Shao Xi also shook his head helplessly. It seemed that he wouldn't understand if he didn't make his words clear. But it's okay, this kind of people are sincere and will not waver once they are sure of something.
"To tell you the truth! The Inspector and I have found the bandit leader who has been causing harm to the people of Wanwan County for the past six months."
When Zhang Chong heard this, he stood up suddenly and said, "Where is he? I will go back and gather people now to capture him and bring him back to see you, sir."
"This person is your county magistrate Mr. Zhao Tianrong and Zhao, or to be more precise, he is Yan Song, the new bandit leader who emerged from Wanqing Mountain a year ago. Don't think about arresting him. You are not his opponent. Just Even I am not completely sure that I can capture him, and he was the one who fought me last night."
"What?" Zhang Chong sat down on the ground, his eyes wide open and his mouth wide open.
The county magistrate who sits in the government office and issues orders every day, urging them to round up the bandits and capture them, is actually the leader of the bandits? This made Zhang Chong feel as if he had been struck by lightning.
Shao Xi understood his mood at the moment, shook his head and sighed: "I know you can't believe it, but this is the result of observation and testing by Lao Wu and me, so it shouldn't be wrong."
Surprisingly, Zhang Chong became extremely calm after the shock just now, and said calmly to Shao Xi: "I am willing to believe you, but you must provide sufficient reasons to prove that Mr. Zhao is the bandit leader."
"This may be a bit complicated to say, so let me first talk about the doubts I discovered!"
Shao Xi put his thumb on his chin and thought for a while, sorting out his thoughts.
"First of all, the time when Mr. Zhao took office coincided with the time when banditry suddenly became so serious. This should not be a coincidence. In addition, I found that closing the city in advance and letting the inn keep detailed records of people who passed by not only did not help The number of merchants being intercepted has decreased, but increased, and they are very targeted. This shows that the thieves have obtained accurate information and know which groups of people should be targeted, and the people who provide this information are the ones you collect and hand over every day. Mr. Zhao’s detailed record.”
Zhang Chong nodded after hearing this, "That's true, but it's not enough."
"Of course it's not enough. You said before that the county has sent soldiers and horses to encircle and suppress the bandits, but every time the county's soldiers and horses arrive, the bandits will disappear, and as soon as the soldiers and horses withdraw, they will appear again. This is obviously a sign of control. We know the government's troop mobilization situation. Every time we submit a report to the county, it is so confidential, so the only person who can spread the news, if he is not the messenger, can only be Mr. Zhao."
"But how will Mr. Zhao spread the news? He is in the county every day and there is no way he can go out!"
"His son-in-law, the one named Xu Jinhong, what does he do?"
"I do some small business on weekdays and have frequent contacts with surrounding villages and towns. Could it be him?" Zhang Chong seemed to have connected with something at once.
"Did you remember something? Is it related to this Xu Jinhong?"
"That's right. Every time Mr. Zhao orders people to go to the county to report information on mobilizing troops and horses, it happens that his son-in-law is also going out on business."
"That's right. In addition, I fought with the thief last night. The figure of the man was very similar to Mr. Zhao. Although Mr. Zhao's body is slightly stooped, I think it was just an act. Judging from the look in Mr. Zhao's eyes, Judging from the way he walks and the way he walks, this person must be a martial artist. I also got some clues about this from Wang Xianwei at the banquet today. Wang Xianwei said that when he often went to the government office to look for Mr. Zhao, Zhao The adults seemed to have just finished their work, and every time he asked about Mr. Zhao, he only said that he was moving his body."
Old Wu was watching Shao Xi talking so enthusiastically, and couldn't bear it any longer. He interjected: "This is a arrogant guy who relies on his talent. Although he suffered a little loss in the fight with my young master last night, today at the banquet, when the young master tried to test his words, , he showed that he cared very much about my young master’s impression of him. When the young master praised him for his good martial arts, a hint of pride could be seen in his eyes.”
Old Wu took another sip of water and continued: "Especially last night, my young master injured his arm. When he poured wine for the young master and me at the banquet today, I could see that his hands were shaking a little. During the banquet, I pretended Drunk, he pulled him to chat about household matters, and deliberately pulled his arm to verify whether his arm was injured, and his performance also confirmed this. In addition, there were thick calluses on the tiger's mouth of his palm, which were used when using a knife. It is left behind when people practice swordsmanship frequently. His habit of twisting his wrist also proves that he is a swordsman. People who practice swordsmanship do not have this habit, because the swordsmanship requires always keeping the blade against the enemy, so he often You have to twist your wrist to adjust the edge of the knife, but not the sword, because the sword can be used like a pick when necessary.”
Shao Xi added: "During the banquet, we talked about the recent banditry. Old Wu deliberately said that the least suspicious people should be the first to investigate. Everyone else was surprised, but Mr. Zhao was very calm. It should be He knows in his heart that he is the least suspicious person."
Old Wu asked Zhang Chong seriously: "Did Mr. Zhao have any abnormalities in his interactions with the previous county magistrate when he took office? He said he had a daughter, have you ever seen her?"
