The path leading from Yancheng to the city is mostly dirt, rugged, and potholes, and seven or eight horse-drawn carriages dedicated to salt transportation also squeak constantly when they walk on it. It was also through this sound that the three of Xi Yuanxiu followed behind all the way without being discovered.

The leader seemed to be a little annoyed by this voice, and motioned for the team to stop, Liu Xiao didn't notice the movement in front for a while, and patronized the pears in his arms, and didn't pay attention, but he had already reached the back of the convoy's buttocks, Bian Ying was just about to call him, but Xi Yuanxiu covered his mouth with his hand, and hurriedly dragged him, and the two of them hid behind a tree that was just big enough for the two of them to hide!

And Liu Xiao himself found that it was too late to get so close to the convoy in front of him, his current appearance is very funny, not too big with a pear in his mouth, because he was too nervous for a while, he didn't know how to pick it up with his hands, and walked to the middle of the convoy leisurely.

When the leader saw Liu Xiao, he looked a little flustered, because he didn't know why a little fat man suddenly came out from behind, and it seemed that he had been behind for a long time.

He used his strength to pull the horse's chew to death, and then stood directly on the carriage, looked in the direction he came from for a while, and saw that there was no other abnormality, so he got out of the carriage, and suddenly had a plan in his heart!

This person asked in an authentic Huaiyang dialect: "Little brother who just came from behind, can you come over for a while, there are some things I want to ask you!" ”

Liu Xiao, who was still thinking about how to walk over, was about to cry after hearing this, this is obviously to kill people!

Then he quietly glanced behind him, he couldn't even see the shadows of the two of them, and scolded in his heart: Xi Yuanxiu, it's really pitiful that I make cattle and horses for you on weekdays, I'm going to see Lord Yama now, you can't even squeak a fart, if I didn't come with you back then, it wouldn't be like this!

He couldn't think about it, the man had already walked to his horse, and Liu Xiao almost swallowed the pear core that was left in his mouth.

He wiped the dried and sticky pear juice on the side of his mouth with his sleeve, and then looked at the person standing in front of his horse with a blank face, as if he didn't feel that he had wiped it clean, so he spit directly on his sleeve and began to wipe it, not only his mouth, but also his face.

Not to mention the person standing in front of Liu Xiao, even Xi Yuanxiu, who was behind the tree in the distance, showing a little bit of his head and only seeing the general movements, felt that his stomach was rolling.

"Uncle is here to pick me up!"

As soon as Liu Xiao opened his mouth, the man was stunned, and he called the person next to him and said, "What do you think this little fat man means?" ”

At this time, Liu Xiao had already turned over and dismounted, kept rubbing on the man, and pulled the man's sleeve with his hand, but he was thrown away in disgust.

"Uncle, are you going to take me home, I don't want to play outside, it's too hot here!"

"He looks like a fool, but our whereabouts have been exposed, just in case, we should give him away!"

The man who was called over said and made a gesture to wipe his neck!

Liu Xiao suddenly felt that his pants were a little wet, but it wasn't a big deal, it was just peeing, and the moment he saw that action, he was born.

The leader nodded, and pulled out the knife on his waist, what usually attracts Liu Xiao is bright silver, but now the big knife in front of him is not as rare as silver.

Liu Xiao was now disheartened and was about to close his eyes and accept it, but the man put the knife back and said: "There is no doubt that this person is a fool, more is better than less, if you are tracked down by someone with a heart, it will be troublesome!" ”

The person next to him said: "Anyway, it's up to you, then without further ado, let's go to the city first!" ”

With the sound of a few whips slapping the horse's buttocks, the carriage team squeaked again and went on the road, leaving Liu Xiao who was drooling on the spot and looking at the convoy.

Because Liu Xiao had an accident, Xi Yuanxiu didn't plan to chase it anymore, so he decided to go back to the yamen first to write a letter to Zhou Wenbin, but as long as this carriage entered the city, if he wanted to go out of the city again, he had to ask him about the county magistrate!

But I'm afraid I don't know when he will leave the city, after all, they can't get a few people together!

"Okay, don't pretend, get up on the ground, everyone has walked two miles!"

Xi Yuanxiu kicked Liu Xiao who was sitting on the ground with a little disgust.

"I want to too, but my legs are too weak to get up!"

"Bian Ying, you take him back, and I'll take that horse back!"

Bian Ying looked at Liu Xiao on the ground with disgust and said, "Why did I take him!! ”

Xi Yuanxiu smiled: "Because you are a handyman now!" ”

......

......

Liu Xiao, who returned to the yamen, hurriedly threw the dirty pants and jacket into the basin, then ran up with a soaphorn, changed his clothes, and came to Xi Yuanxiu's room with his round belly.

