Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

On the fifth day of September, in Huizhou, the 800-li Taihu Lake is vast and misty, the lake light is shining golden, there is a lone sail in the distance, and fishermen's songs are singing in the evening nearby.

On the official road along the lake, a well-disciplined military team was marching towards Gusu.

At the front of the team, five mule carts were pulling heavy loads and covered with waterproof tarpaulins.

At the end of the team was a spacious carriage, guarded by more than a dozen musket guards.

The woman in the carriage had a pretty face and wore a hat instead of a hairpin.

She wore a moon-white soft robe with silver bamboo patterns, a black rhino leather belt around her waist, and a jade hairpin in her hair, looking elegant.

Ever since Jia Cong left that day, he had reminded Qu Hongxiu that this time he brought 300 musketeers out of Jinling in order to attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Along the way to Gusu and Songjiang, there must be someone behind the scenes who sent people to secretly follow and investigate to make sure that the 300 powerful musketeers would not make any unusual movements along the way.

Following Jia Cong's instructions, Qu Hongxiu stayed in the carriage during the day and never showed up as a precaution.

Only when the team camped every night would he get off the carriage and patrol around the camp under the protection of more than a dozen musketeer guards.

It was dim at night, and the soldiers and civilians escorting the artillery only saw that this 'Lord Jia' was dressed in white and had a handsome appearance, just as he was rumored to be.

As for the details of his appearance and behavior, it was so dark that no one could see them clearly.

There were also ten powerful musketeers who were on guard. When they left Jinling, everyone recognized them as Lord Jia's personal guards.

Therefore, none of the musketeers and civilians in the army would have thought that this dignified "Mr. Jia" was a lifelike impostor.

Zhou Yong, the commander of the Fifth Army's Firearms Battalion who led 300 musketeers, and Jia Cong's musketeer guards were comrades in the same camp and they often communicated along the way.

No one knows whether he knows Qu Hongxiu's background or not.

During this journey, Qu Hongxiu followed Jia Cong's instructions and kept a close eye on the speed of travel.

Four days have passed since the team set out from Jinling. Yesterday they just left Changzhou and entered Huizhou.

Now, they are only fifty miles away from Gusu. Judging from the team's slightly slow speed, they should be able to enter Gusu tomorrow.

According to the time calculation, it took them exactly five days to travel from Jinling to Gusu, which was exactly the same as Jia Cong's original calculation and expectation.

……

Qu Hongxiu was sitting on the small table in the carriage, carefully examining the maps along the route.

But he was thinking in his heart that according to Jia Cong's plan, he should have succeeded in Gusu by now.

Although Qu Hongxiu cannot confirm it at the moment, since she met Jia Cong, it seems that he has never failed in anything he does.

He attracted all the attention with a team of 300 musketeers armed with live ammunition and five powerful cannons.

He secretly sneaked into Gusu in advance to take the enemy by surprise.

As long as Zhou Zhengyang is caught, Suzhou Wei Luo Xiong will become a dead chess piece. If we follow the clues, I am afraid that more people will be implicated.

When Jia Cong takes Zhou Zhengyang back to Jinling, it will be a bloody surprise attack.

By that time, the imperial edict from the capital would certainly reach Nanjing. Jia Cong had mentioned the contents of the imperial edict to Qu Hongxiu. The turmoil in the officialdom of Nanjing two years ago would surely happen again.

……

By that time, her brother Cong's mission in Jinling would be completed, and it would be time for him to return to the capital, and they would be separated from each other for a long time.

When Qu Hongxiu thought about this, he couldn't help feeling sad.

Thinking of the affectionate moment she and Jia Cong spent in the carriage that night, she blushed and her heart beat fast.

But she also understood that the situation between her and Jia Cong would probably be the same as Keqing's, and would end up being difficult.

As a descendant of the Jia family of Rong State, Jia Cong was conferred a noble title by the imperial court.

Because Keqing was a divorced woman from the Ningguo family of the Jia family, it was difficult for her to be open with her brother Cong throughout her life.

But he himself came from a humble background, his parents were both dead, and his family background was strange.

Although she had the identity of an imperial merchant, once she and Jia Cong were married, it would be difficult for them to withstand the investigation of the clan affairs office.

Many things can be concealed very well and no one will notice them, but if they cross the line of taboos, they will attract extra attention and investigation, and things may get out of control.

Qu Hongxiu's background and experience make her very clear about this truth.

She knew very well that she and Keqing had the same fate...

Just as I was feeling overwhelmed, I suddenly heard the sound of hurried horse hooves in the distance.

The personal guard came to report that a man named Wang Dequan wanted to see the adults.

