Ye Xiaotian obviously used the method of luring the snake out of the hole. He asked Mao Wenzhi to pretend to be a great merchant in Liaodong, and spend a lot of money in Jinling Mansion, just to catch the big fish smuggling contraband.
Businessmen all want to maximize their profits, especially if they risk their heads for smuggling and trafficking. Now it seems that Wu Yueyue is the dealer of this huge smuggling group in Jinling.
At the same time, Ye Xiaotian conducted a very detailed investigation of the merchants who often do business on the post road in Huxian County and all the carriage and horse dealers in the county. The main suspects were finally locked on two merchants and a carriage and horse dealer. . One of the two merchants was Hu Qifeng. One's surname is Lu, called Lu Mo. And this car and horse shop is Chang's car and horse shop.
Ye Xiaotian secretly used his most trusted people to monitor the actions of the three families respectively. It is impossible for him to insert his eyeliner in a short period of time and gain the trust of the other party, so as to grasp the deepest secrets, so it can only be analyzed from some abnormal actions of these merchants.
On this day, Ye Xiaotian suddenly received a message from Hua Yunfei: Hu Qifeng, the treasurer of Hu's firm, will personally escort a batch of goods back to the Central Plains in the next two days. This batch of goods was not very important. Hu Qifeng had been in Huxian County for a long time as the big shopkeeper, but this time he had to personally escort them, which was obviously a bit unusual.
The news was revealed by Hu Qifeng himself at a banquet. He said that he had been away from home for too long and that the year was approaching, so he planned to go back with the car and spend the New Year in his hometown. This reason makes sense, but since he has been listed as a suspect, he has to think a little more.
At the same time, Chang's Car and Horse Company also sent a convoy to escort a batch of goods to the south. Carriage and horse companies will not go back and forth with empty cars. They carry goods from here to the south, and then pick up the goods from the south to go north, so that the round trip will not be empty.
The person in charge of escorting them south this time is Chang Zizai's brother-in-law and one of his most trusted subordinates, named Jiang Xu. According to their itinerary, when Jiang Xu delivered the goods and returned north with the goods, it was the day when Hu Qifeng planned to leave Hu County.
When these two pieces of news were sent to Ye Xiaotian together, he couldn't help but have a certain association. Ye Xiaotian read these two messages, and immediately realized that there must be something strange in it, if he seized this opportunity, he might swallow the opponent's "big dragon" in one bite!
Ye Xiaotian immediately made a decision: "When Jiang Xu returns with the goods, do it!"
…
Jiang Xu led the convoy into Hu County, he couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief. The gang of bandits who had robbed houses around the post road had been wiped out by the officers and soldiers, and the bandits who escaped by chance were broken into pieces again. In this way, they would not dare to attack the caravans with stronger armed forces. But relatively, it is even more difficult to destroy them.
Jiang Xu's convoy has dozens of brave escort knights. Even so, he is responsible for the safety of the entire convoy, and he is very cautious along the way. Now that he returns to Hu County, he will be able to reach the post station in half a day. Only then did I feel relieved.
Jiang Xu reined in the horse's reins, turned around and yelled: "Brothers, cheer up, we're almost home, we've done three kowtows and nine bows, don't let this trembling go, we're at the car and horse dealership, I Please drink heavily and eat meat!"
Before the words were finished, a gong suddenly sounded beside the road, and a sentry came out from the forest. Jiang Xu was shocked, and immediately rolled over from the saddle. The bandit Jie said that when he came out, he often greeted the people on the horse with cold arrows and javelins, because these people were either managers or bodyguards.
At the critical moment of life and death, Jiang Xu's movements could not be slower. He flipped off his horse, stretched out his hand and drew his knife, and shouted: "Set up, set up, set up a circle, defend to the core! This place is close to the post station, the bandits can't last long..."