After he entered the house, he saw Xi Yuanxiu lying on his stomach by the window teasing those pigeons, and the whole person was even more angry!

Liu Xiao slapped on the eaves of the window, and the pigeons that were eating flew to the eaves in fright, Xi Yuanxiu looked at Liu Xiao's face and said with a smile: "Master, you have also practiced martial arts?" ”

"No, what's wrong! Is there a problem? ”

"There's no problem, I just think that the beams of this house have been shaken to the ground, and you don't have anything to do with this hand, so good palm power!"

Liu Xiao slapped his slightly chubby hand even fatter, he endured the pain, stared at Xi Yuanxiu with two small eyes, and asked: "You just left me there like that, if I hadn't learned from the second king of the courtyard next door, you would have buried me today!" ”

Xi Yuanxiu didn't answer his words, but closed the window, went to the door again, looked left and right, closed the door as well, took out a piece of letter paper from his cuff, and handed it to Liu Xiao.

"Master, don't be angry, you first look at what is written on the paper."

Liu Xiao took the letter with his left hand that was not swollen, and read it from beginning to end, and then he looked at it again with incredible eyes, he looked up at Xi Yuanxiu, who was a little proud, and picked up the letter paper and looked at it carefully.

"You even wrote a few steamed buns that Governor Xue ate this morning, and the Yangzhou that Lord Qincha came out of that door this morning, I'm afraid you are not a mirage person!"

Mirage is naturally not an organization that only captures the imperial court officials, collects intelligence in the government and the opposition, and assassinates enemy generals when fighting other countries, but in the eyes of outsiders, after all, what they do is something unseemly.

Liu Xiao looked at the letter paper in his hand, his mouth kept snorting, and he didn't know how many things he didn't know!

"Hey, tell me, where did you get this news!"

"You fat man can't be quiet, it's not just the two of us at home now!"

Liu Xiao hurriedly made a gesture of hissing, walked to the door and listened to the movement, and then said in a low voice: "That kid is estimated to be practicing in the backyard, tell me quickly!" ”

Xi Yuanxiu took out a bunch of them from his arms, and there were many books on his desk, Liu Xiao looked at a few of them, and felt that Xi Yuanxiu was a mirage person, not only Yangzhou, but also news from the capital, and most of them were important officials, and there were some news that ordinary people could not know at all.

"How the hell did you do this?"

"Do you remember when I got a book every month?"

"Remember, what are the customs and customs, the things of the farmers in the mountains and fields!"

"At that time, Uncle Zhao would bring a lot of news to me in the book, but then I felt that the efficiency was too slow and not comprehensive enough, so I decided to take a different approach!"

Liu Xiao rubbed his fat hands and asked, "Which method did you change?" ”

"Imitation Mirage!"

"Imitation of a mirage?"

"Yes, three years ago, I started to work in the relatively large teahouses and restaurants in Jingguo, including the mansions of all officials above the third grade, anyway, where I can get news, I have placed people!"

Liu Xiao nodded, and shook his head again, because he was a little confused at this time, he opened his mouth and asked Xi Yuanxiu: "There are so many people, where did you get the money to hire people?" ”

"This is a long story, I brought some silver taels when I came out of the capital, but then I felt that if I spent it like this, it would only last for five years at most, so two years ago I opened my own restaurant in the capital, and the monthly profit of this restaurant, plus I added fifty wen every month, just enough!"

"Your money has been spent for so long, and you can open another restaurant, your father is really a corrupt official!"

"Get out, that's a friend in the capital!"

......

After listening to Xi Yuanxiu's lecture for a long time, Liu Xiao finally understood a little, and also understood the whole process of news transmission.

"Master, because there are too many things, I can't sort out these news in a short time by myself now, although Xu Lai has been helping me install people all these years, he is a person who only plants trees, regardless of fertilization, and never looks at these things!"

"In this way, Xu Lai has been helping you get these things all these years, so he is also in this mirage-like part of yours!"

"Well, so to speak, so I need you to help me!"

Liu Xiao thought about it, and then played the abacus in his heart for a long time, looked at Xi Yuanxiu seriously, and said, "After your matter is completed, the restaurant will belong to me!" ”

"Deal!"

Xi Yuanxiu had long thought that Liu Xiao would put forward such a condition, so he was not surprised at all!

"But do we have a name? You can't just call it this, that!

Xi Yuanxiu banged the window with both hands, looked at the direction of the sea in the east, and then closed his eyes and said: "After coming here, because of the emperor, I also like to go to the beach, and I heard the fishermen say that when the red tide slowly washes ashore, the fishermen's life will be very sad, so this time it should make our emperor His Majesty sad!" ”

"So what's the name?"

"Red Tide!"

"If there's a red tide, why are we tracking that convoy?"

"It happened so suddenly, I was alone in the city, and now it's okay, so are you!"