Chapter Seventy-Six: Picking Stars

Thinking about the lives of his family, Zhang Dapao forgot about another thing. But Shen Chongming didn't just want to bluff him, when he left the post station with his front foot, he went to the Dusi Yamen to see Yu Prison with his back foot.

"Lord Yu, in this Huguang realm, is there any place suitable for raising private soldiers without being discovered by the imperial court?"

Shen Chongming asked such a sentence thoughtlessly, but it startled Yu Jiao, and he couldn't hide his inner thoughts for a while, and asked with horror in his eyes: "Lord Shen, why are you asking about this?" ”

Seeing Yu Gao's eyes full of such eyes, Shen Chongming immediately realized that he was a little impatient to ask about this matter, which made him misunderstood, and quickly waved his hand and smiled: "Lord Yu, don't misunderstand, this official just suspects that someone is plotting to rebel, and now he is very likely to have trained an army." But where this army is hiding, this officer doesn't even have an eyebrow at the moment. ”

Yu Jiao suddenly realized, and felt embarrassed at that time, this was very different from what he thought, and quickly apologized: "The lower official is stupid, don't be surprised." ”

Frowning and thinking for a while, Yu Jiao touched his chin and beard and said: "If you want to say that this secret place for raising soldiers, there are indeed a few places in Huguang, but most of these places are inhabited by barbarians, and they have never listened to the call of the imperial court, and they rarely interact with the Han people outside the mountains. Therefore, in these places, unless they raise their own soldiers and horses, others are afraid that it is impossible. ”

Shen Chongming only felt that his eyes lit up, and he said impatiently: "Then please tell Master Yu quickly, where are these places." "There is nothing impossible in the world, these ethnic minorities also have their own needs, as long as the conditions of both sides are negotiated, anything can be successful.

"Please come with me, sir." Yu Jian stood up and walked to the side screen. When Shen Chongming saw this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but smile, there must be a map behind it, and this can be regarded as a qualified general.

Sure enough, there was a map of the lake's topography nearly one zhang long and seven feet wide on the wall behind the screen.

"Your Excellency, this place is the Baojing Prefecture Xuanwei Division, and the territory under its jurisdiction is nearly three times that of the ordinary state capital, and the mountains are connected to the southeast and the outside world, and only the mountain stream path is connected to the outside world. This is the fifteenth cave division of Qiongshui, although the territory is not small, but there are not many clansmen. However, because it is located in the midst of poor mountains and bad waters, the people are extremely strong, and all the ethnic groups in the vicinity dare not offend. ……”

His right hand kept paddling on the terrain map, and Yu Jiao was able to completely tell the situation without thinking, and Shen Chongming, who listened, kept nodding, his eyes were full of appreciation.

"These seven or eight places are all in the mountains, since ancient times it has been the residence of the barbarians, although the head of this clan has been given official titles by the imperial court, but has never been controlled by the imperial court, and many times because of some trivial things and the nearby Han people have a big fight, making the situation extremely tense, so few people in the outside world know about them, and not many people in the mountains are clear." Speaking of these, Yu Jiao sighed again and again, in the past few years, he has been running around for this matter.

"So, don't they ever take the initiative to communicate with the outside world?" Shen Chongming asked while nodding.

"Except for people who go down the mountain every once in a while to exchange their prey for some official salt, their people rarely go out of the mountains, and they are almost self-sufficient in food, clothing, shelter and transportation. To tell you the truth, don't laugh, my lord, how many people they have now, and the lower officials don't know the bottom in their hearts. Yu Jiao smiled bitterly and said that when he first took office, he planned to recruit troops from, but he went there in person and was almost beaten out.

"Well, in this case, this place is really suitable for those unscrupulous people to accumulate soldiers and horses." Shen Chongming touched his chin and said thoughtfully. If Zhu Yiluan kept soldiers and horses without being discovered by the imperial court, then these soldiers and horses must be in these places.

Seeing him like this, Yu Jiao's curiosity couldn't help but increase, and he asked cautiously: "My lord, forgive the official for talking too much, is this person you are talking about the master of Changsha?" ”

Shen Chongming raised his eyebrows, but he was not angry, but asked with a smile: "Lord Yu, how can you see it?" ”

Seeing him like this, Yu Jiao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and said in a low voice: "My lord, since you said this yesterday, the lower officials have kept an eye on it, and after thinking about it all night yesterday, only this one is the most suspicious." My lord, you don't know, in the past two years, Huguang officials have been scarce in salt, and Xia Guan has always had some doubts about this matter, but he has no clue about it. ”

Shen Chongming's pupils shrank, and then he laughed. "Lord Yu is very knowledgeable, but this matter is very important, and there is no strong evidence in the hands of the official at the moment, so he can only investigate it quietly, and I hope that the lord will keep it secret."

Yu Jiao hurriedly nodded, "Don't worry, my lord, this is understandable, and he will never mention it to others." ”

"Well, it's good that you understand. In order to prevent him from jumping off the wall in a hurry, I also ask Lord Yu to find a reason to mobilize troops and horses from all over the country, and be ready to deal with emergencies at any time. Of course, to do this, we also have to prevent the spies they have planted in the army, Lord Yu, you'd better think of a reasonable reason, you and I can know what is going on. ”

This can be regarded as an order, Yu Jiao immediately got up and hugged his fists and said, "The last general will obey the order." ”

Shen Chongming nodded, got up and said with a smile: "Lord Yu, then this matter is decided, you hurry up and do it." The official has to go back and arrange some other things, so I won't bother too much. ”

"My lord, now that Lei Leopard has not been brought to justice, why don't you stay here in the Yamen, this place will be safer after all." Seeing that Shen Chongming was leaving, Yu Jiao couldn't help but be a little anxious.

