Qin Xiao said in surprise: "Taihu bandits? I haven't heard you say that before. Are there still bandits here in Suzhou?"
The important tax land in the south of the Yangtze River was directly related to the lifeblood of the empire. It was hard for Qin Xiao to imagine that there were well-known bandits here.
Feixin looked at Chen Xi and let Chen Xi explain humbly. Although he knew about the Taihu pirates, Chen Xi had lived in Jiangnan back then and naturally knew more about the Taihu pirates.
Chen Xi, of course, refused to give in. He shook his head and said: "The so-called Taihu Pirates are mainly called so by the Jiangnan aristocratic families. The largest lake in the south of the Yangtze River is Taihu Lake. It has a huge area with a radius of thousands of miles. Its west and southwest are hilly and mountainous areas, and its east is no more than 30 meters away from Suzhou.
A hundred miles away, there are more than fifty islands of various sizes in the lake, the largest of which is Xishan Road, which is also where the Taihu Bandits’ lair is located.”
"They robbed homes?"
Chen Xi shook his head and said: "If they really wanted to rob families and homes, the imperial court would have encircled and suppressed them long ago. There are many fishing villages around Taihu Lake, which mainly rely on fishing for a living. They were originally peaceful. However, during the time of the late emperor, the government in Jiangnan, in order to make profits, imposed heavy restrictions on the fishermen of Taihu Lake.
The taxation provoked a civil uprising, but the Suzhou government lied to the court about the truth, saying that the fishermen from Taihu Lake had gathered to rebel with the intention of rebelling. The court sent officials to investigate the truth, but they were bribed by Suzhou to report back to the court that it was the fishermen from Taihu Lake who had indeed rebelled.
, so the imperial court mobilized officers and soldiers from the three major battalions in the south of the Yangtze River to encircle and suppress the Taihu fishermen."
Qin Xiao frowned, and Chen Xi continued: "The Taihu fishermen knew nothing about the imperial court's deployment of troops. They also did not expect that the imperial court would mobilize troops for encirclement and suppression, which caught them off guard. How could those fishermen be the enemies of the officers and soldiers? They suffered heavy casualties.
Fortunately, they still had fishing boats and retreated to the islands in Taihu Lake. They built defenses on the islands to resist the officers and soldiers. The leader they elected at that time was called Linghu Duan. This man was indeed a genius. He prevented the Taihu fishermen from repelling several officers and soldiers.
Second offensive.”
"The Taihu fishermen grew up around Taihu Lake. They know the geographical environment of Taihu Lake well, and they are all proficient in water skills." Feixin couldn't help but said: "Although their fishing boats are simple, they can't bear the large number of people. They add up to five or six hundred people."
However, many of the officers and soldiers were not accustomed to water, and at that time, the Taihu navy only had a dozen or so boats, which were very heavy and heavy. It is natural that they were not able to quickly encircle and suppress the Taihu pirates."
Qin Xiaodao: "But as time went by, the Taihu pirates were isolated and helpless, but the imperial court could mobilize more soldiers, horses, and food. It would be a matter of time before they were wiped out."
"If the fight really continues, the Taihu pirates will naturally be in disaster." Chen Xi said with a smile: "But Linghu Duan had a son, Ling Huxuan, who was only a teenager at the time. He actually ran away to Kyoto alone without telling his father.
.”
Qin Xiao was surprised and said: "A teenager going to Kyoto?"
"Exactly." Chen Xi rarely showed admiration: "Linghu Xuan arrived in Kyoto, complained about his grievances, and submitted a petition, accusing a group of Suzhou officials headed by the Suzhou Governor of forcing good people to become thieves, and directly in your Dali
Kneel down in front of the temple gate."
Fei Xin showed a hint of pride at this time and said with a smile: "My lord, I don't know. During the time of the late Emperor, our Dali Temple did not dare to be underestimated. I remember that at that time, the Minister of Dali Temple was Mr. Bao Chengbao, and he accepted
Linghu Xuan’s crown prince.”
Qin Xiao was very interested in Linghu Xuan at this time and asked: "What's next?"
"Master Bao met with the Holy One and asked the Holy One to order a re-investigation." Chen Xi said: "You may not know that the Holy Body of the Holy One was not very good at that time, so it was the current saint who handled the matter. The saint was very wise and ordered an investigation into the matter. So the truth
It was soon discovered that many people in the Suzhou officialdom were dead at that time, and Linghu Duan also landed on the shore and surrendered, and was escorted to Kyoto. The saint even summoned Linghu Xuan, praised Linghu Xuan for his courage and strategy, and wanted to give him to him.
