The first thousand one hundred and sixty-six chapters finally achieved a breakthrough
Zhou Min immediately divided his investigation into two groups. One was led by the judge Sun Lianjie and went to the Jewish temple to investigate. The other was led by him personally to find Kang Hongxin's brother.
Early the next morning, Zhou Min was led by Shi Huan to the Dongshi Jewelry Store. There are two jewelry markets in Chang'an. One is the traditional jewelry market, located in the East City, and the other is Xi'er Street on Xi'anmenwai Street.
Road, where dozens of jewelry and jade shops are concentrated.
But there are still differences between the two. The jewelry stores in Dongshi are mainly run by Hu people and mainly sell rough gemstones, while the jewelry stores in Xi'an Menwai Street sell all kinds of jewelry and jade and are mainly run by Han people.
There are more than thirty stores in Dongshi Jewelry. Their gemstones are sold all over the world and are purchased by major jewelry stores. The jewelry stores then make exquisite jewelry and sell them to customers.
"These thirty jewelry shops are all run by Hu people and come from many sources. They are not only Sogdians, but Sogdians account for most of them!"
Shi Huan took Zhou Min to the jewelry store street and said to Zhou Min: "I thought about it carefully yesterday. The person you are looking for should be Kang Deyao. The other two people, one of whom is too old, almost seventy years old, do not meet the requirements.
Although the other person has settled in Chang'an for thirty years, he has actually lived in Zhangye for a long time, and his mother is from Anguo, so he is probably not what you are looking for. Only Kang Deyao is the most suitable."
"You are talking about the owner of Deyao Jewelry Shop, right?" Zhou Min said with a smile.
"It's him. His shop is very famous in Chang'an."
Shi Huan pointed to a shop in front and smiled: "That's it!"
Deyao Jewelry Shop is indeed very famous in Chang'an. Almost everyone knows that it is the largest Hu jewelry shop in Chang'an. It covers an area of about five acres. It is a very large store even in Dongshi City.
Zhou Min's heart moved. With the Tangzhou Chamber of Commerce occupying a wide range of shops, how could the Tangzhou Chamber of Commerce let such a profitable jewelry store go?
Either Kang Hongxin concealed his relationship with Kang Deyao, or Deyao Jewelry Shop is also a member of the Tangzhou Chamber of Commerce.
Thinking of this, he beckoned one of his men up, whispered a few instructions, and the men hurried away immediately.
Zhou Min followed Shi Huan into the jewelry store. The shopkeeper came up to him with a smile and saluted, "Why is the master here?"
Shi Huan also bowed back according to the Sogdian etiquette and asked: "Where is the proprietor?"
"The proprietor is here, please come with me!"
The big shopkeeper led the two people to the backyard. They saw a thin Sogdian man walking in the yard with his hands behind his hands. He was about fifty years old, with a big nose and a pair of blue eyes. This man was the owner of the shop.
Lord Kan Deyao.
"Proprietor, Master Shi is here!"
Kang Deyao was startled, then came up to him with a smile and hugged Shi Huan, "Why did you want to come here today?"
Shi Huan pointed at Zhou Min and said, "This is General Zhou of the Internal Guard. He wants to see you for something!"
Kang Deyao was suddenly enlightened and hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "I have heard about General Zhou for a long time, but this is the first time I saw him today."
Zhou Min smiled slightly and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Kang, today."
"Please come into the room and sit down!"
The three of them walked into the room and sat down. They walked onto the carpeted wooden couch and sat down around a small table. The maid served them traditional cakes and scones.
Zhou Min got straight to the point and asked, "Does the proprietor know Kang Hongxin? Or maybe Kang Yishaq."
Kang Deyao's face changed slightly, and after a while he said calmly: "Of course I know him, he is my brother, but I haven't seen him in three years."
"How much does the proprietor know about his situation?" Zhou Min asked again.
"He has been doing sheepskin business in Taiyuan, but his whereabouts are very mysterious. I asked him if he was doing prohibited business, and he said no. He told me not to ask more questions, otherwise he would get into trouble and let General Zhou down. I said to him
I don’t know anything about it.”
There is no loophole in Kang Deyao's words. As an elder brother, if you want to protect your brother, you must cut off all contact and not let him know the inside story.
Zhou Min suppressed the disappointment in his heart and asked with a smile: "Your brother is not in Taiyuan. He has been in Chang'an in recent years and lives in Xinfeng County. You two have no contact at all?"
Kang Deyao still shook his head, "If he wants to see me, he will come over naturally, but I won't go looking for him."
"What if your brother is dead?" Zhou Min said quietly.
Kang Deyao's face changed drastically...
Zhou Min said goodbye and left, but the matter did not end there. Based on his own experience, Zhou Min concluded that there was something wrong with Kang Deyao. At least he did not tell the truth to himself. Zhou Min tried his best to remain patient and wait for the opportunity to appear.
Not long after Zhou Min and Shi Huan left, Kang Deyao hurriedly went out. He got on a large carriage and drove slowly out of the city. But Kang Deyao didn't know that an 'old man' riding a donkey
, has been following his carriage from a distance.
Not long after leaving Chunming Gate, Kang Deyao's carriage drove into a field road. At the end of the road was a village. The "old man" riding a donkey entered the woods. After a moment, he turned into a young young man. He was honest and honest.
