Although they didn't sleep all night, brothers Zhang Shilang and Zhu Houzhao still had lunch at the county government and then chatted. Zhu Houzhao told all the things that happened in the Li Mansion, of course, he hid the written evidence such as the silver ticket, and told Zhang Shilang that because of the need for horses to pull the cart, the more than 40 "horses" found in the Li Mansion were requisitioned to pull the cart.

The things confiscated by the Huairen officials and the Li Mansion were being put in the treasury for sealing, and Zhang Shilang also sent documents to the capital to report the situation here and urge the imperial court to send new officials as soon as possible.

Zhang Shilang said persuasively at this time, "Two highnesses, as the so-called gentleman does not stand under the dangerous wall, the two highnesses are related to the national fortune, how can they risk fighting with the front line." Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, "Don't worry, Lord Zhang, my two brothers stood outside the range of bows and arrows, and did not come forward to fight, but stood in the rear to command." ”

Zhang Shilang said solemnly, "The battlefield is dangerous, how can you be careless, the old minister knows it after the fact, otherwise he will stop the two highnesses, and I hope that His Highness will also pay attention in the future, and not take the national fortune as a joke." "Brother Zhu Houzhao had no choice, they all got up and made a gesture, "I was taught." ”

Zhang Shilang also stood up and saluted back, then sat down with a smile and a long beard, and then said, "The next stop is Shuozhou Mansion, I will wait for 5 days before leaving, now Huairen has no officials, if you set off immediately, Huairen will be in chaos." Before Zhu Houzhao could say anything, he only heard a rush of footsteps entering the courtyard, and he saw that it was a thousand households of Jinyiwei. When he arrived, he saluted the three of them and said, "Your Highness, the two highnesses, there was a fire in the Shuozhou Mansion yesterday, and the thieves have been caught, and 7 people have been caught, but they all committed suicide this morning, and there is no identification on their bodies." However, the fire was extinguished as soon as it started, and the treasury was not damaged, and now it is guarded by the brothers of the Jinyi Guard, but the Shuozhou prefect said that the Jinyi Guard guards the treasury, which is not reasonable, let us return the Shuozhou Mansion, and now the Lord Zhenfu (Zheng Wupin) is delaying, and please make plans for the two highnesses as soon as possible. ”

Brother Zhu Houzhao and Zhang Shilang were silent for a while, and then Zhu Houwei gave Zhu Houzhao a look and made a few gestures, and Zhu Houzhao said to Zhang Shilang, "Lord Zhang, now that this has happened, it is estimated that there are people in Shuozhou Mansion who are in a hurry to jump over the wall, it is better for Lord Zhang to go to Shuozhou first to find out the case, and my brothers and sisters are waiting for the successor officials in Huairen." Now Huairen should be safe, and Master Zhang doesn't have to worry. When the new officials arrived, the two of us went north to Datong to find out the escaped thieves and investigate. ”

Zhang Shilang said, "The two highnesses are waiting for the old minister in Huairen, the old minister has sent people to Datong Mansion and asked them to strictly investigate at various passes, it is estimated that there will be results sooner or later, and the two highnesses will not have to rush to Datong." Wait for the old minister to return from Shuozhou, and then return to Beijing together. ”

Zhu Houzhao wanted to say something, but Zhu Houwei pulled his clothes, and said, "Then follow what Master Zhang wants." ”

Zhu Houwei's small movements did not escape Zhang Shilang's eyes. Zhang Shilang's frowning expression was also seen by Zhu Houwei. Zhang Shilang stood up and bowed to the two of them and said, "Without further ado, the old minister is ready to set off immediately, Huairen will rely on the two highnesses, if there is anything difficult, you can deal with it by the new officials, or you can send someone to ask Huairen's foreign officials (that is, there is no grade, just a small official with a salary, and there is a name). ”

The two stood up and saluted back, and Zhang Shilang turned around. Zhang Shilang's decisive style made the two brothers feel good. At around 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, Zhang Shilang's Qin team traveled again, and this time they didn't bring what they could not bring, so the travel speed was much happier. Brother Zhu Houzhao also came to see Zhang Shilang on a trip.

Zhang Shilang left, and only the Zhu Houzhao brothers were left in Huairen County. The magistrate and the county clerk are all in prison, and everything in the county depends on the two brothers to be in charge.

Huairen County is not big, although there were battles, dozens of people died, and there was almost a fire in front of it, which can be described as a frequent occurrence of major incidents. The lives of the people must go on, so on the second day of Zhang Shilang's departure, the original empty streets gradually increased the number of pedestrians.

