Painter

Chapter 159 Eight: Ghost Soldier
At Xu time, the moonlight fell on the stone Tianlu beast in front of the county government, mixed with the yellow light of the lantern.By this time, the government officials were still busy.Chen Haochu strode up the steps and crossed the wall.

It was late autumn, and it had just entered the night, and the weather was already very cold.After going to the county government office, Chen Haochu looked up at the roof on the west side.The owl kisses the moon and swallows the ridge of the roof, as if it wants to eat everyone in the house.This county mansion has been built for more than two hundred years, and the Ming mansions inside have changed one after another. Now the Zheng Ming mansion, although he came from the Qianyuan Academy and has an extraordinary background, is about to be swallowed up.

Chen Haochu entered through the path on the east side and came to the second hall of the county mansion.

In the hall, Zheng Junshan was talking with the master about giving out porridge, when they saw Chen Haochu, the two stopped talking.

Chen Haochu strode forward, "Zheng Jun, Mr. Chen has something important to discuss." After speaking, he glanced at the master book beside him.

Chen Haochu didn't call Mingfu, but called himself Chen, and it seemed that he wanted to talk about private matters.The master knows the machine, and bids farewell.Chen Haochu watched the master book, and he didn't look back until the master's back disappeared behind the door.

Zheng Junshan sat down at the table, the cotton thread of the oil lamp was used last night, and a part of it was already burned.With a swipe of his fingertips, the burnt black thread quietly fell, and the flickering flame stabilized, "What's the matter?"

Standing under the pillars of the house, Chen Haochu said in a deep voice, "The matter of the ghost soldiers crossing the border must be led by Zheng Mingfu."

"Oh?" Zheng Junshan showed a look of astonishment, "How do you say that?"

Chen Haochu turned his wrist and spread his palm.Under the dim light of the fire, a piece of paper shell dyed indigo lay in his palm.

Zheng Junshan raised his eyebrows and stared into Chen Haochu's eyes without saying a word.

Chen Haochu said: "I have already found the papermaker who was instructed by Zheng Ming's mansion to make ghost masks. When the disaster happened, his rice jar was not shallow. My people also found some ghost masks in his house. After being confirmed by the county people, these ghost faces are exactly the appearance of the ghost soldiers they saw that night."

The light reflected Zheng Junshan's half-bright face, and he asked, "What else?"

Chen Haochu said: "I sent people to Changping to investigate. The evil energy there is scattered but not condensed, and there is no way to raise a ghost master. Today, I found out the only demon in Qingling County that has become a climate. Although the demon is powerful, But it has nothing to do with the ghost master."

Zheng Junshan was sitting in the chair. Although the crime committed by Captain Shenzhasi was exposed to his face, his expression was not disturbed. He just sighed softly: "The investigation was faster than I expected." His eyes moved up , looking behind Chen Haochu, "Since Captain Chen knows so many things, why did you come here alone?"

Chen Haochu said: "I'm here to remind Mr. Zheng to make preparations. Ning patrols found more things than me. He has already found out that those pretending to be ghost soldiers are soldiers from Xuanquan Mansion."

Zheng Junshan said calmly: "When he came today, he already hinted at me."

"Since he dared to reveal the rumor, he must have obtained enough evidence." Chen Haochu put the indigo paper shell on the lamp flame, "As for me, I have hidden the paper maker. Ning Guangxing is looking for it." Before him, the ghost mask and the evidence of making the ghost mask were all burned, and this is the last piece of ghost mask."

The flames instantly engulfed the paper shell and burned it to ashes. Chen Haochu withdrew his hand and looked at Zheng Junshan.

Zheng Junshan sat in the chair and was silent for a while.

"Why did Captain Chen help me?"

Chen Haochu rubbed off the remaining ashes between his fingers, "Although I have no friendship with Zheng Jun, I know what kind of person you are. You have supernatural powers, but you don't like money. You don't come from a wealthy family, and you only have one son under your knees, and there are no ties behind you. Like you Such a person will definitely not covet some food and do things that destroy their own future. And it is not me who came to help you, but Shenzha Si Youjin."

Chen Haochu picked up the waist card engraved with "Shen Zha Si You Ban Judgment" and gave Zheng Junshan a look.

"The gentry in Qingling County is very powerful and has a lot of entanglements with the officials of the court. A person like Zheng Jun who refuses to collude with others will definitely be excluded if he is the magistrate of this county. Now the saint has gone west and has not returned. The world is full of chaos and evil intentions The younger generation is acting more and more recklessly. Zheng Jun has been caught now, if he is suppressed, it will be a loss for the court. I can't do much, I don't know what Zheng Jun plans to do next?"

Even though Zheng Junshan was interviewed in person, he always put on a calm expression.But even with supernatural powers, he is not a god-man.Chen Haochu's words made him a little relieved, and also made him let go of his guard, finally showing a trace of fatigue.

Chen Haochu's expression froze slightly.

