Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 235

Beijing Pier,

The more Zhang Jinyu looked at the big boats docked on the shore, the more he liked them, but he was terrified when he saw the steward of the Zhen family.

Lou Chongying, the general of the Wei army, didn't say a word, he didn't understand that Lord Hou had taken a fancy to the warship, and he was already a prisoner, so it was useless to say it.

Seeing Luo Yunhou's reaction, Qiao Hongyue thought in her heart whether Luo Yunhou came rushing to the pier, and didn't know if it was targeting the Zhen family, so she had to come out and ask tentatively;

"I've met Luo Yunhou. The younger one is Qiao Hongyue, the chief steward of the Zhen family's fleet. Lord Hou, the thieves have already robbed two large ships and fled to the depths of Lake An. Look."

No matter what you look at, Zhang Jinyu is not stupid, the moon is dark and the wind is high, just a boat, go to the water, unless you have no brains.

"Why, you still arranged for the Marquis to come?"

"Small dare not."

Qiao Hongyue repeatedly denied it.

"It's fine if you don't dare. My people were attacked outside. I chased them all the way here, and then the villains disappeared. What is there that deserves them to lure me here? Tell me."

Zhang Jinyu asked jokingly, but Qiao Hongyue hesitated and couldn't answer. At this time, Han Chun, who got up from the ground, said stiffly;

"Luo Yunhou, this is the goods of the King of Beijing Jing. If you move it, you will not be able to explain it to me, my lord."

"That's right, it's hard to explain, but I heard that the thieves robbed the ship, and many of you died, is it Manager Han?"

Zhang Jinyu didn't finish his sentence, and drew out the long knife with a "chuss", and it gave off a cold light under the light of the fire, which made Han Chun shut up immediately and didn't speak anymore.

"Think about what you can say and what you can't say."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

Several people responded tremblingly.

On the big ship docked at the pier, Ning Bian led his people to the cabin, and saw boxes piled up layer by layer, neatly placed in rows.

Ning Bian drew out his knife, cut off the copper lock, and opened the boxes one by one, only to see that the boxes were full of white silver. On other ships, cloth, tea bricks, various spices, and porcelain were all bulky goods and were of great value. In addition, a large amount of illegal salt was found on a ship, which was strictly prohibited by the court.

After the inspection was almost over, Yong Bian led people to search the cabin where the people lived, and disembarked without finding anything.

When he came to the corpse of the thief in black, he took off his face scarf, but he didn't see any difference, and then ordered someone to take off his shirt, only to see a tattoo with the word "Taiping".

"People from the Taiping sect."

Seeing this, Ning Bian changed another body for another body inspection, and it was still the same, so he knew he hadn't escaped.

After a while,
Ning Bian came back and nodded towards himself,

Zhang Jinyu stepped aside and asked;
"Ningbian, what's on board is worth so much trouble."

Ning Bian replied in a low voice;

"Master Hou, the boat is filled with a large amount of Jiangnan specialty tea, brocade cloth, silver and a boatload of private salt."

"Private salt, good guy, the Zhen family is really bold, what's the situation with that thief, what do you think of the rest?"

"Master Hou, the robbery of the ship was done by people from the Taiping Sect. The merchant ship has too much stuff to eat, so it's difficult to handle."

Yongbyon also felt troubled.

No matter how difficult Ningbian felt, Zhang Jinyu himself was also a little embarrassed. What happened tonight was also sudden. How could he eat so many supplies? It was also difficult to look at the big ships.

When Qiao Hongyue saw it, she also boldly came out and said,
"Master Hou, I have something to say, please listen to Master Hou, okay?"

Seeing Qiao Hongyue's sophistication, Zhang Jinyu replied;

"Talk about it? Ben Hou listen."

"The old man will have the cheek to talk about it."

Qiao Hongyue straightened her clothes and said again;
"Master Hou, tonight is also considered fate. How about this, Lord Hou, the Zhen family is willing to give you 50 taels of silver and a building boat as compensation. I will take the fleet, Vice Admiral Lou and his subordinates to set off overnight, leaving Steward Xu and Steward Han to report to the officials to explain what happened tonight. The rest of us will not mention it. That's good. Lord Marquis, make a decision as soon as possible before the news spreads tonight."

"Well. 50 taels can be regarded as out of pocket."

Zhang Jinyu also weighed the matter in his heart, this is also a solution, but this fleet is more than a few million taels, it is too much, and it cannot be removed, and the guard camp has been burned, which will definitely attract the attention of the Imperial City Division.

Seeing Luo Yunhou's face was cloudy and uncertain, Qiao Hongyue gritted her teeth and said,
"Master Hou, those goods can't be given to you. There are too many of them and it's hard to cash them in. In this way, the fleet has a new merchant ship, and the old man will give it to you. It's the same as this building ship, but it's just a building ship without weapons?"

Zhang Jinyu's eyes brightened, and said;

"Okay, deal, let's do it like this. Ben Hou just passed by tonight, chasing the thief, and didn't see anything else. Deputy General Lou, what do you say?"

Lou Chongying didn't know that his chance of survival was in front of him, so he knelt on the ground and prayed;

"The last general didn't see anything. He just lost his warship in the battle with the thieves. Lord Hou's ship was sent out because it was new, so there is no number of the guards yet."

