"The governor, the Wang family's secret guards came out in full force, and all the merchants and servants in the city got wind of it. Taiyuan City is almost in chaos now!"
Taiyuan City, the back hall of Bingzhou Governor's Mansion.
An old man in scholar's uniform raised his hands to the dignified middle-aged man in official uniform in front of him.
This middle-aged man is Wang Liaoyuan, the governor of Bingzhou. When Li Zexuan intercepted Wu Jie at Longmen Pass, he borrowed soldiers and horses from him!
"The Wang family's secret guards came out in full force?"
Hearing this, Wang Liaoyuan frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask: "What happened that made the Wang family's secret guards come out in full force and cause such a big commotion?"
Although Wang Liaoyuan is a descendant of the Wang family in Taiyuan, he is now the governor of Bingzhou, which means that he represents the imperial court. Suddenly all the secret guards of the Wang family were exposed and started to fight in such a big way, which made it very difficult for him for a while!
The scribe cupped his hands and said, "I don't know about this! I just heard that the Wang family seems to be searching for two people in the city. One is a Turkic businessman who just arrived in Taiyuan two days ago. He seems to be named Zhu Hongsheng, and the other is Kang Chang'an, the boss behind Chuji Iron Shop. !”
Hearing this, Wang Liaoyuan became more and more confused. He murmured: "A Turkic businessman and the owner of an ironware shop. Why are the Wang family looking for them?"
After pondering for a moment, Wang Liaoyuan stood up and said, "Have someone prepare the car. I will go to the ancestral home of the Wang family!"
He just happened to hear that Wang Yu had just returned to Taiyuan today, so he could go and see him.
At this moment, a sergeant came in from outside the door, cupped his fist and said to Wang Liaoyuan in the hall: "Reporting to the governor, the head of the Wang family sent a letter, saying that it must be opened by you personally!"
"Oh? Submit it!"
Wang Liaoyuan's expression changed and he quickly gave instructions to the sergeant.
"Here!"
The sergeant stepped forward and handed the letter to Wang Liaoyuan with both hands. Wang Liaoyuan took it and saw that the letter was still sealed with fire paint. He couldn't help but look solemn and did not open the letter immediately. Wang Liaoyuan said to the sergeant: "Go down first! "
"Here!"
The sergeant took the order and left.
Wang Liaoyuan then opened the letter, but saw that there were only a few words in the letter, but Wang Liaoyuan's expression suddenly became more solemn.
The scribe next to him couldn't help but asked curiously: "Prefect, what does the letter from the head of the Wang family say?"
Wang Liaoyuan immediately put away the letter and said with his hands behind his back: "The Wang family's secret guards have been sent out in full force with the approval of the imperial court. Please go down and tell the state government officials not to act rashly, let alone obstruct them. Everything is as usual, and they are doing what they are supposed to do!"
"Is it authorized by the imperial court?"
The old scribe was shocked when he heard this. After he came to his senses, he quickly raised his hands and said: "As you command!"
After that, he turned and left.
Wang Yu expected that the governor's office would definitely receive the news and take action if the Wang family was so aggressive, so he wrote a letter to Wang Liaoyuan.
However, in this letter, he did not explain too much, nor did he ask Wang Liaoyuan to send out state officials to help find people, because it was related to the safety of Li Tai and others as well as the Turkic spies, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better. , Dugu Feiying asked him to keep it strictly confidential. Furthermore, when it comes to finding people in Taiyuan City, the power of the Wang family is far beyond that of the governor's office. There is really no need for the government officials from the state government to go through this muddy water again!
However, although Wang Yu's letter was extremely simple, Wang Liaoyuan could also realize from that few words that this matter was definitely extraordinary. As for what was unusual about it, it was difficult for him to guess.
"This Taiyuan City is going to be unstable soon~!"
Wang Liaoyuan stood with his hands behind his hands and murmured with emotion.
… … … … … … … … …
To the south of Taiyuan City, there is the Yi Temple.
The so-called Yi Temple is the City God's Temple. In ancient times, wherever there was a city, a City God's Temple was built. It is exactly the opposite of the Earth Temple. The Earth Temple was built in a remote place in the countryside, while the City God's Temple must be in a place with a city, so it is called The superior of the Earth Temple.
The earliest Town God's Temple was called Yi Temple. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the famous Northern Qi general Murong Yan fought with Liang Jun near the Yi Temple. Unexpectedly, the gods in the Yi Temple appeared and helped Murong Yan defeat Liang Jun. From then on, the Yi Temple became popular and famous. After the Tang Dynasty, as the internal strife in the Tang Dynasty subsided and external strife was eliminated, the borders gradually stabilized, and the people gradually lived and worked in peace and contentment, the imperial court began to build temples in various places. It was also at this time that the Yi Temple was renamed the City God Temple.
The widespread worship of the City God among the people only began to flourish during the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, the City God worship was even listed as a national sacrificial ceremony. In the Ming Dynasty, it went even further. The City God was regarded as the "King Xianyou of the Supervisory Department", and his position was of the first rank, and he was on the same level as the "Three Dukes" of the imperial court at that time, namely, Taishi, Taifu, Taibao, and the left and right prime ministers.
Taiyuan City was the largest city in the north of the Tang Dynasty. Although the custom of worshiping the City God had not yet begun on a large scale at this time, there was still a City God Temple in Taiyuan City. Oh, it should still be called the Yi Temple at this time!
