Ever since his face-to-face contact with Jiang Xiao, Lu De was extremely afraid of this person.
It was not because of Jiang Xiao's scheming skills, but because Lu De vaguely felt that the logic and way of thinking pursued by Jiang Xiao were completely different from his own, and even very different from those of the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian.
Both Lu De and Zhu Hejian follow the logic of scholars and politicians when acting and thinking. They must not only maintain dignity, but also care about gains and losses. They must also make comprehensive calculations and carefully consider various influencing factors... at most.
That is, the specific styles are inconsistent. Lu De has more scruples in his heart and his acting style is more restrained, while Zhu Hejian has less scruples in his heart and his acting style is more extreme.
But Jiang Xiao... the logic and way of thinking pursued by this person are completely different. It is a kind of logical thinking that belongs exclusively to desperadoes.
Compared with Jiang Xiao, even Zhu Hejian can be regarded as a moderate who is forward-thinking and cautious.
Lu De is not a desperado, and it is difficult for him to deeply understand this kind of logical thinking, so he cannot accurately predict Jiang Xiao's reaction.
This is why Lu De is deeply afraid of Jiang Xiao.
As the saying goes: "When a scholar encounters soldiers, he cannot explain his reasoning clearly." But at least there is a chance to reason. But if a scholar encounters a gangster... then he will not even have a chance to reason.
Therefore, Lu De has secretly made up his mind that before he can completely consolidate his position and win Zhu Hejian's deep trust, he must try to reduce contact with Jiang Xiao and hide whenever possible.
However, when he saw Jiang Xiao holding a telescope to observe the situation in the distance, his body started to tremble uncontrollably. Lu De still couldn't control his curiosity and asked: "Why are you so excited all of a sudden? You can't help it."
The body is trembling? But what abnormality was discovered? "
Jiang Xiao turned his head slightly and glanced at Lu De, and said slowly: "Excited? Abnormal situation? None! It's just that the surrounding temperature dropped sharply after the flood broke out, so I feel a little cold!"
Looking at Jiang Xiao's arms that were thicker than his own thighs and his body as thick as a black bear, Lu De couldn't help but curl his lips.
Obviously, Jiang Xiao is just telling lies with his eyes open.
However, Lu De was still curious in his heart. Considering Jiang Xiao's calmness and the city's government, what exactly could have made him so excited.
So, Lu De raised his hand and pointed at the telescope in Jiang Xiao's hand, and said: "This is the telescope that came from the West? I have heard of this object for a long time, but I have never seen the real thing, let alone the chance to get my hands on it.
Use it, but I wonder if you can lend it to me to play with?"
Jiang Xiao directly handed the telescope to Lu De, not worrying that Lu De would notice anything unusual.
Jiang Xiao was able to quickly spot Hu Xiao just now, firstly because the night sky after the rain in early summer in the south was originally bright with stars and moon, even in the middle of the night, there was still a little visibility; secondly, because Hu Xiao and the three aides of the Zhao Mansion
The two teams had previously stayed near the official road, and the distance was not too far; third, before the two teams encountered the flood, there were people holding torches for lighting, which provided more light sources for Jiang Xiao.
But now, these three factors no longer exist. Due to the outbreak of the flood, the transpiration of water vapor has created a large number of dark clouds that obscure the stars and the moon. The two teams on the official road have also quickly rushed to further positions.
, and they also lost a large number of torches when they fled, unable to provide sufficient light source.
In this way, even if the telescope is given to Lu De, Lu De can only see a little silhouette of a person on the lake.
What's more, as long as Lu De doesn't know Hu Xiao's specific identity and the past grudges between Jiang Xiao and Hu Xiao, even if he is allowed to see all the details clearly, he will not be able to guess the true meaning of Jiang Xiao's agitated mood.
reason.lan
Ever since he saw Hu Xiao, Jiang Xiao had made up his mind to take revenge on Hu Xiao at all costs and to liquidate his betrayal of him!
However, Jiang Xiao did not intend to reveal his thoughts to anyone, not only from Lu De, but also from the seventh prince Zhu Hejian!
The situation in South Zhili is now extremely complicated, and all forces are trying their best to reduce variables. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Zhu Hejian to allow Jiang Xiao to take revenge without authorization, let alone increase "mockery" for Jiang Xiao's personal vendetta.
“Wind” organization’s exposure risk.
