Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 451: Rebellion

Jinling, Yuminfang.

In the main house of the inner courtyard, the slanting sunlight illuminates the room, outlining a few mottled and warm shadows. The room is quiet, harmonious and peaceful.

Qu Hongxiu was helping Jia Cong pack his summer clothes. She was wearing a pine green floral double-breasted jacket, a white cross-collared top, and an ivory skirt embroidered with magnolia branches.

Her skirt was flowing and her belt was exquisite. Her former handsomeness and charm had faded a little, and her manners had become more graceful and charming, like a homely person.

Jia Cong came to Jinling in August, which was midsummer, but now it is early autumn.

The main culprits of the major case in Jinling have been brought to justice, Jia Cong's mission has been completed, and his return to Beijing to report to the emperor is imminent.

Qu Hongxiu had already started packing his luggage so that he wouldn't have to rush to put it away when he left.

As for Du Hengxin's accidental murder, it happened after Jia Cong handed over the prisoner, so the matter had nothing to do with him and no one could blame him.

Catching assassins was the job of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Yingtian Prefecture, so he naturally would not get involved and was happy to have half a day of leisure.

Since the day he handed over Du Hengxin at the port, he has been away from worldly affairs, spending his daily days in Yuminfang, or going to Mingze Lane to visit Lingguan and Zou Miner.

He even seldom went to the Firearms Department of the Ministry of Works, leaving all the office affairs and miscellaneous matters to his subordinate clerks.

In his spare time, he would concentrate on reading the two volumes of current affairs essays compiled by Liu Jing'an, because the end of next spring would be the time for the imperial examination in the 15th year of Jiazhao.

……

At this time, Qu Hongxiu sorted out and packed all of Jia Cong's washed and dried summer clothes.

The room was quiet. She was about to get up and leave when she noticed a figure moving behind her. Her slender waist was gently embraced by Jia Cong.

Over the years, the two of them have been teaching and practicing martial arts, and they have been in close contact with each other, but they have never been so intimate.

Ever since the two of them had an entanglement in the carriage on the way to Suzhou, whenever they were alone together, Jia Cong could not help but do some intimate things.

Qu Hongxiu's pretty face flushed, and she struggled slightly, "You are becoming more and more unruly now. If you want to talk, just talk. Why are you hitting me again?"

Just like Qu Hongxiu said, he was still a half-teacher after all, so he would get close to him if he got the chance.

Jia Cong ignored Qu Hongxiu's anger. The breath he exhaled made Qu Hongxiu's neck itchy, which made her eyes hot and her heart beat faster.

Qu Hongxiu scolded: "Just do something naughty, and then we will be embarrassed if Keqing bumps into us..."

Jia Cong only felt his hands wrapped around her slender body, flexible and strong, with a faint fragrance, and a strange sense of comfort and warmth in his heart.

As he was about to return, he had to leave Qu Hongxiu in Jinling to take care of the business. He didn't know when they would meet next time, and he was more and more reluctant to let go.

So he found a way to say, "Why did Keqing take Baozhu out so early in the morning? Is there something urgent in the shop?"

Seeing that he was unwilling to let go, Qu Hongxiu let him do it and said, "You are about to return to the capital, Keqing will go out to buy you a gift.

You have been in Jinling for so long, and there are many sisters in your family, as well as elders like the old lady in the mansion. I must bring some gifts with you, and I can't let you go back empty-handed."

Jia Cong frowned slightly and said, "My sisters don't care about these things, so why bother Keqing to go out for nothing?"

Qu Hongxiu turned around, straightened his collar, and said, "I know you are not close to the old lady in the mansion, but now that you have set up your own house, things are different from before, and some bad etiquette can be omitted.

Not to mention that it would bring disgrace to your Earl's Mansion, it would also be bad for you to go to school and become an official. For you officials, isn't reputation the most important thing? "

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Sister Xiu is now also concerned about these details. Don't you always dislike me being an official?"

After hearing this, Qu Hongxiu was slightly shocked and suddenly remembered the portrait hidden in his room...

"With your ability and background, it doesn't make sense to not let you go to school and become an official. You have to really give up on that, then that's fine."

