Jinfu City is located in the middle of Lingquan City and Xia Hai City, it was originally a wealthy city, but since Xia Hai City's salt industry started, Jin Fu City has gradually declined, and the lives of the people here are getting more and more miserable.

Therefore, in the end, it evolved into merchants in the urban area of Jinfucheng who took risks to sell illicit salt, and some villages even made illicit salt from every household, and almost most of the illicit salt in Lingzhou flowed out of Jinfucheng.

The predecessor Lingzhou Assassin Shi in order to rectify the flood of illegal salt in Jinfu City, under heavy torture, and at the same time to build water conservancy and repair official roads to carry out fishing, after several years of hard work, finally suppressed this evil trend of illegal salt, making illegal salt and selling illegal salt gradually disappeared in Jinfu City.

It's a pity that soon after, Lingzhou Assassin Shi was stabbed to death for some reason, becoming the first unsolved case in Lingzhou, which has not been solved so far.

The Catch the Sea Gang began to be revealed in Jinfu City after the assassination of Lingzhou Assassin Shi, but it has been relatively low-key, mainly to control several fishing grounds and some cargo ship freight, and the gang has thousands of gang members, although Jinfu City is the top ten gangs, but it is not enough to see in the entire Lingzhou, and it can barely be regarded as a third-rate gang in Lingzhou.

As for how it controlled the production and transportation of nearly seven layers of illegal salt in the entire Lingzhou, how it cooperated with Jia Jin, and whether there were other forces behind the Catch the Sea Gang, it was the key investigation task of the first team of the secret group A this time.

Zhang Yifan left a message for Wang Wu before leaving for Jinfu City, explaining the purpose of the trip, and then telling him how to pass the news to himself.

Guihuaji and others marched towards Jinfu City, and everyone took advantage of the night to enter the city in two ways.

Zhang Yifan discussed with Chen Sheng and decided to disguise himself as a passing foot trader to collect information in restaurants and teahouses and other places where people gathered.

At this time, the two were in the lobby of a restaurant called Fumanlou, ordering some local specialties in Lingzhou, and observing while eating. All sorts of messages were passed around at the table.

"Master Liao, have you heard, Xia Haicheng Jia Jin also lost more than 20 members of the rich family, and the wealth of the Wanguan family was looted, alas, it is so pitiful. ”

"Brother Li, I heard from our dart head about this in the morning. Hmph, Jia Jin is still rich and unkind, and he is destined to have this catastrophe, but the whole family was burned to death These robbers are really hateful, I hope the government will solve the case as soon as possible. ”

"I also heard that Xu Ping of the Lingshan Sword Sect seems to have also folded in the Jia Mansion. ”

"What? Xu Ping was also killed? What was the origin of that gang of robbers, who were able to kill Xu Ping?"

"This matter is absolutely true, I just came from Xia Hai City, and I saw some disciples of the Lingshan Sword Sect appearing in Jiafu, I think it should be true. ”

"Alas, the world is getting more and more chaotic..."

...

"Have you heard? Chen Zhen, the salt administration secretary of Jinfu City, was arrested by the people of the Six Doors this morning. ”

"It's great that the salt cutter has been caught, we can't afford to eat salt with him. ”

"Isn't it possible to buy private salt now? The price is three layers cheaper than official salt!"

"Shhh ”

......

Located in a private room on the first floor of Fuman Building, not far from Zhang Yifan's table in the lobby, two wealthy men in the room were talking quietly.

"Alas, shopkeeper Wang, my Liu Ji miscellaneous shop has been out of stock recently, and I'm dying, do you still have goods to adjust?"

"Brother Liu, you and I have been friends for more than ten years, and I won't hide it from you, I happen to have a batch of salt, but there are some problems with the way, as long as the three layers of official salt, do you want it?"

"Private salt?" The man surnamed Liu's face changed and asked cautiously.

"I don't know, it's a fellow villager of mine who gave it to me, saying that it came from the government's salt farm, but there is no official certificate. The shopkeeper explained a sentence or two.

"This is also very risky, shopkeeper Wang, let me think about it, how about it?" The man surnamed Liu struggled, but still did not make up his mind.

