I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 944 There are always villains who want to harm me!

As the gunshots rang out, bullets whizzed in from all directions, hitting the reeds and leaves everywhere.

The rioters on the periphery fell down in rows like wheat harvested by a sickle.

They fell into the lake from the boat, and blood quickly seeped out, dyeing the puddle red.

The bandits had never seen such a scene before. They ran around with their heads in their hands. Some simply jumped into the water, wading through water that was not even up to their waists, and walked towards the depths of the reed marsh where there was no sound of gunfire.

They had walked less than ten meters when rapid gunshots rang out from deep in the reed marsh. Reed stalks and leaves flew everywhere and bullets flew over like water. The dozen or so thieves walking in the front were all hit and fell into the water. Their bodies slowly floated up and blood slowly spread out.

"Don't panic!" Kong Xiuwen hid behind his trusted guards and shouted, "Brothers, don't panic. The soldiers have firearms. The smoothbore guns in our hands are not fire sticks. Let's fight them!"

Chen Daya waved his pistol and shouted, "Yes, the soldiers are armed with smoothbore rifles, and so are we. What's the use of them? Damn them!"

"Boom!"

The bandits' muskets finally fired, gunpowder smoke filled the river branch, and lead bullets whizzed towards the reed marsh and towards the officers and soldiers who were nowhere to be found.

In just three or four seconds, there was more intense gunfire and bullets flew more densely, hitting the thieves holding muskets, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere.

"Chief Instructor" Chen Daya and his trusted little leaders were terrified.

Aren’t the officers and soldiers using smoothbore rifles?
Why is the firepower so strong!

Could it be the legendary new type of firearm that is more powerful?

Thinking of this, Chen Daya and other big bosses began to have bad thoughts in their minds.

If it's not a musket, then it's not a guard.

The new firearms were used by either the Imperial Guard or the elite troops of other land and naval forces.

The fact that the imperial court had quietly transferred these elite officers and soldiers here showed that they had already failed long ago and that the other party had been waiting here for a long time.

Deep in the reed marsh, the Marines, organized into squads and led by non-commissioned officers and sergeants, held Type 07 rifles and fired freely.

The Type 07 rifle has an extremely fast rate of fire. With a magazine of ten rounds, these well-trained Marine veterans can fire thirty rounds in a minute, which is in no way inferior to the Type 07 light machine gun roaring not far away.

The dense bullets formed an airtight encirclement, trapping the more than 400 bandits in the river branch.

They were like rats in a cage, their throats gradually being strangled by an invisible giant hand. They could only roll their eyes and struggle.

However, leaders such as Chen Daya, Liang Dongliang and Tong Xiucai were unwilling to accept their fate. They ran back and forth on the boat, cheering the bandits on.

"Don't panic, the soldiers are running out of bullets."

"Their new firearms are very delicate. They break after two shots."

"I am the reincarnation of the general who exterminates demons and slays evil under the throne of Emperor Dongyue. I have already invited the heavenly soldiers and generals to descend to the earth.

It’s just that it will take some time for them to come through the South Heaven Gate. Let’s hold on for a while longer. Once the heavenly soldiers and generals arrive, they will be dead without a burial place!”

The three men stepped on the corpses and waded through the blood accumulated in the cabin, going crazy.

Kong Xiuwen remained sober and realized in just one minute that something was wrong and that if he didn't run away he would be doomed.

He looked at the crazy Chen Daya and others not far away, and quietly instructed his trusted guards to row the boat quickly into the reed marsh, take cover under the dense reeds, turn to the exit of the river, and escape in the chaos.

As his two boats slipped into the reeds in the distance, the sound of gunfire around the river branch grew closer.

Shouts of "surrender your weapons and you will not be killed" were heard everywhere.

Chen Daya raised his pistol and fired randomly at the reed marsh, attracting a volley of bullets, two of which hit him in the head.

The back of his head exploded instantly, and blood and brain matter splattered on the face of Tong Xiucai next to him. He screamed, no longer crazy, and collapsed.

He squatted in the cabin, holding his head, trembling all over, and was soon captured.

Liang Dongliang was waving a peach wood sword, shirtless, jumping and dancing on the boat.

