The Xingyuan barracks of Pingjiang Bo Chen Wangmo, the chief military officer of Caoyun, is a large manor borrowed from the big salt merchants, and there is a very beautifully decorated flower hall behind the temporary signing room, which is not only carved beams and paintings, but also furnished with coral trees, shells inlaid with pearl interstitial screens and natural jade, and the hollow carved windows are pasted with gold leaf, and the paper is drunk with gold.

However, it was the middle of winter, the red charcoal fire did not rise in the room, the panes were not covered with silk cotton curtains, the north wind blew into the room unscrupulously from the hollow of the carved windows, and the flower hall was as cold as an ice cave, and the Cao Gang merchants sitting in the hall were as if they were being tortured.

"Ahh A merchant with a red nose sneezed and muttered a complaint: "Uncle Chen detained us here, we were not allowed to eat, not even hot tea, if we continue like this, we will give away our old lives sooner or later!" ”

Another old shopkeeper who was trembling with his arms in his sleeves wrapped in his sleeves sighed long when he heard this: "Alas, we are still just detained, although there is no rice, we also give two dry steamed buns, lack of hot tea, and cold water to drink, this is already good, I think Tian Zongjia was carried through the hall, and I don't know how to suffer." ”

When did the pampered Cao Gang merchants suffer such torture? sighed one by one, but the businessmen's natural fear of dignitaries made them dare not complain loudly about Chen Wangmo.

Suddenly, hearing the messy footsteps outside, the chief businessmen rushed to the door in a hurry: "Mr. Tian is back from the hall!" ”

The door was opened, and several wolf-like soldiers pushed Tian Qiye inside, and closed the door again.

Tian Qiye has long since ceased to be majestic and imposing when he was at the helm of the Cao Gang, his hair was messy like a chicken nest, his eyes were bloodshot, his lips were chapped and chapped, his face was still bruised, and the high-quality azure silk cotton robe was also torn off a large piece, fluttering and drooping.

Although he was not really punished, the soldiers under Chen Wangmo were not vegetarians, and Tian Qiye suffered a lot of flesh and skin.

Knowing that Tian Qiye was suffering for the big guy, the red-nosed Cao Shang hurriedly stepped forward to help him and complained, "Is there still a heavenly reason?" It is clear that the White Lotus Sect stole the silver, and they want to force us to make up for it, and they also beat people......"

Outside the door, there was the laughter of the soldiers: "This is not yet the execution!" In two more days, we will be punished and served, and see if you thieves can survive it? ”

When the general merchants heard this, they were all trembling, they usually wore brocade clothes and jade food and pampered treatment, and when they entered, their wives and concubines were served, and when they went out, they had never suffered anything, and at this time they felt miserable when they were hungry and cold, and they were really punished by ironclad death!

Several Cao merchants helped Tian Qiye to sit down, and the other people looked at each other with a look of horror, and finally a white and chubby Cao Shang couldn't stand it, and said with a crying voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we can't carry our thighs with our arms, it seems that Uncle Chen is determined to force us to death! Now the little brother is cold and hungry, and even if he doesn't fight for half a day, he will freeze to death first, but he has no choice, the big guy will admit this silver, go back to the pawnhouse to sell the land, and help the middle and bottom to go up and down, so let's save my life first! ”

As soon as this proposal came out, there were a few people who agreed, these general businessmen were very stingy and stingy, but now Xiucai met Bing and couldn't explain it clearly, and his life was pinched by Chen Wangmo, even if he borrowed money, he had to make up that money!

"No, no, never!" Tian Qiye sat and rested for a while, and suddenly shouted loudly: "The silver is easy to compensate, but the crime is difficult to bear!" Even if we go bankrupt and pay 500,000 silver, who will confess this crime? ”

The general merchants were silent, as Tian Qiye said, after Chen Wangmo got the silver, the court asked again, "Where is the White Lotus Sect thief", who did he hand over? As long as the Cao Gang is willing to admit the money, this matter will become yellow mud and fall into the crotch of his pants - it's not, it's!

Now if you don't pay for the silver, it is only a life to be starved to death by Chen Wangmo, and the family and property can still be preserved; When the time comes, he will be accused of colluding with the White Lotus Sect demon bandits to commit rebellion, killing his head and stealing his children and grandchildren, and sending his wife and daughter to slavery...... "Lao Tzu would rather freeze to death!" "The white and chubby Cao Shang just now sat on the ground.

The general merchants completely dispelled the idea of losing money for their lives, and were determined to spend it with Chen Wangmo, and their attitudes became different after they became harder.

