Tianjin is noisier at night than other cities. Firstly, Jinwu couldn't help but see several commercial areas. Secondly, at the intersection of the river and the sea, there were roaring tides. Thirdly, because of the heavy troops stationed there, there were dense patrols at night.
Tonight, though, the business district was quiet. People who were drinking and having fun were all listening. In the large courtyard where ordinary families gathered, a dog barked, which disturbed the people who had already rested and got up to add a wooden pole to the courtyard door.
The patrolling soldiers were fully armed and marched along the fixed route as usual, passing through different lanes and constantly reporting different passwords. The sound of their heavy footsteps and the clash of beetle leaves floated in the dusk. The light of the torches in their hands fell on the courtyards and houses they passed, while the high walls and deep streets and alleys were still covered in shadows, looking a bit grim.
While marching, a soldier noticed a strange sound coming from a dark place. He reported to General Shi next to him and tried to investigate, but was immediately stopped by the officer at the front of the queue.
The heavily armored Forbidden Army officer sneered and glanced at the thick silhouette of the high courtyard with deep walls in the darkness, and said solemnly: "Let's continue patrolling! Tonight, we only need to maintain the safety of the people in the city, and ignore those who can't see the light!"
Seeing that the queue was about to leave the high wall, someone in the deep alley shouted desperately and rushed out.
"Help me, help me!"
There were about five or six people running out, led by a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes. He shouted for help while running, and after shouting twice, he clearly felt that he was out of breath. It was obvious that he was usually a pampered person.
The soldiers of the Forbidden Army did not disperse, but watched coldly.
They usually stay in military camps and undergo daily training for many years, but this does not mean that they know nothing about local characters. What's more, to maintain law and order at the emperor's feet, people with sharp ears and eyes are indispensable to inform them of things that need attention.
During the emperor's northern expedition in the past two months, the officers and soldiers of the Forbidden Army all believed that everyone should share the same hatred of the enemy and go all out to provide logistics and arrange food and supplies. But in fact, many aspects including water transportation and military industry are not running smoothly, and there are harassments at several important nodes. There were even group fights and conflicts between dozens and hundreds of people. After the death of a person, they carried the body and cried and complained, which intensified the conflict.
Among these bad things, there are inevitably a few well-known local snakes. And the one running out in front of me is one of them.
This group of people ran close to them, and when they were about to kowtow and plead, the leading officer drew his sword halfway, and the sword's dazzling light stopped them in their tracks.
The next moment, more than ten people came out of the dark alley in hot pursuit. They rushed forward and tried their best to suppress the few people who had been taken out. Then, fists and kicks rained down on them, knocking them unconscious immediately, and then violently pushed back. drag.
The leader of the dozen or so people waved his hands repeatedly to signal his men to speed up. At the same time, he kept nodding and bowing to the Forbidden Army, almost bending his waist.
The officer sheathed his sword and said coldly: "Dog bites dog! If you bite him to death, he will be punished! Let's go!"
As if in response to his words, a scream immediately came from the darkness, and a faint smell of blood floated in the wind. The queue of the Imperial Guards was on the right side of the road. When a few soldiers stepped forward again, they found that the soles of their feet were a little sticky. The soles of their leather boots slapped against the stone pavement, making a crackling sound, as if they were stepping on liquid. .
The Imperial Guards didn't care at all and marched forward.
The officers leading the patrol tonight are all experienced and reliable people, and they have just received special instructions. They already understood what the emperor wanted to see, what some people brought on themselves, what the city's foxes and social rats were taking advantage of, and which required the imperial army to suppress it.
What's more important is that when the emperor went north to the grassland, the troops he brought were mainly the Forbidden Army. How many soldiers of the Forbidden Army think about it day and night, only for meritorious service on the battlefield? How enviable are the soldiers who have the opportunity to catch up with this? But looking at the situation in front of him, it was obvious that the emperor would not continue the fight. In the eyes of the Forbidden Army soldiers, the people who were stirring up trouble in the rear were certainly to blame. Damn it!
