In the tavern, the atmosphere instantly became tense.
The shopkeeper hid behind the counter and lowered his head quietly.
"I'm afraid you've got the wrong person. I'm not Sun Qianhu, I'm just a villager in Shunyi County." After a moment of silence, the man replied.
"Farmers? Farmers work in the fields all year round, and their hands are covered with calluses. But you only have a layer of calluses on the tiger's mouth of your right hand. This is not consistent with the hands of farmers, and is more like a hand holding a knife all year round."
As he spoke, Xiao Chen raised his left hand and held the Libian's handle with his right hand a few times.
"Look, just this action, over time, the calluses on the tiger's mouth will remain."
"I, my left hand is a little disabled and I often work with my right hand, so that's why I'm like this." The man said clearly.
"Haha, is that right? Just think I was wrong."
Xiao Chen jumped down from the table and stood opposite the man, staring at him closely with eagle-like eyes.
"If I guess correctly, there is a layer of calluses on your forehead covered by your big cotton hat. Moreover, I also know that those are calluses worn away from wearing a battle helmet all year round."
"No, it's not what you said..." The man still wanted to tell the difference, but was interrupted by Xiao Chen's loud shout.
"Come here, put some shackles on Sun Qianhu."
They searched almost all of Changping Prefecture, only digging three feet into the ground, and only captured one thousand households.
It turned out that after getting Huang Anliang's hint, several people began to flee the military camp in a hurry and cut off contact.
Sun Qianhu's thoughts coincided with Xiao Chen's. He thought that it might be possible to escape for a while under the dark lights in Changping Prefecture.
Little did he know that he would be the first person to be arrested.
After a night of hard work, the sky has turned fish belly white.
Xiao Chen stretched out and looked at the Dongchang captains around him.
Each of them had bloodshot eyes and a sallow complexion, the standard sequelae of staying up late.
But his eyes were still sharp and excited.
"Brothers, after a busy night and exhausted, why do you still look so energetic?" Xiao Chen said.
"It's a new place. Even if you stay up all night to search, it's still tiring." A captain replied with a smile.
"Well, find a place to have some breakfast, and temporarily keep Sun Qianhu in prison in Changping Prefecture. We will go through Changping Prefecture again. If we still have no results, we will get up and return to the capital."
"But it depends on Brother Xiao's arrangement."
In the Thirteenth Battle, and even among the entire Dongchang School Lieutenants, although Xiao Chen was just an ordinary school captain, his ability to do things was not as good as others, but he still had great strength. Others in the same industry liked to follow his lead.
The most important thing is that he never takes great pleasure in success.
If something goes wrong, he will stand up and take responsibility.
Although it was the third day of the first lunar month, in the early morning on the streets of Changping Prefecture, pedestrians began to appear in twos and threes.
Xiao Chen had someone take out the huge cloak he had prepared in advance and put it on Sun Qianhu.
It's not that he's afraid of getting cold, but the two pairs of shackles on his body are too eye-catching when walking on the street.
Even so, when walking, the clattering sound of the shackles on the floor still made passers-by stop and point.
After casually having breakfast at a roadside stall, Xiao Chen and his party arrived at Changping Prefectural Government Office.
Since Duan Shixiong was arrested, the imperial court had arranged for the affairs of Changping Prefecture to be presided over by the former Tongzhi before the trusted magistrate took office.
During this period when Shixiong was the magistrate of Changping, although he was timid and afraid of getting into trouble, he was conscientious and dedicated to his duties. He managed the state government in a transparent manner.
The two yamen servants at the yamen gate also went to work early. They were neatly dressed and began to earn their meager salary.
"Sir, can you come to the state government office?" Xiao Chen stepped forward and asked softly.
Looking at the hundreds of soap-clad captains behind Xiao Chen, as well as the mysterious man wearing a huge black cloak in the middle, a trace of vigilance appeared in the eyes of the yamen officer.
"Master Tongzhi lives in Zhouya, who are you?"
