Zheng Wenlong, the commander-in-chief of Yangzhou, was also surprised when he received the news from the salt merchant.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ruhai would be so bold and directly attack the eight major salt merchants, and he couldn't help but complain secretly in his heart.
This Lin Ruhai is so ignorant. He clearly knows that everyone is counting on these salt merchants to make a fortune, but he still does this. It is really too much.
These were the people who provided food, clothing, and parents for him. He couldn't ignore them. He immediately ordered five hundred soldiers and rode over.
On the way, I was still thinking about how much benefit I could get from saving the Li family this time.
As soon as I reached the street, I heard a "bang" sound, my head hurt, and I lost consciousness.
The soldiers at the back heard a "bang", and then saw their commander's head explode with a "pop", and then he fell off his horse.
Those soldiers who were close were splashed all over their faces and screamed in fear.
"My lord, my lord."
The soldiers immediately ran up and when they came closer, they saw only a headless corpse with nothing above the neck.
Such a strange scene happened at night, which frightened everyone.
Those who were timid were immediately frightened and ran away.
The rest of the crowd was leaderless and didn't know what to do for a while.
"Everyone, the Commander-in-Chief died under mysterious circumstances. What should we do now?"
"The death of Mr. Commander-in-Chief is so strange. This thing is totally weird. Let's go back as soon as possible."
"The sound sounded like it was a musket, but I searched for a long time and couldn't find any trace. Besides, the musket is not that powerful. It just blew the head off. It's really strange."
"We've been talking for a long time about what we should do? Should we continue to Li's house? Or should we go back directly?"
"Brothers, I think we should go back. General Zheng is gone. It doesn't matter whether the Li family is there or not. Even if we go, the people patrolling the Salt Yamen won't listen to us."
At this time, a team leader said: "Everyone, how about sharing the money you get from helping the Li family?"
With the word "profit" at the forefront, everyone was willing to risk it and nodded in agreement.
Then, arrange a team of people to bring General Zheng's body, organize the team and set off again.
Just after taking four or five steps forward, there was another "bang", and the head of the person in front exploded again.
The people in front were so frightened that they turned around and ran back.
Seeing this, everyone else also backed away.
"I don't want this money anymore. I can go to whoever I love. I won't go, but it scares me to death."
"I'm not going either, just a little bit, they hit me on the head."
The few people in front were all worried about Yu Ji. They were so close to death this time and were really frightened.
At this time, Huang Zhiming, Wang Guosen and others also rushed over.
Seeing the chaotic soldiers in front of him, he stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing making such a fuss? Where is General Zheng? Why don't you hurry up and rescue the Li family? Don't you know that rescuing people is like putting out fires?"
"Mr. Huang, Commander Zheng and us just arrived here, and suddenly our head was blown off."
"What did you say? Mr. Zheng's head was blown off? Are you kidding me?"
When several people heard the news, their heads buzzed with disbelief. How could this be possible? That's the dignified commander-in-chief. Who is so brave?
Huang Zhiming said dubiously: "Where is General Zheng? Come and take us to have a look."
The squad leader led everyone to General Zheng's body.
When several people saw it, they couldn't help but gasped. Their heads were really beaten off. Who did this?
"Are you sure this is your Commander Zheng? Do you know who did it?"
Wang Guosen asked unwillingly.
"Mr. Wang, it is really our General Zheng. More than 500 of us can testify. As for who did it, we don't know. General Zheng was riding on his horse and was walking.
Hear a "bang" and then his head is gone. "
Ma Tengfei said: "Can you lead the troops to rescue the Li family first? We will take care of General Zheng's funeral affairs when he comes back. Your reward will not be less this time."
Several soldiers shook their heads like rattles and refused directly.
Huang Zhiming wondered: "You don't make any money even if you have it? That's money you will never make in your lifetime."
"Masters, we also wanted to go over and rescue the Li family, but just after taking a few steps, another person's head was shot off. We didn't dare to go any further."
Several people looked at each other and already understood in their hearts that someone was blocking the road in front, preventing people from passing, let alone saving the Li family.
Zheng Wenlong and Zheng Zongbing, who were the second-grade imperial officials, actually killed them without any hesitation and without any scruples.
