It was already twilight, and there were thousands of onlookers at the canal port outside Hangzhou, and even businessmen and travelers came ashore to see the excitement, and the twenty-six people who had broken their legs and flattened the bridge of their noses were surrounded by the crowd of black oppressors, and stones, clods, sewage, and scraps kept falling and splashing, shouting and shouting -- among the onlookers, there was a coachman who thought he was a serious old man and said to the people around him who threw stones and splashed sewage: "You can't beat it, the people who beat it will retaliate, just watch it." ”

When they heard what the coachman said, their momentum suddenly rose, and one of them raised his head with his hands in his hands, and stared at the coachman and shouted, "Remember you, if you dare to hit me, sooner or later I will call you-" Before the threatening words were finished, a stone fell down and hit the mouth, knocking out two front teeth and a mouthful of blood.

The coachman was so frightened that he shouted, "It's not me, I didn't fight." ”

These words caused a burst of ridicule from the people on the side, and the one who was so narrow deliberately shouted: "The coachman Ming Lao Liu, you dare to beat even the person who beats the line, Ming Lao Liu, you have a kind!" ”

Originally, this twilight was heavy and crowded, where could I tell who was who, but it was so clear that the coachman Ming Lao Liu was exposed, and those who beat him with green hands did not remember, but they remembered the coachman Ming Lao Liu - Ming Lao Liu squeezed out of the crowd, stunned alone, and felt that the catastrophe was coming, and the people who beat him would retaliate madly, he couldn't stay at this canal wharf, not only the canal wharf, but the entire Hangzhou city had no place for him. took his wife and children and fled to Jiangbei to join his cousin in Xuzhou - of course Zhang Yuan didn't know that there was such a small episode in the chorus of everyone's shouting, he was asking the evil boy by the stake, the evil boy was tied up here is lucky, no broken legs, no nose, no stones flying, greasy splashing, the evil boy heard the screams of those accomplices crying wolf howls a few feet away, the two trembled, long lost the previous hardness, and replied honestly: "The villain doesn't know who made the thirty taels of silver, the black starling they should know." ”

Zhang Yuan asked, "Which one is the Black Eight?" ”

The evil boy hung his head and said, "It's the one with a big black mole on the left side of his face." ”

Qin Minping, who was accompanying Zhang Yuan on the side, heard it, and asked the local soldiers to stop the people who were throwing stones, and after a little inquiry, he pulled out the black eight with a black mole on his face, this black eight was one of the five people who had just been poked off by Mu Jingyan and broke the bridge of his nose, and he was the leader of the Hangzhou Fighting Tour, at this time he had a nosebleed and a fierce face, and looked at Zhang Yuan angrily: "Who are you!" ”

Zhang Yuan asked, "Who gave you thirty taels of silver to wait here to discount Zhang Yuan's legs?" ”

The black eight squinted his eyes and looked at Zhang Yuan a few times, and said, "It turns out that you are Zhang Yuan." ”

Zhang Yuan asked, "Do you recognize me?" ”

Hei Badao: "I don't recognize it, but the employer said your age and appearance, but I never expected-" The nosebleed into his mouth, and he couldn't speak.

Zhang Yuan said: "Don't take the blame for others, you don't have the ability, say, who is the person who hired you to commit murder?" ”

Hei Ba closed his mouth tightly and didn't speak, Qin Minping on the side ordered the local soldiers to beat him hard, and after beating him several times, Zhang Yuan stopped and said: "There is no mouth that can't be pried open, let the torturers of the Hangzhou Mansion go to interrogate." He walked to the side with Qin Minping and said, "Brother Qin went to tell Gonggong Zhong on my behalf, and said that I was going to visit Gonggong Zhong, but there was such an accident, so I have to go to meet Master Zhang first." ”

