Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Jinling, Chengxian Street, the Imperial Envoy’s Official Posthouse.

Jia Cong and Guo Lin explained the whole story, and Guo Lin summoned the chief officers of the Five Cities Military Department and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the official post station to discuss the matter.

Currently in Jinling City, due to Du Hengxin and Zhang Kangnian, the 3,000 guards in the city are on guard against suspicious targets.

Only the Five Cities Army and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were the military forces that could be used. Apart from these, Jia Cong and Guo Lin had no other choice.

With the power of arbitrary control granted by the imperial edict, Guo Lin gave Jia Cong the power to deploy the Five Cities Army and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Although Guo Lin was quite resourceful, he was only a eunuch in the palace after all and had no experience in commanding troops.

Jia Cong had led the army to a great victory in Liaodong, and his command and dispatch of troops was a hundred times better than his.

Besides, Guo Lin was just a deputy chief eunuch in the palace and did not need military merits. This was the way for a eunuch to protect himself.

Besides, Jia Cong knows the affairs of Jinling a hundred times better than himself. If he acts on his behalf, he can achieve twice the result with half the effort. After the success, he will have a great contribution to make. Why not do it?

Therefore, he readily delegated power to Jia Cong and just acted as a hands-off manager.

Jia Cong already had a clear idea of ​​all the affairs in Jinling, so he naturally took the lead.

Arranging the Five Cities Army to seal off the thirteen inner city gates of Jinling to prevent any unrest in the chaos was also intended to make a show of force and to confirm the suspicions and conjectures that had long been in his heart.

He also ordered Zhou Yong to send people to escort Luo Xiong and Zhou Zhengyang to the Dali Temple's office and hand them over to Yang Hongbin for interrogation.

No matter whether it is Zhou Zhengyang or Luo Xiong, as the commander of a guard, they can do such a thing, and their minds and wills are extraordinary.

They know very well that whether they tell the truth or not, they will end up in a bad situation, so they will hope to hold back and let the people behind them lend a helping hand.

It is not easy to dig out the truth from such people.

However, Yang Hongbin was well-known in the Dali Temple for his expertise in torture and interrogation.

When Zhou Suqing was interrogated, he refused to confess, but Yang Hongbin easily broke down his defenses and he revealed the matter of Zhou Zhengyang.

Jia Cong believed that once these two people fell into Yang Hongbin's hands, it wouldn't take long for him to squeeze out all their secrets.

By then, Jia Cong will be able to be held accountable, and the dark force hidden behind the scenes will be exposed.

……

Just as Jia Cong and Guo Lin were stationed at the official post station, they listened to reports from the Five Cities Military Command on the blockade and inspection of the inner city gates in Jinling.

A general flag of the Five Cities Army came in with a panicked look and reported: "Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy, Lord Jia, something bad has happened to the people we sent to guard Zhang Kangnian's residence!

There were twenty soldiers from the Wucheng Army and five Jinyiwei. Except for one soldier who managed to survive, all the others were killed!"

Jia Cong and Guo Lin were both shocked. They thought that an imperial decree had been issued to restrict and supervise the Jinling Guards and the Water Supervision Bureau, and to bring in guards from Zhenjiang and Changzhou to garrison.

The Jinling city was sure to be able to calm down and avoid chaos, but unexpectedly, a big incident still occurred!
Jia Cong looked grim and asked, "How many people did the other side send? Why were there so many casualties?"

The general flag replied: "Our guards nearby heard the noise and rushed over, but there was no one in Zhang's house.

According to the seriously injured soldier, there were only a dozen of them, all of them highly skilled in martial arts, and their attacks were fierce and swift. In just a moment, all of our men fell down. We were no match for them at all."

Guo Lin's face turned pale, and he said to Jia Cong: "Marquis Weiyuan, originally we were not sure who was the mastermind behind this, but now it is clear that it was Zhang Kangnian, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War!
The imperial decree was issued, because there was no evidence, he was only dismissed from his post, but not imprisoned. He could not restrain himself and committed the crime and fled, confessing his crime without being punished. His crime is unforgivable. "

……

Outside Zhang Kangnian's mansion, Jia Cong arrived with the Jinyiwei and the Five Cities Army, accompanied by twenty musketeers under Zhou Yong.

