Ji Yan staggered out of the latrine, and almost mixed garlic under his feet, he tripped himself, he felt a little dizzy, so he found a stone in the garden in the hall and sat on it.

A summer night breeze brushed Ji Yan's forehead at the right time, his mind was now clearer, and he gradually straightened out his thoughts, and slowly formed a guess.

Someone found out the news that Zheng He was going to Japan from the capital, and then ran thousands of miles to these places where the maritime merchants gathered, using the method of scribbling on the toilet wall, taking advantage of the maritime merchants' eagerness to hope that the imperial court could punish the Japanese invaders for them, and spread the secret of Zheng He's envoy.

If Ji Yan didn't find out today, then he and Zheng He's investigation targets would always be locked on these merchants, but in fact, the merchants were only used, and they didn't know it, so naturally it was impossible to interrogate them.

A few months later, the evidence on the wall will be blown away by the wind and rain, and it is estimated that it will all disappear, and it will be impossible to find it at that time.

The people who wrote these words naturally grasped the psychology of this group of merchants, that is, they were very eager for what was written in these words to be true.

Therefore, the merchants will unconsciously take the initiative to spread the news, and the subsequent events also confirm what is written above, and naturally no one will continue to take it to heart, or pay special attention to who wrote it.

For thousands of years, human nature has not changed, and when people see others express some opinions that they particularly want to see, they will always unconsciously agree with that point of view, and forget objectivity, logic, analysis, and many other reasons in the face of ordinary things.

If you have a butt first, sometimes you forget your brain.

There are many examples of ancient China using this similar method to confuse the public, and then deceive the ignorant people to rise up and rebel.

Ji Yan sorted out these clues, and slowly walked back to the banquet, the atmosphere in the room was still warm, and it seemed that they did not disturb their interest because Ji Yan had disappeared for a long time. Only Ruan Zhong came up and asked Ji Yan, why had he been out for so long.

On the wine table, a few of them were already lying on their stomachs, asleep, and a few merchants were playing fists, what "five fives" and "six sixes", they had a lot of fun.

Ji Yan didn't answer Ruan Zhong's question, and asked him with a smile: "How do you usually hold a party like this?" ”

Ruan Zhong didn't know what to do, he was still a little confused, and he was a little unresponsive when Ji Yan asked him this, he settled down first, and said: "If it's not the season to go to sea, it's quite ordinary, now it's the typhoon season at sea, and it's rare to go to sea, so there will be small gatherings every once in a while." ”

Ji Yan then asked, "What about March, when you had frequent meetings?" ”

Ruan Zhongjiu hadn't completely woken up yet, he was a little confused, but he saw Ji Yan's serious expression and realized that there must be a reason for this problem, so he slapped his face hard, sobered himself up, and asked: "Why did you suddenly ask about the matter at that time, the most important thing for us to run the boat is the smooth flow of information, at that time, because I went to sea and was robbed by the Japanese invaders once, so there were a lot of banquets, some of them frightened me, and some wanted to ask me about the specific situation, and then after a while, I was going to sea again, and many people saw me off, Another few meals and drinks. ”

Ji Yan then asked: "At that time, you were robbed once and lost a whole boatload of glass, did everyone react after hearing it?" ”

Ruan Zhong took a sip of herbal tea and said: "Everyone is naturally comforting me, if the goods are lost, they will be lost, and the person will be fine, and some people say that the court should stand up for us, but we don't dare to talk about the court, this is to kill the head, so I didn't mention these much." People can't always skip eating, I still have to run the boat to do business, after a while, ten days, I still have to go out to run the boat, before leaving, everyone to me practice, remember drinking when someone said, this time I go to sea should be safe, Lord Zheng is going to lead the troops to the sea to crusade against the Japanese invaders, as soon as I heard about this, I also deliberately brought more brothers to see if I can help, and then I met you in the Ryukyus. ”

It's similar to my own guess, but Ji Yan still needs a more definite answer.