Jia Cong has always known that Qu Hongxiu doesn't care much about being an official, which is very different from the thoughts of most women nowadays, but he has never known the reason.

He speculated in his heart that maybe because Qu Hongxiu came from a hidden sect, there was a natural barrier between him and the officialdom, so he never cared about it.

Said: "Whether I am an official or not, I will be careful and prudent, make Sister Xiu satisfied, and live a peaceful life like this forever."

Qu Hongxiu smiled, not knowing what she was thinking of, and said with a red face: "You don't have to say nice things to coax me, nor do you have to comfort me like this. I am the same as Keqing, and my status cannot stand too much light.

I don't ask for anything, but I will treat you with all my heart, and you must not forget what I said today."

The two sat together again and chatted about a lot of personal matters...

……

At this time, footsteps were heard at the door of the inner courtyard. Qu Hongxiu pushed Jia Cong away with a red face, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the rouge on Jia Cong's mouth.

Qin Keqing brought Baozhu into the inner courtyard and asked several maids to carry in three boxes.

When Keqing saw Jia Cong and Qu Hongxiu coming out, she smiled and opened all the boxes. Under the bright sunlight, the contents of the boxes were dazzling.

Keqing said as if she was listing all the treasures on her back: "In this box are the finest Suzhou embroidery silks, the four treasures of the study, skirts, hairpins and rings, as well as some sandalwood fans, Yangzhou spices, Huizhou clay figurines, painted paper umbrellas and other toys.

They are all given to the sisters in the mansion. Brother Cong, I have already divided them. This one is for Miss Yingchun, this one is for Sister Tanchun, and this one is for Miss Lin...

I have added signatures to each one, so you don't have to rack your brain. Just let your maid deliver it when the time comes.

And this box is for the elders in the mansion. I have stayed there for a while, so I know a little bit about the old ladies' preferences.

These things are commonly used at home, and they are not very lively, but they are all top-quality. They are not ostentatious when given to others, and they are also intimate enough. "

……

Compared to the warmth and comfort that Jia Cong was experiencing in Yuminfang, the entire Jinling city was quite turbulent these days.

Although Du Hengxin, the mastermind of the Water Monitoring Bureau case, was assassinated, it did not have any impact on the eradication of the influence of the case.

After several days of interrogation by Yang Hongbin, Zhou Zhengyang and Luo Xiong, who were detained in the Dali Temple, finally had their psychological defenses broken down and confessed to their crimes one by one.

The inside information revealed in their confessions can all be corroborated by the secret accounts left by Zou Huaiyi.

The secret accounts of the Water Conservancy Bureau left by Zou Huaiyi enabled the Dali Temple to make a more accurate assessment of the reliability of confessions during interrogations.

The detailed list compiled by Jia Cong based on the secret account also enabled the Dali Temple to advance the investigation of the case more efficiently.

After Yang Hongbin completed the preliminary interrogation of the two main culprits, a large-scale manhunt was launched in Jinling City with unprecedented momentum.

Guo Lin listened to Jia Cong's advice and ordered the Five Cities Army to block the thirteen city gates of Nanjing during the manhunt to prevent the suspects from escaping.

The Jinyiwei selected three hundred troops to be responsible for interrogating major cases and arresting officials involved in crimes, and to expand the manpower when necessary.

All available shops and yamen runners in the Yingtian government were dispatched to participate in the arrest.

In the next few days, the Jinyiwei were like the reincarnation of Yama, possessed by evil spirits, running around the city, causing terror wherever they went.

Officials from almost all government offices and garrisons in the city, including the Six Ministries of the Jinling Secondary Capital, the Military Commandery, the Jinling Guards, and the Maritime Customs, were arrested.

When the Jinyiwei were arresting suspects from the Military and Guard Offices such as the Metropolitan Military Command and the Jinling Guard, there were even several incidents of armed resistance to arrest.

Many of these suspects hiding in the military guards are subordinates of Du Hengxin and Zhou Zhengyang, and these people are inherently vicious.

However, after the imperial edict was issued, the armies of Zhenjiang Guard and Changzhou Guard pressed in from outside the city, while Jia Cong's eight hundred musket guards were stationed inside the city.

