As expected, Pan Lei came back, carrying a baggage in his hand.
After drinking half a jar of wine, Da Kui was already a little tipsy. When Pan Lei came and sat next to him, he asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to bring a painting and a token? Why is there such a big package?"
Pan Lei thought for a long time and then said: "Pan just wants to be honest. Here is Pan's financial accumulation in the past year. The total is 47,000 taels of silver notes and 1,000 taels of gold notes, as well as the account books of land and mansion deeds."
Then he put the bundle on the ground and opened it. It turned out to be an account book containing gold and silver bills.
Da Kui didn't even look at it and asked lazily: "Where are the portraits and tokens you mentioned?"
After hearing this, Pan Lei took out a piece of rice paper and a silver hairpin from his arms and put them on the baggage and said: "My wife's portrait and token are here. Please take a look, sir."
Dakui took the rice paper and unfolded it to look at it carefully. On the paper, there was a lifelike painting of a beautiful woman, with bright eyes, white teeth, and a beautiful smile. Dakui looked at it for a long time and couldn't help but praise: "I didn't expect that Mr. Pan is really good at painting, but this painting technique is also
Extraordinary attainments." As he spoke, he took the portrait and the silver hairpin into his arms.
Da Kui knew that Pan Lei would not say anything without seeing his family, so he said truthfully: "It will take more than a month to go back and forth to Luzhou and rescue people. Mr. Pan can rest here and rest in peace. I will definitely see you when I return in one month."
I’ll give you an explanation.”
Pan Lei couldn't help but wonder when he heard this: "It's thousands of miles away from Luzhou. How can an expert come back in just one month?"
Dakui stood up and smiled slightly and said: "Don't ask any questions, just wait for the news. However, I would like to advise Mr. Pan, don't break your words."
Pan Lei immediately stood up and clasped his fists and said: "No matter how you try to rescue Pan's family, as long as you see them safe and sound, Pan will tell you everything."
Dakui nodded and asked: "Where was your wife when you and she parted, and who controlled her?"
Pan Lei pondered: "I was sent to Jiangnan by Zhu Shouren, a fellow governor of Luzhou, and my family must have been under his control."
Dakui thought for a moment and then said: "In that case, I will go. You can wait for my news in Quanzhou with peace of mind." Dakui said without further delay, turned around and walked out of the cell door.
Pan Lei naturally didn't believe it in his heart. It would take half a month to get to Luzhou, not counting mountain roads, boats, accommodation, and fast horses. Dakui said he would be back in a month. Didn't he have the Taoist skill of shrinking the earth into an inch?
Dakui immediately ordered him to go down as soon as he got out of the cell. Everyone stayed in Quanzhou to keep a close eye on Pan Lei. There must be no mistakes before he came back. Dogs, stones, brooms, dustpans, and benches were ordered, and Dakui arranged everything properly.
Just then he set off alone, Gou Sheng couldn't help but ask: "I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to be alone, why don't you bring some people around so that you can have someone to take care of you in case of trouble.
Dakui chuckled and said: "If you take someone with you, you will miss my schedule. It is more convenient for me to be alone. You can stay in Quanzhou for a while. If you have any difficult questions, you can ask Mr. Pan for advice and follow his instructions. After all, I am
Magistrate of this city."
Gou Sheng couldn't help but ask: "Now that he is a prisoner, why do you praise him so much?"
Dakui pondered for a while and then said: "He is different from the prisoners in the first class. After I leave, you will follow him and make sure to ensure his safety. Regardless of whether I can come back within a month, you and others need to deal with it well."
"He," Da Kui was about to say something. Seeing his subordinates surrounding him, they were worried. Da Kui comforted him: "Everyone, remember, Mr. Pan is still the prefect of Quanzhou now, everything is as usual!" All the subordinates agreed in unison.
.
Dakui walked out of the door holding the Longquan Sword. Shitou led Hongyun and followed him. When Shitou reached the street, Shitou handed the reins to Dakui. Without further delay, Dakui got on his horse and knocked Hongyun on the horse's belly with both feet.
