The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

But Lin Hai resigned and returned to Beijing, rested for a few days, called on various old friends, and by the way went to Su Zheng's house to show off how filial his disciples were.Naturally, Su Zheng didn't show weakness, and showed off for a long time how the children gave him a long face in the past three years, and also took out Jia Congxiao's woolen knee pads and lambskin gloves with half fingers, and said triumphantly: "It's very cheap to write in this winter. , and warm."

Lin Hai was unhappy, so he ordered a boy to go to Rongguo Mansion when he left the Su's house, and asked Jia Cong to make two half gloves for him right away.Jia Cong couldn't laugh or cry, and said: "It's getting hotter and hotter now, what do you need gloves for? As winter approaches, I will naturally prepare the ones for my husband and send them away." Lin Hai gave up after hearing this.

But he went to the mansion of the virtuous king again.

Situ Pan was practicing calligraphy in the room, when he saw him coming in, Fang put down his pen and said with a smile, "I think of me."

Lin Hai sat down quietly for a while and asked: "What happened? The day I came back, I went to the palace to meet the Holy Lord and didn't see the prince, so I was a little surprised. Afterwards, I talked to the holy man for a long time..."

Situ Pan smiled wryly and said, "I don't know whose method it is. I searched for a long time but didn't find out. In the end, Dai Quan revealed half a sentence, saying that fortunately, the virtuous king is loyal, and if there is any objection, he can do it at any time."

Lin Hai was startled: "This... this..." Xu Jiufang shook his head and sighed, "Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger."

Situ Pan also shook his head: "I didn't intend to go to court, but now my brothers are becoming more and more united, and they have tried many methods to provoke them, but they plan to succeed...Eunuch Liu is also old."

Lin Hai was silent for a while, and said: "I have another important matter in the south of the Yangtze River. Because of some hesitation in my heart, I didn't talk to the Holy One first, but came to discuss with the prince."

Situ Pan asked what was the matter.

Lin Hai said in a low voice: "I only know about the salt department, and I really don't investigate the others. The prince will also check whether Xu Hong, the general soldier in Jiangxi, has been greedy for ink or paid for nothing in recent years."

Situ Pan sneered and said, "What are you looking for? When has he not been greedy? He is the biggest corrupt ink in the south of the Yangtze River, and he is also the most powerful. If it is done according to the law, it will cut off more than ten times. In the early years, I checked Later, he was really annoyed by the investigation, so he simply stopped investigating and waited for the old man to leave."

Lin Hai asked again: "Is there a way to deal with it?"

Situ Pan sighed and said: "If we can deal with it, why is it? He is capable, and he only obeys the old man's order. Right now we are still being pinched by the old man. Besides, he has a lot of soldiers in his hands, and he knows He wins people's hearts, and he never monopolizes the benefits. The military officers in Jiangxi let him raise them fat. The governor of Jiangxi has to flatter and flatter even an ordinary general under him. Even if the old man wants to deal with him, he still has to weigh him. those people."

Lin Hai sighed: "Can such a person not rebel?"

Situ Pan was shocked: "He has objections? No, he would rather die than rebel when he was captured in southern Xinjiang."

Lin Hai sneered and said, "What year was it? He had so much property and children? He had these subordinates? Besides, he is only in his 50s, so it is obvious that he can outlive the old saint. The prince also said it just now. Wait until the old sage is gone, how can he not know." He paused, and said, "Xu Hongbao is already recruiting private soldiers."

Situ Pan gasped.After a while, he said, "Do you have any evidence?"

Lin Hai shook his head: "No, it's just a guess. Four years ago, a private salt dealer died in a blacksmith's shop. The prefect of Yangzhou investigated that the blacksmith secretly participated in the salt smuggling, and because of the uneven distribution of the spoils, he beat the dealer to death and fled. That case Although it is small, there are some strange things. I wanted to go back from Beijing to investigate again, but the father of the most important witness that day was a purse of the old sage, and he was involved with two or three princes. Later The Holy Majesty ordered me not to take care of the old saint’s affairs, so I left it behind. After a long time, I accidentally discovered that the witness was a fake! It’s a pity that the person has changed, and it’s been too long, and nothing can be found after further investigation.” Said Then he took out a booklet from his arms, "This item was obtained from the illegal salt dealer, it is extremely vague. The counterfeit witness lied to me that this item recorded illegal salt."

