Chapter 539 The Woman is in Hand
Chen Ji personally led a team of night guards to chase the coroner's wife along a small road. When they were about to leave the territory of Suzhou Prefecture, someone in front reported, "Captain, there is a fork in the road ahead."
Chen Ji rode over and cursed as soon as he saw it: "Damn it, there are three roads. I'm going to ask someone about it."
A farmer was called over and said with great fear and trepidation, "Greetings, sir."
Chen Ji tried to make his smile more friendly and took out a few copper coins. "Excuse me, sir, which way do I take to get to the capital?"
The farmer was afraid to take the money and said, "Take the road on the left."
"Thank you very much." Chen Ji forced the copper coin into the farmer's hand and then led his men away.
The farmer stroked the copper coin, feeling quite proud.
When the sound of horse hooves came from the south again, the farmer said, "Is it my turn to get rich today?"
Several riders came galloping over and shouted, "Have you seen a group of soldiers?"
"I see, I see." The farmer rubbed the copper coin in his hand, indicating that he should give money!
"Where are you going?" the man asked.
The farmer smiled foolishly but didn't answer.
Snapped!
The whip hit him hard on the face, and the man grinned, "You dare to blackmail me in Suzhou Prefecture? I'll destroy your family!"
The farmer screamed, and then he realized that he had found the wrong person, "They...they went to the right."
The visitor glanced at the path on the right and asked, "Where does that lead to?"
"seaside."
"Excellent!"
Not long after everyone left, a man walked out from behind a tree not far away.
He looked at the riders heading to the right and sneered, "Playing this before I lose my job... what a joke!"
Yang Bai couldn't help but smile after hearing the news, "This guy is unfamiliar with the place, yet he dares to fight with us. Hahahaha!"
Yang Bai sent someone to tell Yang Changhe, "Those people are looking in the wrong direction. This is going to be a disaster."
At this moment, the coroner became the focus of the struggle between the two sides.
Jiang Qingzhi had no reason to arrest anyone, and Yang Bai and others did not dare to silence them, so the situation remained at a stalemate.
When Jiang Qingzhi had nothing to do, he would wander around outside the city, and from time to time he would go to Hanshan Temple to talk to the abbot, which was also a form of entertainment.
The coroner himself realized that something was wrong, and under the high pressure, he actually got drunk every day.
Once, when he got home drunk, he saw a minor official from the government office outside the door. He signaled him to go in quickly. As soon as the coroner entered the door, he saw his superior sitting at home with a gloomy look on his face.
Immediately, the drunkenness turned into cold sweat and disappeared.
"Your wife is on her way to Beijing." Shangguan stood up, his face grim. "I know that you and your wife have a deep love and loyalty. But no matter how much love and loyalty you have, you still have to have the blessing to enjoy it. Don't go the wrong way!"
"Yes."
Shangguan left, and the coroner slowly slumped down by the door.
"Miss!"
……
"drive!"
It galloped in the darkness for dozens of nights without stopping.
Traveling at night is risky, as the horses cannot see the road clearly and may stumble accidentally. But this problem can be solved. The biggest problem is that many people at that time had night blindness, so traveling at night is like being blind.
It was different at night. Jiang Qingzhi taught relevant knowledge and made changes in diet. So while others were afraid of traveling at night, it was normal for Chen Ji and his subordinates.
Less than ten miles ahead of them, more than ten riders were resting.
The leader was Kang Ying.
"Where did those people go?" Kang Ying asked while holding a water bag and a cake.
A guard said, "Last time they said they were still more than thirty miles away from us."
"More than thirty miles..." Kang Ying asked; "According to the situation, how far are the coroner's wife and her group from us?"
"About... less than a hundred miles."
"It will be less than two days." Kang Ying whispered, "More than thirty miles, less than a hundred miles, the matter will be settled."
