Chapter 85: The Guandu Pavilion is on fire

To the southeast of Jiangbian Town, about half a mile or so is the Yellow River, and on a large shoal, there is a ferry port set up by the government.

In terms of scale, compared with the wharf town that is mainly private in nature, the small ferry wharf here is not known how many times larger, and the area occupied alone has reached hundreds of acres.

In addition to many fishing boats, there are also some merchant ships and cargo ships used by the government to transport goods.

Therefore, on the edge of the wharf, there are also several special buildings, which are the guards who manage the wharf and the Guandu Pavilion for daily work.

By this time, it was late afternoon, and it was getting dark.

On the side of Guandu Pavilion, the voices of people are boiling, the lights are bright, and dozens of young and strong men are carrying bags of ** bags, back and forth, back and forth between the five large cargo ships and the wharf.

Under the light of the torches around them, they sweated like rain, and although they were busy, the scene was not very harmonious, and it seemed extremely chaotic.

"How many more?"

Among the busy figures, there was a man carrying a sack, asking the person next to him in a low voice.

"According to the current progress, it is estimated that it will be over in more than an hour. The man next to him also answered him in a low voice.

"Okay, Jiang family brothers, how are you preparing?"

"Rest assured, the eldest brother is ready and everything is going according to plan. ”

"What about Yang Shen, the general?"

"I've been notified, and I've written back to say it's all arranged. ”

"Good ......"

The two of them, after a brief small talk, went their separate ways, and went their separate ways, and did not continue to talk.

Not far away, in the lobby in the center of the Guandu Pavilion, the lights were bright, and there were four people drinking.

They are Zhang Table, the grain non-commissioned officer of Guanping City, Li Wenming, the mayor of Jiangbian Town, and the two of them sitting at the bottom of the wine table, which are Li Zhi, the chief of the guards of the Xicheng Guard's Mansion in Guanping City, and Li Hong, the pavilion chief of Guandu Pavilion.

The wine and food are abundant, and the wine bureau of the four people has a lot of snacks, which is enough to fill a whole table of eight immortals.

Moreover, they are all precious things, what wild boar game, what sturgeon aquatic products, what wild pigeons and birds...... And so on, there are many categories, the dishes are complete, and none of them are ordinary dishes.

This trip to the grain collection is coming to an end, and the four of them are very happy.

Zhang Ming, who was sitting at the first table, was full of joy at this time, holding a wine glass, and said to Li Wenming: "Li Gong, come... I would like to toast you with a glass of wine. ”

Li Wenming drank a glass of wine with him, and he was in a good mood. He saw that the table was now full of spring breeze pride, and it was like a different person from when he first came to Jiangbian Town. And said: "Lord Zhang, this time the grain is good for the country and the people, and after returning to the city, my cousin will definitely have another reward." ”

"This is also thanks to Gong Li, otherwise how could he have raised eighty carts of grain in less than three days, and he could successfully complete the trust of the city lord. ”

"Where... Where... The old man just made a modest effort, unlike the adults who work tirelessly and day and night..."Li Wenming was also noncommittal, and modestly flattered a few words.

The two of them drank a few more glasses and talked happily.

In this way, the wine has passed three rounds, and the food has five flavors.

When eating and drinking, Li Wenming said: "If it didn't rain last night, it is estimated that all the grain will be on the river today." ”

Zhang Bei ate a mouthful of food, disagreed, and said, "Hehe... It is normal for it to rain, as long as we load the grain on time and transport it to Jianglingdu, which is five miles away on the other side, it will be complete. ”

Li Wenming said: "This time, it is better to let the dog accompany Master Zhang to Jianglingdu together, and cooperate with you to deliver the grain of these five ships to the grain transportation fleet in Huangjiang Prefecture, what do you think?"

While speaking, he also deliberately gave Li Hong, who was sitting at the bottom, a few times.

And the pavilion chief Li Hong, a young man with a small grade, looks like a scholar of Wen Zou Zou, but he is not shrewd at all, and he does not understand Li Wenming's intentions at all.

It made Li Wenming so anxious that he had to kick his foot.

Li Hong came to his senses at this time, and picked up the wine glass in style, toasted to the table, and said: "Lord Zhang, we are all our own people, my father helping you is also equivalent to helping my uncle and his old man, this nephew, he must help a good adult." ”

"Yes, that's right, what Li Gongzi said is right... Hehe... It's all family. Zhang Bei was stunned at first, then smiled and drank a glass of wine with Li Hong.

