weaving

Chapter 1075: Capturing profiteers and confiscating their property

"Master Shi, the troops have been assembled. Do you want to pull them out?"

"What the hell?"

Shi Jinzhong continued angrily: "They all died in the barracks. No one is allowed to leave the camp without my military order."

He shook the armor on his body, put his hand on the sword on his waist, and said: "Let's go, you guys, follow me to pay homage to Yong Ningbo's general."

…………

Inside Cheng'en Gate, there were twenty infantrymen in full armor on each side, guarding here with swords and shields.

On the gate tower, Zhangjiakou Fort garrison Shi Jinzhongzheng was also fully armored. He knelt on one knee outside the door and loudly begged to see him. Behind him were more than ten servants, who also knelt on one knee and worshiped, and all of them looked frightened.

"General Wu, Shi Jinzhong, who is under Zhangjiakou garrison, has nothing to do with the slave traders. Now that he has heard about the arrival of the heavenly army, he is willing to lead the way for Yong Ningbo's army and assist the heavenly army to search the houses, shops and warehouses of the slave traders, so as to set the record straight. Serve as a warning to others!”

Wu Zhizhong was quite surprised by Shi Jinzhong's arrival. He originally thought that he would share life and death with the profiteers, defend Zhangjiakou to the death, and fight to the end with himself.

"Huh, you are really greedy for life and afraid of death."

Although Wu Zhizhong had this thought in his mind, he did not show it on his face. He stood up from his chair and said, "Open the door and invite Shi Shoubei to come in and talk."

The door opened, and Shi Jinzhong stood up with the help of his servants, and stepped into the gatehouse. The servants behind him also wanted to follow, but were blocked by the soldiers of Weiyuan Camp: "The general has an order, and only Shi Guardsman is allowed to enter the house to talk."

Shi Jinzhong and his servants were all surprised, but he had to bow his head under the eaves. He had no choice but to shake his head with his servants, indicating that they should not cause trouble and stay outside the gatehouse.

"Shi Shoubei is really thoughtful."

After Wu Zhizhong signaled Shi Jinzhong to sit down, he continued: "Boruo Yongning will be happy to know that Shi Shoubei can stick to the righteousness and love the court so much."

Shi Jinzhong said with a charming smile on his face: "Jinzhong's Zhangjiakou garrison was appointed by the imperial court as a reward. He was not a domestic slave of the gang of Shanyou profiteers. Naturally, he was devoted to the imperial court and acted in accordance with the orders of General Zhenshuo."

He then asked for credit with a flattering look on his face: "General Wu came at the right time. If it had been three days later, the bulk of the goods stored by the profiteers would have been shipped out of the country."

"Humph."

Wu Zhizhong smiled evilly and said: "How could I allow a traitor to use my Ming Dynasty's property to benefit the enemy?"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

Shi Jinzhong continued to flatter him and said: "General Wu, except for Wang Dayu who does not often live in the fort, Tian Shenglan has gone to the capital, Zhai Tang has not returned from the town for business, and the three young masters of the Fan family are not in the fort either.

The residences, businesses, warehouses, and subordinates of the remaining people are all very clear, so they can guide the warriors under the general's command and ensure that they are accurate. "

How could Wu Zhizhong let go of the leader who came to his door? He immediately ordered his servants to lead the way for the inspecting army in pairs.

However, Wu Zhizhong seemed to still not want to let Shi Jinzhong go. He smiled and said to him: "General, I have one more thing to do here. I need to trouble Shi Defei. Is it convenient?"

"Convenient, of course."

When Shi Jinzhong heard that he was asked for help, he was naturally filled with joy: "General Wu, if you have anything to do, you just need to give me the order. I will definitely handle it properly."

"Ah."

Wu Zhizhong had a rather embarrassed look on his face. After a moment, he said: "General, I would like to ask Shi Shoubei to write two letters and send people to the two generals in Wanquan Youweicheng and Geyubao respectively to ask for help. .Is it okay to not know?”

When Shi Jinzhong heard this, he knelt on the ground with a "pop" on the spot. His face was ashen, and he begged with a depressed expression: "General Wu, the two generals on the West Road and the Middle Road are the uncles of my subordinates.

I ask General Wu to be noble and let them go. I am willing to pledge my life and go to both sides personally to persuade them to submit to Yong Ningbo and not to do the stupid thing of helping Zhou to abuse and throwing eggs against stones. "

His eyes were full of begging, and he said: "General Wu, please be merciful and be extra merciful!"

Wu Zhizhong sighed calmly and murmured: "This general is also helping them. There is such a movement in Zhangjiakou, and Youweicheng and Geyu Fort are so close at hand, why can't I hear it?
Now, wouldn't it be good to ask Shi Shoubei to write a letter in his own hand, asking the two of them to come for a while, and then you can explain the whole story to them face to face, and persuade them to serve the country and avoid helping the tyrants? "

Shi Jinzhong always felt in his heart that what Wu Zhizhong said was not that simple, but for a while he couldn't figure out what the problem was, just when he was thinking hard about it.

