turmoil

Zhang Jingche's estimate of Duke Pei and his son was very accurate. In the next few days, Duke Pei and the local government did intensify their search efforts. In addition to the businessmen who came and went with their residence registration, there were even officers and soldiers who searched for fugitives. Under the guise of the police, they went door-to-door to search for important criminals.

Zhang Jingche and his party hid in a small restaurant. The restaurant was unattractive. Because of its thoughtful hospitality and delicious food, it actually attracted many merchants. Over time, it played a small role in the local area.

The officers and soldiers came several times, and each time, the owner of the restaurant put on a smile and ordered people to bring out good food and wine, and entertain them with delicious food and drink.The green plum wine they brewed at home is a must. The officers and soldiers all like it.

On this day, a team of officers and soldiers searched the streets and came to beat the autumn wind as usual.The shopkeeper didn't dare to be negligent, so he ordered someone to clean up some food and drink, and personally accompanied him.He poured a glass of wine for the leading officers and soldiers, and smiled courteously: "You officers have come so many times...why, that fugitive is so powerful, and he hasn't been arrested yet?"

The leading officers and soldiers loved green plum wine the most. They raised their necks and drank it clean, then motioned to the shopkeeper Manshang: "No! If it was so easy, I wouldn't be Jiang Yang's thief!"

The shopkeeper's eyeballs rolled around: "If you want to tell me, I have already dug three feet into the ground. Since I haven't found it yet, either the thieves have the ability to fly into the sky or escape from the ground, or this group of thieves is no longer here... Didn't you search elsewhere?"

The leading officers and soldiers said without hesitation: "Impossible... If you want to see people alive, you want to see corpses when you die. This group of gangsters definitely can't run far, and they must still hang around nearby! In my opinion, it's probably someone who is desperate and dares to collude with the thieves. Hide them secretly! Hmph, when we catch the handle, we must deal with those young people who hid the thieves together!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a "choke" sound, but the waiter who was serving food heard his words, his fingers trembled in shock, the dish was overturned, and the broken porcelain was splashed everywhere.

The leading officers and soldiers didn't think much about it at first, but when they saw the waiter in the store panicked, they couldn't help but became suspicious: "Why are you panicking? I didn't mention you... Could it be that there is something shady hidden in your store?"

The shopkeeper's thoughts turned, he got up and scolded the waiter in the shop: "How many times have I told you that you are messy, what's there to panic about?" Then he apologized to the officers and soldiers and said: "This child is newly recruited, and he has never seen the world... The master is very heroic, he was fooled by a child, and he missed it for a while, so don't be as knowledgeable as him."

The leading officers and soldiers were also well-informed. Seeing that the waiter in the store was quite flustered, he raised his hand and pushed the shopkeeper aside: "I didn't ask you, so stop talking!"

He winked, and the two officers and soldiers slipped the waiter in front of him. He was indeed a child, but he was thirteen or fourteen years old, he was black and yellow and thin, and it seemed that he hadn't had enough food since he was a child.

The leading officer and soldier took out a piece of silver and shook it in front of the shop clerk. The shop clerk's eyes straightened immediately, and the officer and soldier said in a low voice: "Tell the officer, what did you panic just now? If you answered well, the ingot of silver will be returned to you." is you."

The waiter showed a greedy and longing look, but he glanced at the shopkeeper, suppressed it again, and shook his head.

The leading officers and soldiers concluded that he knew something, pulled out half of the waist knife, put the gleaming blade on the waiter's neck, and asked sharply: "If you don't tell me, if you cut it down, you will have a scar the size of a bowl! You have figured it out yourself!"

The waiter was a child after all, and had never been through such a battle before. He was so frightened by the coldness of the blade that he almost peed on his pants.He remembered the life-saving grace of the shopkeeper of the restaurant, and he refused to speak, but his eyes couldn't help looking around, and he glanced at the back kitchen.

The leading officers and soldiers saw the mystery at a glance, pushed away the shopkeeper of the restaurant, and led people into the back kitchen.

The small restaurant is not big, and the back kitchen is not very spacious. You can see clearly inside and out at a glance, and there is absolutely no place to hide people.The shopkeeper followed up in a hurry, bowing and begging: "Gentlemen, we are all good people who do small business, and we really don't hide thieves!"

The leading officers and soldiers were still a little hesitant. Seeing that the shopkeeper was so panic-stricken, he made a firm guess: "Search for me! Don't let go of every corner, inside and out!"

The officers and soldiers agreed, and the small kitchen jumped up and down.In an instant, the pots and pans fell to the ground, dry firewood and straw were flying all over the sky, and the officers and soldiers even knocked over every floor tile, but still found nothing.

The leader of the officers and soldiers stood in front of the stove, squinting his eyes and scanned the surroundings. Every corner was searched... except for the stove behind him!

The officers and soldiers turned around quickly, lifted their clothes and squatted down, and looked into the stove with their probes.

The expression of the shopkeeper at the door suddenly changed.

The stove was dark and covered with thick ash, making it impossible to see anything clearly.The officers and soldiers reached in, took out a few handfuls randomly, and suddenly sneered: "It turns out...it's hidden here!"

