Lu Ming

Then Xiong Dao's request was similar to Xu Jin's, the same understatement, and it was also about the land deed--use the land deeds in the box around the port as an apology first.

In addition, compared with the conditions proposed by Xu Jin at the beginning, Master Xiong is pressing every step of the way: Zhang Sugang's valuation is now 100 million taels of silver.Since the lords wanted to take 50% of the shares at the beginning, then on the basis of the land deed, and [-] taels of compensation, this matter should be considered as a thing of the past... Everyone thinks peace is the most important thing.

The news brought back by the middleman made the masters of the Land Deed Alliance hardly believe their ears.

"Has Xiong lost his mind and gone insane? How dare he be so mad?!" Everyone present was full of disbelief.

According to the meaning of the Land Deed Alliance, send someone over there to make peace, and then everyone sells the land around the "First Island Chain" to Xiongdao at a low price, and this matter is over.In the future, no one will hinder the development of Zhang Sugang. Isn't peace the most important thing?

What the masters didn't expect was that Xiong Dao would dare to open his mouth like a lion! ?How dare he make such a frenzied request! ?

Gentlemen who are used to opening their mouths to others can't stand this kind of rude behavior, it's a naked humiliation!

In addition, if the price offered by Xiong Dao is really followed, then it is better to mobilize officers and soldiers-the land deed plus 50 taels of silver, such a high price, is enough to settle all expenses and smooth the adverse effects afterwards.

At this moment, the mood of the gentlemen was on a roller coaster again: the hardliners were revived, especially a certain master surnamed Huang with bad legs and feet jumped the most fiercely.

So the wind direction within the alliance began to change again.The arguing gentlemen had no choice but to send middlemen to visit Xiongdao at the port the next day, hoping to get a "sincere" peace condition.

As a result, this time the middleman couldn’t even see Mr. Xiong’s face... It was Yan Tiexia, a veteran ruffian who came forward: “Now you know how to beg for mercy? The whole family goes begging!"

Accompanied by the words of extreme contempt, came a breathless blow: three Chuang Tzus of the capitulation faction were burned that night.

This kind of behavior is tantamount to forcibly kneading the alliance together again. The gentlemen can't retreat now, and there is no second way to go.

Therefore, the gentlemen who shouted "rise up and resist all oppression" finally united as one, gathered together, and vowed to fight Xiong's immortality, turning his eyes twice.

……

Two days later, December [-]th, a seemingly ordinary day.

On this day, two teams started to set off at the same time: one set off from Taijiang Port, and the other set off from Suzhou.

The team from Suzhou consisted of ten people.Everyone in this team rode good horses, wore flying fish uniforms, embroidered spring knives on their waists, fresh clothes and angry horses, and their expressions were haughty.

As one of the twelve guards of the pro-army, Jin Yiwei's headquarters is naturally in the capital.However, Jinyiwei, which is responsible for monitoring the vassal kings and officials in various places and collecting local public opinion, has branches all over the world.

Today's team of people is the team sent by the Jinyiwei Suzhou Qianhu Office on business.

Since the Susong area was the most prosperous and affluent area in the Ming Dynasty, Jinyiwei set up the highest-level Qianhusuo in Suzhou.Today's team is led by Jinyiwei Suzhou Baihu Ma Yaotang.

Ma Yaotang and his group set out from Suzhou under the order of Lord Qianhu, without stopping all the way, will arrive at the west gate of Shanghai County before noon.

At this time outside the west gate, there was already the captain in the flying fish uniform picking up the station.After seeing Ma Yaotang, the school captain hurriedly led Baihu adults to the Xu family's house in the south gate of the city.

In the afternoon, Ma Yaotang and his party came out of the house with blushing faces and golden sleeves.Then, under the leadership of the local fans, the group swaggered across the river to Zhangsu Port.

