Qingzhou City looks particularly quiet under the cover of night, with almost no light visible in the streets and houses. Compared with Bianliang, Tokyo, which can be called the city that never sleeps, this place is a completely different world.
In fact, this is reasonable. Qingzhou is a sparsely populated area. Recently, there have been constant natural and man-made disasters. The life of the people has become increasingly difficult. There are not many people walking on the street during the day, let alone in the middle of the night. Only a few watchmen were still walking dutifully through the streets, beating the watch drums on their waists.
In this darkness and silence, there was a group of more than ten people in the south of the city today. Several torches illuminated a nearby area of more than ten feet, and also illuminated the appearance of this group of people. However, it was a group of people. Officers and soldiers, this is a bit rare.
It turns out that the Qingzhou Xiang Army has been decommissioned for several years, so it is naturally impossible for anyone to do the hard work of night patrols. But this time Sun Tu took over the military affairs, especially after he was asked to arrest the thieves who had repeatedly succeeded in the city recently, he sent his men to patrol the south of the city where there were many wealthy families, not only at night, but also during the day. Officers and soldiers walked around here to observe the conditions and reactions of passers-by.
These teams that were entrusted with important tasks were naturally the elite of the rebuilt Xiang army. Each team was led by three Jiangzhou soldiers to play the role of leading the new with the old. However, apart from inspections, their daily training has not been reduced. Even when they are walking on the road, these Qingzhou Xiang soldiers still scream in pain from time to time.
But they didn't blame Sun Tu for treating them harshly, because doing all this was a reflection of their abilities, and they could also get a lot of benefits, such as getting more money and food each month. This was all Sun Tu had done early in the morning. The rules have been set in the camp.
In order to relieve the loneliness and uneasiness in the dark night, several soldiers were chatting about related matters in a low voice: "Old Liu, you got a second grade in today's assessment. I guess you can get three more kilograms of food by the end of the month. Isn’t a hundred cents a lot of money?”
"What's the point? Compared with it, it's still not as good as Brother Huang. He has been first-class every time for the past three days. If this continues, I'm afraid I won't be able to get a few extra bucks at the end of the month. This is even more generous than our military pay." Old Liu He glanced at a sturdy man walking in front of the team with envy: "And I also heard that the governor intends to select some elites from our army to form a scout battalion. As long as you become a member of the scout battalion, , the money and food you can get every month can be tripled..."
As soon as these words came out, all the soldiers in Qingzhou burst out in admiration. In fact, this statement had already spread in the camp, and everyone was paying close attention to it. To be honest, for soldiers like them who have no land and no permanent industry, military salary is the only source of income. It would be best if it could be greatly increased.
At that moment, several people began to discuss the various requirements for entering the scout camp. From the current point of view, it is not enough to just stand in line and perform well. They may also have to test their martial arts skills.
It wasn't until they reached the end of the long street here and were about to turn that the two leading Jiangzhou soldiers suddenly raised their hands to stop them from talking. Then they suddenly drew their knives in their hands with a guarded look on their faces and shouted loudly: "What? Where is the person?" Everyone then realized what their responsibilities were at this time, and hurriedly
They showed off their weapons and stared at the dark corner ahead with some vigilance. As the two leaders waved gently, the soldiers quickly dispersed and surrounded them in that direction.
It turned out to be a false alarm. Just when everyone carefully surrounded it and took torches to shine into the alley over there, a black cat suddenly meowed into the sky, kicked off the wall, and was like lightning. Disappear again. Other than that, there was nothing unusual in the alley, which was not too deep.
Until then, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and someone laughed and said: "This thieving cat is really hateful, it shocked us all..."
Some people also flattered their leader: "The captain really has good eyesight. He can still find traces of the black cat in such a dark night. If the thief is here, he will definitely not escape the eyes and ears of the two captains."
After some boasting and joking, the group exited the alley and headed back along the long straight street. It wasn't until they were so far away that even the light of the torch couldn't shine here, that a figure emerged from the dead end of the alley at the other end. This is an extremely thin and slightly stooped guy. Although his appearance cannot be clearly seen, his triangular rat eyes reveal cunning: "Damn, Grandpa Shi almost fell into your hands today. Fortunately, I had it early." Preparation... It seems that the government has really put in a lot of effort this time, but it doesn't matter, I will always find a way to succeed!" With a confident smile, the man disappeared into the night with a wave of his hand. It was faster than that nimble black cat. No wonder it could escape the search of more than a dozen pairs of eyes.