There were corpses all over the ground in front of Zhang's house. Many of them were killed by a single knife wound. The blood on the ground had not yet dried.

Zhang Kangnian's mansion was deserted, even the servants had run away.

Jia Cong asked the Jinyiwei who were traveling with him, and they said that Zhang Kangnian was from Huizhou, was an official in Nanjing, and his family had always been in his hometown.

Jia Cong's eyes flickered. It was confirmed without a doubt that Zhang Kangnian had fled for fear of punishment, but he always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell the reason for the time being.

However, Zhang Kangnian's sudden murder and escape undoubtedly attracted everyone's attention. The bloody scene of corpses lying on each other in front of Zhang's mansion spread quickly in Jinling City, causing a lot of panic.

Jia Cong ordered the Five Cities Military Division to strictly guard all major gates of Jinling and mobilize all available manpower in the city to search for Zhang Kangnian's whereabouts in nearby streets and markets.

However, half an hour had passed and reports from various places showed that there was no trace of Zhang Kangnian.

At this time, the sky was already low, and the western sky was filled with blood-red sunset glow.

Jia Cong knew that it would be night in half an hour, and the search would be more difficult at that time.

He planned to return to the Imperial Envoy's Inn and think of another solution.

Before leaving, he instructed the commander of the Five Cities Military Division: "Add more personnel around Du Hengxin's residence. No more accidents can happen!"

The commander of the Wucheng Military Department was a sixth-rank official. He treated himself as an inferior in front of Jia Cong and replied respectfully: "I have selected some of the people I brought with me and sent them to the Du Mansion, because Du Hengxin also lives in Fenglefang."

Jia Cong was startled and asked, "Are you saying that Du Hengxin and Zhang Kangnian both live in Fenglefang?"

The commander replied, "In recent years, Nanjing's maritime trade has been booming, and many officials have accumulated resources and purchased houses in Fenglefang. Du Hengxin and Zhang Kangnian are both like this."

Jia Cong's mind was full of thoughts, and the doubts in his heart seemed to have grasped some key...

At this time, a soldier from the Five Cities Army came running over and said, "Master Jia, someone just gave me a letter and asked me to give it to you."

Jia Cong asked, "Who is he? Bring him here to meet you."

The soldier replied, "It was a street boy. He gave me the letter, but he disappeared in a flash. Now I can't find him anywhere."

Jia Cong's heart skipped a beat and he quickly opened the letter. When he saw the words written on it, he was shocked.

Because it said: Longtan Port Wharf, Zhen family ship, beware of escape.

Who on earth was sending the message to him? Could it be that Zhang Kangnian was in collusion with the Zhen family? At such a critical juncture, the Zhen family actually provided him with a boat to escape.

As far as Jia Cong knew, the Zhen family's fleet had always been managed by Zhen Fangqing. Could it be that Zhen Fangqing was also involved?
Thinking of his several interactions with Zhen Fangqing, Jia Cong was psychologically unwilling to accept that Zhen Fangqing was involved in this matter.

But now is not the time to dwell on this matter. The most urgent task is to rush to Longtan Port to confirm whether it is true.

Even if the letter was a deliberate lie from the other party, he had to make the trip. He would rather believe it than not, and not give the other party any chance to escape.

……

Jinling, Longtangang Wharf.

Jia Cong led Zhou Yong's 300 musketeers to the dock as quickly as possible and controlled all the entrances and exits of the dock.

There are many ships docked at the pier, including more than a dozen ships of various sizes from the Zhenjiahai fleet.

According to the clerk of the Maritime Customs who managed the dock, twenty to thirty coolies went to the Zhenjiahai ship to move goods this afternoon.

Since things like this happened every day at the dock, he didn't take it seriously.

Moreover, the Zhen family's ship had all the necessary documents and had left the port about half an hour ago.

Jia Cong secretly thought that something was wrong. An hour ago, he had just issued a military order at the inn to close the thirteen gates of Jinling.

Most of the Five Armies' Bingma Division's energy was focused on blocking the thirteen gates of Nanjing's inner city.

By the time they pay attention to the various seaports, it may be a little late, after all, Jinling City is too big.

This gave the opponent an opportunity to take advantage, and the opponent was able to seize this opportunity. I'm afraid that this retreat route had already been prepared earlier.

