Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 154: Life and Death Are Like Grass

Although Zhang Kangnian admitted that he had spoken out of turn, his words aroused the delusions of Cui Boling and others. The several centurions who came to celebrate the birthday today were all promoted by Zou Huaiyi.

These people have long been in cahoots with Zou Huaiyi, otherwise Zou Huaiyi alone would not have been able to accomplish these great things.

They were lax in their daily duties such as patrolling waterways and checking merchant ships. Otherwise, how could the ronin be allowed to disguise themselves as Ouchi clan crew members, freely enter and exit the Jinling port, and sell stolen goods and make money?

If Zou Huaiyi fell, none of these centurions would have a good ending. They and Zou Huaiyi were already tied to the same rope.

Cui Boliang shouted, "Master Qian Hu, the emperor's edict only states that His Royal Highness Prince Ning has the power to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, but it does not mean that he can arrest high-ranking officials at will.

It was Jia Cong who presumed upon the emperor's will and forcibly framed you for a crime. This traitor disregarded the law and framed a loyal and good person. Everyone should punish him!"

Seeing that he was biting back, Jia Cong actually made sense. He said that this guy had no business being a soldier and should really take the examination to become a scholar.

Zou Huaiyi's expression changed. He was not moved by Cui Boling's words, but he knew that if he was convicted and imprisoned for what he had done, there would be no way out.

Even their wives and children would be implicated and sent to the Jiaofangsi to become playthings of others.

This was something he could not accept even if he died, and the only option now was to avoid this disaster.

He has been running the Water Supervision Bureau for many years and has many loyal subordinates. Not only is he familiar with the waterways, he also controls dozens of large ships of the Water Supervision Bureau.

As long as he is given half a day, he will definitely be able to escape from Jinling with his wife and daughter.

With the resources he hid to prevent unexpected events, he could still live a rich and prosperous life in another place.

He had seven trusted centurions on his side, plus the servants who had been hired as guards for many years. All of them were skilled in martial arts, and their number was equal to the musketeers brought by Jia Cong.

The firing rate of the musket is extremely slow. Even though the young man brought so many musketeers, as long as one shot is fired, these muskets will be nothing more than fire sticks in close combat.

Besides, the boy was still a child, and he only came here to show off his power by relying on his status as the counselor of Prince Ning. He didn't believe that this half-grown boy would really dare to shoot and kill people.

As long as he could beat and kill Jia Cong and others and allow himself to escape in the chaos, he would have a chance to do right.

After making up his mind, he shouted to his men, "This brat, who is still wet behind the ears, dares to frame an official of the imperial court without any evidence. Catch him and I will have a say with His Royal Highness Prince Ning!"

Cui Boling was overjoyed when he heard this. He took the long knife from the servant beside him and showed a ferocious look.

As long as Jia Cong was killed with one blow, the musketeers under his command would be leaderless and would not dare to act rashly.

These people of their own could escort the Captain back to the Water Inspectorate's camp. As long as they entered the camp with a thousand soldiers, no one in the entire Jinling City could easily do anything to them. Naturally, they would have many escape routes later.

The other captains of the Water Conservancy Bureau felt that a disaster was imminent, but after hearing what Zou Huaiyi said, they felt almost dead in their hearts and felt the same as Cui Boling.

They also took weapons from their servants and were ready to fight with Cui Boling.

Jia Cong's face was cold as he watched Cui Boliang's ferocious expression rush forward recklessly and slash at him with a knife. It was obvious that he was not trying to capture him, but to take his life.

Cui Boliang saw that Jia Cong was just a teenager, looked gentle and refined, and looked like he was powerless. Although he had a fake curved knife hanging on his waist, it was of no use.

As long as I kill him with one blow and calm the situation, we can retreat calmly with the captain, and then make plans.

Cui Boling did have some martial arts skills and was agile. He chopped with his sword at an extremely fast speed and thought that this would be the end of Jia Cong.

However, he didn't expect that this half-grown boy drew out his scimitar like lightning and blocked his attack effortlessly. He turned out to be a skilled fighter.

But after blocking the knife, this boy did not fight back, but quickly retreated into the musket formation behind him.

Then Cui Boling heard the last words he ever heard in his life.

