Fenghou

"Since the Western Army is going to attack Hebei, Taiyuan is the top priority for dispatching troops, and he will definitely return to Taiyuan in time."

Chen Qing glanced at Wang Hao, Wang Hao nodded in agreement, Chen Qing said with a smile: "Go! Grab this Pi Xiangyang, and I will give you a promotion no matter if you live or die."

"The humble job will not disappoint His Highness!"

……

In Daming Mansion, Pi Xiangyang escorted [-] catties of notoginseng, isatid root, cork and other medicinal materials to the official warehouse, and Wan Yanchang came to the official warehouse to pick up the goods in person. This was the most successful operation of Jin Guo's intelligence agencies in recent years.

Not only did he buy a large amount of medicinal materials from under Chen Qing's nose, but he was able to retreat calmly and preserve most of the medicinal materials when he was discovered by the inner guards. This kind of courage and ability made Wan Yanchang greatly appreciate it.

Of course, Wan Yanchang had other ideas. Ever since Yang Jingong, the deputy manager of the Firearms Workshop, was unfortunately buried in a sea of ​​fire while experimenting with firearms, Wanyanchang had completely given up on Tie Huolei.

But Wanyan Wushu fled back to Shangjing, and put most of the responsibility for his failure on the powerful Tiehuolei owned by the Western Army. The Jin Emperor Wanyan Quan also began to be interested in Tiehuolei, and ordered Wanyan Chang To get information in this area, it is best to get real things.

Wan Yanchang was under a lot of pressure these two days, and it happened that Pi Xiangyang transported [-] catties of sanqi back to the Daming Mansion, which gave Wan Yanchang the idea of ​​letting Pi Xiangyang try it.

In the official room, Wan Yanchang explained the importance of Tie Huolei to Pi Xiangyang, explained that this was the request of the emperor, and entrusted this task to him, and promised that if he could get the formula of Tie Huolei and get For Tie Huolei's real object, he will be made the Duke of the state, and rewarded with [-] guan and ten thousand hectares of fertile land.

Pi Xiangyang restrained the excitement in his heart, bowed and said: "The humble job must complete the task assigned by Marshal Du!"

Wan Yanchang took a file bag and handed it to him, "This is all the information we have collected about Tiehuolei, you should study it yourself, and we also have firearms smiths, you can ask them anytime you want, but I hope you Get out as soon as possible!"

"Follow the order!"

The first thousand and 280 eight chapters clues

Early the next morning, Pi Xiangyang found Tang Qi, the new director of the Gunpowder Bureau. Tang Qi was 60 years old and had a lot of experience. He was originally the deputy director of gunpowder in the Liao Kingdom. After the Song Dynasty, he returned to Yanshan Mansion, and was later employed by Jin Guo as a gunpowder maker. He retired last year and was invited by Wan Yanchang to Daming Mansion to be in charge of gunpowder production.

"I read the information overnight, and I found that the gunsmith gave the reason that we and the Western Army have different types of gunpowder, so we can't make iron fire mines. Does Director Tang think it's possible?"

Tang Qi sneered and said: "That's the excuse they couldn't make Tie Huolei. Even Marshal Du didn't believe what they said, but there was nothing he could do. Yang Jingong found some clues before, but unfortunately he was burned to death. I suspect He was killed by spies from the Western Army."

"Is it really possible that the two types of saltpetre are different?" Pi Xiangyang continued to ask.

"I make gunpowder. How could I not know? Let's put it this way! The gunpowder I made is exactly the same as the gunpowder made by the Song Dynasty Gunpowder Bureau. In the first year of Jingkang, Li Gang had already made iron fire thunder. It’s a squib, and one out of ten can explode at most. This may be a problem with the casting of the iron shell, but there is no problem with the gunpowder, but maybe the gunpowder formula will be slightly adjusted, and I don’t know the details.”

Pi Xiangyang said again: "I read the information that I got an iron fire mine before, but later all the tests were used up, and it was not developed. Could it be a fake iron fire mine, leading us to take a detour .”

"Your suspicion is very likely, because the gunpowder maker who saw the iron fire thunder told me that the powder of gunpowder is very fine, as fine as dust. I think it is wrong. According to my experience, the finer the gunpowder, the more it burns." The speed of fire is not fast, if there are some loose particles, it will burn faster, but I don’t make firearms, so I don’t have the right to speak, although I understand a little bit in my heart, I can’t say anything!”

"I see, thank you, Manager Tang!"

Tang Qi smiled and said, "Marshal Du asked you to get the formula and samples of Tiehuolei, where are you going to start?"

