The prison at Dagukou was at the end of the government office. It was originally used to temporarily detain pirates. They would usually be detained for ten days or half a month before being transferred to Tianjin City Guard for trial and conviction. Therefore, the prison at this government office was empty most of the time.
The cell was dark and damp, with thick spider webs on the beams and snakes, insects, rats and ants everywhere.
Wan Youliang hasn't been able to sleep since he was thrown into prison.
It hurt at first. The wound on his thigh had been bandaged with a cloth and stopped bleeding, but the pain was so severe that he couldn't sleep. Later, he was used to a life of luxury and this was the first time he had experienced such hardship. Just smelling the rotten smell in the cell made him sick and he couldn't sleep at all.
He sat against the wall, staring, wondering, how did it come to this?
Obviously, he and Guan Haishan had planned everything. As long as they could force the prince away, Fang Zhengke would be left alone and unable to accomplish anything. He could still enjoy himself in this nest of gold and silver for another year, waiting for the next transfer envoy to take his place.
But now there is nothing.
When he was first locked up, he would yell for people to let him out. But after struggling for half a day and seeing that no one paid attention to him, he gradually calmed down and wondered how Guan Haishan was doing at the moment.
Now the only person who could possibly rescue him is Guan Haishan.
As I was thinking about the possible situation, I heard the creaking of the old cell door and the sound of footsteps in the long corridor.
Wan Youliang moved, looked over, and saw Xue Shu walking in.
Xue Shu was well-dressed, but he became a prisoner.
Wan Youliang forgot the pain in his leg for a moment and shouted angrily, "You bastard! How dare you deceive me!"
Xue Shu stood in front of the cell where he was imprisoned, and slowly glanced at him with eyes full of hostility. He said gloomily: "You cursed my family, but you have to pay it back." After saying that, he turned his head to the subordinates who followed him and said: "Shut his mouth and drag him out."
The soldiers from the four guard camps who were accompanying him were now obedient to him. Upon hearing what he said, they immediately opened the cell door, gagged Wan Youliang, and dragged him out.
Xue Shu had the pirates brought to the torture room for interrogation, while Wan Youliang was held aside. He stared at him with wide eyes in horror, making grunting sounds in his throat.
"Don't worry, Your Highness still has use for you. We won't kill you now. Just watch from the side." After saying that, he ordered people to tie him to a rack nearby, and he began to interrogate the pirate who was brought up.
These pirates had shaved heads and dressed like Japanese foreigners. No matter what Xue Shu asked, they kept talking incomprehensible words.
Xue Shu asked a few questions, and seeing that they refused to cooperate, he ordered them to be tortured.
After all the torture instruments were used, some people started to speak. They no longer spoke in bird language to pretend to be stupid, but spoke pure Dayan Mandarin.
——Although these pirates are dressed as Japanese, they are actually bandits roaming along the coast.
They committed murder, looting and other atrocities along the coast. Fearing that their true identities would be discovered and their parents and relatives would be implicated, they simply dressed up as strangers to conceal their identities and act more conveniently.
As for yesterday's raid, the pirates were unaware of the inside story. They only vaguely knew that the official they had been dealing with for many years had run into trouble, and the superiors sent them to scare the "trouble" on behalf of the official and teach him a lesson.
As for going deeper, these small fry who were usually only responsible for robbing on shore had no idea, saying that only the bosses above knew.
Xue Shu did not comment on this, and ordered his men to torture a dozen pirates one after another.
Although he still didn't get to the point about the assassination, he unexpectedly came up with another thing.
——A small pirate leader confessed that there was not enough food and women on the island, and a new batch of goods had arrived not long ago. In about ten days, the main force would land at Dagukou to "restock and sell goods."
In order to avoid being hunted down, these pirates hid in the islands near Tianjin. They would only go ashore when they were short of supplies or needed to sell goods. Burning, killing and looting were common, and the government did not care.
Xue Shu made sure that he could not get any more information out of these pirates, so he ordered them to be taken back to prison.
A subordinate brought warm water and a cloth for him to wash his hands. Xichang?"
