On October 20, the second year of Taichang, Luanzhou, Yongping Prefecture.
Wearing a flying fish suit and wearing an embroidered spring knife, Shen strode along the north and south streets of Luanzhou.
More than thirty Jin Yiwei fans followed Shen Baihu like a huge tail.
A large black flag was erected in the crowd, with the four characters "Dong Ji Shi Factory" written on it.
Fan Zi was followed by a group of guard generals. They came from Kaiping Zhongtun Guard and were responsible for assisting the Jinyi Guards in catching prisoners.
The people of Luanzhou City gave way to the road one after another and stayed away from these officials, for fear of getting themselves into trouble.
Shen Lian turned a blind eye to the panicked people around him. Shen Baihu's steps were so fast that the two younger brothers behind him could hardly keep up with him.
He thought about finishing this errand early and returning to the capital to join Pei Dahu and the others. Then, go back to Kaiyuan together.
For more than a year, Shen Lian took the Jin Yiwei out to capture and kill people every now and then.
In the second year of Taichang, the Donglin Party in the capital was killed by Eunuch Wei on various charges.
Now, the factory boss is throwing his butcher knife at all parts of Beizhili.
Shen Lian was already fed up.
Ten days ago, the factory owner ordered the arrest of Yang Lian, the leader of Donglin, on charges of violating etiquette and accepting bribes from Xiong Tingbi.
Fanzi ransacked Yang's house but didn't get much money.
Wei Zhongxian ordered Yang Lian to be imprisoned in imperial prison, tortured every three days, and asked the Yang family to hand over 20,000 taels of dirty silver as soon as possible.
Shen Baihu was supposed to lead the team on this trip, but Shen Lian temporarily turned it down and left it to the general commander Zeng Tianxing.
Pei Dahu, Lin Yu, and Wu Xiao arrived in the capital in mid-August. By early October, they had stayed for almost two months, waiting hard for Emperor Taichang and his ministers to confirm the reward for Kaiyuan's army.
During this period, news spread in the capital that some officials in the capital had accepted bribes from Marquis Ping Liao. Shen Lian knew that it was Jin Yiwei who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes and bringing the Donglin Party and Kaiyuan together.
He hurriedly found Pei Dahu and others. After analysis, everyone determined that the imperial court was going to attack Kaiyuan's army.
A direct war is unlikely. The imperial court may send supervisory troops to Shandong, may reduce food and salary allocations, or may recruit the Marquis of Pingliao to Beijing.
In this dimension, the conflict between the eunuchs and Dong Lin becomes more acute, and Wei Zhongxian's liquidation of Dong Lin's gentleman becomes more thorough and cruel.
While the Jinyi Guards arrested Yang Lian and imprisoned him, the Jinan government's reports of impeaching Liu Zhaosun continued to be sent to the palace. In addition, Yanshenggong died violently, and Kaiyuan's army occupied Wendeng.
All kinds of chaos frightened the emperor, and he ordered the Jin Yiwei to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Wei Zhongxian's confidant Xu Xianchun quickly found "irrefutable evidence" that Yang Lian colluded with Ping Liaohou.
The evidence was presented to the emperor, but Emperor Taichang did not take immediate action and only sent two confidants to Dengzhou.
At the same time, the Chief of Ceremony was asked to send people to Qufu to announce the decree, to increase the rank of Marquis Pingliao, and to reward the Kaiyuan Army with 10,000 taels of pension silver.
This conniving attitude made Wei Zhongxian very dissatisfied.
The emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is.
Compared to Zhu Changluo, Wei Zhongxian knew more about Liu Zhaosun, and the Marquis of Ping Liao had more than just Wendeng County in mind.
As a nine-thousand-year-old and a factory owner, Wei Zhongxian must take action.
During Pei Dahu's stay in the capital, Wei Zhongxian took two measures.
First, people were sent to secretly monitor the Shandong Guild Hall.
Second, continue to arrest Donglin's party, establish evidence of Donglin's collusion with Ping Liaohou, and prepare public opinion for the emperor's subsequent crusade.
Today, Shen Lian and the others are going to arrest Yang Lian's good friend Zuo Guangdou, the Zhili Tuntian Chief.
Not long ago, Zuo Guangdou, who was in charge of farming in Yongping, actually drafted a memorial together with Yang Lian, impeaching Wei Zhongxian for thirty-two crimes worthy of execution, and suggested that the emperor kill him to thank the world.
Wei Zhongxian was furious and sent Shen Lian to Luanzhou in person to capture this nosy farming official.
Shen Lian is still the sharpest sword in Jiu Qian's hands.
