Suspect in Jinling

Jiang Xingzheng went out and did not return, which had already attracted the attention of the headquarters.

The city of Jinling is very large, with a total of thirteen gates, and only 5000 available defenders.In the original defense, there was a shortage of manpower for each city gate. Once the Japanese pirates focused on one of the city gates and dispatched manpower in batches, as long as the gap was opened, Jinling City would be in danger.

The headquarters in Jinling City lit candles from morning to night, and there were constant reports of military intelligence being discussed and studied repeatedly. The generals in each direction were always paying attention to the position of the Japanese pirate army, what kind of column arrangement they had, and analyzed the possible main direction of attack. , Constantly make adjustments, in order not to waste a single soldier, and use the vitality on the blade.

But judging from the information intercepted by Kuang Jian and others when they went out of the city, the enemy will infiltrate in the mountains and forests in the north of the city, where the roads are rugged, the area is extremely wide, and the defenses are loose. The city is likely to be attacked from the inside and the outside...but these are not the most important.

Marquis Fengcheng: "Jiang Xingzheng, is it possible for him to leak military information?"

In the meeting hall of Yingtian Mansion, everyone was silent for a while.

Ying Tianfu Yin Li Min replied: "It is better to believe that there is something than that there is nothing."

Backstabbing his own people will cause more damage than the enemy. Although no one wants to believe that Jin Yiwei will do such a thing, but the small group of lurking troops left by Li Mengliang in Jinling has not been investigated and dug out. The troops are dominant, and if there are insiders colluding with them, whether it is letting them know about their defenses or being led from the inside during the decisive battle, the situation will become more difficult.

The corner of Fengcheng Hou's mouth sank when he heard the words, and he ordered decisively:

"Command the generals in all directions to adjust their defenses!"

On August [-]th, the Japanese pirates' advance troops arrived outside Jinling City and launched a sudden attack on the west of the city.

It was noon at that time, the sun was blazing, and the waves were calm. The farmers in Linxian County were still patrolling the road, and the red mountain flower branches stood upright on the wall after clearing the field. Only one bloomed alone. At the end of the afternoon, the sun had just turned Passing the most glaring angle of the defensive line of the Shicheng Gate, the artillery of the Japanese pirates suddenly launched a mobile attack from a concealed stand-by, and collapsed the observation building on the west side with one shot!

The command's guess about the main attack direction of the Japanese pirates is completely correct. There is a flat river outside the Shicheng Gate, and there is no river to block it. The Japanese pirates are likely to launch a large corps main attack here.

The artillery outside Shimen City lasted for a whole cup of tea, bombarding the city defense for ten miles indiscriminately. The bombing stopped, followed by a charge, and this happened three times alternately. Cheng Dabin, the commander of the city gate, was caught off guard. Gathered his subordinates and the Taiping Sect reserve team to launch a firepower counterattack, but the facts proved that rich fighting experience does not mean rich combat experience. The neighboring city gate provided the fastest military support, and more than a thousand people gathered to resist bravely, but there were still heavy casualties.

Half an hour later, the Japanese attack stopped, Cheng Dabin was wounded, and Sha Xiangyue took over the command. After confirming that the enemy had retreated in the observation building on the east side, he immediately led people to repair the damaged fortifications and replenish ammunition supplies. Shi Yi led the medical halls People went to the city wall to treat and transport the wounded. Some people who died in the artillery attack were transported down on stretchers spontaneously by the people in the city.

There is too little manpower, and the city gate soldiers without transfer orders are not allowed to act rashly, in case Japanese pirates sneak attack at other city gates, the command headquarters even a brave man like Si Ye went up to the city wall to deliver supplies, followed by his wife and son, Yu Daijiao Along the city wall, she continued to help bandage the wounded. Some Taiping believers were already lying down, and they were threatening Lai Lai with their arms raised there. When she saw Mrs. Zuo, she subconsciously kicked the man, and then trotted over. Pulling Fourth Master's sleeve, he proposed a serious and bold idea to him:

"Can light criminals like Zhu Shi from Yingtian Mansion be transferred out, and let them go forward to make amends?"

