Delong

Chapter 35: Walking in the Sky Street (8)

Not only Zhang Xing, but anyone with a little heart knows that the eastern capital is bound to be chaotic. In fact, there will be a chaos of swords and soldiers, blood flowing like rain, but someone has to pierce the window paper and turn the rain clouds into blood rain. .

In this regard, the vast majority of people think that the first drop of blood should come from the Ministry of Criminal Justice. open your eyes.

But now it seems that the Ministry of Punishment is a little overreaching. The first drop of blood rain came from the Ministry of Punishment. It’s good, but it was his own blood first—the prisoner had just been taken away for a whole day, but he had just settled down. I'm afraid that the review has not been completed, and a prison robbery operation that was obviously launched hastily due to the summer rain took place.

Rainwater and copper bowls for cleaning the streets became the biggest help in robbing the prison.

Dozens of robbers who were clearly cultivated, organized, and equipped calmly dispersed and gathered near the Criminal Department under the cover of rain, and then suddenly gathered together to launch a violent prison robbery.The Ministry of Punishment was caught off guard and was killed directly.At this time, a very critical situation is that at this time, in the eastern capital city, all the violent organizations formed during the day are disbanding, while all the violent organizations formed at night have not yet assembled.

In fact, even the members of the Ministry of Justice were evacuating and changing shifts, and even Zhang Shangshu's own frame had left soon after being escorted by a team of Jinwu guards who had just assembled.

Because of this, the Ministry of Criminal Justice failed to obtain large-scale military support from the establishment in a short period of time.

And the most terrible thing is still to come, the prison robbery was successful, these robbers threw the simple summer clothes to the prisoners, then threw down their weapons, and led the target prisoners to disappear on the sky street full of ordinary people.

Ordinary people want to make a living, they have to set up a stall when it rains, they also have to transport firewood, and they also have to buy rice, otherwise what will they cook tomorrow and start a fire with?
The copper bowl of Jingjie sounded, but it was not over yet. It was time for everyone on the street to go home with all kinds of things.And it's summer, and it's raining, and there's no large-scale organized violent troops to surround them, so how can they search and search?

Cao Zhongcheng's identity was there, so of course he didn't move, but it is said that the Niu Dugong from the Beiya directly volleyed past, and the Baidi Zongguan of Huixunfang also went to the two alchemy stage masters to help him across the river, but Only five fugitives were caught and returned, so it's useless.

When it gets dark, the prison robbery will be successful.

The Ministry of Punishment suffered such a catastrophe, although many people were secretly happy, they couldn't hold back Ziwei Palace's anger.

To say a thousand words and ten thousand, not to mention that the Ministry of Criminal Justice is to do things according to the will of the saints, but to say that the Ministry of Criminal Justice of a country is in charge of the prison, at the feet of the emperor, it is absolutely unbearable to be breached like this.

The ministers of the Nanya government didn't say anything, and immediately increased the pressure layer by layer. Bai Yousi's rightful brother who didn't know where he was ranked, as the number one responsible person and the number one unlucky ghost, was directly pushed to the end, and he was thrown into it on the spot. The prison of the Ministry of punishment.

Coincidentally, the big prison is empty, almost equivalent to a private room.

But it was too late to take care of these, and immediately, Jingan Taichung Town Fusi, Dongzhen Fusi, Criminal Ministry, Jinwu Guard, City Defense Army, Luoyang Henan County Government officials, and violent agencies affiliated to various departments of the empire began to mobilize. Rainwater cleared the Tianjie, inspected the workshops, and even went out of the city to search the mountains, in order to arrest all the fugitives within the half-month period given by the saint.

It is to see people when you are alive, and corpses when you are dead.

All of a sudden, soldiers lined up on Tianjie in the entire eastern capital city, as if in wartime.

It was impossible for Zhang Xing to escape this catastrophe. On the afternoon of the second day after the incident, he braved the rain and followed Bai Yousi's second patrol team to the south city to monitor a section of the city wall.

On the afternoon of the third day, the news of the emperor's fury officially came, and the patrol team even got a death order directly on the city wall to be fully responsible for searching Jiajing and Jiaqing Erfang in Nancheng.

And this is also Zhang Xing's first contact with Nancheng Fangli, where the urban poor live together.

"Obviously man-made."

In the pattering rain, under the gazes of a group of local residents who couldn't tell whether it was panic, vigilance, anticipation, or numbness, the drenched Zhang Xing easily jumped off the wall of Jiajingfang. Immediately afterwards, Qin Bao also Turned over easily from outside the wall. "It's at the entrance of the main alley, there are piles of sundries underneath, and there are traces of ropes...it should be used for smuggling in and out at night."

