Chapter 452: Lure the snake out of its hole (Part 1)
It took Xu Xun and Shenying almost a month to select the elite of the 12th Regiment Battalion, and it was barely completed until mid-July. Shenying still had many subordinates and confidants at his disposal, but Xu Xun could not leave them behind.
The vanguard of the government army, Qian Ning Maqiao, stayed there to take charge, so he took Qi Jiliang, Xu Yanche, and Cao Mi to the barracks all day long. Anyway, Xu Liang and Shen Yue were not allowed to come back, and there were Zhang Cai and Cao Qian at home.
With the old man and the young man watching, he didn't have to worry at all.
Even so, after working hard for a month, he was almost peeled off by the sun, and he was very tired. Now that the busy work was over, he didn't need to say that he gave himself a day off, and left the door directly.
Xing'anbo Mansion, which was busy with traffic, took shelter in the leisure garden. At this time, others were soaking in wooden barrels, listening to the sound of bamboo strings coming from the front, and holding a glass of wine in their hands. If it weren't for the red sleeves to add fragrance, then
Comfortable is almost perfect.
Just as he was humming the familiar tune of "Jinling Dream" in front of him, he suddenly heard the voice of a young master coming from outside, and immediately ordered him to come in lazily. Not long after, A Bao entered the house and walked in front of the barrel.
He knelt down and said, "Sir, when we returned to Beijing, Brother Lu, who picked us up at Tongzhou Pier, asked to see him."
"Oh? Got it, I'll change my clothes and you can ask someone to come in!"
When he went to report to Huitong, Huitong told him to come up here directly. Lu Mang was still a little puzzled. Now when he was walking among them, he suddenly realized that this famous leisure garden was actually Xu Xun's property! Wait until he arrived.
Outside the three thatched cottages, he stood politely with his hands down. It wasn't until a voice came from inside telling him to go in that he hurriedly picked up the corner of his robe and crossed the threshold.
"See my lord!"
When he picked someone up, he couldn't reveal Xu Xun's identity, and he didn't need to be too respectful, but now he did not hesitate to kneel on his knees and kowtow. When he heard the cry and stood up, he raised his eyebrows with the corners of his eyes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Xu Xun, who was sitting comfortably on the Grand Master's chair. When he saw the other person's eyes looking at him, he quickly lowered his head.
"But what news does your master have to bring me?"
"Yes... ah, no, it was the little one who got the message and reported it to the master, but the master asked him to come here."
"Oh?" Xu Xun knew that Huitong was a shrewd person. The last time he secretly arrived in Beijing, such a big matter was entrusted to Lu Mang. Now he sent people here again, just to show that this son is reliable. He immediately smiled and nodded:
"After all, you have a job, so you don't have to worry about it. You don't have to tell me what news I have!"
"The master of the fugitive who escaped from the Criminal Department received an order from your lord to conduct a comprehensive investigation. Young... I also received an order and asked Luo Zu's disciples and grandsons to help keep an eye on it, especially those who often visit strangers and those who have no fixed residence.
I was staying at the Datongpu Inn where I stayed. But after more than half a month, I couldn't find a hunchback with the same image as before. I went to check and found that Jiang Shanfei was alone with no family members. He died if he died.
There should be nothing to worry about, but since he has to escape from prison, he should be unwilling to give up. In this case, he should also know that the most obvious thing about him is his hunchback. "
At this point, seeing Xu Xun listening attentively, Lu Mang became more confident for a moment, and then continued: "He was arrested before, but he didn't know that others had noticed this, and he committed the crime once and again without hesitation.
, and even ran into the hands of Mr. Li, the Jin Yiwei. I specifically talked to his old colleagues in the Ministry of Punishment, and they all said that his hunchback was just a slight hunchback, but if you always pay attention, it is difficult for others to notice. One shoulder is high and the other is low.
The same is true. But after all, people can't be so tense all the time. Most of them are hiding somewhere and not going out. Therefore, I went through the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Department to check those inns and rental houses that are new to the hotel but seldom go out.
