1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3819

Yue Shizong was also a little surprised when he heard this. He thought that Qu Shengfeng would at least do some superficial work to build some relationships first, and then propose some obscure conditions to him after the matter was done. However, he never expected that the other party had no interest in beating around the bush and stated his demands directly at the beginning.

Considering Qu Shengfeng's identity, it is of course reasonable for him to make such a request. If a fifth-rank official like Yue Shizong could be persuaded to defect, it would definitely be a great achievement for him.

However, these words were too blunt. Yue Shizong was asked to work for Hai Han so directly that he did not know how to respond for a moment.

At the same time, Yue Shizong also realized that the other party had quickly found his weakness, which was the safety of his family. Regardless of whether he agreed or not, this moment of hesitation had already allowed Qu Shengfeng to see his bottom line.

Sure enough, Qu Shengfeng laughed and said, "Master Yue, I was just joking with you, please don't mind it. We are all old friends. Since you came to me, I will definitely help you!"

Yue Shizong was of course very clear whether what the other party said was a joke or not, and he was just giving himself a way out.

Yue Shizong bowed and thanked him solemnly, "If Sir Qu can solve this problem, I will definitely keep this great favor in mind and repay you in the future!"

As a diplomat of the Ming Dynasty, Yue Shizong would certainly not agree to Qu Shengfeng's request in public, but after all, he was asking for help from the other party, and being able to say this was enough to demonstrate his sincerity.

The two men sat down again. Master Zhang Wu was very perceptive and immediately stepped forward to pour them some hot tea, then retreated to the stairs to wait for orders.

Qu Shengfeng said, "Zhang Wu is not a member of my government, but he usually does some things for me. I just heard about the Jinyiwei threatening Lord Yue from him this morning."

Yue Shizong has known Zhang Wuye for two or three years, and he knows that most of the business this man runs is shady.

As for how much of this is Zhang Wuye's own business, and how much is operated on behalf of government officials like Qu Shengfeng, only they themselves know the answer.

As for Qu Shengfeng's statement that he was completely unaware of the Jinyiwei sneaking into Hangzhou to monitor him, Yue Shizong was somewhat skeptical.

Judging from the current situation, Huo Jingxing is obviously not fighting alone in Hangzhou City, but has a group of subordinates cooperating with him. If Qu Shengfeng is unaware of this and only found out about this after Yue Shizong reported it, then he is more or less dereliction of duty.

However, Yue Shizong had doubts in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud, so he asked tentatively: "I wonder how Lord Qu plans to deal with this matter?"

Qu Shengfeng said: "Master Yue, do you have any suggestions? Why not just say it."

Yue Shizong quickly took back his words: "I am just an outsider in this regard, so I dare not instruct Lord Qu on anything. It's just that this concerns my family, so I want to know more."

Qu Shengfeng smiled and said, "I don't mind telling Master Yue, but are you sure you want to listen?"

Yue Shizong didn't understand what he meant and just nodded in response, thinking that knowing the truth was always better than being kept in the dark, but he completely ignored the warning in Qu Shengfeng's words.

Seeing his firm attitude, Qu Shengfeng stood up and said, "Then please come with me, Master Yue, and you will understand."

Upon seeing this, Yue Shizong quickly stood up and followed behind.

When he walked downstairs, Yue Shizong realized that in just a short moment, the restaurant had been completely vacated. The guests who had left the third floor earlier were nowhere to be seen. The clearing was truly thorough.

As he walked, Qu Shengfeng said, "We have detained everyone who entered the restaurant after you today. No matter how many people were following you, I don't think anyone can get away from here." Upon hearing this, Yue Shizong realized that Qu Shengfeng's men not only arrested the two suspicious persons on the third floor, but also carried out a larger-scale on-site arrest. No wonder Master Zhang Wu was so confident in his means of clearing the area.

But Yue Shizong still couldn't help worrying that the guests who were released and the restaurant staff would spread the news here and cause a wider range of trouble.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Qu Shengfeng continued, "Don't worry, we can solve this matter before the news spreads."

A black-covered carriage had stopped outside the restaurant. Yue Shizong recognized this four-wheeled carriage as the exclusive means of transportation for high-ranking officials on the coast.

Seeing Qu Shengfeng get on the car first, Yue Shizong gritted his teeth and followed him in.

The carriage had not been in the city for long when it stopped in a back alley. After the two got off the carriage, someone led the way and led them into a house.

This house looks ordinary, but there is a secret passage leading to the underground in the study.

After entering the secret passage, Qu Shengfeng took the initiative to introduce: "This is the residence of He Guanzhi, the former governor of Hangzhou. The underground is a secret room used for refuge. After our country took over Hangzhou, He Guanzhi took the initiative to offer this house, and this underground secret room became our favorite. If there are some things in the city that are inconvenient to handle in the government office, we can come here to handle them."

As they were talking, the two of them had already passed through the last door and entered the secret room. The wall height here was a full ten feet, and the space was not as cramped as Yue Shizong had imagined. It was also divided into several rooms. It seemed that a lot of effort had been spent on building this place in the first place.

There were several torches lit in the secret room, and the blazing flames illuminated the room very brightly. It was obvious that in addition to the entrance and exit passages, there were other ventilation passages here.

However, the room was still filled with a strong smell of blood, which made Yue Shizong feel dizzy.

After he adjusted to the light in the room and looked at the situation here, he understood where the bloody smell came from.

There were four people in the room, shackled and fixed to the wall. Their bodies were covered in blood and they had obviously been tortured. They were groaning weakly.

Yue Shizong recognized the clothes of two of them. They were the two people who were taken away by Qu Shengfeng's men in the restaurant earlier.

Not long after, the two men looked like they had lost their human form, and even their facial features were unrecognizable. Blood was dripping from their chins to the ground, which showed that they had suffered a lot.

Someone came to report the situation to Qu Shengfeng. In addition to the two people caught on the third floor, they also blocked the other two people who were carrying out the pick-up mission at the entrance of the restaurant. The items found on them were exactly the same as those of the two people caught upstairs, which also confirmed that the four people were in the same group.

Qu Shengfeng went straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth: "Have you confessed?"

The subordinate replied, "Don't worry, sir. They confessed before they even made it three rounds. Three of the four confessed, but the other one couldn't hold on and died."

Yue Shizong covered his mouth and nose and interrupted, "Are these four Jinyiwei?"

The subordinate looked at Qu Shengfeng first, and when he saw him nod, he responded: "According to their confession, the Jinyiwei who came to Hangzhou this time are all under the jurisdiction of the Northern Pacification Division, led by Huo Jingxing, and there are a total of 17 people."

"They are divided into three groups. One group settled down by the Qiantang River in the south of the city, one group lurked in the city, and the other group was led by Huo Jingxing himself, and their whereabouts were erratic. The four we caught are the group lurking in the city."