In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 977 Igniting a Spark, Letting It Spread Like Wildfire
The surrounding farmers were stunned at first, and then burst into screams.

Some people were so frightened that they turned and ran away, while others collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.

Some people stared at Zhou Lin's corpse, their eyes filled with fear.

The old farmer who had just been shoved by Zhou Lin was deathly pale, his lips trembling.

He stumbled back several steps, nearly bumping into pedestrians behind him.

"No, it wasn't me. It wasn't me!"

"Murder! Murder!"

Someone shouted, and the onlookers instantly erupted into chaos.
Hyde Street suddenly descended into chaos.

Qiao Weihua stood there, staring at Zhou Lin's corpse, his body ice-cold.

He heard it clearly just now.
That loud bang was none other than the sound of a flintlock musket!

He was there when Lord Lu was attacked; this is the commotion he made!

Crisp and fast.

Now the boss has also been killed? Who did this?
He suddenly looked up in the direction the sound came from.
A dark shadow flashed across the rooftops across the street.
It quickly disappeared behind the tiles, leaving only a few pieces of rubble blown off by the wind.

"Quick! Quickly chase!"

"An assassination attempt!"

Qiao Weihua realized what was happening and shouted at the shop assistants who rushed out of the store.
"Chase him! Report to the authorities immediately! The assassin who tried to kill Lord Lu has been found!"

The men were also quite frightened when they heard Qiao Weihua shout.
Barely managing to calm himself, he grabbed a wooden stick from the doorway and chased after the shadowy figure in the direction it had disappeared.

But the dark figure ran extremely fast, and by the time they reached the alley entrance, it had vanished without a trace.
Only empty alleyways remain.
The wind whistled through the walls.

Qiao Weihua walked to Zhou Lin's body, squatted down, and with trembling hands reached out to check his breath.
Only after confirming that he was no longer breathing did he collapse to the ground, his whole body limp.

He knew that Dongning Trading Company was completely finished.

First, they lost money because Yingtian Trading Company cancelled their order.
Now the landlord has been shot dead in the street.

If this matter were to reach the capital, it would certainly trigger a major investigation.

And those people behind the boss.

If they knew he was dead, they definitely wouldn't let it go.

At that time, he, as the shopkeeper, will probably also be implicated.

"Manager Qiao, what should we do?"

One of the workers came running back, panting heavily, his face full of panic.
"We couldn't catch them, they've vanished!"

Qiao Weihua took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He stood up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said in a deep voice:

"What else can we do? Report it to the authorities! Let them investigate!"

Calm down the villagers at the door and stop them from saying anything inappropriate.

Also, keep a close watch on the employer's body and don't let anyone tamper with the scene!

The waiter nodded quickly and turned to run towards the capital.

The surrounding farmers haven't left yet.
They dared not approach any further, standing far away by the roadside, whispering amongst themselves.

Many people say Zhou Lin got his comeuppance, while others say the capital is about to descend into chaos again.
There were various opinions, and the noise was very loud and buzzing.

In just a quarter of an hour, the sun had already begun to set in the west.

Hyde Street has lost some of its midday heat, but has gained a fishy smell.

The bloodstains on the bluestone slabs, darkened by the sun, clung to the cracks in the stones.

Qiao Weihua, with several men by his side, stood guard beside Zhou Lin's body, his face pale.

He would occasionally glance at both ends of the street.
If the people from the capital don't arrive soon, he's afraid he won't be able to hold on any longer.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar, growing ever closer.

Qiao Weihua's eyes lit up, and he quickly stood up, cupping his hands in the direction the sound came from:

"Lord Gao! You've finally arrived!"

Two horses galloped towards them; the one in front carried an official in his forties.

Wearing a scarlet official robe and a jade belt, he was none other than Gao Shou, the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture.

His expression was grave as he reined in his horse.

They stopped a few steps away from the body, raising a cloud of dust.

Following behind was Tongpan Kong Rui.

He was younger than Gao Shou, and his expression was extremely solemn at that moment.

Gao Shou dismounted and hurried to the corpse. He had just bent down when...
When his gaze fell on the wound on Zhou Lin's forehead, his pupils contracted sharply, and he gasped.
"This is... a firearm?"

"Sir, there's no mistake! It's a firearm!"
And these aren't ordinary firearms; we need to get the generals from the Governor's Office to see for themselves.

Kong Rui also came over and squatted down to examine it carefully.

Zhou Lin has a black hole about the size of a thumb on his forehead.

