Yan Qi, the chief shopkeeper of the world's carriages and horses, is also the president of the Beijing branch of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, and a loyal businessman who was praised by Emperor Chongzhen two months ago.

Now, Yan Qi, a loyal businessman, has been taken into the prison of Shuntian Mansion.

Xu Liangyu thought that he had misheard, and glared at the Tsing Yi guard spy and asked, "Why is Shuntian Mansion the shopkeeper of Suona Yan?" What crime? ”

The spy said: "The officials of the Shuntian Mansion who took the people said that the shopkeeper of Yan gathered a crowd to fight and despised the imperial city!" ”

I see! It's about a fight with the people of the Chengguo Mansion near Quang Ninh Gate a few days ago. However, Xu Liang was even more puzzled, at the scene of the previous fight, Zhu Shisan, the housekeeper of the Chengguo Mansion, still disdained to use the power of the government, and now that Chengguo Gong was the second largest shareholder of Xishan Coal Mine, there was no reason to instruct Shuntian Mansion to find trouble with Yan Qi.

Xu Liang felt that things were not simple, so he drove straight to the Chengguo Mansion.

When he arrived at the Chengguo Mansion, he didn't have time to sigh at the grandeur of the hereditary Mansion, so Xu Liang ordered someone to smash the door.

As soon as the door was slammed, the main gate of the Chengguo Mansion opened, and four or five doors ran out of it, greeted Xu Liang with a fierce momentum, and asked, "Who is so bold?" Dare to smash the gate of the Guogong Mansion! ”

When Xu Liang came, he had not yet taken off the official robe of the third grade, and when he heard this, he stepped forward coldly, and said in a deep voice: "Xu Liang, the official Guanglu Temple, wants to see your grandfather Chengguo!" ”

The leading disciple looked at Xu Liang suspiciously, and snorted lightly: "Our grandfather is busy, how can he see it if he wants to?" ”

Xu Liang's heart was full of anger, and he shouted: "The atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty has really changed, and even a few lowly disciples dare to talk to this official like this!" "Say it. Xu Liang raised his feet straight and rushed into the Chengguo Mansion.

"Hey, you can't go in!" The leading disciple shouted.

Xu Liang snorted lightly. Nodding to the Tsing Yi guards who followed him, the guards stepped forward. With three fists and two kicks, he pressed the five doors to the edge of the door.

"I don't know if I'm alive or dead!" Xu Liang scolded, then pushed open the main gate and walked towards the Chengguo Mansion.

Seeing this, the leading disciple shouted angrily: "Come on, someone has trespassed on the Guogong Mansion!" ”

As soon as he finished shouting, he ate a few heavy punches from Tsing Yiwei, and suddenly he couldn't straighten his waist in pain, and his face turned the color of pig liver.

The defense force of the Guogong Mansion is really good, and the door shouted. Immediately alarmed the guards in the Guogong Mansion, only to see that there were many people in the mansion, shuttling endlessly, and in a blink of an eye, more than a dozen guards in the mansion stopped in front of Xu Liang.

The person who guarded the leader was actually an old acquaintance, but he was a strong man who was in the Guangning coal yard that day, holding a bench and showing his might, and he was originally the manager of the outer courtyard in the Chengguo Mansion. The surname is Ke Mingteng.

Steward Ke shouted: "Who trespassed on the Guogong Mansion?!" ”

Xu Liang raised his head and said: "Xu Liang, the official of Guanglu Temple, wants to see Chengguo Gong!" ”

Steward Ke was taken aback, took two steps back, and looked at Xu Liang with a frightened expression: "Ah." It's you!!! That day, after Steward Zhu came back, he told Steward Ke about Xu Liang's identity. Yes, Steward Ke also knew that the master in the carriage that day was Xu Liang, the Qing of Guanglu Temple. See the Lord today. He thought of Xu Liang's divine might, and couldn't help but be terrified. Besides, Steward Ke learned from Steward Zhu's mouth. Grandpa Guo has formed an alliance with this Lord Xu, but he can't figure out why Xu Liang came to the door.

