With horses traveling, the more than ten miles between the south gate and the Feishui River Pier can be reached within a stick of incense.{.
The cavalry rushed along the slope to the embankment. Su Jin looked at the river below the pier and cursed loudly.
On the wide pier, a small boat had left the pier and arrived four or five miles downstream. There were several shadowy figures on the boat, which looked like Zhu Shiyong and others; after two consecutive heavy snowfalls in winter, the ice and snow melted, the river surged, and the water flow also increased.
Very quickly, the boat took advantage of the flowing water and headed straight downstream.
"Damn, this guy really ran away, what should I do?" Everyone also yelled and slapped the horse's neck angrily.
Su Jin gritted his teeth and said: "We must catch him even if he escapes to the horizon. He has a boat. Let's get on the boat and chase him. Let's go and find the boat on the pier."
A large group of people rushed down the embankment and arrived at the pier. There were more than ten large houses built on the pier. They were originally used to rest the boatmen and the civilian drivers and cart drivers who moved the pier. Of course, they were also used for temporary shelter when it rained and snowed.
Stack goods.
Dozens of large vehicles were parked in the open space on the pier outside the house, and dozens of civilians, drivers, and idlers were leaning against the wall to bask in the sun. Suddenly they heard the sound of horse hooves, and a large group of menacing officers and soldiers rushed towards them, frightening these people to a sudden stand.
, at a loss.
"Where is the owner of the dock?" A young man with torn clothes and a bloody face rode forward and asked harshly.
Everyone was puzzled for a while. This guy seemed to be the leader, but why he was dressed in such rags was really hard to understand.
Su Jin looked at everyone's dumbfounded look, feeling anxious in his heart. He raised his riding crop and whipped it on the ground, sending the dust flying into the sky, and shouted: "I want to ask you a question."
A short, fat, middle-aged accountant ran out of the room. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "This military master is so polite. My boss usually doesn't stay at the dock. I am the steward of this dock. What's the need?"
, you might as well tell the villain and see if he can help."
Su Jin snorted, pointed his riding crop at the small boat going down the river and asked, "Did you let this boat go?"
The steward raised his hands and said: "Yes, I just hired..."
Su Jin shouted: "Are you aware of your guilt? Those who escaped on the boat were the main rebels. We were here to chase them, but you actually let them go. Find us a big boat quickly, and we will get on the boat to pursue them."
.”
The steward was stunned and said hesitantly: "Master, it's hard to find ships now. No ships have arrived at the pier for several months. The ships that were originally berthed here have all gone to find work elsewhere. The ship just now was delivered in the morning.
I am a visitor and happened to be returning to take someone down to Jiangling."
Su Jin felt a chill in his heart, could this be God's will? Zhu Shiyong deserves to be lucky, why can't he catch him? If he can't catch him by water, he can only go to Fanchang Lotus Mountain by land to capture him. Not to mention the journey of five to six hundred miles, it will be ten thousand miles.
If Zhu Shiyong doesn't go to Lianhua Mountain, just find a place with a cat. The world is huge, where can you go to find him?
Su Jin frowned and clicked his tongue, and the Imperial Guards also jumped to their feet in a hurry. Everyone was talking about it, some said they would build bamboo rafts to pursue them, some said they would quickly go to the downstream pier to find a boat, and some had a bad idea and said they would go to the city to collect big wooden basins and tie them together.
Being a ship captain made Su Jin dumbfounded.
This group of northern imperial troops are all landlubbers and do not understand the dangers of rivers. The Feishui River is naturally calm and the simple boats can sail smoothly; once they enter Chao Lake, there is a vast ocean, and further down into the river, there are rough waters.
The waves are strong and high, so unless it is a serious boat, even a small boat with a black roof will do. Bamboo rafts and the like will be waiting for them all to fall into the water and become water ghosts.
When there was nothing to care about, the steward suddenly asked boldly: "My lord...you said there are going to be criminals on that ship? I'm a little confused."
Zhang Long scolded: "You are blind. That boat is Zhu Shiyong, the prefect of Luzhou who escaped. There is a turmoil in the city. Don't you know?"
The steward was stunned and said: "Zhifu Zhu? No way, it's not him. Naturally, the villain Zhu Zhifu knows him, but it's not him on that boat."
The villagers and coachmen who were watching the excitement around were also dumbfounded and said one after another: "I haven't seen Magistrate Zhu. How could Magistrate Zhu ride in such a small boat? Every year when he goes to the south of the Yangtze River for fun, the boats he rides are red boats hired from the lower reaches."
Where’s the cruise ship?”
Su Jin secretly thought that perhaps Zhu Shiyong had disguised himself so that everyone would not recognize him. He could not delay it any longer and had to pursue it by land as soon as possible. He immediately ordered his troops to be divided into two groups and pursue them all the way along the river, and then go to the downstream dock to have a look.
Whether he could find the boat or not, he headed straight for Lianhua Mountain on the other side, blocking him at the head.
"Master Jun, don't blame me for talking too much. It's really not Magistrate Zhu on that boat. If you don't believe it, you will be in vain later. But don't blame me for not making it clear to you. If I want to talk, one is one, two is two."
"On that boat, it was obviously Zhang Daguan from Nanqi Town who went to Jiangning Mansion to visit my father-in-law. Although I am old and dim, Zhang Daguan will not admit his mistake."
The steward kept nagging after Su Jin's flattery. He knew that if he didn't speak more clearly, Su Jin and others would be in vain and would definitely come back to seek bad luck on him.