"Shoot!" The young man's voice was clear and crisp, somewhat pleasant to the ear, but so decisive, with a bone-chilling chill, and even a hint of regret, which made people shudder. Zou Huaiyi was horrified to find that Jia Cong only said those two words, and these musketeers raised their muskets without hesitation and pulled the trigger, without even a moment's hesitation.

He didn't know that these musketeers brought by Jia Cong had once helped him to encircle and suppress the Japanese ronin in Qixia Mountain. It was Jia Cong's repeated orders to shoot that allowed them to seize the best time to shoot.

Making the most of the muskets in their hands and easily killing all the arrogant and ferocious Japanese ronin in the past, this scene has long been deeply engraved in the hearts of every musketeer.

This made them feel a strange kind of conviction towards Jia Cong, and naturally they had no doubts about his orders. This was an inexplicable tacit understanding developed from experiencing life and death battles together, which was difficult to explain in words.

The guests in the hall all saw the ten gunmen in the first row shooting almost at the same time, and the gunshots were deafening.

Because Cui Boling wanted to kill Jia Cong quickly, he rushed to the front, so he was the first to be shot.

Moreover, one person was hit by four bullets, his body was covered in blood. One of the bullets hit his face, smashing his entire face. His death was very miserable.

The other three captains of the Water Conservancy Bureau who were following closely behind him were also shot and fell to the ground. Being shot by muskets at such a close distance, there was no possibility of survival.

Just now, Cui Boling and others were very arrogant and wanted to capture Jia Cong, but in the blink of an eye, four of the seven captains of the Water Conservancy Bureau were killed by muskets, which shocked everyone present.

Zou Huaiyi was also stunned by the scene before him. He thought that Cui Boling could take advantage of the situation to kill Jia Cong and control the situation, but he did not expect that Jia Cong would actually dare to shoot and kill people in public.

And those musketeers seemed to worship him as a god. As long as he gave the order, they would shoot and kill people without even blinking an eyelid.

How old is this young man? How on earth does he manage to make his subordinates obey his orders, move forward courageously, and treat life and death as worthless?

Many guests even vomited violently after seeing Cui Boling's horrific death.

After the ten gunmen finished shooting, they retreated to the back row as if by habit. The gunmen in the second row stepped forward skillfully, pointing their rifles at Zou Huaiyi and others.

As long as Jia Cong shouted "shoot" again, they would suffer the same fate as Cui Boling in an instant.

The remaining three centurions and the twenty-odd guards froze in place, not daring to move for fear of being shot at by the muskets.

No matter how high your martial arts skills are or how sharp your sword is, they are all a joke in front of close-range bullets.

"Zou Huaiyi, you are still saying these high-sounding words now, don't you think it's ridiculous? I advise you to surrender as soon as possible and stop struggling in vain, so as to avoid your men losing their lives in vain."

"I can fire another twenty shots, unless you can use twenty lives to fill the gap!"

"Four days ago, the confessions of Huang Youliang and others were reported 800 miles away to the Five Military Commanders' Office in Shenjing and His Majesty. According to the time, His Majesty should have known about the evil deeds you have done.

You are already doomed. The imperial edict and the command from the Five Military Commands Office that you want should arrive soon. Just surrender!"

Zou Huaiyi's face turned ashen. Jia Cong's musket formation had completely intimidated his minions, and no one dared to go against him anymore.

He also heard that the confessions of Huang Youliang and others had been sent to the capital four days ago. It turned out that he had been cut off from retreating. No wonder Jia Cong was so unscrupulous in coming to arrest people.

But he still held a glimmer of hope in his heart. He believed that there was still someone in Jinling City who could save him.

At this moment, thunderous footsteps gradually came from outside the gate, and it seemed that countless people were gathering here.

A servant ran in in panic: "Master, there are a lot of soldiers outside, and they have surrounded this place!"

A glimmer of hope flashed in Zou Huaiyi's eyes, and he quickly asked, "Where are these soldiers from?"

Before he finished speaking, a large number of soldiers in neat clothes and armor, with shining swords and spears, and in high spirits, rushed in from outside the door like a tide. The words "Lianghuai Salt Transport" were engraved on the leather armor on their chests.

Among the guests present, some who knew the truth exclaimed: "Salt soldiers from the Lianghuai Salt Transport Bureau!"

(End of this chapter)