Early the next morning, as soon as the sky was bright, Li Kui, Pang Wanchun and others, who had planned in advance, got up early, and after some freshening, the carriages and horses left Jieyang Ridge and went down all the way down the official road on the ridge.

Originally, according to Li Kui's idea, the black shop on this ridge was bound to burn it down, but Zhang Shun was afraid of attracting the attention of the local bullies under the ridge and causing unnecessary trouble, so he persuaded him.

Under Jieyang Ridge, only four or five miles away, a lively and prosperous market town appeared in front of you, the reason is that there is an official wharf of the Xunyang River here, so it is so lively.

"Brother Wang Lun had already asked Brother Wang Xin to pass the message, saying that he had already turned back. Because I still have to get to know a few heroes on the water, I have to pass through Jiangzhou, so I just wait here. As he walked, Han Shizhong said.

"So much for the best! I'll go back later, sweep the couch! ”

Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun wanted to take care of their mother, so they went home first and discussed meeting again when Wang Lun arrived. As for Li Li's death, Zhang Heng only didn't know about it, and didn't go to Li Jun.

Pang Wanchun and Pang Wanqiu were supposed to escort their father home, but they had to wait for Wang Lun to return and thank him in person before leaving. Therefore, the two also entered the town with Li Kui and Han Shizhong.

Before they entered the city, they heard that something was going on, as if something had happened.

"Someone sells smuggled salt! Don't go away with him! ”

"Someone died......"

However, it is said that the Song Dynasty followed the Tang system and implemented official sales of salt, and some corrupt officials took advantage of this to exploit the people of Li, and the price of salt rose again and again. By the end of the year, the fishermen in Jiangzhou area were very short of salt. Why is there such a lack of salt? It turned out that Jiangzhou came to a greedy prefect Cai Jiu.

Since the prefect Cai Jiu took office in Jiangzhou, he has not done a single good thing, he has bent the law for bribes, and has done a lot of things to loot people's wealth. It is his housekeeping ability to raise taxes, increase donations, and ask for money, and he personally asks about the official salt, and he has a new charter in addition to the royal law, who does not buy salt in the official house. And if you buy illicit salt, you will be beaten by 40 boards, fined 10 taels of silver, and killed by the heavy.

As a result, the price of salt has risen again and again. Many people in Jiangzhou do not eat salty food for many months as adults. At that time, the prefect of Cai Jiu stipulated: one stone of rice for one liter of salt, and selling smuggled salt would be a violation of the king's law. It is stipulated that anyone who sells more than one bucket of smuggled salt shall be punished with a cane, and if he sells more than one stone, he shall be sentenced to death, and one bucket of salt and soil shall be sold, which is equivalent to selling one liter of smuggled salt. Officials searched for salt strictly, and people who sold smuggled salt were often guillotined. The Jiangzhou area is stricter than elsewhere.

But no matter how strict it is, who dares to sell illicit salt? It is Mu Hong of Jieyang Town.

Mu Hong's father, known as Mu Taigong, was a righteous man who made a fortune by selling smuggled salt and helping the poor and the weak. Mu Hong inherited his father's business and led a group of people to also sell illicit salt and oppose the government. He was brave and strategic, regardless of shipping or pushing smuggled salt, every time he skillfully and safely sold back to Jieyang Town, and organized people to sell it all over Jiangzhou, only taking a small profit, and the people were very happy.

Many times the government sent people to investigate, but they all escaped under the cover of the people. As a result, the official salt of the government is often piled up, and no one buys it. The city of Jiangzhou is different, they all have to buy official salt, and the price is frighteningly high.

After Mu Hong learned about it this time, he first went to Jiangzhou for three days, found out the path, and then used Li Jun's boat to transport the salt to the south of the river in Jiangzhou.

It was nearly noon that day, and he was putting down a salt pick in an alley, when he was caught by two officials. A tall and thin man shouted loudly: "It's so bold, selling illicit salt under the nose of Cai Zhifu, how many heads do you have?" Another Humpty Dumpty man roared: "You are so bold, you are snatching food in the tiger's mouth, Lord Cai heard that no one has bought official salt recently, so he knew that there were people selling illegal salt, and it was so." Let's go!"

The two officials pulled Mu Hong and shouted. Mu Hong was not panicked, winked at the two officials, and whispered: "Please raise your noble hands and make it convenient, there will be a good reward in the future." “

"It's convenient, it's rewarding, we don't have two heads." The tall man said. The short and fat man took out the rope: "This load of salt is more than one stone, and the crime should be beheaded!" As he spoke, he began to tie it up.

