Hearing the arrogant voice outside, Old Man Zhong's expression changed, showing a panic, and he looked at Li Ling and the others worriedly.

Li Moyun's ears moved and said quickly: "Five people came from outside, they came..." Before he finished speaking, the gate of the courtyard was kicked open, and the arrogant voice came back: "I dare not hide, believe it or not, I will burn your doghouse!"

When Yang Zhen heard this, his eyebrows fists, and his hands were clenched into fists. Then Li Ling stopped him with his eyes. He quickly stepped forward and opened the door. He looked at the men who had already strode to the door and said slightly, "I'm a sharp man from Huaibei. When I walked to this day, I came to Guizhuang to bother you all night. If there is anything to offend, I hope you can forgive me." As he said that, he turned his eyes and saw a man in the most beautiful clothes behind him, and bowed to him and said, "You are right here, you are polite."

"Niu Wu, what are you seeing?" Nao Zheng did not pay attention to it first, but asked the tall man standing in front of Li Ling.

Niu Wu nodded quickly and replied, "That's right, Li Zheng, it's their group, there are a total of one, two, three... nine people are right."

Li Ling, who was temporarily ignored, was not annoyed, and still stood with a smile on his fist. At this time, he really couldn't see any official power, just an ordinary businessman.

After nodding there, Niu Wucai introduced: "Yes, this is Mr. Zeng, the Lizheng of our Wuliu Village. Who are you, where you come from and where you are going, why do you think about running to our village to spend a stay?"

"I'm in the lower grade, the people of Hengzhou Prefecture in Huaibei are doing the trading of grain and rice. This time I want to come to Huguang to buy grain and sell it to Huaibei." Li Ling didn't mind that he had introduced himself just now, and now he said it more carefully, "I heard that the grain and rice in Suizhou are very good, so I plan to buy grain there. By the way, these people are my followers, so I can take care of them along the way."

"Is that true?" It was not until then that Zeng Li came up and looked at Li Ling with a condescending attitude, "But why don't you look like businessmen?"

These words made Li Ling's heart stern. Is the vicious eyes in this village so much that I can tell that he is an official? Just as I was thinking about how to cover it up, the other party snorted coldly: "I think you guys are like robbers! I'm saying, what's the purpose of you here?"

"..." Li Ling was speechless. What did he look like? He didn't have any bandits. It's because you are so domineering that you look more like bandits, right?

But then, he reacted again, stepped forward, bowed again, and said, "Zeng Li was joking. I am a businessman who is meticulous. How could he be a bandit? If you don't believe it, I still have a government office here..." As he said that, he winked behind him. Li Moyun quickly took out the documents he had prepared from his bag and handed them over.

As an official of the court and had a close relationship with the Ministry of Revenue, Li Ling could naturally prepare a few certificates for himself, although they were fake, but they looked even more real than real. This time he came to Huguang, he came in handy.

After taking over the office, Li Ling took out a ingot of about ten taels of silver from his sleeve and handed it to the other party: "Please check it out even if Zeng Li is too."

Just as he guessed, Zeng Lizheng came here to investigate whether it was fake and the purpose of quarrel was to get rid of it. After taking the money, he only looked at the house in a fake way, then changed his face and handed it back: "Isn't it better for you to explain it clearly. Fortunately, I'll be careful, otherwise, I'll take all of you and send it to the government just now."

"Yes, yes, what is said is, I am too reckless." Li Ling was so kind and his attitude was very good, which made the other party feel great. He smiled and waved his hand and said, "Since you are indeed foreign businessmen, then take a rest here and leave tomorrow. But remember, don't ask about some things, and know too much, it will not be of any benefit to you!"

"Yes, Li Zheng will mention something, and you will remember it in the lower class." Li Ling saluted again, but when the other party was about to leave, he suddenly said: "Uh, by the way, Li Zheng, there is something else, I want to inquire about it."

"What's the matter?" Zeng Lizheng frowned impatiently. He got the money, but he was not interested in continuing to talk nonsense with him.

"It's what thieves you just mentioned. From what you mean, are there thieves nearby?" Li Ling said with a worried look on his face, "You also know that what we businessmen are most afraid of is that we encounter thieves on the road, so that we can be prepared, right? If you can help us, we will definitely be rewarded."

