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"How did you know they were soldiers of the Salt Courtyard?" Lu Jie asked.

"They came up and reported themselves to their homes, and then they took the people away." The butler said.

"Did they say a reason for arresting him?"

"No, just go with them. Asked them, but said nothing. The butler replied.

At this time, Lu Jie already felt that the big net had begun to approach him, and the danger was approaching step by step. He thought quickly for a while, and then asked, "Is Duan Xiushan connected with these?" ”

"It's been a long time since I've been in touch." Liu Cai replied.

Lu Jie was shocked, realized that something was wrong again, and hurriedly asked, "Since when have you not been in touch?" ”

Liu Cai thought for a while and said, "Since I sent the news to Juzhou to buy grain, I have never been in touch. ”

Lu Jie counted the days, it has been more than a month, and it is not normal to not contact him for such a long time, something must have happened.

The housekeeper Liu Cai looked at the old man's uncertain face, and said carefully, "Master, do you want me to contact you again?" ”

Lu Jie shook his head and said, "Don't contact him anymore, even if he does, don't go to him again." Something must have happened to him. The news of the Juzhou grain ship he sent last time must have been instructed by Zhou Fulai, and the whole thing was a bureau, but we were lucky not to be caught. ”

"Master, so Zhou Yushi is eyeing us?" Butler Liu Cai asked in horror.

Lu Jie waved his hand and said, "Don't be afraid, as long as you don't grab the handle in his hand, he can't do anything to me." ”

"Master, what should we do next?"

Lu Jie didn't answer him again, but ordered, "Go and invite the eldest young master." ”

"Yes!"

After Liu Cai withdrew, Lu Jie fell into contemplation again. He felt that it was time for the picture to be exhausted, You Qi and Ruan Daxiong were caught, their boat was detained, and it would not take long for Zhou Fu to find out the evidence of his smuggling of salt, and by then it was too late, and it was time to make a decision.

It didn't take long for Lu Shaowen to come to his father's study.

"Father, what is the matter with calling the child?" Lu Shaowen asked as soon as he entered the study.

"Shaowen, tomorrow I will take the silver taels and go to Shanghai County to find Takeda Hisasa." Lu Jie said to his son.

Takeda Hisashi was a Japanese pirate and merchant, also known as a Japanese pirate. He had seven or eight boats and four or five hundred men, and these people were also businessmen. If you encounter a strong force, you will do business, and if you encounter a weak force, you will rob. These people have long been entrenched on a deserted island near the mouth of the Yangtze River, and often go to various coastal areas to conduct business and robbery. The Lu family's raw silk, tea, silk and other businesses were smuggled overseas through Takeda.

Lu Shaowen was very surprised, when they had no business, they rarely took the initiative to contact Takeda Jiuzheng, and at this time, they didn't hear that there was business to contact Takeda. It was he who asked, "Why did my father ask me to go to Takeda?" ”

"Shaowen, there may be a major change in our family, Zhou Fu came over there to keep an eye on our family. This time he was going to kill me, and I couldn't sit still. After finding him, he said......" Lu Jie whispered to his son.

"Well, father should have done this a long time ago. I'll leave early tomorrow morning! Lu Shaowen said with satisfaction.

The next day, Lu Shaowen took his servants in a carriage and rushed towards Songjiang Mansion. And Lu Jie was not idle, he hurriedly went to Huai'an. For such a major matter, he must have someone to cooperate. And the best candidate for this collaborator is Yue Bingqian.

After arriving in Huai'an, Lu Jie immediately went to Yue Bingqian, and after the two sat down, Lu Jie was not polite, and said directly, "Lord Yue, what you said is not right, Zhou Yushi is here for me." The undercover agent I planted in the salt courtyard was probably discovered by him, and just three days ago, he arrested the two boatmen who brought salt last time, and the boat was also detained. I think he's going to have a showdown. ”

"Ahh When Yue Bingqian heard this, he was greatly surprised! He didn't expect that the things that had subsided would make waves again, and the tip of his nose was instantly congested and translucent. He felt a dangerous aura coming towards him, and he asked urgently, "What else did he do besides arresting the two shippers?" ”

"Not yet, but I think he'll find evidence soon, and by then it's too late. So we have to start ahead! While saying this, Lu Jie's eyes showed a hint of fierceness.

Seeing the change in Lu Jie's eyes, he knew that Lu Jie had made up his mind and had a plan, so he asked, "How does Boss Lu want to deal with it?" ”

"Here's my plan......" Lu Jie whispered his planned actions and thoughts. After that, he said, "Lord Yue doesn't have to do anything, just try to lure him to Huai'an, so that I can do it on the road!" ”

Yue Bingqian listened to Lu Jie's plan, and felt that even if this matter failed, it would not have much to do with him, and when the time came, as long as he insisted that he knew nothing about this matter, there was nothing he could do. If Lu Jie's plan is completed, the dangers around him will be removed, and both himself and Lu Jie will be safe for the time being, as for what will happen in the future, then we can only take one step at a time. After thinking for a while, he said, "No poison, no husband, wealth and danger, just do it according to the plan." But be foolproof, don't hit the snake and get bitten! ”

"Don't worry, there are more than ten guards around him, and fifty Japanese samurai are enough to get rid of him!" Lu Jie said confidently, and then snorted proudly, "Whoever surveys at that time will be attacked by the Japanese and have nothing to do with us." ”

In the Yangzhou Salt Courtyard, after Xu Detian and the others brought You Qi and Ruan Daxiong, Zhou Fulai immediately interrogated him. It is said that the Salt Court does not have the power to interrogate and detain prisoners, but now that the matter is urgent, and with the support of the court officials, he can still conduct a simple interrogation.