In front of him, he walked to a place with few people and Dakui rode his horse straight to the north gate.
Luzhou is thousands of miles away, and Da Kui crossing the river alone with his horse and sword to save people is like pulling out teeth from a dangerous tiger's mouth. Nowadays, the north and south are divided into rivers and ruled by rivers, and the Luzhou area is a place full of turmoil.
Not to mention Luzhou, both sides of the Yangtze River are heavily guarded by soldiers.
But for a promise and to stabilize the Ming Dynasty, even if he really died in a foreign land with his head and body in a different place, Dakui would not hesitate at all. He rescued the Pan Lei family and exchanged important information to eradicate the power of Yuanting in the south of the Yangtze River. This
It is Da Kui's unshirkable responsibility. Men must take responsibility, even if it means taking the sword and ax to their body.
Fortunately, now that Dakui is seriously ill, his body is much lighter than before, and riding on a horse is not a heavy burden. Hongyun is galloping along the official road like the wind, how can it be said that he travels thousands of miles in a day?
It wasn't until the early morning of the fourth day that Da Kui arrived at the boundary of Taiping Prefecture. Taiping Prefecture relied on the Yangtze River, and the Ming Dynasty established Jianyang Guards Station here to defend the Yangtze River. There were 50,000 armored troops stationed here.
Dakui, a civil servant, could only mobilize a thousand troops and horses from various places in the past. This was limited by the system. In ancient times, the king traveled with ten thousand chariots, so he was called the King of Ten Thousand Chariots. Nowadays, the king of Wu can only travel thousands.
Personal entourage. The personal entourage of first- and second-grade officials cannot exceed a thousand at most, so Dakui was able to recruit his own sentinels. Although it was only more than 900, it was the limit.
This time Dakui arrived at Taiping Mansion, but he came alone. There was no entourage around him, so naturally he would not cause any noise. Dakui entered the city and found the government office, and showed his badge to the government official on duty, almost knocking the official's jaw.
I was shocked.
Jiangnan's general envoy has arrived. Oh my God! Could it be that Master Yu, the prefect of Taiping, did something wrong?
Nowadays, Da Kui is like a god of plague in Jiangnan officialdom. Wherever he goes, he can't help but cause a lot of noise. Isn't that right? Da Kui kills wherever he goes. In Shunyuan City, Huguang, more than 300 people were killed with just one operation.
, even though it is a very far away foreign land, this matter back then is now known to everyone.
Dakui told the official to keep quiet and lead the way to see the prefect, Mr. Yu.
Mr. Yu is a man of about forty, with kind eyebrows and kind face. Especially as an official, he has always been honest and has a good reputation among the people. Dakui also has sentries in Taiping Mansion. After the sentries find out the truth, they will leave on their own until they find any bad deeds.
Only then did the officials stop and deliver the news. The main purpose of Da Kui's visit to Taiping Mansion was to take a fancy to Lord Yu's integrity.
In the mansion behind the government office, Mr. Yu is planting vegetables with his servants. These actions are related to the King of Wu. Although the King of Wu owns half of the south of the Yangtze River, he still sets an example of frugality and self-preservation. There are few gardens in the King of Wu's palace, but there are large areas of vegetables.
The land. These vegetables were grown by the concubines, maids, eunuchs and servants of the King of Wu, including Queen Ma. King Wu would go to the fields to farm from time to time when he had free time. Who would maintain his identity as a king?
King Wu's style spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River, and officials in the south of the Yangtze River followed suit one after another. Mr. Yu was originally a scholar, but he only believed that everything was inferior. However, King Wu still did not forget his duty, so how could he, a prefect, be exempt from the commonplace?
When an official reaches the fifth rank or above, it is said that the salary can be used for food and clothing as long as it is not extravagant, but it is enough. Learning from the King of Wu to grow vegetables is just a form of imitating a cat and a tiger. Who knows that Master Yu is a stubborn person?