Qin Minping didn't say a word, he took two native soldiers and went, and the rest of the native soldiers guarded the twenty-seven fighting green hands, waiting for the Hangzhou prefect to send someone to come, there was such a big brawl at the canal port, and the inspector had already urgently reported to the Hangzhou prefect Yin Tingshu - Zhang Yuan returned to the white canopy boat, Zhang Ruoxi never knew what was going on, and when he saw his younger brother coming back, he hurriedly asked what happened, Zhang Yuan said: "Sister, don't be surprised, if I expected it right, this is Yao Zhiba's command to his family to hire a beating green hand to hurt and disable me, At least I won't be able to take the government exam next month. ”

Zhang Ruoxi said: "It's really hateful that Yao Litigant is locked up in prison and still harms people." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Yao Fu has a cousin who is an official in Beijing, and Xu Shijin, the prefect of Shaoxing, intends to shield Yao Fu and does not close the case for a long time. ”

Zhang Ruoxi said worriedly: "Xiao Yuan, you are still young, you will still concentrate on studying and preparing for exams in the future, and you will not cause those unnecessary troubles." ”

Zhang Yuanwei only said yes, thinking in his heart: "I am still young, but the heart is not small, born in this life, if you want to work hard to make a difference, then it is impossible to be a group of harmony, always to offend a lot of people, if you want to be a good person, I simply follow Mr. Liu Zongzhou to do learning, thirty years later, the country is broken and the family dies with the eldest brother Zhang Dai into the mountains to be a savage, and then write a monograph on the relics Dream of what to find the inheritance, well, is this what I want to see?" ”

The onlookers are very patient, and they refuse to disperse when it gets dark, they want to see how to deal with these green hands, at the end of the unitary, the full moon of the fifteenth day hangs in the eastern sky, and the prefect of Yin sent a warden to lead a dozen trappers and fast hands to the dock, at first I thought that there was a conflict between the people who beat the green hands and the stone pillar toast, and after careful questioning, they learned that they were hired to hurt people and were disabled instead of being beaten - that Heiba has a cousin who is the head of the team of the government to capture people, surnamed He, Heiba can beat people as a profession in Hangzhou City, It has a lot to do with the cousin of this squad leader, the warden of the military room has not yet arrived, He Bantou arrived first, and saw that his cousin Heiba was beaten so badly, the bridge of his nose was broken, and he almost couldn't recognize it, and said angrily: "Who is so ruthless?" ”

Hei Ba was very cunning, he didn't say that it was instigated by Zhang Yuan, but pointed at Mu Jingyan and said: "It's this fallen people, relying on his martial arts to kill people." ”

Mu Jingyan stood beside Zhang Yuan, listening to Heiba's shouting, his heart was also a little weak, the status of the fallen people was low, he usually didn't dare to argue with others, and he had to endure it if he was reasonable, although Mu Jingyan had a martial arts, he also lived in the same humble and humiliating way, although he had Zhang Yuan's support, but he would still panic when he saw the fast catch - then He Bantou only glanced at Mu Jingyan, and then only looked at Zhang Yuan, this yellow-bearded degenerate man was obviously the slave of this young scholar, this young scholar seemed to be a child of a family, He Bantou did not dare to act rashly, and asked Zhang Yuan: "Who are you?" Why condone slave violence? There were a lot of onlookers, and He Bantou thought that Zhang Yuan had a lot of slaves, so they were defeated.

Zhang Yuan saw that this He team leader obviously had the intention of shielding the black eight, so he didn't bother to speak, and sneered: "Why can't I let the servant teach him a lesson?" ”

He Bantou saw that Zhang Yuan's tone was tough, so he went to Hei Ba to ask Zhang Yuan where he came from, Hei Ba was hired to deal with Zhang Yuan, he must know Zhang Yuan better, Hei Ba said: "It's a native of Shanyin, surnamed Zhang, his father is just a child, and he is a nine-grade official in other provinces——"

He Bantou was angry when he heard this, if Zhang Yuan was the son of an official eunuch, then he could only blame Hei Ba for having no eyes, but the son of a nine-grade official from another province dared to beat his cousin of He Bantou like this in Hangzhou City, which made He Bantou angry, but he still acted steadily, and said to a few people around him: "Take down this yellow-bearded degenerate person for questioning first." ”