At this moment, under the incense table enshrining the statue of the god in the temple, there were actually two people hiding, two men to be precise. One of them was wide and fat, with a rich face and a round belly, and the other had a taller figure. He's not very fat, but he can't stand up to his height. The incense table enshrining the statues is only over two feet high. He, a big man, can only sit on the ground with his knees in his hands like an aggrieved little wife. As a result, he couldn't stretch his body vertically, so he could only stretch his body horizontally!
But don't forget, there is a fat man squatting next to him, with a wide body and a round waist. The incense table for worshiping the gods not only has limited vertical space, but also limited horizontal space! He hugged his legs and sat on the ground, and the two of them were immediately crowded together back to back. It was the end of July. Although midsummer had passed, the autumn tiger was not forgiving at all. After a while, both of them were sweating from the heat!
"Zhu Xiesheng! Did your mother-in-law leak your whereabouts on purpose?"
At this time, the tall middle-aged man couldn't help but yelled angrily at the fat man next to him.
The fat middle-aged man next to him turned his head and cried out: "Boss Kang, what you said is wrong? What do you mean I deliberately leaked my whereabouts? What good does this do to me? Now I am being chased. It’s not only you who are being hunted, but also me!”
Looking at the face of this middle-aged man, it is clear that he is Zhu Hongsheng who went from Tongfu Inn to Chuji Iron Shop this morning and then disappeared without a trace. Oh, it seems that his real name should be Zhu Xiesheng! Dugu Feiying really guessed right. This guy's surname is Zhu Xie, and he comes from the Shatuo tribe of Turks!
In this way, the identity of the other man can be revealed—Kang Changan, the man behind Chuji Iron Shop!
Now the Wang family has mobilized all its forces, both overt and covert, to search for the two of them all over the city. Who would have thought that they would be hiding in the temple in the south of the city
"Hmph! Then do you have something else to hide from me? Otherwise, how could there be so many people in Taiyuan City tracking our whereabouts at this moment?"
Kang Changan snorted coldly and said dissatisfied.
Zhu Xiesheng smiled bitterly and said: "This... Boss Kang is joking, I have nothing to hide from you, and I didn't provoke anyone when I came to Taiyuan City this time? How could I expect that someone would be following me today? Now you and I Trapped here, with people watching from all sides of the city gates, what should we do?"
Having said this, Zhu Xiesheng wiped the sweat from his forehead with a bitter look on his face.
It is said that after they quietly escaped from Chuji Iron Shop, they never thought about leaving the city gate, but when they just walked to the south gate, Zhu Xiesheng happened to see a familiar face, who had followed him to the iron shop in the morning. Those two people! At that time, Zhu Xiesheng was so worried that he hurriedly pulled Kang Changan to go out through another city gate. But not long after, many black warriors suddenly appeared on the streets of Taiyuan City, searching from house to house, seemingly looking for Looking for someone, the two men, who were guilty of thieves, hurriedly dodged around. Later, by eavesdropping in the corner, they confirmed that the black-clothed warriors were looking for them!
For a time, Zhu Xiesheng and Kang Changan hid in Tibet to avoid being searched, and finally hid in the temple and under the incense table!
"Hmph! Wasn't it all your fault? If I had known this, I shouldn't have let you in this morning!"
Kang Changan snorted coldly and said depressedly.
Zhu Xiesheng said helplessly: "Oh! Boss Kang, can't you say that? How many times have we cooperated and we have always been in peace, who knew that someone would find out this time? It's just that I'm a little strange, why are we being pursued? Not a member of the Tang Dynasty Yamen, but a guard of the Wang family?"
I'm afraid only he himself knows how much of this is true and how much of it is false!
"You don't know, how can I know? But if the people in the Yamen are okay, as far as I know, the Wang family is more powerful than the Yamen in Taiyuan City. If we want to leave the city now, I'm afraid it will be worse than going to the sky. Difficult~!”
Kang Changan rolled his eyes. He seemed very dissatisfied with Zhu Xiesheng and didn't even bother to look at him.
The small space under the incense table suddenly fell into silence.
"Goooooo~!"
At this moment, a strange sound suddenly sounded between the two of them, and then Kang Changan turned his head and looked at Zhu Xiesheng with a strange expression. Of course, from this angle, he couldn't see Zhu Xiesheng's face, only Zhu Xiesheng's face. You can see the other person's round belly.
Zhu Xiesheng noticed Kang Changan's movements, rubbed his stomach with some embarrassment, and said: "Ahem! This guy is running around and doesn't bother to eat at noon. Boss Kang is laughing!"
Hearing this, Kang Changan was speechless.
After a pause, Zhu Xiesheng licked his face and said: "Boss Kang, you said it's not a problem for us to hide here. We have no food and no water to drink. Before we are caught by the Wang family, we will first I'm starving or thirsty! You have so many ideas, please help me think of a solution!"
"Find a way? Now the entire Taiyuan City is owned by the Wang family. It would be great if we can have a place to stay. Where else can we go? For now, we can only wait!"
Kang Changan was angry.
How could he not know what Zhu Xiesheng said? It's just that he has been doing business in Taiyuan for many years and knows how powerful the Wang family is in Taiyuan City. With the two of them, it is tantamount to wishful thinking to escape from the full pursuit of the Wang family!
"Maybe... maybe the person who warned us at the iron shop might be able to help us~!"
Suddenly, Kang Changan said something for no reason.
… … … … … … …