Chapter 34 Chapter Thirty-Four

Standing on the Huilong Bridge less than two miles away from Jinkou County, Mr. Bo Qinruo saw a spectacular scene that he had never seen in his life.The moment he stepped out of the sedan chair, he could hardly believe his eyes, he thought he was dreaming. The official road and the city wall in front of it were full of people, and those people were holding flaming torches in their hands, as if a star had fallen out of thin air.The chaotic sparks are jumping and gathering from time to time, and scattered and dissociated from time to time.In the place densely covered with sparks, the shouts and clamor were like spring thunder, and the roar made Bo Qinruo feel chilly in his heart.

Obviously, the scale and momentum of the turmoil in front of us is large enough, and the rioters gathered at the city gate and under the city wall alone are probably no less than two or three thousand people.It is impossible for him to come forward to clean up the situation at this time.He could neither get close to the rioters besieging the county town, nor fly into the city to advise Chen Rongjun. He could only stand on the stone bridge of the official road and watch the changes, making the best use of the situation. The thing is obvious, as long as the rioters capture the county seat, he can lead the fifty or sixty men from the Lu family around him to sneak into the city, break into the county government office first, arrest Chen Rongjun, and inform Anmin.And if Chen Rongjun can lead the officers, soldiers and righteous people defending the city to counterattack, he can also enter the city, find out the truth about the fraud in the relief, and come up with an emergency strategy to quell the current rebellion.

And in the current stalemate, he is powerless. He can only wait. During this anxious waiting, he made various assumptions and plans over and over again in his heart, and he even thought that if it was really a last resort, he would not hesitate to risk his fame, fortune, wealth and life, but he would also use Chen Rongjun's dog head use!Not to mention that stupid official who was greedy and hid the relief money, he deserved to die just for causing the commotion in front of him! As soon as this idea appeared in his mind, he became very excited, as if the corrupt official had already stood in front of him, and he had already raised the sword...

Chen Rongjun, a corrupt official, deserves to die!He believed that he had no merit or fault in killing this corrupt official—of course, he also knew that killing him was illegal, he was just a committee member of the investigation and relief, and he did not have the power to kill a seventh-rank magistrate, but if he killed a fatuous Why not put down corrupt officials to quell this great turmoil!Shengshang Shengming, would he turn around and kill his head?Probably not!Even if he kills his head, he has a clear conscience. After much deliberation, my body was already burning hot, my mouth was dry and my tongue was sore, I stretched out my hand to touch it, and my face and forehead were covered with sweat...

At this time, Wang Tang came over and said to Bo Qinruo: "Master Bai, what should we do in this situation? Should we retreat to Qingpu first and make sense tomorrow? It will not be broken for a while." Bo Qinruo thought for a while and said: "No, I think the city will be destroyed tonight! Come on, go with me and have a look, the sedan chairs and lanterns are all thrown here!" After Bo Qinruo finished speaking, surrounded by the crowd, he walked towards the gate of the city along the official road.When I got closer, I saw again that many rioters on both sides of the city gate were holding torches and biting big knives, climbing the city wall. One by one, clusters were like geckos on the wall. A banner with the words “Xingdao” was placed under the flag, and there were several figures who looked like leaders standing under the flag. If Bo Qinruo didn’t know who among those figures was Ruan Dacheng.

After mingling among the rioters for a while, Bo Qinruo discovered that the three-inch-long white floating cloths were all tied around the wrists of the rioters, and on the cloth was written that the rioters belonged to the village or town.Bo Qinruo became more and more convinced that this rebellion was a long-planned move, and it was definitely not a momentary recklessness.He then thought that even if he chopped off Chen Rongjun's head, it would be difficult to stop the chaos! After a while, the sky gradually brightened, and the morning star in the east appeared, and Pachinruo watched a night of rebellion pass away amidst the earth-shattering noise.

Just at this moment, the gate was breached, and the rioters crowded on the official road shot into the city like a tide. Before Bai Qinruo and the people around him understood what was going on, they were already crowded by the people behind and passed through. The damaged city cave entered the city. The officers, soldiers and righteous people who guarded the city fought with the rioters again in the city.When the two sides were fighting, Bo Qinruo said to the family members of the Lu family who were following him: "Do you know where the county government is? Quick! Take me to the county government!"