Qu Hongxiu quickly asked someone to get into the carriage.

Wang Dequan entered the carriage and said softly, "Sister Xiu, the Third Master has finished his business in Gusu City. He asked me to deliver a letter."

Qu Hongxiu's face brightened up. She was right. Nothing could stump Brother Cong. He had indeed achieved success in Gusu. She opened the letter and read it carefully...

After a while, the guards called Zhou Yong, the commander of the musketeers.

The team quickly passed down the military order, and the mule cart towing the artillery slowly left the official road and headed towards the southeast.

……

In Gusu City, it was 2:30 am.

By this time the sky was already bright and the streets were gradually becoming noisy and bustling. The rice cake shop clerk was running towards Daoqian Street, sweating profusely.

Someone gave him five taels of silver and asked him to deliver a note to the Daoqian Street Guard Office. As long as he delivered it to the commander-in-chief, he would receive another five taels of silver as a thank-you gift.

He was illiterate and couldn't understand what was written on the note, but it didn't matter. Sending a note would cost ten taels of silver, and even a fool wouldn't do it.

It was a total of ten taels of silver, but that was his salary for working in the shop for a year, so he was very enthusiastic about this matter, and he worked hard all the way to get the remaining five taels of silver as a thank-you gift as soon as possible.

Maybe he was walking too fast and didn't pay attention to what was ahead, so he bumped into someone coming towards him. The person stood firm, but he was knocked to the ground.

The man who knocked him over was a thin man with a strong spirit and a pair of bright eyes.

The guy was hit so hard that he was about to curse.

The skinny man picked him up and cursed, "You blind bastard, you walked without paying attention and bumped into your master Jiang. I think you are itching for trouble!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he punched the guy in the face. It was as if he had punched him in the face. His eyes were black and his nose was bleeding.

The skinny man still felt that it was not enough, so he grabbed the guy, dragged him to a nearby alley, pinned him to the ground and started beating him up.

When passers-by around saw this situation, they all stayed away, and some even watched the fun from afar.

This kind of ruffians bullying the good people often happens in the streets of Suzhou and is a common occurrence.

Moreover, these ruffians are the most difficult and dangerous to deal with, and no ordinary people would be stupid enough to stand up for them.

The wily man was very ferocious and in a short while, he had beaten the guy so badly that his face was bruised and swollen, and he was wailing non-stop.

At this time, a handsome man walked by the entrance of the alley, and the thin man stopped what he was doing after he looked at him.

The guy who was beaten into a state of embarrassment took the opportunity to run away.

Jiang Xiaoliu did not chase after him, but asked the young man standing at the entrance of the alley: "Xiuzhu, what's going on over at Daoqian Street?"

Yu Xiuzhu said: "My uncle picked a good day. On the fifth day of every month, Luo Xiong would go to Suzhou Guards to inspect the camps. This is what Zhang Wuge found out. He told me personally when he left last night.

A quarter of an hour ago, I saw Luo Xiong leave the Commandery with my own eyes.

Even if the kid from the rice cake shop goes to Daoqian Street now, he won’t be able to meet Luo Xiong within two hours, which is enough time for Master Bo to walk dozens of miles.”

……

Huayan Street, 2:15 am--

The old night watchman brought the county police chief and yamen runners to

The head constable took a look at Geng's house and sneered, "Old Chen, you short-lived old ghost, Geng's house is fine. If you want to tease me, I will reward you with a meal of bamboo shoots and fried pork.

He pointed at a yamen runner beside him and said, "Go knock on the door of Geng's mansion and tell them that the government has received a report that there are bandits in Geng's mansion and we need to go in and investigate."

The captain of the police knew that Geng Dafu was a famous wealthy man in Gusu City. He happened to use the excuse of being the night watchman Old Chen to search Geng's house.

Although he would not offend Geng Dafu, after all, the other party was also a well-known figure in Gusu City.

But it was not a respectable thing for the police to come to the door. Geng Dafu would probably give him some money and ask him to leave as soon as possible. This was also the common practice of the rich in the city to keep quiet. Unexpectedly, this dead night watchman came to report the case and unexpectedly made him a small fortune. The head of the police was not only proud of himself, but also forgot the unhappiness of going out to the street to do his job early in the morning.

However, the yamen runner knocked on the door for a long time, but the door of Geng's house did not open, which made the captain of the police feel strange.

At this moment, he sniffed slightly, turned around and looked across the street, and saw the house opposite Geng's house. Although the gate was closed, a faint pungent smell emanated from the door.

Although Zhang Kui, the chief constable of Wu County, had many faults and flaws in his character, he had been a constable for more than ten years and had seen many major cases, so he had some knowledge and skills.

