The Tiger Guards uniformly dressed in purple lined up outside the manor like a torrent of murderous intent.
Wang Lin, the leader, has a white horse and a silver spear, he is not angry but he is powerful.
The starry sky is bright and clear, and the torches hang high, as bright as day.
Xu Lan stood on the castle and looked deeply at Wang Lin, and said slowly: "I wonder why the king of Bohai County led his army to surround my Xu family manor? My Xu family has been an imperial merchant of the Song Dynasty for generations. We have worked hard for the salt industry of the Song Dynasty and contributed countless salt taxes.
, I don’t know that you have violated the Song Dynasty law, and you deserve to be a majestic king who is a thousand years old and personally lead the troops to attack?"
Yan Qing clapped his horse and stepped forward, shouting: "Xu Lan, the Xu family in Yangzhou was involved in the case of illegal salt trafficking in Hangzhou, the gang murder case, the robbery of merchant ships in the name of river pirates, and the rebellion case of Zheng Kai, the former commander of the Ning Haijun Navy. The evidence is
conclusive!"
"The king is now a thousand years old, holding the Emperor's Sword, and has been ordered to investigate and deal with the case. Your Majesty has an order. If you, the Xu family, can immediately surrender your arms and surrender, you will only kill the chief culprit, not the rest of the family members. If you continue to gather people to fight against the officers and soldiers like this, you will be regarded as complicit in treason and will be destroyed.
Nine tribes!”
Xu Lan laughed wildly: "The Prince of Bohai County was ordered to inspect the two Zhejiang provinces, so why did he come to Huainan East Road? I, a salt merchant in Yangzhou, have always been law-abiding and law-abiding. I have never been involved in any serious cases in Hangzhou? Why do you want to incriminate me?"
Wu Ci, could it be that you are trying to steal my Xu family's property with an unfounded crime?"
Xu Lan cast her deep gaze on the commotion of Yangzhou City at the city gate.
He felt even more confident and said: "My Xu family has entered Yangzhou to operate the salt industry two hundred years ago, and we have dedicated ourselves to contributing to the wealth of the Song Dynasty. If the king of Bohai County wants to rely on power and attempts to use weapons to murder my century-old family, that is just a fool's dream!"
"
Wang Lin sat on the horse with an indifferent expression.
Next to him, Gu Qingchuan, who was about to fall apart, held on to his horse and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, if there is no evidence, leading the army across the border to Yangzhou to handle the case will not be based on the law."
Wang Lin turned to look at Gu Qingchuan and said calmly: "If there is no evidence, how can I lead the army to attack for hundreds of miles? Although this place is under the jurisdiction of Huainan East Road, but holding the emperor's sword and the imperial gold medal alone, where can the Song Dynasty not go?
"
"Please be patient, sir, and please watch."
Wang Lin urged his horse to come out.
"Are you Xu Lan, the head of the Xu family?"
Wang Lin pointed with a spear in his hand: "A mere salt merchant can actually gather thousands of people to resist with weapons. This is no different from treason. With this alone, I can wipe out your whole family!"
Xu Lan laughed loudly and retorted: "Even if Xu is guilty, he can only be investigated and dealt with by the Yangzhou government. What does he have to do with the Bohai County Prince? The Bohai County Prince led his army across the border and directly besieged my Xu family manor without going through the local government. What does he have to do with the bandits?
different?"
Wang Lin didn't look back, but chuckled lightly on his horse and said: "Xu Lan, if you rely on the Yangzhou magistrate Wang Ping and the Yangzhou Xiang army, thousands of troops, to rescue you, then you have a plan."
Wang Lin suddenly shouted: "Yan Tongzhi!"
"The end is here!" Yan Qing urged the horse out.
"The order of the isolated army is passed, and the five thousand Ning navy blocks the waters of Yangzhou. No one, no matter merchants or civilians, is allowed to enter or exit. Anyone who disobeys the order of the isolated army, no matter who he is, will be killed without mercy!"
Wang Lin ordered Shi Jin and Yang Yuhe to lead 5,000 Ning navy troops to Yangzhou in order to blockade Yangzhou.
First, troops from other prefectures in Huainan rushed to the aid of the Yangzhou salt merchants, and secondly, the Yangzhou salt merchants fled with their money.
