Chapter 040 Careful planning
I’ve added it to my favorites, thank you all, and I’ve stopped updating for two days on Saturdays and Sundays recently because I have to spend time with my kids, so thank you for your understanding.
Chen Cao didn't pay attention to Li Tong's cry of injustice. He just stared at the arrester and said, "You are not even an official. You can only be a helper. I will let you go and go back and tell your master. It's nothing." Don't mess with me when it comes to serious matters, Jin Yiwei is not someone to be bullied."
As if he had received an amnesty, the arrester quickly bowed to Chen Cao and then fled with his men, leaving only Li Tong kneeling outside the door.
"My lord, please answer quickly. If you don't answer, not only will your inspection fail, but your family will also be implicated." Xin Zhao scolded sternly.
Being frightened by Zhao Xin, Li Tong trembled and said: "My lord, please forgive me. I'll tell you the truth. I just got the order from the county magistrate to help arrest the troublemakers. I didn't tell you the truth." I didn’t know you were here, so please check it out.”
"Who is the magistrate of Ziyang County?" Chen Cao whispered.
Zhao Xin turned around and said: "My lord, Zhou De, the magistrate of Ziyang County, was a Jinshi in the 30th year of Wanli. He has been the magistrate of Ziyang County for six years. His wife, Kong, is from the Kong family in Qufu."
"Oh..." Chen Cao suddenly realized, and then stared at Li Tongtong: "Did someone named Kong Tianxi go to the county government to report the crime today?"
Li Tong asked, but he didn't know. He really didn't know that his inspection department's Yamen was stationed by the city wall, which was far away. He had just been notified to arrest people. He really didn't know anything else.
"I really don't know."
Chen Cao felt bored and waved. Zhao Xin understood and turned around and said sternly: "Li Tong, leave quickly. I'll let you go today. It's best to be careful. If the same thing happens again in our hands in the future, you know what my Jin Yiwei is doing." means."
"Thank you, Sir...Thank you, Sir..." Li Tong kowtowed several times, then stood up and left with a disgraced look.
As soon as the people left, Mr. Turtle came to the door and held his hands towards Chen Cao: "I didn't know it was the Lord Jin Yiwei who came here. I really didn't receive you well. If you have any orders, please tell me. The younger ones will be done for you."
"Mr. Gui, I want to ask you, do you know Kong Tianxi?" Chen Cao asked.
Gui Gong said: "Hey, who doesn't recognize him? He is the third steward of Yan Shenggong's family, who is responsible for the affairs of the Kong family in Fucheng." He then added: "It's just that you don't know, that steward is very powerful in Fucheng." , Hehe, if there is anything, it’s inconvenient to say it.”
"If it's inconvenient, forget it. I can understand. Let's go on."
Zhao Xin came to Chen Cao's side and said, "Sir, is that guy trying to do something dirty?"
"We have to be careful..." Chen Cao frowned: "It's better for us to buy the land as soon as possible and leave as soon as we buy it. I don't think it's peaceful here, so we'd better avoid causing trouble."
...
Chen Cao and his party were preparing to leave after lunch. When they were ready to set off, they heard the sound of neat footsteps. From time to time, a general on horseback led a large group of soldiers towards Lixiang Tower.
It was the first time for the people around them to see such a battle, and they didn't know what was going on.
"Sir, we are surrounded." Xu Kaixian walked in from the door seriously: "It's Ren Chengwei of Yanzhou Prefecture..."
Wang Tiancheng, the commander of Rencheng Guards and the magistrate, personally went out and led two soldiers from Baihu Station into the city and surrounded Lixiang Tower. Along with him was Zheng Rixin, the Prime Minister of Yanzhou Prefecture.
When Chen Cao stepped out of the gate, he saw a group of soldiers wearing helmets and armor, their spears and swords shining with light, and there were even a dozen archers holding bows and arrows.
"Come here, capture all the murderers in front of you who are pretending to be Jin Yiwei and bring them to justice." Wang Tiancheng said coldly.
