In September, the cold wind blows through the streets, bringing up bursts of dust, and the leaves on the streets are falling one after another, and the cold is beginning to rise. Song Wenxian came out of the military department, and a squire politely sent him down the steps before saying goodbye to Song Wenxian.

Song Wenxian's face was relaxed, he received the news of Lushun's victory earlier than the military department, in fact, the war had ended for more than ten days, and Chen Xin's war report was always late, so as to balance the results of the battle for all parties.

Song Wenxian has a very thorough understanding of Liaodong's form, and it is impossible for one person to swallow military merits, and under the current circumstances, a monopoly will not do Dengzhou Town any benefit. The retribution of the Battle of Lushun involves the distribution of forces around the Liaohai Sea in the future, and Chen Xin will definitely consider it all.

Liang Tingdong also knew earlier than the official Tang newspaper that at this time, he was already calm and relaxed, the court was about to rain, and Zhou Yanru's in-law Chen Yutaizhong was arrested for being the champion, and he also dug out the fact that Zhou Yanru had accepted bribes from Liukou Shenyikui. Especially the impact of the latter is the worst, because Shen Yikui is a rogue after all, and the bullets of the imperial history fly like snowflakes, and Zhou Yanru is weak to parry.

At this time, the news of Lushun's victory came, Liang Tingdong entered the cabinet and was naturally very polite to Song Wenxian, and he had to exchange news with Song Wenxian almost every day, either in the military department or in the mansion.

This time, Song Wenxian and Liang Tingdong discussed, in addition to the matter of Yigong and the Qingzhou General Army, as well as the four seas of the Beijing Division, Chen Xin hoped to pull Liang Tingdong into the gang, the status of the Beijing Division is not as good as other places, and the support of the court officials is very important. If Liang Tingdong can enter the cabinet, he will be an excellent credit. At present, the money has been spread all over the canal, and it can be withdrawn in Linqing, Yangzhou and other places with tickets, as long as the credit is established, it is very attractive to Beijing officials, not to mention that there can be interest.

The two have already finished discussing and are only waiting for Liang Tingdong to enter the cabinet. As long as you are used to using the money bank, many people will not take out a bunch of cash and put it at home, and most of the funds will be used by Dengzhou Town.

Song Wenxian couldn't understand the role of Qian Zhuang for a while, not only Liang Tingdong, Wen Tiren and Wu Zongda also had shares in it, Chen Xin would give them dividends every year, and Song Wenxian analyzed it according to the profits of the general Qian Zhuang. I feel that Chen Xin can't make much money. But looking at Chen Xin's letters, Qian Zhuang occupies the largest space, and he has to spend a lot of energy talking about Qian Zhuang.

After walking a little west, he entered Xitong Hutong in Xijiaomi Lane, where his new house was. Qianzhuang's Jingshi branch is also located here, and the house that Chen Xin asked the trading company to buy for Song Wenxian is a large courtyard, with an east and west garden and a back garden, and there is a branch in the courtyard to match his rising status.

In the second Zhongzheng Hall, Zhang Dahui has just returned, and he is now the head of the Dengzhou Beijing Office. The number of people who came to Beijing to do business in Dengzhou gradually increased, and when Song Wenxian was away, he was in charge of the affairs of the Beijing Division, mainly in foreign affairs and intelligence. Zhang Dahui lives in the West Courtyard and has already married three concubines. Two of them are from the Qinglou.

Song Wenxian and Zhang Dahui are very familiar with each other, and the two are not polite, they each sit down to drink tea, and when the girl serving tea turns around. Zhang Dahui patted the maid's buttocks gently, and the maid turned her head and glanced at Zhang Dahui. The smoke is gone.

Zhang Dacheng smiled, and Song Wenxian over there shook his head and said, "This Huang Ying'er is naturally charming. ”

"Mr. Song has read countless women, and he can see it accurately." Zhang Da was proud, he had sufficient funds in Beijing, he was reimbursed for eating, drinking and having fun, and he could still be greedy for ink a little more every year, Chen Xin didn't care about it before, but at the end of last year, Liu Minyou sent someone to check the accounts, and the money of the trading company Zhang Dahui can't be adjusted now, so he has reined in a little this year, but there are still a lot of activity funds, and the audit will always be much looser than in Dengzhou.

Song Wenxian leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes to recuperate, while talking about business, "Lord Wen said here that the Qingzhou General Army is definitely going to be set up, and the emperor has already passed it, but the candidate has not yet been decided." The old man has been busy with other things recently, you have to keep an eye on the matter of the Qingzhou General Soldier, and now that it's the last time, have you found the main thing to recommend Geng Zhongming? ”

Zhang Dahui put away his prodigal appearance, sat up straight and said: "It's good, it's Liu Yulie's faction, but now that he has taken refuge in Liang Tingdong in private, it is most appropriate to find him in this matter, Liang Tingdong is looking for someone to recommend Dai Zhenggang in the ministry, and Geng Zhongming has sent another letter to impeach Lord Chen." According to the news in the palace, the emperor has said to himself a few times that he has muttered the words 'Dengzhou strong soldiers', and although he did not say it explicitly in several cabinet meetings, he did not want the people who came out to take charge of more battalions, which means that it can be seen. The emperor has not decided on the general army of Qingzhou now, probably waiting for Jiannu to retire, as long as Lushun Dajietang reports to arrive, Geng Zhongming's possibility is ninety percent. ”