Yudaijiao loves visiting prisons too much.

After the Chengxi Arms Case, she visited the prison more times than the prisoner's relatives.At first, the prisoners all looked at the little girl with hatred, but the little girl was really persistent, and would bring them food and drink every few days, and bring news of their family.

Among the prisoners, Zhu Shi had the strongest dislike for Yu Daijiao, because the girl's fiancé killed his fiancée, but Yu Daijiao felt that Zhu Shi was a person with great potential after getting in touch with her, "He just thinks about things It’s too shallow, his horizons are only as big as the west of the city since he was a child, if it weren’t for this, he wouldn’t be so easily incited by others”——Since such people are not guilty of death, why not give them a chance?

The fourth master pondered for a moment when he heard the words, and leaned over to gently touch her head amidst the busy crowd of people at the top of the city, and replied, "Let uncle think about it."

The situation was pressing, and the left pusher didn't think about it for long.

Soon, on the second day, the garrison yamen ordered the release of the Taiping believers in the west of the city as appropriate, and arranged them on the west front to reinforce the ten-kilometer arc formation at the Shicheng Gate to relieve the pressure on the forwards. Splash, even under the Tongji Gate in the southeast of the city, did not attract attention, because only 35 people met the requirements after review, and they were all light-sentence prisoners who had performed well in the prison and were willing to fight.

But this matter has sparked heated discussions among the students at Nanchengmen, because it at least conveyed an attitude of the imperial court.

After this battle, the imperial court may look at the Taiping Sect again.

The people on the east wall and the west of the city were of course happy to see this small instruction, and even found a subtle sense of reliability from the official's easing of the Taiping Sect: "I, I just said that this term's head teacher is okay. After so many years, it will be resolved. Things that can't be done, if you beat back the Japanese dog, then, it can be solved!"

Under the battlements, by the bonfire, seven or eight men, women, young and old who would not normally get together were talking around a jug of wine.This place is not the focus of the main attack. General Liu who is in charge of this area has just walked through it again with a knife. He walked around the city wall fifteen kilometers south of the city in the first half of the night and the second half of the night. They just took this opportunity to talk.

The person who just spoke was the altar owner of an incense altar in the west of the Taiping Sect. The uncle is not very eloquent when speaking, but he is very expressive and has a clear mind. Many students of the Gongyuan like to talk to him at night. If this is normal, These proud sons of heaven with their eyes above the top all saw the Taiping believers: "Hey! I will break the superstition for you." But now that the family and the country are in trouble, the head of the Taiping Sect pulled up such a powerful folk force overnight and took the initiative. With a helping hand, no matter how well they read poetry and books, they dare not underestimate these old men who may not know a lot of characters, and they dare not look at Taiping Sect with their previous concepts.

"Then the name is rectified, what are you going to do?"

Some young students laughed and joked in good faith: "Go out of Jinling and spread the teachings, and carry them forward?"

"Look, look at what you said!" The altar owner laughed simple and honestly: "You, you say old Taoist, well, what do you do before Taoism? Eat, eat, drink, drink water, recite, recite scriptures, that, that attains Taoism What are you going to do afterwards? Eat, eat, drink, drink water, chant, chant sutras!"

"Hey, why are you pretending to be a good person?" A discordant and immature voice interjected, "This time the pirates beat us, it was your former head teacher who provoked us!"

This matter is no longer a secret. Many people in Jinling City know that the former commander of the town government is the former head teacher of the Taiping Sect. The altar master could have used the spear of the son to attack the shield of the son, but he said: "Hey, hey, you can't say that! Where, where... there are no black sheep!

"Look at your Tang, Tang Guan, Wang, Wang Zhen! He, they even ordered to kill, kill that little girl Cigu, when, at the beginning, so many corpses were collected by the Taiping Sect! Difficult, is it because There have been bad people, I, we don’t recognize him, they used to treat us well! Just, like me, we don’t hate Ying, Ying Tianfu, guard, guard the yamen, he, they don’t build houses for us Well! There is no reason to be a human being, and if you have a favor, you must repay it!"

