Fenghou

Li Jinyang, the county magistrate, got up and said, "Of course, I'll take Wang Tongzhi there, but I want to say one more thing. In fact, our county government has checked everything, and there is nothing to gain."

Judge Zhong Huan, who had remained silent all this time, said calmly, "Our inner guard's investigation is not the same as the county government's investigation."

7Chapter 16 Silver Coins

The residence of Liu Er, the old boatman who was stabbed to death, was located in the south of the city. It was a dilapidated thatched cottage with mud walls. Broken bed boards and a pile of tattered quilts, with straw under the bed boards, and a table with one leg missing, supported by stones, and more than a dozen broken bowls and pots piled up in the corner, and another one that came from nowhere. Picked up soil stove.

This is all of Liu Er's belongings, only one more shabby house than a beggar.

Li Jinyang, the county magistrate, sighed and said, "You don't need to search, you can tell there is nothing at a glance."

Wang Hao ignored him, he turned his head and said to the commander Yang Ye: "Search!"

Yang Ye is the commander of the third battalion of internal guards, who is responsible for the investigation of major and important cases. There are more than [-] people under him, all of whom are experienced investigators selected from various states and counties.

With a wave of Yang Ye's hand, more than [-] men began to search inside and outside the house, even the beams were not spared.

After a while, a soldier shouted: "Found it!"

The scene that stunned the county magistrate Li Jinyang appeared, but the soldiers found a very hidden hole in the wall at the head of the bed, which was sealed with mud and could not be seen from the outside, and took out a small cloth bag from the hole.

"Wang Tongzhi, how did he know there was a hole in the wall?" Li Jinyang asked puzzled.

Wang Hao said lightly: "This is the thickest part of the wall in the whole house. If there is a hole, it must be here!"

Li Jinyang scratched his head, "So, we really didn't expect that."

The soldier handed the cloth bag to Wang Hao, and Wang Hao opened the cloth bag, and inside was a stack of brand new silver coins, newly minted last year, about [-] coins.

"It's actually silver money!"

Li Jinyang was surprised: "He is a lonely old man, how can he have money?"

"Is there any silver in the Yanzhou market?"

Li Jinyang shook his head, "It is impossible to have it, and the market does not recognize it, because most of them have never seen it. Silver coins are only issued by officials and the army. When you want to use them, you can take them to money shops and exchange them for copper coins."

"If I'm not wrong, this is the reward that should be given to Liu Er. Liu Er went to the money shop to ask, and the silver money can be exchanged, so he hid it in the wall. If it is exchanged for copper coins, there are more than 100 guan, and he has nowhere to hide it. .”

"Then the internal response is from the army or an official."

Chong Huan said a few words to Wang Hao, Wang Hao nodded, and said to Li Jinyang: "I want to see Liu Er's body, is it still there?"

"It has been buried, but... it should be dug out, and the weather is not too hot now."

Wang Hao immediately said to Yang Ye: "Go and check the body and check his injuries!"

……

An hour later, Liu Er's injury was detected. He was killed by a sword piercing through his heart. The opponent's strike was ruthless and accurate, very professional, and it must have been done by a general.

Why not knights of the rivers and lakes, because knights of the rivers and lakes generally use broken silver, but no money, only the army and officials have money, and they are usually saved.

At this time, Zhong Huan suggested to Wang Hao: "General, you might as well check the situation of chartering a ship. Renting a ship usually requires [-] to [-] pennies as collateral. Liu Er certainly doesn't have that much money. It should be paid by the internal government." The money comes out, but the ship company will definitely not accept cash..."

"Good idea!" Before Zhong Huan finished speaking, Yang Ye praised: "If there is only silver money in that person, he will definitely go to the money shop to exchange it for copper coins. We only need to find out who has exchanged silver coins for copper coins in the past ten days, and we should And a little eyebrow."

