April 17, the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, Yangzhou City.
It is said that in Yangzhou City at midnight, except for the Jiahe Liuxiang outside the Xiaodongmen, there are still candles swaying with tears and low voices chanting. The whole city has calmed down from the hustle and bustle of the day.
However, things are completely different from usual on Fuqian Street, located west of Taiping Bridge. After nightfall, from the military warehouse at the west end of the Taiping Bridge to outside the gate of the prefecture's office, there were police sentry posts and deer antlers standing everywhere, and the atmosphere was tense and solemn. Late at night, more than a dozen tung oil torches were lit, burning loudly and making a crackling sound, illuminating a shadow in front of the gate of the magistrate's office.
Since it was exposed a few days ago that prison student Jiao Yingyuan anonymously reported that his cousins Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai, Huang Chengji, and several members of the Jiao family were "conspiracy to rebel", it caused a great sensation inside and outside Yangzhou. Because it involved a well-known scholar, more than a dozen officials and gentlemen came to the magistrate's Yamen to inquire about the case, which caused a lot of discussion in the city and made people uneasy.
Yesterday afternoon, Chang Lin, the governor of Jiangsu, Li Qingxu, the inspector general, and Hu Gaowang, the academic administrator, arrived in Yangzhou together. They stayed at the Jiangjia Garden under Pingshan Hall in the north of the city and prepared to hold a trial on the "Jiao Xun rebellion" case at a later date. In order to prevent accidents, the prefect Ma Huiyu did not send a strong squad on duty today. Instead, he specially transferred more than 20 soldiers from Green Camp to be responsible for guarding the gate outside at night.
"Boom! Boom, boom, boom!"
Unknowingly, with the slow and three fast bamboo bangs faintly heard from the other side of the Wen River, the fourth watch has arrived.
Although Magistrate Ma gave them enough money and rice, all the Green Camp soldiers still performed their duties well into the middle of the night. But in the second half of the night, everyone was already very sleepy, and they sat in groups under the wall, yawning and falling asleep.
At this time, under the Taiping Bridge in the east, two dark figures slowly climbed up from the bottom of the river slope. They were Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang who came from Yunsi Yamen.
Li Qi, a man from the Tang Dynasty, said in his poem "The tide rises in Guoli, Yangzhou", which refers to the small river behind them that passes through the city and leads directly to the canal and the Yangtze River. Since the Ming Dynasty, boats have been running on this river day and night, and because both sides of the river have become increasingly prosperous, with government schools, county schools and Anding Academy nearby, it was named "Wen River", which is homophonic to "Wen".
The reason why the two of them swam from the river instead of walking on the bridge was because there were several large bright lanterns hanging on the bridge at night, making it easy for people to be spotted as soon as they stepped on the bridge.
Many people in later generations believe that ancient people suffered from night blindness and became blind at night. In fact, it depends on people and at different times; those at the bottom who are malnourished may have it, but in Yangzhou, a land of plenty, they certainly will not.
The two lay down in the low grass and observed for a while. After checking the ammunition and other items again, they finally decided to take action.
"Da da."
As the trigger was pulled, two soft sounds were made almost at the same time. In an instant, the two shotgun soldiers who were napping against the wall tilted and fell to the ground. It is said that three o'clock in the morning is the time when human senses are at their slowest and the brain responds slowly. Therefore, the abnormality of the two shotgun soldiers was not discovered by other Qing soldiers.
Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang's intention was to kill the shotgun soldiers and the Qing soldiers with bows and arrows first, and then the others. Compared with Zhao Xin, Wang Yuanfang's shooting was fast and accurate. He fired two consecutive bursts at each target. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight Qing soldiers fell under the wall.
Only then did the two of them get up from the grass, one behind the other, and began to move forward slowly against the wall. As long as they found a living person in the thermal imaging scope, they would kill them with two shots. Although Wang Yuanfang can't bear it, he also knows that he must not talk about being soft-hearted at this moment. It will be troublesome if the Qing soldiers really find out.
In just over twenty minutes, the two of them almost cleared away the sleepy Qing soldiers, and the torches and lanterns began to be extinguished one by one. The originally bright Futong Street soon fell into darkness. into the darkness.
Under the drum stand on the right side of the government office gate, the military attaché leading the team, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly felt agitated, as if he had a premonition of something, and suddenly woke up from his dream.
This person is an "extra foreign affairs commission" from Yangzhou Lvying. He has a big nose and is from the ninth rank. Although he has not entered the mainstream, he is still an official. Because he won two taels of silver from the boss in gambling a few days ago, he was jealous and was sent to lead troops to keep vigil.
The military attache lifted up the thin quilt on his body, sat up and was in a daze for a while. It was dark and silent all around, except for the lantern on the drum stand that was still lit. Then he felt something was wrong. Why were the fires on the street extinguishing all the lanterns, and there was no sound of voice? Where had everyone gone?