Xiao Chen flashed the plum blossom ring on his waist and said: "Dongchang is handling the case."
The remote guard station, holding military power and fighting on the battlefield all year round, may have dismissed the establishment of Dongchang.
But the local administration at the state level attaches great importance to every edict from the emperor.
Especially in Changping Prefecture, after the prefect Duan Shixiong was interrogated by Dongchang, Cao Tongzhi, who was in charge of state affairs, felt the power of Dongchang even more.
He took out the edict that the emperor had distributed to various places some time ago, and read it again to all his subordinates.
Especially that sentence: When you see people in Dongchang, it’s like I’m here in person. It was read out three times in a row.
Unknown to other places, all the officials in Changping Prefecture have a new understanding of the power of Dongchang.
With a "wow" sound, the two government officials knelt down on one knee. It was a standard courtesy for a subordinate to see his superior.
"Changping Prefecture's yamen servants can only be dispatched by the Lord."
Xiao Chen was stunned. How could this Changping Prefecture government official be so capable?
"Get up. Just take charge of guarding the yamen. Remember, if the state yamen is not promoted to court today, I will use the state yamen for my use."
After finishing speaking, he waved his hand to signal the two captains who were following Sun Qianhu to enter first.
The lobby of the state government office was empty. Cao Tongzhi, in the Zhizhou study room behind the lobby, was reading one by one the various policies and instructions of the imperial court, as well as some recent complaints from people in the state.
"Are you here?" Xiao Chen shouted as he stood in the lobby.
He only knew that when the prefect was away, the tongzhi was temporarily in charge of state affairs, but he did not know the specific name of the tongzhi of Changping Prefecture.
Hearing someone, Cao Zhizhou hurriedly put down the official document in his hand and hurried out.
There was a team of hundreds of people standing under the hall, why didn’t the yamen officer at the door announce it?
"This is the Changping Prefecture Government Office. What are you doing? A team of a hundred or ten people broke in without even announcing the news?"
Although he is only temporarily in charge of Changping Prefecture affairs, this Changping Prefecture Yamen is not someone who can break in casually.
It doesn’t work with a few people, and it doesn’t work with a lot of people.
Xiao Chen paused for a moment. Although his colleague's words contained an accusation, he was not intimidated by the hundreds of people in his group. He still looked at him differently.
Smiling, he took out the Dongchang Plum Blossom Order from his waist and handed it to the other party: "Dongchang is handling the case. This is Dongchang's identity badge, the Plum Blossom Order."
When he heard the word Dongchang, Cao Tongzhi was shocked. When he saw the dark plum blossom token, he didn't dare to reach out to pick it up.
After the emperor's edict, the imperial court issued a notice with Dongchang's plum blossom token painted on it.
It was an edict and a notification. He had already understood that Dongchang was the second person besides the emperor who could not be provoked.
He remembered the Plum Blossom Order pattern on the notice.
But he didn't expect that the pattern on the notice would actually appear in front of him in a physical form.
He hurriedly folded his hands and said, "I am a low-ranking official in Changping Prefecture, Cao Ru. I don't know that Mr. Dongchang is here. I am very offended. I am responsible for my duties. Please forgive me."
Seeing how disrespectful this person was, Xiao Chen had a good impression in his heart.
"Okay, no need to be polite. I'm here today just to lend you the Changping Prefecture Prison. I'll leave immediately after half a day."
"Don't say half a day, you can take as long as you need. But, if you want to borrow the prison, could it be..." As he said that, he glanced at Sun Qianhu, who was wearing a huge cloak.
"Well, I will temporarily detain a prisoner." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
"Changping Prefecture Prison is used to detain criminals, so there is no problem. However, the prisoners in Dongchang must be very serious, and the guards in Changping usually detain prisoners who commit theft and fighting. They have no experience in detaining serious criminals.
, and I don’t have that ability. I am afraid of making mistakes.”
Seeing the other party's caution, Xiao Chen burst out laughing.
Although Cao Tongzhi's remarks, on the surface, seem to be shirking responsibility in advance.
