"There are Heliansheng letter offices in all the major wharfs and commercial ports inside and outside the capital. Just use this address to send letters. If there is something urgent, send someone to the old Jiang family pottery shop in Guang'anmen Wengcheng and use the code number ten that is."
Min Zhanlian's team spent a day in the inn carefully reading the information received from Wu Kaidi. Min Zhan Lian thought: "This matter is indeed difficult!"
In an escort agency like He Liansheng, whether they are Li and Liao in charge, or the escorts under them, all of them are veterans of the world, "worms on the ground" in the capital, and the escorts are well aware of activities such as kidnapping and ransom. . Coupled with the blessing of a lot of money in hand, it stands to reason that whether it is redemption or rescue, the matter should have been settled long ago. Now not only do I have no clue about the matter, but I have fallen into passivity.
It seems that the other party is not an ordinary gangster, maybe he is a man from the temple.
The biggest difference between Min Zhanlian and Li and Liao is that although he has been exposed to the glory of the Senate for a limited time, his experience in the world is much deeper than theirs.
"...The other party asked for 100,000 silver, but did not give a place for subsequent payment. It is really hard to figure out." Xiao Qian said, "Such an important person's meat ticket pays attention to fast in and fast out. How can it be delayed by half a moment?" Moon."
Everyone said that this situation was suspicious and that there must be a monster if something went wrong. Min Zhanlian had a vague feeling that there was something trick going on here.
Zhou Ruolan looked over the materials for a long time and suddenly said: "There is a problem here."
Everyone knows that there is a problem, and everyone will listen to what she says next.
"In my opinion, I'm afraid the robbers are not united."
"What?" Everyone was surprised. They are all veterans of the world, and there are many strange things about this matter from beginning to end, but he is the first to say such an attributive word.
"How can I see it?"
"I have done kidnapping for ransom in the past. What is the point of kidnapping? Fast in and fast out. The most important thing is not to waste time." Zhou Ruolan said, "The main thing is to raise money. If you have to wait, you have to hide the ticket. If someone is looking for You have to find a place to transfer the ticket. Whether it is hiding or transferring, it is all expenses. Now that the owner has money, and he has hung up the banner as required, he can pay at any time, so why won't the kidnapper refuse to hand over the ticket? "
"Maybe he's dead..." someone whispered.
Everyone gasped, it was indeed possible.
"We can't tell whether a person is dead or alive now," Zhou Ruolan continued, "but there are some strange things about what the robbers did. First, they clearly promised to redeem the person but did not submit the money address and time; second, Delong's notes were clearly To travel around the world, you need cash. How are they going to receive the one hundred thousand taels of silver? How are they going to transport it? How are they going to hide it? Aren't they afraid that we will follow the trail after we redeem the person and take back the silver? Even if we don't go, the one hundred thousand taels of silver will still be lost. The fragrance of wealth is coveted by everyone on the road, and everyone will come to take a bite. How can they protect it with this money?"
"They don't dare to ask for Delong's notes..." Xiao Qian said.
"Don't dare to ask for Delong's notes. You can ask Delong to give Shanxi House's notes. According to this information, Shanxi House is also involved in this matter. They have no reason not to accept it." Zhou Ruolan picked up the pen and drew on the paper. I went through several circles and made a reasoning map using arrows.
"According to the information given to us by the escort agency and the information everyone has gathered in the past few days, my opinion is that the robbers are not in the same line. The person who is in charge of the plan does not want the money, but the people below make the decision on their own."
This inference can confuse everyone. They have been in the world for a long time, have been kidnappers, and have rescued people. They have experienced at least dozens of cases that people have heard of. There are two people who have never heard of kidnapping. An advocate.
"How is this possible?!" Someone immediately shook his head, "The kidnappers all commit crimes in small gangs. The boss directly commands the brothers below, and the boss is not dead. According to the rules, the delivery of the ransom letter is all his confidants, and there are also listening birds on the periphery. How could someone be messing around privately? This is not an official government..."
Only an organization like the government, with many levels up and down, and uneven and complex interests, would have such a situation where there is no communication between the top and bottom.
"In my opinion, this matter is likely to involve people with official status." Zhou Ruolan whispered, "Shanxi House's involvement in this matter is very suspicious. There are eunuchs among the bandits who intend to rob the silver car. Judging from the confession, it doesn’t look like it was done by simple robbers.”
"I'm also confused about this: the money was originally a ransom, and they could just hand it over to someone else to take the money. Why did they deliberately reveal the information and instigate the gangsters to hijack the car? What good does this do to them? They also went to such trouble to send two people to take the money. A eunuch follows?" Xiao Li also echoed.
Everyone looked confused. They didn't quite agree with Zhou Ruolan's ideas, but they couldn't explain these strange things.
"Let's not worry about the intentions. Find the person first." Min Zhanlian knew that if he dwelled on these details, he would lose his direction. He immediately asked: "Xiao Li, how did you go to the altar temple to check?"
"There are several altars and temples. For the time being, we have only checked the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of the Sun and the Moon. Nothing was found."
