Chapter 210 Only a spy can spot a spy
Chapter 210 Only a spy can spot a spy
The next morning,
After finishing a night of clerical work for the military newspaper, Lu Yunyi and Liu Heiying looked dejected, with sunken eye sockets, messy hair, and dark circles under their eyes, exhaustion spilling out of their bodies.
But they still couldn't stop and hurriedly finished their breakfast.
Lu Yunyi took the soldiers and the imperial edict to the parade ground for early training.
Liu Heiying changed into his regular clothes and carefully put the banknotes into the small pocket of his underwear.
The silver note is placed at the dantian position, and you can feel the hardness of the silver note and the roughness of its collision with the skin with a slight touch.
This is the most common place for ordinary people to keep money.
After doing all this, he looked carefully in front of the bronze mirror.
His eyes, which had been trying to be wide open, narrowed slightly. Although he was dressed decently, he looked anxious.
After doing all this, he took two soldiers with him, carrying leave documents and identity documents, walked out of Puzikou City and headed towards the capital Yingtian.
But before crossing the river, Liu Heiying noticed several pairs of eyes lingering around him.
This made him narrow his eyes even more and become more alert!
Puzikou City is an important military town, so it is natural for there to be Jinyiwei, but it is not certain that they are following him.
Liu Heiying walked to the ferry, paid the three people's money, and boarded the ferry.
The tracking gaze disappeared, but he did not let down his guard.
If he were to arrange it, he would definitely deploy personnel on both sides of the ferry.
Instead of rushing to catch up, which would be too obvious and could be spotted by any scout with a little experience.
Liu Heiying looked around as if nothing had happened, pretending to check out the scenery along the way.
But he memorized nearly twenty different faces on the ferry.
The first priority for a spy is to have a good memory, especially for faces.
If a face appears next to you twice at different times, you should be alert, as it may be a coincidence.
But if it appears three times, it must be the person who is following you.
Going around and around, swaying and rocking,
Liu Heiying crossed the Puzikou River and came to the north bank of Yingtian City. It was still as lively as usual.
Even in the early morning, the city gates were not open.
But porters and vendors waiting to go to work have already gathered here, waiting to queue up to pass through once the city gates are opened.
Liu Heiying came early on purpose.
The waiting time was enough for him to remember all the people nearby and find out the Jinyiwei near the city gate or other people who were following him.
I checked the time and found that the city gate would not open for another quarter of an hour.
Liu Heiying walked straight to the wonton stand among the vendors and threw down fifteen coins.
"Three bowls."
"okay."
The shopkeeper shouted, collected the copper coins, and quickly poured the wontons into the pot. The boiling water rolled back and forth, raising white mist.
Liu Heiying did not sit down, but stood in front of the stall.
While waiting for the white fog to come, he quickly opened his narrowed eyes and scanned the surroundings.
Take note of one person next to you and observe them as well.
After several times of white mist, Liu Heiying narrowed his eyes again, with a sharp light flashing in his eyes. He had already found the Jinyiwei who were mixed in with the vendors.
One is a melon farmer, the other is a vegetable farmer. Compared to the poor acting in front of Puzikou City that day,
The Jinyiwei at the gate of Yingtian City are much more elite, and their combat effectiveness is so good that it is indistinguishable from the real thing.
If Liu Heiying hadn't done these dirty things so often, he wouldn't have been able to detect the dark smell from them.
Only spies can find spies, and Liu Heiying happened to be the best spy in the front army scout department.
The wontons were ready in less than a cup of tea. The shopkeeper saw that Liu Heiying was very imposing and said with a smile:
"Sir, the wontons are ready. Come over here and eat."
Three bowls of wontons were placed on a blank table.
Liu Heiying smiled and walked over, inviting the two soldiers to sit down and eat.
"Eat, eat, eat quickly. We still have a lot of things to do today."
His voice was so loud that it attracted many people's attention.
Liu Hei Ying also took this opportunity to remember the faces that were cast over.
At the same time, he was secretly wary of those who did not turn their faces towards him.
Judging from the Ming people's habit of watching the excitement,
Whenever I hear a louder noise, I always look up no matter what I am doing.
Some of them looked over, took a quick glance and then lowered their heads. It was obvious that these people recognized Liu Heiying's military identity.
However, some people kept looking over, and only looked away when Liu Heiying glanced at them. These should be the common people.