"Zhou Kui! Feng Liuzi! Jiang Chun!"
"..."
He called out the names of several of his subordinates, but no one responded, and an ominous cloud began to envelope his mind. So he stood up and picked up the sword, took off the lantern from the drum stand, walked down the steps of the government office gate, raised the lantern and looked to both sides.
Under the dim light and shadow, he saw his men swaying around and "sleeping" under the base of the splayed wall, and he suddenly became furious.
However, when he walked closer and was about to wake one of them up, he saw that person lying on the ground, motionless, which was very different from usual. He stabbed it with the sheathed sword, and was shocked to find that the other party didn't respond at all.
The military attaché brought the lantern closer and took a closer look, only to see a bloody hole on the opponent's forehead, and a pool of blood on the ground under his head. He held up the lantern and looked at the other two people nearby, and found that they all looked the same.
A chill suddenly hit my heart. The April night in the south was not cold, and was even a bit sultry, but the military attache felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He trembled all over, his face instantly turned pale, his mouth was wide open in a daze, and a sound like a bellows came out of his throat.
"Come......"
However, before he could shout out, he heard two soft "da da" sounds. The military attache was shot in the chest instantly and fell to the ground. After the lantern in his hand fell, he screamed and caught fire. After a while, two figures walked out from behind the antlers erected on the street.
Wang Yuanfang passed through the gap between the two antlers, pushed the burning lantern away with his feet, turned around and said to Zhao Xin: "Why did you beat him to death? Who will call the door for us later?"
Zhao Xin whispered: "This yamen is locked at night, and no one can open it."
It is said that the defense of government offices at all levels in the Qing Dynasty actually relied first on city defense. Once an emergency occurred in the city and someone attacked the government offices, they could only rely on the garrison defending the city for rescue.
For example, in the late Qing Dynasty, Huang Xing led his men to attack the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi. Two bombs were thrown, killing several guards on the spot. Others fled into the guard room to resist. In the end, Li Zhun, the admiral of the Guangdong Navy, heard the news and led the green camp. The soldiers arrived and the rebels were driven back.
In fact, whether it is a county government office, a government office, or even a governor's office, the only agency on duty at night is the number room set up in the large porch of the government office.
In addition to the "visitor registration" duties similar to those of later generations of doormen, the main job of the doorman of the No. 1 house was to respond to the signal release of the internal work and rest rhythm of the government office.
For example, from the first quarter of the first lunar month (5:15 a.m.), please lock the door and lock the door until the third quarter of the lunar month (7:45 p.m.). During this period, you can call the office staff to get up, urge Huimao to go to work, and inform the superior that he has arrived in the lobby or Signals for office work in the pledge room, lunch breaks, office breaks, etc. are all issued by the gate by banging bangs, drums or hitting cloud boards.
In addition, the door opening and closing of the courtyards and offices within the government office in the morning and evening are also operated by the gate. The key to the gate must be handed over to the chief official who lives in the backyard for safekeeping.
In other words, even if there is a big event like the sky falling, Menzi must go to the backyard first, take the risk to wake up the master, explain the situation, and get the key before he can open the door.
Wang Yuanfang lost his temper when he heard this, and thought that he could only use explosives.
The two of them walked to the front door of the government office with flashlights and looked up and down. At this time, Wang Yuan conveniently saw a barrel-like thing mounted on the door leaf, with half of it exposed outside and half inside. He patted Zhao Xin and pointed at the barrel, asking what was this?
Zhao Xin shook his head and said he had never seen it before.
In fact, this thing is called a "turning bucket", also called a "turning bucket", and its purpose is to deliver urgent documents after the lock is locked at night. From the Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, doorbells were installed in the gates of government offices. Visitors at night would pull the rope outside the door to wake up the door in the number room, and then use a rotating barrel to deliver official documents. After the Republic of China, the "turning barrel" lost its function and was subsequently dismantled.
At this time, Wang Yuanfang took out a piece of plastic explosive 20 cm long and two fingers square from the pocket on the outside of his thigh. After removing the outer packaging, he first cut it in half with a dagger, and then he and Zhao Xin held it in their hands repeatedly. After a few clicks, he pinched the white explosive into a long strip slightly thicker than his thumb.
Then, as if playing with plasticine, the two carefully stuck the explosives around the door knockers of the two doors, forming a ring with a diameter of almost forty centimeters.
Then, Wang Yuanfang pulled out a one-meter-long hairline with an electric detonator from his tactical vest pocket, and forcefully stuffed one end of the detonator into the explosive. When all preparations were completed, he nodded to Zhao Xin, who then quickly walked down the steps, ran to the outermost side of the eight-character wall and squatted down, about twenty meters away from the government office gate.