As a result, I found traces of Jiang Shanfei! As long as you give the order, I can capture him immediately!"….
Hearing this, Xu Xun sat up straight. Since the outstanding assassins of the Warring States Period, it was extremely rare to successfully assassinate court officials. After all, cold weapons are not as good as hot weapons, and crossbows are strictly controlled by the military. He does not believe that just one person can
Jiang Shanfei could get it, but that didn't mean that he really didn't care about it. Otherwise, why would anyone bother to investigate? After learning from Lu Mang where this person was currently hiding, he waved his hand to signal Lu Mang not to say anything more.
, hesitated for a moment.
Huitong had just sent a message before, saying that Liu Jin had planned to use Han Wen to establish his power. He was not a gentleman who was impatient for justice, and saving Han Wen might not make people remember him. But now it was Lin Han
If Zhang Fuhua really stayed on the sidelines when he went to Beijing, the two gentlemen would not be fooled by that time. But Gu Dayong had just made peace with Liu Jin for him, and he rashly intervened but could not make a difference. And now, actually,
Another unexpected character emerges...
After thinking for a long time, he suddenly thought that Min Gui was able to subdue Jiang Shanfei to do things for him. Now he has no people. It is said that the Jinan area is not peaceful. There are many people on the green forest road who specialize in catching thieves for a living.
He immediately came up with a plan, looked at Lu Mang and said: "Well, don't scare the snake by arranging people to do this..."
Jintaifang in Beicheng is close to Andingmen and Deshengmen in the north, and not far from the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. When the bells and drums are ringing every day, the sound is loud, making it the most unsuitable place to live. Officials and dignitaries naturally avoid these places.
The land is cheap, so the land price is relatively cheap in the entire capital city. In addition to those who do small businesses, the people who live here are the shopkeepers of Yingfeng Wine and Vinegar Noodles Factory, and people of all religions and professions often choose this place as their next residence.
, there are also many Datongpu inns where you can stay for three to five cents a night.
It's been very difficult to live in an inn like Nian'er Hutong this summer. In this hot summer weather, there are ten people crowded into a room, and you can smell the sour smell of sweat and feet outside.
Except for the residents inside, no one is willing to come here. Although they know that there is a mixed bag of good and bad people here, even the Beicheng Soldiers and Horses Division, who are responsible for the Beicheng land, most of them take a look inside from a distance and then hide their noses and leave during routine inspections.
, not willing to take another look at it at all.
However, there were so many people and no one wanted to pay attention to the old man lying facing the wall in the corner. In the first few days when this man came here, the most ferocious man in the room wanted to establish his authority, but he was killed after one move.
When a man broke his hand, others knew it was an evil star and immediately stopped trying to provoke him. Fortunately, this man had paid enough for the house, and besides three meals a day, he slept soundly in bed. Gradually, others began to understand.
I put aside the fear in my heart and often spoke to the person as if he didn't exist.
"This man really has destiny and wealth in heaven. Who was Xing'an Bo at the beginning? I heard that in Jinling he made a living by fetching and delivering water to people who couldn't afford wells. How is he doing now? How has he changed?
Became a noble! If he hadn't raised a good son, how could he have snatched the title so easily?"
"Who says it's not? But that Uncle Pingbei is really capable. He flatters the emperor well, is good at fighting, and can handle all aspects. Now when the elders of the imperial court go there, his place is filled with guests.
I heard that people who want to join the family have crossed the threshold, and some people are sending Chinese Valentine's Day gifts there. In the past few days, their house is actually recruiting servants again. Yesterday, I came to apply for the job, but it's a pity that I didn't have enough strength...
…”
"Either you have to have good physical strength, or you have to be good at riding and shooting. It is said that people are not asked about their origins but only their ability. Uncle Pingbei will take him to the battlefield in the future. Military merits and rewards from the imperial court will be indispensable.
...I heard that many good guys who couldn't survive on the road were a little moved after hearing this, and wanted to come to the door. Didn't they say that they could enjoy the shade with their backs against the big trees?"...