Wan Youliang's lips were trembling and he couldn't speak. He looked at Xue Shu as if he was looking at an Asura evil ghost from hell, full of fear.
"Master Wan's body is well-maintained, and it is most suitable for combing."
"You, you..." Wan Youliang's facial muscles twitched, and he used all his strength to squeeze out two words from his throat. Then a smell of urine came into the air.
Xue Shu frowned and took a step back in disgust.
Now that Wan Youliang is still useful, and he cannot move for the time being, I just want to scare him. I didn't expect that he is so easily frightened.
"We haven't used torture yet, what are you afraid of?" Xue Shudun felt bored and ordered his men to take him back before he turned around and left the prison.
It was only five o'clock outside and the sky was dim. Except for the guards on duty, even the chirping of insects and birds had stopped.
Xue Shu looked at the bright and cold moon above his head, stopped to think for a while, and then went to the main house where Yin Chengyu lived.
He did not show up, but found a big tree facing the main house and sat there, staring at the closed window in a daze.
His Highness should be asleep at this moment. Xue Shu pictured him in his mind, sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed and wearing only his undershirt. His mood became very good.
He leaned against the tree branch with his arms as his head rested on it, his eyes fixed on the window from the fifth watch all the way to Chen Zheng.
When the cold moon sets in the west, the early sun rises in the east. The early spring sunlight shines through the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows.
When the soldiers on duty changed shifts, Xue Shu saw Zheng Duobao entering the house carrying toiletries.
After a while, the tightly closed window was pushed open, and Yin Chengyu's figure appeared behind the window.
He was only wearing a black shirt, with his hair hanging down. The light and shadow from the window flickered on his face, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, which was somewhat similar to the scene in Xue Shu's dream.
Xue Shu immediately sat up straight, stared at it for a while, and finally couldn't help it. He jumped down from the tree and went to the main house to report the results of the interrogation.
Yin Chengyu had just finished washing up when he heard someone report that Xue Shu was here.
He muttered, "Why so early?" and changed his clothes to go out to meet people.
Xue Shu and others were in the hall. When they saw him come out, they raised their eyes, and then their eyeballs did not move.
"What brings you here so early in the morning?" Yin Chengyu sat down in the main seat.
Xue Shu reported the results of the interrogation truthfully.
The situation was not much different from what Yin Chengyu had expected. He tapped the table with his fingers and said after a while, "What happened in the city yesterday cannot be covered up. Guan Haishan must have known about Xiao Wan Youliang's situation. It's not a good idea to let him stay in the guardhouse and not come out. Go and bring him back."
"As for the threat of pirates..." Yin Chengyu went through the people he could use in his mind and said, "I will make other arrangements."
As they were talking, the kitchen servant brought in breakfast.
Yin Chengyu ordered someone to place the table in the living room, and then he sat down at the table leisurely. Seeing Xue Shu still standing by, he asked him to sit down and have dinner with him.
Xue Shu sat down below him, but he didn't look at the food in front of him, he just stared at Yin Chengyu.
Yin Chengyu's etiquette has always been known as a model, and his every move is full of elegance. He picked up a piece of white jade osmanthus cake, took a bite, swallowed it slowly, and looked at Xue Shu with his eyes slanting: "If you don't want to eat, go and do your work."
There was no hint of annoyance in his words, but rather a hint of arousal due to his sideways glance at her.
Xue Shu's eyes suddenly became hot, and countless emotions were swirling under his eyelashes that were pulled down so low.
He lowered his head and very slowly picked up the chopsticks to pick up the plate of white jade osmanthus cake placed in front of Yin Chengyu.
But when he reached out, Yin Chengyu held it down with chopsticks.
Yin Chengyu looked at his expression, smiling and saying, "Don't you dislike sweets?"
Xue Shu pursed his lips and said after a while: "Your Highness likes it."
If His Highness likes to eat, then he likes to eat too.
He wants to know what the other person likes.
"Then this dish is for you." His words pleased Yin Chengyu. He withdrew his hand and signaled the servant who was serving the dishes to put the dish of osmanthus cake in front of Xue Shu.
Only one piece of the osmanthus cake that had just been served was moved, and the half piece that Yin Chengyu had bitten off was placed on the top.