Linghuxuan was rewarded, but Linghuxuan proposed to release his father and ask the court to reduce the taxes on the fishermen of Taihu Lake. The saint was even more appreciative and agreed to Linghuxuan's request."
Qin Xiao clapped his hands and said: "He is indeed a young hero."
"You are no longer young now." Chen Xi smiled and said: "It has been almost thirty years now, and Linghu Xuan is now in his forties. After that incident, the imperial court sympathized with the fishermen of Taihu Lake and exempted them from taxes for three years.
Taihu fishermen’s taxes were also reduced by 50%, and there has been no change until now.”
Qin Xiao frowned and said, "If that's the case, why do you call them Taihu Bandits?"
"After Linghu Duan died, Linghu Xuan became the leader of the fishermen in Taihu Lake." Chen Xi explained: "Perhaps because the officers and soldiers suddenly surrounded the fishing village, the fishermen in Taihu Lake were frightened, so many fishermen around Taihu Lake moved to the island.
Moreover, many poor people fled to Taihu Lake. Linghu Xuan refused to reject anyone who came, and took those people in Taihu Lake. Now the Taihu Islands with a radius of thousands of miles total 30,000 to 40,000 people, and there are thousands of large and small fishing boats. I heard that some islands
Casinos, brothels and restaurants have been opened on the islands, which are very prosperous, and many people even go to those islands specifically to have fun.”
Qin Xiao praised: "This Linghu Xuan is brave and resourceful, and his talent is really amazing."
"These people all obey Linghu Xuan's order. I heard that they all call Linghu Xuan the King of Taihu." Chen Xi smiled lightly and said: "If it were anyone else, Xiao would gather so many people and be called the king, the court would be categorical.
It cannot be allowed. But this Linghu Xuan was praised by the saint back then. As long as the Taihu pirates stayed safe, the court would turn a blind eye." He lowered his voice and said: "And the existence of the Taihu pirates can be regarded as a constraint for the Jiangnan family.
.”
"Linghu Xuan has a grudge against the Jiangnan family?"
Chen Xi sneered and said: "Taihu Lake is rich in products. Before Linghu and his son controlled Taihu Lake, Taihu Lake was controlled by the Jiangnan family. Now Taihu seems to be independent of Jiangnan. When officers and soldiers encircled Taihu pirates, the Jiangnan family gave out money to reward the officers and soldiers.
Although money was once required to help the officers and soldiers build warships, and although the officers and soldiers eventually evacuated, the actions of the Jiangnan family made the Taihu pirates hate them. In their eyes, everyone was originally a native of Jiangnan. When the officers and soldiers encircled and suppressed them, the Jiangnan family not only
Instead of helping the Taihu thieves clear their grievances, they actually wanted to kill the Taihu thieves. That would naturally be a rift. Now that Taihu is in the hands of Linghuxuan, the Jiangnan family cannot get involved. The important thing is that Linghuxuan has tens of thousands of followers.
, dominate one side, how can the Jiangnan family not regard the Taihu pirates as a thorn in their side?"
Qin Xiao nodded slightly, thinking that the two sides were indeed incompatible.
"However, although the two sides are hostile to each other, they have always been in harmony." Chen Xi said: "The Jiangnan family is extremely powerful in Jiangnan, and the Taihu bandits cannot afford to offend them. The Taihu bandits live in a corner, and the Jiangnan family cannot afford to offend them.
Dare to provoke them easily."
Qin Xiao asked: "Then Linghu Xuan is at Xishan Island in Taihu Lake now?"
"Xishan Dao is the largest island in Taihu Lake. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is said that other islands allow outsiders to enter, but Xishan Island is heavily guarded and no outsiders are allowed to land on Xishan Island." Chen Xi said slowly: "Ziyi Prison is also
I once sent people to secretly land on Xishan Island. There was a troop trained by Linghu Xuan. There were thousands of them, all of them were brave and capable young men. However, more than a thousand people was not too many, and Linghu Xuan had been training for many years.
They did not fight against the imperial court, and paid the taxes as usual. Saints and Bodhisattvas are kind-hearted, so naturally they would not really attack them."
