Cross the Sea in the Red Chamber

It is not that no one has ever done such a thing as fishing to catch a big living person in history.For example, at the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, Mr. Jiang Taigong successfully caught Zhou Wen Wang Jichang.But he didn't really "catch" people with that fishing rod...

Regardless of how it was caught, since it has been hooked by Jiangyuan's hook, naturally it can't be thrown back into the river.Jiang Yuan grabbed the clothes on the back of the man in the water, pulled him up with all his strength, and threw him onto the deck.Naturally, the accompanying soldiers came forward to control the water to rescue the man. Jiang Yuan had time to observe the big living man he caught.

The person in the water is about 20 years old, with an ordinary appearance and a white face without beard.Wearing bunt clothes, a melon skin cap on his head, and a pair of mille-soled cloth shoes on his feet.The clothes on his body were fairly clean, although they were bluish-gray and inconspicuous, but they were made of good quality silk.He doesn't look like an ordinary civilian in this attire, but looks like a domestic slave in charge of a big family.

At this time, the man had already been fished out, so he could see clearly.The reason why he sank in the water was because he was tightly bound by four horses.Silk is used as the base on the hands and feet, and a thick layer is wrapped around the skin, and then the silk is tied firmly with straw ropes.

This way of tying someone up has an advantage, even if the person is dead, there will be no obvious strangulation marks on his hands and feet.The straw rope tied outside will be washed away by the rushing river in a few days, and the silk wrapped inside will also float away with the water and will not stay on the person.

Even if this person's body was discovered afterwards, because there were no traces of being strangled on his hands and feet, no matter how he looked at it, he was undoubtedly drowned. If you don't know how to check carefully, the murderer doesn't have to worry about being caught.

One could tell at a glance that this person was caught and killed by others.If the river bandits on the river kill people, how can such a troublesome method be used?A knife directly on the neck is enough. Even if you don't want to see blood, you will drown the person in the water, and then throw it in the river. It will not be so troublesome with silk and straw rope.

However, the murderer was indeed too hasty. The piece of silk wrapped around the man who fell into the water seemed to be torn from the hem of the murderer's own clothes, and the straw rope that tied people was also the kind commonly found on cargo ships. , and he did not tie any heavy objects such as big rocks to this person to fall down, otherwise this person would sink to the bottom of the river as soon as he entered the water, and it would not be Jiangyuan's turn to catch him.

Judging from these points, the person who wanted to kill him had some impromptu intentions. There was no premeditation, and the place of committing the crime might be on the deck.This is because a boat passed by nearby, and he was afraid of exposing the murder, so he threw the person into the water without tying heavy objects.It's kind of interesting to kill people behind others' backs.

Jiang Yuan looked around, there were many ships around, and it was the time when the sun was setting and he was about to have dinner. Except for his official ship, there were only one or two crewmen on the deck of other ships. He didn't see the murderer in the satin gown he had guessed at all.

Jiang Yuan was not in a hurry, anyway, the person he caught was not dead, so it would be too late to ask what happened when he woke up.

Regardless of how the soldiers dealt with that man, Jiang Yuan took Situ Ye to have dinner. He didn't catch any fish himself, but there was a very tempting steamed fish in the dinner he told at noon. Yes, this dish should have a fishy smell when it is cold, so it must not be procrastinated.

After dinner, playing chess with Situ Ye, and sending the child back to sleep, Jiang Yuan felt refreshed and full of energy.

When it comes to chess skills, Jiang Yuan is no match for Jiang Yan and Empress Jiang, no match for Situ Sheng and Situ Yuehua, and his skill level is not as good as that of beginners, so he can only bully Situ Ye and Situ Can up.But looking at the speed at which these two boys have progressed, it is estimated that he will not be able to bully these two in two years. It is really sad...

Just as he was feeling emotional, the soldiers outside knocked on the door and reported softly, "Master Hou, the person you rescued is already awake."

"Come in." Jiang Yuan directly called the guards at the door in, and asked, "What did he say? Who threw him into the river?"

The soldier stepped forward and replied: "The man said that his name was Chen Shan, and he was a servant from a farm outside Yangzhou City. He said that he was thrown into the river when he encountered bandits in the river."

Hmph, there is really not a word of truth.

