I

  Chapter 143 141【Secret Agent Xu Ying】

Xu Ying brought seven people to Nanchang, namely: Mission Officer Li Weisheng, Nuer Army Commander Liu Hui, Nuer Army Corps Commander Xiao Zhizhong, Secretary of the General Military Administration Deng Yan, Wuxing Town Inn Manager Huang Daliang, Wuxing Town Inn Chef Huang Gui, inn assistant cook Huang Fu in Wuxing Town.

  In the city of Nanchang, it is still possible to find a place to live, but the rent is very expensive.

   It is difficult to find a store, and there are no vacancies in good locations.

  Xu Ying struggled for half a month, traveled all over Nanchang City, and finally rented a residential house outside Jinxian Gate.

   Jinxian Gate, also known as Fuzhou Gate, is located in the south of Nanchang City, and there are vegetable fields and cemeteries outside the city. Vegetable sellers enter the city from here, and mourners leave the city from here, so there are sayings such as "carrying barrels and selling vegetables to Fuzhou Gate" and "crying and crying into Xianmen Gate".

   Renting a house outside Jinxian Gate, firstly, the rent is very cheap, secondly, it is convenient to buy groceries, and thirdly, it is easy to escape if things are revealed.

   Going further west is Huimin Gate, which is the southwest side of Nanchang City, where there are Puxian Temple and Granary. There were a lot of people burning incense and worshiping Buddha, and there were also a lot of people transporting food, and many vegetable vendors also came to sell vegetables.

  Further to the west is Guangrunmen, that is, the west and south of Nanchang City, which is already close to the riverside wharf. There are many shops and bustle, this is the first choice for opening a shop!

  Xu Ying took people to inquire for several days, and the storefronts in prosperous areas are extremely expensive, and no one is willing to sublet or transfer them.

   I had no choice but to rent a storefront in a less lively alley between Huiminmen and Guangrunmen. The store is not big, except for the back kitchen, there are only a few tables.

   I have to give gifts to the head of the workshop here, and then report to the government, and the door stall tax must be paid.

  On the first day of opening, there were no serious customers, but a few gangsters came.

   "Guests, please come in, what do you want to eat?" Shichang Liu Hui plays the shop clerk, who used to be an inn clerk.

  A few gangsters entered the store, and first slapped their sticks on the table: "You open a restaurant here, have you visited Fourth Master Xiao?"

  Xu Ying hurried over, cupped her hands and said, "I haven't had time to see you yet."

   "No need to go, it's the same if we come here," the gangster patted the table and said, "Your store is not big, you pay half a coin a month, and I guarantee that no one will dare to come here to make trouble."

  Xu Ying immediately presented the copper coins: "Naturally, you have to abide by the rules. Half the money is enough, and the remaining few pennies, please have tea."

  The hooligans were very happy. Although in addition to the protection fee, each of them could get more than ten pennies, it is still rare for Xu Ying to have such a good eye.

  The gangster asked again: "What do you sell here?"

   "The opening today, lack of preparation," Xu Ying shouted, "Huang Gui, six bowls of spicy noodles!"

   These two chefs were both trained by Zhao Han himself, and taught more than ten signature dishes.

   "Hiss, so spicy!"

   "It's so spicy."

   "This side is really amazing."

   "..."

  The six gangsters shouted spicy and cool at the same time. Jiangxi people really have a gene for eating spicy food.

  Xu Ying took the opportunity to say: "I'm new here, so I don't know the local rules. There are prominent people nearby, who should be treated carefully?"

The leader of the gangster smiled and said: "The number one person, of course, is our fourth master Xiao. The cattle and horses (gangsters) from the west to the south of the city are under his control. Master Zhou outside the Puxian Temple is also the number one person. His daughter belongs to Master Dusi. The concubine in the sixth room. And Master Liu from Guangyuanmen..."

   After some inquiries, a lot of news came out, but it was all about the market situation outside the city.

   After eating a bowl of noodles, the gangsters complained that they were not full, so Xu Ying hurriedly asked the waiter to continue the noodles. After these guys were full, they didn't want to give money, they just smiled and said: "Shopkeeper, your noodles here are delicious, brother, come back next time, and pay the bill first today."

   Hanging a ghost account, it is clear that no money will be given.

