Han official!

Chapter 50: Huainan's No. Swordsman
The Beginning of Spring has passed, and the weather is getting warmer. The countryside is full of ordinary people wearing plain hats, busy with plows and rakes, working hard to plant grains such as millet, sorghum, beans, and hemp.

Not long after Guo Jie returned with the executioners, a rumor about Jinchengli began to spread among the executioners.

The word "Jincheng" gradually turned into a land of abundance with golden and yellow grains everywhere.

The capital pavilions in Chang'an were divided into street pavilions, gate pavilions and flag pavilions.

The Gaojie Duting is a street pavilion, the Zhichengmen Duting is a flag pavilion, and the Liushi is a flag pavilion.

Each of the nine markets in Chang'an had a flag pavilion, which was responsible for arresting thieves in the shops, putting out fires, and also for handling the trade of goods between merchants, which was different from the street pavilions and gate pavilions.

The criminals from Gaojie Duting, together with the criminals from many other Dutings such as Liushi and Nanshi, built and reinforced the city walls of Liushi.

There are significant differences between the Gaojie executioners and the executioners in other capitals.

Although they were all wearing tattered linen jackets, the other executioners were skinny and unrecognizable, with big eyes and pointed faces, like a group of wild cats that were almost starved to death.

Gaojie Chi Xingshi had been kept in Jinchenglu for more than half a month. Not only did his face gain weight, it even looked greasy, which was truly incredible.

Wherever the Gaojie executioners went, they would soon become the focus of a group of executioners. They became much more confident and talked a lot, telling about what they saw and heard in Jinchenglu.

This caused the executioners to exclaim in surprise.

"A ten-tenth tax rate? Are you kidding me? In today's world, there's no such thing as a ten-tenth tax rate. The wealthy and powerful all pay a ten-tenth tax rate on their land rent."

"Wheat rice is enough to fill you up? When the labor is over, I will go to Jinchengluli in Hezuo to register as a teacher."

"You have a brain disease! Jincheng Luli is a full 200 miles away from the Didao Great Wall. Transportation is inconvenient. Once you leave, you can't come back. Life is only a matter of time. Are you really going to put your life on a rumor you've never seen?"

"That's one-tenth of the tax! Second and third sons have wives and children, and I only have one worthless life. If I feed the whole family, I'll fight!"

What happened in Jinchenglu caused a commotion among the executioners. Many brave prisoners who were about to die remained silent, but when they looked at the executioners in Gaojie, a strange light flashed in their eyes.

There was a hint of life in the lifeless eyes.

Near the gate of Liushi, there was a rather strange executioner. Although he was a hard-working executioner, he drank with several minor officials in black clothes.

The petty officials in black robes would beat and scold the executioners at will, but they were respectful to him.

"Thunder quilt."

Wan Zimeng, the flag chief of Liushi Duting, dressed in a black robe and carrying a two-foot-long sword, approached the lone convict carrying a sword and said in a deep voice, "This is the second time the King of Huainan has invited you to be his guest. If you are willing to go, you will be his guest. This is a position that countless heroes in the counties and prefectures dream of. The King of Huainan has personally promised you this. Don't make the mistake."

This person turned out to be Lei Bei, the number one swordsman in Huainan.

Lei Bei glanced at Wan Zimeng and said contemptuously, "If your grandson Wan Zhang were a few years older, around fifteen or sixteen, and came to ask me out, I might even look up to him. But you? You're not worthy!"

Wan Zimeng was furious!
Chang'an is prosperous, and there are heroes in every street.

Everyone knows the reputation of the heroic Wan family in Liushi, west of the city.

Lei Bei dared to look down on him.

"Humph!"

Wan Zimeng snorted coldly and flicked the sleeves of his robe: "Take care of yourself."

Lei Bei never even glanced at the famous hero Wan Zimeng. There was only one person in the whole Chang'an whom he looked up to.

Guo Jie, who killed a tiger with his bare hands.

He also heard various rumors about Jinchenglu from the executioners in Gao Street. He knelt on the top of the wall, looking in the direction of Jinchenglu, as if thinking about something.