Song Wenxian rubbed his head, "This thing is really difficult, these adults are twists and turns, Lord Chen only wants the Qingzhou General Army, Wang Tingqian also wants to snatch the Qingzhou Mansion directly from Shandong, I heard that Xu Congzhi also sent people to Beijing to find some old ones in the same year, and he wants to leave the Qingzhou Mansion." ”

Zhang Dahui said: "Wang Ting's mind is tried, his henchmen in Dengzhou are only two or three, Geng Zhongming's tricks, he understands, but it is always good for him, so he also helped to promote this matter, at the moment of Lushun's victory, Wang Tingtry is proud, maybe the sky is asking for a price, what Lord Chen needs most is the Qingzhou General Army, Wang Tingtry is to Qingzhou Mansion, let's finish the Qingzhou General Army quickly, and then Wang Tingtry to get Qingzhou Mansion, we don't bother to pay attention to him." ”

"That's right, Lord Chen's letter also makes it clear, Geng Zhongming will have some head military merits in the Battle of Lushun, and the qualifications are the most sufficient."

Zhang Dahui said with a smile: "As long as Liang Tingdong mentions Dai Zhenggang, then Zhou Yanru will definitely be against it, these adults in the imperial court, they don't care who can fight Dai Zhenggang and Geng Zhongming, as long as they are in favor of it, they will oppose it." So as long as Liang Tingdong opposes Geng Zhongming, Zhou Yanru will definitely agree with Geng Zhongming, and he will definitely add Xiong Mingyu's opinion, the emperor is there, the meaning of balancing Dengzhou Town is beginning to have, as soon as the news of Lushun's victory arrives, Jiannu was beaten by us and lost his armor, plus more than 20,000 casualties, it is impossible for the emperor not to mutter. ”

Song Wenxian nodded and said, "You have put a lot of thought into this matter, you have moved countless people for a general soldier, and you have spent a lot of money, from Denglai to Jiliao Governor's Mansion, the Ministry of War, and the Cabinet, you have to calculate everything, and don't make a leak at the end." The last time Lord Chen was impeached for training private soldiers, who was the royal history? Have you found out? ”

"It doesn't seem to be any kind of school. He has sent someone to watch over his residence, this person is a Jinshi in the forty-first year of Wanli, and he has always been a bit of a straight name. Zhou Yanru has also been impeached before, and it is not the first time. I looked for Wang Chengen, this bullet is placed at the bottom every day, the emperor has not seen it, Zhou Yanru doesn't seem to know, and he didn't mention it in front of the emperor. ”

Song Wenxian opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Dada, "So let you keep an eye on him." It is that the number of forts and soldiers mentioned in this person's impeachment is quite detailed, not far from the true number, and it is not far from the true number, and it is not far from the real number, but it also mentions the opening of the Sihai trading company in Dengzhou, Liaohai smuggling, etc., which is unusual. If someone instructs. The person behind that must have an inside line in Dengzhou Town, and he has to find clues from Jingshi. You can't be taken lightly, the world's money and power are all in Beijing, although Denglai is thousands of miles away, the interests here are always to be fought for, Lord Chen sent you to Beijing, is to entrust you with an extremely important matter. Don't ignore any little things related to Dengju Town. ”

Zhang Dahui heard what Song Wenxian said, and hurriedly said respectfully: "What Mr. Song said is that I have also arranged for someone to keep an eye on him, if there is really someone behind him." There's always some clue to be found. ”

Song Wenxian asked Zhang to pay attention to this person, because this person's impeachment mentioned some inside stories about Dengzhou, although the actual situation in Dengzhou is deeper, but Song Wenxian intuitively feels that this matter is different from ordinary impeachment. Just as he was saying this, the porter hurriedly came in and whispered to Zhang Da. After hearing this, Zhang Dahui waved away from the gatehouse, turned his head to Song Wenxian and said: "Coincidentally, it's the news from the imperial history, Mr. Song, do you know who the people who are watching see who has entered the imperial historian's house?" ”

Song Wenxian asked lightly: "Zhou Yanru's people?" ”

"No, in July, we found a nest of slaves, we didn't remove it, we kept it to see if there were any big fish, today someone came out of the imperial historian's house, and the last thing that person went to was this place."

"Jiannu?" Song Wenxian frowned......

Fanzi Hutong in the inner city of Jingshi, between Ganshi Street and Xixie Street, is different from Zhouzheng of most Hutongs in Jingshi, and the direction is slightly southeast. Most of the brothels in this alley are low-level brothels, and the Ming Dynasty Jingshi called the prostitutes powder, hence the name Fenzi Hutong. On both sides of the street, there are large and small brothels in business, and many women waving handkerchiefs greet customers at the door, their faces covered with a thick layer of white powder, and they can shake off a layer with a grin.

