The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 441 Zhu Youxiao’s Friends

After eating venison and fried noodles, the sun gradually set and the three men recovered their strength. They continued their journey towards Kuandian City along the Yalu River.

There was still no sign of the pine tree. Before leaving, Jiang Liuer left two pieces of dried fish, which was Tiger's favorite food, under the tree.

There were several villages standing by the river. Jiang Liuer ran over with a smile to inquire about the news. When he walked in, he found that the village was empty. There was not even a complete thatched house to be seen. There were only some ruins left around.

Jiang Liuer climbed up a broken wall, looked up, and went upstream along the river. On the wall of Kuandian City two miles away, there was an endless stream of people and horses. Because the distance was too far, he could not see the flags raised on the top of the city wall clearly.

"Which army is stationed in Kuandian? The 12th Army?"

All three of them were former soldiers. When they saw the deserted village, they immediately realized that something was wrong. Lao Qian changed his usual casual demeanor and looked vigilantly at the military flag flying on the top of the city wall.

"It seems to be the 11th Army," Alessa was not sure either. He easily confused Chinese numbers, such as twelve and twenty-two.

It was the first time for all three of them to come to Kuandian. The military discipline of the Qi army was strict, and the soldiers knew little about other units, let alone the military bases. Jiang Liuer and the other two originally belonged to the Second Guards Army, stationed in Shenyang, so they naturally didn't know the specific situation in Kuandian.

Jiang Liuer jumped off the earth wall, took off the tattered military uniform on his body, threw it to Lao Qian, put on a piece of wolf skin given to him by the Sauron hunter, wrapped it in front of him, inserted the dagger and pistol into his belt, and walked towards the city wall.

Old Qian shook off the fleas on his torn uniform, his face full of confusion: "Where are you going?"

Jiang Liuer kept walking: "I'm exploring the way for you."

"Just fix it now. I see the road is not smooth. Don't let it get you into trouble."

Jiang Liuer imitated Lao Tie's accent and grinned:
"Why not? It's a blessing in disguise. If it's a disaster, it's inevitable. Old Qian, you're not feeling well. Stay and chat with Alessa. I'll be back soon."

Alessa took out a short crossbow and began to load poison arrows, following Jiang Liuer without saying a word. Lao Qian had no choice but to follow him.

