Lu Ming

The fast boat that was parked by the trestle during the day started to move as soon as it got dark: a boatman dexterously got under the trestle, and then took the walnut-sized objects handed by others, and tied them one by one. on the pillar.

After all these tasks were completed, two more people walked onto the trestle bridge.One of them was holding a few big gourds in his hand. After he got on the trestle bridge, he unplugged the gourds one after another and spilled all the liquid inside on the bridge surface.

The other walked straight to the "post".

The sentry post is a thatched shed at the head of the bridge with the light of an oil lamp, and there is only one ram who is drinking bad wine.This is how the private wharf usually looks like: the shady goods have already been moved into the nest deep in the grass, and there are only a few small broken boats near the trestle, so there is usually no one on duty.

When he came to the door of the grass shed, the man in the bamboo hat fired two shots inside without hesitation, then he bent down and picked up the hot bullet casings and threw them into his pocket, then turned and returned to the boat.The pistol equipped with a silencer was not loud in the sound of the tide at night, so until the clipper sailed out of the port, no one noticed anything unusual here.

The next moment, the man in black named "Gu Le" stood at the bow of the boat, stretched his arms and drew his bow, exhaled and made a sound, and shot a rocket, which landed on the trestle 50 meters away.

With a "boom", the trestle bridge sprinkled with gasoline burned into a fire dragon in an instant, bursting into the sky with flames.

"Third Master, it's not good, the pier is on fire!"

The fire immediately alarmed the third master who was gathered in the shack. When he heard the sound and rushed out to have a look, he immediately shouted: "Hurry up and put out the fire!"

Then the third master rushed out in the first place.

When a group of people rushed to the trestle bridge, they found that the fire was already quite large, and the bridge deck was burning violently. On the distant river, a fast boat was hiding its last figure into the night.

At this time, we could no longer bother to find out the cause of the fire, and everyone hurriedly looked for barrels... After dragging a few wooden barrels and tubs from the grass nest where the goods were hidden, people rushed to the water with their belongings full of water. On the trestle.

After a few splashes of water, the flames at the bridgehead were somewhat extinguished.The inspired people then rushed into the deeper bridge deck.

Then the explosives on the pillars were detonated one after another by the flames, and the wooden piles with the thickness of bowls were blown off one after another, and the trestle was destroyed. The board was smashed to death on the water.

At the same time, in the grass in the distance, a figure in gray also slowly put down the night vision goggles in his hand.

When Comrade Liu Qingyun saw the trestle collapsed in the flames, he turned around and walked to the place where the carriage was hidden. At the same time, he took out his walkie-talkie: "The task has been completed, and everyone returns to the team."

"Gu Tianle understands."

……

The straight-line distance between Jiading County and Zhangsu Beach is more than 80 miles, and there is a Huangpu River in between, so Liu Qingyun did not return to Luoyuan until the afternoon of the second day.

Liu Qingyun's real name is Liu Wang. He used to be a waiter in a teahouse, but now he is a local intelligence officer arranged by the Hangzhou Station.

Although Liu Wang is not very old, he has participated in many operations and is considered an old intelligence officer.Due to his strong professional ability, he was also arranged to go to the senior staff for "advanced training" some time ago.After returning from this trip, Liu Wang's mental outlook has improved a lot, and his revolutionary will has become more determined, so he was sent to Jiading by Lu Cheng, the station chief of Hangzhou Station, to assist Xiong Dao in completing the task of opening the port.

After entering the lobby, Liu Wang glanced at the people who were packing up, knowing that they would be moving today, so he hurried to the study and begged to see Xiong Dao.

Xiong Dao quickly received him, and then listened to the report on last night's actions.

"Well, the next thing we need to do is to see the reaction of this third master Wu. Should he continue to be tough with us, or admit he is cowardly? Hehe, we will wait and see."

Seeing Xiong Dao's expectant look on his face, Liu Wang couldn't help asking him the doubts he had been thinking all the way: "Deputy Station Master, last night with the strength of Gu Le and I, we were fully capable of killing Wu Meng and his gang. People can wipe out everything, as long as they are willing to use bullets... why did you order that only the trestle bridge be burned?"

"Hehe, that's a good question." Xiong Dao stood up and stretched out a finger to the young man in front of him: "This is actually for testing."

"We came to Shanghai this time, but it is different from doing things secretly in the past. This time the opening of the port cannot be concealed, so we can only be fair... This is undoubtedly a new mode of struggle, and it is the first time that imperial forces have The heartland of the Ming Dynasty officially revealed its name, openly expropriated land, and violated the interests of the gentry and people from all walks of life."

"Then under the new situation, how does our team adapt to dealing with officials, gentry, bandits, and civilians in broad daylight? This is something that everyone, including you and me, must learn and adapt to."