As for those who did not look back, they either often hung out near the city gate and were accustomed to it, or they deliberately covered it up!
While taking a quick look, Liu Heiying discovered two more Jinyiwei, who were disguised as laborers and mixed in with the laborers' team.
But no matter how they try to cover it up, their abruptness cannot be concealed.
He does not have Li Fu's honesty and simplicity, but instead reveals a sense of shrewdness, and he looks at people sideways.
Liu Heiying had a normal expression on his face. He was eating in a daze, thinking to himself,
If there are people following, they may not all be Jinyiwei, but should be both civil and military officials.
Liu Heiying finished a small bowl of wontons in just a few bites. Still feeling unsatisfied, he shouted again:
"Shopkeeper, three more bowls please."
This time his voice was louder, and it also attracted many people to look at him.
This time, Liu Heiying's eyes flashed with sharpness.
There were nearly ten people who did not look back after two attempts.
Soon, three bowls of wontons were served. Liu Heiying ate even faster. After he finished, he patted the table in annoyance:
"Shopkeeper, the city gate is so close to the military camp, and the portion is so small, how can anyone eat it?"
The shopkeeper was not angry, but asked with a smile:
"Three more bowls?"
"That's natural!"
Until this moment, most of the dozen people who had not turned back cast their eyes over.
Seeing the two people who glanced at me for the last time,
A faint smile flashed in Liu Heiying's eyes, and he snorted in his heart.
He had seen these two people before, in the fire at Tianjie Temple.
Both men have square faces and medium build, and although they are wearing ordinary sweatshirts, they look strong and muscular.
At this moment, the city gate slowly opened.
The originally quiet atmosphere outside the city gate suddenly became lively and noisy, and the people picked up the baskets on the ground one after another.
This time, Liu Heiying stroked his stomach, chewed slowly, drank the soup, and looked at the team entering the city.
The gate guards and officials moved quickly.
As soon as the city gate was opened, people were allowed to pass through and the team moved forward little by little.
Suspected figures entered the city one after another, and faces were forgotten one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a quarter of an hour passed, and Liu Heiying finally finished eating the wontons slowly, with a blank expression on his face, and his mind was already extremely alert.
Among the group that had just entered the city, six people gave up on entering the city.
They were the civilians in sweatshirts who were suspected to be Jinyiwei, and two men dressed as porters.
There were two others whose disguise was not as sophisticated as this. They mingled among the people, and their eyes would glance over from time to time, making them very obvious.
Liu Heiying sneered, handed thirty cents to the shopkeeper, waved his hand, and walked to the back of the line with two soldiers.
The team moved little by little, and soon Liu Heiying entered the city with documents and paperwork.
Unlike the hustle and bustle outside, Yingtian City is somewhat quiet.
The ground was paved with clean bluestone slabs, and the boots made a clattering sound when they stepped on them.
There are many small vendors and snack stands near the city gate.
Liu Heiying pretended to wander around and stayed at the small stalls near the city gate.
As usual, I bought some small items, ranging from a few cents to dozens of cents.
Finally, he saw two familiar faces.
He had a square face, ordinary looks and a medium build, but his sweatshirt was gone, replaced by a grey uniform. They looked around before leaving the city gate.
The two men dressed as porters disappeared, probably staying at the city gate.
Those whose tracking methods were somewhat clumsy also hurried in.
I waited for a while and saw no one following me.
Liu Heiying then threw down five coins and smiled.
He took away the small red stone he had been playing with and said thank you.
After a while, he found Li Wu who had started working early in the middle city.
When he saw that it was Liu Heiying, Li Wu was very excited and spoke incoherently with excitement.
When they heard that they were going to find a shop,
Li Wu became even more excited and quickly invited the three people to get on the cart and take them around.
Liu Heiying sat on it, looked at the new cart, and asked:
"Li Wu, how much did this new cart cost?"
Li Wu slowed down his pace and said while jogging:
"Sir, I didn't spend any money. There was a fire in Tianjie Temple a few days ago, and I went to help. My car was burned. This is the compensation from Jingzhao Prefecture."
Liu Heiying smiled and nodded, then turned his head to the side and glanced behind him.
Not far away, a cart can be seen running. The person following it has changed his clothes again.
The square-faced man had become the coachman, running behind the car with the empty one.
