Geshanren is a key figure. This person is not only responsible for transporting people, but also uses Taoism to influence Guo Liu, Guo Liang and others.
The importance of folk beliefs during the Ming Dynasty exceeded Gu Zhengchen's imagination.
The education of later generations is dominated by materialism and atheism. The Buddha, the Jade Emperor, and God are just the spiritual sustenance of people. There are many people who sneer at these beliefs and disapprove of them.
But this is not the case among the people of the Ming Dynasty. Once they believe in something, they are often devout and obsessed.
Those who believe do not necessarily pursue immortality and soar in the daytime, but believe that the Three Purities can protect themselves from evil spirits and protect themselves from diseases and disasters for all the gods and goddesses in the world.
Those who believe in Buddhism do not necessarily pursue the ultimate happiness in the afterlife, but believe that Buddha, Guanyin, etc. can bless and protect themselves and their families, and that they can have a bright future and a promising future.
This level of piety, recognition and obedience to faith is beyond the understanding of many people.
If you pull Han Lin'er out of the water and ask, you will know that the thing that unites the hearts of the Red Scarf Army is the various thoughts of the White Lotus Sect and the Ming Sect, that is, Maitreya comes to the world, and light will eventually defeat darkness.
I went to the Wutong Temple where the quarry was located to recall Xu Shouhui's memories. People would write words on the backs of the sergeants, claiming that with the blessing of the "Buddha" seal, they would be able to protect their bodies with mindfulness and become invulnerable.
It seems like a funny scene to future generations, but to the ancient people, they believed it.
From this point of view, it is understandable that Guo Liu, Guo Liang and others set up a stone altar at the entrance of Wucheng Mountain, and did not hesitate to move or change houses to set up a pennant formation. They were afraid of being punished by God for doing too many bad things.
These can also explain why Geshan people know more.
The Geshan people told everything: "Doctor Guo Ning is responsible for keeping tabs. His status as a doctor allows him to enter any place without arousing suspicion. Once he finds a suitable young man or craftsman, he can write it down. Guo Jie is a thug and is mainly responsible for manufacturing." The incident connected with bullies and big households in various villages, prompting the case to be reported to the county government. Guo Liang was the accountant, responsible for the accounting of the Guo family's properties in Wucheng Mountain and Hezhuang. He was responsible for arranging the transportation of limestone out of Wucheng Mountain and the transportation of grain. People are responsible.”
Gu Zhengchen frowned: "Unexpectedly, Guo Liang is an important figure. The account books of Wuchengshan are completely different before and after the fourth year of Hongwu. Why?"
Geshanren thought for a moment and then thought: "At the end of the third year of Hongwu, something seemed to have happened within the Guo family."
"What happened?"
Gu Zhengchen asked.
The Geshan native shook his head: "I don't know what the specific matter was. According to Yun Niang, it seemed that Guo Liu should insist on doing the lime business, but there was opposition within the family. Later Guo Liu arranged for Guo Liang to withdraw from Wucheng Mountain, and later, transported it to The food supply in Wucheng Mountain has dropped sharply, and I think most of the miners have been transferred away."
"Yunniang?"
Gu Zhengchen stared at Geshanren.
Geshanren lowered his head and said softly: "She is Guo Liu's concubine."
Gu Zhengchen suddenly realized, no wonder the Geshan people had so much information, and there was "someone" in the Guo family. This so-called Yun Niang should be the third aunt who left the Muslim Temple some time ago.
"Among the three women who had sex last night, was there Yun Niang?"
Gu Zhengchen asked.
Geshanren shook his head: "No, Yun Niang will only come to the Taoist temple during the day."
Gu Zhengchen picked up an account book, flipped through two pages and asked, "What is Guo Liu responsible for?"
Geshanren said bluntly: "The mastermind and all the plans came from Guo Liu, and Guo Baobao is also a member of Guo Liu."