Yin Chengyu put down his chopsticks, picked up the hot tea and took a sip, then looked at Xue Shu through the hot steam.
Seeing that he really tried to pick up the piece he had eaten first, her eyebrows twitched and she curled her lips and smiled.
After breakfast, Yin Chengyu went to the Salt Commissioner's office to look for Fang Zhengke.
Xue Shu, who was reluctant to leave, was sent to the guard post to arrest Guan Haishan.
Fang Zhengke's injury had healed, and he stayed in the office for a while, just cleaning up the files and accounts of the Salt Commissioner. On that day, Wan Youliang burned the archives of the Salt Commissioner to destroy the evidence, and although the people arranged by Yin Chengyu snatched some of them out, a lot of them were still damaged.
"Although part of the matter has been sorted out now, it is only the tip of the iceberg." Fang Zhengke's face was full of anger: "Just look at the remaining accounts, and you will know how corrupt the Changluo Salt Administration has been over the years!"
In these years, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, from Wangjing to local salt administration officials, I am afraid that few are clean.
"If Your Highness wants to make a fundamental change, you have to find a way to sort out the accounts over the years."
"How difficult is that?" After reading through the accounts one by one, Yin Chengyu said, "Just wait and see, Mr. Fang Yushi. I have a way to catch all these parasites. Salt tax is related to the foundation of the country. The chaos in the Changlu Salt Administration must not be allowed to continue."
After a serious talk with Fang Zhengke, Yin Chengyu returned to Tianjin City.
After a night, the news from Dagukou had apparently been reported back to Tianjin City. When the officials who came out to greet them saw Yin Chengyu, they all looked panicked, but no one dared to show it too much.
Yin Chengyu no longer played along with them and drove directly to the government court. He then ordered his men to summon the salt merchants and the heads of the water transport gang to the court.
The heads of the eight major families and three major gangs gathered in the court and knelt on the ground.
Yin Chengyu sat upright in the hall, holding a teacup in his hand. The tea foam slowly filtered through the edge of the tea lid and he sipped it calmly.
The heads of the family had been left out for nearly 25 minutes, their knees numb from kneeling. They stared at each other for a long while, and finally pushed Cao Feng, the head of the salt merchants, to come out and speak.
Cao Feng cupped his hands and said with a smile, "I wonder why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has summoned us here?"
"I have something to ask you."
Yin Chengyu closed the teacup with a clang, and the lid hit the tea bowl with a crisp sound: "Someone reported that the salt administration of the Changlu Salt Administration was in chaos, and private salt was rampant and squeezed out the official salt. I was ordered by the emperor to come here to investigate..." At this point, he deliberately paused, his eyes slowly swept down, taking in the expressions of everyone, and then continued: "After investigating these days, I found that the Changlu Salt Administration not only had a messy account, but the Salt Transport Commissioner Wan Youliang also forged documents from the Ministry of Revenue, privately issued salt permits, and withheld tax silver. This is truly an unforgivable crime."
"Wan Youliang has been detained, but the archives of the Salt Commissioner's Office were burned down a while ago, and many accounts and documents are missing. I have called you here to understand the matter of Wan Youliang's private issuance of salt permits. All of you present are big salt merchants in Tianjin. Wan Youliang's private issuance of salt permits increased taxes, and you must have suffered for a long time. If you are dissatisfied with any injustice, please speak up."
Yin Chengyu had a gentle expression, as if he had really only summoned them here to complain about their grievances.
For a moment, several heads of families were confused, not knowing whether the prince was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid.
The salt merchants knew that Wan Youliang had collected more taxes and silver by issuing salt permits privately, but this amount of taxes and silver was just a drop in the bucket compared to the huge profits from private salt.
They bring benefits to everything, and everything brings convenience to them. This is a mutually beneficial thing.
Moreover, if Wan Youliang fell and the matter of smuggling salt was implicated, none of them would be able to escape.
Cao Feng showed a panic expression, and said with his head raised, "Your Highness, please understand. Since Lord Wan took office, he has made every effort to crack down on private salt and stabilize the price of official salt. The salt merchants in Tianjin are very grateful to him. I don't know where the rumor of privately issuing salt permits to increase taxes came from? We are not aware of it."
