Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Xu Gou was stunned: "Master, where are we going?"

Shen Lian raised his lips slightly, and said meaningfully, "Beichen has always been the one setting the trap, so I'll set one this time too. Beichen has also sent people to hunt down Li Wencheng, so I, Shen... will catch both of them in one fell swoop."

"Digging traps, scheming, just by chance... I am also good at it."

Shen Lian changed into casual clothes and left the Dali Temple directly with Xu Gou.

Xu Gou asked curiously: "Master, you haven't told me yet, are we going?"

Shen Lian raised his lips slightly and said, "Of course I'll go find Li Wencheng."

Xu Gou was startled. He suddenly widened his eyes and said, "Master...Master, do you know where Li Wencheng is?"

Shen Lian smiled lightly: "Actually, it's not difficult to determine where he is."

As Shen Lian walked, he explained to Xu Gou: "Xu Gou, think about it, I have blocked all four city gates, and set up checkpoints along the road out of Chang'an. Anyone with an unknown identity or a suspect will be arrested."

"Even if Li Wencheng can disguise himself, what about his identity? As ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty, we all have our own identity cards. If we want to go to other places, we must have documents issued by the local government."

"But Li Wencheng fled in a panic. He definitely didn't have these preparations. At least... he couldn't gather all these things in a short period of time."

"So, he must still be in Chang'an City now."

Xu Gou thought about it, then nodded.

The system in ancient times was different from that in later times.

People in ancient times could not go wherever they wanted. They had to have documents issued by local authorities and documents proving their identity.

Otherwise, when you arrive at some checkpoints, you may be arrested directly because of your unknown identity.

Li Wencheng suddenly disappeared this morning. It was obvious that he left in a hurry, so he definitely would not have prepared these things.

"But Chang'an City is so big, how do we know where Li Wencheng is hiding?" Xu Gou continued to ask.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Just continue reasoning."

"Li Wencheng's identity is not ordinary. Many people know him. Moreover, he is an official in the court. The court has his portrait. Therefore, if the court wants to arrest him, the portrait will be quickly rolled out."

"So at that time, his situation would be extremely difficult, so he would not go to places like inns and restaurants."

"At the same time, not only do we want to capture him, but the Tiandi Pavilion also wants to kill him. I guess he has anticipated this, so he only has two options."

Xu Gou subconsciously looked at Shen Lian: "Master, which two?"

"First."

Shen Lian said: "A remote mansion with few people. Maybe he bought it secretly to prevent such a thing from happening. Or he bought it by relying on his power and using others."

"second……"

Shen Lian looked at the Dog and said, "It's dark under the lamp, or it's easy to be overlooked, but you can get a lot of information from it..."

"That's the beggar's den!"

"Beggar's den?"

The dog was startled.

"Master, do you mean that he might become a beggar?"

"What? You don't believe that the dignified Minister of Guanglu Temple would become a beggar?" Shen Lian said with a smile.

Xu Gou was a little shocked and said, "It's not that I don't believe it, but... I never thought that he would become a beggar."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Look, that's it. Even you didn't think of it, which proves that this choice is very suitable. Besides, as a beggar, you can move around freely, secretly observe the changes in the situation, and ask other beggars for some information. Whether it's us or others, who would go to take a close look at what a black-faced beggar looks like?"

"No, everything is perfect under all circumstances."

Xu Gou thinks about it carefully.

Then he couldn't help but sigh and nodded.

Really, when you think about it this way, being a beggar is indeed perfect.

At least in the short term, no one will check on beggars.

After all, there are a lot of beggars in Chang'an City, and they are extremely scattered, and they are all unkempt, so it is not easy to check them.

Xu Gou asked: "So, will Li Wencheng go to the mansion? Or will he become a beggar?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Guess what."

Xu Gou frowned and thought for a while, then looked at Qin Wenyuan and said, "Master, I think the probability of becoming a beggar is higher."

"Why?"

