Chapter 37: There are only a few people outside the Tongcheng County Yamen. The green-skinned board members who used to gather at the eight-character wall are almost gone. Only some helpers from the third shift are left. People coming in and out of the Yimen are in a hurry.
Pang Yu hurriedly entered the Yimen, and after crossing the bridge in front of the hall, he found that Wang Jiaoyu was discussing matters in the hall. In addition to the squad leader and clerks, there were also some people he had never seen before, all of whom were well-dressed.
There were not many people in the hall. Pang Yu knew that today was different from the past. Everyone was afraid of sending errands and could not stand in a conspicuous place. Although Pang Yu wanted to visit Hujiazhuang, he couldn't go there in a daze, so he hurried to the living room.
Inside.
Only half of the people in the living room were in the room, and they were all observing the movement in the lobby from the windows and doorways.
Pang Yu entered the door and saw He Xianya and Jiao Guozhao in front of the left-hand window. He quickly squeezed in between them and asked He Xianya, "Who are those people I haven't seen before?"
"People from various gentry families are here."
Pang Yu nodded, heard someone talking in the hall, and quickly observed the situation in the lobby.
In the hall, Team Leader Li from the fast class was speaking. He said loudly, "My subordinates have found out that two people were killed by the mob on the night of the 23rd. The person who hanged the gate in the east was Yin Deng, a slave of the eunuch in Wuxiang, nicknamed Yin Qiansui."
"The person who hangs the south gate is Wu Bing, a slave of the Wuxiang eunuch. Only the human head is hung on the south gate tower. The body is left in the burnt-down gatehouse of the Wu family. A servant has been sent to take the body out."
After hearing this, Wang Jiaoyu frowned and said: "They are all slaves of local eunuchs, so have you found out who initiated the rebellion?
What happened?"
"According to the news received by my subordinates, the leader gathered at Hujiazhuang in the north of the city is Wang Guohua.
According to my subordinates who visited witnesses at the south gate today, they all said that when the fire was set last night, the mob shouted for revenge."
"You are talking nonsense about Wang Guohua. The leader is Zhang Ru, and Zhu Zong is the deputy. When the fire was set yesterday evening, many people in my house saw it. These two people do have old grudges with Yin Deng."
The speaker was a man in his fifties, who was slightly overweight. It was obvious that his life was not on the same level as that of ordinary people.
Bantou Li didn't dare to offend that person, so he politely replied in a low voice, "Don't be impatient, Manager Wu. Zhang Ru and Zhu Zong are also among them, but the leader should undoubtedly be Wang Guohua, because I am a quick man who pretended to join him."
When he went to Hujiazhuang, he met Wang Guohua and saw with his own eyes that this man was carrying a knife and setting up an altar outside the village to write." Steward Wu came from Wu Yingqi's house. He said to Bantou Li in a straight and stern voice, "Now he still says
Don't worry, there were rumors in February that someone was going to join forces to cause trouble, but the county government has not found any confirmation.
In August, there was another rumor, but the county government did nothing and only wanted to arrest Mr. Zheng.
Now, Mr. Zheng has become a huge thief even though he has never been captured.
This group of thieves clearly wanted to join the bandits and take advantage of the chaos for profit.
Since the express team is on patrol to hunt down criminals, they should fulfill their duties conscientiously.
Nowadays, thieves kill people and hang their bodies, and then they openly raise flags and set up altars, where is the king's law and where is the face of a county official.
If Captain Li doesn't send his quick hands to arrest him and bring him before the officials, Shang Zaiyan says there's no rush, but he has to wait until the thieves take over Tongcheng and attack him above the lobby?"
Bantou Li looked embarrassed. Although it was not an official morning and evening session at this time, people from the sixth room of the Yamen were actually nearby, paying attention to the movements in the lobby. Manager Wu was inexplicably harsh on the fast class, which made Ban Li very much.
I can't get my head off the stage.