Situ Pan took it over and took a look. It was a small account book, which seemed to record the purchase of firewood and charcoal, and how much copper money bought how much charcoal.

Lin Haidao: "It's just that the price of firewood and charcoal near Yangzhou is not at this price. If I change it into private salt, I have used many methods, and it is barely feasible from the perspective of a big salt lord. However, that private salt dealer is definitely not a big salt lord. If there is That big salt lord, Lin, didn’t know, did he spend so many years in the salt class in the south for nothing?”

Situ Pan asked: "In your opinion, what is recorded in this account book?"

Lin Haidao: "The blacksmith who disappeared is a very famous skillful hand in Huaiyang generation. His surname is Wang, and he is known as the kitchen knife king. Since he is entangled with him, the biggest possibility is the weapon."

Situ Pan's expression changed.

"Based on the price of a good bayonet, the 'firewood' price in his account is justified by exchanging copper coins for silver, and the carbon price for silver is equivalent to the price of a whole set of military armor."

It is a common method of making false accounts to make the account books of other things in the name of one thing.Situ Pan flipped through the booklet, his face became more and more ugly as he flipped through it, and finally hit the desk with a "slap".It took a long time to ask: "How do you know that Xu Hong did it?"

Lin Haidao: "The private salt dealer came from Yuzhang, so I was suspicious of Xu Hong first. Naturally, I can't guarantee that it was someone else."

In his heart, Situ Pan weighed the whole line of generals in the south from beginning to end, and finally said, "He's the only one."

Lin Hai nodded, and said: "This matter is too big, and it's all speculation. I dare not take the liberty to play it, so I will discuss it with the prince first."

Situ Pan sighed: "Ruhai, you are becoming more and more cautious. You are only in charge of the salt department, and you really don't know many things. Since you have doubts, if you secretly report to Beijing earlier, we can investigate it earlier. go."

Lin Hai lowered his eyes and said, "It's true that I didn't think carefully and indulged him for about two years."

Situ Pan picked up the account book again and looked at it carefully, and said: "According to this amount, Xu Hong's appetite is not small; adding the number of empty pay to his private soldiers will make it even more serious. I don't know what will happen in Jiangxi this time." What has become of him? Even if he turns against the imperial court immediately, it is possible for the mercenary side to be unbalanced. Freezing three feet is not a one-day cold, and you have indulged in the past two years. Since he has noticed it, if he bites at that time If we continue to investigate, I am afraid that the more closely we act, the more difficult it may be to investigate; if it is forced against him, it will be even more troublesome."

Lin Hai cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, my lord, for your irresponsible kindness."

Situ Pan smiled and said: "I'm telling the truth, not to excuse you. It's just that when I came to the third brother, I just said that you thought it was strange to get this account book back then, but you didn't understand it all the time. So I showed it to me today. My second brother It took me half a day to figure out the above, I was shocked, and I will go to the palace to face the saint."

Lin Hai hurriedly bowed and saluted: "Thank you, my lord, for covering it up."

Situ Pan waved his hand and said: "How many years have we been friends between you and me, why are you so polite? You are not awkward, I am awkward."

Lin Hai smiled lightly, stood up and said goodbye, Situ Pan stopped after sending him to the door of the study.After returning to the case and picking up the account book, Lin Hai came back again.

He cupped his hands with a wry smile and said: "I just forgot something, please help me."

Situ Pan smiled and asked what was the matter.

Lin Hai shook his head and sighed, "It's ridiculous! I really don't know how to say it. As an official of the court, I feel ashamed." Then he told about Yang Heng's injustice.Although he knew that the person who robbed the prison was from the Rongguo Mansion, he only said that the person was "Yang Heng's early friend in Green Forest".At the end, he said, "I'm afraid that Wucheng Bingma Si couldn't find out who the real culprit was, and was forced by the Zhen Guofu, so he randomly found a scapegoat. The culprit was rescued again."

