A shrill scream came from the right compartment, and Yan Qing's ears felt like chills.
"Are you going to tell me?" A sharp voice came out, "Chop off his fingers one by one."
"Ah, have mercy on me." Xu Hong's scream was like a ghost's howl, and no human voice could be heard.
Yan Qing recalled with horror that a minion had his fingers chopped off during a robbery a few years ago and was rolling on the ground in pain.
Unable to help but tremble all over, Yan Qing knew that after asking Xu Hong, it would be his turn.
The loud voice came out again, "River pirates? Whose men are they? How many are there and where is their lair?"
Yan Qing was shocked. This guy Xu Hong has tricked him. What should he do? He asked himself what he should say later?
"If he refuses to say anything, hey, come here, dig out his left eye."
The screams were harsh and stopped midway through. Yan Qing felt her lower body heat up and peeed out of fear.
The footsteps gradually approached, and Yan Qing trembled into a ball. If he hadn't been tied to the pillar, he would have collapsed on the ground.
Liu Zhong walked into the house and saw the urine stains on the ground. He smiled disdainfully and said, "Coward. Are you going to confess honestly or do you want to imitate that kid who chopped off your hands and gouged out your eyes?"
Yan Qing rolled his eyes and fainted.
After pouring cold water on his head, Yan Qing woke up faintly. The face that frightened him came closer and said with a smile: "Don't worry, it's freezing cold. I'm stupid enough to make a charcoal fire. Let's barbecue."
The charcoal fire glowed red. Liu Zhong picked up a red charcoal with iron chopsticks and held it out in front of Yan Qing.
A burning sensation hit his face, Yan Qing tried his best to shrink his head back, Liu Zhong said: "Tell me, was it the merchant ship you robbed last night?"
"Ah", Yan Qing just wanted to shake his head, but immediately thought that if Xu Hong hadn't recruited him, how would the officials know about the ship hijacking?
Looking at the approaching charcoal fire in horror, Yan Qing hurriedly shouted: "Yes, yes."
Liu Zhong put the charcoal fire to his mouth and blew on it. The sparks fell on Yan Qing's face, making him tremble.
"Tell me, when did you join the gang? How many merchant ships have you robbed?" Liu Zhong stuffed the charcoal back into the charcoal basin and said, "If what you said is different from that kid, you will first chop off your fingers and then gouge out your eyes."
Yan Qing's mind flashed with Xu Hong's bloody and dying appearance, and he said in a panic: "Master, my servant joined the gang three years ago and has not robbed a few ships."
Liu Zhong was secretly happy that he finally opened the mouth of the thief. It seemed that An Xuan's guess was good.
The torture of Xu Hong just now was just an act. At first it was Xu Hong's voice, but later it was the clerk Xu Jing who blocked Xu Hong's mouth.
"What happened to the ship hijacking last night?" Liu Zhong asked.
As soon as Yan Qing hesitated, Liu Zhong picked up the iron chopsticks from the basin, and the tips turned red.
Liu Zhong smiled ferociously and said, "Do you want me to put a hole in your body?"
"No, my lord, please spare my life, as the servant said." Yan Qing, without caring about anything else, told the story of the ship hijacking in detail.
Liu Zhong asked nonchalantly: "What is your font size?"
Yan Qing had lost his ability to distinguish at this time and blurted out: "Zhu Shuiyan."
Liu Zhong and Yu Yi looked at each other and saw joy in each other's eyes. Zhu Shuiyan was a famous water thief on the river. It would be a great achievement to capture the leader of Zhu Shuiyan.
"That big bearded man is your boss, right? What's his name?" Yu Yi asked forcefully.
Yan Qing's face was ashen, even the identity of the boss was revealed, Xu Hong deserved to die.
He told the truth in order to survive, and he could only follow the explanation. Yan Qing said feebly: "My name is Wu Liang."
…………
After pouring cold water on his head, Wu Liang woke up from a coma. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his heart and an itchy throat. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
His blurry vision gathered, and he could tell that he was tied to a pillar in the lobby, with several faces looking at him excitedly.
Looking around, Wu Liang saw Yang Jishi sitting in the hall drinking tea, and the young attendant standing beside him, looking at him with a smile.
Trying his best to twist his body, Wu Liang looked for Yan Qing and Xu Hong.
The man in front of him handed the water ladle to the scribe and said with a smile: "Master Wu, wake up."