"Brother." Yi Zong returned to his Feichangwu residence and hurriedly found Guo Jie. "My sister Yi Shuo is missing. The guards at the Chen County guard said she went out to see a doctor yesterday and hasn't returned in a day and a night."

He came back from the official temple in Chang'an and wanted to find his elder sister Yi Shuo to share his joy and his handling of criminal cases, which had won him the praise of Chang'an Wei Zhang Tang.

Unexpectedly, the eldest sister Yishuo was not found in the house in Duting, Gao Street.

Yi Zong hurriedly asked the guards that Guo Jie had recruited from Chen County and Linjin, and learned the bad news that Yi Shuo had gone out to see a doctor yesterday and had not returned until today.

Yishuo had never stayed overnight outside before.

He must have been kidnapped by thieves.

"what!"

Guo Jie dropped the bamboo slips in his hand onto the table, a look of shock on his face. "Mang Tong, go call Zhang Qian immediately. Forget it. I'll go to the gatehouse at the Zhicheng Gate myself and ask the guards if they've seen Yi Shuo leave the house."

He had promised the cook to take good care of Yi Shuo and Yi Zong, a brother and sister.

As soon as the group returned from Jinchenglu, they were shocked to hear the sad news that Yishuo was missing.

Guo Jie was so impatient that he didn't even have time to get on the white cloth covered carriage. He ran towards the gatehouse of Zhicheng Gate. "Fortunately, the chief of the gatehouse of Zhicheng Gate is one of us. Otherwise, how could I have the nerve to go and pay respects to the chef?"

He felt annoyed but also relieved.

Fortunately, he had paid 20,000 dan of millet last time, which won the appreciation of Zhao Yu, the governor of Chang'an, who recruited Guo Jie's men to serve as the chief of the city gate.

"Yishuo is missing?"

Zhang Qian was terrified. "I'll go find the guard and ask him if he saw Yishuo's covered wagon yesterday."

Since arriving in Chang'an, Zhang Qian has been well taken care of by Yishuo, and has long regarded Yishuo as his elder sister.

I was shocked to hear that Yishuo was missing.

Zhang Qian was as impatient as Guo Jie and Yi Zong. "Go call Ting Zuo. I have an urgent matter with him. He has 15 minutes to come. Otherwise, don't blame me for being angry."

Ting Zuo was not from Chen County, nor from Linjin, but from Chang'an who also admired the reputation of Guo Jie Bianhu.

The gatehouse needed to inspect merchants and pedestrians entering and leaving the city gate and verify the tokens they passed. It needed a local who was familiar with the nobles and powerful people in Chang'an, and who could at least recognize the carriage and the person kneeling inside.

I can only find someone from Chang'an.

Ting Zuo walked over quickly, wearing a yellowed black shirt with torn and untied cuffs stained with ink. His skin was slightly pale and there were no calluses on his palms. He was not a knight who wielded a sword, but a rare clerk.

"Mr. Guo?"

When Ting Zuo saw Guo Jie, his face lit up with joy, and he hurried forward to bow. "I wonder why Mr. Guo has called me here? Everyone in Zuo Shu looks so anxious. Could it be that the Gaojie Duting has lost a horse?"

The Han court was short of horses. Since the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, great importance has been attached to horse politics and horse management.

Losing a horse is a serious crime.

Guo Jie said in a deep voice, "This is more urgent than the lost horse. You were on duty at the gate of Zhicheng Gate yesterday. Did you see Yishuo's covered wagon?"

Tingzuo was startled and knew why the two chiefs, Guo Jie, the chief of Gaojie, and Zhang Qian, the chief of Zhichengmen, were so anxious. It turned out that Yishuo, a famous female doctor in Chang'an, had disappeared.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I saw a covered carriage from the Gaojie Duting Pavilion leave from the Zhicheng Gate. The person kneeling inside the carriage looked like Yi Shuo, and there was another person beside him. Mr. Guo, don't worry. I'll go find the guards and ask them for clarification."

(End of this chapter)