~~~~~~
Zuofu is located in the east of Luanzhou City. It is a small courtyard with two entrances. The gate is a bit shabby. Compared with the mansions of the masters of the capital, it is really too shabby.
There were many Tiqi fans standing outside the courtyard. The gate was ajar. Separated by a low earth wall, the courtyard was eerily quiet.
"When you go in, you only take people, don't hurt them, do you hear that?"
"Yes! Master Baihu!"
These brothers below all obey Shen Lian.
In just one year in Beizhen Fusi, Shen Lian has become quite popular.
On weekdays, when he went out to do work (raiding homes), he would call out to his brothers if there was any gain, and if there was danger, he would rush to the front.
In addition, he was tall and handsome, so many women admired him, and he was always lucky wherever he went.
So every time he went out to work, his brothers would rush out with him.
Jinyiwei's job is to raid homes. When they raid homes, they will extort, extort, and do anything. There are five spines and six beasts. If they are not warned in advance, it is common for the prisoners' family members to be killed.
After hearing this, Xiaoqiu Gao Fangfang shook his head and sighed:
"Everyone in Northern Zhili knew that this farm official built water conservancy projects and benefited the people there, but they didn't expect to end up like this!"
The flag officer next to him, Lu Jianxing, complained: "You are so poor, how can you make money? It's so damn unlucky."
Shen Lian turned around and glared at the two younger brothers. Neither of them dared to speak anymore. Shen Baihu was about to turn around when he heard a rough voice behind him.
"Shen Baihu is wrong. What does it matter if you raid your home and kill a few people? I kill someone every time I raid my home! I came here this time and heard that the Zuo family still has a daughter. It would be a pity to send it to the Jiaofang Bureau!"
The sound was not very loud, and everyone around him probably heard it, with different expressions on their faces.
Shen Lian frowned slightly, and the veins on his face swelled, but he soon regained his composure. He turned around and looked at the open door without saying a word.
The two younger brothers were very angry and had to say loudly:
"The door is open, copycat, follow Mr. Baihu in!"
A group of fans, led by Shen Baihu, rushed into the yard.
In front of the steps of the main house facing the main door, Zuo Guangdou, a dark and thin man wearing a shabby crane patchwork robe, was sitting upright on a wooden chair.
His family members were surrounded by wooden chairs.
There are three people in total, including Mr. Zuo, a family of four.
He has one wife and one concubine, he is very old and his clothes are plain, just like ordinary people.
A little girl of fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a light-colored skirt and coat, squatted behind a wooden chair, not daring to look at the fierce group of intruders.
"I will let you go, don't hurt my family!"
Zuo Guangdou's voice was loud and full of energy, and his words moved slightly.
Pointing to the furniture and luggage placed next to him, he stood up and walked straight to Shen Lian, saying neither humble nor overbearing:
"I have been in office for twenty years, and all my family assets are here. Lords of the Zhenfu Division don't have to look around."
Shen Lian looked at Zuo Guangdou carefully.
He was about fifty years old, with gray hair on his temples. Looking at the shabby appearance of the family, he knew he had met an upright official.
This year, the number of officials whose homes were confiscated and sent to the Zhenfu Division through Shen Lian's hands ranged from one hundred to eighty. Among these people, very few were truly upright officials.
Under Zhu Yuanzhang's philosophy of "raising integrity with integrity", the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were extremely low.
An upright official like Hai Rui could not support his family with his salary when he was the magistrate of Chun'an County.
Zuo Guangdou should also be an upright official.
So what?
Wei Zhongxian wanted Zuo Guangdou to die, so he had to die. Even if Shen Lian didn't come, others would come, and they couldn't be more cruel than him.
Shen Lian began to worry about Mr. Zuo's family, worrying that they would not be able to raise 20,000 taels of "corruption silver."
"Sir Zuo, your subordinate is Shen Lian, a member of Fusi Baihu in Beizhen. Someone in Yongding Mansion reported that you colluded with the border generals and accepted bribes. They also said that you embezzled the money from Tuntian in North Zhili. Please come with us, sir. The Governor of Zhenfu made it clear. Your family members also need to go to the capital with you."
Shen Lian was worried about scaring Zuo Guangdou, so he continued to explain:
"Don't worry, Mr. Zuo, your family members are innocent. They only need to live next to the Zhenfu Division. If Mr. Zuo..."
Needless to say, Zuo Guangdou understood what was going to happen next. His family members lived next to Zhenfusi. In addition to paying the ransom, they wanted to wait for him to die so that his body could be collected nearby.
Lewen
