There were only five days left before the government examination started, so Zhao Jin asked a few people to meet at He's house in the evening.
"Brother Zhao, have you found the record book?" Chen Ping asked anxiously when they first met.
"Hahaha, I live up to expectations." Zhao Jin took out a thick booklet from his arms and said, "The exam is coming soon, and I don't want to disturb your preparations for the exam with non-important things. I found it under the tree in the backyard of Liu Bi's house. Take a look.
Look."
Chen Ping quickly took it, and everyone gathered around. The booklet had old and curled footers. It seemed that it had been used for many years. He opened it carefully. Although the writing inside was scrawled, the content could still be read.
[In the fifth year of the Apocalypse, on the fifth day of the third month, I sent them all to Baixianglou for a banquet with old friends, and collected two calligraphy and paintings.]
[On June 12, Qi and Cai had a quarrel.]
[On the seventh day of July, I was ordered to send my wife to a store in the south of the city to buy jewelry worth two hundred and thirty taels of silver.]
[On the eighth day of the seventh lunar month, I listened to music on the fence in Baixiang Tower and stayed all night without returning home.]
The record book is extremely thick and the content is disorganized.
Ye Chongwen said in an excited voice: "This is a record book of Qi Hongming's daily life!"
He Qingxuan was a little puzzled, "But why did Liu Bi record this?"
"It seems that although he is a master and servant on the surface, Liu Bi has made two preparations. It is unknown why." Xie Zhiyuan said.
Zhao Jin analyzed: "Perhaps it was because Qi Hongming knew about this record book that he took advantage of it and allowed Liu Bi to survive until now."
"So, this is his life-saving bargaining chip." Chen Ping thoughtfully asked, "But why did he commit suicide again?"
If Qi Hongming was intimidated by the record book and imprisoned Liu Bi for several years, Liu Bi would be safe until he found the record book.
As the saying goes, it is better to die than to live. Liu Bi had been waiting for so many years. Why did he turn around and commit suicide in prison just after meeting Chen Ping and the others? It is really unreasonable.
Several people thought about Chen Ping's words for a long time and had no answer. They shook their heads and felt that the whole thing was confusing.
Chen Ping continued to flip through a few pages, but couldn't figure out the reason.
Ye Chongwen couldn't help complaining, "Why didn't he write down how many mouthfuls of food Qi Hongming took and how many mouthfuls of water he drank?"
"It's all trivial things." He Qingxuan shook his head. "If Liu Bi wants to save his life, he should directly record the evidence of Qi Hongming's corruption and bribery! This is all a mess."
Zhao Jin was still relatively calm and just asked Chen Ping, "You have always been quick-thinking, did you see anything?"
Chen Ping frowned and said after a moment: "Not yet."
What is recorded in this record book is all the places Qi Hongming has been to and the people he has met on weekdays. Money transactions are rarely mentioned. It seems to have no effect and does not seem to be collecting criminal evidence.
"It was the seventh year of the Apocalypse when Magistrate Wang took charge of repairing the road. Let's look for it from the records at that time." After saying that, Chen Ping quickly looked back.
[In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, on August 20th, I accompanied Qi to visit Yongshun County Government and returned the next day.]
"Qi Hongming visited Yongshun County and made it clear that he was here to congratulate County Magistrate Wang in advance. Because of his success in repairing roads, the court would issue a reward document later. That day, my teacher and I were helping to settle the accounts at the county government office, and we saw him from a distance.
”
Chen Ping's thoughts were suddenly brought back to eight years ago. On that day, County Magistrate Wang was in high spirits and discussed with the teacher to expand the scope of repairs after the busy farming season. Little did he know that he ended up losing his life because of this.
Continuing to check back, most of them are daily itinerary records, until one item attracts everyone's attention.
[In the ninth year of the Apocalypse, on the third day of the ninth lunar month, we all gathered in the mansion to entertain the officials and dispersed after sunset.]
"This must be the official from the Ministry of Personnel who came to read out the official document of the County Magistrate's rebuke!" Zhao Jin pointed at the record book and said.