The shopkeeper of the restaurant completely changed his face, and only heard a sharp sound, and actually pulled out a sharp bone-cutting knife from his waist.At the same time, the officers and soldiers drew their knives out of their sheaths, and the gleaming knives surrounded the shopkeeper of the restaurant. Just at the critical moment, a lazy voice suddenly came from the entrance of the lobby: "Is anyone there? The door is open in broad daylight, how can you even be serious?" Is there no one to welcome guests?"

The leading officer and soldier turned his head with a frown, and saw a group of men dressed as merchants walking in at the door, their bags were bulging, and judging from the shape, they seemed to be stuffed with weapons such as swords.

The officers and soldiers suddenly changed their colors, and scolded: "Who are you, do you have a guide certificate?"

The one who started it was a young man with a good description, but he smiled with a rather unreasonable and lazy look: "Certificate? I have lived for so long, and no one dares to ask me for a certificate... What is that? It Recognize me, I don't recognize it!"

The officers and soldiers at the head were furious, and turned their heads and shouted: "Looking at your sneaky whereabouts, you must be the thief who is going to catch you! Come here, take it down for me!"

As soon as he gave an order, the officers and soldiers immediately abandoned the restaurant owner and rushed to the outsiders.

There were about [-] foreign visitors, a fraction less than the officers and soldiers, but their combat power was really strong.As soon as the two sides fought each other, the leading officers and soldiers knew that they had encountered a tough idea. Within a few rounds, the brother he had brought fell crookedly on the ground, and he himself was kicked out by the young man at the head, and rolled into a disgraced macaque.

He was dizzy for a while, struggling to get up, but two "thieves" stepped on his shoulders and pushed him back to the ground.The officer and soldier took a mouthful of blood foam mixed with mud and sand, and said viciously: "You...you are so brave! You dare to beat even the official...I tell you, the garrison of Jinan Prefecture is nearby, don't run away if you have the guts !"

The young man in the lead poked his ear and said with a smile: "Who said I'm going to run away? I'm not afraid to tell you, I'm here for that old boy Zhao Hongci! If he doesn't come, I'll be worried!"

"Zhao Hongci" is none other than the name of a general in the Jinan Prefecture Garrison.The young man said casually, but he seemed to be very careless, and he didn't pay attention to the dignified general at all.No matter how stupid the officers and soldiers were, they could tell something was wrong at this moment, and asked with straight eyebrows, "You... who are you?"

The young man smiled at him and said nothing.

There was a lot of movement in the small restaurant, and it spread early in the morning.Not long after, there was the sound of purge horseshoes outside the restaurant. The sound was that of a well-trained regular army, and it was definitely not something that a mob of officers and soldiers could practice.The young man lifted up his clothes indifferently, sat down at the wine table, picked up the wine pot and poured himself a glass, drank half of it, and said with emotion: "Ah, it really is good wine!"

At the same time, with hurried footsteps at the door, countless stubborn soldiers rushed in and surrounded the lobby.

Immediately, the soldiers at the door withdrew to both sides to make way for the passage, and a man with the appearance of a general came in, looking around with eagle-like sharp eyes, and said coldly, "Who is making trouble here?"

He was tall and tall, with a ferocious appearance. There was an inch-long scar at the corner of his eye, and he spoke with a fierceness of eating flesh and sucking blood.The young man did not rush, put the wine bowl on the table, turned around and said with a smile: "Old Zhao, you are so majestic!"

When Zhao Hongci saw this young man for the first time, his face suddenly changed, his eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose were retracted, and he forced to look a little obedient and docile: "You, you are... Yang Shuai?"

As soon as these two words came out, everyone from the officers and soldiers to the soldiers was dumbfounded.

Yang Fan wiped his mouth, stood up loudly, and waved his hands at the soldiers indifferently.The soldiers understood, and took out a shining golden signboard from their waists, and showed it in front of the group of people: "Yanghou was ordered by the emperor to come here on business, and you dare to do anything to the Houye. You will not dare to eat a bear's heart and a leopard."

The leading officers and soldiers were dumbfounded, and they were all dumbfounded.

Zhao Hongci was originally a fierce general under Lao Dingbianhou's command. Because of his bravery in battle, he always took the lead and was promoted from an unknown soldier to a third-rank general.

It can be said that the old Marquis of Dingbian is both Zhao Hongci's benefactor and his nobleman. Now that the old Marquis has gone, the golden signboard of Dingbianhou's mansion has been passed on to Yang Fan. I can't blame Zhao Hongci for seeing him, and immediately transformed himself from a vicious The wolf king became a docile watchdog.

"The last general doesn't know that Lord Hou is here, so I'm far away from welcoming you. Please forgive me!" Zhao Hongci saluted with fists clasped, looking at the officers and soldiers trampled under the feet of the general of the Hou family, hesitantly said, "Master Hou, what are they..."

Marquis Dingbian smiled: "He said that Marquis Ben is a thief who robbed houses, and he even took me to court for interrogation, so dedicated to his duty... Tell me, how should Ben Marquis reward him?"

