Finally, the lining of the wallet caught his attention. A long strip of leather acts as the last layered back wall, while at the same time digging deep into the opposite pocket. Ansel pulls out the tongue and discovers that there is a secret layer behind the tongue. He took out the military ID of a Vietnamese mercenary from this layer, which had faded over time.

This military ID card identifies the identity of the deceased, who is believed to have been a Vietnamese mercenary officer recruited by the colony of Cochinchina. But it should have been retired by now.

Why was he killed here?

Ansel pondered the conversation he had heard between the two murderers.

"Honorable Sir......"

"What do you offer us? ……”

"Our honorable gentleman needs the testimony of three soldiers, not two. ……”

Ansel gradually understood.

Almost immediately, he thought of who that "distinguished gentleman" was.

In Tokyo City, the contradiction between the superintendent Mr. Ho Lo and the commander of the Tokyo Expeditionary Force, General Bo Slip, can be said to be a well-known secret.

After the defeat of General Bohua's attack on the city of Shanxi defended by the Black Flag Army, which led to heavy casualties among the army, after retreating to Tokyo, He Luojiao made a fierce accusation against Bohua, believing that it was his ignorance and blind movement that led to this "unprecedented fiasco", He Luojiao's exaggerated accusations not only angered Bohua, but also made the officers and soldiers of the Tokyo Expeditionary Force very angry, although the commander of the land column, Colonel Beilan, was very dissatisfied with Bohua's failure to insist on attacking, but he was also unacceptable to He Luojiao's accusation, so he expressed his support for Bohua," All the unrealistic accusations against General Wave Slip are extremely irresponsible and unjust. Our enemies are different from bandits in general. Their power has grown. The fact that we were unable to destroy the enemy because of insufficient forces was not due to a mistake in command or a lack of heroism in battle, the blow we inflicted on the enemy was heavy and obvious to all. Glory to the soldiers who fought for the French Empire! And not officials who only talk about it! ”

Seeing that the main officers of the Tokyo Expeditionary Force expressed their support for Wave Slippery, He Luowei realized that he had committed public anger and behaved a little less, but in private he wrote a letter to the Navy and the Colonial Department to complain, saying that Wave Slip was not, and began to collect black materials for Wave Slippery.

The scene that just happened. This is a testament to how far this underground work has been.

Although Bohua has been recovering from his injuries and has not made an open counterattack against Ho Luo, Ansel believes that General Bohua is likely to be doing the same thing as Ho Luo.

The Navy and the Colonies were not unaware of the infighting between Ho Luo and Bo Slip, but what surprised Ansel was the silent reaction of the Navy and the Colonies.

According to his past experience, when encountering such a contradiction between the chief executive and the military governor, in order not to affect state affairs, he must summon one to report back to report on his work (that is, to support one and fight the other). But why didn't the Navy and the Colony make any moves, acquiescing in the fact that the two of them were fighting in Tokyo?

Ansel knows. As long as you understand the inside story, you will definitely be able to write sensational news!

At that point, I might be able to leave Vietnam and go back to France to do what I love, right?

Thinking of this, Ansel became excited.

He carefully put away his wallet and the military ID, and decided to start a secret investigation with the dead man.

And now Ansel would not have imagined what kind of waves his findings would stir up after they became sensational news.

One day at sunset, the noodle shop saw off the last customer. Chen Anshun began to board the store, ready to close.

This is a very ordinary Sichuan noodle restaurant on the street of Hue, and there are probably ten in this area alone. Noodle soup is cheap and tastes good, and after it was introduced to Hue more than 100 years ago, it quickly became popular in the market. Tran An Soon came to Hue about four years ago and has been running the shop ever since, and although the business is modest, it is enough to support his family.

Just as he picked up the second plank, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

"Boss, a big bowl of noodle soup."

"It's closed today, let's eat tomorrow." Chen Anshun shook his head and continued to board the board.

"It's not too much trouble to get a bowl of noodles, I have five extra copper coins, how about it? Eat and leave. The guest continued, handing over a few copper coins in his hand. That's the price for two bowls of noodles.