"Then do you know that your head teacher of the Taiping Sect has killed someone and paid for his life with his life, so he should be beheaded too!"

The voice suddenly became strangely agitated, and the altar owner's heart skipped a beat. Looking back, it was the child named Fu——

He had an impression of this chubby boy, the youngest, but he reported himself to be brave enough to deliver things, with all his strength, he ran to help every day with enthusiasm.

"No, didn't you say that he's involved in the case, there are a lot of hidden things'..." The voice of Tan Zhu couldn't help being a little weak: "I, we still care about him very much. When, at the beginning, especially , deliberately remembered Feng, Fengchenghou's words."

"What secrets!"

The fire was messy, the child's eyes were full of tears, and he shouted loudly: "It's not that he is the son of the Governor of Huai'an, his father is wronged!"

No matter how young a child is, when he encounters humiliation and injustice, he can firmly remember this feeling for the rest of his life: "My father was murdered by ghosts and sorrows! - The garrison yamen pretended to be a good man, and openly sent the Taiping sect The head teacher is under his command, tell me, his father's life is human life, so isn't my father's life not life?!——He wants to be a good person? Alright! Pay for my father's life first, and then talk about being a good person thing!"

His head-on and face-to-face words shocked the altar masters to look at each other in blank dismay.

After all, the child seemed to be unable to bear the adult's confusion in front of him any longer, and ran down the tower on the stone steps with his head twisted——

The bonfire was crackling, and the seven or eight people who were talking and laughing just now remained still for a long time. In the silent night, they lowered their brows and did not speak again.

At the same time, Sha Xiangyue was standing in the doorway of the Shimen Tower in the west of the city, not yet aware of the imminent danger, Yu Daijiao and Liu Lier surrounded him, tirelessly trying to make him talk.

Sha Xiangyue's mood was very depressed, and they hadn't seen him smile for more than ten days.At this time, he was supposed to be on standby on the city wall, but after the raid three days ago, the guards on the tower had no substitutes to change their guards. He just went up to check, and his subordinates and Ying Tianfu's guards were quite afraid of him. , he didn't want them to be so tense all the time, so he ran to the city gate and chewed tobacco leaves.

Yudai approached meaningfully: "Why do you look so unhappy?"

"Huh?" Sha Xiangyue leaned against the cold stone wall and raised her head in a hoarse voice: "Is there?"

He has a sculpted beauty, and the mottled lights outside the city gate reflect his sharp and soft silhouette—Liu Lier has a light face, and Sha Xiangyue has a thick face. Before he wore a light-colored jade belt, he couldn't see it clearly. Now that Sha Xiangyue was wearing deep purple, she realized that it was a face that could be overwhelmed.

Yu Daijiao became more interested, and said in a small mouth: "Yes! It was indeed very dangerous a few days ago, but we have come here, don't worry about it all the time!"

Yu Daijiao is a person who often smiles, and then she used the jaw-dropping she heard these days to summarize a set of military analysis, and said in a serious way: "I think Kuang Jian and some generals have been going out of the city to harass and harass. Run away after finishing. In fact, the Japanese pirates have already understood that this city cannot be defeated by him alone. They are so brave, the enemy must have the intention to retreat, but the army’s advance and retreat are not child’s play. The Japanese pirates also want face. But it’s not nice to get the news out, so what should we do? They just wanted to take a chance and take a chance. We Shichengmen were unlucky and were picked by them, but they found that they couldn’t get through the sneak attack, so they must be more discouraged. Thinking about lining up the army at Tongjimen once, and then going hard for the last time, if it doesn’t work, just withdraw, how can their small country occupy my magnificent Jinling! Hmph!"

Liu Lier couldn't hold back, covered her lips and laughed.

Yudaijiao tugged on Xiangyue's sleeve: "Are you right?"