The various altars and temples in the capital are large in area, but they are not used much. Most of them are vacant on weekdays. At the end of the dynasty, management was lax. Except for the main buildings and roads that were still intact, many other buildings were abandoned and collapsed. The trees were not built and the grass was as deep as a forest, which further increased the difficulty of searching.
Altar temples are places where royal sacrifices are held and national ceremonies are held. Logically speaking, they should be tightly guarded. However, in fact, these places are large in size, rarely used, and have few guards, so access patrols are ineffective. Many of the kidnappers in the capital colluded with the guards and petty officials who guarded the altar and temple, and used it as a hiding place for the tickets. Min Zhanlian naturally knows the joints. So just focus on these places as soon as you get up.
"The Tanmiaoyuan area, originally and Liansheng's people were also investigating, but there were no useful clues."
Min Zhanlian took a deep breath and said, "This is not guaranteed."
"What's not guaranteed?"
"If this matter is really done by someone in the officialdom, it will be difficult to deal with it. Since ancient times, a bachelor has never fought for power. Even a local coward will not offend someone in the officialdom just to make a few more money."
"You mean, someone said hello?"
"It's possible." Min Zhanlian said, "Lan Mei is right. You have to be on guard."
"Then what should we do?" Everyone had anxious expressions on their faces. Once someone from the officialdom is really involved, the power of the capital cannot be used by them. After all, they are outsiders and newcomers. Without the source of information, for them, such a big capital is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Min Zhanlian pondered for a moment, the current situation was more difficult than he expected. In fact, he vaguely agreed with Zhou Ruolan's thoughts. With He Liansheng's many years of management in the capital and such generous spending of money, there should have been clues long ago. However, nothing has been found for more than ten days. Maybe even his own every move is being watched. . The kidnappers are powerful enough to force the foxes and rats in the capital to shut up.
Nowadays, it is almost impossible to rely on local informants to get clues, and you can only do it yourself. Min Zhanlian thought for a moment and said: "It seems that we are the only ones responsible for this matter! We will leave Zhangjiawan tomorrow..."
Before he finished speaking, Lao Shi, who was watching the wind at the door of the courtyard, suddenly knocked on the door and came in:
"Boss! Master Cao wants to see you."
Everyone in the room was alert. Mr. Cao was a "sit-down tiger" in Zhangjiawan Town. They stayed here and paid their respects to the pier according to the rules. Logically speaking, they were not doing business in Zhangjiawan and were just taking a break. They paid homage to the pier and that was it. There is absolutely no chance that the boss will come to visit in person.
"Invite him to meet you." Min Zhanlian did not hesitate, and then said: "Xiao Qian, you accompany me to meet him, and everyone else goes back to their houses."
"Boss, do you want to..."
"No need," Min Zhanlian shook his head, "We are on someone else's territory. If he really wants to deal with something that we haven't even said a word to, does he have to come here and take the risk himself?"
Just as Min Zhanlian thought, Mr. Cao only had two servants in green clothes with him, and they were simple and easy to follow.
Mr. Cao's famous name is Cao Sheng, and he was born in Tongzhou's water transport flag. The military households of the Ming Dynasty had a hard time, and the lives of the canal transport bannermen were even harder. The man is no more than middle-aged, but the old one is similar to an old man in his fifties or sixties. Although he looks old, he has a lot of flesh under his brocade robe.
He suddenly paid a visit and his words were very polite, but in a roundabout way, he just said: What are you doing in Zhangjiawan?
It stands to reason that Min Zhan Lian had already expressed his intention to come here when he visited the dock. They were going to the capital to "do business" and their stay in Zhangjiawan was only temporary and would not interfere with local affairs. Having said this, Master Cao should be satisfied. It is common for Jianghu people to lie and deceive others, but not many dare to lie in front of the local uncle.
Min Zhanlian naturally said it again, and Cao Sheng nodded slightly and said: "Originally, I shouldn't say anything, but I am very interested in this 'business' matter. I wonder if you can give me a few words?"
These words were very rude to people in the world. When things went wrong, there must be monsters. Min Zhanlian deliberately tried to trick him and asked:
"Master Cao! What is the wind blowing outside? Are you asking these questions?"
This was both an inquiry and an expression of dissatisfaction. Cao Sheng naturally understood it as soon as he heard it and said hurriedly:
"It's not because I don't understand the rules. I really have to do this!" Cao Sheng apologized. He didn't need to be so polite. In fact, the appearance and behavior of the other party were not that of an ordinary gangster. He was probably someone who specialized in big business. There was no need for him to offend such a desperado.
"Oh? What kind of big boss is he, and what big deal is it, that he can actually reach Zhangjiawan?"
"Haha, apart from them, who else in this capital has such great ability!" Cao Sheng said with a bitter smile, "No one can give them a favor!"
Although it is not pointed out clearly, it is already hinted at. Min Zhanlian was shocked and quickly made a surprised expression: "That's it! I'm talking too much."
(End of chapter)