Pi Xiangyang said lightly: "Based on my understanding of the Western Army, it is almost impossible to obtain the formula and Iron Fire Thunder from any Western Army. I want to find a way from the user's direction, or make Iron Fire Thunder As long as I search carefully, I will definitely gain something."

"Not bad! Not bad! I can give you a clue."

Pi Xiangyang cheered up, and hurriedly said: "Please enlighten me, Director Tang!"

"At that time, the Tokyo Firearms Bureau made the iron fire mine, but it was not taken seriously, and all of them were destroyed. The drawings and formulas are gone, but what about the craftsmen of the Firearms Bureau at that time?

In the second year of Jianyan, when I was about to return to Yanshan Prefecture, I met two gunpowder craftsmen from the Tokyo Firearms Bureau. They were from Taiyuan Prefecture. After Bianliang City was broken, they also returned to their hometown. Wu, they should have participated in the development of Tiehuolei, but after 20 years, I don’t know if they are still alive, they should be about 60 years old now, and I don’t know which county they are in Taiyuan Prefecture, but the official There may be information in the old files, and if they are found, there may be hope. "

Pi Xiangyang nodded and said, "Perhaps this is a loophole in Chen Qing's hundred secrets."

……

Zhong Huan led [-] elite troops to Taiyuan City in three groups.

Although Jin Guo's spies exist independently in Jingzhao, Taiyuan does not. Taiyuan City is the location of the intelligence headquarters of the entire Yongwang District.

This is also the reform that Pi Xiangyang carried out after he became the intelligence chief. To avoid the edge of the Western Army's internal guards, ten spies were placed in Jingzhao, each of which had a single-line contact with Pi Xiangyang.

Chong Huan saw Niu Gao, the military envoy of the Hedong Road, and Niu Gao immediately lent the old military envoy's government office to Zhong Huan for use, and promised that he could send troops to assist Zhong Huan at any time.

But the first thing Chong Huan had to do was to visit the Wangji fur shop in the south of the city. Lu Mengda and Wang Jinniu both confessed that the Wangji fur shop was Jin Bing's intelligence terminal in Taiyuan.

However, Zhong Huan didn't hold out much hope. Since Lu Mengda and others were arrested, the Taiyuan Intelligence Center must have changed location.

Sure enough, the door of Wangji fur shop was closed, with a big iron lock hanging outside, and a shop closing notice was pasted on the door, because of poor management, the small shop closed down, I am ashamed of all the old customers.

Zhong Huan immediately sent several men to monitor the shop, and arrest anyone if they appeared.

In addition to Wang Ji Leather Goods, there is another more secret clue, which is Pi Xiangyang's woman. Wang Jinniu told Zhong Huan that such a woman existed, and Lu Mengda further explained the clue of this woman. This woman's surname is Jiang, and she is a Dance girl, no one knows where she lives, but Lu Mengda knows that she has a brother named Jiang Ping, who is a scoundrel in Taiyuan City and likes to cause trouble.

Although Lu Mengda didn't know where Jiang Ping lived, but knowing that he was a scoundrel in Taiyuan City was enough.

Chong Huan immediately came to the county government. Peng Shirong, the county magistrate, heard that the internal guards were investigating the case, so he didn't dare to be negligent, so he immediately called the capital head Wang Jian. , there will be news tomorrow morning."

Zhong Huan also instructed: "Try to keep a low profile, don't let others know, we are looking for this Jiang Ping."

"Don't worry, general, I will do things properly!"

……

At the same time that Zhong Huan was looking for Jiang Ping, in an unknown mansion outside the east city of Taiyuan, a middle-aged man was assigning tasks to several subordinates.

The middle-aged man was called Song Kuan, and he was Pi Xiangyang's deputy. Pi Xiangyang was not in Taiyuan, so he was in charge of the operation of the intelligence station.

"I just received a letter from Fei Ge from the manager. He is on his way to Taiyuan, but let us do two things first. The first thing is to send 300 taels of silver to Wu Yasi. The sixth child, Wu Yasi is You are in charge, and this matter is up to you to handle it.”

A man about 30 years old said: "I have no problem handling it! Give me the money."

Song Kuan glared at him, "I'll give it to you, what's the rush?"

Another subordinate next to him asked: "Didn't the manager say that this Wu Yasi is unreliable? Don't deal with him in the future, why do you want to give him money again?"

Song Kuan snorted and said, "Don't ask too much about this kind of thing. Just do what the manager tells you."

"Hey! The Wu Yasi provided false information last time, which hurt me so badly. Now I want to give him money again. I will speak first. If it is false information again, it has nothing to do with me!"

