Liu Yu'er accompanied Gu Jun Xiang into the horse-drawn carriage. Lin Xie and his men were outnumbered, so they couldn't catch all of these street rascals. However, with 17 or 18 of them lying on the ground with broken arms and legs, crying out in pain, the scene was still quite shocking. The people of East City were frightened and only dared to watch from a distance, not wanting to give up the opportunity to see the commotion, but also afraid of being affected by the chaos.
They whispered to each other, discussing the identity of this young official from the Procuratorate Office: "He's indeed worthy of being the first son of the Gu family!" "The first son of the Gu family?" "It's Lin Xie, the top scholar from Dongyang, and the arch-nemesis of Du Rong from Qingfeng Bank. He was able to make the young master of the bank kneel down and beg for mercy in the provincial capital; when the young master of Jinan Prefecture was ambushed on his way to Jiangning, Lin Xie rescued him and saved the lives of the ladies of the Xiao family. Who else in the Gu family is more powerful than him? He was recently appointed as the head of the Jiang Island Prison, and his methods are truly ruthless... The prison guards have all been replaced..."
"Ah, it's him! No wonder he's so powerful. These street rascals shouldn't have messed with him, especially not with his family members!" "The patrol officers from East City have arrived. These street rascals are like the henchmen of the East City Patrol, but I don't know how they'll deal with this...this star of calamity..."
The Dongshi patrol officers who had disappeared suddenly emerged in a group of twenty or thirty, surrounding Lin Xie. The leader was a deputy lieutenant of the cavalry, his eyes wide with anger, drawing his sword and shouting menacingly: "You dare to commit murder on the streets, showing contempt for the law! Do you think you can start a rebellion?" He relied on the powerful backing behind him, not putting Lin Xie's ninth-rank civilian official status in his eyes.
"Clang!" Lin Xie held his knife horizontally in front of him, revealing half of the snow-bright blade. His eyes stared at the stern and austere Vice Captain of the Patrol, coldly smiling: "If you can take responsibility, go ahead and order them to make a move. Let's see who dares to defy the law and shed blood on the streets!" With one foot stepping on the shoulder of a rascal with a broken leg, he instructed his guards in a low voice: "These people are all wanted criminals captured by the Inspectorate. Who dares to escape or rescue them? Do I need to teach you what to do?"
"The subordinate understands." The four guards, Wu Zu, didn't expect themselves to suddenly become so capable in battle. With Lin Xie being so powerful at the front, they, who were surrounded in the middle, didn't dare to show any fear either, and all drew out their knives together.
These city rascals are just a mob, let alone four guards, Lin Xie and Zhou Pu can beat them to the point of fleeing in all directions. The scene of Lin Xie and the guards "bullying" on the street and the miserable state of seventeen or eighteen city rascals on the ground made even the usual patrolling soldiers who only caught thieves in the city dare not act rashly despite their numerical superiority.
Lin Tie saw the deputy corporal of the cavalry shouting at a patrolman, who ran in the direction of the military affairs office after exchanging a few words with him. He knew that this deputy lieutenant's courage and responsibility were limited, and he had gone to fetch reinforcements.
Lin Xie knew that Wang Chao, the son of Wang Xueshan, the prefect of Jiangning, was hiding in a corner to peek at this side, and would surely stop Zhang Yu from leading the crowd to rescue. Moreover, Dongshi is located south of Longcangpu, under the jurisdiction of Zhang Wendeng, the right Sima Canjun, but it's unknown whether Zhang Wendeng will take advantage of this muddy water.
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Dongshi is located in the eastern part of the city, and most of the government offices are also located in the eastern part. Before the patrol officer reported back, Zhang Wendeng, a military officer at the Ministry of War, already knew about the fight that took place on the street in Dongshi.
Four jail guards from Jiang Island Prison and a young man wearing a ninth-grade official robe immediately let Zhang Wenden know that the identity of the troublemaker in Dongshi was Lin Fu, a sesame officer who had recently made a name for himself in Jiangning. Although Lin Fu's position was lowly, his reputation was great, and as a fellow literary minister, Zhang Wenden naturally wanted to protect him. He originally planned to send someone to arrest some of the city rascals and bring them back to the yamen to make an example of them, but one of his old clerks told him that the city rascals in Dongshi not only had a close relationship with the officials of the Eastern City Guard, but also had a deep connection with Wang Chao, the son of the prefect. Zhang Wenden suddenly realized that the water behind this was very muddy and it was not something he could handle as a rootless Beijing official, so he made up an excuse and entrusted the affairs of the yamen to his officials and military officers before leaving the office and hiding in his private residence.
