Fenghou

Early the next morning, Wang Hao called for Zhong Huan and entrusted him with the mission of King Yong.

Chong Huan said with a smile: "Go to the county government to check, or ask the big shopkeeper, don't you know?"

Wang Hao shook his head, "If things were that simple, His Highness would not feel suspicious. If something goes wrong, there must be a demon. Don't be careless, kid. Find out what His Highness wants to know as soon as possible."

"Understand it, let's start the investigation."

"Where are you going to start?" Wang Hao asked.

Chong Huan thought for a while and said: "The humble official decided to start with the county government. Don't disturb the other side, check from the outside, and if there is no gain, then close the net."

Wang Hao nodded happily, "Yes! Just check like this."

Zhong Huan bowed and saluted, and left in a hurry.

……

When the "Beijing News" came out at noon, Chen Qing didn't have time to eat, so he opened the newspaper and looked for it. Sure enough, he searched in every corner. There was no news about the transaction price of [-] yuan per mu yesterday, which made Chen Qing heave a sigh of relief.

He looked at the front page headline again, and it turned out to be the news that Wu Jie was posthumously awarded as a young master by the imperial court. This news was at most the following newsletter, which couldn't bear the weight of the front page headline. The report of the transaction, that is the headlines.

At this moment, Zhou Kuan walked in like a gust of wind, and asked loudly as soon as he entered the room: "Your Highness, I heard that Yi'an Tea House sold 12 cups?"

Chapter 130 Investigation

Chen Qing frowned, "Old Zhou, please keep your voice down, everyone in the world knows your voice!"

Zhou Kuan chuckled, "I have a sense of proportion! Everyone went out to eat, and there was no one there."

"Let's go! Let's go to the teahouse for dinner too, we'll talk about it after dinner."

The two came to the teahouse. Chen Qing ordered two Tongzhou roasted lamb rice and a pot of Fengcha. The Tongzhou roasted lamb here is real bitter spring lamb. The price is also very high, 150 guan for two meals, plus [-] guan for a pot of Fengcha, this lunch will cost [-] guan.

Zhou Kuan muttered softly: "It's too extravagant, it's enough for ordinary people to earn for two years."

Chen Qing glared at him, "Why don't you treat me this time?"

Zhou Kuan slapped haha, "I'm short-tongued, I talk too much nonsense."

"As long as you know!"

Not long after, two young maids brought two large plates of meals. The mutton had just been roasted and was still sizzling. Normally, the maids would help to cut it. But why did Chen Qing's soldiers allow a strange woman to approach King Yong with a knife? The famous maid didn't even have a chance to enter the house.

The soldiers tried the poison and brought up the dinner plate, Zhou Kuan couldn't help sighing again: "Of the 25 pieces, at least ten are maids..."

"Eat it quickly! Why are you so wordy? Do you really think I will spend 25 pennies?" Chen Qing interrupted him impatiently.

Zhou Kuan suddenly realized that Chen Qing was the proprietor, and of course the proprietor didn't need to spend money to eat.

After the two of them finished their meal, Chen Qing poured two cups of tea into the official kiln teacup, and said calmly, "Tell me! How do you know about the princess selling the teahouse?"

Zhou Kuan took a sip of tea, rubbed the Jianzhan official kiln fondly, and said with a smile to Chen Qing: "I heard what Jiang Yanxian said, and Jiang Yanxian either heard what Wei Qing, the magistrate, said, or Gao Kun, the order of the land and housing department. Yes, probably in Weizhi County, to exchange land deeds, you have to go through the county and pay taxes, of course the county will know, this is the highest per mu price so far, and the price is comparable to Fengle Building in Lin'an."

"Fengle Building is also priced at [-] guan per mu?"

Zhou Kuan nodded, "Fengle Building, including the construction of the building, cost a total of 25 guan. Of course, they earned it back in a few years. It is said that it costs 150 guan a night. Jingzhao will spend so extravagantly? You [-] guan is probably not enough for a cup of tea in Fengle Building."

Chen Qing shook his head and said decisively: "I will never allow a Fengle Building to appear in Jingzhao, it will only make the generals of the Western Army corrupt and depraved, and make all the civil servants look at the money. Now everyone is keen to steal houses and land. It's making me dizzy, if the extravagance of Lin'an spreads to Jingzhao again, within three years, the golden soldier's wolf head flag will be planted on Jingzhao's city again."

