The Water Transport Yamen is divided into two systems, the Banking Department and the Gangyun Department. The highest-ranking official is the transshipment envoy, who is the fourth grade. He manages nearly a thousand people inside and outside the Water Transport Yamen.

"Water transportation is the most lucrative of all the yamen in the imperial court. In the 20th year of Yuanjing, the imperial court once promoted the sale of officials, and the sales were all positions related to water transportation." Governor Zhang led the way and said in a deep voice:

"In the 22nd year of Yuanjing, the policy of selling official positions and conferring titles was jointly banned by Wei Gong and Wang Shoufu. However, in just two years, the number of moths that came in was outrageous. To this day, there are still a group of people who are in high positions."

Xu Qian didn't pay much attention to Governor Zhang's indignation, but extracted some intriguing points from his words.

It takes two mortal enemies, Wei Yuan and Wang Shoufu, to join forces to suppress it. Who is the person who sells his official position and gets a title?

There is no doubt that it is Emperor Yuan Jing.

There are many emperors who sold their official positions and titles in the history books, and Emperor Yuan Jing was not an exception. These emperors all had one thing in common: they spent money like water.

Moreover, the evaluation of such emperors in history books is not very good, at least they have a critical attitude towards this kind of behavior.

When the Yuzhou Caoyun Yamen arrived, the Yamen servants saw a group of men approaching menacingly. They were led by senior officials in scarlet robes and a watchman with gold gongs embroidered on their chests.

Without even asking, he rushed into the Yamen to report.

A few minutes later, the transfer envoy of the Yuzhou Water Transport Yamen, a fourth-rank official, hurriedly went out to greet him in person.

This transporter is over fifty years old, with a gray beard and an ordinary appearance. There is a black mole between his eyebrows, which makes his ordinary appearance a little more special.

"I, Zhang Xingying, have been ordered to go to Yunzhou to investigate the case. This is a document from the cabinet." Governor Zhang took out a thin booklet and handed it over.

"It turns out it's the governor. I'm sorry, please come inside." After reading the document, the transfer envoy respectfully handed it back, then turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation.

The group entered the yamen, and the transfer envoy led Governor Zhang to the yamen hall. After sitting down to watch tea, the transfer envoy smiled and said:

"The governor is tired from traveling and traveling, but you plan to rest in Yuzhou for a few days?"

He observed the governor from the capital calmly and felt that he was an unsmiling and boring person. He had never shown a smile since they met.

Are all the adults from the capital so arrogant?

....This transfer envoy still doesn’t know the seriousness of the matter. Governor Zhang waved his hand: “Whether I will stay here depends on the progress of the case.”

"How do you say this?" the transfer envoy said in astonishment.

Governor Zhang looked out of the hall and said loudly: "Bring him up!"

Sixty-two members of the Yellow Flag Gang were brought up, including Fang He, a bearded man. He had minor or serious injuries on his body and looked sluggish.

Seeing these people, the transfer envoy stood up in surprise and confusion, pointed at them, and looked at Governor Zhang: "What's going on with these people? Why are they wearing the uniforms of my water transportation yamen?"

"This is the reason why I paid a visit to the transfer envoy."

At that moment, Governor Zhang told the transfer envoy in detail what had happened. After hearing this, the latter's face turned pale, he fell back on his seat and murmured: "What should we do, what should we do..."

Tsk tsk, my Qi nourishing skills are too bad. Compared with the officials I have dealt with in the capital, this transport envoy is simply a bronze... Xu Qian complained in his heart, while observing the transport envoy's expression, he made subtle moves.

Governor Zhang said in a deep voice: "Sir, transfer envoy, I would like to ask you, do you know anything about this case?"

The transfer envoy hurriedly shook his head and tried to defend himself: "I don't know anything about it, Lord Governor..."

Governor Zhang ignored him and turned to look at the white-clothed warlocks in the crowd. The white-clothed warlocks nodded slightly, indicating that they were not lying.

After pondering for a moment, Governor Zhang asked: "Is the Gang Yun Envoy in the Yamen?"

