Baoding Prefecture is only about two hundred miles away from the capital.
But even so, except for some businessmen who often shuttle back and forth between the capital and Baoding, ordinary people still entertain themselves on the streets of Baoding.
In the early spring morning, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant.
Those people who make a living by cultivating the fields go out with hoes before dawn.
People who are engaged in business and health tend to get up a little later.
Only the steamed bun shops on the street started to get busy in the second half of the night. At dawn, the steaming steamed buns were already on display to passers-by in cages, waiting to be exchanged for some copper coins to repay the owners for their busyness that started in the middle of the night.
On the street, people began to come and go.
An old man of short stature and slightly fat body was walking slowly on the streets of Baoding.
Glancing at the long queue at the bun shop, the old man walked in the opposite direction.
Opposite the bun shop is a blacksmith shop.
There is only one person inside, who is both the shopkeeper and the waiter.
Spring sowing is coming soon, and the farm tools that have been idle all winter will begin to be put to use. In the past few days, a lot of broken hoes and broken shovels have been piled up in the corner.
Blacksmith Wang Ran held a bowl of hot water in his right hand and sat on the dark stool in the room. He held a steamed bun in his left hand and ate it with big mouthfuls.
His tall body, even when sitting on a stool, gives people a very powerful feeling. His dark skin seems to be the result of long-term charcoal grilling.
Although it had just dawned, he had already completed repairing three farm tools.
As a blacksmith, you can only earn a little pocket money during the busy farming season. On weekdays, there are very few people coming in to patronize.
Work more when there is a lot of work, and take a good rest when there is no work.
After chewing the steamed bun in his hand and drinking up the hot water in the bowl, Wang Ran stood up and prepared to walk into his workbench in the back hall to continue working.
"Shopkeeper, make a hoe." A voice came through, and then, a fat old man slowly walked into the door of the blacksmith shop.
"There are ready-made hoes here, the old man can just pick one." Wang Ran turned around, with a simple and honest smile on his face, and pointed to a pile of brand-new farm tools in another corner.
"I have my own requirements." The old man said slowly.
"Oh." Wang Ran was stunned for a moment, looked at the other party carefully for a while, and then asked in a low voice: "What kind of hoe does the old man want to make?"
"A triangular hoe." The old man said.
"Excuse me, is the corner pointing downwards or upwards?" Wang Ran felt anxious and asked hurriedly.
"Corner up!"
"I have pig iron and wrought iron here. Which one does the old man use?"
"Made of black iron, glowing with blue light!" said the old man.
After hearing this, Wang Ran hurried to the door, closed the half-open door tightly, turned around, knelt down on one knee with his hands clasped in fists: "Wang Ran, the blacksmith, see you, sir."
"Call the person in charge of Baoding, I'll wait here. Tell him to keep quiet and just come alone." The old man said slowly, turned around and sat on the dark stool where Wang Ran had been sitting just now.
superior.
"Yes." In response, Wang Ran stood up and left.
This person is none other than Mr. Zhang.
The purpose of his coming to Baoding was to capture Hu Yanqing, who had become self-righteous regardless of the overall situation.
News from Gu'an reported that Hu Yanqing had escorted the prince to Baoding Mansion.
Wang Zhongzhen, however, did not receive any information from Baoding Mansion. In the past few days, Hu Yanqing seemed to have disappeared and did not report any of his whereabouts to Wang Zhongzhen.
To achieve great things, a strict system is indispensable.
Especially for an organization like my own that hides in the dark, it is indispensable to have institutional constraints.
This Hu Yanqing may have realized that the trouble he caused in Gu'an was not small, so he took shelter temporarily.
If he does not have a prince in his hands, this matter can be postponed and dealt with later.
But while he was escorting the prince, he made fun of himself and disappeared. This person may have had second thoughts.
Mr. Zhang sat quietly on the stool with no expression on his face.
After a short while, there was a slight sound of footsteps outside the door.
Immediately afterwards, the door was slowly pushed open, and a middle-aged man dressed as a teacher walked in.
Wearing a blue robe and a four-cornered scribe's hat on his head, he looked very elegant. There was just a scar on the back of his hand, which extended into the sleeve.
The blacksmith Wang Ran who followed behind him closed the door behind him the moment he entered.
Seeing Mr. Zhang, the middle-aged man knelt down on one knee and said with a burning look in his eyes: "General, why did you come to Baoding in person?"