Seeing this, the others followed suit and echoed: "That's right, I hope Your Highness will not listen to my slander."
"How could Lord Wan, who is devoted to the people, make such a big mistake?"
Yin Chengyu listened to them rushing to defend Wan Youliang, and laughed: "I didn't believe that the officials and businessmen of Changlu Salt Field colluded to sell private salt, but now that you are so protective of Wan Youliang, I believe it about 80%."
As soon as these words were spoken, the fierce voices of rebuttal stopped instantly.
The heads of the family looked at him in surprise.
Yin Chengyu's face turned cold, no longer lenient: "Wan Youliang's crime is proven, and he is sentenced to death. You are in collusion with him, and you cannot escape the responsibility. But I have always been lenient and the law does not punish everyone. If you think clearly, bring the accounts of the past years and turn yourself in, you can be turned into a tainted witness and get a lighter sentence. If you don't think clearly..." He smiled grimly, "Those who sell smuggled salt should be executed according to Dayan law."
Having said that, he turned away.
Zheng Duobao held a stack of account books and stayed at the end. He looked at the heads who were looking suspicious and gave them a snack: "Your Highness is kind and does not want to see the bloodshed in Tianjin, so he summoned you all. What a pity..." He glanced at the people in the courtroom with pity and sighed: "You think you are invincible, but you don't know that someone has already secretly betrayed Your Highness."
He patted the stack of account books in his hands meaningfully, and left after Yin Chengyu.
Leaving everyone in the hall in confusion.
The head of the Jiang family looked at several people suspiciously: "Who is the traitor?"
"You believe in the alienation plot?!" Cao Feng scolded.
"Be calm, if we really have evidence, we can go back easily today?" Ke Shouxin also comforted.
What he said made sense, but Yin Chengyu's words left seeds of doubt in their hearts. For a moment, everyone had their own plans in mind, and after leaving the court, they hurried back home.
Yin Chengyu returned to the inn and called Zhao Lin over: "You can order someone to spread the news now."
He had been keeping silent about the accounts that Wei Xihe had given him before, just for today.
Just when the salt merchants and the leaders of the grain transport gang were still hesitant and waiting to see the situation, an official from the Salt Commissioner's Office, who had always been on good terms with Cao Feng, suddenly leaked a rumor that the Wei family had secretly surrendered to the prince and had handed over the private salt accounts.
The prince is reviewing the accounts for the second time these two days.
Over the years, all the private salt business handled by each company has a detailed account, which is both their death warrant and a life-saving talisman for them to control each other.
As long as people are still grasshoppers tied to a string, no one will be able to take this thing out easily.
But now there is a rumor that the Wei family has rebelled, and the news came from within the Salt Administration.
The bosses who were suddenly stabbed in the back were extremely angry.
Now, Ke Shouxin is the head of the Wei family, and Cao Feng did not dare to bring too many people to the door for fear of attracting attention. So he only went to the Wei family with Liu Xizhi, the head of the Liu family, and Yan Chuhe, the leader of the Luosheng Gang.
Ke Shouxin had been feeling rather nervous these past two days. When he heard that three people had come to his house, he thought there was new news and hurriedly invited them to his study. However, he was punched by Yan Chuhe as soon as he entered the room.
Yan Chuhe grabbed his neck and threw him against the wall, his expression ferocious: "How dare you betray us?!"
Ke Shouxin twisted his hands and looked shocked: "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
The other two people saw that his expression of surprise did not seem fake, so they hurried forward to persuade him and then let the man go.
Cao Feng acted like a peacemaker: "Old Ke, we are all brothers in the same boat. If you jump off the boat first and hurt others, don't blame us for being ruthless."
He pulled out a copied account from his sleeve and handed it to Ke Shouxin: "Take a look and see if this is your account."
"How could I do such a stupid thing? These past two days I was worried that those idiots would believe the espionage plan and turn themselves in!"
Ke Shouxin's face turned pale. He took the paper in his hand and just glanced at it casually, but when he saw the unique accounting method on it, his expression froze.