It turned out that a few people from the water and land camp began to preside over the affairs of the county, and if it was difficult, it would be handed over to the two brothers Zhu Houzhao to decide. Since there were not many things, the Zhu Houzhao brothers, under the escort of the water and land battalions, began to inspect Huairen County to observe the people's feelings.

When I got to the street, I found that there was a big difference between this place and the capital, not that there were fewer people and fewer buildings, but that people's mental states were different. At the feet of the Son of Heaven, on the streets of the market, people talk and walk in different spirits, and they are all more spiritual. The pedestrians I saw in Huairen were relatively numb, walking a little rickety, their eyes numb, and there were no obvious mood swings when they spoke.

Zhu Houzhao took people back to the county office after a while, and Zhu Houwei comforted, "They may have been frightened by what happened two days ago, and it will be better in a few days." Zhu Houzhao turned his head and asked, "Is it really because of what happened two days ago?" ”

Zhu Houwei said, "There may be because of poverty, you also know what kind of goods the officials who were arrested, just the mansion of the county has 8 concubines, and more than 200,000 taels have been confiscated, antiques, calligraphy and paintings have not been counted, and there are 5 BMWs, which have been brought to our yard." After interrogation, it was learned that he had also sent a lot of his belongings back to his hometown, and only half of them remained here. Under the rule of such officials, the lives of the common people can be imagined. Zhu Houzhao nodded and ran to see the horse.

For the next 8 days, both of them stayed in the government and did not go out, and sent 10 soldiers from the land and water battalion to escort more than 50 horses back to the land and water camp camp first. When the new official arrived, Zhu Houzhao's brother checked the seal letter, and then set off for the north, first to Datong, and was making other plans.

Zhu Houzhao and his entourage set off from Huairen, along the official road, passed through Xiajiazhuang, and on the fourth day, arrived near Datong Mansion.

Shanxi's Datong Mansion and Jingshi's Xuanfu, one in the west of the capital and the other in the north, are the two most important Shangfu facing the nine sides. Datong Prefecture has jurisdiction over Hunyuan, Ying, Shuo, Wei four prefectures and Datong (Xuanning County merged into Datong County), Huairen, Mayi, Shanyin, Guangling, Lingqiu, Guangchang (Laiyuan County, Hebei) seven counties. In the fifth year of Hongwu, the Shanxi Expedition commanded the envoy to be located in Datong. In the seventh year of Yongle (1409), the chief military officer of the town guard was set up, and he was the supreme commander of the town. In the tenth year of Chenghua (1474), the governor was established. It has jurisdiction over Datong front, rear guard (two guards to govern Datong), Datong left guard, Yunchuan Wei (two guards to govern Zuoyun County), Datong right guard, Yulin Wei (two guards to govern right Yu County), Yanghewei, Gaoshan Wei (two guards to govern Yanggao County), Tiancheng Wei, Zhenyu Wei (two guards to govern Tianzhen County), Pingyu Wei (Pinglu County), Weiyuanwei, Jingping Qianhu (now Pinglu County Jingping Town) and other 13 guards, 823 forts, 307 piers. In the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1372), Xu Da still rebuilt Datong City, it is square, 13 miles around, 4 zhang 2 feet high, wrapping bricks, setting up four gates, all have urn city, suspension bridge, moat. The four gates are called Heyang in the east, Yongtai in the south, Qingyuan in the west, and Wuding in the north. The four gates are built city towers, there are corner towers at the four corners, and there is an archway in the middle of the city. Not only is the city defense design solid, but the overall layout is like "a phoenix spreading its wings". In the twenty-first year of Chenghua (1485), the Great Wall was also built to increase the defense. There are now 130,000 sergeants on the roster, and because they often fight skirmishes with the northern tribes, their combat effectiveness is quite strong.

Datong Province is not only a military powerhouse, but also a very commercial city. The Ming Dynasty and some tribes in the north had border trade, and of course rarely exported sensitive materials such as weapons, iron ore, and armor, which were basically tea, salt, silk cloth, porcelain and other civilian daily necessities.

The famous Shanxi businessmen made a fortune by relying on the northern tribes, and the most famous is the Shanxi Eight Families more than 100 years later, who were named imperial merchants by selling important materials, but this world is no longer the Ming Dynasty.

Datong City could already be seen from a distance, so the team stopped and rested in the long pavilion on the side of the road. After a while, Dong Qinghai rode from the direction of Datong, dismounted about 50 meters away from Zhu Houzhao's team, and then ran to Zhu Houzhao's brothers and gave a salute. Zhu Houzhao asked with a smile: "Are they all here?" Dong Qinghai immediately replied, "All are here, there is no attrition, please take a look." As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of the Datong Mansion City Gate on the official road. The two brothers looked intently and saw a force of about 500 people, walking slowly with neat steps. The two brothers couldn't help but smile.