Early in the morning of the second day, Zhang Dong pretended to be a servant and followed Tang Hongchang to the south gate, there were many beggar-like soldiers on the city, but some people in common clothes looked very strong, they were all guards from various trading companies, and the weapons they used were better than the city guards, and some people had armor.

Before going to the city, Zhang Dong gave a final order to Tang Hongchang: "It will be the Liao soldiers who will do it first, you will manage your people at the head of the city, and don't meet the Liao soldiers." ”

Tang Hongchang looked very calm, and he asked Zhang Dong: "When it is critical, do you need my people to help break the city?" ”

"Go up and adapt to the situation, if the eight families are strong, you don't make a sound, when it matters, you can take people to run away, and find a few people to scream a few voices to run for your life."

Tang Hongchang didn't say much, nodded and went to the city, Zhang Dong saw that he was calm, and couldn't help but glance at this Tang Hongchang in his heart.

Looking out of the city, there were few pedestrians among the dense shops and buildings outside the city, and they were obviously afraid of the Dengzhou soldiers ten miles away. Zhang Dong smiled coldly, Song Wenxian deliberately made such a shape, and then forcibly broke the city, giving the merchants here the strongest deterrent, and this way showed the attitude of Dengzhou Town towards all the merchants at the border mouth, that is, they could not pass slaves.

A few miles away the smoke and dust billowing, rumbling hooves from far and near, a Wuzi banner soon appeared on the outskirts of the city, towards the west gate, Tang Hongchang estimated that there were about 2,000 people, and there were thousands of people in the direction of the east gate, but it was a special character flag. Needless to say, it is Wu Xiang and You Shiwei.

An army from the south was all cavalry, numbering about seven hundred, and all of them were dressed in flaming red short military uniforms, with large lapels and two rows of copper buckles, which looked very lean.

Tang Hongchang turned his head to look at Zhang Dong and asked with his eyes whether it was the Dengzhou Army. Zhang Dong nodded slightly. Tang Hongchang was sure in his heart, he felt that he had chosen the right camp, and he heard that in addition to the army here, there was also a Dengzhou army of about 6,000 behind, if you count Dengzhou and southern Liaoning, it would be a terrible force. Tang Hongchang was different from the officials of the imperial court, as a businessman who had cooperated with the trading company for many years, he understood the power of the Four Seas trading company very well, and now witnessed this strong army with his own eyes. The original little wavering in my heart disappeared immediately.

The dragoons outside the city were divided into many teams, and went straight to the eight shops on the outskirts of the southern city, Tang Hongchang smiled proudly, this dragoon had his henchmen to lead the way, and he was very familiar with Zhangjiakou. Never miss a single one.

Two horseback Dengzhou Zhenfu soldiers galloped to the city gate, and said loudly to the city tower: "According to the order of the dragoon Zhong Qian, the eight merchants of Zhangjiakou Fort colluded with Jiannu and betrayed our army's military aircraft in exchange for Jiannu silver, causing the official army to lose soldiers and generals, the evidence is conclusive, today our army only arrested Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Guest, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, and Huang Yunfa. It has nothing to do with other people, only the people of the eight families who are slaves are arrested, and the rest of the autumn is not guilty. ”

One of the Fan family at the head of the city probed and scolded, "You." Where are you ordered, your Dengzhou soldiers and Guan Ning soldiers are obviously coming to Zhangjiakou to loot, but you dare to find Jiao Duye from Xuanfu to testify. ”

The two pacifiers ignored him and said to the others in the city, "Everyone else has listened. Jinyiwei is already on the way to Zhangjiakou, and the eight families who build slaves will definitely die. Whoever dares to be the enemy of our army will be killed immediately. Give you a quarter of an hour to evacuate the city, and those who resist in the city, both the army and the people, will be punished as slaves. My Dengzhou Army can even kill Jiannu Sanbeile, and try those who are not afraid of death. ”

After the suppression of the soldiers roared, they rode their horses and ran back, and the city head suddenly buzzed and discussed, and the guards of the other trading houses flinched a little, but there were officers and soldiers below, not as good as they usually dealt with horse thieves and bandits, and they fought against the government, not to mention the strongest Dengzhou soldiers and Guanning army. Seeing that these armies were not reasonable at all, many of the guards were retreating.

After a while, there was another exclamation from the city tower, two bronze cannons were unloaded a hundred steps behind, and the artillery pushed them towards the south gate, followed by several neat rows of red queues, shouting loud slogans as they walked, and the majestic momentum immediately subverted their perception of the officers and soldiers.

Huang Yunfa, one of the eight major merchants, was also at the head of the city, he begged the gatekeeper to let them not open the door, and the other merchants got together to discuss urgently, and Tang Hongchang was also surrounded by a few familiar merchants and exchanged views with each other.

At this time, a voice said loudly, "Listen to the old man, these guest soldiers want to rob us in Zhangjiakou, or they want to extort our goods." Our silver didn't fall from the sky, it was all hard-earned money, we should work together to defend the city, and wait for Jiao Duye to arrive outside the city, these Qiu Ba naturally didn't dare to make another time, and now they must not open the door......

Zhang Dong turned his eyes to see that a richly dressed businessman was shouting to the people around him, looking very excited.

"This man is Wang Dengku." Tang Hongchang whispered beside him, "Among the eight, it is second only to Fan Yongdou. ”

Zhang Dong nodded slightly and said coldly, "If something happens to me, you pretend not to know me." ”

Tang Hongchang was stunned, Zhang Dong had already waved his hand to a few of his subordinates, and several people pretended to listen to Wang Dengku's words and squeezed into the crowd over there together. Tang Hongchang looked around, found his head of the courtyard, and explained to him in a low voice, and the head soon Tang Hongchang's guards were all recruited to be on standby.

Wang Dengku's voice continued to sound, "Don't be afraid, their two cannons are very small, and they don't have a ladder to climb the city, we just need to guard the city gate, Jiao Duye will be there in a blink of an eye, everyone thinks about the family, put these Qiu Ba in, who can get good, otherwise they will ......"

As soon as he said this, there was a roar, a puff of white smoke rose from the crowd, Wang Dengku's voice turned into a scream, Tang Hongchang looked through the cracks, only to see Wang Dengku fall down from the sky, and there was a big chaos in the crowd, followed by two explosions, the sound of swords unsheathed on the city resounded, and the city defenders and the people's brave guards drew their swords one after another, guarding each other, and shouting one after another.

"Open the city gate, Lao Tzu is just a guard, not here to fight the official army, if you don't open the door, these Qiu Bayi will be ruthless, and put Lao Tzu in again." Zhang Dong's voice sounded in the direction of the city tower, Tang Hongchang tiptoed to look, and saw that Zhang Dong had already put a short sword on the neck of the city guard.

Wang Dengku's guards surrounded him one after another, holding swords to kill Zhang Dong, Zhang Dong put the blade on the neck of the commander, "Let your subordinates separate these people, otherwise Lao Tzu will kill you now." ”

The head was lifted high, and he hurriedly beckoned his men to gather outside. Block the guards. There was a lot of noise and chaos on the castle towers.

At this time, there was a cannon fire in the direction of the east gate, and the city tower suddenly quieted down, and everyone was looking in the direction of the east gate.

Tang Hongchang's eyes rolled, and he suddenly shouted, "Lao Tzu is gone, the Dengzhou soldiers can even kill Mang Gurtai, we can't stop it." Besides, Lao Tzu did not collude with Jiannu. Why do you give a few of you your life and leave! ”

As soon as he finished shouting, he took a group of guards down the city, and the other merchants around him took the lead and walked down the city one after another, these people were all human spirits. Seeing the posture of the Dengzhou army outside the city, they all know that they can't please it, as far as the current situation is concerned, not to mention Jiao Duye, even the emperor can't save the lonely city here, so it's better to gamble and believe in the Dengzhou soldiers.

Most of the people and guards at the head of the city suddenly dispersed, and Zhang Dong asked Wang Dengku's guards outside, "Wang Dengku is dead." Whoever you will bury with him, stay at the head of the city. ”

The guards looked at each other, and then at the short guns in the hands of the two people next to Zhang Dong, and finally someone left. He also went to the city staircase.

Zhang Dong smiled at the general manager: "Everyone is gone, can't you open the door now?" ”

"Open, open right away." ……

The south gate was opened before the time limit, and Dengzhou soldiers in short military uniforms poured into Zhangjiakou.

The east gate and the west gate are behind the Liao army's artillery bombardment of the gate. It was also opened one after another, and the Guan Ning army wearing red fat jackets entered the city separately. The three parties changed the chaos of the battle of the four cities, and each seized eight shops according to the demarcated area.

The Dengzhou dragoons were in charge of the entire southern city, with a total of three smuggling merchants, Wuxiangliao Town's Ningyuan soldiers and horses were in charge of the northwest, and there were also three, and You Shiwei's Shanhaiguan soldiers and horses were in charge of the northeast, and there were only two.

The Liao army was quite afraid of this Dengzhou soldier and did not cross the border to loot, but there were also cases of looting nearby shops. There were slowly some shouts of killing in the city, and there was even the roar of the red cannon.

Eight shops, warehouses, and mansions are the targets of cleanup, among which the account office, shopkeeper, and long-term workers need to be arrested, Zhang Dong quickly gathered a group of foreign guards in the city, these people are afraid that the world will not be chaotic, they are very familiar with the land and are not local people, and they can run away at any time after making a fortune.

The first target of the Dengzhou soldiers was Tian Shenglan's mansion, Zhou Shao'er's first company was equipped with a field gun to be in charge of here, the four-pounder cannon effortlessly smashed the gate, the first company swarmed in, the Tian family's guards had been scattered, and some headless fly-like servants and maids were screaming and running around.

The outer courtyard of the Tian family's mansion is very wide, the houses are carved and painted, and the colors of red and yellow are mostly used, among which the courtyards are heavy, and soldiers like Zhou Shao'er are not like the secret service team who have studied the courtyard structure, and they rush into it when they come in, and Zhou Shao'er is also dizzy inside, and when he encounters someone on the road, he will tie it up and send it to the outer courtyard, and he will be interrogated by Zhang Dong's people.

When he arrived at the north of the mansion, a servant who was knocked over thought he was going to kill him, and begged Zhou Shao'er loudly for mercy: "The general spares his life, the villain knows the silver cellar of the Tian family, and the villain leads the generals there." ”

The servant led them to an inconspicuous courtyard, where several strong dragoons smashed open the gate and found the entrance to the cellar.

In the light of the torches, the cellar was filled with reflections of gold and silver, and precious stones and emeralds shone in brilliant colors.

Brother Guan came down from the ladder and was also dumbfounded, Zhou Shao'er swallowed his saliva and said, "Seal the door and find the quartermaster to register." ”……

Before it got dark, the search in the city was not yet complete, and a steady stream of men, shopkeepers, bookkeepers, and long-term workers were escorted to the Tian family's mansion as a stronghold, and the goods of the other two families were also sent and piled up in the outer courtyard.

Wu Xiang changed into a scholar's uniform and came to see Song Wenxian with an elegant demeanor.

"Mr. Song, don't come unharmed."

Song Wenxian affectionately asked Wu Xiang to sit on the left seat, but Wu Xiang resolutely refused and insisted that Song Wenxian sit on the left side. Speaking of official positions, Song Wenxian is just a praise general, far worse than him, Wu Xiang is the actual chief military officer, and the governor of the left army is the same as the governor. But Wu Xiang didn't show face in front of Song Wenxian at all, the two met in Beijing, and later Song Wenxian came and went to Guanning many times, and they were already very familiar with each other.

Wu Xiang sat down and said to Song Wenxian: "Mr. Song is talented, Zhangjiakou profiteers are the head, Chen Zongbing should be the first, and then Mr. Song." ”

Song Wenxian asked his subordinates to serve tea, and after waving off his subordinates, he smiled at Wu Xiang and said: "This time, General Wu and You Zongbing have eliminated traitors for the country, and our two families have cooperated seamlessly, which is also the result of General Wu Bing's mediation in the middle. ”

Wu Xiang said a few words modestly, and then lowered his voice and said: "This time, the silver of the twelve families was seized, and a copy was left for Lord Chen, which was already outside the account, and Mr. Song was asked to transfer it to Lord Chen. ”

"Hey!" Song Wenxian waved his hand and said, "Lord Wu can't be like this, you and I are in our hearts, why do you have to fall into such a cliché." ”

Wu Xiang said with a stern face: "Mr. Song said this, that is, he has seen the outside, this is his mind, you also know, he is a rough person below, it is a little vulgar, but his intention is true, and I hope that Mr. Song will not dislike the rudeness of the lower officials." ”

"Where is this, hey, since this is the case, General Wu must not do this next time." Song Wenxian took the silver ticket with one hand, and put it in the cuff without looking at the specific amount, Wu Xiang was very sensible and did not give him the silver ticket of Sihai Qianzhuang, so it was easy for people in Dengzhou to know.

After Wu Xiang finished giving the gift, he began to get down to business, and after taking a sip of tea, he asked Song Wenxian: "Mr. Song, the people of all families in Zhangjiakou have been arrested, if you want to say that this is rich, it is an eye-opener even today, I heard that they still have semicolons in various places, and it is amazingly tight here, which shows how much black-hearted silver these people have indeed earned." ”

Song Wenxian smiled slightly, in fact, Liaozhen can agree to crack down on Zhangjiakou, there is another reason, that is, Wu Xiang also does border smuggling, Zhangjiakou suffered a heavy blow this time, Mongolia has a lot of purchases can only rely on Liaoxi, at least the market in Karaqin will be occupied by Wu Xiang, and Wu Xiang's goods are now mostly purchased from the Four Seas Trading Company, which is a double benefit.

Song Wenxian said: "Zhangjiakou has been trading for a long time, smuggling all kinds of materials to Jiannu, among the people we arrested, there are 23 Jiannu meticulous work, including seven Zhenyi, and it is estimated that there are more than ten people hidden everywhere, and the evidence is conclusive. ”

Wu Xiang's eyes rolled, he didn't know if Song Wenxian's twenty-three people were real, even if he didn't, Song Wenxian could sneak out of the captives more than twenty people, and it was okay to plant them on these eight families.

"Mr. Song, there is still a way in Jinyiwei, and there must be eight smugglers in the trial, those imperial histories can't say anything, but I always feel that there is something missing."

Song Wenxian patted his leg lightly and said: "It's really missing, the DPRK and China naturally have something to do with Zhangjiakou, now that people are in our hands, some unsightly things have been asked, you might as well write it down, and the important people will be arrested, and some people in the DPRK are willing to shut up." In addition, let's Dengzhou and Guanning deal with Liaodong in the west and in the south, and the imperial court doesn't need the old man to tell Lord Wu that this time they just dealt with these eight together, and it's not good to get too close, so let's go to the folds, talk about their own things, and finally, impeach each other, and it's all together. ”