This is too cruel. Who did this?
Lin Ruhai couldn't possibly have such courage or ability. He shouldn't have done it.
Could it be that Ning Guogong Jia Cong?
This man had just returned from the Liaodong border not long ago. I heard that he had won every battle on the battlefield, and even the old slave of the barbarian Khan had his head chopped off by him. Based on this alone, he was not a soft-hearted person.
He was most likely the one to do this. He was so brave.
That was a dignified second-grade official. He would kill as soon as he was told, without any scruples. He was really ruthless and unscrupulous.
Although these people are causing trouble in Yangzhou and have huge power, they are really unwilling to provoke people like Jia Cong. This kind of behavior is no different from that of a madman.
Wang Guosen said: "Everyone, the Li family is probably doomed. It's not that we don't want to save it, but we can't help it. Everyone has seen the situation here. If we come forward, we will probably be the next ones to lose our heads."
Huang Zhiming nodded and said, "That's true. Even General Zheng's head was shot off, so we are even less worth mentioning in the eyes of others. It's just that I feel uneasy if I don't understand the whole story."
Ma Tengfei said: "How about we go directly to the Yanyan Yamen and meet this Ning Guogong?"
Lu Yanping said: "Wouldn't going there now disturb people's dreams? Besides, Ning Guogong is probably at the Li family's side, and we won't see anyone at all. It's better to go back and be on guard in secret. We will bring gifts and visit again tomorrow morning. Duke Ning."
The head of the Cheng family said: "In this current situation, this is the only way it can be. Three families in one night are enough for him to keep busy. He probably won't have time to talk to us. It's just a pity for those three families."
Wang Guosen said: "There is nothing we can do about it. It's not that we don't want to save it, it's just that we can't do anything. Even Commander Zheng got involved, what else can we do?"
Huang Zhiming said: "If that's the case, then let's go back. Tomorrow we'll go meet Ning Guogong together and explore his background to see what he wants.
If even we are not willing to let go, we can only give it a try. After everyone goes back, gather all the people, be on guard in secret, and be ready to strike back at any time.
This time, if he touches any of our families again, the five of us must take action together to get rid of him, otherwise, we will only be defeated by him individually. "
Several people nodded in agreement. Their lives and fortunes were involved, and they couldn't be careless at all.
······
Jia Cong killed two people one after another and put down his gun when he saw the team retreating.
Xia Zhu said: "Master, why don't you kill a few more?"
Jia Cong smiled and said: "Our purpose is to prevent them from passing. Killing is just for deterrence. This has the best effect. It can make them frightened and scared, and they dare not take another step forward.
If we shoot one after another, the other party will find that we only have one gun. If they rush forward at once, the three of us will really be unable to stop them. "
Xia Zhu nodded, picked up the telescope and looked across.
"Sir, they seem to have stopped again. Could it be that they still don't want to give up?"
Hearing this, Jia Cong picked up his telescope and looked over, and saw that the soldiers had indeed stopped.
Ordinarily, those who are officials will be punished by themselves
After they were killed, the remaining soldiers had no one to lead them. They were basically in disarray and could not take any further action. Could it be that there were some officials among them?
Jia Cong snorted coldly and said: "Some people just won't shed tears until they see the coffin, and they won't die until they reach the Yellow River. If they still don't understand, they can only add a few more dead souls."
After watching for a while, I saw that they had no intention of coming over, so they were probably still discussing.
After another quarter of an hour or so, the soldiers retreated and the streets returned to calm again.
Chunlan said: "Master, those people have all left, are we still here?"
Jia Cong thought for a while and said, "Let's wait a little longer. The Li family still needs some time. Let's hold on for a while and see if anyone comes again."
After waiting for a while, Li Biao sent someone to inform them that the search of the Li family had been completed, and the three of them went back.
Seeing that the doors and windows of Li's house were sealed, Jia Cong gathered everyone and rushed to Zhang's house.
When Jia Cong led people to the Zhang family compound, Tie Zhu was already waiting at the door.
"To my lord, everything has been settled and the account books have been obtained."
Jia Cong nodded and didn't bother to go in. He ordered Li Biao to lead people in to search the house. He took the account book from Tiezhu and looked through it carefully.
