My father is Jiajing

In early summer of April, the Grand Canal was bustling with canal boats.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and an official ship loaded with grain was slowly sailing through the crowded Grand Canal. Its bow broke through the turbid water, creating ripples.

The boatmen were shirtless, with beads of sweat oozing out of their bronze skin. They shouted low slogans and adjusted the sails.

However, Zhu Wu, who was responsible for secretly escorting Xu Laoliu, was not on the canal.

Zhu Wu and others were riding their horses and looking into the distance, feeling inexplicably nervous. This feeling was very bad for Zhu Wu.

Because he knew that once he had such a feeling, it meant that something bad might happen next.

"Brother Wu, we will be at Tongzhou Wharf in half an hour."

Deputy Zhou Yan quietly approached Zhu Wu and sighed in a low voice, "The journey was finally safe and sound."

Zhu Wu did not answer, but just nodded slightly.

He was in his early forties, with a resolute face and a scar on his left cheek extending from the corner of his eye to his chin, which looked particularly hideous in the dim light.

As the confidant of Feng Bao, the governor of the Eastern Depot, he is well aware of the weight of the burden on his shoulders - the seemingly ordinary old man in the cabin holds a secret that can shake the political situation.

"Zhou Yan, tell the brothers to cheer up."

Zhu Wu finally spoke, his voice as low as thunder, "The closer it gets to the final moment, the more we cannot relax."

"Yes!" Zhou Yan took the order and left.

Zhu Wu looked back at the carriage behind the team. At this moment, the blue cloth carriage was closed, and inside sat Xu Laoliu, the former accountant of the Xu family.

This skinny old man held in his hands irrefutable evidence of the Xu Jie family's land annexation, corruption and bribery over the years.

This was the key witness that Hai Rui asked Feng Bao to send to the capital using the East Factory spies. If he could be brought back to the capital safely, it would be enough to deal a fatal blow to Xu Jie's party.

Next to the carriage, four Dongchang guards in plain clothes looked around vigilantly.

They were all experts carefully selected by Zhu Wu, and they were secretly escorted here from Jiangnan, which took more than half a month.

In order to avoid suspicious eyes and ears, they hid during the day and came out at night, took remote roads, and even changed their clothes several times.

Now that the capital is in sight, Zhu Wu's uneasiness grows stronger.

"Brother Wu, there is a forest ahead, do you want to go around it?"

Zhou Yan came back to ask for instructions.

Zhu Wu looked up and saw that there was indeed a dense pine forest ahead of the official road, which looked eerie and scary in the twilight.

Normally, this kind of terrain is very easy to set up an ambush. But taking a detour would take an extra hour, and they had to get to Tongzhou Wharf tonight and take a boat to Beijing early tomorrow morning.

"No need."

Zhu Wu continued in a deep voice, "Send two brothers to explore the way ahead, and the rest of you stay alert. If there is any unusual movement, immediately protect Xu Laoliu and evacuate."

The team continued to move forward, and the sound of horse hooves was particularly clear in the silent dusk.

Zhu Wu kept his hands on the embroidered spring sword at his waist, his knuckles turning white from exertion. After entering the pine forest, the light suddenly dimmed, and the air was filled with the smell of pine resin and rotten leaves.

"Whoosh-"

The sound of breaking air came extremely suddenly.

Zhu Wu almost instinctively turned sideways, and a crossbow arrow flew past his cheek and penetrated deeply into the tree trunk behind him.

"There's an ambush! Protect Xu Laoliu!"

Zhu Wu shouted loudly and drew out his Embroidered Spring Sword at the same time.

Almost at the same time, more than a dozen black shadows rushed out from the woods, with sword lights flashing like snow, and rushed straight to the carriage in the center of the team.

"Formation!"

As soon as Zhu Wu gave the order, four guards quickly surrounded the carriage, swords drawn. Zhou Yan led the other three to face the assassins.

The sound of metal clashing instantly broke the silence of the forest.

Zhu Wu slashed the throat of an assassin with his knife, and warm blood splattered on his face. These assassins were extraordinary and their moves were deadly. They were obviously not ordinary bandits.

"Brother Wu, there are too many of them!"

A soldier was shot in the shoulder and staggered back, speaking nervously.

Zhu Wu gritted his teeth, kicked the assassin who rushed towards him, and killed him with a backhanded knife.

He decisively gave the order: "Retreat to the official road! Don't fight to the end!"

The carriage broke out of the encirclement under the protection of the guards, with Zhu Wu and Zhou Yan covering the rear.

The assassin seemed to have not expected their quick reaction, and the pursuit was a little hesitant. Taking advantage of this gap, Zhu Wu and others finally rushed out of the pine forest and returned to the official road.

Zhu Wu, who escaped to the official road, also breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Wu gasped and ordered, "Count the number of people!"

After checking, they found that the two brothers were slightly injured, but fortunately neither was fatal. What was even more surprising was that the assassin did not continue to pursue, but quickly disappeared into the pine forest.

