(There is something wrong with the hard drive, and I apologize to the readers for a few days, and I almost can't see Zheng Guanren again)

There were many people who arrived in Changsha Province to know the gunpowder formula, but there were only two kinds of people who wanted to steal it: Mongol spies, and those who wanted to sell the formula to the Mongols for profit.

The Changsha Prefecture immediately put the whole city on guard, strictly checked the people entering and exiting, and locked up all the local gunpowder craftsmen and searched carefully, but found nothing.

Just when the prefect was anxious about this matter, someone released an anonymous letter at the entrance of the government office, which stated that the person who stole the gunpowder formula was Lai Wengong, a well-known family in Jingnan, who had long been secretly colluding with the Mongols to deliver news to the north. This time, the Mongols were thwarted by gunpowder weapons in the Jinghu area, and naturally thought of stealing such top secrets of the Great Song Dynasty through him. Now the gunpowder recipe and the book are still buried somewhere in the corner of the back garden of Laifu, and they have not had time to be delivered. However, after the defense is relaxed a little later, it will be sent to the northern Yunyun immediately.

The prefect was surprised to take this anonymous report letter, Lai Wengong was originally a general of the Jinghu Army and retired in Changsha, and he has always called the township for his loyalty to the country on weekdays, and he is also very enthusiastic about the affairs entrusted by the government. It can be said that in Changsha Mansion, when it comes to loyalty to the country, he Changsha Prefect may not dare to say that he must be comparable to Lai Wengong of Hemingzhuang.

Could such a patriotic-minded man be a spy for Mongolia?

But now that the gunpowder formula can't be found, the prefect has no choice but to take this as the most difficult clue to take a risk.

When the officers and soldiers poured into the Lai family's mansion, although the Lai family was extremely surprised, they did not put up any resistance. The officers and soldiers successfully dug up valuable gunpowder recipes and made books from the location designated by the anonymous letter.

Facts have proved that this Jingnan Haoqiang, who prides himself on serving the country with loyalty, is the culprit of this secret theft case.

It is said that when the criminal officer led the messenger to lock up Lai Wengong, he did not resist, but just sneered a few times. On the contrary, his daughter tried to fight against the officials with weapons, but was stopped by Lai Wengong.

"I still don't trust Weng Weng is really the work of the Mongols" A patrol sergeant sitting on the side said: "Lai Weng is also a person who has eaten the imperial court for many years, and he has made so many contributions to Xiangyang, Tangzhou, and Huangzhou, and has made so many contributions, and he is like a tiger on the battlefield, so he can also defect to the enemy?" ”

Another man who looked like a merchant said: "Don't talk about these big truths, if Lai Weng hadn't built these bridges and paved many roads in the countryside, the villagers of Jingnan would not have had the opportunity to come out and see the world. ”

"It's just a matter of buying people's hearts." A scholar said disdainfully: "People's hearts are separated from their stomachs, and his active performance on weekdays may not be covering for his own deeds." ”

Everyone felt harsh when they heard this, but with the ironclad facts in front of them, it was difficult to refute them.

At this time, I heard a voice sitting in the dark corner of the side hall say: "How unpredictable the human heart is, what is going on in a person's head, can always be expressed in the bits and pieces of life on weekdays, which cannot be concealed no matter how it is concealed." ”

Everyone turned around, and it was a middle-aged scribe who spoke, and he stood up and walked to the fire where everyone was sitting, only to see that this man had a thin face, only a pair of black and white eyes, and occasionally showed a hint of insight into all things.

The scholar said unconvinced: "It's so simple, people don't have sharp eyes, how can you see through how others have a belly?" You say you can see it by the details of your life, but you say, what is in my mind right now? ”

The middle-aged scribe stared at the scholar up and down for a long time, and said: "Your Excellency is not a local, it should be a person from Ganzhou, Jiangxi Road, and now you are settling accounts for people in a pottery firm called Yunchang. ”

When the scholar heard the middle-aged scribe tell his heart like this, he was shocked and angry, and shouted, "Where are you a dog thief?" Whose mouth did you find out where I came from, and came here to deceive? Hurry up and be honest, or I'll arrest you and see the official! ”

The middle-aged scribe laughed, he got up and stood beside Zheng Yunming, and said, "I am under the jurisdiction of Zheng Guanren, the deputy capital of Jing'e, but I am not an unidentified suspicious person, don't treat me as a spy of the Mongols and arrest me to see the official." ”

As he spoke, he took out a document from his sleeve, handed it to Zheng Yunming and said, "Xiaguan Song Ci was on the way to Jinghu to be the prosecutor of the criminal department, and unexpectedly met the general, this is my official certificate. ”

Zheng Yunming was taken aback, he unexpectedly intercepted this detective who was praised by later generations on the way.

When Wei Liaoweng was recuperating in Xiangyang, he often sat and chatted with Zheng Yunming, who came to take care of him, and one day Zheng Yunming inadvertently mentioned that the Great Song Dynasty had a wonderful trial of the criminal officer Song Cilai.