"Three thousand shi." There was a croaking sound from the courtyard of the county government. Zheng Junshan sat in a chair with a low voice, "A month ago, when the grain from Shannan Road arrived, there should have been 1 shi. The [-] shi Stone grain, originally [-] stones were returned to Qingling County, and the remaining [-] stones were transported to the state capital. When the grain was transported to Qingling County, I was caught by the autumn festival, so I sent a trustworthy People went to collect grain. After the autumn festival, I went to the granary to check, but found that the upper sack was filled with rice, and the lower sack was full of sand and stones! The [-] shi of grain from Shannan Road was transported to Qingling County. There are three thousand stones left!"

Chen Haochu murmured: "What a ruthless method."

Zheng Junshan also said: "The grain has already been put into the warehouse. If there is any loss, the responsibility is all on me. I can't fill the 36-stone grain pit in the state capital. If the loss of grain is exposed, the only remaining The three thousand stone grains had to be sent to the state capital first. At that time, the people in Qingling County were in dire straits, and I even saw with my own eyes the incident of Yizi Yizi. The three thousand stone grains, 6 catties, were allocated to Qingling County In the hands of [-] people, each of them got six catties, which barely lasted for half a month. Indeed, the story of the ghost soldier was fake. I found some people, first spread the news of the birth of the Changping ghost master, and then pretended to be a ghost soldier. The three thousand shi grains were taken out and distributed to the people in the county."

Chen Haochu sighed: "Whoever said that there are no ghost soldiers, the ones who took away the lost [-] shi of grain, and the people who shielded them are ghost soldiers. Can Mr. Zheng find out where the grain went?"

"There is no time to investigate, and there is no need to investigate." Zheng Junshan shook his head, "Those who exploit food will eventually exchange it for money when the price is high. But I can't touch them alone. When the grain is released, I know that the ghost soldiers are crossing the border. What happened will eventually be exposed, but if it can save someone for a while, save it for a while!"

"Using the name of a demon to steal official food, at this time, it will most likely be a capital offense." Chen Haochu's face was heavy, "But Zheng Jun was born in Qianyuan Academy, this heavy identity, like the iron certificate of the alchemy, can save your life. Then Ning Guangxing must do it tonight. I have a plan... Zheng Jun and his family escaped from Qingling County. After the saint returns to the country and the world is stable, you will appear again, find out the whole story of the case, and regain your innocence .”

Zheng Junshan shook his head, "No need, since you destroyed the evidence for me, even if I am arrested and imprisoned, as long as I don't plead guilty, I won't be knocked out of the dust. If I run away, I will implicate Captain Xue of Xuanquan Mansion instead. It's..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a sound of horseshoes and exclamations from outside the county mansion.

Zheng Junshan got up and smiled slightly, "Thank you, Judge Chen, for your help. One day I will get out of prison, and I will buy you a drink."

After finishing speaking, he took the time to straighten the front of the green robe and walked towards the front gate of the county mansion.

……

Near the end of Xu, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, fires flickered in front of the gate of the county mansion, and the sound of horseshoes lingered endlessly.It wasn't until the Ming Mansion of Qingling County, who was wearing a green robe and white clothes, walked out of the gate and was detained by several soldiers without resisting, that Ning Guangxing was relieved and took Zheng Junshan away.

The people heard the sound, and even at night, the news of Zheng Junshan's arrest quickly spread to all parts of Qingling County.

Panic.

In the east of Qingling County, outside the sparsely populated Yizhuang, Li Chan was wearing a broken armor.While traveling eastward, his monsters picked up a lot of sword armor from bandit soldiers and battlefields. He wore rusty shoulder pads and took the account book from Tu Shanxi.

Wearing a candle against the scorching flame, illuminating the writing on the account book.

"The manager of the grain store was confused by the mirage, so he said everything." Tu Shanxi said, "There are five families in Qingling County that store a lot of grain, and two of the nearby big families are quite rich in the court. Among the contacts, there is one who is the left servant, and the other three are businessmen. Some of the food in their hands is hoarded, and some is collected from the horse bandits. The man named Zheng, The grain collected was snatched by the horse bandits and transferred to the grain store. The remaining grain was exploited from other places..."

Xu Da squatted on the head of a willow, looked at the densely packed writing on the account book, and shouted: "What do you do with so many, just give the order from A Lang, brothers just grab it!"

Li Chan closed the account book and asked, "Do you remember my name?"

"Ah..." Qing Yacha had just uttered a word when Chi Yasha bumped his head and said, "Wuweihou Feng General!"

"Marquis of Wuwei!"

"General Feng!"

"Changping ghost master!"

There were demon sounds everywhere, rusty swords and broken knives danced, and armor pieces crackled.

Li Chan picked up a bronze mirror and drew it with his fingers. The face in the mirror gradually changed, his face was as white as frost, and his lips were as dark as blood.The green pupils are green, exuding a frightening evil spirit.

He put on his iron shackle, and red medicine fastened a scarlet cloak to the brass hooks on his shoulder armor.When the cold wind blew, the cloak rattled.

He shouted: "Array!" The sound was like cracking rotten wood.

The ghost general in iron armor swung his rusty sword.

The cold moon is in the sky, and the west wind is whimpering.

Ghostly shadows, with green faces and long fangs, they raised their knives and smashed their armor, and rushed towards Qingling County.

(End of this chapter)