Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 136 Purge
Cangqian Street in the north of Guangzhou, in the early morning, the street is in a mess

Yesterday afternoon, the four gates of the city were closed. As the people near the gates fled back to the city, all kinds of sensational rumors quickly spread in the city.

Some said that it was an uprising by the Huashan bandits in the north of the city, some said that it was bandits attacking the city, and even more shockingly, there were rumors that those outside the city were not bandits at all, but Tartars from the north. The Tartars had already conquered Guangdong Province and were at the gates of the city!
After Zhu Lang and his men retreated into the city, they retreated directly into the government office. All the officials in the central government wanted to evacuate as quickly as possible, so they did not let anyone spread the news that the regent had arrived in the city. Instead, they tacitly blocked the news.

Nonsense! What if the people in the city knew that the regent and the ministers were in the city and came to ask for an audience? How could they leave?

The Guangzhou government and the central government officials were guarding the government office tightly. People in the city could not get any information, and the city gates were all closed. Naturally, rumors were spreading in the city, and people were in a panic.

After nightfall, the city became even more chaotic.

The government office was already short of manpower, and the priority was to ensure the safety of His Royal Highness the Regent and his accompanying ministers. Therefore, the government officials could only prioritize suppressing the streets near the government office, and the government office was completely unable to manage other places in the city.
Seeing that no one from the government office came forward to suppress them, the hooligans in the city immediately formed gangs and took advantage of the chaos to rob.
Last night, almost every house in Guangzhou was locked up, bullies and gangsters were roaming around, and the situation in the city was extremely chaotic.

In front of a two-story building on the street, the signboard with the words "Liu's Restaurant" fell to the ground, the door of the building was wide open, and the tables and chairs in the hall on the first floor were overturned, a mess.

From the second floor came waves of pleading and screaming.
"You son of a bitch, I just ate a few meals from you, and you dared to report to the police."

"Report it, report it to grandpa now."

A man in a coarse short coat and a brocade robe stood in front of the table. He held a waist knife in his hand. In front of him knelt a family of three and two trembling servants.
Behind the man in the short coat were seven or eight ruffians, rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for silver.
"Master Jiang, I am blind and don't know a great man. For the sake of our long-standing friendship, I ask that you take all the money and only let my family go."

A man in a long gown kneeled on the ground, knocking his head against the ground repeatedly, making a banging sound.
But the leader, Mr. Jiang, had a fierce look in his eyes, and he stabbed the man in the long gown directly in the abdomen with the knife in his hand.

The sound of the man in the long gown knocking his head suddenly disappeared, and blood splattered everywhere, splashing the face of the woman next to him. The woman was stunned for a moment, and then a shrill cry and scream rang out from the building.

"Let you go? Then I'll ask you to find the county clerk's cousin to arrest me?"

A hint of ferocity flashed in Jiang San's eyes, and then he called the gang of hooligans behind him.

"These people have seen our faces, go ahead and kill them all."

A group of hooligans each held a short knife or a hatchet, and soon screams were heard from the second floor.
But after only a moment, the screams from upstairs disappeared again.
Tsk
Half of the arm hung out of the window, and a stream of blood splashed out from the second-floor window, just pouring onto the black background with white characters on the signboard, dyeing it dark red.
The street was dead silent. Screams could be heard from the shops from time to time. However, every door was closed and there was no one on the street. It seemed that no one heard the screams echoing in the street.

“These thieves”

In a courtyard opposite Liu's restaurant, the door of the small courtyard was closed. A tall young man stood by the door with a long sword in his hand. He looked at the blood splashing from the second floor with a furious look on his face. He moved his feet to open the door.
But before he could make a move, a man in a long shirt beside him had already grabbed his sleeve tightly and said, "Brother Shengcai, what are you going to do?"

"How dare these evil thieves kill people in broad daylight? Where is the law? I must kill these thieves with my own hands."