When the majestic cavalry broke into the compound of the Port Authority, the leading horse Baihu immediately reined in his horse, coolly took out his own badge and flashed it in front of the surrounding guards, and then shouted: "I am Suzhou Jinyiwei Baihu." You are here on business, quickly ask your shopkeeper, Xiong Dao, to come out and answer!"

Not long after, Xiong Dao in a brocade robe and Lu Cheng in cassock and shaved head came out of the stone building surrounded by a large group of guards and stood at the top of the steps.

After being identified by the local fan, Ma Baihu immediately got off the horse with his followers, exhaled and shouted loudly as he lined up, "Jin Yiwei is handling the case, arresting the thief Xiong Dao, idlers, etc., retreat quickly. Otherwise, you will be punished as an accomplice!"

Chapter 409

In later generations, the cop would shout when catching a prisoner: "Police, raise your hands!"

New York cops would yell, "NYPD!"

Hong Kong Tiaozi will shout: "Police!"

Indian cops will yell, "Priyanka Chopra!"...that's bullshit.

In short, it is very necessary for Tiaozi to announce his identity loudly when facing the prisoner.The first is to deter prisoners, and the second is to screen out melon-eaters who may hinder the execution of official duties.

This principle was also valid in the seventeenth century.

As a hereditary Suzhou Jinyiwei Baihu, Ma Yaotang has of course performed official duties, so he is very proficient in using this process.

In this era, those who can work with hundreds of adults in person will definitely not be punks.Generally speaking, Ma Baihu arrests criminals of civil and military officials and wealthy businessmen.

Such a criminal must be surrounded by a large number of followers, soldiers, guards and cronies.A few fans in the district can catch people only by relying on the authority endowed by the system.So at this time, it is very important to reveal your identity first.

Ma Baihu is the same today.As he stepped forward holding the Jinyiwei waist badge, he had already called out his name.

The following preset process is very easy and pleasant.Ma Baihu will catch the criminal among the trembling guards, and then lead them away.

During this process, the group of people who were intimidated by Jinyiwei's great reputation would not resist at all, for fear that they would also be implicated in the Jinyiwei prison that made people look pale.

Therefore, Ma Baihu, who seemed to be full of majesty, had already begun to calculate the "harvest" of this errand in his heart at this moment - in addition to the benefits promised by the master of the Xu family, this Xiong Dao himself was said to be a well-known wealthy businessman, After catching this guy and going back, I think he can get a lot of money.

While Ma Baihu was concentrating on walking the process proficiently, a loud "bang" rang in his ears.This sound startled Lord Baihu to stagger, and completely deafened his ears.

But when Ma Baihu, who was full of surprise, looked back, he found that all the people brought by his family had their arms cut behind their backs, and they were kneeling on the ground.

And the loud bang just now was caused by the short-breasted guards standing on both sides, and at the same time, they aimed their guns at the empty guns fired above Jin Yiwei's head.

Ma Baihu, who was dizzy and his ears were buzzing, was also kicked in the crook of his leg the next moment, and the black gauze soft hat on his head was knocked off along the way, turning him into a prisoner with disheveled hair.

"Bold! Dare to besiege the emperor's personal guard, the imperial court official, the surname Xiong, aren't you afraid of copying and beheading everyone?!"

After shaking his head to figure out the situation, although Ma Baihu was forced to kneel and kowtow, he was not afraid at this moment, instead he flew into a rage and asked sharply.

"Haha." Xiong Dao, who stood on the steps and watched the show for a long time, first waved at this moment.

Then someone brought out two nanmu official hat chairs, and Master Xiong and the bald monk sat comfortably on the chairs, assuming a posture of being promoted to the court for trial.

After the cigarette was lit by the attendant with a "snap", Master Xiong took a beautiful puff first, hid his face in the smoke, and then said cheerfully: "Ma Yaotang, before you came from Suzhou this morning to die, Didn't you ask me where I am?"

At this moment, Ma Baihu finally felt something was wrong: not only was Xiong Dao and his subordinates not afraid of the authority, but they were clearly prepared for his coming.

