The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 221 Extreme joy leads to sorrow, murder and silence

It is said that when Hong Wenxuan, the prefect of Yangzhou, heard that the Jin Yiwei was coming, and that Yi Hong, the leader of the Jin Yiwei, was leading the team, he was frightened out of his wits. He looked at Eunuch Ji in horror and said, "This... what should we do?"

Ji Jinxiao was obviously getting hairy at this time. He was fidgeting and kept walking back and forth. Suddenly, a trace of fierceness flashed in his eyes. He raised his hand and made a gesture of wiping his neck, and said ferociously: "The only solution now is-this!"

Yi Hong was shocked and said: "I'm afraid...I'm afraid it's inappropriate and may cause trouble in the future."

Ji Jinxiao said in a deep voice: "The commander of the Jinyiwei Yi Hongzheng is coming to Yangzhou day and night with the imperial edict. He is not much slower than the messenger from the palace. He may arrive as soon as tomorrow. The guys in the Jinyiwei are so evil and ruthless, and Master Hong must be too. You know, not to mention Kang Lingcheng and his son, even if it is a stubborn stone, it will have to open its mouth if it falls into the hands of Jin Yiwei. May I ask Master Hong if he has a better idea? "

Magistrate Hong fell silent for a moment.

In the early morning of the next day, a row of prison cars was parked outside the Yamen of the Inspector Yan. Kang Lingcheng and his son, as well as the four "wealth, wealth, wealth and longevity" stewards of Kang Mansion were all taken out. In addition, the poisonous scholar Shen Guan, who was a tainted witness, was escorted out. , and Li Shan, who led the troublemaker, were also put into a prison car. As for the rest of the people involved, they were tied up with hemp ropes and walked, and were escorted by Yangzhou Guards.

Moreover, Kang Lingcheng and his son were placed in the same prison car, but seeing that the father and son were calm and relaxed, they could not hide their joy, and they obviously knew that there was a high probability that they would be able to escape.

Kang Lingcheng was sitting in the prison car. He cupped his fists and laughed at Lin Ruhai on the steps: "Thank you Lin Yushi for your hospitality these days. We will see you later, hahaha!"

Lin Ruhai was as calm as water and ignored Kang Lingcheng. However, Tiehu and Xingwei were so angry that their steel teeth almost broke. This bastard was too arrogant. I really wanted to go forward and kill him with a knife, and give him to Zaiwu. The salt soldiers who died in Ishimura took revenge.

At this time, the officials under Zuo Shaoyang, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, began to identify the prisoners one by one according to the list. After confirming that they were correct, they reported to Zuo Shaoyang: "Your Excellency, all the prisoners have been verified as correct."

Zuo Shaoyang nodded when he heard this, and stamped his official seal on the list of prisoners, in duplicate, and the handover was completed.

"Lao Lin is the censor, I'll say goodbye now!" Zuo Shilang turned to Lin Ruhai and said, cupping his fists.

Lin Ruhai didn't say much. He cupped his fists and returned the salute, then turned around and returned to Xunyan Censor's Yamen.

Zuo Shaoyang frowned. In fact, he didn't really want to wade into troubled waters this time, but Prince Yi Zhong had to sell his face, and he had been sitting on the bench in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice for so many years. He also wanted to use this opportunity to climb up. The big tree of Prince Yohitada returns to the court.

It is said that although Zuo Shaoyang is ugly, he is a genuine two-ranked Jinshi, and he was as high-ranking as Lin Ruhai. He even reached the rank a few years earlier than Lin Ruhai, and was promoted from Hanlin editor to the fourth rank of Zhanshifu. There are few things worth doing.

You must know that Zhan Shifu belongs to the assistant minister of the East Palace. If you can hold the post of the younger brother of Zhan Shifu, Zhan Shi will definitely have a bright future. There is a high possibility that he will join the cabinet and become the prime minister in the future. However, I don't know if this brother is ugly. Or for other reasons, anyway, he was not welcomed by Emperor Qian Sheng, who was still the prince at the time.