Wang Jiaoyu looked troubled. He was just a scholar. He had failed to pass the Jinshi exam several times. He had no choice but to take the path of teaching to find a job for himself.
The feudal lord arranged for him to stay in Tongcheng. It was originally a decent and peaceful job. Who would have thought that Yang Fangqian would encounter a civil unrest that was rare in Tongcheng for a hundred years after being gone for so many days.
He knew that the background of the Wu family was definitely not something he could handle alone. He did not dare to scold Butler Wu at the moment, but turned to Team Leader Li and asked, "Since we know that the murderer has set up a flag outside the city, can Team Quick go and arrest a few people today?"
Bring to justice.”
Captain Li coughed and said, "Your Majesty, it is clear to me that hundreds of people have gathered in Hujiazhuang in one day, and the fierce and cunning people from all over the country are still gathering. Today, there are only more than ten people in the Yamen, and people are not united.
If I say "Go to Hujiazhuang to catch the thief," the dozen or so people will disperse in the blink of an eye."
"Then why are you here to receive the imperial rations?"
Steward Wu pointed at the stone carvings of the Jie Shi Pavilion in front of the hall and shouted, "Nowadays, the rioters are killing the good gentry's family. You look up to the thieves and want to disperse. What are your intentions? Are you trying to drive away the thieves?"
Bantou Li was sprayed with saliva on his face by Manager Wu, and several big hats were pulled off one after another. Bantou Li felt anxious, and he didn't know how to talk about it, so his face turned red with anxiety.
Wang Jiaoyu was also a little at a loss. Standing on the stage, he couldn't even think of a word to defend Kuaiban.
Although the imperial edict was at the top of the county school and sounded like a high status, it was nothing compared to the imperial examination qualifications of these gentry.
When real gentry comes, they have to give some face to the imperial examination, because they are all from the imperial examination, so they will definitely respect the imperial examination itself, and these stewards don't care about so much.
Another gentleman in purple clothes in the hall also said with an unhappy expression, "We have lived in Tongcheng for a long time, and we cannot run around like those common people. We only have a family property that we have been together for several generations. How can we just wait and see the thieves?"
Are you going to let that thief burn down our family property?"
Several other stewards agreed, but the young men who looked like scholars did not speak and did not participate in the dispute between the stewards and the yamen.
Many subordinate officials around looked on quietly, making the scene quite embarrassing.
The stewards of several rural eunuchs' families scolded their supervisors in the lobby of the government office, but Wang Jiaoyu said nothing.
Even if Wang Jiaoyu only temporarily took charge of county affairs, he was representing the power of the county government and did not dare to stand up for subordinate officials.
He Xianya said, "If Wang Jiaoyu doesn't say anything, the people of the Yamen will be scattered."
Jiao Guozhao said angrily from the side, "Let's talk about it or not, it's all over the place. The boss is just a house slave, what's the air?"
Pang Yu listened to the conversation in the hall, and it seemed that the leader of the rebels had not yet been identified, but he was certain that it was a certain group of forces in Tongcheng, which was always easier to deal with than the rogue bandits.
Remembering that Jiao Guozha was on the fast shift, Pang Yu hurriedly asked in a low voice, "Brother, what have you been doing on the fast shift these past two days?"
"I'm unlucky to be a fast worker. There are people snatching property everywhere in the city. There were thirteen cases of break-ins and robberies today. This dog steward wants to ask me to take Wang Guohua, and Wang Guohua is worthy of me to take him!"
"Then who is Wang Guohua and Zhang Ru? Are you really sure he is not a bandit?"
"His virtue cannot make him a bandit."
This time was unusual. Jiao Guozha no longer showed his face to Pang Yu, but lowered his voice and said seriously, "It's another group of domestic slaves, headed by Zhang Ru and Wang Guohua. The door beam inside may be Huang Wending, who hung the body this morning.
, someone has seen them in the east of the city."
The Yingmenliang mentioned by Jiao Guozhao is a nickname among bandits, sometimes also called a vanguard general. He is usually the most capable of killing and often serves as the vanguard.