It was rumored that Zhou Zhengyang had been assassinated and Du Hengxin had escaped to Hong Kong, leaving these people leaderless and they did not dare to act rashly for a while.

Now that the Jinyiwei were armed, they had no way to hold back. They were unwilling to sit and wait for death, so they could only fight back with swords.

Fortunately, the situation in Nanjing is now settled, and the city is intimidated by the powerful Chen army both inside and outside the city. Unless the main culprit is desperate, he will make a desperate move.

The subordinates all retreated and compromised, unwilling to cut off their retreat.

Although the Jinyiwei resisted arrest when they were arresting people, the two sides fought several times, causing quite a stir in Jinling City, but the scale of the riot was under control.

In the end, Jia Cong mobilized the musketeers to suppress the rebellion...

Eleven Jinyiwei died in the battle, six Yingtianfu yamen runners died, and the Military Command and Jinling Guards arrested more than thirty people with weapons, all of whom died from musket fire, leaving no one alive.

The small-scale riot among the military guards was suppressed so quickly and fiercely that it had a powerful deterrent effect on the city of Jinling, which had been somewhat agitated by the large-scale search.

With the support of Jia Cong's 800 musketeers, the subsequent search and arrest became much smoother.
A larger inner city manhunt than the one two years ago lasted for three days.

According to the confessions of Zhou Zhengyang and Luo Xiong, as well as the secret account of the Water Supervision Bureau left by Zou Huayi, as more and more suspects were arrested, more and more private secrets in Jinling City were revealed as they followed the clues.

The description and behavior are shocking.

Eventually, all the officials involved and five maritime merchants who secretly participated in selling the stolen goods, a total of more than 150 suspects, were arrested one by one.

The prison of Yingtian Prefecture and the Jinyiwei Prison were all overcrowded.

The city of Jinling became extremely clear at that moment, but who knew how long this clarity could last.

As long as there is greed and ambition in this world, and as long as there is a crazy pursuit of power and wealth, such things will happen sooner or later.

The Jinling Water Supervision Bureau case, which once shocked the world, was eradicated and gradually came to an end.

But the destruction of one thing does not mean the destruction of everything...

……

The west city of Jinling, Yinghua Gate.

There was a restaurant near the city wall. Three men in plain clothes entered the store, one of whom was Liu Hai, a captain of the Imperial Guard.

Ever since the day when the Zhen family's Haiyun Pavilion suddenly caught fire, someone robbed the very suspicious batch of Ottoman fine iron right under Liu Hai's nose. Liu Hai suffered a great setback, but fortunately he was a confidant of Qianhu Ge Zhicheng, and although he was reprimanded by his superiors, he did not do anything to him.

Zhen Shiwen, the third son of the Zhen family, quickly went to Yingtian Prefecture to report the incident, saying that the store had been robbed of its property.

According to the investigation by Yingtian Prefecture, on the day of the fire, the fire broke out in full view of the public on the street, and many people saw the Fire Armor Team entering the Haiyun Pavilion warehouse to put out the fire. Some people also saw these people carrying suspicious wooden boxes along the way.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the thieves disguised themselves as the Fire Armor Team and took advantage of the chaos to rob the Zhen family’s shop of valuables. In the whole incident, the Zhen family was the victim.

The Zhen family is a wealthy and powerful family in Jinling, and they have strong foundations in the capital and the palace. Without any evidence, even the Jinyiwei would not dare to embarrass the Zhen family.

Zhen Shiwen, who was closely related to the case, had reported the case to the Yingtian government office early on, acting like a complete victim. Liu Hai wanted to start with him, but he didn't know where to start.

The matter of Haiyun Pavilion's fine iron came to a standstill, making Liu Hai feel humiliated. He vowed to find the thief who stole the fine iron.

He drew out the best troops from his hundred-household units and searched for clues in the east and west cities of Nanjing every day, and even the thousand-household units rarely went back.

Yesterday, Qianhu Ge Zhicheng suddenly summoned him back for questioning.

Only then did Liu Hai realize that a big incident had happened in the Qianhu Suo. The Jinyiwei who was escorting the imperial prisoner Du Hengxin was killed during the transportation.

But Ge Zhicheng urgently summoned him back, not for this matter, but to inquire in detail about the robbery of the fine iron in Haiyun Pavilion.

