Chapter 208 An Unannounced Interview

Not long after Zhou Laojiu left, Zuoying Lieutenant Zhao Chong came.

In the local military government in the Tang Dynasty, the highest military officer is the lieutenant Zhe Chong, and there are 8,000 to 2,000 people under the jurisdiction of the state. The following are two lieutenants Guo Yi as deputes, and Pang Fei is now in this position. Next is the lieutenant. Generally, there are four to eight lieutenants under each brigade to lead the strength of a regiment.

The group of the Tang Dynasty can be different from the current group. In the military system of the Tang Dynasty, fire is the smallest system, with ten people per fire, with a commander and fire commander; five fires as a team, with a head and deputy team; two teams with a brigade commander. Generally speaking, the two brigades are set up as a lieutenant. However, Xiangzhou is a Shangfu, and each regiment has four brigades, with a total of 400 people. There are four regiments in the whole government, which are stationed in the left and right four regiments in the military village, so Zhao Chong is used to be called the "left battalion lieutenant". Qin Mubai, the highest officer, Zhe Chong's lieutenant, will lead his own officers and soldiers to station in the middle camp and order the three armies. In addition to Pang Fei, the 30 hundred riders who accompanied him were all officers of the Chinese army, serving as Zhonghou, Sijie, Si Ge, Zhiji and other official positions.

To sum up, Zhao Chong is also a senior officer in Xiangzhou Prefecture. If the whole Xiangzhou military government is equivalent to one of our regimental headquarters now, he is equivalent to a battalion commander.

Qin Mubai frowned gently in one hand and looked at Zhao rushed over with a serious expression, without saying anything.

When he was called by Pang Fei, the "deputy leader", Zhao Chong was already panicked enough. He thought that even the errand was a lieutenant Guo Yi. Maybe he was going to take me to clean me up... Seeing Qin Mubai's expression again, Zhao Chong raised a sense of fear in his heart and fell head-on.

"The last general will see General Qin... The last general deserves to die, please surrender the general!"

Qin Mubai gently picked the corners of his mouth and said easily, "What's wrong with you?"

"Well, this..." Zhao Chong was stuffed for a moment and couldn't answer. He choked for a long time before saying, "The last general didn't know the face, which offended the general Hu Wei!"

"You have said 'I don't know the face'. As the saying goes, those who don't know are innocent. I don't blame you. Get up and talk." Qin Mubai wrote lightly.

"The last general dare not!" A cold sweat was flowing on Zhao Chong's forehead, and his mind still recalled the kick that was kicked by Yuwen Hongtai in the cell. He said to himself that these officials from the capital had a bad temper, and it was better to be careful.

"If you insist on kneeling, it's up to you." Qin Mubai said, "But then again, if you offend Your Highness and me, have you made any other mistakes?"

"This... I don't know what the general's words mean?" Zhao Chong raised his head and looked at Qin Mubai with a little surprise and panic.

"You really don't know?" Qin Mubai increased his tone a little.

"The last general is stupid, please make it clear to the general!"

Qin Mubai thought that he wanted to knock on the mountain and shock the tiger, but it seemed that Zhao Chong was not as good as Zhou Laojiu. Well, I'm new here, so don't startle the snake. It's hard to say whether the people in the military palace have colluded with the water ghost. If I act recklessly, they will beware.

So Qin Mubai cleverly changed the topic: "That will remind you. Which battalion is the sergeant of Yueqi?

"Ah... General forgives you!" Zhao Chong panicked and said hurriedly, "When Ba Guidu had an accident and something was urgent, the last general was ordered by General Du Chengyuan, the lieutenant of Guo Yi, and hurriedly led the sergeant to rescue him. Considering that the water ghosts were fierce and murderous, and the situation was urgent, he had no choice but to temporarily recruit... The general's elite army rode Yue and went to Baguidu!"

Qin Mubai gently hooked the corners of his mouth: " According to the military law of the Tang Dynasty, the military government mobilizes a team of less than 50 people to leave the camp, and must be approved by the officer above Captain Guo Yi; if there are more than 50 people, it must be directly approved by the captain. Moreover, no one in the Chinese army has the right to mobilize except for the commander Zhe Chong. This time, you not only called the fifty riders, but also directly transferred the Yue cavalry in our central army... Zhao Chong, you are also a general and have been in the barracks for many years, don't you understand this rule?"

"The last general is indeed guilty, please punish the general!"

Qin Mubai smiled at himself: "That's all! I miss you and you have violated the military rules in order to save the emergency. Let me forgive you this time. You have to remember the military law well in the future.

"General Xie is generous and generous!" Zhao Chong answered the promise in a low voice and sighed and thought to himself: What's the matter with me? It turned out that I still caught you! ...You haven't taken office yet. What's wrong with your Chinese army for emergency mobilization? It's obviously to find a fault to teach me a lesson! - Well, what on earth is this guy trying to call me here? Why am I getting more and more confused?

