Jiao Guozha, He Xianya and Pang Ding came to the door of the palace and looked at the scene in front of them with fear. The dark hall was filled with corpses, the stone slabs were dyed red with blood, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
Even though Jiao Guozhao had been to several murder scenes during his fast shift, he had never thought about such a scene.
The three of them waited all night on a hill below Yunji Temple Mountain. They only knew that Pang Yu had brought poison, but they had no idea whether they could deal with the many rioters. They spent the middle of the night in anxiety, and finally waited for the signal.
.
In the original plan, Jiao Guozhao needed to deal with two rioters standing guard at the foot of the mountain to prevent them from running away to report the news. The three of them took knives and searched for a long time at the mountain pass, but they didn't see a single person. Then they saw several bodies on the mountain path.
The corpse almost caused the three of them to flee.
Fortunately, the temptation of tens of thousands taels of silver was strong enough to support the three of them as they walked up the mountain in fear and saw the hell-like Buddhist temple of Shura.
"Young... Young Master, you killed all these?"
Pang Yu sat against the wall, did not answer Pang Ding's question, and drank water by himself with a coconut ladle in hand.
While waiting for the three of them, he treated the wounds on his shoulders and arms, and cut off the clothing around the wounds to reduce the possibility of infection. He also rinsed it with water a little, and the bleeding did not stop completely, but it was better than
I have felt much better just now. Now that I have someone here, I am mentally relaxed a lot. After replenishing some water, my energy and physical fitness have recovered a lot.
Jiao Guozhao avoided the pool of blood on the ground and came to the door of the side hall. After taking a careful look at Pang Yu, he picked up a silver ingot on the ground.
"Second brother, this money..."
Pang Yu also touched a piece by the wall, which Wang Guohua started throwing out. There were various sizes, and they were placed on the ground in front of the side hall door.
There were some blood stains on the ingot-shaped silver ingot. Pang Yu felt that this piece weighed fifty taels, which was enough for an ordinary family to live for three to five years. Pang Yu rubbed the silver ingot with his hand and felt that there were some unevenness on the silver ingot.
It seems to be some text.
Pang Yu held the silver ingot in front of his eyes and looked at it through the firelight beside him. Sure enough, the silver ingot was engraved with dense insidious characters.
"Huaining County collected the Zhengde eight-year-old rice price of 50 taels per square meter. The summoned official Zhou Zhengyi should urge Tongji silversmith Pang Qiaoyuan."
Pang Yu was a little distracted after reading it, and murmured, "The silversmith is also named Pang. How long has it been since the eighth year of Zhengde? It's fate."
Jiao Guozhao stayed where he was with the silver ingot and said to Pang Yu carefully, "Second brother, can I take this silver ingot?"
Pang Yu turned over the ingot and said in a daze, "Why are the silver ingots in the Song Dynasty flat and lumpy? We in the Ming Dynasty decided to make this ingot. Who is so stupid? How much more space will it take to transport it like this?"
"
He Xianya tiptoed, walking carefully in the blood-stained hall, and finally came to Pang Yu, "Second brother, if we have money, we should move."
Pang Yu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were clear again. He pushed himself hard on the ground. He Xianya quickly supported him. Pang Yu stood up with difficulty and strode towards the side hall. The three of them quickly followed behind.
.
There were boxes of various sizes piled up in front of the statue of Samantabhadra in the side hall. Pang Yu opened a large box on the top floor, and the three of them were stunned.
The box was densely packed with silver ingots of different sizes, and the silver light flashed under the torch light. Pang Yu opened the top layer, and the wealth that the three of them had never seen before in their lives was unobstructed.
Pang Ding fell to the ground with a thud, while He Xianya gasped for breath, almost unable to breathe.
"How much silver is this!"
Jiao Guozhao took a step forward with a long drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, wanting to touch those beautiful silver ingots.
There are two sounds of "papa".
The three of them were shocked when they saw Pang Yu holding a crossbow arrow and hitting the silver box with the arrow.
Pang Yu glanced at the three of them coldly, "Third brother and Pang Ding are moving the money. Brother, please go to the main hall first to make sure that no one is left alive in the temple today."
Jiao Guozhao suddenly broke out in sweat, belched and retched.
...
Pang Ding lifted a backpack and helped Pang Yu carry it on his back. Inside was a sack full of silver ingots.
The backpack and sack were both prepared by He Xianya at the last moment today, so that he could free up his hands to light the torch and eliminate the need for two people to carry the hard-working silver box.
He Xianya and Pang Ding also put down their backpacks. They were both very weak. Each of them could only carry fifty or sixty kilograms, which amounted to less than a thousand taels of silver for one trip.
For the sake of carrying money, they originally planned to go all out, but Pang Yu calculated the time and found that tonight was destined to be an endurance race, which could only allow them to maintain the normal weight-bearing level. Pang Yu was injured, and he was injured again.
