Du Zhongxiao sat on the chair, looking at the rows of masts and oars on the Bian River not far away, frowned, and listened quietly to the situation in Yongcheng that Jin Shuzhao had asked about in the past few days. The situation was far more complicated than he thought, and it was a bit tricky.

With the Bian River, there is a dock near the inspector village and the opposite county town, which is not small in size. The docks in the county town mainly serve the canal transportation, and the passing official ships often rest there. The docks here serve local commercial services, and directly go to the official road to Chenzhou.

After Jin Shuzhao finished speaking, Du Zhongxiao asked, "How are you trying to find out that Yaman named Ma? Who is the one who is not familiar with all kinds of human feelings and is as cunning as a ghost. Tao Shiqi Killed Lu Yuhou is a relative of his family. The case is all about this person."

"He returned to the official, and I sent someone to visit these days. Yaren, the surname Ma, is indeed an ordinary person. He started his business in medicinal materials, and has been doing more and more in recent years. He has included lacquerware, local products, silk and cloth, and countless businesses. Because of his strong capital and great wealth, he is called Ma Daguan Ren nearby. This man does not manage the industry. There is a farm not far from the north of the wharf. The farmer makes a living by fishing, and then transports goods for him."

Du Zhongxiao said: "He is doing business as much as he wants?"

"How can such a person do business? His farm has many idle people, saying that he is taking care of business everywhere, but in fact, outsiders know what they do? This person is familiar with the public officials in the yamen and has many farmers. It is said that there are many outlaws in the middle, so who dares to provoke him? Even if it is a patrol village, he will not dare to go to his door to interrogate things."

After hearing this, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but frown: "There are more than a hundred soldiers in the inspection camp who are still afraid of a large local household?"

"If you say it's scary, it's just an exaggeration, but you're just a lot of concerns. There are many idle people in this village and fewer people go there, and you will inevitably be deceived by him. If you go there too many times, you will be mobilized, which makes people feel embarrassed. Moreover, this person is familiar with the people in the yamen and is well-informed, so it's difficult to hold on to the handle. Moreover, there is not only one Ma Da official in this area, but it is difficult to collude with each other."

Du Zhongxiao nodded and didn't say anything for a moment. The situation in the countryside was far more complicated than he had thought. According to his previous experience, as long as the government came to investigate the matter, no matter what identity he was, who would dare not cooperate? This era is not possible. When he found out that he was in the door, he didn't know what was right. Either he was not at home or it was just a coincidence. Being able to come out to meet and ask questions or knowing each other was considered to be a sufficient face.

There is something even more outrageous. People were caught in prison here, and those who climbed over the wall to sleep with prostitutes and drink without restraint. How many officials are there in one state and a county? The real thing is to rely on local officials and officials to do things. These people are mixed with the local authorities and cannot be guarded against. Thinking of watching "Water Margin" in the previous life, Song Jiang committed a crime and sheltered people everywhere. It was not because he committed a death sentence later, so he could not do anything to him. There is also a place in Yongcheng where the inspection camp and the county government are not subordinate to each other and cannot cooperate closely, making it easier for local snakes and rats to take advantage of loopholes.

After a while of silence, Du Zhongxiao said, "This bird and horse official started his business in the medicinal materials business and met Tao Shiqi's family. I'm afraid there is another hidden truth in this matter. Tao Shiqi killed someone in front of me and went to the official position with a sigh. If he really avenged revenge, he would be a hero. He committed a crime in public and I would not be able to protect his life. When I got here today, I can only find out the hidden truth and let him go on the road with peace of mind."

Jin Shuzhao was a little embarrassed: "Ma Guanren is very powerful locally and has many ears and ears, so it is difficult to investigate. Another thing is that the prefectures and counties tend to recognize Tao Shiqi and mistakenly recognize someone, and close the case earlier. The officials want to investigate this matter, but they have no name, so it is difficult to start."

Du Zhongxiao stood up, looked at the ships passing by in the Bian River not far away, and turned around to look at the desolate land behind him. After pondering for a while, he summoned to Jin Shu: "It is because there are more people in our country than those in the local big households. I have other concerns about this matter. In the past few days, you can arrange people to find out the people around you. How many powerful families are there for living, and how many idle villagers are obedient to the orders. Don't worry about the case first. We always have to live here for a few days. If we don't find out these things, nothing will be easy to do."

Jin Shu summoned his hands to agree to the promise.

Du Zhongxiao himself was bullied by local forces, and knew that such a thing was extremely difficult. Back then, Wu Kejiu was arrested in prison and was slaughtered by others. The county government was like his family opened, and the county magistrate pretended not to know. This kind of thing is not just Linying County? In fact, this is the case in most places. As long as you collude with public officials, the officials have no choice but to investigate. Du Zhongxiao is a prefectural official and brought a few entourages to the county. These people have nothing to do with the county, and the magistrate and other officials do not even have this condition. If you want to check whoever you want, you will be exposed in the early morning. All kinds of fake official documents and fake certificates will be used for you to check, and there is no way to check it.

For the county government, it is not a major case that alarms the state. In general, the public officials in the county can cover the sky with one hand. Several officials in the county are only responsible for urging grain taxes and maintaining local public order. Public officials with more powerful methods control the affairs of a county and even call them local magistrates, and do not take officials seriously. It is not an individual phenomenon that they are more domineering, false accusations and threaten their superiors.

He asked Jin Shucang to arrange it, Du Zhongxiao, alone, how to break the situation? With a thousand years of experience, he always had his own way to make it out of this online. The solution he thought of coincides with some officials of this era, such as Wang Anshi later became a county magistrate in the same year.

Two miles north of the inspection village, there was Ma Daguanren's farm. In addition to his large mansion, there were nearly a hundred families. These people did not farm, either fished for a living, trafficked goods, and some made a living on the docks. The relationship between these people and the Ma family was close or far away, and they followed the orders of Ma Daguanren. The local area turned a blind eye to these large households because they were numerous and powerful, which was difficult to deal with.

Song Sigong brought Shen Dalang and the other two to the place. When he saw a young man carrying a bunch of fish, he went up and asked, "Do you dare to ask if this is the farm of Ma Daguan Ren?"

The boy glanced at the few people and said, "No, you guys are so sensible. Who are you here to find Ma Daguan?"

Song Sigong bowed: "I am here with the capital. I have heard of the name of Ma Daguanren for a long time and come to join me."

The young man shook his head: "What the Fourth Duke of Song has never heard of. The great officials have to be busy with so many things, and they have to have some irrelevant people."

The man was under the eaves and had to bow his head. The Sigong of Song was not upset and said to the young man: "Please tell me about the Grand Official Ma, and I will say that the Sigong of Song from the capital is coming to visit. The Sigong of Song who knows my reputation will definitely meet."

The young man only looked at a few people there, without reporting or speaking.

Song Sigong understood and took out a handful of copper coins and handed them over: "Little brother, take them to buy a bowl of wine."

The young man weighed the copper coins and said, "You guys wait here, I'll go to the official's house to take a look."

Seeing the young man leaving, Shen Dalang said, "Why should the Fourth Duke ask this person? Since this is the Madaguanren Zhuangzi, we just need to look for the largest house. We can just stay and buy wine to eat a few copper coins."
Chapter completed!