On the edge of the Bianhe River outside Yongcheng County, there is a small tavern, and a wine flag is picked at the intersection.

He stood at the intersection and waved his hand, looked at the road and saw that there were no pedestrians, and raised the curtain and entered the tavern. There were seven or eight tables and stools in it, and only the innermost table had three guests.

Seeing He Abshisi coming in, a middle-aged man sitting outside hurriedly beckoned: "Brother is here, come and sit quickly!" ”

Seeing that it was Wei Absi greeting him, he was a little uncomfortable, but he didn't show it on his face, and walked to him to salute.

The two people who sat together also stood up together, and after everyone had seen the salute, they sat down separately.

After a few pleasantries, Wei Zhisi said: "Lou Yuanwai and the Cai family's elder brother are about to travel far away, and the brother will have a drink here to bid them farewell." ”

He Abbot said a few polite words, and said to Lou Yuanwai: "Yuanwai has been in the county for several years, and business is booming, why do you have to travel far away?" ”

Lou Yuanwai shook his head and sighed: "I'm a foreigner, thanks to the help of my brothers in Yongcheng, I have made some money. As the saying goes, wealth does not return to the hometown, such as fine clothes. After being away from home for a long time, after all, you still have to return to your roots. - Of course, to say that you leave just because you are homesick is to deceive yourself. When we do business here, we have always been the backbone of Ma Daguan on the other side of the river. I don't know what he did these days, and the whole family was arrested in the inspection village, and there was no news. Ma Daguan has an accident, business is not good, and then a person is panicked, so it is not good to stay for a long time. ”

He Absi glanced up at Wei Absi, and said casually: "There is a reclamation field on the other side of the river, and there is only one Zhuangzi of Ma Daguan, I heard that it was because of evading the errand and was taken and thoroughly investigated, what else can I do?" There is no need to worry about the outside staff, business is still going on as usual. ”

Lou Yuanwai shook his head, sighed, and stopped talking.

Tooth man is the core of business in this era, not only introducing buyers and sellers, but also providing guarantees, stabilizing market prices, and many other functions. Foreign merchants sell goods here, and if there are no trustworthy tooth people, the goods either cannot be sold, or it is difficult to make money by selling them. Lou Yuanwai trafficked goods from Zhenzhou to here, all relying on Ma Meng, and now he doesn't bother to bother others if something happens. And he has some rumors, Ma Meng's case is not simple, and he is afraid that he will be implicated, so of course he will slip away. The so-called no treacherous business, how can you do business honestly with someone like Ma Meng.

Wei Absi shook his head imperceptibly, and Hoab Si understood and stopped advising Lou Yuan.

The two prison divisions in the county basically controlled the pleadings and lawsuits, and of course two small gangs were formed. He and Weabth were usually at odds with Weabs, and if it weren't for this sensitive time, he wouldn't have come to sit with Weabth at all. Sure enough, as soon as they talked, Lou Yuanwai left because Ma Meng was arrested, which was a difficult problem faced by Heabsi and Wei Absil, and it was difficult to say anything more.

Cai Zi, surnamed Cai, is a boatman, with more than a dozen boats under his command, specializing in the route from Sizhou to Yongcheng. In previous years, when the Bianhe River was in winter, half of his men also took the opportunity to rest, and many people lived temporarily in Yongcheng. There are few people who run boats on the river that are not involved in the affairs of the rivers and lakes, and even Lou Yuanwai, who is doing business, knows that he wants to run away, so he doesn't need to ask. Because of his close friendship with Ma Meng, this boat gang has been involved in many cases.

