The number of people that Niu Chenshi brought to surround Wanhe Songfeng Hall was only forty or fifty. Most of the soldiers followed the constables from the governor's office and arrested people everywhere in Tuisi Garden.
By the time they had arrested all the people and driven out the rioters who had been smashing, looting and burning, the entire Tuisi Garden was in ruins.
Tian Tongpan ran to Wanhe Songfeng Hall to report the results of the battle to Niu Qianshi.
"Sir, Xu Long, Xu Chen and their sons have been captured. But after searching the garden, Xu Fan and Xu Ying were not found."
"Oh?" Niu's heart sank. He took such a big risk and went through so much trouble. His target was Xu Fan and Xu Ying. Only when he caught these two culprits who harmed Lin Zhongcheng would everything make sense to him.
"Have you searched it carefully?" Niu Chenshi asked in a low voice.
"We have searched all the rooms. We interrogated the servants of the Xu family and they said they saw them earlier but disappeared when the chaos started." Judge Tian said, "Should we close the doors and search the city?"
"Why don't you go now!" Niu Chenshi glared at him, but he didn't hold much hope in his heart. If the two escaped from Tuisi Garden, they would definitely run out of Songjiang City as soon as possible.
After Judge Tian left, he was not discouraged and ordered his men to continue searching the garden until dusk.
Elder Xu, who was trapped in Wanhe Songfeng Hall, was almost fainted from hunger...
"There are no more rioters in the garden. Can you leave now?" Xu Da was also hungry and angry, glaring at Niu Chenshi.
"Well, it should be safe and we should withdraw." Niu Chenshi nodded.
"No thanks." Xu Da said unhappily.
Just as Niu Chenshi was about to move, he suddenly seemed to remember something and waved at him.
"What?" Xu Da walked forward reluctantly.
"I almost forgot that you are also a prisoner on the list." Niu Chenshi waved his hand and shouted, "Catch him!"
Immediately, a soldier handcuffed Xu Da's hands behind his back and tied him up.
"You're a scoundrel!" Xu Da, who had been deceived, struggled angrily.
The Xu family's servants hurriedly drew their weapons and tried to rescue him, but Niu Chenshi glared at them and stopped them, saying:
"Stop right there, you want to rebel?!"
The officers and soldiers all drew their swords and put them on, frightening the servants so much that they all retreated back.
Niu Chenshi snorted. The old cow didn't show its power because it thought I was a snail.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed Mr. Cun. I will take my leave now. May you have a good sleep." Niu Chenshi bowed towards the hall and then left with his men.
In the hall, Lord Xu sat quietly on the chair without any reaction.
After an unknown amount of time, the servants in the mansion finally couldn't help but come in to check.
"Old Master, Grandpa?" A servant called twice, but Xu Jie still did not respond.
He bravely stretched out his hand, wanting to test Xu Jie's breath. All those who had a little status in the mansion had been arrested, so what rules did the remaining small fish and shrimp know?
"The old man is not dead..." Xu Jie suddenly said faintly.
"Oh!" the servant was startled.
"But on some level he's already dead." Then he heard Xu Jie say something he couldn't understand.
The servant named Xue thought to himself that this meant he was both dead and alive.
He and his companions helped the living dead Lord Xu up and sent him to Mianfeng Pavilion.
But Lord Xu was unable to walk, so the servants had to find a sedan chair to carry him.
Xu Jie sat on the sedan chair, staring blankly at the smashed Tuisi Garden. He suddenly remembered how brightly lit it was last autumn, like a fairyland, and how happy it was to be surrounded by his children, grandchildren, nephews, retainers and friends.
It's only been half a year, how come he has fallen to the point where he is neither human nor ghost?
He was filled with sadness and had no place to put it, so he sang with sobs:
"Du Shiniang, full of hatred, hates that she has wrongly entrusted herself to a heartless man all her life... The brothel girl was bullied, she disappeared into the mist like a wave, regretting the heartless Li Sheng!"
After singing, he stood up from the sedan chair and was about to jump into the lotus pond.
But when he saw the glittering water in the moonlight, he hesitated again.
It’s the end of January and the water is so cold.
~~
By the time Niu Chenshi led the team back to the headquarters, even Zheng Yue and his team who were sent to Xujiagang in Sijing had already returned.
Various troops reported their battle results. Basically, all those who should be arrested were arrested, except Xu Fan and Xu Ying.
Hai Rui had anticipated this. The rest of the Xu family did not flee because their crimes were not serious. They could just give up the land and pay some silver to atone for their sins. After all, it was a mess that could not be settled. Could they really be sent into exile or beheaded?
Only Xu Fan and Xu Ying were arrested, and they would definitely not have a good ending. Even exile would not solve the problem, and only beheading could calm the court's anger.
So the two of them will definitely try their best to escape.
So he ordered the captured Xu family members to be detained in the detention room first, and to deal with them tomorrow. He also ordered Tian Tongpan to issue arrest warrants overnight, draw pictures, and offer a reward for the Xu brothers!
Then Hai Rui wrote a memorial overnight, reporting the case in Songjiang to the court and requesting an imperial decree to deprive Xu Zhi, Xu Fan, Xu Ying and others of their official titles.
While he was writing furiously, Niu Chenshi came in quickly and whispered in his ear, "Lord Xu is going to jump into the lake."
"Oh? Did he jump?" Hai Rui's pen trembled and he almost threw away the memorial.
"No, luckily he was caught by his family in time." Niu Chenshi shook his head and said, "Otherwise, in such a cold day, and at such an old age, would he still be able to survive if he jumped into the water?"
"It doesn't count if he didn't jump." Hai Rui said calmly and continued writing the memorial.
"Lord Xu spread the word, it seems he wants to make a fuss about this matter." Niu Chenshi frowned. He was the one who came to arrest people, so he must not bear the bad reputation of forcing the old man to jump into the water.
Then I, an old cow, will have nowhere to hang around, moo...
"That's for sure." Hai Rui nodded and said calmly, "So we have to hurry up and finish what needs to be done."
"Oh." Niu Chenshi nodded. Lord Hai obviously knew that today's events would definitely cause an uproar in the capital.
"You don't have to worry too much. With what happened to Lin Zhongcheng, the court won't blame me." Hai Rui realized Niu Chenshi's fear, looked up at him and said, "At most, they can just advise me. Forgive others when you can."
"That's good, that's good." Niu Chenshi breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his sweat and said, "This humble official is really worried about Lord Hai."
"Okay, I believe it." Hai Rui nodded, stopped looking at him, and continued to work.
In fact, it's not that simple. But that guy said he would help me withstand the pressure from the higher-ups, but I don't know if he can handle it.
Although that guy never talks nonsense, Hai Rui still feels that he should seize the day and do as much as possible.
So the next morning, Hai Rui issued a "land return order" to the entire Songjiang Prefecture, requiring all those who were sentenced to return the land to return the illegally annexed land within ten days. If any family has not returned by then, they will be severely punished! The government will complete the re-measurement and registration by the end of February in the third year of Longqing, and collect taxes and silver according to the registration, which will become a permanent practice!
The Yingtian New Policy, which had been brewing since last year, finally turned into a storm, sweeping across the entire Jiangnan region!
ps. Fourth update, this big story of Xu Ge Lao is over, flowers. I can focus on writing about the protagonist... Please give me a monthly vote! No more tonight.