Chapter 101: Catching the Thief (5)

Zeng Du now feels very comfortable, although now the functions of the three envoys are not as good as before, if in the past, the three envoys are the court in the hands of the financial power of the complementary, in charge of the household department, salt tea, degree branch, known as the count, now the household department has become a self-contained, the prince is in charge of the household department has become a case, and later the degree branch is also taken back, in this way, the three divisions of the yamen have become the salt division, the iron division, the tea division, the three divisions, the power is naturally not comparable with before.

But then again, since Emperor Sejong, these three divisions of the yamen have become the forbidden side of the inner palace, and the envoys of the three divisions are all cronies and eunuchs from the palace without exception, but now the person in charge of affairs has been replaced by him, a foreign minister, what does this mean? First, it is the trust of the current emperor.

These two comes, but they are inseparable from the full support of His Royal Highness the Prince, and there are some reasons that are not humane, foreign ministers and eunuchs are natural opponents, and how many things have been bad in the hands of these eunuchs throughout the ages? Now that the emperor is getting older, he is not so concerned about the government and politics, it seems that he has some thoughts of delegating power to the prince, and how many people have begun to rush to show loyalty to the future emperor, and his father has also seen this kind of shape before he threw himself into the prince, and His Royal Highness the prince is a corporal of Lixian, and his generosity and benevolence are no less than when his majesty is in the prime of life. One strongly advocated that the three divisions of the yamen be handed over to the hands of the foreign ministers, and the stroke of the court was even more popular, and the five princes and the first family were already pressed and could not raise their heads, and he had benefited from it.

Thinking of this, the corners of Zeng Du's mouth turned up slightly, but he held it, and he didn't show the smugness in his heart at all, their Zeng family was a Confucian heirloom. The most important grace, his father is already old, there is no room for progress in the position of Shangshu, and now all the hopes are pinned on him, he is in the prime of life and sits in the position of the third envoy, who can say that in a few years when the new emperor ascends the throne, he will not become the central counselor? At that time, the position of the first assistant of the dynasty will no longer be so unattainable, right? Now he has begun to grasp the prime minister's bearing. Although it is a little deliberate, who is born to be a prime minister? Isn't this temperament sharpened?

There was a pair of people who dealt with the cautious stammering of the salt supervisor next to him, but he was thinking about his own thoughts, but speaking of which, all he heard on the way out of Beijing was such compliments. He suddenly got to a high position, and he was a little unaccustomed to it at first, but after listening to it more, he was able to deal with it calmly. From time to time, he laughs casually, which can always make the other party feel flattered and flattered, and he enjoys this feeling of being watched by everyone and paying attention to every word and deed.

However, it is not without ignorance and knowledge, the captain of the front division of the palace did not mean to take him as the third envoy in his eyes at all, and he didn't know how the military department sent such a person, in addition to the responsibility of daily guards. It was to urge him to hurry, of course, the words would not be so clear, a lieutenant in front of the palace did not dare to be too presumptuous in front of him, but along the way, this kind of noise that kept ringing in his ears really made him a little annoyed.

But after coming to Gongyi County, I heard that there was a bandit here, and it was not very peaceful. Zeng Du, who was not very polite along the way, also had a much gentler attitude towards this captain. After all, there is still a place to help, and the captain is much more cautious. No more talking about getting on the road sooner.

And Zeng Du's unpleasantness is only secondary, inspecting the salt affairs in various places, this is his current errand, but I don't know if I don't see it, after the bad things about the big eunuch in the palace, the salt affairs have not been determined until now, and the people below have been disturbed and entangled in interests, and the relationship has become a mess in the past two years, and the relationship is even more intertwined, and it is not easy to sort it out in a short time, not to mention that he was the first envoy of the three divisions, in addition to the salt affairs, there are also tea and iron affairs, which cannot be slowed down, so it is just a matter of watching the flowers, He also knew that he was really a hot potato.

The reason why the itinerary is so fast is that most of them are that he doesn't have any regulations, and he is anxious to go back to Beijing after reading it and then pondering it carefully, this matter is indeed urgent, appointing cronies, sorting out the cadres, how can it be complicated to say, it is not so easy to be a famous minister in the world, Zeng Du is also calm, and he sees some things in his eyes, but he does not say it, just wait for the thoughtfulness of thinking before making a decision.

As for the small officials in Gongyi County who didn't come to see him, although he felt a little uncomfortable, he didn't care much, these martial artists were unruly one by one, he didn't know what Sven was, and he was too lazy to see the ground.