The guard laughed and said, "We took the coroner's wife somewhere else and asked them to go straight to the capital. But they found nothing. Jiang Qingzhi couldn't get any evidence in Suzhou Prefecture, so he had to return home in embarrassment."
"It's not just a matter of returning in embarrassment. The master said that this is... the battle between Confucianism and Mohism is related to the honor, disgrace, wealth and status of the scholars and officials in the world, and it is also related to whether our Yang family can be rich and prosperous for generations. If Jiang Qingzhi wins, the biogas digester will become his achievement, and the farmers in the world will be grateful to him and the Mohists."
"What does that have to do with our Yang family's wealth?"
"Think about how our Yang family became rich and powerful?"
"On...business and land."
"The Yang family does not pay taxes for their business, nor do they pay taxes for their land. Their people do not need to serve in the army. Who is supporting them? Where did the land come from?"
"No taxes... We, the Yang family, are one family with the government, so why should we pay taxes? As for the land, wasn't it... bought?"
"The reason why our Yang family doesn't have to pay taxes is because Confucianism is in power. The scholars and officials in the world are all one family. Do you understand?"
"The Mohist..."
"Once the Mohists take power, we will lose all these. We will have to pay taxes and serve in the army. Without these benefits, who will come to us with land as a tribute? Without these benefits, why would the Yang family buy land at a low price during natural disasters and man-made disasters? Why would they lend money at high interest rates?"
Seeing the guards were confused, Kang Ying couldn't help but feel proud, "I heard from the master that Jiang Qingzhi once said that Confucian privileges are a cancer of the Ming Dynasty and should be cut off. We are a cancer in his eyes! Damn it, what's the point of talking to such a person? Just kill him."
The guard scratched his head and said, "We don't understand these things either. What if no one pays taxes?"
Kang Ying was stunned, and then slapped the guard, "How would I know! But... as long as we live a good life, the rest is none of my business!"
"Then...what if there is no money to support the soldiers?" The guard had a brother who joined the army. "My brother said that the soldiers are almost like beggars nowadays, except that they have no money."
“Then raise taxes!”
"Can……"
"Bullshit! Get ready to go."
Everyone mounted their horses, and the guard followed Kang Ying closely. While riding at full speed, he used his limited brain to carefully think over the previous questions.
After an unknown amount of time, the guard rode his horse to catch up and said, "I've figured it out."
"What?" Kang Ying turned around in the night wind.
"If no one pays taxes, the Ming Dynasty... will be gone."
"What's missing?"
"Ming dynasty."
"what?"
"Big……"
Da da da!
The horses' hooves passed by quickly, bringing with them gusts of strong wind...
In the morning, after a short rest, the Yebushou soldiers ate some dry food and prepared to set off. They had been through several days of sleepless training, and then were thrown into a strange place, given a knife, and left to fend for themselves.
Having experienced many hardships, the Ye Bushou feel that the current environment is like a fairyland.
"Those people are not far away." Chen Ji squatted beside a pile of horse manure and cut the manure with a branch to check the moisture level inside.
"Captain, do you want to launch a surprise attack?" someone asked.
Chen Ji shook his head, "I'm afraid that we'll alert the people escorting the coroner's wife. If they take the risk and kill the woman, who will the coroner think killed her?"
"Those idiots will definitely say that we killed him."
“So don’t rush.”
The morning sun was just beginning to break in the distance. In the autumn wind, the horses looked a little tired. Chen Ji saw that his men were still in good spirits and couldn't help but laugh: "Such a brave warrior, damn! Who in the world can defeat them?"
"set off!"
At this moment, Kang Ying and others also set off.
A carriage was heading north, accompanied by five riders.
There were constant weak coughing sounds coming from the carriage.
"I'm afraid we won't be able to reach the capital in this condition." A knight whispered.
"If we can't get there, then we can't get there." The man leading the team said coldly, "As long as Jiang Qingzhi gets out of here, we can go back. As for the life or death of this woman, it has nothing to do with us."