A nearby farmer.
The young man also rode a donkey on the path until he came to the village. He quickly found Kang Deyao's carriage and parked it in front of a large house at the east end of the village. This large house has a high door and a single family. It is found in many villages. It is usually a retreat.
The old house of a high-ranking official, but this big house occupies a small area, only about three acres. In the countryside, this is a small house.
At this time, another group of tracking personnel appeared in the woods to the east. They used another method to track, and cooperated with the "old man" riding the donkey overtly and covertly to keep an eye on Kang Deyao's carriage.
Kang Deyao stayed in the mansion for less than half an hour before leaving. He returned to Dongshi via the original route.
An hour later, Zhou Min led three hundred internal guard soldiers to the village. The soldiers hid in the woods a hundred steps away. Zhou Min led a dozen soldiers to knock on the door of the house.
"Who are you looking for?" An old man who looked like a housekeeper looked at them warily.
"I'm looking for your master!"
Zhou Min said calmly: "We are internal guards, here to understand some situations."
The old man's expression changed, and he was about to close the door, but a soldier held the door open. Another soldier pushed the old man aside, and Zhou Min walked in.
"What are you going to do? If you mess around again, I'm going to report you to the official!" the old man shouted angrily.
The soldiers ignored him and rushed directly into the house. After a while, they brought a young man from the house. It looked like he was of Hu origin and he was about fourteen or fifteen years old. The young man was trembling with fear and begged:
"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me."
"As long as you answer the questions honestly, I promise not to kill you!"
Zhou Min forced a smile on his face and asked, "Who are you, Kang Deyao, who came to see you this morning?"
"He is...my second grandfather!"
Zhou Min's heart moved and he asked again: "Then what is your grandfather's name?"
"My grandfather's name is...Kang Hongxin!"
Sure enough, he was Kang Hongxin's grandson. Zhou Min felt as if the clouds were clearing, and he asked again: "What about your father?"
The young man said sadly: "My father passed away a long time ago."
"Don't worry, we won't kill innocent people. Just come with us! It's not safe here. I will send you home in two days."
Regardless of whether the boy wanted it or not, the soldiers took the boy and the old man who took care of him away. Zhou Min ordered a thorough search, but no useful clues were found.
At this time, news also came from the Jewish temple, and no clues were found related to Kang Hongxin.
But these are no longer important. With this young man, Zhou Min believes that they will be able to open up the situation.
Early the next morning, Kang Deyao hurried to the Internal Guard Office in Qinrenfang. He was really uneasy. He felt that the danger to the family was quietly coming.
The soldiers led him to the lobby. Zhou Min put his hands behind his hands and said with a smile, "Dr. Kang, we meet again."
Kang Deyao sighed, "Where is the child?"
"He will stay in the government office. If we have a good negotiation, you can take him away directly later."
Kang Deyao looked to both sides, Zhou Min then winked, and several soldiers retreated.
"Dongzhu Kang, sit down and talk!"
Kang Deyao sat down at the table and asked after a while: "Is my brother really dead?"
"Answer my question first, what organization did your brother join?"
Kang Deyao said slowly: "My brother has persuaded me to join before and introduced me to this organization. It's called Wei Tang Hui, which means defending the Tang Dynasty. Its members are all relatives and dignitaries of the Tang Dynasty. There are about twenty people.
, I heard from my brother that the leader’s surname is Yuan, and he is an important figure in the Yuan family of Guanlong nobles.”
"Do you know who these twenty-some members are?"
Kang Deyao shook his head, "I don't know!"
"Your brother..."
Zhou Min asked: "Isn't he one of the more than twenty members?"
Kang Deyao smiled bitterly, "My brother is just one of the thirteen chief stewards under the guild leader. He is just a servant who works for them."
"Your brother is a Khazar, so will the Khazar be one of the members?"
"It's possible that my brother went to the Khazar country a few years ago. He has several half-brothers in the Khazar country. It seems that one of them is a high-ranking official in the Khazar country. I don't know about the eastward expansion of the Khazar country and the defense of the country.
I have speculated whether Tang Hui will be involved, but I don’t have an answer.”
"What happened to his grandson?" Zhou Min asked again.
"My brother has two sons. The second son died in Tocharo after being attacked by horse bandits. He was not married when he died. The eldest son died of illness the year before last, leaving only a single seedling. A few months ago, my brother gave this child to me.
, he said he was in trouble and asked me to hide the child, and then there was no news from him. I was really worried about him."
Zhou Min calculated in his mind that it was probably when the West Market Tea Shop was raided that Kang Hongxin made a big mistake. He was worried that the superiors would not let him go, so he hid his only grandson.
"Does Wei Tang not know about the relationship between your brothers?"
Kang Deyao shook his head, "We have hardly met in these years. I know he is in Chang'an, but he refuses to come to see me. He is just afraid that Wei Tang will know that I am his brother. The only time we met in the past three years was to hand over his grandson.
Give me."
After asking all the questions that should be asked, Zhou Min asked people to bring the child and give it to Kang Deyao, "Chang'an is indeed not safe. Send him away! Come back after the Wei Tang Society is destroyed."
Kang Deyao said gratefully: "Thank you, General Zhou. If you have any questions, you can come to Dongshi directly to see me!"