The members of the Lu family immediately led Bo Qinruo through the streets and alleys to the county government office. When they arrived at the county government office, the county government office was empty. Bo Qinruo and his party searched several places, and finally found Nazhi county magistrate Chen Rongjun in the woodshed in the backyard.Chen Rongjun had abandoned his official uniform and changed into casual clothes, and was in a hurry to jump out from the window of the firewood house. The wives and concubines around him were crying and shouting, panicking, begging Chen Rongjun to take them with them.Chen Rongjun was riding on the window, and the wife and concubine grabbed his skirt and refused to let him go.

Seeing this scene, Bo Qinruo became even more angry, stepped forward a few steps, pushed the two women away, and grabbed Chen Rongjun. Chen Rongjun had never met Bo Qinruo before, so naturally he didn't know that Bo Qinruo was a member of the investigation and relief committee sent by Master Futai, and thought that Bo Qinruo was the leader of the rioters, so he nodded and bowed repeatedly: "Forgive! Forgive! The matter of pregnant silver is purely a rumor! Everyone, don't blame the good people! The imperial court didn't allocate any money to sell money, and said that the old man was greedy and concealed, which is really wronged!"

If Bo Qin didn't listen to this remark, it would be fine, but when he heard this, he couldn't hold back any longer, and slapped Chen Rongjun severely, and shouted angrily: "You villain who is harmful to the people, just keep your eyes open. who!" Chen Rongjun was bewildered and at a loss. Wang Tang took a step forward, pointed at Bo Qinruo and said, "Old dog, you are blind! This is Mr. Bo Qinruobo, a relief committee member sent by the Futai Yamen! How dare you say that in front of Mr. Bai? It’s because the imperial court didn’t release the relief money, so the matter of hiding the relief money is not self-inflicted!”