When Zeng Lizheng heard that there was a reward, a hint of enthusiasm flashed in his eyes: "Since you said that, as a local official, I would not be able to give you some advice, go in and say." As he said that, he turned his back and drove Old Man Zhong out. As soon as he sat down on the top, he told Li Ling what he knew.

"Just a few days ago, a hundred-man bandit suddenly appeared in our Guang'an territory. I don't know where they usually hide. Anyway, they have robbed several caravans. Just half a month ago, there was another official grain team attacked by them. Fortunately, some officers and soldiers arrived in time and beat them away.

"But because of this, the county attaches more and more importance to it. Any strangers who have passed through our Guang'an must carefully check it. If you have not passed the proof, you may be arrested and imprisoned."

"There is such a thing? There are such a bright world, and there are actually bandits in the Central Plains!" Li Ling said with surprise. His expression was half true and half pretending. He really didn't expect that such a big mess had happened in Huguang.

"Who said no? The big men in the county government seem to care more about this matter recently. I heard that some high-ranking officials are coming from the capital. They are in a hurry to wipe out the bandits before the high-ranking officials arrive."

Li Ling had no sense of being a high-ranking official in the capital, and said with a dedication: "Is that true? Do the bandit have any clues?"

"If there is, will we still be so nervous?" Li Zheng coughed, and then his eyes slipped on Li Ling again. The latter immediately understood and hurriedly thanked him while handing over another ingot of silver to the other party, and then he saw that there was someone leaving with satisfaction.

It was not until they went a little farther away that the smile on Li Ling's face suddenly subsided: "Only from such a small inner world, you can tell how hard the lives of the people of Huguang are." As the saying goes, the upward and downward effect is, only when the upper ones are mostly corrupt officials, can such a countryside that can get into the eyes of money.

"Sir, do you think his words are trustworthy? Are there really any thieves here?" Yang Zhen cared more about this and couldn't help asking.

"I'm afraid it's 80% true. I'm sorry he's not capable of making up such an explanation in just a moment." Li Ling said, and looked at the dark sky outside, "Okay, it's getting late, so let's rest. We'll rush to Guang'an tomorrow to see if we can collect more relevant clues."

Everyone agreed and dispersed, leaving two people to guard the yard, while Li Moyun and Yang Zhen slept in the same room with Li Ling to protect his safety.

After going to bed, Li Ling did not fall asleep immediately, but suddenly said, "I don't know how they are?" Xiao Chengzhi, Yang Chen and his team came to Huguang with the brigade. The former had to command the army, while the latter had to control the overall situation with Wan Shenji. Especially Yang Chen, he had to pretend to be Li Ling to socialize with officials along the way. Obviously, this job is not simple.

Yang Zhen smiled, "My brother and the others should enjoy it. After all, with the current reputation of the adults, officials from all over the country who come here will definitely try their best to curry favor with each other, and they can eat all the way with a banquet."

"Why, are you envious? If I had known that you had thought so, I would have asked you to change it with Wan Shenji." Li Ling said with a smile.

"Where is it? You know, sir. I am most annoying about these social events. It would be better to let me fight with the enemy for hundreds of rounds if I asked me to accompany those officials to say false words." Yang Zhen immediately asked for help.

This made Li Moyun laugh: "So the young master is to know people and take good care of them. I know you still like to sleep with us."

"Actually, there are not only various social engagements on their side, but I am worried that there may also be plots and conspiracies." Li Ling suddenly said with some concern, but when the two of them asked again, he stopped talking.

...

Shunshui Town is a busy town at the junction of Caohe and the Yangtze River. The town tonight looks more lively than before, because more than a dozen official boats from the capital docked here, and nearby prefects came here to hold a banquet to entertain Lord Li from the capital.

Even after the third anniversary of the town, the lights were still brightly lit. However, the banquet had already dispersed. Several officials said some polite words to each other and said goodbye one by one, especially a tall man, surrounded by many officials, and were polite to them with drunken eyes. Then, with several followers, we got into the carriage and headed towards the big ship at the dock.

What they didn't notice was that in the dark and dark alley beside, there were two pairs of eyes flashing with cold light staring at the carriage. Seeing that the carriage was approaching the alley where they were, the two of them were exploding and they were about to rush out.

But at this moment, a light shout came from behind him: "Slow down!"
Chapter completed!