On the shoulders, it can only be carried on one side at this time, which is even less than He Xianya.
After Jiao Guozha mended the knife, he needed to drive a carriage to transport the money bag down the mountain to the house outside the market town. The transportation process required him to complete it alone, and the workload was also very heavy. It was impossible to participate in this part of the work of moving down the mountain.
Pang Yu's head was a little groggy, and his thinking was much slower than usual. It took him a while to concentrate, and he did some calculations. If it was more than 40,000 taels of silver, it would be nearly 3,000 kilograms. Three people would need to carry it back and forth more than 20 times. Press one
A quarter of an hour's round trip would take five or six hours even if they didn't rest, but with the physical strength of the three of them, they would definitely need to rest, so the time was still very tight.
Because he used a backpack and a sack, the speed was faster than expected, but Pang Yu didn't know how much faster it could be, and he didn't have a watch to keep time.
Pang Yu tried the weight, and he also knew that going down the mountain with a heavy load was not easy at all. If he did it a few more times, the efficiency of his legs and feet would quickly decrease.
Thinking of the peasants I met at the gate of the city who were carrying burdens, each of them had to carry more than a hundred kilograms, and they were still walking as fast as flying. If I were standing in front of me at this moment, I would be willing to pay a hundred taels to hire them, but I can only think about it.
Jiao Guozha came to the main hall with a waist knife. The gloomy scene made him feel a little soft, but Pang Yu's instructions just now were clear. For some reason, Jiao Guozha did not dare to disobey Pang Yu's orders tonight.
I'm afraid the corpse is easier.
He gritted his teeth to embolden himself, and raised his sword high towards the body at his feet.
Pang Yu's feeble voice sounded from behind, "Don't chop at the body. Either chop off the head, or stab at the heart. Both are labor-saving and effective. Chopping on the body is the least efficient."
Jiao Guozhao had no choice but to put away the knife and looked back at Pang Yu. He saw Pang Yu with blood all over his head and body, carrying a backpack on his back and supporting his body with a spear. At this time, he was looking at himself coldly, in the light of the fire.
Like a ghost.
Jiao Guozhao trembled all over and did not dare to delay any longer. He held the knife in both hands, shouted and stabbed the corpse hard at the heart.
"Brother, kill Wang Guohua first."
Pang Yu stood there, ready to watch Jiao Guozhao kill Wang Guohua and then transport the money. Wang Guohua left a deep impression on Pang Yu tonight. Pang Yu would never feel at ease unless he saw this man die.
Wang Guohua, who was on the ground, laughed hard twice and tried to say something, but only a few vague syllables came out.
Jiao Guozhao seemed to be more courageous and strode towards Wang Guohua with a sword in hand.
At this moment, Pang Yu heard He Xianya's anxious voice coming from outside, "Second brother...Second brother, look what's coming over there."
Pang Yu and Jiao Guozha were stunned, and they hurried out of the courtyard gate. There was a wide platform outside the courtyard gate. He Xianya and Pang Ding were both standing on the edge of the platform. This is the best vantage point of Yunji Temple. They can
Overlooking the rolling hills to the southeast.
Following He Xianya's hand, a line of light points appeared in the distance. Those light points flickered on and off in the dark night.
"It's a torch." Jiao Guozhao looked at it carefully, "It's from the southeast."
He Xianya said doubtfully, "There seems to be a lot of people. How can there be so many people traveling at night?"
Pang Ding said nervously, "Could it be that Huang Wending is back and there are many people there?"
Pang Yu frowned and asked, "The Tongcheng that Huang Wending went to is in the northeast. How could he come from the southeast? Where is that place?"
"It's from the direction of Liantan."
Jiao Guozhao hesitated and said, "Lian Tan...it turns out there were Chizhou soldiers, but the Chizhou soldiers have already left."
He Xianya suddenly said loudly, "Did the Chizhou soldiers not leave?"
Pang Yu's legs suddenly went weak and he almost fell to the ground. The hope that he was still holding on to was shattered almost instantly.
At this time, few people were willing to walk at night, rushing from the direction of Liantan to the direction of the trailer river in the middle of the night. Except for Chizhou soldiers, I really couldn't think of anyone else.
Pang Yu personally heard Yang Fangqian say that the Chizhou soldiers had retreated. It was obviously Wang Gongbi who had deceived the Tongcheng County government. Pang Yu had not figured out the reason for a while, but the motives of the Chizhou soldiers could be guessed. He wanted to quell the chaos.
They also wanted money, and the timing of their arrival was also very good.
If the Chizhou soldiers were within sight, they would not have enough time to carry the silver anyway, and they would not even be able to take away even half of it. If they were not careful, the Chizhou soldiers would behead them as a rioter.
