An Australian oil lamp illuminated the hall.
Li Rufeng stood in the main hall with He Liansheng, his eyes bright.
In front of him were piles of the latest "news" collected from various places, and the one on top was from Min Zhanlian's group.
In addition to Min Zhanlian's team, two more teams arrived one after another, one each arranged directions from Zhangjiakou in the north of Beijing to Shanxi in the west of Beijing.
Each team operates independently, and the intelligence is summarized by manual delivery to He Liansheng, screened by Li Rufeng, and a copy is sent to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau in Lingao.
A lot of news comes every day, but so far, the really valuable information is the intelligence about a series of doubts about Nanyuan sent by Min Zhanlian's team.
Coupled with the recent sudden death of Qin Erlang, their judgment became more and more inclined to the fact that Leng Ningyun was probably somewhere in Nanyuan.
It's just that the Nanyuan area is too big. If you rush to search and rescue, you won't be able to find anyone. If you don't tell anyone, you might be aroused.
It was late at night, but he didn't feel sleepy at all. I just feel that my whole body is full of energy, but I don't know where to go.
An escort came to report: "He's getting dirty!"
Li Rufeng raised his eyebrows and said, "Invite him in!"
Ever since he arranged for Huang Qi to investigate Eunuch Yang, he has not received any news from him yet. When he was working as an errand in Dongchang, this person was known for being careful and thorough. He was not someone who would rush to report something when he heard something. If you come now, you must have definite news.
After a while, the escort brought in a middle-aged man from outside. This person is dignified in appearance, upright in manners, and has an "official" air in his every move. At a glance, you can see the huge number of officials in various government offices in the capital who "eat official meals".
Although Huang Qi is handsome, he is a person who has no sense of right and wrong and only cares about who gives money. However, the resurrection of the Donglin Party also taught him a lesson, that is, don't be in the wrong team. When Jiu Qian was so powerful, who would have thought that the new emperor would kill him with just one edict. I also had to go to Guangdong to hide for a few years.
Now that he is willing to serve He Liansheng, he naturally thinks that the Australians are a good ship.
Huang Qi cupped his fists and said, "Master Li, please come!"
Li Rufeng immediately returned the courtesy: "Master Huang Wu, you're welcome, please!"
Huang Qi didn't talk nonsense. He glanced at it and Li Rufeng immediately understood what he meant and said: "No one is waiting here to come in. They are surrounded by their own people from the escort agency, guarding them like iron barrels. Please sit down and speak slowly. ." He immediately ordered someone to bring him a bowl of milk tea.
Mongolian milk tea was also served in the capital in the late Ming Dynasty, but it was not as popular as it was in the Qing Dynasty. This product can warm the stomach, fill the stomach, and refresh the mind. It is mostly consumed by bodyguards, soldiers, and petty officials... who need to stay up late at night to work.
Huang Qi drank the milk tea, and when he saw the servant who brought the tea retreating, he said in a low voice: "I have asked about everything you asked me to ask about. Eunuch Yang doesn't have much tricks. After Shopkeeper Leng was kidnapped, he was very anxious. This time, he asked his adopted son and his eunuchs to inquire about the news, and also sent people to Shuntian Mansion. The purpose was to ask them to solve the case as soon as possible and unblock Delong, so that he could get all the money back. As for the people he sent to Delong You must know better about the matter."
Li Rufeng said: "Yes, he did send someone to Delong."
"But there is something fishy about his adopted son, Little Eunuch Yang."
Li Rufeng was shocked when he heard this. To be honest, his investigation of Eunuch Yang was mainly to consider whether the huge deposits obtained by Eunuch Yang attracted the covetousness of young people. But listening to Huang Qi's tone at this time, I'm afraid the problem is It happened to little Eunuch Yang.
Huang Qi said that according to his investigation, Yang Tianliang had been acting sneaky since he was kidnapped by Shopkeeper Leng, and frequently interacted with the city foxes and rats on the ground in the capital. Originally, it was not uncommon for eunuchs to interact with gangsters on the ground in the capital. But the people he befriended were not ordinary gangsters, but bright-eyed gangsters.
The capital is the best place in the world. No matter how powerful the gangsters are in the city, they dare not carry weapons such as swords, spears, and spears. In daily fights, sticks are mostly used, and swords are never used.
To the yamen, those who use the knife to cause harm are gangsters and bandits. The gangsters have to make a living on the ground in the capital. This is an insurmountable iron law.
The gangsters who dare to use weapons mostly operate in the suburbs of the capital, committing robberies, kidnappings, murders and goods. The two can be said to be distinct. The eunuch would not make friends with them easily.
But this young Eunuch Yang not only made friends with these people, but also met with them privately in remote places such as Mercy Temple and Hongluochang in Nancheng.
"Seriously?!" Li Rufeng's pupils shrank.
"Seriously!" Huang Qi said, "He sees all the famous people on the suburban roads of Beijing. Speaking of which, you have met some of them."
"who?"
"Did the three brothers named Wang in Delong come here under their false names and ask for ransom?"
"Do you know?"
"Of course I know." Huang Qi said leisurely, "These three rushers were coaxed by a certain big shot. Otherwise, how could they know such details."