Seven years ago, Emperor Kangping passed the throne to Emperor Qiansheng. Just when Zuo Shaoyang was full of ambition and ready to show off his talents, reality gave him a cold water.All the colleagues in the former Zhan Shifu were promoted, and he, Zuo Shaoyang, was also promoted to the minister of Guanglu Temple, ranking from the third rank. However, Guanglu Temple was only in charge of catering. It was a proper marginal yamen. To put it harshly, he was in charge of the cooks. , but not as noble as Zhan Shiqing, the original young master of Zhan Shifu.

So Zuo Shaoyang was very dissatisfied with this. He originally had a shoehorned face, but now he had a dark face all day long, and his words were harsh and harsh. He was even more disliked by his colleagues. Every time there was a banquet and celebration, Emperor Qian Sheng saw his face. Zhang's old face, which could almost be used to ward off evil spirits, felt very uncomfortable, so he simply promoted Lao Zuo from the third rank to the third rank with a stroke of a pen, and was transferred to the Nanjing Criminal Department to sit on the bench.

Let’s stop talking and let’s get down to business.Let's say that the Zuo Shilang escorted the prisoners and marched toward the south of the city, preparing to board a ship at the south pier and sail to Jinling. At this time, a group of Jinyi guards in bright clothes and angry horses entered Yangzhou City from the north of the city. Go straight to the Yamen of Xunyan Censor.

"Holy—decree—arrived!"

With a loud shout, the entire Salt Patrol Censor's Yamen exploded, and the people below quickly called in.

At this moment, Lin Ruhai, Jia Huan, and Lu Xiangsheng had just returned to the study and were about to give a lecture. When they heard the imperial edict arrived, they hurriedly dressed up and rushed to the front lobby. They also ordered people to prepare the incense table. When they were all ready, they respectfully said Kneel down in front of the incense table and bow to the north.

Yi Hong, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, is about 40 years old. He has a short beard under his chin, a hooked nose, and eyes like an eagle. His cold gaze glanced over him, making even Jia Huan feel his scalp numb. He couldn't help but feel awe in his heart, and his intuition told him that the guy in front of him was absolutely murderous!
At this time, I saw Yi Hong slowly opening a bright yellow scroll embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, and read aloud: "The Emperor of Heaven carries the imperial edict: Lin Ruhai, the censor of salt inspection in Yangzhou, I have learned all about what you have reported. , I am very shocked that lawless madmen are rampant here! You are now ordered to be the governor of Yingtian, and you will be granted the title of censor of Youqiandu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. You will be able to control the troops and horses of South Zhili. Everything is done expediently, and you must be thoroughly investigated until the truth comes to light, and all illegal acts will be brought to light. The madmen and black sheep will all be brought to justice, and the country's laws and regulations will be upheld. In addition, Yi Hong, the commander of the royal guards, will assist from the side. Thank you for this!"

Lin Ruhai was slightly shocked, lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, raised his hands above his head and said: "I accept the order, thank you!"

Yi Hong closed the imperial edict and handed his hands into Lin Ruhai's hands. His face, which was as cold as winter a second ago, suddenly turned into a spring breeze. He said with a smile: "Master Lin, please stand up. From now on, we will be colleagues. Please take care of us." After saying this, he ordered people to present a seal (a seal made of copper) to the Imperial Envoy.

Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but secretly gasped when they saw this. This man's face changed faster than turning the pages of a book. He was smiling and looking completely different from before.

Lin Ruhai took the imperial edict and Guan Fang and said: "Commander Yi is too polite, you and I are our emperors. We will do our best to die!"

Yi Hong nodded and said coldly: "It should be so. Jiangnan is the richest place in our Jin Dynasty, and Yangzhou is the richest in the world. Twenty-three percent of the national treasury income comes from the Lianghuai salt class. The emperor has always attached great importance to it, but now something like this has happened. The horrifying things are really outrageous. As the saying goes, three feet of ice does not freeze in one day. According to my opinion, if the power of thunder is not used, it is not enough to sweep away the bandits, and without the use of Shura methods, it is not enough to eliminate the demons. . This Yangzhou officialdom... haha, it’s time to clean up!"

