Chapter 82: The Curtain Falls

With the Shaoxing Prefecture being stirred up by the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it certainly needed troops to garrison it.

But the Hangzhou New Army was too small, and it was impossible to garrison here for a long time.

Nalan Yuanshu had been worrying about this, because the Green Standard Army had already rotted to the core. What should be done about the Shaoxing Prefecture garrison?

Now that Yin Qi had volunteered, it was exactly what he wanted.

What's more, he had always regarded Yin Qi as a like-minded reformer, and he naturally wanted to strengthen the power of the reformists.

That way, if anything happened in the future, there would be a fresh force to rely on.

In any case, he would send troops to be stationed in the militia for a long time, and Shaoxing Prefecture was so close to Hangzhou; if Yin Qi really had any bad intentions, he didn't believe the man could stir up any trouble.

"Thank you, Sir!"

Yin Qi thanked him, feeling happy in his heart.

He could finally organize a militia, and he could openly control an armed force.

Nalan Yuanshu smiled slightly, then said, "With the Prefect and others killed, it will take some time for the imperial court to appoint officials, and I have to be busy investigating the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Yin Qi, for the next period of time, you will assist me in handling the affairs of the Prefectural Office."

This disturbance had wiped out not only the Prefect but also high-level officials like the Assistant Prefect and the Vice Prefect.

It could be said that the Prefectural Office was completely paralyzed.

"Yes, Sir!"

Yin Qi naturally had no objections. He cupped his hands and said, "Sir, my family is still in jail. Could you...?"

Nalan Yuanshu said sternly, "The killing of the foreign technicians at your steam engine factory was a conspiracy by the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, intended to provoke local unrest. It has nothing to do with your Yin family. You can go and pick them up at any time."

"Thank you, Sir!"

Yin Qi cupped his hands again to thank him.

With these words from Nalan Yuanshu, he and the Yin family were considered to have completely cleared their suspicions.

……

Yin Qi quickly entered the state and assisted Nalan Yuanshu in handling the aftermath.

Calling it assistance was less accurate than saying he was handling it entirely.

Because Nalan Yuanshu was seriously injured and had no energy to deal with the aftermath, Yin Qi would pick out the important matters to report, and he would make the decisions on everything else himself.

Seeing that Yin Qi could handle everything in an orderly manner, Nalan Yuanshu was also greatly surprised.

This man was truly a natural hand at handling government affairs.

Time passed, and finally, it was dawn.

Battle reports came in one after another from other counties. They had all completed their expected goals, but there were still many who had escaped.

So Nalan Yuanshu issued an order to hunt down the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom throughout the prefecture, making sure to capture high-level remnants like Chen Yucheng and Shi Zhongkui.

At the same time, Shaoxing City was placed under full martial law to search for the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and members of the Caohe Gang.

……

Somewhere in the wilderness.

Shi Zhongkui's face was ashen, and he muttered to himself, "It's over, it's all over."

He had already received news from the various counties that the men they had deployed had been almost wiped out by government troops. Just like in Shaoxing City, the imperial court seemed to have known their plan long ago and had dug a pit waiting for them to jump in.

Their efforts of so many years were almost lost in a single night.

Although they still had quite a bit of power outside Shaoxing Prefecture.

But under the pursuit of the imperial court, the outcome was already destined.

"We are heading south!"

Chen Yucheng's voice was a bit hoarse.

It seemed that overnight, many gray-white hairs had appeared on his head, but his gaze remained firm.

Shi Zhongkui and the others seemed to have regained their senses and looked at Chen Yucheng one after another.

It seemed that as long as he was there, they had a backbone.

Chen Yucheng said, "The revolutionary momentum in Guangzhou is rising and falling. It is not only commercially prosperous but also far from the capital, so the Qing demons' control is relatively weak. We can head to Guangzhou to develop. Either secretly accumulate strength or unite with other revolutionary factions. As long as we persist, we will eventually make a comeback and see the day the Manchu Qing falls."

"Good, Prince!"

