Only then did Cao Xuan realize that the royal wine had been stolen. He was so shocked that he trembled with shock. He stared at a pair of bull's eyes and asked, "You said the royal wine was lost?"
The two Cao family warriors responsible for guarding Lingquan Court nodded with a grimace and said in unison: "Yes, they are all lost, not a single jar is left."
"Wow, you are a bunch of trash, so many people can't even see the wine cellar!" Cao Xuan was so angry that he wanted to beat the two trash in front of him to death.
"Master, please calm down, we are incompetent." The two Cao family warriors apologized repeatedly.
"Stop talking nonsense and follow me to the wine cellar." Cao Xuan couldn't believe this. How could those well-hidden wines be stolen so easily.
Cao Xuan and his men rushed into the wine cellar and went straight to the secret room in the depths. Now the door of this secret room was wide open. You could go in directly without pressing the button. You could see everything in the secret room at a glance. Cao Xuan could only
After taking a look at it, I was stunned. As expected, all the royal wine inside was gone, not even a jar was left, only some marks of the wine jars were still there.
In addition, at the corner of the secret room, a square pit appeared out of thin air. There was a lid covered with floating soil beside the pit. This pit was not dug by the Cao family in their spare time.
Two Cao family warriors explained the theft, claiming that there were two groups of thieves. One group of thieves started earlier and had moved all the wines about two days ago. The other group of thieves only had one person. Tonight
I just came here, but because the royal wine was stolen by others, my trip was in vain.
If there was only one group of thieves, the matter would be relatively simple, but now there are two groups of thieves, and it is not known whether there is any relationship between the two, which makes the case more complicated. The two Cao family warriors dare not make any conclusions.
.
"What? There are two groups of thieves? Do they regard our Cao family's wine cellar as a tourist attraction? They come and leave as soon as they say!" Cao Xuan was so angry for the first time in his life, and the top of his head was almost
It's about to burst into flames.
"We are incompetent and failed to discover these two groups of thieves in advance." The two Cao family warriors were afraid of the power of the family leader and echoed bitterly, not daring to make the family leader angry again.
"You are so incompetent that I have only been gone for one night, and you have lost the imperial wine! I don't have time to punish you now. After I catch the little thieves and take the imperial wine back, let's see.
How can I deal with you!" Cao Xuan spread all the evil fire on these two people, then walked to the edge of the square pit and jumped down, wanting to see what was going on inside with his own eyes.
The wine cellar is the important place of the Cao family. Even if the royal wine is lost, the family cannot be allowed in casually, so the tunnel is still empty, not even half a person is there, and it is pitch black with no light source.
Cao Xuan took two steps, picked up the wine in his abdomen, and poured it into his Dantian, burning away the nutrition of the wine and turning it into the original internal force. He shook his palm again, and the internal force mixed with the wine ran along the meridians.
On the palm of the hand, under the high temperature, a flame ignited and burned blazingly.
The flames penetrated the darkness, and the jumping light illuminated the road ahead.
Cao Xuan continued to run forward at an alarming speed. The flames on his palms were blown by the strong wind and extended backwards along the direction of the wind. Sparks fell from the flame tail. One of the other two Cao family warriors was guarding the top, and the other
He followed him and was responsible for introducing the situation to Cao Xuan.
Although the tunnel was more than two hundred meters long, it was only a short distance for Cao Xuan. He quickly reached the end of the collapse.
"Where does this opposite side lead to?" Cao Xuan asked.
"I don't know, we haven't had time to dig yet." Cao Jiawu shook his head in cold sweat.
"What the hell do you know!" Cao Xuan cursed, turned around and raised his palms towards the collapse. His other palm also ignited with flames, and he waved his palms to strike at the collapse on the opposite side.
The stone, the flesh palm wrapped in flames collided with the stone, triggering a violent explosion. There was a loud "boom" sound, and stone fragments flew everywhere, collapsing everywhere. There was a blast from the explosion place.
The earthquake shook the entire tunnel, and dust fell from above.