Under the blockade of Wu Qian Ning's navy, not even a bird could fly out of Yangzhou.
As for the territory of Yangzhou, these two thousand tiger guards are enough to sweep it across.
As for the Yangzhou magistrate Wang Ping who hurriedly led the three thousand Yangzhou Xiang troops out of the city... in an attempt to rescue the Xu family manor, Wang Lin didn't take it to heart at all.
When he was in Hangzhou, the secret sentry of the Tiger Guard had already arrived in Yangzhou to find out the situation of the eight major salt merchants.
Two thousand special forces versus three thousand militia reserves, the result is not even guessing.
Xu Lan's expression changed suddenly when he heard this on the village castle.
He had a calm backup plan, but if something went wrong, the Xu family would take a boat out to sea and start a new business on the southeast coast.
But with Wang Lin's order to block the waterway, any possibility of the Xu family escaping Yangzhou was cut off.
As for the land route...
Under the iron cavalry, that is asking for death.
…
Although Wang Ping, the prefect of Yangzhou, arrived with his troops from Yangzhou, he was frightened when he saw the two thousand tiger guards in such neat military appearance, and knew that the Xu family was doomed.
As a member of the officialdom, he understood Wang Lin's presence in the Song Dynasty court better than the Xu family.
When he received Xu Lan's letter, he also received military reports that five thousand Ning's navy had arrived in Yangzhou.
Early tomorrow morning at the latest, Yangzhou will be sealed off and the connection between Yangzhou and the states on the Huainan East Road will be cut off.
But he didn't dare not come.
Over the years, he has made no less than one million dollars from the Xu family by taking advantage of the cards.
He is like a pig raised by the Xu family, already very fat.
Xu Lan publicly and unscrupulously threatened in the letter that if he did not lead the army to rescue the Xu family, his entire Wang family would be buried for the Xu family.
No one understands the horror of these Huaiyang salt merchants better than Wang Ping.
The sparse Yangzhou Xiang army was awakened in the middle of the night and came to the outside of the city in a daze. In fact, most of them had not figured out what was going on. Now that they saw the Tiger Guards with their military flags fluttering, it was like waking up from a dream.
They are all elite and brave, and they are all cavalry.
The Fuhu Cavalry has a reputation for being vicious, so let them confront the Tiger God Guards. They will probably scatter in all directions when Wang Ping's army gives the order.
Wang Ping's face turned pale. He rode on his horse and bowed and said: "I will serve Wang Ping, the prefect of Hangzhou, and pay my respects to the thousand-year-old king!"
Wang Lin said calmly: "Wang Ping, why are you here?"
Wang Ping took a deep breath and forced a smile and said: "My official heard that Wang Jia Qian was a thousand years old and led his army to Yangzhou, so he went out of the city to meet him. I wonder why the prince surrounded the Xu family? If anyone from the Xu family is involved in the case, I am willing to investigate and deal with it strictly!
"
Wang Lin sneered: "Didn't the Xu family transfer you out of the city just by sending a letter?"
Naturally, Wang Ping would not admit it: "What did the prince say? This official is a dignified official of the imperial court and a fourth-grade magistrate. How can he be driven around by a merchant!"
"Shameless bastard! How dare you quibble! Xiao Yi!" Wang Lin waved his hand.
More than ten tiger guards escorted Xu Lan's eldest son Xu Ding out. Xu Ding looked panicked and could not stand firmly.
On the castle, Xu Lan's eyes widened with anger and he roared: "Wang Lin, if you kill my son, my Xu family will fight with you Wang Lin until death!"
Before he finished speaking, Yan Qing shouted: "Behead!"
A tiger guard raised his knife and dropped it. Xu Ding died tragically on the spot. His head was thrown ten feet away and blood flowed like a stream.
"My son!" Xu Lan was trembling all over, his hair and beard were bulging, and he was so heartbroken that he almost fainted.
Wang Lin looked at Wang Ping with serious eyes.
Yan Qing waved his hand and said: "Your Majesty, I have an order to strip off Wang Ping's official robe and kill him immediately!"
…
Wang Lin killed Xu Lan's son, and also beheaded Wang Ping, the prefect of Yangzhou, in public.