"Strange, they clearly have the advantage." Zhou Yan frowned.

Zhu Wu's face was as gloomy as water: "They don't want to kill us, they are testing us."

Then he turned to the carriage and asked the people in it, "How is the old gentleman?"

A corner of the car curtain was lifted, revealing Xu Laoliu's pale face: "I am fine, thank you for saving me."

Zhu Wu nodded, with doubts in his heart.

This ambush was strange. It seemed that the other party only wanted to confirm the identity of the people in the carriage rather than really take their lives.

What made him even more uneasy was how the assassins knew their route. This trip was extremely confidential, and no one knew the specific arrangements except Feng Bao and his most trusted confidants.

"Brother Wu, it's getting late. Should we continue on our journey?" Zhou Yan asked.

Zhu Wu looked up at the darkening sky, then turned back to look at the dark pine forest: "Let's go, full speed ahead. We'll be safe once we reach Tongzhou Wharf."

The team set off again, and this time everyone was on high alert. Zhu Wu deliberately asked two guards to follow far behind to prevent pursuit. However, until the Tongzhou city wall came into view, nothing unusual happened.

Tongzhou, as the northern terminus of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, is known as "Beijing, Wei, and Tongzhou". Even at night, the dock is still brightly lit, with canal boats and merchant ships moored like a forest, and porters, vendors, and sailors shuttling back and forth, with a constant hustle and bustle.

Zhu Wu did not go directly to the dock where the official ship was moored, but first sent Zhou Yan to investigate the situation. About a quarter of an hour later, Zhou Yan came back to report that everything was normal and there were no suspicious people.

“Is Brother Wu being too cautious?”

Zhou Yan whispered, "Now that we are here, even if Xu Dang is extremely brave, he won't dare to take action in front of everyone."

Zhu Wu sneered, "It's better to be safe than sorry. Xu Jie is still the Prime Minister, and his followers in the court are still there. The father-in-law has given us such an important task, we must not take it lightly!"

"According to the original plan, we will take the 'Germany Ship' to Beijing."

Zhu Wu then gave another order, "Zhou Yan takes two people to make arrangements first, and the rest of you follow me to protect Mr. Xu."

The secret team acted separately.

Zhu Wu took Xu Laoliu and four foreign brothers through the bustling dock and walked towards the agreed berth.

The night wind mixed with the smell of water blew in my face, and in the distance came the sounds of boatmen's calls and vendors' shouts.

"Brave man." Xu Laoliu was apprehensive. He suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I always feel like someone is watching us."

Zhu Wu didn't look back, but just nodded slightly.

He also noticed that since entering the dock, there have been several gazes following him. But there were too many people on the dock, and it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe.

"Speed ​​up." Zhu Wu whispered, while tightening his grip on the hilt of the knife.

Just as they were about to reach the berth of the "German Gang Ship", something strange happened.

A sharp arrow suddenly shot out from the darkness and hit the chest of a soldier in front of Zhu Wu.

The man screamed and fell to the ground. Then, more than ten hidden arrows whistled in from different directions, lighting up the night sky.

"There's an ambush!"

Zhu Wu roared and drew his sword. The sudden arrow threw the busy dock into chaos.

The panicked crowd fled in all directions, blocking the retreat of Zhu Wu and others.

"Protect Mr. Xu!"

Zhu Wu swung his sword to chop off an arrow that was shot at him, while looking around at the same time.

In the panicked crowd, at least twenty fearless assassins rushed out from every corner, holding all kinds of weapons, rushing towards them with murderous intent.

The assassins this time were more well-trained than the ones in the pine forest. They were divided into three groups, one group entangled Zhu Wu and the guards, one group went straight for the carriage, and another group occupied the high ground and suppressed them remotely with bows and crossbows.

"Zhou Yan! Where is Zhou Yan?"

Zhu Wu roared as he blocked the assassin's attack. Logically, Zhou Yan, who arrived earlier, should have arranged for a boat to pick him up, but he was nowhere to be seen.

One of the soldiers was pierced through the abdomen by a spear and fell to the ground wailing. Another soldier was besieged by two assassins and was in danger. Zhu Wu knew that this was not a solution and he had to break out as soon as possible.

"Mr. Xu, follow me!" Zhu Wu chopped off the assassin's long sword in front of him, rushed to the carriage, and opened the door.

Xu Laoliu leaned forward tremblingly, his face as pale as paper: "Brave man, I am old..."

Before he could finish his words, a crossbow arrow suddenly shot out from the darkness and hit Xu Laoliu in the throat. The old man stared with wide eyes, grasping the arrow shaft with both hands in vain, blood gushing out from between his fingers.

"No!"

Zhu Wu's eyes were bloodshot, but he could only watch Xu Laoliu slowly fall down.

At this critical moment, Zhou Yan finally arrived with three guards. "Brother Wu! The boat is ready!"

He shouted loudly, swinging his knife to cut down an assassin.

