Fenghou

Zhong Huan pondered for a while and said, "I remember a master counterfeiter named Duan, right?"

"Yes! Duan Ping, imitating famous people's calligraphy and painting is a unique skill, you can confuse the fake with the real one!"

"I want to find this Duan Ping, where is he?"

Zhang Guang breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile, "The general has found the right person, where is he? Really, only I know."

Zhang Guang whispered a few words, Zhong Huan nodded, and said to him: "Be honest with you, don't be a black market silver dealer anymore, the court discovered that privately minted silver coins appeared in Luoyang, and the silver content was insufficient. The imperial court will soon crack down on black market silver merchants."

The first thousand and 520 chapters of the second chapter

The person he was looking for was still in the Town God's Temple. Zhong Huan brought a few soldiers to a stall selling paintings. His business was pretty good, and several people were picking out their favorite paintings.

The stall owner is about 40 years old, with fair skin and gentle manners, and looks quite gentle.

This person is Duan Ping, a well-known counterfeiter in Chang'an, and his counterfeit even the emperor Chen Qing was tricked.

The Son of Heaven has a piece of Fan Kuan's "Grass Pavilion in Jiangcun Village", which was originally collected in the Imperial Palace of the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, it disappeared during the war. Everyone thought it was taken away by the Kingdom of Jin. But three years ago, Lu Wei saw it in an old painting shop. So he bought it with a thousand coins and dedicated it to the emperor.

Everyone commented that this painting was authentic, but unexpectedly, the real "Grass Pavilion in Jiangcun Village" was found among the spoils seized from the warehouse on Yanshan Road last year.

Only then did everyone know that the previous one was a fake, and Zhong Huan examined the shopkeeper who sold the painting, only to find out that it was a fake by Duan Ping.

Of course, Duan Ping's father was a court painter during the Xuanhe period. He once borrowed the "Grass Pavilion in Jiangcun Village" to copy it, which is why Duan Ping is so familiar with this painting.

Two inner guard soldiers stood behind Duan Ping, one left and one right, and Zhong Huan waved the inner guard gold medal, "We are inner guards, we have something to ask you!"

Several guests who were selecting paintings next to them heard that they were the inner guards, and ran away in fright.

Duan Ping said anxiously: "The case is closed, you promised not to pursue me!"

"It's something else!"

Helpless, Duan Ping had no choice but to clean up the art booth and bring everyone to his rented place. He has no wife and children, has a weird personality, and lives alone.

More than [-] internal guard soldiers immediately searched his house to the bottom. Except that he was imitating two famous paintings of Mi Fu, there was no sign of imitating money notes.

Chong Huan asked him to sit down, took out two bills and put them in front of him, saying: "The two bills are exactly the same, can you see the difference?"

Duan Ping looked at it for a while, then curled his lips and said, "I've already seen eight differences, but they are still exactly the same, how is that possible?"

He pointed to the top one, "This is the real one. It uses the same ink pad as the counter ticket. The bottom one looks like the same ink pad, but it's actually a bit less glossy."

When Duan Ping said this, Zhong Huan looked at the ink pad carefully, and it was a bit different. If the other party didn't tell him, he wouldn't be able to find it.

"Have you studied counter tickets?" Zhong Huan asked coldly.

"Someone asked me to make counterfeit tickets and let me see three real tickets, but I didn't accept this job, the risk was too high, and I didn't want to lose my head."

"Who entrusted you?"

Duan Ping shook his head, "It's a woman wearing a veiled hat. We met at Longfeng Teahouse, but I know the real client is sitting in a carriage outside the teahouse."

"When did this happen?"

"Two months ago!"

The timing was a little bit right, and Zhong Huan asked again: "If you don't want to do it, will they let you go?"

"I ran away, where did they find me?"

Duan Ping sneered: "I've experienced this kind of thing a lot. Before I went to see them, I changed my place of residence. They dare not do anything to me in public? Come to me in private, I've already moved out."

Zhong Huan nodded and said with a smile: "Can you draw the three real tickets, roughly, the amount and the serial number, in fact, all I need is the serial number."