"You Qi, Ruan Daxiong, hurry up and stay on the dock in Yangzhou first, who transported fifty bags of salt to the ship?" Zhou Fulai sat in the lobby, with three classes of officials standing on both sides, and a few guards beside him, full of momentum. Far more majestic than an interrogation on a ship.

"Lord Yushi, the villain was wronged, no one delivered salt to our ship that night!" You Qiruan and Daxiong knelt on the ground, shouting loudly, and at the same time defending themselves.

Zhou Fulai slapped the shocked wood and shouted, "What nonsense! That night, two small boats were seen approaching our grain boats. We still dare to quibble! ”

"Adult, the little wronged, the small wronged!" The two refused to admit it and shouted injustice.

"That night, my bodyguard Jiang Yuanqing saw it with his own eyes, and they still dare to say that the official was wronged?" Zhou Fulai asked loudly.

You Qi was also a gangster in his early years, he was tried for lawsuits, and he also knew a little bit about the Da Ming Law, hearing this, he came up with an idea, and then said confidently, "My lord, let your guards be witnesses, this is against my "Da Ming Law". The villain is not convinced! ”

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Fulai was stunned, he didn't expect that this person still understood "Da Ming Law", and used this to defend himself, which really made Zhou Fulai unable to deal with it. Then Zhou Fulai asked again, "Then let's talk about it, did you secretly sink the salt into the canal after discovering the danger on the way?" ”

There is a big trap in this statement, whether the interrogator answers yes or no, it is equivalent to indirectly admitting that he has private salt on board. If it is true that they have private salt on board, they will most likely answer yes or no, and thus fall into the trap that has been set.

Ruan Daxiong was about to answer, but You Qi immediately replied, "My lord, there is no private salt on the two of us, how can we say that the canal is sinking salt?" ”

Ruan Daxiong reacted immediately after hearing this, and also echoed it.

"It seems that they are really treacherous people, and if you don't torture them today, you won't tell the truth." Zhou Fulai slapped the shocked wood and shouted, "Someone! Punish me! ”

At this time, Lin Hongcun, who was standing aside to record, said loudly, "My lord, slow down!" ”

Then he leaned into Zhou Fulai's ear and whispered, "My lord, our Yanyuan has no right to interrogate, let alone be tortured, so the interrogation of these two people might as well be handed over to the Yangzhou prefect." ”

Zhou Fulai came to his senses, and then ordered, "Then detain them first, and then try them again!" ”

Seven days later, the Huai'an Branch of the Huai'an Division of the Two Huai'an Divisions sent someone to send a message, saying that the Dafeng Salt Field under the Huai'an Division had found a major salt deficit and asked Lord Yushi to investigate. After receiving such a major case, Zhou Fulai was suspicious, and now he and the Lu family have almost torn their faces, and Yue Bingqian of the Huai'an branch has a great relationship with the Lu family. Why is there a major case when the case related to the Lu family is being tried? He had to be cautious about the matter.

At this time, he remembered He Zhiyuan's reminder that the Lu family not only smuggled salt, but also colluded with the Japanese to smuggle raw silk, tea, silk and other goods to Japan. The Dafeng Salt Farm is right by the sea, with rivers and reeds along the way. If you encounter a Japanese coward and fall into someone else's trap, it will be a big trouble. But Huai'an sent an official document, and as the duty of patrolling the salt imperial history, he couldn't help but go.

So he called the chief to discuss the matter with Lin Hongcun, and after listening to Zhou Fulai's doubts, Lin Hongcun said, "My lord, don't worry. During this period of time, adults have been traveling with more than a dozen guards, and if the Lu family wants to cause harm, they will definitely decide to only bring more than a dozen guards. In this case, you can come by surprise. Adults may wish to take more than a dozen guards in front as usual, and a general flag in the back will follow. The two teams are separated by more than two miles, and in case of accidents along the way, the rear team can arrive immediately. ”

Zhou Fulai thought about it and felt that this method was feasible, but he felt that it could be improved, so the two discussed it again, and finally formed a complete plan. After some arrangements that day, on the second day, Ma Wu was asked to accompany him with a small flag, and Xu Detian quietly accompanied him with a general flag.

From Yangzhou to Dafeng about two days of journey, the first day, the road is safe, arrived in Dongtai County to live a night, the next morning to continue to move forward, in the morning, Zhou Fulai and his party walked to a small village called Hu Zao, a look at the name to know that the residents of this village are stove households.

It is bordered by a small river to the east, and the dense reeds on the river's side are more than a man high, which is a good place for Tibetans. Ma Wu saw the danger everywhere and couldn't help but strengthen his vigilance.

Suddenly, a cold arrow shot from the reeds and went straight to the sedan chair that Zhou Fu had brought to him......

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