When the three of them walked into the cell yard, the prisoners in each cell had actually been awakened by the explosion just now. Although I knew something was wrong, I didn't know what was going on outside.
Under the illumination of two flashlights, the true appearance of the Qing Dynasty prison finally appeared in front of Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang.
Completely different from what we imagined in the past or what we saw in movies and TV dramas, the prisons in Yangzhou Prefecture are rows of staggered blue brick buildings. The eaves of the prison are not high, just a little higher than Zhao Xin's height. The door of the cell that comes into view is extremely low, about the height of Zhao Xin's chest, no more than 1.5 meters. As for the door of the cell, it is not a big iron door or a log, but is made of a wooden fence, which is only more than one meter high.
In addition to the low cell door, there is also a small window thirty or forty centimeters square on the wall on the side of each cell door, which is blocked by bars.
At this time, they saw light shaking in the yard, and the prisoners in each cell came to the cell door to look around. However, when Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang shined their flashlights, the prisoners dispersed and hid in the darkness of the cell.
The prisoner led the two of them around and around, and finally came to the innermost row of cells in the southwest corner of the prison cell. He pointed to the row of cells and said to Zhao Xin: "Good man, this is it. Everyone related to the Jiao family case is being held here."
Zhao Xin hit the prisoner on the shoulder with the butt of his gun and shouted sternly: "Are you looking for death? Are male and female prisoners locked together?!"
The prisoner knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "You don't dare! You don't dare! It's really because the cells are full and these people are repeat offenders, so they are locked up in one place. The two innermost cells They are women, and the three rooms outside are all occupied by men."
At this time, Zhong Huai, who lived in the outermost cell, was already alerted by the voices outside. He hurriedly approached the door, leaned forward and leaned on the fence door, and said urgently: "This is Zhong Baoqi, who are you?"
Zhao Xinwen was overjoyed and raised his flashlight to shine, while Zhong Huai's eyes were dazzled by the bright light and he immediately raised his hand to cover it.
"Are you Zhong Huai? I was sent by King Zhao to rescue you."
Zhong Huai was stunned when he heard it. He completely ignored the other party's direct call to his name. It's only been the sixth day since the whole family was captured. I didn't expect Beihai Town to send someone here so quickly! He quickly handed over to Zhao Xin and said: "The great kindness of King Zhao will be unforgettable in my life, Zhong Baoqi! Please rescue my old parents first."
Zhao Xin then pointed his gun at the cell and shouted sternly: "Open all the doors!"
The jailer said with a sad face: "The villain didn't bring the key! He put it all in the room where the villain lives."
Wang Yuanfang shouted: "Get up! Go get the key!"
"No need!" After Zhao Xin said that, he put the rifle behind his back, and in the blink of an eye, a heavy fire ax nearly one meter long appeared in his hand.
Zhao Xin asked Zhong Huai and others to step back, then swung the axe, and with a few clicks, the fence door of the dormitory was chopped to pieces. Then he broke open the fence doors of the dormitories at the back one after another.
Seeing that Zhao Xin broke through the door with an ax very smoothly, Wang Yuanfang pressed the prison under his body and tied his hands and feet with plastic straps. In order to prevent him from screaming, he pulled off a large piece of fabric from the other party's clothes. , kneaded it and stuffed it into the prisoner's mouth, choking him so much that he rolled his eyes.
A family of 100 people were crammed into five small huts for several days, and they were already feeling suffocated, thirsty and hungry. At this time, all of them were unkempt, and although their clothes were not tattered, they were still filthy. If Zhao Xin came a few days later, he would have to face a group of patients.
Everyone hesitantly walked out of the cell with their hearts pounding. Although they felt a lot more relaxed, except for Jiao Xun and the others, everyone else stood under the eaves fearfully, not daring to move.
Even the prison was robbed, and what was originally not a rebellion became a rebellion. If he is caught by the government now, he will be beheaded at least, and the three clans will be killed in Ling Chi at worst!
Do you want to go with these two people? For most people present, it is definitely a big issue related to personal life and death and the reputation of the clan.
When Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji walked out of the cell, they already understood what was going on. Jiao Xun then gritted his teeth and said, "Why are you still hesitating?! Now that we have been labeled as rebels, do we still expect those corrupt officials to let us go?!"
At this time, I only heard someone spit: "Bah! That's because you, Jiao Xiucai, wanted to rebel, and that's why you implicated us. Now that the Holy Emperor is in power, except for the three of you, everyone present is an innocent person. The government will definitely not As for the embarrassment, I’ll wait.”
Zhong Huai was so angry that he trembled all over, pointed at the man and reprimanded: "I think you are hungry and dizzy! Nowadays, the government is corrupt and all officials are stupid. Even if someone is falsely accused of treason, the official will be beheaded, at least the whole family will be beheaded." Exile three thousand miles!"