Some people say that he and the master of Zhou in the capital are sons and daughters, and they have sent their families to send a letter to the past, and they will immediately go to the book to expose Chen Wangmo; Some people say that the second son was in the same year that Lu gave the matter, and asked Master Lu to entrust Shen Shixing, a scholar of the Cabinet University, to ask him to speak on his behalf.

Tian Qiye, who was sitting on the chair panting, seemed to have exhausted his energy because of the roar just now, and only he knew that he was sneering in his heart:

How far is Jingshi from Yangzhou? Ping said that he used the relationship between Master Zhou Du and Lu to scare the county officials, and it was okay to pull the tiger skin to make a big banner, and now at this juncture, he will send someone to Beijing for help, this time back and forth, plus the time of the Jiuqing court meeting, the six departments, the cabinet vote, the celebrant and the celebrant wearing red, etc., you idiots are all frozen into popsicles!

If you want to turn evil into good fortune and become auspicious in trouble, I am afraid you have to count on that Qin chief...... The general merchant of the Cao Gang was imprisoned by Chen Wangmo to chase the stolen silver, but this uncle himself was not happy, he was outside the garden across the wall in the flower hall, and he was pacing anxiously in the second hall, and his mental state was not much better than that of Tian Qiye.

Qiu Baihu, who was in Yangzhou Jinyiwei below, had a worried face and said, "...... Not only did Changzhou, Zhenjiang and other places report signs of the White Lotus Sect's stupidity, but even Yangzhou itself was not right...... The situation is serious, please make a decision as soon as possible! ”

The hundred households, general banners, and small banners stationed in various places by the Jinyi Guards are by no means corpse vegetarians, and they have also grasped a lot of clues about the old rival White Lotus Sect, and all kinds of abnormal signs have attracted attention, but because Chen Wangmo's actions interfered with the direction of the investigation, and the White Lotus Sect's deliberate misdirection, they did not grasp the real situation in an overall sense.

Rao is like this, the right deputy capital Yushi, the governor Cao Yun and the admiral military governor Fengyang and other places Li Qiu and the deputy envoy Huang Gonggong of the Zhongguan Qincha were very surprised, and Master Bai also opened his mouth, looking surprised.

Huang Gonggong is okay, he is just a eunuch sent to supervise the Caoyin case, but Li Qiu is completely different, his face is white and blue - Wen Du urges, Wu Du Yun, Cao Yin theft is mainly Chen Wangmo's responsibility, so he has been deliberately staying out of the matter; But now there are signs of the White Lotus Sect's stupidity, he has both the governor of Fengyang, and if something goes wrong in the jurisdiction, the imperial court has to ask for him.

"Uncle Chen, the lower officials think that the White Lotus Sect needs to be suppressed as soon as possible, otherwise it will cause endless harm!" Li Qiu grabbed his beard worriedly: "The elite of the Cao army brought by the uncle, as well as the supervision of the lower officials, must be prepared." ”

Cao Yin failed to recover it, and the White Lotus Sect made another stupid move, Chen Wangmo's heart was like a mess for a while, and he waved his hand: "Don't panic, this official has already sent elite soldiers to Changzhou, Zhenjiang and other canals to settle down, and nothing goes wrong." ”

At this moment, the Chinese officer ran in from outside, and said angrily as he walked: "Is there still a royal law?" Even dare to rush to the gate, is there still my uncle in his eyes? ”

Walking to the front of the second hall, he knelt down on one knee and said: "Uncle Qiqi, there is a group of workers outside, saying that they want to petition and present their feelings, and they almost rushed the gate, which is really bold!" ”

Chen Wangmo's eyes widened: "Does this handsome man dare to rush?" He is the son of a state and county parent official? ”

Unlike ordinary civil officials, state and county officials allow the people to beat drums and voice grievances, and they can also watch the trial in the lobby, but the military law enforced by the commander-in-chief and the chief military officer cannot be rushed, and they will be questioned and killed at every turn.

Master Bai's eyes also widened: "Dong Weng, it's not good, aren't these Cao Gong instigated by the White Lotus Sect?" ”

Chen Wangmo is a military general, when he heard this, his face changed a few times, Li Qiu was frightened, and the two hemp legs under the silk cotton robe trembled like chaff, and Huang Gonggong was even more frightened and numb, and almost urinated.

