Chapter 220

Deputy Xiang was dumbfounded and said in surprise, "Ah! So it's Zhang Yuanwai. What's going on? "

Zhang Peng wailed, "You're still asking me! You said you wanted to borrow a place from me, so I lent it to you. Who would have thought that you would attract so many calamities? Someone actually planted explosives in my orangery, and with a boom, all of my tributes … "

Zhang Peng sobbed and said sadly, "All of them were blown away!"

Xiang Cheng exclaimed in shock, "Buried explosives? This … "

Deputy Xiang looked at Ye Xiaotian, and Ye Xiaotian smiled at Zhang Peng. "This must be the orangery owner. I'll make up for your losses. I'll buy all of these oranges."

Zhang Yuanwai said angrily, "You bought all of them? What's the point of buying all of them? If we can't pay tribute this year, our family's right to pay tribute next year will be revoked! "

Deputy Xiang said disapprovingly, "The imperial family always gives the lowest price for tributes. You don't earn much, so what if you don't pay tribute?"

Zhang Yuanwai snorted coldly, "What do you know! With the golden signboard of tributes, everyone will know that even His Majesty eats our oranges. Then the value of the oranges will increase by a hundred times! "

Deputy Xiang waved his hand and said, "Your orangery is only this big, and all of the oranges are offered to the imperial court. Even if the value increases by a hundred times, will you still sell the oranges to others?"

Zhang Yuanwai snorted coldly, "What do you know! Even if I buy some oranges from other places to sell, as long as I say that they are grown in my orangery, then the value will increase by a hundred times! "

When Ye Xiaotian heard that he was such an unscrupulous merchant, he immediately felt disgusted and said coldly, "Since that's the case, this Yuanwai can go find the culprit and ask for compensation. Goodbye!"

Ye Xiaotian finished speaking and said to Deputy Feng, "Sir Deputy Feng, please!"

Zhang Yuanwai panicked and quickly chased after him, "Hey! Don't go, don't go. Then tell me, what price are you willing to pay for these oranges? "

Vice Leader Pi just happened to walk out of the forest. Seeing this scene, he pressed down on his saber and stood in front of Zhang Yuanwai, fiercely scolding, "What price? Grandma! You unscrupulous merchant who gives birth to a child without an asshole, get out of my sight. If you dare to be noisy again, I'll cut your tongue off! "

Zhang Yuanwai didn't dare argue with the poor soldier, so he could only hide to the side, mumbling to himself. Xiang Cheng asked Ye Xiaotian in bewilderment, "Lord Ye, what's going on here …"

Just as he said this, he saw many soldiers carrying corpses out of the forest. There were about a dozen of them, and one of the corpses had its head tilted to the side. Xiang Cheng recognized it at a glance. It was Mu Dong, who had grabbed his collar and roared at him yesterday. Xiang Cheng choked on his words.

Ye Xiaotian calmly replied, "They are the ones who had an argument with you in front of the posthouse yesterday. They have a grudge against me and are waiting for an opportunity to kill me."

After Ye Xiaotian finished speaking, he said to Vice Commander Pi, "General Pi, have you captured all of their remaining members?"

Vice Qian Zong nodded: "That's right! It seems their subordinates didn't know about last night's operation. When we arrived at the northern part of the city, they acted like they didn't know what was going on. In the end, they surrendered without much effort. However, they had a lot of people. In order to prevent any accidents, I sent people to watch over them and didn't bring them here. "

As he spoke, he heard that the imperial envoy had arrived at the scene. The magistrate, who had just returned, hurriedly came over. Seeing that the scene was still in chaos, he felt that he had lost face in front of the imperial envoy. He couldn't help but reprimand the soldiers, "Where is your military chief? Why hasn't he returned yet?"

A soldier hurriedly came to find Deputy Leader Pi. Deputy Leader Pi rushed over to see the magistrate and didn't dare to neglect him. The magistrate was a seventh rank official. As a military official, he had to be at least four ranks higher than a civil official. Even three ranks higher could only be considered equal treatment.