And they believed that the batch of fine iron was originally a questionable item, and now it was deliberately robbed by someone, so there must be something fishy about it.

There was no progress in his investigation of Liu Hai, but not only did he not blame him, he even asked him to focus on the investigation and all capable personnel were available for him to deploy.

Shangguan's attention to this matter gave Liu Hai more confidence, and he dared not be negligent in the matter of the fine iron.

Since he couldn't find the thief who stole the fine iron, he could only rack his brains and find another way. He turned his attention back to Zhen Shiwen, the most suspicious person in the Zhen family.

Although the Royal Guards had no evidence to interrogate Zhen Shiwen, it did not stop Liu Hai from carefully checking his background, hoping to find some suspicious points.

This was a stupid idea that I came up with when I was at my wit's end, and it even seemed a bit like trying to find a sword by carving a mark on a boat.

But it was this stupid method that actually helped him find some clues.

He retrieved the records of Zhen Shiwen's two smuggling of muskets from the Maritime Customs and discovered that the second time he smuggled three Rumi guns, he also transported an English silversmith into Nanjing on the same ship.

This Englishman who entered Nanjing with the lost musket caught Liu Hai's attention.

He had people secretly check all the Zhen family's shops in Jinling, but they did not find any trace of the English silversmith.

It seems that this person disappeared strangely after entering Jinling.

This made him suspicious of the English silversmith, although he could not find any evidence to support his suspicion.

But when the fine iron of Haiyun Pavilion was robbed and things reached a dead end, this suspicion became the only straw that Liu Hai could grasp.

He kept this matter in mind as he conducted subsequent street inspections.

……

Yesterday, they finally received relevant information, pointing out that this restaurant near Yinghuamen was often visited by white people from the Western Barbarians. So Liu Hai brought his men here to try their luck.

He found a random table in the store and sat down, then asked his men to find the store owner to question him.

When the boss saw Liu Hai's subordinates showing him the Jinyiwei badge, he was so scared that his face turned pale. He just couldn't figure out how he had offended these evil stars.

Liu Hai asked, "I heard that there are often white barbarians coming in and out of your store. Is there a white barbarian Englishman in his thirties among them?"

The shop owner said tremblingly: "Your Excellency, business in the West City is not good. In order to make a living, our shop makes some Hu pancakes and smoked meat that the barbarians like to eat. Many barbarians have come here.

I don’t know which one the officer is talking about.”

Liu Hai took out a page of document from his arms. This was a page he had taken from the Maritime Customs Office, which described the appearance of the Englishman in detail.

With the implementation of the Great Zhou's maritime policy, Jinling's maritime trade flourished. Many foreigners entered Jinling every day, and it was difficult to distinguish between the good and the bad.

In order to strengthen control and just in case, all incoming Westerners must have complete documents before they can go ashore and enter the city, and they must register with the Maritime Customs.

These registration documents not only record the names and nationalities of the Western barbarians entering the city, but also describe their general facial features in words.

These descriptions of appearance also became important bases for Liu Hai to find this English silversmith.

Liu Hai held the document and said, "This man is a big man, six feet tall, with golden curly hair, an aquiline nose, blue eyes, a slightly red face, and a black mole on the lower left side of his nose.

Has this kind of appearance ever appeared in your store? You should think carefully. If you know about it but don’t report it, or conceal it intentionally, you will not be able to open this store in Xicheng anymore!"

The shop owner was frightened by Liu Hai's threat and said quickly, "What you said is true, there really was a foreigner with this appearance in our shop.

This man is much taller than an average person, and just as the official said, he has a very conspicuous black mole under his left nose. "

Liu Hai's expression brightened when he heard this, and he quickly asked: "When did this person come to the store?"

The shop owner said, "This barbarian came to our shop half a month ago. He really liked the naan, smoked meat, and cooked milk in my shop."

After hearing this, Liu Hai frowned slightly and asked doubtfully, "You have so many customers in this store. He came here half a month ago. How can you still remember it clearly?"

But the shop owner smiled and said, "Your Excellency is right. Under normal circumstances, I would not be able to remember the guest who came here half a month ago. It's just that this Western barbarian is a little different, so I remember him."