"Yes! I remember, I have a very good memory."

Duan Ping wrote three numbers on the white paper, and Zhong Huan put it away.

At this time, Duan Ping pointed to the counterfeit ticket again and said: "This counter ticket is also printed, but I may know the stereotyped person. His handwriting can't be understood by the counter shop, but we can see it at a glance."

Chong Huan cheered up and asked anxiously, "Who is it?"

"This man's name is Cui Xu. He is a Korean. He is also a master counterfeiter. He is very famous in our industry, but I don't know where he is?"

"Korean!" Zhong Huan was stunned for a moment.

……

There were quite a few Koreans living in the Yong Dynasty, so it is not surprising that there was a master who was good at making fakes, but Chong Huan still felt that the appearance of Koreans was a bit strange, which was a kind of professional vigilance of him.

Of course, this intuition will not arise for no reason. The main reason is that the relationship between the Yong Dynasty and Goryeo showed signs of deterioration. Liaodong officials sent letters to Goryeo, but they still did not send envoys to attend the enthronement ceremony.

On the one hand, Goryeo’s hatred of the Yong Dynasty originated from the fall of Tamna Island. On the other hand, the Goryeo people were the pawns of the Jin soldiers. They were all killed by the Western Army on the battlefield. Several times they sent people to Liaodong to ask for release, but they were all rejected by Qian Jun, the military envoy, and Li Fuxing, the military envoy.

It was because of this bad relationship that Zhong Huan became alert when he heard the word "Korean".

But now he can't find where this Cui Xu is?

As a matter of urgency, he was going to investigate the three counter tickets mentioned by Duan Ping. The incident two months ago happened to be within this period.

Zhong Huan brought his men back to the Yongjing Guifang head office again, and Yang Chun, the chief manager, received him in the guest hall.

Zhong Huan took out the note and handed it to him, "These are the serial numbers of the three counter tickets, which may be related to the money ticket case. You can check their details."

There is an invoice in the cabinet, if it has been cashed, the main store will still have the original, Yang Chun asked Zhong Huan to sit down for a while, and he hurried to check.

Not long after, he brought a large booklet, "General Zhong, it's amazing!"

"what happened?"

Yang Chun put three counter-tickets in front of Zhong Huan, which were the originals returned after cashing in. Yang Chun excitedly said: "These three counter-tickets were also issued by Liu Jun, one for two thousand guan, one for five One thousand guan, one ten thousand guan, the cashing time on it was just ten days before the incident of the money ticket, and the cashing place is also in Jingzhao, strange! Since it is the same city, there is no need to open the counter ticket, it is a long way to go It’s where it works.”

Zhong Huan carefully looked at the ink pad of the counter ticket, and if he realized something, he ordered his subordinates: "Go and invite Duan Ping!"

Duan Ping was waiting outside in the carriage, and he agreed to help Zhong Huan solve the case.

Not long after, the soldiers invited Duan Ping over, and Zhong Huan said with a smile: "Mr. Duan, please look at these three counter tickets again, are they the three you saw that day?"

Duan Ping took a closer look, shook his head and said: "These three are also counterfeit counter tickets, and the money ticket is from the same hand."

Yang Chun's eyes widened, "It can't be fake, it's obviously true, you...how did you see it?"

Duan Ping said flatly: "If you don't believe me, go and get a new counter ticket. If you need a stamp, I'll show you!"

Immediately, a manager ran to get three counter tickets, Duan Ping compared them and said: "First of all, the writing is different. The real counter tickets are written out, while the counterfeit counter tickets are drawn little by little. They look the same, but in the In my opinion, it's not the same thing at all.

The second is Zhuni. The Zhuni used in genuine tickets is shiny and should have a small amount of pearl powder and oil in it, but the Zhuni used in counterfeit tickets does not have pearl powder, so the light perception is different. You can tell the difference when you look at the sun. "

Yang Chun hurriedly took the counter ticket to the window for comparison, and after a while he sighed, "So many of us didn't see it, it's really different."