"I see. It means to make the coroner be cautious before he gets involved."
"It's good to know."
The carriage curtain slowly opened a little, and a haggard-looking woman poked her head out. "Excuse me, Brother Wang, how far is this place...from the capital? Ahem!"
The leading man said calmly, "It's not far. Just take a rest. When we get there, there will be a famous doctor to treat you."
The woman's expression relaxed. "Thank you very much."
The curtain was lowered and the woman leaned against the carriage. She felt a pulling pain in her back and her internal organs seemed to be burning in flames.
"Husband..." the woman murmured, and then fell into a deep sleep.
That day, the woman vomited blood.
On the second day, the weather did not look very good, it was a bit gloomy, and we could even hear faint thunder.
Kang Ying looked up at the sky and cursed, "Damn it, it will be troublesome if it rains."
Suddenly someone shouted from the front: "Brother Kang! Brother Kang!"
"Calling souls!"
Kang Ying cursed.
"They are in front!" a guard turned around and said in ecstasy.
Kang Ying was overjoyed and rushed over on his horse. He saw a carriage parked on the side of the road ahead with five people on its side. They were Yang's bodyguards.
"Brother Kang is here." The guard surnamed Wang was overjoyed. "Brother Kang, do you not need to go?"
Kang Ying dismounted and came over, "Why did you stop?"
"That woman..." the guard surnamed Wang whispered, "She vomited blood yesterday and couldn't eat anything. I think she's not doing well, so I'll stop here and ask someone to find a doctor to see her."
Seeing Kang Ying's tired face, he asked in surprise, "Brother Kang is so anxious, is there any change?"
"Jiang Qingzhi's people are right behind us." Kang Ying said, "Let's not go to the capital, let's find a place to hide for the time being. We can go back later."
"Then the capital..."
"People are almost dying, why go to the capital? To deliver corpses? Or to die?" Kang Ying cursed.
"How far are they?" Guard Wang asked, "Brothers haven't had a hot meal since yesterday. If they are still far away, let's go to a nearby village to rest."
"Almost... at least ten or twenty miles away!"
"That's still a ways off. I can still have a drink."
"Drink some shit, buy some dry food, and leave now."
A guard suddenly tilted his head to the south and asked, "What's that sound?"
Kang Ying looked back inadvertently.
"It's the sound of horse hooves." The guard looked up. "Quite a few."
"Brother Kang, maybe it is..." The guard named Wang smiled and wanted to flatter Kang Ying, but he saw Kang Ying's eyes narrowed.
"They are chasing us!"
Everyone was confused.
Then, dozens of riders were seen galloping towards them from a distance.
"It's officers and soldiers!"
The guards were shocked. Kang Ying thought of Yang Bai's instructions: if necessary... kill the witnesses!
He looked back at the carriage.
Just then the woman heard a loud noise outside, so she stuck her head out and met his murderous eyes.
"Kill her!" Kang Ying shouted.
Kill that woman and falsely accuse Jiang Qingzhi's men of doing it!
This is Suzhou Prefecture, the world of the literati. Whatever they say goes.
Rumors can melt gold, Jiang Qingzhi cannot defend himself!
"Side!" the guard named Wang suddenly shouted.
Just as everyone was paying attention to the south, several riders quietly approached them from the side.
"Go!" Kang Ying screamed, "Kill that woman!"
The woman was panicked and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Shoot!"
Arrows flew in like locusts.
The guard named Wang who ran towards the carriage was shot and fell down.
Several riders passed by them from behind, and seven of Yang's guards were shot and fell.
Dozens of riders came galloping.
"Kneel down and I won't kill you!"
Amid the shouts, Chen Ji rode his horse to the carriage, dismounted and asked, "But Li?"
The woman nodded reluctantly and asked:
"What are you waiting for..."
"We are here on orders." Chen Ji looked at the woman and said in a deep voice, "Take you home!"
(End of this chapter)
