Jinling, Ningguo Mansion
"Captain, the spies lurking in the Cheng family sent an urgent message. It seems that the Ma family has entered Yangzhou City and wants to rescue Ma Xianjun while the master is not in Yangzhou." Liu Jixian said solemnly.
"Prison robbery?" Jia Heng's eyes flashed and he looked at the sky outside. It was mid-afternoon and the sky was dark, as if there were dark clouds gathering and it was going to rain. He said in a low voice, "It's really lawless and unscrupulous!"
At the beginning, Lu Jingyao, the commander of Jinyidu, sent a group of detectives from Shenjing, but they were intercepted and killed by dead men of the Ma family or several other salt merchants. These people had shown signs of rebellion and rebellion against the party.
Chen Xiaoqing's eyes flashed, and she looked at the young man and reminded: "There are nearly ten thousand soldiers and horses in the Yangzhou camp, but only six or seven thousand can be used. At this moment, they are all sent out to block the ferry and search for criminals. You took them away again." Five hundred brocade clothes, Yangzhou didn't have many troops, and many Jiangbei generals had old friends with them. The two of them cooperated. As long as they robbed Ma Xianjun, they could escape by boat. At that time, the mastermind of this case escaped. , they will no longer be implicated, and they will be safe."
The previous capture of the Ma family's relatives required a lot of guards. In addition, the Yangzhou Salt Courtyard left some good men to protect Lin Ruhai. This was indeed a good opportunity in the eyes of the Yangzhou salt merchants.
Liu Jixian frowned and said, "General Jiangbei Camp gave convenience to the prisoners and let them go. Aren't you afraid that the governor will pursue him?"
"The southern soldiers do not know the strictness of military law and the power of the ax. Since I have been supervising the Jiangbei camp, I have always spoken kindly to them. You naturally have a lazy heart. They will not help the robbers, but turn a blind eye. If you close your eyes and escape easily, you won't have any psychological burden." Jia Heng's eyes were dark and he was not surprised.
After he took over the Jiangbei camp, he did not drastically eliminate the generals and soldiers.
There was a lot of consideration behind doing this. When we first arrived, surrounded by wolves, rashly radicalizing the army would only lead to mutiny among the generals and soldiers.
In fact, the fact that they did not take the opportunity to start a war now is the reason for the soft approach before.
As for Yangzhou salt merchants raising dead men, the Ma family had done nothing before. It was just because he suddenly attacked them that they were caught off guard. Ma Xianjun's two sons were on the run. They must either rob the prison to save people, or find dead men like tributes to assassinate Sun Ce. story.
If he was still in Yangzhou, with more than a thousand Jinyi followers, these people would not dare to act rashly, but now he left Yangzhou with 500 Jinyi followers and went to Yangzhou for business. In an instant, Yangzhou was empty, and the Ma family was ready to make a move.
The reason why he chose to come to Jinling was to see how the Ma family, or other families, would react.
They don't dare to make big troubles yet, but they will definitely keep making small moves.
"Where are Qu Guang's cavalry?" Jia Heng suddenly asked.
Henan Dusi mobilized troops, but the news had been blocked along the road before, and the Yangzhou side did not know about it.
Liu Jixian hurriedly replied: "The flying pigeons that came yesterday afternoon delivered the message. Qu Du commanded them to abandon the boat and travel day and night. Today we should hurry up to Pingshan in Yangzhou, and we can roll up our armor and enter the city tonight."
Qu Guang clearly wanted to show off in front of Jia Heng, so he abandoned the boat and headed for Yangzhou under the starry night.
"Prepare a clipper ship, and we will return to Yangzhou quietly to capture what they are doing. We will also send a message to Nie Hongfei Ge in Yangzhou, asking him to transfer the prisoners quietly, and be on guard secretly to prevent the news from leaking out. I want to see how many Yangzhou soldiers there are this time. I will connect with them in a grand manner." Jia Heng's face was gloomy and he made a decision immediately.
