Tibet

Time passed quickly, and it was November. The weather was getting colder and colder. It rained continuously for five or six days in Longyou. The ground became very muddy, the rain continued, and the air became damp and cold, which made people very uncomfortable. .

A carriage was parked next to the pavilion outside the south city. It was an ordinary carriage for soliciting passengers. There were many horses in Jincheng, and they were basically retired war horses, which were sold to ordinary people very cheaply for traveling or pulling carriages.

Therefore, the passenger carriages in Jincheng County are basically horse-drawn carriages, and some are even double carriages. The cart next to the pavilion is a double carriage. The driver's surname is Liu, and his name is Liu Tong. He is about forty years old and has been working as a twenty-year-old man. I have been a coachman for 20 years. I started working for myself five years ago. I have a carriage of my own and all the income from carrying passengers is my own.

Yesterday Liu Tong picked up a guest here at the pavilion and earned more than 300 coins. This actually gave Liu Tong the idea of ​​waiting for the opportunity. Today he drove the carriage to the pavilion again, dreaming of meeting another generous guest. .

But after waiting for nearly an hour, the official road was empty, not even a ghost was seen.

"Sigh! Idiot."

Liu Tong finally understood his stupidity and wanted to slap himself. He picked up the riding whip and lazily prepared to leave.

"The big car is waiting!"

Liu Tong suddenly heard someone shouting. He waved his hand and saw three tall men running towards him, all carrying large and small bags in their hands.

"Ha! Sure enough, we have a guest."

Judging immediately that the other party was not a thief, Liu Tong was immediately elated. As long as a guest got into the car and entered the city, he would be given at least one hundred pence.

"Do the three guests want to take a carriage?"

Three men ran up and asked, "We are going into the city!"

"Get in the car!"

The three men carried their bags and got on the carriage. The leading man said: "Go to Nan'an Inn!"

Liu Tong was stunned for a moment. By coincidence, the two guests also went to Nan'an Inn yesterday. He took a look at the three of them. Like the two yesterday, these three were also wearing warrior uniforms. Although the colors were different, the styles were exactly the same. Could it be that They are together.

The leading man thought he didn’t know where the inn was? He said, "Nan'an Inn is next to the West City Gate. Brother Che should know it!"

Liu Tong nodded and smiled: "I know, I just want to talk to you about the fare. It costs two hundred coins to go to Nan'an Inn."

"No problem, you'll have to pay for the car!"

"Then sit down!"

Liu Tong waved his long whip, and the carriage started slowly and ran towards the city.

The carriage is actually relatively simple. It is a large round shed with cloth curtains on both ends. The driver sits on one side of the carriage, and the other end is convenient for guests to get in and out. Because of the cold weather, the cloth curtain was replaced by a thick leather curtain, with a red cloth tied on it. It means that the carriage is full, and everyone in the city understands.

The three people in the carriage were whispering, and their voices were very low. Liu Tong couldn't hear clearly, but he occasionally heard one or two words, 'Inner Guard. King of Qi'

Liu Tong gradually became suspicious. Li Chenghua, the commander of the internal defense, was powerful! She mobilized the innkeepers, restaurant keepers, bartenders, carriage drivers and other service staff in Jincheng County. Whenever they heard that someone was trying to harm King Qi, she asked them to report to the inner guards immediately. They would be rewarded with a hundred coins. If verified, there would be A generous reward from ten to a hundred crowns.

Not long after, they arrived at the Nan'an Inn. Three men got off the carriage and rewarded Liu Tong with five hundred coins. Liu Tong was overjoyed and thanked him profusely.

Thank you very much, Liu Tong did not hesitate to drive the carriage to the Neiwei Yamen. As long as he did not make it up, he would be rewarded with a hundred coins.

Not long after, Liu Tong came out happily with a hundred coins in his hand, and drove his carriage to cut meat and sell wine. He made six hundred coins today, so he rewarded himself.

But he forgot that if the report was true, he could still make a lot of money, at least a hundred dollars. He would not make so much in a year.

In the official room, Li Chenghua is writing a report. The internal guards are not only spies to detect the enemy's lurking, but they will also take over cases that are difficult to solve by the county government and the state government.

More importantly, the internal guards must learn to control the capital. Jincheng County has a population of 300,000. Although it is far less than the million people of Chang'an and Luoyang in their heyday, it is still a large city with a large population.

Coupled with the low tax policy of Helong Jiedu Prefecture here, merchants from all over the country are willing to come here to do business, especially Sogdian merchants from the river, who are willing to settle goods here and enjoy the low tax rate here and the commercial tax rate of Chang'an. It is three times that of Jincheng, and the profit is no different from that of Jincheng. Of course, merchants are willing to deliver goods here.

The development of commerce has led to many opportunities to make money, and has also led to a mixed bag of fish and dragons in Jincheng County, with all kinds of people hanging out here.

Li Chenghua himself estimated that the registered population of Jincheng County was 300,000, but the actual population was far more than 500,000, around 600,000 to 700,000.

The inner guard is to control everything in the city, the underworld, the white way, the three religions, nine streams, etc. These people are all under the control of the inner guard. Although they do not interfere with them, if a major case occurs in the city, the inner guard can quickly find the perpetrator. , this is called control.

At this time, Wu Chunlin, secretary of the Imperial Guard, walked into the official room and placed a stack of documents on the table, "Qi Dutong, everything is sorted!"

"Put it all here!"

Li Chenghua stopped writing and asked, "Has anyone provided any clues recently?"

"It doesn't seem like that. No, a groom came to report just now, saying that he picked up two groups of guests from outside Nancheng, one yesterday and one today, all going to Nan'an Inn. He heard the conversation of today's guests and mentioned Baiyunguan and Qi king."

Li Chenghua’s heart went ‘bang! ’ The ground jumped. She had been thinking about Baiyun Temple in the past two days. If anyone from Bashu came again, it would be during this period.

"Give me the report record!"

Wu Chunlin said it very simply, but the report records will be very detailed.

Wu Chunlin immediately ran back and handed a copy of the crime report record to Li Chenghua.

Wu Chunlin didn't dare to disturb him and slowly retreated. Although this Dutong was so beautiful that men were tempted by him, behind his beauty was ruthlessness. Two months ago, Wu Chunlin saw with his own eyes the female Dutong who had killed him. Wu Chunlin was unable to recover from the horrific scene of five Hexi horse bandits.

Li Chenghua read the report carefully. She thought for a moment and then told the tea boy: "Go and find Xie Dutong!"

The little tea boy ran away in a hurry.

After a moment, Deputy Commander Xie Sen walked into the official room quickly. He had sent the Feng family to Longyou half a month ago.

"See Dutong!"

Li Chenghua handed the report record to Xie Sen, "This is the report record of a coachman just now. There are five suspicious people in Nan'an Inn. I suspect they are coming to Baiyun Temple. You send a few experts to monitor them and I will notify them. Aunt Gongsun, report to His Highness again!"

"The humble position will be arranged immediately!" Xie Sen bowed and left.

Li Chenghua then hurried to Baiyu Temple.