Hebei's Cang County.
On the road to Cang County, a group of people advanced with flags fluttering in the wind.
The Imperial Bodyguard soldiers were leading the way. There were also many mounted soldiers on horseback on both sides. The Dongchang soldiers walked at the back of the group with their swords at their waists.
In the middle of the group were a few horse carriages. It was obvious that the cost of the carriages wasn't low.
Many of the guards were on horseback. When the passersby saw this scene, they all moved to the sides of the road.
Sitting in one of the horse carriages, Wang Yongji put down the curtains in his hands and sighed in melancholy.
It wasn't because this group of people was very alarmed. In fact, along the way, Wang Yongji realized that these people were still very law-abiding.
Wang Yongji didn't have confidence in investigating the case. With so many people and such fanfare, it would be strange if they could find the smuggled salt.
What kind of people were the salt peddlers? How could they be caught so easily? It wasn't easy to begin with, but they still went to catch them so openly.
Wang Yongji also talked to Sun Piyang a few times, but Sun Piyang always avoided the topic and didn't talk about the main topic at all.
That Imperial Censor, Cao Yikui, always had a straight face and bragged that salt peddlers were useless.
The people from Dongchang and the Imperial Bodyguard were all even more unreliable. That Eunuch Wang from Dongchang seemed to have not left the palace for many years. No matter where he went, he was always interested in the local food and would always run over to try it.
That Qianhu Xing Shangzhi from the Imperial Bodyguard was even worse. He accompanied Eunuch Wang by the side, and the two of them chatted and laughed along the way.
Last night, they actually said that they wanted to eat wild game and sent a large number of people out to hunt. In the end, they only managed to catch a few rabbits. In the end, they still bought two sheep from the commoners. Even so, they still lit a bonfire and ate roasted lamb legs at night.
Wang Yongji was really depressed. Are these people sure they are here to investigate?
Just as Wang Yongji was lamenting his bad luck, there was a sudden commotion in front of them.
Wang Yongji was stunned. What was going on?
Along the way, no one had dared to collide with this team.
The car stopped at this moment. Wang Yongji lifted the curtains and poked his head out to look.
In the end, it was too far away and he couldn't see anything. Wang Yongji had no choice but to lower the curtain.
"Sir, someone is reporting from the front!"
Just then, the Imperial Bodyguard who was driving the carriage lifted the curtain and said to Wang Yongji, "Sir, they said they found a salt smuggler. Do you want to come out and take a look?"
Wang Yongji was stunned. Had they discovered the salt smugglers just like that?
Were the salt smugglers stupid?
Not to mention walking on the official road in broad daylight, you actually bumped into my team. Are you looking for death?
Wang Yongji didn't believe it at all and jumped off the carriage.
When Wang Yongji came down, the others also came down. Sun Piyang's face was stony and nothing could be seen.
Eunuch Wang's face was sleepy. It was obvious that he had been dozing off in the carriage. He had drunk too much the night before.
Xing Shangzhi, the Imperial Bodyguard, was excited. He grabbed the Imperial Bodyguard who came to report, "You found the salt smugglers?"
"Yes, Sir. Our riders found a group of sneaky carriages in front."
"Ten carriages full of goods. When they saw our riders, they wanted to run. The riders felt that something was wrong and chased after them. Then, they intercepted them.
The riders found that the ten carriages were full of salt. We can conclude that these people are the salt smugglers. "
Xing Shangzhi laughed and rubbed his bald head, "Look, we're so lucky. Let's go and see what these salt smugglers look like."
Eunuch Wang curled his lips and said, "What luck? This is the Emperor's blessing. We have the Emperor's blessing to intercept the salt smugglers here.
Captain Xing, do you think I'm right? "
Looking at Eunuch Wang's face, Wang Yongji felt disgusted. Since you've said it like that, who would dare to say it was wrong?
As expected, Xing Shangzhi hurriedly smiled and said, "Yes, yes, Eunuch Wang is right. Look at my stupid mouth. It's all thanks to the Emperor's blessing that we were able to intercept the salt smugglers."
Wang Yongji really couldn't be bothered to look at their faces and said directly, "Let's go and take a look in front!"
In reality, Wang Yongji didn't believe that they had intercepted the salt smugglers at all. It was very likely that after those people saw the Imperial Bodyguards, they were scared out of their wits and turned to run.
The Imperial Bodyguards didn't have a good reputation among the commoners. They had long been demonized.
Imperial Censor Cao Yikui also nodded, "Yes, let's go and take a look in front. I've already said that these salt smugglers are all useless!"
Wang Yongji was also speechless. How did the imperial court choose them?
As the group came to the front, Wang Yongji saw ten horse carriages. Each carriage was filled with gunny sacks. Some of the sacks had already been removed by the Imperial Bodyguards. When the sacks were opened, they were indeed filled with salt.
Cao Yikui walked over and grabbed a small handful. Then, he stuck out his tongue and licked it, "It really is illicit salt."
As he said this, he threw the salt in his hand back into the sack and turned to the Imperial Bodyguard beside him and said, "Bring these people here. I'll ask them. How dare they sell illicit salt in broad daylight. Do they not want their heads anymore?"
Wang Yongji was instantly speechless. Who would dare to admit that they were selling illicit salt? However, he was also very curious about these people.
First of all, these people were hauling the salt. When they saw the Imperial Bodyguards, they ran away. This didn't seem like official salt smugglers.
However, wasn't it too simple to say that they were salt smugglers?
Why did they come here and get caught?
How did they manage to sell illicit salt with such intellect?
Not long after, the two of them were pressed by the Imperial Bodyguards. One of them was an old man in his fifties, and the other was a young man in his twenties.
"I'll ask you. What are your names? Where are you from? What do you do for a living?"
At this moment, Sun Piyang stood up and shouted, "Hurry up and confess. Are you waiting for me to punish you?"
Wang Yongji looked at Sun Piyang. How did you become the Left Deputy Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate?
Your questions about this case are really unprofessional.
"Sir, I'm Withered Wang. This is my son, Wang San. We are from Cang County."
The old man kowtowed as he spoke. "We are driving a large carriage. The people in the carriage are all from our village."
"I'll ask you. Why did you run when you saw the Imperial Bodyguards?" Sun Piyang nodded and asked.
"Sir, it's not that we ran. We were afraid. When we heard the sound of horse hooves, we thought there were bandits."
Withered Wang begged for mercy. "Sir, sir, we didn't run on purpose. Please investigate this!"
Sun Piyang nodded again. "Where did the salt in your carriage come from?"
"Sir, we don't know either!"
Withered Wang said with an aggrieved expression. "We are all driving a large carriage. Whatever our employer asked us to deliver, we delivered. We didn't dare to ask!"
Wang Yongji sighed. This was indeed the case. This big mistake was probably not going to be easy to resolve.