Chen Anshun looked back at the man.

"Eat and leave?" He said, with an impatient look on his face.

"Eat and leave."

Chen Anshun's eyelids jumped sharply, making way for the man behind him.

The local guy hired by the store had already returned home, and it was just him and the customer. There was still leftover dough from the day in the kitchen, and Chen Anshun walked into the kitchen and began to knead the dough.

The light of the fire in the hearth reflected his shadow on the wall, and the noodle soup in the pot was tumbling and steaming.

The noodles were quickly cooked, and Chen Anshun came out of the kitchen with two bowls of noodles, one for the guests and the other for his own dinner.

The two of them sat down at a table, each took their chopsticks and began to eat. The oil lamp on the table danced a flame not much bigger than a soybean, and the dim light reflected the shadows of the two on the wall, extending to the roof.

The guests bowed their heads and ate their noodles and said nothing.

Chen Anshun didn't look at him either. There was only the sound of two people eating noodles in the room.

It didn't take long to eat a bowl of noodles, and the guests quickly ate almost enough, picked up the bowl and drank a few mouthfuls of noodle soup, wiped their mouths and walked out the door.

Chen Anshun still lowered his head to eat noodles, but he was holding a note in the palm of his hand.

After the guests left, he slowly unfolded the note under the oil lamp, and wrote five words on it: "Tomorrow." Wentao Building. ”

He crumpled the paper on the oil lamp and burned it to ashes.

Early the next morning, Chen Anshun hung up the sign of "Thank You Today" outside the door early, put on his jacket and went out. The guy is also happy to have a day off, so naturally he will not ask much about his whereabouts.

On the road, someone greeted him from time to time: "Boss Chen, why hasn't it opened today?" ”

He just smiled and said, "Go out and buy something." ”

In Hue in winter, the mornings are not very cold. The green shoots drawn from the trees on both sides of the road were just over an inch long. You can feel a little heat when the sun shines on your body.

Chen Anshun walked a little hot. He took off his jacket and held it in his hand, and walked around the streets and alleys.

This area is populated by ordinary people, and there are always many stalls on the side of the street on weekdays, selling all kinds of daily groceries or snacks, so the road is always full of people. He bought half a catty of mulberries on the side of the road, wrapped them in oiled paper, and ate them as he walked.

Although just after a big war. In addition, officers and soldiers are often seen patrolling the city on the road, but the people of the national capital of Vietnam live a leisurely life similar to before. The teahouse that should make a teahouse, the bird that should walk the bird, is just a little more content in the conversation after tea and dinner - at the feet of the Son of Heaven, they have long been accustomed to this kind of life.

came out a little early, Chen Anshun found a teahouse on the side of the road and sat in, by the way, to find out what news has been on the market recently, after all, there are many people in a place like a teahouse, maybe you can hear some rumors.

He is also a regular customer in this teahouse, and Xiao Er quickly brewed incense tablets for him and sent them over. I also sent a small plate of melon seeds to put next to me.

Not far away, at a table sat three young scholars, with a few snacks on the table. The person who sat at the top was about twenty-five or sixteen years old. The other two were in their early twenties, and were talking about something with some excitement.

"If you want me to say, sooner or later, the Great Qianjun Dynasty will be over." The man at the head said, with a look of indignation.

"Brother Li." One of them advised him, "Be quiet, you will lose too much." ”

"What's missing?" The person known as Brother Li seemed to have drunk some wine, and he didn't pay attention to the dissuasion of others at all, and his voice became louder, "It's all called by the French now, and the Great Qianchao didn't even let out a fart, besides, can their Northern Dynasty manage our Southern Dynasty?" I just said it, so what? ”

The two people next to him hurriedly persuaded him, and they couldn't stop confessing to the tea guests around him.

Chen Anshun felt strange when he saw it, beckoned Xiao Er to him, and asked, "What's going on?" Why do you come here early in the morning to make a fuss? ”

Xiao Er hunched his waist and said, "Master Chen, you take care of it more, he is also a hard-working person." ”

"What's going on?" Chen Anshun became more and more curious.