Ji Yan smiled, covered his forehead with one hand, and said to Ruan Zhong: "I have eaten a little too much wine today, and just now there was a little wind blowing in the garden downstairs, and now I have a headache, I will withdraw first, you take good care of everyone for me." ”

He hesitated for a moment, then continued: "I have one more errand to ask all of you here, tomorrow afternoon, you can help me gather everyone again, and come here, this time it is tolerance, not child's play." ”

Ruan Zhong already had some bottom in his heart at the moment, Ji Yan asked him about March several times, and he had talked to each merchant individually, and also asked about the situation at that time, although he didn't understand why, but he still understood the sophistication of people who ran business, so he didn't ask much.

Ruan Zhong nodded at Ji Yan, and agreed to it, Ji Yan also stood up, arched his hand to a table of well-fed merchants, and said: "Thank you for coming today, but I am really too strong to drink, and now I have to leave, Ruan Zhong will continue to take care of everyone for me, and everyone will continue to have fun." ”

After that, he didn't see that there were still a few sober people at the table who could return the salute, so he turned around and went straight out of the door and went back to his inn to rest.

On the second day, the clouds were overwhelmed, and there was no end in sight to the darkness overhead, and it seemed that the breeze of the previous night had turned into a gale, and it was not long before the rain was about to pour down.

After noon, the rain had not yet fallen, and the wind was blowing stronger and stronger. Because the wind and rain are coming, the inside of the restaurant is very clean, and the store has already known Ji Yan, so he stepped forward to entertain him warmly.

Ji Yan smiled and waved his hand, but went straight to the second floor, entered the private room where he had wine last night, asked for a pot of tea, as well as paper and pencils, and put his brocade guard's waist card on the table, sat upright, and waited for the merchants to come.

Not long after, Ruan Zhong pushed the door in first, his eyes were sharp, and he quickly noticed the Jinyiwei waist card on Ji Yan's table, although he knew that Ji Yan was Jinyiwei, but it was also the first time he saw Ji Yan show his waist card. Ruan Zhong cautiously asked, "Everyone is here, come in one by one, or together?" ”

Ji Yan smiled and said, "One by one, I'll just ask." ”

Ruan Zhong nodded, closed the door and left, and after a moment, the first merchant pushed the door in with a smile.

Ji Yan was also acquainted with these merchants, so he asked directly to the point: "In March this year, when you were eating wine, did you say that Zheng He had nothing to do with them, as long as you tell the truth." ”

Finally, a merchant looked at the waist card on the table, and then looked at Ji Yan's serious attitude, knowing that this matter was not trivial, scratching the back of his head, apologetic, and telling the truth with a wry smile, he saw a line of words on the wall in the toilet, because Ruan Zhong was robbed at that time, and everyone was worried about going to sea, so he said casually, I heard that Zheng He was going to take people to sea to crusade against the Japanese invaders, and the original intention was to comfort everyone.

Ji Yan listened to the merchant talking, kept writing in his hand, recorded it, picked it up and blew it after writing, brought it to the merchant, and said: "I am a tolerance, and I still need to return to my life, so I have to sign it." ”

Ji Yan also comforted that there is nothing to do with them here, but the matter is big, and it just needs to be signed, and there will be no accountability.

The merchant hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, what he said this time was true, and looking at Ji Yan's expression, there should be no reproach, so he signed his name.

After that, some merchants simply said that they heard about it at the wine table, and this situation was the same as Ruan Zhong, and there were also one or two who said that they had read the words, so they said it casually.

Just such an in-and-out question, Ji Yan didn't take long to verify his guess, he was thinking that there should be no more information to get from their mouths, as soon as he looked up, he saw that it was Ruan Xin who came in, Ji Yan had already got the answer he needed, but there was no longer a need to ask him repeatedly, so he changed the topic and said: "This time I invited Uncle Ruan to come, it was still a reluctant invitation mentioned that day, I want to take Xiaoyi to the capital, and he still needs to go to the Ministry of Industry on an errand in person." ”