After dinner, the seven children were playing in the courtyard, and Yang Chuncheng and six adults were discussing the entry of the minister into the city around the stove, when they suddenly heard someone knocking on the door outside.

Shu Zhengqi hurriedly went out and said, "Who?" ”

"Brother Shu, it's me!" A man's voice said.

Shu Zhengqi opened the door and said, "Master Zheng, you're here, I'm looking for you!" ”

I saw a man in his thirties, dressed in civilian clothes, hurriedly entering the door, with a dignified appearance and a long figure, it was Yang Chuncheng's friend, Zheng Yixia, the general manager of Fuzhou County, carrying a cloth bag in his hand, and said: "Brother Shu, I heard people outside say that someone fell to death in the church last night, what is going on?" ”

Shu Zhengqi hurriedly invited him into the room and sat down, and said, "Master Zheng, this matter started because of us, you came just in time, I have something to ask you!" ”

"What's the matter, speak slowly, don't be in a hurry!" Zheng Yixia said.

Shu Zhengqi told the story of the hungry people breaking in to eat the children last night and Yang Chuncheng came to the rescue, saying: "The situation was critical, and the two children saw Brother Yang and called 'Uncle Yang for help' twice. Lord Zheng, the government is looking for Brother Yang, and today there is a messenger in the city again, is Brother Yang exposed? ”

"No wonder, now it's rumored outside that a person surnamed Yang fell to death in the church!" Zheng Yixia was surprised, "Brother Yang's background, how do the children know?" ”

"More than a month ago, the children went to the street to play, saw the portrait of Brother Yang posted on the city wall, and came back to tell us. We know that Brother Yang is a good person, so we say that now the jackals are in charge, but it is the good people who suffer, so we told them not to talk nonsense! Shu Zhengqi said, "They were full of promises at the time, but they were in a hurry last night...... Lord Zheng, since the news has spread outside, will Brother Yang be in danger? ”

Yang Chuncheng saw that he was worried about himself, and said movingly: "Brother Shu, don't worry, it'll be fine!" ”

Zheng Yixia said: "Brother Anguo, Brother Shu's worries are not unreasonable. In normal times, it doesn't matter, today I came to Qincha, and I also brought 5,000 Eight Banner soldiers, if this matter reaches his ears, it will cause a big disaster! ”

Yang Chuncheng said: "Brother Xian, what do you say, I will listen to you." ”

"According to the little brother's opinion, you should go out of the city to avoid the limelight, and come back when the rumor passes, what do you think?"

"Good!" Yang Chuncheng said, "Brother Xian, which lord of the imperial court is this Qincha?" ”

"It's not an adult of the court, it's a father-in-law in the palace." Zheng Yixia said, "By the way, nine years ago, we went to Beijing to take the test, and we saw it at the banquet of the military department. ”

"We've met, who?" Yang Chuncheng was surprised.

"The great eunuch in front of the emperor, Cao Shichun."

"Is that him?" Yang Chuncheng was taken aback, "Why did he bring the troops?" ”

"A few days ago, the hungry people in Zhimo County next door rioted, killing a number of officials, the court was afraid that this wind would not be extinguished, causing a big chaos, it happened that Cao Shichun received the title of minister in August last year, led 5,000 soldiers to patrol the border in Xinjiang, and now is about to return to Beijing to face the saint, the Empress Dowager Cixi sent a telegram, asking him to come by the way to suppress the victims."

"I see!"

"I heard that this guy is ruthless and vicious, and he has only been here for three days, and he has killed more than 2,000 people, and he has been hanging his head along the road to show the public, and the common people talk about the tiger's color change, and they have given him a nickname, called 'Golden-faced Yama'." Zheng Yixia said, "I heard the news in the morning that the Imperial History of the capital has been impeached, saying that he ignored the grace of the imperial court, blindly killed and suppressed, did not know how to appease people's hearts, and asked the emperor to dismiss him and investigate him." ”

"But he is a big celebrity in front of the old witch, does the emperor's words work?" Yang Chuncheng wondered.

