Chapter 143 The Widow's Secret in Jiangxia Village
…
Jiangxia Village.
It is said to be a village, but in fact, it is just because the economy here is relatively backward.
In fact, Jiangxia Village occupies a large area.
It can’t even be described as a county town.
Moreover, because Jiangxia Village is close to Hanzhong County, there are many residents living in Jiangxia Village, which can be said to be the 'granary' for Hanzhong County.
…
Early the next morning, drizzle began to fall from the sky.
The officers and soldiers of Hanzhong County received the order and rushed to Hidden Dragon Island in the rain to cooperate with the Night Reconnaissance Department in searching for the location of the 'Sky Stone'.
Jiang Erlang and others took advantage of the drizzle to reach Jiangxia Village.
During this process, Mo Ling also gave a general introduction to Jiangxia Village.
According to Mo Ling.
There are probably about 40,000 people living in Jiangxia Village, but they are scattered relatively widely, and they basically make a living by farming.
The so-called head of Jiangxia Village is actually not an official appointed by Da Qin, but a representative elected by the local government based on popular support.
In addition to the village chief, there are also more than a dozen deputy village chiefs and various people in charge in the village. Their main role is to "plan the distribution of irrigation water" and occasionally help the government urge the payment of rent.
In this era, farmland irrigation is something that needs to be fought for.
Because "private fighting" was abolished after the founding of the Qin Dynasty, each region would choose some representatives of the people to discuss how to open up water sources and divert water to irrigate fertile fields.
Jiang Erlang didn't want to 'snatch the enemy', so after arriving at Jiangxia Village, he only went to the entrance of the hall with Mo Ling.
…
The entrance of the Mohist family was built in the backyard of an ancestral hall.
The person who greeted Mo Ling was a young old man who was about fifty years old.
With a goatee beard, he looks like a married man.
He was wearing a coarse linen coat, with a small cloth bag hanging on his waist, and holding a hookah pole in his hand, blowing out smoke rings one after another.
As soon as he saw Mo Ling in black clothes, the little old man immediately jumped up and came forward to meet him.
"My subordinates have met Deputy Patriarch Ling!"
Obviously, Mo Ling had already settled with the little old man in advance.
After hearing the little old man's words, Mo Ling did not show much enthusiasm, but said lightly: "This is the newly promoted Yinqi Jiangerlang of the Night Detective Division."
"Night Detective Department... Silver Flag?" The little old man looked at Jiang Erlang with some surprise.
Mo Ling could only explain: "The Mo family has decided to temporarily cooperate with the Night Detective Division. Just tell him what you know. There is no need to hide it."
"Yes, yes!" The little old man nodded immediately.
Mo Ling did not tell anyone about his cooperation with the imperial court, nor did he explain "Ying Huo Shou Xin".
However, the little old man did not ask any more questions, but immediately introduced to Jiang Erlang: "The little old man's name is Wu Dashu. Jiang Yinqi can just call the little old man Lao Wu."
Jiang Erlang nodded and asked: "Since Father Wu is the village chief of Jiangxia Village, have you seen some 'strangers' entering Jiangxia Village recently?"
"I've seen it, I've seen it." Wu Dashu glanced at Jiang Erlang in surprise, obviously surprised by Jiang Erlang's 'respect': "A month ago, a few strangers entered Jiangxia Village, saying they were
I have received a favor from Jiangxia Village before and would like to contribute some money to help build a well."
"Dig a well a month ago?" Jiang Erlang's heart moved.
Sure enough, Southern Territory had made preparations in advance a month ago!
"Yes, those people came to me at that time. They said they wanted to pay to dig a well, so of course I wouldn't refuse, so I arranged for them to live there."
"Where do you live?" Jiang Erlang asked immediately.
"I live in the vacant courtyards of Lizhuang... Oh, this Lizhuang is just southwest of Jiangxia Village, and a group of people came later..."
"Another group is coming? How many people are there?"
"About ten or so. If you add the previous ones, the total should be twenty-one!"
"Twenty-one people?"
Jiang Erlang frowned slightly.
The number of people from Nanyu in Jiangxia Village was more than he thought.
Wu Dashu then continued: "These people really paid to build a well in the village. About thirty villagers went to help them."
"Where is the well?" Jiang Erlang asked again.
"It's not far from Lizhuang, otherwise I wouldn't let them live in Lizhuang."
"Yeah." Jiang Erlang nodded: "Are these people still living in Lizhuang now?"
"Yes, they haven't finished drilling their well, so they won't leave... Is Jiang Yinqi planning to arrest them? How can we cooperate?"
