Taking advantage of the lightship crashing into the pier, desperadoes recruited from the "nine surnames" of the Fuchun River would also drive small boats, take advantage of the chaos and land on the river bank, launch a land and water attack, and defeat the outer defenses of Phoenix Villa in one fell swoop.
"It's really poisonous." Zhao Yingong said a sentence in a nondescript manner, and he nodded heavily towards Xihua, "You did a good job, and you have made a great contribution this time!"
"Thanks to Master Hongfu..." Xihua lowered his head submissively.
"Haha, after this is over, I will send you to Lingao to further your studies - haven't you wanted to go for a long time?" Zhao Yingong was still immersed in the excitement of "everything is under control".
"Thank you, Master." Xihua knelt down and kowtowed, with a sneer on his lips.
"The next step is to arrest Hao Yuan." Zhao Yingong rubbed his hands excitedly, "Xihua, you have to try your best to maintain your relationship with Hao Yuan and see if you can hook out the big shot behind him!"
"Yes, this slave knows."
"Zhao Tong, let the people at Sticky Stick continue to monitor the traitors on the list to see what else they do."
Zhao Yingong still did not forget to catch the "mastermind", so he continued to "deploy defense and internal control" internally and was in no rush to close the net.
"yes."
"You immediately take people out to investigate in person: see if what Xihua said is true!"
That night, Zhao Yingong brought the information to the central command room of the villa to find Qian Shuixie.
"So the enemy will launch a general attack on the Ghost Festival." Qian Shuixie listened to the latest information and stared at the sand table.
"I have some doubts. After all, for this Hao Yuan, Xihua has the possibility of being exposed and arrested. So the date of July and a half may not be completely accurate. However, I have sent people to check other information, and it is basically accurate. So this date The possibility is very high.”
"You make sense. Even if it's not the Ghost Festival, it should be within a few days." Qian Shuixie looked at the villa. The area of the villa is too large to achieve thorough protection. Fortunately, there are only a few important locations to protect. Combining the characteristics of armed fighting and mass riots during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Qian Shuixie believed that the intensity of the enemy's attack would not be too strong, and that the main purpose would be "beating, smashing, looting, and burning" and not killing many people. Otherwise, even if you buy someone's life, it won't end well.
"I think their main goal is the silk reeling factory at the foot of the mountain. Apart from the refugee camps, this and the wharf facilities are the largest at the foot of the mountain. And the defense is very limited. Considering the organization system of the mob, it is difficult to imagine how many groups they can divide into. launch an attack at the same time.”
The Qianshui Association decided to strengthen defenses around the silk reeling factory and the dock, including setting up emergency chains around the dock to intercept river lights and French boats. Several snipers were arranged on the dock, looking for opportunities to kill sailors and "fallen civilians" on the ship. At the same time, a chain boat is equipped, which means an iron chain is hung between the two small boats in case the iron chain fails. The two ships started at the same time. Led the river lanterns to the wide water and exiled them.
…
Xihua went down to rest. Although she knew that Hao Yuanbu's spies in the villa had been exposed, she now had the task of "uncovering the mastermind" and could contact Jia Le with peace of mind.
Time passed day by day, as the Zhongyuan Dynasty was approaching, Xihua's heart became more and more anxious day by day. Jia Le no longer sent any specific news. She was worried about the success of the action planned by Hao Yuan. And I am afraid that once the villa is broken down, both will be destroyed: the tens of thousands of refugees in Cihui Hall, and the hundreds of needy children in the kindergarten. They are all the objects of her concern. However, what worried her most was that Hao Yuan disappeared.
The concern and attachment to Hao Yuan was like a fire burning her heart all the time, making her sleepless and uneasy. She has never been so worried about anyone since her parents died. This kind of good feeling that started out as a hazy feeling has now turned into a burning flame of love.
In the midst of such suffering, we finally arrived on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month. She had just returned from the kindergarten at noon, but she saw that the pen, ink, paper and inkstone on the table in her room had been changed. This was an urgent signal that Hao Yuan wanted to meet her.
She immediately rushed to report the matter to Zhao Yingong: she knew that she was completely under surveillance and it was very difficult to leave privately. Moreover, once he escapes, Zhao Yingong will know that the information he received is untrue, and all the painstaking arrangements he made earlier will be completely useless.
Zhao Yingong immediately agreed to her plan to meet Hao Yuan.
"I think you are asked to play the role of insider this time - no matter what they say, you just have to agree. Just don't agree too readily and do it reluctantly. In addition, try to find clues to the mastermind behind the scenes!"
After accepting Zhao Yingong's "instruction", Xihua went back to her room to prepare for a while - she knew very well that she would probably never come back this time, and money and other things were just external possessions. Hao Yuan also said that "he would take care of her." . The most important thing is a "land deed" for his ancestral tomb, which was redeemed by Zhao Yingong for twenty-six taels of silver. She just used her monthly money and allowance to pay it off bit by bit - this was her family's ancestral cemetery and she couldn't owe it to others.