After everyone heard this, they were suddenly frightened and trembled in their hearts. Although Zhong Huai is less than thirty years old, he is known as a humble gentleman in Yangzhou City, and he never deceives anyone in his dealings with others.
Zhao Xin put away the big steel ax when no one was paying attention, then took out a small flashlight from the pocket of his vest, opened it and handed it to Jiao Xun, who was at a loss, and said to him: "Jiao Xiucai, count everyone quickly. For a moment, those who are willing to leave can go, and those who are unwilling to leave will not be forced to leave. We will leave the city and take a boat in a while. "
At this time, a person suddenly said: "Is there a boat? How many people can it carry?"
Zhao Xin frowned and said, "It's enough for you to sit."
Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji didn't have much contact with Zhao Xin during the few months they were in Beihai Town. At this time, Zhao Xin had his face covered with camouflage ointment, so he didn't recognize him at all. At the same time, he thought that there must be a lot of people outside, so he took the flashlight to check one by one with confidence.
Suddenly, a roar came from the crowd in the courtyard: "Jiao Yingyuan, you shameless person! You actually have the nerve to hang out with us. I have to beat you to death today!"
"kill him!"
At this time, I heard a man crying hoarsely: "Mother, save me! Mother, save me!"
"I don't have a son like you! What a sin!"
Zhao Xingsheng raised his flashlight and looked around, only to see an unkempt middle-aged man hurriedly blocking the fists that were falling around him, while he himself couldn't help but retreat towards the eaves of the dormitory.
Among those who beat him, in addition to several creditors whom he falsely accused of treason, his two biological brothers and even his biological mother Wang also joined the team of scolding.
Zhao Xin had roughly understood what was going on from the telegram. Seeing such a chaotic scene in front of him, he strode forward to push away the crowd and shouted: "Get out of the way!"
The few people who were beating Jiao Yingyuan with their fists were stunned when they heard the words. When they saw the strong man who had smashed the door with an ax coming over, they immediately moved away unconsciously.
Zhao Xin stepped forward and grabbed Jiao Yingyuan's collar. He waved his right hand and slapped Jiao Yingyuan so hard that he immediately became dizzy. Zhao Xin said to the people around him without turning his head: "Hold him down!"
Everyone hated Jiao Yingyuan, so they all rushed forward and pinned him to the ground. Zhao Xin immediately took out two plastic straps from one of the pockets of his vest and tied Jiao Yingyuan's hands and feet tightly, and then said to everyone: "We don't have time to waste, carry him into the cell, the Manchu government will take care of it on its own." he!"
After some entanglement and psychological struggle, only two-thirds of the people finally decided to go with Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang; the remaining one-third included Jiao Yingyuan's three creditors and his family, as well as Jiao Yingyuan's mother Wang and her three sons' family. No matter how hard Jiao Xun tried to persuade him, his aunt Wang would not leave. She always believed that the officials in the government would be honest and uphold justice.
Zhao Xin was also helpless. Even Jiao Xun couldn't persuade him, and he didn't bother to talk. He said to Wang Yuanfang in a depressed tone: "This is why I can't see the coffin without crying. There will be times when they cry!"
Wang Yuanfang was also speechless. He checked the equipment and said to Zhao Xin: "I'll go out and take a look first. It's still a long way from here to the city gate."
Zhao Xindao: "You clear the way, and I will come to the rear. After I get out, I just use grenades to clear the way. I still don't believe it!"
Wang Yuanfang said: "What should we do when we get to the city gate? Or use explosives?"
Zhao Xindao: "Yes, explode! As long as we get out of Anjiang Gate and reach the canal, it will be easy!"
At the same time, outside the gate of the magistrate's office, dozens of cadres from Jiangdu and Ganquan counties who had been hastily summoned had just arrived. These people huddled fearfully on both sides of the eight-character wall, looking up at the gate of the government office, which had a big hole blown out. They all looked at each other, wondering where the fierce thieves came from, and they even used gunpowder.
Now the situation between the enemy and ourselves is unclear, and there are many officers and soldiers dead under the eight-character wall. Everyone thinks that the thieves must have at least a hundred or more men, so no one dares to approach the gate.
At this moment, a dark object was suddenly thrown out of the dark hole in the government office gate, and hit the ground with a clang ten meters in front of the gate.
More than 30 government officials were confused and confused when they heard a loud "boom", knocking the two nearest government officials to the ground on the spot, and the others were scared to the point of urinating. , ran away, and kept shouting: "Run quickly! The thief has ten thousand enemies!"
As the smoke filled the air, Wang Yuanfang walked out of the door. He didn't care whether there was anyone or not, and fired several shots into the dark streets on both sides. Then he heard someone wailing loudly on the Taiping Bridge to the east, and another person shouted: "No! The second son of the Hua family was beaten to death by a thief's musket!"
