Inside the palace, a bearded middle-aged man wearing luxurious purple uniforms was sitting in the pavilion playing chess with an old man.
Black and white are interlaced on the chessboard, and the situation is changing rapidly. The middle-aged man sometimes frowns and sometimes shows his face. On the other hand, the old man opposite always looks calm and calm, and can easily deal with every move.
After several games of chess, the old man lost his piece, and the white pieces were surrounded and fell to death.
"You're a little too hasty."
"Mr. Huang, if you lose a corner, you may not lose the overall situation. This is what you taught me. And it's not that I have to be anxious, but that time is not waiting for me." The middle-aged man sighed.
"The fish has bitten the hook, can we lift the line?"
"No, I'm not the only one who is eyeing this fish. Just like the sharks raised in the palace's golden pool, they are usually very peaceful, but once they encounter bait, they will fight for it like crazy." The middle-aged eyes.
There is a bit of darkness in it.
"It is a good idea to sit on a mountain and watch tigers fight, but don't forget, the fish that bites the hook is unusual, it can bite people."
"I'm not afraid of it biting people, I'm afraid of it being too docile."
The middle-aged man is in a cheerful mood. There are countless dangers hidden under the calm water. The best way to stir up this stagnant water is to throw in a handful of bait.
Zhang Tang, who can make all the children in Daxuan City stop crying, his residence is also easy to find out, he lives in the most corner of the north of the city.
Zhang Tang has a withdrawn personality and lives relatively far away from the hustle and bustle. As the second-in-command in the prison bureau, he is a role that cannot be ignored in both the government and the public in Daxuan City. He thought that his residence would be luxurious, but this was not the case.
This residence is just a very ordinary residence. Walking in from the front and back, Daxuan City is as warm as spring all year round. When Yunzhou enters late autumn, the two willow trees in front of the door are still luxuriant.
Jiang Yan stepped forward and knocked on the door for a long time. Finally, an old man with a gray hair and a hunchback opened the door bolt.
"Old sir, Jiang Yan, who is a late student, wants to meet with Zhang Tang, the prison chief. Please inform him."
"Jiang Yan?"
The hunchbacked old man raised his head and looked Jiang Yan up and down. He did not report it, but just let the door open.
"Come in, few people come to visit here, no notification is needed"
Zhang Tang's methods made the children of Da Xuancheng stop crying, but he was also unselfish. He once sent a gift to Zhang's family without looking at it, but Zhang Tang was arrested and imprisoned for questioning. After that, no one came to Zhang Tang's mansion again.
visit.
As the saying goes, don't hit someone with a smiling face, but Zhang Tang hit those who were flattering and giving gifts.
After entering Zhang's Mansion, there was not even a single servant in the house except the old man as a doorman, and the small yard was full of piles of various instruments of torture.
For large punishments, armor soldiers are used, followed by axes and axes; for medium punishments, knives and saws are used, followed by drills; for small punishments, whips are used. They can all be found in this courtyard, and they are divided into different types.
"Does Mr. Zhang usually study these instruments of torture when he is at home?" Jiang Yan asked curiously.
"Well, nearly half of the torture tools used in Daxuan City were invented by him."
Jiang Yan originally wanted to inquire about Zhang Tang's hobbies, but perverted people have almost perverted hobbies, which made Jiang Yan almost unable to do so.
"Master Zhang is in the inner courtyard, please go in."
When Jiang Gu saw Zhang Tang, Zhang Tang was forging a pair of shackles. When he noticed someone coming, Zhang Tang frowned. What he hated most was when someone came to his door while he was studying torture instruments.
Before Jiang Yan could speak, his eyes blurred and he felt a pair of shackles around his neck, making it difficult for him to breathe.
This shackle is neither gold nor jade, it looks like it is made of a strange polished stone, and its whole body is cold.
Jiang Yan's physical strength is extremely strong, but at this moment he is unable to break through the shackles, and even his spiritual power is as useless as a cow in the sea.
"This shackle is called Tu Dihou. It is a torture tool specially developed for enlightened people. Bribing the superior will be punished."
Jiang Yan felt suffocated, and every time he moved his hands and feet, the shackles on his shoulders became heavier.
"I'm not here for bribery..." Jiang Yan's voice was hoarse and it was very difficult to speak.
"Then what are you here for?"
"Atonement, I want to atone for those hundred or so barbarians."
The shackles suddenly broke apart with a sudden roar, and Jiang Gu suddenly felt relieved and breathed heavily.
"How did you know about the atonement in Taishi Law when you first arrived? Is there someone who was guiding you behind your back?"
Zhang Tang's eyes were as sharp as an eagle. Under these eyes, Jiang Gu subconsciously did not hide anything.
"Rat Tower"
"It turns out to be these stinky rats..."
"Do you know how much atonement costs?"
"No matter how much it is, I will definitely get it together. I just hope that Mr. Zhang will give me a chance."
"Originally the ransom required one hundred thousand gold, but I didn't want these people who often caused trouble to leave the prison.
Second, I know that you are a painter. For a painter, especially one who is the number one in the Eight Prefectures, you should be richer than most people. So with 200,000 gold, I can make the decision to release these people."
There was some amusement in Zhang Tang's smile. Two hundred thousand gold is equivalent to two million taels of silver. Even the wealthy families in the city can rarely afford such a large amount of silver.
He had investigated Jiang Chan's past and found that he had no family background. The painter made money very quickly, but the paint consumption was also not small. The two hundred thousand gold coming and going was not a small sum for Jiang Chan.
Jiang Qian spent several years and used colored stones he collected to paint, and then he saved one hundred thousand gold. How could he collect two hundred thousand gold in such a short time?
"Well, if you can't get it out, don't blame me."
"Wait a minute, Mr. Zhang, how about I pay 100,000 gold first and make up the rest later?"
"Okay, one hundred thousand gold will be suspended. If the other one hundred thousand gold cannot be paid after ten days, these people will still be executed and no cent of the one hundred thousand gold will be refunded."
The purpose of redemption is to make money for the court. If nearly a hundred barbarians can be used to collect 200,000 gold, this is something that Zhang and Tang would be happy to see happen.
Earning 100,000 gold in ten days is not an easy task even though being a painter is the fastest earning profession in the world.
If he were in Qingdu, there would still be some opportunities, but in Daxuan City, Jiang Lun had no friends and no helpers, so even if he wanted to sell his paintings, he would have no way.
"Okay, I agree"
The situation was stronger than the man's, and Jiang Yan had no choice.
Time was running out, and as soon as he left Zhang Tang's residence, Jiang Yan began to write letters asking for help.
He opened the scroll and began to draw. A herring with a plum blossom mark on its back appeared on his drawing paper.
Jiang Yan wrote another line of small words on the note, stuffed it into the fish's mouth, and used the Wenfu Danqing secret method to make the herring disappear out of thin air.
This is a method of communication unique to scribes. The message sent by plum blossoms and fish is also known as the fish book!
He is good at painting, but not proficient in selling paintings.
Fu Yueming ran Minglou, and the price of his paintings could double in a short period of time in the Qing capital, even far exceeding the original value of the paintings.
Firstly, it was the status of No. 1 in the Eight Prefectures that he obtained at the Ehu Conference, and secondly, Fu Yueming's various operations.
At this critical moment, of course Jiang Yan had to ask his most trusted helper to come.