He frowned and said again: "But what's the point of counterfeiting counter tickets? This is a real-name use, and the jade key is unique. If the fake one is exchanged, the real one cannot be exchanged again. Since the real one is also in their In their hands, why don't they exchange it directly with real tickets?"

Duan Ping sneered and said: "The reason is very simple. They just wanted to test your ability to distinguish. It turns out that you can't tell the difference, so there is a fraud on the money ticket."

Yang Chun just woke up like a dream, he stepped forward and bowed to salute, "May I ask your name, sir?"

"My surname is Duan. I'm just a famous painter. I sell paintings for a living!"

"We are short of an appraiser like Mr. If Mr. is willing to condescend, we will give him a salary of [-] guanqian per month according to the rank of the big shopkeeper."

With a monthly salary of [-] guan, Duan Ping was really tempted. He couldn't sell paintings for a few guan a month, so he looked back at Zhong Huan.

Zhong Huan said with a faint smile: "This is your private matter, I will not interfere!"

Duan Ping agreed without hesitation, "Okay! I promise to be your appraiser."

The first thousand and 520 chapters three hidden

Back in the back hall of the inner guard, Zhong Huan summoned several groups of people to meet. Zhong Huan was especially concerned about tracking down the journey of businessman Liu Jun. It's not that being coerced can explain it, it can only explain that he is one of the accomplices.

Commander Zhang Hongwen was in charge of investigating Liu Jun. He bowed and said, "General Qi, Liu Jun has been missing for half a month, and there is no news at all until now. I asked his wife and children, and they didn't know Liu Jun had gone. Where? They also expressed their great concern, and Beizhi sent people to search his study room, but found nothing suspicious."

"What did they say?"

"His wife said that she hadn't been able to sleep well for several days, and his son said that he was worried these two days because he was afraid that something would happen to his father!"

Zhong Huan nodded, then turned around and asked another commander, "Is there any news from the paper?

The commander bowed and said: "We went to Xianyang to check the papermaking workshop. It is a government-run papermaking workshop. The steward said that the output of this special paper is very small, and it is only provided to the imperial court and the Yongjing cabinet workshop. They do not supply paper to the outside world. , but apart from Jingzhao, there are at least seven factories in the south of the Yangtze River that can produce paper of this quality, and some small workshops in Suzhou can also produce paper, so it may be difficult to find clues about paper.”

"Since that's the case, stop the investigation on paper!"

Zhong Huan turned his head again and said to Zhang Hongwen: "There are loopholes in what Liu Jun's wife and children said, didn't the commander catch it?"

Zhang Hongwen hastily bowed and said: "The lowly position is stupid!"

Chong Huan said indifferently: "It is common for businessmen like Liu Jun to go out to buy and sell goods. It takes two or three months to go there. It is impossible to report to the family all the time. He has only been out for half a month. Do you think his wife Will he be so worried that he can't sleep? Will his son worry about his father's accident?"

Zhang Hongwen slapped his forehead, "That's right! Their mother and son lied."

Zhong Huan sneered and said, "I suspect that Liu Jun is hiding at home. Going to his house to lurk in the middle of the night may yield something."

……

At night, dozens of internal guards quietly deployed around Liu Jun's house, and three master internal guards even prostrated themselves on the roof of the main hall.

Liu Jun is a wealthy businessman. His house is located in the new city in the south of Jingzhao. The house is newly built and covers an area of ​​about one mu. There are only two front and back entrances. Since Liu Jun has not yet received an honorary officer, his family can only invite two There are servants at home, a little maid and an old domestic servant.

The honored officer system in the Yong Dynasty became more and more perfect. In order to encourage taxation, encourage the rich to do good deeds, encourage education, and encourage soldiers to serve in the army, Yong established a [-]-level honored officer system.

Honorary officers are not only related to social status, but also related to the size of the house, whether they can take concubines, the number of servants in the family, and so on.

Liu Jun is a typical example. Although he is a rich businessman, he is reluctant to donate money to charity, and because of various tax reductions, he does not pay much tax, so that he is still in vain and has not been awarded an honorary officer.