His eyes were bloodshot and the saliva in his mouth was swinging in the air as his head shook violently, like a mad dog in the late stage of rabies, wishing to tear the whole world to pieces.

Bullets flew past him, hitting many of the minions around him, but miraculously did not hurt him at all.

Seeing the different pillars of society falling down around him, he felt that he was truly the son of destiny, and the general under the seat of Emperor Dongyue became even more crazy, waving his peach wood sword, wanting to kill all the officers and soldiers who were gradually surrounding him.

The Marines seized a dozen wooden boats and slowly rowed over.

At the bow of a ship, a lieutenant was standing there. Seeing Liang Dongliang, who was less than ten meters away, he raised the Type 07 automatic pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger at him.

Boom!

Four bullets poured out and all hit Liang Dongliang.

He fell into the red water with a plop like a broken reed.

Kong Xiuwen urged his trusted guards to row the boat faster.

The two boats sailed one after the other along the hidden waterway through the reeds.

The gunshots behind him became farther and farther away, and Kong Xiuwen felt calmer.

Where there is life, there is hope.

As long as I can escape from this reed marsh and sail into the vast lake, I, Kong Xiuwen, will be able to swim freely in the vast sea.

After passing a reed marsh and seeing the vast lake, Kong Xiuwen didn't have time to be surprised before he saw two steamships parked on the lake. Hundreds of soldiers were standing on the decks, holding guns, with the black muzzles of the guns pointing at him.

Kong Xiuwen subconsciously raised his hands and said, "Report to the authorities, I surrender!" In the evening, Zhu Yijun and his entourage inspected Nanwang Lake Farm and returned to the official ship moored at the farm's dock.

There are sixteen official ships, which are the top-of-the-line official ships on the canal. It is said that they were used by court officials when they went south to inspect local areas. Two of them were hastily built when Yan Maoqing went south to inspect salt. They are extremely luxurious.

After some minor repairs and adjustments, it was put back into use.

Each ship was arranged in a row of four, towed by a Guazhou Type II steam locomotive.

Song Gongliang, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, accompanied by Wang Chi, director of the General Security Bureau, as well as Wang Shiqiu and Fang Zhiyuan, walked into the cabin, which is now Zhu Yijun's imperial study, under the guidance of Liu Yi.

"Your Majesty, a group of thieves were wiped out in Shushan Lake. Here are their confessions and related evidence."

Song Gongliang first bowed and reported, then signaled Wang Chi to present the documents.

Wang Chi bent over, lowered his head, took a step forward and raised the document in his hand.

He came from the Jizhou border army. He was brave and good at fighting and had made many military achievements. In the 41st year of Jiajing, he was selected as Zhu Yijun's riding and archery instructor and transferred to the Jinyiwei.

Qi Yan hurriedly stepped forward to take the document, then turned around and presented it to Zhu Yijun.

"Is it the case handled by the General Security Bureau?" Zhu Yijun touched the cover of the document with his right hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It's the case of Kong Xiuwen."

Zhu Yijun saw Wang Shiqiu and Fang Zhiyuan behind Wang Chi, and could tell their identities from their military uniforms and caps.

"The Marine Corps played a great role this time. The Security Bureau of the General Security Bureau should be credited with the greatest credit."

Wang Shiqiu and Fang Zhiyuan hurriedly bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, this is my duty."

"Briefly tell me about your investigation and elimination."

"According to the order."

Fang Zhiyuan said first, "In February of the tenth year of Wanli, the Security Bureau of the General Security Bureau received a report from the Shandong Bureau of the Pacification Division. They found a suspicious clue while investigating a robbery and theft case across Shandong, Henan and Jiangsu.
Upon receiving the notification, the Security Bureau immediately formed a special task force, with me as the team leader, to take over a thorough investigation.

In March, they followed the clues to find leaders including Chen Daya, Tong Xiucai and Liang Dongliang, and confirmed that the gang intended to rebel.

In April, the task force found Kong Xiuwen and confirmed that he was the chief executor of the gang.