However, Jiang Xiao is also well aware of Hu Xiao's slippery and cunning character. Once he misses this opportunity, he may never find another opportunity for revenge.
Under such circumstances, Jiang Xiao could only choose to conceal the truth and lead the "Chaofeng" soldiers to act in private.
Jiang Xiao swore that he would capture Hu Xiao alive, and then take action himself, "entertain" Hu Xiao well, and rekindle old friendship with Hu Xiao!
Just as Jiang Xiao expected, Lu De could only barely see the silhouettes of Hu Xiao, Ouyang Bo and others in the distance after using his telescope to watch. He could not see any details at all, nor could he find any suspicious signs.
So Lu De quickly returned the telescope to Jiang Xiao and asked: "Then what should we do next?" Lan
Jiang Xiao continued to raise his telescope and stared in the direction of Hu Xiao and others, and said casually: "The terrain in South Zhili is flat and densely covered with rivers. The dam we dug is not an important dam.
Therefore, this flood will not last long and will gradually subside soon. After the flood subsides, we immediately rush to the Lu Family Villa twenty miles away to hide our whereabouts, and then mix with the nearby victims and return to Nanjing.
, in case it arouses the attention and suspicion of all parties."
Afterwards, Jiang Xiao ignored Lu De and turned to the dead soldier "Chaofeng" and said: "Guan Laosan, you are the best at tracking. After the flood recedes, don't follow the others to Lu's house."
Instead of leaving the hospital, I chose ten "Chaofeng" who are also good at tracking, and gave me the staff who kept an eye on Huo Zhengyuan...
Originally they wanted to take the opportunity to drown these staff, but unexpectedly a group of people suddenly appeared and rescued them. Moreover, this group of people acted decisively and skillfully in martial arts. They obviously had a great background.
It may be a variable in the subsequent situation!
Therefore, since we have discovered this group of people in advance, we must investigate their identity, background and subsequent movements! Next, this group of people will most likely go to Nanjing City with several of Huo Zhengyuan's staff. You found them
Once you find your place to stay, report it to me as soon as possible!"
After hearing Jiang Xiao's instructions, Guan Laosan couldn't help but feel stunned.
In the past, when Jiang Xiao directed the "Chaofeng" soldiers to do things, he always issued orders directly and never explained his specific intentions in detail.
At this time, Jiang Xiao's uncharacteristically detailed explanation seemed to be that he wanted to hide something.
However, Jiang Xiao had great prestige among the "Chaofeng" dead men, so Guan Laosan did not dare to think too much and just nodded immediately to accept the order.
If conditions permit, Jiang Xiao hopes that he can lead the "Chaofeng" soldiers to directly pursue and kill Hu Xiao and others. Unfortunately, the road conditions will be complicated after the flood, and people from the government will definitely come to investigate after the flood subsides.
situation, so Jiang Xiao was not sure that he could successfully hunt down Hu Xiao, let alone that he could successfully hunt down Hu Xiao without alerting the government, so he could only do the next best thing and keep an eye on Hu Xiao's whereabouts for the time being.
There's movement.
*
On the other side, nearly ten miles away from the raging flood, Hu Xiao didn't know that Jiang Xiao had already targeted him, just like Jiang Xiao didn't know that Hu Xiao had also targeted him.
At this time, Hu Xiao was bargaining with Guo Min.
Hu Xiao used to be a gangster, but now he is a pirate. He often kills people, but rarely saves others.
Since you have saved someone, you must take advantage of your kindness and ask for repayment.
After Guo Min finally regained his strength and calmness, Hu Xiao pulled him up from the ground, and then began to regard himself as the savior of Guo Min and others.
Hu Xiao looked particularly sad and said: "Alas! I could have escaped the flood with my brothers at the first time, but in order to rescue Boss Guo, not only did I almost die and become a water ghost, but I also lost a lot of money.
A brother! I have a deep brotherhood with my brothers. Although we are not real brothers, we are better than real brothers. Now that a brother has died in this flood, Hu is also heartbroken..."
Seeing Hu Xiao's appearance, Guo Min was helpless and said: "Boss Hu, there is no need to be sad. Your brother will never die in vain. I will definitely repay your kindness with all my strength... Well, I have fifty taels here."
Silver, and three hundred taels of silver notes, will be used as funeral expenses for the brother who unfortunately lost his life. As for your life-saving kindness, we will definitely satisfy you when we arrive in Nanjing."
