The Prosperous Era of Longwan

When he heard that the soldiers of Zhenwu Camp finally resorted to violence, Wei Guangde knew that the situation was beginning to become serious.

Although he didn't know why it happened like this, because the news sent earlier showed that the soldiers over there were still very restrained. It seemed that they were only rioting because of arrears of pay. Everything was still controllable. As long as the arrears of pay were paid, the situation would be settled. will subside.

But it is different now, because the soldiers forced their way into the Ministry of Household Office. What is the crime of breaking into the government office?

The key point is that these people didn't take action sooner or later. They just took Wei Guogong Xu Pengju and the Minister of War Zhang Hao in before taking action. Isn't it clear that they wanted to detain three court officials, including Huang Maoguan?

It should be said that such behavior is already a rebellion. They have challenged the imperial power and the court, so naturally they cannot be kind.

"Assemble the servants and the three guards. Stop guarding the yamen and go to the small school field to save people."

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Xu Bangrui naturally thought of this and couldn't stay in the mansion any longer. Then he loudly ordered: "Send the order, gather the servants, send the message to the three guards, and rush to the small school field to meet me immediately."

Several long followers who followed Xu Bangrui received the young master's order. After a brief division of labor, they ran away towards their respective goals and conveyed Xu Bangrui's order.

Wei Guangde followed Xu Bangrui out of the door and told Zhang Ji outside the door: "Ask everyone to gather and go together."

After all, he is Xu Pengju's son-in-law. Now that Master Taishan is in danger, he naturally cannot stand idly by.

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Ji also turned around and ran out. The servants of the Wei family were all resting in a small courtyard near the gate in the outer courtyard. He ran to the place within a few steps and started shouting loudly. Soon, more than twenty servants of the Wei family were all wearing cotton paddies. A, ran out with a weapon in his hand.

There were quite a lot of servants in the Duke of Wei's mansion. In a short while, there were about 200 people standing in the small school yard in the side courtyard. This left some people to look after the family and the courtyard, otherwise there might have been more than 300 people.

Wei Guangde and more than 20 of his men also stood on one side. Compared with the people in the Duke of Wei's mansion, they still looked very small.

However, in terms of equipment, Wei Guangde's group is pretty well equipped. In addition to the weapons in the hands of the servants, most of them also carry bows, arrows and blunderbuss. This is much better than the weapons in the Duke of Wei's mansion where the servants only have the same weapons.

After the personnel were assembled, Xu Bangrui and Wei Guangde led their troops out of Wei Guogong's mansion and quickly headed towards the small school field. As for the reinforcements from the other three guards, they were still waiting for them outside the small school field.

At this time, news of the Zhenwu Camp mutiny had spread in Nanjing. After a period of chaos, the market had returned to calm.

The reason for this is that there are no more pedestrians in the market, and not many shops on the roadside were originally open. Now the only few shops have also chosen to close down. There may be rioters, so who dares to keep opening their doors? do business.

The city of Nanjing, which had just shown signs of economic recovery, fell silent again. Wei Guangde and the others saw no open shops except for the occasional pedestrian in a hurry.

The cold wind blew by, blowing up the dead leaves on the ground and flying around, which seemed to confirm the desolation of Nanjing city at this moment.

"I can't even see the government officials patrolling the streets. I don't know where they went."

When Xu Bangrui left the house, he thought about recruiting some more street patrolmen in Nanjing City along the way, but he didn't see any of them along the way, and he couldn't help but said angrily.

"Those officers, do you think they can still fight with the guards? They are still careless in catching local gangsters and thieves. When they go to the battlefield, they are just cannon fodder."

Wei Guangde shook his head and said to himself that the eldest son of the Wei family might not have seen what a real battlefield looks like. Maybe he thought they were awesome after seeing the officers and men in Nanjing City.

It's not that Wei Guangde looked down on people in the yamen. Although Wei Guangde had never been to the Criminal Department, when he was trying cases in Suzhou Prefecture, Wei Guangde also observed the third class of yamen servants and understood how their equipment was used.

Unlike in later movies and TV shows, quite a few of the government agents these days do not carry knives. Their equipment is only two kinds: one is an iron ruler, and the other is an iron chain.

Today's police officers use police equipment such as batons, police crutches, restraint belts, handcuffs, etc. to arrest criminals. What's even more powerful are various modern mechanical guns and ammunition.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, in addition to some swords, they also used a mysterious weapon without edges or blades issued by the government - the iron ruler.

Iron ruler is also called "point ruler". Its shape is like a cylinder, round corrugation and ruler. It is not sunken on all sides, thick at the top and thin at the bottom. There are upward branches on both sides or no upward branches on both sides. The side branches are mostly used for Weapons that jam the enemy when blocking can be used for both attack and defense, and can be used flexibly, so they have a great advantage against swords or longer weapons.

Of course, it is easy to carry and can be inserted on both sides of the waist. The detectives usually use a pair, one in each hand, so they can also be called "double iron rulers".

