Five miles behind the Doulu cavalry, there was a makeshift caravan of five or six men, who were veiled and masked, leading camels and keeping a distance from the cavalry.

The lieutenant had an extra heart, and immediately sent someone back to investigate. More than a dozen horsemen galloped and pulled out a long dust belt to encircle the caravan.

The merchant appeared very calm, led the camel to a halt, raised his head and ripped off the scarf, showing a confused expression.

The team was pulling the restless horse's head, and turned sideways from the horse to ask, "Where did you come from, and where do you want to go?" ”

The leader replied with a forked hand: "Captain Qiqi, we are merchants near Lanzhou City, and we have accumulated some capital to go to Tingzhou to buy some leather goods. ”

The team was looking over the faces of these people, and then scanning the goods on the camels' backs, before waving their horsewhips and leading the crowd and saying, "Let's go!"

The leader looked at the distant figure of the cavalry, slowly loosened the reins, and unconsciously sweated in his palms. He turned around and instructed the people behind him, "Let's slow down and stay a little farther away from the Hexi Doulu army." ”

The accomplice who was with him asked beside him, "Since the two of them are escorted by the Hexi Army, why do we have to follow?" ”

"Hugh has to say more, our purpose is to ensure that the surname Xiao and the person surnamed Yuan can bring the evidence back safe and sound, and nothing else needs to be done."

The leader said loudly to the rear: "Hide all the long weapons you carry, and the next stop is Yangguan, so as not to move your head." ”

The horizon gradually stretched forward, and a mottled wind-eroded wall stretched across the ground.

……

Xiao Hua tightened his horse and looked up at the semi-military fortress in front of him, the banner of the Chamber of Commerce was waving in the wind on the top of the watchtower, and on the battlements of the earthen wall stood a few swordsmen with their heads wrapped in their heads, looking at the officials below and the Doulu army cavalry behind them with a detached and wary expression.

Yuan Zai untied the bamboo tube from the horse, took out the yellow silk silk cloth from it, opened it with both hands and read aloud: "Under the door!" Lang Zhongxiao of the Criminal Department of the Ministry of Death and Punishment was the inspection envoy, and Yuan Zai was the deputy envoy, to thoroughly investigate the case of the Western Regions Chamber of Commerce monopolizing the commercial road and collecting money, and a civil and military official in Hexi was not allowed to stop it. The edict is like the right, and it is pursued!"

He rolled up the yellow silk, stuffed it back into the bamboo tube, let go of his voice and shouted: "The Western Regions Chamber of Commerce is waiting, don't come out to greet it quickly." ”

As soon as his words fell, the gate of the earthen fort creaked open to both sides, and several tents wearing black gauze and Shu brocade robes led a bunch of laborers in brown clothes to kneel on both sides of the doorway.

Xiao Hua shook the reins of the horse and slowly moved forward, came to these kneeling people, looked down coldly, and said: "Just a businessman, you dare to occupy land and build a fort, you really should fight!" ”

Everyone lowered their heads, threw their hands on the ground and responded, "Please forgive your sins." ”

"Get up, I'm not talking about you, where is the head of the Western Regions Chamber of Commerce, why don't you come out to greet you quickly."

When everyone heard this, they looked at each other nervously and buried their heads even lower.

Xiao Hua raised his voice and shouted again: "Where is the head of the Chamber of Commerce?" ”

An old man kneeling at the front raised his head and crossed his hands: "Venerable Envoy, the president of the Chamber of Commerce has gone to the Indian branch a few months ago, and he will not be able to come back for a while. ”

"And what about the vice-president?"

The few people kneeling at the front all straightened up and saluted, but it was the old man at the front who spoke: "Several of us are vice presidents, and we use the method of taking turns to be on duty, and today it is the turn of the contemptible people." ”

"Then you will lead us into the account room, and take out all the account books and signed contracts and check them one by one."

The people stood up and led Xiao Hua Yuan into the fort, they turned over and dismounted, and the horsemen led their mounts to the stable.

