Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

"Well, I just need a little cooperation from you. When I was suppressing the bandits, I captured two people alive..."

"What! Brother Jiang! This is a great achievement! If we can bring a person to justice alive, it will not only demonstrate the majesty of our court, but also help us find out who is behind this. It's like killing two birds with one stone! Great! That's great!"

"Don't worry, this is just the first step."

Jiang Han calmed down the excited Wang Dang and asked him to calm down.

"These two people will not live to see the day when you find out who is behind them. They will definitely die in prison at the hands of that person."

"No, Brother Jiang, don't worry. I'm here to make sure the prison is safe. There's no way an outsider can get in and do anything bad to the prisoner!"

Wang Dang patted his chest and made the promise.

"No, I want you to let the other party take action and kill those two people."

Wang Dang couldn't understand Jiang Han's answer. If we let the other party kill him, what about our evidence?

"These two are just bandits' lackeys. What can they know? But if the person behind the scenes knew about their existence, he would definitely be very uneasy and would just want to get rid of them as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble. This matter would definitely be handed over to his confidants."

"Alerting the enemy, Brother Jiang, that's great!"

Wang Dang suddenly understood.

"How much information can a small bandit know? But the confidant of the man behind the scenes must have covered up a lot of his asses and done a lot of dirty work over the years. If I can catch him, I will be 100% sure that I can skin and pull out the tendons of that big tiger!"

"Brother Jiang's way of thinking is indeed different! It makes me suddenly enlightened. I will do this as you say!"

According to Jiang Han's arrangement, Wang Dang announced the news that he had captured two bandits alive in all the wealthy gathering places in the city, and locked them up in jail, waiting for the person behind the scenes to lose his patience and take action.

Unexpectedly, on the third day, the person behind the scenes could no longer sit still. He was quite efficient and directly bribed the jailer to poison the prisoner to death, which made Wang Dang feel ashamed and excited at the same time.

He was ashamed because he had boasted before that he could protect the criminal 100%, but it turned out that the county government was like a sieve and everyone could be bribed. He was excited because the more anxious the other party was, the bigger the crime he had committed, so big that once it was known, his entire family would be executed. That was why he was so anxious and wanted to get rid of the two witnesses.

The news brought by Captain Zhao did not surprise him. Jia Er's house was indeed deserted. After asking his neighbors, he learned that since the morning of the previous night, someone came claiming to be Jia Er's distant relative and took his family away.

And judging from the news from the city gate, there was no record of anyone leaving the city last night. As a result, Jia Er's family seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Although Wang Dang was happy about the success of his plan, he was a little at a loss at the moment. The other party was so careful in doing things, and he couldn't figure out how Brother Jiang could catch the confidant of the man behind the scenes. So, he hurried here to discuss with Jiang Han what to do next.

"Don't worry, Brother Wang, our plan has been implemented perfectly."

"Perfect? ​​However, the person behind the scenes is elusive. The Jia Er family that poisoned last night disappeared without a trace. The other party is obviously very powerful. What should we do?"

"I said, our plan was implemented perfectly."

Jiang Han could only repeat it once so that Wang Dang wouldn't understand.

"But...wait...Could it be that, Brother Jiang, you have already captured that man's confidant!?"

"nature"

"How did you do it? It's amazing! I have no idea at all, but you have already captured the confidant. How did you do it?"

"I am the one who set the trap. The development of the whole thing is naturally under my control. If the other party wants to kill the prisoner, there are only two ways. One is to do it myself, and the other is to bribe the jailer."

"If I do it myself, I will have too much evidence to prove it, which is obviously not a good idea. However, if I bribe the jailer, I only need to spend some money first, and then kill him after the jailer has done his job. Then there will be no evidence, and the money will be returned. Isn't that great? Any smart person will choose the second option."

"There are only a few guards in the prison. We only need to monitor them one by one to find out who met the wrong person at the wrong time."

"The remaining things are to follow the map, trace the source, find the party that the prison guard contacted, set up an ambush in advance, and wait for the prey to be in place."

Jiang Han came up and directly copied the action report that Sister 45 told him, plagiarizing the fruits of other people's labor without any psychological burden.

My wife told me, what’s it to you?

"Great, great, great! Brother Jiang is so reliable. What about that confidant now..."

Wang Dang was overjoyed and wished he could see the prisoner right now.

