Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 291
Jinling City has returned to its former hustle and bustle.

But the mansions of all the dignitaries are spies everywhere to find out what happened last night.

In the afternoon, everyone basically knew that the imperial court had sent an imperial envoy to the south of the Yangtze River, and that Marquis Luo Yun personally led the troops.

So far all night,

Ransacking the homes of the generals of the guard army overnight is a vigorous and merciless act.

Gui Yifu was also busy all night, wrote the secret document overnight, and sent it to the capital urgently. Although he persuaded Luo Yunhou not to expand the scope of the attack, it is guaranteed that other people who are not good-looking will jump out.

"My lord, why are you still frowning? Didn't you discuss it with Luo Yunhou?"

Qianhu, the Imperial City Secretary behind him, hurried over with a cup of tea, and asked suspiciously,
"It's a deal, I'm afraid that people who don't have long eyes will jump out. The frontier army is different from the garrison in the pass. They are all masters of murder without blinking an eye. If you really meet the frontier cavalry on the road, the infantry on the Jiangnan side is really not enough to fight. .”

"That's what your lord said."

You Qianhu also saw Luo Yunhou's No. [-] army in the world last night. It was indeed strict in military discipline and unified in action. The armor was enviable to others, and only the elite in the Jiangnan camp could admire it.

"By the way, Liang Baihu has been in Yangzhou for so long, what did you find out? What happened to our brother?"

Gui Yifu was also concerned about the brothers of the Imperial City Department of Yangzhou City. In just one night, all the people in the Yamen of the Imperial City Department of Yangzhou City disappeared, from thousands of households to banner soldiers, all disappeared without a trace. It's not that I have another eyeliner there, I'm afraid something big will happen.

"Returning to my lord, Liang Baihu only found out that the place where we were buried was in the backyard, and the woods planted a kind of enchanting magic vine, which came from the country of Cheshi in the Western Regions. The people of Huangcheng Division were fascinated by the murderer first, but they didn't find out who it was for a while, and then they were destroyed by Ji Qianhu in the capital. However, the subordinates didn't understand what the people in Yangzhou did before. They were also puzzled, why didn't they save Mr. Lin, and Mr. Zhuang, the governor of the south of the Yangtze River, is said to have received Mr. Lin's request for help."

You Qianhu also quickly summed up what Liang Baihu had investigated and what he had investigated in Jinling, and reported quickly. He found many suspicious points, and more and more people were involved. When there were too many people, he did not dare to investigate. .

Commander Gui also had a headache. Although he had been in the south of the Yangtze River for many years, those nobles guarded him like thieves. Deal with the people in the city.

There are many doubts about this matter. At present, people from the East Palace, the South Palace, and the people from the Taiping Sect who came out recently have some clues. On the surface, the eight major salt merchants are connected in series. They can be found everywhere. Not to mention those officials, who collect money without restraint, collect a lot of money, and are not afraid of dying.

"You Qianhu, now focus on the Eight Great Salt Merchants and Yangzhou. I also want to write a letter to Jiao Xiong, the coach of Jiangnan Daying, to discuss it. Liang Zhao, anyway, let him go there in person. .”

Gui Yifu's hands were not slow. After writing the letter, he folded the envelope and put on baking varnish, and handed it to You Guangfeng.

"You also go to arrange the manpower, and be careful in everything."

You Qianhu took it with both hands, cupped his hands and bowed, and said;
"Understood, my lord, I understand."

Then turned away.

Seeing You Qianhu walking away, Gui Yifu sat behind the desk in the yamen, drank some tea, and muttered to himself;
"It stands to reason that Mr. Zhuang belongs to the emperor, but such a method must not be true. Who is behind Mr. Zhuang? It's hard to understand."

Jinling,

North City.

The partial houses of the Jia family and the Shi family were all former residences here, and most of the clansmen left by other nobles gathered here. Gradually, it became a gathering place for nobles and nobles, attracting squires and wealthy families.

On the other hand, Xicheng and Nancheng are the opposite. There are many ordinary people, and most of the bazaars and market squares are here, which is extremely lively.

In the northern city, many people secretly looked at the imperial army in front of Jia's house, and they didn't know what they did to be surrounded.

When passing by here, he lowered his head and walked quickly, just sneaking a glance out of the corner of his eye, for fear of causing trouble to his upper body.

Jia's nine-room mansion,

The steward of the concierge also got up and opened the door as usual, just after opening the door, when he went out, he saw many soldiers standing outside the door, so he asked curiously;

"Military masters, but which general's wave, why is it here?"

But no one paid any attention to it, the steward felt strange, and wanted to ask, but the leading captain reprimanded;
"Go back, don't leave the house without orders."

"You, do you know whose mansion this mansion belongs to, but the ninth master of the Jia family doesn't even ask."

"Go away! Do the Forbidden Army need to inquire about it?"

The captain directly kicked the steward back into the door.

"Ouch! It hurts me to death."

The steward hugged his leg and kept rubbing it. This foot was merciless. He thought, Forbidden Army, they are the Forbidden Army. His heart skipped a beat. He felt something was wrong. He immediately got up and closed the door, and then ran to the study in the backyard.
The people in the house were also a little terrified, why they were surrounded by the imperial army overnight, and no one could get out, I'm afraid it's not a good thing.

"My lord, my lord, I'm afraid something has happened!"

outside the study,
The steward also ran in from outside in a panic, panting and shouting.

