one step closer to the end

Zhao Guanren smiled complacently: "From now on, you will follow me on errands, as long as you keep your mouth shut, promotion and fortune are no problem, and we don't do lowly things like blackmailing the common people. If you want to knock on these officials, let's go. Go to the next one!"

"My lord, please, brothers will escort you..."

The ten banner guards nodded and bowed to invite him into the carriage, and Luo Tan also climbed up, sat beside him with a smile and helped him light a cigarette, and leaned on him.

"Aren't you innocent, you want to sleep with the master so soon..."

Zhao Guanren blew on her jokingly, and Luo Tan leaned on his shoulder and said coquettishly: "The master has taken away my family's innocence, and the master even made fun of her, so I don't have to worry about being ugly. Anyway, the man is yours, and the body is yours." It's also yours, master can't treat others badly!"

Zhao Guanren asked, "How much do you earn a month?"

"Our secret agents are the worst. If we can't find a big case, we can only get a salary. If we have a big case, we can get some subsidies. It's only a few dozen taels a year..."

Luo Tan curled his lips and said: "The guards in black are just superficial scenery, and the black and white guards are staring at each other, so we don't have much money, the oil and water are all in the hands of adults from thousands of households, and adults from hundreds of households follow to get some soup to drink, but the fattest is Working in the capital, it's a pity that none of us have any connections!"

"Have you ever seen so much gold?"

Zhao Guanren picked up the box on the ground with his feet, Luo Tan's eyes widened in an instant, swallowed a big mouthful of foam, and stammered: "No, I haven't seen it! I haven't seen it in my dreams, but Song Chizhu is out." The famous Iron Man, how could he give you so much?"

"Open the collar!"

Zhao Guanren grabbed a handful of gold bars from the box, Luo Tan pulled his collar away excitedly, Zhao Guanren threw two gold bars in, and asked, "Which Chang Ziteng am I, how did the last one die?"

"You are the second one. Chang Ziteng was assassinated..."

Luo Tan rolled his eyes and said: "Chang Ziteng is a young man, he has been with me for only three months, Xiangtian's grain depot has something tricky, I told him not to touch that kind of difficult case, but he was eager to make meritorious service, and he didn't come out for ten days Let someone kill him, luckily I didn't accompany him!"

"Dang bang~"

Zhao Guanren threw two more gold bars and asked, "What are Chen Qianhu's hobbies, how many girls are there in the family, and what is Tan Qingning's family background?"

"The Tan family is a family of officials and eunuchs. There are two elder brothers who are officials in the court. The old man was once a minister of the Ministry of War..."

Luo Tan said helplessly: "I don't know much about Chen Qianhu. He is withdrawn and arrogant. He never talks much to his subordinates. There is only one wife and one concubine in his family. He lives with him in Ningzhou Prefecture. On weekdays, he only plays chess and goes fishing. Already!"

"In addition to asking you to report my whereabouts, did he ask you to get rid of me at any time..."

Zhao Guanren grabbed another handful of gold bars, but Luo Tan shook his head and said: "No! Just let me monitor you according to the normal rules, and report to him if you have any deceitful behavior, and let me tell you that the Bian and Xie families should not touch each other again. You can accept the gifts they give you, but you are not allowed to knock on the door!"

"Don't let people see things, take good care of them at night..."

Zhao Guanren stuffed four gold bars into her arms again, closed the box and said, "You know how to write the report, I took 5000 taels of silver from Song Chizhu, 2000 taels of gold, one piece of antiques and one piece of art, and privately divided [-] taels." two!"

"Master! This is too much to pay..."

Luo Tan looked at him with a painful face, Zhao Guanren pinched her chin and smiled: "Yo~ I feel sorry for our family's money, but how can I get less if I make a move, and I will only hand in half, you can record it truthfully. good!"

"Ah? If he knew you were greedy for ink, he wouldn't bother you..."

Luo Tan looked at him in surprise, Zhao Guanren just smiled without explaining.

In fact, he wants Chen Qianhu to believe that he is just a greedy and lustful villain, and at the same time Luo Tan is also doing his duty, otherwise no one would dare to stay with a smart person who is not greedy and lustful.

"My lord! It's here..."