"Master, please be patient. If you hit this place with such force, it will easily cause a collapse. Then the place will be buried deeper, making it more difficult to dig." The martial artist of the Cao family waved away the smoke and dust in front of him and quickly dissuaded him.
Cao Xuan retracted his palms, and his body was wrapped in thick dust and flying fire. He thought about what the family members said, and felt that it made sense. This collapse spanned a long distance.
Destruction with excessive force is likely to be counterproductive and cause greater collapse.
"Stop standing there stupidly. Come dig with me and see where the other side leads to." Cao Xuan ordered angrily, waving his palms again and reaching for the cave-in, but this time he did not slap, but raised his hands
He inserted it in. His palms were wrapped with internal power and flames, and he was not afraid of ordinary rocks at all. He inserted it easily, just like inserting a piece of tofu.
The martial artist from the Cao family behind responded and came forward to help. After all, he was also a fourth-level heavenly martial artist. He could also pour his internal energy into his palms and could dig even with his bare hands.
These two majestic warriors were now like two groundhogs, digging the tunnel with their bare hands. The soil and gravel were quickly dug away by the two of them, and fell behind, forming a small mountain of dirt.
Not long after, the two men dug up the cave-in and dug out fragments of detonation tools, but this was of little practical value. Opposite the cave-in, there was still a tunnel with no end in sight.
Cao Xuan drilled through the dug hole, cut all his clothes, and reached the opposite side of the cave-in. He opened the way forward with a burning palm and walked for a distance, but he encountered another cave-in. It seemed that
This group of thieves was really bad. After they succeeded, they blew up the tunnel in sections.
At this moment, Cao Xuan suddenly remembered that he seemed to have heard someone mention it once yesterday, saying that there were several small earthquakes at night. He did not take it seriously at the time, but now that he thought about it, it was probably not an earthquake, but thieves detonating gunpowder.
The warriors of the Cao family panted and chased after them. When they saw that the front collapsed again, they asked with a grimace: "Why did it collapse here too? Master, what should we do?"
"What else can I do? Get out of your arms and dig!" Cao Xuan has strong internal energy, and the digging just now did not consume much of his internal energy.
The two worked side by side, waving their palms and continuing to dig, and dug out the second collapse.
Then, there was a third, fourth or even fifth cave-in in front of them. The two of them were digging all the way. The Cao family warrior gradually couldn't hold on any longer. After obtaining Cao Xuan's consent, he returned to the top and dug in.
Another fourth-level heavenly martial artist was replaced. Although Cao Xuan was a master, he was a little overwhelmed. He was so tired that he was sweating profusely and consumed most of his internal energy.
When the fifth cave-in was excavated, Cao Xuan found that this cave-in was extremely deep. He had not dug it out for a long time, and the soil behind it was very moist. It felt like it had not been excavated and was all new soil. This cave-in was
I'm afraid it's the end of the tunnel, and there are no more roads around it.
Cao Xuan stepped back and began to look at the top of his head. Through careful observation, he discovered a small gap that led upwards, which seemed to be the beginning of the tunnel. He cleared away the large rocks around the collapse. After losing these supports, the top
All the dirt fell down suddenly, revealing a wellhead leading upwards. It seemed that the thieves transported the imperial wine through this wellhead.
Cao Xuan jumped up, relying on the buoyancy that filled his body, and rushed directly to the exit. He struck hard with his palm, smashing the wooden board blocking the exit to pieces, and then the whole person fell outside and stood there.
Steady your feet.
The tunnel exit itself is a place shaped like a well, but there is not a drop of water inside. It is surrounded by weeds about half a person's height and dilapidated courtyard walls. There is also a slightly collapsed old house behind it. It turns out to be an abandoned courtyard.
It looks like no one has lived there for a long time.
Cao Xuan's ears moved, and he relied on his sensitive hearing to capture the surrounding movements. It was quiet in this courtyard, and there were no living creatures, otherwise he would have heard it. His brows were twisted into twists, and he began to look at the courtyard.