On the other hand, Jia Wenfu, holding a book with annotations, looked at it, looking very leisurely, and was a little displeased when he heard it.

"Why are you so panicked, and you don't think about your identity, it's not big or small."

He put down the book while speaking, and picked up the shelf completely. Although Jia Wenfu has no official position, he leads the remaining members of the Jia family, relying on the ancestral property left by the Jia family's lineage in the capital and the bullying at that time. The common people won a lot of land and shops, otherwise the Zhen family and these nobles occupy most of the paddy fields in the south of the Yangtze River. If there is turmoil, the south of the Yangtze River will not be stable.

In addition, including the remaining veins of the Wang family, the historians are also gradually forming a group together, like an iron bucket managed by Jinling, that is, the descendants of the various families in the capital cannot get their hands on it, as if they are self-reliant, except for the ancestral house staying here. Except for the movement, the others have already scored points.

Needless to say, Jia Wenfu's Jiufang directly divided these remaining land properties into more than half, that is, Zhuangzi, who is still in the name of the descendant, directly replaced his own people, and sent some special products to Beijing every year. , The rest of the income is directly lost, and what I do is to feel at ease.

Officials big and small in Jinling also gave some face, and being in the halo of Jia's family made them feel at ease, and they would never have thought that someone would dare to stroke a tiger's beard.

When the steward saw the master, he was calm and relaxed, so he replied;

"Master, as soon as the younger one went out, he found soldiers holding the gate. The younger one went to inquire, but he kicked the younger one in, saying that the imperial army was ordered to come here. It seems that the visitor is not kind."

"There is such a thing."

Jia Wenfu was also a little surprised, the Imperial Army.The Jinling imperial army has been stationed in the old palace, and usually they will not come out, that is to say, it is unusual now.

"Yes, sir, there are quite a few people."

The manager added a sentence there, but Jia Wenfu remained silent, stood up and put down the book, and said;
"follow me."

"Yes, sir."

Jia Wenfu also felt something was wrong, so he led the servant in charge from the side courtyard to the backyard of the mansion. After passing through a few side rooms and several yards, he came to the backyard. I know, let's see if I can go out here today, or only the gate is available.

"Open the door and be quiet."

Jia Wenfu stared at the small door in front of him and ordered.

"Understood, sir."

The steward took a few people to drop the bolt, then pried it open lightly, then opened a small gap, and then put his head out to take a look. Unexpectedly, on this side of the courtyard wall, there were almost every post at every ten steps, and there were people Standing directly under the wall, if you go out, you will be found.

The steward was so frightened that he closed the door carefully, and then hit the bolt.

Jia Wenfu was also impatient when he saw it, and asked in a low voice;

"What's going on outside? Can you go out, but there are forbidden troops staying behind."

After the steward closed the door, he turned around and replied in a low voice;
"My lord, there is no guard at this gate, so I probably didn't notice it, but outside the courtyard wall in the alley, there is a guard of the Imperial Guard a dozen steps away. You can't get out at all, and you will be discovered as soon as you show your head."

Jia Wenfu's face immediately darkened. Surrounded like this, there must be someone guarding the back door of the backyard. Who could it be?

"Let's go and see the back door."

Several people came to the back door again and opened the door. Sure enough, there were many forbidden soldiers guarding here. Jia Wenfu asked the steward to go out to try, but he was warned by the forbidden soldiers as soon as he stepped out, so he had no choice but to come back.

Jia Wenfu went over and asked;
"Military masters, may I ask who surrounded the house of the Jia family? Is it a mistake? Don't flood the Dragon King Temple. The family will not recognize the family."

There is also a captain at the back door, sneering;
"It's not ashamed to say it. This is an order issued by the imperial envoy himself. What do you do that you don't know?"

The captain himself thought it had something to do with the guard's treason. It might be that the superiors had not ordered him to surround him first. Jia Wenfu was even more confused. What could he have done to offend the imperial envoy?

If he wanted to ask again, he was reprimanded by the captain and retreated.

The black-faced Jia Wenfu led the people back, feeling a little uneasy in his heart. Seeing the face of the imperial guards, his mansion might be being targeted, and now he can only ask for help if he can't get out.

After entering the house, he took out a letter folder that he hadn’t used for many years, wrote down the current situation and events in the house, sealed it, and went to the small courtyard behind the study, inside were all the pigeons he raised privately, took three pigeons, Load the letters, one is to fly to the capital, and the other two are to fly to Jinling City.

Watching the carrier pigeons fly out of Jia's mansion, Jia Wenfu felt more at ease. Not to mention the Jia's in the capital, but also the Zhen's and Shi's in Jinling City. home them.

Thinking about this, he went back to the study, and seeing that the steward was still here, he ordered;

"Notify the housekeeper to reduce the family's expenses, and then don't go out. Let's talk about it in a few days."

"Yes, my lord, the house's expenses are sufficient, and the cellar and grain storage have not been moved."

The steward also reported the food stored in the house, and Jia Wenfu nodded without paying attention. In the past, he didn't know how much winter vegetables were thrown away every year, so he didn't care about it.

"Master, the imperial guards outside are fine."

"It's okay, don't worry about it, it will be withdrawn in a few days, I think there is some misunderstanding, well, don't tell the ladies in the backyard, I understand."

"Yes, master, I understand."

(End of this chapter)