Just when the Xu family thought that the Tiger Guards were about to storm the castle, they saw the Tiger Guards setting up camp on the spot, setting up a long-term siege posture.
Gu Qingchuan's face didn't look good either. He said angrily: "Your Majesty, the magistrate of Yangzhou is a fourth-rank imperial official. Even if he is convicted, it still needs to be discussed by the court. If the prince says to kill, he will kill. Where is the law of the Song Dynasty? Where is the dignity of the court?"
"
"If I don't kill him, more people will die."
Wang Lin said calmly: "Gu Qingchuan, as an official of the imperial court and a local official, he was arbitrarily expelled by a merchant and mobilized troops arbitrarily. It is no different from treason! He holds the Emperor's Sword alone. Killing him is a rule of law. Why not?
!”
Wang Lin threw the letter Xu Lan wrote to Wang Ping to Gu Qingchuan.
Yan Qing also handed over the relevant files related to the Xu family's case to Gu Qingchuan.
After reading it, Gu Qingchuan's face was distorted and he was shaking with anger. Xu Lan's tone in the letter was like driving a slave. It was incredible!!!
"Scum!!! Scum!!!" Gu Qingchuan stomped his feet and cursed.
Gu Qingchuan gradually calmed down after having an attack for a long time. He cupped his hands and said: "I didn't expect that a Yangzhou magistrate would be so low-ranking. There is nothing wrong with killing such a scum! I'm so pedantic, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Wang Lin smiled and said: "Gu Qingchuan, it is said that critical moments require power and change. If I don't kill Wang Ping now, he will drive the Yangzhou Xiang army to rebel. Of course, the lonely tiger guard will not be afraid of anything, but the people of Yangzhou will definitely
Disaster!"
"Actually, if I don't kill him, he won't survive. Do you think these salt merchants will let him go?"
Gu Qingchuan said silently: "I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your advice."
"Your Majesty, since the evidence of the Xu family's crimes is conclusive, and they gathered people armed with weapons, as if they were plotting rebellion, why didn't Your Majesty lead an army to capture the manor, and bring the Xu family who had committed unpardonable crimes to justice?"
"Of the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou, not only one of the Xu family has done evil. But when it comes to the wealth in the southeast and the salt tax in Jiangnan, Gu cannot attack them easily. Otherwise, Jiangnan will be in turmoil. Not to mention Gu, even the official family will not be able to bear it. Killing a Xu family
, as a warning to others, just stop here.”
"But this does not mean that evil can never be eliminated, but that change can be achieved through power. Mr. Gu has always firmly believed that those who do evil will have evil retribution, so why bother about whether it is late or early in the morning?"
"I can state clearly that if our country, the Song Dynasty, is strong and its people are prosperous at this moment, and there is no interference from foreign enemies, then it would not be a bad idea to use thunderous means to wipe out all the maladies and diseases in Jiangnan in one fell swoop. But now, our country, the Song Dynasty, is suffering from internal and external troubles. If
What should we do if the foreign enemies of Liao and Jin took advantage of the civil strife in the Song Dynasty and invaded?"
"So, this is the overall situation and righteousness that Gu Shuo means. Let a few evil people live for a few more days in order to save more sentient beings."
"That's why I chose not to leave the Jiangnan gentry for the time being, but to attack the Yangzhou salt merchants. Excluding this family is enough to warn all the Jiangnan tribes."
Gu Qingchuan pondered for a long time, then he bowed and said: "The prince's words woke up the dreamer, and I know I was wrong!!"
Wang Lin laughed loudly: "It seems that you, the prefect of Hangzhou, can take office."
Gu Qingchuan smiled bitterly: "I'm ashamed of myself! I have a stupid head. Fortunately, the prince has given me advice. My life has really been in vain these past few decades."
"It seems that the prince is besieging Xu's manor and not attacking it because he wants to lure the snake out of its hole and see if there is any more bird that will take the initiative to hit the prince's knife edge!"
"I am a swordsman and he is a fish and meat, so why should I do it?"
Yan Qing was standing by and ordered the tiger guards to beat the military drum.
It stirred up the wildness and awakened the whole Yangzhou from its sweet dream.
At this time, the dawn gradually dawned, and the spring of the second year of Xuanhe of the Song Dynasty arrived.