I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 198 Danyang Shao Daxia

The brothers under Lin Shisan were divided into 26 teams, and under the leadership of the officers from the Jiaofangsi, they checked all the flower boats overnight.

The whole Jiangnan region was flocking to Qinhuai girls. There were simply too many girls who went out to play cards.

After a night of searching, we found that there were more than 300 boats with popular prostitutes on duty, and more than 100 of them were destined for coastal prefectures and counties.

It is almost impossible to find the Japanese pirates' intelligence base among more than one hundred flower boats within three days.

At midnight, Lin Shisan stood by the Qinhuai River and looked at the statistics booklet of his comrades, with a worried brow.

Sun Yue suggested: "Master, why don't we arrest all the prostitutes on these 100 boats? And use the classical interrogation method of our Northern Pacification Division on them."

Lin Shisan was stunned: "Classical interrogation method?"

Sun Yue nodded: "Yes, the classical interrogation method, one force can break all methods, and the only way is to beat them. Those girls are like bean sprouts, how many tortures can they withstand?"

"Master, have you seen my big hands? I can kill two of them with one hand each."

Lin Shisan shook his head: "Stupid."

"First, catching more than a hundred prostitutes playing cards on a boat would make a huge fuss. It would definitely alert the enemy!"

"Don't forget, finding the pirates' lair is only one of our goals. We also need to set up a net to wait for the pirates' hidden agents who are holding the secrets of the Zhejiang Army."

"Secondly, the girls on the Qinhuai River all have patrons. Among these more than a hundred people, I wonder how many are the beloved darlings of the Shixun and the Ministry."

"We have just arrived in Nanjing, and we cannot offend all the nobles and high officials in Nanjing."

"Third, out of a hundred girls who play cards, ninety-nine of them are probably innocent. Do you think you can bear to be tortured by us for nothing?"

Sun Yue rubbed his head and said, "What should we do? Should we, the master and the apprentice, go incognito to investigate each family? By the time we find out, the flowers will be cold."

Lin Shisan was at a loss, so he asked Xue Yanwang who was standing beside him, "Senior Xue, what do you think?"

Xue Yanwang said: "We are now using the screening method. We have found a hundred flower boats. Why not use the control method and put our people on each flower boat."

"If anyone of suspicion is found on board, arrest them immediately."

Lin Shisan shook his head: "No. It will still alert the enemy. Since we are setting up surveillance, there should be at least two people on each flower boat, right? It would make too much noise to cram more than two hundred people into more than one hundred flower boats out of thin air."

Everyone was scratching their heads when a handsome young man of about thirteen or fourteen suddenly came over.

The young man bowed to Lin Shisan and said, "Excuse me, are you Lin Shisan, Captain Lin of the Imperial Guard?"

He actually knew Lin Shisan's identity.

Lin Shisan was stunned: "Who are you?"

The young man did not answer, but said: "My master invites Captain Lin to Yaxufang Garden for a chat."

Sun Yue said, "Yaxu Fangyuan? That's a place that costs three thousand taels of silver to stay overnight. I can't bear to go there. Who is your master?"

The young man replied, "You will know when you go there."

After saying this, the young man turned and left.

Lin Shisan winked at Sun Yue, who rushed over with one quick step and pulled the young man back like a chicken.

Sun Yue scolded, "You little bastard, you are keeping us in suspense. Do you know what we do? Tell me, who is your master?"

"If you don't tell me, have you seen my big hands? I can punch you until the shit comes out of you, and I can punch you twice so that your intestines come out."

The young man said, "A gentleman should talk, not fight! You are important people from the capital. Why do you want to hit people at every turn? You are just like the scoundrels in the fish market."

Sun Yue raised his hand and raised his big fist: "Bullshit! A gentleman talks but doesn't fight? Only a bitch talks but doesn't fight! Will you tell me or not? If not, I'll beat you to death."

Lin Shisan said, "Young man, your host invited me to a chat, but he didn't tell me who he is. How can he invite me anonymously?"

Sun Yue grabbed the boy's neck and threatened him: "With just a little force, my big hands can crush your neck. Just like crushing a chicken's neck."

The young man had no choice but to say, "My master is Shao Xia. You must have heard of Shao Xia's name, right?"

Lin Shisan and Xue Yanwang looked at each other.

Lin Shisan asked, "Why did Master Shao invite me to Yaxufang Garden?"

The young man said, "I don't know."

Shao Da Xia, whose real name was Shao Fang, was a famous hero in Jiangnan. Lin Shisan had heard of him.

The so-called "heroes" of the Ming Dynasty were, in plain terms, the leaders of local evil forces.

These Jianghu heroes often gather together ruffians, amass money, curry favor with officials, interfere in criminal lawsuits, sponsor prostitutes and gamblers. They act as the gloves of officials and help them do dirty things.
Shao Fang is the greatest "hero" in the entire Jiangnan region.

This person was from Danyang County, Yingtian, and his network of connections spread throughout the officialdom. It was said that he had 3,000 retainers and 500 loyal followers.