The edges still bore traces of charring, and blood gushed out, staining half of his face red.

Kong Rui reached out and touched the skin around the wound; it was still warm. He frowned, his tone certain.

Gao Shou's face instantly darkened.
His gaze swept across the chaotic street, then over the farmers and pedestrians peering around, and he said in a deep voice:

"Immediately have the scene sealed off! Where are the constables?"
Block both ends of this street and don't allow anyone to enter or leave!
Then go and invite Minister Yang of the Ministry of Justice, Lord Yuan of the Censorate, and the officials of the Governor's Office.

For example, there was a stabbing incident on Hyde Street, suspected to have been carried out with a flintlock musket!

"Yes!"

Kong Rui quickly responded, then turned and loudly gave orders to the approaching constables.
"What are you all standing there for! Block off both ends of the street! No unauthorized personnel are allowed to approach!"
"Quickly report this to the authorities! Find the officials in the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Governor-General's Office!"

The constables responded with a roar, drew their long swords from their waists, formed a semi-circle, and drove the onlookers out of the street.

"Make way! Make way! The government is investigating a case; all bystanders, please step back!"

A commotion arose in the crowd; some wanted to take a few more glances.

However, he was deterred from advancing by the long swords of the yamen runners.

Soon, both ends of Hyde Street were guarded by constables who strung up thick hemp ropes and erected wooden signs prohibiting passage.

Gao Shou then looked at Qiao Weihua, his tone serious:
"Manager Qiao, tell me what happened at the time. What did the murderer look like? Which direction did he run from?"

"Reporting to the Prefect, I was right there at the time. I only heard a sound, and then the landlord collapsed!"

The killer was a dark figure on the rooftop across the street.
We couldn't see what he was wearing, but he ran incredibly fast. The guys chased after him, but they couldn't catch him.

Qiao Weihua bowed deeply, his voice still trembling.

"roof?"

Gao Shou frowned and looked up at the rooftops across the street.

"Who else was present at the time? What happened to these farmers?"

"They've come to reclaim the land."

Qiao Weihua dared not hide anything and recounted the story of the farmers selling their land and then coming back to ask for it back.
They also mentioned that Manager Chen from Yingtian Trading Company had come to cancel the order and demand compensation.
"Not long after Manager Chen left, the master was assassinated."

Gao Shou nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
He simply told Qiao Weihua to wait aside and not to leave.

He walked to the body, squatted down, and carefully examined Zhou Lin's wounds, his expression extremely grave:
"What a troubled time"

As the Prefect of the Capital, he knew far more than the average person.

The Imperial Guards claimed to have found the murder weapon.

But he knew that the real murder weapon had long since disappeared without a trace.
The matter from last time hasn't been resolved yet.
Another assassination attempt has occurred. How absurd!
Before long, the sound of hooves came from afar again, this time not just two horses, but a whole troop of men.

The leader was a young man wearing silver armor with a resolute face; he was none other than Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei.

He was followed by several generals from the Governor's Office, as well as Yuan Tai from the Censorate.

"how is the situation?"

Xu Huizu dismounted and strode up to Gao Shou, his gaze falling on the corpse, his tone grave.

"Duke of Wei, the deceased is Zhou Lin, the owner of the Dongning Trading Company. The wound is on his forehead. The murderer has fled. I suspect it was done with a flintlock pistol."

Gao Shou bowed deeply.

"Another flintlock musket?"

Yuan Tai also walked over, his eyes sweeping over the corpse.

"That's not right. The imperial physician said that Lord Lu has nearly forty flints in his chest."
"Zhou Lin only has one on his forehead this week, is it really a flintlock pistol?"

Xu Huizu waved his hand, and two officials stepped forward to investigate.

A craftsman-like figure was also inspecting the items.

A short while later, the craftsman stood up and lowered his voice to the minimum:

"Duke of Wei, it was indeed a wound from a flintlock musket, and it was hit with a common fireball, only one!"
However, it has great penetrating power and can break through skulls and armor.

Lord Lu was hit by a shotgun blast; it was powerful but spread out.

Upon hearing this, Xu Huizu's expression immediately turned serious. He looked at Yuan Tai and nodded.

"That's right, it's a flintlock musket, but it uses different bullets."

"You bastard, didn't you say the murder weapon had been found?!" Yuan Tai immediately stomped his foot angrily.

He had barely finished speaking when footsteps sounded in the distance again.
Minister of Justice Yang Jing and Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Du Pingping arrived together.

