Chapter 963: Turning against guests
A march must have scouts and vanguards.
This is within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, there is no need to make a fuss, but outposts are still needed.
Chen Ji's offer was rejected by Jiang Qingzhi, so he asked Sun Chonglou to lead dozens of elite soldiers to go ahead and gather information along the way, and by the way...
——Establish your authority!
This was what Xu Wei told Sun Chonglou in private.
——Songjiang Prefecture said that they prepared a big trap for the Lord. The Lord asked you to go because he saw your recklessness...Okay! Don't look at people like that, it's scary. The Lord saw your straightforwardness. Remember this trip, as long as no one is killed, just do it!
After hearing this, Sun Chonglou was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. When he was leaving Nanjing, he met a powerful official who was entering the city and blocked the city gates, preventing him from entering or leaving.
Boll, who was accompanying them, was more experienced than anyone else. He had seen many of the behaviors of the powerful and wealthy in Lisbon, and knew that this was intentional and someone was testing him, so he told Sun Chonglou about it.
Sun Chonglou whipped the nobleman off his horse with just a whip and then rushed forward.
Fortunately, the nobleman had pretty good skills and rolled on the spot to avoid the horse's hooves.
Sun Chonglou laughed and left.
The powerful were furious and cursed, vowing to make Sun Chonglou pay the price. Jiang Qingzhi showed up with a large group of people, and just raised his whip and made the powerful run away.
Before leaving the city, Jiang Qingzhi casually said that this was a gift for those people in Nanjing.
Come, take down Wang Hui. Go, I'll whip you.
Sun Chonglou had a great time all the way, but the road was particularly deserted. No one provoked him, and no one blocked his way, which made all his enthusiasm go down the drain.
As they arrived at Songjiang Prefecture and were about to enter Huating County, a group of scholars were shouting and cursing "Jiang thief" and were unfortunately run into by Sun Chonglou.
This is the meeting of golden wind and jade dew, which is better than countless things in the world.
The young farmer was stunned, "Dad, this guy is so fierce."
The farmer muttered, "Be quiet."
The old people in the village said that in times of war, thieves come like combs and soldiers come like rakes. Don't provoke those warriors unless necessary. If you get killed by them, you will have no place to complain.
Are you saying this isn't a peaceful and prosperous age?
The old people will tell you that there has been no peace in the Central Plains for thousands of years.
The young farmer remembered this but didn't quite believe it. Now, he believed it.
Sun Chonglou dealt with the drunk scholar. Amid the screams of the prostitutes, he turned around and looked at Ma Ji.
Sun Chonglou...never heard of him.
Ma Ji was furious. He pointed at Sun Chonglou and said as he retreated, "Hurry to the city gate to call for reinforcements and capture this thug!"
Some people ran away.
Paul smiled and rode his horse to catch up, neither hurried nor slow.
The man ran and looked back. Seeing that it was a foreigner, he was shocked and said, "It's a foreigner!"
The scholars were stunned. A prostitute blushed and said, "I heard that there is a foreigner around Long Wei Bo. Could it be this person?"
Bol turned his head on his horse and said, "I am Bol, a Ming citizen, with my household registration in the capital of Ming. I am not a foreigner!"
He said it very seriously.
The longer he stayed with Jiang Qingzhi, the more he felt that his original decision was too wise. This new boss didn't beat or scold him, and his treatment was so generous that the guards in Lisbon were envious and drooled.
The key is attitude. Jiang Qingzhi never despised his identity as a foreigner, and they got along like a family on a daily basis.
The former down-and-out sailor, who had seen the ways of the world, had been completely devoted to Jiang Qingzhi ever since.
In Boll's eyes, the New Deal was like the cultural renaissance that the Lisbon poets talked about. It was that cultural renaissance that led the entire West and Portugal to embark on the road of colonization.
Following Jiang Qingzhi, he seemed to be smiling all day long, but in fact he was observing his boss all the time.
He discovered that beneath his boss's confidence and composure, there was a deep anxiety, as if the Ming Dynasty would collapse in the next moment.
Bol knew that this trip south would be a life-and-death battle, so before leaving, Fucheng asked him if he had anything to say. Bol said that if he could not come back, his body would be burned to ashes, half of which would be taken aboard the ships going out to sea and scattered into the sea when encountering westward currents or trade winds, and the other half would be left in Ming Dynasty.
He asked Fucheng with a smile, "I heard that guards can be buried with their masters?"
Fu Cheng looked at him for a long time, then patted him on the shoulder… This was the first time Fu Cheng showed kindness to Boll, and then he said, “Do your best and come back safely.”
This time, Jiang Qingzhi asked him to accompany Sun Chonglou because he valued his experience and his ability to control people's hearts.
Jiang Qingzhi allowed Sun Chonglou to act unscrupulously along the way. According to Boll's understanding, this was to give those people in Songjiang Prefecture a warning.
In this case, the momentum must be loud enough.
So Boll followed the scholar at a leisurely pace.
The scholar ran to the city and shouted, "Someone is committing a crime! Help!"
The soldiers at the city gate were startled, and someone said, "It's the barbarians!"
"Get off your horse!" A general came out and shouted at Boll.
Bol stopped smiling and said coldly, "What should we do if someone insults an important official of the dynasty?"
The general flag was startled, "Important official, who is it?"
The scholar hid behind him and said, "This man is... the bodyguard of Jiang the thief!"
"Listen!" Bol laughed, "I heard it all."
Songjiang Prefecture had already prepared various means to deal with Jiang Qingzhi, and the officers and soldiers guarding the city had also been told. Under the general flag, they subconsciously said, "Why didn't I hear it?"
