Chapter 445: The whole city is a desperate kill

Jin Ling, Chengxian Street, Haiyun Pavilion.

This shop is located in the golden section of Jin Ling and is the largest of the five major shops founded by Zhen Yingquan.

Various imported goods transported from the outer sea in the shop are very popular among the well-off and wealthy families in the city.

Zhen Fangqing had read the secret accounts left by Zou Huaiyi; although she was calm, she became exceptionally concerned about the business of Haiyun Pavilion.

She came to the shop to inspect the business early in the morning, but not long after she left, the Cong Sanye Zhen Shiwen entered the shop after her.

He had just been released from confinement by his father, and he came to Haiyun Pavilion immediately, seemingly very concerned about the shop's business.

The second shopkeeper in the shop saw Zhen Shiwen and hurriedly greeted him.

Zhen Shiwen asked, "Is that batch of refined iron in the warehouse safe? Is anyone paying attention?"

The second shopkeeper's face turned bitter upon hearing this, saying, "Cong Sanye, those refined irons are fine, but the chief shopkeeper has asked about the origin of this batch of goods several times.

I had to say that it was temporarily stored by a friend of the Cong Sanye; the chief shopkeeper said that such goods are prone to suspicion and asked me to tell the owner to take them away as soon as possible.

But ever since the Cong Sanye entered the Jin Yi Wei thousand-man commander's office last time, there have been strange faces appearing around the shop, which must be secret posts left by those spies.

In this situation, the other party wouldn't dare to take the goods; I'm afraid that if they stay in our hands for too long, something will happen sooner or later."

Zhen Shiwen's face looked bad upon hearing the second shopkeeper's words; the chief shopkeeper in the shop was an old man of the Zhen family and was brought out by the Second Uncle back then.

After the Second Uncle had an accident, these old shopkeepers became the confidants of the Third Sister, and even the tone of their speech was exactly the same as the Third Sister's.

It was because these old and experienced chief shopkeepers were in their positions that the five most important shops of the Zhen family could be firmly controlled by the Third Sister.

Although Zhen Shiwen had spent a lot of thought, he could only play a supporting role, and even storing a batch of his own goods in the warehouse had to be nagged by the chief shopkeeper, which was mostly instructed by the Third Sister.

Zhen Shiwen said, "I was confined by the Old Master before; after I came out, I thought of a way; you be alert today, someone will come to take the goods…."

……

The sun had passed the middle of the sky; because it was early autumn, the business in the shop was still prosperous, and the crowd entering and exiting was even more than in the morning.

In a residential house diagonally opposite Haiyun Pavilion, on the second floor by the window, two men stood against the wall, looking at the bustling crowd entering and exiting Haiyun Pavilion.

One man said, "Hundred-man Commander Liu, we have been watching Haiyun Pavilion for half a month; that batch of refined iron has always been in the warehouse, and no one has come to take it; could it be that the Zhen family really uses it to cast ship anchors?"

Liu Yong sneered, "Even if the Zhen family has more money, it's impossible to use Ottoman refined iron to cast anchors; no one has come to take the goods for such a long time, which shows that the other party is very careful, and there is a problem instead.

Have you guys been watching closely every day? Don't let anyone drill a hole!"

The man said, "Hundred-man Commander, rest assured; the thousand-man commander specifically mobilized five of us to watch Haiyun Pavilion; every half an hour, we change people to set up posts in the front and back streets.

We have detailed records of all the sources of goods and people entering and exiting the Haiyun Pavilion warehouse, and we will never give anyone a chance to drill a hole."

Liu Yong took the booklet handed over by the man and flipped through it casually, when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the window.

The two looked out from the window and saw many customers running out of the Haiyun Pavilion shop, each with a panicked expression, and then heard someone shouting "fire" in a hoarse voice.

The street was suddenly in chaos; most of the houses on the street were made of wood; if one house caught fire, as long as the fire fighting was slightly delayed, it would soon spread and become uncontrollable.

