Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 159 Valley

"You can't do revenge yourself. You have to see it with your own eyes." Jiang Yin waved his hand indifferently. "With so many of you here, how can anything happen to me?"

Jiang Yin insisted on going, and Wang Heng had no choice but to find a rope and tie himself and Jiang Yin together to provide more protection.

After everything was ready, Yan Li led his men in front, while Jiang Yin and her own men followed behind.

For those who practice martial arts, this slope is not a difficult task.

But for Jiang Yin, walking would probably be difficult without external help.

Therefore, Wang Heng specially found two wooden sticks for her so that she could have something to support herself.

In fact, when Jiang Yin actually stepped onto the cliff and walked down, she found that this road was not as difficult as she had imagined.

Especially after walking for a quarter of an hour and finishing the steepest part, a small path that was trampled out at who knows when appeared.

The path is winding but not steep, just like an ordinary mountain path.

Jiang Yin frowned slightly. The person behind this might have been planning for too long. He even paved the way for them. I wonder how many immoral things he has done.

We made our way to the foot of the cliff, and apart from the initial difficulties, we didn't encounter any problems.

However, there were many corpses lying at the foot of the cliff, and even the porter who had carried the child from before had died here.

Jiang Yin glanced at the corpses on the ground and didn't find any of his own, so he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Wang Gui and the scouts who came down to investigate stayed at the foot of the mountain, waiting for the main force to come down before making plans. In front of them was the entrance of a cave.

Jiang Yin walked forward quickly, along with Yan Li.

Looking at the cave in front of her, she tilted her head and asked Wang Gui: "Is the cave where those people are hiding?"

This vast area is composed of mountains one after another. Even under the cliff, there are mountains after mountains.

It is an excellent hiding place, and it is difficult for ordinary people to find any clues.

However, Wang Gui shook his head and said, "Sir, after passing through this cave, the valley behind is their hiding place."

He already knew that Jiang Yin was a woman, but Jiang Yin did not reveal her identity, so he only dared to call her "sir".

"Valley?" Yan Li pursed his lips and asked, "How many people are there in the valley? Is it a temporary settlement or a permanent place?"

Some scouts have already gone to investigate, but that doesn't stop him from getting more information from Wang Gui.

Wang Gui said with a serious look: "When I came here before, there was smoke from cooking and there were houses where people lived. I think they have lived there for a long time."

Yan Li's expression became serious, and he raised his hand and said, "Leave a team of people to guard outside, and the others will follow me in batches."

If it was someone else's camp, then Li Ji, who had come down earlier, might be in danger. He couldn't wait for the scout to come back and had to go in immediately.

Jiang Yin also followed Yan Li into the cave.

As soon as they entered the cave, they met a scout who had returned and brought news that the cave was empty.

Yan Li frowned slightly and said, "Speed ​​up and chase."

After all, the number of people he brought was insufficient, and after they got down to the bottom of the cliff, most of the people followed him.

Only a small number of people scattered and looked for clues elsewhere.

He brought the large army to the cave, not only because of Wang Gui, but also because most of the traces below were heading towards the cave.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

After quickly passing through the cave, as expected, what came into view was a wide valley.

In the valley, besides rows of houses, there is also a martial arts arena. At a glance, you can tell that this is the garrison.

However, the entire valley was empty. Apart from the messy footsteps, nothing was seen. Not even a corpse was seen.

Yan Li's pupils shrank slightly, and he gestured, "Search!"

The current situation was no longer something that a small tea and horse company like his could handle.

This matter must be reported, at least, the prefect must be told and asked to send someone to investigate.

He was searching now just to find clues.

Jiang Yin was also a little confused, but she still whispered to Wang Heng to find someone to go back and find Aunt Feng and Fan Zhizhou.

It’s not that she doesn’t believe Yan Li, but one more person means one more hope, so she has to send someone back for help to feel at ease.

Jiang Yin was relieved that the Tea and Horse Department was in charge of the search. After observing the situation in the valley, she walked straight to the edge.

She wanted to look for other exits to see if Li Ji and the others had left from another exit.

When Wang Gui sneaked in, there were many people stationed here. He didn't dare to stay for long, so he just took a quick look and ran away.

Therefore, they have to rely on themselves to deal with things in the valley.

In addition to the cave he had just entered, Jiang Yin also discovered two other exits.

She did not act rashly, but shared the news with Yan Li, and then asked her own people and the people from the Tea and Horse Service to explore other exits.

However, nothing was found at the other two exits. It seemed that they were just roads leading into the mountains and had nothing to do with exits.

At the same time, the people who were searching the valley also gathered around Yan Li, carrying their spoils.

"Oh, there is tea leaves?" Jiang Yin raised his brows slightly when he saw the sealed tea leaves. He walked forward, picked up a tea brick, looked at it, and smelled it.

"This year's new Mengshan tea," she continued, "is from the Hu family."

She casually handed the tea brick sealed with bamboo strips to Yan Li, not knowing whether it was delivered by Hu Quan or dropped by the master.

She tended to favor the former. After all, Hu Quan was not only extremely opposed to the tea monopoly system, but was also secretly closely involved with the rebels.

Yan Li took the tea brick and looked at it carefully, his eyes darkened slightly: "It didn't come from the Tea and Horse Department."

This year, all Mengshan tea must be confiscated by the government, and the Tea and Horse Bureau will stamp its seal on the tea bricks received.

Even if the seal is washed off, it will leave a mark on the bamboo strips and cannot be faked.

The appearance of Mengshan tea without a stamp must be the result of someone selling private tea.

What a courage!

"Oh, you are so brave!" Jiang Yin laughed sarcastically, "There are a few tea bricks here, they must have dropped them when they left in a hurry."

Mengshan tea is precious and precious. I guess people don’t take it seriously if they leave behind a few bricks of tea.

I don’t know how much tea was sent over in total, it was really generous.

The corners of Yan Li's mouth twitched slightly. He couldn't hide the gloating expression on Miss Jiang's face.

He coughed lightly and said, "I will find out the truth about this as soon as possible."

He quickly ordered people to pack up all the things on the ground and take them away, as they were all evidence.

Although apart from the tea bricks, the rest were just firewood, rice, oil, salt or small items, but from these things, one could always find some clues.

While they were collecting their things, Wang Gui came running over from nowhere, raised the things in his hands, and excitedly said to Yan Li: "Tea Supervisor, I found a flag!"

He was a little excited, this flag was a big piece of evidence.