This plan was calculated and thought to be flawless. However, it never went smoothly from the moment Pang Yu went up the mountain. At this time, he had gone through many hardships and had tens of thousands of taels of silver in front of him. He felt that his life was about to reach its peak, but the situation
It immediately took a turn for the worse.
It was probably because of the simplest transportation problem that he could not take away the silver, but instead had to take advantage of the Chizhou soldiers who came from afar. Wang Gongbi only traveled dozens of miles, not only took away the silver here, but also harvested a lot of random people.
of the head as a feat of war.
The four of them looked dejectedly at the light spots in the distance, speechless for a moment.
After a while, Jiao Guozhao murmured, "At least let's take away the basket we are carrying. Each of us has several hundred taels, so our trip is not in vain."
He Xianya gasped and said, "Second brother, no matter how much money we get, we must not let anyone know that we have been here."
Pang Yu knew what He Xianya meant. Most of the people who died in the palace were Tongcheng people. Even though these people were rioters, they still had close relatives and friends. If anyone knew that the four of them had been here, their relatives and friends would think that they had killed someone.
The squires will think that they have robbed the money and will have endless troubles in the future. He Xianya means that time is urgent at this time, and it is better to move less money, but also to ensure that no one is left alive.
After a moment of silence, Pang Yu said dejectedly, "Let's go and replenish those people in the palace first."
The four of them put down their backpacks dejectedly and returned to the main entrance of the hall. Wang Guohua was still lying there.
Pang Yu held the spear in his hand and said to Jiao Guozhao, "I'm going to kill Wang Guohua. You give that side a last-ditch hit first, and then hit the others next to each other."
"Who is Mr. Fang?"
Pang Yu pressed her memory and pointed to the right, "The one wearing chainmail..."
Pang Yu's movements suddenly froze, and there was only a pool of blood where Fang Zhongjia fell, and Fang Zhongjia's figure was nowhere to be seen.
The four people were stunned and quickly gathered around. They saw a bloody footprint extending from the bloodstain to the outside of the temple. The four people followed it with torches. The bloody footprint left the courtyard gate and disappeared into the grass on the left before heading outside.
It was an endless mountain forest in pitch darkness. Several people held torches to expand the area, but no trace could be found.
The four people returned to the courtyard gate, looking at each other in confusion and shock. They were all locals in Tongcheng, and everyone knew that the Fang family had been a scholar for several generations. This was a big family in Tongcheng, and it was definitely not something that four people could handle.
Now I don’t know when Fang Zhongjia left, nor how many conversations in the palace he heard. But it is very likely that he heard Pang Yu and others’ words about not leaving alive, although Pang Yu and the others thought he had died long ago.
, it was just a last-ditch guarantee, but in Fang Zhongjia’s opinion, the four of them wanted to kill him. In addition, all the servants he brought tonight were killed and injured, and he was seriously injured, so the debt may be counted on the four of them.
Pang Yu initially knocked down the torch to help Wang Guohua. If it weren't for the chaos he created, the servants would have chased him all the way, and Wang Guohua would have had no chance to use the crossbow.
Pang Yu touched the arrow box at his waist. Although he put the crossbow in the side hall, all the crossbow arrows were beside him. He was not afraid of Fang Zhongjia's sneak attack like his own.
Jiao Guozhao's voice trembled, "I don't want the money anymore. Let's go back to Tongcheng now."
He Xianya said angrily, "You think you can survive without any money. The Fang family can quietly raise dozens of people and attack Yunji Temple at night. Dealing with the four of us is like trampling a few ants to death."
Jiao Guozhao was stunned, fell to the ground and wailed, "Why should I be bewitched by you two? I shouldn't be. What should I do now... I can't get much money, and I can't even go back to Tongcheng. Is it really true?"
I want to escape to that foreign country."
He Xianya turned to look at Pang Yu, his face a little distorted, "Second brother, make up your mind quickly. If you say you want to go to a foreign country, I will leave immediately and we can arrive in Huaining early tomorrow morning."
Pang Ding said with a cry, "Master, Master, please tell me what to do, otherwise we can run away to find Madam..."
The mountain wind howled, and insects chirped in the dark jungle outside the courtyard gate.
The torchlight in the distance at the foot of the mountain flickered, getting closer and closer to Yunji Temple. Fang Zhongjia escaped from the temple again. The entire plan to rob the silver fell short. They could not even return to Tongcheng, and they could only live in foreign lands from now on.
Everything seemed to have fallen from heaven to hell in an instant. The three of them were breathing heavily. Chizhou soldiers were not far away. Time was running out. They were all waiting for Pang Yu's decision.
Pang Yu only regretted his negligence for a moment. At this time, his heart was surprisingly quiet. His eyes condensed and stared at the light spots in the distance that kept flashing.
He said softly, "I will not give up until the last moment! There must be a way, let me think about it, the county government, Anqing Mansion, Chizhou soldiers, the rebels, Yinzi, the Fang family, Wang Guohua..."