The transshipment envoy then turned his attention to the culprit, and was angry that there was a second or fifth boy under his command, and said in a deep voice:

"Gang Yun's envoy Yan Kai is taking a break today and is not at the Yamen. I will immediately take the governor to capture this animal."

.....

Outside Yan Kai's mansion, Gang Yunshi, Governor Zhang waved his hand, telling the Hu Ben guards to disperse and surround Yan's mansion.

Yang Muhua, the transshipment envoy of the Water Transport Yamen, also came with twenty catchers.

After the Huben guards dispersed, Jiang Lvzhong led his men directly to break down the door and knock down all the servants and guards in the house.

Three groups of tiger guards, Caoyun Yamen's catchers, and watchmen swept through the entire Yan Mansion, as fast as thunder, without giving the other party a chance to react.

"Sir, I'm in the study room."

The catchers from the Caoyun Yamen were the first to spot Yan Kai. When Xu Qi'an rushed to the study with his colleagues, he was a step too late. He saw blood splattered all over the floor, as thick as fast.

Gang Yun made Yan Kai lie weakly on the big chair, his head tilted, there was a deep wound on his neck, and a dagger fell on the ground to his right.

This result was obviously beyond the expectations of Yang Zhuanshi and Governor Zhang. While they were stunned, anger filled their chests.

However, the anger of the two people was different. The anger of the fortune-teller was closer to the rage of incompetence. As soon as the fortune-teller died, all eyes focused on him, and he was definitely the first person to be suspected.

Governor Zhang was as angry as a cooked duck and flew away.

There are too many people, and it is easy to destroy the scene... And there is no guarantee that there is no murderer present, which may destroy the key clues... Xu Qian is the calmest, and he makes a prompt decision as soon as his thoughts turn:

"Everyone exit the study and wait outside."

After hearing this, Governor Zhang perked up, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "Go wait outside and exit the study."

Soon, only Jiang Luzhong, Xu Qian and two adults were left in the study.

"Sir Governor, this Yan Kai must have committed suicide out of fear of crime. This case has nothing to do with me." Yang Zhuan explained in a flurry of words, eager to clear the air.

Governor Zhang ignored him at all, looked at Xu Qian and said, "Xu Ningyan, take a good look."

Yang Zhuanzhi couldn't help but glance at Xu Qian, and soon stopped paying attention. He pulled Governor Zhang to continue explaining, complaining endlessly, and expressing his innocence.

"The blood stains solidified into lumps. He died not long ago, but before we entered the house." Jiang Luzhong said.

"He almost died when we entered the Caoyun Yamen." Xu Qian nodded.

He briefly inspected Yan Kai's body. The wounds were so obvious that there was no need for an autopsy. He died because his carotid artery was cut.

After seeing the body, Xu Qi'an checked every corner of the study room as usual, looking for possible clues.

The whole process lasted only five minutes. Xu Qian sighed: "Sir Governor, he was killed, not committed suicide out of fear of crime."

Governor Zhang nodded and said, "Why do you see it?"

The chattering messenger stopped his defense and turned around to look.

"If the carotid artery is severed, the person will struggle due to lack of oxygen... due to the survival instinct, and will not sit like this. Of course, it is not enough to judge that he was killed." Xu Qian said:

"Yan Kai is left-handed, right?"

Yang Zhuanshi was stunned: "How do you know?"

"There is a thick callus on the side of the middle finger of his left hand, which is left by holding pens for many years. A normal person's callus is on the middle finger of the right hand, so I judge that he is left-handed.

"Look at the wounds on the neck. They are deep on the left and shallow on the right. These are the marks left by the knife held in the right hand."

Amazing... The transporter looked at Xu Qian in shock, with no trace of contempt in his eyes. In less than half a stick of incense, he could find clues and deduce the real cause of death.

From the perspective of the transporter who is not good at solving cases, this is simply an amazing display of ability.

Amazing... This was the first time that Governor Zhang witnessed Xu Qi'an's ability to solve cases with his own eyes, even though he had heard about it for a long time. No matter how the deeds of this little gong were circulated in the official circles of the capital, hearing about it and seeing it were two different things.