The banner guards shouted energetically, and Zhao Guanren jumped out of the carriage and went straight to a house. Although the owner of this house was only a small official, he was a big moth in charge of the grain depot, and he was absolutely rich in oil and water.

really!

The goods were actually given a whole box of cash, which was so heavy that Zhao Guanren couldn't lift it by himself, so the four banner guards carried it away with a grunt, and then ran to several houses one after another, not even letting go However, the last carriage could not be pulled.

"Ah? Hu Xiancheng is dead..."

Zhao Guanren was stunned as soon as he entered the door. The Hu family was full of white silk and a coffin was parked in the main room, but apart from his wife, daughter and two concubines, no one dared to come to express condolences, and even the servants ran away. .

"Woo~ My master hanged himself early in the morning..."

Mrs. Hu knelt on the ground and wept into tears, and her two children almost fainted from crying. When Zhao Guanren went to the coffin in surprise, he found that it was Hu Xiancheng lying upright in it, and the strangle marks on his neck were obviously hanged. committed suicide.

"Master! This is the abandoned car to protect the handsome..."

Luo Tan whispered: "I asked the brothers in the night trial, the superiors will not let the magistrate's mansion be moved, even if Hu Xiancheng commits suicide, even if one person carries it down, the dirty water can be poured on his head!"

"Dog officer! I'll kill you..."

suddenly!

A girl rushed out from the side hall, raised her sword high and slashed at Zhao Guanren. Luo Tan kicked her out of the way, and drew out the knife to kill her, but Mrs. Hu jumped out and cried, : "My lord, please spare me! This is my girl!"

"Girl! I didn't kill your father..."

Zhao Guanren pulled Luo Tan behind him, but the girl cried out in grief and indignation: "I know you! You are Zhao Yunxuan who was in the yamen hall last night. You forced my father to death. My father is innocent. He did not poison you." , no harm!"

"Girl! I never said that your father poisoned you, not even the guard in black..."

Zhao Guanren walked over and said, "I've been helping your father, but he didn't listen to me at a critical moment and chose his superior. In the end they abandoned the car to protect the handsome man, and your father became a victim. If you let him choose again, believe me He will definitely listen to me, understand?"

"Master Zhao! My little girl is ignorant, please don't blame me..."

Mrs. Hu hugged her daughter and burst into tears, only she understood the inside story, so Zhao Guanren took out a bank note and handed it to her, expressing his condolences helplessly.

suddenly!

A lean middle-aged man stepped in, wearing a gray gown with rolled up cuffs. He was taken aback when he saw the black-clothed guard, but he still bowed in a respectful manner. The Hu family also hurriedly returned the salute. The first person to come to condolences.

"You are the owner of Han's shop..."

Zhao Guanren remembered that this man's shop was on Mashi Street, and he sold things like firewood, rice, oil, salt, and so on. He had a little impression of the two girls because they were dexterous and beautiful.

"Master Zhang, no! Master Zhao, my humble Han Dongsheng..."

After Han Dongsheng presented the silk gold, he turned around and saluted, and said, "Master Hu and I are from the same township, and he has always taken good care of me. Who would have thought that he would leave just as soon as he said it, life is really impermanent!"

"You are a real person, there are not many people who dare to mourn him..."

Zhao Guanren nodded lightly. Who knew that a large group of people rushed in from outside, and it turned out that the black-clothed guards and the white-clothed guards came together. The menacing posture made it clear that the visitors were not friendly.

"Come to steal the house!"

Luo Tan stepped aside without being surprised, but Zhao Guanren stepped forward and said in surprise: "No way, everyone, the Prime Minister of Hu County has not been buried yet, so you are in a hurry to search the house, at least wait for others to pass the first seven days!"

"What Hu Xiancheng, this is a criminal who committed suicide in fear of crime..."

A white-clothed guard stepped forward and held up the official document, which was stamped with several red stamps. He said in a cold voice: "If you have any objections, you can go to your superior to argue with him. This is stamped with his official seal. Don't hinder me from doing business, get out of the way!"

"My lord! For such a serious crime, ransacking the house is inevitable..."

Luo Tan hurriedly pulled Zhao Guanren aside, and hundreds of households in white went forward to read the official documents. There were a lot of crimes listed, and in the end, all the family property was naturally confiscated. Official prostitute.

