territory is more like a lonely land surrounded and divided by large and small lakes, although the overall cultivated area is not small, but it is by no means an ideal place to build Huangzhuang.

What's more, there are almost connected mountains in the north, and such a geographical endowment makes transportation and transportation there inconvenient, and the operation of Huangzhuang will inevitably have to pay additional costs.

Fertile land had a fatal attraction to the landlord class. Xiao Jing really didn't believe that those greedy people would ignore the rich south and run to the north to open up bitterly.

However, the reality is still in front of him, and he can only find another way to find out the truth.

Three days later, under his direction, the convoy began a north-and-south W-shaped march.

Obviously, some forces on the ground were in disarray under his temporary deployment.

In the face of Xiao Jing's determination to find out the facts rather than digging into the mountains and forests and taking small roads, more and more problems have been exposed.

The deserted villages and towns, the dry bones by the roads, and the exploitation of the people by the magistrates...... Xiao Jing saw many things with his own eyes, but there was still no direct evidence that he wanted most.

At the same time, the number of spies watching the Xia family's convoy has surged: whether they live in a store or on the road, there are always all kinds of vendors and idlers nearby, and even in the wilderness, there will be a lot of "farmers" working inexplicably, and there will always be "locals" who come up to sell things.

It can be seen that everyone from all walks of life is extremely nervous.

One night, five or six men left the group's station and headed west.

Along the way, Xiao Jing would always send people to deliver news to various places, so they were also used as messengers by spies; As a result, the tracking of these people lasted only about a night, and the stalkers lost interest in following them when they saw that they were indeed constantly heading westward.

As a result, no one knew that these "messengers" had made a big circle to the north immediately after a day of westward travel, and no one realized that Xiao Jing, the main target they were tracking, was hiding in it.

"Uncle, this realm is full of weirdness, let's be careful."

The leader of the guards who followed Xiao Jing was called Xia Hu. He was once a well-known scout in the Darui border army, and later was convicted because he offended Shangguan, and after being rescued by the Xia family, he became a guest of the Xia family.

Xiao Jing, who pretended to be a businessman, said "um", looking a little absent-minded.

At this moment, he is not worried about his safety at all, but Xue'er's situation makes him very worried:

Xiao Jing has "come out of the shell", but the team he was in before was still moving according to the original plan!

The strength of the convoy is still sufficient, but there is nothing to worry about; According to the usual practice, the Xia family arranged a "shadow warrior" for him this time, so the secret that he had already left the team was not exposed.

Xiao Jing still remembered Xia Hanxue's gentle and firm words before leaving: "If your husband has a big business, you just have to do it, and you don't have to worry about the concubine." Although the concubine is a woman, she can also take care of this side of the matter and will not live up to your entrustment...... In case there is an emergency, the concubine can also take on it alone, and no one will underestimate the daughter of the Xia family...... Please also ask the husband to be careful, the concubine will be waiting for you to return safely on the road ahead......"

Compared to the fearless convoy in front of everyone, Xiao Jing's situation with only a few guards was definitely more dangerous, but he was still relieved not to let Xue'er go, and sometimes he even doubted whether his decision was correct.

"Stop, what are you doing?"

A shout dragged his thoughts back to the world in front of him.

When he came back to his senses, he saw a horse on the ground in front of him, and a small group of officers and soldiers next to him were holding knives and guns and staring at Xiao Jing and the others who were slowly coming.

"This military master, we are merchants, and we happen to pass by your land today." Xia Hu, who pretended to be Xiao Jing's companion, smiled and pointed to the carriage and porter behind him: "The villain is a proper person, and doing business is also in order...... The goods are all in the back, and you can inspect them at will. ”

"Merchant?"

The officer and soldier glanced at Xiao Jing with a suspicious look on his face.

Although Xiao Jing made a disguise in order to pretend to be a businessman, after all, he has been in the top position for a long time, and that extravagance cannot be completely covered up casually.

Seeing this, Xia Hu hurriedly said: "The military master sleeps here day and night in order to protect the people, it is really too hard. This is a little bit of the villain's heart, don't be too little, take it and have a drink with the brothers to warm up! ”

As he spoke, his cuffs moved slightly, and a heavy silver ingot slipped into the other party's hand.

Good guys, it's not small!

The officers and soldiers who received the money showed a somewhat uncalm expression of joy, but after a few breaths, he regained his high-minded and unfazed appearance: "You guys look like serious businessmen, but those things still need to be investigated." ”

As soon as he waved his hand, the officers and soldiers behind him rushed up and began to look through the things carried by Xiao Jing and others.

It's better to look through it, but it's better to say that it's up and down: they took the opportunity of the search to stuff all kinds of valuable things into their arms, and Xia Hu, who pretended to be in a hurry, stepped forward to dissuade him and was almost kicked away.

After a long time, they were satisfied, and then they laughed loudly and returned to their original places.

The leading officers and soldiers were very satisfied with the performance of Xia Hu and Xiao Jing. He nodded at the two of them and said with a smile: "The goods are confirmed...... You can go back! ”