The atmosphere in the room suddenly became oppressive, and after Wang Zhong looked at the things written on the letter paper in his hand, his face gradually became solemn.

"Judging from the current situation, the erosion degree of the Lianghuai salt service is even worse than we expected!" Wang Zhong said with a solemn face.

Zhao Ceying frowned and said, "If that's the case, then our trouble will be big!" ”

Wang Chong's eyes flickered, and when he bowed his hand, he said with a serious face: "Now that the whereabouts of the prince have been revealed, it is better to stand out generously!" ”

"Anyway, General Xiaoduan's people have also spread out, rather than let's investigate slowly little by little, it is better to wait for those who are weak in heart to show their feet, and then we will follow the vine and find out those black sheep."

"That's the only way to do it for now." It's just that Zhao Ceying is very puzzled: "But we came all the way in disguise and didn't leak the slightest rumor, how did this news leak?" ”

Wang Chong seemed to have expected it, and said: "Now this case is getting bigger and bigger, and there are no less than dozens of officials involved, this is only what we know, and there are those we don't know, I don't know how much, although our whereabouts are hidden, but we come out of Tokyo, all the way south, if you have the heart, you can always find some clues." ”

Zhao Ceying looked around and lowered his voice very low: "Do you say that there will be ······ among our people?"

"It's hard to say!" Wang Chongdao.

Zhao Ceying's expression changed for a while, thinking of the current situation, he became more and more convinced that his suspicions were right, but Zhao Ceying was also a well-read soldier in the end, and knew the truth that people should not be suspicious and suspicious people should not be used.

"Hey!"

"Even if we really have those people's eyeliner in our people, it may not be a bad thing for us!" Wang Chongdao.

Zhao Ceying looked at Wang Chong and asked, "What does Zihou mean?" ”

Wang Chongdao: "Isn't there still a list in the hands of the prince, now the initiative is in the hands of the prince, in fact, the prince doesn't need to do too much at all, as long as he responds to all changes with the same, those black sheep with weak hearts may show their feet." ”

"And General Xiao Duan's side has already launched an investigation against the people on the list, just wait for the detailed results on his side, and the prince will give an order, won't we be able to close the net!"

"As for the prince's side, what does it matter if someone really reports to those black sheep!"

Looking at the smile on Wang Chong's face, Zhao Ceying couldn't help nodding, obviously agreeing with Wang Chong's statement.

The next day, a big flag was erected on the big ship, and a group of guards changed into armor, equipped with swords, guns, bows and crossbows, and Zhao Ceying also changed into a purple official robe, and appeared in the Lianghuai Salt Capital Transit Division openly.

The current Lianghuai salt transfer envoy is called He Rongchang, who was born in the Longyou family, although the official rank is not high, but he is in charge of the entire salt affairs of the two Huai, and his power is not insignificant.

It's a pity that it's not someone else who is here now, but Zhao Ceying, the king of Huan who holds the holy decree, and He Rongchang only has a respectful share in front of King Huan.

As soon as Zhao Ceying arrived at the Yandu Transit Embassy, he ordered the case vault of the Transit Envoy to be sealed, and Wang Chong led a group of accompanying civil officials and scribes to begin to verify the various account books and documents of the Lianghuai Salt Affairs recorded in the case vault in the past 20 years.

I don't want to think that on the night when King Huan and others settled in the Yamen of the Lianghuai Salt Transfer, a fire broke out in the case library, and all the files over the years were burned, leaving only ashes in one place.

The next day, Zhao Ceying, the king of Huan, stood in front of the ruins with a pale face, and He Rongchang led the two Huai salt to transfer all the officials above and below the Si Yamen to kneel on the ground and beg King Huan to surrender.

Zhao Ceying forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart, his sharp gaze swept over the officials kneeling behind him, and said coldly: "Don't you think that you can destroy the corpse in this way?" ”

"The ministers are guilty, please punish the prince!" He Rongchang didn't even defend himself, and led a group of officials to kneel on the ground.

"Who is in charge of the case vault?" Zhao Ceying closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and only after a while did he open his eyes and look at everyone and asked loudly.

"Lord Qiqi, the case vault is managed by ministers on weekdays!" A middle-aged official in a green official uniform stood up and knelt down again.

"The case vault was burned, and you, as a competent official, failed to discover and stop it in time, which is a dereliction of duty, pulled down, with forty canes and sent to prison!" Zhao Ceying shook his hand and turned his back, and commanded sharply.

Didn't even ask.

"No!"

When two tall sergeants dragged the official aside, let him cry out loudly about wrongdoing, took off his official uniform, and pressed the man on the bench, then two soldiers with water and fire sticks, one left and one right, immediately fought.

The screams sparked the nerves of the officials.