Zhu Wu suppressed his grief, knowing that now was not the time to be sad. Xu Laoliu was dead, and the most urgent task was to save the lives of the remaining brothers.

"Retreat! Everyone follow me!"

Zhu Wu gave the order, wielding his sword to clear the way. Zhou Yan and the bandits followed closely behind, fighting and retreating.

Assassins Xu Er and others had no intention of letting them go and chased them relentlessly.

Zhu Wu led everyone to run along the pier and turned into a narrow alley. At the end of the alley was a high wall, which seemed to be a dead end.

"Brother Wu, we are surrounded!" a soldier said in horror.

Zhu Wu sneered, walked to a certain part of the wall, and pushed hard. The seemingly solid wall actually revealed a secret door - this was one of the secret passages set up by the East Factory at Tongzhou Wharf.

"Go in quickly!" Zhu Wu shouted.

Everyone filed in, Zhu Wu was the last one to enter, and he closed the secret door behind him. Almost at the same time, the footsteps of the pursuers were outside the door.

Behind the secret door was a dark tunnel, damp and cold. Everyone held their breath and listened to the pursuers lingering outside the door for a while before gradually going away.

"Brother Wu is very smart." Zhou Yan complimented while panting.

Zhu Wu did not respond, but stared coldly at Zhou Yan's face. In the dim torchlight, his eyes were chilling.

"Why is Brother Wu looking at me like that?" Zhou Yan unconsciously took a half step back.

"I was wondering," Zhu Wu said slowly, his voice as cold as ice, "why did the assassin know our whereabouts so well? Why was he able to set up an ambush at the dock so accurately? Why did he launch the attack when you were away?"

Zhou Yan's face suddenly changed: "Brother Wu, do you suspect me?"

"It's not doubt." Zhu Wu suddenly grabbed Zhou Yan's collar, "It's confirmation!"

A trace of panic flashed across Zhou Yan's eyes, and then they became ferocious: "Since you have seen through me, then..." His right hand suddenly slipped out a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed Zhu Wu in the heart.

Zhu Wu was prepared. He dodged sideways while grabbing Zhou Yan's wrist with his left hand like a clamp and twisting it hard. The crisp sound of broken bones was particularly clear in the tunnel. Zhou Yan screamed and the dagger fell to the ground.

"Tell me! Who ordered you to do this?" Zhu Wu asked sternly. At the same time, he kicked Zhou Yan to the ground and put his Embroidered Spring Knife against his throat.

Zhou Yan was sweating profusely from the pain, but he grinned: "You think you'll be done if you kill me? Eunuch Chen has already laid a net of heaven and earth. Feng Bao won't be able to jump for many days."

"Eunuch Chen?" Zhu Wu's eyes were filled with murderous intent. He never expected that it would be Chen Hong.

Chen Hong was also the governor of the East Factory, but he was not Zhu Wu's immediate superior.

Now that Xu Laoliu is dead and Chen Hong is involved, Zhu Wuren can't help but feel a little numb.

"Brother Wu, how should we deal with this traitor?"

A man stepped forward and asked.

Zhu Wu did not answer, but just turned his wrist and the knife flashed. A stream of blood spurted out of Zhou Yan's throat. He widened his eyes, covered the wound with both hands in vain, twitched a few times and then stopped moving.

"Clear the door."

Zhu Wu sheathed his sword and said in a cold and hard voice, "Let's go."

The crowd walked through the tunnel in silence and came to a small hidden dock, where an inconspicuous boat was parked, which was another retreat Zhu Wu had arranged in advance.

After boarding the ship, Zhu Wu stood at the bow, looking at the fire at the Tongzhou dock in the distance, his face gloomy. Xu Laoliu was dead, the key witness was gone, and the mission was a complete failure. What's worse is that Eunuch Chen Hong also got involved. When these gods fight, the unlucky ones are always mortals like them.

"Brother Wu, where are we going now?" a soldier asked cautiously.

Zhu Wu took a deep breath and said, "Go back to Beijing. Go and report to the prince first."

He paused, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, "Then. I will settle the score with Chen Hong."

The small boat quietly left the dock and merged into the crowd of boats.

What Zhu Wu didn't know was that shortly after they left, Xu Er and others appeared here.

However, Xu Er did not continue to chase Zhu Wu. His mission was to kill Xu Laoliu.

Now that the mission is completed, Xu Er naturally has to go back and report.

So at this time, Xu Er also decisively gathered his troops, and the group hurriedly rushed towards the capital from another road.

At the same time, the robbery and murder case that occurred at Tongzhou Wharf spread in an instant. Tongzhou Magistrate Wang Yongji also appeared with his yamen runners. He looked at the bloody scene in front of him and his whole body became numb.

Such a vicious case of robbery and murder of civilians in broad daylight had not happened in Tongzhou for many years. He did not expect that he would encounter such a big thing just after taking office and before he could familiarize himself with the government affairs of Tongzhou.

Wang Yongji immediately said, "Seal off the scene! No outsiders are allowed to approach!"

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