The other three people saw that his expression was not right and immediately became suspicious: "Is this really yours?"
Ke Shouxin was shocked, but his face remained calm. He frowned and said unhappily, "It's not from me."
Although he said this, the smile on his face was very forced.
He was thinking quickly in his mind, where did the accounts come from? Those accounts have been in his hands since he took control of the Wei family, and there is no way that outsiders could know them.
No, there is one more person who knows!
Ke Shouxin was startled and thought of his eldest son who was about to die.
He had no intention of dealing with the three men any longer, so he sent them away in a hurry and headed quickly towards the west courtyard.
Wei Xihe had just finished packing.
He had lived in this house for twenty years, and when he left, he was left with nothing but a simple baggage.
His relatives have passed away, the Wei family has changed hands, and only his grandfather, who grew up with him, is still by his side.
He looked up at the tall walls of the Wei Mansion, smiled with relief, and said sideways: "Ah Xuan, I can finally leave here."
Zhou Xuan took the bundle from his hand and said, "Hmm," "Young Master, are you going to pay respect to the old lady and the lady?"
"Now is not the time." Wei Xihe looked at Ke Shouxin who was walking towards him and said softly, "Why would we hold a memorial service when our blood feud has not been avenged?"
"You rebellious son, it's you who is wrong!" Ke Shouxin strode forward and was about to grab him by the collar.
Zhou Xuan subconsciously wanted to block it, but Wei Xihe stopped him with a gesture.
"Who else but me?"
Wei Xihe looked at him with a smile, prying open his fingers one by one, his eyes filled with malice: "Now it's just the beginning. Not only you, but also your wives, concubines, and children will be buried with the Wei family."
The cold look in his eyes and the cruel tone in his voice made Ke Shouxin subconsciously take two steps back and said through gritted teeth: "If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted as to let you stay!"
Wei Xihe sneered: "It's too late to regret now. Qingming Festival is coming, I will carry your head to offer sacrifice to my grandfather and mother."
Having said that, he brushed off the dust on his robe, and with Zhou Xuan's help, he straightened his back and walked out step by step from the cage that had trapped him for five years.
The news that the Wei family had surrendered to the prince quickly spread to all families, especially when Cao Feng and others went to find Ke Shouxin to inquire about the news and then came back with the excuse of being sick and refusing to see anyone, which made everyone even more worried.
Many people's hearts have begun to waver.
In particular, Wan Youliang had been detained for only five days when news came that the general Guan Haishan had also been arrested.
He had originally hidden in the guardhouse, thinking he could escape the disaster for the time being, but unexpectedly, the prince sent elite soldiers from the four guard camps to arrest him. Guan Haishan resisted in vain, and was instead chopped off one of his arms and imprisoned in the Tianjin guardhouse.
Guan Haishan was the chief soldier of Tianjin garrison and a second-rank official. If he had not had solid evidence, the prince would never have acted in this way.
For a time, the people of Tianjin were in panic.
Yin Chengyu's strategy of creating discord finally worked. One after another, people came forward secretly to surrender themselves, presenting the historical salt smuggling account books, willing to become tainted witnesses, and only asking for a lighter sentence.
Boxes of smuggled salt account books were sent to Fang Zhengke.
The witnesses and material evidence are solid.
One month after Yin Chengyu arrived in Tianjin, the smuggling case was finally officially tried, with Salt Patrol Shi Fangzhengke as the presiding judge.
At this time, Yin Chengyu was busy with another thing - guarding against the attack of pirates at Dagukou.
According to the confession of the pirate leader, after they cooperated with Guan Haishan to complete the task of scaring "Trouble", they would stay in Dagukou to facilitate the landing of a large number of pirates two days later.
Tianjin's coastal defense was lax and the army was lazy. Guan Haishan, the general commander, took the lead in colluding with the pirates and tolerated the pirate ships' movement, making it a regular practice for these pirates to land.
Not only did they burn and loot on shore, they also sold the goods brought back from the sea to merchants in Tianjin, who then sold them to various places in exchange for large sums of money and supplies.