"It must be the work of the local gang." Hu Yan, who appeared in the team again, frowned with his beard. "Let's go around, how many holes in total?"

"23 places are damaged, seven or eight places are broken." Zhang Xing blurted out, but regardless of decency, he directly took off the brocade uniform, unscrewed his shirtless shirt into the water, and then put it on again. "This is not counting as a secret door hidden in the resident's house..."

"Brother Hu." Qin Bao also wiped the water on his forehead. "It can't be blocked at all."

"Let's go, go back to the cross street and wait for Qian Tang and the others." Hu Yan shook his head, then turned and went directly to the central store in the square.

Naturally, Zhang Xing, Qin Bao, and several other knights in brocade clothes had nothing to say, so they could only follow immediately.

Arriving at the intersection, unexpectedly, another small group led by Qian Tang and Li Qingchen was waiting here early.

"How are you doing over there? How did you come back so early?" Hu Yan asked in the rain from afar.

"Brother Hu, except for the regulations on the cross streets in the square, the narrow streets and alleys have been rebuilt..." Qian Tang, who was standing under the well pavilion in the square, walked directly into the rain to respond. "I really can't figure out the way. I'm afraid it will be a little difficult to follow the example of those squares next to Luoshui and go door-to-door."

"You don't need to think about it. The same is true for Jiaqingfang next door. At most, inspections can fly. Now that the restrictions are lifted in the city, you can see the road clearly." Hu Yan, who looked a little ugly, didn't speak, but Li Qingchen complained in the pavilion.

Zhang Xing followed Hu Yan into the pavilion, before he could speak, he noticed the buzzing sound, he could only slap a mosquito to death with his backhand, and then sat down by the mouth of the well, ready to listen to it with his arms in his arms.

However, as soon as he sat down with his back turned, he saw two people suddenly flashing into the side alley without embarrassment on the road behind him, and he couldn't help being stunned:

"Is that stalking?"

"Yes, I followed after coming down from the square wall." Hu Yan blurted out without looking back. "Must be a local gang."

As soon as these words came out, Zhang Xing and Qian Tang were fine, but Li Qingchen and Qin Bao stood up almost instantly with their swords in their hands, ready to go there.

"return!"

A thunderous reprimand immediately exploded from the booth. Obviously, Hu Yan, the deputy inspector who had just returned to the team, was really angry at this time.

Qin Bao and Li Qingchen came back in a daze, but they could hardly figure it out.

"The gangs in Nancheng are probably different from those in Luoshui." Zhang Xing probably guessed a thing or two. "Be careful in everything and don't follow the alley."

"Not bad." Hu Yan also sighed. "I wanted to say this on the way just now. The problem here in Nancheng is not that the walls and alleys have been damaged, but the people... The gangs in Nancheng are not much stronger than those in Beicheng...It is too difficult to search and inspect. gone."

"Because there are so many experts?" Li Qingchen couldn't help interjecting, causing Zhang Xing, who had just slapped a mosquito to death, to slap another mosquito to death on the spot.

"It's because people are poor and life is cheap." Hu Yan held the knife and turned around to look around the rain. "Believe it or not, young people here can kill officials at the age of 15 for fifty copper coins? You people whose cultivation base is stuck on the Zhengmai plate, don't be singled out... If you are really singled out, you will not die know how he died."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Next, the atmosphere in the well pavilion seemed a bit dignified, no one spoke, only the rain was pouring... After all, the environment and personnel here were too different from the areas on both sides of the Luoshui River where they lived... There was a feeling of being at a loss.

And it's still raining, so tired, and facing orders that are difficult to complete.

That is, when everyone was silent, suddenly, a whistle came from the tall and majestic city wall of the Eastern Capital in the south.

"Let's go!" Hu Yan patted the black ribbon on his waist and shook his head repeatedly. "It's not us who are in charge, let's tell the truth, just listen to the inspection call."

A group of more than a dozen brocade-clothed patrol riders got up together, followed Hu Yan into the rain, and headed north.

Zhang Xing, on the other hand, followed the crowd along the cross street in the square for seven or eight steps, and suddenly pulled Qin Bao to stop: "Brother Hu! Let me ask about the stock of groceries in these stores, and ask Qin Bao to follow me to guard them for a while." , right away."

Hu Yan stopped and looked back, obviously stunned for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but he still nodded slightly: "It's good that you know the pros and cons in your heart, don't be alone."

After finishing speaking, he continued to walk north with the other patrol riders who were a little dazed. Qian Tang hesitated for a while, but after glancing at the north, he still went directly to the north.