But if you think about it carefully, it makes sense.
A person who can fully estimate his own abilities and face the huge pressure of tasks, has a clear mind and has the courage to speak out can be regarded as a clean officer.
"Don't worry, Cao Tongzhi, I'm just borrowing a cell. I will arrange for personnel to guard the prisoners when they are locked up. Changping Prefecture doesn't need to worry about this." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
"This is the safest way. I will lead the way, sir, and lock the prisoner first. Sir, please come this way." With that said, Cao Tongzhi walked in front and walked to the back of the prefectural government compound.
The prison in Changping Prefecture is located in the northeast of the prefectural government compound.
The wall made of bluestone looked particularly strong, and the door made of blue steel wood with a thick mouth made a harsh "creak" sound as it opened.
"Isn't Lao Li on duty today? Why, he didn't come?" Looking at a young jailer who opened the cell door, Cao Tongzhi frowned slightly.
"A distant relative came to Lao Li's house yesterday, so he asked for a day off today so that I can be on duty," the jailer replied.
"Oh, open the innermost cell."
After imprisoning Sun Qianhu, Xiao Chen left ten captains to guard him and walked out of the prison.
"Tongzhi Cao, if you, the official official of Changping Prefecture, have something unexpected to do, don't you report it to you, Tongzhi?"
Xiao Chen asked with a smile.
Cao Tongzhi's heart tightened, he was questioning me about how to manage the five subordinates.
"This is a delinquent oversight. I will definitely report it to the court and ask for punishment."
"Hey, Cao Tongzhi misunderstood. I didn't mean to blame you, and you don't have to blame yourself so much. I just asked casually." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
I borrowed someone else's jail to use, which was considered a favor. What's more, I didn't have the energy to deal with such trivial matters in state government management.
However, for such a trivial matter, Cao Zhizhou could bravely stand up and take the responsibility himself, which was a bit of a responsibility.
It seems that despite being timid by nature, Zhizhou Duan Shixiong has done an impeccable job in management.
It can be inferred from this that his previous confession is basically true.
The breakthrough in this case still has to start with Huang Anliang and his four thousand households.
"Your Majesty, we are aware that our management in Changping Prefecture is not strict, but it is passable. Normally, if something happens, everyone will come to me to report. But this Lao Li did not report in time, so it must be an emergency." Cao Tongzhi said with a smile.
"An emergency? A distant relative coming to visit is also an emergency?" Xiao Chen couldn't help but laugh.
"No. We in the north basically rely on farming for food. Even during the Chinese New Year, when we can't work in the fields, everyone will rush to fertilize the fields. There is no time to visit relatives. This year, there was a heavy snowfall, and the fields were already covered with snow.
The snow is so white that I can’t even tell which piece is my own.”
"So, this year we all have time to walk around with relatives who haven't walked around for many years." Cao Zhizhou smiled and kept his position half a step slower than Xiao Chen, showing his respect.
"That's not right. When a relative is here, aren't he allowed to come and report?" Xiao Chen stopped and said, "Cao Zhizhou, can I ask a few words to the jailer just now?"
Cao Tongzhi was stunned: "Of course. What did you have in mind?"
"You'll know after you ask." He said, turning back and walking quickly towards the cell.
Looking at the people who were leaving and returning, the soldier had a flattering look on his face.
"Let me ask you, where is the distant relative of Lao Li who works with you?" Xiao Chen looked serious.
"I don't know this, he didn't tell me." The jailer scratched his head, looking confused.
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"There must be a man. He took away my kettle. There shouldn't be many women drinking."
"If you have a relative, you don't have to report to the state government office?"
"I asked him the same question, and he said that his relative is very rich, and he works in a guard station, so he can't be careless?"
"He's a guard officer? Do you know his home address?"
"Of course you know this. We are just across the street." The jailer said seriously.
A smile appeared on Xiao Chen's face, and he turned around: "Cao Tongzhi, let me use your jailer again."
