They left the county government office and walked to the intersection of the market. They saw several carts filled with mules and horses parked on the roadside. A group of people were surrounding the front cart, and they were quarreling.
The three people walked over and stood nearby and listened for a while before they realized that it was a few soldiers who wanted to check the goods. The handlebar type said that there were too many goods on the car and it was too inconvenient to move them up and down. The leading soldier was a fat man. He glared and said, "If you don't allow inspection, how will I know if you have smuggled contraband?"
"Uncle, the car is filled with mountain products and medicinal materials, there is no contraband at all."
Zhang Zheng, who was standing next to Li Zhiyun, whispered in his ear: "These guys can't blackmail, they are deliberately looking for trouble." Li Zhiyun saw that the fat man's face was rosy and shiny. It seemed that he usually made a lot of money. Oil and water.
There were three soldiers in total. Apart from the fat man, the other was a tall man who was thick and strong, and the third one looked like a skinny monkey. The three of them were all wearing gray linen military uniforms, with a white circle on the back with a big word "团" written on it. Li Zhiyun knew that these people were regiment soldiers. The full name of Tuanbing is Tuanbing. They are not professional soldiers, but civilian armed forces, similar to the Tuanlian of the Qing Dynasty and the modern militia. After the Taiping Rebellion broke out in the Qing Dynasty, the regular army of the Qing Dynasty was retreating steadily in the face of the Taiping Army. Seeing that the country could not be saved, the court had no choice but to order each province to set up regiment training. As a result, big landowners like Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang recruited a large number of regiment members to form a powerful armed group. It was these regiment-trained armed forces that ultimately defeated the Taiping Army.
The Qing Dynasty's regiment training system was based on the Tang Dynasty's regiment army system and government army system. Regiment soldiers, like government soldiers, are not separated from agricultural production. They usually work at home and farm, and train intensively during slack periods. In case of war, they prepare their own dry food and weapons for expeditions. The difference between Tuan soldiers and Fu soldiers was that Fu soldiers farmed the country's land, while Tuan soldiers farmed their own land. In return, the imperial court exempted their entire families from taxes. In addition, the government troops are under the jurisdiction of Zhechong Prefecture, while the regiment troops are under the jurisdiction of the states. Of course, the government can also pay to hire regiments for long-term service, such as guarding city gates, guarding warehouses, going on patrols, etc. This may be the case for these three regiments.
When Li Zhiyun saw them quarreling, he walked over and said to the fat man: "It's not easy for foreigners to do business. Don't make things difficult for them and let them go!" When the fat man heard this, he thought to himself, oh, here comes a grievance. . He glared and said: "You are a little kid, your hair is still fully grown. Do you have the right to speak here?" Zhang Zheng next to him heard this and stared: "Why are you talking?"
At this moment, someone next to him shouted: "What's going on?" Li Zhiyun turned around and saw a man dressed as a military attaché walking over. He is in his twenties, tall and tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a strong square face. He walked up to him, glanced at Li Zhiyun, and said, "What are you arguing about?" Li Zhiyun pointed at the fat man and said, "They stopped someone's carriage and refused to let them go. They had to let people unload the goods. They said they wanted to check for contraband. ." When the military attache heard this, he glared at the fat man and said, "The governor has an order not to harass the people. Are you knowingly committing the crime and want to eat military sticks?" After hearing this, the fat man shrank his neck and did not dare to say a word.
When the military attaché saw that Li Zhiyun was born with lustrous muscles and bones, and that he had extraordinary strength and spirit, and that the guards behind him were fierce and powerful, he said: "This young master has extraordinary bearing. Do you dare to ask your surname?" Before Li Zhiyun could answer, Zhang Zheng said: " He is His Royal Highness the King of Chu." When the officer heard this, he was extremely horrified and hurriedly clasped his fists and said: "Pinzhou joins the army, Lu Sifang, to see His Highness the King of Chu."
The full name of joining the army is "joining the military". They are the assistant officers of the governor. Their rank is not high. In most cases, they are eighth or ninth grade, and occasionally seventh grade. It is the entry threshold for officials. Generally, those who first enter the official career will start by joining the army. This position itself has no responsibilities. Since the scope of its responsibilities is not specified, it has a lot of power to manage chores. The extent of this flexible power depends on the trust of the superior.
Li Zhiyun nodded with a smile and said, "Hello, Lv Shenjun, thank you for your hard work." When the fat man heard that this young man was the famous King of Chu, he was so frightened that he knelt down and kowtowed: "The villain has eyes but cannot see Mount Tai." , I bumped into Wang Jia, please forgive me!" The other two regiment soldiers also knelt down.
Li Zhiyun smiled and said, "Don't blame those who don't know. Get up quickly." After the three of them got up from the ground, Li Zhiyun looked at the fat man and said, "What's your name?"
"Back to King Chu, the villain's name is Diao Dagui."
"What about you?" Li Zhiyun turned to the tall man again.
"The villain's name is Li Er."
"The villain's name is Ruan Xiaoqi."
Ruan Xiaoqi? When Li Zhiyun heard this, he looked at the thin monkey and said, "Your name is Ruan Xiaoqi?"
"Yes, the villain's surname is Ruan, and Xing Qi will be called Ruan Xiaoqi."
"Okay, Diao Dagui, Li Er, Ruan Xiaoqi, we have already met each other, please let these cars go quickly."
"yes."
