After Shi Lang arrived in Hangzhou, he commanded the local Jinyi guards to take separate actions, and soon found out the case of collusion with the government to sell illicit salt. Although the amount of money involved in the case is huge, the facts of the case are relatively simple: the two Zhejiang salt envoys and the Sichuan Salt Department Lifting Division privately colluded with the Zhejiang Salt Gang to traffick and sell illicit salt, and made huge profits from it.

For the court officials involved in the case, Shi Lang immediately sent Jinyi guards to arrest them, and the officials involved in the case were quickly arrested. For the main culprit in the salt trafficking case, Ye Ruliu, the leader of the Salt Gang, Shi Lang needs to mobilize the soldiers and horses of the government. According to the reaction of the local Jinyi Wei leader, Ye Ruliu is a young woman, known as "Wild Rose" by the Jianghu people. This person is strong in martial arts, and a deadly rose thorn in his hand is daunting. The Salt Gang has a civilian armed force of more than 1,000 people, under the command of Wild Rose, which is well-trained and has strong combat effectiveness.

The operation to arrest the "wild rose" was carried out on a misty morning. Shi Lang mobilized 5,000 soldiers and horses from the local government and quietly surrounded the nest of the "Wild Rose", a small mountain village near the sea in the Luzhou area. The mountain village is surrounded by mountains and seas, surrounded by high walls made of bluestone, and the walls are regularly arranged with archery holes, and there are soldiers holding shuttles to sentry posts.

It was Hangzhou garrison Huo Dahai who led the troops to help Shi Lang arrest the "Wild Rose". In order to show off his strength, Huo Dahai deliberately asked the soldiers to bring four extremely powerful Shenwei cannons.

"Shi Qianhu, as long as you give an order, my divine power cannon will raze this small mountain village to the ground. Huo Dahai boasted to Shilang about the sea.

Facing Huo Dahai's flattering face, Shi Lang felt a little disgusted in his heart. He ignored Huo Dahai, turned around and called an accompanying Jinyi guard captain, and ordered: "You go to the gate at the entrance of the village to shout, as long as Ye Ruliu takes the initiative to turn himself in, the others will not be held accountable." Otherwise, the army will attack and set foot on the mountain village! ”

"Yes!" The brocade guard commanded his horse to shout.

The sentinels in the village spotted the surrounding imperial army and immediately rushed to the council hall in the center of the village to report to the gang leader. Ye Ruliu, the leader of the gang, led several leaders to climb a high ground in the village and look out of the village. The village was surrounded by black government troops.

"Listen to the people inside, my family has said that as long as the gang leader Ye Ruliu takes the initiative to turn himself in, no one else will be held accountable!" Outside the gate came the shouts of the captain of the brocade guard.

"Helper, you can't go out. It's a big deal, the brothers swear to fight to the death. You're sure to get out of the encirclement! The second gang leader and Gui strongly advocated that Ye Ruliu could not go out and turn himself in.

"Yes, helper, you can't go to the official mansion, you can't go out!" Several other leaders shared the same view.

"I appreciate everyone's kindness. If I guessed correctly, the officers and soldiers came to take me this time because of the case of smuggling illegal salt. The disparity between the strength of the enemy and us is too great, and if we fight hard, I am afraid that the innocent people in the village will be injured. I've made up my mind, and I'll go out alone and turn myself in later. Several leaders are ready to take on the battle. If the officials and soldiers don't believe what they say, the second gang leader and Gui will lead you to fight as hard as you can, and then go to Banji Island for temporary refuge. Ye Ruliu looked at the officers and soldiers outside the village and said calmly to everyone.

"No, brothers must live and die together. How can you let the helper bear it alone! ”

"Yes, helper, the brothers are willing to follow you to the soup!"

He Gui and the other leaders still did not agree with Ye Ruliu to go out and turn himself in.

"Well, no more. I've made up my mind. Let's go our separate ways! Ye Ruliu said undoubtedly.

Ye Ruliu understood the current comparison of the strength of the enemy and us, if she fought hard, it would be tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, and she didn't want her brothers to die in vain because of herself.

"Take care!" He Gui shouted loudly towards Ye Ruliu, who was walking outside the village.

Ye Ruliu didn't look back, and walked out of the gate of the village.

"Look, 'Wild Rose' is out."

"It's pretty too!"

Several soldiers behind Shi Lang whispered.

"Fuck, shut up!" Huo Dahai scolded the soldiers who were talking.

"Soldiers of the government, I am Ye Ruliu, the leader of the Salt Gang. I do things by myself. I hope you will not hurt innocent people. Otherwise, it's a big deal to fight to the death! Ye Ruliu stood outside the gate and shouted to the officers and soldiers.

"Fuck, how dare you threaten Lao Tzu. Open ......" Huo Dahai just wanted to give the order to open fire, but Shi Lang waved his hand to stop him.

Shi Lang lifted the reins of the horse and rode his horse to the front of the team: "I am Shi Lang of Jinyi Wei Qianhu, as long as you take the initiative to surrender, I promise not to hurt the people in the village and your men!" ”

"Well, the gentleman said, the horse is difficult to chase. I'm going to turn myself in. Ye Ruliu replied as she walked towards Shi Lang's side.