Jia Cong looked gloomy and uncertain, and said to Zhou Yong beside him: "Send someone to the Zhen family to inquire about Miss Zhen San, and explain the matter of the Zhen family's ships smuggling the imperial prisoners abroad, and find out whether the Zhen family is involved.

In addition, all information including specifications, shape, bow, sailors, etc. of ships leaving the port must be provided by the Zhen family.

After obtaining the details of the ship, the Jinyiwei were ordered to send the information to the garrisons along the river on express horses, and patrol the river to check and make sure no one was let off.

Send someone to the Xinchunhao headquarters to tell them to inform Zheng Xiaohai that I want to use his boat and need him to lead the way! "

Early this morning, Jia Cong sent someone to pick up Zhou Zhengyang and escort him back to Du's Farm in the east of the city, and also brought Zheng Xiaohai with him.

At that time, he was just thinking that the matter in Jinling was coming to an end, and he estimated that he would return to Beijing soon to report. Then he could take Zheng Xiaohai's ship to Gusu and bring Master and Apprentice Zhishao and Miaoyu back to Beijing together.

Moreover, there is another meaning behind Jia Cong's decision to detain Zheng Xiaohai in Jinling.

He used Zheng Xiaohai's boat to escort Zhou Zhengyang and other prisoners. Along the way, Zheng Xiaohai knew the matter in detail.

The situation in Nanjing has not yet been completely stabilized, so he naturally does not want to have another source of leaks.

Jia Cong thought for a moment and said to Zhou Yong, "The Jia and Zhen families are old friends. You should handle the Zhen family's affairs in person."

……

Jinling, Zhen Mansion.

Zhou Yong came to the Zhen Mansion to deliver a message for Jia Cong. Since he was a man from outside, he naturally could not see Zhen Fangqing. He was received by Liu Xian, the chief steward of the second house.

After a while, Liu Xian's family came in through the second gate to deliver a message.

When Zhen Fangqing heard what happened, his face turned pale.

She had naturally heard about the rumors outside these two days. Yesterday, Jia Cong was assassinated in Xingqian Street, and the news spread all over the city, which really scared Zhen Fangqing. Fortunately, Jia Cong was fine, but the prisoner he was escorting was killed. She restrained the urge to see him eagerly, as she knew that these two days were not the right time.

But no one expected that when Jia Cong was chasing the fugitive prisoner, that person actually used the Zhen family's ship to escape. This was simply dragging the Zhen family into trouble.

Liu Xianjia said: "Our head of the family asked me to tell the girl that the third master smuggled guns on a ship last time and caused trouble for the family.

The young lady had instructed that unless it was a legitimate maritime trade business, the Zhen family fleet was not allowed to leave the port without the young lady's permission. The head of the family would go to inspect the ship on a daily basis, but he didn't know how this ship could leave the port without permission.

The captain of the ship leaving the port was a man cultivated by the second master. He was very loyal to the second master and should not have betrayed the third lady.

Our boss said that he would investigate the matter as soon as he got a reply from Weiyuan Bo’s people.”

Zhen Fangqing smiled bitterly and said, "Now that the ship has left the dock, the most urgent task is not to find out why the captain betrayed the Zhen family, but to restore the situation.

Who was the one who delivered the message to Yu Zhang?"

Liu Xianjia said, "Our head of the family said that the man was the commander of the musket army under the command of Weiyuan Bo. The man mentioned that Weiyuan Bo said that Jia Zhen and his family were old friends, so he asked him to come for questioning."

After hearing this, Zhen Fangqing's expression slightly eased, and he said, "Yu Zhang did not ask the Jinyiwei and Wucheng Bingmasi to ask, but asked his trusted subordinates to ask, which left room for the Zhen family."

Liu Xianjia laughed and said, "Weiyuan Bo is not leaving room for the Zhen family, he is leaving room for the young lady, this is the truth, and it is worth it for the young lady to care about him."

Zhen Fangqing blushed, but did not deny that before Liu Xian got married, she was his mother's personal maid. They had been close since childhood, so there was no need for her to hide it from her.

