During the Qing Dynasty, Beijing was the capital of the country for hundreds of years. As a capital, transportation was naturally extremely developed, running directly from north to south. When you leave Dongbianmen, you can enter the Tonghui River waterway at the dock, pass through Tongzhou, and reach the canal. From there, you can go south to Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

A prosperous place. Beyond Xibianmen, there are also roads leading to various provinces in the Central Plains. Going west for more than 20 miles from Xibianmen is the Yongding River that runs from northwest to southeast. On the Yongding River, there is a large stone bridge that runs from east to west. It is called the Marco Polo Bridge. At dawn,

, the sun and moon parallel to the river bridge, the scenery is the most gorgeous, known as the Marco Polo Bridge at dawn. Going west from the capital and crossing the Marco Polo Bridge, you will reach Liangxiang County only a few miles away. From there, you can go straight to Baoding without any obstructions.

, the famous name, and then crossed the Yellow River to the south, entered Kaifeng, went down to Huguang, and ran straight through the Central Plains. Like Dongbianmen Wharf, Marco Polo Bridge on the Yongding River was also a place with prosperous business travelers and densely populated areas in the Qing Dynasty.

On the west bank of the Yongding River and southeast of the Marco Polo Bridge, a townhouse stands tall, known as Changxindian. This was the time of peace in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, and there was an endless stream of merchants and travelers. Pedestrians heading south from Beijing usually set out early in the morning and arrived there.

It is noon in the Changxin store. When I am hungry, I will naturally find a shop to satisfy my hunger and then embark on a new journey. Businessmen from Henan and Hubei provinces who are heading north to Beijing will arrive at the Changxin store. It will be already dusk and they are not allowed to enter the city for a while.

, it is natural to find an inn to rest and wait until arriving in Japan before entering the city. With the advantage of this business trip, the Changxin store has always been prosperous and comfortable. Many local people come to the Changxin store to make a living.

, opened a warehouse and teahouse, and became rich through hard work through business travel.

To the southwest of Changxindian, there was an inn with the two characters "Xiangyun" written on it. The owner of the Xiangyun Inn, surnamed Wu, was always diligent. This place is located in the southwest, which is the easiest place for many merchants traveling north to rest. Therefore,

There is never a shortage of business, but even so, there are many business travelers who are accustomed to taking this road. When they arrive at Changxin store, they are willing to stay at Xiangyun Inn because Boss Wu is polite and treats him considerately. Within a few years, Wu

The boss had saved a lot of money, and originally wanted to go back to the countryside to buy more land for his descendants. But just as he was planning, the Sichuan-Chu White Lotus Sect war unexpectedly broke out, and the land of Henan and Hubei

, the number of merchants going north was greatly reduced. Boss Wu was not only unable to purchase land, but instead bought a lot of money at a discount. Seeing that he could not return to the land, and he also had some acquaintances with the merchants, he could not bear to abandon them, so he maintained the inn until the fourth year of Jiaqing.

October of the year.

Looking at the sunset on this day, it is another day without businessmen staying overnight. Boss Wu has experienced four years of war and has become accustomed to it. However, listening to the battle reports from the front these days, it seems that the war has always been unpredictable, and he does not know when and what year.

By the month, when his business was back to its peak, Boss Wu couldn't help but lament for a while. After dinner, he closed the shop and went to bed in the side hall. It was not easy to make a living these days, so Boss Wu didn't want to work with his subordinates.

Most of the work done by the assistants and night vigils was done personally.

He could hear the bleak sound of the autumn wind. It must have been the first watch, but he could not hear the sound of the first watch. Boss Wu also knew that the peace in the capital had been long at this time, and it was common for many people to be lazy during the watch. It was only the first watch.

After that, he was about to fall asleep. However, he didn't expect that at this moment, there were trembling sounds on the official road outside. After a while, the sound of horse hooves gradually reached his ears, and some people riding horses arrived at Changxin Store.

