Chapter 128 Harvest
While the two were talking, several warships had already approached the bow, stern and middle of Lan Zhongbin's ship. As soon as the soldiers got on the ship, they first guarded several key positions. In a blink of an eye, there were rows of soldiers holding knives and guns standing on both sides. The sailors and soldiers on the ship were all driven aside without knowing what was happening. Immediately afterwards, more than twenty guards stepped onto the wide deck with two general-looking guys in their arms.
When Lan Zhongbin saw this, he felt very unhappy: "The country relies on civility to control military affairs. Who do you think you are, a new warrior here?" Mr. Li, the magistrate of Huangzhou, and the Lan family treat each other with equal courtesy. If you want to ask for a few coins in reward, you should be more showy! It's just a matter of putting on such a show to scare ordinary people. Are you playing this trick with the second master? When you don't have a penny anymore, you still have to kowtow to apologize. The second master will teach you how to behave in just a cup of tea! Huh, what’s more, it’s still a water camp—a water camp that’s not much better than the auxiliary soldiers!
So he snorted heavily and turned his face away from them.
Seeing that Mr. Lan was angry, Gou Sheng knew that it was time for him to play. So he took a few steps forward, pointed his finger and cursed: "The dog is brave, this is a salt boat from Lianghuai! This is a registered guerrilla from the Huainan water camp..."
"Snapped!"
A big mouth shouted on his face, interrupting Gou Sheng's self-introduction. The slap was so harsh that Gou Sheng staggered and spit out two teeth with a mouthful of blood.
The guy who did it raised his big finger and poked his chest: "I am the officer of the Furious Wave Battalion under General You Shen. I actually teach guerrilla Tang Fu! You are really a fucking dog!" Then he compared to the one behind him, "This It’s General You Shen under the command of the deputy commander of Xiangyang Pass! Come on, get this dog for me first!”
Two people immediately ran over from behind Tang Fu. Without saying a word, they pushed the slapped Gou Sheng to the ground and dragged him aside. Gou Sheng's confidant, Mr. Qian Ge Zhuang, just wanted to step forward to stop him, but a sharp sword was immediately placed on his neck.
"You don't know any etiquette when you meet Shangguan. Let me teach this dog in Huainan Shuiying!" Tang Fu seemed even angrier than Lan Zhongbin and continued to give instructions.
"Yes!" Several people responded loudly.
Lan Zhongbin, who didn't react at all, watched in stunned silence. Two soldiers kicked Gou Sheng's ribs and pulled his left and right arms respectively. The other man pulled out the dagger from his waist, leaned over and broke Gou Sheng's belt. , Sanliang pulled off his pants and sat down on his calf, holding Gou Sheng's ankles firmly with both hands. There was another person who picked up a finger-thick rattan and pointed it at his butt before swiping it down.
There were a few crisp sounds of "pop, pop". In front of Lan Zhongbin's eyes, Gou Sheng's dark buttocks looked normal at first. In just one breath, the area where he was spanked began to glow with a few streaks of red, and then quickly turned into black and purple. Immediately afterwards, the skin became tighter and tighter, became frighteningly bright, and then suddenly burst vertically and horizontally along the scratches! Amidst the heart-rending screams of Gou Sheng who couldn't move, Lan Zhongbin seemed to hear in his ears the soft pops of muscles breaking free from the restraints of the skin!
"Ah..." The shrill scream didn't sound like a human voice at all. Within a few breaths, Gou Sheng's voice weakened, and it was obvious that most of his life had been lost.
"Which leg of this dog refers to the general?" Tang Fu seemed to be unfinished, looking at Lan Zhongbin and asked without looking back.
There was another "pop" in the ear.
Another guy came forward, swung the mace in his hand, and then pulled Gou Sheng's right arm that was broken into two pieces and shouted: "Report to General Tang, this is the broken arm!"
"You are so brave! Do you want me to teach you etiquette?" Tang Fu slowly looked around half a circle. Before the fierce eyes could scan him, except for Mr. Lan who was wearing a scholar's scarf, everyone on the boat was All the people had knelt down.
"A good man doesn't suffer the consequences of the moment!" Although he didn't figure out what was going on for a while, Lan Zhongbin finally woke up in time and didn't bother to show off anymore. He quickly bowed deeply to You Futian and the others: "General You, General Tang . My man, Lan Zhongbin, is an official and merchant of Huaiyan salt, and I have met the two generals. The ships are full of official salt, and Master Li and Master Sun of Huangzhou Prefecture know about it."
You Futian took a few steps forward, stared at Lan Zhongbin for a while, and said, "Since I am an official salt, do you have any paper? Show it to the general."
The frightened accounting clerk Liu Wenshan hurriedly kowtowed and said: "There are some. General, wait a moment, and I will go get it now."