The Chinese officer hurriedly reported: "It's not the White Lotus Sect, it's just an ordinary Cao Gong, and after the standard waited for the drink to stop, he knelt outside the gate and shouted grievances, and he also held a blood book." ”

Hearing that this group of people rushed to the gate and just knelt on the ground and shouted grievances, all the adults breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Wangmo flicked his sleeves: "What kind of person dares to offend Uncle Huwei, it turns out to be a group of ignorant fools, but we didn't embarrass Caogong, why did these people rush in and shout grievances, what is the reason?" ”

The Chinese officer went out to investigate, and soon returned, holding a love letter with a bloody handprint in his hand, and handed it to Chen Wangmo.

"! When is this official going to force these bitter haha to lose money? It's obviously on those general merchants! Chen Wangmo angrily threw the blood book on the ground.

"I'm afraid it's for my own owner!" Huang Gonggong came back to his senses when he heard that it was not the White Lotus Sect, and remembered Qin Lin's entrustment, so he advised again: "Uncle shouldn't force the Cao Gang to return the silver, didn't General Qin go to investigate?" From our point of view, General Qin never deceives people, and most of the money has been found at this time, so why should the uncle force the Cao Gang? ”

Master Bai immediately arched his hand and said to Chen Wangmo: "What Gonggong Huang said is reasonable, but the East China Sea is boundless, where can there be a quasi-believer?" No matter how powerful General Qin is, he is afraid that it will be difficult to spread his hands and feet.

Dong Weng, the student knows that Cao helps Yin Fu, 500,000 silver is actually nothing to them, and if they work harder, some people will definitely not be able to endure it. ”

Chen Wangmo nodded, feeling that this remark made sense, no matter how capable Qin Lin was, it was illusory after all, only the silver in Cao Gang's hand was real.

Now that he has caught all the general merchants, even if the Cao Gang is pinched in his hands, if he wants him to be round, he will be round, and if he wants him to flatten him, he will have to go all over, this is a real fight that cannot be run away, if you don't hold on tightly, you will count on Qin Lin, isn't it reluctant to seek the near and far?

In fact, Gonggong Huang has been persuading him not to be impatient, but Jingshi's various reminder documents are still flying like snowflakes, and under the repeated persuasion of Master Bai, Chen Wangmo once again stretched out his hand to the Cao Gang, hoping to fill the hole with silver and atone for his sins.

Qin Lin expected everything, the only thing he didn't expect was Chen Wangmo's surname, the dead Dao friend is not the poor Dao, since he has this mentality, it is not surprising that he made his current move.

The noise outside the gate became louder and louder, and Chen Wangmo's brows became tighter and tighter.

"Dong Weng, I'm afraid that these people were instigated by the Cao Gang General Merchant, right?" Master Bai arched his hand: "Ordinary coolies are afraid that the government is too late, how can they trespass on the gate?" In the humble opinion of the students, these people were instigated by the Cao Gang General Merchant, and they came here to create momentum and sing against you, uncle. ”

"The official's gate, is it really said that he will break in?" Chen Wangmo was furious, and now the general merchants are unwilling to return the stolen silver, and dare to "instruct" the Cao Gong to make a fuss outside the gate, and they clearly do not take him, the chief military officer of Pingjiang Bo and Caoyun, in their eyes.

Nisa also has a three-point fire surname, not to mention that Chen Wangmo is the chief soldier in command of the army?

"Pass my military order," Chen Wangmo ordered: "Give me a stick to those who offend the military and trespass!" ”

Li Qiu nodded and said appreciatively: "To these troubled people who have no king and no father, just be unceremonious!" ”

"But ......" Huang Gonggong wanted to say something, but in the end he stopped talking.

"Never!"

The sound shook people's eardrums, and when they looked closely, it turned out to be Zhang Jingxiu and Zhang Maoxiu.

It was Zhang Maoxiu who stopped him just now, he grabbed a few steps and asked Chen Wangmo: "General Jinyi Wei Qin, who is in charge of investigating the case, has already said that he will send the silver back to Yangzhou Mansion in just a few days, why is Uncle Chen so impatient?" ”

"Don't be rude," Zhang Jingxiu stopped his younger brother, and said gently: "Uncle succumbed to the Cao Gang to compensate for the silver taels, and he also beat people, and it may not be a good thing to spread it, and Xiao Ke has just observed that this group of Cao workers who petition and plead is very likely to be bewitched, and once something happens, it will be impossible to save." ”

"What, instigated, instigated by the White Lotus Sect?" Li Qiu's eyes widened in fright, he fixed his mind, and then put his hands on everything: "To deal with such chaotic people, we must strike hard and suppress their arrogance, otherwise the national law will be abolished and the program will not exist, and the world will definitely be in chaos!" ”

Master Bai also leaned into Chen Wangmo's ear and said a few words in a low voice, only to see that this uncle's eyes sometimes narrowed, sometimes he stroked his beard with his hands, and sometimes nodded slightly.