"Xu, Lord Xu," Steward Ke stammered, "It's unfortunate that you came, Grandpa Guo went out to visit friends, and he is not in the house at the moment." ”

The guards of the Guogong Mansion behind him saw that Steward Ke, who had always been known for his violent performance of force, was so polite to this Lord Xu who came to the door, and couldn't help but shout indignantly: "Steward Ke, this person is rude, we don't have to be polite to him, take him down first and then make a plan!" ”

"Shut up!" Seeing that Xu Liang seemed to be smiling on his face, Steward Ke was afraid of annoying this master, so he hurriedly stopped his subordinates, and bowed his hand to Xu Liang again: "Lord Xu, what do you have to find Grandpa Guo?" Ahem, the little Ke Teng, who is the manager of the outer courtyard of the Guogong Mansion, if Lord Xu has any urgent matters, he can tell him to convey it. ”

Xu Liang looked at this tower-like strong man, and arched his hand slightly: "It turned out to be Ke in charge, since Grandpa Guo is not here, then you can call the person in charge of the Guogong Mansion, and the official has something to ask him." ”

Steward Ke pondered for a while and said, "Lord Xu, wait a minute, Steward Zhu is in the mansion, and the little one will invite him to come over to see Lord Xu." ”

"It's fine."

Steward Ke arranged for a guard to invite Steward Zhu, but he himself stayed behind and accompanied Xu Liang to stand in the courtyard. In fact, Steward Ke was more worried that the dozen or so guards under him who were above the top would offend Xu Liang, accompanying Xu Liang on the one hand, and staring at these guards on the other.

After a while, Zhu Shisan hurriedly walked out of the inner courtyard, stood in front of Xu Liang, and said suspiciously: "Lord Xu is so anxious to find Grandpa Guo, what happened?" ”

Xu Liang stared at Steward Zhu scrutinically, and said in a deep voice: "This morning, Yan Qi, the big shopkeeper of all the cars and horses in the world, was arrested by the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion, and the crime of arresting people was gathering crowds to fight. Does Steward Zhu know about this? ”

Steward Zhu was stunned for a while, and when he saw Xu Liang staring at him, he hurriedly arched his hand and said, "This ...... I really don't know. ”

Xu Liang snorted lightly and asked, "Isn't this matter from the instructions of the Chengguo Mansion?" ”

Steward Zhu knew that Xu Liang had misunderstood, and hurriedly and solemnly explained: "Lord Xu has misunderstood, Grandpa Guo and Lord Xu are already partners, we all know that Shopkeeper Yan is Lord Xu's person, so how can we embarrass Shopkeeper Yan!" The shopkeeper Yan was arrested, and Zhu dared to guarantee that it had nothing to do with the Chengguo Mansion! ”

Xu Liang looked at Steward Zhu scrutinically, as if thinking about the credibility of Steward Zhu's words.

Seeing this, Steward Zhu said in his heart: Shopkeeper Yan was arrested, although it was not directly instructed by the Chengguo Mansion, but it had something to do with the Chengguo Mansion. Then he arched his hand towards Xu Liang and said, "However, Lord Xu can rest assured, Zhu will go to Shuntianfu to ask about it." If it was really instructed by someone from the Guogong Mansion, Zhu would definitely give Lord Xu a satisfactory explanation. ”

Zhu Shisan's words were all said about this, and Xu Liang also felt reasonable, so he nodded and said, "Then the official is waiting for the news of Steward Zhu." ”

"Yes, Master Xu walks slowly."

Everyone in the Chengguo Mansion watched Xu Liang's carriage leave in a hurry, and Steward Zhu called two guards. He rushed to the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion.