To fight against foreigners, one must first settle the internal affairs, and not attack the Jiangbei camp. They are just worried that the method will be too harsh and will not be able to organize the military affairs of the Jiangnan camp. But now that they do not know how to advance or retreat, they are helping the salt merchants release water, and it happens that the direct descendants of Henan are stationed.
Five thousand elite cavalry troops who had experienced the Central Plains War were enough to suppress Yangzhou Xiaoxiao.
Chen Xiao said: "Just a few of us?"
"That's enough. With more people, there will be more noise." Jia Heng said in a deep voice.
Although he went to Jinling, he still put 500 brocade clothes in Yangzhou Baihu Station, which was enough to deal with a small-scale prison robbery.
After a little resistance, Qu Guang's side
You can send troops to meet them, and then wipe them all out.
Jia Heng turned around and ordered Liu Jixian to secretly prepare the boat. He looked at Chen Xiao and warned, "Xiaoxiao, don't go. You stay here to protect Sister Lin."
Chen Xiaoxiu frowned, her clear eyes flickered, and she said softly: "There are guards in brocade robes here, so there is no danger. I will go with you."
go. "
If she didn't watch, he would be in danger.
Jia Heng looked at Chen Xiao's serious expression, pondered for a moment, and said softly: "That's good, we can also have one more helper."
Then, he turned around to the side room and turned to see Daiyu.
Daiyu was talking to Shui Xin in the room at the moment. The girl held the little Loli and taught Shui Xin how to solve the Nine Links.
At this moment, I heard the voice of Zicuckoo outside, saying, "Girl, Uncle Heng is here."
Not long after, Jia Heng was seen walking in from the outside. Under Daiyu's surprised eyes, he whispered softly: "Sister Lin, something happened over there in Yangzhou. I will go back to Yangzhou later."
Under Daiyu's smoky eyebrows, her starry eyes were slightly strange, and there was a look of worry on her pretty face. She asked, "Brother Heng, what happened? You are in such a hurry?"
Let Zijuan hold Shui Xin and go aside to talk. Jia Heng sat down next to Daiyu, took Daiyu's bare hand, and said softly: "Sister, don't worry, there's nothing wrong. I just need to go there."
Daiyu felt the look of solemnity lingering between Jia Heng's brows, and was extremely worried. However, when all the words came to her mouth, they only turned into one sentence, saying softly: "Brother Heng, please be careful."
Jia Heng gently put his arms around Daiyu's shoulders, hugged the girl's petite body into his arms, and said softly: "Sister Lin, wait until things are over in Yangzhou before we visit Jinling City."
Daiyu gently grabbed Jia Heng's hand and whispered: "Brother Heng, don't worry about these things. There are dangerous weapons and weapons outside. Brother Heng, please be more careful outside."
Jia Heng held Daiyu's face and said, "My sister has been at the house for the past two days, playing with Xinxin. Don't leave Ningguo Mansion. I have left some manpower outside to protect my sister."
"Yes." Daiyu nodded and agreed.
Suddenly, he saw a shadow approaching, that familiar warmth came over him again, and his cheeks turned as red as a cloud.
Jia Heng looked at the girl with starry eyes and said, "You tell Xinxin, I'm leaving."
Daiyu responded softly, her starry eyes slightly dewy, staring intently as she watched the young man leave the wing.
Jia Heng came out of Daiyu's room and looked at Chen Xiao, who had changed into a bamboo hat and green gauze clothes. His face was as calm as water, and he whispered: "Let's go."
Chen Xiao didn't say much, and left Jinling Ningguo Mansion with Liu Jixian and Jia Heng.
...
At the same time, in the Cheng family manor in Yangzhou, the back house was brightly lit, and there were longing figures in the study. Several strong men wearing black shorts, hats on their heads, and knives hanging from their waists stood solemnly.
In the study, Cheng Peili was talking to a tall young man, who was none other than Ma Xianjun's second son, Ma Zesheng.
He is in his early twenties, with a strong back and a fierce face. His calloused hands tightly grasp a large knife at his waist.