Dongshi returns to the right Si Kou's jurisdiction, Zhang Yubo knows that Lin is trapped in Dongshi and can only sit idly in the yamen blowing his beard and staring, but first sends someone to report to the Ancha Shi Si.
At this time, the patrol officer reported that Zhang Wendeng was nowhere to be found. Chen Zhi, the Eastern City Infantry and Cavalry Colonel of the Military Office, was excited with a blood-filled brain-like expression, leading more than 100 infantrymen, cavalrymen, and police officers in a grand manner towards Dongshi, intending to capture Lin Fu and others as culprits and bring them back to the government office.
Zhang Yubo and others did not wait for the person sent to report to the Procuratorate to return, and took 7 or 8 yamen runners to rush to Dongshi, hoping to help Lin Zhan in an emergency. When Zhang Yubo followed Chen Zhi's team to arrive at Quehe Gate Street, he heard the horseshoes rushing on the stone slab street like a sudden rain, and only knew that it was a group of procuratorial cavalry who had just passed by after pulling over a passerby to ask.
Dongcheng School Lieutenant Chen Zhi was not afraid to clash with the patrol officers, and he was also not afraid of being beaten up in public. However, he did not have the guts to charge into the Procuratorate's yamen, fearing that if they were late, the person would be caught by the procuratorate's mounted patrol and it would be troublesome to get him out again. He urged everyone to hurry along quickly on horseback.
Zhang Yubo did not expect the action from the Surveillance Commissioner's office to be so swift, thinking that his messenger had just arrived at the Surveillance Commissioner's yamen and explained the situation to Gu Wuchen, but it seemed someone else had gone ahead to report the news.
Zhang Yubo put his mind at ease and let the other yamen runners return to the yamen, while he brought two attendants to hurry to the East Market to watch the excitement. However, Zhang Yubo was not the only one watching the excitement. As he walked into Xiuyifang, he saw Jin'an Hou's second son, She Feihu, and a young man walking in front of him, surrounded by guards and wearing casual clothes. Zhao Shuhan, the head of the Jiangning Penal Department, heard the news at home and rushed over, wearing a loose robe that he would only wear at home, panting and calling out to Zhang Yubo: "Lord Zhang, Lord Zhang, I heard that Lin Xuan was surrounded by thugs in the East Market. How can you just bring this small group of people to rescue him?"
"... Zhang Yubo couldn't help but smile, if it were within his jurisdiction, he could say something, but as the left commander of the imperial guard, he couldn't order his subordinates to risk their lives for him. He only said to Zhao Shuhan, "Governor Gu should know about this matter, the patrol cavalry from the Censorate just passed by..."
Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan walked into Xiuyi Alley, seeing Yang Pu and Ma Chao's search party had already surrounded Lin Xie, protecting him in the middle. In addition to a horse-drawn carriage, there were also seventeen or eighteen city rascals with broken arms and legs lying on the street groaning. Where was Lin Xie being surrounded by people just now?
Zhang Yubo had personally seen Lin Xie take out a knife and threaten to cut off his tongue when he was tied up in the government office, and seeing this scene, he knew that Lin Xie must have been the one who beat these street rascals into submission. Although Zhang Yubo was a civil official, he had dealt with catching thieves and bandits in the Provincial Inspector's Office and the Military Affairs Office, so his eyes were naturally discerning. Looking at these street rascals, he could tell that they must have been seriously injured, and his heart skipped a beat as he wondered how they had managed to offend Lin Xie so badly that he would resort to such ruthless measures against them in broad daylight.
Yang Pu was in the government office, when a sudden report came that Lin Xie's servant had come to the government office for help. Yang Pu only recognized Zhou Pu and Zhao Hu among Lin Xie's many servants, and had met Wu Qi before, but didn't have a deep impression of him and couldn't remember his name. However, when Wu Qi came to report the news, Yang Pu still remembered that there was such a person by Lin Xie's side.
