Bai Ge smiled and nodded, "Okay, Commander, you have to keep your word."
"Alright, let's go!" The commander said impatiently, "It's a big mess here, people from the Yangzhou government should be here soon." After saying that, the commander threw the head of the scar-faced man on the ground and left with his people.
In fact, the battle cries had already spread far and there were two groups of people rushing over.
The first group was the bailiffs of the Yangzhou government. The leader was the constable, Zhao San.
However, the speed of their journey was very slow. They were walking, and they had to stop from time to time along the way.
"Constable, there's a fire over there!" A bailiff pointed to the distance and said to Zhao San.
"Motherf * cker, these pieces of trash!"
Zhao San spat and cursed loudly. He had received orders from his superiors not to go to the Transport Envoy's residence so early if something happened.
Zhao San wasn't stupid, he knew what to do.
The atmosphere in Yangzhou City was strange. The Great Imperial Envoy was coming, how could Zhao San not know about it?
The officials of the various yamens were panicking. Even a small character like Zhao San had a way to protect himself. He didn't say anything, didn't look, and was an honest person. He would do whatever his superiors ordered him to do if it was harmless. If it was dangerous, he wouldn't do it.
For example, Zhao San didn't feel any pressure when he was doing this, he didn't mind being late.
However, when he saw the fire, Zhao San couldn't help but curse. What a bunch of trash, how could they make such a big mess over such a small matter?
They were just looking for trouble. Zhao San's face darkened when he thought of this.
The other group of soldiers were patrolling the city. They weren't moving fast, they were walking slowly.
When they arrived, the fire had already been extinguished. There was no one on the street, there was no one in the house that was on fire.
"What a strong smell of blood!"
Zhao San had been a constable for seven or eight years and he had been through many cases. He could smell the smell of blood.
Arson and murder, they were too bold. This time, it would be really troublesome.
"Constable, there are so many corpses!"
A bailiff pointed to the corpses in front of him and said, "Something big has happened!"
Zhao San also knew that something big had happened. He turned to the constable and ordered, "Quickly go back and report to the lord!"
The patrolling soldiers had also arrived. When they saw the corpses on the scene, their expressions changed drastically.
This was not the time of war. Suddenly, there were so many corpses in the city. Something bad was going to happen!
Yangzhou City was in chaos.
The magistrate of Yangzhou was surnamed Qin, and his given name was Qin Hewen. He was a middle-aged man in his fifties.
When he was woken up from his bed, he was in a bad mood. His mustache was pouting and his eyes were wide open. Looking at the housekeeper in front of him, Qin Hewen said angrily, "What's the matter in the middle of the night?"
"Sir, something has happened!" the butler hurriedly said. "The constables have just reported that a murder has occurred near the Transport Commissioner's manor."
"The whole street is full of corpses, blood is flowing all over the ground, and someone even set a fire!"
When Qin Hewen heard this, his heart skipped a beat. The Imperial Envoy was coming, how could something like this happen?
The imperial envoy had originally come to look for trouble, but wasn't this the same as handing over his weakness to the other party?
"Take some people and go to the scene!" Qin Hewen's anger had disappeared, and all that was left was fear.
Sitting in the palanquin, Qin Hewen complained. As the magistrate of Yangzhou City, he naturally couldn't escape from bribery. The first person that the salt merchants wanted to bribe was him.
These days, he had been thinking about how to get out of this situation. Even if he had to resign from his position, it would be good!
But now, something like this had happened. It was really killing him.
When Qin Hewen arrived at the scene, the corpses had already been counted. The criminal teacher Qian Deliang came to Qin Hewen's side and said with a serious expression, "Sir, I'm afraid that this time, the people who died were from First Uncle Qi's manor."
"What?" Qin Hewen's face was filled with disbelief. "His manor's people?"
"Sir, although I don't know all of these people, I recognize a few of them. They were all people from First Uncle Qi's manor." Qian Deliang said carefully. "The most important thing is that the people who died weren't from First Uncle Qi's manor."
Qin Hewen almost fell to the ground. The people from First Uncle Qi's manor had died, and that wasn't the most important thing?
"The most important thing is the people who killed them. Most of these people were killed by crossbows. However, the crossbows were all taken away, and no clues were left.
Each of them was stabbed in the back, and all of them were stabbed in the heart. "
"These people were ruthless and fast. They were all experts!"
Qin Hewen felt even more bitter. What was going on?!
"Get someone to inform First Uncle Qi!" Qin Hewen thought about it and felt that he could not handle this matter himself. It was better to let First Uncle Qi handle it!
Qin Hewen was an official. Of course, he knew the relationship between Transport Commissioner Yan Huaiyuan and First Uncle Qi.
Although he did not know how they did it, Qin Hewen knew that Yan Huaiyuan must have gotten more than him.
Now that so many people had died near Yan Huaiyuan's yamen, it was definitely not a simple matter!
