Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

When walking through the north of the city, he heard crying and shouting in the distance. Yang Ling stopped and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw that not far away, thirty to fifty young and strong men were beating up two young women. The two women's clothes were torn and blood was oozing from the corners of their mouths. It seemed that they could hardly withstand the attack of the crowd.

"Sir, these people bully the elderly, the weak, women and children. They are so lawless!" Zhou Rui next to them said angrily, pointing at the group of people.

Yang Ling sneered, "These scums, relying on their superior martial arts, are rampant in the countryside and are a disaster to the villages and towns. They really deserve to be killed. However, they dare to openly hurt the elderly, the weak, women and children. Do they really think we are made of clay? Let's go and take a look."

"it is good!"

Yang Ling led his men outside the crowd and shouted, "Stop! Everyone stop!"

Upon hearing this, the young and strong men immediately stopped their actions and looked at Yang Ling and others vigilantly, fearing that these people would take the opportunity to rush up and beat them.

"You are such a bold and unruly person, how dare you commit murder and injure others? Your crime is extremely heinous. Why don't you kneel down and be tied up immediately!" Yang Ling shouted harshly.

"Kid, if you know what's best for you, get out of here and don't get involved. Otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless."

The young man in the lead was called Wang Tiechui, in his early twenties, with a sturdy build, broad shoulders and a round waist. His arms were thicker than the legs of an average person, his hair was loose, his face was heavily painted, and his exposed eyes flashed with vicious eyes. He looked at the soldiers around Yang Ling without any fear.

Wang Tiechui was surrounded by seven or eight companions. All of them were strong and sturdy, holding sharp weapons, and they all stared at Yang Ling and his soldiers with eager eyes.

“How dare you! I am the imperial envoy here. Who allowed you to set up a torture chamber privately and gather people to fight?” Yang Ling snorted coldly.

"Hahaha, so you are the imperial envoy. Who do you think you are? Is it your turn to speak here? Take your people and get out of here if you know what's good for you. Don't get in my way here!" Wang Tiechui laughed wildly. He didn't know Yang Ling at all.

Yang Ling raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "I am an imperial envoy. You just broke the law first, and then you gathered a crowd to fight. According to the law, you should be executed. Come, arrest him!"

As soon as Yang Ling finished speaking, Chen Xinjia and Liu Xingye led their teams to rush forward.

Wang Tiechui didn't expect Yang Ling to really attack them. He was caught off guard by Chen Xinjia, who grabbed his arms and twisted his shoulders. Then he pressed his knees against his abdomen and pushed Wang Tiechui to the ground. Wang Tiechui struggled desperately, but his strength was not as good as Chen Xinjia's, and he was quickly subdued.

"Tie him up for me!"

Several Jinyiwei came forward and tied Wang Tiechui's hands behind his back.

"Brothers, come on, kill this imperial envoy for me!" Wang Tiechui shouted.

"kill!"

When the other young and strong men saw their leader being subdued, they immediately rushed forward with their swords raised.

Yang Ling was well prepared, punching and kicking, fighting with these young men.

Although these young men had extraordinary martial arts skills, they lacked practical combat experience and were no match for Chen Xinjia.

In just half a cup of tea, all the young and strong men except Wang Tiechui were knocked to the ground by Chen Xinjia and others.

"My lord, have mercy on me, my lord, have mercy on me!"

After being knocked down, those people all wailed in pain and begged for mercy.

Wang Tiechui saw that Yang Ling had not killed anyone, and knew that tonight's assassination attempt had completely failed. After rolling his eyes for a few times, he simply gritted his teeth and admitted his mistake, saying, "Please calm down, sir. I am willing to accept the punishment!"

"You have gathered together to cause trouble, so this imperial envoy will spare your lives for now, but all of you will be thrown into prison!" Yang Ling said sternly.

"Yes, yes, we are willing to follow the arrangements of the Imperial Envoy." The young and strong men rushed to express their loyalty.

"Your Excellency is wise and brave. I admire you. I will serve you at your service in the future." Wang Tiechui flattered the emperor obediently.

Yang Ling glared at him with disgust and said, "Don't think you can get away with it so easily. If I find out that your crimes are true, I will execute you without mercy."

Those young and strong men secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly.

"Take him away and send him back to prison!"

Wang Tiechui and other young and strong men were pushed towards the north gate. The people they met on the road saw this scene and couldn't help but talk about it.

Yang Ling didn't have time to pay attention to these idle people, and followed Chen Xinjia and others to the north gate.

The guards at the north gate bowed and saluted when they saw Yang Ling and the others: "Your humble servants greet the Imperial Envoy!"

"Everyone, get up!" Yang Ling waved his hand and said.