Liu Hai's eyes lit up and he asked, "What's the difference? Tell me quickly."

The shop owner said, "He came here for the first time half a month ago, and although he has not come again, he has an attendant who has come here many times since then.

He said that the Western barbarians were not used to the rice of the Great Zhou, and only liked to eat the Hu naan, smoked meat and cooked milk in my shop.

So every three days, the follower would come to the store to buy these foods.”

When Liu Hai heard this, he stood up excitedly and asked, "Did the attendant tell us where they live and when was the last time he came to buy food?"

The innkeeper replied, “I never asked where they lived, nor did I inquire about the guests’ residence.

But every time the attendant bought something, he would leave the city from Yinghua Gate, so he must be staying somewhere outside the city. The last time he came to buy food was two days ago, so he should come again tomorrow."

Liu Hai's eyes were sharp. He really didn't expect that when he was at a loss as to what to do about the robbery of the fine iron, he searched randomly and found out the whereabouts of the Englishman who caught his attention.

He looked at the tall and majestic Dinghuai City Gate and muttered to himself: "Outskirts of the West City..."

……

On the outskirts of West City, the majestic and long foothills of Zhongshan Mountain are covered with tall grass, deep forests, lush trees and are rarely visited by people.

On the left side of a road intersection between mountains, there is a large dense forest. The light in the forest is dim, and it is full of black sunflowers. It is impossible to see the scenery inside the forest from outside.

There was a carriage parked in the forest, with five or six horses tied to it, leisurely grazing on the grass on the ground.

There were five or six strong men with swords guarding the carriage.

There were two people standing in front of the carriage. One was a young man with ordinary appearance, with half of the little finger on his left hand missing.

The other person was a tall and graceful woman with a Japanese sword on her back.

The man was holding a map in his hand and checking the terrain.

Suddenly, at the intersection of Jiashan Road outside the forest, a young servant of about seventeen or eighteen years old, riding a skinny horse, slowly walked out of the valley.

The clear sound of horse hooves echoed on the mountain road, attracting the attention of the man in the forest.

He glanced at the map in his hand, and then looked at the young man riding a horse eastward in front of him.

He said: "This map was given to me by Du Hengxin, and the valley ahead is the location marked on the map.

The horseman just came out of the valley. This place is sparsely populated, and people usually appear there. This young man on horseback is most likely a worker from a private firearms workshop."

The two discussed for a while, and then the tall woman, accompanied by four guards, rode into the valley on horseback and soon disappeared.

More than half an hour later, an explosion suddenly occurred in the valley, startling the birds on the mountain and causing them to fly in panic.

The man in the woods' eyes lit up, and he immediately asked his followers to drive the carriage to the edge of the woods and wait.

Five fast horses rushed out from the Jiashan intersection. The leader was a tall woman with a sword on her back. One of the guards behind her was holding a man with his hands and feet tied on the saddle.

As soon as the five fast horses met the carriage, they galloped along the mountain road they came from, towards the west city of Jinling, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

After just a short while, seven or eight horses rushed out from the Jiashan intersection. All of these knights were carrying new-style Rumi guns.

The leader stopped his horse and looked at the chaotic ruts and hoof prints on the ground.

The man was in his twenties, tall, with a straight nose, a wide mouth, slightly protruding cheekbones, and a bright look that revealed his shrewdness and competence.

A knight who followed him asked, "General, could it be that the government discovered our workshop and sent people to kidnap Henry?"

The young man said: "The location of the construction workshop is secret, and we are very cautious in entering and leaving. It is impossible for the government to find out. If they are really government troops, they would not kidnap only Henry.

Apart from us, only Du Hengxin knew the location of the workshop, and he also had a map of the workshop."

The knight said, "We received news from outside the city yesterday that Du Hengxin had been assassinated. How could he kidnap our firearms technician?"

The young man said: "Although Du Hengxin is dead, he was once a powerful person with many lackeys. This must have been done by his people.

Otherwise, how would these people know where the gunpowder in the workshop was stored? If they had not detonated the gunpowder and caused chaos, Henry would not have been kidnapped.

We must get him back, otherwise if the news leaks out, we will all be in big trouble!"

(End of this chapter)