During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the population has gradually increased. But the whole of the north is still relatively sparsely populated.

This is not only the long-term withering of the north since the Song and Yuan dynasties, but also environmental factors such as temperature, wind, sand, and water sources, even the Huangcun village outside Beijing is now only a village with more than 1,000 households, and there are no people in the surrounding areas for several miles.

In the second half of the night, the northwest wind gradually stopped, dark clouds obscured the moonlight, and the surroundings were pitch black.

Wang Hongyu keenly felt that there was definitely someone staring at him just now, and there was even obvious hostility.

However, as soon as I stopped to look outside at night, I didn't notice this feeling at all.

After walking around and around, I found that there were no insects in the grass on the west side, and the feeling of being stared at seemed to come from this direction.

I see, there are people hiding in the grass in this direction.

I rolled my eyes and thought of a great idea.

When he walked the next lap, Wang Hongyu yawned, chose a position between the two sentry posts, chose a big car, and sat down with his back to the dark grass.

It's quiet behind it, and there are no insects, so it's just the right time to take a lazy sleep.

Wang Hongyu leaned on the cart and fell asleep after a while, his sleeping posture was quite relaxed, and he was not guarded at all.

The dark grass moved by itself, and three thin and ruthless killers came out, two with knives and one with crossbows, quietly approaching Wang Hongyu little by little.

Their eyes were fixed on their target, and finally a sinister smile finally appeared.

The knife-wielding man struck from both sides, giving way to his crossbow-wielding accomplices

There was a sound from the crossbow machine, and if one blow was not killed, it would definitely attract sentinels, so the two knife-wielding ones cautiously leaned forward, seeing that they could cut off Wang Hongyu's head in only three steps.

The three of them confirmed each other's eyes, the crossbow machine was aimed at the target, and the two knife-wielding ones rushed forward.

"Smack!"

Two knife-wielding killers fell together.

The killer with the crossbow hurriedly observed, and found that between several large carts, there were actually tripping ropes, which were difficult to guard against in the dark.

Stunned, the killer activated the crossbow machine, and the crossbow arrow swooped out towards the position he had just been aiming for.

"Wow!" With a bang, the crossbow bolt went straight into the thick wheels of the cart, and Wang Hongyu was no longer in the place just now!

"The fish is hooked! Sichuan soldiers kill thieves! ”

Wang Hongyu was fishing just now, Meng Biao also took dozens of people to ambush behind the cart, as soon as he heard that the thief had been hit by a tripline, Wang Hongyu rolled away from the position where he was sleeping just now, picked up the hammer and directly smashed the head of a thief who was getting up.

Meng Biao and the others rushed over, and their waist knives and crossbow arrows came out together, cutting down another knife-wielding one, and shooting the third thief who was about to escape.

After cleaning the battlefield, Wang Hongyu and Meng Biao's faces were extremely cold.

The three attackers, dressed in black, were very professionally armed and obviously did not steal food or steal things, but specifically came to kill people.

However, no clues could be found.

Two of the killers were dead, and the other was slashed, and when he saw that the situation was not good, he decisively committed suicide by cutting his wrists.

Meng Biao carefully examined the weapons left behind by the killer, and both steel knives had 5 iron rings on the backs, which were obviously unified blades. The crossbow was well-made, and the material seems to have been made of rattan and bamboo from the southwest, not the elm common in the north.

The rest don't have any useful clues.

The Sichuan soldiers were all vigilant in the middle of the night, and when the sky was bright, they woke up the hired villagers, took the corpse of the thief and immediately marched to the assembly place of the Tongzhou army.

Zhou Dunji and Zhang Shenwu got the news from Kuaima and personally led the army to greet them.

After exchanging information and examining corpses and weapons, Zhou Dunji didn't have much of a clue. But after a moment's thought, it occurred to me that there was someone who might know something.

"Regarding the killer, I will ask someone to come forward, and she will investigate the relevant clues."

He smiled again and patted Wang Hongyu on the shoulder and said, "Third brother, Liangxiang is a great achievement this time." With this batch of food, the military budget was saved, and the training, morale and discipline of the non-commissioned officers would not be affected by these for the time being. The eldest brother will inform the whole army and let everyone know that you, the acting general, are really capable. ”

"Thank you, big brother! The third brother and the Meng Biao brothers and the sergeant of the sentry are very compatible, and they want to practice martial arts together, line up in formation, and engage in some new training. ”

"Okay, but let's do it one by one. You tossed all night, and went to Tongzhou without eating in the morning, and then we will eat some rest and rest first, and we will discuss it carefully tomorrow. ”

......

In the evening, the Tongzhou Grand Canal, more than ten miles away, is very busy with large and small ships coming and going from north to south.

From south to north: there are bulk goods such as grain, salt, and cloth, as well as sought-after commodities such as silk, ceramics, lacquerware, and tea. From north to south: there are many specialties such as ironware, coal, and leather goods, as well as ginseng, mink, and Dongzhu, which are rare commodities that are highly sought-after in the south.

Although the total amount of materials transported from the south to the north was large, in the late Ming Dynasty, a large number of ordinary merchants and boat people participated in it, and they would not return to the south empty-handed, so they always returned to the south with all kinds of goods that were easy to sell in the north.

The Grand Canal, which connects the two capitals, makes the economy of the north and the south inseparable at this time, and greatly enriches the lives of the people in the north and south.

However, most of the officials gathered in this neighborhood are not good people.

In a luxury restaurant, several generals from Jizhen walked in here in civilian clothes with serious faces.

They knew that this restaurant was expensive, and it was mostly a place for powerful people to meet and discuss, so this time they came to meet people and discuss important matters.

"Will this work?" A military general looked left and right, and asked very unconfidently.

"If you don't want to be robbed of your job by those Southern Army and the guys on the three sides, you have to do it if it doesn't work." A rather dignified general spoke.

"Rest assured, this will do us no good," said a scribe who seemed to be quite wealthy, and greeted them confidently.

He took the generals in civilian clothes, went upstairs and turned around, completely separated from the noisy crowd, and went to a quiet private room.

There was a person sitting inside, who looked to be only in his 30s, and although he was a civil official, he was full of energy.

He got up and said, "The wine and food have been prepared, let's taste it with you, and you have brought wine from the capital." ”

"It's really a great wine...... Let me guess, it is a fine wine produced in Suqian no more than 3 years before and after the 20th year of Wanli, right? The rich scribe sniffed the wine and guessed directly.

"Hahaha, you are worthy of being the master of the warehouse, as long as it is the goods to and from the Grand Canal, you can't escape your eyes. This wine is produced in Suqian in the 21st year of Wanli. ”

"Hey, a certain is just sitting in the grain hall, and there is a warehouse waiter on it, so I don't dare to call it the owner of the warehouse."

The rich scribe pretended to be modest and polite. He is the second-in-command of the Tongzhou granary at this time, and the household department sits in the grain hall Langzhong High School Confucian.

It is also the tall man who is engaged in smuggling in Liangxiang.