Several people were talking enthusiastically, not noticing the old man lying with his back to them, nor did they notice that his ears trembled slightly after hearing these words. He was talking happily about the recruitment of servants in Xing'an Bo Mansion.
They asked, and marveled at the monthly remuneration of three thousand yuan. Several people were amazed, and unknowingly they were looking forward to the benefits of joining that wealthy family.
I was not willing to stand outside looking for work in the middle of the day, but after chatting like this for half an hour, seeing that the hottest hour had passed, it was natural that the few of them could not continue to stay close to each other in the room, so they went out in twos and threes. Wait until this
The room gradually became quiet, and the old man lying facing the wall had just turned over. Under his messy hair was an old face full of wrinkles, especially the three deep horizontal lines on his forehead, which were enough to make people believe that he was.
age.
"The Xu Mansion is recruiting servants..."
Jiang Shanfei had no intention of getting out alive since he was sent to the Criminal Department. He would eat whatever they gave him, no matter how hard it was to swallow. However, he couldn't resist the resentment of several old people from the Criminal Department who framed Min Gui and bribed the jailer.
He suffered a lot. After being imprisoned for half a month, he was no longer in good shape. It was not until Jiao Fang took over as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment that his life became easier. Jiao Fang first vigorously reorganized the Tianlu of the Ministry of Punishment.
Another group of jailers were severely punished, and the new ones who were replaced at least did not dare to deprive him of his food, and even hired a doctor to diagnose and treat his injuries because of Jiao Fang's scolding.
However, what he will never forget the most is what a jailer said to him, half mumbling and half giving advice, when he was bringing him food. Those words made Ben close his eyes and wait.
He was very unwilling to die.
"Min Shangshu is old and confused, but I know that as a person who knows how to repay his kindness, you will definitely not frame him. In the final analysis, you are being used! Some people have long disliked Min Shangshu.
Using Min Shangshu's name to instruct you to intimidate Xu Jing and assassinate Zhang Cai, all with the intention of forcing him to resign, but you are so stubborn that Min Shangshu was confused for a while, which led to the current ending. Think about this.
Who benefits? If you hadn't caused this scene, Xu Jing and Tang Yin's fame would have been so easily repaid, Min Shangshu would have retired so sadly, and Zhang Cai would have been repeatedly praised in front of the emperor? Alas, someone could have done it for him.
Just say a few words. Nowadays, people who are transferred to the civil service department have nothing to do with this matter. When you are about to die, think carefully about it and don't be such a fool in your next life!"
Although Jiang Shanfei was a gangster, he only took money without harming people's lives, so he was convinced by Min Gui to use it for more than ten years. Because of this, he thought he had understood the truth of the matter.
That's why he was so frustrated. However, these words rekindled his anger. Relying on his many years of experience in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, he waited for an opportunity and successfully escaped from prison. At that time, the Ministry of Punishment happened to be
Without Shangshu, there was chaos up and down, so he successfully found this place and lurked down. He either ate or slept every day and took good care of his body.
He is nearly fifty years old and has no wife or children. He is alone and has no worries, but his kung fu is extremely pure. If he hadn't been caught off guard by Jin Yiwei's hard ideas that night, and they calculated against his intentions, he wouldn't have been like this.
It easily fell into someone's hands. At this moment, he turned over and sat up, touching the hunchback caused by years of habit. Thinking of the signature shoulder low and high shoulder again, he took a deep breath and then sneered.
Got up.
His hunchback was only caused by bad habits when he was young. If he had been paying attention, he could barely notice it. He only didn't bother to hide it when fighting, but it would inevitably be exposed. Before staying here, he slept on the bed and used a torn sheet to cover his meals.
When he was walking, he deliberately straightened his back, so no one noticed that he was a hunchback. He touched the hard bones of his neck and back with his backhand, then glanced at the light little bundle on the bed, and after finding the last handful of coins, he
He came to the window at the back, pushed open the window that faced the stinking ditch and had never been opened before, quickly stepped on the bench beside it, and got out lightly...
On this hot day in July, Xing'anbo Mansion was in full swing due to the recruitment of servants. Although the famous owner did not show up at all, and only temporarily used a small side courtyard in the south for assessment.