Outside. Then the sound gradually became clearer. Boss Wu had seen many government and military caravans passing by here. The sound of horse hooves was undoubtedly heard. And judging from the rhythm of falling, there were at least ten riders, maybe twenty riders.

Or even more, maybe.

Boss Wu was in a haze, and for a moment he forgot to identify the visitor. He only thought that he was here in the middle of the night, and he was a guest who came to stay. He got up quickly and got dressed, went to the main hall of the inn and opened the door. It didn't matter if he opened the door. Suddenly,

Several balls of flames immediately caught Boss Wu's eyes.

"Not good!" A thought suddenly came to Boss Wu's mind, and he was about to close the door, but as soon as he closed the door, the wooden door was pushed open by a huge force. Then, Boss Wu felt a chill on his shoulders.

, with the torch in front of me, I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw two steel knives already placed on my neck.

Sure enough, the people standing in front of me were neither business travelers nor escorts, but a group of masked strong men with fierce eyes!

"Hand over your valuables and I will spare your life." A strong man sitting on a horse in front of Boss Wu said in a low voice.

When Boss Wu looked in front of him, cold sweat gradually broke out. At this time, there were masked men on the left and right of him holding knives on his neck. Two people had come in behind him, guarding the door and refusing to let him in.

The main gate was closed again. There were about five or six horses in front of him. Three people on them were holding torches. In the middle was a masked man in gray clothes, who also had a steel knife in his hand. He glanced to the left from the corner of his eye, and there seemed to be several strong men standing beside him.

There are other accomplices. After all, it can be judged from the sound of horse hooves just now that there will be no less than twenty people...

However, at this time in the Changxin store, not a single officer or soldier came to fight against the strongman!

Looking at the situation in front of him, Boss Wu's eyes kept shaking and finally dimmed. Like ordinary people, he was naturally frightened and angry when facing the loss of his family property...but in the end, he was desperate.

"Here, it's in the back hall, you go...go get it...but don't, don't hurt anyone..." Boss Wu responded weakly.

"We don't have to kill people, but the rest is up to you!" The deep voice of the leading strongman came over again, and then the two strongmen with swords sheathed their weapons, holding down Boss Wu and pulling him back.

On one side, the strongmen behind them dismounted one after another and rushed in together.

Boss Wu's face was ashen, and tears gradually fell down. He knew that his hard work of more than ten years was about to be ruined in one day...

And Boss Wu was not the only person in Changxin's store who suffered a sudden disaster.

The sudden robbery at the Changxin store was known to the Wanping and Liangxiang counties the next day. The two counties hurriedly checked the losses in the Changxin store, drafted a report, and reported it to the capital overnight. Jiaqing is not like these days.

It was nothing important. I suddenly received an urgent report from the capital. I didn't know why. When I saw it, I was furious. Then I summoned the important ministers of the court and went to the Yangxin Palace to discuss countermeasures. On the day Ruan Yuan went south, the rest of them were familiar with each other.

The two ministers were in the palace and could not see each other off. Only Yongxuan, who had no official duties for the time being, and Liu Yong, who was old and did not pay attention to details, could come to say goodbye.

"Let's take a look at Changxin Store. I've been to this place before. It's only thirty miles away from the Forbidden City. But what happened the day before yesterday? Look at the reports from Wanping and Liangxiang. Suddenly, overnight,

There were twenty or thirty thieves who robbed fifteen shops at night, beating and injuring twelve victims, and robbed a total of more than three thousand taels of property worth more than three thousand taels of silver! Thirty miles away, it is not an exaggeration to say that the emperor is at his feet, right? But this emperor

Under my feet, such a heinous and unethical thing happened today! Whenever there are reports from other provinces, prefectures and counties, most of them mention the word "prosperity". Is this the prosperous age?! Thirty strong thieves acted like they were in an uninhabited land under my nose.