Chen Cao was shocked, thinking that the other party had so many tricks, and then said: "You guys are so brave. I am Chen Cao, the commander of Jinyiweinan Town Fusi, and you are acting so boldly. Do you want to rebel?"
"Hahaha..." Wang Tiancheng was not afraid at all: "You group of impostors, you dare to pretend to be a royal guard after killing someone, I will give you another chance, put down the sword in your hands and capture them without mercy, otherwise, I will kill you on the spot."
As soon as he finished speaking, the archers unfurled their bows and set arrows. No matter how powerful Chen Cao was, he did not dare to show off in front of the archers. Now it seemed that the opponent was indeed prepared.
Chen Cao turned his head and whispered to Zhao Xin: "You leave from behind immediately, go to the ferry quickly, and take people to the government office. I will go with them first to see what they want to do."
"Be careful, sir."
Chen Cao walked down the steps and scolded sternly: "Listen carefully, I have announced my identity. If you want to frame me for some transaction, hey, I want you to walk around."
Wang Tiancheng was just stunned for a moment, and then sneered: "Hahaha, you and the horse thieves are really audacious. Not only did you kill the Ziyang County patrol inspector, but you are still pretending to be a royal guard here. You can follow Mr. Zheng back and explain properly. Maybe we can be lenient."
"Li Tong is dead?" Chen Cao was shocked. There were many people watching, and most of them knew that Li Tong entered Lixiang Tower and then left. Now that he is dead, he might not be able to escape his involvement.
Xu Kaixian was very particular about people. When he heard that Li Tong was dead, he immediately knew that something was wrong. He stepped forward and whispered: "Sir, my subordinates will protect you from leaving. If you enter the government office, there will be no big deal."
"Thieves, hurry up and capture them. Archers are ready." Wang Tiancheng shouted again.
Chen Cao finally understood that his opponent was determined to kill him. When Li Tong died, he couldn't explain it 100%. This was not Jinling, South Zhili. This dragon crossing the river could not stop Wang Tiancheng, a local snake. Xu Kaixian That's right. If you can't help yourself, you may die in the government office. Everyone is an official. Who doesn't understand those little Jiujiu?
Chen Cao had already made a calculation, and then he handed over to Wang Tiancheng: "My lord, I still have a dozen subordinates inside, and they don't know. I have to go in and convince them, so as not to cause more trouble to your lord."
Wang Tiancheng thought for a while, then waved his hand: "Don't try to escape. The entire Lixiang Tower has been surrounded by this general. If you dare to run, we will kill them all."
Chen ** entered the Lixiang Building with a sullen face. Zhao Xin had already put on makeup and walked out of the back door. Looking around, he saw that except Xu Kai, there were only eleven captains, and their weapons were only Xiuchundao. The key was that he didn't have anything in his hand.
"Sir, what should I do?" Xu Kaixian stepped forward and pulled out his Xiuchundao: "Otherwise, my subordinates will cover you to evacuate through the back door."
Chen Cao turned his head and looked at the old bustard who was hiding not far away, then walked forward and held his hands in his hands: "The good boss knows that I am Nalan Rongruo of Jinling. Please show me a secret way out. I will definitely come someday." You, Lixianglou, return the favor."
"Are you Nalan Rongruo?" The old bustard looked at Chen Cao in surprise: "Then what is your name?"
"My officer, Jinyi Weinan Town Fusi Commander, is Chen Cao, Jinling Nalan Rongruo is also..."
The old bustard had to believe it even if he didn't believe it. Who could pretend to be a scholar at this critical moment: "It turns out to be Mr. Nalan. It's easy to say. I can help you, but the benefits are..."
"This is for you..." Chen Cao took out a jade pendant from his arms, with the four characters Nalan Rongruo engraved on it: "You can come to Jinling to find me in the future. As long as it is not something harmful to the world, I can do it." promise you."
The old bustard took the jade pendant, was stunned for a moment, and then said to Turtle beside him: "Take them through the secret passage."