You Futian asked: "Who are you?"
"Back to the general, I am the accountant Liu Wenshan."
You Futian nodded, and in a moment Liu Wenshan took out a wooden box from the cabin and placed it at Tang Fu's feet. He knelt down and opened the box, took out a book and presented it with both hands: "All the leading papers are in the box. The general will take a look at it."
Tang Fu didn't answer, and looked at the man named You, who chuckled: "You know that I can't read! How can I do a photograph?"
Lan Zhongbin was so angry: You can't read and you can't read? ! Isn’t it obvious that this is looking for trouble?
Tang Fu pointed at Lan Zhongbin: "Are you literate?"
Lan Zhongbin was angry in his heart, but of course he didn't dare to show it at all when he saw such an unreasonable and ferocious look. He bowed his back and said, "General, I have the merit of the provincial examination and am literate."
"Hey, I thought he was a scholar who refuses to worship the official, but he turns out to be a Duke of Xiaolian (commonly known as Xiaolian)!" A guard brought out a chair from the cabin, and You Futian, who was already sitting on the chair, said .
Lan Zhongbin felt relieved and thought to himself: It's good for you to know! The merit of a successful candidate is half an official status*, so he should restrain himself this time... Unexpectedly, You Futian came out with the second half of the sentence in a loud voice: "I have been ordered to investigate the river. Since you can read, you will give me Just think about it."
Although Lan Zhongbin had seen a lot of strong winds and waves, this was the first time he encountered such a situation, so he had to take the paper in Liu Wenshan's hand, hunched over and started reading.
After reciting a few words, You Futian waved his hand: "Forget it, don't recite it, it's boring. Just listening to you is a waste of time. You can take Tang Fu around a few ships later. By the way, Apart from salt, did you bring anything else?"
Here comes the topic!
Although I don’t know where these people are from, Qingtian Bairi inspected the official ship so blatantly and turned Gou Sheng into a half-dead cripple. He is definitely not a good person. If Lan Zhongbin still can’t figure this out, Layer, all these years in the world have been wasted! After hearing You Futian's question, I knew in my heart: There must have been major changes in Huguang's officialdom recently. The appointment of a new official was clearly a coup, and it seemed that he was going to have to pay a heavy price.
Just as he was thinking about how to answer, he heard another commotion. Looking up secretly, Huangzhou Magistrate Li Yongnian and Tongzhi Sun Qineng boarded the ship escorted by a group of soldiers!
Shhh…
Lan Zhongbin breathed a sigh of relief: the two old acquaintances are finally here. Fortunately, they didn't move!
Unconsciously, he straightened his waist and was about to come forward to greet him. Unexpectedly, Li and Sun turned a blind eye to him and started chatting with Wu Fu who had just stood up next to him. Seeing this, Lan Zhongbin was shocked: These guys really have a lot of background! The officials of the Ming Dynasty regarded military affairs as trivial. A second-rank general had to salute a fourth-rank magistrate when he saw him. Two prefects took the initiative to greet a third-rank military officer. This situation was simply unheard of!
Just as he was stunned, the warrior surnamed You said again: "Hey, you haven't answered my question yet. Did you bring anything else? Apart from the official salt, you didn't bring any private salt, right?"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lan Zhongbin had no choice but to bite the bullet and reply: "No. All I am carrying is official salt. Except for a little bit of Lianghuai local products for friends in the official circles of Huguang, there is nothing else."
You Futian didn't seem to hear the tone of Lan Zhongbin's words: "Well, that's good." Then he pointed at Liu Wenshan, who was still kneeling on the ground, "You can accompany Tang Fu on the boat."
"I'm going too," shouted a strange military attache who got on the boat with the two officials.
Who is this? How can you be so unruly in front of the lord of the house! Lan Zhongbin had just come up with this idea, and heard the man surnamed You laughed and scolded: "Look at your fucking potential!" This man, not to be outdone, retorted: "The one I, Lao Zhang, can't trust the most is you, a water thief. !”
The person who just boarded the boat was actually Zhang Ding!
How can we let them really investigate? There was no need to go to other ships. There was a lot of private cargo piled up in the hold of this first ship, and the owner, goods, quantity, consignee and other details were all marked in black and white! Lan Zhongbin gritted his teeth, reached into his arms, took out a stack of banknotes, and whispered to You Futian: "Thank you for your hard work, General. A small gift is not respectful. General, buy a glass of water and wine for the brothers." As he spoke, He cast a look of help at the two officials.
Unexpectedly, Li Yongnian didn't look at him, but Sun Qineng glared hard as if in warning.
You Futian was happy and took it: "Haha, I can't read, but I can recognize the banknote. How much is this?"