Leaving aside the Jiang bandits, it must be false.The servants of the farm are no more than the servants in the mansion. They also do farm work and carry sacks, and often do rough and tiring work.But the man he rescued had no calluses on his hands, no traces of heavy loads on his shoulders, and even his face wasn't tanned. Which farm could handle such a pampered, uncle-like servant?

Jiang Yuan rolled his eyes, "You didn't reveal our identity, did you?"

The soldier replied: "No, I don't seem to have any doubts from the man's expression. I just think that we are the men on the merchant ship, sending goods from the north to Jiangnan."

Although it was called an official ship, the ship Jiang Yuan was on was nothing more than a ship with flags and lanterns on which the official names were written, and it was no different in shape from an ordinary merchant ship.

The man woke up in the cabin, and he didn't come to the deck, so it's normal that he doesn't know where he is.The soldiers on the boat were not wearing soldiers' clothes, as long as their words didn't show any flaws, even that person would not be able to see anything wrong.

"That's good. I'll meet him in person in a while." Jiang Yuan smiled lightly. When it comes to solving crimes, even ten of them are no match for Jiang Ning and Jiang Chengan. The skill of the old fox who has lived for decades is not comparable to Jiang Ning.

At the beginning, he managed to get the whereabouts of the remaining assassins out of Cui Cheng's mouth in just a few words. Now how much stronger is this Chen Shan than the original Cui Cheng?

Before the routine, Jiang Yuan changed his clothes first.The suit he was wearing originally was not bad, but after all, it was a bit too expensive.He has never been someone who would wrong himself. Ever since he became rich, he has always been comfortable with food and clothing.During this period of time, he was sitting on the official ship again, and often had to meet officials from both sides of the river along the way, so he inevitably dressed a little more carefully, fearing that it would make people see the official air inside.That man is a servant of a big family, and he must have seen the big world, so it would be difficult to talk about his official authority if he was seen.

He changed into a brocade jacket that he would never wear normally, paired it with a golden sandalwood folding fan, and changed his clothes and accessories a little, giving him a dandy feeling.Jiang Yuan dressed himself up like a well-loved son of a merchant family, self-righteous but not self-aware, with an inexperienced appearance, so that it is easy to confuse the other party and facilitate clichés.

Dressed up, Jiang Yuan waved the fan in his hand and walked to Chen Shan's room step by step.

Jiang Yuan patted the door casually, pushed the door open and walked in without waiting for the people inside to answer, this defiant demeanor matched with his clothes, one hundred out of one hundred people think he is a standard playboy.The person inside who called himself Chen Shan was taken aback by him, but he reacted quickly, and hurriedly asked, "My lord, are you..."

Jiang Yuan didn't look at him directly, but squinted his eyes and looked him up and down from the corner of his eye. He didn't answer his words, and asked contemptuously: "I heard that you are from Yangzhou Prefecture. What is your name, Chen Shan?"

Chen Shan was choked by Jiang Yuan's performance, but he could tell that the person in front of him must be a fearless dude, and he couldn't afford to offend him, so he tried to pretend to be honest. Xianglai replied: "The villain is Chen Shan from Yangzhou Prefecture, and he is a servant of Chenjiazhuang outside Yangzhou City."

His expression was a little stiff, and his eyes couldn't help looking around. This was a sign of guilt. It seemed that this person was not from Chenjiazhuang, and he probably didn't even know if there was such a place as Chenjiazhuang.

The accent of Jiangnan is very similar to northerners, and it is impossible to distinguish the specific location, but there are still differences inside.When Jiang Yuan was in the army, he had contacted comrades in the south, and he knew the accent of the south very well. This man did not use the accent of Yangzhou people, but it was a bit like the movement of Jinling.

Hmph, I'm afraid Chen Shan heard that the soldiers on the boat were from the north, thinking that none of them would be able to tell what was wrong with his accent.

"Oh? It's from Chenjiazhuang. Chenjiazhuang is a good place. There are mountains, waters, orchards, and the ducks are especially good. It's the most suitable dish for making three sets of ducks." Jiang Yuan said casually. .

Chen Shan probably didn't expect that there really was a Chenjiazhuang outside Yangzhou city, and the person across from him knew that place, so he almost showed his flaws.He pursed his lips, and then said dryly: "Yes, yes, what the young master said is true."

