"There are Heliansheng's correspondence offices in all the major wharves and commercial ports inside and outside the capital. Just use this address to send letters. If there is something urgent, send someone to the old Jiang family's pottery shop in Guang'anmen Wengcheng and call No. 10
That’s the code word.”
Min Zhanlian's team spent a day in the inn carefully reading the information received from Wu Kaidi. Min Zhanlian thought to himself: "This matter is really difficult!"
In an escort agency like He Liansheng, whether they are the two people in charge, Li and Liao, or the escorts under them, all of them are veterans of the world, "bugs on the ground" in the capital, and the escorts are well aware of activities such as kidnapping and ransom.
.Coupled with the blessing of a lot of money in hand, it stands to reason that whether it is redemption or rescue, the matter should have been settled long ago. Now not only does the matter have no clue, but it has fallen into passivity.
It seems that the other party is not an ordinary gangster, maybe he is a man from the temple.
The biggest difference between Min Zhanlian and Li and Liao is that although his time in the glory of the Senate was limited, his experience in the world was much deeper than theirs.
"...The other party asked for 100,000 silver, but did not provide a follow-up payment location. It is really difficult to figure out." Xiao Qian said, "Such an important person's meat ticket pays attention to fast in and fast out. How can it be delayed by half a moment?"
of the month.”
Everyone said that this situation was suspicious and there must be a monster if something went wrong. Min Zhanlian had a vague feeling that there was something trick going on here.
Zhou Ruolan looked over the materials for a long time and suddenly said: "There is a problem here."
Everyone knows that there is a problem, and everyone will listen to what she says next.
"In my opinion, the robbers may not be united."
"What?" Everyone was surprised. They were all veterans, and there were many strange things about this matter from beginning to end, but he was the first to say such an attributive word.
"How can I see it?"
"I have done kidnapping and ransom in the past. What is the point of kidnapping? Fast in and fast out, and the most important thing is not to waste time." Zhou Ruolan said, "The main thing is to raise money, and if you have to wait, you have to hide the ticket. If someone is looking for it,
You have to find a place to transfer the ticket. Whether you hide or transfer it, it is all expenses. Now that the owner has money, and he has hung up the banner as required, he can pay at any time, so why won’t the kidnapper refuse to hand over the ticket? "
"Maybe he's dead..." someone whispered.
Everyone gasped, it was indeed possible.
"We can't tell whether a person is alive or dead now," Zhou Ruolan continued, "but there are some strange things about what the robbers did. First, they clearly promised to redeem the person but did not submit the money address and time; second, Delong's notes were clearly
Traveling all over the world requires cash. How are they going to receive and transport the one hundred thousand taels of silver? How are they going to hide it? Aren't they afraid that we will follow the traces of the person after we ransom him and take back the silver? Even if we don't go, the one hundred thousand taels of silver will still be lost.
The fragrance of wealth is coveted by everyone on the road, and everyone will come to take a bite. How can they protect it with this money?"
"They don't dare to ask for Delong's notes..." Xiao Qian said.
"If you don't dare ask for Delong's bills, you can ask Delong to give them to Shanxi House. According to the information, Shanxi House is also involved in this matter. They have no reason not to accept it." Zhou Ruolan picked up the pen and drew on the paper.
I went through several circles and made a reasoning map using arrows.
"According to the information given to us by the escort agency and the information that everyone has gathered in the past few days, my opinion is that the robbers are not in the same line. The person who is in charge of the plan does not want the money, but the people below have to decide on their own."
This inference can confuse everyone. They have been in the world for a long time, have been kidnappers, and have rescued people. They have experienced at least dozens of cases that people have heard of. There are two people who have never heard of kidnapping.
An advocate.
"How is this possible?!" Someone immediately shook his head, "The kidnappers all commit crimes in small gangs. The boss directly commands the brothers below. The boss is not a dead person. According to the rules, the ransom letter is delivered to his confidants, and there are also listening birds on the periphery.
How could someone be messing around privately? This is not an official government..."
Only an organization like the government, with many levels up and down, and uneven and complex interests, would have such a situation where there is no communication between the top and bottom.
"In my opinion, this matter is likely to involve people with official status." Zhou Ruolan whispered, "Shanxi House's involvement in this matter is very suspicious. There are eunuchs among the bandits who intend to rob the silver car.
Judging from the confession, it doesn’t look like it was done by simple robbers.”
"I'm also confused about this: the money was originally a ransom, and they could just hand it over to someone else to take the money. Why did they deliberately reveal the information and instigate the gangsters to hijack the car? What good does this do to them? They still have to go to such trouble to send two people to take the money.
A eunuch follows?" Xiao Li also agreed.
Everyone looked confused. They didn't quite agree with Zhou Ruolan's ideas, but they couldn't explain these strange things.
"Let's not worry about the intentions. Find the person first." Min Zhanlian knew that if he dwelled on these details, he would lose his direction. He immediately asked: "Xiao Li, how did you go to the altar temple to check?"