Liu Yong saw a thick smoke rising from the backyard of Haiyun Pavilion, and that position was exactly the backyard warehouse of the pavilion.

At this time, at the corner of Chengxian Street, a fire-armored team of more than ten people pushing water dragon carts and ladders arrived upon hearing the news.

Chengxian Street was a bustling commercial district in Jin Ling, with shops gathered and crowds gathered; if a fire occurred, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Therefore, the Ying Tian Prefecture set up three water dragon bureaus at both ends of Chengxian Street, each with two fire-armored teams, which could be extinguished at any time once a fire occurred.

This fire-armored team should have learned of the fire in Haiyun Pavilion the fastest, and their actions were quite swift; in a short while, they arrived at the front gate of Haiyun Pavilion and turned from a small alley into the backyard warehouse.

Liu Yong stood at the window and saw a water dragon cart of the fire-armored team stop at the gate of the Haiyun Pavilion backyard.

Two men shook the water pump on the cart, and another man took a hollowed-out bamboo tube and sprayed water on the burning roof.

Another water dragon cart was pushed into the backyard of Haiyun Pavilion by seven or eight people, spraying water inside to extinguish the fire.

A man ran to the second floor and said to Liu Yong, "The subordinate just went to ask; the second shopkeeper of Haiyun Pavilion knocked over a candle in the warehouse and lit the curtains in the room.

But Hundred-man Commander, don't worry, that batch of Ottoman refined iron won't be burned no matter how big the fire is."

At this time, another fire-armored team appeared at the other end of Chengxian Street; they probably heard the news late and arrived a step late.

It was just that the alley of the backyard warehouse was narrow; one fire-armored team entered, and the second team couldn't enter anymore, so they had to park the water dragon cart on the street.

Pedestrians on the street had long been driven away by the runners who arrived upon hearing the news; the fire-armored team in the alley was busy for the time of a meal before extinguishing the fire in the backyard warehouse.

More than ten fire-armored team men, their faces blackened by smoke, pushed two water dragon carts and walked out of the alley with exhaustion.

By the time the chief shopkeeper of Haiyun Pavilion chased out of the shop with a reward, that fire-armored team had already walked to the turning intersection and gone far away.

In the residential house opposite Haiyun Pavilion, Liu Yong and his subordinates saw the whole fire.

However, just as a captain said just now, even if the fire was bigger, it wouldn't burn the batch of Ottoman refined iron.

Liu Yong walked down the stairs, preparing to return to the thousand-man commander's office to report the situation to Ge Ge Zhi Cheng, when he suddenly stopped his footsteps, feeling something was wrong.

The government hired men from poor families to serve as fire-armored teams in the city.

After all, there were some risks in fighting fires, and families who were poor and struggling to survive wouldn't do the work of the fire-armored team.

The pay given by the government to the fire-armored team was very meager; fortunately, every time they fought a fire, the victims would give some rewards, which was considered an extra income.

And the fire-armored team on Chengxian Street was more optimistic than other places because there were wealthy shops on Chengxian Street.

Although fires wouldn't happen often, even if they encountered a small fire once every year or half a year, those merchants would give large rewards for the sake of good luck.

This was a rare big profit for the poor fire-armored team members.

But Liu Yong remembered the situation just now; that fire-armored team actually left in a hurry without taking the reward; this was really too unreasonable!

Thinking of this, Liu Yong's face changed greatly, and he shouted to several Jin Yi Wei captains, "Go to the Haiyun Pavilion warehouse immediately and see if that batch of Ottoman refined iron is still there.

Go to the intersection and chase that fire-armored team, and you must intercept them!"

Not long after, a captain returned with a panicked expression, saying, "Hundred-man Commander, that piece of refined iron in the warehouse is gone.

I asked the clerk in the shop, and he said that when the fire was extinguished just now, the scene was very chaotic; the fire-armored team was afraid that someone would be injured, so they asked the people in the shop to withdraw from the backyard to facilitate their fire fighting.