He was a guest of honor for many nobles and high-ranking officials in Nanjing, and he also had connections with the officialdom in the capital.

It is said that Wang Zhi, a powerful eunuch during the Chenghua period who took power in the court at the age of sixteen, lost power and was demoted to Nanjing at the age of twenty-three, died of illness in his nineties, and his funeral was taken care of by Shao Fang.

There is a folk saying: When you arrive at Jiangnan Bay, find Shao Fang if you have any business.

In a word - in Jiangnan, Master Shao is very useful.

Lin Shisan ordered Sun Yue to let the young man go.

Xue Yanwang reminded: "Captain Lin, be careful, it's the Hongmen Banquet."

Lin Shisan said, "It won't be a Hongmen Banquet. Even if a man of Jianghu had the guts of a bear or a leopard, he probably wouldn't dare to harm the Jinyiwei captain."

Lin Shisan was telling the truth.

The heroes of the martial arts world never provoke the Jinyiwei, or rather, they dare not provoke the Jinyiwei.

In front of the Jinyiwei, no matter how powerful and famous they were in the local area, they were nothing more than ants.

Sun Yue said: "That Shao is really powerful. Master came to Qinhuai River tonight under a pseudonym. He actually knows your name and whereabouts."

Lin Shisan said: "Never mind. Just go to Yaxufangyuan to find out what's going on."

Led by the servants of the Jiaofangsi, the crowd came to a huge painted boat. This was the most expensive place for spending money on the Qinhuai River - Yaxufangyuan.

The madam came out and said, "Isn't this the master from the Jiaofang Bureau? He was here just now."

A one-eyed man in his fifties with a black eye patch came out and yelled at the madam: "Get out of here."

Then the one-eyed dragon walked up to Lin Shisan, knelt down and bowed: "I am Shao Fang, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Lin Shisan asked: "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Shao Fang replied: "It's an important matter. This is not the place to talk. Please go to the flower boat and talk in private."

After saying that, Shao Fang took the initiative to walk in front of Sun Yue and said, "Please search my body. I don't have any weapons on me, so I'm definitely not an assassin."

Sun Yue glanced at Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan nodded slightly.

Sun Yue searched Shao Fang from head to toe.

It is better to be cautious. After the body search, Lin Shisan waved his hand again. Xue Yanwang brought 20 brothers on board. Six popular girls, a group of pimps, servants, and cooks were driven out by them.

Xue Yanwang said: "It's clean now."

Lin Shisan, along with ten of his comrades, went up to the tea room on the second floor with Shao Fang.

Lin Shisan said: "Tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Shao Fang got straight to the point: "As far as I know, Captain Lin is investigating the intelligence den that the Japanese pirates have buried in Nanjing City. To be honest, I have been tracking it for half a month."

Lin Shisan frowned: "It is the government's job to investigate the Japanese pirates. Why would a commoner like you intervene?"

Shao Fang replied: "Because I am loyal to the court, loyal to the emperor, and loyal to you, Captain Lin."

Lin Shisan said coldly: "Talking about loyalty requires qualifications. Don't you think that you, a wandering knight, have no qualifications to talk about loyalty here?"

Shao Fang said: "As long as my heart is sincere. I can be loyal and I can talk."

"Just tell Captain Lin Ming. There's an important person in the capital who asked me to secretly help you deal with the Japanese pirates."

Lin Shisan asked: "Who? Someone from Lord Yan's side? Someone from Eunuch Lu's side? Someone from Governor Lu's side?"

Shao Fang said bluntly: "Neither. I am not talented, but I have some friendship with Prince Yu's teacher Gao Gong Gao Siqing."

Shao Fang's words were empty. Lin Shisan was not sure whether this person was sent by the Yan Party to test him.

Lin Shisan said, "Did Gao Siqing ask you to help me catch the Japanese?"

Shao Fang nodded: "Gao Siqing is definitely not one of those corrupt and decadent Jiangnan bureaucrats. He truly cares about the people. He fully supports the anti-Japanese war."

After saying that, Shao Fang took out another letter from his sleeve and placed it in front of Lin Shisan: "If Captain Lin still can't trust me, here is a letter written by Hu Zongxian, Minister of the Court."

Lin Shisan took the letter and read it. There was only a short sentence written on it: "Brother Shisan, the Danyang hero Shao Fang is trustworthy." Below it was written Hu Zongxian's name, and it was also stamped with the official seal of the Governor-General of Zhejiang.

Lin Shisan asked: "Are you also friends with Hu Butang?"

Shao Fang replied: "Last winter, Marshal Yu led the Fujian troops to fight against the Japanese pirates in Jiaxing. The garrison troops in the rear were all cowards and did not dare to transport food and grass to the front line."

"I contacted the Cao Gang, the Salt Gang, and my own brothers, a total of more than 3,000 people, and escorted the grain and grass to Marshal Yu's camp."

Most of the chivalrous people are butchers. After Shao Fang said this, Lin Shisan began to respect him.

