Daiyu's wife in the Red Chamber

The closer Wei Ruolan got to Ping'an Prefecture, the more vigilant Wei Ruolan became. She never dared to sleep deeply at night, and every night she would order the soldiers, family servants, and courtyard guards to wait, so he would be able to detect any disturbance, not to mention the sound of footsteps approaching the post house?Light and healthy, not like passing by.The advantage of proficient martial arts is that he can hear movements for several miles around, and he can even distinguish the footsteps of various people.

Wei Ruolan felt that something was wrong again, if he wanted to rob in the middle of the night, how could he send out only six people?Although the Kuang Post House is dilapidated, there are still many post officers and soldiers guarding it, either to prepare horses for those who pass the news, or to prepare residences for the past officials and eunuchs.

Yes, this is a strongman stepping on the spot.

Wei Ruolan quietly got up, dressed in the dark, Daiyu noticed it immediately, she was still lying on the mandarin duck pillow, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and said in a daze: "What's the matter?" Woke up and woke up a little bit.

Wei Ruolan pressed her shoulders, and said: "It's just a few youngsters haunting late at night, you rest in the room, I'll come whenever I go."

When Daiyu heard this, her face turned pale, and she felt flustered. She took him by the hand and said, "Are you going out? How many people are coming outside? Can our people stop it? Be careful, those strongmen will attack fiercely." Xue Pan was robbed at the boundary of Ping'an Prefecture. Not only was his goods stolen, but he was also beaten so badly that he almost died.

Wei Ruolan comforted her, "Don't worry, only a few people came here. I think they came to find out about our details and movements, or what we were carrying, so that we can do it elsewhere. A few nursing homes in our family can knock them down."

The soldiers and guards under his command are all masters of martial arts trained and taught by him, and they all have extraordinary skills. He even imparts the martial arts he has acquired to others without favoritism, let alone the guards who protect the safety of his own family. During the time he and Daiyu had spoken a few words, Zhou Kui, who had been taking turns to watch the night, had already captured the six thieves with a few guards, and came outside the courtyard to report.

Grandma Liu, Zijuan and the others lived in the tent near the gate of the courtyard. When she heard the knock on the door, Grandma Wang stopped the others from getting up. She held the lamp and came out with her clothes on. After asking the reason, she hurried to the big tent to tell Wei Ruo Lan and Daiyu.

Wei Ruolan had already lit the lamp, walked out to the door, and said to Zhou Kui, "Where is he?"

Zhou Kui's eyes were shining brightly, which reflected the ram's horn lantern in his hand, bowed and said, "I tied them all with beef tendon and threw them in the courtyard where we were guarding, lest we catch them and scare the snake and attract bandits." Come out, come here specially to ask the uncle for instructions."

Wei Ruolan waved her hand, and said: "Sooner or later, we will have to face the robbery of those strong men, what are we afraid of? I'd rather arrest these young people who came to step on the spot and tell them to have fewer people than let them go back The bandit leader explained our details." As he said, he lifted his feet and walked towards the courtyard where most of the luggage was placed. Like the things in the other two courtyards, they were all green silk carriages with mules, horses and axles unloaded, leaving only the carriages covered with tarpaulins. Wrap it tightly so that it will not be rainy in summer, or the dew will soak the compartment.

At that time, the courtyard was brightly lit, and twenty guards guarded the six thieves who were bound on the ground. Cloth shoes, the light can hardly conceal its fierce and ferocious aura.

When Wei Ruolan saw it, she knew that these people had taken their lives, and they had a strong evil spirit.

A thin body soldier saw Wei Ruolan approaching, and said: "Master, these people are stubborn and didn't pry out any news, but because they were afraid of alarming others, they didn't use torture. I guess they should be with the people in the posthouse. There is some collusion, otherwise, why would they come directly to the courtyard where we keep our gold and silver belongings, as if we knew our things were in these two or three courtyards."

This soldier, surnamed Niu, named Fang, is only sixteen or seventeen years old, he is the most intelligent and agile, he is good at observing the details that others don't notice, and he has mastered kung fu, which is quite valued by Wei Ruolan .

Wei Ruolan nodded slightly, looked coldly at the six thieves with angry faces, and asked Niu Fang, "Have you asked someone to keep an eye on the people in the posthouse?"

Niu Fang hurriedly said: "Because I don't know who is colluding with the thieves, it is not easy to catch them all at once, so I asked a few brothers to distribute them at various exits to watch, secretly to see who leaves the post, and catch them. Fortunately, today only our family Staying with the Chen family, there are no other officials and family members in the post house, and I am not afraid of offending anyone."