He said: "Tell Uncle Xian to make a hard trip, select the most suitable ship from the fleet, bring the best captain and sailors, and assist Yuzhang in searching for the imperial criminals and recovering the Zhen family's merchant ship.

If we fail to accomplish this, there will be endless troubles in the future. Our Zhen family will not bear the blame!"

……

Five miles east of Jinling, at a river bay, on the edge of a large and dense reed marsh, a merchant ship with a yellowish sail was sailing.

Two people stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the winding river bay ahead.

One of the young men was of medium build, with a calm expression and capable manners, and half of the little finger on his left hand was missing.

The middle-aged man next to him was dignified and his every move was powerful.

Liu Xuan asked: "Sir, we have been taking a straight line all the way, and the boat is not fast. Why don't we take a straight line and reach the seaport in less than two days?"

The middle-aged man replied, “After Jinling issued the imperial edict, the Zhenjiang and Changzhou guards were mobilized to station outside the city of Jinling. With such a large-scale mobilization of troops, the guards along the river will increase their vigilance and patrols accordingly.

I have been in the Commandery for many years and I am familiar with the patrol rules of river ships of various garrisons. The two men at the helm of this ship are the most knowledgeable people in the garrison.

I ordered the ships to avoid specific times and waters and take the narrow waterway in order to avoid inspections by military vessels from the garrisons along the way.

The imperial edict from Nanjing has been issued, and the news will be quickly transmitted to the garrisons along the river through the military post. Now I am in a state of suspicion. Once my whereabouts are discovered by the warships, there will definitely be complications.

Although this is a slow sail, it is also a helpless move. At least it is safe and it only takes a day or two longer. When we reach Songjiangkou, Liu Ao's people will pick us up."

Liu Xuan said: "Sir, Liu Ao is the great pirate of the East China Sea. Can he really be trusted?"

The middle-aged man sneered and said, “I told you that the most powerful thing in this world is not only the official position and power, but also the secrets that you have mastered that others don’t know.

I have what he wants, so I can control him."

Liu Xuan's eyes flickered inadvertently, and he bowed and said, "Your Excellency is thoughtful."

The middle-aged man took out a map from his arms and handed it to Liu Xuan.

He said: "The people from Shenjing took away the batch of fine iron from Haiyun Pavilion a few days ago. The Jinyiwei are already facing a formidable enemy. Zhen Shiwen is reckless and will be exposed sooner or later.

You get off the boat ahead and take a shortcut from Zhenjiang to the outskirts of the western city of Jinling, where there is a remote valley where a construction workshop is built.

Take the English firearms master away from the workshop as soon as possible, and I will send someone to contact you.

This man has dismantled the new-style Rumi gun shipped from the capital, and can imitate a large number of new-style muskets. He is a treasure and will definitely be of great use if he keeps it.

If we take that Englishman away, this workshop will have nothing to do with us. Even if the Jinyiwei find it, it is none of our business. Others will have their own headaches..."

……

The waters five miles east of Jinling Longtan Port.

A passenger ship was cutting through the waves and moving quickly. At the helm was the boatman Zheng Xiaohai. Also on board were Jia Cong and seven musket guards.

Following closely behind the passenger ship were three larger merchant ships, each carrying 300 musketeers, led by Musketeer Captain Zhou Yong.

These three merchant ships came from the Zhen Jiahai fleet and were carefully selected from the fleet by Liu Xian at the instruction of Zhen Fangqing.

These boats are of moderate size, have sturdy hulls, and are suitable for fast navigation on rivers.

Each ship was equipped with the best captains and sailors of the Zhen family fleet. Even though each ship carried nearly a hundred musketeers, the sailing speed was still very impressive.

The three merchant ships that followed Jia Cong out of the port were used by Zhen Fangqing to show the Zhen family's attitude and to prove that the Zhen family's merchant ships that left the port without permission were definitely not authorized by the Zhen family, but were acted on by someone's own whim.

The Zhen family is willing to fully assist the government in arresting the wanted criminal.

At present, all the military ships that can be used in Jinling City are under the command of the Water Conservancy. At this critical moment, Jia Cong felt uneasy about using the ships of the suspicious Water Conservancy.

So he was very happy to accept the assistance of the Zhen family. These three ships were arranged by Zhen Fangqing, and he felt very relieved, not because of some logical judgment, but because of Zhen Fangqing himself.