A group of guards hurriedly brought back the five men at the door, and several guards saw that one of them was beaten and vomited yellow water. couldn't help but angrily said to Ke Guan Shi: "Steward, when have the people of our Guogong Mansion been beaten?" This little Guanglu Siqing is also too presumptuous. Don't take our Chengguo Mansion in your eyes at all! Steward, you should leave this man behind! ”

The guards followed suit. Steward Ke glared at the guard strangely, and sneered, "You still want to keep Lord Xu? ”

As he spoke, he pointed to the foreheads of the guards and scolded: "Just you gang of waste materials, all of them are not enough for people to move a finger!" ”

The guards were scolded by Steward Ke, and said unconvinced: "Steward, our skills are low, and we may not be able to beat them." Isn't this the number one warrior of our Guogong Mansion, Ke is in charge of you! ”

Steward Ke shook his head and said with palpitations: "Me? I can't either! I don't even know how Lord Xu came out with the knife, how can I be Lord Xu's opponent! ”

"Huh?"

The guards were stunned.

To say that the face of this Chengguo Mansion is indeed very big, Xu Liang came back from the Chengguo Mansion for less than two hours, and the Yan shopkeeper put it back with all his beards.

Looking at Yan Qi standing in front of him, Xu Liang smiled and said, "It's good that the shopkeeper Yan comes back safe and sound." ”

Shopkeeper Yan arched his hand and said: "My lord, this time my subordinates were able to be released from prison so quickly, I heard that it was the Chengguo Mansion that came forward to speak." ”

Xu Liang said: "I heard that you were arrested." I went to the Chengguo Mansion to ask for an explanation. Now it seems that Cheng Guogong's face is really big. ”

Shopkeeper Yan nodded with a smile, and when Xu Liang asked about the details of being arrested, he told Xu Liang in detail the whole process of being arrested in the prison of Shuntian Mansion. Xu Liang said a few words of comfort. Send someone to escort the shopkeeper Yan back to the carriage.

After Yan Qi left, Xu Liang turned to ask Tietou: "The shopkeeper Yan was arrested, someone must be targeting us behind him." Did Tsing Yi Wei find out anything? ”

Tietou arched his hand and said, "Young Master." Checked out some. The person who took people to arrest Yan Qi in Shuntian Mansion was not Yin Gu Dacheng of Shuntian Mansion. It's one of them, Ma Yuan. Two hours ago. Steward Zhu of the Chengguo Mansion went to the Shuntian Mansion to find Lord Yin Gu, and after a while, the Yan shopkeeper was released. ”

Xu Liang pondered, and said slowly: "So, this matter is not the instruction of the Gu Governor's Mansion, but the Ma Mansion Envoy?" ”

Tietou nodded and said, "Young master, don't worry, I have asked Tsing Yiwei to check the bottom of Ma Fu Cheng, I believe that it will not be long before the eighteen generations of Ma Fu Cheng's ancestors will be turned out for him." ”

Speaking of this, Tietou said again: "By the way, young master, you said that on the day of the seizure of the Guangning Coal Yard, the officers and soldiers of the Jiucheng Terracotta Division came so quickly, it was not a normal thing, the brothers checked, and it was General Liu Biao of the Terracotta Division who took people there that day, but General Liu Bi also received a notice from others, so he hurriedly led the troops there." ”

"Who is the person who informed General Liu Bi?"

"This ...... Unless Liu Bijiang himself is interrogated, it will be difficult to find out. "The iron head is embarrassed.

Xu Liang commanded viciously: "Give me a careful investigation of Ma Yuan and this Liu Bijiang, who is in their family and who brought it up, you must find out!" ”

"Yes!" The iron head answered.

When Xu Liangshang was checking who was behind his back, another uninvited guest came to the Dongjiang Courtyard.

In the living room, Yin Gu Dacheng of Shuntian Mansion owed a debt, rubbed his hands, and said with an embarrassed face: "Forgive me, Lord Xu, this official is not strict under the rule, and his subordinates mistakenly arrested the Yan shopkeeper, causing such a big trouble to Lord Xu, I am really sorry, this time this official came to apologize to Lord Xu." ”

Xu Liang smiled, as if he didn't care, and said to Gu Governor's Mansion: "Lord Gu is serious. This matter is already clear to the official, it has nothing to do with Lord Gu, it is done by a man surnamed Ma. ”

When Yin Gu Dacheng of Shuntian Mansion heard this, he was even more surprised. From the time the shopkeeper Yan was arrested into Shuntian Mansion to the time he was released, it was less than three hours in total, and Xu Liang actually knew who the person who arrested people was. This also further affirmed the judgment of Gu Zhifu, this Guanglu Temple Secretary Xu Liang, and the relationship between the Chengguo Mansion is really not shallow.