No one saw how that batch of refined iron disappeared…."

Liu Yong's face was iron-blue; he never expected that in order to take away this batch of refined iron, the other party would make such a big scene, making it impossible to guard against.

At this time, the captain who went to chase the fire-armored team returned, saying that after passing the intersection, the traces of the fire-armored team disappeared, and two water dragon carts were abandoned by the roadside.

After asking the nearby people, they said that the ten-some fire-armored team men moved many boxes out of the water dragon carts, got into two carriages, and went to the east of the city.

Liu Yong gritted his teeth and said, "Mobilize people immediately, surround Haiyun Pavilion for me, send people to the east of the city to investigate, and must find the things and the people!"

……

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Jin Ling, yamen of the Ministry of Works of the auxiliary capital.

In the past few days, there had been people entering and exiting the official residence of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works; Right Vice Minister Zhang Kangnian was busier than usual and often went out of the yamen for half a day before returning.

The subordinate officials of the Ministry of Works who handled yamen affairs could vaguely feel a strange oppression.

There was a rumor in the yamen from somewhere that an important imperial decree would be issued from the Love Shenjing recently, and the Jin Ling officialdom was likely to fluctuate.

Such things had happened several times in Jin Ling before, such as the breaking of the Water Supervision Department case two years ago, which caused many officials in Jin Ling to fall.

However, this kind of officialdom fluctuation caused by the issuance of an imperial decree was generally a matter for high officials of the fourth rank and above.

The sesame-sized subordinate officials of the sixth or seventh rank in the Six Ministries didn't have the honor to be on the imperial decree, so naturally, they were happy to wait and watch the show.

Some people also guessed that Right Vice Minister Zhang had led the Ministry of Works to handle the Zhou Zhengyang incident properly after it was exposed, and was highly praised by the officialdom; this time the imperial decree was issued, it was very likely that he would be promoted.

Outside Zhang Kangnian's official residence, Liu Yongfu, a director of the Ministry of Works, came in with a document.

He said, "Reporting to Minister Zhang, the guarding soldiers of the Xuanhe gate submitted an official document; Firearms Supervisor Jia Cong has escorted five cannons to Gusu, and Su Zhou Guard has escorted three of them to Songjiang.

Early this morning, Jia Cong brought three hundred musketeers to a place thirty li outside Jin Ling city and sent personal guards to submit the entry official document in advance. According to the conventional practice of the Ministry of Works, the entry and exit of the Jin Ling standing guard troops are managed by the Jin Ling Regional Military Commissioner's Yamen, and the entry of Jin Ling external troops must be approved by the Ministry of Works before they can enter.

This is the entry official document sent by Jia Cong's personal guards to the Xuanhe gate; please approve it, Minister."

Zhang Kangnian took the official document, his eyes flickering uncertainly; after a while, he said, "Those three hundred musketeers were originally escorting cannons south; now that the escorting of cannons is over.

They will return to the Love Shenjing in a few days, so they don't need to enter the city again; let them camp five li outside the Xuanhe gate.

I will inform the Regional Military Commissioner's Yamen; the grain and grass originally approved until the twelfth of the ninth month will be delivered to the camp before sunset today."

Liu Yongfu felt slightly strange in his heart; Minister Zhang seemed not to like that young Count very much.

Jia Cong submitted a military document to enter the city, but Minister Zhang asked his three hundred musketeers to camp outside the city, clearly giving the other party no face.

However, Minister Zhang's handling of this matter couldn't be faulted in terms of law, but it was indeed a bit harsh in terms of human feelings.

……

Jin Ling, a place two li away from the Xuanhe gate.

Three hundred musketeers wearing Great Zhou military uniforms were marching toward Jin Ling.

A fast horse galloped from the direction of Jin Ling city toward the marching troop; it was the messenger sent by Jia Cong early in the morning.