So Ma Yaotang stopped struggling and cursing at this moment, and opened his mouth to ask: "I don't know what's weird about this place?"

"Haha." Xiong Dao shook his head again and again, with a regretful expression on his face: "It seems that he is not popular, and he is sold without knowing it. He is still an idiot, and he knows how to spend all day drinking flower wine in Suzhou City, right? "

Ma Yaotang's heart trembled at this moment: Xiong Dao's two words really hit his point.

Today's errand was indeed urgently ordered by Lord Qianhu last night.In addition, Ma Yaotang, a hereditary wealthy N generation from Suzhou, spends most of his weekdays feasting and having fun, and he really doesn't care much about what happens in rural areas hundreds of miles away.

Seeing Ma Baihu's complexion change, Xiong Dao sitting on the stage sighed again at this moment, then looked at the monk beside him, nodded at the same time, and waved his hand: "Take them out and kill them, leave two Just go back and report."

Ma Baihu, who hadn't figured out what kind of trap he had fallen into, suddenly realized at this moment that he and his subordinates were about to be slaughtered?

However, the reality is so cruel. After two "bang bang" shots, the two fans who fell behind were pushed to the gate of the compound and ate the guns.

Ma Baihu, who couldn't believe it, was terrified.At this moment, he was so blessed, and in the ensuing gunshots and blood, he instantly thought through many things.

For example, why did Mr. Qianhu, who is not used to deal with him, give him such a fat job; for example, why the local Zhangyin Baihu in Jiading County had a "foot disease" recently, so he couldn't take this job.

However, it was useless to figure everything out. When Ma Baihu found that he was being dragged to the gate of the courtyard, he couldn't help struggling violently.He stayed on the ground and yelled: "Xiong, killing Jin Yiwei is a serious crime of treason. I am a sixth-rank hundred household who is given to wear flying fish clothes. You can't kill me, you can't kill me!"

"Hehe, if I don't kill you, how can Mr. Xu label me a traitor?" Xiong Dao looked at the only high-ranking man in the flying fish suit on the field: "I just want to kill someone who is enough to kill me." Good to be a traitor!"

Ma Baihu was beaten to death like a chicken in front of the port office.The gorgeous flying fish suit on his body didn't save him from his stupid fate.

From another point of view, Ma Baihu's death is still more serious than Mount Tai.This death gave the already red-eyed Land Deed Alliance an excuse and began to promote the follow-up troop deployment plan.

……

In other words, if you really want to mobilize troops, in the increasingly chaotic situation in the late Ming Dynasty, there are still many loopholes for the Land Deed Alliance to take advantage of.

First of all, as soon as Ma Baihu was confirmed to have been shot dead, Suzhou Jinyiwei Qianhu Office dispatched Kuaiqi to kill Jinyiwei Baihu in public with the "hair thief Xiong Dao". The official documents of the suppression went to Yingtian (Nanjing).

Kuaiqi drove all night, and arrived at the Commander's Yamen of Jinyiwei Capital in Nanjing from Suzhou the next morning.

Prior to this, the Land Deed Alliance accurately judged that Xiong Dao would not be taken away by Jin Yiwei, and the two sides would inevitably clash.So even if Ma Baihu went to the port and survived, several of his subordinates would be killed by the masters afterwards, and then Xiong Dao would definitely be labeled as "killing officials and rebelling".

In this way, all relevant parties can send people to do the work in advance.So long before Ma Baihu went to Zhangsu Port to die, the envoys sent by the Land Deed Alliance to all parties were already on their way.

And at this time, the messengers who had been dispatched earlier had already secured the key figures in the Jinyiwei yamen, and now they were waiting for this official document to arrive.

Since Nanjing is the capital, Jinyiwei is rather powerful: there are six officials and nobles far more than other provinces, and the guarding eunuchs and Jinyiwei who are responsible for monitoring all officials for the emperor have real power.

Afterwards, the on-duty commander Tongzhi received the official document without any delay, and after marking it with his opinion of agreeing to "suppress the thieves", the official document came to Yingtian Governor's Yamen at lightning speed.