Chen Cao and others left, and the old bustard hurriedly shouted: "Come quickly, grab people...Military Lord, they have escaped..."
When Wang Tiancheng heard this, he immediately sent someone into the building. He saw the old bustard messing up his hair and running out of the door. He pulled Wang Tiancheng's feet and said, "My lord, you have to catch them. I am Prince Lu in Lixiang Tower." Our property, if you let the thieves run away, you will suffer huge losses and cannot afford to compensate..."
Wang Tiancheng didn't know the background of Lixiang Tower. When he saw the old bustard's words, he became anxious immediately. Not only because of King Lu, but also because of the cause of this incident, Chen Cao couldn't run away: "Here, come quickly." The military camp mobilizes troops to arrest this group of thieves. Also, hurry up and send a message to the commander, saying that thieves have entered the city and block the city gate to arrest people."
"yes..."
Wen Liang walked into the palace with an anxious look on his face, where Zhu Shouhong was washing his feet: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened..."
"What's the decency to do in such a hurry, talking about..."
"Prince Qi, a servant just came to report that Chen Cao killed Inspector Li Tong of the Inspection Department and absconded. At this time, Ren Chengwei has closed the city gates and is conducting a large-scale search."
Zhu Shouhong opened his eyes: "What crime?"
"Ren Chengwei said they were horse thieves who killed people and pretended to be Jin Yiwei..." Wen Liang replied.
Zhu Shouhong asked: "What do you think?"
Wen Liangning calmed down and then said: "Your Majesty, there is no doubt about Chen Cao's identity. Even if he kills Li Tong, he can still find a way to deal with it. But now the Rencheng Guards are hunting him down, and even the prefect's Yamen is cooperating. He must be If he offends someone, from the official’s point of view, he must be someone with a high profile in Yanzhou’s territory who is trying to punish him.”
"Then who do you think you are?"
Wen Liang thought for a while: "Everyone in the Yanzhou Mansion is a member of the prince's family. If Chen Cao is to be rectified, he should send news to the prince's manor. Now that I think about it, the only one is the Qufu family."
Zhu Shouhong opened his eyes, and then said coldly: "Be impartial, and it's not a bad thing if you don't help..."
Wen Liang was stunned for a moment. The prince wanted to watch the emotional crisis from the other side: "Yes, I understand..."
...
Ziyang County and Yanzhou Prefecture are governed in the same city. The city is very large. Prince Lu's Palace is located in the city. The surrounding streets are filled with rich and powerful businessmen. The Lixiang Tower is behind the East Street of Prince Lu's Palace. Chen Cao and his party were secretly captured by Lord Turtle. After Dao took out, he quickly bypassed the East Back Street and prepared to withdraw towards the east gate.
"Sir, there are soldiers in front of us." A school captain ran over quickly.
"Sir, why don't I go to Prince Lu's Mansion to find Chang Shi? After all, we still have the documents signed by the Prince's Mansion in our hands." Xu Kaixian said.
Chen Cao looked around. He was escaping again in the city. In the past, he only watched how others escaped in the city, but now it happened in his own hands: "When the city guards are dispatched, the informants of Prince Lu must know about this big move. The government official is also there, I guess it must be the Kong family, you go to King Lu now, hey, there is no chance that you will be sold by them, just give the Kong family a favor."
"Sir, I know I was wrong." Xu Kaixian looked apologetic.
Chen Cao turned around and asked curiously: "What's wrong?"
"My subordinates should stop Lao Zhao from doing what he did. If not, then Kong Tianxi would not necessarily be harmful to us." Xu Kaixian said and looked at Chen Cao: "Sir, why don't you and I change clothes, and you go first? I will take my brothers to cover your evacuation."
"Joke..." Chen Cao smiled evilly: "Your Excellency, when have I been greedy for life and afraid of death? Then Kong Tianxi must have made up his mind to punish us from the beginning, otherwise he would not take the initiative to come to the door. Look at today's battle ,hey-hey."