Song Kuan said coldly: "Go and tell the manager yourself!"

He Liutong lowered his head and dared not make a sound.

After a pause, Song Kuan explained again: "The manager also told me to send some money to Madam, Liu Kai, find a time to send 30 taels of silver to Madam."

"Okay! I'll go early tomorrow morning."

Song Kuan thought for a while and said, "I'll leave the money in the afternoon. Go to the barracks tomorrow morning and find Zhou Qing. I have something important to tell you."

The first thousand and 280 chapters and nine opportunities

Dutou Wang Jian is worthy of being a local snake, he found Zhong Huan that night.

"Jiang Pingbei, who the general is looking for, has been found. He lives in Sanliu Lane in the south of the city. He is a well-known rascal in the south of the city. He follows a group of people to extort stores all day long and makes a living by doing so. He has an older sister. I heard that His family background is not very good, he has been taken care of by a rich man for the past two years, and he is currently living with his parents."

Chong Huan looked at the sky, and not long after it got dark, he said to Wang Jian: "Find someone who knows Jiang Ping for me, and be tight-lipped. I'm going to arrest this Jiang Ping tonight. Tomorrow morning, you can find him." People pretended to be creditors and went to Jiang Ping's house to ask for debts, saying that Wang Jian escaped the debt last night and ran away."

"The humble officer understands, the general is afraid of scaring the snake."

"That's right!"

"I'll arrange it, and I promise there will be no mistakes."

Zhong Huan rewarded him ten taels of silver, and Wang Jianxing hurried away...

Sanliu Lane is said to be an alley, but it is actually a very long small street. It was very famous in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was a place where lowly households lived. Hundreds of lowly households lived on the long small street.

The so-called low households are men and women engaged in sensual pleasures, prostitutes, dancers, singers, musicians, etc.

In brothels, brothels, teaching workshops, restaurants, teahouses, etc., there are a large number of seductive women. If they are lucky, they will be taken as concubines by rich people and leave their lowly status, but most of them are getting old and fading. Later, she married a musician, and then had children to live the lives of ordinary people.

However, it was difficult for them to get rid of their humble status, but the turning point came in the fourth year of Shaoxing, when Chen Qing, who was the Xuanfu envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi at that time, officially ordered that the humble status be abolished in the territory under his jurisdiction and all be changed to civilian status.

Three years ago, Chen Qing once again issued the order of King Yong to abolish all special household registrations, including the previous lowly household registrations, as well as special household registrations such as artisan households, military households, and merchant households. Only two household registrations were changed, one is Civilian nationality, one is tribal nationality.

As the name suggests, tribal affiliation refers to various ethnic tribes living in Xihe Road, Hexi Road, Lingxia Road and other places. Half of them are autonomous and half are under the jurisdiction of the government, which is quite special.

But not all ethnic minorities are tribal, that’s not the case. For example, the Sogdians who settled in Jingzhao, the Khitans living in Datong Prefecture, etc., they are all family-based and have not joined any tribes, so they are also Civilian place of origin.

Therefore, although Sanliu Lane used to be a settlement of lowly people, it is no longer there. It is no different from other streets in the city.

At one o'clock, a drunken man appeared at the intersection. This man was Jiang Ping, whom Zhong Huan was looking for. He was in his early twenties, his father was a musician, and his mother was a dancer in a teaching workshop. A dancer with outstanding talent and beauty, but she doesn't care about her son. She dropped out of school after studying for a few years, and became a gangster on the street when she was a teenager.

He doesn't own a house, lives with his parents, and sometimes goes to restaurants and teahouses to do odd jobs, but most of the time he spends fooling around on the streets, eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, fighting, extortion, and all bad habits have been learned.

Today he and a few gangsters blackmailed a tavern and got two pennies. A few cronies went to drink and came home drunk.

At this time, a carriage stopped beside him. Before he could react, a large bag covered his head. Several men in black dragged him into the carriage, and the carriage drove away.

……

"Wow!" A bucket of cold water was splashed on Jiang Ping's face and body, and Jiang Ping suddenly woke up. He found himself sitting on a chair with his hands tied behind his back and feet tied.

He looked around in horror, and a dozen burly soldiers in armor were staring at him, holding axes and long knives in their hands. His crotch was hot, and he was so scared that he peed.

Chong Huan shook his head, he was still a gangster who specialized in fighting on the street, and he was so useless that he was scared to pee before he even opened his mouth.

"Are you Jiang Ping?" Zhong Huan asked.

Jiang Ping replied tremblingly: "The villain...the villain is exactly!"

"What's your sister's name?"