As mentioned earlier, the Xu family's backer in the court is Xu Bengao, the commander of Jin Yiwei.Although Xu Bengao's command envoy is a false title and is not responsible for sitting in the hall, but because he is valued by Chongzhen, Xu Bengao has begun to transfer to the Five Army Commander's Mansion in recent years and has become a high-ranking figure in the military.

Under such circumstances, Xu Bengao, who was originally a hereditary Jinyiwei with a thousand households, has extremely deep roots and connections in the Jinyiwei system.So including sending Ma Baihu to death, including Nanjing's cooperation in issuing official documents, this series of actions used the real hard power of the Xu family.

After Yingtian Governor's Yamen received the official document, things became easier... Both the Land Deed Alliance and the Governor's Yamen were from the same line of civil servants, and the lobbyists who arrived early and the officials of the Governor's Yamen drank tea and got things done.

Why is it an official?Because the boss is not here... The boss has gone to work for the king.

The governor of Yingtian at this point in time is Cao Wenheng from Henan.

After taking office, this person not only immediately commanded troops to wipe out all the bandits in Jurong, Nanjing, but also sent troops next year to wipe out the remnants of Japanese pirates entrenched in Chongming Island and the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Coincidentally, not long ago, Cao Futai, who received the emergency document from the capital, immediately led the troops and set off to serve the king along the canal north.

So here is a big loophole that can be exploited: the left-behind subordinates of the governor's yamen can lightly write on this official document agreeing with the "suppression of thieves", and then "smoothly" transfer the official document to where it should go... Theory It is said that this is exceeding the authority, but in the current vacuum period, the subordinate officials have a lot of excuses to shirk afterwards.

So where did this official document end up?Jinshanwei.

As for what army to use to deal with Xiong Dao, the Land Deed Alliance also took a lot of thought.

First of all, since the [-] elite lake bandits were all slaughtered by Xiong Dao as if they were chickens, the ordinary guard soldiers didn't even need to think about it. This kind is not even as good as chickens, it's purely chicken feed.

Secondly, the most elite strategic troops, such as town bidders and bidders, cannot be adjusted by the Land Deed Alliance—these are all strategic troops, and there is no personal order from the governor and the chief soldier, and they cannot be fooled by official documents.

Therefore, it can be mobilized and its combat effectiveness is not bad. Right now it is the battalion stationed in Jinshanwei.

Jinshanwei is at the mouth of Hangzhou Bay, not only a guard, but also the residence of the generals of Hangjiahu.

During the Jiajing period, due to the Japanese riots, the imperial court set up a general army in Zhejiang, and at the same time set up four generals, including Hangjiahu General and Ningshao General.

Later, after the Japanese Insurgency subsided, the Zhejiang General Army was also cancelled, and these sub-garrison generals were retained.

Therefore, what the Land Deed Alliance mobilized this time was the battalion soldiers in the hands of the generals of Hangjiahu.To be precise, they are the general's subordinates, the soldiers and horses under Wang Deqiao's army training guerrilla.

Chapter 410 Black Smoke

Before the mid-period, the spirit and physique of the Ming army were relatively healthy, so the generals at that time were all solid leaders, and it was not uncommon for a general to have tens of thousands of soldiers under his command.

After arriving in Jiajing, there were more than three or four thousand participating generals and leading troops.Now in the Chongzhen period, the national power is weak, the vacancies are flooded, and the military system is chaotic. There are only 2000 ordinary generals.

This situation was unavoidable in feudal dynasties.In the late Song Dynasty, there were too many officials and too many soldiers to eat up the finances, and it was the same in the late Ming Dynasty.

As far as the army is concerned, there are a large number of hereditary nobles who have the title of commanding envoys, commanders, etc. in Jinyiwei.Except for a few officials in charge of the hall, the rest are all rice worms accumulated over the past dynasties to eat finances.