Liu Wang couldn't help but nodded when he heard this: "This is military training."

"Yes, it's military training." Xiong Dao patted Liu Wang on the shoulder: "A nest of clay sticks, if you really use a gun, it will be wiped out."

"But this Wu San is actually a very typical bully, colluding with the government, occupying official land, and smuggling salt... I actually want to compete with this group of people and see what methods these traditional bullies have, so as to pave the way for the future. Be a reference."

Liu Wang: "This subordinate understands."

"Well, you have to know that this time we are not only facing bullies, but also many landlords and civilians who are living a normal life. When these people are against us, they can't be solved with pistols, right?"

"So, all kinds of means must be used comprehensively. We are here to train soldiers this time. We need to combine resources such as pistols, poisons, government officials, and silver. When the port opens in the future, all these experiences will be collected at the headquarters. of."

After Xiong Dao thought about it, he confessed to Liu Wang earnestly: "You are a trained intelligence agent with a gun and an elite of the Intelligence Bureau, so you should know that sooner or later the empire will occupy the city of Ming Dynasty. We governed ourselves. At that time, the experience we have gained in Shanghai today can be promoted, which is a very important reference material.”

……

After Xiong Dao and Liu Wang finished talking, everyone packed up their belongings in Luo Yuan.So after Master Xiong went to the next door to say goodbye to Luo Shizhi, the team drove off to the new house.

A new house is a must.

Xiong Dao's visit to Shanghai this time was originally an advance team, and many action members will join in later, including some time travelers.Therefore, the Xiongdao team with many secret equipment and many secret operations must have their own private house, and it is impossible to live there for a long time.

Fortunately, here is Jiading, one of the wealthiest areas in the Ming Dynasty, so there is no shortage of houses, even gardens.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jiading was a place in the south of the Yangtze River with a developed economy and a strong culture.A large number of gentry, literati, and courtiers came here to discuss art and build gardens. There have been many private gardens of considerable scale.There are no less than a hundred famous gardens whose names have been found in local chronicles in later generations.

This is also the reason why Xiong Dao was able to buy a garden soon after he came to Jiading: In the Ming Dynasty, gardens were not a rare thing, and the stock of real estate in the Suzhou-Hangzhou-Jiading area was quite large.

The garden I bought was called Crane Tower, and it was the real estate of a local noble family.The father of the family died of illness last year, leaving the two sons fighting over the property, and it was procrastinated until this year that the property was listed for sale: as long as the cash is available, the two brothers can easily split the accounts.

So the Crane Tower happened to be bought by Xiong Dao with money.

The location of the Crane Tower is relatively remote, already 5 miles away from the county seat.But Xiong Dao and his group don't care about the remoteness... It is only a little remote to do things.

It sounds like a small building, but Crane Tower is actually a general term for a garden.A small river surrounds the Crane Tower with a total area of ​​[-] mu by the wall. There are small bridges, flowing water, rockery ponds, pavilions and pavilions in the garden, which are exquisite and pleasant.

However, Master Xiong moved in with his front feet, and then began to burn the piano and cook the cranes: all the vegetation within a certain distance on both sides of the river bank outside the wall was pulled out, which is called clearing the shooting area.

The inside of the wall is similar, all the rare flowers, rare plants and precious trees in the garden have been cut down for firewood, and the remaining land will soon be planned by architects with big officials to "conform to the architectural model expected by the society".

To put it simply, it is a fortress capable of stationing thousands of troops—after all, the garden has as much as 15 acres.

……

Not to mention how Mr. Xiong tossed about in the new house, but also said that the next morning when the trestle bridge collapsed, standing by the river beach, looking at the broken and broken wooden piles and the bridge deck floating on the water, Mr. Wu was really Want to cry but have no tears.

After the trestle exploded last night, he knew that there was no way to save him, so he quickly ordered people to pick up both the dead and the living who fell into the water and sent them to the hospital. By the way, he saw the sentinel who was shot open by the bullet in the straw shed.

The third master understood everything at that moment.

Chapter 342 Opening of Port ([-])

Facing the ruined bridge, Wu Sanye was in a daze, and soon realized his negligence.

He dealt with this matter according to the concept of fighting for land in the Jianghu, but this time the opponent is different from those in the past: their purpose is only land.As for this private port, what the third master didn't know was that it would definitely be bulldozed in the future, and then buried together with the small island to form a straight coastline.

Therefore, in the eyes of the third master, such as trestle bridges are extremely precious means of production, but in the eyes of Xiong Dao, they are waste products that will be demolished sooner or later.

This led to the third master's misjudgment: he thought it was aimed at people, who knew that people would smash the pots and pans first.

So what to do now?Build another trestle bridge?Will it be burned after it is repaired?

Just when someone was in a state of confusion, his subordinates reported: the Du Ya people came again.