Chen Wangmo was indeed afraid of the power of the Zhang family, but the day before yesterday had already seen signs in the court, and it seemed that Zhang Juzheng seemed to deliberately put all the blame on Chen Wangmo, the chief military officer of Caoyun, in order to divert the attention of the gentry of the world in order to avoid conservatives from attacking the new reform policy based on a whip law.

So now Chen Wangmo is not polite to the two brothers of the Zhang family, looking at the flower hall where the general merchant of the Cao Gang is imprisoned, he became more and more anxious, flicked his sleeves, and ordered the arrow to be pulled out and thrown to the ground: "Pass my military order, and beat out all the people who trespassed on the gate!" ”

An arrow was not yet two or two shots, but it fell to the ground heavier than a thousand jun, and Chen Wangmo did not know what terrible consequences would happen after the arrow fell out of his fingers.

Xingyuan was originally a borrowed salt merchant's house, and there were other houses opposite and next to the gate, where many ordinary people lived, but now the owners of the two houses are no longer there, but there are several black-clothed people hiding in the room, they are all holding powerful crossbows, hiding their bodies through the darkness of the room, and observing the situation on the opposite side from the window with a slit open.

Inside and outside the Yuanmen, there were thousands of Caogong people gathered - there were only about 20 poor brothers who came to petition with Brother Pi, but they came out of the houses, and along the way, there were Caogong brothers who kept asking to join the team, and when they reached the Yuanmen, the number of people had reached more than 1,000, and they knelt in Yuanmen against the north wind, and there were poor Caogong workers who kept joining in, gathering more and more like a snowball.

In contrast, the number of soldiers is much smaller, there are only about 50 people on the Yuanmen side, because a small part of the soldiers are sent to Sanwan to garrison and guard the remaining boats, and most of them are more than Chen Wangmo sent to camp along the canal to force the workers to restore navigation, and the number of soldiers left in Xingyuan is less than one-fifth, and the total number will not exceed three hundred.

Seeing this, although several people in black covered their faces with black cloths, the corners of their mouths turned upward, revealing evil smiles.

As long as the soldiers and the workers clashed, even if it was just an ordinary push, the man in black would shoot arrows in his hands, taking the lives of several workers and soldiers.

At this time, the inner response in the ranks of the Cao Gong will shout, inciting the Cao Gong to fight with the soldiers, the more chaotic the scene, the better, the more blood will stimulate this group of honest Cao Gong into red-eyed mad cows, and then they will rush into the weakly defended barracks under the leadership...... In the future, the commander-in-chief of Caoyun, Pingjiangbo, Chen Wangmo, the right deputy governor of the imperial history, Caoyun and the commander-in-chief, Fengyang, the military governor, Li Qiu, and the deputy envoy of the Zhongguan Qincha, Huang Gonggong, and other officials, would be killed by the rebels very coincidentally-of course, there may have been someone else who did it.

Killing an earl, a governor, and a deputy envoy of the Imperial Mission, how big the crime will be, you don't even have to think about it, at this time, all the Cao Gang members have no way to retreat, they can only follow the White Lotus Sect to embark on a road of rebellion that either seizes power or dies without a corpse.

At the same time, the arrangements of the White Lotus Sect in the south and north of the Yangtze River will be launched together, turning the southeast and the land upside down!

So, will Chen Wangmo send soldiers out and clash with these workers?

He never dreamed that there would be such serious consequences, so the fluttering arrow, which was enough to decide the life and death of countless people, was thrown down by him!

Countless human heads fell to the ground, and rivers of blood flowed...... Master Bai smiled sinisterly, and when the lieutenant officer went out with the arrow in his hand, he knew that the plan had been accomplished, and everything was irreparable.

He made an excuse to go back to the courtyard where he lived.

There was a cooing sound in the yard, and the people in the General Military Mansion knew that it was the master's good thing to keep pigeons, and he would take the pigeon cage with him wherever he went.

Master Bai took a pigeon out of the cage, tied a small paper roll to the pigeon's feet, and then he smiled and sent it up with both hands, and the pigeon fluttered its wings and flew away.

"Whoosh-" A short, sharp sound of breaking through the air suddenly sounded.

"Wow, click, click, click", Qin Lin's strange and rhythmic evil smile also came out from behind the wall at the same time.

(To be continued)