Wei Ruolan said approvingly: "It's very good, it should be dealt with like this. Let's interrogate first, and send it to the officials tomorrow, and ask about the background, who the bandit leader is, how many people are under his command, how much he has robbed, etc."

The servants are so capable, but he is useless, fortunately he still wants to show his talents.

Niu Fang's muscular and broken hands are very convenient for interrogation. Hearing what Wei Ruolan wanted, he carried a thief in one hand and walked towards the stable lightly and deftly, so as to cover up the thief's cries of pain with the neighing of horses and mules.The remaining four were carried over by Zhou Kui and another soldier. The crowd of onlookers showed no surprise, they were obviously used to it, and after practicing martial arts, they all had such strength.

Wei Ruolan pondered for a while, raised his heels and walked over, but was stopped by the servants, and brought a chair to the ground, and said: "It's late at night, the stable is dirty and smelly, sir, please sit down and rest, wait for us Got the news."

Wei Ruolan smiled and said: "If you go, I will go too. Those who march and fight tomorrow don't pay attention to these things."

After finishing speaking, he went to the stable, and just heard Niu Fang say: "Before you didn't ask who we are, you just came to step on the spot. Obviously, you are used to robbing and don't take anyone seriously. Just now in the yard we You have heard the words of the uncle, whoever wants to tell the secrets such as the number of bandit leaders can nod, there is no need to suffer, if not, then don’t blame me for being cruel and ruthless.” For fear that these people would not answer the question but shout first, Niu Fang Did not remove the sweat towels that blocked their mouths.

The six thieves didn't seem to have expected that they would encounter a hard stubble today, their eyes flickered, no one shook their heads, no one nodded, and they didn't struggle very much. in the meat.

Wei Ruolan said indifferently: "Don't talk nonsense with them, just split your bones and see if they can't bear it."

Niu Fang didn't say anything, and immediately stepped forward to disassemble the joints of the six thieves, and the inner strength penetrated into them, increasing their power. The pain caused the six thieves to roll on the ground, as if they couldn't bear it at all, and the sound of wailing was blocked. Throat.

Master Wei Ruolan and his servants were not in a hurry, they leisurely and coldly watched the six thieves sweat profusely in pain, and the dust on the ground almost turned to mud, filthy and filthy.Originally, the summer was hot, and the nights were only a little less than one or two, and when it came to severe pain, even the toughest man felt that life would be worse than death, sweating profusely.

At this time, a few soldiers came over with Yicheng and a few pawns who were bundled up and gagged, and said, "Master, just now the brothers caught a few pawns at the exit, and those who dispersed were all arrested." Stop, these people said that in the name of Yicheng, they sent a letter to the teahouse at the foot of Hutou Mountain more than ten miles ahead. I guess that Yicheng found out that something was wrong. After all, the six thieves entered our courtyard and did not come out. Shicaiyuan When the lights came on again, I acted first and caught Yicheng, and when I went there, Yicheng was packing up his things and wanted to escape."

Wei Ruolan laughed angrily, and said: "Okay, okay, strange people say that bandits in Ping'an Prefecture are rampant, and the people are in dire straits. They have repeatedly suppressed the bandits but they can't go straight to Huanglong. It turns out that it is the collusion of officials and bandits!"

A mere post office dares to do this, not to mention other officials, there must be many people colluding with bandits.

In the past two years, Liu Xianglian and him have not broken letters. They often say that the thieves are extremely cunning. Every time they rob, when Liu Xianglian or other officers and soldiers lead people to arrive, they have long since disappeared, and Liu Xianglian Several times she asked to lead troops to suppress the bandits, but they all returned in vain. These bandits seem to have no fixed residence. Every time Liu Xianglian went there, the lairs were empty, so she suspected this.

After hearing these words, Niu Fang ignored the pawn, and directly used methods on Yicheng to let him enjoy the pain of splitting his muscles and bones. Before he unloaded, he also said what he said to the six thieves before. Stiff, nodding desperately while rolling all over the floor, with tears all over his face.

Wei Ruolan said to Niu Fang: "Separate interrogation, let's see if anyone lies to deceive us."

Niu Fang agreed, and seeing that none of the six thieves nodded, he first took Yi Cheng outside, and interrogated several people together. While interrogating, he took notes on paper so that he could compare the answers of others.