Shen Chongming smiled, "Lord Yu, now that Lei Bao is a rat crossing the street, everyone shouts and beats him, why should we worry about this, in fact, this official still wishes that he would come from the net." ”

"The courage of the adults is outstanding, and the officials admire it." Yu Jiao also learned from others to pat the horse's ass, but this sound like a coax, which shows that his horse-beating level is too average.

Out of the Dusi Yamen, Shen Chongming's whole person became relaxed, several main clues can be said to be the first traces, as long as they follow the trace, the evidence of the rebellion of the Jiwang Mansion will definitely be in their hands, but waiting for Brother Liu to bring back the emperor's will, it is time for him to stew them in a pot.

Towards these, Shen Chongming, who was deliberately sitting in the eight sedan chairs, couldn't help humming a small tune, "Hey, we people, I'm really happy today......

"My lord, you can come back, and your subordinates have important things to report." In front of the post station, Shen Chongming's official sedan chair had not yet stabilized, and Brother Erdan rushed forward to lift the sedan curtain and said.

Shen Chongming was in a good mood, but he didn't joke with him, and said as he walked out of the sedan chair: "Say, what is the good thing that makes you like this?" ”

"Hehe, it's really a good thing that you can't hide anything from you." Brother Erdan said stupidly, still not realizing that his happy expression had already sold the old bottom cleanly.

"My lord, it is easy for my subordinates to find a suitable candidate and hand over the account books to him." Brother Erdan whispered in Shen Chongming's ear.

There were many good things, Shen Chongming's face couldn't hide his joy, and he said as he walked into the gate of the post station: "What kind of person is it, bring it to the official to see it." ”

Brother Erdan's face was overjoyed, and he was a little embarrassed: "My lord, if you want to see this person, I'm afraid you have to go to the government prison." ”

Shen Chongming frowned, turned around and asked, "What do you mean?" ”

"My lord, this person is a gentleman on the beam, and he is currently locked up in the government prison, and his subordinates are trying to figure out how to bail him out." Brother Erdan's face is scornful, and it always makes people feel a little awkward to do big things according to such a person.

Shen Chongming didn't speak, and only after entering the room did he ask, "Who is this person's surname, and what is his ability?" ”

Hearing him ask this, Brother Erdan, who originally thought that Shen Chongming was angry, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "Lord Qiyu, this person's name is Sikong Wang, the name of the rivers and lakes is the holy hand of picking stars, and few people can do the kung fu of flying eaves and walking on the wall, it is said that many people have seen him leap into the sky and catch the stars, which is why he has this resounding name. This person has committed crimes in Jiangnan for a long time, and many famous nobles have been patronized by him, but he has stolen a lot of good things and has never missed it. ”

Saying this, Brother Erdan couldn't hide his admiration, and after listening to his deeds today, he was simply an idol-like existence.

"In that case, how could he be put in prison, I'm afraid that this name was blown out by himself." Shen Chongming looked incredulous, the kid must have heard such false gossip from that tea shop again.

Brother Erdan choked, but he also felt that this was the case, scratched his head and said: "It's also ha, but my subordinates asked the brothers, there is indeed such a number one person in the rivers and lakes, and he is not very famous." ”

Seeing that Brother Erdan didn't look like he was telling a lie, Shen Chongming couldn't help but be a little shaken. The captains handle cases all the year round, and it is inevitable to deal with characters in the rivers and lakes, since they said that there is such a number one person as Sikong Wang, I am afraid that it is not fake. Could it be that there is something hidden in this matter?

"Go, find a few lieutenants who have heard of Sikong Wang, and the officer should ask him about it." Shen Chongming pondered, raised his head and commanded Brother Erdan. Although the rumors are false, many of them are true, and it is best to understand them before making a decision.

Several lieutenants came in a hurry, listened to Shen Chongming's questioning, and one of them said: "Although the rumors are exaggerated, this Sikong Wang is indeed somewhat capable, and whenever he commits a crime, he only takes rare treasures, gold and silver and other objects have always been touched. I haven't heard of him missing out over the years, and he is indeed the number one person in the rivers and lakes. ”

As soon as the captain said this, Shen Chongming had a bottom in his heart, it seemed that even if this Sikong Wang was as powerful as not rumored, he was afraid that it would not be far behind.

"Erdan, you go and arrange it, the official wants to meet this so-called star picking saint, but he wants to see if he can really pick off the stars in the sky." Smiling, Shen Chongming felt that this name was good, a holy word could be regarded as a thief ancestor.

As soon as he heard that Shen Chongming was going to see Sikong Wang, Brother Erdan couldn't help but be overjoyed, it seemed that he had done a good job on this errand. "Yes, my lord, wait a minute, my subordinates will bring someone to the prison to bring Sikong Wang." With that, he turned around and was about to go out.

"Wait!" Shen Chongming glanced at Brother Erdan, who turned around, "This matter should be secret, you make a big fanfare, everyone knows how to do it?" ”

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