Early the next morning, Li Ye packed up and prepared to go to the Ministry of Personnel to go through some appointment and dismissal procedures. His temporary censorship title was to be cancelled, and he was officially promoted to General Ningyuan. The Suiye Soldier and Horse Envoy also had to be registered in the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War.
As soon as he walked into the yard, the housekeeper hurried over and said, "Thirty-eight Masters, there is someone looking for you outside. It seems to be the envoy of Bahna!"
This was when Arolie came to find him. Li Ye walked quickly outside the door of the house, only to see Arolie and an entourage pacing back and forth on the steps with anxious faces.
When Arole turned around and saw Li Ye, as if he had seen a savior, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Something happened. Our golden tripod was stolen last night!"
Li Ye was shocked. The Nine-Deer Golden Cauldron brought by Alole was a national treasure of Ba Khanna and was intended to be presented to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. However, it was stolen as soon as it arrived in Chang'an. This was of a serious nature.
Moreover, the golden tripod weighs one thousand kilograms, how could it be stolen?
"Take me to see it!"
Li Ye led two of his men on horseback to the Bakhna Chamber of Commerce located near Dongshi. Basically all Sogdian small countries have chambers of commerce in Chang'an to receive businessmen from their own countries and introduce various business information and so on.
High-ranking envoys like Prince Ba Khan should stay at the post house of Honglu Temple. However, it was late yesterday, so they came to the guild hall to stay temporarily for one night. Unexpectedly, something happened.
The Chamber of Commerce is located in Shengyefang, directly opposite Dongshi. It is also a gathering place for various chambers of commerce and the big merchants of Dongshi. Of course, not only the chambers of commerce of Sogdia, but also those from Japan, Silla and other countries.
The Chamber of Commerce in Ba Khanna is an inconspicuous courtyard house, covering an area of about two acres. County Lieutenant Feng Min and twenty government officials have sealed off the Chamber of Commerce from front to back.
Arolie just told Li Ye that when the golden tripod was unloaded on camels and moved into the yard yesterday, because it was quite heavy, many people from the surrounding neighbors came to help carry it. At that time, one of the legs of the tripod was not wrapped well and was exposed. It should be
That's when someone saw it.
It is an ancient saying that wealth should not be revealed. Once money is revealed, it is likely to be remembered by interested people, especially in a place like Shengyefang where three religions and nine streams gather.
"Captain Feng, long time no see!"
Li Ye smiled and greeted County Lieutenant Feng Min. Feng Min knew Li Ye and quickly clasped his fists and said with a smile: "When did Young Master Li come back?"
"I just came back yesterday with my friends from Bahna. I didn't expect that something happened last night!"
"Yes! A thousand-jin golden tripod was stolen. In all my years as a county captain, this is the first time that such an expensive property has been stolen."
"Any clues?" Li Ye asked.
"I have a little clue. Your Highness, Mr. Li, please come with me."
Everyone came to the innermost part of the courtyard and walked into a room to the east. This room was where the golden tripod was placed. Li Ye saw that the room was close to the courtyard wall and couldn't help but frown. It seemed to be in the innermost place, but in fact it was only the same as the alley outside.
Separated by a wall.
Entering the empty room with wooden floors, Feng Min asked someone to move the innermost table and lift up the wooden boards on the floor. A large hole suddenly appeared in front of them.
Everyone was stunned. There was actually a big hole here. Li Ye stepped forward and took a look. The soil was very moist and fresh. He turned back and asked Feng Min, "This was just dug last night?"
Feng Min nodded, "It should have just been dug last night. This place is close to the courtyard wall, and the exit is just outside the courtyard wall. It is blocked by a bundle of wheat straw. The length of the entire hole is only seven feet. The soil is soft and moist. It can be done overnight."
Dig it."
Li Ye knelt down and looked carefully at the entrance of the hole, and then went outside the wall to look at the exit. He found that the entire hole was drilled very regularly, and the soil at the entrance of the hole was handled very well. This is not something that ordinary thieves can do. This is
An expert burrower.
"Feng County Lieutenant, Chang'an's burrowing master should be registered with the county government, right?"
Feng Min blushed slightly and said: "I have asked someone to see it. I can dig a hole seven feet in one night and do it so neatly. There are only two people in Chang'an who can do it. One is Liu Changfa, the foreman of the Du Water Supervision Bureau. He is an official."
, who was not in Chang'an during this period, he can rule out that the other one is the famous night thief Wu Mi, nicknamed Marmot, but he can't be found. He has been missing for several days and his whereabouts are unknown. "
"But the golden tripod is not soft. If such a big object comes out, is there no news from Chang'an?" Li Ye asked again.
"I have sent people to inquire. If there is any information, I will notify the owner immediately!"
"Lieutenant Feng County!"
Li Ye said coldly: "The golden tripod is the national treasure of Ba Khan's country. It is prepared to be presented to the emperor. If it is stolen under your rule, if the emperor is angry, it may affect your career."
