The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 320 Self-reliance
Going back a few hours, brothers Li Hongji and Li Hongyi were hiding in a dense grass forest beside the road, accompanied by six pirates. These six pirates were all Li Hongji's confidants secretly developed on the island, and they all had certain abilities. ability.

It turned out that Li Hongji had no intention of escaping with Kang Dayong from the beginning, because he could not trust Dai Li, so he decisively ran away halfway, taking only his cousin Li Hongyi and six confidants with him. He did not even remind Kang Dayong. The reason was very Simple, with Kang Dayong and his gang attracting the attention of all parties, it would be easier for them to escape.

In other words, Li Hongji really showed off Kang Dayong!
boom……

A loud noise came from the south. Since it was a quiet night, I could hear it very clearly, and I could even faintly see the light of fire rising into the sky.

Li Hongji and others who were hiding in the grass subconsciously stood up and looked around. After a long time, Li Hongyi whispered solemnly: "That side seems to be the ferry on the edge of the Yangtze River. It seems that Kang Dayong and the others are in more danger."

As soon as these words came out, the six pirates all looked at Li Hongji with admiration. One of them even said with admiration: "The second master knows things like a god. Fortunately, we escaped halfway, otherwise we don't know how we would have died!"

Li Hongji felt a little proud when he suddenly heard the thunderous sound of hoofbeats from the north. The thieves hurriedly squatted down and hid in the grass forest. Not long after, a cavalry holding a torch passed by the official road like lightning.

Li Hongyi secretly looked through the gaps between the weeds. Under the light of the torch, he clearly saw a familiar face. He couldn't help but shivered cleverly, and said in a voiceless voice: "Iron Tiger!"

Iron Tiger is now very famous, and the thieves are as fearful as a tiger. Even when they hear this name, they can't help but tremble, so they all lie down in the grass and dare not move, for fear of being discovered by this murderous god, until the sound of hoofbeats can no longer be heard. Only then did he dare to stand up.

Li Hongji was not surprised but said happily: "Tiehu's cavalry went over there, most likely for Kang Dayong. This is a good thing. It means that Jia Huan and Yi Hong have seen through Dai Li's affair with us. Taking advantage of the opportunity Their attention is on Kang Dayong at the moment, and our chances of successfully escaping are undoubtedly greater."

When everyone heard this, they were all happy.

"Second brother, without further ado, let's escape quickly!" Li Hongyi urged.

At that moment, Li Hongji and the other two hurriedly fled north before dawn, and walked until dawn. They did not dare to stop and rest until they had left the Great Copper Mountain far behind.

"Second Master, where can we go next?" One pirate asked anxiously, and the other five pirates also looked at Li Hongji in unison, their eyes full of worry and hesitation about the uncertainty of the future.

Li Hongji patted the pirate's shoulder and comforted him confidently: "Brothers, if you don't mind, then follow me back to Mizhi County, Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province. That's my hometown. Although it's a remote place, it's better because I know the people and the roads." , and I also know a lot of green forest heroes in my hometown, and I can still make a living. Once I have escaped the limelight, I believe that based on my experience during this period, when the opportunity comes in the future, I will definitely be able to rely on the wind. Get up and do something big."

When the pirates heard this, they all became energetic. They were all singles with no worries. One person had enough to eat and the whole family had nothing to worry about. As long as they had food to eat, where could they go without being a fool? So they all expressed their willingness to follow Li Hongji back to Shaanxi.

"This time, it was all thanks to the second master that we brothers were able to save the day and escape. Then, of course, wherever the second master goes, we will go. I believe that with the second master's ability, sooner or later, we will be able to make a comeback and lead everyone to be popular. Drink spicy.”

"What's the second boss? Now it's time to change your name to the first boss."

"Yes, yes, you should be called the boss."

Listening to everyone's compliments, Li Hongji was full of ambition for a moment and said proudly: "Thanks to the support of the brothers, I, Li Hongji, am flattered. In the future, whenever I, Li Hongji, have a mouthful of food, I will definitely not treat you brothers badly. But I am going to Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province. The journey is long, and it is not easy for us to arrive safely. Now we have made a three-part agreement, and I hope that the brothers will abide by it. Otherwise, it will be a bad time to get together now and avoid falling out on the way. "

The thieves hurriedly asked: "How to make a three-chapter agreement? Please explain it to the master."

Li Hongji said solemnly: "First, you must obey my orders and do what is forbidden."

The thieves hurriedly said: "Of course."

"Second, if anyone unfortunately falls into the hands of the government, he must not betray his brothers, otherwise he will be struck by lightning and die a good death."

All the thieves hurriedly agreed and vowed to do so.