Shi Zhongkui and the others nodded one after another, and fighting spirit and confidence ignited in their eyes again.

Chen Yucheng continued, "Next, the Qing demons will definitely hunt us everywhere. There is no time to lose; you must leave now."

Shi Zhongkui was stunned and said, "Prince, what about you?"

Chen Yucheng's eyes were deep, and he said in a deep voice, "I still have some things to deal with, and I will catch up with you soon."

………

The Prefectural Office jail.

Last night's slaughter had not affected this place.

Yin Chengtao and the others had hardly slept all night. In the first half of the night, they listened to the sounds of fighting outside and were terrified. When it finally quieted down outside, the harsh environment in the cell made it difficult for them to sleep.

It wasn't until dawn that they couldn't hold back their sleepiness and became drowsy.

Suddenly, a burst of footsteps woke them up again.

Yin Chengtao listened to the footsteps, which seemed to be coming toward him, and couldn't help but turn his head to look. Through the morning sunlight, he suddenly widened his eyes; he actually saw Yin Qi!

"Master, it's Qi'er!"

Yin Mu also saw Yin Qi, both surprised and happy, and deeply confused, because Yin Qi was surrounded by a group of jailers, and the one leading the way was the Prison Warden.

What was going on?

The Prison Warden said obsequiously, "Sir, your family is locked up here. Don't worry, although they haven't received special care, they have definitely not suffered any grievances."

He felt a lingering fear in his heart; fortunately, he had been wary of the Japanese, which was why he hadn't laid a hand on the Yin family.

Otherwise, he would have been skinned alive today.

Who could have imagined that Yin Qi, who was still a wanted man yesterday, would become a favorite in front of the Provincial Commander in the blink of an eye? Not only did he jump to become the Shanyin Prefecture General, but he was also assisting the Provincial Commander in managing the Prefectural Office.

Before the new Prefect took office, this Shaoxing Prefecture was almost entirely under Yin Qi's control.

Yin Qi just nodded faintly. He quickened his pace, came to the cell door, and called out, "Dad, Mom!"

Yin Chengtao and Yin Mu asked suspiciously, "Qi'er, this is...?"

Yin Qi said, "This is not the place to talk. We'll talk when we get home."

Yin Chengtao and his wife nodded.

The Prison Warden shouted to the side, "Why haven't you opened it yet?"

Several jailers hurried forward and opened all the cell doors where the Yin family was being held.

……

The Yin Mansion.

Yin Chengtao looked up at the plaque, feeling emotional, as if in a dream.

Yesterday, he was still worried that his whole family would be executed, but today he was back home, and he was followed by a large group of yamen runners who were moving back all the items that had been confiscated yesterday.

It was just a pity for Xuan'er and Shishi; one had married into a Japanese family, and the other had married a Japanese man.

Thinking of this, his heart ached faintly.

Fate plays tricks on people!

……

Tingyu Study.

Yin Chengtao asked impatiently, "Qi'er, what exactly is going on? What happened last night? How can you freely enter and exit the Prefectural Office, and why are they so afraid of you?"

Yin Qi smiled slightly and said, "Last night, the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom caused chaos. Fortunately, the Provincial Commander had long been aware of it and had made preparations in secret, which was why the rebellion was quickly suppressed."

"I performed meritorious service by saving the Provincial Commander last night, and with the Prefect and other high-level officials killed, the Provincial Commander had no one to use, so he asked me to assist him in handling the government affairs of the Prefectural Office."

"Also, the Provincial Commander has already found out that whether it was the previous case of the murdered foreigners or the killing of the foreign technicians at our steam engine factory, it was all done by the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, with the goal of provoking local unrest."

"Since the situation has been clarified, our Yin family is naturally innocent."

Although Yin Chengtao was his father, Yin Qi was not prepared to tell him everything, whether it was being coerced by Chen Yucheng to join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom or his wild killing last night, wiping out the Prefect, the Twelve Knights, and the Chen family in one fell swoop.

Rebellion was not a dinner party; it was a crime punishable by the extermination of one's entire clan.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 83 =====