"Let me ask, can Hu Yanqing escort the prisoners to Baoding?"
The middle-aged man shook his head: "No. Although shopkeeper Li from Gu'an informed his subordinates that General Huyan would come to Baoding in the next few days, these three days have passed and his subordinates have not seen anything about General Huyan.
whereabouts."
"Okay, I understand." Mr. Zhang stood up slowly, "Don't tell anyone, I have been to Baoding."
After saying these words, Mr. Zhang opened the door and walked towards the street.
Seeing Mr. Zhang walking slowly, Wang Ran turned to look at the middle-aged man: "Is something big going on?"
"The general came here just to kill people. Something must have happened to Hu Yanqing."
"Sir, do you want to inform all the places in Baoding to report Hu Yanqing immediately if you see him?" Wang Ran asked in a low voice.
“Not only must it be reported, but it must also be tracked all the time.”
"yes."
In a short time, Wang Ran picked up a load, put some brand-new farm tools on one end, and some dry food on the other. He shouted and disappeared at the end of the street.
In Gu'an County, in Shopkeeper Li's inner courtyard, Xiao Chen was sitting leisurely on a chair, waiting for Duan Tianming to find a small wooden wedge and come back.
Shopkeeper Li on the other side was still standing quietly.
Perhaps it was because the sun was shining all the time, but a layer of sweat gradually broke out on his forehead.
In the outer courtyard, Duan Tianming was holding a saber and peeling peach branches full of peach blossoms.
After searching around, he really couldn't find any suitable wood. Regardless of the garden layout, Duan Tianming took action on a peach tree next to him.
"Commander Duan, do you think that Brother Xiao wanted to cut off people's tongues so cruelly to make a confession, or did he just like to do that?" Wei Qi asked in a low voice next to him.
"Hahaha, what, are you scared?" Duan Tianming laughed.
"It's not that I'm afraid, it just feels so cruel. However, looking at the nonchalant look of the people in Dongchang, it seems that they have become accustomed to this kind of situation. Has Dongchang always done this?"
"Who has time to do those bloody things? Doesn't he feel good eating meat and drinking wine?" Duan Tian understood Wei Qi.
"So, Brother Xiao did this just to solve the case?"
"Shopkeeper Li, the old fox's mouth, is not so easy to pry open. Brother Xiao is using both soft and hard tactics to scare the monkeys. If you don't get the news after this, you have to find another way." Duan Tianming shook his head and sped up.
Movements in hands.
"Oh, it turns out it was just to handle the case. It seems that I thought too simply." Wei Qi raised his right hand and patted his chest.
After whittling two wooden wedges, Duan Tianming rushed into the kitchen in the outer courtyard, searched here and there, and finally found a thin iron rod that should be used to poke the stove.
He made a strong bend with his hand and walked towards the inner courtyard.
"I asked you to find a wooden wedge. Have you planted trees?" Xiao Chen said dissatisfiedly when Duan Tianming came back, "I almost fell asleep."
"The yard is very clean and it's hard to find wooden wedges. I cut down a peach tree and made two wedges." As he said that, Duan Tianming stretched out the iron hook in front of Xiao Chen.
He said very proudly, "What do you think of this thing?"
"What the hell is this thing for?" Xiao Chen stared at the black iron hook and asked in confusion.
"Wooden wedges are stuffed on both sides of the mouth. The iron hook goes in from the middle, stirs it casually, and pulls it out again, and the person's tongue comes out. How about it, with such a big sun, I'm afraid you will have to work hard, so you have to think carefully.
No?"
Looking at Xiao Chen, Duan Tianming winked.
Hearing what Duan Tianming said, Xiao Chen's eyes suddenly shot out two rays of light, and he suddenly collapsed from his chair.
"Good brother, you are still thoughtful." He grabbed the iron hook from Duan Tianming's hand, made a few gestures in the air, and walked towards the man tied to the stool with excitement on his face, about to take action.
"Hey, hey, hey. We haven't even replaced the wooden wedge yet. How are you going to hook it? Why don't you let me hook the tongue and you're responsible for cutting it?" Duan Tianming shouted hurriedly.
"Don't fight with me, I'll cut this one, you cut another one." Xiao Chen pushed Duan Tianming away.
Shopkeeper Li on the side could not help but tremble in his calves.
