The soldier shouted: "A ship just passed the sentry post. Unfortunately, Sentinel Li was hit by an arrow, and the sentry pole was also broken."
Yang Yi became more and more angry. He urged his horses and continued to pursue with two thousand cavalry. He faintly saw the shadow of the fleet, and the enemy was about to enter the Qiantang River.
Yang Yizhong was so anxious that he shouted: "Speed up!"
The cavalry galloped forward like the wind, and the fleet was also speeding forward. They pulled up the sails. It happened to be a north wind. The night wind was strong and the speed was much faster. The first ship had already entered the Qiantang River, followed by the second one.
Ships also entered the river.
The cavalry also chased closer and closer, and were two hundred steps away from the last boat. Dozens of warriors raised their crossbows and fired at the cavalry. Arrows were fired at random in the darkness. Several cavalry were unable to dodge, and their horses were shot and rolled to the ground.
The chasing cavalry were shocked and slowed down their horses one after another. At this time, the second round of arrows came again. The cavalry quickly used their shields to block it. Fearful in their hearts, they could not help but slow down their horses again. The distance from the stern boat was extended to 300 steps, and they were away from the crossbow arrows.
of lethality range.
At this time, it was too late for Yang Yizhong to speed up and catch up. He watched helplessly as the last large ship sailed into the Qiantang River and disappeared on the wide river. He was still confused about who the other party was.
………
In the middle of the night, a carriage stopped in front of Baoji Cabinet, and a middle-aged man got out of the carriage. His name was Shi Guangping. He was the sixth-generation grandson of Shi Shouxin, the founding hero of the Song Dynasty. He was appointed Prince Shaobao and was knighted.
Duke of Kuaiji, he is also the largest owner of Baoji Cabinet Shop.
Although it was midnight, the lights in the Baoji lobby were still brightly lit, and more than a dozen important stewards and accountants were waiting in the lobby.
Wang Yan, the chief steward, stepped forward to salute, and Shi Guangping asked, "Has your grandson been released?"
"Report to the proprietor that they were released and both of them are safe and sound."
"Where is the guy they killed? Has his body been found?"
Wang Yan said quickly: "The guy is not dead. He is back. According to him, he was hit on the head with a stick and then lost consciousness. He has seen a doctor and it's not a big problem."
Hearing that the guy was not dead and was just trying to scare him, Shi Guangping's face softened a lot and he ordered again: "Show me the receipt for withdrawing the money!"
The big accountant quickly handed the wooden box to the proprietor. Shi Guangping looked at it and asked, "Are you sure it's correct?"
The big accountant nodded, "The document was handwritten by Bei Zhi. Bei Zhi also left a small mark specially. The marks are all there, and the jade is also perfectly matched. There is no problem with the receipt of money."
Wang Yan added: "Hu Yun himself admitted that they had wiped out Zhang Tai, and this wealth was the spoils of King Yong."
Shi Guangping glanced at everyone and said slowly: "I have discussed it with several proprietors, and everyone agreed that this matter should not be made public. Since the money has been taken away by the other party, we should not cause any more trouble for ourselves. If
Spreading the word will not only affect our reputation, but also offend the court, so I am here to tell you that the secret must be strictly kept. If anyone talks too much and leaks this matter, he will be fired immediately. Do you remember this?"
Everyone bowed together and said: "We remember!"
Shi Guangping waved Wang Yan up again and said to him in a low voice: "Ten large ships forced their way out. Yang Yizhong will definitely search the city tomorrow and will definitely find us. If Yang Yizhong asks you, you
Deny it outright."
"I will definitely deny it, but ten large ships did go out from us last evening. I can't explain this."
"I know. I have borrowed twelve large boats and parked them behind me. The boatmen have also been replaced by my servants. I loaded some unnecessary debris onto the big boats and said that we were cleaning the warehouse and preparing for transportation.
Yang Yizhong has no proof of the copper coins, and he can't do anything to us."
"I understand, proprietor, don't worry, I will deal with it."
Early the next morning, Yang Yizhong began to search throughout the city, and soon found the Baoji Cash Box. Someone reported that there were more than a dozen large ships parked on the river behind the Baoji Cash Box yesterday.
Yang Yizhong came by boat and saw that there were indeed large ships parked behind Baoji Cabinet Shop. The back door of the cabinet shop was opened, and more than a dozen men were carrying items, including rotten boxes, broken furniture and the like.
The big shopkeeper Wang Yan stood aside and watched with a smile.
"Shopkeeper Wang!" Yang Yizhong shouted.
Wang Yan turned around, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "It turns out to be General Yang. Why did General Yang get on the boat?"
"It's safe on the streets, but troubles often happen in the rivers, so the rivers must also be patrolled."