Yi Cheng was already in pain, and he was sweating all over his body. Jing Niu Fang fixed his joints, took out the sweat towel in his mouth, and felt that the pain on his body was greatly reduced, so he cried, "I said, I said, I said everything, I said it! They are the people of the Seven Heads of Jiuhuanzhai. The head of Jiuhuanzhai has nine heads under the chief. , before each robbery, step on the spot first, check the number of property and manpower, and then discuss the action!"

Niu Fang kicked him, and said with a sneer, "Go ahead! Since you said that the Seventh Master is in charge of the ground here, what is the name of the Seventh Master, how old is he, and how many people are under his command? We came here in a mighty group. All the deacons come according to their grades, why did they have the guts to make up their minds?"

Yicheng burst into tears, curled up on the ground and said: "I can't inquire about the secrets of the Jiuhuan village master, the age, names and subordinates of the nine heads, I don't know if they are male or female, let alone how many people are under my command." Got it, it's just that many strong men from the local area have entered their stockade. The reason why the Seven Leaders set their sights on General Wei is because he can't bear to part with the large amount of gold and silver belongings in General Wei's car. Someone passed by General Wei's team on the way two days ago , When you understand it, send someone to contact me, let me know where the property is placed, and after they come to inquire, they will smoke first, and then attack at dawn, when the guards are tired and send them away, it is easiest to get it."

Niu Fang looked up at the night, there was still an hour or two before dawn, he hehe said, "Tell the truth!"

Yi Cheng cried: "I have told everything I know."

Niu Fang said coldly: "Fart! Did you tell me everything? I can't see it? Although we left the capital for more than half a month to get here, the Dibao should spread everywhere, and the news of our general's inauguration should also It will be spread to Ping'an Prefecture. How can you people not know this, and you won't fail to recognize who we are. However, knowing our origin, but still doing it, it shows your courage."

The postman was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "I know, why don't you know? If you don't know, you will definitely rob money, rob sex and kill people on the road, why bother to smoke in the post house and only rob money, the seventh master is also afraid The killing of officials aroused the anger of the imperial court and encircled them."

Hearing the word Jiese, Niu Fang was furious and kicked several times.

They are a group of people who walk outside, and many things are not as particular as they are in the capital. As Wei Ruolan's subordinates, although they have never seen what kind of fairy-like figure Daiyu is, they often see maids and maids around her coming out and secretly yearning for her. I don't know how many people, they all want to work hard, and strive for the girls to marry when they reach the age, and Niu Fang is one of them, how can they hear the word "robbery"?

Yicheng was kicked by him until he howled repeatedly, and begged for mercy: "Forgive me, please forgive me, I have nothing to do, if I don't obey them, the whole family will die!"

Niu Fang sneered and said, "Forgive you? Don't even look at whether you are worthy! If you are forgiven, those innocent merchants, officials and family members who died because of you will die in vain? You want to save the lives of your own family Why don't you think that they are all dead?" His parents, brother and sister-in-law were killed by robbers on the way to visit relatives, and he was only less than half a year old at home. As his grandparents did not follow his parents, brother and sister-in-law to visit relatives at his grandmother's house, one life was left behind. She lived with her grandparents, and later followed Wei Ruolan.

Therefore, Niu Fang hated the robbers deeply, and when he heard that Wei Ruolan had gone to Ping'an Prefecture to shoulder the heavy responsibility of suppressing the bandits, he immediately bid farewell to his grandparents and asked to come with Wei Ruolan.His grandfather was old man Wei's general and also a soldier. When Niu Fang was in his teens, he also became Wei Ruolan's personal soldier and learned martial arts from Wei Ruolan.

Yicheng knew that the crime was serious, but no matter what kind of crime he was carrying, he was afraid of death. While begging bitterly, his eyes lit up, and said: "I also know one thing that can be redeemed by merit, that can be redeemed by merit."

Niu Fang ordered him to tell the truth, seeing that he wanted to bargain, he stretched out his hand to remove his joints, making him feel the pain of splitting muscles and bones again.

After experiencing such suffering, Yi Cheng was already terrified, and hurriedly said: "Although I don't know who the head of the village and the nine masters are, I know that the seven masters are related to a wealthy businessman in Ping'an Prefecture. Seeing that the person sent by the Qidang family to contact me with news came in and out of the rich businessman's house, he didn't seem like a stranger, but rather an acquaintance."

Niu Fang asked who the rich merchant was, and Yi Cheng dared not lie, and said: "It is the Miao family, the leading grain merchant in Ping'an Prefecture, and the grain stores in Ping'an Prefecture and the surrounding area are all run by his family. rich."

Niu Fang really couldn't ask any more questions, so he blocked his mouth, took him back to the stable, and handed the paper recording the interrogation results to Wei Ruolan.