Cheng Peili said: "My dear nephew, your father was framed up in a confused way. I heard that he didn't say a word when he was tortured by the Jinyi Mansion. But I think my nephew has also heard about these methods of the Jinyi Mansion. If this continues, I'm afraid the consequences will be disastrous. .”
In fact, Ma Xianjun really didn't tip off Duoduo, but the smuggling trade was real, and Tushan happened to be the supplier, and Jia Heng suddenly got the handle.
Ma Zesheng looked angrily, with murderous intent in his eyes, and said: "Uncle Cheng, Jia Heng, this dog official, I must cut him into pieces!"
There were several hundred members of the Ma family. The men were arrested and tortured by the Jinyi Mansion, while the female family members were detained in a manor of the Ma family and were guarded by Tiqi from the Jinyi Mansion.
In an instant, the Ma family collapsed. After Ma Zesheng came back, one can imagine the resentment in his heart.
"My dear nephew, don't be impulsive. The top priority now is to rescue your father, then leave Yangzhou, and then make plans. The green hills are still there, so you don't have to worry about running out of firewood." Cheng Peili whispered.
road.
The so-called Cunning Rabbit Three Caves, the Ma family is also the general merchant of Yangzhou, and Ma Xianjun naturally has a back-up, and the back-up is his second son Ma Zesheng. Last year, he felt that the court was determined to rectify the salt affairs, so he let the smuggling business run on the coastal islands of Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province. Erzi, don't come back.
As the Ma family is engaged in smuggling business, they naturally have a lot of manpower, plus some of the dead men of the Ma family, there is a lot of manpower.
After Ma Xianjun was arrested, Ma Zesheng was shocked.
While summoning the dead soldiers in Yangzhou, he secretly observed the situation in Yangzhou, and then discovered that the Ma family had been killed by the imperial court.
They were all jailed and tortured, and then came to Cheng's house to inquire about the situation.
Then, the two families came up with a plan to rescue the people first and then discuss the rest later.
Ma Zesheng said coldly: "Uncle Cheng, there are not many guards in Jinyi Mansion in Yangzhou now. I have two to three hundred people under my command, all of whom are elites. Why don't we take the opportunity to massacre Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen tonight and kill Lin Ruhai to get revenge!"
Cheng Peili hurriedly said: "My dear nephew, we haven't reached that stage yet. It's better to save your father first, so as not to cause complications."
Attacking the Salt Academy in full view of the public and forcing a salt official to death would inevitably arouse the thunderous wrath of the imperial court and suppress it with an army.
Ma Zesheng's eyes were fierce and he said coldly: "Uncle Cheng, let's rescue my father from prison first. It won't be too late to settle these old scores later."
With that said, several people reconsidered their plan to rescue Ma Xianjun.
Because the generals of Yangzhou Jiangbei Camp had a good relationship with the Ma family, and they had obtained money from the Ma family and the Cheng family in advance, the problem of escaping after the kidnapping and rescue was made much easier.
All that's left is to deal with it. There are about three to four hundred Jinyi Mansion guards left by Jia Heng to guard the Ma family's criminal female relatives. They are all concentrated in the Yangzhou Hundred Household Office, and there are not many manpower.
Ma Zesheng brought two to three hundred good men this time, many of whom were able to infiltrate the officers and soldiers of the Jiangbei camp, and then he was able to sneak into Yangzhou city.
After Ma Xianjun's son led a few people away, a person turned around from the screen, who was clearly Huang Cheng and Bao Zuhui.
The so-called rabbit bites people when it is anxious. The Wang family may not say it, but it may be cleaner. However, the Cheng, Huang, and Bao families who have done smuggling business with the Ma family may have smelled the potential crisis, and if they do not save Ma Xianjun, Anyone involved will be in trouble.
Bao Zuhui said worriedly: "Lao Cheng, why does this look so unreliable? If that person named Jia is caught, he will implicate us all."
"Old Bao, do you think that the things we did can really be verified? Many of those smuggling boatmen were caught today, as well as the Ma family's servants and buddies who escorted the goods. They can all talk about it. Are you strict? When it comes time to shake it off, none of our three families will be able to escape." Cheng Peili said coldly.