The screams lasted for less than five breaths before they came to an abrupt end, how could an official who had been pampered all year round be able to withstand forty spine battles, and the twenty sticks would faint, and by the time the forty sticks were finished, there was only one thing left to vent his anger.

"Find a Lang Zhong!"

After instructing his subordinates, seeing that the official was dragged down like a dead dog, Zhao Ceying walked up to He Rongchang, squatted down, looked at He Rongchang and said, "Doesn't He Zhuan have anything to say to this king?" ”

"The prince knows everything, and the minister really doesn't know anything about this matter!" He Rongchang hurriedly relented.

Zhao Ceying helped He Rongchang up, looked into He Rongchang's eyes and asked, "Does He Zhuan really not know?" ”

"Lord Mingjian, Weichen really doesn't know!" He Rongchang hurriedly explained: "The minister has been staying at home since he went down last night and has not gone out for a single step. ”

"He is the humerus of the imperial court, how can this king not believe in He Zhuan!" Now that there is no evidence, Zhao Ceying is naturally not good at attacking.

And Zhao Ceying's trip is not only to solve the problem of salt affairs, but more importantly, to show his ability, so as to win over the courtiers, if he blindly uses force, it is inevitable that he will be talked about, and the Queen Mother will definitely not let go of such a good opportunity to impeach him.

"It's cold on the ground, please get up quickly." Even when the dynasty was in the last dynasty, the hundred officials only bowed to the emperor, and only when they sacrificed to heaven and earth, or when they were canonized by the holy decree, they would kneel and salute, and He Rongchang and other officials knelt in front of Zhao Ceying to plead guilty because the case library was burned.

"Thank you for your understanding!"

"Thank you, Lord Wang!" Only then did a dozen officials stand up, but they still stood with their heads bowed slightly.

He Rongchang said: "Lord Wang, now that the case library has been destroyed, I don't know what the prince plans to do next?" If it is useful to get the place of the lower official, the lower official will try his best to cooperate. ”

"He Zhuan is polite!" Zhao Ceying said: "This king was ordered by the official family to go south to inspect the salt and thoroughly investigate the salt affairs, I don't want to be in Yangzhou now, such a thing happened, it seems that this salt patrol, I am afraid that it will be difficult to make progress for a while." ”

When he said this, Zhao Ceying's face couldn't help but show a little dejected.

"Don't worry, the two Huai salts are transferred up and down the Yamen, and only the prince is looking at it!" He Rongchang immediately expressed his position.

"Then thank you to Envoy He and your colleagues!"

They are all thousand-year-old foxes, and they are more and more invested in acting.

Back at the residence, Zhao Ceying directly slammed the tea cup in his hand to the ground. There was a crisp snap, only to hear Zhao Ceying gritting his teeth and saying, "Very good!" Very good! This is to give me a dismount. ”

Wang Zhong stood beside him and arched his hand: "Why should the prince be angry, in fact, even if this case is not burned, we may not be able to find any substantial evidence from it!" ”

"Huh? Why? Zhao Ceying asked puzzled.

"The transfer of salt has made the Si Yamen operate for so many years, and there has never been a mistake, and the successive officials are not fools, and those accounts that have been put into the warehouse must be done beautifully."

"Then why did they burn down the library?"

"Maybe it's to confuse us, or maybe, as the prince said, he wants to give the prince a dismount."

Wang Chongdao: "Yesterday, the prince said that he would seal the case library, and that night, the case library burned, and the fire was so big that it spread in an instant. ”

Zhao Ceying instantly grasped the key point in Wang Chong's words: "Being able to break through the blockade and quietly burn the case vault like this, so to speak, the person who set the fire has either been in the case vault all the time, or, is it mixed in the soldiers and horses around the case vault last night?" ”

"In addition to the people we brought, there were also many soldiers and horses from the Yangzhou command camp who guarded the case warehouse last night."

"Instead of tangling up with a few rats who hide their heads and tails, it is better for the prince to focus on Liu Zhenfeng, who has just been put in prison by the prince, if he can be made to explain, maybe he will be able to have unexpected gains."

"Isn't this Liu Zhenfeng the scapegoat that was pushed out?" Zhao Ceying said suspiciously.

Wang Chongdao: "The scapegoat may not know the truth of the matter, even if he doesn't know the whole thing, only a part of it, it is excellent." ”

Zhao Ceying frowned and said, "I'm afraid I may not be able to pry his mouth open." ”

The punishment is not a doctor, and this dynasty rules the world with the scholars, and the scholars have always been treated preferentially, Zhao Ceying has already beaten people hard under the pretext of the excuse, even if it is punished again, it is only degrading and dismissing, and it can't hurt the person's muscles and bones.