"Master, think about it. If it is a mansion, he either bought it himself or asked someone else to buy it. No matter who bought it, it must be related to him. We just need to investigate his social circle, investigate the houses under those people, and start from the pawnbrokers. Even if there are many houses... we will be able to find them sooner or later."

"Go look for him room by room. As long as he's hiding there, we'll eventually find him!"

"And now, he knows we are looking for him, and he can also infer that Beidou will kill him, so he will definitely not sit and wait for death, and he will definitely not hide in a place where we can find him as long as we make an effort."

"So..." Xu Gou looked at Shen Lian cautiously and said, "I don't think he will choose the mansion."

Shen Lian looked at the cautious and eager look of Xu Gou and couldn't help but smile. He said, "What are you afraid of? It doesn't matter whether the inference is right or wrong. The main thing is that it can withstand scrutiny. If you don't even have confidence in yourself and can't even convince yourself, how can you convince others?"

Hearing this, Xu Gou straightened his back and said, "Master, I believe in my own judgment!"

Only then did Shen Lian nodded with satisfaction.

"Your inference is correct. These reasons are all valid. But at the same time, you have overlooked an equally important reason."

"What?" Xu Gou asked hurriedly.

Shen Lian said: "You have to know that Chang'an City is the most dangerous place for Li Wencheng. If you don't pay attention, you may die without a burial place."

"So, hiding... this is not his purpose at all. His only choice is to escape from Chang'an City!"

"As for leaving Chang'an City, it is absolutely impossible for him to do it by himself, so he must obtain enough intelligence and contact some forces that can help him!"

"And if he hides in the mansion, he will really become a coward, waiting to be found by us or the assassins from the Beidou Society! So... it's not that he doesn't want to hide comfortably in the mansion, but he has no choice!"

"If he wants to survive or escape, he must choose between these two paths!"

The Dog was completely convinced.

He felt that he had thought it through carefully enough.

But after hearing the analysis of his young master Shen Lian, he realized that the reasons he had given before made sense, but they were not the most important reasons, nor the reasons that best supported his point of view.

The reason given by the young master is the real reason why Li Wencheng chose the second path.

He admired Shen Lian in his heart and was also trying hard to keep up with his pace.

He knew that his young master said these things to him on purpose to guide and train him.

Things are different now.

As a lord, you already have the right to initially build up your family assets.

Shen Lian revealed that he would let Xu Gou be in charge of intelligence in the future.

In the future, you will have to shoulder the burden of the entire intelligence agency. You don’t have to be very smart, but at least you must have a certain level of judgment.

"Then Master, there are at least several thousand beggars in Chang'an City, and they are spread all over the city. Where can we find him?"

The Dog has another question.

"Since Li Wencheng is disguised as a beggar, he must have concealed his appearance and must have been very careful. It won't be easy for us to find him!" "Who said it's not easy?"

Shen Lian laughed.

"what?"

"You, whether you were a shadow guard before or followed Uncle Hu or me later, you have never been exposed to the real grassroots, so there are many things you don't understand..."

Shen Lian said calmly: "Come with me. Before I got married, I was a real beggar. I know a lot about beggars. Now I can tell you clearly where Li Wencheng is."

The Dog is very confused.

How does our young master know where Li Wencheng is?

Yes!
He knew that his young master had been a beggar.

But that was not the job in Chang'an City, but somewhere else!

The beggars in Chang'an City, what does my young master know about them?

There are thousands of beggars in Chang'an City now. It's such a big place, where can we find them?

He didn't understand, but he still followed Shen Lian obediently.

Soon, the two arrived in front of a teahouse.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Xu Gou, are you thirsty? How about going upstairs to have a cup of tea?"

The dog shook his head: "Not thirsty."

"No, you are thirsty." Shen Lian said seriously: "Hurry up and tell me, you are thirsty."

Dog: "...I, I'm thirsty."

"now it's right."

Shen Lian took Xu Gou directly to the second floor, chose a seat by the window, and said, "Waiter, a pot of good tea and two dishes."

"Okay, sir, wait a moment!"

The waiter responded directly.