"But didn't Mr. Wang go to Jinling to look for help?" Huang Cheng also hesitated and said with some lingering fears.
I regretted endlessly that I shouldn't have accepted Cheng Peili's invitation before. Who would have thought of secretly planning to rob the prison.
Cheng Peili said: "Mr. Wang thought that with the support of those people from Jiangnan, he could sit back and relax, but he was totally wrong. Besides, the old horse fell into their hands. We have not taken action. How could we know that he is not disappointed? We really want to shake off the salt warehouse. It’s a bad debt, and we’re also screwed.”
As he said that, looking at the increasingly ugly expressions on the two people's faces, he said solemnly: "If you take a step back now, you will die, and if you take a step forward, you will die! No matter what, it's both death."
Anyway, he has already sent his two sons away with his confidants, and the property left in the name of his son-in-law in Hangzhou and other places over the years is enough for the family to make a comeback in the future.
When Bao Zuhui heard this, he sighed and said, "How did this get to this point? This guy is not in trouble yet. We are going to rob the prison. Why is this getting bigger and bigger?"
Cheng Peili said: "Judge Huang and Hu Shen have already taken care of things there. They will go from Pingshan to Shaobo Lake, and then take a detour to the sea."
I thought to myself, look at how cowardly you are. From now on, you might as well sit at the children’s table when eating.
"Why not just take the waterway?" Bao Zuhui asked with a frown. Huang Cheng thought for a while, then took over the conversation and said: "I think the waterway blocked the ferry, and the people were clearly visible from the water.
Along the way, the generals and colonels of the Jiangbei camp were afraid of being killed, so they didn't want to. "
Bao Zuhui said worriedly: "After saving this person, the Jinyi Mansion will track down and torture him..."
Huang Cheng also had a look of worry on his face. No one knew about Jinyi Mansion's methods.
Cheng Peili comforted him and said, "Don't worry, Old Bao. If he goes on a killing spree, Jiangnan will be shocked. If those people in Jinling impeach him, he won't be able to stay in Yangzhou for long."
And just as a few people were making intensive preparations, night fell and the sky became dark--
Jia Heng also took a speedboat, accompanied by Liu Jixian and Chen Xiao, dressed in casual clothes, and quietly returned to Yangzhou City.
Yangzhou Hundred Household Office
It was already midnight, when people feel sleepy. There were only a few sparse stars in the sky. Under the doorway, a lantern with the words "Jinyi Mansion" printed on it was swaying in the wind. The sky was dark and moonless.
In the sky, sometimes summer night raindrops fell, and suddenly there seemed to be a strong wind. In the misty rainy night, a large number of people appeared from the streets and alleys.
The dark shadow slid along the wall and approached the house of hundreds of households.
Dozens of black shadows rushed through the peeling red door of Yangzhou Baihu House and entered the courtyard with high green walls.
Ma Zesheng looked at the bright lights in the official hall inside, his face was gloomy, his eyes were bloodshot, and he said in a deep voice: "Old Ding, you go to the backyard to save people, and I will kill all these imperial eagle dogs!"
The retinue named Lao Ding led the men towards the torture chamber in the backyard of Jinyi Mansion.
Because he spent a lot of money in advance to buy the people of Jinyi Mansion Baihu Office, and got the internal layout of Yangzhou Baihu Office and the place where Ma Xianjun was imprisoned, he rushed directly to the execution room. But...it came to nothing!
Ma Xianjun drew his sword and led the sailors behind him towards the duty room of the Baihu Office.
At this moment, among the hundreds of households in Jinyi, they didn't know if they heard the noise outside, and they seemed to be on guard.
As if by chance, the lights suddenly went out, and then pine oil torches suddenly appeared on the eaves on both sides. In an instant, the lights were brightly lit, and a figure suddenly appeared. On top of it stood Nie Hong, a member of the Hundred Households of Jinyi House in Yangzhou. , and hundreds of households in the capital's brocade robes responded, leading fifty or sixty crossbowmen, saying: "Fire the arrows!"
"Push!!!"