Feng Min wiped the sweat from his forehead and said quickly: "I understand, I will go all out to recover the golden tripod!"
Lieutenant Feng hurried away with his men. Li Ye comforted Alole a few words and asked him to move to the post house of Honglu Temple first, and he would find a way to find the golden tripod for him.
Arole thanked her again and went to move first.
Li Ye pondered for a moment, daring to steal the golden tripod was not an ordinary act of courage. This was not done by ordinary thieves. It would not be possible to just rely on the government.
There has been no news from Zhang Ping for a year, so I went to see how this old friend was doing.
Li Ye then rode to Yonghefang with two of his men.
Daye Martial Arts School is located next to the temple in Yonghefang. Li Ye passed by his old house. The old house had been sold by his mother Pei Sanniang at a low price of 150 yuan. The person who took over the house was Lin's Pharmacy. The house has been rebuilt.
It is now a branch of Lin's Pharmacy, and business seems to be pretty good.
In the past, Li Ye might still have a little nostalgia, but now he no longer has such thoughts. He has so many things to do, how can he have time to be nostalgic?
When he arrived at the martial arts hall, there was no one at the gate. Li Ye immediately rushed in and shouted: "Is Zhang Ping here? Come out!"
Suddenly, a large group of young men in black ran out of a room, more than thirty of them, all holding knives and sticks. They surrounded Li Ye and shouted: "Boy, are you here to kick the gym? How dare you come to our martial arts gym?"
presumptuous!"
Two of Li Ye's men were furious and drew their swords to attack, but Li Ye stopped them with a wave of his hand.
"I'm looking for Zhang Ping. He is my brother. Where is he?"
"Brother Li!"
Suddenly someone shouted. The voice sounded familiar, but it wasn't Zhang Ping.
Li Ye looked back at the tall and lanky boy behind him, and he suddenly recognized it. He was actually Wujilang, the younger brother who followed him back then.
"Wujilang, is that you?"
"Brother, it's me!"
Wujilang shouted at a group of young men in black: "I've blinded you, this is my big brother, get out of here!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, all the young people fled away one after another, and they were all gone in the blink of an eye.
Li Ye smiled and said: "Wujilang, why are you here? Where is Zhang Ping?"
"Brother, it's a long story. You go inside first and have a drink of water."
Li Ye had not had time to drink water when he got up in the morning. He was a little thirsty. He threw the reins of his war horse to his men and entered the room with Wujilang.
Wujilang's real name is Wu Changxing, and he is one year younger than Li Ye.
Li Ye took a sip of hot tea and asked with a smile: "I remember that your family's business is transportation. Don't you want to run ships?"
Wujilang said sadly: "Last year, our family's boat had an accident when passing through Sanmenxia. The boat hit a mountain, broke into pieces, and sank. My father and second uncle died. I was the only one who survived. I borrowed money to buy the boat, and the owner of the cargo, all
They came to collect debts, and they also wanted to add interest. Our family had lost everything, and how could we afford to pay it back? It was Brother Zhang who brought his younger brother to come to settle the matter for me, and then I got involved with him."
Li Ye nodded, "Where's Zhang Ping?"
"He's in Dongshi!"
Li Ye was stunned, "Why did he go to the East City? Shouldn't he be in the West City? That's Wannian County over there!"
"Brother, it's still a long story."
"We don't have time. Let's go to Dongshi. Let me know on the way!"
Wujilang called a carriage, and Li Ye gave the horse to his subordinates. He got on the carriage himself, and the carriage sped towards Dongshi.
"This time last year, the Wu family took revenge on Brother Zhang and arrested him again in the county government. Everyone was at a loss what to do. Somehow, Prince Si Ning got the news and asked Mr. Leng Yue to bail Brother Zhang out. Of course it was not Mr. Leng Yue.
The person who came forward was Wang Xuanhai, and the eldest brother followed Wang Xuanhai and worshiped Wang Xuanhai as his adoptive father. Now the eldest brother is not an ordinary person. He is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also a righteous man. When he mentioned Black Whale in Chang'an, no one knows about it."
Li Ye nodded. Little Fatty has really made a name for himself. He is actually nicknamed Black Whale. What does it have to do with his flying shark?
It is impossible for a pure gold tripod to exist. It is estimated to be an alloy, 75% 18K gold.
Lao Gao positioned Zhang Ping as the boss of the Chang'an underworld. He also followed the protagonist and met noble people. The first one was Pei Min. Pei Min liked his perseverance and felt that he was naturally tall, fat and malleable, so he accepted him as his apprentice.
Before the protagonist went to the Western Regions, he was afraid that the Wu family would bully Zhang Ping, so he asked King Si Ning to help take care of him.
Through the relationship with King Si Ning, Zhang Ping developed friendship with the Wang family, and even worshiped Chang'an underworld leader Wang Xuanhai as his adoptive father.
Of course, Zhang Ping's own conditions were good, Pei Min's apprentice was the best sumo wrestler in Chang'an, and he was a good character, so he was able to get the opportunity.