Have you ever asked this so blatantly in public? Lan Zhongbin thought bitterly in his heart, and could only respond in a low voice: "Come back to the general, there are about two thousand taels in total here. You can make money everywhere in the border between Huaihe River and Huaihe River." He took a peek at You Futian's face, and then added in a low voice He finished: "There are still several thousand taels of cash in the cabin. I will go back and show my respect to the general."
"Ah? Two thousand taels of silver notes, and several thousand taels of cash!" You Futian shouted loudly, "Did you all see and hear it?"
Lan Zhongbin heard clearly that Li and Sun sighed at the same time.
"Did you bring any personal belongings with you? To be honest, if we don't have to dig it out ourselves, we can't be like him." Tang Fu pointed at Gou Sheng, who was unconscious beside him, "I have to get hit so many times!"
"Take it, take it, take it a little bit." Lan Zhongbin's mind went blank.
"How much is a little bit?" Tang Fu's ferocious face almost stuck to Lan Zhongbin's face, and spittle sprayed all over the latter's face.
"About, oh, about two or three thousand shi, oh, three or four thousand shi."
"How much exactly?"
"Five, five, more than five thousand eight hundred stones. They are all the goods of the adults in Nanzhili and Lianghuai... and also for Mr. Li and Sun..."
"Shut up!" the two officials shouted almost simultaneously.
Officers You and Zhang smiled meaningfully at the two officials, and the man named You asked again: "Where is Yanba, is there any involvement?"
It's over, this matter is no longer a big deal.
"Yes, I also brought 20%, hundreds of thousands of catties. The villain deserves to die, the villain knows his crime, sir, please spare his life! The villain is willing to repay the general with a heavy hand..." The ashen-faced Lan Zhongbin fell to his knees, his face The exchange was in tears.
"Taking private salt, smuggling private goods, blatantly bribing patrol officers, and slandering court officials..." You Futian stopped smiling, looked at Li and Sun and said coldly, "Everyone has witnessed it with their own eyes! This guy actually said what he brought to Mr. Li and Mr. Sun just now. What a coincidence. One of them happens to be named Li and the other is named Sun Li. Could he... be talking about you two? "
"No, no, I don't know this guy!"
"This is absolutely not the case! I don't even know this guy!"
The two of them shook hands hurriedly.
"Well, I also believe that this guy is talking nonsense." You Futian smiled again.
"Wait a minute! I, Mr. Zhang, don't really believe it!" Zhang Ding, who had already discussed it with You Futian on the way here, shouted at the right time, "Unless the confession is recorded, I have to hear this guy admit it personally before I can believe it."
"Yes, yes," Li Yongnian had no choice but to say immediately, and at the same time cast a warning look at Lan Zhongbin, who was kneeling on the ground, "I will try the case on the spot."
"Come here, put the case on the table and wait." You Futian ordered, pointing at Liu Wenshan, "Tang Fu, take the accountant down to check the goods."
When Tang Fu disappeared through the hatch with Liu Wenshan in his arms, You Futian smiled sinisterly at the two officials: "You two adults, please don't deceive us rough guys who are illiterate. The accountant who just went down can. Wait." I will ask him to read the confession to us, and then we will know whether the two adults made a careless mistake..."
The two government officials kept saying that they did not dare. Soon, the confessions recorded by Li Yongnian as the presiding judge and Sun Qineng as a temporary guest were presented to You Futian.
Tang Fu took Liu Wenshan to the deck and gave You Futian a fist in the air: "Sir, there are indeed a lot of private goods in the cabin. The general has asked Mr. Liu to copy a cargo list. Whose goods are there? No matter how much, it’s all on top.”
You Futian reached out to take it, and then handed it to Li Yongnian: "Master Li, take a look. Please sign the bond with Master Sun as a witness."
You Futian asked Liu Wenshan to write a personal confession. After seeing the signatures of the two officials and the official seal of Huangzhou Prefecture, You Futian reached out and put the bill of goods into his arms: "I think it's just a matter of slandering an official of the imperial court. There’s no need to let Mr. Li, Mr. Teng of Wuchang Prefecture, and the adults in the Lianghuai officialdom worry about it, right? This guy must be talking nonsense, don’t you think so?”
The two of them nodded in agreement.
Lan Zhongbin, who was kneeling aside, was thinking about how the Lan family could make a huge fortune to eliminate the disaster, when he heard You Futian shouting sternly: "I will honor Jian Fuzun of Yunyang, Kou Fuzun of Huguang, Li Fantai, and Teng Taiwan jointly signed an order to patrol the river to investigate private affairs, and captured the illegal salt lord Lan in Huangzhou Prefecture. After being interrogated by Mr. Taili and Mr. Sun of the government, both witnesses and material evidence were present, and the criminal Lan confessed. According to Ming Dynasty law, he was executed on the spot. ! Ignore Zhouzi and the sailors, all thieves armed with weapons pretending to be officers and soldiers will be captured by this general. Those who resist arrest or escape will be killed on the spot!"
