Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 259
Yangzhou City,
Ye Zhifu and Wan Tongzhi knew that the people from the capital had arrived during the day, and they were a little flustered, especially the people from the Imperial City Division who came from the capital, they were all lawless masters.

Immediately, they sent people to watch the Yanzheng Yamen, as well as the movement of the Imperial City Secretary.

Then he sent his confidantes to immediately invite Jiangnan Changshi Tian Juzheng who was recuperating in Yangzhou, Wan Haihe was not idle, and said bluntly;
"Master Zhifu, be sure to invite Chang Shi here. I will go to the Yangzhou government army now and invite the generals of the government army. We will meet here tonight."

"Okay, then Wan Tongzhi will make a trip in person."

After the two discussed for the time being, they went separately to invite someone. Ye Zhifu wanted his confidant to come, but he was afraid that no one could be invited, so he had to order his servants to prepare a sedan chair and go there in person.

Yangzhou City is now a bit springy, and everything is slowly recovering. Even the weather is not very cold. There is a small courtyard in the south city, which is exquisite and unique, with complete pavilions and pavilions, which has a special artistic conception.

Although Jiangnan Changshi Tian Juzheng is recuperating at home, sensible people know that he is avoiding something.

Nowadays, in the south of the Yangtze River, there are undercurrents, competition for power and profit, private bribery is commonplace, and there are eight major salt merchants inside to disrupt the situation. Now they want to secretly kill the imperial officials.

I made excuses for my illness and went back to my hometown Yangzhou early.

"Report, master, Ye Yuanchang, the magistrate of Yangzhou, is asking to see you outside the door."

As soon as these words came out, Tian Juzheng shook his hand while drinking tea, and the tea naturally fell out, wondering why he came here, it seems that a big change is coming.

"not see."

"Yes, sir."

The steward of the concierge went out in response.When he got to the door, he respectfully said to Ye Zhifu;
"Master Zhifu, my master is not feeling well, and he will not see any visitors."

Ye Yuanchang stood outside the door, his face was cloudy and uncertain, it was really so, he thought to himself what Tian Juzheng knew, and asked unwillingly;
"Then you tell Mr. Tian that the armored soldiers of the Imperial City Division of the capital city have arrived in Yangzhou, and now they are in the Yanzheng Yamen. Mr. Tian can really stay out of the matter."

The steward also felt inappropriate after hearing it, so he had to say it again;

"Master Zhifu wait a moment, I will ask you later."

"Okay, the prefect is waiting here."

Seeing this, the porter had no choice but to run back to the pavilion in the courtyard again, and said when he saw the master;
"Master, Ye Zhifu refused to leave. He said that the armored soldiers of the Imperial City Division of the Imperial City had already arrived in Yangzhou, and now they are in the Yanzheng Yamen. They also said that you can stay out of it, sir."

Tian Juzheng let out a cold snort upon hearing this,
"Hmph, this is urgent. The old man jumped out a long time ago, and it is even more impossible to jump back at this juncture. Someone from the capital must be a ruthless character. You can go back to him. The old man is old and no longer cares. For this matter, he needs to make a plan early, let’s go.”

"Yes, sir."

The porter hesitated for a moment and ran back.

Outside the door, Zhifu Ye was also anxiously waiting, and secretly scolded Tian Juzheng, an old fox.

Just as he was thinking about it, the porter came out, seeing that the porter didn't intend to let him in, his heart tightened.asked;
"What did Lord Tian say?"

"Going back to the magistrate, Master Tian said that he is old and unwell, and he is afraid that he will not be able to participate anymore, so he should tell the master to make plans early."

The steward was wiping off his cold sweat and said respectfully there, Zhifu Ye almost cursed out of anger, but held back, then cast a bitter look at Tianfu, turned around, got on the sedan chair, and went back to the yamen.

After seeing Zhifu Ye walking away, the steward immediately closed the door, then ran back to the pavilion and said;
"Master, Prefect Ye is gone."

"Well, what's the reaction?"

Tian Ju was asking a question, and made himself a cup of tea, and took a sip.

"Master, Ye Zhifu is angry, and he seems to be resentful. Is it not good for the master?"

The concierge was a little apprehensive, for fear of being hated.

"Resentment, that's right. Master Lin doesn't know how long he can hold on. If Jun Lin is gone, how can he save them? Keep an eye on the concierge. It's understandable not to participate in other things."

"Yes, sir."

Before you know it, the sky is getting darker.

At the yamen mansion of the magistrate of Yangzhou,
Zhifu Ye ran all afternoon and still had no clue, so he had to gather at night to plot.

Another Lu, Wan Haihe and Wan Tongzhi also came to the Yangzhou government army camp in a sedan chair, and wanted to discuss with the generals of the government army about the soldiers and horses of the Imperial City Division who came to the city today. He didn't even enter the door, so he hurried back in despair.

Back in the yamen, I wanted to ask the magistrate what was going on, but who would have thought that as soon as he entered the door, he would see the magistrate sitting alone in the main hall, and his heart tightened. Difficult.

"My lord, looking at it this way, those people may have gotten the news a long time ago, or they may have smelled something unusual. Now it's us government officials who are kept in the dark, and the Suzhou side must be the same. The eight major salt merchants want to drag us Get into the water."