...Continuing to stretch out his fingers and push away the sharp knife on his neck, Du Ya said with a half-smile: "Third Master, it doesn't look like you to be rude in front of middle-aged people?"

Seeing the teasing in Du Yaren's eyes, the third master swallowed his anger in hesitation.After waving his hand to signal his subordinates to put away the knife, he asked in a nasty voice, "What are you doing here again?"

"Hey, I've been working so hard, Mr. Xiong came here early this morning, and I still have a message."

"Let it go!"

"Master Xiong's meaning: Since the trestle bridge is gone, half of the amount mentioned earlier will be removed... In addition, if everyone is willing to contribute, Master Xiong is still willing to let go of the past."

"Third Master, please tell me if it's possible, so I can go back and report to you." After Du Yaren finished speaking the conditions, he stared at Third Master and waited for him to reply.

Wu Meng seems to be a little faster today than yesterday. It seems that burning the trestle is still useful.He raised his hand to stop the noisy demonstration of his brothers, and said slowly: "Brother Du, please go back and tell Master Xiong, let Wu Meng think about it for a few days before speaking."

"It's easy to say, easy to say, Du Mou will leave."

……

Three days later, the inner courtyard of the Crane Tower.

Tonight is the last quarter moon, the moon has only one crooked fang, coupled with the thick clouds in the sky, it makes the surrounding dark, only the sound can be heard but no one is seen.

After a "crash", Liao Shuangding's head stuck out from the pool, with a piece of green lotus on it.After looking left and right, Liao Shuangding discerned the direction, slowly swam to the side of the lotus pond, stretched his arms, and rushed ashore silently.

Liao Shuangding belongs to the county Deng's Daxing.They are thieves who specialize in stealing and searching for property in the fighting industry.

Daxing is an urban gang organization that gradually emerged in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

In essence, there is not much difference between Daxing and the underworld in later generations. They are both illegal organizations that rely on violence to make profits.

As the name suggests, the main business of fighting is naturally fighting.The thugs organized by urban hooligans were originally established for the purpose of renting out thugs. The government is dark and incompetent, and disputes among the citizens can sometimes be resolved quickly by hiring thugs.

So Daxing developed from the Su and Song areas, where the economy is the most developed and the floating population is the largest.

The result of the booming development is that the government can’t stand it—— During the Jiajing period, Weng Dali, the inspector of Suzhou, began to rectify the crimes. Whoever wanted to fight the crimes but ambushed his hands in the alleys. Like a bird".

Later, when the conflict between the two parties was thoroughly aroused, Daxing organized its personnel to rob the prison late at night, and released all those arrested by Weng Dali, and then rushed into the inspector's office, scaring Weng Dali and his wife over the wall and leaving.

Later, Daxing set fire to the public house, and then "led the crowd to rob the government", and was bravely defended by the governor Wang Daoxing.This group of people saw that there was no advantage to take advantage of, so they "cut through the pass and fled into Taihu Lake".

... The fundamental reason for the arrogance of Daxing lies in the declining political environment of the Ming government.

First of all, the heavy Fu in the Ming Dynasty was famous.In the Ming Dynasty, the land in the south of the Yangtze River accounted for only 6% of the country, but the tax and grain accounted for nearly 22% of the country. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, 400 million shi of grain were transported to the capital every year, and the five Jiangnan prefectures in Jiangsu alone provided more than a third of the total.

Hangjiahu not only has a high amount of taxation, but also has a ratio of 90% of shipments. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, under heavy taxation, the "skin and bones in the south of the Yangtze River have dried up", and the officials, gentry and landlords can still pass their burdens on the small people. But Xiaomin had no choice but to sell his sons and daughters, and then fled as a last resort.

As a result, a large number of unemployed rural people flooded into the urban area, which fundamentally undermined the law and order and provided a solid manpower foundation for Daxing.

Secondly, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the population became more and more prosperous, and those towns in the south of the Yangtze River that were originally deserted "had houses connected to the clouds, boats and boats gathered scales, surrounded by mulberry and hemp, and became a majestic town."

Under such circumstances, in the face of the sudden outbreak of the business environment, the original management resources of the government cannot keep up.And at this time, Daxing came into being naturally-thinking that if there is only one police station in a district, social security will definitely not be much better.

However, in the late Ming Dynasty when the crossovers appeared, Daxing has evolved into a professional criminal gang integrating violent robbery, extortion, and group theft. secondary business.

And Liao Shuangding, who emerged from the pond in the Crane Tower today, is a habitual thief in a family in the county.

Nowadays, thieves also have companies.Some famous "big thieves" "attract undocumented sticks from all over the world, raise them at home, dig in the market at leisure, and drill cabins in rivers and roads at night, causing great harm to the people."