"It's a long story......," Xiao Er was just about to continue, but the shopkeeper over there suddenly coughed a few times.

Seeing this, Chen Anshun took out a few more copper coins and put them on the table, and the shopkeeper didn't say anything anymore.

Xiao Er pulled a stool and sat down, leaned over and whispered, "The French called in a few days ago, have you heard this?" ”

Chen Anshun nodded: "I've heard that it was too chaotic that day, and I didn't know what was going on before I was squeezed out." He pointed to the new shoes on his feet, and then said, "No, even the shoes were stepped on, so I had to buy new ones." ”

Xiao Er glanced at the scholar who was still talking nonsense while he was drinking, and said, "Master Li over there, the family is also a scholar for several generations, and it can be regarded as a scholarly family. ”

"Hmm." Chen An complied.

"Didn't this start the war for a while, Shun'an Fort fought with the French for a day and a night, and finally the soldiers were all martyred, I heard about it a few days ago, the court and the French signed a peace treaty, our Southern Dynasty, from that day on, has nothing to do with the Great Qian Dynasty, and it will be protected by the French in the future. I heard that the French destroyed all the national seals given by the Northern Dynasties. ”

"And then?"

"And then?" Xiao Er sighed, "The people are naturally in an uproar, there are many discussions, the court is not allowed to talk about it, and the officers and soldiers arrest people everywhere, making the city full of chickens and dogs." ”

Chen Anshun's expression didn't change much, he just nodded and motioned for Xiao Er to continue.

"This master of the Li family can be regarded as having eaten yamen rice for a few years, and he usually talks about some current affairs to people like us. But a few days ago, at the shop at the corner of the street in front of him, he said a few words that the soldiers on the Shun'an Fort were warriors, and if he was twenty years younger, he would definitely have to make a contribution and so on, and he was taken away by the people of the government. said that it was a vain discussion of the government, and no matter how the Li family tried to make some money inside, they would not let people go...... You say, can this young master of the Li family not borrow wine every day to drown his sorrows......" Xiao Er lowered his voice, as if he was afraid of being heard by the people at the next table.

Chen Anshun was taken aback: "There is such a thing? Suddenly, the voice rose a little higher.

Xiao Er hurriedly said: "You be quiet, just know about this, don't say it." Then he glanced around. One more word of advice. "Don't say I said it. The young master of the Li family did this. We're also afraid of accidents. But you can't help it, can you? These days, there are more such things......" said that, he squeezed the copper coins on the table in his hand and walked away.

The son of the Li family is still muttering about the government's no. His two companions were beside him, but to no avail.

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and even began to slap the table and shout: "What kind of world is this? If you don't catch the foreign robbers who entered the city, they will come and arrest us ordinary people, they have grown their skills......"

"Brother Li, don't talk about it......" his companion desperately stopped him.

"I just said it. What's wrong? He became more and more crazy, "You have the ability to arrest me!" Lao Tzu just wants to kill Yangyi, what can he do? ”

The store was full of guests who were shocked.

The shopkeeper who was settling accounts inside couldn't stand it, so he came out of the cabinet and was about to dissuade him, but he didn't want to be stopped.

He turned around and found four young men standing behind him, who had been sitting there drinking tea.

"Guest, what's the matter?" He asked.

"It's none of your business here, why are you going to go?" The young man at the head said expressionlessly.

The shopkeeper just wanted to say something but he pushed it away, and then the man walked straight to Li Shusheng. Patted him on the shoulder.

"Come with us."

"You, who are you?" Li Shusheng didn't react to what was going on. still looks like hob meat, "Why let me go with you......"

The man took out a wooden sign with red tassels from his waist and shook it in front of Li Shusheng's eyes: "You always recognize this brand." ”

Seeing the familiar waist card of the official catcher, Li Shusheng woke up suddenly. Recalling the nonsense he had just said, his face turned pale with fright, and cold sweat flowed out.

