Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 28 Jiang Donkey

After listening to the report from his staff, Zheng Guohui was generally satisfied with the construction affairs. He gave a few instructions, "Do it well, after all, it concerns the livelihood of so many people," and then he stopped paying attention to it.

He was not planning to take these people from Maigaoqiao to Southeast Asia, but only use them as trump cards to stay in the Shenzhou mainland.

Zheng Guohui made his move in Jinling City and acquired large tracts of land and real estate and shops in the city. Some of the buildings were intact, but only a small number of them were left.

Others were either razed to the ground, or only ruins were left in the war, or the buildings were severely damaged and needed to be demolished, modified or even rebuilt.

This is also the reason why he employs so many people. He uses these people to build and renovate houses, and as long as they are sold, it will be a lot of money.

Firstly, it avoids more killings, secondly, it provides these people with a stable livelihood, and thirdly, it lays the foundation of power throughout the city. This is the part hidden underwater.

Today
The wealthy and powerful people who had fled at the time returned one after another. As soon as the gates of Jinling were opened, there were endless streams of people and horses every day, and the prosperous Qinhuai area of ​​the past was quickly restored.

The whole city is recovering and becoming more prosperous.

Correspondingly, the demand for land, houses and buildings increased, and the prices of renovated houses soared, and for a time, paper was in great demand.

The price of a small blue brick courtyard with three main rooms and two side rooms has skyrocketed from more than 100 taels of silver to more than 300 taels of silver, and you can't even buy it for this price.

The house has two entrances, five main rooms, three side rooms on each side, and a courtyard with ancillary buildings such as a gatehouse. The price has now exceeded one thousand taels and is very popular.

All we can say is that there are too many wealthy businessmen and too many rich landlords in Jiangnan, and now they are popping up like bamboo shoots after rain.

The more than 200 construction orders mentioned by the staff advisor Zheng Jialiang were the ones ordered by these wealthy businessmen to build large courtyards with three or four entrances, which were very expensive.

After the Chinese New Year, a large number of people will still need to be recruited.

After sitting in the house and chatting for a while, Zheng Guohui got up and left, returning to the military camp in Gulou with his men.

He lived in a separate house that was originally owned by a wealthy businessman in Jinling City. The four-courtyard building was decorated with carved beams and painted buildings, and the pavilions and towers were extremely exquisitely decorated.

This place is located in the military camp and has always been heavily guarded, making it the safest residence.

All the servants brought from their hometown in Tongzhou were arranged to work there, and with the addition of a few grooms, gardeners, and maids who did the cleaning, the mansion was fully staffed.

Return to the mansion
Zheng Guohui dismounted, handed the reins and whip to the coachman who came towards him, and strode straight to the front yard.

The personal guards behind him also dismounted, led their horses themselves, and walked towards the stable on the side of the front yard.

They need to take care of the horses themselves. After removing the saddle, they need to comb the horse's mane, cover it with a cold-proof blanket, feed it black beans and clean water, and take good care of this ancestor first.

For cavalrymen, war horses are not only fighting partners, but also family members. They would rather starve themselves than not take good care of the horses.

Zheng Guohui did not stop when passing the front yard and went straight to the backyard.

At the gate of the second courtyard, we saw Qiao Yue and Qiao Xing, two girls wearing moon-white fur jackets. Their rosy faces were red from the cold, but they were still standing at the gate, rubbing their hands and looking around.

Seeing the general striding towards them, the two women ran up to him excitedly and bowed to him, their eyebrows raised with joy.

"It's so cold today. Why don't you stay indoors to avoid the wind? Your face must be numb from the cold." Zheng Guohui reached out and pinched Qiao Yue's rosy cheek. Hmm, it felt good.

Qiao Yue's face was a little deformed by the pinching, but her eyes were shining with excitement. She called out pitifully, "Master, please stop pinching me. If you continue, it will be too ugly."

"Let's go inside and talk."

Zheng Guohui let go with a smile on his face and returned to the backyard with the two girls behind him.

After entering the house, a warm breeze blew in my face, sweeping away the biting cold outside.

Served by the two girls, Zheng Guohui changed into loose home clothes, washed his hands and face, and lay down on the soft and wide brocade couch.

After drinking a few sips of hot tea, I felt lazy all over.

"Master, when will we go back to Tongzhou to visit our relatives?" Qiao Yue sat down below, moved Zheng Guohui's legs on her knees, gently massaged and hammered them, and asked while busy.

"Well, there are still two weeks left. Why... do you miss home?" Zheng Guohui opened his mouth wide after saying that. Qiao Xing, who was nestled beside him, took a small piece of cake in her delicate white hand and put it into his mouth.

"Master, I've grown up but have never been away from home for such a long time! Qiaoxing misses home too, doesn't she?" Qiaoyue said coquettishly.

Qiao Xing blushed and said nothing, just nodded slightly.

Zheng Guohui's big hands reached into her jacket and played tricks on her. After just a few strokes, the little girl's eyes became seductive and her body lay softly on Zheng Guohui's broad chest.

Invisibly, it added a touch of ambiguous atmosphere to the room.

A burst of hurried footsteps disrupted the ambiguity.

Qiao Xing sat up hurriedly, lowered her head and combed her hair with a flushed face, then moved to the side twice, fearing that the master's big hand would do something bad again.

Zheng Guohui smiled calmly and looked towards the door. The cotton curtain at the door was lifted, and the housekeeper, Zheng Tianshi, came in, obviously with something to report.