"As long as it is a human being, there is a weakness, Liu Zhenfeng is willing to stand up as this scapegoat, it is nothing more than someone promised him some benefits, or some handle was caught, but as long as we find his weakness, are we afraid that he will not speak?"

"What's Zihou's plan?" Zhao Ceying's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked.

Wang Chongdao: "Let's learn from Zhonghuai and use some indiscriminate methods." ”

"What's the wrong way?" Zhao Ceying really couldn't figure out what else to do.

Although Liu Zhenfeng was sent to prison, he was still an official in the end, and the cell bosses naturally did not dare to slack off, not only did they live in a single room, but they also ordered someone to invite Lang Zhong to deal with the injury on his buttocks.

Suddenly, Liu Zhenfeng was awakened by the sound of the door opening, and before he could see clearly, a tall and burly young man carrying a lantern and wearing a scarlet official uniform walked up to him.

"Deputy Envoy Wang?"

Liu Zhenfeng squinted his eyes, and through the faint light of the lantern, he saw Wang Chong's appearance clearly, and then hurriedly said: "Xia Guan has seen Deputy Envoy Wang, Xia Guan is injured, has difficulty moving, and is not polite, I hope Deputy Envoy Wang will forgive me." ”

"Lord Liu is so Yaxing, he is already in prison, but he can still be so open-minded, Wang admires." Wang Zhong arched his hand.

"Hey!" Liu Zhenfeng sighed and said helplessly: "The matter has come to this point, if you don't look at it, you will still be the one who suffers." ”

Wang Zhong walked up to Liu Zhenfeng, sat on the small stool brought by the jailer, put the thing in his right hand on the small table that the jailer had just moved into the cell, and waved his hand, and the jailers were driven away by the guards.

"Mingren doesn't say secret words, Wang came over today, and he wanted to ask Lord Liu for help with something."

Liu Zhenfeng said: "Deputy Envoy Wang is polite, but now that the lower official is in prison, I'm afraid I won't be able to help Deputy Envoy Wang." ”

"Lord Liu is too modest!" Wang Chong pushed the box on the table to Liu Zhenfeng with a smile on his face: "Lord Liu, you might as well take a look at the gift I brought to Lord Liu first." ”

"Gifts?" Liu Zhenfeng, who was lying on the ground, opened the box suspiciously, and took out a small skirt worn by a girl, a pair of embroidered shoes, a rattle, and a jade lock contained in the box.

The moment he saw these things, Liu Zhenfeng's expression changed, he looked at Wang Chong with a shocked face, and asked puzzledly, "What does Deputy Envoy Wang mean by this?" ”

Wang Chong seemed to be breezy and said: "Lord Liu is also from the two lists of 1 jinshi, and he is still the predecessor of Wang, who has successively served as a magistrate and a general judge in many places, and has been transferred to the Lianghuai Salt Division for only a few years.

Now that he has become a prisoner and is in prison, is there no unwillingness in Lord Liu's heart? ”

"What if you are unwilling?" Liu Zhenfeng's face showed a little helplessness: "Deputy Envoy Wang can just say whatever he wants." ”

Wang Chongdao: "Lord Liu is a smart person, Wang will not go around in circles, this time King Huan went south to patrol the salt, it is a joint decision of the official family and the eldest lady, King Huan is the eldest son of the official family, just wait for the end of this salt patrol, make a great contribution, the official family can make a decree, canonize King Huan as the prince, such as today to give a good opportunity in front of him, Lord Liu does not know to cherish? ”

Liu Zhenfeng was stunned for a moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but he finally closed his eyes: "Why can't Liu understand the words of Deputy Envoy Wang?" ”

Wang Chongdao: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand, it's just that Lord Liu doesn't think about himself, doesn't he think about the old father and the two young children at home?" ”

Liu Zhenfeng's face showed horror: "What does Deputy Envoy Wang mean by this?" ”

Wang Chong smiled mysteriously: "Naturally, it means literally!" ”

After finishing speaking, he turned around with the lantern and walked away, without the slightest pause, let alone say more than half a sentence, and did not give Liu Zhenfeng time to think about it at all.

But Liu Zhenfeng, who was lying on the haystack, instantly made up countless messages in his brain.

What did Wang Chong mean when he suddenly mentioned his father and child just now? Is it trying to disadvantage them? To threaten yourself? But this dynasty has always treated civil officials preferentially, and even if King Huan is a prince, he can't go beyond the ancestral teachings.

But that's his father and child! What if······

The invisible threat is the most deadly, and the invisible brain supplement is the most unstoppable.

At the moment when Wang Chong stepped out of the prison door, Liu Zhenfeng couldn't help but reach out and stop Wang Chong.

"Wait!"

The corners of Wang Chong's mouth curled slightly, raised a trace of arc, turned to look at Liu Zhenfeng and said, "Lord Liu figured it out so quickly?" ”