Because it was profitable, many merchants and local people voluntarily became the pirates' eyes and ears. In order to prevent the news of Guan Haishan's accident from leaking out, Yin Chengyu ordered people to mobilize troops from Guangningwei by water to evacuate the people of the entire Dagukou.
Today, only an empty city remains in Dagukou, and the "people" living in the city are played by soldiers.
Just waiting for the pirates to land.
Two days later, everything was ready.
Xiao Tongguang, commander of the Guangning Guard, accompanied Yin Chengyu to Dagukou.
"Your Highness, are you sure that the pirates will land today?"
Xiao Tongguang also took a risk in mobilizing troops this time. If he had not always admired Yin Chengyu's character and Yin Chengyu had not asked for help in a sincere manner in the letter, he would never have agreed to mobilize troops without the written permission from the Ministry of War.
Tianjin Guard itself has five to six thousand soldiers stationed there, not to mention the thousand-household and hundred-household units under it. The military force is very sufficient, and there are guards from Liaoning and Shandong on both sides. Even if there are a small wave of pirates, they should be able to deal with it on their own.
However, Yin Chengyu wrote to say that the officers and soldiers of Tianjin Garrison were colluding with the pirates, and the pirates would land in a few days, but no one in the Garrison could be trusted. In order to prevent the news from leaking out, they could only transfer troops from other places.
After much deliberation, Xiao Tongguang took the risk of dispatching troops to provide support.
"Not sure." Yin Chengyu shook his head: "I heard the news from the captured leader, and I'm not sure if there will be any changes in the meantime. But the pirates have been rampant for a long time, and since I heard the news, I can't just ignore it."
He patted Xiao Tongguang on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Commander Xiao. If anything goes wrong, I will shoulder the responsibility alone."
Having said that, he stepped forward with his hands behind his back and observed the situation on the sea through a telescope.
At this time, the sea was calm and there was no sign of any ships sailing.
They waited like this until evening, but still no sign of the pirates.
Yin Chengyu remained calm, but Xiao Tongguang became impatient and asked again, "Could it be that the news is wrong?"
Yin Chengyu said, "If he doesn't come today, he may come tomorrow. If he doesn't come after three days, Commander Xiao can turn back first."
Hearing him say this, Xiao Tongguang could only wait patiently.
Just as the setting sun was about to fall onto the horizon, a scout suddenly came to report: five large ships were approaching at sea.
Two of them were 500-ton warships, and the other three were slightly smaller, all cargo ships.
Xiao Tongguang was cheered up and started making arrangements quickly.
At this time, Dagukou was just like usual, with no discernible difference.
Several large ships raised flag signals as they approached the dock. The leader had already asked for the signal, and a soldier immediately responded with a signal, indicating that everything was normal.
The large ship temporarily stopped at a simple pier, and the pirates happily carried the cargo off the ship.
Most of them had shaved heads and wore Japanese traditional clothing, but they spoke the Dayan dialect fluently.
In less than half an hour, the goods were loaded and unloaded.
The pirates dumped their mountains of cargo on the dock and prepared to go into the city in groups to have some fun and call for help to load the cargo.
The big man in the lead was carrying a heavy sword, wearing inappropriate clothes, and his eyes were darting around, but he did not join the rejoicing pirate group.
He kicked the person next to him and frowned, "Be careful, I feel something is wrong."
"What's wrong with that? The boss is just too cautious." The second in command, who was kicked by him, laughed and said, "We got something good this time. When the time comes, let's ask General Guan to come and take a look. If he's willing to accept it, we'll make a fortune."
They had been coveting the smuggled salt business for a long time, but all the smuggled salt in Tianjin had already been divided up, and they, the latecomers, had never found an opportunity to join in, and could only drink the meat soup.
Now is a good time to get some money from Guan Haishan's pocket.
The big man did not refute his words, but his brows were still furrowed, and there was always a sense of crisis lingering in his heart.
Yin Chengyu was on the drum tower. He glanced at the leading hun and handed the telescope to Xiao Tongguang: "The thief leader is suspicious. Let them prepare to act in advance."
