Qixiang firm received compensation from the insurance bank, which caused an uproar in Dengzhou for a while, and the insurance company, which was not taken seriously, suddenly became the focus of attention. It is undeniable that this move played a crucial role in restoring the prestige of the Dengzhou Metropolitan Yamen and the trade area, and also made the restless people's hearts gradually stabilized.

Zhu Ping'an, who always maintained a calm and calm appearance in front of people, changed his face after returning to his mansion. Since coming to Dengzhou last year, although there have been constant turmoil during the period, it has been smooth sailing, not to mention that Dengzhou has recovered its vitality, and the trade zone has guaranteed Zhu Ping'an's financial resources. But what is happening now will indeed shake the foundation of Zhu Ping'an's rule. And how could it not upset him.

Things at sea can be determined to be a small action made by the Zheng family, and looking at today's Haijiang, only the Zheng family dares to make a move to Dengzhou. Regarding the revenge of the Zheng family, it was also expected by Zhu Ping'an, this is not an unsolvable problem, taking 10,000 steps back, the Zheng family is now also a member of the imperial court after all, even if they tear their faces and use pirate means to deal with Zhu Ping'an, Dengzhou may not have the strength to fight.

On the contrary, the so-called horse thieves who frequently appear now have become Zhu Ping'an's henchmen. They attacked the merchants in Dengzhou so unscrupulously, killed people and robbed goods, and hid in the shadows, Zhu Ping'an had a feeling that he had no strength but nowhere to vent.

Well-trained, cruel and bloodthirsty, this is the characteristic of these horse thieves In Zhu Ping'an's opinion, these people are more like the elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and ordinary horse thieves will never be able to do this. But who's behind it?

On the ground of this Shandong. The first thing that came to Zhu Ping'an's mind was Liu Zeqing. When he first arrived in Dengzhou, Liu Zeqing was ready to move, planning to use the four guards to give Zhu Ping'an a dismount, but he was bitten hard by Zhu Ping'an, and even his henchman Cai Liansheng died in Laizhou. Now, could it be that he is suddenly casting cold arrows in the shadows?

But the war against bandits in Huguang was in full swing, Yang Sichang was attacking more than once, Zhang Xianzhong had a faint posture to retreat to Sichuan, and he did not receive any news that Liu Zeqing had returned to Shandong, at this juncture. Could he have the heart to organize this qiē?

The MI is already at full capacity. The top priority is to find this group of horse thieves who have come and gone without a trace, and only by dealing with them first will this not affect the normal operation of the trade area.

By the evening, no news had come. The next person came over and invited me several times. Said it was already ready for dinner. But Zhu Ping'an didn't have any appetite, so he stayed in the study alone, racking his brains to think about countermeasures.

Unconsciously. A pair of slippery hands gently kneaded the temples on both sides of Zhu Ping'an's forehead, and turned his head to see that it was his wife Mu Yuling.

It has been half a year since she got married, and Mu Yuling has changed her hair to a bun, adding a mature charm to the whole person. In all fairness, Mu Yuling's appearance is not a peerless beauty that captivates the country and the city, but it is a tranquil, warm and relaxed atmosphere that she exudes all over her body, but it makes Zhu Ping'an deeply experience a sense of belonging, it seems that as soon as she sees her, the whole person is tightly surrounded by the happy feeling of the family, and the whole body and mind have become much more relaxed because of this.

"Still worried about the horse thief?" Mu Yuling knew very well why her husband was worried.

Zhu Ping'an closed his eyes comfortably, leaned comfortably on the chair, and his head was close to Mu Yuling's body, the fatigue of the day suddenly dissipated a lot, and he nodded lightly.

"You, this is a fan of the authorities." Mu Yuling smiled.

Zhu Ping'an opened his eyes, "How do you say this?" ”

"Looking at the methods of this horse thief, it should indeed be from the army, and it must not be an ordinary soldier, according to the concubine, it looks like the personal guard of the main general. can be so familiar with the terrain of Shandong, and the news is so accurate, who else can there be besides the Shandong General Military Office? ”

Zhu Ping'an straightened up suddenly, "You mean these people are indeed Liu Zeqing's subordinates?" ”

Mu Yuling couldn't help laughing, "Could it be that there are other governors' personal soldiers who have gone deep into Shandong and come here to rob merchants on the ground, risking offending you and Dengzhou City, just for those goods?" ”

Mu Yuling's words were like an initiation, which instantly made Zhu Ping'an's thoughts clear. That's right! can be called a bony hatred with himself, which one can there be besides Liu Zeqing? Last year, Cai Liansheng was assassinated by himself, the Mutiny of the Four Guards ended without a hitch, and Liu Zeqing's officials installed in Dengzhou were swept away. It's ridiculous that he has been carefully dealing with the revenge that he may come at any time, but he didn't expect him to start acting quietly.

Half a year ago, that is, on the eve of the wedding, Zhou Yanru sent someone from the capital to send a congratulatory gift, and the person who came also conveyed Zhou Yanru's words, "One mountain does not tolerate two tigers, and the Shandong general soldier to whom I belong is you!" ”

The meaning is self-evident, Liu Zeqing, as a general raised by Yang Sichang, has now become a power, even if Zhou Yanru wants to get rid of him, it is in vain without the support of Emperor Chongzhen, not to mention the current situation, Chongzhen is eager to watch Yang Sichang and Zhou Yanru check and balance each other, to further hold power in his own hands. Therefore, in Shandong, Zhou Yanru can rely on and utilize, but it can only be Zhu Ping'an.

