The return of the son-in-law

Guo Zhan'an didn't believe it. When he was in the government office today, Shi Guogan was obviously hiding something like that.He had indeed seen Xu Laowu's lawsuit in the dossier, and there was no doubt about it.Originally, I thought that since Old Fifth Xu was the clerk in the barracks, maybe I could visit him in the future and get some clues about the military salary from him.But now, after hearing what the doctor said, Guo Zhan'an felt that he should go now.

Huo Yu sent the doctor out of the door, and was about to find the cook, and told her to eat well in the past few days, when Guo Zhanan came out in a hurry.

"Brother, is there something urgent?"

Guo Zhan'an said: "I'm going to find Mr. Xu, do you know where his shop is?"

Huo Yu nodded and said, "I know, but Xu Lao Wu has gone out of the city, and I don't know when he will come back."

Guo Zhanan looked at the sky, it was already late, obviously the city gate of Xuzhou had been closed, Xu Lao Wu was going out of the city, it must be not long before the city gate was about to close.He is an ordinary person, if he goes out at this time, where is he going?

All this is too coincidental, Guo Zhan'an has to think more, it seems that he must go immediately.

Seeing that Guo Zhan'an didn't answer, Huo Yu couldn't help but reached out and tugged at Guo Zhan'an's sleeve, and asked, "Brother, what happened?"

Guo Zhanan shook his head, and comforted him and said, "It just so happened that I saw Xu Laowu's name when I checked the file today. I'm going to his house. Will you come?"

Huo Yu naturally agreed, nodded and said, "I will go wherever my brother goes."

Guo Zhanan called Jia Huan again, telling him to be more vigilant tonight, he brought Huo Yu, and called Wu Xin who had just changed shifts, and the three rushed to Xu Laowu's house.

Huo Yu only knew where Xu Laowu's shop was. He asked several people on the way, and finally someone knew about Xu Laowu's house. When the three of them arrived, the room was completely dark.

Guo Zhan'an felt more and more strange, he shouted a few times, but seeing no one answered, he asked Wu Xin to go up and break the door.Unexpectedly, the door opened with a slight push.

Huo Yu also sensed that something was wrong, so he stopped Guo Zhan'an and refused to let him go in first.Wu Xin understood, drew out the knife, and rushed in directly.

The room is not big, Wu Xin looked it over, came out and said, "My lord, there is no one inside."

At this time, Huo Yu had already found the candlestick, took out a fire knife and flint from his pocket, lit the candle, and searched the house together with Wu Xin.

Guo Zhan'an also looked carefully, but also found no trace.

It's so late, where did people go?

Guo Zhanan was wondering when Huo Yu came from behind and said, "Brother, there is a backyard connected to it, go and have a look there."

Guo Zhanan nodded, and went to the backyard with Huo Yu. Wu Xin was already waiting with a candle. Seeing Guo Zhanan coming, he quickly reached out and handed the candle to Guo Zhanan.

Huo Yu found another kerosene lamp, handed the candle in his hand to Guo Zhanan, and held the kerosene lamp himself.The three of them searched the backyard, and they found clues.

The day before Guo Zhanan arrived in Xuzhou, Xuzhou had just had a heavy rain that lasted for two days.A corner of the backyard of Mr. Xu's fifth family was blocked by a shed. The soil was still wet, and there were several shoe prints on it.

"Wu Xin, come here." Guo Zhanan stared at those shoe prints for a while, then called Wu Xin, asked him to pose for the big one, and asked Huo Yu to look at the small ones, "You two Facing the shoe print, think about how to place your hands in this posture."

Huo Yu didn't understand at first, but according to Guo Zhan'an's instructions, he stepped on the small shoe print with both feet, and naturally made a pose.In the end, I heard Wu Xin say: "Second Young Master, I've offended you." Then, Wu Xin stretched his hands from behind, one passed through his armpit, and stopped within three inches of Huo Yu's waist. The other one took advantage of the situation to cover his mouth.

Huo Yu was startled, and immediately jumped away. Poor Wu Xin didn't expect Huo Yu's reaction to be so big, and was kicked by Huo Yu's elbow when he jumped away, and fell to the ground.

"Yes, I'm sorry." Huo Yu apologized to Wu Xin in embarrassment, then turned to Guo Zhan'an eagerly and said, "This is, brother, did some bad guys kidnap him?"

Guo Zhanan looked solemn, nodded and said: "These shoe prints are messy, especially the small ones, two of which only have the front half, presumably because they were held up, and only the front soles of the feet are on the ground. There must be something strange, we We must find out the whereabouts of Xu Laowu and his wife as soon as possible."

Huo Yu thought for a while and suggested, "Brother, there are only a few of us, and I'm afraid we don't have the energy to search the entire Xuzhou. I remember that when I saw Mr. Xu's family at the shop, the city gate was about to be closed. I At that time, she advised her to go home early, but she refused to listen. If she packed up and went back home, she must have been robbed after the city gate was closed! Now, I am afraid she is still in Xuzhou City!"

Guo Zhan'an said: "There are soldiers patrolling in Xuzhou at night. After these people rob people, they must find a safe place to hide and make plans tomorrow."

Huo Yu was puzzled: "I heard from the doctor that Xu's five lives were very hard. His only son was killed unjustly, and only the old couple were left. Although he found out the real culprit behind the scenes, he could only stay close to his wife. Live on your own. These people probably didn’t rob Xu Lao Wu’s family for money, so what was it for?”

Guo Zhan'an stretched out his hand and pinched Huo Yu's cheek. He didn't know when he had this habit.Afterwards, he said: "The shop was smashed, but Mr. Xu hurried out of the city at dark, I'm afraid there is something else hidden. In this way, it's curfew now, it's not safe for you to walk on the street, follow me, the three of us Let's find the patrolling soldiers together."