At this point, Liu Heiying was finally sure that this person was a Jinyiwei. Only Jinyiwei had such a skilled tracking technique and could provide support both outside and inside the city.
Whether it is changing clothes or taking a cart,
Or they may be waiting at the city gate in advance, showing control everywhere.
As for the others, they pale in comparison and can only jog and chase far behind.
With such crude skills, he should not be from the Jinyiwei. He could be someone in the army or sent by some great official.
At this point, after nearly an hour of wandering around, Liu Heiying finally dug out all the people who were following him.
This made him look serious. If he had not been prepared in advance, been vigilant and paid more attention, he might have neglected these people.
With a heavy heart, Liu Heiying followed Li Wu to visit many dental shops in the city.
There are people walking around in almost every shop.
In less than a day, I had almost walked through half of the city.
Soon, the sun was about to set, the sunlight was not so fierce, but became soft, and the sky turned orange-red.
Li Wu brought Liu Heiying and the other two to the city gate.
A day of running around had left him soaked, his thick black hair was tangled, and sweat was dripping from his hair.
Liu Heiying smiled when he saw him like this.
He took out a banknote from his pocket and slapped it on the cart, saying with a bit of pride:
"Yours, we'll come back tomorrow, and you wait here then."
Li Wu looked at the coin, hesitated for a moment and then waved his hand.
Judging from the gentleman's reservedness today, although he has a lot of money, it should all be used to buy shops.
I missed out on several good shops because of the price.
In this case, Li Wu felt that he could not take the money, and said with a smile:
"Sir, it's too much. Just give me one penny."
Liu Heiying looked him up and down and nodded. This price was fair, it should be about one penny of silver.
But Liu Heiying did not take the money back, but jumped out of the car on his own:
"Although we don't have much money, we can't send hungry soldiers to work for you.
Keep the money. I may need it in the next few days, so I won't give you any more money then."
Only then did Li Wu show a simple and honest smile.
I took the money and put it away carefully, feeling very happy. This kind of work doesn't come along every day.
"Thank you, sir. I will wait for you at the city gate early tomorrow."
Liu Heiying nodded slightly, and seeing that he was sweating profusely, he said:
"You sweat a lot when you drive a sports car. You should drink salt water frequently to replenish your strength. This is a military method. Don't tell others."
"brine?"
Li Wu's eyes widened and he remembered this incident firmly.
But he didn't know how to drink it. After hesitating for a long time, he lowered his voice and asked tentatively:
"Sir, may I ask how to drink it?"
"One spoonful of salt for one scoop of water. Don't drink too much in one day. Most of the time you should drink water."
Liu Heiying glanced at the bluestone road behind him. Those people had not appeared yet, so he continued:
"Now you have some money at home, you can drink the sugar water, it will replenish your body and strength, drink it the same way."
“Salt and sugar.”
Li Wu kept repeating this to himself, and couldn't help but feel secretly excited.
Nowadays, salt in Yingtian is not expensive, but sugar is a little more expensive.
If it was a month ago, he would not have been willing to spend it even if he knew about it, but the more money he could save, the better.
It is different now. There is money in the family.
Hearing that it is good for the body and replenishes strength, Li Wu has decided to start drinking it tomorrow.
"Thank you, Lord Liu. I am very grateful." Li Wu bowed respectfully.
Liu Heiying didn't care, but looked towards the end of the street.
Finally, three familiar figures appeared there. They snorted in their hearts and spoke as if nothing had happened:
"When you go back, ask your neighbors which clinic has good medical skills and medical books for sale."
"Medical book?" Li Wu looked puzzled.
Liu Heiying said decisively: "Just find out what the army needs."
Upon hearing this, Li Wu no longer hesitated and wrote it down:
"Please rest assured, sir. I will go back and find out right away."
Seeing those people getting closer, Liu Heiying stopped lingering and said with a smile:
"Well, go ahead and wait for me here tomorrow morning."
After saying this, he turned and left.
Li Wu just stood there and waited until Liu Heiying disappeared into the city gate.
He then pulled the cart again and headed home happily.
After he left, the person following behind him stopped.
His face was pale, he was breathing heavily, and he cursed inwardly as a bastard.
He stopped in front of a stall selling glutinous rice cakes. The vendor was probably preparing to close his stall and was cleaning the counter without even raising his head.
The man tried to slow down his breathing and slowly recounted his experiences of the day, his eyes constantly moving around.