At that time, the task force was preparing to close the net, and I and others reported the case. When Envoy Song and Director Wang were investigating, they found something unusual in the gang’s channels for selling stolen goods and the source of funds. ”

Wang Chi added, “Your Majesty, I, along with my subordinates from the Security Bureau’s Intelligence Center, analyzed the case report submitted by Fang Zhiyuan and found that this gang of thieves committed six robberies and eleven thefts. The stolen goods were not sold in the four provinces, but were resold to Huguang, Sichuan, Northwest China, and Lingnan.

We, the ministers, feel that bandit leaders like Kong Xiuwen do not have the ability to resell the stolen goods so far away.

Moreover, some of their stolen goods were sold through the supply and marketing cooperatives."

Having said that, Wang Chi raised his head slightly and glanced secretly.

The emperor remained calm and listened attentively, then quickly lowered his head and continued speaking.

"I think we need to find out whether those who help sell stolen goods are just greedy for profit or have ulterior motives. In addition, Kong Xiuwen and his gang of bandits are recruiting soldiers and horses everywhere, spending a lot of money to buy people's hearts and minds, and are generous.

I asked someone to do a preliminary calculation and found that their illegal income could not support such expenses. Kong Xiuwen, Chen Daya and others were all fugitives who escaped from their service places with their crimes. Their property had been confiscated long ago, and they had no property to squander.

We have concluded that there must be other sources of income that we are unaware of.

I reported my analysis to the Song Dynasty envoy, who finally agreed to our plan, and decided to play the long game to catch the big fish. "

Zhu Yijun nodded and motioned Fang Zhiyuan to continue.

"I received instructions from the General Administration and immediately changed my action plan to continue monitoring and investigating.
In June of the tenth year of Wanli, Kong Xiuwen secretly met with two Henan merchants in Linqing. That time, Kong Xiuwen received a fund of 5,000 silver dollars.
In July, Kong Xiuwen secretly met with a Jiangxi businessman in Jining, Yanzhou, and obtained 3,000 silver dollars in funding.
In November, a cargo ship departed from Xiaoshan, Shaoxing County, and quietly arrived at Nanyang Town, Yutai, Shandong. In a reed marsh in Zhaoyang Lake in the south of the town, it handed over 125 Longqing Type II smoothbore rifles, 10 Longqing Yuan-style short guns, and some standard ammunition to Kong Xiuwen.
According to investigation, this batch of guns came from the warehouse of the Coast Guard Corps in Dongning County (Kaohsiung), Liuqiu County, Donghai Province.

In July of the tenth year of the Wanli reign, it was reported that the arsenal was destroyed by a mudslide due to the impact of Typhoon No. 11. At that time, it was reported that 221 smoothbore rifles and 47 short guns were damaged. No remains were found. It was said that they were buried in muds and rocks more than ten meters deep.

The study was so quiet that the air seemed to freeze.

The sound of waves hitting the hull came from outside the window, and in the hearts of Song Gongliang, Wang Chi and others, it was like spring thunder.

Zhu Yijun remained silent as ever. He pointed at Fang Zhiyuan and motioned him to continue.

"Knowing that standard firearms have fallen into the hands of the thieves, I immediately sent a secret message to the General Administration through the telegraph room to report it."

Wang Chi immediately added: "I think these rebels have big plans. Even if they want to start a rebellion, three or four hundred people are not enough. There must be a bigger conspiracy.

However, this matter is of great importance, and the minister and the envoy of Song dare not make a decision on their own."

"Gong Liang has told me about this matter, and my instructions to you are to continue to play the long game and catch the big fish."

"I received the royal instructions conveyed by Director Wang and immediately stepped up the investigation and closely monitored this batch of guns."

After telling the process of the investigation, his eyes turned to Wang Shiqiu, who immediately stood up straight and reported the process of the elimination.

"After an hour and ten minutes of fierce fighting, we killed 356 rebels and captured 71, including the bandit leader Kong Xiuwen and leader Tong Xiucai. We also seized 121 smoothbore rifles and seven pistols."

Zhu Yijun's fingers kept tapping on the table, and the sound was like the sound of horse hooves.

Song Gongliang and others stood straight with their chests puffed out and their stomachs in.

A minute later, Zhu Yijun stopped moving his fingers. He looked up at a few people and said quietly.

"There are always villains who want to harm me!"

(End of this chapter)