Deputy Leader Pi stepped forward with his saber and slightly bowed, "Are you in front of the magistrate?"

County Magistrate Yan nodded and said, "You are Vice Leader Pi? What's going on? You fired cannons and killed people in my Ziyang County, yet I, the magistrate, didn't know anything! Did you know that our county has an imperial envoy? Can you afford to be punished for scaring the imperial envoy? "

Xu Boyi, who was wearing a bright eunuch uniform, stood proudly beside County Magistrate Yan. But when he turned his head, he suddenly saw a familiar figure in the distance. He stood there motionless as if he had been hit by a spell.

Although Deputy Leader Pi couldn't ignore etiquette, he wasn't under the jurisdiction of Magistrate Yan, so he wasn't afraid of him. Instead, he saw an imposing eunuch standing next to him and felt some apprehension in his heart. He patiently explained, "Magistrate Yan, we didn't fire cannons, nor did we have any cannons. This was caused by explosives. Last night …"

Ye Xiaotian didn't notice Xu Boyi's gaze. After Deputy Leader Xiang left in a hurry, he solemnly bowed to the deputy official and said, "Deputy official, this Ye's life was saved by you! Please accept Xiaotian's bow! "

As Ye Xiaotian spoke, he bowed deeply to the deputy official. The deputy hurriedly supported him and said with a blank face, "I don't know what happened. How could I have saved Sir Ye? Ah! Could it be … "

Xiang Hongchen sniffed the scent in the air and suddenly seemed to understand something. Ye Xiaotian smiled and nodded, "That's right! Yesterday, it was because of a word from you, Station Deputy Lord, that saved this Ye's life! "

…

Yesterday, Orange Garden.

The deputy official laughed and said, "I'm good at cooking. Sirs, you've worked hard. I'll personally make a few dishes in a moment and send them over for you to try."

Deputy Leader Pi beamed with joy and repeatedly thanked him. He and a few baihu and banners very politely saw off the deputy official. Deputy Leader Xiang walked two steps and suddenly stopped. He curiously sniffed and said to himself, "Strange, why is there a strange smell here?"

Vice Chief Qian Zong said, "What weird smell? I only smell the fragrance of oranges."

Deputy Leader Xiang shook his head and said, "General doesn't know. I'm good at cooking and am especially sensitive to smells. There really is a strange smell."

Deputy Leader Pi looked at the officers around him and jokingly scolded, "You guys, which one of you farted?"

The officers roared with laughter. Deputy Leader Xiang said seriously, "It's not the smell of fart. It's the smell of sulfur and saltpeter. En … it smells like gunpowder. Did you bring firearms in the army?"

Deputy Leader Pi said, "That thing is too fragile. It's not like the road here is flat. In the wilderness, swords and spears are not as useful as guns. Who would bring firearms!"

Ye Xiaotian, who had just sat down, heard this and suddenly turned his head to look at the deputy official. His eyes flashed with a hint of wariness. The deputy official shook his head and laughed self-mockingly. He said, "Maybe I smelled wrong."

Deputy Leader Pi saw Deputy Leader Xiang out of the orangery and returned to his room. He saw Ye Xiaotian bending over with his hands behind his back. He walked step by step with his head lowered as if he was measuring the house. Deputy Leader Pi couldn't help but laugh. "Official Ye, what are you doing? Could it be that you like the smell of the wilderness and want to build a wild house like this in your residence?"

Ye Xiaotian didn't raise his head and only stared at the crack in the brick floor. He said to Deputy Leader Pi, "General Pi, come and take a look. Has this brick floor been turned?"

Deputy Leader Pi walked over in puzzlement and squatted down to take a closer look. He lightly nodded and said, "It seems to be relatively new. Why?"

Ye Xiaotian squatted down and used his hands to pry. The crack was too thin for his fingers. Seeing this, Deputy Leader Pi pulled out his saber and helped him pry up a brick. Ye Xiaotian reached out and touched the ground under the brick. He said in a deep voice, "This soil is new. It hasn't been pressed for a long time."