Everyone present couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts, as if they could smell a strong smell of blood spreading all around.

Lin Ruhai sighed secretly in his heart. The reason why he petitioned Emperor Qian Sheng to send another person to review the case was because he did not want to get involved in the whirlpool of the struggle between the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor. Unfortunately, the tree wanted to be quiet but the wind did not stop. This hot potato still had to be left to Qian Sheng. The emperor's imperial edict was pushed back into his hands, and he even sent an overseer. This was clearly to force him to take sides: "Ahem, cough, cough!"

Lin Ruhai coughed violently. Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng hurriedly stepped forward to support the former, and each of them patted her on the back.

Yi Hong glanced at Lin Ruhai, who was haggard and coughing, and thought to himself, it seems that Lin Ruhai has indeed been poisoned. The position of Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor is too fat. An ordinary man is not guilty, but he is guilty of having a jade!

"Lin Da is in poor health and needs a good life." Yi Hong pretended to be concerned.

Lin Ruhai coughed for a moment and finally calmed down. He waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. I can still hold on with my old bones, but... Commander Yi came a step too late. Not long ago, Kang Lingcheng and other related criminals were all killed." The Nanjing Criminal Department took him away and headed to the south dock of the city. He must be almost out of the city now."

Yi Hong's expression changed, and without saying a word, he turned around and ran out the door, shouting loudly: "Chase!" Dozens of Jinyi Tiqi, wearing flying fish uniforms, immediately mounted their horses and chased towards the south port of the city.Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng looked at each other with joy on their faces. Both of them were obviously a little unwilling to accept Kang Lingcheng being taken away by the Nanjing Criminal Department. Especially the arrogant and laughing look of Kang Lingcheng before leaving made them extremely unhappy.

"Come here, prepare your horse!" Lin Ruhai, regardless of the fact that he was still ill, immediately ordered someone to fetch his mount, then mounted his horse and chased away. Jia Huan, Lu Xiangsheng, Feng Ziying and others also quickly mounted their horses to follow.

……

In front of a noodle stall near the canal dock in the south of the city, brothers Kang Dayong and Kang Dayi were sitting at a table, eating noodles and looking towards the city gate from time to time.

Since there are many ships going north and south on the canal, the dock is very prosperous, which naturally brings prosperity to the surrounding areas. Therefore, a bustling market hundreds of meters long has been formed near the dock. There are many shops and vendors everywhere, and it is very lively with people coming and going. Therefore, Kang Dayong and others were not conspicuous among the crowd.

At this time, the road from the city gate to the pier was taken over by Yangzhou Guard soldiers with strong military uniforms. No casual people were allowed to approach, but there were many people watching on both sides of the road, and they were bustling.

Suddenly there was a gong sound, and a government official holding a "Quietly Avoid" flag sounded the gong to clear the way, and then an official sedan appeared in everyone's sight.

"Coming, coming!" The crowd of onlookers immediately became commotion.

Brothers Kang Dayong, Kang Dayi, Jin Yagou, Li Hongji and Li Hongyi who were eating noodles at the noodle stall all stood up, stretched their necks and looked towards the city gate. The Kang brothers were obviously excited.

At this time, the first prison car finally drove out from the city gate, and sitting inside was the poisonous scholar Shen Guan.Kang Dayong's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he clenched his fists. Then the second prison car drove out of the city gate, and the people inside were Kang Lingcheng and Kang Dazhi and his son.

Kang Dayi was pleasantly surprised again. He was about to speak, but his second brother Kang Dayong stopped him sternly with his eyes, and the latter quickly swallowed his words.The gold-toothed dog chuckled and said, "Those dog officials are quite sensible and finally got Kang Yuanwai out, otherwise they would be better off."

Li Hongji was moved when he heard this. He had only recently joined the army, so naturally he had not yet come into contact with the core things. But from what the golden-toothed dog meant, there should be many officials who had the information in their hands. This shows how serious the collusion between government and businessmen was in Da Jin. , these abominable dog officials and dignitaries, exploiting people at all levels, plundering the people's fat and oil, breaking their bones and sucking their marrow, all deserve to die. The Jin Dynasty was founded less than ninety years ago, and it has become so rotten that it is time to change the dynasty.