The owner’s name was engraved on the boat, Yongdu Boat Company. The owner of the boat shop told Wang Hao that the boat was rented by two people seven days ago, an old man and a man around 30 years old. The fifty pennies are still with him, and they didn't come over.

Wang Hao was refreshed, and quickly asked, "Have you seen this man in his thirties?"

The treasurer of the ship shop shook his head, "He is tall and strong, he should be a general. He gave me silver money at first, but I refused to accept it. Then he immediately went to exchange the money into copper coins."

This information is too important, Wang Hao immediately asked: "Which money shop!"

The shopkeeper pointed diagonally, "It's the Yanzhou money shop opposite!"

Yanzhou Money Shop is a government-run money shop. Almost every state has a money shop, which is affiliated with the Finance and Taxation Branch. Its functions are similar to those of a bank. It deposits, withdraws, remits, and exchanges money. Officials' salaries are all silver coins, and one silver coin is almost equal to money, and then it is not distributed to individuals, but to money shops. Soldiers and officials receive military cards and official cards, and everyone has a password.

The treasurer of the money shop quickly found the record. Seven days ago, someone exchanged fifty silver coins for fifty pennies, and then continued to trace the records of silver withdrawals. Soldiers often withdraw a few silver coins, but they withdraw more than 70 silver coins at once. , is by no means commonplace.

There is no need to check, one of the staff said: "It is General Zhou, the commander. He took out one hundred silver coins ten days ago, and the person who took out more than ten silver coins. He is the only one in these few months. I remember very clearly."

"What's Zhou called?"

"It's called Zhou Jin!"

Li Jinyang, the county magistrate who followed them to investigate the case, was dumbfounded. He didn't expect to find nowhere to find it. They did not waste their efforts. They searched for a few days and found nothing. The internal guards found the suspect after only half a day of investigation People, commander Zhou Jin.

Wang Hao led his men to the barracks at lightning speed, and the chief general Wang Zhen told them that this Zhou Jin had already asked for leave to return to his hometown for his father's funeral because of his father's death.

It is good news, but it is also disappointing. The good news is that they found the insider, but the insider escaped.

"Wang Tongzhi, are you sure he did it?" Wang Zhen was really surprised, he never thought that Nei Ying would be his subordinate.

"We won't find this Zhou Jin for no reason. The general can check. Where was Zhou Jin the night the kerosene was robbed?"

Wang Zhen immediately called for the Military Affairs Sima and asked, "Go and find out the commander, General Zhou Jin, was he in the barracks on the night of March 27?"

The Military Affairs Sima flew away, and came back in a moment: "General Zhou asked for leave on March 26 to return to his hometown for a funeral, and left the city on the same day."

Wang Zhen was stunned for a while and said: "It seems that it is really him. This guy is usually a boring gourd, but he is very serious in his work. I didn't expect to be a spy of the Jinren."

Wang Hao was about to arrive at Zhou Jin's hometown address, Gaoling County, Jingzhao Prefecture. He said to Wang Zhen solemnly: "I hope the general is mentally prepared, because I don't know if he has any accomplices in the army, so the county king may transfer the garrison away from Yanzhou." Zhou, I hope that the general will do a good job of defending the city before the army is transferred, especially not to let Zhou Jin's men be in charge of patrolling the city wall, so as to prevent the Jin soldiers from joining forces to seize the city."

Wang Zhen looked sad and nodded, "I will definitely defend myself!"

Wang Hao said again: "I will rush back to Jingzhao immediately to report to the county king. In addition, I will hand over [-] subordinates to the general. You will insert them into Zhou Jin's army. My subordinates will pay attention to observe."

"I understand!"

Wang Hao then handed over [-] elite inner guard soldiers to Wang Zhen, and ordered Yang Ye and Zhong Huan to continue searching for clues in Fushi City. Zhou Jin may not return to his hometown this time. It is very likely that they are still hiding in the county seat.