Now the elite Japanese pirates are indeed deployed outside the Tongji Gate in the southeast of Jinling, where Fengcheng Marquis Li Xian has personally sat in the town, and the sixty-year-old old man took off his official uniform and put on the armor that only military officers would wear, killing Xiangyue Listen to the high-level battle meeting and know that in the future decisive battle, all the city gate generals will go out of the city to fight, and the city gate will be closed after leaving the city, leaving no way out.

People outside the city either win or die.

The little girl didn't know the cruelty of the high-level decision, but she was very confident, thinking that this battle would be over soon, and then she could happily sell paintings and study for a living.

The moon bone phase of Shaxiang is excellent, and the side face is undulating under the cut of light and shadow.

He pondered for a long time, then said softly to her: "You are right."

Yu Daijiao smiled fullly: "Then don't be unhappy, talk to us for a while!"

Sha Xiangyue's voice was hoarse, and she responded patiently, "What did you say?"

Yu Daijiao thought for a while: "About you and Kuang Jian...?"

Sha Xiangyue laughed, but her throat was sore: "There is nothing to say."

"I'm curious!" The little girl took his cold hand and stood facing him, "Many people are curious, aren't they, Liulier!"

Liuli in the doorway would not answer her.But it is true that many people are curious. Many girls on the south city wall tried their best to ask her who the general with a particularly tight waist was. She said it was Kuang Jian from Yingtianfu, and they stopped asking immediately—— Prison robbery was earth-shattering, these ladies and gentlemen were very knowledgeable and knew what was going on, they stopped asking questions, but every one of them ran to the west of the city when they had the chance, looking up to have a look at the head teacher of the Taiping sect What kind of person is it?

"If you don't know where to start, I'll give you a start, just that painting! Is that the first time you saw it?"

Yu Dai was bold and bold, and directly stabbed Xiangyue's wound, Liu Lier's heart twitched, and she couldn't help raising her head——

Unexpectedly, Sha Xiangyue didn't refuse, and actually accepted the remark, he squinted his eyes, raised his neck slightly, and cast his eyes slowly to the void in the dark doorway, unexpectedly said: "That's not the first time I saw you. I first met Kuang Jian at the murder scene, not at my home."

March [-]th.

Their meeting is not about cherry blossoms, pond fish, warm sun, or beauty paintings, but about human life, blood, hatred, and calculations.

"On March [-]th, Pang Zhengying celebrated the completion of the new building and held a big banquet in his own mansion - I built the building, and I was also at the banquet. When the banquet was over, Pang Zhengying was found dead in his study. Chu Ji didn't want to take responsibility, so he forcibly detained the people in the mansion, and I was forcibly imprisoned. In the early morning, Chu Ji summoned the police from Yingtian Mansion—that was the first time I saw Kuang Jian."

At that time, there were mixed forces in the Pang Mansion, each of them was staring at each other with malicious intentions, fearing that Chu Ji would put Pang Zhengying's death on his body, Sha Xiangyue said sincerely, who at that time expected this Ying Tian Mansion arrester to do something quickly?

No.

Everyone thought it was a set of flower guns played by the Secretary of the Zhenfu. Chu Ji couldn't bear the pressure outside the mansion. He called Kuang Jian here just to find a "colleague" to explain clearly that it was not his responsibility. There are countless armed forces outside, there is a garrison yamen on the top, and there is Jinyiwei, the secretary of the town government, who is Kuang Jian?A small policeman in Yingtianfu, with a humble position and low reputation, who is he in the top ranks, who dares to take over the big case of the top leader of Beizhen Fusi?

"That case should not have been investigated by him, and it was not his turn to investigate."

Sha Xiangyue's face was cold and solemn, and there was a sound of wind and thunder in her mouth.

"But he really checked it seriously - that painting is in my house, that's right, when he kept asking about the details of the wooden lock by my side, I wanted to persuade him several times: yours The officer doesn't care about you? Didn't he warn you not to touch such a complicated case? Young man, you are on the wrong path, and you shouldn't take this path for fame and fortune."