"This salt farm produces 700 catties of salt in January, there are 500 salt people, including 300 civilian servants, because there are bandits, so in the past year there have been 200 more people, fortunately, the regimental training forbidden army is not far away, day and night can come, and the people here are also very relieved." The words of Zhang Shiwen, the chubby salt supervisor next to him, reached Zeng Du's ears.

Zeng Du looked at it casually for a while, and couldn't help sneering in his heart, along the way, the salt farm didn't know how much he had seen, and how much he knew the joints, no longer what others said and heard when he first came out of Beijing, that is, he didn't look at the scale of the salt farm, the other party said the number of seven hundred catties, and he could also know that the salt produced in the salt farm was at least about 1,000 catties, and the other party said that it was seven hundred catties, one could only be said less, and the other was to include the transportation loss, official interception, etc., but he didn't say anything, just smiled and nodded slightly.

This salt field is not very big, there is no need to compare anything here, this is a remote location, although he said a word in Beijing, here will be turned upside down, but what can be done if you change people, maybe you have to play some tricks to fool it, maybe by then even 700 catties will be gone, and it is said that this little official named Zhang Shiwen is still from a big family here, don't look down on the big clans in these places, but it can also be said to be calling for wind and rain in the locality, if it is a new person. It's one thing to do it or not, offend the following people, it's a matter whether the salt tax can be collected or not, Daqin is pretty good here, it is said that the salt affairs in the Jin country are controlled by a few Jurchen clans, and the private salt is overflowing, and the salt tax can't catch up with the current Sancheng of Daqin, let alone the southern land. The officials of the salt affairs were all bought with money, and they wanted those guys who only had Brother Kong Fang in their eyes to do anything, no less than a fool's dream, thinking like this in their hearts, so they didn't say anything.

In the evening, Zhang Shiwen set up a banquet in the salt field to catch the wind for the three envoys, and the salt field was brightly lit, so everyone who could say something here came to accompany him. The county order, the county officer, and the master are all there, and the cups are staggered, and the sound of singing and dancing. The atmosphere is harmonious and joyful.

"The man's home is on the south side of the village, and the camp of the forbidden army has been explored, and it is far from the village. We crept in and slaughtered the man, and when they found out, we were probably dozens of miles away, and they couldn't catch up with us. ”

"Where does that Forbidden Army Brigade Marshal live?"

"Chief, that brigade commander lives on the edge of the barracks, although there are no people, it is difficult to get close quietly, there are so many people during the Qingming Festival. I didn't see anyone come up, and the brothers just looked at it from a distance, and I don't know what is nearby, and once we alarm those forbidden troops, none of us can escape, I think ......"

"Don't think about those who have or don't, the order from above, not only the head of the person. I also want the life of this brigade commander. When the work was done, everyone had two hundred taels of silver. As long as everyone does it cleanly, you will be able to get away with it for a year and a half, if you can't do it, then everyone's head will have to be taken to make up the number.

Little San'er, are the horses ready? ”

"Don't worry, just put it in the woods two miles away, everyone will leave immediately after finishing their work."

"Okay, little San'er, you go there and wait for us, if we haven't come back after two hours, you can leave immediately, don't wait for us anymore, go directly to Gongyi County, don't delay for half a minute, you have to leave someone to go back to report the news, right?"

In a forest five or six miles away from Zhaojiazhuang, more than a dozen figures sat or lay in a circle, at this time the sky was already dark, these people were all dressed in black clothes, covered their faces with black cloth, and only showed a pair of eyes shining in the dark night.

Cheng Kun said this, but he didn't have much support in his heart, maybe it was last time...... This Gongyi County has been regarded as a murderous place by him, and things seem to be in order, but the more this is the case, the more he has a sense of foreboding.

Thinking so in his heart, but he is more and more calm and calm, although there are not many people he brought this time, but each has a good kung fu, since the strong attack is not successful, he has to come secretly, there is nothing to say, the characters in the rivers and lakes are dead, since the day he voted for the prince, he has this consciousness, he is not a stupid person, how can the prince let him do these things that can be said? is lucky not to die, the prince will ascend the throne in the future, he didn't expect that His Royal Highness the prince could give him an official and a half-job, most of the people who came at that time were not a few killers, or a cup of poisonous wine, if they could be raised anywhere, it would be a blessing to invite the heavens, but the husband acted, he had to have clear grievances, anyway, this life was saved by him, and it was given back to him, and there was nothing to complain about.

The mind must be clear, his eyes instantly sharpened, and he said in a deep voice: "Let's talk ugly things ahead, there is only one rule, do things well, and then listen to my orders, if there is any chaos, don't blame the brother for turning his face and not recognizing people." ”

His eyes circled around everyone, and then he turned his head to look at the brightly lit salt field in the distance, and his face under the black cloth smiled slightly, and then he turned around and continued: "Cheer up your spirits, be cautious, okay, don't talk nonsense, go." ”

"Here they are." Du Shanhu came to Zhao Shi's side and whispered, his tongue licking his somewhat dry lips, and he smiled fiercely in the dark.