The entire iron ruler actually looks more like a three-pronged one-handed weapon, which can be used to lock the opponent's weapon during a fight.

The iron ruler probably originated in the Tang and Song Dynasties, but it was not used to arrest people at that time. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the iron ruler appeared in the hands of the police. It is precisely because this weapon is not pointed and not sharp that it is suitable for use. Catch people without hurting them.

In movies and TV shows, people in the world of martial arts are so good at martial arts that they can ignore these policemen. However, the actual situation is that as long as these powerful people in the world of rivers and lakes are alone and surrounded by policemen, nine times out of ten they will be captured alive. Life, few people can break out of the siege and run away. This is not because of the police's martial arts skills, but simply because of this iron ruler.

As long as the opponent's weapon is locked by the iron ruler, the policemen nearby will swarm forward, beat hard with the iron ruler, and then lock it with an iron chain. Those high-rollers who have achieved great fame in the world will immediately kneel down.

The detectives will naturally have an advantage against those who are accustomed to fighting alone, but when faced with regular sergeants who are good at cooperating with each other, there is no advantage at all.

Therefore, Wei Guangde thought at this time that perhaps Xu Bangrui had seen the arrests of some criminal thieves, so he thought those arrests were good at fighting, so he wanted to recruit these people along the way.

However, Wei Guangde didn't explain much. The Duke of Wei had been in charge of the Jiangnan Guard Station for a long time, but he didn't deal with the local officials very much, and they couldn't do so. It was taboo.

The Xu family is already very powerful, and they have military power in Jiangnan. If you still flirt with the local officials, the emperor in the Forbidden City will not be able to sleep.

Regarding the chaos in Nanjing City, Wei Guangde was sure that the Jin Yiwei in Nanjing had already passed on the news.

Nanjing was extremely important to Emperor Jiajing and the court, because most of the taxes for the Northern Movement came from Southern Zhili. Without the support of taxes from the south, the Ming Dynasty would not be stable.

If you don't have money, what will you do to support your troops? If you don't have soldiers, what will you do to maintain your rule?

Xu Bangrui, Wei Guangde and his party moved quickly towards the small school ground in Nanjing City. However, not long after, they saw a group of people running towards them, looking very embarrassed. The crowd was still protecting the three sedans running this way.

"call"

Xu Bangrui, who was running in front, suddenly reined in the horse and stopped on the road. Wei Guangde had already surpassed Xu Bangrui at this time, and when he heard the horse reining in behind him, he quickly stopped.

In fact, when he first saw the group of people in front of him, Wei Guangde thought they were people from Zhenwuying who rushed out of the primary school grounds to make trouble in the streets. However, he was relieved after seeing the clothes of those people. They were not Ming army jackets. They should not be. People from Zhenwu Camp.

Wei Guang Delema stood next to Xu Bangrui, and the servant behind him also stopped at this time, carefully watching for anyone coming from the opposite side.

The street was only so wide. When the group rushed closer and saw that the road was blocked, they immediately became alert.

"Which family are you from and where are you from?"

Xu Bangrui shouted loudly while sitting on his horse.

The people in front of them were a bit unfamiliar to Xu Bangrui. They were not very familiar. They seemed to have never been seen before. He didn't know the identity of the person opposite them.

"Master, master, it's us."

At this time, someone from behind the crowd suddenly shouted loudly, shouting and pushing forward with their hands raised.

"Uncle Sheng?"

Xu Bangrui's heart tightened when he saw the person squeezing over from the opposite side. He had already recognized the person, and then asked loudly: "Is my father here?"

"My father-in-law is in the sedan, and we are all fine."

The general named Xu Sheng quickly pushed aside the people blocking the way and ran to Xu Bangrui. Xu Bangrui was standing in the stirrups and looking at the sedan behind.

"Master, we'd better go back first. Master has to rush back to the garrison. Those soldiers are really rebelling."

"Who is that person in front of and from which family?"

While Xu Sheng was talking there, Xu Bangrui suddenly asked.

"That's the servant of Linhuai Marquis Mansion."

Xu Shengyan said concisely and comprehensively.

Linhuai Marquis Mansion is also a very special existence in Nanjing City. Although this family was also a founding hero, they only restored their titles very late.

The Li family of Linhuai Marquis is actually the descendant of Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong. After Li Jinglong was deposed during the Yongle period, Cao Guogong's family declined. After the rebellion of King Gu, he even suffered the bad luck of guarding the border in Liaodong, which triggered the Sheng Yu case.

After Li Jinglong died in the fourth year of Xuande, Cao Guogong's family returned to Nanjing, but was still imprisoned until he was released in the thirteenth year of Zhengtong.

After that, Cao Guogong's family lived in Nanjing for a long time and became commoners, but they never forgot to restore their political status.

After several generations of hard work, Cao Guogong's family obtained the position of hereditary commander in the sixth year of Hongzhi, and in the eleventh year of Jiajing, they obtained the title of Marquis of Linhuai and became honorary ministers again.