This skill of raising thieves has even been passed down to later generations, both at home and abroad—it is very vividly portrayed in Oliver Twist.

The reason why he was sent to the Crane Tower by the "leader" today to "do a task" is because Liao Shuangding is very familiar with the terrain here: this guy used to be a servant in the Crane Tower back then, and later because he stole the property of the master's house, he After being severely beaten, he was kicked out of Crane Tower.

Liao Shuangding, who was wearing a cowhide sweater, quickly jumped out of the lotus pond, and then he pinned the pig urine foam used to store gas to his waist, and ran forward.

In the dark night with only twilight, Liao Shuangding's movements were accurate and fast: he had cleaned every inch of land here, and his sweat was sprinkled on it, so he could find his destination even with his eyes closed.

However, after running for a certain distance, he felt something was wrong: where did the vegetation go?

In his current position, theoretically, he should pass through a field of flowers.Opposite the flowers is a long corridor. After turning over the long corridor, run along the railing to the end, and then pass through a moon gate, which is the purpose of his trip: the library.

However, there was a ghost tonight, until Liao Shuangding turned over the promenade, he did not see the flourishing flowers, trees and bushes in the past.

This situation made Liao Shuangding highly vigilant: flowers and trees are the best cover, and it would be quite unfavorable for him if his field of vision is empty now.

Fortunately, the flowers and trees are gone, but other buildings are still there.Although Liao Shuangding was muttering in his heart, he ran to the end of the corridor and hid under the corner to observe carefully.

Usually, the guards roam around at night.So Liao Shuangding had to wait for the guards to pass through the moon gate before rushing in, so as not to be bumped into - after all, he had been away from here for a long time, and the patrol time of the guards must have changed long ago.

But just as he bent down and waited for the guards to pass by, something unexpected happened: he did it.

The trotting all the way after getting out of the lotus pond, coupled with the time of lurking and waiting, caused the water droplets on Liao Shuangding's body to be gradually dried and evaporated, so he did it.

Liao Shuangding, who didn't feel that it would have any effect if he was dry, was able to wait for the two guards in black who came out of the Moon Cave Gate not long after.After the guards passed by, Liao Shuangding quietly "bent down and walked forward quickly" and got into the moon cave gate.

What Liao Shuangding didn't know was that the moment he got into the moon cave, the heat emitted from his body surface showed the outline of his body on a pair of infrared lenses.

So when Liao Shuangding ran to the door of Zangshu Pavilion, took out the sealed leather bag in his arms, and was about to take out tools to pick the lock, he suddenly heard the wind behind his head... and then he rushed.

"Wow", a basin of cold water was poured on someone.

Liao Shuangding, who was instantly awakened, quickly began to struggle, but he was already tied to a grand master's chair.The most frightening thing is that he is now naked and completely naked.

Bright kerosene lamps illuminated every corner of the house, so when Liao Shuangding looked up in horror, he found himself in an extremely familiar place: the woodshed where he had fought and lived.

Of course, he was not familiar with these big men with obscene smiles on their faces.

"Boy, tell me the truth, from which corner did you get in?"

A dark and thin man who spoke Huainan dialect saw that the prisoner had woken up, so he reached out and patted his cheek, and began to question him.

At this moment, all of Liao Shuangding's terrifying memories came back to life—he was hanged and beaten in this woodshed after he stole the owner's property.

"Masters, the little one came in over the wall." Liao Shuangding repeatedly begged for forgiveness: "I was arrested before I succeeded, and I hope that I will spare my life, and there will be a report!"

"This kid is dishonest."

At this time, someone behind Liao Shuangding spoke.

"Tight-fitting leather jackets, waterproof leather bags, pig urine foam for storing gas, and things to start fires and oilcloths." A fat young man said while rummaging through the clothes on the table at this time: "This kid is from It doesn’t look like it’s for property, it’s probably for arson.”

Liao Shuangding thought it was a bad situation.The waterway from the small river outside the wall to the crane tower pond is a secret passage he has kept for many years, in order to get into the crane tower someday to make a fortune.Originally, he planned to turn on the Zangshu Pavilion tonight and return the same way, but he didn't expect that his secret would be exposed after being arrested.

"Boy, you dare to talk nonsense at this time. It seems that if you don't teach you a lesson, you don't know how powerful we are."

At this time, the thin black man picked up an iron ruler and patted Liao Shuangding's work twice, then he turned to the young man and said, "Group Leader Liu, why don't you show off to everyone? Let us see it too." The results of the headquarters training..."

Hearing this, the young man smiled and showed his white teeth that had been cleaned by ultrasonic waves: "Hehe, the headquarters didn't have time to learn so much, so they just learned a few things, shooting at me and crossing the river with chickens... Anyway, night It’s still long, it’s also a lot of fun to use this kid to practice his craft today.”