"The general is right. The year before last, a thief sneaked into Baoji Cabinet Shop through the river."
Yang Yizhong looked at the ship and asked, "What is the cabinet doing?"
"The warehouse of the cabinet shop is not enough. Let's clear out some old junk and see if we can increase the space for the warehouse."
"Why do you need more than a dozen big ships? There are a lot of things?"
"There's not a lot of rags. Two or three boats are enough. The other boats are going to be used to transport money. Pingjiang and Zhenjiang Prefectures are spending a lot of money. We need to transport a batch of money there to replenish it. I might ask General Yang to send troops to escort."
Yang Yizhong chuckled and said: "No problem, the military charges are cheaper than martial arts schools, and it's safer."
Without showing his face, he asked a boatman: "When did your boat arrive?"
Wang Yan secretly screamed fiercely. Fortunately, the proprietor was prepared, and the boatmen were all servants pretending to be servants.
The boatman scratched his head and said, "Report to the general, we came here yesterday afternoon."
They came here yesterday afternoon, so it was not them. Yang Yizhong looked around again and found nothing unusual, so he turned the ship around and continued to inspect the next suspicious place.
But nothing was found in the end. Yang Yizhong suspected that it was the work of Western Army intelligence spies, but he did not have any evidence. Of course, Yang Yizhong would not cause trouble for himself. He did not report it, and the matter went away.
That afternoon, Yang Yuanqing, the commander of the Jiangling garrison, came to Baling County. Although Yang Yuanqing was one of the elders under Chen Qing, his current official position was only the commander, and he had not yet reached the position of commander of the Shangjun. Zheng Ping, who was at the same time as him, was already the commander of the Shangjun.
After taking control, Zheng Ping didn't have much military merit, just guarding Bashu, but he was Chen Qing's most trusted person.
Yang Yuanqing made the mistake of siding with the imperial court at the beginning, thus losing Chen Qing's trust. Although he worked hard to make up for it over the years and was considered loyal, it was already a bit late.
He is only in his forties, and his beard and hair are already half white.
The reason why Yang Yuanqing came to Baling to find Zhonghuan in person was because he was quite uneasy. They clearly controlled the Yangtze River, so how did Zhang Jun's ships transport private salt across the Yangtze River? He couldn't explain it. He knew that although King Yong did not
Said, but this does not mean that King Yong did not suspect that he was also involved in trafficking illegal salt.
In fact, Yang Yuanqing was not involved in smuggling illegal salt. He was very cautious. He would not do such a thing and would not dare to do it. Once he was found out, not only would he not be able to survive, but his descendants would not be able to raise their heads.
But he himself couldn't tell clearly, what exactly was the problem?
Yang Yuanqing arrived at the camp, and soon Zhong Huan came out to greet him. Although Zhong Huan was just an internal guard commander, he had King Yong's gold medal. Even if he was a special envoy, of course he would not salute Yang Yuanqing's subordinates. Besides, they were originally
It's not a system.
Zhong Huan bowed and saluted, "Welcome Yang Tongzhi to Baling!"
Yang Yuanqing nodded and said with a smile: "General Xiaozhong has worked hard during this period!"
"General Yang, please come into the camp!"
"General Souchong please!"
The two came to the main barracks, where the host and guest took their seats. Soldiers came in to serve tea.
Yang Yuanqing hesitated and said: "I came here this time to clarify one thing. I am definitely not involved in selling illegal salt. Please don't worry, General Xiaozhong."
Zhong Huan smiled and said, "I don't doubt Yang Tongzhi either!"
Yang Yuanqing sighed, "But some things are easy to misunderstand! I am not involved in selling illegal salt, so how did this illegal salt cross the river? To be honest, I can't figure out the reason."
How could Zhong Huan not be suspicious? Yang Yuanqing was the biggest suspect, but he took the initiative to clarify, which was a surprise to Zhong Huan. Since Yang Yuanqing took the initiative to clarify, it means that he was indeed not involved.
Zhong Huan thought for a while and said: "There are two possibilities. The first is that Yang Tongzhi's men participated in private; the second is that official ships participated in transporting illegal salt."
Yang Yuanqing shook his head, "It's impossible for my men. We have a system of separation of people and ships. Everyone's ships are not fixed. If someone uses a military ship to transport smuggled salt, he will leave traces and be discovered by other armies the next day.
, it will definitely be reported. It is possible for official ships. Jiangling County Government and Fu Yamen are both on the north bank, but the jurisdiction of Jiangling Prefecture includes both sides of the Yangtze River, so official ships will go back and forth across the river, and we never check official ships. In addition, ferries
It is also very possible that we generally do not check ferries, so both ferries and official ships may become private salt ships."
