Cao Shunhe's order was quickly passed down level by level. The guards around Nanchang Mansion and even the government officials were all mobilized and began to follow the place where the gangsters were found earlier. search.
Not only that, there are also many checkpoints along the way. As long as someone appears suspicious, they will be taken down without any explanation.
This movement naturally aroused the curiosity of the people in the city. In a restaurant in the city, everyone began to discuss this matter.
"What happened? Why did the government dispatch so many officers and soldiers?"
"Shh, keep your voice down. I have a relative who works for the government. It is said that the government found traces of the group of people who were responsible for escorting the official salt near a river!"
"Ah, this is a good thing. This group of heartless people colluded with the salt merchants and deliberately capsized the ship carrying official salt, transporting all the thousands of kilograms of official salt on the ship to the warehouses of those salt merchants. , sold as private salt!”
"Yes, we people have suffered a lot. During that time, when the price of salt was at its highest, it rose to twenty cents!"
"But fortunately, the imperial court sent a large army to arrest all these unscrupulous salt merchants. I also heard that tens of millions of taels of silver were confiscated from the homes of these salt merchants!"
"Hiss, this much money can't be spent even in ten lifetimes!"
Soon, some sharp-eyed people in the restaurant saw the people gathered at the bulletin board in the distance, as well as the officials who were posting notices.
"Hey, look, people from the government seem to be posting notices on the bulletin board, let's go take a look!"
Immediately afterwards, under the coaxing of thoughtful people, people in the restaurant quickly paid their bills and rushed to the notice board.
At this moment, countless people had gathered near the bulletin board to watch the fun.
After the official posted the notice, he immediately faced the many people present and said loudly.
"Not long ago, the government discovered the traces of the group of people who were responsible for escorting the official salt, and now they have posted a reward notice!"
"Those who can discover the traces of the criminal and turn him over to the government will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver. Those who can provide useful clues will be rewarded with a silver reward ranging from five to ten taels after the criminal is apprehended and brought to justice, depending on his contribution!"
"Ah, what, one hundred taels of silver, the government actually offered such a high reward!"
The officer's words undoubtedly ignited the enthusiasm of the people present.
The reward of one hundred taels of silver offered by the government is undoubtedly a huge sum of money for many people present!
With this one hundred taels of silver, you no longer have to worry about making a living.
This money can definitely buy a pretty good house in the city. Even if it doesn't work out, I can go to Chunxiang Tower in the city to enjoy myself. It will be a life worth living!
Another part of the crowd was eyeing the silver reward for providing clues to the government.
They believed that since the government had offered a reward of one hundred taels of silver, these bandits must be quite troublesome, so they might as well settle for the next best thing. Five taels of silver was considered a generous reward.
In this way, this matter spread from ten to ten, and most of the people in the city learned about it.
Among them, there are also people who want to make a comeback through this matter. Therefore, many people have spontaneously participated in it. After all, if they get lucky, they will really turn around!
…
At this moment, Zhang Er and his companions from the Yamen were searching carefully near the area where the bandits were previously found.
The companion on the side, perhaps feeling bored, immediately stopped, turned around, and complained to Zhang Er.
"Oh, Zhang Er, tell me, why are our lives so miserable!"
"If the adults above just talk, we servants will suffer endless hardships."
"I just don't understand why you have to come to this place where birds don't poop to search for some robbers. I've been looking for it for almost a day, not to mention anyone, and I haven't even seen a bird feather!"
After his companion finished complaining, Zhang Er sighed helplessly and followed suit.
"Yes, those adults don't care about the life and death of us servants. They are Wenquxing and are born to be superior to us. There is nothing we can do about it."
"Oh, let's think on the bright side. If the two of us get lucky and catch those bandits, we can get three hundred taels of silver!"
"Three hundred taels of silver is enough for you to buy a big house in the city, and then order all the girls in Chunxiang Tower!"
When Zhang Er said this, his face was full of longing.
While the two were chatting, a rustling sound suddenly came from the grass not far ahead.
When the two saw this, they immediately heightened their vigilance. They immediately pulled out the long knives at their waists and approached the grass step by step.
When the two of them arrived near the grass with caution, they discovered that it was just a hare.
"What? It turns out it's just a wild rabbit!"
Just as the two of them relaxed their vigilance, a figure suddenly appeared from the grass not far away. Before the two of them had time to react, the figure disappeared.
After a moment, Zhang Er was the first to react and shouted: "Come quickly, the bandits are over here!"
The surrounding guardsmen and officers who were responsible for searching for the bandits also perked up after hearing Zhang Er's shouts, and quickly approached where the two of them were.
After saying that, Zhang Er grabbed his companion and embarked on the pursuit in the direction of the man's escape.
Perhaps because he hadn't eaten for a long time, the figure's escape speed became slower and slower, so he was soon caught up by Zhang Er and his companions.
Seeing that he was about to be overtaken by an official, the figure became even more panicked. Without warning, he stepped on a small stone on the ground, lost his center of gravity, and fell hard to the ground.
When this figure still wanted to struggle to get up from the ground and continue to escape, he was subdued by Zhang Er and his companions who arrived later.
After beating the man severely and venting his resentment, Zhang Er spat on the ground and cursed.
"Damn it, let me run away again!"
When the companions on the side saw this, even their voices became trembling: "Zhang Er, now we have made a meritorious service!"
After that, the remaining robbers were all arrested and brought to justice.
…
In the government office, Cao Shunhe was in the room, pacing back and forth anxiously. Ever since he gave the order, he had been in a state of restlessness.
He desperately wanted to catch the bandits and learn from them the whereabouts of the group of people who were responsible for escorting the official salt. This matter was about to become Cao Shunhe's heartache!
At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps from outside the door, and a guard pushed in and respectfully reported.
"Your Majesty, the robbers have been caught!"
When Cao Shunhe heard this, he immediately came back to his senses, his face full of excitement, and he immediately looked at the guard in front of him and asked.
"In that case, where are the bandits?"
Seeing how eager Cao Shunhe was about this matter, the guard immediately responded without thinking.
"Your Majesty the Governor, those bandits are currently being escorted back to the government. Do you want to see if you need..."
After Cao Shunhe heard this, he immediately ordered categorically: "After escorting those bandits to the government, they will be tortured directly. I want to know from their mouths that the baggage containing the certificate of escorting the salt came from. Where did it come from?”
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
(End of chapter)