"Father Song Hui of Fujian." Wei Liaoweng held the tea bowl and said slowly: "I am an old acquaintance with him, by the way, he is still your senior, he studied under Professor Zhenfuzi for a year when he was in Taixue, and later passed the Jinshi examination, and transferred to the local official in the road, by the way, Liu Qianfu and he also knew each other, and once made a few poems for him, encouraging him to improve more and more in his career. However, Hui's father has always been good at being good at military and governing the people. Haven't you heard of any special performance in criminal cases? ”

The science of this era has not yet developed and has not yet formed a complex and systematic theoretical system like that of later generations. Therefore, most of the smart and virtuous people at that time were erudite and knowledgeable. For example, Shen Kuo's knowledge covers almost most of the disciplines of natural science, and it is naturally an individual case. However, there are many Confucian scholars who have experienced several completely different professions in their lives like Song Ci, but Song Ci's later contributions to the criminal name are too prominent than his management of the army and the people.

Zheng Yunming was pleasantly surprised, and he immediately asked Wei Liaoweng to write a chapter, asking the imperial court to quickly transfer Song Ci, who was then the county magistrate of Changting County, Fujian Road, to Jinghu to serve as an official under the official affairs of the prison.

It doesn't matter what he will do now, let's reserve some talents for himself first.

But Zheng Yunming's love for generals who do not attack all the time and place is not playing a role this time. It was precisely because Song Ci was transferred from Fujian Road at this time that there was a big mess in Fujian.

Of course, that's all for later.

After Song Ci received the official transfer document from the Ministry of Officials, he immediately set off with two retinues, from Fujian to the north to Jiangxi Road, and then from Jiangxi Road to Changsha, where he was ready to take a boat from the Yangtze River to Xiangyang Mansion. I didn't want to be in Changsha, but I first met Zheng Yunming, the deputy capital of Jinghu.

Everyone was taken aback, but they didn't expect that this young scholar was actually the famous young general Zheng Yunming. Zheng Yunming hurriedly gestured to Song Ci, and the two left the side hall and came to the atrium.

Zheng Yunming stared at Song Ci and asked in a low voice, "How does the procuratorate know that I am Zheng Yunming?" ”

Song Ci said slowly: "Although the general is wearing civilian clothes, he has a sword at his waist, and he must be a person who acts in the army." A scholar of this age in the army originally had a slight amount, and if he was not a relative of the chief, he must have been a new staff member of the shogunate. ”

"It is inevitable that all staff members have to deal with a lot of official correspondence, and most of them have ink on their hands. The general did not have any ink on his hands, but there were calluses left by holding a bow and practicing swords. ”

"And the people who followed the general were all envoys and utility-level personal soldiers, what kind of general's henchmen and generals could bring more than a dozen pro-soldiers of the government office to Changsha to do business? In addition, they galloped all the way from the upstream, and the saddles of the war horses were all remembered by the deputy capital of Jing and Hubei, and Zheng Yunming, the deputy capital of Jing and Hubei, was only a young man in his early twenties, of course, he would not have children and nephews to serve in the army, and he had never heard that there were brothers in his army, so you are naturally the deputy capital commander himself. ”

Zheng Yunming exclaimed: "I have heard for a long time that Song Hui's father in Fujian is resourceful, and when I see it today, it is really extraordinary, it is simply more than Fu I mean, Mr. has such eyesight." I'm afraid that the world will never find a second one. What did you deduce, scholar? ”

"That scholar is well dressed, obviously found a good livelihood, he carried a long rectangular and angular in the bookbag is obviously an abacus, he has a faint smell of tung oil, and came from the southwest, thinking that Ganzhou is a famous timber producing area, boldly guess that he should be a helper for Ganzhou timber shop, it should not be wrong."

Zheng Yunming asked: "But he failed the imperial examination three years ago, how did Mr. know?" ”

"This is simpler, you see that the corner of his bookbag exposes the corner of a book, even if it only shows a little corner, it must be the engraved version of the "University" in the second year of Taiping Xingguo. Since he has the ambition to make a name for himself, how could he not participate in the imperial examination three years ago? Seeing that he must be a smart person when he speaks, he is very good at his homework since he was a child, so that he has developed a self-conceited and arrogant character, and he goes to the exam with such a contemptuous heart, how can he not suffer defeat? However, once these people are frustrated, they will not admit that they have not succeeded in learning, and they must be blamed on poor performance on the spot, and they will only redouble their efforts to try to turn the situation back, but recently, the imperial examination questions in the imperial court are extremely difficult, and even the students who are wholeheartedly studying for the examination are shouting headaches. This scholar thought that he could try again while working and studying, and he thought that the national exam was too simple. ”

"When you say it, it will be like seeing the sun." Zheng Yunming said: "I can recruit talents like Mr. Jinghu under my command, which is really a blessing for millions of people in Jinghu." ”

Song Ci listened to Zheng Yunming's compliments, and he was secretly happy in his heart, but he didn't show his face, he asked Zheng Yunming: "The general has the heavy responsibility of guarding the gate, so why can he easily leave Xiangyang and come to Changsha?" ”