Zheng Tian was very tactful and acted as if she hadn't seen anything.

He bowed deeply and said, "Sir, there is a captain, Zheng Jiabao, waiting to see you in the front hall. He has something urgent to report to you. I dare not delay, so please let me know."

"Oh, I'll go right away." Zheng Guohui sat up after hearing that, reached out and gently patted Qiao Xing's back, indicating that he would be back in a while.

He stood up in his loose-fitting silk jacket and quickly walked to the front hall. He saw Zheng Jiabao standing by his side with his hands hanging down. Zheng Guohui walked over and sat at the head of the table. Then he asked, "What's going on?"

"General, we have finally found the man we've been searching for, Jiang the Donkey. But he's a tight-lipped man. No matter how hard we try, he insists he never hid any Taiping treasure. We're afraid we might injure him, so we've stopped torturing him. Your Excellency, please give us your instructions."

"Haha... we found Jiang Luzi, this is great news." Zheng Guohui immediately became interested.

It took me nearly half a year to find this Jiang the Donkey, but I didn't expect that he could be found among my own mule and horse team. This is really a case of hiding the truth under the lamp.

So he ordered, "Bring the man here and interrogate him in the palace. I want to see how tough he is."

"Yes, my lord."

In a short while
Jiang Shoushan, covered in blood, was brought to the hall. He was from northern Jiangsu and made a living by driving donkeys and transporting goods after moving to Nanjing.

During the Taiping Army's occupation of Nanjing, he joined the Taiping rebels and worked as a horse breeder. He was appreciated by Li Xiucheng and was promoted to the position of donkey and horse manager.

Take advantage of convenient conditions
When the city of Tianjing fell, this man collected a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry, totaling 24 boxes, and transported them to Qingliang Mountain by horse-drawn carriage and buried them.

The reason why his identity was exposed was that he actually spent 3600 taels of silver to order a three-courtyard house from construction engineer Zheng Jialiang, which will be delivered in June next year.

Zheng Jialiang has always been a meticulous person. He found it unusual that a mere groom had a large amount of silver, so he started to investigate openly and secretly.

The problem was discovered after checking.

Although this thief hid his real name, there were many remnants of the former Taiping rebels in Maigaoqiao, and some people recognized him as Jiang Shoushan, the former donkey and horse manager.

According to the selection criteria of the Du Biaoying Camp, anyone who had served as a leader in the Taiping Bandit Army would be executed without mercy, and Jiang Shoushan, the chief steward of donkeys and horses in the Prince Zhong's Palace, was certainly no exception.

The general had issued a warrant for the arrest of this thief, but there had been no news of him. Unexpectedly, he was found out by accident.

Zheng Guohui looked at Jiang Luzi in the hall. He was not tall, but he was fat and strong. Although his body was covered with blood, he still looked like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. He was a tough guy.

"Very good, you're a tough guy. You've successfully piqued my interest." Zheng Guohui's eyes flashed with a cold light, and the sarcastic smile on his lips disappeared. He said lightly, "Jiang Donkey, let me remind you of a place, Qingliang Mountain. I think you'll remember something, right?"

When Jiang Luzi heard the three words "Qingliang Mountain", his whole body trembled. He raised his head and looked at Zheng Guohui's cold face in disbelief.

The man then gritted his teeth and burst into laughter, spitting blood and foam from his mouth as he said, "Hahahaha...traitor, don't even think about deceiving me. Your grandfather Jiang is made of steel and his head is missing a scar the size of a bowl. Just use whatever tricks you have."

"Very good, very good. Remember your performance now. I hope you are strong enough." Zheng Guohui smiled coldly, turned around and called Zheng Jiabao, gave him a few instructions, then left with his hands behind his back.

Jiang Luzi, who was lying in the hall, was so angry when he saw this that he struggled to get up and say a few more harsh words.

But he was kicked over by the soldier behind him and his neck was strangled with a hemp rope, so he couldn't utter a word.

Soon
Zheng Jiabao came back with two men in yamen uniforms. They were carrying heavy leather bags filled with small gadgets that gleamed with cold light.

There are small pliers, small awls, small nails, and other strange things that make people's scalp tingle when they see them.

The general's instructions were simple: "Go find two government officials who specialize in criminal law. Start by torturing the prisoner's limbs, but don't take his life. When he lets up, that's the end of the matter."

When it comes to torturing prisoners, the criminal lawyers in government offices are the real professionals, and many of them have inherited the skills from their families.

The torture techniques used by the soldiers of the Du Biao Battalion were too crude.

Sure enough, when the two men with sinister expressions arrived, they looked Jiang the Donkey around as if they saw a fat prey.

Jiang Luzi couldn't help but start to tremble all over. The haze of fear enveloped his body and mind, as if he had seen his natural enemy.

Jiang Luzi was dragged into a nearby cell, and waves of miserable cries were heard, which lasted for several hours intermittently until his voice became hoarse from crying.

Zheng Jiabao went in to take a look and soon came out with a look of pity on his face.

He was also a tough guy who had emerged from a pile of corpses on the battlefield, but he saw that Jiang Luzi's ten toes and ten fingers were all driven by iron nails, and his toenails and fingernails were pulled out one by one, making his body a bloody mess.

Two arms and a leg were twisted abnormally, with bones sticking out. Two yamen runners were pickling the rotten meat with coarse salt...

vomit……

No, I really can't stand it anymore, it's too fucking perverted.

(End of this chapter)