Chen Shangchuan's face turned red, and he was about to go out with his sword in hand, but the scholar in a long shirt still held Chen Shangchuan's sleeve tightly, refusing to let him go.
"Jiang San is a well-known scoundrel on the street. He has more than ten thieves under his command. How can you defeat him? Don't be impulsive if you win," Zhao Yan said with a frightened look on his face.
"Brother Zhao, don't worry. These people are just banding together to rob. As long as we kill the leader, the rest of the hooligans will be scared. They are just a bunch of rabble. Why should I be afraid of them?"

Chen Shangchuan, however, remained calm, showing no fear at all.
Zhao Yan saw that he couldn't persuade Chen Shangchuan, and his face became more and more panicked. He said in a sad voice

"Two fists cannot defeat four hands. If anything happens to Brother Shengcai, those villains will surely come to take revenge. I am powerless, what shall I do then?"

"The lives of my family, young and old, all depend on Shengcai's protection. Brother Shengcai, please don't take risks rashly."

Chen Shangchuan listened to Zhao Yan's pleading and stopped moving.
He looked back and saw a young woman holding a child, standing by the door with a nervous look on her face, watching the two people in the yard.

His expression changed several times, but finally he gave up the idea of ​​going out to kill the thief.
He was originally a student from Gaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province. This time he came to Guangzhou to prepare for the provincial examination. During this period of time, he has been staying at the home of his friend Zhao Yan.

Last night, bandits were rioting everywhere in the city. A thief broke into Zhao Yan's house. It was Chen Shangchuan who killed the thief and saved Zhao Yan's family.

He has been well taken care of by Zhao Yan's family during this period. He is not afraid of those hooligans who make trouble, but he cannot ignore the safety of Zhao Yan's family.

If he harmed his friend's family because of his impulse, it would be a real regret.
Chen Shangchuan gave up the idea of ​​going out to kill the thieves, but still stood by the door with a long sword in hand, staring closely at the situation on the other side through the crack in the door.
Soon, seven or eight hooligans led by Jiang San walked out of the small building.

These seven or eight people were all wearing brocade robes, which they had robbed from many households. Some of them had cloth bags tied to their bodies. From time to time, copper coins would fall from the full bags to the ground, making a clinking sound.
Jiang San led the group to whisper a few words in front of Liu's restaurant, and then they walked to a shoe and hat shop not far away. Soon, there was a knock on the door in front of the shop, and the closed door was clanging.

In addition to Jiang San's gang, people were looting in front of the shops on the street. All kinds of signs on the street fell to the ground. The whole place was in a mess. The sound of banging on doors and screaming could be heard from time to time on the street.
Jiang San and his gang were knocking on the door and shouting in front of the shoe and hat shop. The shoe and hat shop was in front of the Liu family restaurant and was quite far away from the Zhao family's house. Chen Shangchuan lay by the door but could not hear clearly what Jiang San and his gang were shouting.

Jiang San and his companions knocked on the door and shouted for a while, and then a bundle was suddenly thrown from the second floor of the shoe and hat shop to the door.
Jiang San and his gang opened the bundle and cheered, dividing up all the money in the bundle. Then two or three hooligans got a pillar from somewhere, rushed forward, hugged the pillar and smashed it against the door.
squeak
The wooden pillar hit the door panel, which creaked and raised a cloud of dust. The ruffians stepped back a few steps and rushed towards the door panel again, carrying the pillar.
咚咔
There was a cracking sound in front of the door, and a big hole was knocked open in the door. The ruffians cheered, drew their daggers and rushed into the store.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of horse hooves on the street, followed by a sharp sound of "chi", and an iron arrow flew through the air and pierced directly into the throat of a scoundrel holding a long knife.

In front of the shoe and hat shop, the rascal fell to the ground, his eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ground in front of him, blood gushing out of his throat, instantly dyeing the ground red.
(End of this chapter)