"So..." Li Rufeng subconsciously wanted to say, "Little Eunuch Yang is the kidnapper." He immediately realized that the person sitting across from him was not "one of his own" and swallowed it alive.
However, this Huang Qi was like a worm in his stomach, and continued: "Little Eunuch Yang may not be the kidnapper, but he must be closely related to this matter."
Li Rufeng nodded: "Does Eunuch Yang know about this?"
"Of course he doesn't know. If he knows, he shouldn't be so angry that he hangs himself." Huang Qi said, "Eunuch Yang has gotten old in recent years, and his brain is not as active as before. He relies on this adopted son for everything. It is easy to be deceived by him. .”
"This is not a trivial matter." Li Rufeng said, "If it was really his fault, he would be unlucky if something happened, and his adoptive father would also suffer the consequences."
"Yang Tianliang has long had a grudge against Eunuch Yang." Huang Qi said, "Now that he has ascended the throne, Eunuch Yang relied on favors and used tricks. He spent tens of thousands of silver to get the job of head of the Bell and Drum Department. Although he is in charge of one of the twenty-four yamen, it is a cold yamen after all, and his potential is limited. The palace is also filled with eunuchs from Prince Xin's palace, so Eunuch Yang himself is not necessarily very proud, and this little Eunuch Yang is certainly not very successful."
"I see." Li Rufeng thought that it made sense. Little Eunuch Yang's future in the palace was limited. He said he was "little", but he was actually in his thirties. Following his master, he made some money, but it was just a drop in the bucket compared to his desires. One hundred thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, so it is natural for him to be tempted.
Naturally, this explains why the kidnappers are so familiar with Delong and Leng Ningyun. Because Delong's largest customer and the customer he is most familiar with is Eunuch Yang.
"Sure enough, it is day and night defense. It is difficult to guard against domestic thieves." Li Rufeng said secretly, and then asked: "What other news is there? Is there any clue about the whereabouts of shopkeeper Leng?"
"Of course there are no eyebrows. This matter is kept secret in the capital. However, little Eunuch Yang often meets people in Nancheng, and it is only in this area. Even if he is not in the city, he is still on the outskirts of Nancheng."
Because Luocheng was built recently, there were very few households and businesses, and there were many open spaces. Therefore, in addition to the altar and temple, there are various Ministry of Industry workshops and stockyards for stockpiling materials. Liulichang, Hongluo Factory, Wood Factory, Wei Factory... are all located here. Some of these places were managed by officials from the Ministry of Works, and some were managed by eunuchs in the palace. In fact, they can hide people. If you look closely, you don't necessarily have to hide people in Nanyuan.
Among the various people Huang Qi provided that Young Eunuch Yang came into contact with in Luocheng, Mr. Qin was among them. In addition, Huang Qi also mentioned one thing, that is, Little Eunuch Yang often traveled to and from Tianjin before Leng Ningyun was kidnapped. The problem is that Eunuch Yang has no property or business in Tianjin. It is impossible to send the adopted son to Tianjin for work. Therefore, traveling to and from Tianjin can only be Yang Tianliang's own business.
Judging from the time latitude, his travels to Tianjin and the kidnapping case are likely to be connected. After all, Min Zhanlian's people have discovered relevant clues in Tianjin.
"What did he do in Tianjin? Who did he meet? Do you have any clues?"
"I don't know about this. But I bought a piece of news - it cost a lot of money."
Li Rufeng smiled: "What's the matter with Lao Huang? How can I sell Australian toothpaste? I won't miss a penny from you!"
Huang Qi chuckled and took out a note from his arms.
"It's not that I'm a rare commodity. In fact, this note was hard to come by."
Li Rufeng took it in his hand, but it was a piece of paper that had been soaked in water. The ink marks on it were scattered, but the handwriting was probably visible. It's a reservation for Qiwei Inn.
As He Liansheng's chief escort, he was very familiar with his employer's tactics. This is an anonymous ticket reservation for a first-class cabin on a Qiwei Line passenger ship. This cabin is fully equipped and luxuriously decorated, and can accommodate two servants in addition to the two main passengers. It is the first choice of many dignitaries for long-distance voyages.
There is no specific date or flight on the reservation form, but it is marked that it is valid for the whole year in the 10th year of Chongzhen/1637. With this reservation form, you can go to the shipping office in Qiwei at any time, just give the code and verify that it is correct, and you can get it immediately. Buy the latest available space on the liner you want.
"How did this come about?"
"I bought it from the little eunuch next to Yang Tianliang." Huang Qi said with pride, "This piece was caught in the clothes and was accidentally soaked. Yang Tianliang sent him to Tianjin to make a new one and get a new one. This guy just sold me this soaked piece!"
"It's really yours." Li Rufeng smiled. He looked at the reservation form with some disbelief. What was he doing to make this reservation? Could it be that he was preparing to run away?
Although Qiwei Shipping has many inland river and coastal routes, in the north, the places it can actually go are very limited. The coastal routes after starting from Tianjin are to Shandong, Nanzhi, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan; The only inland waterway routes sail from Tongzhou to the terminals along the Grand Canal in Hangzhou.
(End of chapter)