He ran to Jia Cong, rolled off the horse, and said, "Reporting to the Count, the entry official document has been replied to; the Ministry of Works asked the three hundred musketeers to camp outside the city, and the grain and grass will be delivered later.

The Count can only bring personal guards into the city."

Jia Cong's eyes condensed slightly; he took the official document handed over by the messenger and saw the reply from the Ministry of Works, as well as the signature and seal of Right Vice Minister Zhang Kangnian.

Qu Hongxiu beside him looked worried and asked, "Cong brother, these three hundred musketeers were brought out of Jin Ling by you; why are they not allowed to enter the city now that they are back?"

Jia Cong replied, "This is the convention of the Ministry of Works of the auxiliary capital; they are not troops belonging to the city, and every time they enter the city, they must be approved by the Ministry of Works.

Jin Ling is the auxiliary capital of the Great Zhou, related to the safety of half of Jiangnan; to prevent unexpected events, this rule has always been implemented, but the scale is controlled by the Ministry of Works.

And, counting the days, the imperial envoy will definitely reach Jin Ling in these two days; I'm afraid Jin Ling has already heard the wind."

Qu Hongxiu looked surprised and asked, "Is it like the last time we arrested Zhou Zhengyang, the news was leaked in advance?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Although the palace is strict, Jiang Liu sent the memorial to the palace, the Emperor will definitely summon officials to discuss, need Hanlin scholars to draft the decree, and the Ceremonial Supervisor to seal and register.

During this period, it has to pass through the eunuchs, and be transmitted to various places in the palace; the number of people involved is not small.

The officialdom of the Love Shenjing and Jin Ling has always been intertwined; the Water Supervision Department case involves a wide range; it is not strange to reveal some wind.

However, even if Jin Ling can smell the wind in advance, it absolutely cannot be faster than our feather message; this is the key to our success by being one step ahead.

These three hundred musketeers were originally a cover under the sun, and the people in Jin Ling city were staring at them.

Now letting them camp outside the city can make many people relax their minds, which is not necessarily a bad thing for us.

Moreover, the news from Gusu takes at least two days to reach Jin Ling; at this time, no one in Jin Ling knows that we have captured Luo Xiong.

And, I asked Zhou Yong to send people to explain the situation to the Gusu Provincial Administration; although there is no imperial decree, the Gusu Provincial Administration dare not underestimate this matter.

With the restraint of the Provincial Administration in Gusu city, the Su Zhou Guard is leaderless, and the news transmission will only be slower, which is more favorable to us."

Since receiving the reply from the Ministry of Works, Jia Cong left the three hundred musketeers to camp outside the city.

He himself and Qu Hongxiu took ten musketeer personal guards and a carriage, heading toward the Xuanhe gate of Jin Ling.

By the time they reached the Xuanhe gate, they encountered the peak time for entering the city, and there was a long line at the city gate, waiting for the guarding soldiers to check and let them pass.

Perhaps because Jia Cong's group had many people, and the ten personal guards accompanying them carried muskets, they were increasingly eye-catching.

Only to see a guarding captain with two small soldiers cross the line and walk toward them, seemingly wanting to check in advance because of their uniqueness.

When the captain stated his intention, Jia Cong showed his Firearms Department waist token and related documents.

After the captain looked at the waist token and documents, he suddenly walked to the carriage and lifted the curtain.

He saw a man in the carriage with his hands tied and a black cloth covering his head, unable to see his appearance.

The musketeer personal guard beside him stepped forward quickly, closed the curtain, and said, "This is an imperial criminal captured by the Count in Gusu, who is being escorted to the Dali Temple."

The other nine musketeer personal guards beside Jia Cong surrounded the carriage at once, their expressions full of vigilance, scaring the guarding captain.

He, a tiny captain in the army, dared not challenge the dignified Count of Weiyuan, not to mention a group of fierce-looking musketeer guards.

He retreated to the side in embarrassment and snorted, then walked away, seemingly because he lost face, and didn't let Jia Cong and others enter the city first.

