There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 170 Jiazhou Branch Crisis

Jiazhou, Luocheng Street.

In a slightly remote shop, Chen Xiong, the head of the Jiazhou branch of Zhenming Group, was drinking with two of his subordinates.

"Chief, I heard that the imperial court's counter-rebellion army is coming soon. During this period, the state government is stepping up its search for suspicious people from Fugu. We are in danger in Jiazhou." A man with a slightly gloomy face said: The subordinate named Jiang Li said.

"Yeah, what kind of rebellion is this? We are like rats crossing the street in Jiazhou, afraid to go out." Another lean man named Liu Ping'an agreed.

"We can't interfere with President Lin's decision. Life is really boring. We can only have a good life when President Lin attacks Jiazhou." Chen Xiong took over and said.

Since last year, Chen Xiong has been in charge of Jiazhou affairs. Wool coats, briquette stoves, etc. are in strong demand in winter and sales are very good. The Jiazhou branch has a high income, and he has quietly made some money.

Some merchants who couldn't get the goods wanted to get the goods first, so they would naturally approach him as the boss and give him gifts, rebates, etc., and often invite him to sit in Qingyan Pavilion or something.

In addition, Lin Feng has always been generous, and as the "prefectural office" of Fugu, they are very popular with the state officials and have a close relationship.

Chen Xiong was the chief of the Jiazhou branch. He suddenly felt like he was living the life of a superior person. He had money in his hands, connections with the government, and many things could be settled. His whole body felt uplifted.

Lin Feng rebelled with his troops in Fugu and ordered them to go into secrecy. Chen Xiong's life suddenly fell from the peak to the bottom.

The shops were closed, and the way to get money was gone. The girls in the brothels didn't dare to look for them, and the officials of the state government didn't dare to see them anymore.

Money, beauty, and face were all gone all of a sudden, and they had to hide here and there in fear. Life was extremely gloomy.

"Chief, it's very boring for us three grown men to drink together. I know a small brothel. The location is a bit remote, not very eye-catching, and the price is not expensive, but the girls there are pretty good. How about we go and have fun? Playing?" Jiang Li suggested.

"But Deputy Chief Cao said you can't go out during this period." Liu Ping'an was a little timid and said a little worriedly.

"Tch, can the deputy director still be in charge of our main job, brother Xiong?" Jiang Li said disdainfully.

This person was originally a local gangster in Jiazhou. Because he was familiar with the local situation, he was recruited by Chen Xiong. Because he is very good at getting things done, Chen Xiong's entertainment bureau has made many arrangements and has become his confidant.

"Now that the president has raised troops in Fugu, we should pay attention to safety." Chen Xiong hesitated for a long time and felt that it was better to be cautious.

"Brother Xiong, I heard that the president fired all the shopkeepers of your Sitong Express. We are in such danger in Jiazhou, and what he did was so unfair. Who cares about the president?"

Jiang Li had been depressed recently, and he had never met Lin Feng before, so he naturally had no respect for him. People like him would be a mother if they had breasts, and they would not be truly loyal to anyone, so they added fuel to the fire and persuaded him.

"I get angry when I mention this. Let's go for a walk to calm down the anger. It doesn't hurt to be careful." Chen Xiong was already very concerned about this matter, but he couldn't hold it in anymore.

So the three of them packed up and prepared to set off. The sound of the door opening alerted Cao Qiang, who was in the room next to him. He came out to stop him and said, "Mr. Chen, are you going out?"

"It's too boring to stay in the room all day, let's go for a walk." Chen Xiong said perfunctorily.

"The president said, let us hide during this period and not go out and expose ourselves." Cao Qiang continued to persuade.

"President, President, does he know how difficult our life is now? Let's go out to buy some food. Don't worry about it." Chen Xiong was also drunk at this time, pushed Cao Qiang away and rushed out.

"Master Chen..." Cao Qiang wanted to stop him, but was pushed away by several people.