Wu Liang's heart sank. He originally wanted to disguise himself as a refugee thief, let the government beat him a few times, punish him with hard labor, and find an opportunity to escape. As soon as the words "Master Wu" came out, he knew that there was no chance.
It was Yan Qing and Xu Hong who betrayed him. Wu Liang's heart felt cold. In vain, he regarded these two people as his confidants and promised that if they were captured, he would insist that they were refugees from the north. In the end, these two people actually betrayed him.
Seeing Wu Liang's pale face, Liu Zhong was ecstatic, he was really Wu Liang, the leader of Zhu Shuiyan.
Wu Liang knew he would die, no matter how many questions Liu Zhong asked, he bowed his head and remained silent.
Liu Zhong said angrily: "Bring the brazier and let Yu poke a few holes in this guy's body to see if he talks back."
The red-hot iron chopsticks poked Wu Liang's thigh mercilessly, and with the sound of "sizzling", the smell of burning suddenly filled the lobby.
Wu Liang let out a miserable howl, biting his lip, big beads of sweat rolled down his face, but he stopped making any sound.
Yang Anxuan stood up and came to Wu Liang, stopped Liu Zhong from committing violence again, and said: "Wu Liang, you have done many evil things and you are bound to die. If you can recruit your gang members and hiding places, you can die happily. If If you can make meritorious deeds and help the government to eliminate other river thieves, I might be able to show mercy and spare your life."
"Bah", Wu Liang spat out a mouthful of blood foam at Yang Anxuan, and a blood flower bloomed on his white brocade shirt.
Yang Anxuan was too lazy to argue with the dying man, so he stretched out his hand to squeeze Wu Liang's neck, and with a burst of strength, Wu Liang tilted his head and fainted.
"Put this kid on the ground, get some blood, and pour it on him." Yang Anxuan ordered.
Liu Zhong understood, but with little effort, a basin of chicken and duck blood was poured on Wu Liang's body and face, and then the burns on his legs were exposed, making it look like Wu Liang was dead.
At Yang Anxuan's signal, Xu Jing screamed again. The screams became softer and softer, and finally became silent.
"Bring Yan Qing here first." Yang Anxuan ordered.
Yan Qing was pushed into the lobby. First he smelled a burning smell, and then saw Wu Liang lying motionless on the ground.
The boss is dead? The rabbit died and the fox was sad. It was hard to tell whether he was sad or scared. Yan Qing's legs became weak and he collapsed on the ground, crying.
Yang Anxuan said coldly: "Stop howling. You are quite honest. If I can atone for my sins, I won't kill you."
Yan Qing regained his energy, crawled to Yang Anxuan's feet, raised his face and said, "I am willing to perform meritorious service, but spare my life."
"Captain Yu, take him to another room and ask how many people there are and where they are hiding..." Yang Anxuan said to Yu Yixuan.
After Yu Yi escorted Yan Qing away, Yang Anxuan asked Xu Hong to be escorted in, and said in a face-to-face manner: "Xu Hong, what happened to Yan Qing? If you want to survive, just tell the truth."
The official knew his name, so it seemed that Yan Qing had indeed recruited him. Glancing at Wu Liang who was lying motionless on the ground, Xu Hong sighed and said, "I'm willing to recruit."
Half an hour later, Yan Qing and Xu Hong's confessions were placed on Yang Anxuan's case.
After seeing it, Yang Anxuan said: "It should be true. Most of the thieves in Zhushuiyan are hiding on the sandbar (1) in Yangzhong. There are more than thirty thieves. Brother Liu, are you willing to give it a try?"
Liu Zhong geared up and said with a smile: "Wealth can be found in danger. An Xuan is not stupid but he still wants to take a gamble."
Yu Yi was a little worried and said: "Envoy Yang and Deputy Envoy Liu, there are many thieves and they are familiar with the terrain. Should we ask for help from the Beifu Army?"
Yang Anxuan said: "The night is long and there are many dreams. If we ask for help from the Beifu Army, it will be at least after noon tomorrow. Seeing that Wu Liang has not returned all night, the thieves are afraid that something will happen."
After thinking for a while, Yang Anxuan ordered: "In addition to walking on the boat, send a fishing boat to accompany it. The fishing boat is loaded with dry reeds, filled with oil, and covered with sulfur, flame salt, and other fire starters."