The officers and soldiers never imagined that when they caught the thief by themselves, they actually moved on the head of Hou Dingbian. The three souls frightened the seven souls, and they would only desperately beg for mercy: "Master... Please forgive me! It's the villain who has no eyes and has offended Lord Hou!" Huwei! I beg you to have a lot of adults, please spare this little one! The little one... the little one will never dare again!"

Yang Fan listened for a long time, couldn't help but sneered, turned his head and said to the soldier: "Listen, after talking for a long time, his fault is that he doesn't recognize me."

Zhao Hongci was so clever, hearing his voice was wrong, he hurriedly scolded the officer and soldier in charge, "You are such a daring dog! Relying on a little bit of official authority, it's nothing more than being a domineering person on weekdays, but now it's even worse, and almost demolished others Storefront! Don’t even pay the shopkeeper!”

The officers and soldiers were scolded all the time, and they didn't even dare to fart, so they kowtowed desperately to the shopkeeper of the restaurant in the shape of throwing their bodies to the ground: "Shopkeeper, this is mine today! In this way, all the smashed things will be credited to me!" Come on, the silver will be delivered later, I trouble you to plead with Lord Hou, please forgive me this time."

It was beyond the shopkeeper's expectation that things turned out like this.He pondered for a moment, stepped forward and smiled at Yang Fan, "Thanks to Master Hou for taking action, the little old man is very grateful. It's just today's matter... all the officials are also servants, so please forgive me, Master Hou."

He paused, then smiled wryly: "The little old man has opened a store here for more than 20 years. After all, he is a neighbor, and he can't see him when he looks up. He still has to do business in the future."

Yang Fan understood what he meant, the owner of the restaurant was afraid of offending the officers and soldiers, and would come to trouble him every now and then, and he couldn't even do business.After all, Marquis Dingbian can keep him safe for a while, but he will return to the capital after all. When Yang Fan leaves, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and it will be set on fire. Who would not have eyesight to oppose the government?

Thinking of this, Yang Fan suddenly lost the interest to ask the teacher about the crime, and turned his head to wink.The soldiers let go of the leading officer and shouted: "Go away! If you see you disturbing the people again, Lord Hou will take your dog's head with his own hands!"

The officers and soldiers recovered a dog's life, scared the crap out of their heads, and rushed out of the restaurant without looking back.

Seeing his cowardly appearance, Zhao Hongci also felt dispirited, and cupped his fists at Yang Fan to make amends: "The last general has no way to defend himself, so I told Lord Hou to see a joke."

Yang Fan snorted lightly, and didn't answer the question: "Don't rush to put the shit bowl on your head, these people are obviously the dogs of the local government, what does it have to do with you?"

Zhao Hongci was speechless and could only smile wryly.

Great Yin pays attention to the use of literature to control military, even if the rank of the prefect is half a head lower than that of the generals, Zhao Hongci can do nothing for them.He was silent for a moment, then reluctantly changed the subject: "Master Hou said that this trip was ordered by the emperor, so I don't know why?"

Yang Fan raised his head and saw that the blankness on his face did not seem to be fake, so he knew that the story of "the imperial envoy was robbed" had not been spread.Even if Zhao Hongci vaguely heard about the beginning and end of the explosion, he only thought it was Xiao Xiao's generation who killed people and caused chaos, and didn't think about Jin Yiwei at all.

Yang Fan thought about it, and answered without asking: "I haven't asked you yet, what is the reason for this journey, the three levels inside and the three levels outside?"

Zhao Hongci smiled apologetically and said, "That's an order from the prefect of Jinan, saying that there are culprits who murdered people and robbed them and fled here. They ordered us to conduct strict inspections and never allow them to escape."

Yang Fan frowned and said, "What kind of thief? Are they all like him?"

He pointed at the shopkeeper of the restaurant, and Zhao Hongci immediately showed embarrassment.

"About catching a thief, according to Ben Hou, it's just a pretense of catching a thief, taking the opportunity to go to the fish and meat town!" Yang Fan snorted, "The prefect of Jinan is called Fan Cheng, right? Go tell him, just tell him what I said, let him Get rid of those scumbags who pretend to be powerful, if they don't get rid of cleanly and hit Ben Hou's hands, I will take the head to find that Fan surname!"

Zhao Hongci knew Yang Fan's temper. This young master was trained in the desert of northern Xinjiang. He said "holding the head", he would never show mercy, so he hurriedly agreed and left in a hurry.

Yang Fan sat on the spot without moving, just ate half of the food and wine, and filled his stomach with chopsticks.The shopkeeper tremblingly approached him and poured him a bowl of wine: "My little old man, thank you Hou Ye for your kindness... Hou Ye, this wine and food are cold, why don't I change it for you?"

Yang Fan was noncommittal, bowed his head and said, "The guest staying with you... how are you doing these days?"

The shopkeeper's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment he wasn't sure about Marquis Bian's intentions. He apologized and said with a smile, "What guests? These days, the officers and soldiers are hunting people everywhere, and all the foreign guests have been scared away. What you are talking about..."

Yang Fan dipped his finger in the wine, and wrote the word "Qin" stroke by stroke on the table.

The shopkeeper's pupils suddenly froze.