Zhou Kuan's face became serious, and he asked, "Does Your Highness want to curb this trend of house speculation?"

Chen Qing said without hesitation: "Of course! Although my family is also keen on buying houses and land, it doesn't mean I can tolerate it."

"Your Highness needs to understand why the price of Jingzhao's land has skyrocketed. In fact, the main reason is that the rich and powerful families in the world are optimistic about Jingzhao. They are not short of money. The wealth of millions of coins was related to them because of the surge in land prices in Lin'an. Zhang Tai spent 20 coins to buy land in Lin'an, and Zheng Tongquan invested more than 50 coins in Lin'an.

Now that the Western Army is getting stronger and stronger, and is advancing eastward step by step, how can these rich people in the world not see it?Of course they also want to buy a house for their family in Jingzhao, so why the price of a ten-acre mansion can rise to one hundred thousand is the reason. Nowadays, the house with more than five mu is the most precious, and it will be snatched up when it comes out.

Those wealthy families who have accumulated wealth for decades, those giant merchants, no one knows how many of them are there, so I advise His Highness not to use the method of blocking, but to sparse, and build as many yards under one mu as possible. , in Han Chang'an City, outside the city, use enough quantity to suppress the price of small houses to ensure that ordinary people can afford houses. As for houses with more than three acres, it is not something ordinary people can consider. Just let it go up!Anyway, most of the houses are in the hands of the Land and Housing Department. Why not use the big houses to harvest the wealth of the richest people in the world? "

Zhou Kuan had already expressed his point of view clearly, as to whether Chen Qing could listen to it or not, that was none of his business.

……

Chong Huan waited for a quarter of an hour in the back hall of the county government office. Wei Qing, the magistrate, came to the back hall with a clerk holding a thick file bag in his hand.

"The information that General Zhong wants is available here, and General Zhong can look it up!"

Wei Qing gave the official a wink, and the official retreated.

Zhong Huan slowly opened the file bag. He is the commander of the inner guard. According to the regulations, the commander and above of the inner guard can look up any information of the government as long as they hold the executive silver medal.

Zhong Huan took out a stack of documents, the first one was the latest contract, the contract for the purchase of Yi'an Teahouse by Taibai Restaurant, and the land and house deeds left in the county government.

Zhong Huan took a closer look. One party to the contract was Tian Wenzhi, the butler of Tian. The princess authorized him to sign the contract on his behalf.

"Is this Liu Gui the proprietor of Taibai Restaurant?" Zhong Huan asked.

Wei Qing shook his head, "I don't know, you will see later that the signatory for the Taibai Restaurant's land purchase is also Liu Gui, and..."

"And what?" Zhong Huan asked.

"And the boss of Taibai Restaurant is also surnamed Liu. I seem to have heard someone say that he is also called Liu Gui. There is something strange here, maybe he has the same name and surname!"

"Isn't it a person? I mean, the signatory is the big treasurer."

Wei Qing still shook his head, "I know Mr. Liu, the shopkeeper of Taibai Restaurant, and this is the first time I've seen Liu Gui who signed for the land purchase."

"Does that mean that this contract is invalid? It's not your real name."

"It doesn't matter, as long as they pay the taxes in full and pay the rent to the other party in time, it doesn't matter whether this person is named Liu Gui, but there is one thing. In the future, if the land of the teahouse is sold or the title of the land is changed, it must be done by this Liu Gui himself. Come here, because you need to check your fingerprints."

"What if Liu Gui dies?"

"Death is another matter. There must be Liu Gui's death certificate issued by the government, and then his heirs will have to publish a statement in the newspaper. Wait for three months. If no one comes to fight for the property, then the government can change it." Deed."

Zhong Huan took out the land purchase contract of Taibai Restaurant, which was indeed signed by Liu Gui, and there was also a fingerprint on the side. Chong Huan compared the two signatures with the fingerprints and was stunned.

"Mr. Wei County, didn't you realize that these two Liu Guis are not the same person? Their handwriting and fingerprints are completely different."

The first thousand and 130 chapters Liu Gui

Chong Huan borrowed two contracts signed with Liu Gui's name and left the county government. He finally began to realize the strangeness in it. His Highness Yong Wang would not let them investigate for no reason, and His Highness Yong Wang must have felt that something was wrong.