Lin was tied up in Jiangning, and many people were offended. Apart from Zhou Pu's personal protection, he would also let Wu Qi or others secretly follow him to prevent being ambushed by others. Today, Wu Qi followed secretly and saw that things could not be resolved properly, so he came to the Procuratorate to report the news. Yang Pu learned that Miss and Lin were surrounded by thugs in Dongshi, and although he didn't know why Miss was with Lin in Dongshi, he didn't have time to think about it. After reporting to Gu Wu Chen, he rushed over with Ma Chao's cavalry and saw the miserable scene on the street, but thought that Lin had provoked these things with his power. Later, Chen Zhi, the East City Patrol Officer, arrived, and Yang Pu wouldn't let Lin be taken away by Jiangning Fu's men in public. He first dispersed the cavalry to protect Lin and others, then asked what happened and where Miss was.
"Miss dressed as a man strolling in the east city, was entangled by a group of rascals, just met Miss Liu...” Lin Xian invited Yang Pu to get on the carriage, lifted up one corner of the curtain, and let him see Gu Junxiao sobbing intermittently in Liu Yue'er's arms, having received a fright, her jade face had been cried into a mess, still wearing men's clothing, with disheveled hair.
Yang Pu pulled up the car curtains, and there were many onlookers on the street. Thinking of Gu Junxian, he couldn't let her show her face, so he asked Lin Xuan in a low voice, "Nothing happened?"
"It's not a big loss," Lin said, "but I'm afraid things are not as simple as they seem. When Zhou Pu and I arrived, Wang Xueshan's son was also nearby..."
Yang Pu followed Gu Wu Chen for many years and has been through hardships. On such a big scene, he naturally knew that the back was not simple. After listening to Lin Fu's detailed account, he knew that this group of city rascals were backed by someone who wanted to manufacture rumors to slander Gu Jun Xiang's reputation. The Chu Party prides itself on being a clear stream and attaches great importance to door wind, so the Gu family cannot be an exception. If Gu Jun Xiang is really humiliated in public, these rascals will escape without any consequences, even if there is no local power cooperation to pursue them. Even if Gu Jun Xiang didn't suffer much, the Gu family would still become a laughing stock. When Yang Pu rushed over, he felt that Lin Fu was too ruthless, but now he wished he could stab these city rascals in the head with a knife. With the precedent of the Flowing People's Tragic Case, someone is again targeting Gu Wu Chen's family members. Can this be tolerated?
At this time, the East City Patrol Chen Zhi and his men dispersed, surrounding Lin Fu and others in the middle with the Inspector's Office cavalry. He patted his horse and came forward, clearing his throat to shout loudly: "Chen Zhi, the East City Patrol of Jiangning Prefecture, is leading his troops to capture the people who are fighting! Does the Inspector's Office want to compete with the East City Patrol for business?" He didn't dare say that he wanted to take Lin Fu into custody, but only wanted to take away these fallen city rascals.
"Uncle Yang, what do you think?" Lin Xie asked in a low voice.
"These people, we need to take away, you're in charge." Yang Pu said in a low voice. Chen Zhi, the sixth-grade military officer of the Eastern City Garrison, was a regular sixth-grade military officer, while Yang Pu was only a regular eighth-grade military officer, and it was not suitable for him to negotiate with Chen Zhi; Lin Xie was a civil official, and naturally had an advantage in status over military officers. Yang Pu secretly instructed Lin Xie to handle the matter, and he and Ma Chao followed orders.
"Let all the soldiers listen to the order, these dozen or so people are the most wanted criminals of our department, those who dare to escape will be beheaded, those who dare to take hostages will be beheaded, all soldiers draw your swords...". Lin Xie listened to Yang Pu's words and also took charge, standing on the carriage and giving orders in a deep voice.
Yang Pu and Ma Chao's mounted troops, of course, would not listen to Lin Kui's orders. Yang Pu and Ma Chao drew their swords, and without hesitation, they unsheathed their blades, pointed their spears forward, and assigned several men to tie up the city rascals who were lying on the ground with ropes.
The crowd of onlookers never thought that Lin Xie would make such a decisive and ruthless declaration in the middle of the street. Chen Zhi, the cavalry captain of the East City Garrison, was stunned when he heard Lin Xie's order to kill without mercy, but he didn't have the courage to order his men to draw their swords and confront each other. The soldiers and constables under Chen Zhi's command also hesitated and looked back at him uncertainly. It wasn't until then that Chen Zhi thought of Zhang Yu, the Left Commander of the City Guard, who had followed Lin Xie out earlier, but when he searched for Zhang Yu in the crowd, he found that Zhang Yu had no intention of helping him out of this predicament and had instead slipped away with Zhao Shuhan into a wine shop on the side of the street.