Xiao Hua looked up and looked around, the fort building, warehouse, main hall and other buildings where he stayed were all available, and the laborers standing in the courtyard looked at them two uninvited guests with indifference or even malice. He lamented in his heart that these people did not understand the reason, and chose to join the thieves for a small profit. No, how dull are the people, they only know three meals a day, and whoever can feed them, they will turn to whomever they want.

His expression returned to indifference, took out a stack of seals from his arms, and handed them to Captain Doulu behind him: "Seal all warehouses, goods, and property on the spot, and no one is allowed to open them without checking their eyebrows." ”

The lieutenant frowned hesitantly, and stood still with his right hand pressed the hilt of his sword.

Xiao Hua said coldly: "If you are not willing to cooperate, then please retreat." ”

The lieutenant stepped forward with his iron boots, took the seal from his hand with his head bowed, and immediately shouted an order to the soldiers behind him: "Go to the warehouse, the treasury, lock all the doors and seal them!" ”

The soldiers didn't seem to be willing to move, and even walked slowly, Xiao Hua could vaguely feel that everyone in this fortress was hostile to him.

The deputy head crossed his hands in front of him: "Please also ask the envoy to follow me to the account room." ”

They walked into the tulou, the main building of the Chamber of Commerce, and walked down the wooden staircase to the account room on the second floor, where all the ledgers and contracts had been stacked on the desk, like a mountain of piles.

Xiao Hua grabbed an account book and flipped through it and asked, "Are these all the account books of your Western Regions Chamber of Commerce since its establishment?" ”

"Venerable Envoy Qi, this is only within three years, and the rest have already been transferred to Tingzhou."

Yuan Zai bowed his head next to him and was silent, Xiao Hua twisted his beard and pondered for a moment, and rarely compromised: "Okay, just check the past three years, and still let you have nothing to hide!" Brother Yuan Zai, you and I will each check for a year, and we must leave nothing out. ”

He naturally couldn't trust others, so he and Yuan Zai personally rolled up their sleeves and started working, opening the account books one by one to check, and when they encountered something wrong with the accounts, they called the deputy head over to question.

"From March to October last year, how could it be that the goods distributed from your Chamber of Commerce were only one hundred and twenty stones? We have already checked the account books of Mi Chagan, a wealthy businessman in Chang'an, and none of the goods he took over from your Chamber of Commerce last year were more than 200 stones! I'll let you eat the rest! ”

Xiao Huasheng's angry face had a hint of pride in it, and he sternly interrogated the vice leaders of the Chamber of Commerce who bowed their heads and restrained their hands: "Don't think that you can hide it from this official by cheating!" Before coming here, we have strictly checked all your suppliers! This official takes it to heart! There are omissions in the reconciliation of the account books here with their account books, and someone must have fabricated false accounts and dared to deceive the imperial court envoys! You don't have enough eight heads to chop off! ”

This thunderous shout frightened several bookkeepers to their knees and kowtowed in a hurry, only the old vice-president lowered his eyebrows and closed his eyes, and stood still with his hands in his sleeves.

"What else do you have to say?"

The deputy head opened his eyes slowly, sighed indifferently and said, "Don't hide it from the envoy, the account books here are all fake. ”

Xiao Hua showed a smile on his face: "Where is the real account book now?" ”

The vice president raised his nostrils, and there was a little more arrogance in his expression: "We don't dare to take out the real account books, for the sake of the two envoys, lest we see what you dare not look at and don't want to see, won't it make you in a dilemma?" ”

Xiao Hua was aroused, slapped the case heavily and said angrily: "The little Shijing Lang also dares to speak wildly!" Do you think that pulling a few people out of the officialdom can scare the official? Don't say that it is your Sima of Longyou Dao, the assassin Shi, the military envoy, and the governor, even if the imperial historian and Li Siye, the king of Xiliang, are involved, this official must investigate to the end, and you and many other sins will be heard! ”

The head of the vice president crossed his hands, pretended to bow down and said, "The envoy really wants to check, really want to see?" ”

"That's nature, why bother to say it, get it for me quickly!"

……

(PS: Thank you for the 2016 red reward.) ）