Overnight, the people of Yangzhou City were sleepless.

Cavalrymen with torches and garrison battalions running with guns passed by almost every once in a while, and then there was the sound of banging on the door, the sound of jumping over the wall and entering the hospital, the barking of dogs, the crying of chickens and geese, the crying of children, and the soft reprimands of adults...... This night, it didn't stop!

Fighting from the Yangzhou prefect below, the government sentenced the prefecture to the same magistrate and the county commanders, Cheng, Zuoza, and the officials, all the local officials of Yangzhou Prefecture who can be mobilized, the aborigines are reliable, and the city defense army stationed in the city is also familiar with the situation in the city.

When the morning sun illuminates this majestic and historic city, many people climb over the walls and secretly look outside.

The cavalrymen in iron chain mail rode by, the long knives and iron spears in their hands exuded a cold light, and occasionally they raised their heads, revealing young and resolute faces, and although their eyes were bloodshot, they were still firm and sharp, full of aggressiveness.

No one knew that these cavalrymen had been the same people as them a long time ago, digging in the soil, working and resting, and knew nothing about the world a hundred miles away except for their own village and the town or county seat every few months.

At this moment, with about 100 people as a team, led by experienced team officers and sentinels, it is divided into two sides on the wide Yangzhou Fucheng Street, in the middle is the sturdy prisoners who are tied, and the officers and soldiers of the garrison battalion are wearing hats on their heads, wearing mandarin duck fat jackets, holding knives and guns, and they are also on guard.

The middlemen were either dressed in small clothes or shirtless, and they were all in tatters and dejected. There are also a few people who are dressed in disarray, their heads are still held high, and their eyes are full of anger, and when they walk, they still look around freely, as if they want to find someone to quarrel at any time.

Most of these people still have some injuries on their faces and bodies, and most of their clothes have not been saved, if it weren't for the summer heat, they would have frozen to death early in the morning.

"Look, this is Li Zhongshu."

"Zhongshu is a fart, I didn't see that the old man Wang Hanlin was also arrested!"

"Zheng Yuangong, look at it, this is Zheng Yuangong. Didn't his younger brother serve in front of His Royal Highness the Prince, I heard that he was also a fourth-grade official, tsk, the old Zheng family also said that they relied on this Zheng Laosan, and the boss of the family was arrested. ”

"Look, Lord Futai's face looks like something, this is ugly."

In front of this bustle, the people knew that they couldn't get along with themselves in the middle of the night, and their hearts were settled.

People arrest officials, gentry, salt merchants, and those guards and scoundrels in the salt works, ordinary people, even if they follow the past during the day, ask a few simple questions, and their net worth is innocent, and they are not big families, or the leaders of the guards, reprimand a few words, call the local security to write a knot, press the handprint, and promise not to violate the law again in the future, and immediately throw away their hands.

It is simple and quick for the people to get out, and since the second half of the night, many people who are flexible and bold have dared to come out to see the great excitement since the opening of the Ming Dynasty and the opening of Yangzhou.

In the midst of the discussion, the Yangzhou gentry class was also like ashes, and they felt very embarrassed.

In the late Ming Dynasty, and even in the late Qing Dynasty, the government's ability to rule the localities was really limited. In the summary of a historian surnamed Huang, there is no condition for great unification and precise rule.

On the surface, it is a unified empire full of authority and imperial authority, but in fact, the northern sect and the southern gentry clan divide the world, and there is nothing to do with imperial power at all.

Here in Yangzhou, there are many gentry in the prefecture and county, but in terms of power, they are far less powerful than Jiangnan.

First, Wenyun is not as good as Jiangnan, and there is no big family of all the Zhongjin scholars above the fifth and sixth generations, and there is no century-old marriage between them, and they support each other's huge forces.

For example, the protégé Jinshi, who is good in the same year, is also a lot less.

Jiangnan Donglin, the whole body is affected by a hair, and the reason lies in this. Not only the friendship of the country, the protégé system, but also deep-rooted, the emperor can be disrespectful, but dare to disrespect the teacher to break out, Shilin thinks it is different, and he should not think about living a stable life in his life.

Second, the salt merchants in Yangzhou are very powerful, up to eunuchs, Xun Qi, and coerce the state and county, and the constraints on the squires are also very strong, and they check and balance each other, so they are not like Jiangnan, and the gentry call Bainuo, basically there is no threat.

Last night, there were only a dozen or so gentry who had retired from their posts of the fourth grade or above, fifty or sixty of them were above the seventh grade, and there were dozens of salt merchants, and then there were retired officials and servants, scoundrels and gangsters in the streets, and outsiders, and a total of five or six hundred people were arrested.

Combined with the number of people during the day yesterday, it can be about 2,000 people.

All the soldiers of the Pinglu Army cavalry did not sleep for two nights, and they were still in good spirits, and when they escorted people to Zhu Cihong's residence, they held their heads high and added to their might.

At this time, Zhu Cihong looked very satisfied.