Zhang Yuan turned his head sideways and said to Mu Jingyan: "Uncle Mu, these poor people are embarrassed to fight against the green hands, if they dare to come up, you will be defeated one by one, don't worry, just fight." ”

Ma Kuoqi came over with the broken oar, and said angrily: "You poor people, if you don't tie up the splashing skin and send it to the yamen, what are you waiting for?" ”

When He Bantou heard Zhang Yuan say that he wanted to fight them together, he was furious and said to Ma Kuoqi: "You natives don't want to hinder us from arresting criminals here." Drinking the order to catch Mu Jingyan quickly, he himself pulled out the iron ruler on his waist and forced it up first-Zhang Yuan shouted angrily: "Break his nose." ”

The whistle stick in Mu Jingyan's hand poked out in response, hitting the bridge of He Bantou's nose, He Bantou shouted, took a few steps back, covered his nose, nosebleeds oozing from his fingers, Mu Jingyan's stick was not poked hard, did not poke the bridge of He Bantou's nose flat, then He Bantou abandoned the iron ruler in his hand, covered his nose with both hands, and raised his head again, wanting to stop the nosebleed, but Ma Kuoqi stood up and gave him a kick, and fell to the ground with a "plop".

The onlookers saw that Zhang Yuan and others not only dared to fight Qingshou, but even the officials dared to fight, which really made them staggered, and no one dared to speak for a while, and more than a dozen people confronted Mu Jingyan, Ma Kuoqi and others -- the warden of the Hangzhou Mansion arrived with a few people, and before he could open his mouth to ask, he heard someone shouting: "Gonggong Zhong has arrived, Gonggong Zhong is here." ”

This warden naturally knows who Gonggong Zhong is, there is only one Gonggong Zhong in Hangzhou City, that is, the eunuch Zhong of the Hangzhou Weaving Department, at this time, how can he take care of He Bantou who fell to the ground, hurry up to greet him, I saw dozens of lanterns tall, a middle-aged official got off the sedan chair, walked towards this side, the warden stepped forward and smiled: "Gonggong Zhong, humble and polite, I don't know——"

Eunuch Zhong didn't pay a blind eye, accompanied by Qin Minping, dozens of messengers from the weaving department came to the canal, saw Zhang Yuan coming over, and hurriedly greeted: "Is Zhang Gongzi okay?" ”

Zhang Yuan stepped forward and said, "Thanks to the blessing of Gonggong Zhong, Xiaoxiao's plot failed to succeed. ”

Since the last time he had a secret conversation with Zhang Yuan, Eunuch Zhong has regarded Zhang Yuan as a close confidant, so when he heard that someone was trying to harm Zhang Yuan, he was very angry, and he came in person to ask about the whole thing, and then pointed to the warden of the military room and said: "Interrogate here, our family wants to see who dares to bend the law and cover up those splashes." ”

The warden of the military room said repeatedly: "Yes, yes." "Ordered his subordinates to quickly escort the twenty-seven beating green hands to this side, and interrogated them under the lanterns held high by the servants of the Weaving Department, that He squad head was still scolding and shouting angrily before, and there was no sound at all, he did not say anything Zhang Yuan did not let him go, and said to the warden of the military room: "The squad leader surnamed He, not to arrest the fighting green hand, but to arrest my servants to support the beating of the green hand, such public scum is also arrested and interrogated, Hangzhou is so rampant, and there is such a person in the public gate." ”

The warden of the barracks sweated on his forehead, he knew what the relationship between He Bantou and Hei Ba was, and he usually said that he did not accept the benefits of He Bantou, but at this time, he dared not say a word, so he ordered someone to escort He Bantou here to kneel and be tried with the Qing hand - then some onlookers shouted: "This squad leader surnamed He is the cousin of Heiba, the leader of the bank." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "I see, there is really a backer for the line." ”