"Third, for safety reasons, everyone must change their appearance and give them a new name, so as to make a clean break with the past."

After hearing this, all the thieves breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about this? Let alone changing your name, you can change your surname. Anyway, I was expelled from the family before I became a pirate."

Li Hongyi couldn't help but ask: "What name do you want to change to, eldest brother?"

Li Hongji said proudly: "A man was born between heaven and earth, how can he live in depression for a long time under human beings? During my lifetime, I should stand on my own feet and dominate the world. From now on, I will be called Li Zicheng."

Li Hongyi's blood boiled in his chest, and he blurted out: "What a good name, big brother, why don't you give me a name too."

Li Hongji said with high spirits: "Then your name is Li Fu. We two brothers share weal and woe, share blessings, and bear hardships together. You will be my eldest brother's right-hand man. If I conquer the country in the future, you will be my first auxiliary minister."

Li Hongyi said happily: "Okay, thank you big brother for the name. I will be called Li Fu from now on, haha!"

Next, Li Hongji and his party went to a nearby village, stole some farm tools, straw hats, etc., disguised themselves as farmers, and fled towards Fengyang Mansion.

…………

When the sun rose in the east, this unknown ferry on the north bank of the Yangtze River had been blocked by officers and soldiers. The salvaged pirate corpses were lined up in two rows on the ground, totaling twenty and four and a half people, because some of the corpses were not Complete, missing arms, legs, and even a head, barely able to piece together four and a half people, plus twenty more that were still complete and identifiable, so we came up with this number.

"Brother Huan, take a look, this person should be Kang Lingcheng's third son, Kang Dayi. Although his legs were blown apart, his face is still vaguely identifiable." Feng Ziying pointed to one of the corpses.

Kang Dayi's appearance resembled that of his father, as if he had come out of the same mold. Even if Jia Huan had never seen this person before, he recognized him at a glance. He nodded and said, "Have you found the bodies of the thieves Kang Dayong and Li Hongji?"

Feng Ziying shook her head and said: "We haven't found it yet. The brothers are still salvaging. I have ordered the salvage scope to be expanded to ten miles downstream."

Jia Huan raised his head and looked at the mighty river, shook his head and said: "I'm afraid ten miles is not enough, at least thirty miles. Let the brothers work hard and search thirty miles downstream. If there are not enough ships, they can be recruited nearby. If there are not enough manpower, then go to the river." Jinling Navy wants people, in short, you want to see people alive, and you want to see corpses when you die."

Feng Ziying cupped her hands and said, "I'll do it right away." After saying that, she turned around and left.

"Brother Feng, wait a minute. In addition to the corpse, are there any other valuable things that have been salvaged?" Jia Huan stopped Feng Ziying and asked. Feng Ziying shook her head regretfully and said: "Except for some unburned shipwrecks, nothing else was found. Every corpse was searched, and nothing valuable was found."

Hearing this, Jia Huan waved his hand a little disappointedly and said, "I understand, Brother Feng, go ahead and get busy."

Feng Ziying turned around and walked away. Tie Hu watched the former go away, and then he approached Jia Huan and whispered: "Third Master, Dai Li and several of his cronies were all shot in the chest and died. Uncle Feng I’m afraid it’s unreliable.”

Jia Huan frowned and asked, "Huzi, do you suspect that Feng Ziying is deliberately killing someone to silence her?"

Tie Hu hesitated: "I'm not sure, but I think Uncle Feng has every chance of capturing Dai Li alive. However, if Dai Li insists on dying and resists, it's possible that Uncle Feng will order a shot to kill him."

"I know." Jia Huan just said four words with a calm expression, then turned and walked to the salvaged shipwreck.

The foreign maid Mandarin followed her like a shadow. In addition to the shield, she also carried a matchlock gun on her shoulder. Her long legs and slim waist, with peaks and hips, made her tall and graceful, both valiant and provocative.

The salvaged wreckage in front of me is relatively complete, and there is an iron nameplate nailed to it - Shun Xinglong, I don't know if it is the name of the ship or the name of the shipbuilding yard.

"Jia, what's written on it?" Mandarin stretched out the toe of her boot and lightly kicked the nameplate and asked.

Just as Jia Huan was about to answer, he suddenly saw dust billowing on the northern official road leading to the ferry. Not long after, a group of royal guards in bright clothes and angry horses appeared in sight.

As soon as Jia Huan saw it, he knew that it was Yi Hong, the commander of the Jin Yiwei. Sure enough, after a while, he saw hundreds of Jin Yiwei wearing flying fish uniforms rushing towards Yi Hong.

"Master Yi!" Jia Huan hurriedly came forward to greet him.