Yang Jing was dressed in plain clothes, with a worried expression.
The case from a few days ago is still unsolved, and now there's another assassination attempt! Not only did they not get a single penny of the money from Yingtian Trading Company, but they've also gotten themselves into a ton of trouble.

It's really true.

Du Pingping, dressed in the black uniform of the Imperial Guard, with a long sword at his waist, had sharp eyes.
Upon arriving at the scene, he looked around as if searching for something.

"Lord Yang, Lord Du, the deceased is Zhou Lin."
The owner of the Dongning Trading Company was stabbed with a flintlock pistol; the wound was on his forehead.

Gao Shou went to greet him.

Yang Jing walked to the corpse, squatted down to examine the wounds, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

"Is it the flintlock coroner again?"
"Have the coroner examine the flint carefully to see if it's the same as the one used when Lord Lu was assassinated."

"The coroner is already on his way and should be arriving soon," Gao Shou replied.

Sure enough, not long after, an old coroner carrying a medicine box rushed over.

His hair and beard were all white, and he wore coarse cloth gloves.

Walking to the body, he first checked Zhou Lin's eyelids, then carefully examined the wound on his forehead.
Then he took a thin needle from the medicine box.
He gently probed into the wound, stirred it a few times, and then pulled it out.

The old coroner stood up, bowed, and said:

"Your Excellencies, the wound on the deceased's forehead was caused by flint."
The flint was solid and pierced through the skull, killing it instantly.

I just checked, and there are no shrapnel fragments deep inside the wound. The flint must have come out from behind the skull.

"Solid flint?"

Du Pingping suddenly spoke. He walked to the corpse, his eyes fixed on the wound.

"When Lord Lu was assassinated, was it with a shotgun or flint?"

At that time, Lord Lu's chest wounds were scattered, with several small wounds.
And here, there is only one wound.

He suddenly thought of something.

If the murderer had used the same solid flint, would Lu Yunyi have survived?
Everyone present shared the same thought.

"You explain this to them."

Xu Huizu stepped forward and pointed at the craftsman.

"My lords, solid bullets have strong penetrating power."
If you hit a vital spot, it will be an instant kill.
However, the accuracy problem of flintlock muskets has not been completely solved, and it is not easy to accurately hit the enemy!
The shotgun blast that struck Lord Lu was a method unanimously agreed upon by his colleagues in the workshop.

Although the power is dispersed, the killing area is larger, and it can ensure instant death upon hit!

Although solid bullets are more powerful and can penetrate an inch of armor, shotgun pellets can only penetrate half an inch.

But when it hits a person, it is deadly enough.

Gentlemen, please look! A solid shot has pierced through Manager Zhou's head.
A shotgun can only penetrate to the head, but the result is the same: certain death.

The craftsman stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, all the adults present understood, their brows twitching with apprehension, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection).

Lu Yunyi is incredibly lucky; he didn't die!

"Two kinds of flint?" Yuan Tai muttered to himself.
"Either it's two groups of people, or it's the same group, using different flints to deliberately confuse the issue," Xu Huizu continued, his eyes darkening.

Yuan Tai's expression was serious:

"Regardless of the situation, it shows that the rebels in Beijing are not simple."
Not only did they have flintlock pistols, but they could also acquire various flints.

The name Dongning Trading Company sounds familiar...

"Dongning Trading Company previously got involved in the land price issue in Beijing."

The capital city government just issued a document ordering them to give the farmers an explanation.

"Moreover, the background of Dongning Trading Company is not simple." Gao Shou frowned and said in a deep voice.

Everyone turned their attention to Gao Shou, waiting for his answer.

"The owner of the Dongning Trading Company is King Zhou," Gao Shou sighed softly.

Upon hearing this, everyone present felt their brows twitch violently.
Things have gotten complicated again!

It even involved the vassal kings.

What exactly are these rebels trying to do? Kill both sides?

If Zhou Lin was a member of the rebel party, then his assassination...

It's very likely a purge within the anti-Party organization, or someone trying to cover something up.

"Manager Qiao, what kind of dealings does your boss, Zhou Lin, have with the Zhou Prince's Mansion?"
"Is the business of the Dongning Trading Company related to the rebel party?"

Du Pingping walked up to Qiao Weihua, her tone icy.

"I don't know! I'm just a shopkeeper, only in charge of doing business."

I am unaware of the master's dealings!

Qiao Weihua trembled with fright and quickly shook his head.