"There are several altars and temples. For the time being, we have only checked the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of the Sun and the Moon. Nothing was found."
The various altars and temples in the capital are large in area, but are not used much, and are mostly vacant on weekdays. In the late years of the dynasty, management was lax, and except for the main buildings and roads that were still intact, other buildings were mostly abandoned and collapsed.
No one has built trees, and the grass is as deep as a forest, making the search more difficult.
The altar temple is a place for royal sacrifices and national ceremonies. It should be strictly guarded. In fact, due to their large area, infrequent use and sparse guards, the access patrols in these places are ineffective. There are many kidnappers in the capital and the guards guarding the altar temple.
, colluded with minor officials, and used it as a place to hide tickets. Min Zhanlian naturally knew the joints, so he focused his attention on these places as soon as he came up.
"Originally and Liansheng's people were also investigating this line around Tanmiaoyuan, but there were no useful clues."
Min Zhanlian took a deep breath and said, "This is not guaranteed."
"What's not guaranteed?"
"If this matter is really done by someone in the officialdom, it will be difficult to deal with it. Since ancient times, a bachelor has never fought for power, and even a local gangster will not offend someone in the officialdom just to make a few more bucks."
"You mean, someone said hello?"
"It's possible." Min Zhanlian said, "Lan Mei is right. You have to be careful."
"Then what should we do?" Everyone had anxious expressions on their faces. Once someone from the officialdom is really involved, the power of the capital cannot be used by them. After all, they are outsiders and newcomers, so they have lost the news.
Source For them, finding such a large capital is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Min Zhanlian pondered for a moment, the current situation was more difficult than he expected. In fact, he vaguely agreed with Zhou Ruolan's idea. With He Liansheng's years of management in the capital and such generous money, there should have been clues long ago, but
After more than ten days, nothing was found. Maybe even his every move is being watched. The kidnappers are powerful enough to force the city foxes and rats in the capital to shut up.
Nowadays, it is almost impossible to rely on local informants to get clues. We can only do it ourselves. Min Zhanlian thought for a moment and said: "It seems that we are the only ones responsible for this matter! We will leave Zhangjiawan tomorrow..."
Before he finished speaking, Lao Shi, who was watching the wind at the door of the yard, suddenly knocked on the door and came in:
"Boss! Master Cao wants to see you."
Everyone in the room was alert. Mr. Cao was a "land tiger" in Zhangjiawan Town. They stayed here and bowed to the pier according to the rules. Logically speaking, they were not doing business in Zhangjiawan, but just took a break and paid their respects.
It's all over at the dock. The boss will never come to visit in person.
"Invite him to meet you." Min Zhanlian did not hesitate, and then said: "Xiaoqian, you accompany me to meet him, and everyone else goes back to their houses."
"Boss, do you want to..."
"No need," Min Zhanlian shook his head, "We are on someone else's territory. If he really wants to deal with something that we haven't even said a word to, does he have to come over and risk it himself?"
Just as Min Zhanlian thought, Mr. Cao only had two servants in green clothes with him, and they were simple and easy to follow.
Master Cao's famous name is Cao Sheng, and he was born in Tongzhou's canal transport banner. The military household in the Ming Dynasty had a hard time, and the life of the canal transport bannerman was even more difficult. He was no more than middle-aged, but the old man was similar to an old man in his fifties or sixties. Although he looked old
, but there is a body of tendons under the brocade robe.
He suddenly paid a visit and his words were very polite, but in a roundabout way, he just said: What are you doing in Zhangjiawan?
Logically speaking, Min Zhanlian had already expressed his intention to come here when he visited the dock. They were going to the capital to "do business" and their stay in Zhangjiawan was only temporary and would not interfere with local affairs. Having expressed this, Master Cao should be satisfied.
.It is common for Jianghu people to lie and deceive others, but there are not many people who dare to lie in front of the local uncle.
Min Zhanlian naturally said it again. Cao Sheng nodded slightly and said: "Originally, there are some things I shouldn't say, but I am very interested in this 'business' matter. I wonder if you can give me a few words?"
This was very rude to people in the world. If something went wrong, there must be a monster. Min Zhanlian deliberately tried to trick him and asked:
"Master Cao! What on earth is blowing outside? Are you asking these questions?"
This was both an inquiry and an expression of dissatisfaction. Cao Sheng naturally understood it as soon as he heard it and said hurriedly:
"It's not because I don't understand the rules, but I have to do this!" Cao Sheng apologized. He didn't need to be so polite at first. In fact, the appearance and behavior of the other party are not ordinary gangsters. I'm afraid he is a person who specializes in big business.
.There is no need for him to offend such a desperado.
"Oh? What kind of big boss is he, and what big event is it, that he can actually reach Zhangjiawan?"
"Haha, apart from them, who else in the capital has such great ability!" Cao Sheng said with a bitter smile, "No one can give them a favor!"
Although he didn't point it out clearly, he was ready to reveal it. Min Zhanlian was shocked and quickly made a surprised expression: "That's it! I'm talking too much."