When Ye Ruliu walked in front of Shi Lang's horse, Shi Lang was stunned for a moment, he couldn't believe his eyes. The leader of the salt gang in front of him, the main criminal of trafficking in illegal salt, "Wild Rose" Ye Ruliu, turned out to be the woman in black who met and saved her life in Bailu Mountain that day!

Ye Ruliu, who was approaching, obviously recognized Shi Lang as well, she stared at a pair of apricot eyes in surprise, and looked at Shi Lang who was wearing a brocade Wei Feiyu suit and an embroidered spring knife on her waist and hips.

"......" Shi Lang wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say for a while.

Huo Dahai waved his hand, and two soldiers walked over from the team and escorted Ye Ruliu into the prisoner car prepared in advance.

"Slow ......," Shi Lang waved his hand and shouted at the soldiers escorting Ye Ruliu.

"My lord, what do you command?" One of the soldiers asked Shi Lang.

Shi Lang wanted to go over and confirm whether Ye Ruliu was the woman he met in Bailu Mountain. But after thinking about it, it won't be wrong, he believes in his eyes, and when Bai Lushan encounters, the voice and smile of the woman in black have already been deeply imprinted in Shi Lang's mind.

Shi Lang waved weakly at the soldiers.

Huo Dahai saw Shi Lang's signal, and hurriedly shouted: "Collect the troops!" ”

"Don't embarrass her along the way." Shi Lang commanded Huo Dahai and the accompanying Jinyi Wei in a weak tone.

"Your Excellency, ......" Huo Dahai didn't understand what Shi Lang meant.

"I won't go back to Hangzhou with you. Anyway, the prisoner has been arrested, and you escort her back to the custody of Haosheng. I would like to drop by to visit my old mother. ”

"Yes. My lord. A brocade guard replied.

"Take care, adults. When I get back to Hangzhou, I'll invite you to drink. Huo Dahai smiled at Shi Lang flatteringly.

Shi Lang glanced at Ye Ruliu, who was locked in the prisoner car, with complicated eyes, and then beat the horse and left.

Shi Lang's mood was extremely depressed, he rode on his horse, and kept whipping the mount under his seat, using the horse's wild gallop to vent the indescribable depression and unhappiness in his heart.

Shi Lang's hometown is located on a hill near the sea in southeastern Zhejiang, and more than 30 families in the village all rely on the sea to eat the sea and make a living from fishing.

Many years ago, Shi Lang's father died in the line of duty. Shi Lang inherited his father's position as Jinyiwei. The death of Shi Lang's father hit Shi Lang's mother hard, and in addition to being sad, she planned to move out of the capital and return to her husband's hometown to live. Shi Lang couldn't resist his mother, so he had to send his mother back to his hometown in Zhejiang, and built a small courtyard for his mother on a vacant lot in the south of the village near the Zenlin Temple, so as to facilitate his mother, who believed in Buddhism, to do Buddhist things.

"Mother, my son is back!" Shi Lang walked outside the gate of the courtyard, and when he saw that the door was back, he stepped forward and pulled the knocker. It took a long time to knock on the door before it slowly opened.

"Mother!" Shi Lang excitedly shook his mother's hand.

"I'm back." The old man did not show joy when he saw his son, who had not seen him for a long time, but looked a little angry.

"Mother, who made your old man angry?"

"Let's go inside!"

Shi Lang followed his mother to the hall.

"I heard people talking about it, saying that you arrested Ye Ruliu?" Before Shi Lang could sit down, the old man asked coldly.

"Yes, mother." Shi Lang hurriedly replied.

"Son, you're doing evil! You know? ”

"Mother! Why? ”

"Do you know who Miss Ye is? He is the patron saint of the people in the southeast of Zhejiang, and he is your mother's savior! The old man said, coughing with emotion.

"Mother, you drink some water first. Take your time. Shi Lang poured a glass of water and handed it to his mother.

The things that Shi Lang's mother said were related to the Japanese who harassed the people on the southeast coast at that time. Since the Jiaqing period of the Ming Dynasty, the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces have been rampant. The "Qi Army" formed by General Qi Jiguang went to the coast to fight against the Japanese invaders, and the troubles in the southeastern coastal area subsided for a time. After Zhu Yijun of Mingshenzong became in power, he lived in the palace all day long, and enjoyed lewdness. As a result, the Ming Dynasty was politically corrupt and the border defense was lax. Although there is no large-scale rampant pirates along the coastal areas of Zhejiang, there are often sporadic small groups of pirates colluding with Ming pirates to come ashore to harass and plunder the coastal people. When they came ashore, they broke into the villages along the coast, looted property, raped and killed women, and did all kinds of evil. Due to the small size of the Japanese invaders, the imperial court was too lazy to deploy troops to clear them. Some local officials not only did not organize resistance, but colluded with the Japanese and the villagers. The people in the coastal areas of Zhejiang live a life of fear all day long.