However, it was of no use and did not play a breakthrough role in the investigation of the case... The cause of Yan Kai's death was throat slitting. It was not as fancy as the wizard's dream murder, but because of this simple and crude method of murder, who could

Everything can be done, but it becomes more and more difficult to identify the murderer... Without surveillance, it is too laborious to solve the case.

"The doors and windows have not been pried, and there are no signs of damage. The murderer and the deceased obviously knew each other. Let's interrogate the servants in the house to see if anyone has just come to visit, or if they heard Yan Kai's cry for help. Also

, when interrogating everyone in the Caoyun Yamen, including the transfer envoy, you must remember to search yourself to avoid any magic weapon that masks the breath and hinders the observation of the Qi-gazing technique." Xu Qian gave advice.

Governor Zhang said: "Sir, transfer envoy, please cooperate with us."

For more than an hour after that, the three warlocks from Si Tianjian kept observing the officials and staff of the Caoyun Yamen.

But nothing was gained. With the death of Gang Yunshi Yan Kai, the clues to the "stealing by guard" case were lost.

Accompanied by Jiang Lvzhong, Governor Zhang went to Yuzhou's Sentencing and Procuratorate Department, which was in charge of criminal prisons and happened to be the yamen in charge of this matter. It was also the supervisory organ of the imperial court and was affiliated with the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Governor Zhang is the censor of the capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the immediate superior of the Department of Prosecution and Prosecution.

In the afterglow of dusk, Xu Qian sat on the roof of the Caoyun Yamen, bathed in the golden glow, and replayed the case in his mind.

With the death of one Gang Yun envoy, the clues to the entire case are lost. Oh, this is also a clue, indicating that the person behind the scenes did not control the entire Cao Yun Yamen.

It can be seen that this is not a simple corruption case... The minister of the Ministry of Industry has fallen, and the water transportation yamen in Yuzhou continues to repeat the operation, smuggling iron ore to Yunzhou... This means that there are still people behind the scenes

Manipulation. This person does not have much power and can only control the fate of one person. No, it does not necessarily mean that he does not have much power. He may be doing it in order to conceal himself.

If I hadn't been so lucky, I might have continued to smuggle iron ore.

Since there is smuggling of iron ore, is it possible that there is also smuggling of official salt and saltpeter? The imperial court needs to investigate the water transportation yamen in each state.

"This trip to Yunzhou may be more dangerous than imagined." Xu Qian thought worriedly when he suddenly heard someone calling him from below.

"Ning Yan, let's go to the Jiaofang Si Le Yile." Song Tingfeng stood in the courtyard and waved to him.

"No, I'm thinking about business." Xu Qian said angrily.

"Go ahead, I heard that the women from Yuzhou's Jiaofangsi know how to serve others." Song Tingfeng followed the instructions.

"I've known Jiaofang Si all day long. Be careful that you won't be promoted." Xu Qian's response was that he hated iron.

.....

Yuzhou, Jiaofang Division.

Amidst the melodious sound of silk and bamboo, Xu Qi'an picked up the wine glass and laughed: "Come, drink and drink. After floating on the water for six days, I have grown cobwebs."

At the end of the night, everyone toasted together, and each person had a delicate and beautiful woman. They exchanged glasses and talked and laughed.

As expected, Xu Ningyan followed. Song Tingfeng was not surprised by this. It should be said that he had expected it.

When he was in the capital, Xu Qi'an never took the initiative to go to Jiaofangsi. It was Song Tingfeng who suggested it, and then he and Zhu Guangxiao followed.

Sometimes when Xu Ningyan was practicing, he would yell: "Song Tingfeng, if you have any conscience, don't disturb my practice."

After scolding, pat your butt and follow.

The Jiaofangsi in Yuzhou is different from the capital. It does not cover an area that large, but it is built near the river. It has six courtyards and two tall buildings. It is distinguished by its elegant scenery.

The rippling water distorted the reflection of the red lantern, and the sound of silk and bamboo wind music floated in the yard and on the sparkling river.

With their status, Xu Qi'an and others certainly would not go to the building to drink with the mixed clientele. After being led by officials from the Caoyun Yamen, they came to the courtyard of an oiran named Hong Xiu for a tea party.
Chapter completed!