Hearing this, Chen Rongjun was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground like mud. Bo Qinruo had a frosty face, and said coldly: "The surname is Chen, are you convicted?" Chen Rongjun struggled and knelt up, and his gray head hit the ground: "I'm guilty of my humble position, I'm guilty of my humble position! I'm sorry for my humble position, Mr. Futai! I'm sorry, Your Majesty the court!" Bo Qinruo asked again: "Have you ever embezzled 60,000 taels of silver? Where is the embezzled silver now? Has it been transported back to Jiangxi's hometown? Tell me quickly!" Chen Rongjun yelled at his injustice: "Master Bai! I have never been greedy! All the relief money I received has been bought with rice porridge and used on the victims. If you don't believe me, you can check it!" Bo Qinruo said: "Old dog, you are still obsessed with obsession when you are about to die! I, Bo, have been investigating all the way, and rushed to the county seat. I have heard a lot. How dare you let me go? Forget it! Forget it! Tell those anti-people what you said! I want to see with my own eyes how those anti-people take off your dog's head!" At this time, Mrs. Liu, the wife next to Chen Rongjun, spoke: "Master Bai, I say, I say! You can't hand him over to the rioters! He...he hid the relief money for greed, but...it's not six Ten thousand, twenty thousand, really... really twenty thousand!" Bo Qinruo pressed further and asked, "Who was greedy for the 40,000 taels?" Knowing that there was no way out, Chen Rongjun had no choice but to sell Zhu Jianning, the magistrate. "Master Zhu of the Linjiang Mansion also...has been greedy for nearly 20,000 yuan! The rest is just nonsense from the rioters! I... If I tell lies, I will be destroyed!" "Where is the twenty thousand silver you hid now?" "It's...buried in the back garden of the county government office! It was...buried when the rebels attacked the city, and there are...some belongings that the old man has accumulated over the years." When Bo Qinruo heard that the money was still buried in the yamen, he had a solid idea, and immediately decided to come out publicly and clean up the mess.He first ordered Li Xing to lead the 50 or 60 family members of Lu Mansion to gather more than 20 yamen officials who had not yet escaped, close the gate of the county yamen, and deploy defenses layer by layer to guard the county yamen.At the same time, he ordered people to carry all the tables and square tables in the lobby to the wall of the main entrance of the county government office, saying that they would be used. Chen Rongjun didn't know what Bo Qinruo was planning, and thought that Bo Qinruo would rely on the seventy or eighty people around him to fight to the death with the rioters, so he hurriedly got up from the ground and persuaded: "Master Bo...Master Bo! Hurry...run away! Cut ...Don't fight them! There are so many people in disorder, and they are angry. If things go wrong, we all...will die..." Bo Qinruo shouted angrily: "Don't be so long-winded! I, Bo, are not afraid of death at such a young age, how much is your dog's life worth!" Bo Qinruo kicked him to the ground, causing Wang Tang and another servant to tie him up and bring him to the gate of the front yard. Chen Rongjun didn't realize until now that his old life would be buried in the hands of this surnamed Bai in front of him today!The surname Bai must be trying to use his head to quell the rebellion! He twisted all over without being restrained, and kept yelling: "My surname is Bai, I am an official of the imperial court. Even if I am guilty, it is not your turn to get me! You...you tell them to let me go, Otherwise, Master Zhu of Linjiang Mansion will not spare you!" Bo Qinruo ignored him at all and went straight to the front yard.Chen Rongjun was naturally no match for those two young servants. No matter how he struggled, he was finally tied up firmly. When the two servants set up Chen Rongjun, Chen Rongjun's trouser legs and the ground were already wet. After the family of the Lu family and the gang of yamen servants closed the gate, there was already an earth-shattering cry of killing outside the county yamen gate. If Bai Qinruo stood on the case and looked outside the wall, more than a hundred officers, soldiers, and righteous people had been killed by the rioters. Forced, he retreated to the gate of the county government office, and the red-bordered banner with the words "Walk for the Heaven" had already floated to the opposite street. At this time, it was daylight. Bo Qinruo ordered Wang Tang and Li Xing to climb onto the wall and loudly announced to the mob outside the door: Chen Rongjun, the county magistrate who was greedy for hiding money, had been arrested, and the pregnancy investigation committee member sent by the Futai Yamen wanted to speak to everyone.However, there was chaos outside the door. Wang Tang and Li Xing yelled for a long time but no one answered. In a pool of blood. Bo Qinruo was really scared at this moment, he almost lost the confidence to control the chaos.He knew very well that as long as the fighting in front of the gate continued for a little longer, if more than a hundred officers, soldiers, and righteous civilians were all cut down, the rioters would swarm up and break through the county government office, and he might lose his life in the chaos. In a