In the alley, there were five or six people standing in the courtyard, dressed in ordinary people's clothes, but they were strong and fierce. There were two corpses on the ground in the room, one of which had been killed by a crossbow, and the other looked like a woman with a stab in the throat.

Zhang Dahui sat in the room, watching the subordinates below use water torture to deal with a captured Houjin spy, which had already used the second round, and the spies could no longer withstand it.

Zhang Dahui waited for the man to cough enough, "Say it, I said it will give you a good time, if you catch a big fish, you will be spared death, and you will be given the silver to fly away." Who gave you the order? ”

The man had just stopped wheezing violently, his face was full of water, the fear of facing death was still reflected on his face, he looked at Zhang Dahui with a painful face, and then turned his head to look at a few other people, he didn't know who these people were, he was from Yongping, Chongzhen was caught by Houjin for three years and then took refuge in Jiannu, Houjin detained his family and sent him to Beijing to carry out activities.

"Don't think about deceiving the young master and me, we can catch you here, your details are clear, don't find yourself a hard time." After bluffing, Zhang Dahui waited for the man to speak.

"The villain recruits, but the villain doesn't know who came to give the order, it's all this ......" The man pointed to the corpse on the ground, "He is the master of the villain, and the woman on the ground is a secret prostitute he bought to settle down in Beijing, every time the master goes out to connect, he comes back and tells us what to do." The last time he brought it, it was the meaning of impeaching Dengzhou, he went to find the imperial history, and gave a thousand taels of silver bullets to impeach Chen Xin, the chief soldier of Dengzhou. ”

Zhang Dahui asked lightly: "What news did you receive recently?" ”

"It is to continue to impeach Chen Xin, saying that he and Geng Zhongming are in partnership in Dengzhou to control zhì Yaxing, and come down to privately divide business taxes, and ......"

Zhang Dada's pupils contracted, only this is what must not be allowed now, and when the Qingzhou general army arrives, there may be nothing, in fact, there are indiscriminate collection of commercial taxes in various places, but the relationship between Geng Zhongming and Chen Xin will arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Zhang Dahui approached the Houjin spy and threatened with a fierce look in his eyes, "Who else have you looked for besides that imperial history?" ”

"No, it's two thousand taels of silver, and he said that he was looking for two imperial histories to impeach, but he embezzled one thousand taels privately, and only found one imperial history."

Zhang Dahui was slightly relieved, and then sneered: "Now Lao Tzu asks you, where is this person, there are always clues to follow, you give me a little bit of recall, everything that is useful can be said, if you can't remember one, every quarter of an hour Lao Tzu will give you a punishment." ”

"The adult spares his life, the villain really doesn't know ......" The spy burst into tears, and the two of them were about to cover his face with cotton cloth again, he immediately asked for mercy, and his siblings struggled desperately, "The villain remembered, the master, the master said it once, say this, this Dajin has someone in Dengzhou, and the official position is not low, even that Liu Zongbing can be seen from time to time." ”

Zhang Dahui was shocked, if it is true, it is a loophole in Yan zhòng, Dengzhou has expanded too fast, and now many people in various divisions have been in recent years, and it is very likely that spies will be mixed in. But if you ask the others, the spy really can't answer, Zhang Dahui used waterboarding twice in a row, and the man's spirit is already extremely weak, and he really can't ask anything.

"Geng Zhongming and Chen Zongbing's collection of business taxes, you have already handed over the matter to the imperial history?"

The spy drooped his head, raised his eyes and glanced at Zhang Da Da blankly, "Handed over." ”

Zhang Dahui touched his chin, his eyes rolled wildly, and a person from the action team next to him came over, "Lord Zhang, the villain can kill the imperial history at night, he has no servants at home, and the villain can pretend that he has a vicious attack." ”

Zhang Dahui thought for a while, this subordinate used to be the Jinan Mansion, his subordinates worked hard, and they were the best at killing people and goods, and it was also a common means to fake the cause of death in the fight, and now the most important thing was not to let the imperial history get the music up, he finally nodded and said: "Let's do it tonight, remember to look at the house after you finish it, if there is a note that has been written, take it away." ”

"Then this person will not stay." The man from the squad gestured to the people on the ground.

"Keep him, you are here to defend inside and outside, if there is no movement on the side of Yushi, there may be other spies to check here, you pay attention to the people who come and go, this time you have to catch him alive."

"Understood."

After Zhang Dahui finished speaking, he stood up and hurriedly went back to Xijiaomi Lane. Judging from the person's words and the content of the impeachment, there is indeed an internal thief, and his status is not too low, because even the matter of the regimental training camp has been mentioned, Dengzhou deliberately eliminated the influence of the imperial court, and the ordinary low-level people do not even know that Liu Minyou is the chief soldier of the regimental training, and only know to call Mr. Liu and Lord Liu. So he needs to do his best to notify the Dengzhou Intelligence Bureau and dig up the person who is hiding inside Dengzhou.