"There is no reason! I am devoid of conscience..."

Mrs. Hu beat her chest and cried, and her daughter picked up the sword and wanted to kill herself, but was captured by the guards in black, and she was pulled away by iron ropes. Even the little boy in his teens was not spared. Start moving valuables.

"Master Zhao! I beg you to bury the husband of the slave family, please..."

Mrs. Hu cried miserably in the courtyard, and her daughter also cried and begged and admitted her mistake. Zhao Guanren naturally nodded in agreement without hesitation, and the impatient Han Dongsheng also hurriedly chased him out.

"You can't control this matter, don't set yourself on fire..."

Zhao Guanren dragged the impulsive Han Dongsheng back, walked to the side of the coffin and looked at Hu Xiancheng who suddenly opened his eyes, he closed his eyes twice before letting Hu Xiancheng close his eyes, and sighed: "Oh, if I knew today, why did you do it in the first place?" , you think they treat you like a brother, they treat you like a sand sculpture!"

Chapter 0443 Thunderbolt Kills You

Hu Xiancheng's departure was miserable and sad, his lovely wife and beautiful family members were all slaves, the floor was pried open to find the hidden property, almost none of the conditions promised by the magistrate were fulfilled, and in the end it was Zhao Guanren who spent the money When he was buried, none of his relatives and friends dared to come to worship him.

"Master is back!"

Yu Niang stood in the gate to welcome her, and looked at Luo Tan in black curiously. Zhao Guanren stepped in and said, "This is my female guard Luo Tan. Let the little fat girl serve her, except for my study. , she can walk around at will in other places!"

"Oh! Hello sister Luo, my family is a big girl, Yu Niang..."

Yuniang laughed unsuspectingly. Luo Tan is also a woman with high emotional intelligence, so she immediately took out a silver bracelet as a meeting gift. The status of concubines from wealthy families is not high. Single kings like Zhao Guanren are naturally in the house. It is the eldest girl who has the highest status.

"Master! Zhang Tiansheng has already sent someone to look for it..."

Yu Niang chased up and said: "The slave family paid off his debts according to your instructions, and gave him the house at the east gate. Zhang Tiansheng has already picked up the old lady in the afternoon, and the third girl has come to serve him. He explained I will come to the door again to thank you!"

"Let the third girl stare at me. If Zhang Tiansheng dares to gamble again, I'll break his legs..."

Zhao Guanren walked into the gazebo expressionlessly. He was a little unhappy about Hu Xiancheng's death, but a table of sumptuous dishes was ready, and two fat girls stood in it to serve.

"Oops~"

Luo Tan sat down on the stone bench and said with a smile: "I've been working as a job for five full years, either serving others or taking care of myself. I can finally be a young mistress and be served by others!"

"Stand up! You sit without me, do you know the rules..."

Zhao Guanren scolded angrily, Luo Tan quickly jumped up in embarrassment, walked behind him obediently and kneaded his shoulders, and Zhao Guanren said again: "Yu Niang! You all go to the door and wait for the owner of the Han's shop Bring it here!"

"Hey!"

Yuniang immediately took away the two fat girls, and Luo Tan asked in a low voice: "Master! You've been wandering around all day, and you didn't investigate the source of the poison except to cure the poison. If Chen Qianhu asks, how can you explain it?" ah?"

"You don't need to talk too much about this, there is a white-clothed guard behind the east courtyard wall, go and break his leg..."

Zhao Guanren pursed his lips lightly. Luo Tan was startled at first, and after a moment's hesitation, he took the jug and bowed his head to the east courtyard. After a while, he heard a scream, and a black shadow jumped out of the courtyard wall in embarrassment. , also sprinkled a bloodstain in the air.

"Master Zhao! The villain is here..."

Han Dongsheng was suddenly brought over by Yuniang, just as Luo Tan was walking back with a broken arm, his expression changed immediately, but Zhao Guanren waved his hands and smiled: "Don't be afraid! A thief just entered, I The female guard went to deal with it!"

"This thief is also blind, how dare he steal into the Lord's mansion..."

Han Dongsheng walked into the pavilion with some panic, Luo Tan didn't come over when he saw this, and walked towards the toilet with his broken arm.