Situ Pan was stunned for a long time when he heard the words, and smiled bitterly: "Although it is absurd, it is not surprising."

Lin Haidao: "Yang Heng has already turned his back on evil all these years, which is really rare. I just came to Beijing, and it's inconvenient to spend a lot of trouble with Mr. Zhao, and I'm also implicated in the Zhenguo Mansion. Besides, it's illegal for his friend to rescue him. If you want to, just do it like that." Well, if Mr. Zhao does something like this, his household registration will probably be revoked."

Situ Pan said: "One thing more is worse than one thing less. Anyway, Zhao Cheng knows what's going on in his heart, even if he meets Yang Heng on the road, he won't say much. The household registration is easy to handle, so I just ask someone to say something."

Lin Hai hurriedly cupped his hands to express his thanks, but resigned again.Situ Pan ordered someone to fetch clothes and change them into the palace.

The sage had just invited the queen mother to come back, and he was full of depression; he was shocked when he heard what happened to Xu Hong: "What a dare!"

Situ Pan said: "It's just my and Mr. Lin's speculation, I don't know if it is true."

The saint picked up the account book and flipped through it, and asked, "Have you two checked the prices of the saber and armor?"

Situ Pan said: "Yes. Because the suspect is a blacksmith, Mr. Lin suddenly guessed whether it might be a weapon; I immediately ordered someone to go to the construction workshop to find out. If our guess is true, his cost is higher than that of the construction workshop. But they are very similar. If someone privately builds a military armor in the south of the Yangtze River, many raw materials are not easy to come by, so it will naturally be more expensive, which makes sense."

The sage believed what he said, and nodded, "I'm afraid it's eight or nine."

Situ Pan said: "There is no real evidence, so there is nothing we can do about it. The most important thing right now is to get people to verify it."

The sage sneered and said, "What's the use of having facts? Were there not enough facts in the past? What can we do?"

Situ Pan said: "The old man doesn't take those accusations seriously. How can it be the same as rebellion? He will never shield Xu Hong again."

The sage picked up the booklet and sneered sullenly: "This is the real evidence. Just check it out. If you can't find it, use it as evidence and make some circumstantial evidence. If you can bring down Xu Hong, it's useless." gave the old man an arm."

Situ Pan said: "If it's as Master Lin guessed, Xu Hong will definitely not plead guilty for nothing. I'm afraid the troops in his hands will be difficult to deal with."

The sage frowned: "Check it out before we talk about it, I'm going to trouble the ninth brother."

Situ Pan thought for a while, and said: "It's just that I just took over Zhou Yan's people not long ago. This person is really not suitable for this job, and there are many incompetent people under him. I'm afraid I have to recruit suitable people from the beginning. If Xu Hong wants to rebel , I must be on my guard. I am afraid that the trash in my hand will not be verified. Third brother, can you transfer two capable people from Eunuch Liu to me."

The sage said: "This is easy, you can find what he wants."

Situ Pan took the order and left.He immediately found the old eunuch Liu Dengxi and asked Feng Ziying and Qin Sangu to leave.Although Liu Dengxi was reluctant, he heard that he was investigating Xu Hong's major rebellion case, and knew how important Xu Hong was, so he could only reluctantly part with him.

Soon, Jia Cong heard that Feng Ziying was going to go to the south with Situ Pan to do business, and he would leave after the Mid-Autumn Festival; he also heard that Qin Sangu also wanted to go to the south to check the accounts, and it happened to be after the Mid-Autumn Festival, so he rolled his eyes and sighed pretendingly Said: "Then, young master, I have seen through everything."

Because Qin Sangu heard him mention that Yang Heng is from the Yang family in Yuzhang, she said: "The Yang family in Yuzhang is very famous in the green forest. I will go to Jiangxi this time when I go south. I haven't been there for a long time. I don't know where it is." What does Bian look like. Cong'er, how about introducing me as a friend of yours, and let me inquire about it?"