Gu Zhengchen was stunned for a moment, and his eyes became sharp: "You said Guo Liu is the mastermind of everything? I have dealt with Guo Liu several times. This person is not reckless and impatient. Although he is used to it, he is not like He is a person who can do great things. The Wuchengshan lime mine case involves a wide range of things. It requires dealing with the county government, maintaining the supply in Wuchengshan, arranging for people to transport the lime without anyone noticing, and selling it out. Dealing with Jinling officials.”
"These require a shrewd, stable and thoughtful person to operate. Obviously Guo Liu does not have these qualities. If you think about it carefully, is there anyone else behind Guo Liu?"
The Geshan native looked at Gu Zhengchen and sighed: "Sir, as the sixth master of the Guo family in Hezhuang, Guo Liu's abilities are by no means as mediocre as they appear. What's more, there are Guo Baobao, Guo Jie, Guo Liang, Guo Baijin and others. On."
Gu Zhengchen was a little confused. Could it be that Guo Liuzhen was the mastermind?
"Arrest them."
Gu Zhengchen made a decision this time and dispatched a large number of government officials. He also sent Wang Liang and Zhao Hailou to accompany them, arresting Guo Ning, Guo Liang, Guo Liu and their families. He also arrested Guo Jie's family members, and Wang's pharmacy did not escape. drop and demand that all be arrested and brought to justice.
While the officials went to Hezhuang to arrest people, Gu Zhengchen interrogated Guo Jie and Guo Baobao again. Guo Baobao did not expect that all the Geshan people were arrested, and he also confessed himself. He wanted to deny it, but there were still several A Taoist priest had met Guo Baobao, and they had played skewers and drank wine together. They identified him in court.
Guo Baobao was stubborn and after being beaten twenty times, he finally admitted and explained clearly: "I was responsible for contacting Chen Zhong, the magistrate, and Zhou Hong, the prison chief. It was I who wrote to the Geshan people to ask him to mention the person. After mentioning the person, he was temporarily They were arranged at my home, and after the city gate opened the next day, they were secretly sent out of Jurong County in a carriage..."
In order to avoid retracting the confession, Gu Zhengchen asked Guo Baobao to tell the specific date, operation process, specific amount, etc., and compared them one by one with the Geshan people's account books. After they matched, he arranged for Guo Baobao to be handed over to Guo Baobao for deposit.
Gu Zhengchen really had no one to send, so he temporarily transferred Sun Erguo to the county government as a servant, changed a group of officials into government uniforms, arrested Guo Baobao's family members in Jurong County, and searched their homes at the same time.
Jurong Guo family.
Guo Sheng was so anxious that he stamped his feet, looked at Guo Dian and Guo Shan who were still playing chess leisurely, and shouted: "Father, second uncle, the Geshan people confessed their guilt and bit Guo Liu out. The county government sent a large number of government officials. It won’t be long before Guo Liu, Guo Liang and others will be arrested!”
Guo Dian held the white piece in his hand and looked sideways at Guo Sheng: "What can we do now? No one can stop the matter at this point. Guo Liu deserves to be arrested! We told Gu Zhengchen before he entered the mountain Guo Liu, ordered Guo Baijin to move overnight and leave Wucheng Mountain, leaving Gu Zhengchen with an empty mine!"
"But what did Guo Liu do? He didn't listen to our arrangements at all! He thought that although Gu Zhengchen had found some Beijing troops, it was nothing to worry about, so he ordered Guo Baijin to leave Gu Zhengchen completely in the mountains, pretending to be a scene of tigers eating people. ! As a result, now Guo Baijin and his gang have been arrested, and even the tigers in the mountain have been brought out! Now Gu Zhengchen has arrested Guo Baobao and the Geshan people, and the situation is out of control! "
Guo Sheng shouted anxiously: "Father, once Uncle Six is caught, we will be in danger. Back then, there were differences in the business within the clan. He insisted on doing the lime business, but we want to do another business, because the clan members support , we took away a large number of his miners, and for more than two years, he has complained a lot. If he is caught, he will be frustrated and blame us for not working together. Once..."