Seeing the word Jiese, Wei Ruolan was also furious. She glanced coldly at Yicheng, turned around and asked the soldiers who had captured Yicheng, and said, "Did Yicheng's family watch it? Collusion with bandits has been going on for a long time, I'm afraid his family members won't know anything about it, so don't tell them to do anything bad."

The soldier glared at Yi Cheng and said: "Master Hui, I sent people to his house a long time ago. Maybe he colluded with the bandits and knew what the future would be like, so his family and relatives were not in the post, and asked other soldiers. , I realized that they all live in the city of Ping'an Prefecture."

Wei Ruolan didn't speak, two of the six thieves in the stable couldn't stand the severe pain anymore, and couldn't stop nodding.

Niu Fang and Zhou Kui each took one out and interrogated them separately. They came back shortly after and handed in two confessions. There were slight differences, but they were almost the same. The subordinates who stepped on the lookout for these things had never been exposed to secrets, but both of them said that the middle-aged bearded middle-aged Han Wang Da Manzi among the remaining four thieves was their leader.

Wei Ruolan ordered Niu Fangdan to carry Wang Dalaizi out, and the other three confessed one after another, all of them were the same as the first two, but this Wang Dalaizi was really capable, no matter how much Niu Fang tortured him, he would not say a word, even if only One breath left.

After learning about this, Wei Ruolan had an idea in her heart and walked over in person.

Wei Ruolan ordered Niu Fang and the others to step back, and stretched out his hands to install Wang Damanzi's joints. He didn't think his body was dirty, and stared straight at Wang Damanzi's eyes, using what he learned in that memory. Gradually, Wang Damanzi's eyes became confused, and Wei Ruolan would answer whatever Wei Ruolan asked.

Wei Ruolan concealed the turbulent waves in her heart, and pointed at Wang Dameng's spine, causing him to be paralyzed on the ground, unable to speak. The reason for not killing him is to send him to the police, but if he is spared, he will definitely be investigated. If there is a clue, it is better to do it now.

He came out and ordered Niu Fang and others to clean up, then ordered them to change shifts to rest, and then went back to the tent.

After he went out, Daiyu couldn't sleep, she just felt unbearable, and finally looked forward to his return. After Zijuan waited for the maid to go out, she hurriedly asked the details. He was vicious and thrilled, and sighed: "If we had known earlier that it would be easy to attract bandits, we should deposit the gold and silver in the bank and take out the money in Ping'an Prefecture."

Wei Ruolan said: "Officials and gangsters are colluding everywhere in Ping'an Prefecture. I don't know if those banks are in their hands. Where can I get money by money order? I also thought of carrying money orders at first, but after thinking about it, I would rather be more careful. stop."

Daiyu sighed quietly, feeling reasonable.

Wei Ruolan didn't want her to worry about these things, so she took off her outer clothes and turned off the lights.

I didn't sleep well all night, and the husband and wife got up late the next day.

Seeing that the weather was fine, Wei Ruolan ordered people to pack up and set out on the road. As for the six thieves, Yi Cheng and others who were tortured to death by Niu Fang and other soldiers and servants, they were all tied up in a mule cart and taken to the officials after entering the city.

Chen Yejun rode alongside Wei Ruolan on horseback, and said, "What happened last night? I only found out afterwards."

Wei Ruolan smiled faintly, and said: "I've caught them all, brother Shi don't have to worry. However, brother Shi told me to go down, be careful on the road, the little thieves who stepped on the spot were caught, and those who were waiting to rob money haven't appeared yet." It was expected to be The person who stepped on the spot didn't go back, and the Qidangjia and others knew that they had shown their whereabouts, but they didn't show up at dawn.

Chen Yejun nodded, and hurriedly ordered the servant to tell the people who came with him, sure enough, everyone is in danger and be careful everywhere.

After walking for more than ten miles, when they arrived at the foot of the Hutou Mountain that Yi Cheng mentioned, Wei Ruolan suddenly pulled out his horse, listened for a while, and called Niu Fang, Zhou Kui and others, and said: "Command to go down, Take out the shield and prepare to hide. The women's family members are all stuck in the car, and the car is pulled in the middle of the team. There are people raising shields at the front and back. There are iron sheets and copper sheets in the interlayer of our carriage, which can also block it."

Chen Yejun said in amazement: "Could it be that there are robbers ahead?"

Before he could say a word, it took only three or five sentences, when the sound of horseshoes sounded ahead, a group of gangsters twice as many as them galloped up, riding horses while raising their bows and arrows, flying arrows rained down.