Su Jin quickly turned the horse's head and asked: "Seriously? Is it really not Zhu Shiyong?"
The steward swore to heaven with a sincere expression and vouched for his life that only officials from Zhang were on board, not Magistrate Zhu.
Su Jin lowered his head and thought deeply. He chased him all the way. The official road was empty, not a single person was seen, and Zhu Shiyong was not seen on the pier. Could it be that he was chasing in the wrong direction?
It's impossible. Zhang Long asked the soldiers guarding the south gate, and he also got the news from Zhu Shiyong's concubine Yu Shukou. Both times indicated that Zhu Shiyong would escape through the south gate waterway, but the road was missing and the dock was missing. Could it be that Zhu Shiyong was at this time?
Do you still dare to play tricks in circles? If Zhu Shiyong has such courage, then I should really admire him.
"Twenty brothers were left to monitor the dock and keep a close eye on the river. Don't teach the old thieves to get a boat and escape secretly. The remaining brothers followed me to search along the way. Since Zhu Shiyong did not come to the dock, we decided to stay in the city.
Somewhere outside."
All the Imperial Guards were also at a loss. It was not easy for this old thief to actually make a plan to attack the east and west. In any case, since he did not escape through the waterway, it was a good thing. As long as he was still nearby, he could always be caught.
Everyone cheered up, suppressed their fatigue and hunger, and followed Su Jin's path.
This time, they were no longer in a hurry with their whips raised. The crowd rode slowly along the official road in a fan shape, their heads looking left and right like tops, catching any clues in the wilderness.
Suddenly, a forbidden soldier from the front right shouted loudly: "Envoy Su, come and see, what is this?"
Su Jin rode over and looked in the direction of the forbidden army's finger. He saw a large wooden frame in the shape of a tic-tac-shape lying across the grass, with some wild grass covering it randomly. You really couldn't tell it unless you looked carefully.
Su Jin jumped off his horse, kicked away the weeds with his feet, pointed at the wooden frame and asked the surrounding Imperial Guards, "What is this?"
A soldier of the Forbidden Army said: "This seems to be a broken shaft, which is painted with tung oil. It looks like the break is new. It seems that someone's big cart broke the shaft and threw it here."
Su Jin's brows twitched and he said with a smile: "The shaft of the car? Did you read that right?"
"It must be the shaft. The long logs on both sides are used to put the animals on the shackles. The two small rungs at the back are the handlebar-style sitting positions. Yes, it is the shaft."
Su Jin laughed loudly and said: "It turns out it's God's will. It's not that this old thief doesn't want to go to the dock, but the carriage's shaft is broken and he can't leave at all."
"But the carriage and the mules and horses are missing. If the carriage shaft is broken, where can the carriage go?"
Su Jin said with a smile: "If the carriage is broken, it can still be towed, but it can't go very far. How could Zhu Shiyong put the carriage on the road and tell us that his carriage was broken? It must be hidden somewhere, everyone."
Look around, you won’t be far away.”
Everyone agreed and went out to look for it. Sure enough, within a short while, someone shouted loudly: "It's here, it's here."
Everyone gathered around, and there was a wild pond in the field a few miles away from the official road. Under the high pond ridge, a carriage overturned at the root of the pond ridge. Fortunately, the wild pond could not hold water, so even though it rolled over here, it was not safe.
It was not submerged; a horse died next to the car, its throat cut off with a knife, probably for fear that the horse's neighing would reveal its whereabouts.
Su Jin stood on the pond ridge and looked down. He saw that the car curtain was torn in half, and he could see several pairs of feet squeezed together in the car.
Su Jin smiled and said: "Zhifu Zhu, come out and don't hide."
A pair of black official boots moved, finally opened the car curtain and stepped out, stepping on the wet dry grass beach. Then Zhu Shiyong's head and body, with his hair in a messy bun and official clothes crumpled and dirty, came out and looked up.
He looked towards Su Jin on the pond ridge.
The dazzling sunlight shot from above Su Jin's head, making Zhu Shiyong dizzy. He swayed and squinted to hold the carriage steady; due to the backlight, the row of figures above the pond ridge were all dark.
Can't see the face clearly.
"You're well, Magistrate Zhu." Su Jin's words were full of ridicule.
Zhu Shiyong had a gloomy face, arranged his clothes, tied up his messy hair in an orderly manner, pinned it with a gold hairpin, and said calmly: "Special Envoy Su, you are so good at chess, I have nothing to say, but
One person is responsible for the work, can you let the dog live? In the next life, I, Zhu, will make a grass ring and repay it."
"Dad!" Zhu Tianshun's cry came from inside the carriage.
Su Jin said: "Master Zhu, don't think about it. You know that I don't have such great rights. You know your matter yourself. How serious it is, you know better than anyone else. You still need to save Master Ling's life yourself.
For the present plan, be frank and have a correct attitude. The Emperor is a benevolent Lord and may not be merciful beyond the law."
Zhu Shiyong raised his head and laughed and said: "I know that my begging is in vain, but as a father, you have to make one last effort. God obeys my son, and you are a father who has done your best to be kind and righteous. Whether you can survive depends on your own fate; talk too much.
It’s no use, Special Envoy Su, let’s go.”
Su Jin didn't expect Zhu Shiyong to say such open-minded words. Although she felt a little sad for him, she didn't want to talk nonsense to him. She just waved her hand and ordered: "Take them and bring them back to the government office..." dd