At this time, Zhang Xing had already dragged Qin Bao into a grain shop beside the road.

In the system of squares and cities, each square has a square wall, and there are cross streets and chessboard-like alleys inside. The squares can only communicate with each other through the square gate at certain times during the day. In this case, internal business must Generally speaking, there must be rice, soy sauce, vinegar, tea salt, charcoal, cloth and other goods for sale, and they are generally concentrated near the intersection in the workshop.

Among them, rice shops are the most common type, and they can't stop for a moment. Even if it's raining, there are people queuing up.

Seeing the sudden entry of two brocade-clothed warriors, the store owner and customers were all startled. If the two of them hadn't blocked the way through the threshold, the people in the store might have fled.

"Don't panic, shopkeeper, I'm only here to ask one thing, how much food is in your store at this time?" Zhang Xing cut to the chase.

"One, one hundred and eighty, eighty shi." The shopkeeper, dressed in commoner clothes, was still nervous. "180 shi of various rice noodles and miscellaneous grains... What are the two officials asking this for?"

"Why are there so few?" Qin Bao is an insider after all. Although he didn't know why Zhang Xing asked these questions, he still noticed something strange immediately. "How many grain stores are there in your workshop?"

"About seven or eight?" The shopkeeper was still puzzled.

"It's still too little..." Qin Bao really realized the problem.

"Sister-in-law, how much rice can you hold in this cloth bag?" Zhang Xing suddenly looked at the customer who was buying rice.

"Report to the officials, can, can hold four buckets." The woman with the child on her back, clothed in wooden hairpins, approached carefully.

"Then how many buckets do you want to buy this time?" Zhang Xing kept asking with no expression on his face.

And Qin Bao had already woken up, and immediately opened his eyes wide to see.

"One, one bucket..." The woman became even more panicked. "I only brought fifteen coins, and only fifteen coins."

Qin Bao immediately touched his bosom.

"go!"

Zhang Xing scolded, just like Hu Yan suddenly scolded Li Qingchen before, but he walked into the rain first.

Qin Bao didn't have time to think about it, and naturally he didn't have time to give the money, so he lowered his head and followed.

And as soon as the two of them came out, two shirtless men standing outside snorted coldly and went directly into the store for questioning. Zhang Xing still ignored him, just bowed his head and walked quickly with Qin Bao, quickly catching up with Hu Yan and his party, and then Go out of Jiaqingfang, go up the city wall, and turn into the tower on the south city wall located in the middle of Jiaqing and Jiajing two squares.

This is the temporary base of Bai Yousi's second patrol team directly under the Jing'an Taichung Town Fusi's pursuit of the criminals.

A group of people turned into the tower, Bai Yousi and the other team were already waiting here, waiting by the fire in the middle, when the two teams met, they immediately discussed the situation of the two workshops.

Zhang Xing didn't interrupt, nor did he intend to warm himself up by the fire. Instead, he walked to the north-facing window of the tower building with his knife in his hand, and lay down directly on the window, staring at the Eastern Capital, which was shrouded in summer rain, in a daze.

It was Qin Bao who squeezed to the side of the fire.

After a while, after comparing the information, both sides felt that it was difficult, and the scene became awkward for a while.

And at this time, Qin Bao, who looked back at Zhang Xing several times but didn't get a response, finally blushed and said, "Inspector, deputy inspector, I also have something to say... I just went to check with Zhang Sange I went to the rice shop in Jiaqingfang, and found that this place is no better than the other squares in the north, and the stores in the square have very little stock..."

"It's just a few stores, remember a few faces, take care of them a little bit, and let them go to buy goods on a daily basis." Li Qingchen blurted out. "Search immediately without delay."

"It's more than a store." Qin Bao swallowed, and continued to look at Bai Yousi and Hu Yan seriously. "The honest residents here don't have any stock at home, so they have to buy it by themselves in a few days... Brother Zhang and I bumped into a sister-in-law who carried the child on his back, so I only bought a bucket of rice."

"no……"

Hu Yan already dodged and lowered his head, Bai Yousi's face turned gloomy, Qian Tang and a few veteran scouts raised their heads and sighed slightly, Li Qingchen still didn't understand. "Let's let the shopkeepers go to buy goods, and let these residents buy things in the workshop, isn't that all right?"