"Hey, since you are from Chenjiazhuang, do you know how is Guanshi Chen in your village? When I met him two years ago, he said that his waist and legs were weak. Whenever it rained, the pain was so bad that he couldn't move. , Later I heard that he invited a doctor surnamed Zhang to treat him, but I don’t know if the cure is cured, do you need to find someone to look at it.” Jiang Yuan played with the fan in his hand and asked casually.

The sweat on Chen Shan's head was about to come down. He didn't know what Chenjiazhuang outside Yangzhou City was. He just lied about it, but he bumped into someone who had actually been to Chenjiazhuang. How should lies be smoothed over?

But at this time, it was impossible not to speak, he swallowed, tried to calm himself down, and replied with force: "Returning to your son, Chen Guanshi's waist and legs are much better now, and the prescription prescribed by that doctor Zhang is very effective." .”

"Hehe, is that so..." Jiang Yuan put away the folding fan one by one with a gentle expression, and then suddenly slammed the fan on the table with a loud "bang", Chen Shan was taken aback.He subconsciously raised his head to look at Jiang Yuan's face, but he was facing a pair of bottomless eyes, and a cold aura rushed towards his face, scaring Chen Shan, who had a ghost in his heart, to turn pale.

"You made up a good lie, but what you said was quite slippery, but unfortunately every sentence was wrong!" Jiang Yuan knocked on the table again, looked at Chen Shan who was trembling and said coldly: "There is indeed a Chen family village outside Yangzhou City. That's right, but there are only mountains and no water around Chenjiazhuang. Although there are orchards, they can't raise ducks. On the contrary, the bamboo shoots there are quite famous. There is no steward surnamed Chen in Chenjiazhuang. But the surname is Xu! That steward Xu doesn’t have a waist and leg disease, but coughs frequently, and the doctor he invited was not named Zhang, but Li. You don’t know all these things, and you dare to call yourself a servant of the Chen family village , I think it must be a fugitive slave who ran out of nowhere! As soon as the boat stops, I will send someone to take you to the yamen, and see how the officials there will convict you!"

Jiang Yuan spoke extremely fast, and a series of evidence was brought out without even panting in the middle, which made Chen Shan in front of him turn pale and pale in fright.The lies he told were exposed one by one in person, and he was sent to the government as a fugitive slave, how could this happen?

According to the laws of the Jing Dynasty, if a fugitive slave is caught by the government, he will be convicted as a border guard!What is the difference between charge and border at this time and the death penalty?

Jiang Yuan's words were as fast as a sharp sword, and every sentence pierced through his defenses.He is not a person who is good at lying, and he is just an ordinary manager. Where has he seen such a scary scene?

Chen Shan didn't dare to sit on the bed anymore, and immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately, shouting repeatedly: "Young master, please forgive me, please forgive me, the younger one is not a servant of Chenjiazhuang, but the younger one is actually from Jinling. It is the younger one." Damn you lied to the young master, I dare not ask the young master to forgive me, I just ask the young master to spare my little life."

Jiang Yuan laughed secretly, he didn't know if there was a farm named Chenjiazhuang in Yangzhou, just now he just said a few casual words to cheat, but in the end this boy who had never seen the world was the first to recruit.

He didn't show his face, and kept an angry tone: "Oh? You just lied that you are from Yangzhou, and now you lied to me that you are from Jinling. After a while, you will become a person from Suzhou and Hangzhou again?!"

"The young one doesn't dare to lie anymore, the young one is indeed from Jinling. By the way, the young one's name is not Chen Shan, but Chen San. Also, and, the young one now belongs to the third room of the Jinling royal family. Servant. I dare not lie, I am a servant of the royal family of Jinling, not a fugitive slave, really not a fugitive slave." Chen Shan, no, it was Chen San who was already frightened by Jiang Yuan, Qi Qi Ai Ai The foreword didn't make sense and the afterword revealed his identity, looked at Jiang Yuan eagerly, knelt on the ground and trembled all over his body.

The royal family of Jinling?Jiang Yuan's eyes sank, and he showed a slight smile, and said, "The royal family of Jinling? But the royal family after Taiwei Du ruled the prince of the county?"

