Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 231: Two stab wounds
Feeling the cold sword edge on his neck, Xu Shaobao knelt down in despair.

He never expected that he would be betrayed by his sworn brother.

why!
He never owed anyone anything.

But it was useless to think about it now, as he was about to die.

He is not willing to give in, not willing to give in!

You must find a way to protect yourself!
But Zhao Youcan's troops were everywhere and there was no way to escape.

I can only delay time and wait for my people to discover the situation here.

That's the only chance of survival...

Xu Shaobao knelt on the ground, lowered his head in despair, and said with a determined heart:

"A-chan, I didn't expect it was you... Well, you saved my life before, and now that you want my head, take it."

As he spoke, Xu Shaobao stretched out his neck and waited to be killed.

When Zhao Youcan saw that Xu Shaobao actually chose to surrender and help him, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"Brother, I..."

Xu Shaobao said: "Achan, don't blame yourself. It was my decision-making error that harmed everyone and offended Lord Yonghuai. Now use my head to exchange for your future."

After hearing this, Zhao Youcan felt even more guilty.

He held the sword in his hand, unable to strike.

Xu Shaobao was secretly happy.

He saw the right moment, and when Zhao Youcan was about to make his move, he suddenly said:
"A-chan, I don't have anything to ask of you. Before I die, can you let me have one more meal of Dongpo pork?"

Zhao Youcan was slightly stunned when he heard this.

When the two of them were begging in the past, they would often smell the refreshing aroma of meat in other people's yards during festivals.

Eating a bite of Dongpo pork was their biggest dream at the time...

"it is good……"

Zhao Youcan agreed.

He sent someone to cook Dongpo pork.

His generals tried to dissuade him anxiously, but were pushed away by Zhao Youcan.

Dongpo pork takes time to cook, and time passes by every second.

Xu Shaobao was afraid that Zhao Youcan would lose his patience, so during this time he kept talking about their past. Zhao Youcan was immersed in his memories and gradually relaxed his vigilance, not noticing the passage of time.

Two quarters of an hour passed.

The Dongpo pork was served.

"Why hasn't anyone noticed yet?"

Xu Shaobao cursed in his heart, but on the surface he looked like he was enjoying it.

He sniffed the aroma of meat greedily.

Then he picked up the chopsticks and ate the meat in front of him in big mouthfuls.

Zhao Youcan sat in front of Xu Shaobao's desk with a sword in hand.

He planned to wait for Xu Shaobao to finish eating before sending his brother on his way.

Since all the weapons on Xu Shaobao were removed, Zhao Youcan was hardly on guard against Xu Shaobao.

Xu Shaobao ate the meat in big mouthfuls, chewing it carefully. He ate very slowly, as if he was savoring the last taste.

In fact, he couldn't eat fast.

If he eats too fast, his life will be gone!
Suddenly, there was a lot of noise outside.

The sound of weapons clashing.

"not good!"

Zhao Youcan was startled, then he reacted.

The delay was too long and Xu Shaobao's people noticed something was wrong!
Just as Zhao Youcan was about to draw his sword, Xu Shaobao suddenly jumped up and stabbed the chopsticks in his hand into Zhao Youcan's eyes.

"what!"

Zhao Youcan screamed in pain.

Xu Shaobao grabbed Zhao Youcan.

The situation changed instantly.

Xu Shaobao used Zhao Youcan's body to block in front and threaten everyone.

"My chopsticks are already stuck into his eyes. If anyone dares to move, I will stab them in and die with him!"

Xu Shaobao exerted a little force.

Zhao Youcan turned pale with pain and quickly shouted at his men not to move.

Xu Shaobao escorted Zhao Youcan out and quickly found their own team.

Xu Shaobao slowly retreated, and finally poked the chopsticks into Zhao Youcan's eyes without hesitation, then quickly ran back to his team.

Zhao Youcan was lying on the ground wailing, with a lot of blood and black water flowing out, but he was not dead. At this time, Xu Shaobao had successfully escaped back, and he hurriedly ordered his men to attack and kill the traitor.

An internal conflict broke out instantly.