Cao Qiang was personally selected by Lin Feng from among the refugees, so he was naturally very loyal to Lin Feng.

When he saw that he couldn't stop Chen Xiong and that problems would arise sooner or later if he continued like this, he immediately came to the station set up by Tingfeng Wei in the backyard and told Deng Hao, the head of the Jiazhou Intelligence Station, about the situation.

"I will immediately send someone to follow them to see what they are doing. Once something happens to Chen Xiong, our place will not be safe. We will have to find a hidden place tomorrow." Deng Hao said immediately.

"Okay, then you guys can send someone to follow them. I'll go back and think about where else we can hide." Cao Qiang responded.

It is said that Chen Xiong and his group soon came to another fireworks place in Jiazhou City called Rouge House. The scale was much smaller than Qingyan Pavilion, and the girls inside were much more vulgar.

But the three guys with sperm in their heads no longer cared so much. They called the three girls and immediately started hugging and drinking.

Because this place is of lower grade and cheaper, some officials from the state government also like to come here to find girls. They spend less money and they won't meet Shangguan officials who like to go to high-end places.

When Chen Xiong and the others came in, a yamen officer from the arrest squad happened to be here to attend a banquet arranged by the victim. He saw Chen Xiong when he came out for convenience.

Chen Xiong used to go to the state government often, and many state government officials knew him. Seeing that the suspects of the Fugu rebels were here, the government officials immediately became excited. This was a good opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

He immediately said that there was an emergency and refused to participate even in drinking wine, and hurried back to the state government office to report.

At this time, the Tingfengwei intelligence agent who was following Chen Xiong and others saw them entering the brothel without contacting anyone else, so he went back to report first, and just missed the opportunity to discover Chen Xiong's several exposures.

Back at the shop in the Jiazhou branch, the intelligence officer reported that Chen Xiong and others went to a brothel to drink wine.

Cao Qiang shook his head and sighed: "Hey, it's easy to be exposed when you go to a place like this."

"Yeah, but fortunately they didn't go to the enemy. It's probably because they've been locked in the room recently." Deng Hao said.

"I hope they will be fine. We will have to find another hiding spot tomorrow." Cao Qiang said.

"It's easy to be suspected when you go shopping for a shop or something now." Deng Hao continued.

"There is a clerk in our store who is local. His family lives in a relatively remote place, in a separate house, which is more suitable for hiding." Cao Qiang remembered it and said.

"Is that guy reliable?"

"It should be reliable. I helped his family solve a big problem, so he was very grateful to the group. Later I told him some of Mr. Lin's deeds, and he admired him very much. This time he also expressed his loyalty to the group. mean."

"That's good. We need to be prepared in case we encounter any unexpected situation and we have nowhere to go." Deng Hao and Cao Qiang continued to discuss, but neither realized that the danger was imminent.

In Rouge Tower, Chen Xiong and the other three people were still having fun, drinking wine and hugging their little girls. This is how people live their lives.

Suddenly, there was a sound of neat footsteps, as if some team was coming.

"Jiazhou Yamen officials are handling the case. All personnel are staying in the room for inspection."

A shout came from downstairs.

Chen Xiong and others immediately woke up from the wine and broke out in cold sweat.

"Brother Xiong, what should I do? A state government official is here." Liu Ping'an was the timidest and asked with great worry.

"Don't panic. Maybe they are not here to arrest us. Close the doors and windows quickly." Chen Xiongqiang said calmly.

As the footsteps got closer and closer, a knock on the door finally sounded.

Chen Xiong and others couldn't hold it any longer, and they all crawled under the bed.

The door was pushed open, and a group of government officials rushed in and asked, "Where are the people inside?"

The three bewildered girls looked at each other and pointed to the bottom of the bed.

A government servant leaned down and took a look. Three trembling men were nestled under the bed, with their heads facing in and their buttocks facing out, resembling ostriches.

"Pull it out and take it away!" the leading officer said.

