Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 319 Arrest
Yunyang Prefecture, Zhushan County, Zhushan is located in the south of Yunyang City, more than 300 miles away from Yunyang

If grain was to be transported from Yunyang to Hanzhong, the first choice would be to set up a grain station in the city to collect grain, and then directly depart from the ferry in the city to transport it to Hanzhong.
But Gao Doushu had defended Yunyang for several years, and many people in Yunyang knew him, so Gao Doushu did not open a grain station in Yunyang, but in Zhushan.

Gao Doushu and others purchased rice in Zhushan, then transported it from Zhushan to Yunyang, and then sent it from Yunyang to Hanzhong via the Han River.
The distance of transporting grain has increased by hundreds of miles, which will increase the cost of raising grain, but it is safer.

After all, Yunyang was the territory of the Qing army. In order to prevent the Qing army in Yunyang from getting suspicious, Gao Doushu did not dare to transport grain on a large scale. The amount of rice sent from Yunyang to Hanzhong each month was only a few hundred stones, and the Huguang Governor's Office was not short of this little money for transportation.
In Zhushan County, at Xingtai Grain Store, Gao Doushu walked into the storehouse. He was wearing a red official robe and a fur hat instead of a scarf on his head, looking like a real businessman.

Today is the day to send rice to Yunyang. Gao Doushu is doing the final inspection as usual.
But today, just as Gao Doushu entered the grain warehouse, a group of uninvited guests broke into the backyard of the warehouse.

A group of men in black suddenly broke into the courtyard. All 30 of them were wearing swords and knives. As soon as the short and strong man in the lead entered the courtyard, he locked onto Gao Doushu in the courtyard and walked straight ahead.
The short and strong man pushed away the servant who came forward to ask questions, looked at Gao Doushu who looked like a businessman in front of him, and smiled softly.
"Master Gao, you made it very difficult for me to find it."

Gao Doushu's heart sank when he heard this, but he remained calm and said,
"I am Gao Xingtai, the manager of this grain store, not Mr. Gao. I'm afraid this officer has recognized the wrong person."

When the short and strong man saw Gao Doushu's denial, he chuckled, shook his head, and said

"A man should not change his name or surname. Mr. Gao was once a provincial governor, but why can't he even recognize his own name now?"

Gao Doushu saw the determined look on the man's face and no longer had any hope. He was silent for a moment before he said in a deep voice:
"What do you want from me?"

"I am Li Xian, the commander of a battalion under the command of Lord Li Zhigang, the military governor of Yunxiang, Qing Dynasty. Today, I am here on Lord Li's orders to invite Lord Gao to come and see me."

Gao Doushu frowned slightly and thought about it, but he could not find any information about the so-called Yunxiang Bingbei Dao Li Zhigang, which meant that this person was not an old acquaintance of his.
Gao Doushu glanced at the dozen or so men in black who were already dispersing across from him, and realized that these people might have bad intentions.

Although Gao Doushu had some guesses in his mind, his face remained calm at this moment. He spoke

"Since I have changed my name, I have decided to devote myself to business and no longer care about government affairs. I have no intention of pursuing a career in politics. You can go back now."

Li Xian sneered when he heard this.

"If you don't ask about court affairs, I'm afraid it's not the case."

"I am here on the orders of Lord Li to invite you. Lord Gao, please come with me. Lord Gao is also a senior official of the previous dynasty. Please don't embarrass us all."

Li Xian didn't wait for Gao Doushu to reply. He waved his hand and asked someone to hold Gao Doushu. But at this moment, a clear bell rang in the courtyard.
When everyone heard the bell, they all looked towards the warehouse behind them.
At the door of the warehouse, a copper bell was hanging on the eaves and swaying slightly. Not far from the bell, a middle-aged man in black clothes dropped the grain bag in his hand, and then walked quickly towards the door with a flattering smile on his face.
The middle-aged man walked and shouted

"Don't do anything, sirs! Don't do anything!"