Then Yang Ling led Chen Xinjia and others and walked eastward along the city gate tower. Along the way, they met many civilians and soldiers from the Inspection Office, and they all saluted respectfully.

Not long after leaving the city gate, they ran into a dozen horsemen galloping towards them.

"Uu——!"

The knights pulled the reins and jumped off their horses one after another.

The knights on horseback were all wearing black scarves and masks, revealing only their cold eyes. They held steel knives in their hands. After seeing Yang Ling and the others, they quickly joined together and formed a battle array to be on alert.

"What's going on?" Yang Ling asked Chen Xinjia puzzledly.

"Your Excellency, the other side has six horses, and there are at least four or five people sitting on each horse. They must be bandits!" Chen Xinjia said with a frown.

This group of bandits were dressed like thieves, holding steel knives, and were obviously thieves who were accustomed to looting.

"Leave the horse behind." Yang Ling ordered.

As soon as Yang Ling's voice fell, the leading knight on the opposite side brandished his steel knife and shouted: "Where did you come from, sir? Get out of the way quickly, or I will kill you without mercy!"

The horses cooperated by neighing and paddling the ground threateningly.

"How dare you disrespect the imperial envoy!" Chen Xinjia drew his sword and shouted angrily.

"Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy!" The knights on horseback shouted in low voices, looking at Chen Xinjia and others with hostility in their eyes.

The leading knight sneered, "I don't care whether you are an imperial envoy or a dog official. Leave here immediately, or don't blame us for being rude."

Yang Ling said coldly: "You robbed the people and killed the innocent, and now you dare to pretend to be bandits!"

This bandit group numbered about 500 people. The knight who led them sneered and said, "Sir, I don't understand what you mean. May I ask your name?"

"I am Yang Ling. Since you guys dared to forge household registration and defraud private capital, you must be connected with Zhang Xianzhong. I am the imperial envoy ordered to arrest you. If you are smart, surrender. I can guarantee that you will not suffer any physical pain." Yang Ling said with a sneer, his tone flat, as if he was talking about the most ordinary thing.

Yang Ling's identity naturally cannot be revealed, but this group of young and strong men are not trustworthy, so he can only use this intimidation method to deter them.

The leading knight's face changed slightly, and he sneered: "I think Imperial Envoy Yang is talking nonsense. How could we be related to the traitor Zhang Xianzhong? If you keep making trouble, you will suffer the consequences!" "You are not afraid of me, but you are afraid of Zhang Xianzhong, which means you are indeed colluding with them!" Yang Ling pointed at the group of young men and said, "Untie all the horses for me, and then take them back to the Jinyiwei Yamen for strict interrogation to see if this group of unruly people really want to murder the Imperial Envoy!"

"Wait, let's just talk it out, why make things so tense?" the leading knight hurriedly stopped them.

This group of people hijacked food, money, and medicinal materials with a very simple goal, which was to get money and food. If Yang Ling really seized all the horses, their work would be in vain and their losses would be even greater.

"Hmph, this imperial envoy does not like negotiations. Hand over the horse immediately, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless." Yang Ling scolded with a stern face.

Upon hearing this, the Jinyiwei soldiers immediately drew their embroidered spring swords from their waists and formed three circles, ready to chop people. The scene suddenly became tense and frightening.

"No, no, I surrender, we surrender!"

The knight saw the embroidered spring swords hanging on the waists of the Jinyiwei soldiers and immediately became scared. He was not a fool. The blades of these Jinyiwei soldiers flashed with cold light. They were definitely ruthless characters who had killed people. If they really fought to the death, he would not be able to gain any advantage and might even lose his life.

"Bring your horses here, quickly!" the leading knight ordered his companions.

Soon, more than 20 horses were brought over. The leading knight handed the whip to the other knights, raised his hands above his head and said, "Sir, we are just collecting food and money. We have no intention of hurting you!"

"Humph, who would believe these excuses?" Chen Xinjia snorted coldly.

"Yeah, do you think we are idiots?" other officials echoed.

Yang Ling was silent for a moment before he said, "Pull the horse away, don't get close to this imperial envoy's horse."

The young and strong men felt relieved upon hearing this and quickly drove their horses to the side.

"Everyone, squat down!" Chen Xinjia suddenly shouted coldly.

The knights who were getting ready to fight immediately lay down on their horses again, looking at Chen Xinjia at a loss.

"Turn your body sideways and let us check. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed immediately!" Chen Xinjia continued to shout coldly.

The knights hesitated for a moment, then turned their bodies to the left.

Chen Xinjia and his companions searched the entire team of knights carefully and found that they were not carrying any firearms, so they detained and dismounted them.

"Tie up their horses and take them back for interrogation."

"twitter!"

The Jinyiwei immediately took away more than 20 horses, and Yang Ling returned to the Jinyiwei Yamen with several personal soldiers.