"Her name is...Jiang Zhu'er."

"Is she being taken care of?"

Jiang Ping nodded, and Zhong Huan asked again: "What's the name of the man who took care of her?"

Jiang Ping gradually understood that these people were looking for trouble with the man who took care of his sister, not against himself.

He let go of his fear, and hurriedly said: "I only know that his surname is Wang, and he is a big fur merchant."

"That's right, Pi Xiangyang's alias is Wang Yang, and he is a fur dealer to cover his identity."

"Do you know where this man lives? Where is the shop?"

Jiang Ping shook his head, "I haven't met anyone else, I only heard a few words from my sister, and she refused to say more."

"Where your sister lives, you should know!"

"I know, but...but please don't hurt my sister." Jiang Ping was about to cry.

"We are internal guards, we won't hurt innocent people, tell me! Where does she live?"

Jiang Ping heard that he was an inner guard, so he didn't dare to take any chances, so he confessed honestly.

That night, Zhong Huan sent two teams of internal guards to hide near Jiang Zhuer's residence and closely monitor her residence.

……

In the morning of the next day, Song Kuan, the interim director of the intelligence station, was explaining tasks to two of his subordinates. One of the two subordinates was named Liu Kai. Even Song Kuan didn't know where Jiang Zhuer lived.

The other person is Zhou Qing, who is also the backbone of intelligence. He joined the Western Army two years ago and was promoted to the head of the capital because of his high martial arts skills. He is responsible for collecting intelligence on the Western Army.

Song Kuan said to the two: "The manager received the order from Marshal Du to collect all the information about Tie Huolei. I don't know exactly what to collect, but the manager gave two instructions in the pigeon letter. One is to win over The Wu Yasi of the county government, the second is the army. To get in touch with the soldiers who have used the iron fire thunder, it is He Laoliu's business to win over the Wu Yasi. They are distant relatives, so the soldiers who used the iron fire thunder are Zhou Clear things, do you understand?"

"How do you get in touch with a humble job and ask them questions?"

"Don't ask for now, just make friends, treat guests to drink, or go to a brothel to gamble, you can arrange it as you like. After you make friends, you can arrange it after the manager comes back. It is estimated that the manager will come back in two or three days."

"Humble job understands!"

Song Kuan said to Liu Kai again: "Go and find another house for Madam today, and tell Madam not to let anyone know. The manager said that the inner guards captured the four of Lu Mengda, and they will definitely not be reconciled, so we must be extra cautious. I'm also changing houses today."

"Humble job, arrange it immediately!"

……

In the temporary government office, Zhong Huan was asking Wang Jinniu about the composition of the intelligence point. Wang Jinniu had been hired by the inner guard, and Zhong Huan also sent people to Yi County in Yanshan Prefecture to take his family back to Taiyuan. Wang Jinniu's status was relatively low. No one in the family will care, so it is easier to pick it up.

Although Wang Jinniu was only a fourth-level intelligence spy, the lowest level, he knew something.

"The head of the Hebei Intelligence Department is called Cui Jiu, who is Wan Yanchang's military adviser. He is the first-level intelligence chief. Below him are five second-level intelligence chiefs. Pi Xiangyang is one of them. He has the highest status. There is also a second-level intelligence chief." The manager is called Song Kuan, he is Pi Xiangyang's deputy, if Pi Xiangyang is not in Taiyuan, he is the manager.

Then Pi Xiangyang has five third-level supervisors under his command. Lu Mengda is one of them. There are also Liu Kai, He Sheng, Zhou Qing, and Wu Cheng. I know that Wu Cheng is in Jingzhao. These five third-level supervisors each have five His subordinates are fourth-level spies, and Humble Job is one of them. He Sheng was the former boss of Humble Job, and he was later transferred to Lu Mengda's subordinate. "

"Then are they all involved in the March [-]th case?"

"No! It's just Lu Mengda and his five subordinates. His other two subordinates are in Zheng County to deal with the funeral. You don't seem to have caught them."

"Is there any division of labor among their five third-level supervisors?"

"There should be! Our team is in charge of investigating business intelligence, Wu Cheng is in charge of Jingzhao, but he doesn't seem to have contact with several of his subordinates, Liu Kai is in charge of money and back office, he is Pi Xiangyang's real confidant, Zhou Qing is in charge of investigation Regarding the military situation, He Sheng is in charge of contacting the government."

Zhong Huan stopped writing suddenly, and frowned, "Responsible for contacting the government, which official?"

Wang Jinniu shook his head, "I don't know the specific position!"

Zhong Huan thought for a while and asked, "Do you know He Sheng's other subordinates?"