"I heard that the old woman was also very dissatisfied with him this time, and she had already called him to reprimand him, accusing him of killing too much, and being careful of provoking a civil uprising and causing chaos, and not to indiscriminately create a prison again."

"What did he do when he came to Fuzhou to suppress the victims?"

"He was a class teacher returning to the court, passing through Fuzhou, seeing that it was getting late, he temporarily entered the city to stay in the festival, but he didn't make a special trip."

Yang Chuncheng listened to it, and was slightly relieved.

Wen Moshi listened to it next to him, and said worriedly: "Lord Zheng, such a big official as Qincha also knows about Brother Yang?" ”

"Okay, since everyone knows the details of Brother Yang, I won't hide it from you, at the labor army banquet just now, Cao Shichun also asked me about the county magistrate, talking about the fact that I reported to Brother Yang last year and was degraded out of the palace."

Yang Chuncheng and the others were even more surprised, and hurriedly asked what was going on.

It turned out that Cao Shichun was stationed in Fuzhou County at night, and the county magistrate Qian Shenquan did not dare to slack off, in addition to rewarding the army, he also set up a feast to entertain Cao Shichun and the accompanying officials, and ordered the heads of the yamen in the county to accompany him.

Zheng Yixia was ordered by Qian Shenquan to be busy with Zhang Luo to greet the Qin Cha, and sent his subordinates to ride bravely to charter all the inns in the city for officials of all sizes to stay, and they were busy until dark, and they were also called to accompany the last seat.

Cao Shichun sat high in the chief, pushed the cup with Qian Shenquan and changed the glass, the wine was half-drunk, and suddenly said: "Lord Qian, I heard that your county came from Beijing not long ago, a thousand general lords?" ”

Qian Shenquan knew that he was talking about Zheng Yixia, but he didn't know what the meaning of this was, his eyes rolled, and he remembered that the two of them were from the palace, and most of them had some origins, which was a hint of care, and hurriedly smiled: "My father-in-law's huge eyes are like candles, and he knows thousands of miles, even in the mountains and small counties thousands of miles away, there is nothing that my father-in-law doesn't know!" Two months ago, Xiaoxian did come from the capital to a Zheng adult, who loved soldiers like a son, was considerate, and won the support of his subordinates, worthy of being trained by Lafayette and his father-in-law! After speaking, he looked up and saw Zheng Yixia sitting at the last seat, so he raised his hand and asked him to come over to flatter.

Who knew that Cao Shichun sneered, and said in a sharp voice: "What did Master Qian say, with Lafayette and his father-in-law, they were idle, and they trained such a thing that did not want to repay the service and was rebellious?" ”

Qian Shenquan broke out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly smiled: "Father-in-law, please forgive the stupidity of the official-"

"What 'love soldiers like sons' and 'considerate affection' are like dramas!" Cao Shichun sneered, "Could it be that our officials in the Qing Dynasty have their arms turned out!" Someone took the court's money, only knew 'considerate and affectionate', and didn't share the worries of Lafayette and the emperor, but he was bold and fornicated, so that the Hangzhou garrison Yang Chuncheng, who was mad and insulted the court, fled! ”

Qian Shenquan smiled all over his face, where did he dare to speak.

"It is also the grace of Lafayette that he fell lightly, degraded out of the palace, and became an eight-rank petty official here!" Cao Shichun sneered, "What's the matter, when you get here, you still pretend, Corporal Lixian, do you want to make waves!" ”

The officials on the side were chatting and laughing, and when they heard the anger of Lord Qincha, they fell silent and silent.