  Xu Ying smiled and said: "It's easy to say, easy to say, brothers, go slowly."

   In the blink of an eye, the store opened for half a month, and the number of diners gradually increased, and there were many repeat customers. Four of the six tables could be filled.

  At the same time, Xu Ying herself often went to the city, taking various walks in prefectural and county schools. He declared to the outside world that his name was Huang Ying, a scholar from Luling County. His parents and brothers were killed by rebels. He escaped with only a few slaves and came to Nanchang to seek a living.

  Xu Ying was quite talented in the first place, but after going back and forth, she actually made a few friends.

Then…

   "Brother Zhong Cong, this is your fellow villager Xiao Juren." A school friend helped introduce him.

  Xiao Puyun clasped his fists and said, "My humble Xiao Puyun, I believe it."

  Xu Ying quickly returned the gift: "Huang Ying, courtesy name Zhong Cong."

  Xiao Puyun asked: "In the seventh year of Tianqi, I don't know when my virtuous brother will enter school?"

  Xu Ying replied: "Chongzhen entered school for four years."

   A Juren, a scholar, it has nothing to do with it.

   Moreover, the number of Jinshi in Luling County is second only to Jishui County, and the number of Juren and Xiucai is even more numerous. It is normal for them not to know each other.

Xiao Puyun said: "My dear brother, I organized a 'Homecoming Association' in Nanchang, and the members are all scholars from Luling, Jishui, and Anfu counties. We will gather at Puxian Temple tomorrow. Come with us. We should work together to cut off Zhao thief!"

  Xu Ying became more and more guilty, so she bit the bullet and agreed.

  The next day, Xu Ying came to Puxian Temple and found that there were more than 30 people present. Among them, there is one Juren, thirteen scholars, and the rest are Tongsheng.

  Xu Ying only dared to say that her home is in Tianhe Town, which belongs to Fei Yinggong's territory, and the remote location should not meet the "same village".

   "Tianhe Town was also taken by Zhao Thieves?"

  A scholar suddenly spoke, but it was Master Huang's son Huang Shunli. The guy cupped his hands and said, "After Huang Shunli and Zhao's rebellion, the first one to kill was my father."

  Xu Ying broke out in a cold sweat, and responded with a sigh: "Hey, Tianhe Town is next to Huangjia Town. Although it is located in the mountains, how can it be spared?"

   "This Zhao thief is really hateful, I only sigh that the money and food have not been brought out, otherwise I will definitely recruit soldiers to fight back!" Another scholar beat his chest and stamped his feet.

Xiao Puyun said: "Brother Jiewu, Brother Yin, has now defected to Governor Li. A few days ago, I went to Duchang County. The time of the Duchang rebels is numbered. We only need to wait for the Duchang rebels to be wiped out." , Governor Li and Wang Bingbei will definitely go south to conquer the Zhao bandits!"

   "How does Chen Yushi react?" a scholar asked.

  Xiao Puyun said: "Master Xun Press has sent out a memorial, and he said that he will report the situation of the bandits truthfully. If His Majesty knows about this matter, and knows that Jiangxi has fallen to several counties, he will definitely let the soldiers from Guangdong and Fujian come to encircle and suppress them!"

  This is for sure, if there is only Zhao Han, maybe the other provinces will not be disturbed.

  But Nangan, Nanfeng, Qianshan, and Longquan are all rebellious, and the uprising army can be said to be blooming everywhere, so they must rely on guest soldiers from other provinces.

   "Great!" Everyone was overjoyed.

  Guest soldiers from other provinces will definitely burn, kill and loot when they come to Jiangxi, but it's none of these scholars' business?

  They all belong to the diehards. Their family’s land, money and food were robbed.

  This "Homecoming Meeting" is very interesting. We meet once every two weeks to exchange the latest news. It is simply a natural information station.

  Everyone had a vegetarian meal in Puxian Temple, chanted poems in the afternoon, and dispersed in the evening.

Xu Ying was about to leave when Huang Shunli suddenly caught up: "My brother Zhong Cong, I am in Huangjia Town and you are in Tianhe Town. Our hometowns are very close. Now we are all suffering and came to Nanchang. With such a fate, we must get closer in the future." .”

   "It should be so." Xu Ying said along the other side.

