Li Rufeng stood in the main hall of He Liansheng, his eyes bright.
In front of him were piles of the latest "news" collected from various places, and the one on top was from Min Zhanlian's group.
In addition to Min Zhanlian's team, two more teams arrived one after another, one each arranged in the direction of Zhangjiakou in the north of Beijing and in the direction of Shanxi in the west of Beijing.
Each team operates independently, and the intelligence is summarized by manual delivery to He Liansheng, screened by Li Rufeng, and a copy is sent to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau in Lingao.
A lot of news comes every day, but so far, the really valuable information is the information about a series of doubtful points about Nanyuan sent by Min Zhanlian's team.
Coupled with the recent sudden death of Qin Erlang, their judgment became more and more inclined to the fact that Leng Ningyun was probably somewhere in Nanyuan.
It's just that the Nanyuan area is too big. If you rush to search and rescue, you won't be able to find anyone. If you don't tell anyone, you might be aroused.
It was late at night, but he didn't feel sleepy at all. He just felt that his whole body was full of energy, but he didn't know where to go.
An escort came to report: "He's getting dirty!"
Li Rufeng raised his eyebrows and said, "Invite him in!"
Ever since he arranged for Huang Qi to investigate Eunuch Yang, he has not received any news from him yet. This person was known for being careful and thorough when he was working as an errand in Dongchang. He would not rush to report if he heard some rumors.
Lord, if you come here now, you must have accurate news.
After a while, the escort brought in a middle-aged man from outside. This man was dignified in appearance, well-behaved, and had an air of "official style" in his movements. At a glance, he looked like a huge number of government offices in the capital.
The appearance of an official.
Although Huang Qi has a good appearance, he is a person who has no sense of right and wrong and only cares about who gives money. However, the revival of the Donglin Party also taught him a lesson, that is, don't stand in the wrong team. Nine thousand years old is powerful.
During the turmoil, who would have thought that the new emperor would kill him with just one edict. He himself had to run to Guangdong and hide for several years.
Now that he is willing to serve He Liansheng, he naturally thinks that the Australians are a good ship.
Huang Qi cupped his fists and said, "Master Li, please come!"
Li Rufeng immediately returned the greeting: "You're welcome, Mr. Huang Wu, please!"
Huang Qi didn't talk nonsense. He glanced at it and Li Rufeng immediately understood what he meant and said: "No one is waiting here to come in. They are surrounded by their own people from the escort agency, guarding them like iron barrels. Please sit down and speak slowly.
." He immediately ordered someone to bring him a bowl of milk tea.
Mongolian milk tea was also served in the capital in the late Ming Dynasty, but it was not as popular as it was in the Qing Dynasty. This tea can warm the stomach and fill the stomach and refresh the mind. It is mostly consumed by bodyguards, soldiers, and petty officials... who need to stay up late at night to work.
Huang Qi drank the milk tea, and when he saw the servant who brought the tea retreating, he said in a low voice: "I have asked about everything you asked me to ask about. Eunuch Yang doesn't have any tricks. After Shopkeeper Leng was kidnapped, he was very anxious.
This time, he asked his adopted son and his eunuchs to inquire about the news, and also sent people to Shuntian Mansion. The purpose was to ask them to solve the case as soon as possible and unblock Delong, so that he could get all the money back. As for him, he sent people to Delong
You must know better about the matter."
Li Rufeng said: "Yes, he did send someone to Delong."
"But there is something fishy about his adopted son, Little Eunuch Yang."
Li Rufeng was shocked when he heard this. To be honest, his investigation of Eunuch Yang was mainly to consider whether the huge deposits raised by Eunuch Yang attracted the covetousness of young people. But listening to Huang Qi's tone at this time, I'm afraid the problem is
It happened to little Eunuch Yang.
Huang Qi said that according to his investigation, Yang Tianliang had been acting sneaky since he was kidnapped by Shopkeeper Leng, and frequently interacted with the city foxes and rats on the ground in the capital. Originally, it was not uncommon for eunuchs to interact with gangsters on the ground in the capital. But he made friends
This is not an ordinary gangster, but a gangster with a bright future.
The capital is the most benign place in the world. No matter how powerful the gangsters are in the city, they dare not carry weapons such as swords, spears, and spears. In daily fights, they mostly use sticks and never use swords.
For the yamen, those who use the knife to kill are the thieves and gangsters. The gangsters want to make a living on the ground in the capital. This is an insurmountable iron law.
The gangsters who dare to use weapons mostly operate in the suburbs of the capital, committing robberies, kidnappings, killing people and selling goods. The two are clearly distinct. Eunuchs will not make friends with them.
But this young Eunuch Yang not only made friends with these people, but also met with them privately in remote places such as Mercy Nunnery and Hongluochang in Nancheng.
"Seriously?!" Li Rufeng's pupils shrank.
"Seriously!" Huang Qi said, "He sees all the famous people on the suburban roads of Beijing. Speaking of which, you have met some of them."
"who?"
"Did the three brothers named Wang in Delong come here under their false names and ask for ransom?"
"You know?"
"Of course I know." Huang Qi said leisurely, "These three rushers were coaxed by a certain big shot. Otherwise, how could they know such details."