"You are a confidant. The Marquis also told you that the people who hijacked the ship tonight are the elites of the Taiping Sect. You are being targeted. I don't know how you provoked them in Jiangnan."

Zhang Jinyu was in a good mood and was full after eating, so it was not a waste of time.

And Qiao Hongyue and Han Chun's expressions changed after hearing Master Hou's words, Taiping sect has become famous in the world, so Qiao Hongyue asked cautiously;
"Thank you, Lord Hou, for letting me know. How do you know, Lord Hou, that you are a member of the Taiping Sect or an elite?"

Without further ado, Zhang Jinyu asked Ning Bian to bring over a dead body, and used a knife to pry open the shirt on his chest, only to find a tattoo of Taiping Tianxia, ​​which was obviously tattooed on it long ago.

Several people suddenly realized when they saw it, and then bowed again;
"Thank you Lord Marquis for letting me know."

The chief manager also unambiguously took out 50 taels of silver bills and handed them over. Zhang Jinyu took them and asked his lieutenant general to take over the two buildings.

The four people left on the pier were also frowning, what should they do.

Han Chun's face was also livid, and the guards behind him all shrugged their heads.

"Boss, did you just sell the two buildings?"

Qiao Hongyue also said angrily;
"Then what do you want to do, Manager Han? It's almost dawn, can you take care of something?"

"This, you."

Han Chun also blushed and didn't dare to make a sound. He knew the importance of the matter. Seeing this, Xu Jing rushed to the scene and said;

"Senior stewards, hurry up and make a decision. It's almost dawn. It's not suitable to stay here for a long time."

The faces of the two of them changed, and they didn't dare to delay, Qiao Hongyue said to Lou Chongying;
"General Lou, take your men on board to guard the ship. The fleet will leave immediately. Don't worry, I will go back to Zhen's house in Jinling to protect you."

Seeing this, General Lou could only agree;

"Yes, Manager."

"Guard Han, I still have 100 million taels of silver bills on me. You may not be able to transport the silver back now. There are too many people around you. You should go back to the mansion immediately and report to the prince. Xu Jing, you stay with your guards and cooperate with the guards to report to the officials. The old man will now lead the fleet to the north to avoid accidents."

Knowing the urgency of the matter, Han Chun and Xu Jing nodded, and the three of them could split up. After a while, the fleet set sail and entered Anshui to go north.

Han Chun led the convoy directly and rode away from the pier quickly, leaving no one behind. Xu Jing took a small number of guards to clean up the pier and left other traces. After collecting the corpses, he waited for dawn to report to the police.

That night, the people in the market town at the dock stayed up all night, and the guard also stayed up all night with a sad face. How could he report to the Governor that so many dead people at the dock have not been dealt with yet.

After Zhang Jinyu led the army to leave the pier, he didn't bother with other things. He led the army back to the camp. When sleepiness struck, he fell asleep in the big tent.

I didn't wake up until the next morning, too tired.

on the pier,
Xu Jing went straight to the guard camp to find General Lu Guangju,

"General, have you thought about what to say?"

"Guan Xu may speak up if he has something to say."

Lu Guangju also asked with a sad face, Xu Jing was also relieved to see this, and said directly,
"General, report directly to the gangsters of the Taiping Cult that they attacked the pier last night and caused heavy losses. You led your troops to fight back, killed many congregants, and took back the pier. Don't say anything else. The robbed ship of the Zhen family fleet has entered the depths of Anhu Lake. As for the support of Luo Yunhou's troops, just say a few words."

The guard knew in his heart that he didn't want to involve the Northern King, and that was the only way to do it now, so he agreed, and the two of them rode straight to the capital with their horses.

Bing Ma Si and Huangcheng Si Yamen did not dare to delay after receiving the report, and immediately sent people to the pier. Sima Jianshi of Huangcheng personally took people to check it carefully.

Moreover, there are horseshoe marks on the ground and axle marks, and where is the Zhen family's fleet on the dock?

Just as he was thinking, the voice of a large group of troops came from behind him, and when he looked back, it turned out that Zuo Anhe, the Tongzhi of Dongcheng soldiers and horses, was leading the soldiers.

Zuo Tongzhi dismounted immediately to pay his respects.
"It turned out to be Master Ma. The lower officer Ma Si Tongzhi, the Xicheng soldier, has seen him."

"Master Zuo is out of touch. It's good to come here. Was there anything unusual last night?"

Zuo Anhe thought about it carefully, he slept soundly last night, and his concubine's arms were also showing off his majesty. Cough, I didn't ask this, the gate of the city was closed all night, and the small gate was left with someone's handle, nothing unusual.just replied;

"Returning to my lord, the city gate was not opened last night, and the small gate that was left was not abnormal. It was handled by the Bingma Division and the Huangcheng Division together. If something happens, an alarm will be issued."

"Well, that's true, where is Mr. Lu?"

Ma Jian also knew that the thieves were not bold enough to attack the capital.

"My lord, I have a humble position."

Lu Guangju also hurried over to answer, with a flustered look on his face, Ma Mengquan stared at the guard, his whole body smelled of smoke, and there was some plant ash, his feet were wet, his face looked listless, obviously he hadn't slept all night, and the guards behind him were similar, all dirty.

asked suddenly;

"General Lu, you are guilty!"

(End of this chapter)