Xiao Tongguang took it and took a look, and also noticed that the big man was looking around, so he immediately passed the order along.
The flags on the drum tower waved several times at a special frequency.
In the dim twilight, the Dagu city gate slowly closed with a dull creaking sound.
"No! It's a fraud!" The big man heard the noise and reacted first, then rushed to the city gate.
He was moving very fast, but the city gate was too heavy and closed very slowly, allowing him to rush out.
After him, several fast pirates also rushed to the city gate and fought with the soldiers guarding the city.
The situation suddenly became chaotic. Xiao Tongguang saw that the bandit leader had run away and said hurriedly, "I will lead people to chase him. We can't let him get away."
That big man is so alert and skilled, he must be an important pirate leader.
"No need, my men have already caught up." Yin Chengyu narrowed his eyes and looked at the two figures who had already fought at the city gate.
——When the big man rushed to the city gate, Xue Shu had already caught up with him. The big man was very brave, and seeing that he could not get rid of Xue Shu, he turned around and drew his sword to fight him.
The big man used a thick-backed heavy sword, and when he swung the sword, it was as powerful as a thousand pounds and carried the sound of the wind; while Xue Shu used two swords, one long and one short, and he could use the two swords in his hands like his own arms.
Seeing the big man's amazing arm strength, he did not confront him head-on, but relied on his agility to fight in close combat, and the short knife in his left hand left wounds on the big man from time to time.
In a few moments, the big man's body was covered in blood.
He spat, his eyes became even more ferocious, and he brandished a big knife with great vigor.
However, Xue Shu was like a cunning lone wolf, always able to dodge his moves and even counterattack. Just when the big man was getting impatient, he saw a flaw in his upper body, and he was immediately delighted and swung his knife to chop at his left shoulder.
Xue Shu seemed unable to dodge in time, and the sharp blade slashed across his shoulder, causing blood to spurt out.
The big man smiled at him ferociously, but before he could show any smugness, his smile froze.
——Xue Shu’s long knife in his right hand was chopping at his leg.
This time it was Xue Shu's turn to smile at him sinisterly, and with a twist of his waist, he used his arms to exert force and cut off his entire right leg at the knee.
The big man cried out in pain and fell to the ground, blood gushing from his knees.
Xue Shu casually wiped the blood that splattered on his face, leaned the knife on the ground, and turned to look in the direction of the Drum Tower.
Yin Chengyu saw this scene through the telescope, but his eyes were stung by the red spot on his left shoulder.
"I'll go down and take a look." He threw the telescope to Xiao Tongguang and went down the drum tower.
The fighting at the city gate was coming to an end. The Guangning Guard soldiers were well-trained and quickly captured all of the more than one hundred pirates.
They were seized along with five large ships.
When Yin Chengyu rushed to the city gate, the legless bandit leader had already been tied up and put on the prison cart. Xue Shu followed behind, leaning on his knife, his posture was as straight as ever, but his face was a little pale. If it weren't for the dark red wetness on his shoulder, one would almost think he was no different from usual.
"Quickly call a military doctor!"
Yin Chengyu's heart began to beat fast when he saw the bright red. He no longer cared about anything else and only ordered his men to hold Xue Shu.
Xue Shu frowned and was about to say that he could walk by himself, but Yin Chengyu glared at him and said, "Be honest!"
He paused, and then was carried obediently back to the government office.
The military doctor rushed to the government office with a medical kit on his back, and was shocked when he saw the wound on his shoulder: "If it was a little more to the side, this arm would be useless."
As he spoke, he ordered the young doctor to prepare anesthetic powder, needles and thread, etc.
Xue Shu's face was covered with sweat. Hearing this, he retorted coldly: "It's just a minor injury. I know what's going on."
The military doctor was choked by him and wanted to scold him, but when he met his fierce eyes, he shut his mouth and took out gauze to clean his wound without saying a word.
On the contrary, Yin Chengyu was annoyed and scolded, "If you knew, how could you be injured like this?"
Xue Shu pursed his lips, his eyes showing dissatisfaction, but he did not refute in the end.