Qin Mubai looked at Yue Chong with a suspicious face and wanted to laugh in his heart. Calming down, he said, "Zhao Chong, in the military government, you directly govern more than 400 brothers, whose position is not low and their power is not small; in the territory of Xiangzhou, you are also a figure. I think you should be very familiar with the situation in Xiangzhou. I have something to ask you.

"Please give me the general's instructions!" Zhao Chong's heart tightened and replied with a straight face.

"When I first arrived, I heard that the water ghosts in the West River were extremely fierce. They killed more and despised the king's law, and their crimes should be killed." Qin Mubai said, "As a military officer, it is your duty to maintain local peace. Have you ever led troops to chase and suppress water ghosts?"

"Yes." Zhao Chong replied, "There are several chases and suppressions several times a year, and there are usually a lot of confrontations with water ghosts. But... We have never caused any substantial blow to them. At most, it's just a matter of sporadically arresting or killing a few people. In order to compete with the water ghost, the military government also specially built the 'divine fish spacecraft' and trained the 'white wave water army'. Although it can completely overwhelm the water ghost by force, it is impossible to exterminate it. The last general is also very ashamed and distressed!"

"Shenyu Spaceship, White Wave Water Army... Well, it sounds good." Qin Mubai said, "What's the reason that the soldiers of the Celestial Empire can't clean up a few water ghosts and grass bandits?"

"The general doesn't know anything. The water ghosts are so slippery that they usually hide well and don't appear at all. Occasionally, after gathering on the river and making a case, they can quickly disappear without a trace. Because they are all on water, even if they are surrounded, they usually recover the goods at most. Those people, like loach, disappeared when they went into the water, and there was no way to catch them at all!" Zhao Chong shouted angrily.

"Really?" Qin Mubai smiled coldly, "Isn't your claw hook and spear quite powerful? You haven't caught one? If you can grab one or two alive mouths and pry open their mouths, are you afraid that you can't catch the first evil, and you are still worried that you can't annihilate them in one fell swoop?

"This..." Zhao Chong inadvertently picked up a trace of the corners of his mouth and said, "The last general is incompetent. He really hasn't caught it alive."

"How many years have you not caught a living mouth?" Qin Mubai questioned.

"That's exactly." Zhao Chong raised the corners of his mouth slightly and replied, "Even if it is caught, it will be inexplicably released by the government office. As for the reason, the last general is unknown. In a word, the conclusion is that the people captured by the last general are not real water ghosts.

After hearing this, Qin Mubai thought to him: Looking at Zhao Chong's disdainful and a little angry expression, he seemed to be a little dissatisfied with Xiangzhou Assassin's Office and Xiangyang County Government? Zhao Chong seemed to know something, but he didn't want to tell me directly... He should have some scruples. Well, I'm not in a hurry. Just explore the wind first. The ground in Xiangzhou is a little more complicated than I thought. It's not too late to trace it in detail when I figure out the situation.

"In the military mansion, who is directly in charge of the divine fish spaceship and the white wave water army?" Qin Mubai opened the topic and asked.

"It's the last general." Zhao Chong replied, "The last general is responsible for suppressing the water ghosts all the year round. The left camp of the military government is the water army camp, and the military ships are also under the jurisdiction of the last general. On that day, the case happened on the shore. The last general did not have enough cavalry power, so he had to call the general's Chinese cavalry..."

"Well... Tomorrow, at two o'clock, gather your left battalion navy and warships together near Baguidu. It was going to be reviewed." Qin Mubai said.

"The last general is ordered!" Zhao Chong solemnly held his fist and answered the promise.

"It's okay. Go ahead!" Qin Mubai said.

"Uh... The last general dares to ask when the general will take office in the military office?" Zhao Chong asked, "I waited for a few colleagues to welcome the general in the Assassin's House today, so I went back to the barracks to rectify the generals of the three armies. Let's wait for the general to pick up the general."

"Tomorrow's army ship, we will meet. The thieves made such a fierce noise that they would have had no intention to have a banquet. Go back and spread the word, and the vulgar gifts such as receiving the wind and washing the dust will be avoided. Tomorrow, the officers of the whole army will wait for me on your Shenyu spaceship. Qin Mubai said.

"The last general will obey!" Zhao Chong just saluted and left.

Pang Fei came in and said, "Master, my apprentice just listened to your conversation. The teacher asked a lot, but he answered carefully and his mouth was very strict. Presumably Zhao Chong knows a lot about the water ghost, but he doesn't want to say it.

"Smart and energetic." Qin Mubai stood up and smiled slightly, "He seems to have said a lot to me, but in fact, he didn't say anything meaningful. It's just that I vaguely felt that he was a little dissatisfied with the officials of the state and county government. Nowadays, in the peaceful and prosperous times of the Tang Dynasty, the small place of Xiangzhou is actually a water ghost and a green forest. Isn't it abnormal? If there is no government office or the military government to open the door of convenience for them, how can such a phenomenon be repeatedly banned? I absolutely don't believe that they don't have any connection with water ghosts.

