"I've observed them with the Celestial Commissioner's Aura Observation Spell. All of them have a bloody aura," Xu Qi 'an said.
According to the definition of the Aura Observation Spell, the experienced Jinluo knew what the bloody aura represented.
"Why do you know the Aura Observation Spell?" Jiang Lvzhong asked. He turned to look at the official ship and opened his palm to a warlock in white who had come out to watch the show.
An invisible Qi distorted the air and pulled the dancing Warlock in white to the boat.
"I want to see their fate," Jiang Lvzhong said gently.
The warlock in white frowned to express his displeasure. As an arrogant Warlock, even when facing a high-ranked martial artist, he still had the confidence to show that he could not be depraved.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up, "Xu Qi 'an urged.
"Oh …" The warlock in white nodded obediently. Light overflowed from his eyes after a moment of silence.
He carefully observed the cabin. After a while, he withdrew the Light and said, "There is indeed a bloody aura."
Jiang Lvzhong's eyes suddenly sharpened. To be safe, he asked, "Are there any other abnormalities?"
"Yes!"
Xu Qi 'an only acted because he was confident. "There are a few more suspicious points. First, there are signs of fighting in the cabin, which is recent."
"Second, these people are not people who make a living on the water all year round. They don't even know how to get rid of the fishy smell of the river fish."
"Third, they are too guilty. Whether it was the panic when they first saw us, or whatever requests I made later, they satisfied them without any resentment … Heh, based on my understanding of officials, they are not stingy. Even if they dare not offend the night watchman, if they have a clear conscience, they will complain without fear. After all, the water transportation is not under the control of the night watchman. "
"And their behavior is as if they can't wait to get rid of us, and they will give us whatever we ask."
"Not knowing how to get rid of the fishy smell, but remembering such details, Xu Ningyan is indeed a genius in investigating cases." Jiang Lvzhong sighed in his heart, but nodded calmly.
"You've thought it through. Not bad."
Then, he asked again, "This place is only half a day's journey from Yuzhou. Their bodies are stained with blood and they have taken lives, but how did they kill near Yuzhou?"
Xu Qi 'an said, "Tonight."
Jiang Lvzhong pondered for a moment and understood. According to the current time, the pontoon had departed from Yu Province at night.
Taking advantage of the night to kill people would not attract attention.
A moment later, the night watchmen gathered everyone on the deck and tied them up.
Zhu Guangxiao cupped his fists and said, "There are a total of 62 people on the ship, all of them are here."
Jiang Lvzhong nodded. He looked at the bearded man dressed as an arrester and said in a deep voice, "Wake him up."
The process of waking him up was very rough. Zhu Guangxiao forcefully shot the bearded man awake, causing him to moan miserably.
The man who was disguised as the captain of the Water Transport Office swept his gaze around and realized his predicament. His face instantly turned ashen.
He still couldn't believe that he had been exposed just like that. What exactly had gone wrong?
"I ask, you answer. Every time you lie or hide something, I'll cut off one finger." Jiang Lvzhong's emotionless voice rang out.
The bearded man looked up and saw a pair of sharp eyes that seemed to be able to see through his heart. His body trembled and he fell to the ground.
"Your real identity!"
"I'm Fang He, a wanderer in Jianghu. I've established a Yellow Flag Gang in Yuzhou to make a living."
"Making a living includes killing yamen officials and robbing the iron mine of the imperial court?"
"No, no … Sir, I'm doing this for money. The one who ordered me to do this is the Moral Commissioner of the Water Transport Office in Yuzhou. He told us that there is a pontoon heading to the capital tonight with iron ore in it. He ordered us to kill the guards on the ship and take over the iron mine. "
What is this shit … A series of question marks appeared in Xu Qi 'an's mind.
After joining the night watchmen, he gradually came into contact with the officialdom. From time to time, Xu Qi 'an's mind would be confused by the messy names of officials.
Did the Moral Commissioner plan all this? The night watchmen communicated with each other through their eyes. They were all shocked.
Even Jiang Lüzhong's expression became serious.
Obviously, they had encountered a big case of embezzlement.
"This doesn't make sense." Xu Qi 'an shook his head and asked, "Why did you kill people and rob the ship? If you only wanted to take over the iron mine, you didn't have to do this. Working with the yamen officials is far safer than working with you. "
Jiang Lüzhong glanced at him and explained, "The Water Transport Office in each province is divided into two systems, the Shoreline Department and the Moral Commissioner. The Shoreline Department is responsible for the management of the canal and the acceptance and storage of materials such as grain, salt, and iron. The Moral Commissioner is responsible for escorting the ship. "
In other words, if the officials of the Moral Commissioner wanted to take over the iron mine, they had to do it on the water … Xu Qi 'an nodded. "So, to completely cover up the crime, they made the guards on the ship disappear with the ship? In this way, the Moral Commissioner also became a victim. "
Jiang Lüzhong continued to ask, "What happens after the iron mine is taken over?"
The bearded man shook his head. "We are only responsible for sending the iron mine to Yunzhou. The route starts from Yuzhou and bypasses Shazhou. When we reach Yunzhou, someone will be responsible for the connection."
Yunzhou?!
Jiang Lüzhong's expression changed instantly.