Late-night training, followed by the next day, this is also the norm in the barracks training, the first time the sergeant also complained about dissatisfaction, until now, many people are enlightened, know that the original training, very reasonable.

And the meat is continuous, and finally the fight is food, these young men who originally had good physical fitness, at this time, their physical fitness is at a full point, running for two days and two nights, although they are tired, but they can still hold on.

And at this time, for the prince's life, it is okay to arrest the scoundrels, as well as these old men and big businessmen who usually regard them as heavens, watching them hang their heads and be escorted by themselves, all the sergeants are radiant, looking around proudly, and they feel very strong and sharp.

This is the way of actual combat in the way of military training, and now it seems that the effect is very good.

It is just a method of cavalry warfare, and these new army officers and men have not yet entered the field, and they still cannot succeed without several months of hard training and actual combat.

"Minister Wei Yue, knock to see His Highness."

The hour has passed, Zhu Cihong has already freshened up, and at this time he is also in good spirits, standing on the steps, surrounded by tigers and wolves and people who have been arrested, no matter who it is at this time, they are all looking at this crown prince who is dressed in a crown dress and looks like a heavenly man.

Many people groaned in their hearts, wondering what they were going to do?

The rebuke of the soldiers of the Pingyu Army has already sounded all around: "I am waiting for the stomach to be on my body, it is inconvenient to kneel down, what are you, don't kneel down quickly!" ”

In the shouting, all the prisoners knelt down in fear, everyone did not dare to raise their heads, only some extremely hard-fought scoundrels, and the Yamen was as comfortable as going home, and they were tied up at this time, and they were not afraid, just rolled their eyes, and secretly looked at Zhu Cihong's appearance.

"Wei Yue's errand is good, and he can make a great credit."

"Yes, keep in mind."

This is said to the people of the Military and Political Department, and the military merits, punishments, gains and losses, and punishments are all the responsibility of the General Secretary of Military Affairs, and the important point of this department lies in this.

"Salt merchants, gentry, and officials, take them into custody first, make a mess of salt, scoundrels, and take them to the school field of the garrison camp ......"

Looking at the dense human heads, Zhu Cihong's heart was also tight.

He has a human life in his hands, and naturally it is not one, but it is the first time that such a large-scale killing, and it is a typical murder of Ming Zheng. However, when the words came to his lips, he naturally said what he had to say: "Kill them all!" ”

"Yes, the minister!"

Wei Yue had already prepared, and replied calmly, and then turned around and ordered, screened out the salt scoundrels in the crowd, tied them up, and escorted them to the garrison academy.

In this way, the scoundrels were in a daze at first, and then they all jumped to their feet.

One by one, the green tendons burst out, and some even Zhu Cihong scolded him.

These Yangzhou and Wuzhong scoundrels, who usually act as annihilators, do not behead crimes, and make small mistakes, they are characters who have grown up in the yamen since they were children, and they usually laugh and scold when they see officials, and they don't put official authority in their eyes at all.

Eating is this kind of beaten meal, except for the rich gentry, there is no character they dare not provoke.

At this time, when I heard that I was going to be beheaded, I was panicked and angry.

It's also unbelievable, with such a gentle sound, it's going to be chopped?

The foul language was endless, Wei Yue's face was as pale as iron, and he shouted: "Are you dead, watching them scold like this!" ”

In a word, what else do the soldiers have to hesitate about? When he slammed the iron ring hilt in his hand, after a few strokes, he knocked out all the people's teeth, and his mouth was full of blood.

is very strong, the surname Suo is to break his fibula with the handle of the spear, and then the pain can't make a sound, and he is directly dragged away.

With such a violent treatment, not only did these scoundrels dare not speak out anymore, but the people watching around were all stunned.

As for the officials and gentry who were tied with ropes and flowers, Shicai still looked angry, and some people made expressions of indifference, but at this time, they were all pale as dirt, and some were already trembling with fright.

"You have gone astray, and you have been killed with a lonely mind, and it is not wronged." Zhu Cihong looked at these gentry officials who were left behind, as well as a large number of colorless salt merchants, and said lightly: "But after all, you are not comparable to the head of the Qian, and the court style and face must be taken into account, this is the first." Second, some of you are also being deceived and instigated by others, and you should not treat them all. It is convenient to cut off the head, but it is difficult to connect it. ”

On the one hand, the iron cavalry was killed by the deacon, and on the other hand, the people in the audience were trembling with their legs, where did anyone dare to make the sound of the horse and openly collide with the prince?

"How to deal with you, of course, I have to report to my father, but I have to explain it to you when I am alone!" Zhu Cihong looked around and said sharply: "The world is the world of my Ming Dynasty, and those who have different aspirations will be wiped out sooner or later." Today, Gu is training troops in Huaishang, and a lot of money and food are needed, and it is imperative to rectify the salt class, which is an irreversible trend! If there are still people with strange thoughts, be careful not to say anything about your head, and you need to be more careful, and the punishment of the clan is not impossible to do! ”

(To be continued)