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Chapter 546 Closing the Net
Ningbo Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture face each other across the sea. The distance is only 200 miles, but if you go around Hangzhou Bay by land, you have to travel nearly 500 miles. What happened in Songjiang Prefecture would take a whole day and night to reach with a fast horse, or almost six or seven hours to cross Hangzhou Bay with a fast boat.

The sky in the east had just revealed a hint of deep blue, and ripples suddenly appeared on the quiet Moon Lake. Frogs and waterbirds resting on the shore and in the grass felt the unusual vibration, and jumped into the lake to avoid danger.

Not long after, the sound of horse hooves shattered the night, temporarily interrupting the singing of frogs and insects in the water. Wearing a large brown hat, red cloth armor, narrow skirt, and soft boots, in the Ming Dynasty, only Jin Yiwei would dress like this when they went out to perform tasks, which was called Tiqi.

There is no Feiyu suit or embroidered spring knife. These clothing and weapons are all ceremonial items and are of high quality. It is like a special police officer wearing a formal dress and carrying a ceremonial gun of the national flag team when going out to perform a mission. It is absolutely impossible.

This team of 300 Tiqi was equipped with a variety of weapons, including knives issued by the imperial court, waist knives used by border troops, maces and iron bones. Generally speaking, whoever is accustomed to using it can use whatever it is. It is light and fast. As long as the three-eyed fire gun at the waist is considered a unified equipment.

Jin Yiwei, who is mainly responsible for arresting law and order, is very keen on such melee weapons. Once he encounters a target that is skilled in bow and horse, such as arresting a border general, he may not win if he rushes in to fight, but he can win if he draws a three-eyed fire blunderbuss. A spray will make even a powerful person has to scramble, and he will be hit if he is not careful.

But the origins of these Tiqi are not ordinary Jinyiwei. It can be seen from their hats that they are from Nanjing. The Beijing Jinyi Guards generally wear leather or iron helmets. Only the Jinyi Guards in the south use big hats made of rattan and hemp, which are both lightweight and not afraid of rain.

Yes, this Jinyiwei team is indeed from Nanjing, and the leader is actually Zhou Jiaqing, the governor of Nanjing Jinyiwei Town. The Lu family's house located on the shore of Yue Lake is his target today, and everyone in the house is a target for arrest. The main culprit is the head of the Lu family in Ningbo, Lu Maolong.

"Dismount and seal the door!" Zhou Jiaqing reined in his horse when he was still half a mile away from the Lu residence. He exchanged a few words with Xiaoqi, the Jin Yiwei beside him, and made sure the target was correct before issuing the order.

The action steps of the Jinyi Guard Tiqi are completely different from the combat styles of the navy and army. They mainly highlight two characteristics, speed and confidence.

As the emperor's personal guards, they usually go out to arrest people after receiving the imperial decree. They don't have to care about whether the local government agrees, let alone notify them in advance. They are often surrounded by people who reach the target, and anyone who dares to resist can fight with swords without asking anyone for instructions.

Zhou Jiaqing's arrangements this time were nothing new. Three hundred cavalry were sent in two directions to surround the north and south of the Lu Mansion. Anyone they met along the way would be tied up and gagged without saying a word and kept under guard until the house was surrounded. Only if you live there will you go to the main gate to deliver the message in a big way.

That's right, even if they are delivering orders, the Jin Yiwei are not vicious gangsters, let alone special forces, but machines representing imperial power, so they must abide by some rules of the officialdom.

If the target of arrest has fame and official status, he will generally not climb over the wall to carry out a sneak attack. Instead, he will first be polite and then attack, clearly informing the other party that something has been committed, and obediently kneel down to accept the order and be bound. In this way, everyone can save a bit of face. Whether they are guilty or not can go back and tell the governor, commander and even the emperor. This is not something that Tiqi can determine on the spot.

Of course, there must be some who don't care about face, so there's nothing to do. If you have the ability, lead your servants to resist and see whether it's the professional soldiers of Jinyiwei who are more powerful or the servants who are well-trained.

But in this way, no matter what crime was committed before, one of treason will be added to the list. In other words, regardless of whether they participate in the resistance or not, the whole family will not be able to survive, and it is possible that their relatives and friends will also suffer the same misfortune. "This is a false edict, this is a false edict! I, the Lu family, have been officials for generations, farming and studying, and there are no rebellious and unethical people. You are slandering and suppressing. I don't accept it. I want to see the government!"

Lu Maolong dared to make plans in private to incite civil unrest, but he did not dare to resist Jin Yiwei with force. After hearing the news, he quickly rushed from the inner hall to the front yard and knelt down to listen to the order. But when he learned that he was about to be taken to Beijing's imperial prison for trial, the huge fear still overwhelmed his reason, and he screamed at the top of his lungs and kept struggling.

"Executive member Lu, please listen to my advice and go to the seaside to get on the boat and go to Beijing. The whole family will not suffer, and we will also be spared. Don't expect anything from the government station. I'm afraid he is also going to the seaside at this time. On the way, when we get to the prison of Fusi in Beizhen, you two may still be neighbors. "

Zhou Jiaqing is nearly fifty years old. He has been working in Jinyiwei for more than thirty years since he inherited his father's inheritance at the age of sixteen, so he is no longer surprised by such scenes. I have a clearer understanding of what kind of criminals may have a chance of success in the future. Don't be too harsh in your attitude. What kind of criminals have no hope at all and can be beaten and scolded at will.

The four Yang, Lu and Zhang butcher families in Ningbo who are to be arrested this time, as well as the local government, county magistrates and more than a dozen gentry families all belong to the latter group. His immediate boss, Wang Zhizhen, had already said in a secret letter that if there was resistance, he would not hesitate to kill him, and he would only destroy the whole family and not allow anyone to escape.

Wang Zhizhen dared to draw such a conclusion, which shows that it was the emperor's intention. At this time, not to mention just a few gentry families who had served as high-ranking officials in the court, even the vassal king couldn't show any mercy, otherwise if someone bites him afterwards, he would be covered with mouths and wouldn't be able to tell.

"The foolish king has harmed the country, harmed the loyal and good, and the country and the country are in danger! What if we, the knowledgeable people, follow the will of the people and resist the chaotic government, and are in trouble! But if you lose the factory, you will most likely be punished by the foolish king, instead of being treated as If the lackeys are cooking, there is still a way to survive!"

Among the people captured in the Lu family's manor in Yuehu, in addition to more than 200 members of the Lu family, there were also a few unexpected uninvited guests. Tu Benjun, Yang Dezhou, Zhang Bangren, Fan Yongdou, Fan An and others were also led out by Tiqi one after another with their hands tied behind their backs.

They stayed up most of the night and went to the Lu Manor for a party, eating seasonal fruits and drinking old wine. They were not admiring the moon and the scenery in advance, but waiting for the good news from the servants from Songjiang Mansion.

In their eyes, the success rate of this farce of inciting mobs to attack spinning mills, shipyards, and shipping office warehouses is basically equal to 100%, and once launched, there is a high probability that there will be no solution. The only variables are how many people died, how much equipment and goods were burned, and how many craftsmen were captured.

Who would have thought that the good news didn't come, but Jin Yiwei was waiting for him instead. However, Tu Benjiu was not afraid at all. Facing the wolf-like Jin Yiwei, he still talked eloquently, and the meaning behind his words was obvious.

Now that the mob has risen and the chaos has been decided, even if they are arrested, they will not be able to make up for the losses of the factory, let alone gain the emperor's tolerance. Simply take a gamble and abandon the darkness for the light, and the future will be brighter.

(End of this chapter)