Moreover, with this cause and effect, the fact that the Zhen family's merchant ship was transporting the imperial prisoner was reported to the imperial envoy Guo Lin, and the Zhen family had an explanation to defend themselves.

On the pilot ship, Zheng Xiaohai asked, "Master Jia, I thought you wanted me to take the convenient waterway and avoid the military ships along the way, but I didn't expect that to be the case.

That young master paid such a high price, I feel a little embarrassed about the money I earned.”

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Although I asked you to take a straight path, I still need to use your ability to avoid warships.

In the past, you took a zigzag route to avoid the warships. Now I want you to stay close to the zigzag route and take the shortest straight route."

Zheng Xiaohai asked curiously: "This is easier, but the action of the young master is to do something big, and there are three warships following behind."

Jia Cong replied: "I want to chase a merchant ship that is the same size as the three merchant ships behind.

The person sailing, like you, is familiar with the patrol routes of military ships along the way, and will definitely avoid them throughout the journey, so the ship must be taking this linear waterway.

Therefore, I will use your original method of avoiding warships, stick to the line, take the shortest straight road, rush to the front of him to intercept him, and keep a suitable distance along the way, so that he cannot discover it in advance. "

Zheng Xiaohai patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Master Jia, this is not difficult for me. I, Zheng Xiaohai, eat this kind of rice, and I will definitely be able to help you get it done!"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "As long as you can accomplish this, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

……

The sun sets and the night gradually covers the sky and the earth.

Near the edge of the reed marsh along the river, a merchant ship with an ochre sail was docking. The small boat tied to the stern was untied and slowly rowed toward the coast.

The person rowing the boat was a tall, dark-faced young sailor. He rowed with great skill, holding the oars and pushing and pulling them, giving off a strangely muscular look.

"My boss has assigned me to the ship. Is there anything I can do? You have been with that person for the past two days, so I have never had a chance to ask."

The sailor suddenly spoke, and there was a softness in his voice, which was very inconsistent with his rough appearance.

Liu Xuan, who was standing at the bow, said, "The boss said that this man is cunning and has strong selfish desires. It is difficult for him to accomplish anything great. Moreover, he has already fallen. I am afraid that he will be even more difficult to control in the future."

The sailor asked curiously: "If that's the case, why do we still arrange for him to board the ship and send him out to sea? Is it better to let him go to see Liu Ao..."

Liu Xuan said: "The reason why the boss arranged a boat for him to leave Jinling is because there is another matter that we need to get the truth from him.

He had connections with Shenjing, and through the third son of Jinling Zhen's family, he sent an English firearms craftsman to Jinling. That Shenjing figure secretly set up a firearms workshop near Jinling.

Moreover, the owner spent a lot of effort to dismantle the new-style muskets smuggled from Liaodong and wanted to make a large number of copies, but he couldn't find the location of the workshop. "

The sailor was surprised: "He just robbed some gold and silver, but he actually imitated the musket and was so bold as to rebel!"

Liu Xuan said coldly: "He doesn't have the ambition to rebel, but there are many people in this world who covet the country and intend to swallow the sky...

The boss expected that he would make great use of this matter, and now that he has fallen on hard times, he will definitely do everything he can to take control of the matter.

He knew that I came from the Zhen family, so it was only natural for me to arrange a ship for him, which would ease his guard. Before he went out to sea, he would definitely find someone to clean up the mess for later use.

Sure enough, he kept dragging it out until the last minute and finally let me handle the matter, so all the planning by the boss was not in vain. "

After Liu Xuan finished speaking, he subconsciously touched his chest, where was the map he had just obtained, which marked the location of the firearms workshop outside the western suburbs of Jinling City.

He said: "There is one point that he agrees with his boss, that the Englishman who can imitate the new musket is extremely important.

If it were controlled by someone like him, it would cause endless harm in the future!

This person is no longer useful. The boss has already sent out the message. You should stay aloof on the ship and act according to the situation at the critical juncture...!"

At this time, the boat was close to the shore. The night owl that had been hiding in the bushes was awakened. It made a shrill cry and flapped its wings into the sky.

The sudden and sharp sound obscured the conversation between Liu Xuan and the sailor... (End of this chapter)