Wang Hao immediately led a hundred of his men to leave Fushi County and rushed towards Guanzhong.

……

Inside the big tent, Yang Ye worriedly said to Zhong Huan, "My brother thinks that Zhou Jin is still in Fushi County?"

Zhong Huan smiled slightly, "I'm not sure he's in Fushi County, but I'm sure he's still in Yanzhou."

"why?"

"It was so hard for Jin Bing to bribe a general. How could he let him run away so easily? He must use various means to keep him. He is just asking for leave because of the robbery of Huoyou. It's not really something at home. In case Jin Are the soldiers still looking for him?"

"My brother is right. If Jin Bing looks for him again, but he runs away, it will definitely not work."

"So he can't run away, and he can't stay in Fushi County to be encountered by his colleagues. I guess he is hiding in other places in Yanzhou."

"Then how can we find him?"

"In Fushi County, there will definitely be accomplices who will deliver news for him. It is inconvenient for soldiers to leave the barracks, and businessmen are most likely. That's why the imperial court sent people to investigate. Zhou Jin must also be very concerned. , there may be unexpected gains."

7Chapter 17 The Merchant

At two o'clock, Fushi County is completely silent, and there is darkness everywhere, except for one or two dim lanterns occasionally flickering in front of the gate of the inn.

Near the south city gate, Liu Er's thatched hut belongs to a poor area, and it is even darker here, with no moonlight, and thick dark clouds shroud the sky.

At this time, a black figure crept up to Liu Er's house, looked around the door for a moment, pushed open the dilapidated wooden door, and entered the house in a flash.

It is very dark in the house during the day, and it is even more impossible to see anything in the house at night.

Heiying scolded in a low voice: "Look for a fart! There are piles of tatters, who knows where he will hide?"

"Are you looking for this?"

A voice came from behind, and the lights suddenly turned on, and there was a tall young man standing behind the door, holding a stack of money in his hand.

The young man weighed the silver coins and said with a smile: "Are you looking for these silver coins, a total of 25 pieces, that's right!"

The man in the room was short and thin. He was scared out of his wits, turned around and ran for the door, but a tall and fat man walked in from the outside. The man bumped into the big man and was grabbed by the big man.

The big man nodded to Zhong Huan, "He is the only one, there is no one else."

"Leave two brothers to continue to monitor, and the others will collect the net."

"A lot of black shadows appeared from behind the surrounding houses and on the roof, and they quickly disappeared into the night."

"The thin man was taken into a large vehicle and taken back to a large mansion."

Yang Ye came out laughing, and gave Zhonghuan a thumbs up, "The judge is worthy of being the military advisor of our internal guards, and his judgment is accurate. How did he know that someone would come to Liu Er's broken house?"

"All of Zhou Jin's flaws are on Liu Er. How can he rest assured that when we come to Yanzhou, he will definitely find someone to come over secretly to take a look, for fear of missing any leaks, such as money."

"Brother Zhong is right, come and bring him here."

The thin man was brought up, and he was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed like garlic, "Forgive me, I'm not a spy of the Kingdom of Jin!"

"What are you doing at Liu Er's house?"

"I'll go...to find out if there's any benefit!"

Yang Ye shook his head, "You idiot, you think that other people will be as stupid as you, believe your stupid words, and dare to talk nonsense when you are about to die, drag on, and cut off his head!"

Several big men grabbed him and walked outside. The man was so frightened that he lost control of his urine and screamed: "Don't kill me, I will say anything! I will explain!"

Yang Ye winked, and several big men threw him on the ground. Yang Ye stepped forward, stepped on his hand, and said coldly: "You only have one chance, if there is a word that is not true, I will crush one of your words." finger!"

"The villain is a shopkeeper named Wang Jiulang. He lives in Dongfenglai Lane of the city and sells goods everywhere for a living. When the villain was selling goods in Lepan Town yesterday, someone asked me for help and said that he would give me ten taels of silver. Two, give me another eight taels after it's done."