Li Hong drank the wine in the cup, but did not speak again, and went to eat the food by himself.

His father Li Wenming on the side, seeing him hold back such a few words for a long time, couldn't help but shake his head, he was very dissatisfied with his son's words and deeds, but he had no choice, who told him to give birth to this son who was a little stupid and didn't have a bright head!

Who is Zhang Bei, seeing it in his eyes, he naturally understands the truth, but he doesn't say it, just praises Li Hong vigorously. said that he guarded the Guandu Pavilion and managed the ferry terminal very well, and when he returned to the city, he must say more in front of the city lord, so that the city lord could give him a boost or something.

When Li Wenming heard this, he was overjoyed, and pulled a table and drank a few glasses of wine.

Li Zhi, who was at the bottom, was not willing to be lonely, and toasted the three of them respectively.

At the wine table, he is a lowly official, although he is also surnamed Li, but he has been separated from the city lord Li Tengfei for several generations, and he is not in the core relationship network, and now he can drink with several adults sitting there, which is a good time for him to set up, maybe in the future, it can be related to his promotion.

I only heard him say: "My lords, this time I went out of the city to collect grain, and my brothers made some good things in the homes of several landlords and wealthy families. ”

When Zhang Bei heard this, his eyes lit up, and he didn't ask anything, and said to Li Wenming: "Hehe, Li Gong, look, I said that Chief Li Wei will do things!" After speaking, he smiled at Li Zhi and said: "Even if you have a heart, it is not in vain that I specially took you out for a show... Haha..."

Li Zhi hurriedly stood up and saluted, thanking Zhang Table for his kindness.

Zhang Table, who was in a high position, enjoyed the flattery of the lower-level officials to him, and made promises to him one by one, so as to take the opportunity to win people's hearts.

At the wine party, everyone got their own thing, drank and talked, the atmosphere was harmonious, and everyone was happy. In the process of eating and drinking, they talked about some details of this grain requisition, and they also made a summary remark.

At Li Wenming's suggestion, he ordered Li Zhi to take more than 100 guards to go directly to the homes of wealthy landlords who refused to take the initiative to hand over grain, and forcibly grab grain.

Despite this, eighty carts of grain could not be collected enough. As a result, they also carried out a large-scale looting of ordinary people's homes.

Of course, in the end, there will definitely be more than 80 carts of grain collected, this is all a custom, and the extra grain will basically be taken by them for themselves. In addition, it is understandable and inevitable for the guards to grab some other things by the way.

The people of Jiangbian Town, who originally had little surplus grain at home, were now robbed of their growing grain and hungry rations, and almost overnight, this originally relatively rich grain-producing town fell into a famine situation all of a sudden.

People watched their rations being snatched away by the guards from the city, and they were so angry in their hearts! They couldn't wait to step forward and do their best to stop those shameless people who had no reason in heaven, so that they could defend their food to the death.

But in the face of the heavily armed guards, the honest people, they flinched. Because, on the boundary of Guanping City, there has always been an unwritten rule: once you break the law, no matter how big or small, what kind of status, the guards of the government have the right to arrest the offender and sell it to the mine to become a mining slave, unless you spend a lot of money to redeem yourself, you can be exempted.

It is precisely because of this unwritten rule that it is impossible for officers and soldiers to rebel against the people here.

Zhang Table knew the truth very well, so he dared to be so unscrupulous in Jiangbian Town, coupled with the total with the mayor Li Wenming, the two of them conspired for personal gain, which made him even more proud.

After the drinking party, Zhang Bei asked the mayor Li Wenming to take him to the flower building in the town, saying that he wanted to relax and relax. and left Li Zhi and Li Hong to guard the Guandu Pavilion, so that they could always pay attention to the loading process of grain, and organize the guards to protect several cargo ships.

In addition to being an important grain-producing town, Jiangbian Town is also a veritable resting place for business travelers. Although it is not a large ferry town where merchant ships and cargo ships dock on the Yellow River and must pass through for business, it also has some scale.

There is also a place for rich people to spend time in the town, the name is Hualou, where you can drink and have fun, you can play money and gamble, and you can also look for flowers and willows.

It is said that he imitated the city lord Li Tengfei, in order to collect money, and in this riverside town, in the best location, built this flower building that integrates brothel, casino and tavern, and combines three different entertainment environments.