Snapped!
The black stone falls on the chessboard.
Guo Shan raised his head slightly, looked at the uneasy Guo Sheng, and said calmly: "The more critical the situation, the more you must stay calm. Even if the government servants are in front of you, you must not lose your sense of proportion."
Guo Sheng already felt that a disaster was coming, and how could he survive?
At this time, the housekeeper ran over and said hurriedly: "Guo Baobao was beaten with a cane and many people identified him. He has admitted to a crime. The county magistrate has ordered the arrest of Guo Baobao's family and search for physical evidence."
Guo Dian no longer thought about playing chess, picked up his crutch, stood up and gritted his teeth and said: "This Gu Zhixian is really resolute and fast! It can be seen that he wants to get to the bottom of it and deal with everyone."
Guo Shan walked beside Guo Dian and said calmly: "Although Gu Zhengchen is young, he does have some means and abilities. It's just that eldest brother, the sixth brother has become more and more difficult to control in recent years. He made a big fuss with us and went to Hezhuang eight years ago. , if it weren’t for the lime business, he would have stopped working with us long ago. Three years ago, we advised him to stop as soon as it was good, but he once again opposed the arrangement within the clan and insisted on continuing the lime business.”
"Now I want to get rid of Gu Zhengchen, but I got bitten and ended up losing everything. Not only Guo Baijin and others were arrested, but also Geshanren, Guo Baobao and others. Now he can't save himself. It may even implicate us. It’s time to cut off our arms and survive. If we hesitate any longer, we will all be dragged into the water.”
Guo Dian looked up at the blue sky and white clouds. It was a good day, but it was a pity that people were not beautiful.
"Send the sixth brother away. In the face of the interests of the clan, we don't care about brotherhood."
Guo Dian made a decision.
Guo Shan nodded, turned and left.
Soon after, three homing pigeons flew out of the Guo family compound.
Hezhuang.
A fire broke out in Guo Liu's home, and the fire reached the sky. When Yang Liang arrived with the government officials, the entire house was in flames, the house collapsed, and there was a lot of crying.
After Gu Zhengchen heard the news, he went to Hezhuang to investigate again, regardless of his hard work.
Guo Liu did not die in the sea of fire, but fell into a well and died. He was fished out and identified, and it was undoubtedly Guo Liu.
Next to the well, there is a bloody knife.
Guo Liu's wife and concubines all died, including Guo Liu's three sons, who were all buried in the sea of fire. Only Guo Liu's two underage grandsons were still alive.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the corpses with a chill. None of these corpses were facing the door. It was obvious that people had been killed when the fire started.
"Isn't Guo Liu too cruel?"
Yang Liang was in disbelief.
Gu Zhengchen's eyes were cold as he looked at the charred corpses and suppressed the discomfort in his stomach: "Guo Liu was old, how could he kill so many people? Besides, if it was really Guo Liu who killed him, he should have died in the sea of fire. Instead of jumping into a well! Obviously, some people want us to see Guo Liu dead, instead of facing the unrecognizable corpses, guessing whether Guo Liu is hiding something from the truth and is still alive in other places!"
Yang Liang was shocked: "What do you mean by the county magistrate, someone is trying to silence you?"
Gu Zhengchen walked to the well and looked at the dead Guo Liu. With this man dead, the chain of clues and evidence leading to the behind the scenes was completely broken.
"No one has touched this knife, right?"
Gu Zhengchen asked, staring at the blood knife.
Yang Liang asked the people around him, all shook their heads, and said: "At that time, I was only focused on putting out the fire and salvaging Guo Liu. As soon as the fire was extinguished, the county magistrate arrived. No one had taken the steel knife, so it was left here."
Gu Zhengchen lowered his head and pondered, and then his eyes lit up: "Arrest everyone in the Guo Liu family, no matter male or female, no one less, and send them all to the county government office. I want to find out the real culprit of the murder!"