Only later did he realize that he was the one who was wrong.The word fame and fortune is too small, it is not Kuang Wuyuan's pattern.

"That time when I was in trouble and was accused of being the murderer in the Pang Zhengying case, Kuang Jian came to the prison of the town government to look for Chu Ji, and when he hurried past me, he told me in a low voice, 'Don't worry. , here comes to save you.'”

Sha Xiangyue really never counted on him, but Kuang Jian really completely exceeded his expectations.

"You should have heard of that case. Kuang Jian used an 11-year contract to expose the murderer. The victim's wife heard the whole process of committing the crime in the secret room. I was there that time, and Kuang Jian asked me to testify for the crime process. on."

Yu Daijiao said softly "Ah!", obviously they were strung together.

"It's just that there are some things you don't know. It's good that Weng Qiu killed Pang Zhengying, but it was Pang Zhengying and Chu Ji who persecuted him first. On the night when the case was solved, Qiu Weng was forced to go downstairs by Chu Ji. He didn't have time to say anything." Falling to his death, Kuang Jian sneaked into the Pang mansion that night, and got the evidence of Chu Ji and Pang Zhengying... This evidence is the Yang Ji case that the Qin family later sent to Beijing." Sha Xiangyue's voice was weak, softly After a long pause, he suddenly passed the specific story that happened that night.

He didn't say that he also ran to Pangfu Tower that night, that he fought against Kuang Jian, that the two of them hid in the tunnel together, or that Kuang Jian once laughed and took him out of the water on the steep and slippery gate. When I mentioned it, I trembled like pinching the nape of a cat. I didn’t say that the pursuers were behind. Kuang Jian once climbed the steep mother-in-law bridge with him on his back, and tried his best to give him a hug. , Did not say how he killed Chu Ji, Kuang Jian was shocked and irritated and punched him directly, without any fear that he would kill him as a witness.

At that time, I was really curious about him.

Curious that he ran for himself to investigate the inside story for the murderer, he must have been warned by his superiors not to intervene, but he ran over again, and Li Min and Qin Shi didn't have the slightest regret for him afterwards.

Sha Xiangyue kept thinking about this person. After contacting the two little girls and arranging Hu Ye's siege, he couldn't help but ran to Yingtian Mansion to see him. He wanted to see what this person was like usually?What exactly is Yingtian Mansion in this city?

"There happened to be a group fight in Nanzhili that day, and six of them fought each other and ran to Yingtianfu to argue. The first time I entered Yingtianfu, I felt that it was like a vegetable market. The first time I went there, it was like a refuge. There were several people in the queue. With a loud voice, he said that his child's foot got stuck in the ditch, and that the neighbor's house had a snake in it. The most outrageous thing was that someone reported that an examinee on the Qinhuai River wanted to commit suicide. He hadn't taken the exam at that time, so he didn't know what to do. It's... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

The head catcher who dared to challenge Rong'an county magistrate and Beizhen Fusi worked here.

That wonderful feeling firmly grasped Sha Xiangyue.

"I had only one thought at the time, how much money can I get a month for such a headache?"

Untimely, the two little girls both burst out laughing.

Sha Xiangyue pretended not to hear, and continued quietly, "After I inquired, I immediately calmed down a lot. I really don't have much money, especially those bottom-level servants, Jiaojiao, you know, they carry the most burden, and they are always day and night. The case is handled upside down, and occasionally the field work is life-threatening. But they don’t seem to think it’s strange to be in a dangerous situation. I think the only thing they complain about is when the reporter doesn’t understand and give instructions blindly, but the canteen complains. , what should I do?"

For them, saving a kidnapped child, chasing down a liar who blackmailed the elderly, and arresting a villain who hurt people is very valuable. They know that they are actually helping people one by one. , Helping families one by one.Therefore, during the period of defending the city, Sha Xiangyue restrained his subordinates very, very much, because he knew that they were facing a group of people who hated crime the most, and their job was to bring law-breakers to justice. Your own instinct is to cooperate with the bigger picture, so don't provoke them, they deserve to be respected.