Chen San stopped stuttering this time. Looking at Jiang Yuan's gentle smile, he thought that Jiang Yuan had a connection with the Wang family, and quickly said: "It is the county uncle Wang's family. The young one is the little steward in charge of running errands in the Wang family's third house. He is in charge of delivering the letter." He was afraid that Jiang Yuan would still not believe him, so he said, "Master Sanfang and Mr. Wang Ziteng in Beijing are cousins, and their name is Wang Zipeng. If you know his old man's name, you will know that this is not nonsense. It's gibberish."

Jiang Yuan looked in disbelief, "I am also familiar with the Wang family. I also drank with brother Wang Ren Wang when I was selling goods in the capital. Don't think that I don't know about the Wang family, so you can be deceived. Me. Since you are from Jinling, why did you appear here? You said you were not a fugitive slave?!"

"Don't dare." Chen San bit his lips, and in order to save his life, he finally said: "The young one is indeed from Jinling, and was sent by my master to work in Yangzhou. Who knows that there is a villain among the people on the same boat. When the younger one arrived in Yangzhou, he caught me and didn't allow me to get off the boat to do business, and then threw me into the water to drown me, and I would like to thank the young master for helping the younger one get on the boat."

"Why did you send you to Yangzhou? I remember that Wang Zipeng has no property in Yangzhou?" This sentence is pure nonsense. Jiang Yuan doesn't even know how many people are in the Jinling Wang family. How can he know that Wang Zipeng has never heard of it? Is there any industry in Yangzhou?

Fortunately, Wang Zipeng really has no property in Yangzhou, so Chen San nodded and said: "My master sent me to deliver a letter to Master Song, the magistrate of Yangzhou, but now the letter was also snatched by the gangsters, and the little one was thrown into the water." Almost drowned."

Seeing that Chen San didn't mean to talk nonsense, Jiang Yuan just faltered a few words, closed the door and left.He walked out of the cabin, looked at the bright moon in the river and frowned.Mr. Song, the magistrate of Yangzhou, isn't that Song Chen?Isn't this Song Chen a member of the Zhen family?Didn't I hear that after the Zhen family collapsed, he voted for the Wang family?What is written in that letter?And who wants to get that letter, even at the expense of killing people?

It seems that Jiangnan is also very chaotic, and I don't know if Lin Jun has found out anything during these days...

That Chen San has been locked in the cabin, but the ship is gradually approaching Yangzhou.

Jiang Yuan is a second-rank official in the court, but his power is not lower than that of first-rank officials, and he is also the confidant of Prince Situ Sheng. How can all the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture not want to flatter him?

What's more, Situ Ye, the eldest son of His Royal Highness, is also sitting on his boat. Even if he doesn't pick up Jiang Yuan, he must pick up His Highness.

So all the officials from the top and bottom of the Yangzhou Mansion stood at the ferry and waited. When they saw the official ship coming, they immediately went up to meet it.

Situ Ye has seen many such scenes along the way. How many officials in the capital haven't he seen them?Those officials below the second rank couldn't arouse his interest at all, and even if they put on a "hello, comrades" expression, they passed.

Jiang Yuan exchanged a few words with them, and didn't say much. He glanced at Song Chen through someone else's introduction, and then at the weak middle-aged man beside him.The man noticed that he was looking over, and immediately saluted him respectfully, it turned out to be Lin Hai, the censor.

After exchanging greetings with the officials, Jiang Yuan used the excuse of being tired from the boat trip all the way to live in the post station.

Although it is normal for officials to live in post stations, post stations are not as good as houses, and the furnishings inside are just like inns, which is really uncomfortable.

Yangzhou officials at first advised him not to live in the post station, but later saw that Jiang Yuan would not listen, so he was not willing to persuade him much.Most of these officials are not on the same side as Jiang Yuan. If Jiang Yuan really doesn't live in the inn and lives in their house, he will definitely cause big trouble.The forces behind them still have to suspect that they intend to seek refuge with Situ Sheng?When the time comes, Situ Sheng refuses to accept him, and the forces behind him will attack them again. It will be a disaster for them.

Jiang Yuan didn't care, and took Situ Ye to live in the inn.He didn't know that Lin Junde hadn't got the information that he had arrived in Yangzhou, and he was still waiting to discuss the form of Jiangnan with Lin Jun.This love in the south of the Yangtze River, the situation is treacherous, it is absolutely impossible to be careless...