After everything was said, the vendor asked in a low voice:
"Are there any others following?"
"There were three others, their craftsmanship was crude, I found them, but they didn't find me."
"Is he just visiting the dental clinic and buying shops today?" the vendor asked again.
"Yes, I got closer in the afternoon and heard him talking to the clerk at the dental shop about opening a fruit and vegetable shop.
But, it can be seen that he doesn’t have much money, around 10,000 taels. The shops they visited all offered this price, and they bargained every time.”
“My whereabouts haven’t been exposed, right?” The vendor continued without looking up.
"Don't worry, the soldiers are rough and careless, and they didn't notice it."
"Well, let's go back and find out where the driver is. Try to get in touch with him indirectly, but don't alert him."
"Yes."
After he finished speaking, the vendor suddenly raised his voice and waved his hand impatiently:
"No more, no more. No matter how much you tell me, we have no more. Once they are sold out, they are sold out!"
"unlucky!"
The man with an ordinary face muttered to himself, flicked his sleeves and walked away.
After he left, the vendor was still slowly cleaning up the counter.
Finally, it was getting dark.
The city gate groaned and slowly closed.
The vendor then pushed his cart and left.
After wandering around, he soon arrived at a private house in midtown, which was a shared rental house.
There were already several carts in the yard.
He parked the cart at the edge of the yard and locked it, then closed the door and hurried into the house.
The furnishings inside the house are not as simple as those outside.
The flickering candlelight casts dim light and shadows on every inch of space, and a tense and depressing atmosphere permeates.
Even the faint scent of ink and the smell of unburned paper ash in the air have disappeared.
In the center, a large wooden table was particularly eye-catching, illuminated by candlelight.
There were various files and maps scattered on the table.
Some of the ink is not dry yet, obviously it was just recorded.
Several Jinyiwei in Feiyu uniforms bowed their heads and wrote quickly.
Record all the information collected from all directions in a book.
On one side, a middle-aged man in gorgeous official uniform and with a long sword on his waist sat upright on a chair with a gloomy face. He was Ma Yi, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
He held an exquisite copper candlestick in his hand, staring at the book in his hand with deep eyes.
Sometimes he turned to look at his subordinates who were reporting, and his sharp eyes seemed to be able to see into people's hearts.
He listened quietly, nodding occasionally and remaining silent occasionally, which made the plainclothes spy waiting on the side look nervous.
Time passed slowly, and finally it was the vendor's turn.
He walked forward slowly and told everything that happened today.
Ma Yi sat there with a calm expression, listening quietly.
There was no other sound in the entire room except the occasional sound of turning pages and low conversations.
Time seemed to be stretched out, and the report gradually came to an end, but the solemnity in the air did not dissipate.
Finally, the vendor lowered his voice:
"Sir, everything you do is reasonable and there is nothing unusual."
Ma Yi's face was calm, his eyes were deep, he rubbed the documents in his hand back and forth, and said softly:
"I found out something from the driver."
"We have arranged for someone to investigate, and there should be results tomorrow."
The vendor took two steps forward with a strange look on his face and lowered his voice:
"Sir, the fat man was being driven around the city by the coachman.
Brothers are exhausted from following, could you please tell us what we are going to investigate?
I'd better be more specific, otherwise if I just follow aimlessly, I'll miss a lot of things."
Ma Yi's expression turned grim, but then his serious face softened slightly:
"Xie Yun, I know the brothers have worked hard,
But this is an order personally given by the superiors, you and I can only follow it, as for what to investigate, I don't know. "
"The superiors? The order from Lord Mao?"
Xie Yun's eyes widened with a look of disbelief.
Ma Yi nodded and emphasized:
"You have to explain it in person, so you have to be careful. If you find out something and it catches the eye of your superiors, you will get a lot of benefits."
Xie Yun smiled bitterly:
"I also know about this, but I followed him for a day and found nothing.
Judging from the information from the fat man, although his family is a wealthy businessman,
But 10,000 taels of silver is still a considerable sum.
Judging from how stingy he was today, it didn't seem like the money was embezzled.
In the past, the corrupt officials that the brothers had seen would spend all their money on the same day, but they would never run around like this, making the brothers exhausted. "
Ma Yi sighed, looking helpless:
"Keep following and record everything you hear and see. Even if you can't find out anything, you can still report to your superiors."
"Yes"
(End of this chapter)