"Brother Liu, you also know how tight the salt is now, that batch of salt is only 2,000 jun, and I can't guarantee to keep it for you, besides, the price is so low, the profit is enough for you to work for several years, and there will be no such shop in this village. The shopkeeper said meaningfully.

"Okay, I want a thousand jun for the king's shopkeeper, but you have to take me to see the goods, if it's really from the official salt farm, I'll ask for it." The man surnamed Liu finally decided. "Okay then, but only you. The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, and finally agreed.

Then the two of them toasted and talked about some things about the snowy night, as if they had not talked about the crime of being so big that they would be killed.

After entering the fourth layer of the Qi Refining Period, Zhang Yifan's five senses were greatly improved, and under his intentional monitoring, the conversation between Wang and Liu was listened to by Zhang Yifan.

Zhang Yifan couldn't help but be a little happy, there were finally some clues for this illicit salt sale.

Then Zhang Yifan told Chen Sheng, Chen Sheng was also overjoyed, and the two discussed in a whisper.

......

It was late at night, in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Jinfu City.

"Brother Wang, this is really the pentagonal crystal salt of Dadeng Island in Xia Hai City, great!" said the man surnamed Liu with a happy face.

"Brother Liu, can't you believe me?"

"Where, where, of course I can trust Brother Wang. I want these two thousand! It's just that this price has to be lowered by half a layer. ”

"Brother Liu, you, you are really cheap, no wonder the business is getting bigger and bigger... Okay, but you need to pay for the goods in a lump sum. Shopkeeper Wang pointed at the man surnamed Liu and shook his head and smiled bitterly, but finally agreed.

"That's certain, you see it's ten taels of gold, tomorrow you help me get the goods to my stockpile, and the rest will be given to you." The man surnamed Liu replied cheerfully.

"That's a good feeling, Brother Liu, please. No. 1, according to the rules when you come, send a distinguished guest. The shopkeeper then said to a black-clad masked man standing in the shadows.

"Yes. Offended, Boss Liu. Then the black-clothed masked man covered the eyes of the old man surnamed Liu with a black cloth, got into a carriage, and left.

What they didn't know was that there was a person hidden under the carriage, it was Chen Sheng. He and Zhang Yifan followed all the way here, and then discussed that he would follow the man surnamed Liu, and Zhang Yifan would follow the shopkeeper Wang.

At this time, the shopkeeper Wang had been in the hoarding warehouse and did not leave, as if he was waiting for something.

Zhang Yifan hid in a hidden corner at this time, waiting patiently for the next move of the shopkeeper Wang. After about a stick of incense, Zhang Yifan suddenly raised his eyebrows, and sensed that someone seemed to be coming.

"Big brother, these batches of goods have been sold!" said to the man enthusiastically after the shopkeeper Wang saw the man coming.

"Well, well done, second brother! After the two more batches are out, we can collect them. ”

"Big brother, has something happened to the gang recently? Recently, the goods have been in a hurry, so not only will they not be able to sell for a good price, but they will also be very easy to be found by the government. Shopkeeper Wang frowned and said.

"Second brother, don't ask too much! Just do it according to the meaning of the gang, we only need to send two more batches of goods, and we will not be shipping this year, and it just so happens that you and I can also enjoy the blessings." ”

"Okay, big brother. I'll do it. ”

"Big brother, Jia Jin's family was killed, have you heard?" Shopkeeper Wang then asked about the incident that spread throughout Lingzhou.

"Well, I heard that it was a miserable death. The high-level members of the gang are also anxious now, after all, it has always been Jia Jin who has helped us sell illicit salt. ”

"Alas, there is no one who sells illicit salt, big brother, you say we..."

"Don't think about it, second brother, my fate is in my own hands. Okay, it's inconvenient for me to stay here for a long time, so I'll go back and report to Hall Master Yuan first. Be careful not to reveal your identity. Then the man took advantage of the darkness and left.

Through the previous dialogue between Wang and Liu, Zhang Yifan knew that the shopkeeper Wang was the manager of a salt village in Jinfucheng, so he was not in a hurry to arrest the shopkeeper Wang immediately. He decided to follow the man to find out what the two were talking about as a gang.

