When Zhao Xin rushed into the city gate and passed through the blasted city gate, his footsteps suddenly stopped and he couldn't help but be stunned at the sight in front of him. He suddenly realized that he had almost made a big mistake.
At this time, the sky had turned slightly blue, and a moat of more than three meters wide stretched across 30 meters away from Anjiang Gate. A wooden suspension bridge with two cast iron chains had been raised to more than two meters above the ground. The ends of the two iron chains extended all the way into the gate tower of Anjiang Gate.
In fact, if the violent explosion had not shaken the city gate tower and scared the soldiers inside who were desperately turning the winch and fled, the suspension bridge would have been put away long ago. Even if Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang can swim across the moat by then, Jiao Xun and the others may not be able to cross.
"Damn it!" Zhao Xin cursed, then took off two egg-shaped grenades from his tactical vest, pulled out the safety bolt, and threw them towards the city gate tower. Then he heard two explosions, and the tower There were several wails from above, and then a piece of masonry debris fell down, making a clattering sound on the helmet.
Then, he took out a magazine filled with black paint bullets from the pocket on his vest, replaced the original magazine, pulled the safety, and started shooting at the iron chain tied to the suspension bridge.
In the weak morning light, Zhao Xin fired each shot slowly and steadily through the illumination of the tactical flashlight and the guidance of the scope. Each shot hit the connection between the suspension bridge and the iron chain. The continuous shooting would shoot straight. Sparks shot out from the chains.
After seven or eight shots, there was a crisp sound of metal breaking. The taut iron chain suddenly broke away from the suspension bridge and swung back like a whip, hitting the wall bricks of the city gate and falling a layer of dust.
After another ten seconds, when the other chain was broken, the heavy wooden suspension bridge crashed onto the stone platform on the opposite side of the moat.
"Okay! Everyone, hurry up and cross the bridge!" Zhao Xin shouted into the city gate, then replaced the previous magazine, jogged to the other end of the suspension bridge, turned around and squatted down, raising his gun and staring at the city gate. Every move upstairs.
Tungsten alloy armor-piercing bullets are not easy to buy and are also very expensive. Even Zhao Xin is reluctant to waste them!
There was a burst of messy footsteps in the city gate, and the shocked people stepped onto the suspension bridge one after another. Because most of the female relatives had bound feet and could not walk fast at all, both Jiao Xun and Zhong Huai carried their mothers or wives on their backs.
Zhao Xin was still watching the movement on the top of the city and said loudly: "Everyone go to the canal dock!"
Wang Yuanfang, who was guarding the rear of the palace at Anjiang Gate, saw figures emerging from both sides of the street to the north, seeming to be spying on what was going on under the city gate, so he immediately fired several shots, hitting the white wall in the distance. There were puffs of light smoke rising from the sky, and then several screams and exclamations were faintly heard.
At this time, on the wall of Anjiangmen, seven or eight green battalion soldiers were huddled under the wall stacks and did not dare to move. Whether it was the "thousands of enemies" just now or the suspension bridge chain being broken, they were frightened half to death. In their opinion, the methods of these thieves are truly terrible, comparable to sorcery and beyond the reach of human beings. Instead of fighting back, it is better to lie down and wait for the thief to leave, then the world will be at peace.
When Wang Yuanfang ran onto the suspension bridge, Zhao Xin had already turned around and ran towards the canal. He took very long steps, and after running about fifty meters, he came to the front of Jiao Xun and others. When he crossed the crowd and came to the dock of the canal, he found that there was no one on the river bank.
The huge explosion at the city gate had awakened the sleeping people nearby, and when Zhao Xin threw a grenade on the city tower, all the people who woke up dispersed and fled along the river bank.
Zhao Xin came to the north wall of a house and said to Jiao Xun and others who were following him: "Everyone is waiting here!"
Jiao Xun carried his mother on his back and asked breathlessly: "Where is the boat?!"
Zhao Xin did not explain, but loudly said to the rescued people: "You wait here, if I don't call you, don't show your face!"
Everyone heard what he said so categorically that there was no room for doubt, and they all nodded in agreement. After running for more than two hundred meters in a hurry, many people were out of breath, so they gathered under the north wall.
At this time, Wang Yuanfang had arrived, and he said to Zhao Xin: "Go quickly! I'll watch from here!"
When Zhao Xin came to the canal, he thought for a moment, then removed the silencer from the gun, then walked to the pier of the pier to find a piece of water without a boat, and then pointed the muzzle of the gun into the sky and fired several times. . The "bang bang" gunshots sent wild ducks and geese looking for food in the river scatter in all directions, and those who were snooping in the darkness were also frightened to shrink back.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Xin had already taken out his large yacht. The nearly seven-meter-wide and thirty-meter-long fusiform hull immediately filled the water in front of the pier.