It's that damn place Yunzhou again … That's right, the Water Transport Office is under the control of the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Works is controlled by the Qi Dang. The Qi Dang colluded with the Witchcraft Cult and secretly transported military supplies for Yunzhou … All of this makes sense. However, transporting supplies is one thing, transporting iron mine … It's horrifying to think about it.
"Who's the one who contacted you? Judging from your tone, it's not the first time you've done this. "
"This year, I've done it a total of three times this year. Transporting a total of … fifty thousand catties of iron mine to Yunzhou. "
Jiang Lüzhong asked a few more questions and then ordered, "You stay on this pontoon, turn the rudder and follow me to Yuzhou. Keep an eye on these criminals. "
Then he said to Xu Qi 'an, "Bring him back to the ship with me."
This time, Xu Qi 'an didn't rely on his own strength to return to the official ship. A flow of Qi under his feet dragged him up into the air. He followed Jiang Lüzhong across dozens of meters and arrived beside Inspector Zhang.
"What happened? Why did you stop the official's pontoon?" Inspector Zhang asked repeatedly.
"Something really happened …" Jiang Lüzhong made a "please" gesture, "Lord Inspector, please follow me into the room."
Jiang Lüzhong told Inspector Zhang about Xu Qi 'an's discovery and the bearded man Fang He's confession in full detail. After that, he interrogated Fang He again in front of Inspector Zhang.
After listening to Fang He's confession, Inspector Zhang showed a dignified expression.
"Other than the Transport Commissioner of the Transport Department, which other official is involved?"
"This lowly one doesn't know …"
Inspector Zhang looked at Xu Qi 'an, "Bring him down first and then come back. I have something to discuss with you."
The meaning of this sentence was that he had completely regarded Xu Qi 'an as someone on the same level as him. He wasn't just a subordinate.
Xu Qi 'an brought Fang He out of the room, handed him over to Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao, and asked them to keep an eye on him. Then he returned to his room and closed the door.
Seeing him return, Inspector Zhang's expression became serious, "What do you think?"
"This lowly one has a doubt."
When Jiang Lüzhong and Inspector Zhang looked at him, Xu Qi 'an expressed his opinion, "The Minister of Works has already fallen from power. As a member of the Qi party, they should be jittery and watch from the sidelines. Why did Yuzhou's Water Transport Office continue to transport iron ore to Yunzhou in this storm?
"In addition, no matter how rampant the bandits in Yunzhou are, they are still the mountain kings who can't be shown in public. Not only that, the Ministry of Works transport military supplies such as weapons and cannons, but they even want to secretly transport iron ore to Yunzhou. Is this something that the mountain bandits can swallow? What are they trying to do? "
Inspector Zhang closed his eyes, his fingertips lightly tapped on the table, and murmured, "The Qi party colluded with the Witchcraft Cult … to transport military supplies, cannons, and iron ore to Yunzhou … Salt, iron, and gunpowder are prohibited items that Daibun prohibits from flowing outside …"
He paused for a moment, then his body trembled and he opened his eyes. His face revealed a horrified expression, and he slowly said, "Rebellion."
The Qi party transported large amounts of military supplies to Yunzhou, and now with the iron ore, if it wasn't for rebellion, he really couldn't think of any other reason.
If it was just to support the mountain bandits, why did they need to do this?
Thinking of this, Inspector Zhang stood up and paced back and forth in the room. Sometimes he looked at Jiang Lüzhong, and sometimes he looked at Xu Qi 'an.
"Xu Ningyan, you've given me another difficult problem … If we encounter this on the way, our journey will definitely be delayed."
Although he said so, his expression and tone didn't have the slightest bit of blame. Instead, there was a strange expression of worry and excitement mixed together.
Jiang Lüzhong said, "Sir, reporting this matter back to the capital can be said to be a great merit."
"This can't be without your credit." Inspector Zhang patted Xu Qi 'an's shoulder with force.
Not to mention the result of the trip to Yunzhou, just the fact that he discovered this case was a great merit. Even if the trip to Yunzhou yielded nothing, it was enough to make up for it, and he might even be rewarded.
And all of this was due to Xu Qi 'an's sharp sense of smell.
After a moment, he calmed down and sat back in the chair, thinking about the current situation. There were three options in front of him:
One, pretend that this matter didn't happen, and continue to go to Yunzhou, so as not to complicate matters.
Two, send someone to disguise as the guards of the Water Transport Office to protect the ship, force Fang He to charge and break through the enemy lines, and meet the contact person in Yunzhou.
Three, go to the Water Transport Office of Yuzhou to deal with this case, and arrest the mastermind behind it.
The first option was directly eliminated, and the second option was too time-consuming. To go to Yunzhou by water, they had to go around the sandbank first, and it would take them ten days to half a month to arrive, which was inconsistent with their schedule. And the Yuzhou Transport Office was the clue that was right in front of them.
After Inspector Zhang stated his choice, Jiang Lüzhong and Xu Qi 'an both agreed.
For Inspector Zhang, at this time, having the support of the two was enough.
…
At noon, the official ship arrived at the largest water transport dock in Yuzhou, and slowly docked.
As soon as the ship docked, it immediately attracted the attention of the porters, who swarmed over. But when they saw the fully-armed Stalwart Tiger Guard escorting a group of guards from the Water Transport Office, they retreated in fear.
Leaving a part of the Stalwart Tiger Guard to look after the ship, Inspector Zhang and Jiang Lüzhong led the mighty troops straight to the Water Transport Office of Yuzhou.
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