Jiang Xu yelled, and suddenly saw those rushing people clearly, and couldn't help being stunned. These people were wearing battle jackets, red cherry helmets on their heads, and holding spears and waist knives. They were bandits, they were clearly a team Ming officers and soldiers. An officer drew his waist knife and yelled loudly: "The inspector inspector checks! Everyone put down their weapons, stand back to the side of the road, and wait by the wall!"
Seeing that they were officers and soldiers, the owner of the cargo accompanying the convoy breathed a sigh of relief, and rushed forward with a smile on his face, but was blocked by several spears, so he stood there nodding and bowing his head and said: "Master Jun is flexible, Huo There is nothing prohibited in this batch of goods. Huo... "
The officer interrupted him coldly, and said: "You, also stand aside. After our inspection, if there is no smuggling, we will let you go! Come! Search for me!"
When the officers and soldiers of the inspection department suddenly checked Jiang Xu's convoy, the entire Hu County also launched a thorough investigation. Ye Xiaotian did this because he was worried that if he missed a hit, he would startle the enemy, and expand the operation to the whole county to hide his real purpose.
Of course, a thorough investigation would be more likely to obtain definite evidence, and this timing was also suitable for taking action against Jiang Xu's convoy. For this reason, Ye Xiaotian not only mobilized the police, but also asked the inspection department to cooperate with the inspection, and even seconded the postman to Zhao Wenyuan.
This thorough investigation yielded quite a lot. In total, three human traffickers who abducted and trafficked women and children, seventeen merchants who evaded taxes through entrainment and other methods, two fugitives who were hiding in the carriages and horses as clerks were caught, There are actually six small traders smuggling contraband.
Huazhi County Joy, such a large-scale crackdown on smuggling is enough to explain to the dissatisfied court and officials. What's more, there is such a rich harvest. Therefore, Huazhi County immediately wrote a colorful report and sent it to Tongren Mansion happily.
For Ye Xiaotian, this operation was a complete failure, and it didn't achieve the effect he wanted at all. After the government was released that day, Ye Xiaotian invited Su Xuntian and Zhou Bantou to his house, and then called Hua Yunfei, and the four of them sat together at a table, drinking and studying the operation at the same time.
Ye Xiaotian said: "Several people, let's talk about it, we have checked so thoroughly and found nothing, what could be the reason?"
Su Xuntian took a sip of his wine and said thoughtfully: "My lord, what do you think...the smugglers may have another secret road for them to travel, instead of passing through the post road at all?"
"This is impossible!"
Hua Yunfei immediately retorted: "In other places, it may be possible to do this, but it is absolutely impossible in my Hu County. The mountains are steep and steep, and even with bare hands, many places cannot be climbed, let alone carry a lot of precious and heavy wealth."
Su Xuntian said: "Then... Maybe it's because the government has recently imposed strict restrictions, so they stopped their efforts for the time being."
Ye Xiaotian said: "This is also impossible. The Burmese are in urgent need of a large amount of food, cloth and medicine, and all of these need to be exchanged with goods. The imperial court has banned trade with the country, and they have only one way to smuggle. One smuggling proceeds It is easy to make a person rich, but it is impossible to supply the needs of a country. Even if the smugglers want to stop temporarily, the Burmese will not agree. If they refuse to cooperate, the Burmese will find someone else to trade. If they no longer cooperate with them, they cannot stop."
Bantou Zhou said: "My lord, I think that in this thorough investigation of the whole county, we not only used the officers and soldiers of the inspection department and the third squad of police officers, but also included Min Zhuang and the postmen. There are so many people with miscellaneous eyes that leaked the news. , if someone gets the news in advance, we will naturally get nothing."
Ye Xiaotian frowned slightly and said: "I have been extremely cautious in this operation. The people who were in charge of monitoring before were all trustworthy people. When I was ready to do it, I seconded the magistrate, Luo Xunjian, and Zhao Yicheng. The action is not too fast, even if someone wants to tip off the news, it may be too late."
Bantou Zhou smiled and said: "My lord, as long as someone warns, it is still very easy to bury the evidence. If the smugglers have been in this business for a long time, they must have left behind, and their methods are endless."