"Sir, there are soldiers coming. Let's go quickly." A school lieutenant who was on guard hurriedly ran over.
Chen Cao led the people around the back streets and turned into a street with fewer pedestrians. Although there were few people, people with a discerning eye could tell that the residents on this street were either rich or noble.
"Sir, there is a dead end ahead, and there is a wall blocking the way." The school lieutenant who was exploring the road came over urgently.
"Sir, there are soldiers coming from behind."
Xu Kaixian pulled out his Xiuchundao and prepared for a fight. Chen Cao turned his eyes and looked at the stone lion on the front right. He immediately became concerned and pointed at the door and said, "Quickly go to that family's house."
In the Ming Dynasty, only officials and noble families were allowed to leave animals at the gate. No matter how rich they were, they were not allowed to leave things there. Chen Cao wanted to lead his people into this house, and the soldiers would not dare to go in and search for them. , you can easily escape the disaster.
The words on the door plaque say 'Weng's Mansion'. Even if you don't recognize it, with the stone lion at the door, it is a place where you can temporarily escape the difficulties.
A group of people walked to the back wall of the side entrance of Weng Mansion. There was a small bamboo forest here, blocking the street. Chen Cao immediately rushed forward, put his hand on the wall, jumped up, and smoothly climbed over the wall and entered the courtyard. .
The rest of the people followed suit, and soon they all entered. At this moment, they heard shouts outside and the sound of weapons clashing.
"My lord, that's a dead end over there."
"There are all rich people here, no trace of them."
"Come on, everyone go out on the left street. They must have escaped from there."
call...
Chen Cao let out a sigh of relief. He had never been so nervous when he played against the Tatars in Liaodong.
Then he looked around and realized that the place he came in through over the wall seemed to be the family's garden. There was a bamboo forest in front of him. It seemed that he and his group were behind the bamboo forest.
"Go and investigate," Xu Kai first ordered a captain to do something, then he came to Chen Cao's side and whispered: "Sir, what should I do now?"
Chen Cao frowned: "What I'm most worried about now is that Zhao Xin rushed to the government office with the musketry team and couldn't find anyone to take action. If it happens and I'm not here, I will be the official for the rest of my life." ”
Xu Kaixian also frowned when he heard this. He had no idea what to do now.
"Sir," the inquiring captain tiptoed through the bamboo forest: "This is the family's garden. It's quite big. It's safe for us to hide here. There's no one outside."
Chen Cao breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he couldn't hide here forever, so he immediately said: "You all stay here, I will go out to investigate."
Chen Cao also walked out of the bamboo forest like a thief. Thinking of the time he walked into Li Waner's bathing room by mistake in Liaodong, he didn't dare to just enter a room, so he walked towards the left side of the garden.
Most buildings in the Ming Dynasty had certain regulations. There is a sharp contrast between the Xiaojiabiyu in the south and the grandeur in the north, but the architectural patterns are similar.
At the end of the garden on the left side is a bracket door. Behind the general door in the north is the backyard, which is equivalent to the place where the female family members live.
Sure enough, as soon as Chen Cao walked through the arch, he saw two maids standing on both sides of the aisle. Chen Cao was so frightened that he hurriedly moved his hands and feet and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.
After that, Chen Cao skillfully climbed over the low wall, bypassed the two maids, and walked forward quietly. Unexpectedly, two maids holding things suddenly turned out from the aisle on the right, facing him. As they approached, Chen Cao was shocked and immediately ran towards a room not far ahead.
Just when he was in front of the door, the door suddenly opened. Chen Cao couldn't brake in time, so he knocked the person who was standing at the door into his arms. They both fell to the ground, and Chen Cao was still on top of the other person.
good smell...
Chen Cao took a closer look and saw a woman covered in snow-white body and wearing a pink gauze. .
The woman beneath him was about to scream, but Chen Cao covered the woman's mouth with his hand. When he was about to lose control, he blocked the woman's neck with his left hand. With one force, the two of them stood up together. Then he kicked back with his right foot and closed the door.