Huo Yu and Wu Xin naturally had no objection.It was also their luck that they encountered a small group of patrolling soldiers within a short distance.

Shi Guogan didn't expect that Huo Yu would just pass by the smashed shop, but Guo Zhan'an became suspicious again.In order to avoid leaking the news, Shi Guogan only asked Wang Jiusan to greet the city gate guards, and these patrolling soldiers didn't know about it.

It just so happened that one of them retired from the barracks after being injured, and had some friendship with Xu Lao Wu. Hearing what Guo Zhanan said about this matter, no matter it was because of his affection back then or Guo Zhanan's face as the new general judge, he took the initiative He expressed that he would help Guo Zhan'an and others to find the whereabouts of Xu Laowu's wife.

However, no matter how hard they searched in Xuzhou City, they could not find the whereabouts of Xu Laowu's wife.Because she had been robbed and left Xuzhou long ago, and she was being taken to an inaccessible mountain outside Xuzhou, where she died not long after.

On the other side, Xu Laowu finally arrived at the barracks on his donkey.He was the original clerk, and the guarding soldiers recognized him. Although they couldn't let him enter the barracks, they quickly informed the deputy general in the barracks.

It happened that Jiang Yannian was discussing with all the officers and men about the border defense after autumn, and he heard that he was from Xuzhou. He was afraid that it was related to Guo Zhan'an, so he went with the lieutenant general.

Seeing that the deputy general he was familiar with was still following someone, Xu Lao Wu was stunned and didn't speak.

The deputy general introduced: "Old Xu, you came just in time. Let me introduce you. This is the warlord sent by the capital, Mr. Jiang Yannian."

In fact, this warlord has no rank at all, but Jiang Yannian is a man, and he is from a family. He has a way in the capital, and there is Li Shaojin behind him. It is very prestigious.

Jiang Yannian was born into a family in the capital, and he was usually seen as either rich or noble. Although the Jiang family did not pamper him, it was inevitable that he would develop a color-loving habit.And Xu Lao Wu's face was not good-looking at first, and after several years of wastage, his face was full of wrinkles.Moreover, Xu Laowu came in a hurry, and his body was still full of sweaty smell, which made people sick when he got close.

However, Jiang Yannian also understood the urgency of the matter, and now that the turmoil in Xuzhou City fell into Jiang Yannian's ears, it was a big deal.Holding his breath, he smiled first and said, "Mr. Xu, junior Jiang Yannian, with the grace of His Majesty De Meng, is training in the military camp."

Xu Lao Wu knew that this person's identity was something he could not offend, but since the other party was the military governor, there was no need to hide what he discovered today from him, so he said, "My lords, to tell you the truth, today I discovered something in Xuzhou. A few gangsters came over and smashed my shop, which had nothing to do with the barracks, but I found out that one of them was wearing clothes that the Ministry of War found two years ago in the barracks."

Jiang Yannian raised his eyebrows, where did the bastard get the clothes?

The deputy general obviously thought of this, and said cautiously: "Old Xu, you can't talk nonsense about this matter. Everything found by the Ministry of War has been recorded. The Ministry of War has kept a copy, and we have a copy here. How could it be lost? ?”

Xu Laowu straightened his neck and said: "My lords, I, Xu Laowu, have been a clerk for more than ten years. How can I misunderstand these things? It's just a piece of clothing. If it's other food and grass What? During the years when I was in the military camp, the military salary was enough at the beginning, but it became less and less. The quarterly military salary has been reduced from [-] shi to [-] shi, could it be that someone is obstructing it?"

Before the deputy general could react, Jiang Yannian was the first to have an idea: "Tell me, when did the military pay suddenly decrease?"

Xu Lao Wu's face turned ugly all of a sudden, and he said: "It was four years and seven months ago, first five thousand stones were lost, and then fifteen thousand stones were lost. During these three months, my son was falsely accused of collaborating with the enemy and treason. , I will never forget it!"

Jiang Yannian hurriedly asked again: "Who else knows about this besides you?"

Old Fifth Xu shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that normal people wouldn't be able to see the clothes, but I found out by taking a quick look. My lord, this matter can be big or small, so don't be careless."

The lieutenant general felt that Mr. Xu's five words were reasonable, but he was also worried that if things got serious, it would be an oolong, so he would not be able to bear it and walked away.It was Jiang Yannian who spoke: "Vice General Li, how about leaving this matter to me?"

Vice-General Li was naturally happy to see Jiang Yannian took the initiative to take over this hot potato, and he did not forget to flatter him: "If Lord Jiang is on hand, then I can rest assured."

Jiang Yannian accepted his flattery with a smile, and said to Old Fifth Xu: "Now that it's getting late, I'll make the decision. I'll stay overnight in the tent next to the barracks. I'll go back to Xuzhou with you tomorrow."

Lieutenant General Li wondered from the side: "Your Excellency, you are going to Xuzhou? Tomorrow is not Xiu Mu, and Mr. Jiang must not leave his post without authorization, so as not to fall into the public eye."

Jiang Yannian waved his hand and said, "Since that gangster is in Xuzhou, of course I'll go to Xuzhou to investigate. This is a business matter, so there should be no delay. I'll tell the general myself in a while, and the general will definitely understand."

Xu Laowu was worried about his shop, but now that the city gate had been closed long ago when he went back, the shop would not be cleared in a while, so he simply accepted Jiang Yannian's invitation and stayed overnight in the tent next to the barracks.

But he didn't know that when he returned to Xuzhou this time, he and his wife were separated by heaven and earth.