Su Xuntian was unconvinced and said: "If it is a car dealership or an inn, it is possible to hide it long ago, but what about the convoy on the road? Once they get on the post road, there are mountains on both sides, and there is no chance to transfer the goods halfway. How to destroy the evidence?"
Zhou Bantou said: "This is easy. If it were me, once I got the news, those shady belongings could be moved out of the car, hidden in the forest by the roadside, and a few confidantes would watch over them, and then move them later. If it's too late, I just threw them all off the cliff, and that's even more deadly."
Su Xuntian was speechless for a moment.
Ye Xiaotian sighed, and said: "This time, I was careless. Some underestimate the enemy. If there are such a group of smugglers in Hu County, they must be hiding very deeply, and their eyes and ears are all-pervasive. A move may be within their grasp."
Su Xuntian and Zhou Bantou did not speak. They also agreed with Ye Xiaotian's opinion from the bottom of their hearts. People have their own nets. The whole world is connected by countless individuals and countless nets. No one can jump out. If you plot against others, others will plot against you. Whether the Tao is one foot high or the devil is one foot high, who will know until the last moment
Ye Xiaotian smiled and said: "It seems that defeating Xu Boyi easily made me feel a little swayed. The more I go up, the more my heart sinks down. Only when my heart is at ease can the road under my feet be safe. I This time, I was too eager for quick success. This time I got nothing, and it will be difficult to catch them in the future."
Su Xuntian frowned and said, "My lord, what should we do now?"
Ye Xiaotian slowly put down his wine glass, pondered for a moment and said: "If the smugglers are indeed hiding in our Hu County, and there are traitors who give them a tip-off, they can hide the stolen goods in time, but with our strict investigation, they will not be able to transport them out. Difficult."
Su Xuntian nodded and said: "That's right! But there is only a thousand days to be a thief, not a thousand days to guard against a thief. We can't do this kind of investigation every day, right? If we do that, we will definitely provoke anger and resentment. Before the smugglers are caught, the imperial court will first punish you and me."
Ye Xiaotian said: "Of course you can't just wait blindly. However, we have been urged by our superiors, so they will take it easy? The year is approaching, and the person who sold the stolen goods for them must have collected a lot of deposits from buyers, promising them Delivery before the end of the new year. Besides, it must be very dangerous for those hidden goods to stay here, and they will definitely plan to ship them out as soon as possible. If this is the case, there will be no clues."
Su Xuntian slapped his thigh, and said fiercely: "Success! Then I will fight with them! When I turn back, I will lead people to guard on the post road, and I will not leave without eating, drinking, and messing around. I don't believe it. I slipped right under my nose."
Ye Xiaotian said: "For the current plan, we can only use some stupid methods. Team leader Zhou, you and Xuntian should work harder and come in rotation."
Bantou Zhou nodded, and said again: "The humble job has another idea, but I don't know if it's appropriate."
Ye Xiaotian said with a smile: "I invite you here today to brainstorm ideas. If you have any ideas, just say it."
Zhou Bantou hesitated and said: "Our Huxian County is the Hulukou of the entire post road. When the goods and goods arrive here, they can be shipped and scattered everywhere, so the account books are easy to tamper with. But our previous stop Dawanshan Division No, the records there should be real numbers. If we take the account books of various local chariot dealers and commercial firms and compare them one by one, we will find that the difference is quite large, and they can't explain why..."
Ye Xiaotian's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands in praise: "Wonderful! Then let's work together, Xuntian, you and Bantou Zhou will take turns guarding the exit of the post road in this county, and don't let a box of smuggled goods go out. I will go to Wentongren Mansion immediately. Request to give me the privilege of investigating cases in Yue County!"
Hua Yunfei said eagerly, "Brother, what about me?"
Ye Xiaotian said: "You? You go and find out, which rich gentry in this county have accountants at home."
Hua Yunfei stared blankly: "Why do you check this?"
Ye Xiaotian said: "Because... I need a lot of people who can check accounts!"