Hu Xiao suddenly laughed, put all the money and banknotes handed over by Guo Min into his pocket, took Guo Min's arm, and said in a friendly manner: "Actually... I don't have any ambitions, nor do I have any ambitions."
I need Boss Guo to repay me in some way, but if Boss Guo is not an ungrateful person and definitely wants to repay me, then I have an idea...
As far as I know, Boss Guo, you are discussing a big business with the big shopkeeper Zuoqiu, right? And I want to replace the big shopkeeper Zuo Ci and become the middle contact between Boss Guo and Nanyang, but I can't
I wonder if Boss Guo is willing to support me?"
Seeing Guo Min's hesitant expression, Hu Xiao lowered his voice and continued: "Boss Guo, it's a great thing for me to be the middleman! That Zuo Qiuci is just a mixed-race bastard, he is more loyal to the Netherlands...
How do you say that? By the way, people who are not of my race must have different intentions, right? And I have always been the most loyal person. Although I unfortunately became a pirate, I am still a Han Chinese, so naturally I have more biases.
For us Han people..."
After Guo Min hesitated for a moment, he said without comment: "This matter is of great importance. Please allow me to think about it carefully." Lan
As Hu Xiao said, Zuo Qiuci is a mixed race and is more loyal to the Dutch East India Company, while Hu Xiao is a Han Chinese and Guo Min's savior...
But for some reason, Guo Min had a vague feeling that compared to Zuo Qiuci, a hybrid who was not from my race, Hu Xiao, the savior, was even less trustworthy!
Seeing that Guo Min did not directly agree to him, Hu Xiao did not force it, and still had a fair attitude, saying: "Okay! Boss Guo thought carefully, although I saved your lives, I also took the risk and damaged my brother.
But I won't force it on you. After the flood recedes, I will escort you safely to Nanjing... The longer Boss Guo stays with me, he will understand that my greatest advantage is my loyalty!"
At the same time, Hu Xiao secretly made up his mind to find out the true identity of the group of people who dug up the dam as soon as possible.
Guo Minnai was Huo Zhengyuan's staff, and he almost died because of the flood, so he must have attached great importance to this information.
At that time, Hu Xiao can conduct transactions with Guo Min and replace Zuo Qiuci as the intermediary contact between Guo Min and Nanyang.
Then, Hu Xiao can use the subsequent transactions between Guo Min and Nanyang to easily reap astronomical benefits!
For these benefits, Hu Xiao is definitely willing to fight tooth and nail!
*
When it got daylight, news of the flood quickly spread to Nanjing.
In the east garden of the Song family, still in the secluded study, Song Chengren immediately informed Zhou Shangjing of the relevant news.
At this time, Zhou Shangjing's physical condition was very bad.
After learning the method of drinking oil to detoxify from Zhao Junchen, Zhou Shangjing began the difficult diagnosis and treatment process under the arrangement of Zhang Decheng.
Zhou Shangjing has always had a simple diet and doesn't like the smell of oil. Now he is allowed to drink oil directly. The bitter, numb, disgusting and greasy smell is constantly washing over Zhou Shangjing's sensory nerves, and it is almost killing him.
For the whole day yesterday, Zhou Shangjing could no longer maintain his image. He kept vomiting violently and had diarrhea and defecation, which made him even more uncomfortable than when he had a stomach attack.
However, according to Zhang Decheng, this phenomenon is a good thing. It not only means that Zhou Shangjing can expel foreign matter in the intestines and stomach as much as possible, but also means that Zhou Shangjing's intestines and stomach can still function normally at this time.
Early that morning, when Song Chengren rushed to the study again and met Zhou Shangjing, he saw Zhang Decheng holding a pot of soybean oil in his left hand and a bowl of potion in his right hand, forcing Zhou Shangjing to drink the oil continuously.
Zhou Shangjing has always been deep-tempered and calm-minded, and rarely shows changes in his inner emotions. But at this time, his expression was solemn and tangled. There was also a hint of fear in his eyes when he looked at the oil pot, and his pale old face was even more so because of a strong sense of nausea.
And the facial features are distorted.
But in the end, under the pressure of Zhang Decheng's cold face, Zhou Shangjing still pinched his nose, raised the oil pot and poured all the soybean oil in the pot into his mouth. Finally, he frowned and forcibly swallowed the soybean oil into his belly.