"There is no need to cooperate for the time being. Please tell me one more thing. A few days ago, Yan Yu from the Night Detective Division entered Jiangxia Village. What happened?"
"Yan Yu? Is Jiang Yinqi talking about the golden flag that led the troops in?"
"Yes, that's him!"
"I'm not too sure about what happened that day, because after Jin Qi entered Jiangxia Village, a group of people followed him to prevent us from getting close. Moreover, he also sealed off the courtyard of 'Liu Dazhuang's' house."
"Who is Liu Dazhuang?"
"Liu Dazhuang is the deputy village chief of our Jiangxia Village. He is the one who leads people to help strangers dig wells," Wu Dashu said.
"I see."
When Jiang Erlang heard this, he probably had some guesses in his mind.
After Yan Yu led his troops into Jiangxia Village, he must have noticed the existence of those southern wizards, so he sealed off Liu Dazhuang's courtyard.
The purpose should be to find out from Liu Dazhuang's mouth "information about whether the wizards in the southern region have obtained the sky stone."
result……
Of course something happened!
Jiang Erlang thought about what happened and immediately asked: "Is Liu Dazhuang still in the village now?"
"Eh? Wasn't Liu Dazhuang captured by your Night Detective Division? Don't Jiang Yinqi know?" Wu Dashu was obviously startled when he heard this.
"What? You said Liu Dazhuang was taken away by people from the Night Detective Department?"
"Yes, that Jin Qi from the Night Investigation Department died in Jiangxia Village... This matter must be investigated. Liu Dazhuang was taken away at that time and never came back. Our village is still discussing how to get it together.
We need some money to bail Liu Dazhuang out of the cell."
"grass!"
Jiang Erlang's back suddenly felt cold.
Because Li Fu didn't tell him about the arrest of Liu Dazhuang at all.
Is Li Fu hiding something?
But, this is not right!
Jiang Erlang frowned and shook his head vigorously.
Li Fu should not be a spy, because if he were a spy from the Southern Region, yesterday's affairs at the inn and the mountain temple would not have been completed smoothly.
Therefore, the problem should lie with the group of night watchmen who followed Yan Yu into Jiangxia Village.
"According to Li Fu's story, Yan Yu seemed to have been ambushed after entering Jiangxia Village...and Li Fu was not in the village at the time. If the spies were among those night watchmen, this matter would be very reasonable!"
Jiang Erlang continued to think in his mind: "Liu Dazhuang should not have been taken to the Night Reconnaissance Department of Hanzhong County. He probably did not leave Jiangxia Village because Jiangxia Village covers a large area and we have to find a place where there are no people.
It is not very difficult to silence Liu Dazhuang."
So, there are several problems here.
Why did the spies in the Southern Region take such a big risk to silence Liu Dazhuang?
If Liu Dazhuang had only had contact with the wizards of the Southern Region, there should be no need to do this.
It would be more reasonable to hand Liu Dazhuang directly to the Night Investigation Department. After all, what can a deputy village chief who digs wells know?
Therefore, Liu Dazhuang should know something.
Wu Dasen also mentioned just now that Yan Yu sealed Liu Dazhuang's yard after entering Jiangxia Village. If it was just to ask questions? Why did he seal his yard?
"It seems that there are some things I don't know about here. Unfortunately, Shi Ting is only responsible for the periphery and is not involved in the affairs of Jiangxia Village. Moreover, Shi Ting's memories behind are somewhat broken. I guess those broken memories are related to
Be careful... maybe the Witch God doesn't want me to see it?"
"So, does it mean that... the Witch God is also behind the scenes to control this matter? If the Witch God is really involved, this matter will be a bit tricky."
"Yinghuo Shouxin involves the fate of the Qin Dynasty. It is reasonable for the Witch God to be involved. However, this makes my initial plan a bit 'shallow'."
Jiang Erlang thought about it carefully.
I probably have a re-evaluation of the current situation in my mind.
There should be spies from the wizards of the Southern Region in the Night Detective Department.
The fact that he arrived in Jiangxia Village today... has most likely reached the ears of the Southern Territory.
However, the problem is not big!
Jiang Erlang had such considerations. After all, with so many people pouring into Jiangxia Village, it would be impossible to hide from the forces in the Southern Territory.
He looked at Wu Dashu again: "Now that Liu Dazhuang has been taken away by the people from the Night Detective Department, who is the new person in charge of digging the well?"
"It's Wang Youcai. He was one of the people who participated in digging the well. After Liu Dazhuang was taken away, he was responsible for the digging of the well." Wu Dashu replied.
"Where does Wang Youcai live now?"
