A knife in love

Chapter 1268

Xiao Dong raised his eyebrows, sneered, and said in his mouth: "Brother Qin, it is impossible to confirm that the people living on the shore took our boat. If you set fire to the house like this, what is the difference with those thieves?" ?If our big ship was really snatched by thieves, and the other party could plunder all the ships on the pier within a few hours, the power must be extremely powerful. You lit the fire, but it sent a signal to the enemy. If the other party A massive attack is coming, just with us few people, can we stop the siege of hundreds of thieves?"

Qin Laowu said angrily: "Then, what should we do then? Our wealth and lives are all on this boat!"

When Qin Laowu said this, he paused for a while, and then said: "Master Xiao, Zhang Yuanwai, shopkeepers, my ship is gone, and everyone's goods can't be found. If you are so helpless, everyone may jump into the sea." Forget about committing suicide. Anyway, returning to Ningbo empty-handed, those banks and creditors must kill us."

Shopkeeper Hu and the others also looked terrified, and nodded in agreement.Although Zhang Shi also brought a few boxes of goods, they were all purchased porcelain and were to be brought to Fusang for sale.Although it cost him 3000 taels of silver, even if all these porcelains were stolen by thieves, it would be nothing but a drop in the bucket to Zhang Shi.Therefore, he was not as panicked as Qin Laowu, shopkeeper Hu and others, who stood aside thoughtfully.

Li Qiufeng watched with cold eyes, and seeing Qin Laowu, shopkeeper Hu and others looking anxious, it can be seen that this big ship and the goods on board are indeed related to the lives of these people.It's just that Xiao Dong didn't hesitate to rush to Wangjiazhuang to fight today, so it's not a lie that he was in a hurry to go to Fusang.It stands to reason that Xiao Dongcai should be most anxious about the disappearance of the big ship.But at this time, although Xiao Dong's face was gloomy, he was not as anxious as Qin Laowu, shopkeeper Hu and others.What kind of plan this person is planning, and what kind of deal he will make with the people of Fusang when he arrives in Fusang, makes people feel suspicious.

While Li Qiufeng was thinking about it, he only heard Xiao Dong say word by word: "It seems that it is more difficult to find a big ship with only us people. It is necessary to get the magistrate of Dongliao County to come forward as soon as possible. Get the big boat back. Brother Qin, you and the shopkeepers wait here first, while Xiao and Zhang Yuanwai go to the county magistrate's office."

Qin Laowu was no longer as irritable as before, he nodded, and said to himself: "This boat is my life! If someone breaks it, I will kill his whole family. "

Shopkeeper Hu said from the side: "Master Xiao, we are powerless, and we can't help if we stay at the pier. We should go to the magistrate's office with Master Xiao, and we can also be a witness for Master Xiao at that time. I don't know what Master Xiao wants?"

After shopkeeper Hu finished speaking, shopkeepers Song, Ji and others also echoed.Xiao Dong's heart was clear, he knew that these shopkeepers were scared out of their wits, they were afraid of staying at the pier, those thieves who stole the big ship would go and come back, naturally it would be extremely dangerous.Therefore, these few people made up their minds to follow them to the county magistrate's office, and none of them would stay on the pier with Qin Laowu.

Xiao Dong hadn't spoken yet, only Qin Lao Wu yelled: "Let's all go, let's go, it's no big deal for me to stay here alone!"

Although Qin Laowu, shopkeeper Hu and others seem to be in harmony, but on the surface they are not offending each other, and the two sides can be regarded as respectful and polite when they speak.It's just that Qin Laowu is so anxious at this time, he is not as forbearing as before.Seeing Shopkeeper Hu and the others as cowardly as mice, he looked down on them even more, so he even called himself Laozi in front of Shopkeeper Hu and the others.

Xiao Dong thought to himself, Qin Lao Wu's square inch has been messed up, shopkeeper Hu and others may not be much better.If the few of them were left at the pier, there would be internal strife if the two sides disagreed.At this critical juncture, if Qin Laowu had another dispute with Shopkeeper Hu, this person is a rude person, and it is not impossible to kill someone with a knife when he is annoyed.It is a good thing that shopkeeper Hu and others want to go with me to the county magistrate's office.You might as well leave Zhang Shi at the pier, he and Qin Laowu have always been on good terms, so nothing will happen in the future.