Eunuch Zhong sneered: "A soap is fast and dares to call it a backer, give me a beating, and then ask questions about the cane twenty first." ”

There is no need for the catchers of the Hangzhou government to do it, the messenger of the own weaving department stepped forward to hold down the He Bantou, picked up the bamboo cane and hit the ass of He Bantou, and beat the He Bantou crying father and calling his mother, and the other Qingshou were so frightened that their bodies trembled, and even He Bantou was beaten by the cane, then they were finished this time, and some Qingshou shouted: "The villain is willing to recruit, the villain is willing to recruit, Heiba this time is to receive thirty taels of silver from a person surnamed Yao in Shanyin, and he wants to break the legs of a young man named Zhang Yuan, and pay thirty taels after the matter is completed." ”

Eunuch Zhong asked Zhang Yuan: "Which surname Yao wants to harm you?" ”

Zhang Yuan said: "It's Yao Fu who gambled with me last time, Yao Fu is still in the county jail, this should be Yao Fu's family hired someone to commit murder, mainly because the case has not been closed for a long time, so I still have to go to ask the prosecutor Zhang Fenshou to close the case as soon as possible." ”

Eunuch Zhong said: "Our good family will do it to the end, and I will accompany you to see Zhang Fenshou." On the one hand, he ordered these beating hands to be beaten in real hands, and after each beating them with twenty rods, they were escorted to the Hangzhou government for questioning.

The onlookers cheered, Zhang Yuan said to Eunuch Zhong: "Father-in-law has done a great thing for the people of Hangzhou, these villains who fight are usually evil, and specialize in bullying the good people, Gonggong Zhong raised his hand to get rid of it today, and the people of Hangzhou are grateful to Dade, even if Gonggong Zhong leaves Hangzhou in the future, the ancestral hall of Gonggong will be full of incense." ”

Although Eunuch Zhong knew that Zhang Yuan was flattering him, he was happy to hear the cheers of the onlookers.

Zhang Yuan asked Wuling to go back to the boat and talk to his sister Zhang Ruoxi, he took Mu Jingyan to go to Qingbo Gate with Eunuch Zhong to meet Zhang Qilian according to the judge, Zhang Qilian saw that Eunuch Zhong of the Weaving Department came forward, how dare he slacken, and Zhang Yuan is Zhang Suzhi's grandson, this time he was almost injured by the person who beat him, how can he do it if he does not severely punish the murderer, Zhang Qilian immediately ordered the prosecutor to write to Hangzhou and Shaoxing Prefecture, strictly ordered a thorough investigation of the matter, and severely punished Yao Fu's family who beat up the green hand and hired the murderer, and Yao Fu's case should also be sentenced as soon as possible - watching Eunuch Zhong and Zhang Yuan leave in a sedan chair, Zhang Qilian was secretly surprised, and he really didn't understand why Eunuch Zhong attached so much importance to the young Zhang Yuan, isn't it just a poem of "catkins fly to pieces of red", as for this, the eunuch's mind is really different from ordinary people.

Eunuch Zhong invited Zhang Yuan to his official office for a night talk, and Zhang Yuan said: "I will come to visit my father-in-law again tomorrow, and my sister is still waiting for me to reply on the boat." ”

Eunuch Zhong told Zhang Yuanming to come early and go back to the Weaving Department.

Zhang Yuan returned to the canal port, Qin Minping was still guarding the shore, Zhang Yuan hurriedly thanked him, Qin Minping said: "Zhang Gongzi don't see outside, Zhang Gongzi is the great grace of my Shizhu natives, and I am really happy to be able to serve Zhang Gongzi." "This is not a kind word, Qin Minping is sincere.

Zhang Yuan said: "That being said, Brother Qin doesn't want to be kind to the father, you and I are commensurate with each other, I call you Brother Qin, you can call me Brother Zhang Xian, Brother Jie Zixian." ”

Qin Min said happily: "Very good, very good." ”

(To be continued)