Li Hongji was originally an extreme and angry young man. After he was humiliated and imprisoned for blackmail, he became even more resentful of the imperial court and wanted to overthrow it. Later, he almost caused an earth-shaking event. However, this is all a matter for later and will not be mentioned here for the time being.

Moreover, Kang Dayong saw his father and brother in the prison car. This time he went to the prison of the Jinling Criminal Department. He should be able to regain his freedom soon. He couldn't help but feel good. He couldn't help but think of the Lin family who had a sudden glimpse that day and almost took away his soul. Little lady.

"It's not convenient to do anything now. After my father and brother are acquitted, I will think of ways to get that little girl from the Lin family to enjoy herself on the island." Kang Dayong was thinking lustfully in his heart, when suddenly the prison car team stopped.

"Hey, what happened?" The golden-toothed dog asked doubtfully.

Everyone was wondering when they suddenly saw a group of Jinyi Tiqi with bright clothes and angry horses rushing out from the city gate. It turned out that Yi Hong, the commander of the Jinyiwei, arrived with his people in time and shouted: "Left Minister Zuo, stay!"

At this time, Zuo Shaoyang had already walked out of the official sedan. Seeing the Jinyi Guards coming, his expression changed slightly. When he recognized that the leader was Yi Hong, the commander of the Jinyiwei, he was even more shocked. Thinking: "Good fellow, why is this living King of Hell here in person?"

Not long after, Lin Ruhai, Jia Huan and others also arrived. Zuo Shaoyang knew something was wrong as soon as he saw it. He cupped his hands and said, "It turns out to be Commander Yi. What do you think?"

Yi Hong chuckled and said, "I am here on the order of the emperor!"

Lin Ruhai raised the imperial edict in his hand and said: "The Emperor has an edict and orders me to inspect the Yingtian Mansion, control the Zhili troops and horses, and thoroughly investigate the case in Kangling City. Yi Hong, commander of the Jinyi Guards, will assist!"

Zuo Shaoyang stayed at the scene for a moment. Kang Ling and his son in the nearby prison car were even more frightened when they heard this. It was over, it was over. If it fell into the hands of Jin Yiwei, life would definitely be worse than death!
However, at this moment, there was a sudden "bang" gunshot from the crowd, and a plume of gunpowder smoke rose into the sky, immediately scaring the people around them into running around.

Jia Huan hurriedly rode his horse closer to Lin Ruhai and shouted at the same time: "There are assassins, protect Mr. Lin!"

Immediately with a roar, Tieniu, Shitou, Lu Xiangsheng, Feng Ziying and others gathered around, protecting Lin Ruhai in the middle, and the Jinyi guards immediately protected Yi Hong.

"——Dad!" A shrill scream attracted everyone's attention.

Jia Huanxun looked around and saw Kang Lingcheng lying in a pool of blood in the prison car, while his son Kang Dazhi was lying on him, crying and screaming.

Jia Huan's heart sank, and then he realized that the assassin's target was not Lin Ruhai, but Kang Lingcheng. Good guy, he wanted to kill someone and silence him!

"Guan Guan, do you think you can sit back and relax after killing my father? I won't let you go!" Kang Dazhi raised his head, his eyes were red, and he shouted like a madman.

However, at this moment, a cold light suddenly shot out from a distance and hit Kang Dazhi's throat with great accuracy. The latter was knocked against the wall of the prison car on the spot. It was obvious that the cold light was extremely powerful.

Looking at Kang Dazhi again, his back was leaning against the wall of the cage, his head tilted to one side, and blood was pouring from his throat. Hua Tuo would never be able to save him again.

"It's a crossbow arrow!" Lu Xiangsheng saw clearly and pointed in the direction of the crossbow arrow, while Tiehu and Shitou had already charged forward on horseback.

Yi Hong was shocked and angry, but he finally reacted and shouted: "Catch the assassin!"

A group of royal guards immediately chased the assassin in the direction of his escape. Instantly, the entire dock was in chaos.

(End of this chapter)