"Company Commander Yang, I'm sorry, come with us!"

In the gourd island of the Hongtang Whale Department, a warship drove in from the dock on the island early in the morning, and a group of Hongtang soldiers walked down from the warship and scattered in all corners of the Hongtang Whale Department's garrison troops.

Yang Xing is the commander of the third battalion and the second company of the third regiment of the first division of the whale department, and he is also a young man who was born and raised in Hongmen.

On this day, as soon as he ended his daily morning exercise with the team, Yang Xing was stopped by a group of five Hongtang soldiers who suddenly broke in.

When the foreign soldiers from Hongtang who had performed a standard military salute said this, Yang Xing didn't seem to be surprised at all, and the soldiers around him all noticed a strange aura, and they all wanted to get up and confront this group of colleagues who suddenly appeared, but they were stopped by the company commander Yang Xing.

"Wait a minute, can I change my clothes?"

Yang Xing looked at the group of colleagues calmly, pointed to the short coat he wore for training, and asked questions in a deep voice.

"Yes, I'll give you five minutes."

The visitor looked at Yang Xing's sweat-soaked short coat, hesitated for a moment, and nodded in response.

Five minutes later, Yang Xing, dressed in a neat military uniform, reappeared in front of everyone and said to the five colleagues guarding the door of his room, "Okay, you can go." ”

Before leaving, Yang Xing looked at the soldiers who were gradually gathered around him, perhaps he already had a premonition in his heart, and after obtaining the approval of several colleagues who escorted him behind him, he turned his head and said goodbye to all of them: "Everyone go back, there is nothing to do, I will come back when I go." ”

"I've been lucky to get along with you in the past few years, and I'm proud to have your group of comrades-in-arms with me, and when I come back, we'll go out together and fight together."

After a resolute military salute, Yang Xing turned around and walked towards the place under the dock.

At the same time, among the more than 10,000 garrisons in Huludao, a total of nearly fifty or sixty people were escorted out by Hongtang soldiers from Keelung Town, among whom the highest status was the deputy regiment commander, and there were many at the level of battalion commander, and there was hardly an ordinary soldier.

Such a scene did not only appear in the Hongtang army, but also in the Hongmen government, internal and external guards, Qixintang and other institutions, many members were arrested and escorted to Keelung Town for unified care.

"Let's talk about it, why did you use Hongmen resources to carry out unknowable tasks without getting an order, and lose countless talents and resources cultivated by our Hongmen??"

In Keelung Town, a joint review team composed of the Military Department, the Inspection Department, and the Trial Court is secretly interrogating a number of members of the offenders who have been escorted from all over Dayuan Island.

At this time, it was the seventh day of the third month of Chongzhen's sixteenth year, and it had been almost half a year since Li Tianyang and his team started their self-search operation.

The more they investigated, the more frightened Li Tianyang and them became, and the bad premonition at the beginning finally became a reality, and sure enough, the smallpox epidemic that raged in the Qing Dynasty came from the private actions of the middle and low-level members of the Hongmen.

And the more in-depth the investigation went, the larger the members involved in the investigation, and even when the investigation was roughly over, the roster that was secretly handed over to Li Tianyang was dozens of pages thick, and as many as five or six hundred members were excavated.

This group that dared to carry out the plan that Li Tianyang and their scruples had behind their backs, and worked perfectly, even had a secret organization called Freemasonry, which was taken from the meaning of solidarity and had their own goal: to maintain the longevity and prosperity of the Hongmen system, the Freemasons were willing to be the dirty dagger in the shadows.

Perhaps at the beginning of the idea, the original intention of this Freemason was excellent, and their members' support and loyalty to the Hongmen are probably the most firm among the members of the Hongmen system.

But the energy contained in this secret group that was not under Li Tianyang's control shocked Li Tianyang.

For example, this time the smallpox virus spread in the Qing Dynasty was detected, from the members of the staff department who contacted Xiaoshan's plan, to the recruitment bureau that later found patients with malignant smallpox, and then to the Finance Bureau, Qixintang and other departments to mobilize funds and resources to assist, etc., which involved all aspects, and finally made this plan perfectly implemented.

It is precisely because of the huge energy of this secret group, although they know that the other party's starting point is to maintain their own rule and maintain the strength of Hongmen, but Li Tianyang and they still can't tolerate the existence of the other party.

At this time, the review team headed by Wu Jie conducted a joint interrogation of Qiu Xiang, the leader and founder of the Freemasonry Society, from the deputy director of the Military Department's Aircraft Department.

"We know that the reason why Lord Admiral hesitated about Xiaoshan's plan was because of his kindness and kindness, and he didn't want to see the people at the bottom suffered, which was his consistent style and original intention."

"But as our subordinates, we should take the initiative to share the troubles and worries of the leader, instead of taking care of everything alone, he is also a person, no matter how strong his heart is, there will be a time when he can't bear the pressure."

"From the beginning of our establishment to the present, it has only been a few years, and it is impossible to compare with a big country like the Qing Dynasty with a foundation of nearly a hundred years; However, our leader is a person with lofty ambitions, and our Hongmen system is also the system that we know that can best enable the people to obtain a better life, and should not only succumb to this small island, but should go out of Dayuan Island to a greater glory and bring vitality to more people. ”

"For the sake of this great ambition, we are willing to do the most despicable thing, so that the Admiral will still shine brightly, and we will carry all the darkness."

"The implementation of the smallpox plan was originally of great benefit to our Hongmen: first, it could make the powerful but obvious shortcomings of the Qing Kingdom suffer a heavy blow, the strength of the Qing Dynasty came from the invincibility of their kingdom's cavalry, but their shortcomings were that the number of their Jurchen cavalry has been small, and the high pathogenicity and mortality rate of smallpox can cleanse the Qing population as quickly as possible; Second, the weakening of the Qing Dynasty can allow the Ming Dynasty to shift more of its center of gravity to the south, delay their being cut by the Qing Dynasty to the greatest extent, and give us more time for the development of Hongmen. ”

Qiu Xiang, who was interrogated, did not have the consciousness of being a prisoner, at least in his self-consciousness, everything he did and did was an outstanding contribution to the Hongmen, even if he was punished by the leaders of the Hongmen, he did not regret it at all.

(End of chapter)