Robbery, this is the disgrace of the Qing Dynasty! In your daily work as an official, you have never left your mouth with the word "diligence and caution". I also want to ask you, where were the Zhili prefecture and county officials, and the officers and soldiers near Changxindian that night?

! Do they still have the word Qin Shen in their hearts?!" Looking at the report in front of him, Jiaqing became angrier as he spoke. Suddenly, the ministers heard a "pop" sound, and Jiaqing could no longer suppress the anger in his heart, and

The memorial was thrown down.

"Back to the emperor, this..." The minister in front of Jiaqing was Qing Gui, the chief military minister. As the chief minister, he naturally knew that he should be the first to answer, so he said: "I have been an official for many years, and the people around the capital have

Although I dare not say that I have been here for a long time, I still know a lot about it. This Changxin store must have been there for at least several decades, and there have been no such thieves plundering it. I think the officers and soldiers nearby came after a long period of peace, and they were careless.

,talent……"

"Is this an accident?!" Jiaqing said angrily. As he said that, he picked up another memorial and threw it in front of Qinggui. "Five miles away from Changxin Store is Gongji Camp. If there are any thieves,

The officers and soldiers of the camp should have arrived at the scene in a short time. But what did the people at the scene say? They unanimously told Wanping County that there were no officers and soldiers at Changxindian to arrest the robbers that night! This memorial to Shuli, Wanping County

It has also been investigated clearly that there should have been five flood soldiers that day, but there were only three in the flood that night. There should have been four robber soldiers on the West Road, but no one went to patrol that night! This Gyeonggi patrol camp,

How degenerate has it become?! Tell me, don’t you know these things? Don’t many prefectures and counties in Zhili know about it? Does Hu Jitang not know about it either?! Dai Quheng went down to draw up the decree. Hu Jitang, as Zhili

The governor-general of Zhili sat back and watched the Changxin store being robbed by bandits. How could he have the dignity to be a high-ranking official in the border region again? From today on, all the princes and eunuchs of Hu Jitang, wearing flower feathers on their heads, and the governor-general of Zhili will be dismissed! That’s right, He Shen

When all kinds of corrupt, evil and illegal behavior were exposed, Hu Jitang took the lead in impeaching He Shen. He had merit, but what happened today is a big mistake and cannot be offset by old merit! I also know that it is because you did not rely on He Shen back then.

, I am able to stand here today. But you should also remember! What happened to Heshen happened yesterday. If you make a mistake today or tomorrow, I will deal with it strictly in accordance with the law and will not be merciful!"

The rest of the ministers were silent for a while, but Dai Quheng came out, knelt down in front of Jiaqing, and said: "Back to the emperor, I think that Hu Jitang has neglected his duties and will naturally be punished. But if he is dismissed immediately, it will be a small gain and a big loss."

I hope the emperor will think twice."

"Dai Quheng, I have always relied on you since I took office. What do you mean by saying this today? Could it be that you and Hu Jitang colluded with each other to form a party for personal gain!" Jiaqing said angrily.

"Back to the emperor, I am just planning for the current robbery, and have no other intentions!" Dai Quheng kowtowed again: "Master Hu usually behaves. As we all know, it is true that he made an oversight this time. But for decades, Master Hu has been

He is a diligent official and is neither a treacherous person nor a mediocre person. Moreover, the day after the robbery occurred, Mr. Hu went to Changxin Store to personally supervise the arrest of the robbers. This I know. Mr. Hu

He has always been diligent in his work. He had made a lot of preparations for Emperor Gaozong's visit to the mausoleum before it was a great gift. I think at this time, he was not completely oblivious to thieves. Moreover, Mr. Hu has been the governor of Zhili for many years.

The situation in Zhili is still familiar. If the emperor changes people to investigate and handle the case at this time, the new person may not be diligent and may not be familiar with the human situation of Zhili. I am afraid that he will get twice the result with half the effort. I am not saying that Mr. Hu is not at fault this time, but
Chapter completed!