The magistrate's office of Baoding Prefecture.

Xiong Qing is in a state of great trouble these days. He has no time to take care of the case of Zhang Jingxiu's child loss, so he can only hand it over to the Jinyiwei Liu Shouyou for investigation.

Because there are more headaches waiting for him.

When Zhang Jiayin came, he first used the crazy man to eat free food and checked the amount of soldiers from Baoding Mansion.

The number of soldiers in Baoding Prefecture should be 20,000. The data records reported to the court are indeed the same, but in fact there are only 15,000 soldiers.

Although Zhang Jiayin told him that he would not impeach him because of the issue of empty salary, Baoding Prefecture is not an isolated case, and this problem exists across the country.

But it is a fact that Zhang Jiayin held this handle tightly in his hand, so he always felt that as long as Zhang Jiayin tried to force him, he would be finished.

This incident was enough to make him worried, but Zhang Jiayin was not just doing this in his garrison in Baoding, and was almost simultaneously investigating the fields of Baoding Prefecture.

In fact, this item is not new, because not long ago, the Ministry of Revenue decided to investigate the land across the country again in accordance with Zhu Yili's will, but it did not do it in a hurry like Wanping County.

As everyone knows today, Zhang Juzheng decided to clear the fields to effectively implement the one-whip method, while Zhu Yiliu cleared the fields to equalize the fields.

Therefore, when Zhang Jiayin came, he had to make drastic efforts to clear the fields, which made the wealthy families in Baoding Prefecture panic.

Almost every day, people came to him, the prefect, to find out the news.

However, Xiong Qing didn't know what Zhang Jiayin was going to do. Every time he asked indirectly, Zhang Jiayin said that this was responding to the call of the court. As for whether it was Juntian... I don't know.

Anyway, Zhang Jiayin did not tell him clearly, nor did he reveal any rumors.

In addition, Zhang Jiayin also asked him to count all the royal relatives of Baoding Prefecture and all the Dukes, Marquis and Earls with Titles.

This made many people panic and talked a lot. What exactly are they going to do?

Previously, the news that Zhu Yili wanted to cut off the supply of royal family members was already rampant. Is this going to be serious? And, together with the relatives and counts, they also want to start the operation together? After all, there has been no news since Zhang Jingxiu's child was robbed. There are rumors from the outside world that there are big figures behind the scenes to instigate and cause trouble.

This series of actions not only made Xiong Qing so busy that his feet were not touching the ground, but also as tired as a dog.

But it won’t work if you don’t take it seriously, so Zhang Jiayin is sitting opposite him.

Only then did he realize how wrong it was to set up the Governor's Headquarters opposite the prefect's office. At that time, he fantasized that he would get the moon first when approaching the water and get a good relationship with Zhang Jiayin.

How is this? He forced him to do his duty every day and did not dare to neglect at all.

For many days, I didn't go home, so I ate, drank, urinated and slept in the yamen. Although half of it was for Zhang Jiayin to show it, he was the one who suffered.

Zhang Jiayin is the commander-in-chief, but he is the prefect of Baoding Prefecture. He has to do things, and he has to deal with conflicts. Some people have to express their dissatisfaction or inquire about the truth and truth.

Anyway, I am busy and tired, and I am not at ease, for fear that something will go wrong.

He was about to take a short snatch that day when Master Dong came in and attached himself to his ear and said softly:

"Dongweng, someone wants to see you."

"Who is it?"

Xiong Qing said impatiently. He felt that he was already numb, although he knew that it was not easy to find him directly and he had to receive him.

"Dongweng, who came from the capital, refused to tell the origin of his name, and it seemed to be of some origin."

"Come from the capital?" Xiong Qing immediately opened his eyes and sat up straight, "Where is the person?"

"Living in the Shuntian Guild Hall. But this guest said, it is up to you to decide where to meet."

Shuntian Guild Hall is the best hotel in Baoding. The guests staying in the hotel are either rich or noble, and they are all people with a background.

The guild hall is very close to here, only half a street away. Xiong Qing has been uneasy. There have been too many things happening recently. He thought that the authorities were confused by the onlookers Qing, and maybe someone could give him some advice.

Therefore, he wanted to visit him, but he didn't know the other party's origin, so he asked Master Dong:

"Where did you tell that person has a background?"

"First of all, the man had a piece of Kanhe sent by the Ministry of War, which shows that he had a great background. He could have traveled along the way, but when he went to Baoding, he could not stay in the guild hall of the mansion, so he ran to the Shuntian Hall to live."