The emperor gave some people a day. It can be said that the emperor was generous and gave them a chance to rein in the situation. It could also be said that the emperor was too lazy to get his hands dirty!
When the imperial army's column moved away, behind the high wall, the sound of fighting suddenly broke out, and soon the sound of weapons clashing appeared again, and there were screams and groans one after another. After a while, someone lit a torch in the darkness beside the road, came out with a bucket, and poured water to clean the road.
Within a radius of dozens of miles of Tianjin Prefecture, there were such conflicts in various houses, warehouses, shops and even some government offices. More people stayed up all night, running around.
After the emperor's signal, not everyone was unlucky.
Several civilian leaders who had been treated harshly before were compensated; some businessmen who had previously supplied arrow feathers and bamboo poles to the army were suddenly freed from the disaster and were put on new clothes and sent back respectfully. Home.
But there are definitely more unlucky people than benefited people.
Da Zhou's management of grassroots civil society was as loose as that of the previous Da Jin Dynasty. Daikin has no management ability and can only let subordinate officials, wealthy people and Jurchens do whatever they want. After the Great Zhou Dynasty wiped out the remnants of the previous dynasty, he was determined to improve his appearance to nourish the people's morale.
Over the past few years, commerce has flourished, factories have spread all over the country, publishing and opera have become more and more prosperous, and the social atmosphere has tended to be relaxed and self-confident. If there is anything negative to say, it is that it is inevitable that some people will not position themselves correctly, try to stretch their hands and feet in the forbidden area of the military, and want to exert influence on political affairs from the bottom up.
It's a pity that in the army, the most important thing is strength. The emperor himself is recognized by everyone in the army as the most powerful person. All private plans could not resist the emperor's authority. When the emperor's eyes fell on them, he hadn't done anything yet. Those who had done something before were already panicking and began to clean up the traces frantically.
Those who dare to influence the operation of military affairs are all senior generals and senior officials in the military. Relying on long-term connections, they can launch their plans hundreds of miles away, and each node in their connections naturally has Follow the master to gain wealth and wealth.
But at this moment, as the news that the emperor had returned to Tianjin Mansion spread rapidly, everyone involved in these plans fell into great panic, and no one dared to face the emperor's majesty.
All they can do is make full use of the one day gifted by the emperor; and the more they value this day, the more they will complain that there are too many people involved.
There really isn’t enough time in the day. This amount of time is not enough to establish an offensive and defensive alliance, not enough to confirm each other's positions, and not enough to make relevant parties believe in the reliability of others. It's enough to silence you.
Some paid lobbyists cannot be retained, some gangsters who make trouble out of nothing can't be retained, some middlemen and guarantors who have been matchmaking for a long time and know too many inside stories cannot be retained, and even some protective umbrellas with official positions cannot be retained. Can't stay.
Many people followed the orders of their superiors and visited one house after another. It seemed that they were cleaning out the filth in the city for the governor of Tianjin. And when their frantic running figure was discovered by others, it triggered intense doubts and panic; in a very short period of time, the people who were ordered to run quickly became the target of others who wanted to get rid of them quickly.
As a result, some people died silently on their beds; some people fled overnight, and were chased by horses and hacked to death on the street; some people suddenly discovered that an old case was exposed, and were immediately taken to prison. I don’t know what year and where? Only Yue Cai was able to make his mark; there were also some who were frantic and tried to unite their forces to attack several important places in the Tianjin Mansion. They were immediately suppressed by everyone who knew about the movement, and died with their subordinates mutilated.
Various movements continued, and the lights everywhere were still being extinguished. In some places, there were even fires, and the flames shot up into the sky, illuminating a large area of the night sky.
During this process, Guo Ning did nothing. He just stood in front of the window and watched all this, with his back straight and his eyes cold and sharp: "You see, letting them do things by themselves is more effective than me doing it."
(End of chapter)