Jiang Qingzhi didn't come, so a foreigner came instead, so it's a good opportunity to teach him a lesson.
"Who heard it?" the general asked, turning around.
"did not hear."
"This man must be deaf!"
"General, this is a lunatic!"
"Hahahaha!"
The scholar breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at Boll and said, "There are still his accomplices wreaking havoc over there!"
The general's eyes rolled. According to the prior instructions, if he encountered the brutal men under Jiang Qingzhi, he must not give in, but must argue with them based on reason and not retreat an inch.
——Just hold on, if anything goes wrong, someone will cover it. In addition, if there is any accident, the future of your children and grandchildren will be guaranteed by Songjiang Prefecture and even the southern scholars.
The Ming Dynasty implemented the military household system, where if one person joined the army, his descendants would all be military personnel.
The Ming Dynasty controlled the military with the help of the civil officials. Not only did the military have a low status, but it was common for the food and wages to be embezzled. If the generals at the top had some conscience, they would deduct less. If they were ruthless, they would deduct more from the food and wages that had already been embezzled, and the officers and soldiers at the bottom would be no different from beggars. Therefore, when this condition was put forward, the generals of the Songjiang Prefecture garrison were stunned.
The general flagman coughed dryly. As the general flagman, he also had a say in food and salary. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to fill his stomach.
If my son could become a centurion... my whole family would be successful.
The general flag was burning with anger, and said with a straight face: "Dismount and discard your sword."
Boll was an experienced man and he knew at a glance that the defenders of Songjiang Prefecture were unreliable.
This is an important discovery.
He could retreat now, thinking these people wouldn't dare to embarrass him.
But thinking of his boss' instructions, Bol slowly drew out his long knife and pointed at the general flag, "Are you sure you want to protect this person?"
"Use the knife!"
The crowd watching the fun was instantly shocked.
"Here comes Long Wilbur. Come and see! The knife is in action."
Watching the excitement is one of human beings’ greatest hobbies. Soon hundreds of people poured out of the city, and more people continued to arrive.
The general flag didn't expect this foreigner to be so tough. He sneered, "This is Songjiang Prefecture. Get off your horse and put down your knife, otherwise I will kill you in vain!"
Of course he didn't dare to kill, but he couldn't lose his momentum.
Seeing more and more people gathering around, Boll felt that the time had come.
He rode his horse slowly towards the scholar, pointing his knife at him, "This man insulted Lord Chang Wei. I am Lord Chang Wei's bodyguard, so I must bring him to justice!"
"I see!"
"Jiang Qingzhi's guards are so fierce!"
"They are all the murderers who followed him from south to north."
"Does he dare to really do it?"
Just as everyone was making various guesses, Boltse rode his horse in front of the general.
The general's legs trembled.
Should I give in, or...
Find wealth in danger!
The general drew his sword and said, "Get off your horse!"
Amid the sound of swords being drawn, only a flash of sword light was seen.
Everyone exclaimed, and then Boll put away his knife and the general staggered back.
His iron helmet was cut off by Bol's sword, and his hair was scattered and covered his face, making him look like a ghost.
"Go!" the scholar shouted, pointing at Boll, "Catch this murderer!"
But the soldiers hesitated.
Bol noticed it, he rode over, turned his long sword around, and chopped the scholar's shoulder with the back of the sword.
The sound of the fracture was very crisp.
The scholar fell down with a howl. Bol rode his horse forward, pulled the reins, and the horse stood up.
Then it fell heavily.
The horse's hoof landed right on the scholar's thigh.
Everyone couldn't help but close their eyes.
Then there were screams of agony.
When everyone opened their eyes, they saw the scholar rolling on the ground. Bol looked at the general flag coldly, "Who wants to save him?"
"This is a provocation!" someone in the crowd said angrily.
But who dares to rescue people?
"Help!"
At this moment, a cry for help was heard from the official road. Everyone turned around and saw more than a dozen scholars running towards them in a panic.
Behind them, dozens of riders were chasing... it was more like a cat-and-mouse game. They followed slowly, using their scabbards to whip the lagging scholars.
A centurion appeared on the top of the city wall. He burped and cursed, "Who is making trouble?"
"It's Jiang Qingzhi's guard!"
The captain's face changed drastically, "Didn't they say it would take several days to arrive?"
He turned around and said, "Go and report to everyone quickly."
……
"Jiang Qingzhi is here." In the government office, Chen Lian looked solemn.
At the Xu family, Xu Fan was entertaining guests. The guests were from Suzhou Prefecture and were several local celebrities.
"Master, Jiang Qingzhi's people have arrived."
Xu Fan's smile froze for a moment, then he smiled again, "Come, drink this cup to the full!"
Several celebrities drank the wine in their glasses, and one of them said with a smile: "I heard that Songjiang Prefecture has prepared many methods for Jiang Qingzhi. There must be a show of power and a killing stick. Let's wait and see today."
Xu Fan smiled and said, "Everything is ready, we are just waiting for him. The officers and soldiers guarding the city are all our people. We can make things difficult for them and anger those guards..."
A famous scholar nodded, "Those guards are used to Jiang Qingzhi's domineering behavior, and they will definitely be furious. Once they take action, Songjiang Prefecture will be in the right."
Xu Fan nodded and ordered, "Go and ask what's going on."
At this time, someone reported, "Master, Wang Mengqiu wants to see you."
"Didn't he just leave not long ago?" Xu Fan frowned, "Please come."
Wang Mengqiu came in hurriedly, bowed, and nodded to several famous scholars in Suzhou Prefecture, "Master, Jiang Qingzhi's guards beat more than ten scholars in Songjiang Prefecture and even rode their horses to trample on the scholars in front of the soldiers guarding the city..."
(End of this chapter)
