Li You was in the cabin when he heard a noise outside, and he didn't know what was going on.

He was about to go out to check, when the white tiger came in and reported: "Lord Wang, there is a large group of officers and soldiers blocking the road in front to inspect our ships. Those officers and soldiers were armed with bows, arrows, knives and guns, and asked the prince not to go out for the time being. ”

Li You felt a little curious. Tang Dynasty officials traveled relatively close to the people, and there was no gong to open the way and avoid it. However, in front of his official ship, there are also escort ships of Xue Rengui and others, which supposedly indicate their identities, so they should not be interrogated.

Li You felt that something unusual should have happened, and he said, "Then let them investigate." ”

Soon after, the White Tiger brought in an officer of the Naval Division, and Xue Rengui followed closely behind him to prevent him from breaking out and hurting people.

The person who came was a petty official of the eighth grade, and after he saluted Li You, he asked, "His Royal Highness the King of Qi, please show your official certificate." ”

Li You took out his waist card and handed it to the officer.

After reading it, the officer held the waist card in both hands and respectfully returned it to Li You. He said: "I'm sorry to disturb Your Highness, may I ask Your Highness, was Shen Tax Supervisor taken away by you?" ”

Li You said: "I haven't seen any Shen tax supervisors, what happened?" ”

The officer asked, "Your Highness, can you let the witnesses identify you?" ”

Li You nodded and said, "Yes." ”

The officer went out, and soon brought in two soldiers, they looked at Li You, and then at the beautiful ladies beside Li You, shook their heads and said, "My lord, it's not this prince. ”

The officer saluted Li You again and said, "The minister offended His Highness, and I ask Your Highness for forgiveness. ”

Li You asked, "What the hell happened?" ”

The officer told me what had happened.

In ancient times, as in modern times, people had to pay tolls when they walked and crossed bridges and boats. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has a total of seven toll stations from upstream to downstream, and these toll stations are directly managed by the household department.

The rest of the shipping waterways are managed by the states, and 30% of the tax revenue is paid to the household department, and the rest is handed over to the state's treasury.

The toll of the Tang Dynasty was one penny per mile, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was 1,794 kilometers long, and this trip had to pay 3,588 yuan, which was a lot of money.

Luokou is the intersection of Chang'an to the upper and lower reaches of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, where a large water toll station is set up.

Just yesterday afternoon, a cargo ship full of cargo arrived at the toll booth, which also has the function of checking smuggled goods. This kind of inspection is like checking drugs now, and in the absence of reliable intelligence sources, it is generally a random check.

The soldiers saw that the cargo ship had a deep draft and looked unusually heavy, and felt a little suspicious, so they stopped the cargo ship and prepared to board it for inspection.

At this time, two young people, a man and a woman, came out of the cabin, and there were several big men, who revealed their identities, and they turned out to be His Royal Highness King Qi and his princess, and they said that they were private visits to Weifu.

Later, His Royal Highness the King of Qi asked Chen Jun, the tax supervisor at the toll station, to get on the boat and escort them south, saying that they were going to Zhengzhou. However, Chen Jun did not return.

Today, the people at the toll booth heard that there was another His Royal Highness King Qi, and they immediately felt that something was wrong, so they checked the ship of Li You and others.

Zhang Guigui became angry when he heard this, and said angrily: "Haha, where did the thief come from?" is so bold that he dares to pretend to be my brother You. ”

Everyone was also a little angry, if this matter was not traced clearly, it would be very detrimental to Li You's reputation, and they asked for this matter to be investigated.

Li You was also very worried, he took out his waist card and asked, "Have any of you seen this waist card with your own eyes?" ”

A soldier said: "The little one has seen it, and when the man handed the waist card to Lord Chen, the little one was very curious, so he took a look at it. ”

Li You handed him the waist card in his hand and asked, "Take a closer look, is it this waist card?" ”

The soldier took a closer look at the waist card and said, "It's a bit similar, but the pattern on it is different." ”

Li You's mood was a little better, and he said: "That's okay, if they can forge the exact same waist card, this will be a big trouble." "The prince's waist cards are specially supervised by the Zhongshu Province, if someone can forge the exact same waist card, then this person is extraordinary.

Li You decided to stay in Luokou and personally investigate the matter.

It is said that the pirates in the Dengzhou area are so rampant, and Li You should not delay the plan to suppress the bandits for this trivial matter. There is a reason why Li You has time to travel the mountains and rivers, and now he can spend time here to pursue this case of impersonating himself.

Sending troops to fight is not a simple matter, and it requires a lot of preparation. The Navy has just been formed, and things are complicated, and it is not a simple matter to simply straighten out internal relations.

The navy transferred from Yangzhou to Dengzhou, adjusted its troops, conducted run-in training, and prepared supplies, etc., which could not be completed in a few months.

Zhang Guigui asked: "Brother You, those people have already passed the toll station and gone to Zhengzhou." Is there any point in us staying here to investigate? I suggest that we go directly to Zhengzhou to investigate. ”

Li You asked, "You say, why should I stay here?" ”

In order to cultivate these young cronies around him, he will let them actively participate in handling things as long as conditions permit.

Everyone was lost in thought, and even the four ladies were trying to think hard.

At this time, Wu Jue said: "Lord Wang, the slave and maid understand. If this matter is just to pretend to be you, then they are doing it to cover the smuggled goods on their ship.

However, they took away the tax supervisor, which was unusual. There must be some kind of connection between these people and the tax superintendent. Therefore, the case must be investigated from the person of this tax supervisor. It's the best place to stay. ”

"Oh, the fourth sister-in-law is really amazing, I also think it makes sense for what you said." Without waiting for Li You to speak, Zhang Guigui preemptively said.

Li You smiled: "Yes, what Jue'er said is right. ”

Everyone looked at Wu Jue, and she was a little embarrassed. She hurriedly said, "It's still the prince who is smart." The slave maid was just guessing blindly under the inspiration of the prince. ”

Xiao Wanyu took her hand and said, "I have long seen that the fourth sister is really smart. ”

Murong got along well with Ashina Qing and Wu Jue, and they were not jealous, and sincerely expressed their appreciation for her.

Xue Rengui admired the prince's eye for people. Don't talk about it myself, Liu Renliang, Wang Xuance, Lu Tong, Ma Zhou and others are all talents who are in charge of their own affairs. Even the young Fourth Princess, whose intelligence is far more comparable.

He said in his heart: "No wonder the prince would fight for her." ”

As soon as Sun Simiao came into contact with Li You, he felt that this prince had a different temperament. These days, as he gets in touch with Li You, he finds that even the people around Li You are different, and what he sees in these people is affection, loyalty and enthusiasm. He now enjoys spending time with these young people.

Luokou is a small town in Cishui County, and Li You and others lived in a post station near the toll station. That night, Miao Xiting, the commander of Xishui County, rushed to hear the news. 8)