But it’s still hard to stop the crowd’s enthusiasm. Of course, young guys don’t hesitate to take off their shirts and go shirtless to show off their strong muscles. Even middle-aged men and old men in their early fifties often try their best to show off their strength and fists, so that today they took this private job.
Maqiao is simply too busy.
Gudu Gudu took a long gulp of tea, wiped his shiny forehead, and said angrily: "Everyone said they were outstanding in martial arts, but in the end they all lost their way! The same goes for adults, what are you recruiting these people for? The army
Some of them are young men who are willing to endure hardships and can fight. Who wouldn’t be willing to come under their disciples and beg for food?”
As soon as he said this, a general commander next to him quickly reminded him in a low voice: "Master Ma, please keep your voice down, so that people can hear you arranging the master from behind. Then it will be bad if you sue him! This is not you."
Are you asking for a big deal from the adults?"
"I want you little monkey to remind you!"
Ma Qiao laughed and cursed, then gathered his energy and continued recruiting. At thirty-five or six, he was full of energy and had a good memory, so it was not easy to fool him. After most of the day, he only selected seven servants, three of whom he recognized.
The young boy, who was only a few words old, sat down and saw another person coming in. He had a terrible scar across his face, and his face was covered with wrinkles. He looked like he didn't know whether he was fifty or sixty.
He was startled at first, and then glared angrily at the other general who was responsible for ushering people in.
"Master Ma, don't underestimate him, this guy is very strong!"
"Oh?" After hearing this explanation, Ma Qiao couldn't help but look at the person with great interest for a moment. Seeing that he was of medium height and didn't look strong, he pursed his lips and said, "Just pick any of these swords, guns and sticks to try.
Try it, if you can’t do it, go and pick up the stone lock!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the man responded honestly and walked straight towards the stone lock. However, with a pull and lift of one hand, the stone lock weighing sixty kilograms rose from the ground. For a moment, other people around him
Everyone yelled for joy. Not only that, the man gently and deftly changed his left hand to his right hand, performed a few unsightly but powerful moves, and then put down the stone lock.
"How did you develop such good strength?"
"I would like to report back to you, when I was young, I used to help people transport millstones with my bare hands, but I had no talent in martial arts, so I could only unload goods at Tongzhou Pier. Later, I accidentally lost my appearance, but I was spotted doing some work, so I
I became a son-in-law for a family. Now that my mother-in-law is dead, my father-in-law and mother-in-law called me my nemesis. They saw that I was getting old, so they kicked me out."
This experience sounded real, and Ma Qiao believed him a lot when he saw how honest the person was when he kowtowed. Although he thought this person was old, old and capable people are better than cunning young people, so
After thinking for a while, he asked to write down the names for the time being, and while the others left happily, he immediately ordered people to go to Tongzhou Pier to petition and investigate. After such a small episode, there were quite a few interesting people to be recruited next.
There is a middle-aged boy who passed the county examination in no time, but never passed the college examination. His wife remarried someone else in anger, so he went to practice martial arts. There is a middle-aged boy who has been making tea in a teahouse for decades but was framed by an enemy and broke his hand tendons. As a result, he practiced a left-handed sword.
Dr. Cha, who came back with new skills, but was killed by his enemies long ago; a young Taoist priest who had to return to secular life after losing his ultimatum, and was good at playing with a stick... In short, there were all kinds of people, which opened his eyes.
When Xu Xun came back in the evening, he learned that there were such incredible people who came to apply for the job. He didn't care about the three religions and the nine streams. After thinking for a moment, he said to Ma Qiao: "It doesn't matter where you are from. Anyway, you won't be accepted into this family immediately.
They need to give it a try before they can officially use it. Tomorrow, after everyone has been selected, you can tell me what to do. If you want to keep it, write a piece of personal paper. If you are rich enough, you can speak for yourself. I won’t force you if you don’t want to.
, how they lived before, how they still live now.”….