After yesterday's adaptation, Zhou Shangjing no longer vomited violently, but the nausea was still extremely strong.
When Zhou Shangjing saw Song Chengren appear, a hint of joy flashed through his eyes, as if he had seen a savior.
But on the surface, Zhou Shangjing still had a calm expression. After finally suppressing his physical and mental nausea, he raised his head seriously and asked, "You came to see me so early, but what important thing happened?"
After seeing Zhou Shangjing in such a situation, Song Chengren felt a little funny in his heart, but on the surface he replied solemnly: "A big thing happened! More than thirty miles east of Nanjing City, a dam suddenly collapsed, causing
There was a flood, which affected everything within a radius of twenty miles... The most important thing is that downstream of the dam is an imperial estate, and hundreds of imperial estates were submerged by the flood.
I heard that several Huangzhuang tenant farmers and at least two Huangzhuang assistant eunuchs were drowned."
After hearing this, Zhou Shangjing couldn't help but fell into deep thought, his eyes flickering, and then he turned to look at Zhang Decheng and said: "Doctor Zhang, the head of the Song family and I have urgent matters to discuss, but I wonder if you can avoid it?"
If it were an ordinary situation, Zhang Decheng would definitely not give up and would have to keep an eye on Zhou Shangjing and continue to drink oil.
But since Zhou Shangjing and Song Chengren wanted to discuss the flood disaster, and the flood disaster was directly related to the safety and well-being of the people, Zhang Decheng no longer forced it. He just put the Chinese medicine bowl in front of Zhou Shangjing and warned: "Let's talk to Song Chengren."
When the head of the family is discussing matters, Zhou Shoufu should also remember to drink the medicine while it is hot, not only can it relieve your nausea and discomfort, but it can also repair the energy you have lost due to constant vomiting and excretion."
After saying that, Zhang Decheng turned around and left quickly, not wanting to delay the official business of the court.
However, Zhang Decheng had no idea that after he left, what Zhou Shangjing and Song Chengren discussed was not to organize the government to provide relief to the victims of the flood, but to do some political intrigues.
After watching Zhang Decheng leave the study, Zhou Shangjing immediately turned around and asked: "Did that dam collapse naturally after it became old? Or did it collapse after man-made damage?"
Song Chengren shook his head and said: "There is no more detailed information yet, but in my opinion, it probably collapsed after being excavated and destroyed! That dam is located upstream of Huangzhuang. Under the forced request of the Huangzhuang eunuch,
It needs to be repaired almost every year, and we don’t dare to cut corners when repairing. How can it be so easily worn out and fall apart?”
Zhou Shangjing frowned and asked: "Then... was it done by the wealthy Jin gentry family in southern Zhili? After all, the Jin gentry are now on the same level as the eunuchs of Huangzhuang, and they have always been bold and reckless..."
Song Chengren shook his head again and said: "It's impossible! If the Jin gentry does such a thing, it's impossible for them not to notify me. Even if a certain Jin gentry does something without permission in private, I can't possibly not notice it!"
Zhou Shangjing sneered: "In this case, it can only be the action of the Seventh Prince! Even if 'Zhao Dang' has other intentions and wants to muddy the waters, it is impossible for him to harm Zhuang Tian! They know very well that Zhao Junchen is now
How much attention is paid to the grain harvest! Although Huangzhuang has various shortcomings, at least it is planting grain honestly, instead of just planting cotton, mulberry trees and other things. Moreover, even if Huo Zhengyuan's heart changes, it is absolutely impossible to have it immediately
Such courage!”
After a pause, Zhou Shangjing's smile became colder and he said: "I have long thought that the seventh prince must be secretly raising dead men, otherwise he would not be able to smoothly implement various secret plans! And this time the dike was dug up.
, is both sensitive and crucial. It is impossible for the Seventh Prince to borrow external forces and must arrange for the group of dead soldiers he has raised to take action!
During this period of time, I have been putting pressure on him frequently. One of my intentions is to force him to have no choice but to send out dead soldiers and take risks! And now, these dead soldiers have exposed their tails, which is just to give us something to do.
Catch all the opportunities at once! Then we can completely cut off the power of the Seventh Prince's dead soldiers hidden in the dark, so that he will no longer be able to use his dead soldiers to use various dark methods in the future. He can only have an upright battle of wits with us!" Lan
"Maybe... we can also take the opportunity to catch him secretly raising dead soldiers!"