Deputy Leader Pi said with a blank face, "So what?"

Ye Xiaotian took a deep breath and said, "General Pi, please find a few soldiers to dig up this ground."

Although Deputy Leader Pi regarded him as a golden master, he wasn't a slave that he could order around. He was very displeased when he heard this. "Official Ye, what are you trying to do? Everyone has been running around and is already very tired. You still … "

Ye Xiaotian said, "Anyone who wants to dig up the ground, each person will be given ten taels of silver!"

Rich and willful!

Old Master Ye had a gold mine and two silver mines in the Great Wan Mountains. He really didn't have to worry about expenses.

Deputy Leader Pi didn't even let out a fart. He immediately turned to the door and shouted, "Come over and help Official Ye dig the ground! Each person will be given one tael of silver! "

"Boom!" The soldiers who were lying down in the orangery rushed over and squeezed Deputy Leader Pi to the side.

Ye Xiaotian was followed by enemies all the way here. How could he not be cautious? His caution not only saved his life, but it also saved the lives of Deputy Leader Pi and the other officers and officers. After discovering the barrel of gunpowder, they followed the fuse and found its end.

Deputy Leader Pi was shocked and scared. He wanted to dig up the barrel on the spot, but he was stopped by Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian said, "General Pi, once the barrel is missing, will the person who buried the gunpowder show his true colors? If there is no barrel of gunpowder, how are we going to punish him? "

As a result, they made straw men to replace the soldiers. Everyone took advantage of the night to retreat into the depths of the forest and set up an ambush around the source of the gunpowder.

Ye Xiaotian told Deputy Minister Xiang everything in a concise and concise manner. Deputy Minister Xiang felt like he was in a dream as he muttered to himself, "There really is gunpowder! Heavens, I never would have thought … "

On the other side, Deputy Leader Pi also explained the matter in detail to the magistrate. The shock and anger Xu Boyi felt when he first saw Ye Xiaotian had already calmed down after such a long time. After listening to Deputy Leader Pi's explanation, Xu Boyi really wanted to cut that damned Deputy Leader Xiang into a thousand pieces! This was the perfect opportunity to kill Ye Xiaotian! That talkative bastard!

Xu Boyi sucked in a deep breath and forced out an amiable smile. He said to vice director Pi, "Vice director Pi, for what crime is this officer of the Crouching Ox Ridge, Ye Xiaotian, being escorted to the imperial court?"

Deputy Leader Pi did not want to offend eunuchs. It was said that eunuchs were more narrow-minded than women. If you offended them, they would bear a grudge for a lifetime.

Vice Qian Zong hurriedly replied: "Hai! This matter is a long story, but in short, Official Ye and several other chieftains had a dispute. In the end, you kill me, I kill you. Official Ye won, and those chieftains died. The families of those chieftains were unwilling to let it go. The inspector couldn't make a decision, so he could only be escorted to the capital to be judged by the emperor! "

Xu Boyi nodded and said with a smile, "So that's how it is!"

Xu Boyi turned his head to Magistrate Yan and said, "The tributes were all destroyed because of this case. This imperial envoy needs to understand everything and the verdict before returning to the capital to report. Magistrate Yan, you need to investigate this case as soon as possible. I'll be going back first. "

Although Magistrate Yan was curious as to why the imperial envoy came and went in such a hurry, he was relieved that he was not present at the scene. He quickly said, "I'll see you off!"

Xu Boyi lightly said, "No need. Magistrate Yan, please handle your official business. I'll take my leave!"

Xu Boyi cupped his hands at him and turned to leave. He did not want to be seen by Ye Xiaotian. Although he was now favored by Emperor Wanli, and even if the emperor found out about his previous identity, it should not be a big deal as long as he explained it well, it would still be troublesome. Moreover, it was more convenient for him to deal with Ye Xiaotian in the dark. How could an open spear be as sharp as an arrow in the dark!