Liu Zhong was startled and said: "An Xuan, you want to set a fire?"
"Yes, the thief is hidden on the sandbank, covered with reeds, making it difficult to detect." Yang Anxuan said: "The enemy is numerous and we are outnumbered, and the enemy is dark and we are bright. If we fight head-on, even if we win, we will lose many brothers."
"I just asked Capt. Yu just now and learned that there are no people around the sandbank. The north wind is blowing right now, which is perfect for setting fires."
Liu Zhong's mind was filled with scenes of flames blazing into the sky. The thieves were hiding on the sandbank, fearing that no one would be able to escape.
At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the river patrol station's gondolas and fire boats went down the river and headed towards Yangzhong under the guidance of Yan Qing and Xu Hong.
In less than an hour, he saw a dark sandbar on the north bank. Yu Yi was familiar with the terrain and reminded Yang Anxuan: "Yang Ji, the sandbar in Yangzhong is ahead."
Xu Hong was tied to the bow and the other to the stern, and Yan Qing was tied to the flagpole at the bow of the boat.
Liu Zhong kicked him and said, "Keep your eyes open and look carefully. Whether you can survive depends on the location you mentioned, right?"
Yang Anxuan ordered Jifu to slow down, and asked Yan Qing to let go. He said in a warm voice: "I keep my word. If you can bear the crime and make meritorious service, I will leave it as is."
At this point, Yan Qing no longer cares about his brothers who are drinking and having fun together, and his top priority is to save his own life.
"Yang Jishi, this should be here." Yan Qing pointed to a dark shadow and said, "I remember that the several metasequoia trees here are markers."
Yang Anxuan asked: "What's the secret code?"
"Three calls of a night owl, two calls of an oriole."
The first owl cry sounded, and Xu Hong from the stern of the boat suddenly shouted: "The officers and soldiers are coming, run away."
In the dead of night, the roar could be heard far away, and the birds in the reeds flapped their wings and fled in all directions.
Liu Zhong stomped his feet bitterly and cursed: "I'll kill this kid."
Idiot, Yang Anxuan secretly laughed in his heart. He didn't stop Yan Qing and Xu Hong's mouths, but deliberately let them shout to scare them away.
Yan Qing pointed out that the thief was hiding here, and Xu Hong's shout almost confirmed it.
"Set fire." Run, where can I run? Is it too far?
The fire boat ignited and was propped up to the shore by pennies. The fire took advantage of the wind and ignited, igniting the reeds in an instant.
The strong wind raised sparks, and in a moment the entire sandbank became a fire scene, and the burning sensation spread to the walking boat dozens of feet away.
In a depression dozens of feet away, Shi Ping, the second master of Zhushui Yan, and thirty-six people were hiding here.
The thieves were startled when Xu Hong shouted, and Shi Ping signaled everyone to be silent and listen carefully.
The sound of "beep beep beep beep" came, it was fire. Everyone was shocked and fled away into the distance.
No one can escape the fire, but the fire catches up with him in the blink of an eye, turning him into a burning torch.
When Liao Bai saw the fire, despair flashed in his eyes. Seeing his companions getting up and running away, he stood up, straightened his clothes, bowed to the north, and sat down calmly.
Just like when he was teaching in a private school in the village, after worshiping the statue of the Master, he turned towards the Mongolian children. The one sitting in the front was his son.
Fire and war, Hu Qi went south and reduced his home to ashes. He was the only one left in the family, and he became a lonely ghost, living haphazardly in the world.
The fire swept over and the scarf on his head was burning. Liao Bai closed his eyes calmly and saw the smiling faces of his wife and children in the firelight.
Shi Ping ran more than ten feet away, feeling the heat behind him and his sleeves burning.
Unable to escape, Shi Ping laughed wildly and turned around. The knife had never left his body since he fled south fourteen years ago. Fighting for one's life in troubled times, one can only trust the knife in his hand and help him escape from death time and time again.
Shi Ping turned around and slashed at the flying fire dragon, and cursed angrily: "God, thief, go to hell."
Yang Anxuan stood on the bow of the ship, quietly watching the flames soaring into the sky. The wind raised the ashes and scattered them like snowflakes, falling gently on the bow and body of the ship.
Everyone was speechless and looked at the fire quietly. Their laughter, expectation, struggle, and pain all turned into nothingness in the light of the fire.
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