Zhang Chong tried hard to recall, and said slowly: "When he handed over to the former county magistrate, he did not find anything unusual, and the documents such as the ultimatum and the confession were all available. As for Miss Zhao, we have all been doing this in the past six months. Never seen it.”
"You have been working under him for more than half a year. Don't you think that his official uniform is not suitable for his figure?"
Zhang Chong slapped his thigh and said, "It's true. On weekdays, my brothers and I treat this matter as a joke in private."
"Do you know the name of Master Zhao's daughter, Miss Zhao?"
"I know this. When I heard Master Zhao talking about his daughter and son-in-law, he mentioned that Miss Zhao's name is Zhao Qiaoyun."
"Take a look at this." As he said this, Old Wu threw a piece of silk handkerchief on the table.
It was a white silk handkerchief with a colorful phoenix embroidered on the corner and the word "Qiaofeng" embroidered on the edge of the phoenix. The veil looked like two large dark red characters written in blood - "Save me".
Shao Xi suddenly realized at this moment, "It's the maid named Pomegranate! At that time, I thought you, an old pervert, were going to tease a teenage girl, but it turns out you still have this skill."
Old Wu rolled his eyes and said: "That girl can be my granddaughter, how could I do such a heinous thing? But at that time I noticed that the girl winked at me, so I pretended to be staggering, and when the girl helped me, she would This silk handkerchief was stuffed into my hand. I used the trick to hug her and asked her secretly if the lady was imprisoned? Is the person imprisoning her Zhao Tianrong? She nodded and gave me a positive reply, so I asked her to stay at the house after midnight tonight. Wait for us at the back gate of the government office."
"It is indeed necessary to go there. After all, it was all our speculation before and there was no evidence. And this Miss Zhao is the best witness."
Zhang Chong is naturally not a stupid person to be a head catcher. Before, he just couldn't keep up with the thinking of these two people. At this time, he already understood that these two people wanted to visit the county government at night to rescue Miss Zhao.
"I almost understand now that this Mr. Zhao must be a fake county magistrate. The Mr. Zhao who was supposed to take office half a year ago was either killed or kidnapped. In short, this guy has taken office as the county magistrate under his false name. He committed banditry within his authority, and also imprisoned Miss Zhao, the daughter of Magistrate Zhao. In this case, I have nothing to worry about, and I will do as you two adults tell me."
Shao Xi patted Zhang Chong on the shoulder and asked, "Does Brother Zhang have any relatives?"
Zhang Chong shook his head.
"But living alone? Where do you live?"
"I live alone, and my home is in the south of the city."
"That's great! Today we are visiting the county government at night. Pomegranate is our internal agent, and you are responsible for supporting us outside. If the person can be rescued successfully, Miss Zhao needs to be placed where you live, so even if she is Even if someone finds out, no one will think that we will hide the person in your home. The next step is to find a way to arrange for Miss Zhao to leave the city and go to Qingshan County Government to expose the bandit leader. This matter is very important, please ask Brother Zhang."
Zhang Chong knelt on the ground again, cupped his fists and raised his hands to Shao Xi and Lao Wu and said: "If it weren't for you two adults, I don't know how long the people of Wanxian County would have to suffer? If I can capture this thief together with these two adults, I, Zhang Chong, will live my life in vain . Don’t worry, sir, even if I risk my life, I will definitely help you complete this matter."
Old Wu said impatiently, "Hurry up, a man will kneel down at every turn. What's the matter of life and death? It's decided by the two of us, so you just have to cooperate well."
"What your lord said is that I will go back and prepare now. I will be waiting under the window of the two adults around midnight."
"You'd better go directly to the back door of the county office and wait! You can't keep up with the two of us."
"I understand, I will go back now." After saying that, Zhang Chong stood up and left the room.
Watching Zhang Chong leave, Old Wu glanced at Shao Xi and asked, "Do you think he is reliable? Can you really trust him?"
Shao Xi nodded gently, "Since I chose to tell him the truth, I believe him. At least personally, I am willing to believe him."
"Okay then! Tonight I am responsible for distracting the night watchman's attention, and you are responsible for bringing them down. After rescuing Miss Zhao, I will be responsible for leading the people away, and you will be responsible for breaking up the rear. I can tell you, what happened to you this time? I won’t look back on anything.”
"Don't worry! The guy is injured. I should be able to handle it. At least I can hold him back. But Xu Jinhong under his command may be a problem."
"Of course I know that those who can deliver messages out of the city must have good physical skills. So now I need something to help me improve my physical skills. Guess what I will need?"
After saying this, Old Wu looked at Shao Xi eagerly, fearing that he would not agree.
Shao Xi also felt pain in his body, "You old fox knows how to take advantage of me. You only kept ten pills in total. You used one last night, and now you come to me to ask for it again."
"Hey, if you can take a Taoist immortal elixir in this life, you can become an immortal when you die."
"Here you go, don't bother me again even if you die."
Shao Xi threw an explosive energy pill at Lao Wu.