A moment later, the doctor brought him some numbing soup, and he fell asleep after drinking it. The military doctor cleaned the wound for him and sewed it up with needle and thread. It took him half an hour to finally heal the wound.
"How serious is his injury? How long will he need to rest?" Yin Chengyu asked.
"You need to rest for at least half a month." The military doctor said, "Fortunately, the injury avoided the vital meridians and only injured the flesh. Otherwise, it would probably take a year or so to heal."
Yin Chengyu frowned and ordered the military doctor to leave before sitting down beside the couch.
The effect of Ma Fei Tang had not yet worn off, and Xue Shu was still in a coma.
Because of the pale face due to excessive blood loss, his usually sharp features now showed a bit of fragility and youthfulness.
Yin Chengyu looked at him carefully, and was surprised to find that he was actually the same age as him, still a young man.
He himself was reborn, and with the preconceived impression of his previous life, every time he saw him, he always habitually regarded him as the omnipotent Nine Thousand Years Old in the previous life.
But he forgot that even though he was nine thousand years old, he had actually come from the world of swords and sabers, and his body was covered with scars.
He always said that he was a killing knife, but he ignored the fact that a knife needs to be sharpened countless times before it can be so sharp.
This man has a cruelty in his bones that no one else has, and seems to be born to be good at fighting. However, no matter in his past life or this life, he has never asked Xue Shu how he learned his kung fu.
Yin Chengyu sat in front of the couch for a long time.
He didn't leave until Zheng Duobao came in with the boiled medicine.
After Zheng Duobao fed Xue Shu the medicine, he advised him to go back and rest. Yin Chengyu just shook his head, his eyes heavy and no one knew what he was thinking about.
Zheng Duobao thought that he was just too worried about Xue Shu, and in his heart he sighed that His Highness really liked Xue Shu, then he retreated with the empty bowl.
Xue Shu woke up two minutes after taking the medicine.
When he first woke up, his eyes were still unfocused and a little dazed. But this confusion only lasted for a breath or two, and then his eyes became clear and sharp again.
He turned his head to look at the person beside the bed and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Highness?"
He probably didn't expect Yin Chengyu to be here guarding him, and there was a hint of surprise in his tone.
"Awake?" Yin Chengyu lowered his eyes and looked at him: "Does the wound hurt?"
Xue Shu wanted to say it didn't hurt, but hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded and said "it hurts".
Yin Chengyu sneered upon hearing this, unable to suppress his anger: "You know the pain, but don't know how to cherish your life?"
"He can't kill me." Xue Shu defended himself, and then said, "And Your Highness wants to capture him alive."
The thief leader is quite capable. If he doesn't show some flaws and get hurt, I'm afraid he won't be fooled.
Yin Chengyu fell silent again, his expression returned to calm.
After a long moment, his eyelashes trembled, and he leaned over to lift his chin, almost nose to nose, and said with a bit of gnashing teeth: "You are so loyal, do you... like me?"
His sudden question made Xue Shu's breathing pause for a moment, and then he nodded without hesitation.
"What kind of love?" Yin Chengyu smiled after getting the expected answer, lowered his eyes and looked at him for a long time, then pointed at him with his fingertips: "This kind?"
Xue Shu's breathing suddenly became rapid, and the look in his eyes seemed to be about to bring a storm. He grabbed Yin Chengyu's wrist with his uninjured hand, veins popping out on the back of his hand, and he endured and restrained himself.
Yin Chengyu patted the back of his hand lightly and scolded, "How dare you."
Just because of the elongated ending sound, these words don't sound too threatening, but instead add a bit of seductiveness.
Xue Shu did not let go of his hand, but controlled the strength and carefully held his hand in his palm.
"Where is your highness?"
He raised his eyes, as if he wanted to look directly into Yin Chengyu's heart.
Yin Chengyu did not answer. Instead, he glanced at him with a half-smile, left an incoherent sentence "I'm still angry", then withdrew his hand and left.
Xue Shu looked at his back and twisted his fingers unconsciously.
Your Highness's hands are indeed softer than a handkerchief.
The author has something to say:
Gou Gou: Your Highness is flirting with me again, Your Highness loves me so much.
Your Highness:
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