The man had good foot strength and walked very fast. Zhang Yifan used his sensing ability to hang far behind him.

After about an hour, the man came to a rock-and-stone stall by the sea, and walked along the rock-proof stall for about half an hour, and then came to the foot of a hill. The hill meets the sea, and at this time, at the foot of the mountain, there is a sea cargo ship about 30 zhang long, which is brightly lit.

As the man walked into the cargo ship, the sound of crossbows and arrows was heard in several places on the ship.

"Slogan!" Someone on the boat shouted.

"Catch the moon in the blue sky, and the tide gathers wealth. ”

"Put the rope, your own people. ”

The man then got into the boat and was ushered into it. Zhang Yifan did not follow rashly, he swept the situation on the boat with induction, and found that the ship was heavily guarded, and there were more than 100 people on the entire boat.

Just as he was thinking about how to get on board, the cargo ship suddenly began to set sail and prepare to start.

In desperation, Zhang Yifan had no choice but to use the water beads to go into the water and hide at the bottom of the boat first, and then think of other ways.

Zhang Yifan felt that the cargo ship should be heading east, and due to the special effect of avoiding water beads, Zhang Yifan was not uncomfortable underwater. The ship traveled for more than two hours before coming to a halt.

By this time it was already dawn, and the fiery red sun was slowly rising in the east.

When Zhang Yifan surfaced and looked around, he found that the cargo ship was docked on an island in the sea, and all that could be seen around was seawater except for this island. Dozens of porters came down from the cargo ship and rushed to the ship to carry goods under the reprimand of the ship's steward.

Zhang Yifan quietly went ashore from an uninhabited place, and then used his induction to observe the situation on the entire island.

It turns out that the whole island is a place to make private salt!

The island is long and narrow, about two or three miles long and less than one mile wide, and there are dozens of simple huts and more than a dozen salt-making shacks on the island, scattered throughout the island.

Taking advantage of the fact that the cargo ship was transporting goods at this time, the guards were not very strict, and with a little sea fog, Zhang Yifan sneaked into a utility room near the core area of the cargo ship, and with the help of the porthole, he could secretly observe the situation on the island.

About an hour later, there was a voice in a room next to the utility room, and two people were talking in the room.

"The Protector Wang has been working hard lately, and he still had the habit of sleeping on the boat yesterday. ”

"More Yuan Hall Master cares, and his subordinates will report the situation to you. ”

"Well, you name it. ”

"In the past two months, Catch Moon Hall has sold 30,000 pieces of illicit salt in more than 10 counties in Lingzhou such as Jinfu City and Xia Haicheng, raising about 300,000 taels of silver. ”

"Well done! This time, I will definitely be able to win the first place in the gang. Wang Protector, you have done a good job, and the master of this hall will be rewarded after the work!"

"Thank you, Hall Master, Shangqing Hall and Haichao Hall have always lagged behind us, and several strongholds in Jucai Hall have been given orders in the past two months, and they are definitely not as good as us. ”

"After this batch of goods is loaded, the deputy gang leader ordered us to accept it, and now the dogs in the six doors are biting very tightly, and it is said that the Gong Wei Division has even dispatched the Jinyi Guard. ”

"Yes, there are 10,000 yuan in this batch of goods, and I have found a buyer, and I believe that they will be sold out in 15 days. ”

"Haha, you're doing a good job! After finishing this batch, I'll ask the deputy gang leader to be my deputy hall master of the Moon Rush Hall. Go down and get busy, don't get those guys out of the basket. ”

"Thank you, hall master!

After listening to the above conversation, Zhang Yifan couldn't help but sigh at the huge profits of private salt, no wonder some people took risks, and the income of a gang alone was 300,000 taels of silver within two months.

"This gang should be the Catch the Sea Gang, this man surnamed Yuan is the hall master of the Catch Moon Hall, and he should be the top level of the Catch the Sea Gang, follow him first to find the nest of the Catch the Sea Gang. Zhang Yifan thought in his heart.