I have become addicted to growing vegetables. At this time, I am only wearing a pair of dirty clothes, and I am busy working in the yard with a hoe, sowing water while everyone is lifting water.
Da Kui followed the Yamen to the backyard, and couldn't help but smile when he saw this scene. Then he motioned to the Yamen to keep quiet, walked behind Mr. Yu, and said softly: "Mr. Yu, do you want to help?"
Mr. Yu was raking the soil and saw that the posture was getting better. After hearing this, he looked left and right in the ridge and said: "Well, I have already ridged the ridge. You can dig a small hole half a foot apart on the ridge, and then you can
Someone is sowing and watering."
Dakui smiled, then rolled up his sleeves and found a small shovel, and really started to dig holes in the ridges. Dakui was originally from a farmer, and he was an expert in farming. Mr. Yu trained him before
Dakui dug a hole in the back until the furrow came to an end.
Mr. Yu straightened up, stretched out his hand to rub his numb waist, and when he turned around and saw the pits on the ridge, he couldn't help but praise: "Well, they are well-proportioned and of the right depth and size!" Then he saw Da Kui wearing soap boots on his feet, and looked up again.
Wearing a crimson robe, Mr. Yu couldn't help but be stunned. He looked at Da Kui's face again. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, and a square mouth. His complexion was slightly dark, and he looked like a farm boy.
Seeing Da Kui wearing a red robe, Mr. Yu couldn't help but shout: "Why are you so bold and crazy, dare to go beyond the rules?" Then he saw the Yamen officer standing stupidly not far away, and immediately shouted: "Come here, take this
The lunatic was captured and thrown into prison." Dakui stood there and just looked at Mr. Yu with a smile and said nothing.
Unexpectedly, under this command, the Yamen official did not move but kept blinking at him. Only then did Mr. Yu look at Da Kui's clothes again. The red robe had dark patterns of small flowers. He couldn't help being shocked and hurriedly
After throwing away the iron pestle, he bowed, clasped his fists and said, "I don't know that your Excellency has arrived, and I wish to beg for atonement." He bowed deeply as he spoke.
Dakui laughed loudly and came over, stretched out his hand to help him and said, "Master Yu, please don't be too polite. Please get up quickly."
Master Yu straightened up and couldn't help but ask again: "Who are you, sir?" Although Dakui is wearing a red robe, Master Yu is still not sure what he does. After all, the second rank is all court officials, and the duties of court officials are different.
.
Dakui reached out and took out the waist badge from his arms, handed it to Mr. Yu and said, "I am Zhang Dakui, Jiangnan's political envoy."
Master Yu returned the waist card with both hands after looking at it, and then he clasped his fists again and said: "Yu Zheng, the magistrate of Taiping Prefecture, has met Mr. Zhang, the general envoy." After saying this, he bowed deeply.
Dakui put away his badge and said with a smile: "Master Yu, please rise. Can you lend me a moment to speak?"
Yu Zheng smiled and said: "That's natural, that's natural!" Then he ordered the Yamen: "Please come to the front hall to serve tea, Mr. Zhang. I will be there soon." The Yamen accepted the order and came over and extended his hands to say goodbye.
: "Master Zhang, please come this way!"
Dakui did not refuse, turned around and followed the Yamen to the front hall of the Yamen. After sitting down in the front hall, the Yamen went to make tea. Dakui slowly sipped the tea and waited. After a while, Yu Zheng had changed his clothes and came to see him.
Dakui stood up again and greeted Yu Zheng politely, and then the two of them took their seats respectively. Dakui went straight to the point and said: "I came here to trouble Mr. Yu to prepare a boat for me, and I am looking for two capable boatmen.
There are five experts in martial arts. I want to cross the river and go north to do something."
Yu Zheng was shocked when he heard this. Is crossing the river a child's play? Not to mention that there were soldiers patrolling both sides of the river, but as an official of the Ming Dynasty, he had to cross the river privately to go north. What was the secret in this?