"Don't worry, brother Wang. The confidant is still being interrogated. I have locked him in a silent room to test his patience so that I can get more information out of him. I did conduct a surprise interrogation last night and got some information. Brother Wang, you can take a look at it."

Jiang Han handed over a notebook and gave it to Wang Dang.

Wang Dang opened the book and saw a line of big words: "The biggest suspect...Wen Ren"

Raising his head, Wang Dang looked at Jiang Han: "Brother Jiang, are you talking about the mastermind behind this, but that, the largest salt merchant in Yangzhou City, Master Wen Renwen?"

Volume 96: Chapter Chapter : Confinement

Quiet, as quiet as death.

There was no light in the dark woodshed, and it was pitch dark. There was no sound around.

This is the woodroom where the butler is imprisoned.

Jiang Han was still very humane. He had everything that was necessary in the small firewood room, including a bed for sleeping, a urinal, and a toilet. Of course, there was only one bucket.

He has two meals a day, and although the quality is not very good, the supply is guaranteed and he won’t go hungry.

Such humane confinement conditions have only one additional clause: no one here will communicate anything with you.

Your surroundings are so quiet that the only sound is your own talking. Every day someone comes here to serve him meals and clean the chamber pot. However, Jiang Han has strictly ordered these people not to have any form of communication with the butler. Anyone who says a word will be punished.

Jiang Han has the final say in the village and no one dares to disobey his words, not to mention the existence of punishment. The people responsible for delivering meals and cleaning all remember their mission and keep their mouths shut.

On the first day, the butler, who had been interrogated by Jiang Han, was still feeling fortunate that he had withstood the test of Jiang Han's interrogation. This man was indeed extraordinary. His interrogation skills were unheard of, and his methods were unprecedented. However, in the final analysis, the territory of Yangzhou still depended on Master Wen. As long as he gritted his teeth and said nothing, he would definitely be able to get out. After getting out, he would definitely write to Master Wen and deal with this Zhuangzi as soon as possible.

He was thinking wildly in his mind. This farm was indeed not as simple as it seemed. He was afraid that the farm owner also had a part in the new county magistrate's plan to wipe out the bandits. However, this man was too soft-hearted and was afraid of offending Master Wen. He didn't even dare to use any torture on us. Otherwise, he would still have a lot of headaches.

The first day of the new year passed quickly with disdain for Jiang Han and the belief that Wen Ren would definitely rescue him.

There was no light or sound in the woodshed, and the concept of time became vague. With no one to communicate with, the only way to calculate time was to rely on the number of times the two people who came to deliver meals and clean the house came in to determine what day it was. The long-term dark environment made the butler feel depressed. With no one to communicate with, he could only talk to himself to keep his beliefs from wavering.

After the initial period of firm belief, the rest of the time became particularly difficult to endure. I don't know whether it is dark or the Hundred Days, and I don't know what is happening outside at this moment. Why hasn't the master come to rescue me? Has I been abandoned? This shouldn't be the case. Master Wen must not have found my whereabouts yet. This must be the case. Damn it, what is the situation now? Can someone tell me?

As time went by, the butler's anxiety grew and grew. The dark and endless time seemed to have no end in sight. Was he going to stay in such a place for the rest of his life? Was he forgotten?

The butler began to desire to communicate with others. He wanted someone to talk to him, to tell him about the situation in the outside world, even if it was just something insignificant. Please talk to me!

He tried to communicate with the farmers who came to deliver meals and clean up things, but the farmers remembered the master's instructions and said nothing. They just went about their own business silently, making the butler's attempts to communicate come to nothing.

He began to become hysterical, constantly talking to himself and shouting loudly to get Jiang Han's attention. He grabbed the farmers who were delivering food and begged them to speak, even knocking over the food and refusing to eat. However, despite this, the farmers had no intention of communicating with him. They just quietly packed up their things and left without saying a word.

It’s so depressing, so depressing that it makes people despair.

Jiang Han had no intention of observing the mental state of the butler and then interrogating him. This kind of claustrophobic confinement was a serious mental torture for people. No matter what, humans are always social animals. They need to communicate and interact with the outside world. In an environment without light, sound, or anyone to communicate with, collapse is only a matter of time.

No matter how vicious the prisoner is, no matter how well he can withstand torture, he cannot withstand mental torture.