In other words, although the Li family was also a founding hero, the time it took to actually get back the title was very short, only more than twenty years.

The Li family has always maintained a low profile in the city of Nanjing. Even the contemporary Marquis Li Tingzhu, who lives in Linhuai, holds a second-grade military position such as Cao Jiang, the governor of the Nanjing Left Army and the admiral.

Needless to say, Linhuai Hou's people must have arrived late and escaped. They met up with Xu Pengju and Zhang Hao who hurried out and ran back together. Their people naturally ran to the front.

"Get out of the way."

At this time, both Wei Guangde and Xu Bangrui knew who were in the three sedans opposite, so did they need to tell them?

It must be Xu Pengju, the Duke of Wei, Li Tingzhu, the Marquis of Linhuai, and Zhang Hao, the Minister of War in Nanjing.

Being able to run out from the chaos, Wei Guangde was curious about how they did it.

Once the soldiers lose control, it is very dangerous.

Smacking his lips, Wei Guangde turned his horse and followed Xu Bangrui to the side. Soon the group on the opposite side put away their swords and guns and started moving, continuing to move forward along the way Wei Guangde and others came.

When the three sedans appeared in front of him, Xu Bangrui ordered the people around him: "The entire team, stay behind."

After saying this, he turned his horse to follow a sedan chair. Wei Guangde also recognized it at this moment as the sedan chair held by Wei Guogong Xu Peng. His father-in-law must be in it.

Don't tell me, it's true. At this time, the sedan curtain was opened to reveal Xu Pengju's slightly pale face. He was obviously shocked by the rebels.

Wei Guangde and Xu Bangrui followed the sedan. As they walked, they asked Xu Sheng what was going on and what happened in the small school grounds.

"Young master, aunt, as soon as we entered the Hubu Yamen, the group of soldiers broke in wearing armor. It was such a chaos. We could only protect the master and step aside, but we did not dare to stop them from smashing the Hubu Yamen."

Xu Sheng gasped and recounted his experience in the small school field.

"The man surnamed Huang may have been so frightened when he saw the fierceness of these rebels that he climbed out of the south wall. There was also a civilian house for soldiers from the Beijing Camp. It is said that he was caught by people from the Zhenwu Camp not long after he ran over."

When Xu Sheng said this, Wei Guangde raised his eyebrows, "Is Huang Maoguan dead or alive?"

It’s no wonder that Wei Guangde is not nervous. Now Huang Maoguan’s life and death is related to the nature of the pay dispute. If Huang Maoguan died in the hands of the rebels, it is really a bit unclear. After all, he is a third-rank official of the imperial court, and he cannot just die. die.

"We didn't see anyone, but when we broke out, we heard some soldiers shouting over there, saying that the dog officer surnamed Huang was beaten to death, but we really didn't see the body. Now we say that someone was beaten to death. Yeah, it’s really hard to say.”

Xu Sheng continued, but at this time Wei Guangde was already worried. After the soldiers lost control, killing was like killing chickens and ducks, and it was often difficult to trace the person in the end.

There are more than two thousand people. As long as no one informs you, you can be sure who killed them.

But no matter what, Wei Guangde was sure that Huang Maoguan might not survive.

If you fall into the hands of that group of people, the soldiers already hate them because of the deduction of military pay last year. If they can't find Ma Kun, they won't be able to take revenge on you.

The soldiers were rioting today, which was a rare opportunity for those who were resentful. It was normal to kill Huang Maoguan to vent their anger.

The law does not punish the public. It is impossible for the court to behead more than 2,000 people.

For a while, I thought that they were blocking the way and wasted some time. Not long after, a group of soldiers wearing Ming army mandarin duck jackets actually appeared on the street behind me. A large group of people were chasing them along the road. Come up.

There were sedans slowing down the progress, and the distance between the two groups of people was getting closer and closer.

Of course, Xu Bangrui and Wei Guangde noticed what was going on behind them, and they began to feel anxious. If Xu Pengju came on horseback, someone would catch up with them.

Seeing that he couldn't escape while protecting the sedan, he might have a chance if he pulled Xu Pengju out of the sedan and ran away on horseback, but Zhang Hao and Li Tingzhu in front were afraid that they would be robbed.

Wei Guangde was wearing a green robe at this time, and he was a seventh-rank official of the imperial court. When he saw the approaching Zhenwu Camp rebels, Wei Guangde suddenly reined in his horse and turned around. When he saw the pursuers approaching, he rushed towards the chasing group. The soldier shouted loudly: "I, Wei Guangde, and the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate know your situation, so I came here to investigate the situation. I just don't want to encounter what happened today.

You should return to the military camp quickly and wait for news from the court, otherwise the army of the court will arrive soon. Are you really going to be rebels and traitors? This is the city of Nanjing, and troops are gathering inside and outside the city. "

While shouting, Wei Guangde took off the censor's waistband from his waist and raised it high to prove his identity, although he knew that most of the soldiers on the opposite side could not recognize what he was holding.