Perhaps others did not pay attention to the strange smell, but he could smell that it was the smell of human blood.

He walked quickly to the house across the street and pushed the gate lightly, only to find that it was not locked at all. It opened with a creaky sound, and the smell of blood became stronger.

Zhang Kui's heart suddenly tightened, and he quickly drew his sword and called two yamen runners. The three of them entered the yard together.

When I walked into the main room, I found five bodies scattered on the ground. They were all stabbed to death. The blood on the ground had already solidified into black, and they had been dead for at least several hours.

Zhang Kui had been a captain of police for more than ten years and had seen a lot of scenes, but five people were killed at once, and all with one knife. This was not something that an ordinary thief would do.

He squatted down and searched the bodies, and found a Suzhou Guard badge on one person. Soon he found the same badge on several other people.

Zhang Kui's face turned pale. All the dead were soldiers from Suzhou Guard. It had been many years since such a thing happened in Gusu City. This was a huge case that would shock the world!
"Go report to the county magistrate immediately. A major case has occurred in Yanhua Street. Five people from Suzhou Guard have died. Tell the county to send someone over immediately and notify the Suzhou Guard Office..."

Zhang Kui looked at the night watchman who was still standing at the gate of Geng's house, and suddenly realized that what the damn old Chen had reported was most likely true. Something big must have happened in Yanhua Street last night!
He looked at the dark gate of Geng's mansion. The bailiff had just knocked at the gate for a long time, but no one answered.

It is impossible that something happened in Geng Mansion. Thinking of the five people who were killed, Zhang Kui felt a chill in his heart.

After coming to his senses, he shouted to his servants, "Hurry up and ask them to open the gate of Geng's mansion. If that doesn't work, just climb over the wall and get in!"

……

More than ten miles outside the Xichang City Gate of Gusu, four carriages of different styles were speeding on the westward road.

Maybe the carriage was running too fast, Chen Kuishan felt like he was about to be torn apart.

And these carriages seemed like dazzling lights that attracted moths.

Groups of people, either on horseback or in carriages, kept coming closer to the carriages from all directions.

Eventually, they formed a team of somewhat astonishing size.

Chen Kuishan, who was in the carriage, looked out the window and saw everything that was happening around him. His mind was in a state of shock.

The number of people who raided Geng's house last night was astonishing, and there was excellent organization and coordination behind it.

After these people left Geng's house last night, another group of people had already made arrangements for their escape routes, allowing all of them to leave Gusu with extremely high efficiency through various identities and tools.

Then they continue to gather along the way outside the city, breaking the whole into pieces and then breaking the pieces back into the whole.

Only extremely clever advance planning and experienced military advance and retreat skills can achieve this.

Could this all be the work of the young man on the shaft?
However, two months ago, as Zhou Zhengyang escaped from Jinling, Chen Kuishan had been hiding cautiously everywhere, and had lost some knowledge of the outside world.

So he didn't know what was happening in Nanjing recently, and he didn't know that a director of the Firearms Bureau had come to the Ministry of Works in the temporary capital.

The constantly gathering team moved at the fastest speed, and two hours after leaving the city, they had arrived more than 40 miles west of Gusu City.

The team entered a gourd-shaped mountain pass, surrounded by dense woods, and suddenly stopped...

……

Gusu, Daoqian Street, Suzhou Guard Commandery Office.

The bruised and battered rice cake shop clerk was waiting anxiously at the yamen gate like an ant on hot pan.

He arrived at the office of the Guard Commandery and explained that he wanted to deliver a note to Commander Luo, but the soldier guarding the gate sneered.

A shop errand boy had the audacity to say that he wanted to see Commander Luo and even sent a note.

It was not until the guy actually took out a note that the gatekeeper became skeptical.

However, most of the soldiers serving in the garrison were illiterate idiots. Who would serve as a soldier if they could read and write? So he didn't recognize what was written on the note.

Just early this morning, Commander Luo and two deputy commanders went to the camp for an inspection as per the monthly practice.

So the gatekeeper was unable to send a message and could only let the guy wait at the gate of the yamen, and this wait lasted for an hour.

The clerk thought of slipping out of the store to earn some extra money, and thought he could return quickly, but he didn't expect it to take so long. He would definitely be scolded by the shopkeeper when he returned.

I was beaten up for no reason in the middle of the journey. It was not easy to earn these ten taels of silver.

At this time, the county magistrate of Wu County visited the headquarters office and handed over official documents from the county office, looking quite worried.