Qin Xiao has lived in Xiling for a long time and has only been in Kyoto for a few months. Although he knows the beautiful land in the south of the Yangtze River, he really doesn't know the name of Taihu Bandit.
"Do you suspect that the theft of the bank is related to the Taihu Pirates?" Qin Xiao thought for a moment before asking, "Did they instruct Wang Tang to steal the inner treasury?" Chen Xi shook his head and said, "That's not what you meant. No matter the Suzhou Qian family or the Taihu Pirates
, I mean that they have the strength to commit crimes, but it does not mean that they will do so. The Taihu bandits have lived a peaceful life for more than 20 years, and the thousands of miles of Taihu Lake is enough for them to have enough food and clothing, so there is no need to commit such a big crime."
"Obviously, neither the Jiangnan family nor the Taihu thieves had any motive for committing the crime." Qin Xiao said thoughtfully: "It seems that the real culprit of stealing the treasury silver is someone else."
Feixin said: "Sir, Chai Shanhe doesn't know the whereabouts of Ku Yin. Wang Tang is dead again. There is no way to make a confession. The gangsters who transported Ku Yin realized that something was wrong and escaped early. It is very difficult to find them again. Today's clues,
There’s only one left.”
"You mean this embroidered shoe?" Qin Xiao took out the embroidered shoe.
After getting the embroidered shoes from Yu Xuanwu, Qin Xiao knew that there was a secret hidden in them and kept them with him. When he arrived at the inner treasury, he discovered that Wang Tang and Wang Hongcai might be the same person. The embroidered shoes were related to the truth about the theft of the inner treasury. Qin Xiao became even more concerned about this.
Be cautious and carry it with you at all times.
Chen Xi and Feixin both stared at the embroidered shoes. Qin Xiao smiled bitterly and said: "To be honest, I looked at this shoe for a long time last night, but I really couldn't find any clues. Do you think we were tricked by Yu Xuanwu?"
Cheated? Or maybe Yu Xuanwu was deceived by Wang Tang? There is no secret at all in these embroidered shoes."
"No." Chen Xi shook his head and said: "Wang Tang started planning a few years ago, and finally used Yu Xuanwu to send the shoes to Kyoto. There must be something wrong with this shoe." He lowered his head, thought for a moment, and then said: "Really
No, we can only follow the clues given by Yu Xuanwu and return to Kyoto to catch the person Yu Xuanwu wants to see. If we find that person, we may get more clues."
Feixin also looked solemn: "Is the theft of the inner treasury in Jiangnan related to the people in Kyoto? Is the person Yu Xuanwu wants to see the real mastermind of the theft of the inner treasury?"
"It's not impossible." Qin Xiao said: "But one thing you have thought about is that Wang Hongcai started the layout a few years ago, and the shoe was given to Yu Xuanwu a year ago. After the accident, Yu Xuanwu
Wu sent Wu to Kyoto, which means that Wang Hongcai wanted to use this embroidered shoe to convey some kind of information or clues to the person in Kyoto. So the question is, if the person in Kyoto is the person behind Wang Hongcai, Wang Hongcai must have contacted him
Method, the information in the embroidered shoes was prepared a year ago, why didn’t Wang Hongcai tell that person in Kyoto early and had to wait until something happened before sending someone over?”
Chen Xi and Chen Xi were also silent and thinking.
"Master Fei, go find some scissors." Qin Xiaowei pondered and suddenly said.
Feixin looked up and asked in confusion: "What do you want scissors for?"
"There are no clues on the outside of the shoes. Let's cut them open and see if there is anything hidden inside." Qin Xiao said.
Chen Xi said: "I have had this idea before, but I am worried that if the shoes are cut and nothing is found inside, will the clues be further away from us?"
"The three of us have been thinking about it for so long, but we haven't found any clues about these shoes." Qin Xiao said simply: "In that case, just cut it open and take a gamble. If there is something hidden in the fabric layer of the shoes,
Isn’t it a bright future? Even if there is no gain, it is still the same as now, we gain nothing and lose nothing.”
Chen Xi thought for a moment, nodded slightly and said, "That's the only way."
Feixin got up and went out. He quickly found a pair of scissors and handed it to Qin Xiao. Qin Xiao glanced at the two of them and said, "You two agreed. If you really don't gain anything, don't blame me."