In order to protect their lives and property, the people organized civil armed forces one after another to spontaneously resist the invasion of the Japanese invaders. Among them, the civilian armed forces composed of the disciples of the Yangang in Luzhou, Zhejiang Province are the most powerful, and the leader of this team is the "Wild Rose" Ye Ruliu.

Ye Ruliu's grandfather was a backbone member of the "Qi Family Army" back then. Ye Ruliu began to practice knives, guns and sticks with her grandfather at the age of six. Under the careful training of his grandfather, Ye Ruliu is not only strong in martial arts, but also quite good at leading troops to fight and arranging troops.

When Ye Ruliu was sixteen years old, Ye Ruliu's father, who was the leader of the Salt Gang, died in a gang vendetta on the rivers and lakes. Ye Ruliu succeeded to his father's position as the leader of the gang when he was in danger. After taking office, she not only avenged her father, but also relied on her extraordinary courage and courage to make the Salt Gang grow and become the strongest gang organization in Zhejiang.

Seeing that the people were suffering from the Japanese plague, Ye Ruliu armed his Yan Gang disciples and led them to resist the Japanese and protect the people. In view of the combat characteristics of the Japanese invaders, Ye Ruliu imitated General Qi Jiguang to equip each team member with rattan cards and long knives. Because most of the coastal Japanese swords are used, the rattan brand can effectively resist the slashing of the Oriental sword, and the long knife can play the advantage of "one inch long and one inch strong" in the duel with the Oriental sword. In terms of the overall confrontation of the team, Ye Ruliu flexibly used the combat formations he learned from his grandfather and created formations such as "Mandarin Duck Array", "Liangyi Array" and "Bagua Array". After Ye Ruliu's careful training, this civilian armed force repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on the invading Japanese in just a few months, so that they did not dare to rashly land again. The people all clapped their hands and applauded.

Ye Ruliu led the rebel army to clear the coastal Wako, and in a battle, she saved Shi Lang's mother from the Wako's sword.

It was a sunny afternoon. The people of the village are habitually taking a nap. Shi Lang's mother returned from a Buddhist service at the Zenlin Temple in the south of the village when he found dozens of heavily armed pirates sneaking into the village on the beach in the east of the village.

"The thieves are coming!" Shi Lang's mother shouted loudly.

The people who were napping in the village were awakened and rushed out of the door in a panic. Adults and children all ran towards the barren mountains south of the village. A young woman in a floral dress panicked and ran into a pile of rubble on a hillside.

"Ouch!" The young woman's foot was broken by stepping on a stone, and she crouched on the ground in agony, looking in horror at the thieves chasing her down the hill, unable to move.

"Surprise (beauty)!" A Japanese with two katanas stuck diagonally at his waist spotted the young woman crouching on the hillside and screamed and pounced.

"Roar! Roar! Looking at the prey that was about to arrive, the wolf who ran up to the woman stared at the bewildered eyes and muttered something.

"You...... Stay back! The woman crouching on the ground wept and begged for the other.

Seeing that the widow was about to pounce on the woman. At this moment, Shi Lang's mother climbed up from the bottom of the mountain at some point, and he hugged the right leg of the widow with both hands.

"Don't run yet!" Shi Lang's mother shouted at the woman.

As if suddenly awakened, the woman endured the pain in her feet and staggered towards the mountains and forests. The Japanese wanted to get rid of Shi Lang's mother with all his might, but the old man tried his best to hold on to his right leg. Watching the duck fly away, the would-be would-be wielding a katana from his waist and slashing at the old man's head in a fit of rage. At this critical moment, I only heard a "whoosh" sound, and a rose poison needle flew from not far away, hitting the throat of the widow. The wako fell to the ground, the katana in his hand dropped, and rolled down the hillside.

A group of men and horses came down the hill, led by a woman dressed in black, who was holding a deadly rose thorn. The needle that shot the widow was sent from the deadly rose thorn in the woman's hand. Behind her was a group of sturdy men armed with rattan cards and long knives, and they shouted in unison to chase and kill the Japanese people on the mountain. Although dozens of Japanese robbers resisted desperately, it only took more than ten minutes for them to be killed.

The woman in black came over and picked up Shi Lang's mother, who was lying on the hillside. Shi Lang's mother was unable to walk because she had been injured in the leg injury in the fight with the Japanese man just now. The woman in black carried the old man down the mountain and sent him home.

"Thank you, girl. If you hadn't arrived in time, my old bones would have gone to see Lord Hades a long time ago! ”

"Auntie, look at what you said, your performance is also very brave!"

"Girl, my dead master's surname is Shi, you can call me 'Aunt Shi'!" Shi Lang's mother is originally from Shandong, and she prefers young people to call her "Auntie".

"Okay, Aunt Shi!" The woman in black squealed sweetly.

Looking at the woman in black who was sitting in front of the bed and guarding her, Shi Lang's mother liked it in her heart.

Ye Ruliu led the team to live in the village for a few days. During this time, she lived in Shi Lang's mother's home and took care of the injured Shi Lang's mother until the old man recovered.

Later, Shi Lang's mother learned that her life-saving benefactor was the leader of the Salt Gang on the east coast of Zhejiang-"Wild Rose" Ye Ruliu.