Because Jia Cong hated Xu Hong for assassinating Lin Hai several times, he was worried that he could not help them, so he naturally agreed.Then he laughed and said, "Uncle Lin's bodyguard, Brother Yang, is his brother, and he also belongs to the Yang family in Yuzhang. You guys know each other." Then he took Yang Song and Yang Heng and Qin Sangu to the most famous Taibai residence in Beijing. After a good banquet, Jia Cong treated the guests, and Qin Sangu paid for it.

Qin Sangu and Yang Song used to protect Lin Hainan together in the early years. They haven't seen each other for a long time.Then she asked the Yang brothers about the situation in Jiangxi Mansion.The two of them said that Xu Hong, the commander-in-chief, was in charge of everything over there, and even the governor was just a display, so he hurriedly asked.Yang Heng shook his head and said many unreasonable things, and finally said: "What can ordinary people do? They will be deceived for no reason. That's why I left my hometown and came to Beijing to make a living."

Jia Cong said angrily: "These corrupt officials are just staring at the court and letting him be as high as the sky and far away from the emperor?"

Qin Sangu sighed: "I'm afraid the imperial court can't control it."

Jia Cong snorted and said, "I can't control anything, it's the imperial court! Only those who don't want to, and those who can't."

Yang Song said: "What do you know as a child? These generals who hold military power don't listen to civil officials, or even the court. They can't just send troops to encircle and suppress them for nothing. How many soldiers will die in vain."

Qin Sangu nodded again and again: "That's right, how can the lives of soldiers be wasted like this for nothing."

Jia Cong said "cut": "He is almost becoming a warlord, what is the difference from rebellion? Isn't it over by beheading?"

Qin Sangu hurriedly asked what was the beheading operation.

Jia Cong said: "The ancients said that the king was the first to capture the thief. There is no need to capture such a rebellious minister and thief like Xu Hong. I just said that there is an urgent matter in the court to send him to Beijing, and kill him in Shili Pavilion outside the city."

Third Aunt Qin snorted, "Do you think he is a fool? If he is sent to Beijing without a reason, he will definitely not come. If he is not guaranteed, he will be forced to turn back. It will be another disaster for the people."

Jia Cong said: "Think of a way. There are so many high officials in the court, can't even think of a reliable way? It's okay to get the gold medal if it's really impossible. Twelve gold medals were transferred to Yue Fei to harm Zhongliang. The one who should be scolded is that old thief Qin Hui. A gold medal can kill loyal officials and punish corrupt officials. As the saying goes, a black cat is a white cat, and if it catches mice, it is a good cat."

Qin Sangu smiled and said, "That's all, you are the smartest." Then she changed the topic.

Jia Cong knew that she must have an idea in her heart, so she stopped talking nonsense.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival, after many years, Lin Hai and his daughter celebrated the reunion festival, and the father and daughter recited poems to the moon, very happy.

Jia Cong on the other end was not very happy.Jia Amnesty took advantage of the joy of the children during the holidays and told him that the old lady of the Gao family had sent a letter asking for a Spring Festival match for Gao Mang.Jia Cong naturally liked Gao Mang; it's just that he had always been a sister-in-law, and he was extremely displeased that this man wanted to marry his sister away, and his face immediately turned dark.

Jia She then asked, "If you don't like it, why don't you find someone you can trust?"

Jia Cong argued: "How old is my sister? How can there be such an early engagement."

Jia Amnesty stretched out his hand and gestured: "Fifteen! How could fifteen be earlier? How many girls are married at this age. Your sister is still a concubine, and Gao Mang is the son of the eldest son. Your sister has climbed a lot."

Jia Cong jumped up: "My father! My Jia Cong's sister is a hairball! I only have this one sister, okay? You wait for two years, two years is enough. Believe it or not, there are more than half of the whole capital. The wealthy family wants to marry her?"

Jia She said with a snort, "I know what you are capable of, brat. Talk about a high-ranking family, even if the prince is willing to marry your sister as his concubine. Do you dare to let your sister marry me?"

Jia Cong choked immediately.