Chong Huan found the Zhuangzhai Yaren who was in charge of the brokerage. In the Song Dynasty, private transactions were not allowed when buying and selling houses. They had to be brokered through the Zhuangzhai Yaren. However, Zhuangzhai Yaren is not something ordinary people can do. They must file with the county government to obtain qualifications. , That is to say, get a dental license to engage in real estate transactions.

The housing sales contract is also obtained from the government and is numbered. After each contract is established, the government must file for the record and pay taxes before the land deed or house deed can be replaced. This is considered a transaction.

If you intentionally evade taxes in a yin-yang contract, once it is found out, the consequences will be very serious. Needless to say, both the buyer and the seller will be fined if they pay taxes.

It is also for this reason that there are relatively few fraudulent house sales, mainly because it is difficult to obtain the qualifications of Zhuangzhai Yaren. Of course, they are not willing to ruin their jobs for a small profit.

The surname of Zhuangzhaiya who was in charge of this shop transaction was Dai. Everyone called him Dai Laoqi. He was in his thirties, thin and thin, but he could speak well. Three generations of grandparents were from Zhuangzhaiya. With the help of the prestige and reputation accumulated by his father and grandfather, Dai Laoqi is well-known in this industry. He opened a dental firm by himself and hired seven or eight small dental professionals to specialize in real estate transactions.

Zhong Huan and two of his men found Dai Laoqi in the tooth shop. Dai Laoqi heard that it was the inner guard looking for him, and his legs were a little weak from fright. During the time of private salt, the inner guards killed so many people that Bashu and Jinghu South Road mentioned the inner guards, and children did not dare to cry at night.

Of course, Dai Laoqi has been a little nervous these two days. Since he made the deal with Yi'an Teahouse, he has received a commission of 240 yuan. Unexpectedly, the next day, the "Beijing News" did not publish this transaction. You must know that this transaction must be on the front page, but there is no clue at all. up.

Dai Laoqi was a little bit guilty in his heart, and he also realized that the failure to publish in the newspaper might have something to do with the princess, and the proprietor of Yi'an Teahouse was actually the princess.

Until the inner guard found him, he immediately thought that it must have something to do with the huge deal the day before yesterday.

Dai Laoqi invited Zhong Huan to the back room, stood aside feeling nervous, and said gently, "I came to you because of the deal the day before yesterday, you should know which deal I'm referring to!"

Dai Lao Qi nodded, "I know!"

"You don't need to be nervous. The county government has already told me that the transaction the day before yesterday was reasonable and legal, and it has been completed. I'm not looking for you today to ask about the transaction."

Dai Laoqi secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said, "I don't know what assistance I can provide for the general?"

"I'm here to get to know the buyer!"

Chong Huan took out the contract and asked, "The buyer's name is Liu Gui, right?"

"That's right, his name is Liu Gui."

"Do you know this person?"

Dai Laoqi shook his head, "The first time I saw this person was introduced by shopkeeper Liu Da of the restaurant..."

Dai Laoqi's face suddenly changed, and he reacted suddenly, "Oh! That's not right! Shopkeeper Liu seems... also called Liu Gui."

Zhong Huan said indifferently: "Did you just find out now?"

Dai Laoqi nodded in horror, "The villain doesn't know what's going on, why do they have the same name?"

"Tell me first, who is Liu Gui who signed the contract, and how did the shopkeeper introduce you to him? Is it the proprietor?"

Dai Laoqi shook his head, "I didn't say it was the proprietor, I just said that this person has full power to call the shots."

"Where is this person from? Where is he now?" Zhong Huan continued to ask.

"This person's accent is Bianliang Mandarin. I don't know where he lives. Shopkeeper Liu brought him here."

Zhong Huan put away the contract and asked: "Think about it again, what other clues can you give me?"

Dai Laoqi thought for a while and said, "General, you can go to Baoji Cabinet to check. In the end, the money was delivered at Baoji Cabinet. Where did the 12 counter ticket come from? Baoji Cabinet should have a record."

"Which Treasure Kee Cabinet Shop? The one on Suzaku Street?"

"Exactly!"

……

Although the name of Zhuque Street in the Song Dynasty has not changed, it is no longer the extremely wide central street in the Tang Dynasty. It is still the central axis of Jingzhao City, but the square wall has disappeared, and shops have been built along the street on both sides.

