Royal Gold Magistrate

Since ancient times, salt and iron have been franchised.

Selling salt without permission is equivalent to taking money directly from the treasury, which is naturally a felony of beheading.

So it is not easy to find private salt dealers.

Taoyuan County was able to find the relationship with illegal salt at the earliest, or through the information obtained from the mouth of the salted fish vendor.

Then follow the relationship to find the big salt seller.

These salt sellers were also highly vigilant, and after a period of time they failed, and finally Fang Zheng himself went out and "invited" them to the county government office for negotiation.

Seeing that the county magistrate was so dignified and dignified in his "business", the salt dealers cooperated with each other.

So you can see how difficult things are.

When Xie Xian returned to Fenghualou, countless merchants came to meet him.

Everyone knows that shopkeeper Xie is now in the same league as Fang Zheng, so he is very enthusiastic.

Xie Xian also responded one by one, and went from house to house with gifts.

One is to build a good relationship so that it will be useful in the future.

Secondly, there are some words in the open and in the dark. These merchants have a lot of land and raise many farmers, so the consumption of salt is also large.

Although for them, there is no pressure to buy official salt.

But in fact, the impact of price is everywhere, even the rich are deeply affected by it, especially businessmen who are always weighing the cost.

It's like how many rich people get entangled with others because of the parking fee of a few dollars.

If these merchants have cheap options in their hands, they are definitely not willing to buy expensive ones.

Moreover, most of the risks are spread on the salt dealer's head. The risk of buying salt is not high, and if something happens, it can be settled by paying some money.

Except for Xie Xian, the rest of the people were in the city, wandering the streets and alleys, looking for the salt dealer everywhere, openly and secretly.

In this way, seven days have passed, and there is still nothing.

Everyone gathered in the reception room again, feeling a little tired mentally.

But Xie Xian looked radiant.

"Everyone, did you gain anything today?"

Everyone shook their heads, Zhou Tie said depressedly:

"I didn't expect private salt dealers to be so hard to find. The brothers almost turned the city upside down, and they couldn't even find a hair."

"Old Xie, why don't I just go to the salt producing area, it's not a problem to stay here all this time."

Others followed suit and nodded.

But Qian Desheng still kept silent.

He hasn't run less in the past few days. Although he has old arms and legs, he came to Taoyuan County after all.

For the sake of the princess and for myself, I should fight hard. Useless people are not pleasing anywhere.

He had also been in Taoyuan County for some time, so he knew Fang Zhengyi a little bit.

This master is a human being, as long as he can make meritorious service this time, there will be hope for a better life in the future.

Seeing that he was silent, Xie Xian asked, "Butler Qian, what do you think?"

Qian Desheng nodded first, then he gathered his thoughts and said, "I don't think it's right."

"Although private salt traders have always been the focus of the imperial court's crackdown, there have always been repeated prohibitions for profiteering."

"It's the same no matter where it is, it's just a big or small difference."

"Jianjiang was originally rich and prosperous, although it suffered a disaster, but because of this, many newcomers flooded in."

"With so many impoverished people, it's a good time for salt sellers to be active, but...how could it be impossible to find even one person?"

"Then there are only two possibilities. The private salt dealers in Jianjiang are under the management of one person, or the source has been cut off."

"So, I also agree to leave here and go directly to the salt-producing area."

"But we don't have identities...It's too difficult to be true."

Xie Xian nodded and said, "That's right, it makes sense."

"In fact, we have identities. Before I left, the master gave me the official seal and his private seal, but it's best not to use it lightly."

"I found five suspicious people in Fenghualou. I wrote down the information of these five people. Let's take a look."

After finishing speaking, Xie Xian picked up the paper on the table and handed it to the side and began to circulate it.

"The five people on this list are frequent visitors of Fenghualou."

"I'm not a local, and I don't know how to make a living, and I never discuss business with people in the building."

"In addition to eating, drinking and having fun, the most important thing in our Fenghualou is to exchange business opportunities, and there are almost no exceptions except for these five."

"Observe and observe in the next few days. If there is no harvest, we will leave immediately."

Qian Desheng looked at the above list carefully and asked: "The records on it are quite clear."

"Two of them came from Haiyuan City. According to the map, this is an important salt-producing area. How did the maid and Xiaoer in the building know?"

Xie Xian smiled slightly: "When Fenghualou was established, all the people in Fenghualou were carefully selected and carefully trained!"

"Not only do things neatly, but also read and write."

"The prostitutes in the building can be regarded as top-level red cards if they get any brothel in the city, and they have seen countless people, so it is not difficult to get these news."

Qian Desheng's expression suddenly looked a little sad.

This brothel is made, when I was in charge of the East Factory, I didn't have such a flamboyant game, people are more popular than others...

"Let's limit it to five days. Find the brothers and follow them. If there is no news after five days, we will leave."

"Dismiss!"

.........

Three days later, there was a tea stall in the city.

The tea stand is very simple and out of tune with the surrounding environment. The banner at the door reads [Qingwei Detox Tea]

Xie Xian and Zhou Tie sat in the tea stall and were speechless.

He had just visited a wealthy family in the morning, and he saw Zhou Tie wandering on the street not far away.

Now that we've met, let's have a cup of tea together at the tea stand.

After Xiaoer served the tea, Zhou Tie immediately made a bowl.

Xie Xian looked him up and down, and asked, "Why are you alone? Have you gained anything?"

Zhou Tie shook his head: "The guy I'm with is a human trafficker, he's staying at a school outside the city, and he just came out of his house."

Xie Xian raised his eyebrows: "Killed?"

"I cut off my tongue and picked my tendons. The others were tied up and thrown in the house. That guy still has two boxes of silver at home, and he can't lift it. Go back and find your brother to get it."

"Old Xie, I don't think there will be any results if we continue to wait like this. Why don't you pack up and leave early tomorrow."

Xie Xian let out a long sigh: "Don't worry, one person has already been eliminated from your side, and another person from Zhao Lie's side has also been eliminated. Wait for another two days."

"I didn't expect it... It's so hard to find a salt dealer, it's a hell."

"It's not so much a matter of buying salt in our county?"

While the two were talking, the shopkeeper on the side pricked up his ears and rolled his eyes from time to time.

After wandering around for a long time, he mustered up the courage and walked over with a plate of peanuts.

He leaned in between the two, looked at Xie Xian and asked in a low voice, "Dare you be Xie Xian, shopkeeper Xie?"

Xie Xian was taken aback, and looked at the shopkeeper of the tea stall.

I saw that his smile was slightly wretched, and his big yellow teeth looked a little unappetizing...

Xie Xian twitched the corner of his mouth, and replied: "Exactly, you are the shopkeeper...?"

Hearing that it was really him, the shopkeeper hurriedly distanced himself, stood up and saluted respectfully!

"Villain Chen Siwu, I've met Shopkeeper Xie!"

......