He entered the cabin from the diving board at the stern, started the power supply, opened the fuel pipe to the filter, opened the cold water pump and water supply valve, and then opened the circuit switch. Then he went to the control room, lowered the anchor, and started the engine. When Zhao Xin confirmed that all the instruments were normal, he pressed the whistle switch and notified Wang Yuanfang to take people on board.
However, when Jiao Xun and the dozens of others helped each other around the house that blocked their view and turned their eyes to the dock, they were stunned, as if they were petrified.
In the eyes of this group of Qing Dynasty people in the 18th century, the large yacht parked in the canal could no longer be called a ship, but a "divine object" created by nature. Even Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji, three Confucian scholars who had never believed in the theory of gods and ghosts, felt a little shaken in their beliefs at this moment.
This is simply not something that humans can do!
Not to mention these rescued people, those who were peeping at the Anjiang Gate and around the canal were also shocked with their mouths wide open and could not close their mouths for a long time. There was only one question in their minds at this moment, where did the big white fusiform guy on the dock come from?
Just when Jiao Xun and others were urged by Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang to help the old and young get on the boat one by one from the diving board, the Jiangjia Garden near Pingshan Hall in the northwest of Yangzhou City was already filled with excitement.
Jiangjia Garden, also known as "Shuinan Flower Villa", is the villa of the late salt merchant Jiang Chun. During his lifetime, Jiang Chun was a man of poetry and wine, and liked to entertain scholars from all over the world, so he built a reading building here, including the "Qiu Sheng Pavilion" and the "Jiang Family Archery Path". Because the place is full of pavilions, ponds, medicinal fields and flower paths, the scenery is beautiful. When Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River before, he visited this place twice to show his favor to Jiang Chun.
In fact, it was Jiang Chun who had donated a lot of money as the general merchant over the years and was obedient!
Shuinan Flower Villa is very close to Yangzhou City, only more than two miles away from Zhenhuaimen in the northwest corner. Chang Lin and the others chose to stay here because, firstly, it was close to the city and easy to get back and forth; secondly, the environment was good, and the Jiang family took good care of their food and accommodation.
When the explosion at the gate of the government office passed, the governor Chang Lin, Li Qingxu of Zhetai, and Hu Gaowang, the academic administrator, were all awakened from their sleep. Although Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang's guns were equipped with silencers and there was no sound when they fired, the subsequent grenade explosions and warning gongs on the city wall reminded the three of them that something big had happened in Yangzhou City.
More than half an hour later, Changlin sent out Fubiao troops to inquire about the news. They learned from the guards on the north wall of Yangzhou that thieves had broken into the Yangzhou government office and abducted Jiao Xun, who was involved in the rebellion case. Dozens of others were fleeing towards Anjiang Gate in the south of the city.
Upon hearing the news, Changlin and the other three were stunned. Then the three of them thought that they had just arrived yesterday, and someone had immediately robbed the prison at night. Don't ask, someone must have tipped off the news!
The reason why the thieves chose this time to attack must be because they were worried that Jiao Xun and the others would be tortured and confess, which would implicate other people. Thinking again that Jiao Xun's rebellion case involved Beihai Town, the three officials suddenly shuddered.
Speaking of Chang Lin, he was well evaluated in later history books. This person is also a decent person and has a reputation as an official. Perhaps because of his clan affiliation, he went against Heshen many times. As a result, he was later removed from his post and demoted to Yarkand. After the fall of Heshen, he successively served as governor of Yunnan-Guizhou, Minzhe, Shaanxi-Gansu, and Guangdong and Guangxi.
Since Beihai Town was involved, Chang Lin would inevitably be reminded of Xuzhuang, so he immediately ordered his subordinate Geshha to rush to nearby Zhenjiang with his governor badge and order the Taihu Xiezhong Army garrison stationed there. Immediately send troops to help Yangzhou.
Then, Chang Lin ordered his staff to draft several warrants one after another. After stamping them, he sent his men to Taizhou, Dongtai, Gaoyou, Xinghua, Baoying, Yancheng and even Huai'an Prefecture and other states and counties, as well as the local garrisoned Green Camp, Shuiying, strictly ordered them to immediately inspect the city defenses, select young men and women, and investigate suspicious persons entering and exiting the city; at the same time, they were required to inspect the various water, land and lake thoroughfares within their jurisdiction to prevent thieves and a group of criminals from escaping into the sea or entering. Xuzhuang in Sheyang Lake.
Li Qingqiu, who was the governor, saw that the governor was acting vigorously and resolutely, so he thought to himself, "I won't be idle anymore." He immediately issued warrants to various prefectures and counties in the name of the chief of the Jiangsu Prosecution Department, ordering them to strictly inspect the safety and security of their prisons, and at the same time cooperate with the chiefs of prefectures and counties in conducting investigations, and not to neglect their duties.
Unlike the governor who corresponds to the chief officials in various places, the inspector's office corresponds to the general magistrates, county magistrates, and Dianshi officials who are responsible for catching thieves and administering justice.