"Shopkeeper Han, please sit down, let's chat while eating, be more casual..."

Zhao Guanren poured him a glass of wine with his own hands, and said with a smile, "There are quite a few salt merchants in our county, but I haven't heard of any big salt merchants. Salt merchants should make a lot of money, do you know how they operate? "

"Ningzhou does not produce salt, so naturally there are no big salt merchants, and the big salt merchants are all in the Huaiyang area..."

Han Dongsheng replied: "They have stationed court officials in our county and distributed the salt to various shops, so I just distribute it and can't make a lot of money, but the big salt merchants have to be responsible for transporting the grain to the border. The Salt Bureau got Yanyin, ordinary merchants don't have such skills!"

"Come on! Let's have a drink first and eat a few more dishes..."

Zhao Guanren picked up the wine glass to drink with him, and after eating a few peanuts, he asked, "If I want to buy all the salt in Ningzhou Prefecture, regardless of the size, how much will it cost?"

"This……"

Han Dongsheng hesitated and said: "At present, the purchase price is 45 yuan for a catty of coarse salt, and 120 yuan for a catty of high-quality fine salt. The whole county must have 20 catties, and it costs more than 1 yuan just to buy our county's salt. Two silvers, the villains in the entire state capital really can't figure it out!"

"Tsk tsk~"

Zhao Guanren was speechless and said, "This salt is really expensive. No wonder the salt merchants are rich and powerful. How long does it take to transport salt from Huaiyang? Are there many smugglers?"

"Does your lord want to check private salt?"

Han Dongsheng said: "Huaiyang is not too far from us, but the salt carts are big and slow, and it usually takes six or seven days to go there. They are all secretly sold in the village, and the yamen will strictly check them!"

"Go and do something for me, collect all the salt from Ningzhou Prefecture..."

Zhao Guanren smiled and said: "Go and tell the salt merchant Chaofeng tomorrow morning that I ordered a large amount of salt from you to treat corpse plague. I'll take it, and I must buy out Ningzhou Prefecture and Lantai County!"

"grown ups!"

As expected of a businessman, Han Dongsheng recalled it immediately, and said nervously, "You, are you trying to drive up the price of salt? This is a crime of beheading!"

"Nonsense! How can I drive up the price of salt? Salt is needed to deal with corpse plague..."

Zhao Guanren waved his hand and said: "If the government collects salt openly, the price of salt will definitely skyrocket. At that time, it will be the common people who will suffer. I asked you to collect salt to stabilize the price of salt. You must rent more warehouses to store salt. You must not let it go." Those profiteers got their way, understand?"

"Oops~"

Han Dongsheng stood up excitedly, bowed and said: "The villain has misunderstood the lord, the lord is really a good official who makes decisions for the people, please be respected by the villain!"

"Sit down! I think you are a real person, so I entrust you with this matter..."

Zhao Guanren squeezed his hands and smiled: "But I can't let you work for nothing. I will lend you 5000 taels of principal, and you will go to run two workshops. One will make gas masks and gloves, and the other will make rock sugar and alcohol. I'll give you the blueprint!"

"Uh~"

Han Dongsheng said with a look of bewilderment: "Masks and gloves are known, but what are rock sugar and alcohol?"

"Just do it, I'll give you a lot of money..."

Zhao Guanren said: "I have written all these things in the booklet. There is also a kind of medical gauze and plaster. These are all good things for curing diseases and saving lives. By the way! Is gunpowder controlled? Is there a workshop that produces guns in the county? "

"The muskets are all antiques, and the craftsmanship has been lost..."

Han Dongsheng waved his hands and said, "Ever since Xuan Qi began to spread, muskets have lost their effect on the battlefield, only iron cannons can be used to defend the city, but gunpowder still cannot be made privately, otherwise it will blow up the fire and bring neighbors, and firecrackers are all government-run." workshop!"

"Is that so..."

Zhao Guanren nodded, and said: "Introduce me to a reliable blacksmith shop. The technology must be good and the people must be honest. Then you can hire a few more guys. If you do a big business, you must be willing to spend money. As long as you do it well , I guarantee that you will be the richest man in Lantai in the future!"

……