Jinyi Town Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 109 White Wolf Skin

He Liu is a dignified imperial envoy, so he wouldn't jump into the cesspit to find money himself.

As the saying goes, there must be a brave man under a great reward.He offered a reward of 100 taels per person, found a few soldiers under Governor Wang, and jumped into the cesspit.

These soldiers had a big shovel in their hands.After spending two hours, all the filth in the cesspit was pulled out.

Under the cesspit, there are three large wooden planks!

Take away the three wooden boards, and there are four large wooden boxes lined up below.The outside of the wooden box is wrapped with oiled paper layer by layer.

Old Hu covered his mouth and nose, and said disgustedly: "That Li Zongbing is quite good at hiding things. The wooden box is hidden under the cesspit, how could the Tatars think of it?"

Several soldiers took a lot of effort to lift the wooden box up and tore off the oiled paper.

He Liu gave each of them a silver ticket of 100 taels, and ordered: "The bathhouse in the city must have been closed long ago. I will take the decision of Governor Wang and give you a day off to find a river outside the city and take a good bath. .”

The soldiers got the silver, regardless of their filth, all of them were beaming with joy.

The Ming Dynasty rewarded military meritorious service with a silver system. Cutting off a Tatar's head can be exchanged for 15 taels of silver. 100 taels of silver means that each of them picked up six or seven heads for nothing.

He Liu walked around the box a few times, and had someone pour a bucket of water on the wooden box several times.Then he suppressed his nausea and stepped forward to open the box.

There are no silver taels in the box, no jade antiques, but pieces of leather goods.

Old Hu was a little strange: "This President Li has spent so much effort just to hide a few furs?"

He Liu said with a smile: "Old Hu, you are so arrogant! How many furs? Let me tell you, is this a prairie wolf skin or a white wolf skin! Do you know how much a piece of white wolf skin can be sold for in the capital? "

Old Hu said: "It's just animal skins, how much can you sell them for?"

He Liu picked up a white wolf skin and threw it to Lao Hu: "Didn't my Mrs. Xuxian recognize the wife of the former military governor Zhao Dudu as a godmother? She bought a white wolf skin in Ruifuxiang." , filial piety to the godmother, spent a total of 500 taels of silver!"

Old Hu was surprised and said: "I still have a dog fur vest at home! It only cost three or four taels of silver! Is this white wolf fur so valuable?"

He Liu sighed: "Old Hu, poverty really limits your imagination! The relatives of Shixun in the capital spend a lot of money on clothing and food. Among the wolf skins, the white wolf skin is the most precious. It is said that the wolf pack of wolves The white fur can only be born when the king is old. Out of hundreds of prairie wolves, only one or two have white fur! White wolf fur is the best among fur goods. Rare things are more expensive, so the price is naturally high !"

Lao Hu opened the other three wooden boxes, all filled with white wolf skins.After a brief count, there are about a hundred of them.

He Liudao: "If these one hundred wolf skins are sold in Beijing, they can be sold for 15 taels of silver!"

Old Hu suddenly thought of something: "You said just now that the white wolf skin is only found on the prairie wolf? So, these wolf skins come from the grassland—from the hands of the Tatars?"

Governor Wang Tingshu answered from the side: "Since the 29th year of Jiajing, the imperial court has ordered the opening of the border horse market. It is not uncommon for horses, cattle, sheep, large livestock, and leather goods on the grassland to flow into Datong."

He Liudao: "Heh, President Li hides so many white wolf skins, presumably it's for his own use. There are more than 100 pieces, and he can't pass them around in two lifetimes. It should be transported to the capital or Jiangnan for sale."

Old Hu said: "Li Hu is in our hands now. Isn't it clear after the first trial?"

Li Hu has been imprisoned in the palace of the imperial envoy.

He Liu, Lao Hu, and Governor Wang came to the imperial envoy Xingyuan to interrogate Li Hu.

Li Hu was still wrapped in white cloth like a rice dumpling.He went up to the lobby, and said: "The crime will hurt you, so I can't salute the imperial envoy!"

He Liu said politely: "General Li suffered eight stab wounds, so there is no need to be polite. Let me ask you, there are more than 100 white wolf skins hidden in the latrine of your military mansion. Where did you get them?"

Li Hu was taken aback: "I'm on a mission. Those white wolf skins are what I got from hunting."

Li Hu's words can confuse others, but they can't confuse He Liu who has a lot of research on fur goods. More than 100 white wolf skins, could it be said that Li Hu has killed more than 100 prairie wolf kings?
He Liu said calmly: "Oh, so that's the case. But your method of hiding these wolf skins is too dirty. By the way, Li Zongbing suffered eight stab wounds, although you have already been convicted , but I admire your courage on the battlefield. I brought a medical officer from Jinyiwei. Let him treat your wounds."

Li Hu hastily declined and said, "Don't worry about your work."

However, He Liu forced a medical officer surnamed Song to take Li Hu into the back hall to check his injuries.

After the inspection was over, Doctor Song went to the lobby.He has been a medical officer in Jinyiwei for 15 years, and has seen countless knife wounds, sword wounds, and gunshot wounds.

He Liu asked Doctor Song, "Is Zongbing Li's eight stab wounds okay?"

Medical officer Song replied: "It's not a problem. It's just a flesh injury. But it's very strange."

He Liu hurriedly asked: "Where is the strangeness?"

Doctor Song replied: "The wound left by the scimitar in the grassland is definitely not the wound on Li Hu's body. The wound on his body is not caused by the scimitar in the grassland, but more like the straight waist knife in our Ming army."

He Liu and Lao Hu looked at each other and smiled.

Before the two came, they guessed that the so-called "eight stab wounds" were Li Hu's tricks because he was afraid that he would lose Datong and be unable to do business.

The grassland scimitars of the Tatars are extremely sharp, and they claim to be able to break gold and jade.How could it be possible to survive eight stab wounds?Could it be that the Tatars who killed Li Hu were all unweaned children?

He Liudao: "Medical Officer Song has worked hard. Go down and rest."

At night, He Liu and Lao Hu had dinner in the dining room.On the dinner table are the sauced chicken and bacon and old wine prepared by Bai Xiaoyan for He Liu.

Old Hu said while eating: "Oh, my nephew and daughter-in-law are careful! All the food has been prepared for us! Closer to home, I said the sixth child. I think this case should be very clear. Those wolf skins are from Tatars. They bribed Li Hu. Don’t look at these leather goods, but they are worth thousands of gold and are easy to carry. They are the most convenient way to bribe Li Hu! Li Hu was bribed by the Tatars and deliberately released out of water..."

He Liu took a sip of his wine and replied, "I don't think the truth is so simple. Sometimes, the truth that is easier to get - the more illusion! Think about it, Datong's 7 horses are only worth 10,000+ taels White wolf skins of silver? If Datong’s defeat was really due to internal influence, and I am that internal influence, I will demand several million taels of silver from me!”

Old Hu said: "Maybe it was the Tatars who turned their backs on their promises and gave Li Hu property worth several million taels of silver. After breaking through the city, they felt that he was useless, so they robbed him of his property?"

He Liu nodded: "There is such a possibility. By the way, in Li Hu's memorial to the court, it is said how did Governor Zhao of Zhao Jian die for the country?"

Old Hu thought for a while and replied: "The memorial said that Zhao Jianzhi burned himself to death after the city was destroyed."

(End of this chapter)