"Let's go, three brothers, let's die together."

~~~~~~
In the dungeon in the backyard of the Bingbei Dao Yamen, east of Kuandian City.

Deputy Commander Jiang Jiaren led a team of North Korean soldiers into the prison.

Accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps and the clinking of weapons, the cries of injustice from the prisoners in the cramped and dirty dungeons on both sides of the passage immediately came.

Jiang Jiaren ignored the noisy voices on both sides, walked straight to the end of the corridor, and stood in front of a relatively quiet cell door.

The prisoner in the cage immediately crawled out of the haystack, raised his half-human, half-ghost face, and tightly grasped the wooden bars of the cage with both hands, shouting with all his strength:

"Injustice!"

Jiang Jiaren covered his mouth and nose and asked the jailer beside him in a low voice.

"? (He is Kang Guangxu)"

The jailer couldn't understand Korean very well, so Jiang Jiaren had to hold back the stench and asked again in Chinese. This time the jailer heard clearly and nodded quickly.

"Drag out!"

The prisoner knew he was going to be dragged out and beheaded, and he immediately howled like a pig being slaughtered:
"Don't kill me, I'm Kang Yingqian's son, really his son! My father has money, I'll give it to you!"

Half an hour later, Kang Guangxu was washed clean, put on a relatively clean red mandarin duck jacket, and was taken to the lobby of the Bingbei Dao Yamen by Jiang Jiaren.

When they arrived at the main hall, they saw a Tartar official with a shaved head and a pigtail haircut sitting on the upper floor. Kang Guangxu suspected he was a monk, but then he saw a row of Korean soldiers standing below, flanked by a dozen Tartars, all with their heads shaved clean except for a pigtail haircut.

Everyone in the hall looked at Kang Guangxu with angry eyes and a fierce look on their faces. Kang Guangxu knew that the high-ranking official sitting at the top must have some background. Without waiting for Jiang Jiaren to ask, he shouted:

"My father is really Kang Yingqian, the Prime Minister of Qi. Send him back to Shenyang and give you money!"

The Tartar official at the top laughed out loud, his bear-like body making the chair creak. "Hahaha, he's Kang Yinggan's son! Kang Yinggan is such a hero, how could he have such a son? Hahaha, our master doesn't want any money."

Kang Guangxu continued, "What do you want? Women, jewelry, whatever my father has, I'll give you."

The Tartar official stared at Kang Guangxu with a sharp gaze that seemed to shoot through him.

"Our master wants you!"

"Injustice!"

Kang Guangxu thought he was going to be beheaded again, and habitually cried out that it was unfair. Seeing that the Tartar official opposite him was indifferent, he continued:
"What are you going to do? Jianzhou and Korea are both vassal states of the Great Qi. People from Qi do not fight against people from Qi!"

The Tartar official waved his hand and said coldly:
"Take him away, along with the other guard, and take him back to Shenyang later."

Two strong white-armored soldiers of the Zhenghuang Banner dragged Kang Guangxu out of the hall without explanation. Kang Guangxu shouted as he walked:
"My father is Kang Yingqian, he has money! Don't kill me!"

Jiang Jiaren looked at the prisoner's retreating figure, turned around and said to the Tartar official in the upper seat with a flattering smile:
"If I had known that Shangguan was coming to Kuandian to pick someone up, I would have personally taken him to Shenyang to save him the trouble."

Aobai waved his hand and said impatiently: "The emperor gave you food and fodder, and it has been transported to the north gate."

Jiang Jiaren's face was full of gratitude, and he said a few words of smecta in excitement.

Just as Oboi was about to tell the Koreans to get out, a soldier in white armor came in from outside the hall. He came in in a hurry and whispered something to Oboi. Oboi listened and asked with gritted teeth:
"Anyone else dares to seek death? How many of them are there?"

"Three, and a Haixi Tartar, our secret sentry spotted them at the north gate. Should we capture them..."

The white-armored soldier stretched out his fingers and touched his neck.

Aobai thought for a moment and said calmly: "Go, take a few more white-armored soldiers, and capture them alive if possible, but if you can't, kill them all."

The white-armored soldier received the order and was about to leave. The Korean deputy general Jiang Jiaren who was standing next to him came up and pretended to lower his voice and said, "Master Aobai, I have some brave men under my command. Can I ask for..."

Aobai didn't even look at Jiang Jiaren, raised his big bear paw hand, and directly refused: "No need, you will cause trouble if you go."

After saying that, Goshiha, the strongest man in Zhenghuang Banner, walked out of the lobby without looking back, leaving Jiang Jiaren standing there.

Abahai did not rush to the north gate of Kuandian to chase and kill the defeated Qi army soldiers, but first went to the wing room of the yamen where the prisoners were held. The wing room was not far from the lobby, and he arrived there quickly.

Before he could knock on the door, Oboi rushed open the door like a ferocious bear, and saw two people sitting in the room. One of them was Kang Guangxu, whom he had just seen in the lobby. When he saw Oboi come in, he immediately hid in the corner of the room. The other one, who looked more handsome, was fiddling with a Lu Ban ruler as if no one was around. He held the ink box in one hand, and the ink line was placed on the Eight Immortals Table in the middle. His bright eyes stared at the table with ill intentions.

A bondservant named Aha pointed at the dedicated carpenter in front of him and whispered to Oboi, "Master, this is Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youxiao."

When Oboi was in Hetuala, he had heard of Zhu Youxiao's deeds. He looked the man up and down, and after confirming that it was him, he nodded slightly, without any change in the ferocious expression on his face. His gaze turned to Kang Guangxu again. Kang Guangxu saw that Oboi was murderous, and thought that he was really here to kill him this time, so he shouted again: It's unfair.

Oboi sneered twice and turned away.

After the Jiannu left, Kang Guangxu immediately returned to his normal self, snorting and kicking the carpenter:

"Hey, stop carving,"

The carpenter stopped his work.

"Put your things away, the clanging and banging is driving me crazy. When we get back to Shenyang, I'll have my dad reward you with ten taels of silver! You won't have to work anymore. Do you know who my dad is?"

Kang Guangxu patted Zhu Youxiao on the shoulder, expressing his good impression of this tender-skinned cellmate because the carpenter had just given him the little water in the coconut ladle to drink.

(End of this chapter)