  The two left the temple together, Huang Shunli asked: "Your brother is also surnamed Huang, so we shouldn't be of the same clan?"

  Xu Ying replied: "My ancestors moved from Fucheng, and the genealogy has not been brought out. This is really not good."

   "Where does my brother live?" Huang Shunli asked again.

  Xu Ying replied: "Outside Jinxian Gate, half a mile away from the city gate."

  Huang Shunli said: "It's very far away there. Two or three miles to the south, there are graveyards everywhere."

   "I didn't bring much money, so I could only live in a poor place." Xu Ying said.

"Oh, I'm not like this," Huang Shunli sighed, "When I ran away from Fucheng for my brother, I brought my slaves with me. As soon as I got to the pier, the servants colluded with my concubines and eloped. All these years, I have only one heir, and he died of illness before arriving in Nanchang, and now only my wife will never leave."

  Xu Ying comforted: "My brother's condolences."

  Huang Shunli wiped his tears and said: "To be honest, there is almost no rice for the pot these days, and money is really tight. I don't know... I don't know my brother..."

  Xu Ying suddenly smiled and said: "That's easy to say, just follow me home to get the silver."

  Huang Shunli was already poor. In Ji’an, because he didn’t have enough money to visit brothels, he was detained by a bustard to force him to redeem his debts. Now there is no support from the family, and all the concubines, maids, and servants around him have disappeared, leaving only one regular wife who is still suffering.

  After this guy came to Nanchang, he had to look for people to borrow money everywhere. All members of the "Returning Home" were borrowed, and now everyone avoids him.

  Seeing Huang Shunli chasing Xu Ying away, the other scholars all smiled heartily, gloating that someone would be taken advantage of.

  Back to the rented courtyard, it was already dark.

  Huang Shunli followed happily, and bumped into Huang Daliang who had already returned from the store.

   "Three...Third young master!" Huang Daliang exclaimed in surprise.

  Huang Shunli had no impression of Huang Daliang, and said in a daze, "You are..."

  Xu Ying felt that she was going to reveal her secrets, so she gestured immediately. Xiao Zhizhong slashed down from behind with a single knife, and then hacked Huang Shunli to death with two additional knifes.

  Xu Ying ordered: "Pull off all the valuable things on him, and throw the body into the streets in the middle of the night."

  Back in the room, Xu Ying's heart was pounding. After changing my mood for a while, I took out the cipherbook and wrote a letter, which read: "On the patrol, the emperor knows about it, or a joint provincial encirclement and suppression. Time is running out for the Duchang Rebel Army."

  On the morning of the second day, Xu Ying saw many people surrounding Huang Shunli's body not far from her house.

   Some officials even came and asked about the situation.

  Xu Ying rushed forward and cried loudly: "Brother, you died so badly, I shouldn't have lent you money, and let you be targeted by gangsters!"

   "Do you know him?" the official asked.

Xu Ying wiped her tears and said, "I want the messenger to know that my elder brother and I are both scholars in Luling County. We checked the genealogy yesterday, and we are actually brothers of the same clan. The hateful Luling thief Zhao killed my elder brother's family and me. , we can only flee to Nanchang for refuge. No idea... No idea, my brother was struggling, so I borrowed him five taels of silver. ...Brother, you died unjustly!"

   Members of the Home Returning Association have also received news one after another, and they have no sympathy for Huang Shunli.

   It is true that this guy borrows money everywhere, and it has already made people hate him, but he will be cleaner after death.

  In order to show her benevolence and righteousness, Xu Ying took Huang Shunli's wife to take care of her.

   This woman's surname is Liu, she is only 21 years old, and she is beautiful and dignified. She was married from a neighboring village, and she didn't live in Huangjia Town for a few days, so she moved to Fucheng with her husband.

  Even Huang Daliang and the others have only seen him twice from a distance, so they are not afraid of being recognized if they show their secrets.

   Knowing that Xu Ying took Huang Shunli's widow to take care of her, some scholars felt that Xu Ying valued love and righteousness, and some scholars secretly ridiculed and envied her—that little widow is so beautiful.

  No matter what, Xu Ying became famous in the "Homecoming Association", and he was bound to be invited to various gatherings.

  (end of this chapter)