Jiang Han's intention was to lock him up for seven days first and see how he reacted. If he wasn't crazy, he would lock him up for another seven days to see how long this butler could hold on.

He didn't expect that this butler could barely last seven days.

When I decided to go and check out the situation, I saw the butler crying and laughing in his woodshed, muttering something, sitting on the bed and shaking constantly. According to the person who delivered the food, he had not eaten anything for two days.

This made Jiang Han a little confused. It shouldn't be that bad, is he so fragile? Bring the person out first, and I'll take a look.

Hearing the sound of the woodshed door opening, the butler looked outside numbly. At this time, a small beam of light from the outside world would come in, allowing him to see the environment inside the woodshed clearly.

For him, this small beam of light was almost the key to maintaining his spirit. He thought that it was another farmer who came to deliver food, but today, something was a little different.

The people who came have changed!

Change was better news to the butler than the sound of nature. He got off the ground excitedly, almost crawled to the two newcomers, and grabbed their sleeves tightly: "You two, you two, please, please, tell your owner, tell your master, I'll say anything, he can tell me anything, please let me out, please let me out, please, say a word to me, I'll say anything, please"

Facing such a humble butler, the farmers were also a little surprised. How could this happen after just a few days of detention? They looked at the two farmers in charge of delivering meals. They were obviously well aware of the situation in front of them. Seeing the miserable state of the butler, they shuddered.

They saw with their own eyes how a person was tortured into this state. Obviously, he was well fed and well fed, and there was no torture, but such means were chilling to think about.

"It would have been better if we had done this earlier. We would have saved ourselves a lot of suffering. Let's go. The boss wants to see you."

The farmer's words made the butler's eyes well up with joy. It was finally over. This dark torture was finally over. He threw all the masters and confrontations behind him. Now, he only wanted to communicate with people, bask in the sun and talk.

"How about it, butler, do you have anything to talk to me about today? I've been a bit busy these past two days, and it's not easy to spare some time. If not, I'll come to see you next time."

"Yes! Yes! I have it! Sir, I have it! I'll tell you everything. Please don't put me back in jail. I'll tell you everything!"

The butler was afraid that Jiang Han would throw him into the woodshed again if they had a disagreement, so he told him everything about Wen Ren clearly without any questioning. He had never communicated with outsiders in the past seven days. Now, his desire to communicate was very strong. Even if Jiang Han just said "hmm" and continued talking, he would feel greatly encouraged.

"This... is so detailed?"

Wang Dang flipped through the intelligence notebook in his hand and was shocked by the information Jiang Han had obtained.

For the past seven days, he sent the captain of the police to search for clues everywhere, but there was no clue at all. He came to urge Jiang Han to conduct the interrogation several times, but Jiang Han always told him that it was not the time yet. Wang Dang was anxious but helpless. But today, Jiang Han handed him such detailed intelligence about Wen Ren's mansion, which included all kinds of evidence including collusion with bandits, forcing women into prostitution, harming families, and collusion with superiors. It was shocking.

"Brother Jiang, you really helped me a lot. This time, we must punish this bully according to the law!"

Wang Dang was so excited that he didn't notice Jiang Han's intriguing look at all.

Volume 97: Chapter Chapter : Old Friend

The sun was setting, and Shen Lian was walking on the streets of Yangzhou City, his heart leaping with joy.

Today is his day off. Although the work on the farm is complicated, it is also comfortable. According to the master, every five days, they can rest for two days and take turns to work. This ensures that everyone can go home to spend time with their families and the farm will not be left unattended.

At first, Shen Lian, who was forced to do this job, didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, he was more cautious. He had been forced to do too many deals. How could someone go to so much trouble just to make him a bodyguard? This was too unreasonable.

There must be some conspiracy waiting for me that I am not aware of.

But gradually, Shen Lian became a little confused. He found that after the other party pulled him into the farm, it seemed that they really didn't care about him and let him do his job well, without any intention of carrying out any further conspiracy.

Moreover, just as that person told him personally, most of the people in this farm are newly recruited refugees. When these people arrived at the farm, they did the same basic jobs as he had seen.

Shen Lian was somewhat confused. As a senior Jinyiwei, he knew clearly which people had problems and which people were doing their jobs peacefully. Most of the people in this village were honest people. Could it be that this person just wanted him to be a guard? He began to doubt his judgment.