Liu Long, wearing a black linen robe, walked into the courtyard, but did not go directly to Gao Doushu. Instead, he walked to the side and stuffed a silver ingot into each of the soldiers guarding on both sides.

The soldiers under Li Xian's command were alert when they saw Liu Long coming, but after seeing the silver Liu Long stuffed in, they relaxed a little.
Liu Long spread out some silver coins, then he walked towards Li Xian, inserted himself between Li Xian and Gao Doushu, and said:

"I'm honored to meet you, sir. My master has always been law-abiding. Is there any misunderstanding here?"

As Liu Long was speaking, a heavy silver bag was stuffed into Li Xian's hand.
Li Xian squeezed the silver bag, glanced at Liu Long who was trying to please him, a smile flashed across his face, and he suddenly said

"All officers and men, listen to my order. The thief official Gao Doushu is secretly colluding with the false Ming and plotting evil. Quickly follow me to search this den of thieves and seize the stolen goods."

When Liu Long heard this, a smile suddenly flashed across his face. The next moment, a silver dagger suddenly appeared from his sleeve and stabbed directly into Li Xian's abdomen.
The dagger suddenly stabbed into Li Xianfu's crotch, and red blood immediately gushed out, but the dagger only penetrated less than half an inch and could not move forward.
The black clothes on Li Xian's abdomen were torn, revealing a hint of silver. Under the black clothes, Li Xian was actually wearing a chain mail.

Li Xian was suddenly attacked and was stunned for a moment. Then he suddenly cried out in pain and kicked Liu Long down, while he himself retreated repeatedly.
Li Xian looked at the blood in his abdomen, his face was filled with shock and anger, and he shouted loudly:
"Kill him for me. Except Gao Doushu, everyone else in the courtyard will be killed without mercy."

Upon hearing this, the guards in the courtyard drew their swords with a clang and were about to surround and kill Liu Long in front of them. But before they could make a move, there was a sudden sound of breaking air in the courtyard, followed by a few muffled thuds, and five or six guards suddenly fell to the ground, with red blood gushing out from their chests and necks.

Six archers appeared on both sides of the courtyard. The bowstrings hummed. In a blink of an eye, more than a dozen black-clad guards were nailed to the ground by crescent-shaped heavy arrows, and they screamed.
"Go ahead and kill them all"

Liu Long protected Gao Doushu and retreated to a corner. Suddenly, he shouted coldly. As soon as Liu Long finished speaking, eight figures suddenly rushed out from among the dozen civilians who were carrying grain bags in the yard.

The eight men held shields in their left hands and knives in their right hands, and in twos they attacked the black-clad soldiers in the courtyard in an instant.
Arrows flew through the air, and soldiers holding shields howled and hacked at the remaining dozen Qing soldiers in the courtyard. They were soon strangled to death.
The moment the archer appeared in the courtyard, Li Xian realized something was wrong and fled out of the courtyard.
But Liu Long had already been staring at Li Xian. Seeing that Li Xian was about to escape, Liu Long picked up the long knife on the ground and chased him out the door.
The two of them, one chasing the other, soon arrived at the city's streets. At this time, Li Xian looked terrified, his clothes were covered in blood, and Liu Long was chasing him with a knife in his hand.
Seeing the two people chasing and fleeing, there was a sudden uproar on the street, and everyone retreated, but the people on the street did not flee, but looked at the two people chasing with excitement.
If the rebel army entered the city, the people in the city would have already dispersed. However, this kind of one-man fight and pursuit could not scare away the people in the city. It only made the onlookers more excited.

Amid the screams and cries of the Zhushan people, Li Xian was quickly thrown to the ground by Liu Long. Li Xian looked at the long knife in Liu Long's hand with a look of horror on his face, and immediately shouted loudly:
"Brother, wait a minute, wait a minute, I am still useful. This Zhushan is still the territory of the Tartars. If there is such a big commotion here, the soldiers from the county government will come soon."

"I have an official identity in Yunyang Prefecture. I can explain for you and help you escape from the city."