And Kuang Jian is the leader of this group of people.

As early as a few months ago, when Li Mengliang was still his adoptive father, Sha Xiangyue had said to him: "Take him into our Taiping Sect."

Doing good is like climbing a mountain with a heavy load. Although the ambition is exhausted, the strength is still too weak.

It would be a pity if such a good person could not be with him.

Even what happened later, he voluntarily was guarded by them, voluntarily repaired the yamen for them, voluntarily hinted that Kuang Jian Jin Chizi might do something in Jinling, all these were due to Sha Xiangyue's own choice, and his personal love for Kuang Jian It doesn't matter, Kuang Jian was just an extra gift from God in his heart at the time.Even in the case of Hu Ye, Kuang Jian simply grabbed the two little girls, and in the Chengxi arms case, Ying Tianfu rounded up Jin and Xu with a knife in his hand, and Sha Xiangyue never really hated them.

He is not someone who can afford to lose.

He just couldn't accept the "Treasure Lantern" project.

The tough back suddenly bent down, and only a deformed and twisted corner could be seen in the dark doorway. Sha Xiangyue stared at the ground, and suddenly couldn't speak, the ball of emotion was stuck in his throat, The gag made his mouth sour and bitter, and his whole heart seemed to explode together:

"I knew from the very beginning that I would not be with him for long..."

"He can treat me well now, and he will treat others well in the future... I can't control the things after death, but I didn't expect that even the things in front of me are not real."

Yudai was so dazed that she raised her hands in stare. She intended to enlighten him, but she didn't expect to become like this all of a sudden.

"Jiaojiao, do you know?"

In the dark, Sha Xiangyue said softly: "When I was in the prison of the town government, I kept thinking about the past between me and him, and found that apart from that painting, he never said a word of love to me, nor gave me a promise. "

Saying that, Sha Xiangyue bent down, and tightly clenched the wrench finger on her left thumb with her right hand. His little finger was empty. He had to hold this cold and deep stone fiercely to force himself to find a sliver of strength. .But almost at the same time, Yu Daijiao's hairs exploded sharply, and then she heard a loud "bang"!

Enemy attack!

The screams of exclamation, the sound of throwing arrows in disorder, and the neighing of panicked horses came one after another almost instantly!

Sha Xiangyue was startled, wiped her face without saying a word, and walked out, but she didn't want to walk too fast, just turning the corner of the doorway, she bumped into a figure head-on!

The man was wearing black armor. He didn't know when he got here, and he didn't know how long he stood there. Sha Xiangyue stopped suddenly in the chaotic light and shadow, and a pair of red eyes were reflected in Kuang Jian's eyes. The embarrassment is indeed not killing Xiangyue, Kuang Jian frowned tightly, as if God had just carved three vertical marks between his brows, and then, this man who had never messed up suddenly was at a loss, his hands didn't know where to go Unexpectedly, he stopped Sha Xiangyue in embarrassment——

"Go away!"

Sha Xiangyue was not in a good mood, and jumped up the stone steps with a hoarse voice——

"...Let me say something!"

At the critical moment, Kuang Jian finally regained his senses in a panic. He raised his head and knocked on Sha Xiangyue's wrist without hesitation. The hand was so strong that it seemed to be able to crush human bones. Xiangyue was forced to turn around, and saw Kuang Jian standing at the foot of the stone steps, telling him softly and intently: "I am not unwilling to say...

"I love you very much, love you very much..."

He didn't know how to say this sentence so as not to be abrupt before, and he didn't know that Sha Xiangyue had been waiting to listen to it. The bombardment was raging, and Sha Xiangyue didn't seem to understand. Frowning, Kuang Jian smiled and opened his hand lightly, shook his wrist vigorously, and said: "To live." After finishing speaking, she took another deep look at him, turned around and walked away without hesitation. go.

The author says: