Although Weng You, Pan An, and Qian Bao didn't understand it very well, the emperor personally conferred the military guerrilla, but it was solid. This kind of dragon grace, which gang and faction in the rivers and lakes have endured! Moreover, they also set the number of apprentices to open their own halls and accept apprentices, and the number of ships allowed to bring grain, and the establishment of the gate is an iron-clad 10,000-year-old camp. With this golden signboard, you can travel on the Yangtze River and canals, and connect with the government. Not to mention the Axe Gang, the Lantern Festival, the Wusheng Old Mother's Association, the Wuwei Gang, the Tongyuan Sect, the Zhengyang Sect, and the Baiyang Sect, which are the largest gangs in the Hongmen world, have suddenly become the Pheasant Gang...... All three of them were so excited that their faces were red, and they kowtowed in thanks.

"Go down, your senior brothers will discuss it again, and you must make a gang rule." Qianlong said with a smile, "You are a gang of rivers and lakes, you should follow your true colors, don't play the brand of the court everywhere, don't rely on official power to bully people, only help the court manage the grain, assist the local officials to do some things to arrest bandits and thieves, and take care of public security, if you do a good job, I will naturally reward you." Li Wei will be sick this time, and the big things in the future will be for him, trivial affairs, and Liu Tongxun will take care of them - go! After the three of them withdrew in succession, Qianlong turned his face and asked Li Wei: "Is it good for me to deal with it like this?" ”

Li Wei knew in his heart that Qianlong didn't want all the gangs and factions on the rivers and lakes to be safe at all. The imperial court wanted to spend no money or a soldier to reap the benefits of the fishermen who fought with various gangs - such a high-level disposal, such a far-sighted scheming, and he was able to cook freely in a hurry! Although Li Wei understood Qianlong's intentions in his heart, he didn't dare to break it. Hurriedly replied: "The master has arranged it very well! However, the Hong Gang is much more powerful than them, and it seems that they should also be appeased. ”

"You should take care of your illness, don't think nonsense." Qianlong didn't answer Li Wei's words, got up with a smile, and personally cushioned Li Wei's pillow, "I can trust you, what's the matter with a few gossips in the court?" He turned his face to Cui'er and said, "Don't keep it in your heart if you have something in the future, look for Lafayette and fall, and I will know." ”

Li Wei was very moved in his heart, and when he saw that Qianlong was leaving, he hurriedly said: "Master, the slave is confused, and he forgot one thing to play." Qianlong turned around and stared at Li Wei, but there was no squeak. Li Wei hurriedly said: "Fang Cai Pan An told the servants that Prince Li had invited the three of them to a banquet and rewarded each of them with a hundred taels of gold. He also said that the people who guarded the food of the Green Gang were all stragglers, and they should each receive 300 disciples, and he would give them a monthly example...... I asked them to help me procure something, and the minions couldn't remember it clearly. ”

"Oh." Qianlong glanced thoughtfully out the window, smiled faintly, and said, "I know." This is also Honghui's kindness, you can rest in peace, and if there is anything to write in. ”

Liu Tongxun received the holy decree to execute the criminal Liu Kang, and immediately went to the signing room to find Shi Yizhi, but saw that Qian Du was talking to Shi Yizhi, and as soon as he stepped through the door, he smiled and said, "What are you anxious about?" Li Wei was only fined for three years, you were just a clerk at the time, and you were a circumstantial witness in the case. There is a sin of 'ought', and the recurrence is certain. I saw Fu Liuye yesterday, he was going to Shanxi, and said that you are familiar with the criminal name and want to take you there. I said that Qian Du's matter is not over yet, the sixth master fought first, and killed the Dai Dai Peak, and he will probably recover. Qian Du stood up, listened respectfully, and said, "Shi Da Si Kou said the same thing. Thank you for your cultivation! ”

"Qian Du, what's wrong?" Shi Yi was surprised and said, "Fang Cai and I are still talking and laughing, and I am so polite when I see you!" Liu Tongxun smiled: "But yes, we are very casual on weekdays, who knows what evil he is?" Qian Du realized that he was out of shape at this time, and said with a smile: "I have been a prisoner of Yanqing Gong for more than half a month, and I am scared when I am used to it." Your face was like this—" he twitched his cheek and shook his head, "I still think about it like a nightmare." Shi Yizhi and Liu Tongxun couldn't help but smile when they saw the way he was learning, and Shi Yizhi sighed: "The system of poultry is in the air, it's really true." When I was a child, I heard my great-grandmother say that the big locust tree in front of the temple in our land there became a fine and confusing passers-by. The two carpenters were drunk, one carrying a saw on his back, the other carrying an axe, and shouted loudly all the way: 'Xiuguan Emperor Temple lacks a beam, go, cut down the locust tree on Dog Day, and sure enough, the locust tree turned into a puff of smoke and fled-Qian Du is not that tree, Liu Tongxun is naturally a carpenter!' ’”

The three of them laughed a few words, and Qian Du saw that the two chief officials of the Criminal Department were about to discuss matters, so he got up and said goodbye. Liu Tongxun stopped and said, "You are an old criminal, it's not too late to go after you think about it." Then he told Qianlong that he was determined to punish Liu Kang with Ling Chi and heart-splitting to commemorate He Luying, and said: "There is no heart-splitting punishment in the Qing Dynasty law, who will do this work?" With such a punishment, people from all over Beijing will come to see it, how can order be maintained? ”

Shi Yizhi has a good character, but he doesn't have many ideas, so he thought about it with tea: "What do so many people want to do when you torture?" It is better to ask for an order, according to the example of the first emperor to kill Zhang Tinglu, and ask the civil and military officials to watch the punishment, and the people will not be allowed to enter, which will inevitably cause a lot of trouble. ”

"Da Si Kou's idea is up, and the emperor refutes it." Qian Du said, "The emperor made a big deal this time, and he said behind someone's back that the emperor and the first emperor are not together, and he wants to use this case to plug those people's mouths." The previous will clearly says, 'To the public and clear,' and in this sense, how can this be revealed without the people seeing? According to my idea, I will not kill at the vegetable market. Find a feng shui place, the terrain is lower: one can bury the He Daotai, and the other can be tortured in front of the grave and pay tribute on the spot. People are crowded because they can't be seen, the surrounding terrain is high, they can be seen, and the Shuntianfu Protector is also easy, so there will be no accidents. ”

Shi Yi thought about it and felt very reasonable. "Sacrifice to the heart" is naturally in front of the grave, and it is not good to pull He Luying's coffin to the entrance of the vegetable market to be sacrificed, so he smiled and said: "Just do it." Yin Yang of the Shuntian Mansion was once a decision, and he also handled it together. He was imprisoned by Tongxun. However, the executioner who was not able to be found for a while. Liu Tongxun said with a smile: "As soon as the trial is over, I no longer have the identity of Qincha. It's up to you to be the warden. It's easy to do things on a red business trip, and if you find someone who has done Ling Chi's punishment, you won't be soft! Shi Yi was born as a weak scholar, he was in charge of the Criminal Department for a short time, he had never been imprisoned, and he was really a little afraid of seeing such torture, and when he heard Liu Tongxun say it easily, he couldn't help but shudder and said: "It's better for you to be imprisoned." There is no will from above to remove you! ”

"I went in to see the emperor and asked the saint if he wanted to come to the execution ground to see in person, and the master said, 'The gentleman is not close to the kitchen'." Liu Tongxun said with a smile, "It seems that you are also a 'gentleman', afraid of hearing the wailing of cattle and sheep." If you exterminate the principles of heaven like Liu Kang, I will be at ease if I slaughter a hundred of them! Qian Du said on the side: "People say that the first emperor was strict by nature, but he was actually very benevolent. Zhang Tinglu cut down in the waist that day, a knife down, the upper body was still squirming, and the first emperor wrote seven "miserable" words in a row with his hands, and since then the waist cut has been abolished forever. In the Yongzheng Dynasty, there were only people who raided the house and killed not many people. The prison officials were afraid of being killed. In fact, in the former Ming Dynasty, Ling Chi and chopping were commonplace. When Wei Zhongxian was killed, 17,333 knives were ordered. On the first day, only 3,000 knives were cut, the scales were broken to the calf, and at night they were taken to the cell to continue cutting. This kind of thing should be seen more often. It doesn't matter if you see too much. ”

Qian Du said it with relish, and spat everywhere. Shi Yizhi's face turned pale when he heard this, and his palms were full of cold sweat.

The room was silent for a while, and the three of them were silently comparing the characteristics of Yongzheng and Qianlong's administration.

"So be it." I don't know how long it took for Liu Tongxun to wake up from his stunnedness, "It's all settled, I'll arrange it." As he spoke, he got up, and Qian Du got up to say goodbye and came out with Liu Tongxun.

Qian Du did not go to see the scene of Liu Kang's execution. Liu Kang's case is usually the one who was evacuated and awaiting investigation, and now that the case is cleared, he has to seek revenge quickly. He didn't have a deep personal relationship in Beijing, and he went to Fu Heng's house a few times, Fu Heng was going to Shanxi on a business trip, and the guests at home were constant, and he couldn't stick to the side at all. Li Wei was punished, but his illness got better, and he went to visit him several times, but he only comforted him a few words. Li Wei didn't care anymore and said something that didn't hurt. Qian Du spent more than 20 days in boredom, and he had to wait for the officials to draft a ticket, but he didn't dare to run around; He was anxious to know the news, so he was restless and couldn't distinguish between the five tastes. On the first day of the first month of March, the ticket for the resumption of the Ministry of Officials finally came, and he still returned to the Criminal Department and served as the director of the Autumn Trial Division. Qian Du was relieved at this time, and was busy reporting to the ministry, meeting Shi Yizhi and Liu Tongxun, and then going to the department to mingle, inviting colleagues to eat and drink, and arranging official affairs, so that his heart calmed down. Calculating that Le Min was going to Jiangnan, it was almost time to leave, and this was the person who needed to be counted, so he prepared twenty taels of broken silver, and took the bamboo silk sedan chair to the Zhangjia butcher shop in the west of Xuanwu Gate.

At this time, it is the spring of March, the wind and the sun are warm, the vegetables on both sides of the road are verdant, the willows are hanging down, a bay of streams meanders to the south, and the grass on the shore is green. Thinking back to what he had suffered for more than a month, the evacuation, lock-up, passing through the hall to listen to the investigation, the sound of fire sticks throwing on the ground, the sound of the board knocking on the meat, the sound of the prisoner's horn, and the sound of the intimidation of the wood, the sound was still in his ears, and Qian Du was like waking up from a nightmare. Now that I am in this bright world, the spring breeze is blowing on my face, so comfortable. From a distance, I saw the black cloth of Zhang's butcher shop hidden in the willow shade, and there was an endless stream of green men and red women going back and forth, it was the time to do business, but there was no soup pot meat case in front of the door, and the door of the store was not wide open, only two door openings flashed, as if there were people at home. Qian Du waited for the sedan chair to stop, got down, walked forward, faintly heard the sound of a woman crying inside, and there seemed to be an old lady chattering and persuading, he increased his pace, and asked loudly: "Is Master Le here?" ”

"Who?" Zhang Mingkui's chubby face flashed at the door, and he immediately put on a smile, and greeted him with a smile: "It turned out to be Master Qian, congratulations on your official reinstatement!" Le Ye went out early this morning and went to the crooked neck tree Cao Ye's house—please come in—I should have asked you to say hello. Qian Du half-pushed and half-bowed to Zhang Mingkui on the spot, followed into the house, and saw Yu'er sitting in front of the case where he usually chopped meat, bowing his head and not speaking. Qian Du was very strict at home because his wife was very strict, and he only glanced at women from afar. At this moment, Yu'er was surprised to find Yu'er's beauty when she was close to her: her brows seemed to be frowning, her small nose was pursed with a pair of small lips, the two dimples on her cheeks looked very charming, only her eyes were red from crying, and her hands were turning over and over and rubbing the corners of her clothes. Qian Du couldn't help but move in his heart, and said with a smile: "The jade girl is getting more and more standard!" Why are you crying? Is it because Brother Le is going to go far away? ”

"I have to go with the whole family, this tough girl!" The old woman sighed angrily and said, "Go to Nanjing!" The family is not familiar with the place. He is a guest again, can he help our family of four? Even if Lord Yin takes us in, we are a pig killer and meat seller, and speaking of which, it will be a shame for Le Ye. Before she finished speaking, Xiaoyu covered her mouth with a handkerchief and went to the backyard room in a hurry, Zhang Mingkui just shook his head and said: "It's not like it, it's really not like it......" He was very loyal and simple.

Qian Du took out the twenty taels of silver from his arms, took out his sleeves, and put ten taels of silver tickets that were redeemed at the sight of the ticket, and put them on the ticket together, and said: "This silver is the coil of the spare flowers on the road I sent to Brother Le, you can go into the city and redeem it, and add some makeup to the jade girl." Brother Le may go to Yin Zhongcheng's place this time, or maybe go back to Beijing to take the exam. I think he and the jade sister have affection, and I want to follow what I say, while Brother Le has not left, they will do their happy event as soon as possible. You can't leave the hot land, so you took the jade girl to the south, which is also the best of both worlds. ”

"That's not going to work." Zhang Mingkui went against the norm of Pu Ne, and said in a very firm tone, "I asked a few people to take a look, and the lives of the two people are not right." Le Ye's life is hard, and he has to be safe for Lianke's two wives. I know that Le Ye's character is good, but I feel even more distressed about my daughter. They said that if you go south or not, I didn't think about it at all. Crazy women and daughters, you have to listen to me! The old woman said: "How many times have our mothers discussed, and you have listened to them all by the side, why don't you speak?" Fate is not right. The first children said that there is a way to crack it...... I don't approve of going to Nanjing, and I don't approve of you saying this either-those who know the roots, and they are the down-and-out reading seeds of good people, where to choose such a good son-in-law? "It's all, and I'm too lazy to talk to you." Zhang Mingkui's reunion face was not angry or happy, and said lightly, "Let's treat Le Ye with kindness, and Le Ye also helped us, I can see it." In the future, if Le Ye makes a fortune and helps us or not, it depends on his intentions, I don't care. When it comes to marriage, it's another thing. Woman's family, what are you messing about! ”

Qian Du has been here a few times, and every time he comes, he sees this butcher with kind eyebrows and a loyal face, as if everything can be discussed, and then he can see that the trivial matters of this family seem to be the old woman in charge, and the big things still have to listen to the old man. With an idea in his heart, Qian Du got up and said: "When they went to Xishan, they must have made an appointment to eat and drink, but they won't be able to come back for a while." Please tell Master Le that I have been here, and there is correspondence with him in the left and right departments, which is very convenient, and I will not send it when I leave tomorrow. If you want to go with you, you will not say anything. If I want to stay in Beijing, although I am a poor Beijing official, I am better than you, so I will naturally take care of you. As he spoke, he went out and got on the sedan road back to the ministry.

"Master Qian is good to go!"

Zhang Mingkui hurried out to see him off, turned around and went to the door panel, and said to the old woman: "You call Yu'er to come over, I have something to say to her." Before the old woman could go, Yu'er had already come in through the back door, looked at Zhang Mingkui with a black face, sat on the small pestle and said, "What's the matter?" Zhang Mingkui took a few puffs of cigarette and said with emotion: "I know your heart. ”

"What?"

"Your mother looks at Lemin well, and you want to follow him too."

"Daddy!"

"The three of us are talking behind closed doors, what are we ashamed of? Do you still have to turn around? Zhang Mingkui spat out a puff of smoke. Do you think I believe in eight characters? My life and your mother are at odds, what's the matter? I told your mother a few times behind this matter, but now I have explained it thoroughly, the door is too far apart, the foundation is not the same, and the ambition is not the same, so there is no good result in this matter! ”

The old woman swallowed helplessly and said, "Dead eyes! Isn't he down? ”

"That's what I'm going to say." Zhang Mingkui said gloomily, "What you have is this heart: the son rescued the poor girl in distress, and then the title of the gold list was decreed to complete the marriage - you are fascinated by watching the play, and you forgot that it is a play!" Our ancestors had an old aunt and grandmother, and at that time, our family had not yet asked Wanli Ye to copy the house, and he was still an official in the court. The girls didn't go out, and only occasionally called a team to come into the house to act, and she was fascinated, thinking that the champion was like that. In the twenty-seventh year of Wanli's scientific examination, the old man came back from the next dynasty and said that the current champion was only twenty-six years old and had not yet married. The old lady rushed to say: 'Look at the eight characters, if it is right, the fourth girl said to him, isn't the right age?' The fourth aunt was a pampered woman, and immediately said to the old lady, 'It's blind to marry a champion'. urged the old man to recruit this son-in-law, who wants to enter the cave room As soon as the two meet, the champion is five big and three thick, black like a reincarnation of Zhou Cang, fat like Lu Zhishen in "Water Margin", and his face is still a ** ......" Speaking of this, the old woman was already smiling and bent down, and Yu'er couldn't help but smile and smack.

"There's nothing laughing about that. My aunt and grandmother hanged themselves that night. Zhang Mingkui sighed, "Saying that you and Le Ye are pure plays, is not my sincerity." I am very happy that he wants to live in our house and be my son-in-law—but that's not the case! Look at those who are officials, among the three rooms and four concubines, how many are not as good as their mother's family? Are you going to keep the surname Le's unpleasant? When you become an official, your heart is dark, what can't you do? It's better to talk about it today and disperse it, and it's good to have a thought in the future. Dad is just this one girl, one son, full of love for you, and there is no one to pit you. If you say it clearly, if you really want to follow him, it's up to you. ”

The old woman was already convinced, and felt that this was really experienced. When she got married, her husband was in his thirties, and he only knew that he read a book and burned a book, and several bookshelves were empty, and he was converted into a butcher after a few years. When paying attention, her husband has to quietly go to the grave of Zhang Lao Xianggong (Zhang Juzheng) every Qingming to sprinkle wine and pay tribute. Today, Zhang Mingkui revealed his breath, and only then did he guess the foundation of his ancestors clearly, so he let out a long sigh and said: "Peace is a blessing." I think your dad is right, too. However, if Le Xianggong is not an official, Yu'er can still follow him. ”

"Whether he is an official or not, I am all his." Yu'er's eyes were full of tears, and she said stubbornly: "I already thought that he was my husband in my heart, and I didn't hear anyone say that it would end up from the beginning?" Dad, you're not right! Why are you talking to me about this? I hate you to death! In fact, the reason and emotion in her heart were fighting, and she didn't know whether she won or lost, so she rushed all her resentment to her father.

Zhang Mingkui held the pipe that had long been extinguished, and his deep eyes flashed faintly. After a long time, he said: "I know you must have said so, this is your unfinished fate, and Confucius will not convince you." Earlier, I looked at the crooked neck tree in the west, Cao Xianggong, who was so knowledgeable that he couldn't climb it. The better the article, the more life-damaging. I don't really want Yu'er and Fangqing to suffer that sin. Alas...... If there is love in the sky, the sky will be old! He put his hands behind his back and stared at the corner of the old house with a melancholy gaze and said nothing.

After the afternoon, Le Min came back drunk, and as soon as he entered the door, he vomited on the ground, and the old woman and her son were busy fetching water to wash his face, sweep the ashes of the stove, and boil the soup. Yu'er cleaned up the kang for his house, served him to lie down, listened to him snore and slept, took a needle and thread and sat beside him to work. He lemin slept soundly, and he didn't wake up until the palm lamp, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that Yu'er was concentrating on the soles of his shoes, but he didn't squeak, and he looked at them in a daze for a long time before sighing.

"Surprise me!" Yu'er hurriedly got off the kang, poured a cup of herbal tea from the pot, and handed it to Le Min, while saying, "Eat with Cao Xueqin and get drunk once, if you are not an opponent, you can do less!" - When did you wake up? ”

"I've been awake for a while, and I've been watching you."

"Look at me?" Yu'er looked at herself, "You haven't seen me?" ”

"Watching the flowers under the lamp naturally has a special mood."

Yu'er blushed, took a sip, saw Le Min lying down again, patted him lightly on the forehead with the sole of his shoe, and said, "You don't read Qin Huai Fengyue poems all day long." I thought it would be enough to meet Li Xiangjun and Liu Ru this time! Le Min pillowed his hands and said with a smile: "Really, I thought about it, I didn't consult you, go to Nanjing with me, right?" Yu'er threaded the needle and said, "Just take me one?" ”

"Hmm."

The needle pricked Yu'er's hand, and the blood beads immediately oozed out. She sucked with her mouth, rethreaded the needle, and while holding her shoes, she said:

"Brother Lego."

"Hmm."

"Will you remember me?"

"What are these words?"

"If I don't go with you," Yu'er asked with a little sadness, "will you remember me?" Lemin smiled: "I'll tell your father tomorrow morning that I will definitely take you there." I'm afraid your mother will be reluctant. You follow me every day, what do you remember or not, what a stupid thing! Yu'er pursed her lips and smiled, and after a while, she lowered her head and said, "You are all people with status when you come and go to the government over there...... I'm afraid. ”

Le Min turned over and sat up, took a sip of tea, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Uncle Fu is really the leader of the elegant people. The recommended letters written are all bluntly said, and if you can't take the exam in Beijing in the next subject, you will take the road of Xueqin, and go to the Guozijian Sect and Education Department first, and it is the right way to choose it! If you go, I'll open your face, and I'm also a person with status, what are you afraid of? One person is blessed to carry a house, I am an official, you are naturally my aunt's wife, who dares to despise you? Speaking of this, he paused and asked in surprise: "What's wrong with you, you are still smiling like you first, this is so pale and frightening!" ”

"Nothing." Yu'er watched the candle shadow sway with frightened eyes, slowly stood up, packed up the work in her hand, and said in a trembling voice, "It's all a joke, my brother is so young, my family can't leave me." I'll pack up your things for you in the next two days. All you have to do is run for your future - I've got to go and make medicine for my dad. After saying that, he lowered his head and walked out. Lemin didn't wake up from the wine, he was stunned for a while, took another sip of tea, and fell asleep.