Lan Zhongbin, who was paralyzed into a puddle of mud, didn't have time to call for help. Tang Fu had already swung his knife. Lan Zhongbin didn't understand what happened until his death.
A clump of fireworks jumped up and exploded on the river surface that was turned into sparkling gold by the setting sun. Immediately afterwards, there were shouts of death and screams from all the ships in the fleet that were anchored at the anchorage. Seeing someone jumping into the water towards the shore, Zhang Ding waved his hand, and a loud arrow rushed into the sky with a sharp whistle. Two Pili battalion troops who were waiting on the shore came over with clanging armor...
The sound gradually became silent. I don't know whether it was stained by blood or reflected by the setting sun, but the river water showed circles of fiery red ripples.
You Futian clasped his fists at Li and Sun, who were pale and sweating, and said, "Thank you two adults for your help." Then he said softly, "Vice Admiral Guan told me, Jian Fuzun and other adults said, The private salt is about four million kilograms. According to what the guy just explained, the extra 20% will be handed over to the two adults. There are also 20% of the private goods. There are many places for adults to use money. I will trouble you two more in the future. Well, just now the salt owl resisted arrest with weapons, and several ships were sunk in the fierce battle. 20% of the private goods were on those ships! Not only did the general see this with his own eyes, but in the hearts of the adults of the Third Division It’s all counted, you two adults can go back and fill in the paperwork.”
The two of them quickly said that they did not dare. You Futian's face changed and he pretended to be angry: "Jian Fuzun can't control Huangzhou Mansion. Is it possible that you two don't even appreciate the kindness of the adults of the Third Division of Huguang?" With Feng Zhen and Song Song Li and Sun, who were both dignitaries of the house at that time, had of course already understood the tacit understanding of the superior officials and hurriedly borrowed the donkey's land at the foot of the slope to thank them in return.
Early the next morning, the fleet set sail again. From the deck of the first ship, Zhang Ding's angry roar came: "No! I came all the way from De'an Mansion on your broken boats that were about to fall apart. I will leave these salt and goods at least hundreds of thousands taels to Huangzhou. The goods of those two dog officials are worth twenty thousand taels, so don’t think of sending me away with a few broken pens and a few picks of black ink!"
You Futian argued: "You are so fucking evil! Do you admit that I contributed the most? Can you say what you said to the dog officials, or can you come up with the idea of having the accountant read out the confession?" You don't have to rely on me, Laoyou! Besides, the salt and goods are not all mine. Jian Laogou wants 20%, the Third Division wants 20%, and the Marshal wants 50%. I can only keep 10%, you still want Let’s go in half, what else do you want, you damn thief?”
Zhang Youyi became even more furious when he heard this: "You fart! The young military advisor taught you sentence by sentence! What kind of shit can you spit out with that bitch mouth of yours? Put down the salt and cargo, all your four leaky broken boats have been replaced with this Wait for the boat to arrive. You can tell yourself whether you have made a damn fortune or not! You laughed so hard in your dream last night that you were crying like a ghost, and you are not afraid of falling into the river and turning into a turtle that sinks to the bottom! No, I won’t even tell you the truth. promise!"
"You bitch named Zhang, don't bully others too much! If it were Gu Manzi, would you dare to fart? Don't think that I, Old You, are really afraid of you!"
"You're just farting! Gu Manzi is a hundred times more righteous than you! Gu Manzi would not secretly hide the banknotes himself! I saw it really clearly, stop talking nonsense, I want half of it! No, the cash in the cabin is I also want half..."
Tang Fu tiptoed out of the building and glared at the surrounding men who were covering their mouths and snickering: "Why are you laughing? That guy was quarreling all the way when you came. Haven't you laughed enough?"
After an unknown amount of time, the noise in the cabin finally stopped. After a while, there was a sound of silk and bamboo - the troupe led by Lan Zhongbin was actually captured by the two of them in the boat.
*During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, scholars who passed the provincial examination (an imperial examination held throughout the province) were awarded the title of judicial officer, and were commonly known as Xiaolian. The list of successful candidates will be posted in front of the Chief Envoy's Yamen or the Governor's Yamen. Winning the examination theoretically means that one foot has entered the official career - even if you fail the examination in the future, you will still have the opportunity to become an academic official or a county magistrate. However, this situation usually occurs in the early stages of a dynasty when talents are relatively scarce. When the world is settled and there are more scholars, it will not be so easy. However, at the end of the dynasty, discipline and discipline were abolished and frauds emerged one after another. There were too many redundant officials. If you had the reputation of being a successful candidate, it would be easier to clear up your official career.
*There were banknotes in the Ming Dynasty, but the banknotes issued by each family were often restricted to their more influential circles.