"What kind of person?"

"Age about the same as me, in his 30s, tall and thin."

"What are the features on the face?"

"It seems... It seems that there is a scar on the forehead."

Sure enough, it was Zhou Jin, Yang Ye asked again: "What did he tell you to look for?"

"He drew me a map and asked me to come to that room at night to find some silver money, where it might be hidden, and let me dig on the wall or on the ground."

"Then, how do you give it to him after you find it?"

"He asked me to look for him at the Eight Immortals Restaurant in Lepan Town at noon tomorrow, and asked me to come alone, and no one else was allowed."

"Can you swear that every word you say is true?"

"The villain has parents, wife and children in his family, and they all rely on me to support the family. How dare the villain talk nonsense."

"Listen!"

Yang Ye said coldly: "I'll give you one last chance. If you help us catch this general surnamed Zhou, I will reward you ten taels of silver and let you go home. But if you dare to hide anything Cause him to run away, and you will surely die."

"I promise not to tell a single word of lies, what if he doesn't believe me?" The skinny man cried in fright.

Zhong Huan gave Yang Ye a wink, which means he can be trusted.

"As long as you cooperate with us honestly, we don't need to kill you!"

……

Lepan Town is located about [-] miles south of Fushi County. It is the only way to go to Luoshui Road. It is mainly a resting place for merchants. Many merchants estimate that they will stay in Lepan if they can’t reach Fushi County before dark. town.

There are also many businessmen who found that dry food and water belts were running low after leaving the skin treatment, and they would replenish them in Lepan Town, so there are more inns and taverns in Lepan Town, and there are several shops that specialize in dry food supplies.

At noon, the streets of Lepan Town were bustling with people, and many farmers around came to buy daily necessities, making the town extremely lively.

In the center of the town is a restaurant called the Eight Immortals Restaurant, which is also the largest restaurant in the town. At noon, half of the seats are full.

On the second floor by the window, sat a tall and thin man, about thirty years old, with dark skin, strong muscles and bones, and very powerful.

This person is Zhou Jin, the commander of the Song Army stationed in Yanzhou. His army is responsible for the security patrol of the fire oil warehouse, so he is very clear about the outbound and transportation of fire oil. Brother-in-law, with 3000 taels of silver, he bought a piece of information that can be done with little effort.

Many people know this information, so Zhou Jin believes that he cannot be found out. The only failure is that he hired an old boatman Liu Er and rented a boat. Although he killed the old boatman Liu Er that night. Two, but he left a lot of clues.

For example, he paid Liu Er with silver money, because Liu Er knew that silver money was valuable and was easier to hide, so he specifically asked him for silver money.

He didn't feel that it was a risk at the time. The state and county checked and found nothing wrong, but he didn't find any money on Liu Er, so he realized that he had made a mistake.

Today is still cloudy, windy, mixed with rain, and the weather is a bit cold. Pedestrians on the street are in a hurry. At this time, a grocery seller led a donkey into the town, shaking a rattle in one hand, soliciting business.

Wang Jiulang is here!Zhou Jin drank the wine in his glass, then looked around Wang Jiulang, but saw no suspicious person.

He let go of his heart a little bit. Yesterday evening, the inner guard cavalry had returned to the capital. They came in the morning and left in the afternoon. What can they find?

Seeing Wang Jiulang's relaxed expression, he guessed that Wang Jiulang's visit to Liu Er's house last night must have yielded something.

At this time, Wang Jiulang came to the restaurant, looked up and saw Zhou Jin in front of the window on the second floor, he temporarily left the goods at the shopkeeper of the restaurant, and went up to the second floor by himself.

Going directly to sit opposite Zhou Jin, Zhou Jin asked in a low voice, "Did you find it?"

Wang Jiulang took out a cloth bag from his pocket, put it on the table and pushed it to Zhou Jin.