The two scholars next to him were also frightened, and hurriedly went up to explain: "This master, you see that he is talking nonsense when he is drunk, don't take it seriously......"

The other followed suit: "That's it, he's talking nonsense." His family has been a scholar for generations, but it has nothing to do with the thief, and the neighbors in this neighborhood know it. Your lord has a lot of them, so let him go......"

Li Shusheng looked at him blankly.

Na Tingwei didn't listen, but grabbed Li Shusheng's wrist, "Go!" ”

"Why are you arresting me!" Li Shusheng struggled, but was dragged away step by step. Two of his companions kept blocking him, begging for mercy on his behalf.

"Why?" Ting Wei sneered, "Just by what you just said, 'This great Qianjun is going to end'!" ”

After leaving the teahouse, Chen Anshun dusted off his jacket with his hands from time to time. It was dyed with a large piece of purple on it, and it was the people from the Tingwei Mansion who touched the table when they were entangled with Li Shusheng, and as a result, all the mulberries that were originally placed on the table smashed on his clothes and dyed the color.

He pretended to be panicked at that time, and the court captains didn't pay attention to him, but just tied up the three scholars with iron chains and took them away, and no one in the store dared to stop them.

The shopkeeper of the teahouse sighed, took out a piece of paper from the cabinet, smiled wryly and wrote the words "Don't talk about state affairs", and asked the man to paste it on the pillar in the store. No one said anything to the full house, just silently settled the bill and left.

At this time, it was close to noon, and Chen An walked towards Wentao Tower two streets away.

Wen Tao Lou opened four years ago, about the same time as Tran An Shun came to Hue. But business here is booming, although it is not a famous store, it is also one of the few big restaurants in this area.

Chen Anshun went into the store, and Xiao Er had already greeted him.

"This master, what do you want?"

"Has there been a shopkeeper who has booked a private room?" Chen Anshun asked.

Xiao Er turned his head and shouted to the cabinet: "The guest of the boss Wan in the private room on the first floor!" With that, he put the white towel in his hand on his shoulder and led the way in front.

"Master, please!"

After a few rounds, there is a private room with a half-open door at the end of the hallway. The two walked straight in, there were already a few cold dishes on the table, and there were three or four people sitting next to them, and they didn't move when they saw Chen Anshun coming in.

Xiao Er reflexively closed the door, and a person at the table got up and activated the machine in the corner. So in a slight noise, a secret door was opened, and Chen Anshun lowered his head and walked in.

Not long after, a person came out of it, wearing the jacket that Chen Anshun had just now, and his height and appearance were also seven points similar to him. The secret door closed again with a soft sound, and the man sat down at the table, and several people began to greet each other, and Xiao Er also bowed down and retreated, as if nothing had happened just now.

The room was still so dim, only an oil lamp was lit on the table, and the air in the room was cloudy due to poor ventilation.

Chen Anshun took a deep breath and felt a kind of relief emanating from his bone marrow. He didn't like this place, but only here, only for a moment, he could let go of all his baggage, and here he was no longer the mediocre noodle soup restaurant owner.

"Here we are." A faint voice greeted him. Wan Jong-jae sat at the table opposite, his face illuminated by the flickering fire of the oil lamp.

"Got a mission?" Chen Anshun sat opposite with a big grin.

"Not yet."

"Something's wrong?" Chen Anshun became vigilant instead. If it is not necessary, Wan Jong Chae will not meet with him specifically.

"A few fires were lost in the city some time ago...... People in the Vietnamese government said that there was a brawl and eight people died. ”

Chen Anshun didn't say anything, knowing that there must be something to follow.

Wan Zhongcai was silent for a while, and his voice suddenly raised a few points: "It's all our people who died." The first batch of people who were inserted into Hue are now the only ones left. ”

Chen Anshun's eyelids jumped. He knew that the work of the "Heavenly Bless Heroes" in Hue had always been difficult, but he did not expect that it had come to this point. (To be continued.) )

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