Even Jia Cong was stunned after reading the contents inside.
The Yangzhou officialdom, from top to bottom, has been infiltrated by these salt merchants, forming a huge network of relationships, which can affect the whole body.
Such a big matter is really not something that I can decide. I will discuss it with Lin Ruhai after I get back and see if I should report it to the court or settle it privately.
If it were not for Lin Ruhai, Jia Cong would directly write to Emperor Longqing.
Now that the Salt Patrol Yamen is involved, we have to discuss it with Lin Ruhai and follow his advice.
It was not until dawn that the search of Zhang's house was completed.
Several people came to Jia Cong with lists in hand.
"My lord, this is the list of items for the three families. Take a look at it. Do you need to change it?"
Jia Cong smiled when he heard this. The clerk in the Salt Patrol Yamen was quite interesting. Was he afraid that he wouldn't understand the tricks?
Jia Cong turned a blind eye to the house raid this time. These people all benefited a lot. This can be regarded as reciprocating a favor.
I took the list and looked through it, and found that there were more than 16 million taels of silver alone, and there were countless other property titles, jewelry, antique calligraphy and paintings, porcelain and jade, and various luxury goods and supplies.
These salt merchants were so rich. Emperor Longqing would be extremely happy when he got this money.
Jia Cong thought for a while and said: "Everyone has worked hard tonight. All participants will receive one hundred taels of silver each, and those who are officials will receive double that. Each of you will receive five thousand taels. After digging these out, give them to me." Cross out one million taels."
Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this. This was a huge sum of money, and they might not be able to earn that much in a lifetime.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Guo. It's great to work with Mr. Guo. Do you have any other instructions?"
"I saw that the Duke of Guo brought a lot of women's scrolls. There are a lot of jewelry in them, and they are all very good. You might as well choose a few pieces to take back."
Jia Cong's family is not short of jewelry. He brought back several boxes from the palace in Hetuala and asked Ping'er to keep them.
Compared with that batch of jewelry, this Jiangnan jewelry is more exquisite and more beautiful. There are indeed many valuable jewelry in it. It would be good to take a batch back.
Jia Cong nodded and said: "Then help me pick out some exquisite jewelry and put it in a box for me to take back. In addition, help me pick out a dozen pieces of antique calligraphy and painting. I will go back and give them away to see if there are any good properties in there. I’ll pick one spot, and that’s it.”
The clerk said: "Don't worry, Lord, I will surely satisfy you."
Jia Cong turned to Chunlan and Xia Zhu and said, "You two should also go and have a look and select some jewelry that you like. You will be responsible for bringing them back later."
"Yes, Lord Guo."
The two agreed
, followed.
Everyone was happy when the spoils were divided. The list was rewritten and handed over to Jia Cong.
Seeing that there was no problem, Jia Cong waved his hand and led everyone back to Xunyan Yamen.
Jia Cong also gained a lot this time. He openly withheld one million taels of silver, but secretly asked Li Biao, Tie Zhu and others to find a lot of silver notes. The three families together had 15,600,000 taels. .
Taken together, this amounts to 25,600,000 taels.
In addition, there is a box of jewelry and a box of antique calligraphy and paintings.
Originally I didn't want to do so much, I just wanted to pick a few exquisite pieces to give away. Since they had already chosen them, Jia Cong accepted them as a matter of course.
In addition, there is a deed to the house.
It is a courtyard with three entrances in Yangzhou City, with a small garden, and the location is quite good.
Jia Cong planned to take Ruyan over after taking a look.
Let her live there temporarily, and when he returns to Beijing, he will take her back with him.
When we returned to Xunyan Yamen, the sky was already bright.
Yuanyang and Xiren got up quickly when they saw Jia Cong coming back.
"Master, why did you come back just now? You didn't sleep all night, did you?"
Chunlan and Xia Zhu put the box on the ground, stood up and said, "We have been busy all night and raided three houses in a row. There is no time to sleep."
Yuanyang said: "Do you want to rest now or after dinner?"
Jia Cong said: "Let's freshen up first. After dinner, I'm going to see Uncle Lin, Chunlan and Xia Zhu first. If you two are sleepy, just rest first. There's no need to follow me."
"I understand, Lord."