Qian Shenquan was sweating profusely, and said with a smile: "Father-in-law Shengming!" The lower officials also thought that as an official of the imperial court, he mingled with his subordinates, and he was often a defiled official, so what kind of system did he become! It's just that my father-in-law patrolled the border, worked hard and made great achievements, and returned to the court in triumph, and I hope that my father-in-law will take care of his daughter, and don't work hard for such a trivial matter! The lower official ordered him to go to his father-in-law's line at night, asked his father-in-law to punish him heavily, and taught him to understand the truth of being an official! ”

"That's it, I don't have time to see him!" Cao Shichun waved his hand, "My father-in-law is ordered to patrol the border, I haven't seen Lafayette for more than half a year, and I don't see anyone at night, so I want to rest early, get up early tomorrow and hurry, so I can return to the capital early and enter the palace to serve her old man!" ”

Qian Shenquan hurriedly flattered: "My father-in-law is really loyal and dedicated, and he can be an example for the courtiers in the world!" ”

Cao Shichun said: "Lord Qian, I will say a few more words today, just to remind all the princes here, the matter of eating the king, the matter of loyalty to the king, on this eventful time in the world, don't forget, who is our real master!" With that, he slapped it heavily on the table.

The civil and military officials in the hall hurriedly got up, lowered their hands and said solemnly: "Huh! ”

The banquet was dispersed, Cao Shichun puffed out his belly, Qian Shenquan nodded and spoke with him, and slowly walked in front, Zheng Yixia had to be patient and followed behind with officials of all sizes.

When he was about to walk to the door, Master Qian from the county yamen came over, first asked Cao Shichun for a thousand greetings, and then walked to Qian Shenquan's side and bit his ear a few words.

Qian Shenquan was surprised: "There are such strange things? You go to the yamen and wait for me first, and I will wait for my father-in-law to rest and come back immediately!" ”

Master Qian agreed, saluted Cao Shichun and was about to walk away, when he suddenly saw Zheng Yixia, for some reason, his face changed slightly, and he left in a hurry.

Cao Shichun said: "Lord Qian, what's wrong?" ”

"Back to my father-in-law, just now my subordinates came to report that from last night to today, two strange things happened in Xiaoxian." Qian Shenquan hurriedly said, "It's inconvenient to talk here, please ask your father-in-law to go to Xiaoya for tea, and let the officials report one by one." ”

Cao Shichun looked up at the sky and said, "Okay, it's still early, I'll go and listen." Mr. Money, please! ”

Qian Shenquan immediately nodded and walked towards the county government with him.

Zheng Yixia and the others went far away, and slowly walked out of the door, thinking that what strange things happened in the county, as the president of Qian, he couldn't not know, it was best to hurry back to the county office and ask his subordinates for clarification.

Who knew that when he walked around a street corner, he saw more than a dozen hungry people in ragged clothes standing in one place, talking a lot, and said: "The imperial court sent Qincha and brought so many soldiers and horses, did you arrest that foreigner?" ”

"You have flies in your ears, what a foreigner, a person surnamed Yang!"

"It's pretty much the same, I said, who dares to arrest foreigners, isn't that lively?"

"Don't you know, last night, a group of newcomers were so hungry that they went to the church over there to eat other people's children, and they poured blood mold for eight lifetimes!"

Zheng Yixia was about to walk by, listening to these hungry people talk about the church, and then talking about "people surnamed Yang", thinking of Yang Chuncheng hiding in the church, he couldn't help but be surprised, so he slowed down and listened quietly.

only listened to one person: "Say it quickly, why did you pour blood mold for eight lifetimes?" ”

"These guys grabbed the two children, and they were just about to cut their throats, when suddenly a person flew down from the sky, his face was black, like a monster, shouting, 'Where are the demons, indiscriminately hurting people's lives, don't stop quickly'!"

"And such a thing! Tell me, what happened? ”

"What else can I do, I was scared and urinated, and I ran away! There was a guy who was running slowly, and the man grabbed him, threw him off the wall, hit a rock, and straightened it on the spot! ”

"What, dead? Throw it away, let's get it and eat it! ”

"Pull it down, there is such a good thing, and it is still our turn? He was robbed and eaten by his fellow villagers, and even his hair was burned into a paste, so he flushed it and drank it! ”

Zheng Yixia was shocked when he heard that someone had fallen to death in the church and was eaten by hungry people, and heard another hungry person say: "But how did I hear that it was the ghost of a foreigner?" ”