After searching, he saw horse hoof prints and wheel marks in the grass in the yard. The marks were very new. From this, he inferred that after the thief stole the royal wine, he must have transported it to other places directly by carriage. There were more than 70 jars of royal wine,
It would have to be pulled by at least three carriages.
Except for some traces, there were no more useful clues in the yard. He then broke into the old house and searched the old house. The house was covered with dust, the corners above his head were full of spider webs, and there were some messy footprints on the ground.
, the footprints are of different sizes, there are five sizes of footprints in total, it seems that the thieves are a gang of five people. The tunnel project is very large, it is difficult for one person to complete it, and only such a gang can do it.
At this time, another Cao family warrior also climbed up. He helped Cao Xuan to search together. The two searched for a long time, but only found some traces of little use and nothing else. It seemed that the thieves were doing something.
Very careful, they should be a group of experienced old thieves, and only old thieves would dare to steal the emperor's wine.
"It seems that nothing useful can be found in this yard. Now go home quickly, bring a group of people over, seal this place, and prohibit other people from entering from now on. Send some more people to inform
Wang Zhi County, ask him to send some people to help investigate. First, check the surrounding neighbors and ask them who the owner of this yard is and who has lived here. Then check the craftsmen and shops in the town and ask them
Has anyone bought explosive materials such as saltpeter and sulfur recently? We also need to investigate the whereabouts of the three carriages. The gang of thieves committed crimes at night. At that time, ordinary people were asleep, but the watchers followed
The beggars may still be wandering on the streets. The main thing is to ask these two types of people if they have seen any trace of the carriage. No matter who it is, as long as they can provide useful clues, they will be rewarded." Cao Xuan gave some instructions and said.
He waved his hand and said, "Okay, that's all, go and pass on the message."
"Yes!" The Cao family warrior fisted and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute!" Cao Xuan suddenly called out to the man.
"What other instructions does the master have?" The Cao family warrior quickly stopped.
"Remember to keep your mouth shut to the outside world. Don't say that the imperial wine was stolen, just say that the ordinary Jiu Niang Spring Wine was stolen. If outsiders know that our Cao family has lost the imperial wine that the emperor drank, our family will be in big trouble.
We must find all the imperial wines without outsiders knowing." Cao Xuan lowered his voice and warned.
The Cao family's warriors' expressions changed when they heard this. If the news about the loss of imperial wine were spread, the consequences would be disastrous. This crime of dereliction of duty could be light or serious, or it might even lead to the destruction of the family!
"You go and pass the message. I'm going to chase the thief who came tonight. Although the hope of catching him is slim, I still have to give it a try." Cao Xuan waved his hand again.
"Yes." The Cao family warrior responded and disappeared into the night.
Cao Xuan stood in the yard for a while, his eyes following the wheel marks on the ground. The streets in the town were all stone roads. Once outside, the wheel marks would disappear and he could no longer find them. He took a deep breath in frustration.
Angry, he jumped out of the yard and went to look for the unidentified thief based on his own guess.
…
Early the next morning, the rooster came out to crow early in the downstairs of the inn, and the crisp sound woke up the people in their sleep. Zhao Zheng was one of the people who was awakened.
After he experienced more things, his thoughts became much clearer. Although he failed yesterday and didn't get anything, he didn't take it too seriously. He fell asleep soon after he came back. He slept better than usual this night.
It's still fragrant and not affected at all.
He washed himself and stimulated himself with cold water. He felt refreshed and energetic. After that, he went downstairs to have breakfast and sat down to listen to the diners.
Sure enough, the theft of the Cao family had spread like wildfire and became a hot topic, almost to the point where everyone knew about it. This matter was considered huge news in this small town.
From the discussions of these diners, Zhao Zheng got a small amount of useful information.
The Cao family did not tell the truth to the outside world and lied that it was ordinary Jiu Niang spring wine that had been stolen. They launched a search throughout the town, focusing on the neighbors around the tunnel exit and the movements of several carriages used to transport wine.
If Zhao Zheng intervenes in this matter, he can only start from these aspects. He still has a lot of things to do and cannot stay in Gujing Town for too long. Judging from the date, he can only stay for about three days. If he investigates for three days,
If no useful results are produced, the only option is to leave the matter alone.