Not long after, the things were delivered.

Shen Lian picked up the teapot and poured two cups of tea. Then he picked up a cup of tea, smelled it, and said with a smile: "Although the tea here is not a very expensive variety, it still tastes good. Try it."

The Dog is still confused.

He couldn't help but say, "Master, we... aren't we going to look for Li Wencheng? Why are we here for tea?"

"I found it. Of course I have to reward myself." Shen Lian said with a smile.

"What!?"

The dog was stunned.

He was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously widened his eyes: "Found it? When did you find it?"

Why didn't he know?
At this moment, his mind was filled with three major questions in life.

who am I?
where am I?
what am i doing?
He was clearly inseparable from Shen Lian, so why didn't he know anything?
Could it be that I just lost my memory?

Seeing Xu Gou's confused look, Shen Lian took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Look outside the window, near the wall."

The Dog looked over in haste.

There was a beggar lying there, holding his stomach. There was some blood on his face and it looked like he had just been beaten.

"That is?"

"Li Wencheng." Shen Lian said lightly.

"What!?" Xu Gou was shocked: "He is Li Wencheng?"

"This……"

"What? You don't believe it?" Shen Lian said with a smile.

Xu Gou hurriedly shook his head: "It's not that I don't believe it, but Master, how do you know it's him? We can't see his face."

Shen Lian smiled and said calmly: "Every industry has its own rules."

"Even beggars have their own rules."

"Xu Gou, you have never had formal contact with beggars, so you don't understand them."

"In fact, every beggar has his own business scope, just like us doing business. For example, on the street we just came from, there were three beggars on that street. You would never see four beggars appearing there at the same time, because... that place is the territory of those three beggars."

"One more person means one more competition, and everyone might go hungry."

"And these beggars are all under the jurisdiction of the Beggars' Gang. The Beggars' Gang has allocated their territories. So although it seems that the beggars are in a mess, they are actually very well organized in their self-management."

This was the first time that Xu Gou heard such a statement.

"What does that have to do with Li Wencheng?" he asked.

Shen Lian said calmly: "Li Wencheng pretended to be a beggar today, but he doesn't know the rules, so he will definitely step into the territory of other beggars. Do you think those beggars are good people?"

"If you go to their territory to steal food, will they agree?"

"So it's normal to be beaten up! Then these beggars will bring Li Wencheng, the new and ignorant fellow beggar, to the Beggars' Sect, and let the Beggars' Sect teach him how to be a qualified beggar."

"Near here is the headquarters of the Chang'an Beggars' Sect. Only after the Beggars' Sect accepted Li Wencheng, did Li Wencheng have the right to beg for food in Chang'an. Otherwise, does he think being a beggar is easy?"

"And every new beggar who comes to the Beggars' Sect will be given a show of force in order to make them understand the rules. The result is what you see."

Shen Lian looked at Li Wencheng who was curled up under the wall calmly and said, "Be beaten up, and then thrown out nearby to see if anyone feels sorry for him and gives him a copper coin. If so, it means that Li Wencheng still has some qualifications to beg for food, and he will be given a place in the future. If not, then Li Wencheng will starve to death or be beaten to death."

The Dog was frightened when he heard this.

He couldn't help but say, "This... is so cruel?"

Is being a beggar so cruel?

He really doesn't know.

Shen Lian said calmly: "People living in this world are always so cruel. This is a cruel era."

"To live is to always go against the will of heaven. To always fight against people, against heaven, and against earth. If you can't win, you don't deserve to live."

In ancient times, living was really not easy.

The longer Shen Lian stayed, the deeper his understanding became.

And it was at this moment that he could increasingly feel how rare the peaceful, hopeful and tranquil life in the future was.

It’s a pity that too many people don’t appreciate the blessings they have.

"Okay, seeing that he is not dead, I feel relieved. Let's go."

Shen Lian suddenly stood up.

"Okay, seeing that he is not dead, I feel relieved. Let's go."

Shen Lian suddenly stood up.

(End of this chapter)