"So..." Li Rufeng subconsciously wanted to say, "Little Eunuch Yang is the kidnapper." He immediately realized that the person sitting across from him was not "one of his own" and swallowed it alive.
However, this Huang Qi was like a worm in his stomach, and continued: "Little Eunuch Yang may not be the kidnapper, but he must be closely related to this matter."
Li Rufeng nodded: "Does Eunuch Yang know about this?"
"Of course he doesn't know. If he knew, he wouldn't be so angry that he would hang himself." Huang Qi said, "Eunuch Yang has gotten old in recent years, and his brain is not as active as before. He has to rely on this adopted son for everything. It is easy to be deceived by him.
.”
"This is not a trivial matter." Li Rufeng said, "If it was really his fault, he would be unlucky if something happened, and his adoptive father would also suffer the consequences."
"Yang Tianliang has long had a grudge against Eunuch Yang." Huang Qi said, "Now that he has ascended the throne, Eunuch Yang relied on favors and tricks. He spent tens of thousands of silver to get the job of head of the Bell and Drum Department.
Although he is in charge of one of the twenty-four yamen, it is a cold yamen after all, and his potential is limited. The palace is also filled with eunuchs from Prince Xin's palace, so Eunuch Yang himself is not necessarily very proud, and this young Eunuch Yang is certainly not very successful."
"I see." Li Rufeng thought that it made sense. Little Eunuch Yang's future in the palace was limited. He said he was "little", but he was actually in his thirties. He made some money with his master.
But compared to desire, it's just a drop in the bucket. One hundred thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, so it's natural for him to be tempted.
Naturally, this explains why the kidnappers are so familiar with Delong and Leng Ningyun's situation. Because Delong's largest customer and the most familiar customer is Eunuch Yang.
"Sure enough, it is day and night defense. It is difficult to guard against domestic thieves." Li Rufeng said secretly, and then asked: "What other news is there? Is there any clue about the whereabouts of shopkeeper Leng?"
"Of course there are no eyebrows. This matter is kept secret in the capital. But little Eunuch Yang often meets people in Nancheng, and it's just in this area. Even if he's not in the city, he's just on the outskirts of Nancheng."
Because Luocheng was built recently, there are very few households and businesses, and there are many open spaces. Therefore, in addition to temples, there are various industrial workshops and stockyards for stockpiling materials. Liulichang, Hongluo Factory, Wood Factory,
The Wei Factory...are all located here. Some of these places are managed by officials from the Ministry of Industry, and some are managed by eunuchs in the palace. In fact, they can all hide people. If you look closely, you don't necessarily have to hide people in Nanyuan.
Huang Qi provided various figures that little Eunuch Yang had contact with in Luocheng, and among them was Qin Sanye. In addition, Huang Qi also mentioned one thing, that is, little Eunuch Yang had a brief time before Leng Ningyun was kidnapped.
He often travels to and from Tianjin. The problem is that Eunuch Yang has no property or business in Tianjin. It is impossible to send his adopted son to Tianjin to work. Therefore, traveling to and from Tianjin can only be Yang Tianliang's own business.
Judging from the time latitude, his travels to Tianjin and the kidnapping case are likely to be connected. After all, Min Zhanlian's people have discovered relevant clues in Tianjin.
"What did he do in Tianjin, who did he meet, are there any clues?"
"I don't know about this. But I bought a message - it cost a lot of money."
Li Rufeng smiled: "Why do you sell me so much Australian toothpaste? I won't lose even a penny from you!"
Huang Qi chuckled and took out a note from his arms.
"It's not that I'm a rare commodity. In fact, this note was hard to come by."
When Li Rufeng got it in his hand, he found a piece of paper that had been soaked in water. The ink marks on it were scattered, but the handwriting was probably visible. It was a reservation form for Qiweizhan.
As He Liansheng's chief escort, he is very familiar with his employer's routine. This is an unnamed ticket reservation for a first-class cabin on a Qiwei Line passenger ship. This kind of
The cabin is fully equipped and luxuriously decorated. In addition to the two main passengers, it can also accommodate two servants. It is the first choice for many dignitaries for long-distance voyages.
There is no specific date or flight on the reservation form, but it is marked that it is valid for the whole year of the 10th year of Chongzhen/1637. With this reservation form, you can go to the shipping office in Qiwei at any time, just give the password, and check it out immediately.
Purchase the latest available space on the liner on the desired route.
"How did this come about?"
"I bought it from the little eunuch next to Yang Tianliang." Huang Qi said with pride, "This piece was caught in his clothes and was accidentally soaked. Yang Tianliang sent him to Tianjin to make a new one and get a new one.
This guy just sold me this soaked piece!"
"It's really yours." Li Rufeng said with a smile. He looked at the reservation form and felt a little unbelievable. Why did he go to apply for this reservation form? Could it be that he was preparing to run away?
Although Qiwei Shipping has many inland river and coastal routes, in the north, the places it can actually go are very limited. After starting from Tianjin, the coastal routes are to Shandong, Nanzhi, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan;
The only inland water routes that sail from Tongzhou to Hangzhou are the terminals along the Grand Canal.