The county magistrate's deputy was a county magistrate and an official of the eighth rank in the imperial court. The gatekeeper dared to dismiss the shop assistants at will, but he would never dare to fool the official.

He hurried into the yamen to report, and the officer on duty at the yamen of the Commander-in-Chief received the official document from the county government and his face changed drastically.

As a result, the entire Suzhou Guard Command Office was in an uproar...

……

Suzhou Wei’s camp along the river.

On the fifth day of every month, Luo Xiongdu would bring two deputy commanders, a deputy commander and other key subordinates to inspect the garrisons of Suzhou Guard.

If it were not for this convention, Jiang Xiaoliu and others would not have taken advantage of it and provoked the messenger on the way, causing him to arrive at the Wei Command Office a quarter of an hour later.

But many things are just a matter of a hair's breadth.

When Luo Xiong, who was patrolling the camp, received an urgent report from the government office, he learned that all the secret agents stationed near Geng's mansion had been killed last night. He was shocked.

Also delivered at the same time was a note from a shop assistant.

It was a piece of rough paper used to wrap rice cakes, and the note was written on with charcoal. The handwriting was hasty and sloppy, and it was obvious that the writer was in a state of emergency.

"There is a change in Geng's mansion, Zhengyang has been captured, go out of Xichang Gate, and respond quickly."

Although it was just a few words, combined with the fact that all the secret agents near Geng's house were killed, it was enough for Luo Xiong to outline the whole story.

The accompanying commander He Tong had read the official document from the county government, which contained the night watchman's report that a large number of unidentified people had appeared on Yanhua Street last night, and many of them were carrying weapons that looked like muskets.

This morning, Wu County Chief Constable Zhang Kui investigated Geng's residence and found that all the servants in the mansion had been tied up and silenced.

It is said that according to the maid of Geng's mansion, a large number of thieves sneaked into the mansion last night. There were so many thieves that it was difficult to count them all. They kidnapped the guests in the inner courtyard, and dozens of them were carrying muskets...

He said in a startled voice: "Sir, since the court established the Five Arms Firearms Battalion, it has already issued a ban, strictly prohibiting private possession of firearms.

A large number of people carrying muskets appeared on Yanhua Street. Could it be that Jia Cong sneaked into Gusu in advance? Now, apart from the three hundred musketeers around him, who else can have such a formation? "

Luo Xiong's face changed drastically, but he quickly said in a positive tone: "It is definitely not Jia Cong, there was a scout who reported back yesterday afternoon.

Jia Cong and his three hundred musketeers had just entered Huizhou, and were still more than seventy miles away from Gusu. How could they appear in the city overnight?

Besides, with so many people entering the city, they would have already alerted the soldiers at the four gates of Gusu and the garrisons. How could you and I not know about it?

We and several waves of troops from Jinling have been keeping close watch along the way and have already kept a close eye on Jia Cong. He has hundreds of men under his command, so any movement cannot be concealed from anyone.

He is not a deity, and he does not have the ability to clone himself. It definitely cannot be him!"

Commander He Tong looked terrified. He had a deep relationship with Luo Xiong and knew the whole story. If Zhou Zhengyang was captured and revealed the truth, he would definitely not be spared.

He said: "Sir, those people entered the city overnight, eliminated our secret agents, kidnapped Zhou Zhengyang, and left the city quickly. They are definitely not ordinary people.

Could it be that the imperial court has already known the whole story and secretly arranged to arrest them? Moreover, they are going through Xichang Gate, which is the direction leading to Jinling. Then we... "

Luo Xiong's face was gloomy, and he said: "It is meaningless to guess who did it now. The most important thing is to take Zhou Zhengyang back as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.

He Tong, you stay in the city and close the four gates of Gusu in the name of arresting Japanese pirates and bandits. No one in the city is allowed to enter or leave.

In addition, mobilize five hundred soldiers and follow me out of the city to pursue them!"

In fact, under normal circumstances, there is no need for the commander of the guards to do it personally.

But Zhou Zhengyang was suddenly abducted, and the person who did it was very skilled, which made Luo Xiong like a frightened bird.

At this critical moment, he was no longer willing to let others do it. He would only feel at ease if he could take Zhou Zhengyang back personally.

He Tong's face changed, and he said, "Sir, without the order from the Jinling Commander, mobilizing a large number of troops to leave the garrison is a serious crime!"

Luo Xiong smiled bitterly and said, "At this critical moment, we have no time to care about these things. If we don't take Zhou Zhengyang back, we will all die without a burial place!"

"Also, arrange for a fast horse to deliver the news to Jinling as soon as possible. If I fail, Jinling will be able to plan a response in time...!" (End of this chapter)