Ma Qiao originally muttered that Xu Xun didn't want those children from military households, but now he realized that Xu Xun only wanted domestic slaves. It was against the law to accept children from military households as domestic slaves after all. And accepting domestic slaves was different from others.
If you sign a written document, you are voluntarily surrendering to slavery. It is not as easy as someone who signed a living contract to have other thoughts. After agreeing repeatedly, he smiled and said: "If you follow me, they will fall into a rice vat and eat."
You don’t have to worry about clothes and you still have money every month, who wouldn’t agree?”
"That's not necessarily true. Maybe some people are conceited about their martial arts, so they want to see if I have a discerning eye. Maybe some people are sent here by others and want to snoop around me. Maybe some people have bad intentions against me."
Seeing Ma Qiao's face turn pale, Xu Xun said with a half-smile, "You probably want to say, since you know, why do you do this? It's very simple, it is to tell others, first, I am in need of someone
; Secondly, I am short of people, but just like the emperor who wanted people who were good at various unique skills in the East Palace, they also need to be able to do it; as for this third... people from three religions and nine schools, if they want to win my trust, first of all
You have to put your wealth and life in my hands! If you don’t believe how I’ll be able to stay, don’t come.”
Seeing Ma Qiao's panic, Xu Xun said calmly: "After these two days of testing, there may be more powerful people coming to seek refuge with me. Didn't you say before that you have several guards you want to recommend to me? You first recommend them to me."
Send people here just in case something happens. Also, keep an eye on the old man who is playing with stone locks that you just brought in today!"
"ah?"
"This person is most likely the Jiang Shanfei you mentioned."
"Sir, if this is the case, I will lead someone to take him down immediately!"
"No, I'll keep him useful!"
Xu Xun waved his hand to stop the impatient Ma Qiao, and said word for word, "Except for the person who arranged this matter, God knows that you know and I know. If one more person knows about it, the show will be ruined."
You are the only one I want to ask about the drama!"
For an honest person like Ma Qiao, it’s better to tell half and leave half!
What Ma Qiao was most worried about was that he and Qian Ning had made a superfluous scene, which made Xu Xun angry with him ever since. Now that he heard this, he felt as if he had drunk honey.
He ironed the post like sugar water and responded hurriedly. When he left the room, he was no longer as relaxed as before. While ordering to invite the experts he had recruited, he personally escorted the young soldiers who were guarding Xing'an Bo Mansion.
The soldiers came to lecture me, and in the end I didn't even sleep well the whole night.
The next morning, when he came to the small side courtyard in the south again with his eyes full of bloodshot eyes, he drank strong and bitter tea while looking at the people who came today. Sure enough, he found a few tough and tough people.
The breathy man suddenly forgot about Jiangshan Fei. When one of them came up to practice bow and arrow, he was able to hit the end of the previous arrow with an arrow within twenty steps. His eyes suddenly brightened, and he stood up as soon as he pushed the armrest of the chair.
Got up.
"How far can your bow shoot?"
"Report to your lord, one hundred and twenty steps!"
Although Ma Qiao really wanted the other party to give it a try, he thought that such a long distance of one hundred and twenty steps could only be reached by the martial arts training ground behind Xing'an Bo Mansion. Now that Xu Xun was not around, he did not dare to go overboard, so he nodded and went
He returned to his seat and sat down: "In that case, there's no need to try, I'll count you as passing!"
After this whole day of selection, plus those selected in the previous two days, there were surprisingly thirty or forty people. However, when Ma Qiao mentioned the four words "retirement documents", there was an uproar. Seeing those few young people today
The strong man also frowned. Ma Qiao glanced at the old man Xu Xun had said was Jiang Shanfei before, and raised his hand to signal silence.
"You should have inquired clearly before coming here. My lord has always been lenient and strict with my subordinates. If my subordinates have merit, I will never hesitate to reward them, because they are my own people. Your Excellency will not really treat you as a person. Your Excellency has said that if you are different,
If you have military exploits or other achievements, I will immediately return your personal documents, and I will promise you a future. If you are willing to write, you can stay in Xing'anbo Mansion from today!"