Not to mention the late Qing Dynasty, the hardcore crops of the Eight Banners are world-famous.

So when it comes to the general Hangjiahu who sent troops to suppress the thieves, the number of troops dispatched this time is 1500.This number is already very good, because the total number of soldiers under the general's command is only 3000, which is still a credit for being stationed in a high-GDP area.

After a series of dazzling operations were completed, the seemingly inconspicuous, but actually quite important official document was sent from Nanjing City to Jinshanwei in an expedited way.

At this time, just three days had passed since December 12th when Ma Baihu was brutally murdered.The bureaucratic system, which seemed to be staggering and slow, was actually super efficient under the impetus of a special force, and the paperwork was completed in just a few days.

And when General Feng of Jinshanwei received the official document, he immediately summoned two guerrillas under his command, "Understand the strategy."

What strategy does Xiao use?There is one thing to say.

The army is different from the local area, everyone in the army is a robe, as long as it is not deliberately framed, then it is good to speak directly, so the general will tell the whole story of the mobilization.

Feng Shen will clearly tell the two subordinates that this trip seems to be "official work", but it is actually "private work", so he himself is "not active".Because firstly, his own actions made too much noise, and secondly, there was no room for the imperial court to change things after the incident happened.

The military chief in one place must not leave the administration without permission.Although the official document for "assistance and suppression" has been sent, the wording in this official document is vague, and the procedures are also irregular, so General Feng Shen intends to stay in charge.

In this way, if the court investigates it in the future, he will control the matter within a reasonable range.In short, the generals decided to stay at the rear to resist the pressure, and deal with the first and last ends from the political side.Of course, if things come true, adults will definitely want a share of the pie.

Master Feng then analyzed the pros and cons of this dispatch to his two subordinates: things will be done, there will be silver rewards, shares, and the number of promotions that the Land Deed Alliance will operate in the court in the future.Things fail, troops are lost, generals are lost, "support and suppression" becomes "looting", and dismissal is a high probability event.Fortunately, with this muddled official document, I probably won't lose my life.

After analyzing the pros and cons, Lord Feng gave the choice of leading troops to the two guerrillas: whoever wants to go to the muddy water, you can now have a detailed discussion with the lobbyist sent by the Xu family.

In the end, Wang Deqiao, a middle-aged and vigorous guerrilla training guerrilla under his two subordinates, couldn't hold back his professionalism, and expressed his intention to fight this battle.And another old guerrilla, who was older and had little ambition left, gave up his chance.

So when Wang Guerrilla and the lobbyists negotiated various conditions, Jin Shanwei's battalion soon set off on December 12th.

Theoretically speaking, the deployment of the army is also very slow.But due to the same principle as before, with the intervention of mysterious power, everything becomes smoother and faster.

First of all, the most troublesome issue of funds for troop deployment was easily solved this time: since the gentlemen have already made a big bet this time, they don't care about the ten thousand taels of silver.

So Wang Guerzilla didn't make a fool of himself this time, and actually brought out 1500 soldiers and 200 auxiliary soldiers from the camp.And took a batch of high-quality weapons and armor from the arsenal...Anyway, someone paid for it, and there would be no such shop after passing this village.

Secondly, the problem of marching troops along the way has also been improved.

Generally speaking, when regular troops march, they have to eat supplies in various states and counties along the way, which has caused delays in the march: the states and counties have limited reception capacity, the troops are forced to disperse, not to mention, the journey is delayed, and they need to be regrouped afterwards.

Not so much this time.

From Jinshanwei in the south to Zhangsugang in the north, it is nothing more than passing through the Yangtze River Delta. The journey is a total of 60 kilometers, and the journey is very short.

In addition, since this operation itself has many violations, the gentlemen are reluctant to speak out, let alone eat the public food of the local state and county-this is a sin when it comes to the situation.

So it is still the old way, the bandit suppression troops rest directly in the Jinshenzhuangzi along the way, which will not disturb the people, but also get sufficient food and fodder supplies.