Baoji Cabinet has three stores in Jingzhao City, and the largest store is located on Zhuque Street.

No one dared to be negligent when the internal guards investigated the case. The big shopkeeper of Baoji Cabinet Workshop also respectfully invited Zhong Huan to the inner hall. Not long after, a steward hurried in and handed over a counter ticket to the big shopkeeper.

The big shopkeeper handed the counter ticket to Zhong Huan and said with a smile: "The money in this counter ticket has been transferred, so the counter ticket has been cancelled. General, please have a look."

Chong Huan looked at the counter ticket. The amount on it was 12 guan. The copy must be sent to the cabinet where the money is withdrawn together with the verification jade and the password. When withdrawing money, the two counter tickets must be exactly the same, half a piece of jade must also fit together, and the password must also be the same. , the counters recognize the votes but not the people.

So basically there will be no problem, Zhong Huan asked: "Where did you issue the counter ticket?"

"It was opened by Pingjiang Mansion."

Pingjiang Mansion is Suzhou. It turns out that the proprietor of Taibai Restaurant is in Suzhou.

Zhong Huan asked again: "Can we find out who saved the money?"

The big treasurer shook his head, "Pingjiang Mansion may be able to find out, but I definitely don't know. We only recognize the ticket but not the person. We don't even know the name of the ticket holder who came to hand over the money. We only know The party who received the money, but this is confidential, we can't say it."

"Okay! Can you lend me this counter ticket for investigation?"

"If it is borrowed, there is no problem. It has been canceled anyway, but General Zhong will return it to us before the end of the year, and we must hand it over to the Lin'an head office at the beginning of next year."

"Yes! I will return it to you before the end of the year."

Zhong Huan wrote an IOU, put the counter ticket into the file bag, got up, said goodbye and left.

The big shopkeeper watched Zhong Huan go away, he immediately called a confidant, and said in a low voice: "Hurry up to Taibai Restaurant and inform the big shopkeeper Liu, saying that the internal guards have started to investigate the details of the proprietor."

……

Coming out of the cabinet, Zhong Huan returned to the office to sort out the results of the day's investigation. The biggest doubt was that he found three Liu Guis. The person in Taibai Restaurant is also called Liu Gui, but Zhong Huan does not have the handwriting and fingerprints of Taibai Restaurant's shopkeeper Liu, so he can't be sure whether Liu Gui who bought the land of Taibai Restaurant is the shopkeeper Liu.

Secondly, he got two more harvests in the cabinet workshop. One is that the proprietor of Taibai Restaurant is in Pingjiang Mansion, which is one of the core areas of the Song Dynasty. There are many, and it is rumored that the owner of Taibai Restaurant is one of the four major grain merchants in Bianliang, and Pingjiang Mansion is an important grain producing area. It is logical that Liu's family fled to Pingjiang Mansion.

Second, the second harvest of the counter shop is that the other party issued a counter ticket of 12 guan, and Yi'an Tea House sold it for 12 guan.

Of course, the results of the investigation are not necessarily a bad thing. It shows that the rich and wealthy in the Northern Song Dynasty began to be optimistic about the future of Jingzhao, and began to transfer money gradually. Buying real estate and land is one of the best ways.

After much deliberation, Zhong Huan decided to visit the shopkeeper of Taibai Restaurant early tomorrow morning.

The first thousand and 130 chapters for help

Early the next morning, Zhong Huan came to Taibai Restaurant. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by a short, fat middle-aged man, "Welcome to our restaurant!"

Zhong Huan was slightly taken aback, he had been to Taibai Restaurant, and had seen the shopkeeper a few times, he was a thin and tall middle-aged man, how did he become a short and fat man?

"Where's shopkeeper Liu?"

"My shopkeeper is not in the store, he has gone back to the main store. My surname is Wu. I am in charge. I will take his place for a few days."

"Nonsense! He was in the shop yesterday."

Chong Huan also sent someone to the shop to look at it yesterday afternoon. He was still there this afternoon, so why did he leave overnight?

Chong Huan became a little anxious, and stared at Steward Wu in front of him with wide eyes.

Humpty Humpty looked blank, "The shopkeeper often goes out, isn't it strange! The guest officer has something to do with him?"