At this time, Wang Yuanfang twisted the small iron ring on the handle of the fuse to the right, and then pulled it sharply outward. The fuse inside immediately began to smoke. He hurriedly rushed to Zhao Xin's position holding the gun, and the two of them lay on the ground together, waiting quietly.
Time seemed to have passed for a long time, but it also seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye. There was only a loud "boom" sound, and a ball of fire with gunpowder smoke exploded on the two doors in an instant. Countless wood chips were accompanied by the copper nails on the doors. It splashed outward, mottled the screen wall opposite the government office gate.
Now there was no need to beat the alarm drum anymore, and half of Yangzhou City was awakened!
Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang brushed off the wood residue flying on their heads with their hands, stood up, turned on the tactical flashlight under the gun body, and got in through the hole that was blown in the door.
When the explosion occurred, Menzi, who was sleeping in the cell, was frightened half to death by the sudden roar and vibration. Because of the tradition of "officials not repairing government offices", dust was falling from the already very old concierge, making the whole house look crumbling.
The doorman kept coughing and felt that the house was about to collapse, so he crawled out without thinking about his body. Unexpectedly, he was grabbed by Zhao Xin as soon as he came out.
"Where is the cell?!" Zhao Xin asked twice in a row, but the doorman just covered his face with his arms to dodge under the illumination of the flashlight, shouting: "There's an earthquake! There's an earthquake!"
Zhao Xin muttered and cursed, then raised his hand and gave the other party a big ear post. The man then stopped, slumped on the ground, and looked at the two people in front of him with a look of fear.
"Is Jiao Xiucai, who was arrested a few days ago, being held here?!"
Seeing the doorman nodding blankly, Zhao Xin asked again: "Where is the cell? Tell me quickly!"
It is said that in ancient government offices, there was a concept of "the public gate is as deep as the sea". There are many halls and countless rooms, and different areas are divided with the help of heavily barricaded walls and doors. If people who have never been here come in for the first time, they don’t know how to get around.
The man was suddenly startled. He covered his face with his hands, looked at the tall Zhao Xin in front of him, and said with trembling teeth: "You, you, you guys are going to... Ouch!"
There were faint sounds of footsteps on the street outside. Zhao Xin didn't care much, kicked the door to the ground, pressed his knee on the other person's chest and said: "I asked you where your cell is, and I didn't tell you that I would kill you!"
"Yi, Yi, turn left in front of Yimen..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yuanfang stepped forward and hit the opponent's carotid artery with his palm, causing the man to faint immediately.
The two of them immediately turned to the north, trotted along the corridor, and soon arrived at the Yimen. In the dark night, the Yimen standing on two levels and three steps looked eerie.
This is the most important door in the government office. It is not open at ordinary times. It will only be opened when the chief official takes office, when the superior inspects it, and when the imperial edict is received. The daily entry and exit of personnel are through the small door on the right side of the instrument gate.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the cells in county or government offices were generally located in the southwest of the government office, which is the Kun Palace in the Bagua, and the location belongs to the Gate of Death. Because the gate of death belongs to the earth, it means "all things spring, grow, and die in autumn." It is responsible for punishment, killing, hunting, killing animals, hanging and mourning.
The two of them turned left from here as told by the previous door. After running only two steps, they heard the creak of the courtyard door directly in front of them. The door was opened from the inside. Two people wearing uniforms and waistcoats looked like government officials. The guy was walking out with his lantern in hand.
Seeing two black figures running over in front of them, the man holding the lantern at the head had already crossed the threshold, and then asked in a low voice: "Who?!"
Zhao Xin didn't answer at all. He raised his hand and fired. The man fell into the doorway with a "thud" and the lantern also fell to the ground. The yamen servant behind him was suddenly startled, and hurriedly raised his hand to close the door. However, the yamen servant who fell to the ground pressed his arm on the threshold, and the courtyard door could not be closed at all.
At this time, Wang Yuanfang stepped forward quickly, kicked the door with a flying kick, and the surviving government servant was hit in the face by the door leaf. He let out a scream and fell to the ground.
Wang Yuanfang immediately jumped into the doorway, pressed on the man, and asked sternly: "Say! Is this a prison cell?!"
The yamen servant's mouth and nose were bleeding from the previous knock, and his front teeth also fell out. He cried out: "Yes! Yes! Master, spare your life!"
In fact, when the two of them entered the door, they didn't notice at all. In addition to the word "prison room" written on the door outside the courtyard, there was also a stone sculpture of a leopard's head, which represented shock.
After Wang Yuanfang heard this, he stood up and grabbed the other party's collar and said, "Where are Jiao Xiucai and the others being held? Take us there quickly!"
The yamen servant staggered to his feet, bowed and begged: "Young man is just a prisoner. He has never done anything harmful to nature. I beg you to spare your life!"
Zhao Xin scolded: "You fucking jailer, you still dare to say that you won't do anything harmful to the world. The worst people in the yamen are you bastards. Get out of here!"
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