hurry, he summoned two members of the Lu family to shout on the wall. At the same time, he ordered Chen Rongjun, who was tied like a rice dumpling, to be placed on the table of the eight immortals. This trick really worked, as soon as Chen Rongjun's gray head was exposed to the wall, it didn't take long to attract the attention of both sides fighting outside the wall. The rioters and officers and soldiers didn't know what happened in the yamen, and they were stunned for a while.Some rioters thought that the county government had been breached through the back door, and Old Dog Chen was captured.Some officers and soldiers also had the same misunderstanding, dropped their knives and guns one after another, and stopped fighting. The commotion at the door gradually subsided. At this time, Bo Qinruo just stood on the bill table, exposed half of his body, and spoke to the rioters. The first sentence he said was: "The government forces the people to rebel, and there is no crime in rebelling against the people!" This sentence naturally spoke to the hearts of the rioters. Seeing that the old dog Chen had been captured, and someone stood up to speak for them, the rioters settled down a lot, lowered their swords and guns, raised their faces, and looked at Bo. Qinruo, wait for the next article. Bo Qinruo said again: "Father and brothers, surnamed Bai and Qinruo, who are low-ranking officials, are the relief committee members sent by Lord Futai. The Jinkou government bullied the imperial court and oppressed the people. It is not a day, Lord Futai. It has been noticed for a long time. This year's tide disaster relief, this Chen Rongjun and Chen Laogou hid 60,000 relief money, and it is confirmed by the low-ranking officials! Brothers and fathers rose up because of this, and eradicated corrupt officials for the imperial court. It is a righteous act!" Chen Rongjun was paralyzed at this time, his former majesty was swept away, there were beads of sweat on his face and forehead, his head was hanging limply outside the wall, as if he was waiting to die.But his sanity has not been completely lost. Hearing Bo Qinruo mentioning that he hid 60,000 taels of relief money, he struggled desperately to argue: "Bai, you spitting blood! Old...Old man, I only took 20,000 taels." Two, there are 20,000 taels that Linjiang Mansion hid greedily!" Bo Qinruo was very angry, and shouted angrily: "You are a traitor who harms the people, how dare you play tricks! The evidence that you hid the 60,000 taels of relief money is in my hands! The elders and brothers outside also know about it!" In desperation, Chen Rongjun began to scold him -- he never thought that this scolding would inadvertently help Bo Qinruo a lot. "Bai, you...you are also a gangster! You are instigating everyone to rebel! You...you have arranged with the gangsters to frame this old man, and the court will never forgive you!" Looking up his gray and old face, Chen Rongjun yelled to the crowd again: "Everyone, disperse quickly, and the counter-insurgency officers and soldiers are about to enter the city immediately. To raise the flag and rebel is a death penalty!" How could everyone buy Chen Rongjun's account!As soon as Chen Rongjun finished speaking, there were bursts of roars and killings from the crowd. Taking advantage of this situation, Bo Qinruo shouted loudly: "Fathers and brothers, how do you say to deal with this villain who harms the people?" Everyone yelled: "Kill! Kill this bastard!" "Kill this corrupt official!" "Cut him! Cut him!" Bo Qinruo said: "Okay! Let's execute him by beheading according to the wishes of all the elders!" Instead, he said to Chen Rongjun coldly: "Old dog Chen, you have seen and heard the situation with your own eyes! It's not me, Bai, who wants to kill you! It's the people you have ruled for many years who want to kill you! You should die to understand!" Bo Qinruo let Wang Tang do it. Wang Tang didn't dare.Wang Tang knew that a relief committee member had no right to kill a seventh-rank magistrate. He was afraid that he would be questioned if the prefect of Linjiang and Lord Futai pursued him in the future. However, Li Xing was a man. When he saw Wang Tang backing down, he jumped onto the Eight Immortals Table where Chen Rongjun was standing with his knife in his hand. Unexpectedly, at this moment, a tall man with an extraordinary appearance stepped out from the crowd, and the man shouted: "Slow down!" Li Xing's knife stopped in mid-air, and he only stared at Bo Qinruo. Bo Qinruo told Li Xing to stop for now. The man raised his face and said to Bo Qinruo: "Who are you? Why did you kill this old dog in such a hurry?" Bo Qinruo was startled, knowing that this person came in a bad way, and asked, "Who are you? Could it be that you have something to do with this old dog that deserves to be killed?" Someone in the crowd shouted: "Uncle Ruan, don't stop me, this old dog deserves to die!" "Uncle Ruan, don't stop me! Don't stop me! Kill this old dog and make sense!" ... Bo Qinruo knew from the shouts of the crowd that the man in front of him was Ruan Dacheng, the leader of the rioters! This Ruan Dacheng is very powerful.He has seen some tricks, obviously he wants to leave Chen Rongjun's dog head for the time being, and expand the chaos. Sure enough, Ruan Dacheng got into trouble: "Your surname, Bai, hastily chopped off this