Xiao Dong thought about this, and was about to talk to Zhang Shi, but on second thought, Zhang Shi and Qin Laowu have known each other for many years, and they have done many business together.If the two of them were left at the pier, it would give them a chance to plan in private.The situation is unclear right now, and these people have their own agendas. I can't let them collude behind the scenes and join hands to deal with me.What's more, if I want to keep Zhang Shi at the pier, the kid surnamed Zhu will definitely stay too.This person is highly skilled in martial arts, it is better to bring him by my side.If the group who stole the big ship is going against me, this kid will be a good helper.

Xiao Dong made up his mind, nodded his head immediately, and said in his mouth: "Since the shopkeepers want to go together to be a witness, let's go with Xiao. The matters on the dock have to be entrusted to Brother Qin. It's just that Qin Brother, you have to be careful, if there is an enemy attacking, you can't fight head-on, you can retreat to the city. Wait for Xiao to find the government to help, and then wipe out the thieves."

Qin Laowu secretly thought that you bastard said it nicely, so why don't you want me to stay here and take the blame for you? !Get out, get out, it's really disgusting to say such nonsense hypocritically!At this time, he was no longer accommodating to Xiao Dong as before, so after listening to Xiao Dong's words, he just nodded, but did not answer.

Xiao Dong naturally knew that Qin Laowu was furious, but luckily he didn't turn his back on him, and he didn't want to waste any more time on the pier.Seeing Qin Laowu nodding in agreement, he hurriedly left the dock with Zhang Shi, Li Qiufeng, shopkeeper Hu and others.After crossing the stone bridge, there are far fewer pedestrians on the street, and most of the lights on both sides of the road have been extinguished.Xiao Dong asked a passer-by where the magistrate's yamen was. After the man told Xiao Dong, he looked at everyone and said, "The magistrate's yamen has already closed the gate. Even if you want to do something, I'm afraid you won't be able to enter I advise you to go back and rest, and go to the yamen tomorrow morning."

Naturally, Xiao Dong would not explain the reason for going to the yamen to such a commoner, so he thanked him and led everyone to the county magistrate's yamen.Shopkeeper Hu and the others felt anxious, and no one spoke along the way.Zhang Shi was quite calm, and said to Xiao Dong: "Lord Xiao, it's already late at night, if the magistrate doesn't see us, how should we deal with it?"

Xiao Dong sneered, and said in his mouth: "Do you dare not see him? The drum placed at the gate of the yamen is not for show."

Zhang Shidao: "Master Xiao, you are an official in the capital, I'm afraid you don't know the methods of these dirty local officials. The imperial court has a yamen, and the prefectures and county yamen all over the world have indeed set up a bell at the door of the yamen, in case of emergency. It's just that how many of these officials can abide by the court's laws and will be promoted to do things when they hear the sound of the drum? The villains in other state capitals don't know, but in the past few years, there have been several times in Ningbo Prefecture where the people beat the drum to express their grievances. As a result, after the magistrate was promoted to the hall, he beat the drummer with dozens of boards indiscriminately. Therefore, the people were terrified. After going to the court, I will go to the Yamen to express my grievances. In this way, there are two great disadvantages."

Zhang Shi said this, but did not continue.Xiao Dong glanced at him, and said in his mouth: "I would like to hear the details."

When Zhang Shi mentioned the bad habits of the officialdom, he had scruples in his heart, so he didn't go on.Seeing that Xiao Dong was not angry at this time, he went on to say: "The imperial court has three things to do in front of the yamen. One is when there is an emergency, such as robbers sneaking into the city to commit crimes, or murderers Murders, fires, floods and other catastrophes came suddenly. At this time, those who heard about the change beat the drum, and the officials in charge could immediately summon relevant personnel such as yamen tolerance and arresters to handle the affairs. Second, when the imperial court issued important orders, the people had to be informed. After the drums are played, if the people gather, they can read the official documents of the court. The third is that the people have grievances, and they want to be tried by the Yamen immediately. But how can those dirty officials want to be disturbed by the people? So when they hear the drums, there is nothing wrong Good mood. After many officials are promoted to the hall, they beat the drummer first before talking. And those corrupt officials even came up with a way to get rich. Once the people beat the hall drum, if they hand over the money after going to the hall, the officials They will try it carefully. If they don’t take the money, those officials will rack their brains to find out what’s wrong with the drummer, and then beat him up. The servants in the yamen will also take the opportunity to extort money from the drummer. Not to mention the court's laws, but also a large group of corrupt officials. It also makes the people hate the court, and it is very easy to cause major changes."

(End of this chapter)