"Shi Jinzhong, don't you sincerely surrender to Uncle Yongning?"

Wu Zhizhong's shout pulled him out of his complicated thoughts.

"No...ah...yes...ah...no..."

Facing the incoherent Shi Jinzhong, Wu Zhizhong shouted again: "Humph, what do you mean? You have come to surrender, but you are unwilling to cooperate. Is it true or not? Just reply quickly."

"Yes, yes, I will definitely cooperate. My subordinates will definitely cooperate."

Shi Jinzhong was shocked when he stood up. He nodded and bowed and continued: "I will go back to the government office immediately, write a letter, and send it to Youwei City and Geyu Fort."

"No need to go to so much trouble. It's not like I don't have any pen and ink here."

As he spoke, Wu Zhizhong waved his hand and ordered someone to bring pens, inks, paper and inkstones to wait on the side. He added: "You write the book here. After you finish it, send someone to deliver it immediately. Don't hesitate any more."

Shi Jinzhong saw that the matter had come to this, he was already in danger, and his life and death were hanging by a thread. How could he dare to take care of his wife and uncles Lai Tianlu and Lai Tianshou?

He forced himself to calm down and wrote quickly at his desk. Because of the panic in his heart, he even tore up two articles he wrote. He seemed to feel that some of the words he said were not appropriate. It took a long time before he finished writing a letter.

Wu Zhizhong took it and read it carefully and praised: "Yes, this is the taste. You followed the general's instructions and just said that the general had no orders and led the army to attack Zhangjiakou without authorization. You gathered your troops and held them. I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on for a long time. I specially invited them. The two led their troops to come to the rescue."

"Here, follow this letter to Lai Tianlu and copy another letter asking for help to Lai Tianshou."

Soon, both letters were written. Wu Zhizhong read it carefully again and felt that there was no problem. Then he asked someone to seal the envelope and handed it to Zhang Jintai, a lieutenant general on the side.

Zhang Jintai understood deeply and didn't say much. He took the letter and walked outside the building to arrange for someone to deliver the letter.

Wu Zhizhong looked at the uneasy Shi Jinzhong and said with a smile: "Shi Shoubei, if you have made a great contribution today, Uncle Yongning will definitely be rewarded."

He turned his head and ordered again: "Come on, put the food and wine on the table, we want to calm Shi Shou's panic."

After three rounds of drinking, Lieutenant Commander Zhang Jintai returned to the gatehouse. He came to Wu Zhizhong and whispered a few words, then stepped aside. Coincidentally, his position was just to the side of Shi Jinzhong. "Shi Shoubei, I can only offer you these three glasses of wine, it won't be too little."

"No...no, General Wu still has important matters to attend to. It is a great honor for me to have the general toast me three times."

"it is good."

Wu Zhizhong sat opposite him and continued: "This first cup is a tribute to you for 'knowing the current affairs' and not hitting a stone with an egg. Although the hundreds of guards in the fort were not taken seriously by the general, Shi Guard's move It also saved me a lot of trouble.”

"As for the second glass of wine, I wish you could send a message to the Lai brothers. You can use your body as a bait to lure them out of the fortified city and save my army the trouble of attacking the city. This is a great achievement. "

"General Wu, what do you mean by this? It doesn't mean..."

Shi Jinzhong was about to stand up, but he was held down from behind. He looked back at the Prime Minister in panic. It was Zhang Jintai, an officer in the Weiyuan Battalion of the Yongyi Army. His left hand was pressed firmly on his shoulder, and the sword in his right hand was also pressed against him at the same time. It caught his throat.

"General Wu, I... I really like each other... I am willing to die for General Wu..."

His face was full of panic, and his words were incoherent: "I sincerely...general...spare my life...spare my life..."

Wu Zhizhong ignored his begging for mercy and continued: "This last glass of wine is not a toast to you, but the 'guillotine wine' that will send you on your way!"

When Shi Jinzhong heard this, he went crazy. He used his last bit of strength to push open the desk in front of him, and with a "pop", he knelt there.

"I am willing to...dedicate...all my wealth...to General Wu...spare my life...spare me...spare me...spare my life..."

"No."

Wu Zhizhong stood up and continued: "I also know that you are sincerely seeking refuge, but the location of Zhangjiakou is too important. If there is no blood, how can we hold it firmly in our hands?"

"So there is no other way but to use history to guard your head."

…………

For the soldiers and civilians in Zhangjiakou Fort, today's series of events happened too suddenly.