"I heard that he moved to the courtyard of Lizhuang and lived with those strangers." After Wu Dashu finished speaking, he added: "Does Jiang Yinqi want to see him?"
"Dad Wu, what can you do?" Jiang Erlang's eyes lit up.
"Haha, this Wang Youcai likes drinking very much, and he has an affair with a Widow Zhang in the village. I heard that although he lives in Lizhuang at night, he will take some time to go to Widow Zhang's house for a drink at noon." Wu Dashu replied.
.
"Are many people aware of this matter?" Jiang Erlang was stunned for a moment.
"There are so many. Everyone who had an affair with Widow Zhang knows about it." Wu Dashu put his hands on his hips and said, "There must be at least twenty people in the village who know about it."
"Then how did Father Wu know?"
"Ahem!!!"
"..."
Jiang Erlang looked at Wu Dashu.
Wu Dashu's old face turned red, and after looking at Mo Ling, he finally said: "This widow is quite lively, and as long as she is given some rice and noodles, she can...that...so, I only went there once."
I have never been there again, Jiang Yinqi must never tell anyone about this."
Mo Ling glanced at Wu Dashu at this time: "According to the Mo family's family rules, you have to dig out your own eyes!"
"Deputy Patriarch Ling, have mercy on me!" Wu Dashu knelt down immediately.
"You should be punished for your crime. Father Wu's information is very useful to me. For my sake, Deputy Patriarch Ling will spare him this time, okay?" Jiang Erlang didn't expect that the Mo family's family rules were so strict.
"Okay." Mo Ling nodded: "Why don't you thank Guo Jiang Yinqi?"
"Xie Jiang Yinqi, Xie Jiang Yinqi begged for mercy for the little old man!" Wu Dashu said with lingering fear: "The little old man is willing to take Jiang Yinqi to the widow's house in person."
"Okay, I'll help you, Father Wu." Jiang Erlang smiled and helped Wu Dashu up.
Wu Dashu naturally thanked him again and again.
Jiang Erlang did not try to shirk the blame, but looked at Mo Ling and said, "Deputy Patriarch Ling, I don't need you to do anything about arresting Wang Youcai. Su Qing and I can go together."
"Yeah." Mo Ling nodded.
She has an identity.
Even if she really had to take action, it would be against the great wizard of the Southern Region. She really didn't need to worry about a little Wang Youcai.
…
Exited the backyard of the ancestral hall.
Jiang Erlang called Su Qing.
Now that his actions have been exposed, if he goes directly to Lizhuang to arrest people... he will probably be ambushed.
Although he will not die, losing troops and generals is not something he is willing to do.
He decided to capture Wang Youcai first!
"No matter what Wang Youcai knows, at least after catching him, we can know the current layout of Li Zhuang. This way, we can be more confident even if we have to attack by force."
Jiang Erlang originally planned to attack at night, and during the day he would mainly collect "intelligence" and do some preliminary preparations.
After Su Qing saw Jiang Erlang, he immediately asked: "Jiang Yinqi, have you found anything?"
"Well, there is probably a spy in the Night Detective Division." Jiang Erlang replied.
"There are spies? Wouldn't our actions be exposed?"
"It should have been exposed. However, the fact that the other party is still in Lizhuang now means that the other party is not afraid of us, or they have a reason to stay here."
"What does Jiang Yinqi mean?"
"Let's arrest someone first. Maybe we can learn something from this person's mouth." Jiang Erlang did not explain too much.
"Okay!" Su Qing glanced at Wu Dashu standing next to him and didn't ask any more questions.
Wu Dashu then said: "You two, please come with me."
…
Under the leadership of Wu Dashu.
Soon after, Jiang Erlang and Su Qing arrived outside Widow Zhang's hospital.
It looks like it's almost noon.
After Wu Dashu observed outside the courtyard, he said: "Widow Zhang is in the house, and there is no one else in the house. Wang Youcai hasn't come over yet."
"How did you know?" Su Qing asked doubtfully.
"Because, if Widow Zhang hangs a bunch of corns at her door, it means she is the only one in the house. If there are two bunches of corns hanging, it means there are other people in the house." Wu Dashu explained.
Jiang Erlang gave Wu Dashu a thumbs up... This guy must have really only come 'once', otherwise, how could he know so clearly?
Wu Dashu probably saw what Jiang Erlang guessed, so he laughed twice: "Actually, I have only been here twice..."
Jiang Erlang smiled and waved his hand: "No need to explain, I just want to know how many widows there are in Jiangxia Village?"
"That's quite a lot, but there are only seventeen or eight people we know each other well... Ugh!" After Wu Dashu finished speaking subconsciously, he immediately covered his mouth with his hand.