Jiao Guozhao shook his head again and sighed, "I didn't expect Wang Guohua and the others would be so bold to take action. Just now, he went to the execution room to reply, saying that Yin Deng had his neck chopped off countless times with a knife and died in a tragic manner. I don't know who did it; at the south gate,
Wu Bing was decapitated with a single blow, and everyone said that it was Huang Wending's hand. This man was a martial artist, so beheading him was not a problem."
Pang Yu hissed softly, Huang Wending's decapitation with a knife was considered powerful, but the thought of decapitating the head with a small knife made him panic, and it was obvious that the person who did it had a ruthless character.
Jiao Guozhao had a worried look on his face, "Zhang Ru and his gang used to be the tyrants in the city, and I had many dealings with them.
They were associated with the household officials at that time, and were involved in many businesses such as dental shops, pawn shops, and gambling stalls.
Later, after Zhao Sili took the lead, Mr. Zheng and Yin Deng's group gained the upper hand and took advantage of the family head's family background to snatch away all the money-making businesses. Because of their previous grudges, Wu Bing and Yin Deng even specially insulted Zhang Ru and others.
, maybe I was forced to do something anxious, but I never thought that Zhang Ru and the others would dare to gather a crowd to rebel."
"How many people do Zhang Ru, Wang Guohua and the others have? Can they kill them all?"
"There used to be about thirty people in their group, but now that they have been robbed by Mr. Zheng and others to make money, there may not be that many people anymore.
But if they dare to start an uprising, they must have brought people from somewhere. I just came from the north arch gate tower, and there are not a few people from Hujiazhuang."
Pang Yu touched his chin, "It's too far away to see clearly. How about we brothers go to Hujiazhuang to have a look."
Jiao Guozhao shook his head like a rattle, "If I don't go, the thieves from all over the country will go to Hujiazhuang. Who knows what they are going to do."
Many people recognize us as people from the yamen. Once they recognize us, they will kill us just in time to raise flags, and I will be at a huge loss."
After hearing this, Pang Yu felt that it made sense. It was better to be more prudent in this kind of thing and not to be in a hurry to find out the information.
At this time, the steward of the Wu family in the hall shouted angrily, grabbed Team Leader Li by the collar, and wanted to beat him. Wang Jiaoyu and Hunsao, who were nearby, quickly grabbed the steward of the Wu family and tried to separate the two parties.
Jiao Guozhao sighed in disgust, "Now I still have to act like a township official, and I still think of myself as a real official.
If I don’t serve you, if I go to Hu’s Village to get someone, I’ll take his Wu family name.”
After saying that, he ran out along the porch of the sixth room. Pang Yu looked around and saw that the few people in each room had slipped away. Now I am afraid that there are not even ten people in the fast class. Looking at the chaos,
In the lobby, Pang Yu frowned slightly.
..."Aunt Liu, why didn't you leave? There will be no business in these two days."
When Pang Yu returned to Yiminmen Street, Aunt Liu was sealing the last door panel.
Aunt Liu looked worried. She looked up and saw Pang Yu. She grabbed Pang Yu's sleeve excitedly and said, "Brother Yu, you are back. What a world this is. Aunt Liu's family only relies on the store. Our wealth is
They are all here and cannot leave.
In the morning, I saw that your shop was closed, and your wife, who had never been there, was very worried, but she finally felt relieved.
You see, we are all a family. If something happens to our family, you can't ignore it, especially your wife is still a young girl. What should I do..." Pang Yu inexplicably got an unmarried daughter-in-law. Last time, she gave Liu
Aunt Liu dug a trap for the betrothal gift, but Aunt Liu has not replied yet. With Aunt Liu's iron-rooster character, that fifty taels of silver could indeed cost her her life. It was by no means an easy decision.
Pang Yu quickly persuaded the crying Aunt Liu, "Sooner or later, we are all one family. Don't worry, Aunt Liu. We don't care about our own lives, but we must also protect our Liu family girls."
