Hezhou on the bank of the Jialing River, in the state city of Sichuan Gorge 4th Road, has always had the title of small Jiangnan. This is not to say that Hezhou's landscapes are picturesque and beautiful like the south of the Yangtze River, but it refers to the meaning of the waterway of the Jialing River, the waterway is convenient, the trade route is developed, and the economy is prosperous.

Although Shuzhong is rich, it refers to the Yizhou Plain and several large rivers along the water, where a horse is flat, the land is fertile, the climate is pleasant, the wind and rain are smooth, it can be said that the melons are planted and the melons are planted, and the beans are planted, and the endless fields have the reputation of the granary of Shu. And tens of thousands of looms in Jinguan City are ringing in unison, and the weavers weave dazzling beautiful Shu brocade in their hands and sell it at home and abroad; Thousands of acres of tea fields in the tea mountains are fragrant and far away, and thousands of miles away from Arab countries have business travelers who climb mountains and wade through rivers to purchase. These few specialties alone can bring countless benefits to the four roads of Sichuan Gorge, the warehouse is full of grain, and the treasury is full of gold, silver and copper coins.

The city of Chizhou, built on the riverside, relies on the unique advantages of waterways, and is also sticky to the light, wharf culture and convenient transportation, which has contributed to the prosperity of small cities such as Hezhou.

However, the mountainous terrain is both an advantage and a disadvantage, many of the state capitals and counties in the mountains are difficult to transport, and there is no waterway transportation, the transportation of goods is all carried by people, the land in the mountains is barren, and the thin fields pulled out of the rocks in the mountains are even a problem for the farmers to eat themselves, let alone get rich, so the people in the mountains are much more difficult than the people outside.

The small Jiangnan of Hezhou, it is thanks to the natural conditions of the confluence of the three rivers, every night, by the wharf outside the state city, the lights are as bright as the day is endless, the crowd comes and goes in the hustle and bustle, the sailors who run the boat, the boss of the merchant bookkeeper, spend the night here, and die of drunken dreams in the gold caves.

The lights of the night market are like a bright fire dragon, from the wharf to the city, there is no curfew in the Song Dynasty, the four gates of Hezhou are closed at night, only a city gate facing the wharf is not closed all night, allowing people to shuttle back and forth, the soldiers who keep vigil hold spears and laugh, extort a little money, touch the buttocks of the prostitutes who come in and out, and outline the erosive leisure in the laughter.

Yaqian Street, where the Zhizhou Yamen is located, is closed and silent.

The night patrol of the native soldiers yawned, bored walking on the street, they are not so diligent on weekdays, they will sneak back to the duty room to sleep after a few walks, today there was an assassination incident, only to stay all night.

In the state office, the defense is a little tighter than usual, the steps in the door control are fast and staring at the outside with a knife, and there are a lot more internal guards patrolling the courtyard wall, and there are people squatting on the wall, holding lanterns and staring at them, not daring to relax at all.

In the backyard, in the compound where Zhizhou lived, several large houses were illuminated by candles, and Grandmaster Dao sat on a chair, looking at the candlesticks on the table and frowning.

"Daddy, let's go to bed early." Zong Shengxian came over with a bowl of bird's nest and gently placed it on the table: "Bird's nest is stable, drink and rest." ”

Grandmaster Dao took a deep breath, closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, his brows were deeply locked, and even the candlelight shining on his face seemed to be covered by dense gloomy clouds and became dim.

"I can't drink it, there is such a big thing today, where can I drink it?" Grandmaster Dao rubbed his temples, opened his eyes and said hoarsely: "The assassination of the envoy, the big case, happened in Hezhou, my father is guilty of killing his head, how can he drink something?" ”

Zong Shengxian turned back, sent away the maid and servant who was waiting at the door, closed the door and said to the grandmaster: "Ambassador Li is the official who promoted his father, if it wasn't for him, his father would not be able to be this governor, and the annual silver and money provided by the father is not less, and he moves around frequently, although this incident happened, but it is just a matter of reducing the guilt and evaluation, and then solve the case and arrest people, after all, the assassins are not sent by us." ”

Grandmaster Dao shook his head and sighed: "Daughter, you have been smart since you were a child, capable and shrewd, and I have always raised you as a man, and I have discussed with you a lot if I have something, but this matter, I'm afraid it is not so easy to pass." ”

Zong Shengxian frowned, walked over and lifted the teapot on a few more points, poured a cup of tea for his father, and handed it over: "What does Dad mean that this matter has something to do with the Envoy Division?" ”

"Humph! The gods fight, and the people suffer! Grandmaster Dao picked up the teacup and drank it dry: "In my opinion, this matter was done by Gui Ruyuan!" ”

Zong Shengxian was taken aback, and his eyebrows were stacked: "Gui Ruyuan and Li Jie have been at odds for a long time, but one is the town marshal and the other is the supervisor, using such means and being known by the imperial court, how to get out?" ”

"What is he afraid of?" Grandmaster Dao snorted and said: "Gui Ruyuan's side is the envoy, and the soldiers of the four roads in the Sichuan Gorge are all his people, even if Li Jie is killed, will the imperial court dare to punish him?" The imperial court is not afraid of the second Wu Xi rebellion? And with the relationship between Shi Miyuan and Gui Ruyuan, it is not certain whether the imperial court will pretend to be deaf and dumb! ”

"If Gui Ruyuan is really the mastermind behind the scenes, what is he trying to do?" Zong Shengxian stood beside Grandmaster Dao and pondered: "Just for that little bit of private salt business?" ”

Grandmaster Dao got up and stood up, his expression was scornful, and he said in a deep voice: "Don't underestimate the sale of private salt, Gui Ruyuan is training troops on the fourth road of the Sichuan Gorge, bordering the Xia Kingdom in the north, fighting chaotically, standing on the tip of the knife all the time, how many handsome people don't want to come over to wade this pool, why does he Gui Ruyuan want to come?" Is it really for the sake of the imperial court and for the sake of the society? Hmph, I don't think so! ”

He turned around a few circles in the house, stood still and said: "Shuzhong private salt, has never been banned, all dynasties, countless capable people and cool officials, no one can do it, Gui Ruyuan came, the opposite way, not only can't help it, but into it, now the biggest illegal salt dealer on the four roads of Sichuan Gorge is him!" Moreover, the officers and soldiers escorted, the salt of the Cao Division did not dare to check, and the profit in a year was tens of millions, and I estimate that the annual salt profit of Ambassador Li's Cao Si was not as much as his. ”

Zong Shengxian nodded and said, "No wonder Ambassador Li has recently strictly investigated illegal salt and cut off hundreds of heads in Lizhou, which is cutting off other people's financial routes." ”

Grandmaster Dao grabbed the teacup and wanted to take another sip, but found that there was no tea liquid in it, so Zong Shengxian hurriedly went over and brought the teapot and poured him another full cup.

"The salt is very profitable, Gui Ruyuan saw that it was profitable, and the profits were incomparable, so he took the risk to be the backing of the smuggler of salt, Li Jie wanted to break his money bag, how could he not be resented by him? As the saying goes, cutting off people's financial routes is like killing their parents, Gui Ruyuan has a narrow personality, and it is reasonable to send people from the Jingshen Gang to kill people. Grandmaster Dao drank it all in one gulp, and slammed the cup on the table: "But he chose to do it in Hezhou, didn't he push me in?" What would Ambassador Li think? Will my Grandmaster Dao be dragged over by Gui Ruyuan? It's really hateful! ”

He was full of anger, but he was helpless and sad, with an expression of others for the knife and me for the fish.

(End of chapter)