Mu Hong sneered and said, "I'm not welcome." "With just one palm, he pushed the two officials to make a dog dry eggs and a dog to chew. The one who was facing the sky rolled on the ground in pain, and the one who was lying on the ground covered his face with his hands and screamed in pain, Mu Hong said, "I'm sorry!" As a result, the two of them picked up the salt pick and fled quickly.

Mu Hong walked quickly across the street, and heard the people behind him shouting horses. Mu Hong turned into an alley and wanted to take a shortcut from the south gate to the riverside to find Li Jun. I only heard the howling of the whole city: "Catch that big black man who sells smuggled salt!"

"Quickly block the city gate, don't let him out of the city!"

Mu Hong hurriedly stopped, turned around and walked eastward, turned into an alley, and hurried towards the tailor's shop. The tailor's shop was close to the city wall, and not long ago the heavy rain had knocked down a section of the city wall, and he wanted to get out of the city from this gap, but who expected to come here to see it, and was surprised, the city wall had just been repaired.

At this time, the sound of shouting in the streets and alleys to catch and sell smuggled salt was endless. Mu Hong was in a dilemma, and the officers and soldiers behind him chased after him. At this moment, a big hand grabbed Mu Hong's burden.

When he looked back, he saw a tall and thin man, with big tiger eyes, inverted thick eyebrows, a straight nose and a square mouth, very familiar and unknown. He was just about to speak, when the tall and thin man shouted, "Why did you send rice?" After saying that, he pulled Mu Hong into the backyard of the tailor's shop.

The tall and thin man led him into the living room like a friend and sat down, and shouted to the outside: "Bring the rice into the barn, and serve tea quickly." Mu Hong was a little puzzled that this person had helped him, and asked, "May I ask your brother's surname?"

The tall and thin man asked rhetorically, "Brother Mu Hong, I met on Brother Li Jun's ship three years ago, have you forgotten?"

"Oh, you're Brother Hou Jian, a gibbon!" Mu Hong shouted.

"That's right! I am Hou Jian, a gibbon. “

"Didn't you make a living in Huang Wenbing's house? Why are you here?"

Suddenly, there was another noise outside the door, Mu Hong was startled, Hou Jian saw this and said, "Brother, don't panic, forgive them for not daring to come here to search." Sure enough, there was no sound after a while.

Hou Jian said: "This tailor shop was opened by my apprentice Zhang Rui, who was on business in the Caijiu prefect's mansion, and asked me to come to make official clothes for officials in the capital. The day before yesterday, I came here from Wuwei Army, saying that Cai Jing was 60 years old, and Cai Jing's prefect wanted to prepare a birthday gift and official clothes. “

Mu Hong said: "It's a coincidence, thanks to meeting Brother Hou, otherwise I would have eaten them!"

Hou Jian said with a smile: "I have learned from Brother Li Jun that you came here to sell illicit salt, and I heard the shouting just now, and I knew that I was chasing you, so I went to check, and I happened to see my brother." “

The two met with affection. Mu Hong changed his outfit and invited Hou Jiandao to be a guest in the village.

As soon as the two of them left the town, they happened to see Pang Wanchun and Li Kui passing straight through the town. The two sides looked at each other and staggered.

Speaking of which, Mu Hong in Jieyang Town is the head of the local family surnamed Mu, but because it is far away from the county, it is located at the intersection of the three nearby counties, and the population is mixed, so it is really a place to go. Na Mu Hong is a martial artist, a man of ten miles and eight towns, and has a large number of wealthy people, so he has become the leader of the "Jieyang Three Tyrants".

That Mu Hong was shrewd, and when Pang Wanchun, Han Shizhong and the others had gone far, he said to Hou Jian beside him: "Li Li is blind, such a good deal, but how can he let go of Linglai, it seems that he wants to cheapen others!" ”

"What's a good deal?"

"Look at these people who are freshly dressed and angry, and those men, all of them are capable people, I must have carried valuable goods!"

However, Mu Hong also walked around the rivers and lakes a few years ago, and he had seen some characters in the rivers and lakes, and he was somewhat self-aware.

His family knows his own affairs, and although he Mu Hong is majestic in Jieyang Town, he does not dare to underestimate the heroes of the green forest in the world. In his mind, the black-faced man should be a powerful person, and the tall man with a long body can't tell the height. I'm afraid that I won't be able to bargain for my own shots, so I just talk about it.

Pang Wanchun and Han Shizhong also noticed that Mu Hong frequently looked at the burden of himself and others, and knew that he also had martial arts. It's just that the two sides staggered by, and they were happy.

"Brother Pang, take Sister Ling to rest, Brother Li and I will go to see if there is any news of my Liangshan."

Every time someone in Liangshan goes down the mountain, they have their own unique code when they meet in a place, and only their own people recognize it. （）