"Where's that over there?"

"Don't worry, the fox and the red devil are all watching over there, and they will definitely not let a guy go out of Gongyi County."

Li Xuanjin was standing behind Zhao Shi, they were in a house at the head of the village at this time, not far from Mr. Zheng's house, there were not many people in the old village, and at this time it was even quieter that only the whirring wind could be heard, Li Xuanjin's hand was shaken and loosened, released and held, the first time such an experience. He was nervous as you can imagine, mixed with excitement and worry, and he didn't know what it was like.

As he spoke, there were already screams outside, and such an ambush was familiar to these forbidden troops, except for burying some bamboo sticks around the courtyard and digging some deep pits the size of the soles of feet, they did not make much preparation. With mental calculations or unintentionalities, they can't catch more than a dozen people, and they have been training for so long in vain.

With the shouts of killing, the more than 100 soldiers who had already been ambushed around had already surrounded the surroundings in an instant, and the torches were also lit, shining here as if it was daylight, and the people who were surrounded in the middle were panicked, where was there a chance to resist. There are a few who are still waiting to resist stubbornly, and they are immediately shot down by the bow and crossbow, and at this time, no matter how high your kung fu is, it will be in vain.

"All kneel, and those who resist are killed."

"Put down your weapons. Spare you from dying. ”

……。

In the chaotic roar, two people with knives were shot into hedgehogs, and a few people who accidentally stepped on the stick rolled on the ground and howled, and the scene couldn't help but look a little chaotic.

When the first scream sounded, Cheng Qi already knew that he couldn't do it. His heart was full of horror, the last situation still seemed to happen yesterday, of course, it didn't leave a good impression on him, except for fear is fear......

"The wind is tight, it's." Almost without hesitation, a roar blurted out, and there was no time to care about others. When he turned around, he was already running out of the village.

But it was still too late, the firelight flashed, almost instantly, the torches were all lit, and he couldn't even open his eyes under the bright light, and he couldn't care about much, his body rushed straight out, this was a prepared trap. At this time. He didn't care why the other party seemed to have expected it, and clenched the horizontal knife in his hand. Secretly ruthless in his heart, if he wants to escape, he has to see if he works hard.

But he didn't have that chance at all, the sound of the bowstring, he only felt a chill in his legs, and then he rolled to the ground in severe pain, surrounded by dense footsteps, in despair, he did not hesitate to return the knife to his neck, but the movement was a little slower, and there was a sharp pain in his wrist, "The thief bird is stiff." With a loud roar, his wrist was already stomped on the ground, and then the fists and kicks rained down, and when he was groggy and dragged from the ground, his whole body was already like mud.

Barely opened his eyes, which had been beaten and only had a gap, and in a blur, he saw several people coming to him.

When Zhao Shi accompanied Li Xuanjin out, the short chaos had passed, the corpses were carried away and buried, all the people who were still alive were tied up solidly, and the black cloth covering their faces was also dragged down, revealing their true colors.

"This is the guy who brought someone here last time, hehe, don't look at this bastard who is beaten now, but speaking of which, he still looks like a human dog......" Du Shanhu pointed to Cheng Kun, who was no longer human, and said to Zhao Shi, he also recognized this person for a long time, I have to say that these forbidden soldiers are now beating people and getting longer, although the appearance looks extremely miserable, and he can't even stand steadily, but this person has no injuries except for his legs on the ground.

Zhao Shi waved his hand and stopped his conversation, "How many have you caught?" ”

Du Shanhu smiled, "Four died, six were injured, either on the legs or on the soles of the feet, don't get in the way, just treat it, there are seven of them, these bastards don't have a long memory, so if you want to come to us to find a bargain, it's no different from sending them to death." ”

Zhao Shi glanced at Du Shanhu, who looked like he was not addicted, and said in a deep voice: "They are smart, if they don't know the news in advance, maybe something will happen, if you blindly look like this, maybe one day you will have to be like them." ”

After speaking, Du Shanhu, who immediately wilted, turned his face to look at Li Xuanjin, "Brother Huang, do you want to ask these people first, or ......?"

Li Xuanjin's face was red under the firelight, his eyes flashed with a ghostly light, and he clapped his palms and said: "What is there to ask, the moon is shining well tonight, and the interest is also strong, it is really unreasonable not to disturb the dream of the third envoy, Lord Zhao is willing to accompany me on a journey?" ”

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