"See my lord!"

"No need to be polite. I was inspecting the villages today and didn't expect to encounter something like this. What were you doing before?"

Jinyiwei Qianhu Sun Chuanting replied, "Sir, I was leading a patrol of the county today and ran into this group of people. When the local garrison heard that they were going to rob the granary, they not only did not stop them, but advised them not to provoke the government as much as possible, because they were Taizong's personal troops and could not be easily violent."

"Asshole!" Yang Ling said angrily.

In Yang Ling's memory, the officials of the Ming Dynasty were basically bullies who only bullied the weak and feared the strong. Knowing that it was a crime to rob people's property, but not organizing forces to stop it, was simply aiding and abetting the evil.

Although Yang Ling was indignant, he could do nothing. After all, he was only an imperial envoy, not a county magistrate, county magistrate, or county lieutenant.

In Yang Ling's mind, this kind of thing should be reported to the court, and the court would send an imperial envoy to handle it.

However, Yang Ling also knew that the struggle for power in the court was very intense, and it was impossible to bring such a difficult matter to the cabinet. Unless it was some incompetent idiot, no one would be willing to get involved in this mess.

So now this matter can only be resolved by Yang Ling. He can't just watch these victims starve to death on the streets. Wouldn't that go against the ideas of sages like Li Shouren?
"Sir, what should we do with these people now?" Chen Xinjia asked with a bow.

"Detain him temporarily and wait for the court's instructions. Do not release him without permission."

Although Yang Ling wanted to bring these people to justice, he did not have the ability to do so. After all, he was the imperial envoy sent by the court to monitor the movements of the Japanese pirates in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Everything was subject to the court's will. If he let them go rashly, he would probably be caught by someone with ulterior motives and make a big fuss about it.

Yang Ling was thinking about how to arrange these young men when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from outside.

"Sir, something bad has happened!" Wang Guoguang rushed into the tent, his face full of anxiety.

Yang Ling frowned and asked, "Why are you so panicked? Could it be that these young thugs are trying to break into the prison?"

"Your Excellency is wise!" Wang Guoguang praised in admiration.

"You sit down first!" Yang Ling said, pointing at the chair.

After thanking him, Wang Guoguang sat down behind the desk and said solemnly, "Sir, a few people escaped just now. The captured prisoners have confessed that those young men did intend to rob the prison to rescue people."

Yang Ling snorted coldly, "Have those rebels' brains been damaged by a donkey kick? Robbing a prisoner is a capital crime, and they are courting death by doing this. This imperial envoy misjudged them and mistakenly thought they were just ordinary robbers."

Yang Ling had long expected that those young and strong men would not surrender easily, but he did not expect that they would dare to attack the Jinyiwei Yamen.

"Sir, calm down!" Chen Xinjia clasped his fists and said, "Sir, I don't think these young men are robbers."

"Oh?"

Chen Xinjia continued to analyze, "These young men all came from the countryside. They have no martial arts skills and have not received any professional training. In my opinion, they are more like farmers who just don't have food to eat. Although these people are poor, they still retain their kind and simple qualities. They are not evil people. I estimate that their purpose is just to rescue their compatriots, and they have no intention of treason."

Yang Ling nodded slightly and said, "General Chen's speculation is logical, but the fact is that they broke into the prison. In my opinion, it is better to punish them severely."

Wang Guoguang interrupted, "Sir, since these young men have no ill intentions, why not let them go easy on themselves and give them a chance to mend their ways. Besides, if you punish them strictly according to the law, it may cause public outrage."

Yang Ling sighed secretly. Although he was not afraid of civil unrest, the boiling public resentment was troublesome enough. Moreover, he had just been elected as the imperial commissioner. If he punished the people for such a small matter, he might not be able to gain public support.

After a brief pause, Yang Ling finally nodded in compromise and said, "Then let them go for now, but they must be on high alert and no more trouble is allowed. This imperial envoy will not hold them responsible for the prison break."

Yang Ling then added: "Also, immediately inform the whole county that anyone who illegally mines, builds forts, or gathers people to cause trouble, regardless of their official rank, will be arrested and severely punished!"

"As ordered!"

Yang Ling then warned: "You must immediately strengthen the city defenses, especially pay attention to the curfew to prevent the bandits from attacking at night."

Yang Ling actually did not have high expectations for the combat effectiveness of the Jinyiwei. After all, this was an era centered on Confucianism. In the early years of Chongzhen, the main function of the Jinyiwei was to maintain the stability of the country, so the combat effectiveness of the Jinyiwei was far less sharp than in later generations.

Of course, Yang Ling still believed in the combat capability of the Jinyiwei, otherwise the efforts and money spent on suppressing the Japanese in the past two years would have been wasted, and he would have to use his own salary to support this elite force. (End of this chapter)