Otherwise, how could a small business shopkeeper be able to work as the housekeeper of the Guogong Mansion, Zhu Shisan, known as the Thirteenth Master, went to save people in person!

Xu Liang smiled unfathomably, but Gu Zhifu deeply felt that Xu Liang, the secretary of Guanglu Temple in front of him, had a deep background, and it seemed that he personally came to apologize, which was extremely correct.

Originally, Yan Qi's arrest did not cause any actual losses, and the dignified third-grade officials of the Gu Governor's Mansion personally came to the door to apologize, and it was impossible for Xu Liang to make a big deal about it.

Therefore, Xu Liang and Gu Zhifu were hypocritically polite in the living room, and Gu Zhifu saw that the meaning of the expression was in place, so he got up and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, Xu Liang said unintentionally at this time: "To say that the Ma Fucheng in Lord Gu's yamen is too disrespectful to Shangguan, arresting such a major matter as a loyal businessman who has been praised by His Majesty, and he dares to take someone to arrest him without asking Lord Yin?" If such a subordinate is placed in the official's Guanglu Temple, the official has to let him go as far as he wants. Save me the trouble. ”

Gu Zhifu's expression moved when he heard this, and he knew that Xu Liang was hinting that he would take care of this self-asserted Ma Fucheng after he went back.

Just thinking of Ma Fucheng's background, Gu Zhifu smiled helplessly, and said to Xu Liang: "Lord Xu has a good way to control his subordinates, this official heard that since Lord Xu took office as the secretary of Guanglu Temple, the entire Guanglu Temple has obeyed Lord Xu's orders, which is really the envy of this official." Alas, it's just that the official Shuntianfu Yamen is a little complicated, although the Ma Fucheng is a subordinate of the official, but the origin of the people is very big, and I, the Shuntianfu Yin, sometimes can't command him. ”

Xu Liang's expression moved, and he asked in surprise: "What is the origin of this Ma Fucheng?" How dare you not buy Lord Gu's account? ”

Gu Zhifu smiled bitterly, looked around, arched his hand towards Xu Liang, and said, "It's not too early, there are still some things to deal with in this official yamen, so let's leave." ”

"Master Gu walks slowly." When Xu Liang heard this, he had to get up and send him off.

The two walked to the gate of the Dongjiang Courtyard, and when they were about to part, Gu Zhifu paused for a moment in front of the official sedan chair, as if he suddenly remembered something, looked up at the sky, and muttered softly: "If you want to talk about this Ma Fucheng, it is also a person from the Great Yamen Metropolitan Courtyard, and the official frame is very big on weekdays......

After that, Gu Zhifu arched his hand towards Xu Liang, got into the official sedan chair, and with the official sedan chair started, he went back to the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion.

Xu Liang stood at the door of the courtyard, gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Metropolitan Procuratorate!" Cao Yubian! It's really ghostly! ”

Back in the study, Xu Liang was still angry. Since Xu Liang became an official, Cao Yubian, the imperial historian of the left capital, has been against him and suppressed Xu Liang everywhere. If it weren't for Xu Liang's luck, he would also be angry, and he would be an ordinary official, but I was afraid that he would have been framed and killed by Cao Gelao. Now that Xu Liang is the secretary of Guanglu Temple, he is not an important official yamen, so it is said that he can't hinder Cao Ge Lao at all, but Cao Ge Lao still refuses to let him go!

There is a way that you are not afraid of thieves stealing, but you are afraid of thieves! Cao Ge Lao always aimed at Xu Liang with a haunt, and Xu Liang couldn't bear it anymore!

If you can't bear it, you don't need to endure it anymore!

Xu Liang slammed his fist on the desk, and shouted in a deep voice outside: "Go and ask the Imperial History Huang Daozhou to come over." (To be continued.) )