At night, Li Zhiyun sat by the desk, looking at the candlelight and thinking about what happened during the day. He didn't expect Liu Gu to be so strong-willed that she would hang herself. Why did she choose to commit suicide? Who are those people hiding behind her? He felt like there was a mess in his mind, and he couldn't figure it out.
At this time, Liu Yinglian opened the door and walked in. Seeing him sitting next to the case, she asked, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing."
Liu Yinglian came over, sat down opposite him, looked at him and said softly, "I see you are thinking a lot, and you haven't eaten anything at night. Do you have a headache?" Li Zhiyun smiled and said. "I have a bit of a headache." Then he told her what happened, and finally said: "It was hard to catch one, but he died. I thought that if I caught that maid, I would soon be able to catch the others. The crime turned out to be an empty joy. Now, I really don’t know what to do." Liu Yinglian thought for a while and said, "I think you should find out the details of that maid first, otherwise your eyes will be black. As the saying goes, Water has a source, and trees have roots. Where is that maidservant from? Does she have any relatives?"
"I don't know. I heard from Li Zheng that she came to her on her own. Now that all Lou's family members are dead, there is no place to inquire."
"Go find the nun," Liu Yinglian said, "Didn't she stay in a nunnery?"
Li Zhiyun was right. Although Liu Gu stayed at the nunnery for a short time, the nuns could not know too much about her condition, but they might be able to ask something. Let's treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor. Thinking of this, he nodded and said: "You are right to remind me, I will go to the nunnery early tomorrow morning. Please go with me. Cuiping Mountain has beautiful scenery, and you can also have some fun by the way."
"All right."
After breakfast the next day, Li Zhiyun took two subordinate officers and several guards and left the city with Liu Yinglian, heading for Cuiping Mountain. At the foot of the mountain, they climbed up a stone path and saw lush forests, chirping birds, purple mist permeating the valley, and dewy flowers and plants emitting a refreshing fragrance.
The group of people walked in a meandering way, arrived in front of the nunnery, and stepped into the temple gate. There was no one in the Buddhist hall, and it was quiet all around. Everyone walked around the Buddha's throne, passed through the back door and came to the courtyard, and happened to meet the nunnery owner. Li Zhiyun clasped his hands and said: "Master, you are polite." The nunnery owner returned the courtesy: "Donor, are you here again? How is Hui Jue now?" Li Zhiyun hesitated for a moment, but said bluntly: "Unfortunately, she knows that she has sinned deeply. , committed suicide by hanging from a beam." The nunnery master was surprised when he heard this, and quickly clasped his hands together: "Amitabha, it's a sin, a sin."
After a pause, Li Zhiyun said: "Master Tai, I would like to chat with you for a few words. Can you find a convenient place?" The nunnery master thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go to the poor nun's dormitory."
Several people followed the nunnery owner into a room, which was quite spacious. There was a Buddhist niche on the front wall, enshrining Guanyin Bodhisattva. In front of the Buddhist niche is an Eight Immortals table with several chairs around it. The owner of the nunnery asked Li Zhiyun to take a seat, and then sat down opposite him. He twisted a string of Bodhidharma beads in his hand and said, "Donor, what do you want to ask?" Li Zhiyun looked at her and said, "Master, I want to know about Aunt Liu. , do you know anything about her life experience?" The nunnery master shook his head and said: "She only told the poor nun that she used to be a maid in a wealthy family. Because she saw through the world of mortals, she decided to become a nun and convert to Buddhism. The donor said the day before yesterday that she She is the maid of the Lou family, and the poor nun just found out that she was originally a maid in the Lou family."
"Does Master Tai know the building staff?"
"The benefactor of the building is a great benefactor. He is devoted to the Buddha and loves charity. He often makes donations to the nunnery, so we got to know each other."
Li Zhiyun thought for a while and said, "Since Master Tai knows very little about Aunt Liu, why should she accept her? Is it because she pities her?"
"The donor didn't know something. The poor nun didn't want to take her in. It was only because of the support of a grandson, the donor, that he kept her."
"Donor Sun? Which Donor Sun?"
"His name is Sun Fen. Like the donor, he is also an official. The poor nun did not want to offend the government, so he reluctantly left Huijue behind."
This was a new situation, and Li Zhiyun felt that the trip was worthwhile. After thanking the nunnery master, he took his people and left the nunnery. They visited another temple on the mountain and then went down the mountain.
Back in the city, Li Zhiyun said to Cai Hu: "Go and find out if there is Sun Fen." Cai Hu said he obeyed the order and turned around and left. After Li Zhiyun returned to the inn, he waited for a stick of incense. Cai Hu came back and said, "Your Majesty, I have inquired and found that there is indeed Sun Fen. He is a soldier in the state capital."
The status of joining the army is lower than that of joining the army. Most of them are recruited by the superiors on their own, and their grades are ninth grade or even outside. Many of them are not part of the formal establishment of the imperial court, but they can obtain honorary titles, such as obtaining a certain grade of medal. This is also There will be a salary. The power of joining the army depends on the mood of the commander.
Li Zhiyun thought for a moment and said to Cai Hu: "Go and tell Zhang Zheng that we will go to the state government office in the afternoon."
In the afternoon, Li Zhiyun brought Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu to the state government office. After the yamen servant went in to report, a short while later, Governor Zhao came out and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, my subordinates have been waiting for your arrival."