"Sir, we found a total of seventeen corpses. There was also a headless man's corpse on the next street."
"We found the head over there!"
Constable Zhao San came to Qin Hewen's side and bowed. "The person who was beheaded is called Yang Qi. He killed seven or eight people and is a wanted criminal in our yamen."
Qin Hewen's eyes lit up when he heard Zhao San's words. He pondered for a moment and made up his mind.
Qin Hewen glanced at Zhao San and said, "Get someone to spread the news. When the yamen learned that the wanted criminal Yang Qi was hiding here, they sent bailiffs and soldiers to arrest him.
However, Yang Qi and his henchmen are violent by nature and resisted arrest. "
"After a fierce battle, they finally killed him. His accomplices were also brought to justice."
"The yamen bailiffs cooperated well. At the cost of seven people being seriously injured and fifteen people being lightly injured, they succeeded in killing the criminal Yang Qi."
After saying that, Qin Hewen turned to Qian Deliang and said, "After daybreak, send out a notice to pacify the people."
Qin Hewen did not care who killed them or why they killed them. He did not want to care either.
The most important thing now was to settle this matter. It would be troublesome if there was no explanation for such a huge murder case.
Since Yang Qi was a criminal, it would be easy. He could just say that he ordered people to surround and kill him. He could also get credit for it.
"Constable Zhao, you and your men have worked hard tonight. I will give some money and food to the bailiffs who were injured and let them go home to recuperate." Qin Hewen's face darkened. "Remember, recuperate. Stay at home and recuperate."
Zhao San immediately understood that he was using money to keep his mouth shut. He did not dare to disagree. He quickly said, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Excellency!"
"This time, Your Excellency was able to command the troops well. You have eliminated the criminal Yang Qi and removed a great threat for Yangzhou. You have done a great service to Yangzhou.
We should report this to the Ministry of Justice. Your Excellency loves the people like your own children. You should be an example for the officials of Yangzhou! "
At this time, the other officials of the Yangzhou Prefecture who rushed over immediately found their position and flattered him like a tide.
The Qi family of Yangzhou was very famous in the whole of Yangzhou. After all, it was one of the biggest families in Yangzhou.
As the representative of the Huizhou merchants and the leader of the three major salt merchants, the Qi family had a very high status. This was also the reason why the head of the Qi family, Qi Heng, was called Uncle Qi.
Qi Heng, who was already in his fifties, took good care of himself. Other than his body being a little fat, he looked very young.
However, Qi Heng's expression was very ugly when he was woken up in the middle of the night. He glanced at the old butler, Qi Cai, and asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
"Uncle, something happened!"
Qi Cai grew up in the Qi family. He was someone that Qi Heng trusted and cared deeply for. No one dared to wake Qi Heng up in the middle of the night. "The prefectural yamen sent someone to deliver a letter."
"Yang Qi is dead. Just now, the people that Yang Qi brought with him were all killed."
Qi Heng was stunned. Then, his expression darkened. "Who did it?"
"We don't know yet. Yang Qi died a few streets west of the Transport Commissioner's Mansion. Most of the people were killed by crossbows. However, these people took the crossbows away and didn't leave any clues."
Qi Heng raised his eyebrows. Why did such a group suddenly appear in Yangzhou City?
Qi Heng knew Yang Qi's people very well. They were all fierce bandits, and Yang Qi was very good at dealing with them.
However, they were killed just like that. Not a single one of them managed to escape. Who did this?
Qi Heng thought for a moment and said, "Let Mother Zhang investigate and see if it was Yan Huaiyuan's doing!"
"Also, personally keep an eye on the Transport Commissioner's Mansion. If there are any strange movements, immediately send Yan Huaiyuan on his way."
Qi Heng's eyes flashed with an ominous glint. "Before the imperial envoy arrives in Yangzhou, we must make Yan Huaiyuan take the blame."
The Yangzhou salt merchants had given Yan Huaiyuan a lot of things over the years. However, they were all for sale.
A mansion was worth two hundred taels of silver, and an antique was worth more than ten taels of silver.
Once Yan Huaiyuan admitted that he was extorting the salt merchants, Qi Heng would have more room to maneuver.
Yan Huaiyuan would die, and they would live.
The problem now was that Yan Huaiyuan didn't want to wait helplessly for death. The imperial envoy was about to arrive, and he couldn't wait any longer. If he really couldn't do it, he could only send him on his way.
"I'll arrange it right away!" Qi Cai replied and turned to leave.
On the waterway to Yangzhou, Zhang Jing raised his head and looked at the gloomy sky. He couldn't help but sigh. "It's going to rain. The spring rain in Jiangnan is a bit poetic!"
Xu Xiti stood next to Zhang Jing and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to be in such a mood. Why don't you get someone to bring the table over? We can stand here and enjoy the wine and the rain. It'll be a great thing!"
Glancing at Xu Xiti, Zhang Jing was about to say something when a gust of wind suddenly blew.