"Li Twelve, do you understand? The reason why the store has low inventory is because the capital is small and the money in the store is small, so you can only buy groceries at one time; the reason why the residents have no inventory is because they have no money at home. Go out to Tianjie or Luoshui to do a day's part-time job, and only have the rice grain for the second or third day..." Qin Bao finally got a little angry. "Only let the store buy goods, and don't let these poor people go to work to earn money. Where can they get the money to buy rice, grain and groceries? It's not a proverb, it's the truth! Jiajing and Jiaqing are the two workshops. If they are all sealed up and locked up, and the cooking is stopped every three to five days, people will starve to death in seven or eight days!"

Li Qingchen had never been reprimanded by Qin Bao in public like this before, but what the other party said was simple and easy to understand, and he couldn't refute it for a while, so he just started talking about it.

Bai Yousi glanced at Zhang Xing, who was watching the rain with his back turned to everyone, but the latter remained silent and motionless. In desperation, the female inspector also looked a little embarrassed:
"The poor squares in Nancheng are not limited to Jiajing and Jiaqing two squares, right? What will the other squares do?"

"What can I do?" Qian Tang was heartbroken seeing his inspection in such a mess, so he immediately lowered his voice. "Inspection... I know what you're thinking, but in fact, this eastern capital city is known as the best place in the world, but every year it rains in the south of the snow city, people will freeze to death, and the rain alone often kills people... At that time, but Does anyone want to protect one or two? We spread it all over our heads this time, so we feel that our hands are dirty... and other workshops, I'm afraid they don't care about anything."

"You have to bite the bullet and do it!" After a long while, Hu Yan struggled to make a sound and made a push. "This is not a joke... His Majesty was so angry that even Bai Shilang went directly to the prison, and he was suppressed layer by layer. If people like us are caught, it is obviously not good. I'm afraid it would be normal to have a decisive decision... Jiaqing, In Jiajing and Jingfang, the secret passages and waterways will be ignored for the time being, let’s not go deep first, first seal the four gates and the walls of the workshop, cross the cross street, and then sweep the streets and alleys in order, always give an explanation to the superior.”

Everyone went to see Bai Yousi together. Bai Yousi was speechless for a long time, but finally bowed his head:
"There is one thing I didn't tell you. This afternoon, I don't know whether it was Ziwei Palace's direct decree or the decree requested by the Nan Yamen. Anyway, the decree was issued. Anyone who is involved in the case of Yang Shen this time is a fugitive. On death row, there is no pardon for killing, immediate family members are imprisoned, killed on the spot, confiscated family assets... In other words, mass killings have begun in the north."

"We are all on duty, and we are helpless." Hearing this, Hu Yan became more frustrated, and his tone became more urgent. "Let's check faster, work harder, and be more rigorous, which is the best response... Inspection, and order it! The military order given by the superior is to close the workshop for inspection!"

Bai Yousi took a long breath and wanted to call Zhang Xing.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xing took the initiative to turn around and look at each other at this time: "So, even the patrol inspector and Brother Hu have no good solution?"

"good."

Hu Yan raised his eyes and looked at the other party. He was very impressed with this young man who carried his body thousands of miles away that day, so he can be called respectful. "Zhang Sanlang, do you have any?"

"I have two strategies, up and down!" Zhang Xing clasped his hands together with his sword, and said sternly. "I don't know if it's feasible or not? I also invite the two inspectors and brothers to refer to it."

"Everyone is a grasshopper on the same rope." Qian Tang urgently urged before Bai Yousi. "Speak quickly, as long as you can solve everyone's difficulties, we can only be grateful to you."

"The best policy is to close the workshop according to the rules first, and then everyone spends five days to repair the walls of the workshop and build houses for the people in the workshop. Gather people's hearts together, once people's hearts are there, if there is something wrong in the workshop, someone will definitely be Huairou to take the lead, this is my experience..."

"It's almost done." Li Qingchen was exasperated. "It still gathers people's hearts. Sister Si's family background is such a way to buy people's hearts. I'm afraid she won't have to wait for the fugitives in the workshop to be brought out. She will be rebelled by someone here first."

Bai Yousi and Hu Yan were also a little disappointed.

But Zhang Xing smiled instead: "Then we have to do something wrong!"

"What's the worst strategy?" Bai Yousi maintained the last patience and expectation for the subordinate in front of him.

"The worst policy is divided into five steps."

Zhang Xing held the knife in one hand, and slightly raised his finger in the other hand.

"First, power is important! Please inspect and immediately call the relevant Henan county guards, city wall guards, Jinwu guards on the street... and the Jingjie tiger... Tell them that you are the fifth-rank Zhushou inspector. , or the noble family of the Bai family, let them all pool their powers into the hands of the inspectors, command and use them in a unified way, whoever dares to say no, whoever plays tricks, directly kills Liwei... Be quick, be ruthless!"