After listening for a while, he felt that he could no longer hear any useful information, so he paid his bills and left the inn, heading for the tunnel exit, intending to check out the situation there before making any plans.
Now the tunnel exit has been guarded by people from the Cao family and the government. The door is tightly closed, and several warriors are standing at the door, prohibiting anyone from entering.
Zhao Zheng stood observing from a distance for a while, then jumped onto a courtyard wall and looked into the courtyard from a high position. Apart from weeds and people, there was nothing worth seeing inside, so maybe there were some clues.
, has also been taken away by the Cao family, and it is not his turn to intervene.
In fact, he didn't expect to get anything from here at all, he just came to take a look. After reading it, he started walking around the streets of Gujing Town, looking for local beggars, hoping to ask the beggars for information.
In this world, beggars must not be underestimated. The Beggar Gang, composed of beggars, is a very large force with a sphere of influence throughout the Great Yan Kingdom and is very well-informed.
Zhao Zheng walked three streets and met a beggar under the eaves of a street corner.
This beggar was wearing rags and was not afraid of the cold at all. He looked like a Lian Jiazi. Carrying two patched bags on his back, this beggar was one of the most distinctive features of the beggar gang. Every time Famous members of the beggar sect will carry bags as a mark of their level. The lowest level carries one bag, and so on. The more bags they carry, the higher their status in the beggar sect. Eight bags are an elder, and nine bags are a ten thousand. A leader above all men.
The beggar held the wine jar in his arms, sat on the ground and poured himself a drink. Although there was no food to drink with, he drank very comfortably.
Zhao Zheng squatted down next to the beggar, took out a large ingot of official silver from his sleeve, placed it next to the beggar, and said with a smile: "How can we just have wine and no food? I will give you this little money to buy food and wine in a restaurant." "
The beggar put down the wine jar and looked at Zhao Zheng a few times. He did not reach out for the money in a hurry, but asked calmly: "Are you going to inquire about the theft of Cao's wine?"
"How did you know I wanted to inquire about this?" Zhao Zheng asked in surprise.
"You guessed it. Everyone in the city is discussing this today. Counting you, you are already the third person to ask me about this matter. And you will not be the last person. There will definitely be more in the future. Many people come to ask this. Hey, the more people come, the better. With a few more people, I will have enough money for food and drinks in the spring." The beggar said and stretched out his hand to the silver ingot, "Let me state in advance that your question is I may not be able to answer all of them, and I may even not be able to answer any of them. But no matter whether I can answer or not, I will not return the money to you. If you regret it now, it is still too late. After you finish asking, I will But I won’t give you any refund.”
"It's okay, just keep the money. It doesn't matter even if you can't answer anything, just think of it as making a friend."
"Hey, I'll be disrespectful then." The beggar smiled and picked up the silver ingot. With a shake of his hand, the silver ingot disappeared from his hand. He didn't know whether it was hidden in his sleeve or in his arms. "Well, you can ask. I promise to answer everything I know."
Zhao Zheng then opened up the conversation and asked the questions he wanted to know. He mainly asked three questions. One was whether there were any well-known thieves in Gujing Town recently, and the other was whether anyone saw the incident on the night of the incident. He felt that these three questions were a good starting point: the carriage that stole the wine, and the third was whether there was a traitor within the Cao family, and whether the Cao family's own people had recruited the outsider.
The beggar answered one by one. There have been no well-known thieves in Gujing Town recently. The few thieves are just petty thieves who are not capable of committing such a big case. There are some clues about the carriage. Someone saw it on the night of the crime. The three carriages are driving north. The government and the Cao family have sent a large number of people to the north to investigate, but there has been no progress so far. As for the internal affairs of the Cao family, no one outside knows about it. The Cao family has blocked the news. Nothing is announced to the outside world.
Zhao Zheng finished asking what he wanted to ask, said goodbye to the beggar, and headed to the north of the town, wanting to try his luck and see if he could find out the whereabouts of the three carriages. (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated. quick!)