"Yes, Qi Hongming hosted a banquet, and his intention was obvious."
"It's really his fault!"
"This is the evidence!" Ye Chongwen shouted excitedly.
"This is not yet evidence," Chen Ping didn't want to pour cold water on him, but he still had to stay rational. "It's normal for officials to greet and send off. Qi Hongming couldn't handle this, so he just explained it casually."
When Ye Chongwen heard this, he sat back on his chair like a frustrated ball.
Time passed little by little, and Chen Ping carefully looked through the record book in his hand. No one said anything, and the room was so quiet that only the sound of turning pages was left.
Suddenly, Chen Ping stopped on one of the records.
Xie Zhiyuan was keenly aware and asked: "What's wrong? Did you discover something?"
A few people came over to take a look. It was still the same as before. It was all about daily life and nothing special.
Chen Ping did not reply, but quickly looked back at the previous records. After a quarter of an hour, he confirmed his guess and said, "Is there a record that is unusual?"
"Which one?" Everyone said in unison.
Looking in the direction of Chen Ping's finger, the record read [In the ninth year of Tianqi, on the first day of December, at the end of Xu, we sent everyone to Ling's Trading Company.]
"Chen Ping, what's unusual about this one?" He Qingxuan asked in confusion.
Chen Ping turned to another article and said, "Look again."
[In the ninth year of Tianqi, on the first day of September, at the end of Xu, we sent everyone to Ling's Trading Company.]
Turn it over again and read again.
[In the ninth year of the Apocalypse, on the first day of the sixth lunar month, at the end of Xu, we sent everyone to Ling’s Trading Company.]
[In the ninth year of Tianqi, on the first day of March, at the end of Xu, we sent everyone to Ling's Trading Company.]
There are such trip records if you scroll forward.
"Why does Qi Hongming go to Ling's Trading Company on the first day of every three months?" Xie Zhiyuan also reacted.
"I know that Ling's Trading Company is the largest government-authorized trading firm in Qianzhou. It mainly sells wine." He Qingxuan said.
"I heard County Magistrate Wang mention it in the early years that Qi Hongming was not a good drinker. He didn't drink at the dinner when he came to Yongshun County that year." Zhao Jin recalled some previous scenes.
"I go there once every three months on the first day of the lunar month. I haven't been there the rest of the time. And every time I go, it's at the end of the month of Xu. It's a fixed date and a fixed time. It must be an appointment with someone in advance. There's something wrong with this Ling's Trading Company !" Chen Ping pointed out the key point directly.
"Then let's check the owner of this firm." Ye Chongwen suggested.
"The owner of Ling's Trading Company is called Ling Shu. He is a native of Zhengxing Prefecture. Although he has been doing business for generations, he used to be a small business selling tea. It was not until he got the government's banquet that he gradually started his business." Businessmen cannot avoid dealing with each other, so He Qingxuan Since taking over the family business, although he has rarely been in public, he is still very familiar with all walks of life in Qianzhou.
Ganjiufu, the liquor monopoly system implemented in the Dayu Dynasty, is also called Ganjiu, Jiugan.
The imperial court strictly restricted the private brewing and selling of alcohol, which could only be authorized by the state-level government.
Under this system, "Zhengdian" and "Jiaodian" came into being. "Zhengdian" refers to a shop that has the right to brew wine, while "Jiaodian" does not have the right to brew wine, and all the wine sold is wholesale from the "Zhengdian".
Each state across the country is responsible for examining and issuing authorizations, and each county has set up a liquor department to collect liquor taxes in each jurisdiction.
"From this point of view, the origin of Lingshu has a great relationship with Qi Hongming." Xie Zhiyuan said.
"Then I'll find a way to find out the basics of this Lingshu." As long as there is a direction, Zhao Jin will naturally not let it go.
"Wine?" Chen Ping said to himself.
"Do you have any idea?/Chen Ping, tell me quickly." Ye Chongwen and He Qingxuan asked at the same time.
"Yes, but you have to try it before you know. Give me some time."