Shen Zhonglei had no idea what the Xu family was planning now.
He left the funeral arrangements at home entirely to Mrs. Shen. He spent all day in the yamen, intent on catching Lao Dao and his accomplices as soon as possible.
Everyone understands his behavior very well. His wife and children died innocently and tragically. Everyone would like to catch the murderer immediately and take revenge.
The mourning hall in the backyard was brightly lit, and the yamen in front also worked day and night. Everyone braced themselves and gathered all the efforts of the yamen to carry out the search.
The Yamen side is united, but Lao Dao's life is really difficult.
Having been in this business for more than ten years, he has experienced many raids, large and small. In the past, he could easily escape, but this time he really felt the pressure.
Not only was he being chased by officers and soldiers, but there was also a rumor going around that he had killed Magistrate Shen's wife and three children. This was simply a huge injustice.
The anxiety and anger over the past few days coupled with the grievance made Lao Dao's mouth bristle.
He grinned in pain even when he drank water, and even more so when he ate. The smell of blood in his mouth was as if he was chewing his own flesh and blood.
This also made him lose weight quickly.
Nowadays, the only people who are still with him are a few old friends with whom he has had a life-long friendship.
Seeing him eating like he was being tortured, one of them couldn't help but said: "Brother Dao, are we going to hide like this from now on? Instead of living like a mouse all my life, I would rather go out and fight with them with real swords and guns." Last game.
"Kill one to get enough money, kill two to earn one, kill three to earn blood! We have been together for more than ten years, and finally kill him to the fullest. Wouldn't it be a pleasure?"
Several other people heard the words and echoed!
"That's right, Brother Dao, we have been licking blood from our swords for most of our lives, and never have we ever been so aggrieved. A good man must live vigorously, and he cannot die quietly!"
"In the worst case, we will die together with that dog officer!"
When several brothers said this, Lao Dao felt his blood well up in his heart. He threw down his job and said, "Everyone is right. Even if I, Lao Dao, die, I can't die in such an unexplained way.
"I have been walking around the world for many years, and my hands are already stained with blood, but I recognize what I have done. If you want to force your hand on my head for something I haven't done, I will fight you to the death."
"Yes, we will fight him to the death!"
"My head is no bigger than a bowl-sized scar, but eighteen years later, I'm still a hero!"
"We will still be brothers in the next life!"
After everyone was excited for a long time, they sat down again and began to discuss countermeasures.
Someone suddenly slapped his forehead and said: "Look at my memory, there is still some gunpowder in the library that I accidentally got in the past. Let's find a place to put the gunpowder and keep it so that they never come back."
"Gunpowder? That thing is so powerful! I heard that if there are enough, it can blow holes in the city wall!"
"Real or fake? How many are there? Get them all!"
"There are several baskets. Not to mention people, a bunch of cows can be fried into mincemeat!"
The people in the room became more and more excited as they chatted, unaware that there was someone lying on the roof, listening to every word they said.
Xie Yan had long been aware of the movements of Lao Dao and his men, and each of them had special secret guards monitoring them from a distance.
The reason why he has not taken action is because of Li Zian's request - the credit for capturing Lao Dao must be clearly recorded on Shen Zhonglei without any doubt.
There are only two things Xie Yan has to do now. One is to have his men keep an eye on the Lao Dao gang and not let anyone escape. The other is to protect Shen Zhonglei personally and deliver clues to him in a suitable way when necessary.
Now that Lao Dao and his men were all gathered together, several secret guards were naturally gathered in one place. When they heard that gunpowder was being used in the room, their expressions changed slightly.
As the secret guards of the palace, they have naturally been exposed to gunpowder and artillery, and are very aware of the power of those things.
Several people exchanged glances and soon decided to separate one person to report the news to Xie Yan.
If there are indeed several baskets of gunpowder as they said, it is really not something that flesh and blood can withstand.
If Shen Zhonglei made any mistake, their mission would be considered a complete failure.
As luck would have it, just as the secret guard reported the message to Xie Yan, Lao Dao sent someone to deliver the message to the Yamen.
"Why did he send the letter?" Xie Yan was also confused by Lao Dao's move. When he opened the letter, he couldn't laugh or cry even more.
The content of the letter is very simple. It says that there are some things that need to be explained clearly to Shen Zhonglei in person. The time will be tomorrow at 6:00, and the location will be in the woods behind the Chenghuang Temple.
Xie Yan knew that the meeting place must be a false shot on their part, but in order to cooperate with the drama, he still informed Shen Zhonglei of the matter in time.
Shen Zhonglei sent out government officials overnight to check the woods behind the Chenghuang Temple.
Before dawn, the news from the secret guards was compiled.
As expected, Lao Dao and his men did not go to the City God's Temple. Instead, they divided the gunpowder into several portions and buried them on the only roads leading from the government office to the City God's Temple.
One of them had the largest amount of gunpowder buried, and the other roads must have been pretexts, in order to force Shen Zhonglei and his party to take the path of no return arranged by him.
After figuring out all of Lao Dao's plans, Xie Yan was relieved. While arranging for more manpower to patrol the city tonight, he also sent secret guards to destroy several places where gunpowder was buried.
Early the next morning, Shen Zhonglei summoned all the agents and officers of the government office together, showed them the letter sent by Lao Dao, and then said sadly: "We have been rounding up Lao Dao for some time, but you Look, instead of retreating into their shady corners, these gangsters actually dared to come to the government office to deliver messages openly!
"He clearly doesn't take me as the prefect in his eyes, let alone the many police officers in the yamen!
"Now the enemy's letter of challenge has been sent to our door. As the saying goes, it takes a thousand days to raise an army, but it takes a while to use it. Whether you are a hero or a bear depends on your performance today!"
Shen Zhonglei's impassioned mobilization made everyone below furious.
Before leaving, he even went to the mourning hall for a walk. When he came back, his eye circles were red and there were a few tears in the corners of his eyes.
He perfectly portrayed the image of a father who had lost his beloved wife, daughter, and son, which aroused the sympathy of the police officers. They wanted to sharpen their swords immediately to comfort the lives of the prefect's wife and his children.
Xie Yan was also dressed as an official today and stood a step away from Shen Zhonglei.
Although all the gunpowder buried underground has been cleared away, don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the unexpected.
Therefore, except for the secret guards who were tracking the whereabouts of Lao Dao and several others, Xie Yan mobilized the rest and made sure to do his best to protect Shen Zhonglei's safety.
After all, Lao Dao has been living a life of licking blood for many years. No one dares to say what crazy things such a person will do when he is at the end of his rope.