This technique is probably not possible for anyone who is not very skilled in picking flowers.
"Don't be afraid, girl. I don't mean any harm. Please keep quiet..."
Faintly...
The woman's face was red, and Chen Cao gently let go of his hand. Unexpectedly, the woman cursed: "You are still looking at this, a thief..."
Only then did Chen Cao realize that he had been rude, and quickly turned around. The woman screamed again. Chen Cao couldn't help but stepped forward and forced the woman into the corner, and then repeated his same trick and covered the woman's mouth.
"Girl, don't be afraid. I'm not a flower-picking thief. I hid here because of urgent matters, and I asked the girl to make it easier. I will definitely repay my kindness when the matter is resolved in the future."
The woman shook her head vigorously, and then signaled that she wanted to speak. Chen Cao spoke gently, for fear that the woman would shout again, and at this time there was a shout outside the door.
"Miss, miss, are you okay?"
The woman looked Chen Cao up and down and saw that Chen Cao was talented and powerful. She looked at Chen Cao's hands carefully and said, "I'm fine. You can put your clothes by the door. I'll put them on myself after I wash them. You guys?" Let’s go down first.”
"yes..."
Chen Cao breathed a sigh of relief and hugged the woman: "I'm sorry..."
Chen Cao turned around and heard a sound, and then heard the woman say: "Are you an official?"
Chen Cao was surprised. He turned around and saw that the woman had already put on a robe over a pink gauze cover, covering all her vitals. He immediately stepped forward and saluted again: "How did the girl know that I am an official?"
"Who dares to wear official boots if he's not an official?" The woman pointed to Chen Cao's feet: "You must be a soldier, you still have calluses on your hands..."
Chen Cao was shocked. Although rich people in this era were wearing official boots, they were only in their own homes. Who would dare to wear official boots and go out in a brazen manner? I didn’t expect that the woman in front of me was so observant: “Don’t you think I’m a flower picker?”
"What do you think?" the woman responded, then pointed at Chen Cao's face: "Your blood."
"Ah?" Chen Cao noticed his nosebleed and wiped it clean with his sleeve: "I lost my temper..."
"But you, a pervert, broke in while I was taking a shower. It's really abominable. If you don't come up with something today, I will definitely kill you." The woman said fiercely, and just now They are the same as two people.
Chen Cao took a step back, saluted the woman, and then said: "I am the commander of Jinyiweinan Town Fusi, Chen Cao, and I'm really sorry for having the temerity to break into the girl's room."
"Nalan Rongruo?" the woman screamed.
Chen Cao raised his eyebrows: "Do you know me, girl?"
"I like you very much..."
Chen Cao's eyes jumped and he was about to speak, but the woman said again: "The article I wrote..."
Chen Cao smiled awkwardly: "The girl likes to breathe heavily when talking."
The woman blushed for a while, but then she reacted: "What's the proof?"
Chen Cao was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was doing, took out his badge and handed it over: "Girl, please take a look."
The woman looked at Chen Cao's belt carefully, and then said with joy: "Is it really Nalan Rongruo? Haha, I saw the real person."
Chen Cao now understood that the woman in front of him was his crush.
The woman was stunned for a moment, and then said: "You are a senior official of the Jinyi Guard, how could you be chased? No, have you violated the national law?"
Chen Cao told his story in one breath. The woman thought for a while and said, "You can't believe everything you say. Considering that you are Nalan Rongruo, I can take you in temporarily, but I have to Go and find out for yourself, if you lie to me, I will definitely skin you."
The more Chen Cao listened, the more he felt that the temper of the woman in front of him was exactly the same as that of Li Waner. He laughed awkwardly and then told the woman that he and more than a dozen people were still behind the bamboo forest.
The woman was very generous and immediately walked out to find someone to make arrangements.
"What is the girl's name?"
Before leaving the house, the woman said: "I will not change my name in business, but Weng Meixin is..."
"very beautiful..."