"It's simple." Bai Yousi didn't bat an eyelid.

"The second step is to close the workshop. I don't care about the waterways and tunnels... It's a good thing if you run from below... The inspector himself sits here, condescending, and supports at any time. Two workshops, assign people, don't care about March 21, [-], first Plug the gap in the square wall and surround it... This is a direct military order from above."

"It has to be this step?" Bai Yousi couldn't help but frown, Qin Bao was also a little disappointed.

"I'm afraid there must be such a step." Zhang Xing lowered his head and smiled. "Then the third step is the same... to buy grain, there is no shortage of grain in the east, and the grain in the Luokou warehouse is piled up like a mountain. Before, it was five cents a bucket, and this happened, and it was only fifteen cents a bucket. …Hundreds of grains, save a little, enough for the people in the workshop to survive for a few days.”

"I've said it all, you can't distribute food without authorization." Li Qingchen stomped his feet anxiously. "It's not that I don't care about human life. I did it like this. I'm afraid more lives will be lost!"

"If you don't pay, you don't buy people's hearts." Zhang Xing sneered. "This is for offering rewards. Food can only be given to anyone who reports the suspect. This is the fourth step."

The atmosphere in the tower stagnated slightly, as if someone had realized something.

"But third brother, is there really such a coincidence that there are suspects in these two workshops?" Qin Bao couldn't bear it. "If not, won't the food be distributed when it arrives?"

"Just like who reports meritorious deeds, isn't it up to us whether there are suspects or not?" Zhang Xing finally stared at Bai Yousi and said the last step. "Inspection, the fifth step is to kill! Kill people who are not involved in this case to pretend to be credited, and to say hard work to the higher-ups!"

"Zhang Xing, you are courting death..." Just as Qin Bao and the others were stunned, Bai Yousi was the first to react, but he was furious, and the long sword in his hand flew out by itself, and then stopped abruptly.

Because for a long time, Hu Yan, the deputy who has been assisting her properly for a long time, and also the most experienced Jing'antai black ribbon Hu Yan suddenly showed joy, and rushed to the table:

"feasible!"

Bai Yousi was dumbfounded, and froze in place like the others who were about to react just now.

No way, it's going too fast.

"Inspector, you don't have to do anything, the truth is actually very simple." Zhang Xing looked at the long sword gradually piercing in Bai Yousi's hand, and laughed. "The current situation, in fact, everyone knows that those prison robbers are so well-trained and well-founded, and the 150 squares in the Eastern Capital City, plus the mountains and fields in Beimang, where can they be easily found?"

"But the emperor was furious, and the princes of the Southern Yamen were furious. One layer is one level, and the military law is as great as the sky. Everyone has to do business. If you don't do it, what should you do if you don't do it? Then you can only use hard work and strength. Make an explanation above."

"Let's not talk about the hard work, isn't strength the easiest way to kill someone and take credit for it?"

"For example, we used the conventional method to hand over business before, saying that we could only seal the gate of the workshop according to the military order, and then sweep it carefully, and then disregard the lives of the people below... Why are everyone a little bit unbearable? Because this move is essentially to show hard work, it is killing people. To make meritorious deeds by being good, and to kill the weak, is to use the blood of innocent people to give an explanation to the superior... The only excuse is that the worst thing is not that you and I did it with our own hands."

"Since that's the case, why don't we kill the damned to take the credit anyway? In other places, because of our own incompetence and cowardice, we have to kill the weak and take the credit... We are different, we have the ability, With strategy, organization, and benevolence, we can kill criminals and take meritorious deeds, and kill strong men for meritorious deeds!"

At this point, Zhang Xing looked around three sides, and at this moment, even the dullest scouts suddenly realized, and Bai Yousi's eyes lit up, staring at the subordinates he picked up on the road with great interest and laughing.

Zhang Xing looked around and bowed proudly to Bai Yousi: "Inspector, I heard a nursery rhyme on the road today, saying that Jiaqing and Jiajing, every house is clean, we have to do things for the higher-ups anyway, why not return the two A real clean-up of the square once?! Put those local gangs under the name of hiding criminals, and sweep them up?! Kill him, blood flowed into rivers, and his head rolled, who dares to say that we are not doing our best?"

Bai Yousi looked around, and without waiting for the people around him to speak, he raised his eyebrows and slapped the long sword in his hand on the desk: "Well said! Since the princes of the court want to see the blood flow from below us, we can feel at ease." , then let’s kill him until his blood flows into rivers, and kill him cleanly! Is there anyone here who dares not kill people?!”

PS: Merry Christmas everyone!

(End of this chapter)