As time went by, Shen Lian's original confusion gradually faded away. The work of a guard was not hard. It was even much easier than when he was a Jinyiwei. In this village, everyone had a goal in mind. They were all working in exchange for food, and they were only grateful to their employers. In such a positive atmosphere, disputes were small and almost negligible. Even if there were some troublemakers, they could be quickly resolved. Over the years, his skills had not deteriorated.

The work here is stable, and the income is stable too. Shen Lian is almost settled down completely and integrates into the role of the captain of the guard peacefully. He selected several people with agile skills and good personalities as his team, and formed a good guard team. Now, it is slowly getting on the right track.

Unexpectedly, the new way of life that he had been seeking for so many years ended up here. Shen Lian shook his head and touched the object in his arms.

This was the pastry he had just bought in the south of the city. It cost him some of his wages, but Miaotong loved it the most. Over the years, because they had no sufficient means of making a living, the two of them had lived a tight life. Now that they had a stable job, Shen Lian could generously buy some of her favorite food for his lover.

Because it took some time to get to the south of the city, by the time Shen Lian arrived at his doorstep, the sun had already set and the sky had darkened. A bright moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the way ahead for him.

"Xiaotong, Xiaotong, look, what did I bring back?"

There was joy in Shen Lian's tone. He opened the door and closed it again, waiting for his lover's question, but there was no response that should have come, which made Shen Lian's heart skip a beat.

Inside the courtyard, everything was the same as before. The candlelight in the room was bright. Shen Lian slowly closed the door and his heart gradually became more alert.

The situation has been tense recently. Someone in the city bribed the jailer and killed two bandits in the jail, causing an uproar in the city. The government detectives are patrolling every day. The people in the city are not allowed to carry swords, otherwise they will be arrested and interrogated. Therefore, Shen Lian did not bring his own sword.

He walked to the wall and picked up a short stick. The weapon in his hand gave him some sense of security.

Walking slowly to the door, Shen Lian listened to the noise inside. There seemed to be a woman sobbing, and another voice inside the door.

When Shen Lian heard that the woman was in trouble, he collapsed on the spot. His blood boiled instantly and he kicked the door open. The scene in the room shocked him.

His wife Miaotong was shivering in front of the table. Opposite the table, a figure was sitting, wolfing down the food in front of him.

That figure that I don't want to see again.

"Ding Xiu, why are you here?"

After he met Miao Tong, he no longer wanted to have anything to do with the past. His eldest brother died because of the crime committed by the two of them, and his third brother was killed by Zhao Jingzhong. Shen Lian was disheartened and decided to live in seclusion and change his way of life.

For this purpose, he deliberately sold the courtyard in Suzhou, and took Miao Tong to travel to many places, and finally settled in Yangzhou. He thought he would spend the rest of his life like this, but he didn't expect that Ding Xiu would still come to him.

Whenever he saw him, Shen Lian would think of his dead third brother.

Ding Xiu buried his head in the food in the bowl. Ten years had passed, and his appearance had changed. He had a beard. He finally swallowed the rice in the bowl and let out a long sigh.

"Why can't I come? You and I are friends who have risked our lives for each other. You are not a loyal person. It's not easy to find you after hiding your identity for so many years."

"What brings you here?"

"Hey, look, we have such a good relationship. I came to visit my good brother and my sister-in-law. What's wrong? I mean, the food this sister-in-law cooks is really good!"

"Leave as soon as you're done eating!"

Shen Lian had no intention of reminiscing about the past.

"Oh, look at you, after all these years, you are still so impatient. Okay, okay, let me tell you the truth. I came to you this time because I really have something that I need your help with. I helped you so much back then, you can't be ungrateful."

"There's nothing I can do to help you. I'm just a commoner now."

"You are wrong. You can really help me now."

Seeing the doubtful look from Shen Lian, Ding Xiu stood up and wiped his hands on the clothes on his belly: "Recently, I took a job and the other party was very willing to pay. The price made me very excited. If I didn't take it, I would be sorry for myself. So, I came here. Coincidentally, I found out that the person I want to kill has some relationship with you."

"What does the person you want to kill have to do with me?"

"Of course he is related. That person is your current master, the most popular person in Yangzhou City, Jiang Han, Jiang Muzhi, who lives in Kangpingju, not far from your home."

When Shen Lian heard that Ding Xiu was going to deal with this person, he suddenly felt like laughing: "You said you wanted to kill him?"