At this time, all the neighbors who were still around gathered around. Pang Yu used to be unreliable in his work, but recently he became enlightened and even the county magistrate praised him. He was also a yamen servant and represented official power. Everyone had a natural trust in him.
There were murders and arson last night, but today the Tongcheng County Government has taken almost no effective measures. The thieves outside the city have set up flags to recruit people, and the security situation in the city is not optimistic. Every family who stayed behind is very worried.
Therefore, the neighbors subconsciously wanted to rely on Pang Yu and asked Pang Yu to take on the task of managing public security in the street.
Seeing the crowd surrounding him, Pang Yu felt a sense of superiority and raised his hands and said to the crowd, "Don't worry, neighbors, they are not mountain and Shaanxi bandits, they are just local rioters.
But after all, there is a lot of chaos in the city, and the Yamen can't control it for the time being, but we have to control it ourselves.
The yamen does not rely on this house to live and work, but we are different. Our whole family relies on this store to live our lives, and there are various goods stored in it, so no one can afford to throw it away."
A male neighbor said, "Brother Yu, tell me the rules. At this time, we should help neighbors."
Others agreed one after another, showing their trust in Pang Yu now.
Pang Yu quickly raised his finger and said confidently, "We have to protect ourselves, there are two things.
One is to prevent fire, the other is to prevent theft, and the third is to prevent robbery.
Everyone needs to be organized and not scattered.
Each family has a male son, the more the better, they work in groups of five, two knives and three sticks, each family takes out the largest water tank in the house and puts it at the door, and a pair of hemp for making fire. If everyone has one
If there are too many, just mix them with each other. When the fire comes, we put out the fire. When a small group of thieves come, we beat the thieves.
If a large group of thieves comes, we will run away. Men, please let the women and children run away first..." Everyone looked at Pang Yu seriously, and some were even a little excited. Pang Yu had an inexplicable sense of accomplishment in commanding others. From his previous life,
That's it. Seeing everyone nodding, Pang Yu was very satisfied with the situation in front of him.
Pang Yu paused, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and was about to continue when the shopkeeper of Zhoujia Rice Store suddenly interrupted the excited Pang Yu.
"This is inappropriate. Why should the female family members run away first, and the family members should run away first?
What's the use of just running out of the female relatives? They won't be able to survive.
Besides, the women’s little feet can’t run fast, so running first is in vain.”
Before Pang Yu could answer, Uncle Xu from the shoe store also turned around and left, saying as he walked, "The thief must be robbing a big family when he comes. How could he rob a small family like ours? If the Xu family doesn't get involved, who else will?"
If you have the money, you can hire people.”
The two men withdrew, and the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse.
Aunt Zhou also took a step back and said, "We only have one man in our family, how can we also have a son? If there is a problem, our family will not be able to survive. We should have more men. We have more men."
If not, I won’t go.”
Sister-in-law Zhang rolled her eyes at Aunt Zhou, "What's the matter with the young male in your family? Whose family still has a few men? Brother Yu said that everyone should contribute, so you think of good things, and other people's men risk their heads.
You are standing vigil on the street all night, you are sleeping on the bed with your man in your arms, there is such a cheap thing in the world, why should you take advantage of it?"
"What are you talking about? Anyway, even if you talk about it, my Zhou family won't have a man to keep vigil."
"It's strange that your Zhou family has a woman to keep vigil at night, but no one wants it."
Sister-in-law Zhang sneered, twisted her waist and returned to her store.
The other neighbors chatted with each other for a while and then dispersed, leaving Pang Yu to stay where he was, and the good situation disappeared.
Aunt Liu opened her mouth, walked a few steps to her shop, paused for a while, and then turned around and came to Pang Yu, "Brother Yu, if something happens at night, please leave other families alone, especially the Zhou family, they are the most shameless, but
If anything happens to our family, you must help."
Pang Yu looked at the dispersed neighbors and sighed, "Don't worry, Aunt Liu."