The usual business is quite passable, after all, there are not many rich people in Jiangbian Town, in addition to doing their accidents, Hualou also entertains guests who come to the city, as well as past business travelers.

At the fourth watch in the middle of the night, an unbearable bloating woke up the table from its gentle sleep. So, having already sobered up, he pushed away the two girls who were sleeping soundly in his arms, and got up to go to the thatched house.

When he got up, Zhang Table was very cautious, for fear of waking up the two girls, and he felt very comfortable watching them sleep. They have beautiful faces, cute sleep, and are only thirteen-year-old flower girls, and it is said that they are one of the few virgins specially arranged for him by the mayor of the town, Li Wenming.

Zhang Table is also a seasoned person, and he thought that after the end of this grain requisition, he would take them back to the city with him, so as to serve them in vain.

After coming out of the thatched house, the table with a somewhat drowsy mind came outside to breathe, and I didn't want to just walk to the corner of the wall when a black shadow hit me.

Then, he felt a sharp pain in his head and a golden flicker in his eyes. After a while, his eyes turned black, and he passed out.

On the other side, Li Wenming, due to old age and decrepitude, is calculating, and has not slept well. At this moment, he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, and tossed for a long time before he fell asleep.

However, before he could sleep for long, about the fifth watch, he was suddenly woken up by an exclamation.

"Daddy... Hurry up. ”

Li Wenming pricked up his ears and listened, and found that it was his son Li Hong, who was shouting outside the room, and couldn't help but be annoyed, and scolded: "Little calf, Lao Tzu just fell asleep, and you came to scream..."

Li Hong, who was outside the house, looked very anxious at this time, crying with a sad face, and stumbling and saying, "Dad... Oh no, cargo ship ... The cargo ships are gone!"

"What?" When Li Wenming heard this, he quickly got up from the bed, put on some clothes randomly, and went out. When I saw my son in front of the door, I asked him, "Why is it gone?"

Li Hong said: "On the third watch, I got up to pee, but I saw that the Guandu Pavilion was on fire, and I hurriedly ran over to see that the cargo ship was gone. ”

"Then where is Li Zhiren?"

"Brother Li is leading the guards to extinguish the fire..."

After Li Wenming heard this, he scolded angrily: "When is it, still fighting fires... Does Master Zhang know?"

"Master Zhang, he..." Li Hong saw that his father was angry, he was scared, and he was speechless.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Master Zhang, he is gone, according to the two girls who shared his bed, he was put in a sack and taken away. ”

When Li Wenming heard this, he only felt top-heavy, and his whole person was shaky, so he asked his son to support him and rushed to Guandu Pavilion.

By the time we arrived at Guandu Pavilion, there was already a sea of fire, with a large number of houses and wooden houses, and many large and small ships docked on the pier, which were mercilessly burned and devoured by the fire, and most of them had been burned beyond recognition.

The guards and the people nearby were busy putting out the fire, and the noise of people, shouting, and crying could be heard everywhere, and the scene was chaotic......

When Li Wenming saw this situation, he didn't feel that his scalp was numb for a while, and he pulled a guard who was putting out the fire and asked him, "What's the matter?

When the guard saw that it was the mayor of the town, he hurriedly said in a panic: "Lord Li, he has taken dozens of brothers, set up a fast boat, and went to pursue the thieves. ”

"What, where did the thieves come from?" Li Wenming listened, and his head exploded.

"Just now, a group of people suddenly came to kill them, and they couldn't help but say, as soon as they came, they started to set fires everywhere, and I was arranged to put out the fire... And then, somehow, they took control of the five ships that were loaded with grain...... Master Li and his brothers chased after him. ”

"How many people are coming?"

"It's too chaotic, about fifty or sixty people!"

"Rice bucket... There are more than 100 of you, how can you not beat 50 or 60 people... Ahem..."The more Li Wenming spoke, the more angry he became, and as he spoke, he began to cough incessantly.

The guard continued: "Originally, we were here in the Guandu Pavilion, and arranged all the manpower to stand guard day and night, and the pavilion chief felt that we were very hard, and took care of everyone to eat and drink, and didn't want everyone to drink a few more drinks, so they ......."

"Poof......

Before the guard could finish speaking, Li Wenming suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, grabbed his son Li Hong beside him, and roared angrily: "It's you again, a little rabbit cub who has not done enough and has more than enough failures, why do you cause trouble for Lao Tzu all day long?"