Liu Long looked at Li Xian who was shouting repeatedly, but his face was cold.
"Zhushan is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. I am a member of the Ming Dynasty's army. I want to see who dares to stop my army in Zhushan County."

Liu Long's eyes were cold, and he suddenly thrust the long knife into Li Xian's neck. Red blood instantly gushed out from Li Xian's neck.
The onlookers never thought that someone would dare to kill someone in the street. The people on the street shouted in panic and chaos broke out in an instant.
While the people were fleeing, Liu Long had already blended into the crowd and disappeared.

When Liu Long returned to Xingtai Grain Store, all the Qing soldiers in the courtyard had been killed. Dozens of corpses fell to the ground, and the ground was covered with blood.

Two Tengxiang soldiers were holding wooden shields, checking the bodies on the ground. If they found someone still breathing, they would immediately kill them.
Several soldiers guarded Gao Doushu and stood in the corner of the courtyard. Gao Doushu's face was pale, but he was still quite calm.

Although Gao Doushu was a civil servant, he was not one of those pure and honest officials. He started out as a military officer. Since entering Huguang, Gao Doushu has personally eliminated tens of thousands of local bandits and thieves.
When Gao Doushu was defending Yun, he faced huge bandits like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. He was a civil official who could lead troops to kill bandits as soon as he got on the horse.
Liu Long walked up to Gao Doushu, his face serious, and said

"The Tartars have discovered Mr. Gao's identity. We can't stay in Zhushan any longer. We must evacuate the city immediately." Gao Doushu frowned and said

"The rice that was to be sent to Hanzhong this month has not yet been shipped. If we leave now, what will happen to Hanzhong's food and wages?"

"I can't worry about so many things at this moment. Du Junmen has ordered that the safety of Mr. Gao must be prioritized."

"Besides, Mr. Gao's identity has been revealed. If he stays here, it will be impossible for him to transport rice. Please follow us and return to Jingzhou immediately."

Gao Doushu heard this but did not respond. He frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly waved his hand to stop Liu Long and said

"I can't go back to Jingzhou now. Li Xian might not only find out my identity, but also find out that we are transporting grain to Hanzhong."

Gao Doushu was sure that he did not know the so-called Yunxiang Military Governor Li Zhigang. If Li Zhigang really discovered his identity by accident and wanted to send someone to recruit him, he would definitely choose someone familiar to persuade him instead of sending troops to capture him directly.

Gao Doushu had guarded Yun for many years, and there were many people in Yunyang who were old friends with Gao Doushu. But now Li Zhigang directly sent soldiers from Yunyang Prefecture. This attitude was obviously not that of recruiting.

Gao Doushu and Li Zhigang had never met before. There was only one reason why Li Zhigang was so determined to send people to arrest Gao Doushu, that is, Li Zhigang had already discovered that Gao Doushu was secretly supplying food to the Ming army in Hanzhong.
This time Li Xian came to capture Gao Doushu, the traitor.

When Gao Doushu thought of this, his expression became more determined and he said

"We have been acting under the banner of Wang Guangen in Yunyang. Now that Li Zhigang has noticed that we are transporting food to the Hanzhong government troops, he will definitely not give up easily."

"If we suddenly withdraw now, Wang Guangen and the other two will surely be convicted and punished by the Qing court. We cannot leave now."

"I must go to Xiangyang immediately to inform the Wang brothers and have Wang Guangen and the other two get ready."

Upon hearing this, Liu Long also spoke

"This matter does not conflict with our evacuation. We will withdraw to Jingzhou and then send someone to Xiangyang to deliver the message. It's just a message. Why does Mr. Gao need to go there in person?"

Gao Doushu heard this, but shook his head, his expression became calmer, and he said

"No, I must go there in person. You can only deliver a message, but it will be different if I go."

"Earlier, when the Hunan Province sent back the news of the great victory in Fujian and Zhejiang, the attitude of Wang Guangen and others had softened. The fact that Wang Guangen and his brothers were slow to respond was simply because these three felt that they still had a way out."

