Not long after, Chao Qing walked in, and Zhong Huan asked in surprise: "Why are you here, brother Xian?"
Chao Qing smiled and said: "The prince asked me to deliver a letter and then let me see if there is anything I can do to help you."
After finishing speaking, Chao Qing handed the letter to Wang Hao. Wang Hao quickly took the letter and read it carefully. After reading the letter, Wang Hao slapped his forehead and said in frustration: "Why didn't I think of that?"
Han Zhengfu quickly asked: "What did the prince say?"
"The prince asked us to investigate in two directions. The first direction is that there must be a brave man under the heavy reward. The second direction is how the blood monument incident spread in Jingzhao and investigate the original communicator."
Han Zhengfu nodded, "The prince is right, there must be someone who knows the clues, but they think it is risky and dare not say anything. If the reward is high, they will take the risk."
Zhong Huan also said: "The spread is indeed very strange. The blood monument was discovered on the same day, and it started to spread in Jingzhao City on the same day. Obviously there is someone who is responsible for spreading the news. Both directions are worthy of investigation."
Han Zhengfu made a prompt decision and ordered the soldiers to find all the people in Ganbei Town. He placed a large table in the square in the middle of the town, and more than 2,000 people gathered around it on three floors inside and three outside.
Han Zhengfu placed four piles of silver on the table, a pile of five hundred taels, a pile of two hundred taels, a pile of fifty taels, and a pile of ten taels.
"Dear fellow villagers, we are here to investigate the blood monument incident, but there are no clues and there is no way to investigate, so I have prepared a heavy reward for clues. Everyone has seen that this is nothing but money. The lowest reward is ten taels of silver. Everyone
Think about it, the only clue that is of any use is to get fifty guan of money! How long will it take to earn 50 guan of money, and we will keep it strictly confidential and will never reveal who provided the clue."
Suddenly there was a murmur of murmurs all around, and many people stared at the silver on the table, their eyes a little red.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Han Zhengfu led his people back to their base.
In the afternoon, Wang Hao returned to Jingzhao to investigate the spread, while Zhong Huan took Chao Qing to the place where the blood monument was found. The blood monument was still in place. It was huge, weighing ten thousand kilograms, and could not be transported away for a while.
Chao Qing walked around the blood monument and said with a smile: "It's still three miles away from Gangu River! How do you think it was transported here?"
"Put a row of rolling logs down below and pull them with ropes. You can transport them here, but I don't understand. What's the point of putting them here? Since we can just find a place, wouldn't it be more convenient to put them by the river?"
"There must be some purpose, and I found that the so-called blood monument was painted on with a brush."
Chao Qing pointed to the side and said: "The side is especially obvious. They are all vertical strips painted on. The color is much lighter. It must be in a hurry. Maybe there is no blood behind it."
Zhong Huan gave a thumbs up and praised: "It's really smart. There is indeed no blood on the back. We turned it over and took a look."
At this time, they heard someone booing not far away. They looked around and saw a thin man hiding by the woods and waving to them.
The two were followed by three soldiers. They were not afraid. They stepped forward and walked into the woods. A thin man came out with a long scar on his face. He looked ferocious. He looked around and said in a low voice:
"Does your reward count?"
Zhong Huan and Chao Qing looked at each other. The reward was indeed effective. Zhong Huan nodded, "Of course it counts, but it depends on whether the information you provided is valuable?"
"It must be valuable. I know where Zhang Baoer is?"
Zhong Huan was overjoyed and asked, "Is Zhang Baoer not dead?"
"How could he die? First tell me, how much money is this information of mine worth?"
Zhong Huan said: "If we find Zhang Baoer, your information is worth one hundred taels of silver."
"Only one hundred taels of silver? It's too little!"
"If you lead us to find the person who buried the stone tablet, it's worth three hundred taels of silver, and if we find the mastermind, that's five hundred taels of silver. Do you understand?"
"You are right, but how can I get the money?"
"Go to the military camp, take us to find Zhang Baoer, and give him money on the spot."
The thin man looked at Zhong Huan for a long time, then turned around and ran away. From a distance, he heard him shout: "I'll come in the evening!"
Zhong Huan and Chao Qing returned to the military camp. Han Zhengfu stepped forward and said with a smile: "The first reward is given, ten taels of silver. Let me know the origin of this stone tablet. This stone tablet was transported to Zhaoling thirty years ago."
One of the ten monuments was stolen one after another. This stone monument was also hidden by the river and prepared to be transported away, but for some reason it was not transported away in the end."
Chao Qing said on the side: "If there is no risk, why didn't anyone talk about it before? Why didn't anyone rush to say it on the spot? Why did it happen secretly in the afternoon? Aren't you afraid of being overtaken by others? In addition, the timing of the appearance of this stone tablet is too strange, and the speed of its spread
The speed is also unreasonable, and it obviously has a certain impact on the reputation of the county king, so the matter is not that simple, and the person who took away the ten taels of silver did not completely tell the truth, at least he concealed something."
Han Zhengfu's expression changed and he ordered the soldiers behind him, "Go and capture the person who just received the reward immediately!"
Several soldiers immediately ran away.
Zhong Huan also said: "This person actually just explained the origin of the stone stele. He did not find someone to carve it, but it was transported from Zhaoling. As for why these people hid the stone stele three miles away from the river, it is estimated that the stone stele was not found there.
Regarding Zhang Baoer, the key is Zhang Baoer."
Han Zhengfu frowned, "But where can this Zhang Baoer find him?"
"General, we met a man just now. He said that he had news about Zhang Bao'er and that he would come to collect the reward in the evening. I don't know whether it was true or just casual."
Han Zhengfu sighed, "The higher the expectations now, the greater the disappointment. I no longer dare to have high hopes."
At this time, several soldiers brought back the old man who had just received the reward. The old man said angrily: "General, does he not keep his word?"
The soldier handed the ten taels of silver to Han Zhengfu. Han Zhengfu took the ten taels of silver and asked the soldier to find a pair of big scissors and cut the ten taels of silver into two. He handed the other party five taels of silver and said, "You only said half of it.
So I can only give you half."
"But I told you everything I know!"
Han Zhengfu shook his head, "You know it well, just leave if you don't want it!"
The old man stared at the half ingot of silver in Han Zhengfu's hand. After a while, he stamped his foot and said, "Okay! I will risk my life to tell you that about five days ago, Zhang Baoer led a group of men in black to move out of this area from Zhaoling.
Stone tablet, I have a very strong ox cart. They hired my ox cart to pull the stone tablet. They gave me two coins afterwards and told me not to go out and talk nonsense, otherwise my life would be taken. Then the next day Zhang Baoer
When he dug the ground and discovered the stone tablet, he spread the word everywhere, causing people from all over the country to come to see the stone tablet."
"What kind of man in black?" Han Zhengfu asked.
"I don't know. They all have their faces covered, but their accents are not local. It's a bit like the accent from Fengxiang Mansion."
Chao Qing's heart moved, and it was indeed related to Fengxiang Mansion.
"Where has Zhang Baoer gone?" Han Zhengfu asked impatiently.
The old man shook his head, "I don't know about that. Brother Tang Scar may know. He spreads the word everywhere on Zhang Baoer's behalf that both of them are well-known scoundrels in the town."
Chao Qing immediately asked: "Is the Brother Tang Scar you are talking about a thin man, in his thirties, with a long scar on the left side of his face?"
"Yes! That's him."
Chao Qing winked at Han Zhengfu, and Han Zhengfu threw half a piece of silver to him, "Go!"