From Jiaxing City not far away, subordinates sent back news.

"Master Ji, the enemy is fighting among themselves, let's attack!"

"Yes, take this opportunity to capture the thief leader and avenge our previous humiliation!"

Ji Quan shook his head.

"No, how could the enemies so easily fall out among themselves? There must be a conspiracy here..."

Soon after, the internal fighting ended.

Zhao Youcan's side had few people and no leader, so naturally they were no match for Xu Shaobao.

The seriously injured Zhao Youcan was carried by his men and fled to the front of Jiaxing City.

Xu Shaobao led his troops in pursuit. When he saw that Zhao Youcan's army had fled to the outskirts of Jiaxing City, he was afraid that Ji Quan would leave the city and join forces with Zhao Youcan to attack, so he dared not chase anymore and quickly led his men to retreat.

"Let us in, we are here to surrender, our leader is dying!"

Zhao Youcan's men were talking below the city.

Ji Quan was not reassured and said:

"Put down your weapons!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcan's men laid down their weapons.

Ji Quan said again:

"Take off your armor."

Hearing this, several people inside took off their armor, and the others said:
"We have no armor!"

Ji Quan said cautiously: "Take off your clothes and let me see if there are any weapons hidden inside."

Zhao Youcan's men: ...

Stable, so stable!
After Ji Quan's careful inspection, he finally confirmed that there was nothing wrong with these people.

During this period, Zhao Youcan unfortunately died.

Xu Shaobao stabbed the chopstick into Zhao Youcan's eye hard. Although it did not hurt his brain, it also caused great harm to him.

Zhao Youcan did not receive treatment for a long time and eventually died from his serious injuries.

Beijing.

The competition for the Grand Councilor has now reached a fever pitch.

Meng Shen and Cheng Fan are determined to get both places.

As a great scholar, Meng Shen supported Fang Yong's military farming policy.

Cheng Fan sent his confidants to persuade Mao Cheng to surrender, hoping to gain merit by doing so.

Gao Jing appears harmless on the surface, but he is secretly competing with the two.

Cui Shu was unwilling to let Gao Jing, who was also from the Ministry of Revenue, serve as the Minister of Military Affairs, so he secretly made things difficult for Gao Jing.

As for the nobles, people from the Niu and Ma families instigated Ma Laohei and Niu Jin to compete for the position of Minister of Military Affairs.

Now Ma Laohei and Niu Jin have automatically been promoted to patriarchs of the Duke of Zhiguo and the Duke of Zhenguo families.

Of course, the two had no interest in being the clan leader, let alone competing for the position of the so-called Grand Councilor.

Both of them knew that the most important thing for them was Fang Yong's trust, followed by their ability to command troops. Apart from these two points, other conditions were useless.

Prince Zhongshun also participated in the competition openly or secretly, and sent gifts through Huang Wenzhou, but was defeated by Fang Yongjiu.

There should be no need to say who gets 90%, right?
Jia She even wanted to compete for it, and secretly contacted some close noble families, such as the Prince of Nan'an, the Prince of Beijing, etc.

The grand court meeting was held as scheduled, but the candidates for the last two positions were not decided.

Everyone was arguing and attacking each other.

Fang Yong also enjoyed their arguing and criticizing each other.

This would distract these people's attention so that he could successfully complete his military farming plan.

Therefore, Fang Yong did not take any action to stop it, but let it go.

In addition, whenever Emperor Longqing attended court, his eyes looked like a thief. Fang Yong saw that there was something wrong with him, but he did not point it out. He just sent someone to keep an eye on him.

Fang Yong requested an imperial decree from Emperor Longqing, appointing Wei Xing as the General of the Southern Expedition to quell the rebellion of the Yue bandits in Zhejiang and Zhejiang, and there were no other actions after that.

After the court meeting, Fang Yong received news that Daiyu's boat was about to arrive.

This made him feel a little better.

Lin Daiyu, long time no see.

Some thoughts.

Suddenly, someone came to pay him a visit. It turned out to be the grandson of Duke Yansheng...

(End of this chapter)