With a groan of pain, the people led by Ma Zesheng lived up to their reputation as "elite". After being hit by arrows and falling to the ground, more than a dozen of them retreated towards the archway and the eaves of the corridor.
Not long after, a large number of Jinyi captains poured out from the wing rooms in all directions, wielding embroidered spring knives to kill the pirates led by Ma Zesheng, and countless shouts of killing came from outside Jinyi Mansion.
Because Fei Ge's biography stated that the Jiangbei camp was no longer reliable, Nie Hong only used the manpower from Yangzhou Jinyi Baihu Office, plus the Tiqi from Jinyi Mansion in Shenjing, a total of three to four hundred people, divided into front and rear Two waves, ready to surround and suppress the prison robbers.
Seeing this scene, Ma Zesheng's pupils shrank sharply, he clenched the saber in his hand, and the servant beside him said urgently: "Sir, Jinyi Mansion is on guard!"
Ma Zesheng calmed down, waved the weapon in his hand, and said, "Don't panic, there aren't many of them, kill them!"
He stepped forward with his sword and fought with a Jinyi captain on the spot. Ma Zesheng was extremely brave, but the Jinyi captain was defeated in just a few blows. He screamed and fell to the ground, with gurgling blood flowing out of his neck.
"Bing Pong Pong..."
The sounds of clashing weapons and groans of pain echoed one after another, and along with the loud shouts of killing, the entire courtyard of hundreds of households in Yangzhou was filled with the sound of killing, which gradually spread farther in the quiet rainy night.
However, because the city of Yangzhou was originally very large and the hundreds of households in Yangzhou were located in a slightly remote area, the sound of nearly a thousand people fighting could only be heard in one city area.
But even so, as time passed, it once again caused panic in the people of Yangzhou, wondering what happened in the city.
After fighting for about a while, Ma Zesheng's deputy, Lao Ding, came running from a short distance away with blood all over his body. His voice was clearly panicked, and he gasped: "Sir, the master is not in the execution room, we have been deceived!"
At this moment, Ma Zesheng already knew that Jinyi was on guard. He was covered in blood. He killed a Jinyi captain and fought back. His eyes were bloodshot and he roared: "Quickly leave!"
Because Ma Zesheng brought more than 200 fierce bandits, they were divided into two groups to respond to each other, although Nie Hong, a hundred households in Jinyi Mansion, ambushed them.
There was a big difference in manpower between the two sides, but they did not form an overwhelming advantage.
The main reason is that Yangzhou Baihu Station has insufficient troops, while soldiers from the Jiangbei Camp are blocking the ferry and searching for Duduo's hiding place under the leadership of Jinyi Mansion.
And just a stone's throw away from hundreds of households in Yangzhou, Jia Heng hurried over on horseback, leading Liu Jixian, Chen Xiao and five or six Jinyifu school captains.
"Captain, it's a killing cry!" Liu Jixian whispered from his side, his face as cold as iron.
Jia Heng looked at the shadowy figures in front of the Baihu House in Yangzhou and said in a deep voice: "We are here just in time, kill them!"
Pulling out the embroidered spring knife from his waist, he drove the horse and killed the hundreds of households in Yangzhou in the distance.
Seeing this, Chen Xiao and Liu Jixian, together with several Jinyi captains behind them, all galloped to follow.
At this moment, Ma Zesheng was leading a group of brothers to rush out with a fierce momentum. After a while, he was attacked by the Jinyi Colonel who was attacking from both sides.
Gradually, in the thin encirclement of Jinyi's guards, he gradually fought his way to the long street, leading twenty or thirty brothers to flee towards the streets.
At this moment, they heard the sound of horse hoofs "tacking". Ma Zesheng and a few people around him couldn't help but follow the sound. They saw a fast horse approaching. The young man on the horse was holding an embroidered spring knife, and lanterns were swaying from the houses on both sides. The candlelight illuminated a dazzling sword light.
"brush!"
When the sword came, Ma Zesheng was startled and raised his sword to resist. He heard a "clang" sound, the sword came out of his hand, and the man was knocked backwards like a kite with its string broken.