It seemed that in just a blink of an eye, the Yongyi Army successfully took over the inside and outside of the fort, but none of the soldiers responsible for defending the city were missing. Occasionally, one or two people showed up, and they were also leading the way for the Yongyi Army to check out the profiteers.

Amidst the roar of iron hoofs, many merchants and residents scratched the cracks in their doors and windows, looking out in horror.

They watched the brave soldiers of the brigade marching from the streets. The troops marched in an orderly manner. The iron hooves hit the bluestone street, and a neat roar resounded through the sky.

A well-drilled army will give people an extremely strong sense of oppression when marching, especially these brave soldiers. They are strong and green men. Even the infantry are mostly armored, wearing hats and helmets and iron-armed gloves. , the pressure is even more amazing.

They marched along the street in groups, including spearmen, sword and shield soldiers, and nearly half of the firecrackers, with fine firecrackers carried on their backs.

As they marched, the entire Zhangjiakou Fortress gradually became quiet. All that could be heard seemed to be the sound of neat hooves, and there was not a trace of noise from the army of thousands of people.

Among the marching troops, there were sergeants holding large iron horns in their hands. They were all selected soldiers with loud voices in the army. They shouted loudly: "By order, under the command of Uncle Yongning, the soldiers of the Weiyuan Camp of the Brave Army , to capture the profiteers who sold slaves and betrayed the country..."

"From now on, the entire city is under martial law!"

"General order, no staying in the market, no gathering of people, no attacking officers and soldiers, no taking weapons on the streets, any violators will be shot!"

"We are a brave and benevolent army. We have strict military discipline and have never done anything to disturb the people. There is no need for the soldiers and civilians to panic!"

As the army continued to advance into the fort and the sound of announcements and announcements continued to be heard, the people in the Zhangjiakou fort came to their senses and realized that the soldiers entering the city really had a purpose.

However, fortunately, their target was not the ordinary soldiers and civilians in the city. After the initial panic and howling, calling for children and daughters, crying for father and mother, the castle gradually became quiet. Every household closed their doors tightly, be careful. Looking around.

The entire Zhangjiakou Fortress suddenly became noisy, and then quickly became quiet again.

As the sound of neat military boots hitting the ground came, many people, still in shock, looked out from the gaps in the doors and windows to observe the passing army. The sound of whispers also spread from one street to another.

Of course, although such a result is harmless to ordinary soldiers and civilians, there are some people who cannot accept it at all.

They were all panic-stricken and urgently called their servants to guard the castle. In addition to inquiring for information and guarding the gate, there were also voices of confusion and curses: "Gao Jinzhong, this thief, what is he doing? Why don't you close the door and defend the castle?" ?”

The brave soldiers who entered the fort quickly took over Kuixing Pavilion and controlled the only commanding heights in the fort. At the same time, they collectively disarmed the guards in the barracks next to the garrison and controlled them in the barracks without going out.

The army soon marched to the Bell and Drum Tower, which was already the center of the castle.

The Zhangjiakou Fort has the Drum Tower as the center, and the streets extending to the four sides are the main streets, which are called Drum Tower East Street, South Street, West Street and North Street respectively.

Xu Jinyong, the deputy general of Weiyuan Battalion, was specifically responsible for inspecting the houses and shops of profiteers.

He unceremoniously used the Bell and Drum Tower as his temporary headquarters. All generals in the camp would be under his control. He would control all the government offices and treasuries in the fort, and conduct inspections on the houses and properties of profiteers.

At present, in addition to controlling the east and south city gates, the soldiers of the Weiyuan Battalion of the Yongyi Army have further controlled the Yuhuang Pavilion beside the northern city wall.

Although there was no city gate there, a small doorway was dug into the city wall to facilitate pedestrians' entry and exit.

Here, after the Longqing Peace Conference, when the Han and Mongolian sides reopened mutual trade, a doorway was specially dug to facilitate the officials in the fort to go to Laiyuan Fort and the merchants in the fort to do business.

Not far from the inner side of this small gate, there is also a board of directors, a management organization responsible for border trade trade affairs.

"Our army has completely controlled all the key positions in the fort, and is now closing the door to beat the dogs. The traitorous traders in the fort who are slaving and selling the country have no way to escape." Yan Kuan, the infantry commander Qian on the left, reported. .

Yu Shangke, the general on the left side of the artillery carriage, also said: "General, General Wu has sent some guides to help our army search for profiteers."

Xu Jinyong looked at the map of Zhangjiakou hanging on the screen, smiled, and said: "Very good, with a guide, the search for the property of the profiteers will go more smoothly."

He waved his hand to his generals and said: "According to the established strategy, all ministries have started to arrest traitorous businessmen and others and seize the traitorous property according to their previous arrangements!"

All the generals clasped their fists together, and with the sound of armor leaves clanging, they shouted: "Here. The last general takes orders!"

(End of this chapter)