After hearing the order, several government officials immediately got down on the ground, grabbed the three people's feet, dragged them out like dead dogs, tied them with ropes and took them away.

Jiazhou Prefectural Government Prison. "Shopkeeper Chen, I didn't expect you to be missing for a long time. It turns out you were having a great time hiding in the brothel. It really took no effort to get here." Bao Rong, the head of the Jiazhou arrest squad, said.

"I, I am not Shopkeeper Chen. You have arrested the wrong person." Chen Xiong denied, still wanting to struggle to the death.

"Shopkeeper Chen, is this interesting? You used to go in and out of the state government office. Is it possible that not many people know you? We are not blind, so can we still recognize you? Do you want to ask Zhang Tongzhi to identify you in person?" Bao Rong mocked.

"Hey, Boss Bao, I have left Fugu County now. I am just an ordinary businessman. Why are you arresting me?" Chen Xiong saw that he couldn't avoid it, so he avoided the important and took the easy way out.

"Shopkeeper Chen is very dishonest. Jiang Li, your subordinate, has been recruited. You are the spies and spies planted by the traitor Lin Feng in Jiazhou. We have already sent people to arrest the people from your Jiazhou branch. I advise you to go ahead. Be honest and do it, so as not to suffer physical pain." Bao Rong said.

"I, I really didn't know about the rebellion in Fugu in Jiazhou. We hid because the Shaanxi patrol went to investigate the case, and we were afraid of being implicated." Chen Xiong still wanted to quibble.

"Come here, help Shopkeeper Chen loosen his muscles and bones."

With the order from the foreman, several government officials came over, grabbed Chen Xiong, and put him on the tiger bench, with three green bricks on top of each other. Chen Xiong was already sweating in pain, and the corners of his mouth were twisted.

The yamen servant was just about to lay down the fourth brick.

"No, don't worry, I'll take them all. Whatever you want to know, I'll take them all." Chen Xiong quickly shouted for mercy.

"It would have saved much trouble earlier. I thought you were such a hero." Head Bao continued to mock.

Chen Xiong lowered his head in shame. He wanted to hold on at first. After all, he still had 1% of Zhenming Group's shares, which was a lot of money, and he didn't want to give up easily.

But who can bear the excruciating pain of this tiger bench, and if you continue to do it, your legs and feet will be useless, so why do you need money? So he gave in decisively.

When the bamboo tube was being interrogated here, a team of government officers who went to the Jiazhou branch of the Zhenming Group to arrest him were also approaching.

"Shopkeeper Cao, Head Deng, something bad has happened. A group of government officials are coming towards us, probably to arrest us." The intelligence officer from the Tingfengwei Jiazhou Intelligence Station just wanted to see Chen again. The situation of Xiong and the others was revealed. As soon as they went out, they saw the government officials who came to arrest them.

"Shopkeeper Cao, please immediately take people to hide with your men. I will hold them back." Deng Hao said quickly.

"No, Deng Hao, please take people to escape quickly. Your intelligence station will be more useful if it is preserved, and you can send the information back to Fugu as quickly as possible and tell President Lin.

I'm the deputy director of the Jiazhou branch. They won't give up until they catch me. You hurry up and leave. I'll ask my men to lead the way. "Cao Qiang immediately made up his mind.

"Shopkeeper Cao..."

"Stop talking, there is no time, Xiao Jiang, take Station Commander Deng and others to your home immediately to hide. As long as this is done, you can officially join the Zhenming Army in the future." Cao Qiang said quickly.

"The shopkeeper,..."

"It's too late, hurry up and leave!" Cao Qiang said as he pushed them out of the back door.

As soon as Deng Hao and others went out, there was a violent knock on the door.

"Who is knocking on the door so late? Wait." Cao Qiang quickly took off his clothes and responded as if he had just woken up from his sleep.

However, the door did not listen to his wait and instead pushed down the wooden door with great force.