Instead, he let them follow the queuing crowd to enter the city in turn, which would cost Jia Cong and others several times the time.

That captain walked into the city gate alone; in just a while, a fast horse set out from the Xuanhe gate and left quickly by a shortcut.

……

Entering Jin Ling city in the past, although the guarding soldiers would check, most of them were just going through the motions; after all, it was not a critical wartime, and most of them were just doing it for show.

Jin Ling city was open on all four sides during festivals, and people could enter and exit at will in broad daylight.

Jia Cong also felt strange about having to queue for inspection today, so he sent personal guards to inquire about the situation; not long after, the personal guard reported that the Zhen family's Haiyun Pavilion in Jin Ling had a fire yesterday, and thieves took advantage of the chaos to steal a batch of expensive foreign goods.

The Jin Yi Wei was now on alert at the four gates, searching for the thieves and trying to recover the stolen foreign goods.

Jia Cong heard this and felt a slight shock in his heart; he immediately thought of the batch of Ottoman refined iron in the Haiyun Pavilion warehouse; the Zhen family was also suspected of private firearms manufacturing because of this batch of refined iron.

The Jin Yi Wei had already set up secret posts around Haiyun Pavilion, fishing for half a month, but had no harvest.

He didn't expect that this batch of rare Ottoman refined iron was taken away under the eyes of the Jin Yi Wei, no wonder the Jin Yi Wei had to search the four gates.

In Jin Ling city, besides the hidden undercurrents derived from the Water Supervision Department case back then, it seemed there was another force quietly operating and touching the core of the Great Zhou firearms technique.

Jia Cong and others spent nearly an hour before entering Jin Ling city with the queuing crowd.

When the troop left the Xuanhe gate and turned to an intersection, they saw a large number of guard soldiers setting up checkpoints, sealing off the intersection.

And this intersection led to the yamen of the Six Ministries of the auxiliary capital, as well as the Dali Temple office set up in the Ministry of Justice, and was also the only way to the Jia mansion in Xinglong Lane.

It just so happened that this intersection was set up with a checkpoint; Jia Cong felt slightly strange and asked a flag officer guarding the checkpoint to ask.

"This official is Firearms Supervisor Jia Cong; why is there a checkpoint set up at this intersection suddenly?"

The flag officer smiled and said, "So it's Minister Jia of the Ministry of Works; because thieves appeared in the city, set fires and looted on Chengxian Street, it is said that they are hiding in the east city.

This intersection is the only way from the east city to Jin Ling; we are sent by the superiors to close and guard the intersection; no one is allowed to enter or exit; please understand, Minister Jia."

The flag officer pointed to a street alley on the left, saying, "This Xingqian Street road is flat, convenient for carriages to drive, and after turning left out of this road, it is the direction of the yamen of the Six Ministries of the auxiliary capital.

Compared to walking this intersection, it only takes half a cup of tea more, which is most convenient for Minister Jia to return to the yamen."

Jia Cong's eyes flickered slightly, he touched the saber at his waist and said, "Thank you!"

He turned his horse's head and led the troop toward Xingqian Street.

Behind him, that guard flag officer showed a triumphant and sinister smile….

The road of Xingqian Street was just as the flag officer said, very flat, and the carriage ran on it very smoothly, but the road was not wide and couldn't accommodate two carriages side by side.

The troop walked to the middle of Xingqian Street, when suddenly smoke filled the front, and it was a residential house on fire.

A group of fire-armored teams common in the city were spraying water to extinguish the fire with water dragon carts.

Jia Cong frowned slightly and reminded Qu Hongxiu beside him: "Be careful!"

To avoid the fire-armored team occupying a small half of the road, the troop leaned to the other side of the road so that the carriage could pass as soon as possible.

Suddenly, the fire-armored team responsible for fighting the fire quickly turned the water-spraying bamboo guns and aimed them at the ten musketeer personal guards, and large waves of water poured down, instantly soaking them through.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 446 =====