Du Pingping stared at him for a moment, then didn't ask any more questions.

He walked across the street, looked up at the rooftops, and then said to the crowd in a deep voice:
"My lords, there are no further clues at the scene at the moment."

Your humble servant suggests that we first transport Zhou Lin's body back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for examination.
Further investigation into the source of the flint revealed accounts from the Dongning Trading Company.

"The Governor's Office will deploy additional Imperial Guards to patrol in conjunction with the Capital Prefecture and the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Minister Yang, the Ministry of Justice must ascertain Zhou Lin's identity and dealings as soon as possible; there can be no delay.

"Imperial Censor Yuan, the Censorate must also keep an eye on this to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation."

Xu Huizu nodded.

"Yes!"

Yang Jing and Yuan Tai responded in unison.

The group reached a consensus and began to act separately.

The yamen runners brought in a stretcher.
They wrapped Zhou Lin's body in a white cloth and carried it towards the Ministry of Justice.

Qiao Weihua looked at the empty entrance of the shop.

There were still traces of blood on the ground, and a chill ran down my spine.

Just as he was looking on with a sense of relief, wanting to get away from this place of trouble as soon as possible,

Du Pingping's voice came through:

"Arrest all the managers and employees of the Dongning Trading Company, imprison them in the Zhaoyu Prison, and interrogate them severely!"

A chorus of wails erupted at the scene.
Qiao Weihua felt his legs go weak.

But Du Pingping had no time to sympathize with him.

Just a few days ago, the Imperial Guards were still confident that they had found the murder weapon.

Only a few days have passed, and yet someone has committed murder again.
What is this for?
Isn't Beijing chaotic enough already?

Taking a deep breath, Du Pingping instructed the officers present to handle the situation.
He then mounted a fast horse and headed towards the imperial city.

As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had to report to the palace immediately.
Otherwise, if someone else were to tell the story, the tone would be different.

A quarter of an hour later, inside the Wuying Hall, the chief eunuch walked to the imperial desk and said softly:

"Your Highness, Lord Du of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has arrived."

"Let him in."

Zhu Biao raised his head, put down his vermilion brush, and rubbed his temples.

Before long, Du Pingping, covered in dust from her journey, hurriedly entered the hall and bowed respectfully.

"Your Highness, an assassination attempt has just occurred on Hyde Street."
The deceased was Zhou Lin, the owner of the Dongning Trading Company, who died from a flintlock pistol.

"Flintlock?"

Zhu Biao's fingers paused, and his previously tired eyes instantly sharpened.
He straightened up, leaning slightly forward.
"Another flintlock musket?"

"Your Highness, after confirmation by the craftsmen of the Governor's Office, it is indeed a flintlock musket, but the ammunition used is different."

Du Pingping quickly replied,
"When they assassinated Lord Lu, they used shotgun pellets; this time, they used solid flint."
The blow pierced through the skull, killing him instantly.

Moreover, the Dongning Trading Company had previously colluded with others to manipulate land prices.
When I arrived at the scene, there were still people demanding justice.

Zhu Biao's eyes were filled with seriousness, and a sharper edge had appeared.

He picked up a document from the table.
It was the land price dispute investigation report submitted by the capital government.

It mentioned that Dongning Commercial Bank acquired land at low prices and spread rumors about falling land prices.

"Is this a case of murder to silence witnesses?"

Zhu Biao sneered, keenly sensing this was an opportunity, and gave a deep order:

"Immediately order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to thoroughly investigate all accounts of the Dongning Trading Company."
From the manager to the shop assistants, anyone associated with the business was brought back to the imperial prison for interrogation!
The focus should be on investigating the flow of their money.

See which officials and powerful figures in Beijing he associates with.
Especially those who stirred up trouble during the land price controversy a few days ago—they must be thoroughly investigated and brought to justice!

Du Pingping felt a chill run down her spine and instantly understood the Crown Prince's intention.

Although the land price dispute was quelled by the Market Transaction Center,
But the person behind it all has never been identified.
Now, taking advantage of Zhou Lin's death, we can follow the clues and bring all these people to justice.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Du Pingping bowed and accepted the order, her voice becoming increasingly respectful.

"Your Highness, I will make the arrangements immediately and will certainly not disappoint you!"

Zhu Biao nodded and then added:
"Be thorough when checking the accounts, and find the murderer and the murder weapon as soon as possible!"

Du Pingping felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, but she still replied:
"I understand!"

(End of this chapter)