Even though he bought three acres of land, he can only build a house on one acre of land, and the other two acres of land are vacant, and he cannot marry a concubine. Some people may say that it is unnecessary to go to a brothel if you want a woman. marry a concubine.

People who say this don't understand. The ancients married concubines not for the lower body, but for the succession of the family and the prosperity of the descendants. The ancients did not have a caesarean section, and giving birth to a child was like hell. The first relationship, if the wife of the main house dies due to dystocia, the loss will be very heavy. Generally, the main house will not have more children, at most one or two, what should I do if I want to raise more sons?The only way is to marry a concubine.

Therefore, the use of honorary officers to restrict concubines has hit the heart of many wealthy families and wealthy businessmen, so the honorary officer system can also be implemented smoothly.

But this Liu Jun is a special case. Not to mention being stingy, he still tries to take advantage of loopholes. For example, his family has a cook at home. This is a workaround, buying the service of cooking at home.

Time gradually reached the third watch, and the surroundings were silent, and almost everyone was asleep.

At this time, the door of the left wing room in the courtyard creaked open, and a middle-aged woman came out of the room, holding a small food box in her hand. It was Liu Jun's wife.

The inner guard soldier lying on the roof regained his spirits, and three pairs of eyes fixed on this woman.

The woman came to the well, put the food box in the bucket, put it down slowly, and pulled up the bucket after a while, but the food box was gone.

The three inner guard soldiers looked at each other in blank dismay, it turned out that there was something else in the well.

……

Half an hour later, the inner guard came to the door and knocked open the door. Liu Jun's wife and son ran out, and Liu Jun's son said angrily, "We told you during the day that we don't know the whereabouts of my father. What are you going to do?" How about it?"

Zhang Hongwen sneered and said, "Our soldiers are thirsty, and I want to borrow some well water from your family!"

He pointed to the well in the yard, and the expressions of the mother and son changed drastically. Liu Jun's wife plopped down on her knees, "Please let my officials go!"

Zhang Hongwen ignored her, and said to Liu Jun's son, "We poisoned him to come up, or he came up by himself!"

Liu Jun's son was helpless, so he had to go to the nearby sundries warehouse to take out a long ladder, put it into the well, and found a copper gong, and beat it three times in the well.

After a while, a disheveled man crawled out of the well, and complained as he climbed: "I told you to put less salt, so I can't remember..."

As soon as he looked up, he saw the inner guard soldiers all over the yard. He was so frightened that his face turned pale and he didn't dare to move. Two inner guard soldiers directly lifted him out of the well.

Liu Jun kowtowed on the ground and begged for mercy, "I am not Korean, I was forced by them, there is no way!"

Liu Jun's words revealed important information, Zhang Hongwen immediately said: "Bring their family back to the inner guard!"

Liu Jun's son struggled desperately and didn't want to go. Zhang Hongwen glared fiercely, "I brought you back to the inner guard to protect you, are you staying here waiting to be slaughtered?"

The three of them hurried out, boarded an inner guard carriage, and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

……

Zhong Huan slept in the inner guard. When he heard that Liu Jun had been caught, he immediately got up and interrogated himself.

Liu Jun didn't dare to hide anything, and explained what happened in every detail.

The incident happened three months ago. A few years ago, he had partnered with a Korean businessman to do business. Later, the two had conflicts over the distribution of profits, so they parted ways.

Three months ago, this Korean businessman found him suddenly and was willing to sell him a batch of high-quality cloth at [-]% lower than the market price. The county picked up the goods, and the counter ticket was also given to the other party.

Although it was strange to use counter tickets so recently, Liu Jun made a deal with the other party because of the cheapness of the goods.

But a few days later, the other party found him again, returned the counter ticket to him, and asked him to pay with copper coins. Although Liu Jun thought the other party was annoying, he still complied. gave it to the other party.

After another two months, the other party asked him to do business again, still under the same conditions as last time, and asked him to issue a money invoice, because Liu Jun had tasted the sweetness last time, so he readily agreed.

Unexpectedly, the other party put forward a new cooperation proposal, asking him to get a group of old soldiers and go to Japan to exchange for silver.