Generally speaking, the Ministry of War will issue it to Kanhe if a new official of a certain level takes office and an old minister above the second rank resigns and returns home. Xiong Qing feels strange if he is in a position but does not enjoy the treatment.

"See you then night."

Xiong Qing thought about it and made a decision.

Master Dong immediately went to Shuntian Hall to inform the mysterious man with a background.

At night, the crescent moon is like a hook.

North Street where Shuntian Guild Hall is located was originally a prosperous place where the wine shops and brothels competed for beauty. If Xiong Qing's sedan chair was carried across this street during the day, it would inevitably attract the attention of pedestrians on the roadside.

But it's different to come tonight.

The street is full of sedan chairs, and wealthy businessmen and tycoons are all rushing to show off their wealth. Everyone comes here to enjoy the fun and dress up as an old man in a sedan chair.

Soon, Xiong Qing's sedan fell in the hall of Shuntian Guild Hall.

The servant in charge of reception in the guild hurriedly stepped forward and raised the curtains of the sedan chair, and was about to shout "Come on the master...", but he saw that the person who was under the sedan chair was an official. He was stunned because he didn't know him.

Just as Master Dao reported the message, he glared at the servant and scolded, "Don't the magistrate recognize him? Look at you standing like a piece of wood."

The servant was so scared that he stuck out his tongue and ran away.

Master Dong led the way forward and led Xiong Qing upstairs to the backyard of the Guild Hall. Up the stairs, there was a three-bay house.

There is a living room in the middle of the house, the guest's temporary study on the left, and the bedroom on the right.

The furnishings of this house are all elegant and exquisite. Even the small seats that place flower pots are carved from yellow rosewood.

Although the servant didn't recognize Xiong Qing just now, Xiong Qing was a regular visitor here, but he used to wear casual clothes.

So he knew that this house was the highest-end in the Shuntian Guild Hall, and it costs twenty taels of silver to stay for one night - this is the income of ordinary small families for three or four years, and ordinary people cannot afford to live in it.

When Xiong Qing walked into the living room, he saw a person enjoying a table of delicacies alone. There were two singers sitting next to him, one playing the pipa and the other playing the sandalwood board to help him with wine.

But the mysterious man with a black cloak covered his entire face, so he had no idea what he looked like.

As a result, Xiong Qing felt even more curious, but a little nervous.

The man put down his wine glass and stood up, bowed his hands and asked, "Is He the Prime Minister Xiong of Baoding Prefecture?"

"That's right here." Xiong Qing replied.

"Master Xiong is indeed trustworthy. I asked your Master Dong to bring a letter and invite you to meet him. You are indeed here."

"Dare you ask me about your honorable name? Since I have already arrived, why don't you show me your true face?"

"My surname is Gong, so respectful Gong, just call me Mr. Gong. As for why Gong did not show his true face, I have no way to tell you. I hope Master Xiong will forgive me! Master Xiong, please sit down."

"I don't know what Mr. Gong has to teach you?" Xiong Qing did not sit down immediately without knowing the other party's background.

The mysterious man who claimed to be the surname "Kong" smiled mysteriously and then raised his hand to Master Dong:

"Sir Dong, please step down first. Gong has something to do and you, Dongweng, have a separate interview."

As a result, Xiong Qing was even more upset.

Who is this person’s origin?

After Master Dong went downstairs, Mr. Gong invited Xiong Qing to take his seat again.

Xiong Qing still refused: "Mr. Gong, I have already eaten, I can't drink tonight anymore."

The key is that I have no idea!

I don’t know who the other party is, and I haven’t even seen my true face. How can I drink it? What’s the point of drinking?

Mr. Gong smiled mysteriously again and said slowly: "During this period, the governor of the Xiong Prefecture is staring at you, and the powerful and powerful people are forcing you to take care of both ends. It is not easy. It is so anxious. I have no energy to drink it?"

Xiong Qing didn't say anything, but felt a fog of walnuts furrowed in his eyebrows.

Seeing this, Mr. Gong knew that Xiong Qing could not trust him, so he got up and went to the study to take out a piece of paper and handed it to Xiong Qing.

"Master Xiong first check this out. If you think Gong is accurate in speaking, you might as well sit down and talk. If you still feel distrust Gong and think Gong is worthless to you, then you can leave immediately, Gong will never try to keep him."

Xiong Qing took the paper and opened it to see a line of words written on it: Puzhou Real Estate, Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province.

Xiong Qing's hand holding the paper suddenly shook. The eleven words that had not yet dried ink were like eleven sharp knives, piercing into his heart.

...
Chapter completed!