Zhao Zhen, the king of letters, hurriedly walked into the palace and anxiously reported to the imperial sister Zhao Yingluo a series of cases of stealing cotton seeds that had occurred recently.

He frowned, and his tone revealed deep worry: "Imperial sister, the clues to this matter have pointed to the merchants of the Jin Kingdom, who colluded with the ruffians to steal our cotton seeds, and the impact is extremely bad. ”

Zhao Yingluo sneered, "Sure enough, the Criminal Department will investigate this case together with the Imperial City Division and Kaifeng Mansion!" All the criminals must be arrested and brought to justice! ”

After receiving the order, Zhao Zhen immediately took action.

He worked closely with Wen Boyuan, the commander of the Imperial City Division, and Wu Jue, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and quickly mobilized people to investigate.

At the same time, they also notified the local county, township and other grassroots units to assist in the investigation, and it was necessary to catch all the bandits who stole the seeds.

The entire Kaifeng City was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

Soldiers patrolled the streets day and night, closely checking pedestrians and vehicles; Officers of the Criminal Department were busy interrogating captured suspects, trying to extract more clues from them; And the spies of the Imperial City Division lurk in the shadows, closely monitoring every move in the city.

However, just when the whole city was heavily guarded, an unexpected news reached the ears of Zhao Zhen and others: those merchants of the Jin Kingdom had obtained hundreds of catties of cotton seeds and were ready to leave for the Jin Kingdom!

"What? They actually succeeded? Zhao Zhen exclaimed.

"And they're still going to flee back to Jin?" Wen Boyuan was also shocked, "These profiteers are really cunning! ”

Wu Jue said with a pale face: "Once they cross the Yellow River to the border of Hebei, it will be difficult to catch them again!" We must act now! ”

The three of them immediately decided to urgently send troops to intercept this group of Jin merchants. They quickly mobilized a team of elite soldiers and strong generals, and Wen Boyuan personally led the team to the bank of the Yellow River to intercept it.

As night fell, the smell of blood filled the mass graves on the outskirts. The merchants of the Kingdom of Jin stood beside the corpse, a cruel and smug smile on their faces. One of them kicked the corpse on the ground and mocked, "These idiots, you still want to get a piece of the pie with us? Don't look at what kind of goods you are! ”

The other took out a handkerchief to wipe the dagger in his hand, and sneered: "That's fine, there is no proof of death, even if the Great Song Dynasty wants to check, it can't find our heads." ”

As they spoke, they threw the bodies of the ruffians into a large pit dug in advance, and then hurriedly buried them. After doing all this, they escorted the cottonseed back to Jinguo.

However, they never expected that when they had just arrived on the bank of the Yellow River and were about to board the boat, a group of men and horses suddenly galloped in the distance. The person at the head is none other than Wen Boyuan, the commander of the Imperial City Division!

The merchants of the Jin Kingdom suddenly panicked, they looked at each other, and a sense of foreboding surged in their hearts. One of them stammered, "What should I do with this?" Could it be that the Great Song Dynasty sent people to chase us? ”

However, their resistance did not help. Wen Boyuan led people to quickly surround them, and the officers and soldiers pounced like wolves and tigers to take down more than ten Jin State merchants. The precious cottonseeds were also seized.

"Who are you? How dare you intercept our caravan? A golden merchant exclaimed inwardly, but the tremor in his voice betrayed his fear.

Wen Boyuan sneered, stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar: "I am Wen Boyuan, the commander of the Imperial City Division!" You gangsters colluded with ruffians to steal the cotton seeds of my Great Song Dynasty and still want to escape back to Jinguo? What wishful thinking! Come on, bring them all back and wait for the fate! As he spoke, he waved his hand aside, tossing the golden merchant aside.

The Jin merchant was so smashed that he almost fainted. He looked at Wen Boyuan and the officers and soldiers around him in horror, and his heart was full of despair and fear: "It's over...... It's really over this time......" he muttered to himself.

The other merchants of the Golden Kingdom also showed terrified expressions. They knew that this time they were really planted and could not escape again. Thinking of this, they couldn't help but cry with their heads in their arms......

The officers and soldiers rushed up, tied up the merchants of the Jin Kingdom, and escorted them back to the city. And those precious cottonseeds have also been reclaimed.

Outside the Kaifeng Mansion, it was already full of people who came to see the excitement. They were standing and sitting, discussing, full of curiosity and anticipation about the case that was about to be tried.

"I heard that this time I caught more than a dozen merchants of the Jin Kingdom and stole the cotton seeds of our Great Song Dynasty!" A middle-aged man said mysteriously.

"Not really! These Jin people are so hateful, they dare to spread wild on the territory of our Great Song Dynasty! An old man next to him echoed indignantly.

"I heard that these businessmen also colluded with ruffians to steal the people's property, it's really lawless!" A young scholar shook his head and sighed.

"Humph! Let's see how they end up this time! The prince and the adults of the Criminal Department and the Imperial City Division are all inside! Another citizen gloated.

The people's voices came and went, and their emotions continued to rise as the topic deepened. They are outraged and dissatisfied with the crimes of these gold merchants, and at the same time they are full of anticipation for the upcoming trial.

In the Kaifeng Mansion, the vermilion gate is open, and the stone lions on both sides are majestically guarding this righteous place.

Zhao Zhen, the king of letters, sat on the top of the lobby, with a bright "Mirror Hanging" plaque behind him, his face was pale, his eyes were like torches, and he looked directly at the dozen or so kneeling Jin merchants under the hall.

Wu Jue, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and Wen Boyuan, the commander of the Imperial City Division, sat on both sides, their eyes sharp, as if they wanted to see through the minds of these merchants.

Below, although the dozen or so merchants of the Jin Kingdom were wearing gorgeous robes, they were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered at the moment, trembling and looking terrified.

"You gangsters, you haven't recruited them from the truth!" Zhao Zhen slapped the startled wood and shouted. The sound echoed in the lobby, shaking people's hearts.

The merchants of the Jin Kingdom glanced at each other, a trace of panic flashed in their eyes, but they still held on to their mouths: "The prince is aware that these cottonseeds are all purchased by us with money, and there is no falsehood. ”

Zhao Zhen sneered, he didn't believe the nonsense of these businessmen. He waved his hand and motioned for the body to be brought up.

As corpses were brought up to the hall, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became more oppressive and heavy. There was an indescribable sadness and anger in the air.

The merchants couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts as they watched these ruffians who had once traded with them now turn into cold corpses. They knew that the appearance of these corpses had undoubtedly pushed them into a desperate situation.