At this time, in the main room of the back house of the magistrate's compound, Yangzhou magistrate Ma Huiyu, who was sitting on the imperial chair, was dressed in official uniform and patchwork. He was not missing any beads and a flower feather on his head, but his face was ashen and he was holding a three-foot hand. Qingfeng's hands couldn't help trembling. In the inner chamber behind him, there were wives, concubines, and maids who couldn't stop wailing.
The prefecture and county officials in the Qing Dynasty had the responsibility of guarding the territory. Once the city was destroyed, they could only apologize with death to avoid being held accountable by the court later and ending up with their homes being confiscated. As for the family members of chief officials, they usually hang themselves or commit suicide by throwing themselves into a well to avoid humiliation.
In the yard outside, Magistrate Ma's more than twenty followers and dozens of servants were armed with weapons, kitchen knives, scissors and the like, ready to fight when the thieves rushed in.
Those few hired workers were fine, and at most they escaped; but for other people who had been sold into slavery, if their masters were in trouble, their fate would not be much better. Even if they escape, it will be difficult to escape the boundaries of Yangzhou Prefecture, because in the household registration circular, their identities are all domestic slaves. Once the prefect's house is confiscated by the court, what awaits them will be sold or exiled.
At this time, she heard the roar of another explosion outside. Ma Huiyu thought that the thieves were about to attack the back house, and she felt extremely desperate. He slowly drew out his sword, with a few tears falling from his eyes, and stood facing south, cupping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty! I am responsible for the loss of land in Malang Mountain. Now I can only die to repay your kindness!"
After saying that, he raised his sword and just put it on his neck when the door of the hall was suddenly knocked open. A servant who had given birth to a child ran in and knelt on the ground and said: "Master! The thief is gone!"
gone? Ma Huiyu asked with a trembling voice in disbelief: "Are you sure?"
"The slave's brother just saw it with his own eyes on the roof! They robbed a large group of people from the prison and have now left the government office gate!"
With a "clang", the sword in Ma Zhifu's hand fell to the ground. The queen was stunned for a moment, and suddenly rushed towards the inner house behind, shouting: "The thief is gone! Madam! Lan Xiang! Don't seek death." ．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．
When Wang Yuanfang walked eastward against the wall, fired several shots at the Taiping Bridge, and threw a grenade, the entire Taiping Bridge was deserted, and the strong squad guarding the bridge had long since escaped. There was no trace of it.
Behind him were Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji, as well as their families. Zhao Xin walked at the end of the team. While urging the people in front to move quickly, he held his gun and glanced at the walls and roofs on both sides of Fuqian Street from time to time.
When Wang Yuanfang rushed onto the Taiping Bridge, dogs were barking in the streets opposite, and torches were lit on the Xianchun Gate in the northeast and the Xiaodongmen Gate in the southeast. There were crowds of people on the city walls, and people kept beating gongs to sound the alarm.
The Yangzhou Green Camp's Tourism Office is located in Xincheng, east of the city. After receiving the warning, the commander-in-chief didn't know how many thieves had come, so he led his hundreds of Green Camp soldiers to the city wall. The problem was that hundreds of soldiers could not guard the walls of Yangzhou City. The general had to order his men to beat the gongs continuously, intending to use the gongs to intimidate the thieves in the city.
Soon, when Wang Yuanfang and Zhao Xin led a group of people to Anjiangmen Street and were about to arrive at the Anjiangmen Gate Tower, the guards on the city wall discovered them, and then the gongs sounded, and several The soldiers hid behind the walls and shouted: "Don't let the thieves escape! Come quickly!"
Wang Yuanfang raised his hand and fired several shots at the top of the city. The bricks of the city wall that he hit were smoking. When he jumped over the antlers under the city gate and entered the dark city gate, he turned on the flashlight under the rifle and saw that the latch that locked the door was thicker than his thigh.
He rushed to the door and took out the only remaining piece of plastic explosive from the pocket on the outside of his thigh. He didn't cut it now. He tore open the package and stuck it directly on the door latch.
Behind him, Jiao Xun and others were supporting him all the way. Just as he was about to enter the city gate, he heard Zhao Xin shouting from behind: "Everyone is hiding on both sides of the gate, cover your ears, don't go in!"
When Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji heard this, they hurriedly called their families, dispersed to both sides of the city gate, and covered their ears tightly.
A few breaths later, Wang Yuanfang also ran out of the city gate. As soon as he turned around and hid in the corner, he heard a loud bang and a stream of smoke mixed with sawdust spewed out from behind.
Even wearing a mask, Wang Yuanfang was choked and coughed. Not to mention the others, they all looked frightened, their legs were weak and they fell to the ground, coughing uncontrollably.
At this time, the gatekeepers on the Anjiang Gate Tower were all knocked to the ground by the explosion, and the arrow tower on the city gate also became crumbling, with tiles crackling and falling down.
Zhao Xin, who was hiding opposite, shouted to Wang Yuanfang: "Wait here!"
After saying that, he rushed into the city gate.