When Hu Gaowang, the academic administrator, saw that Mr. Nitai was also busy, he thought to himself, what should I do? Compared with the other two, Mr. Hu is actually the most depressed. If he had known better, he would not have gone into this muddy water, but now it is too late to regret.
Originally, he didn't have to come to Yangzhou at all. News came back from Beijing that the imperial court was planning to let him return to Beijing as the right minister of the Ministry of War, and he was about to be promoted. It's just a trivial matter of removing the honors of three scholars. It can be done by writing a warrant to the Yangzhou Prefecture.
The problem is that Hu Gaowang likes to discover talents in the local area, and he wants to come to Yangzhou to have a look and gain a good reputation before leaving office.
Despite the fact that during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the academic supervisors had little power and could only manage the scientific examinations and education of a province. However, they had to be qualified as Jinshi with a high social status. There are many bold and evil people in history, and there are many people who cheated at the cash register and lost their heads.
Hu Gaowang said in his heart, okay, we will also write a few orders to various places, and let the prefectural schools, county schools and academies in various places warn students, officials and scholars that they must concentrate on studying for the imperial examination and make serving the imperial court the highest pursuit in life. Don't follow the example of Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai, and Huang Chengji, who conspired with bandits, collected anti-book, and conspired to cause chaos.
It was said that although these three people had asked their men to prepare boats by the river and were ready to escape at any time, the reason why they did not run away was because of the deterrence of the "Qing Dynasty Laws and Regulations".
According to the "Laws of the Qing Dynasty." It is stipulated in the Household Code that if a banditry incident occurs when the governor of the province is stationed in the town, he must first defend the town. If anyone flees after hearing the warning and causes the city to fall, he will be executed in prison; if the crime is serious, he will be executed immediately.
Yangzhou City is located at the throat of the Grand Canal, and it is also the most important place. Once it is lost, the responsibility will be heavy. From the governor to the county magistrate, no one can escape, and the least serious ones have to be exiled to Yili.
While Chang Lin and the others were busy making arrangements, Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang had already driven their yacht and left the canal pier with dozens of people.
The white shuttle-shaped yacht passed the Yijiang Gate in the south of Yangzhou City in a blink of an eye. The blue waves stirred up by the bow of the boat swept over the side of the boat with silvery white spray, and then merged into a white wave water strip at the stern of the boat, and the water strip expanded. On both sides of the canal, there are thousands of waves. This scene made people on both sides of the canal stunned, their eyes dropped and their jaws dropped to the ground.
Next, the yacht with dozens of people on board turned along the canal from the south of Yangzhou City to the east of the city. After traveling several hundred meters north, it then turned eastward from the bifurcation of the river into the Shahe River and headed straight for the Yangtze River. Go, and after a while he disappeared from the sight of the young soldiers on the city wall.
Until then, a soldier standing on the city wall seemed to remember something. He frowned and recalled for a long time, until everyone around him had almost left, and suddenly pointed in the direction of the yacht and shouted: "I remember! I saw it that night six years ago!"
Half an hour later, when the yacht passed the Shahe Port area at a low speed and sailed into the wide Yangtze River, Jiao, Zhong, and Huang, who were already exhausted physically and mentally, finally woke up. From the beginning to the end, they were beaten and exploded. There were only two people who caused such a big scene, and no one else.
Judging from the limited knowledge of the three scholars, these two people are too fierce! Presumably those fierce generals in ancient times were nothing more than this, right?
Sitting in the lounge on the ground floor, Zhong Huai was lost in thought for a while. He found that his wife, children and parents sitting on the bed were already asleep. Then he got up and walked up the stairs to the main deck. He looked up and saw Zhao sitting on the bridge. new.
After leaving Yangzhou City, Zhao Xin was in charge of sailing the ship here, while Wang Yuanfang took the machine gun and rocket launcher to the uppermost flybridge to prepare for emergencies on the river.
After a busy night, Zhao Xin already felt a little tired, but he still did not dare to slack off. As long as the ship did not pass Chongming Island, it would not be completely safe.
But now there were no enemies around, so Zhao Xin took off the skull mask on his face, holding a cigarette in his mouth and squinting at the water in front of him. When he heard footsteps on the stairs, he turned around and saw Zhong Huai. He nodded and indicated that he could sit on the sofa behind him.
Zhong Huai originally wanted to salute the person in front of him to thank him for saving his life, but when he saw the other person's profile, he suddenly froze. It was already dark now, and the ship was heading east again. The sunlight filtering through the cockpit glass hit Zhao Xin's face, making his facial contours extremely clear.
Zhong Huai stared at this face that he seemed to have seen somewhere before for a long time, and suddenly an unbelievable answer came to his mind.
When he rubbed his eyes and confirmed again that he had read it correctly, Zhong Huai suddenly flushed with excitement, fell to his knees, and kowtowed with a choked voice: "Zhong Baoqi, please pay homage to King Zhao! Thank you for saving me. Unforgettable!"