After drinking for a while and chatting a few gossips, Cai Zi said to He Abbot: "In the past, most of the words of the surrounding people were handled by the Abbot. This time, no one knows better than Abshi. All the people here are their own people, and the priest gives a correct sentence, is it difficult for Ma Daguan? ”

He Abbot said: "I heard that many of the Zhuang guests on the village of the horse official did not have a written contract, and he treated people as slaves, and I heard that he had eaten the lawsuit. This matter involves the hidden population, the evasion of the deed tax-"

Cai Ziyi waved his hand: "Oshi, everyone knows these things now. If that's the case, how can there be any reason to lock up dozens of people there, and there is no wind outside? It's because we don't know what is going on that everyone panics, otherwise what are Lou people running away? When things come to this point, we are all grasshoppers on a rope, and if something happens to one person, nothing else can get out. Brothers have been friends for many years, and when will Oshishi hide it from us? ”

He Abbot spread his hands: "I don't hide it from you, I don't know the details of this matter, and there are all kinds of rumors, who knows the truth or falsehood?" ”

Cai Zi looked at Lou Yuanwai and said, "Zhu Si, we have been friends for many years, and we don't look at the face of the monk to see the face of the Buddha." You just have to tell the brothers, is this time to go or stay? How risky is it to stay? ”

He Abshiji bowed his head and was silent, fiddling with the wine glass with one hand, and said after a long while: "Having said that, I am sorry for my brother if I don't say it directly." The news is very tightly blocked in the inspection village on the other side, and I only have some fragmentary rumors here, I don't know the exact. But it's weird that things are done so tightly, and Liu Tong in the state yesterday was sentenced-"

Wei Jisi on the other side was stunned: "Has the sentence arrived?" Why didn't the county go to greet it? Nor did the head go to the guards. ”

He Abbot said: "There is a patrol village on the other side, what do you want to do!" The general judgment is now to live in the inspection village, and he is not going to come to the county seat, I am afraid that he will hide it from us. All these scattered messages add up, all I can say is, let's go, as far as we go! ”

Speaking of this, He Abbot arched his hand: "We have been friends for many years, so I can only say this, you can do it yourself!" ”

Cai Zi was taken aback: "According to what the Charge Division said, isn't the situation already bad?" Ma Daguan is only afraid of more evil and less auspicious! ”

Wei Absi said impatiently: "Can you still take care of the surname Ma now!" He said bad things about him in front of the Du officials who came from the state, and Gu Zhixian only broke his leg is already a grace, what else do you think! Now that it is in the inspection village, it is in the hands of Du Guanren, how can there be good fruit to eat! What we're afraid of is that Mamon doesn't know what to say, who to bite out! ”

"Now there is no one in the yamen who is not afraid! Mamun has been proud of us for many years, and no one up and down has benefited from him. Alas, I just don't know how big the above is going to be this time and how many people are involved, which is worrying! ”

Listening to Heabshi's words, Wei Absi stepped forward and lowered his voice: "At this point, we can only overcome this difficulty by sincerely cooperating. Yesterday I met Jin Kongmu who came to the county seat, and he leaked a little bit of the wind, and only did the first evil, and never asked. ”

Hearing this, Hoabshi suddenly became energetic and hurriedly asked, "What is the first evil?" What is a co-slave? ”

Veazus smiled mysteriously, knocked on the table, and said, "Over the years, I have collected some money from Mammon, but I have never worked with him. Regardless of the first and worst accomplices, it probably doesn't matter to me. ”

Hoabshi's face was gloomy and he did not answer. Wei Absi mainly deals with the affairs on the Bianhe River, and has little contact with Ma Meng, but He Absi deals with local affairs, and has more to do with Ma Meng. But I'm just providing convenience, and I don't know if it's the first evil or an accomplice.

The two Oshishi were thinking about their own thoughts, thinking about their plans for the future. They are all local households, and their families have land and property, and if they want to escape, they have to abandon their families and businesses, and they can make up their minds for a while. Using big households as officials is to use their family property to protect their careers, and it is not easy to run. As for Song Jiang's trick of severing the relationship between father and son in the Water Margin, there is no place for it in these years, and he is not a high-class household, so he is not qualified to do these public official positions.

However, Lou Yuanwai and Cai Zi sighed, since they have been confirmed, they just have to leave.