"The disciple also thinks so." Pang Fei said, "It's so unusual and unreasonable that these water ghosts dare to openly kill people under the world, and then escape without a trace. After all, it's a group of people and big brown goods. Even if it's easy for people to hide and hide, how can the goods disappear in the air?

"Well said, in one word!" Qin Mubai stroked his palm and said with a smile, "It seems that you have also seen some clues. If you want to clean up the water ghosts and arrest them directly by force, it will definitely stop the boiling. The enemy is secret, and we suppress it fiercely, so they hide and don't come out to commit the crime. When we relax, they quietly gather to commit the crime. In this way, we are always passive. If you want to turn passive into active, you have to hold on to their seven-inch key - that is, how do they sell the large number of stolen goods?

Pang Fei blinked a few times: "Looking at the situation of the benefactor's wisdom beads, it seems that there is a good idea?"

"Haha!" Qin Mubai smiled and said, "It seems that you haven't been fooled around in Baiqi, and you have practiced well. We deliberately asked Zhao to rush back to pass on the message, explaining that the Japanese military parade was to confuse them and confuse the public. Early tomorrow morning, you and I will dress up and walk around the state. After noon, go back here and prepare to go to the Eight Ghosts for the military parade!"

"The teacher is wise, and everything has been arranged!" Pang Fei bowed his hand happily and said, "Follow your teacher, you can learn good things!"

"Don't always call your teacher." Qin Mubai patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You are also a lieutenant of Guo Yi now. You should have your own opinions and propositions, and you should also learn to stand alone. Just now, you also saw that Zhao Chong, a lieutenant in the district, is so difficult to deal with. In the future, you have to practice more in the military mansion!"

"Yes!"

That night, Qin Mubai, who was sleepy and tired, slept in the inn. He had no dream all night until early in the morning. Pang Fei knocked on the door to wake him up. After hastily eating some breakfast, he changed his clothes and disguised as a business traveler's servant, etc. Qin Mubai and Pang Fei went to the state city with five or six people.

Xiangzhou is a port city, and business travel is very active. Although it is not as magnificent, luxurious and rich as Chang'an West City, it is not less lively. Especially in the port city of Beicheng, many goods transported from the port are traded directly here, which is extremely prosperous. There are a lot of shops, and there is an endless stream of people, and the hawking is noisy.

"Dear owner, this Hong Kong city in Xiangzhou is really lively!" Pang Fei smiled and said, "What are you really pretending to be like? How dare you learn this businessman's behavior from the Wudong family?"

"There's a lot of nonsense." Qin Mubai laughed and scolded, "I'm taking advantage of the fact that few people in Xiangzhou know me, which is convenient for open and unannounced visits. Everyone pay attention to it. If you see a shop or official account selling salt rice, just let me know.

Pang Fei's eyes lit up and came over and whispered, "Teacher, do you mean that those stolen goods are likely to be resold through the official grain bank or salt number?"

"Isn't there such a possibility?" Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said, "How can the water ghosts eat or sink into the river with so much grain and salt? What they want is not grain and salt, but money. But with so much grain and salt, it is impossible for them to transfer, let alone resell. Therefore, it is the best way to sell those stolen goods directly to the grain and salt number!"

"But... my 'grain, iron and salt cloth' in the Tang Dynasty are all exclusively sold by the government!" Pang Fei was surprised and said, "All grain and salt merchants must be licensed firms hired by the government, and there can only be one operation in each state or county. Moreover, whether it is the source of goods or the market, the price or the purchase price, it is determined by the government. The grain bank and the salt number only earn an extremely small difference in price as a profit.

Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Is it meager? I don't think so. Originally, the most profitable goods in the world are these things such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, especially grain and salt. Think about it, who doesn't eat food and salt in the world? Just saying that in this Xiangzhou city, if anyone can get the grain and salt management rights of the government, it means that the people in the whole city are making money for him. Even if each person earns only a penny a day, it is an amazing amount. Therefore, generally speaking, most of the businesses dealing in grain and salt are the richest people in the local area. Metaphorically, Zheng Fengchi of Chang'an!"

"Oh... I understand!" Pang Fei suddenly nodded and said, "The official grain line and salt number are provided by the government, so the profit is relatively low. But if it's the thief's stolen goods from the water ghost... then the profit will be huge! Moreover, these stolen goods are the same as official grain and official salt, and there is no way to distinguish them at all - mentors, such an analysis is really very possible!"

Qin Mubai smiled at himself: "I thought you had figured it out for a long time!"

"Uh..." Pang Fei scratched his head awkwardly and said with a red face and an embarrassed smile, "If my brain was as good as a teacher, I would have been a teacher long ago, hey hey!"

"Stop talking nonsense. Take your brothers around the Hong Kong city and find the grain bank and the silver number. At a quarter, we are still going to go to the Eight Ghosts for a military parade. Time is urgent!" Qin Mubai said.

"Good! The apprentice took the brothers and looked for it immediately!"