Also, there are a few "missing memories" from my parents. She put them all into her arms one by one. Although there were other things that she liked very much, she could only throw them away without caring at the moment.
When I think of leaving, I will be cut off from my life in this villa. When I think back to the days and nights of the past two years, I feel very reluctant to leave.
Finally, she brought some scattered silver - only seven or eight taels. The slaves in the villa received circulation certificates, and it took her a long time to save the money.
After leaving the villa and arriving at the designated contact point, a designated person picked up the sedan and wandered through countless alleys and streets. After walking for half an hour, the sedan was quietly carried to an unfamiliar mansion.
The mansion looks small in scale and humble in shape, so it is not a residence for a wealthy family. There is a towering tree in the small yard, which blocks out the sun. It was extremely quiet all around, except for the long chirping of cicadas.
Unlike what she had imagined, there was no bustle of people coming and going before the attack. The entire mansion was quiet and seemed uninhabited.
"Sister." As soon as she got off the sedan, she felt dizzy, and a pair of hands held her arms.
The voice was very familiar, and upon closer inspection, it was Jia Le.
"Why are you here too?" She was a little surprised
Jia Le smiled: "If I don't leave, are you going to be captured by Mr. Zhao and tortured?"
"That's true." Seeing Jia Le, she felt a lot more at ease.
"This is where?"
"You'll know when you get there." Jia Le said with a smile, "Follow me."
He led her through the corridor and came to the main courtyard, where he saw Hao Yuan sitting upright in the main room, holding a cup of tea in one hand and a folding fan in the other. All the windows and doors were open, and the cool breeze was blowing. It made a corner of the green shirt fly, and it was indescribably elegant. Xihua was stunned for a moment.
Seeing Xihua, he put down the tea cup and stood up to greet Xihua with a smile.
"You're finally out of danger!"
Xihua concealed a smile: "Mr. Zhao still hopes to find more clues. To reveal the mastermind behind this."
Hao Yuanlang laughed so loudly that even the birds in the tree started.
"Let him find it slowly." He stopped laughing, "He's so right!"
"Who is he?" Xihua was a little confused.
"It's nothing." Hao Yuan seemed to realize that he had let something slip. He covered it up, "Jia Le, take Miss Xihua to her room to settle down first. Get some tea and snacks..."
"I'm not thirsty and I'm not tired. Just tell me first." Xihua's mood was high. "Where is this place? What else do you want me to do?"
"This is one of my three cunning rabbit burrows." Hao Yuan said with a smile, "Don't worry, it is absolutely safe here. Neither Mr. Zhao nor anyone else can find it here."
"Who else?!"
"Exactly." Hao Yuan nodded. The "others" were the "stone men" who paid to hire him. Hao Yuan knew very well that Shi Weng was just an errand boy, and there was someone else behind the scenes. Hao Yuan knew very well that this kind of people often regarded the bottom class as ants. After doing such a thing, it was possible to burn bridges, turn their backs on them, or even silence them. You can "work hard" for it, but if you "work hard" for it, you really have to "sell" your life.
"It's a long story. I'll talk to you slowly in the future." Hao Yuan said seriously, "I have something important to ask you."
"You have spent a long time in Wanbi Bookstore. Tell me about the situation inside. The more detailed the better!"
"What you want to attack is Wanbi Bookstore?!" Xihua was shocked.
"Exactly." Hao Yuan nodded.
"But, but." Xihua started to speak incoherently. Whether it was from Zhao Yingong or Hao Yuan, the argument she heard was that Wanbi Bookstore would not touch it - doing this in the city would be an open fire robbery, no? It's so simple to fight a civil uprising. Moreover, the government will intervene as soon as possible due to circumstances and reasons.
Hao Yuan was taking advantage of Shi Weng's plan. He knew very well that Zhao Yingong would make the same judgment under pressure and move all the most important items in the villa to Bi Shufang - Xihua proved that he was right. .
Because the city is safe, Zhao Yingong will not arrange too many defensive forces in Wanbi Bookstore, especially those mysterious powers that can make them bloom overnight. These powers will inevitably Stay in the villa, the focus of attention from all parties.
Hao Yuan built a plank road to cross Chencang secretly. On the surface, Hao Yuan worked tirelessly and diligently to make various preparations for the attack on Phoenix Villa - these preparations were not false. In reality, he had already gathered members of the core organization he had established in Nanxiawa. He was just waiting for the start of the battle at Phoenix Villa. Taking advantage of the fact that all parties' attention was attracted by Phoenix Villa, he decisively attacked Wanbi Bookstore and seized part of it. The gold and silver treasures and important files stored in the bookshop were then burned to the ground.
He fully believed that this blow would make Zhao Yingong more heartbroken than rushing into Fenghuang Villa to have a big fight and burning down several silk mills and rice mills and other facilities. (To be continued...)