"You, who are you, you broke into a house in the middle of the night!" Cao Qiang shouted angrily.

"It's Shopkeeper Cao, that's right. Take him away!" said the leading Yamen officer.

"You, who are you?" Cao Qiang asked knowingly.

"We are from the state government. Cao Qiang's incident has happened. Come with us."

"I have always done business legally. Of course I am not afraid of leaving with you. If anything happens, I will find out. But can you let me put on clothes? I can't go to the state government like this." Cao Qiang's purpose was to delay time, deliberately said.

The officer leading the team saw that he was only wearing a pair of obscene trousers, and it looked really unsightly. Moreover, the person he wanted to arrest was right here, so he was not afraid of him running away.

So he said: "Get dressed quickly, and others will search the other rooms and take away everyone here."

Cao Qiang started to get dressed slowly, while the state government officials were rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for someone. Of course, it was normal to find some money or something. After all, is it easy to go on a business trip in the middle of the night? Gotta make some extra money.

After the Jiazhou branch moved here, it also brought more than a thousand taels of silver to maintain operations. Cao Qiang was always cautious and placed it in several different places.

This made the searching government officials feel like they were searching for treasure in a maze. From time to time they found some money and cheered in surprise, almost forgetting about searching people.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the leader of the government officials who led the team finally felt that something was wrong, and shouted loudly and asked: "Where are the other people in this yard? Didn't anyone notice it?

"People? Are we here to search for people? Searching for people is not as interesting as searching for money!" A group of government officials then remembered that they were here to search for people.

He immediately looked around and said, "Boss, I didn't find anyone. I have a lot of money. This is to honor you."

The government officials did not dare to eat alone, so they took out three or four hundred taels to give to the leader of the government officials.

"How can there be no one else in such a big yard? He must have run away. Chase him!" At this time, the leader of the government officials felt that he had been fooled and immediately ordered.

He dragged Cao Qiang over, punched and kicked him, and shouted loudly, "Tell me, where are the rest of you? If you don't fight, I'll beat you to death."

"Fight, if you beat me to death, County Lord Lin will definitely avenge me. Any colleagues or inspectors who dare to go to Fugu to cause trouble will be chopped into pieces. I advise you to take it easy and don't rush into it." Too far forward." Cao Qiang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and threatened unhurriedly.

"I'm afraid of a hammer. You're the one I'm going to hit!" the chief of the government officials said harshly. He raised his hand to hit him again, but suddenly he felt that his hand was a little stiff.

Naturally, he had heard about Lin Feng in the prefectural government office. He knew that Magistrate Lin was extremely hot-tempered, and he couldn't help but feel a chill on his back.

The officer finally stopped beating him and waved his hand vigorously and said, "Take him away."

Cao Qiang was escorted back to the state government prison, but he also managed to hold off the government officials for at least a quarter of an hour, creating an opportunity for Deng Hao and others to escape.

In the state prison.

"Huh!" Bao Rong threw away the broken riding crop and continued:

"This kid has such a tough mouth. Even after being beaten like this, he still doesn't say a word. He is much better than Chen Xiong."

"Baotou, are you still going to fight?" A government official came up and asked.

"I was beaten until I fainted. Why did you beat me? I'm exhausted. Let's try again tomorrow. Anyway, Chen Xiong has almost confessed." Bao Rong said.

"Then let's rest first? We've been working hard for most of the night, and you're tired, Baotou." The yamen servant said flatteringly.

"Okay, everyone, let's have a rest. Those who are left behind must keep these rebels under my guard and must not let them escape," Bao Rong explained.

"Don't worry, Baotou, mosquitoes can't get out of our prison." A leader of the prison team replied.

"Anyway, be careful and find someone to give Cao Qiang some medicine. Don't let him die. Tomorrow the Lord Zhou may have to interrogate him personally." Bao Rong said.

"Understood! Don't worry, class leader."

　The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds, so it is normal for a traitor to appear.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)