"Fuck his shit, what a ghost! When the two children saw this man, they immediately shouted, 'Uncle Yang, help!' ''Uncle Yang, help!'' - Do you understand, people are obviously surnamed Yang, flying down from the sky to save people, and their martial arts are amazing! ”

Zheng Yixia was shocked, didn't dare to delay any longer, and hurriedly strode towards the county office, who knew that after only a few steps, he heard someone behind him scolding: "Damn, there are more than ten maggots chewing here!" What are you doing in a daze, why don't you get out of the city quickly! ”

When he looked back, it turned out to be several officers and soldiers, driving away the hungry people.

The hungry people panicked and said, "Where are you going to drive us, my lords?" ”

"The county magistrate has an order, today Lord Qin sent into the city, and not a single hungry person is allowed to be left in the city! Don't get out of here! ”

The hungry people did not dare to disobey, and one by one they clasped their hands in their arms, nodded their heads, and ran in the direction of the city gate.

An officer and soldier said: "Okay, it's all cleaned up now, and if anyone goes out of the city, it all depends on the guard!" ”

When Zheng Yixia heard this, he groaned slightly, and he didn't go to the county office, so he immediately turned back to his apartment, changed into civilian clothes, put a waist knife, a set of general official uniforms, and a pair of leather boots on his baggage, and hurriedly wrote a short message, stuffed it in his bag, and carried it straight to the church.

After listening to him, Yang Chuncheng didn't dare to delay, and said, "Brother Xian, I'll still leave the city early!" One step later, Eunuch Cao heard the wind and closed the four doors to search, I can't escape it, and I will also affect everyone! ”

"Don't even say it if it's not involved, Brother Anguo's life is at stake!" Zheng Yixia said, "You immediately leave the city from the east gate, go to Qipan Street in Hengyi County, go to my 'Zheng Ji Tu Warehouse' to hide for a few days, and come back when Eunuch Cao is gone!" ”

Yang Chuncheng agreed and immediately stood up.

Zheng Yixia handed him the cloth bag in his hand and said, "This is my official uniform and waist knife, you quickly change into it!" Today, there are 5,000 Eight Banner soldiers in the city, and there are captains and thousands of generals everywhere, and no one will check you! There's a letter in it, you go to Hengyi, show it to the guys, and they'll take you in! ”

Yang Chuncheng hurriedly took the cloth bag, returned to the side room, hurriedly changed into official clothes and boots, put on a waist knife, and hid the text message in the soles of the boots. When you go out with Brother Yang, be more careful! With that, he and the others sent the two out.

Who knew that when the stone saw that Yang Chuncheng was going out, he ran up crying and hugged him, and refused to let him go.

Yang Chuncheng comforted him with kind words, and Shu Zhengqi also came up and half coaxed and half frightened before pulling him away.

Yang Chuncheng said goodbye to everyone, and when he left the church, he slowed down, and Zheng Yixia walked more than two feet away, one after the other, and strode towards the city.

The two walked through the wasteland outside the church, and saw from a distance that the street was brightly lit, and everywhere were the Eight Banners wearing yellow clothes and cotton armor and holding short knives in their hands.

They had not gone far when they saw an officer running in the midst of the firelight, leading a large number of officers and men.

Yang Chuncheng was secretly surprised, but he didn't dare to run away, so he had to force his composure and walk forward.

The officer passed by with the officers and men, and after a while ran to the church, only to hear one of them shout: "My lord, this is it!" ”

The officer brandished his short knife and shouted, "Quickly surround it, go in some more people, and search me everywhere!" ”

The officers and men immediately dispersed and surrounded the church.

Zheng Yixia gently gestured to Yang Chuncheng and motioned for him to leave quickly.

Yang Chuncheng saw that the officers and soldiers searched the church, knowing that they had been exposed, where did they dare to delay, so he hurriedly took a big stride, walked past Zheng Yixia, patted him on the shoulder, and walked straight to the city gate, fortunately, he was wearing the uniform of a thousand commanders, and there was no one to interrogate him along the way.