"The imperial court has been besieging Jingzhou for a long time. If we can persuade Xiangyang to rebel now, we will surely disrupt the Qing court's arrangements and create opportunities for the imperial court in Jingzhou."

"Now that our identities have been revealed, we can use this opportunity to put pressure on the Wang brothers and see if we can make them make up their minds to turn against us."

"Brother Wang Guangen has always been cautious. Only if I go there in person can I convince them."

"Wang Guangen is not only the general of Xiangyang, but also the Wang brothers followed me to garrison Yunyang. There are also many of Wang Guangen's old subordinates in Yunyang City."

"If Wang Guangen were to rebel now, he would not only be able to capture an important city like Xiangyang, but he might even be able to capture Yunyang."

"If we can take Xiangyang and Yunyang, block the Junmen, and then take Jingzhou, and connect the three places, then the court will truly have a firm foothold in Hubei Province."

A hint of sternness flashed in Gao Doushu's eyes. Liu Long was also stunned when he saw the old man who suddenly became excited.
It was obvious that their whereabouts were leaked and they were being hunted by the Qing government, but Gao Doushu made it sound as if this was a good thing.

Gao Doushu's face flashed with determination, and he spoke directly

"This matter concerns the overall situation of Hubei Province, but we cannot miss the chance. However, if we want to succeed, I'm afraid we still have to see how the Qing Dynasty reacts."

"We must sneak back to Xiangyang immediately and find out the reaction of the Qing army, so that I can take action."

Liu Long looked at Gao Doushu's expression and knew that Gao Doushu had made up his mind, so he said no more.
Liu Long and his companions changed their bloodstained clothes, took some silver and dry food, and escorted Gao Doushu from the back door, quickly leaving towards the city gate.
Half an hour after Gao Doushu and others left, a group of Zhushan County officials carefully walked towards the courtyard of Xingtai Grain Store.

Liu Long beheaded Li Xian in the street. As the people in the city fled in panic, the yamen runners actually arrived at the scene very quickly.
However, when the Zhushan Yamen runners found the military badge of Yunyang Prefecture on Li Xian, they immediately became frightened.

A leader of the Green Camp was hacked to death in the street, and then walked away. How vicious must the perpetrator be?
After the yamen runners asked the people around them, they confirmed what they thought. When Li Xian and his companions came here, they never thought they would be attacked, so they did not hide their tracks.

According to nearby residents, Li Xian's group had at least 20 to 30 people, but in the end only Li Xian escaped to the street and was beheaded in the street. It is easy to imagine what happened to the remaining 30-odd people.
Li Xian's group of honest soldiers were killed, so if these ordinary yamen runners came to the door, wouldn't they be courting death?

The Zhushan Yamen runners hesitated, pretending to look for clues. After delaying for half an hour, they thought that the gang of thieves should have evacuated, and then they approached the grain house in fear.
A group of Zhushan Yamen runners entered the courtyard carefully, but the courtyard was already empty.

On the ground in the courtyard, dozens of corpses were lying in fear, blood was flowing on the bricks and stones, and an astonishing fishy smell was blowing in the air.
The yamen runners usually bullied the villagers, and had never seen such a tragic scene. Some of the yamen runners turned pale and trembled, while others simply fled out of the yard, squatted on the ground and vomited.
After the yamen runners fled back to the county office to report, Zhushan County was immediately in an uproar. The Zhushan County Magistrate immediately ordered the city to be sealed off to arrest the thief.
After receiving the order, the yamen runners immediately took the gong and loudly announced in the city that the criminals were being hunted down, and warned the people in the city not to harbor the criminals.
The yamen runners patrolled the city for half a day, and after confirming that all the people in the city had known that the county was going to close the city to catch the thieves, they began to close the city gates.

When the gates of Zhushan City were closed, Liu Long and other Tengxiang soldiers had already escorted Gao Doushu eastward to Fang County.
Gao Doushu and his companions only replenished some drinking water outside Fang County, and then continued to retreat eastward to Baokang Nanzhang and headed towards Xiangyang.
(End of this chapter)