"Now, there's only one thing we need to be careful about!" When he said this, Mu Yuling's eyes also flashed a trace of worry, "That is, the sea is not very peaceful now, we have to be careful, the Zheng family and Liu Zeqing join forces!" ”

Zhu Ping'an thought so, and then there was some surprise. For a long time, Mu Yuling has always shown people in the form of a bird, but she didn't realize that she also had such a keen insight when judging these things.

Looking at Zhu Ping'an's curious eyes, Mu Yuling smiled shyly, "It's not my father yet, I'm embarrassed to tell you directly, but I want to tell you through my mouth!" ”

Zhu Ping'an suddenly realized, and a warmth rose in his heart. Although Mu Yanzi is obsessed with the subset of scriptures and history, after all, he has been in the DPRK for many years. I saw these things very thoroughly. But thinking about the temper of his father-in-law, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but laugh.

Reaching out and taking his wife into his arms, the anxiety and boredom in his heart also disappeared. But then, Mu Yuling's words like a mosquito humming in his arms made Zhu Ping'an almost jump.

"Today, my father summoned me to tell you what he had said, and then he asked about something. It's been half a year since we got married, why, why ......! Mu Yuling's voice became lower and lower, and her whole body arched into Zhu Ping'an's arms like a kitten, "Why." No good news for a long time! ”

I was stunned. Zhu Ping'an hugged Mu Yuling and suddenly stood up, "There are three unfilial pieties, and no queen is the greatest, and my father-in-law taught me a great lesson." Let's work hard! ”

……

Moonlight. Jiushan Town Wharf, Jinan Prefecture. The sea was pitch black, and more than a dozen black shadows were hidden in the reef by the sea, quietly observing the movement on the sea. There is a lot of wind and waves on the sea tonight. The waves crashed against the shore one after another, making a rumbling sound on the reef.

When it came to the third watch, the wind and waves finally weakened a little, and finally some of these dark shadows couldn't bear to ask: "With such a big wind and waves, will they still come as promised?" ”

One of the people next to him replied: "Don't be impatient, my lord, although they are all over the sea, they finally keep their word, and they will definitely come here tonight!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a little starlight suddenly appear on the dark sea in the distance. Everyone was silent for a moment, and immediately looked at the place where the light was coming out, and after a while, the flash of light appeared again, and everyone understood that the person who had been waiting for had finally arrived.

After about half an hour, a small boat gradually approached the shore, and a person in the bow of the boat held a dead wind lamp, and also carefully probed the situation on the shore.

A person ran out of the dark shadow, climbed up to the highest reef with his hands and feet, also held a lamp in his hand, drew three circles in a row, and the boat slowly approached, and several figures stepped on the seawater, deep and shallow.

After coming to a sheltered reef, more than ten dark shadows that had been waiting on the shore surrounded him, and the person who spoke first arched his hand at the few people who came ashore, "Dare to ask, which one is the fourth master of the Zheng family?" ”

A short figure stepped forward, a fishing coat made of oilcloth clinging to his body, two short knives of a foot long tied to his belt, and a shark skin cover reflected a black color in the light of the lamp.

"I am Zheng Hongkui!" Zheng Hongkui took off his turban.

The person on the other side nodded, took out a thing from his arms, and handed it to Zheng Hongkui's hands, "Under Liu Mao, it is a thousand guards under Liu Dashuai, and it is inconvenient for Dashuai to show up now, so he is sent to meet with Zheng Siye!" ”

Zheng Hongkui glanced at Liu Mao's waist card expressionlessly, "Since Liu Shuai is inconvenient to come forward, can the two families send troops together as agreed before?" ”

"Of course you count!" Liu Mao hurriedly explained: "The war in Huguang is urgent, and my marshal has used a bitter trick to be allowed to return to Shandong to recuperate. In order to avoid arousing the vigilance of Dengzhou, the marshal quietly returned to Shandong, which was also afraid of startling the snake and ruining the plan of your two families! ”

"Humph! Liu Shuai said lightly, and the big thing was imminent, but he didn't show up until now. What does this make my Zheng family think, and what does my eldest brother think? Things are in front of us, Dengzhou is just a small place, my Zheng family sailors have thousands of warships, tens of thousands of people, and it is just a backhand to take down the small Dengzhou. It's just that my Zheng family is far away in Fujian, so I reluctantly agreed to Liu Shuai's plan. Now, Liu Shuai is hiding idlely, do you want my Zheng family soldiers to be pawns? ”

Liu Mao scolded secretly, but there was a smile on his face, "What did the fourth master say." I love Dashuai, is it the kind of person who doesn't believe in his word? In the past two months, my general's personal guard horse team has been in Laizhou and Qingzhou, frequently intercepting and killing Dengzhou businessmen, and now everyone in Dengzhou is in danger, and even Zhu Ping'an's insurance company has lost a lot of money into it. ”

Seeing that Zheng Hongkui's face eased slightly, Liu Mao continued: "When I came, my family commander repeatedly told me to do everything as agreed before. On the second day of the first month of June, your sailors pretended to be Japanese and attacked Weihaiwei to eliminate Zhu Ping'an's sailors, while our marshal mobilized Shandong soldiers and horses to help Dengzhou resist the entry of Japanese invaders, and eradicated Zhu Ping'an in one fell swoop. In the future, Dengzhou Trade Zone will be divided into two by you, and from then on, we will work together to make a fortune! As for the city boss, my handsome family will naturally have an explanation, which is nothing more than the word money, and those eunuchs will never dare to say a word! (To be continued......) R1292