Ye Yuanchang's face was gloomy, knowing that Wan Tongzhi's words were true, thinking about Tian Changshi today, he repeatedly evaded, and didn't even show his face, a majestic magistrate stood outside the door, but he didn't see him either.

"Wan Tongzhi, is there any letter from the salt merchant or the Jia family in Jinling?"

Wan Haihe sat there without saying a word, with a serious expression on his face. Hearing the question from the magistrate, he suddenly asked,
"Lord Ye, I'm thinking about one thing, whether it will be Jinling or not. Suzhou doesn't know that people from the capital have arrived from our Yangzhou side, or that the imperial envoy from the capital is on the way!"

Ye Yuanchang was also taken aback, and after thinking about it, it was really possible, including Master Tian, ​​who was just guessing, so he figured it out after thinking about it this way.

"Wan Tongzhi, what you said is really possible. If you think about it this way, you can figure it out. Now let's think about a remedy. You go to the treasury to check the accounts and supplies immediately, and make up for what is missing. Organize the files at the yamen to see if there are any loopholes, and we can no longer contact the salt merchants, and the letters we exchanged in the past must be burned, and nothing will be left."

Wan Haihe also kept nodding his head,

"My lord's words are very true. Now that we are saved, Yangzhou is also saved, and it is for the sake of the people here. I will personally inspect it. My lord needs to be quicker."

"The old man knows, Haihe, you can't be soft now."

Ye Yuanchang confessed, Wan Haihe nodded heavily, and then the two of them went to the treasury and Yamen without eating.

Yangju,

Lin Ruhai Salt Administration Yamen,
After disposing of the corpses of the dark guard brothers, the people brought by Ji Yunhui began to set up defenses in the Yamen and set up traps, so Ji Qianhu was relieved.

Looking at the towering courtyard walls, I don't feel much security,
"Deputy Feng Qianhu, arrange for the brothers to take turns guarding, and the rest of them go to rest. They can't all guard here."

"It's my lord, I'll make arrangements for the humble job."

Feng Qianhu took the order and went to arrange guards at night.

Ji Yunhui took people to the gate of the yamen and inspected it.

And in the west house in the backyard,

Lin Daiyu stayed by Jia Min's side firmly and cautiously, holding porridge and trying to feed her mother some food.

But now, Jia Min's life is almost exhausted, Daiyu is just holding her mother's hand tightly in vain, with tears all over her face, she is silent about everything.

Only soft sobs echoed.

moon night,

The bright moonlight passed through the window, and now there is no more laughter.

over the canal,

When Zhang Jinyu heard that Commander Lu Yi was assassinated, he also asked in disbelief;
"Be specific,"

"Yes, Lord Hou, Commander Lu was assassinated by his guard officer and was shot by an arrow. General Lu told Lord Hou to be careful with the guards."

"How about General Lu?"

"Go back to Lord Hou, General Lu is fine after bandaging."

"Well, let's go down."

Ning Bian, who was sitting next to him, was a little uneasy when he heard this, put down the beggar chicken in his hand, stood up and cleaned his hands, and wanted to go out to have a look, if there were really assassins, there was no guarantee that the guards on this ship would not have spies.

Or if the guards are not trustworthy, then it will be troublesome.

He said to Lord Hou;

"Master Hou, it seems that someone can't sit still and doesn't want us to go, and this person is not from the south of the Yangtze River, but was killed by someone in the capital. There must be spies among the guards of the navy army .”

Zhang Jinyu didn't stand up, and continued to gnaw on the beggar chicken, which was delicious, let alone Duan Hong's craftsmanship.

Looking up and seeing Yongbyon standing up, he said;

"Stand up and do what you want, keep eating, don't waste it."

Seeing that Master Hou was so calm, Ning Bian felt at ease, so he was not in a hurry, sat down and continued to eat.

"What did Hou Ye think of?"

"Well, all I can say now is that it's possible. This assassination is like a child's play. It hurts your arm. You should treat it as a joke. Maybe it's something he directed and acted on his own. Of course, it may be true, but On the river, why don't we go and check it out! So listen for now."

Zhang Jinyu didn't really believe anyone except her own people when she went south this time, because anyone could be a hidden thread, so the decision to go to Jinling this time was to control the military power in the south of the Yangtze River, to be sure, and everyone else had to back off, no matter who had Whatever the purpose, he is invincible.

Ning Bian also had a solemn expression on his face, knowing that Master Hou's guess was correct. If Commander Lu really directed and acted on his own, what is the purpose of this part? Besides, the guards are divided into three parts, which are not under each other's control, and each building and ship are independent of each other. It is not easy to do something with your own people watching.

"Master Hou, this happened before Jiangbei County, which means that the guards in Jiangnan are basically untrustworthy. What should we do when we get there?"

Zhang Jinyu put down the beggar chicken in his hand, wiped his hands with the brocade cloth, and replied with a smile;

"Don't worry, when the time comes, you will get 5000 people off the ship and be on standby at any time. Sometimes it's better to pay them."

Ning Bian was startled when he heard this, could it be that Lord Hou thought so.

According to the rules outside the customs, if you pay it, you are a slave, and life and death are in the hands of the general, but this is in the south of the Yangtze River.

(End of this chapter)