Shao Fang added: "I took the liberty of asking Captain Lin for a chat because I wanted to tell Captain Lin that I have narrowed down the scope of the Japanese pirates' intelligence den to three flower boats."

"One of these three boats must be the pirates' intelligence base."

"In fact, I admire Captain Lin very much. You are indeed as smart and capable as Gao Siqing and Hu Butang said."

"You have only been in Nanjing for less than two weeks, yet you have found a way to find the Japanese pirates' hidden agents by looking at the flower boats and prostitutes on the Qinhuai River."

Lin Shisan said, "Wait a minute. You said you have been investigating the pirates' den for half a month. Since you have narrowed the scope to three fancy boats, you are naturally able to find out which of the three fancy boats is the pirates' den."

"Why don't you investigate further? Tell me instead?"

Shao Fang smiled but said nothing.

Lin Shisan thought to himself: No wonder Shao Fang, a commoner, can thrive in Jiangnan. He is such a good person!
If he finds out the Japanese's lair and tells me, wouldn't it make me look incompetent and have to rely on a chivalrous knight to do my job?
Narrowing the field down to three ships and letting me find out for myself which one was the Japanese entourage made a huge difference.

If we can find out the truth, it is because of my ability as Lin Shisan, the captain of Lin. It has nothing to do with Shao the hero.

Shao Fang took out another piece of paper from his sleeve, on which were written the names of the three flower boats: "Qinhuai Mingyuan", "Cangchunzhai" and "Wenyuan Xiuju".

Shao Fang said: "The Japanese nest is hidden in these three flower boats."

Lin Shisan asked: "You have done such a big thing for me. What benefit do you want?"

Shao Fang said solemnly: "I am humble but I still worry about my country. Although I am just a commoner, I know that fighting against the Japanese and protecting the people is the right thing to do."

"I don't want any benefits. But, let's put it this way. If I run into any trouble in the future, I can ask for help from Captain Lin, and Captain Lin will not ignore it."

"Is what the villain said right?"

Lin Shisan smiled slightly: "I understand. Others save gold and silver, but you save connections."

"No wonder they say that when you get to Jiangnan, you should find Shao Fang if you have any business. I think the connections you have accumulated in Jiangnan by this method are as complicated as the tributaries of the Yangtze River."

"You have worked hard for the court and the people. I will certainly not forget you."

"If you run into trouble in the future, as long as it does not violate your conscience or the law and is within my ability, feel free to come to me."

Shao Fang raised his glass and said, "Captain Lin is indeed generous. I will drink this glass to the bottom. Thank you, Captain Lin."

Lin Shisan also gathered his glasses: "No, I should thank you."

Shao Fang left the flower boat.

Lin Shisan ordered Xue Yanwang: "Send people immediately to keep an eye on Qinhuai Mingyuan, Cangchunzhai, and Wenyuan Xiuju."

The people in the Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division all have their own strengths. Some are good at assassination and secret execution, some are good at torture and interrogation, some are good at reasoning and investigating cases, some are good at house searches and treasure hunting, and some are good at stalking and tracking.

This time, King Xue Yan brought with him two hundred Beisi comrades from Nanjing, twenty of whom were good at stalking and tracking.

Staring at the three flower boats was as easy as taking something from a bag.

Sun Yue said, "I don't think it's necessary to go to such trouble. Isn't Senior Xue the best at beating people with clubs and kidnapping? Just kidnap the people on these three flower boats. I'll interrogate them."

"One force can break all methods, and all we can do is fight. I don't believe they won't admit defeat."

Lin Shisan said, "Let's go check the three flower boats tomorrow. If nothing is found, it won't be too late to arrest them."

Lin Shisan and others returned to their residence on Dachanggan Street.

Shen Weijing did not go to Qinhuai River tonight.

Shen Weijing stepped forward and said, "Captain Lin, is there any clue?"

Lin Shisan said, "Brother Shen, why didn't you tell me earlier that Danyang hero Shao Fang was secretly helping us find the Japanese lair?"

Shen Weijing was surprised: "Shao Fang? He took action? I didn't know about this. Hu Butang never mentioned it to me."

"I just learned a few days ago that there was a Japanese pirates' intelligence base in Nanjing."

Lin Shisan exclaimed: "This Shao hero is really powerful. Brother Shen is in charge of intelligence work against the Japanese, and he only found out about the Japanese nest in Nanjing a few days ago."

"That hero Shao actually started investigating half a month ago."

Shen Weijing said: "Master Shao is extremely capable. It is not surprising that he knew about this in advance."

"Although this person has done some dirty things like acting as a middleman for officials, he understands the greater good and has always spared no effort in resisting the Japanese invaders. He will never betray us."

Lin Shisan said, "The flower boats on the Qinhuai River pick up guests at dusk. Let's set off tomorrow evening and go sightseeing on the flower boats!"

Biyun came out: "What are you going to shop for?"

Lin Shisan smiled awkwardly: "I'm not going to go shopping. I'm going on a secret mission."

(End of this chapter)