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The Luo family mansion was the third stolen house that Sun Tu had visited in the past few days. At this time, the head of the Luo family, Luo Chan, was leading Sun Tu and several soldiers inside with a humble smile, while saying He was still vomiting his bitterness: "Sun Dujian, I really didn't expect that the thief would actually target my house... Although my Luo family has little money in Qingzhou, it has been accumulated by several generations of hard work. In fact, It’s not unkind to be rich. Moreover, what was stolen was a carved phoenix jade bracelet passed down from my ancestors. If I really can’t get it back, I will really have no shame in meeting the ancestors of the Luo family... "
Sun Tu naturally understood what he meant by these words. He just hoped that he could do his best to help find the thief and get the lost property back, and at the same time exonerate himself. In this case, the owners of the two families had also said before that Sun Tu never took matters seriously.
After entering the hall and Luo Chan asked his servants to serve tea to entertain the guests, Sun Tucai waved his hand: "You can drink tea anytime you want. I came here today to find clues about the theft case, not to drink tea. Still. Please take me, Officer Luo, to see where the treasure is hidden."
"Yes, yes, the governor is really devoted to the people. I believe that with your help this time, the thieves will be caught and brought to justice." Luo Chan was even more happy when he heard this, and quickly clapped his hands, and then led They moved to the courtyard behind their house, and finally came to a two-story attic. They pointed to the upper floor and said: "Du Jian, the bracelet was stolen from this attic. This is a study room of the villain. , and also hid some valuable items, and there were people guarding them underneath, thinking it was foolproof. But it turned out... "
"Oh?" Sun Tu looked at the attic
Except for a few big trees that are much higher than the attic, there is no other shelter around. If the thief really gets his hands on it, it will not be easy. Compared to the previous two families where the stolen treasures were only kept in the bedroom, the Luo family's situation looks a bit weirder.
After entering the attic, Sun Tu carefully observed the situation at the door. Although the door latch was not too new, there were no signs of being pried on it. Obviously, the other party could not have pried in from the outside. of. Moreover, there are servants and bookboys watching down there day and night, making it even more impossible for people to walk in casually.
After scanning the environment on the first floor, Sun Tu went straight to the second floor.
The environment up here is much better than that on the first floor. Not only are there several large bookshelves with hundreds of books on them, but there are also some porcelain antiques and several brocade boxes. Next to the wall, there is a The desk is quite impressive, and the material is made of high-quality sandalwood.
"That's where the bracelet was lost? Was it on the shelf?" Sun Tu asked after scanning those things one by one.
"Exactly, there are actually other things that were lost, but in comparison, this pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets are heirlooms of my Luo family..." Luo Chan said with a heartache on his face: "Now only the dragon bracelets are still there, it can't be put together." It’s a pair.”
"Oh? It's actually a pair of jade bracelets?" Sun Tu was moved, but he didn't say anything more. Instead, he came to the window first, looked carefully and then asked: "After discovering the theft, the windows here were closed. of?"
"Exactly. The servants lock all the doors and windows here every night, so this matter becomes even more bizarre. I really don't know how the thief got in and out... Could it be that he can really fly and escape." Luo Chan looked confused and confused. upset.
Sun Tu frowned a little more after looking at it. There were no signs of prying on the window. This was really weird: "Are there any other entrances and exits here..." As Sun Tu spoke, he subconsciously He raised his head and glanced above, and then his eyes fell on the small square hole on the left side. It was a small air window, which should have played a role in ventilation. It was roughly estimated that it was only about a foot square.
Luo Chan also noticed his move, so he explained: "Aside from the doors and windows, this transom is the only one connected to the outside. However, this window is still more than two feet high from the ground, and the outside is even more feet." It’s four to five feet long. Moreover, this air window is only about one foot, so even a child can’t get through it. How could a thief get in and out through this... "
Sun Tuze narrowed his eyes slightly: "The more impossible some things seem, the easier they are to come true. Haven't you heard that there is a kind of strange person in the world who is good at shrinking bones? As long as they are willing, This one-foot skylight is enough for them to easily get through."
After saying this, Sun Tu jumped up and pressed his hand on the shelf on the side. He jumped up again and reached the wooden shelf above the shelf amid the exclamations of Luo Chan and others. Not only was it tall enough, but it was also heavy enough that even with such strength, it didn't even sway at all.
After easily climbing to the top of the shelf, Sun Tu's eyes quickly looked towards the direction facing the skylight. As soon as he looked at it, the corners of his mouth curled up and he found something!