Yi Hong first glanced at the corpses lying on the ground, then rolled off his saddle and dismounted, and asked hurriedly: "Jia Xiucai, can you catch the thief Kang Dayong?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said regretfully: "We haven't found the two thieves, Kang Dayong and Li Hongji, yet, but we have found Kang Dayi, the third son of Kangling City, but they are already dead."

Yi Hong couldn't help being disappointed and said in a deep voice: "According to Jin Yiwei's preliminary interrogation, it seems that Kang Dayong has a very important account book in his hand and uses it to make transactions with Dai Li. We must find it no matter what."

Jia Huan's heart moved and he suddenly said: "So that's the case. No wonder Dai Li took the risk. It is estimated that this account book will be very detrimental to him."

Yi Hong sneered and said: "Not only is it detrimental to Dai Li, judging from my years of experience in handling cases, this account book is probably reserved by Kang Lingcheng. As long as we get the account book, hehe, we can solve the case with the private salt nest." All relevant personnel were uprooted, including..."

Yi Hong didn't say who he included, but Jia Huan could guess that it was Prince Yizhong. This was the money bag of Emperor Kangping, the Supreme Emperor. Yi Hong came to Yangzhou to handle the case under the imperial edict of Emperor Qian Sheng. His main purpose was It was to overthrow Prince Yi Zhong and cripple the arm of Emperor Kangping.

As the saying goes, it is difficult for a rich man to be a man without money, and even the Nine-Five Supreme Emperor is no exception. Once Emperor Kangping loses the money bag of Prince Yi Zhong, his strength and influence will inevitably be greatly weakened.

Jia Huan shook his head and said: "It's a pity that if this account book is really on Kang Dayong's possession, it will be soaked if it falls into the river."

Yi Hong's face suddenly darkened when he heard this, and he frowned and said, "Isn't it that Kang Dayong's body hasn't been found yet? Maybe he didn't get on the ship at all?"

"I hope, I'm afraid Kang Dayong has already handed over the account book to the contact person."

Yi Hong's heart moved, and he suddenly thought of one person, that is Xu Wenhan. This person left Yangzhou City a few days ago and secretly rushed to Dai Li's camp. Could he be the contact person? If Kang Dayong really handed over the account book to Xu Wenhan, I am afraid it would have been destroyed by now.

Yi Hong was very upset, but Feng Ziying happened to be back. When he saw Yi Hong, he hurriedly came forward to greet him.

Jia Huan then said: "Feng Qianhu came back just in time. You were the first to pursue him here. Please explain the situation to Mr. Yi."

Feng Ziying recalled: "At that time, the general led his brothers to pursue him nearby. Suddenly he heard a loud noise and ran away. When his subordinates rushed here, they only saw a burning wreckage on the river. Then the Tiehu brothers We also arrived. We worked hard for a long time and only recovered these corpses and some wreckage of the broken ship that was not burned. "

Yi Hong sneered and said: "What a shipwreck and trace. It seems that Kang Dayong was tricked by Dai Li. By the way, can Feng Qianhu find out the person who is in contact with Kang Dayong?"

Feng Ziying shook her head and said: "No, but..."

Yi Hong stared at Feng Ziying: "But what?"

"But just now, a brother under the general's command said that he met Wang Great-grandson in a small town downstream."

A cold light flashed in Yi Hong's eyes. As he expected, it seemed that Xu Wenhan was the contact person. He sneered and said, "That's a coincidence. Since Wang Zangsun is nearby, I have to go and say hello anyway." "Does Jia Xiucai think so?"

Jia Huan pointed eastward and said, "I'm afraid that's not necessary!"

Yi Hong turned his head and looked around, and saw a group of people strutting towards the ferry. The leader was none other than Xu Wenhan, the great-grandson of Prince Yi Zhong. Behind him were dozens of fully armed royal guards. , indescribable majesty.

How could the guardsmen responsible for blocking the ferry dare to stop them? So Xu Wenhan rode his horse directly to Jia Huan and Yi Hong, taking his time and leisurely as if he were sightseeing.

"Oh, aren't these Mr. Yi and the concubine of the Jia family? Sure enough, mountains and rivers do not change, and water does not change people. They unexpectedly met here. Hey, why did so many people die?" Xu Wenhan looked at it while looking at it. The two rows of corpses on the ground pretended to be surprised.

Yi Hongpi said with a smile: "What a coincidence, why is Brother Han here?"

Xu Wenhan said without changing his expression: "I am tired of playing in Yangzhou and plan to visit Jinling. I heard that there is a ferry nearby and I planned to take a boat here. Unexpectedly, I met Master Yi and this Jia family here. Bastard."

(End of this chapter)