old dog. I'm afraid you're trying to hide some hidden secrets? Maybe you also got 20,000 out of the 60,000 taels of relief money?" ?” Bo Qinruo was frank and forthright, he burst out laughing, and after he finished laughing, he said sternly: "It is unreasonable for you to say that. Don't say that I, Bo, is the son of the common people. I know the poverty and suffering of the people, so I wouldn't do such a heartless thing." Things. Let me say that I, Bai, want to be greedy, but I am afraid that I can’t do it. I was entrusted with the commission to investigate the relief. I stepped into the boundary of the county yesterday. Today, you rushed to the county government after breaking the city. How..." Ruan Dacheng didn't allow Bo Qinruo to continue talking, he had already seen that Bo Qinruo was very wise, brave, clever and eloquent, and he knew that if he continued, the incident launched by the brothers surnamed Hong would be ruined in his hands. Ruan Dacheng turned around and shouted at the crowd: "Brothers, don't listen to this nonsense of Bai! How many honest officials are there in the world today? Which one is not a corrupt official? Who is not a corrupt official? Then Lin Jiang Zhifu also participated in corruption and hiding, so the Futai Yamen can be clean again? What kind of good thing is the Pregnancy Inspection Committee sent by the Futai Yamen?" When Ruan Dacheng was speaking, Bo Qinruo could clearly see his fat nape, and a strange but real thought could not help but fly into his mind. He thought, if he raises a knife with his own hand and cuts a knife on that neck, It must be a very pleasant thing. Ruan Dacheng was still shouting: "Brothers, don't talk nonsense with this Bai, quickly take down this county government office, and then we will go to Linjiang Mansion to settle accounts with that Zhu! Brothers, come on!" Immediately there was an echo from the crowd, and many people waved their knives and sticks and rushed towards the door. Bo Qinruo saw that the situation was not going well, and shouted loudly: "Fathers and brothers, listen to the words of the humble officer. After the humble officer has finished speaking, it is not too late for you to attack! Why did you come to Jinkou today? Isn't it because of Is Chen Rongjun, the county magistrate, embezzling and hiding money? Isn’t it just to get rid of a corrupt official for the court? Is it possible to turn against the capital? If the elders are not against corrupt officials or corrupt officials, but the Qing court and Daoguang Shengshang, then Not innocent, but unforgivable! Think twice, everyone!" Ruan Dacheng was already impatient, and shouted sharply: "So what if you turn against the court? That Daoguang old man is the biggest thief in the world!" This sentence is no small matter, and it immediately woke up many rebels. Most of these people who gathered in front of the county government came for corrupt officials. These few brothers scattered among the dark crowd cannot make any big waves.In desperation, Ruan Dacheng broke the secret and broke the big event. Instead of rushing towards the Yamen, the people gradually retreated a few steps.The brother surnamed Hong who was mixed in the crowd yelled and echoed Ruan Dacheng, but it was of no avail. At this time, Master Qi Mingdaqi and Military Adviser Du Tianxing, who were hiding far behind, didn't know that the situation had changed like this. They were just surprised to see the crowd retreat.Later, when the brothers in front passed on Ruan Dacheng's shattered secret, Master Qi stamped his feet and shouted: "It's over! It's over! This is the truth!" Du Tianxing also sighed: "I'm afraid that today's matter will be ruined by Ruan Dacheng!" At this time, Ruan Dacheng also saw his mistake, but he still didn't admit defeat in his heart. He wanted to use his past reputation and prestige to appeal to the conscience of everyone, but how could he know that he was in harmony with the majesty of the Qing court? In comparison, one's own reputation and power are nothing at all! When Bo Qinruo saw that Ruan Dacheng had leaked the secret of the rebellion and frightened everyone, he was secretly happy, but he didn't dare to show a smile on his face, he just grabbed Ruan Dacheng's words and said: "Fathers and brothers, do you hear that?" This surname Ruan is trying to trick you into opposing the imperial court and the Holy Majesty! If you want to listen to his incitement and go to the capital instead, then even if you kill my leader Bai today, I will have nothing to say! " There was an uproar among the rioters outside the door, shouting one after another: "Lord Bai, we only need to get back the relief money, and we dare not cause trouble!" "My lord, if you cut off Chen Rongjun's head, we will retreat! We are only here for this dog magistrate." ... Bo Qinruo raised his hands and pressed down frequently, motioning for everyone to quiet down, and when everyone gradually quieted down, he raised his voice and said, "Fathers and brothers, I know you won't be fooled by Ruan Dacheng! Hiding the relief money has nothing to do with the imperial court! The Holy Majesty is extremely wise! The Holy Majesty loves the people like a son! Hearing about the disaster in our land, the Holy Majesty urgently allocated nearly 100,000 taels of relief silver to help our people. The Holy Majesty knows There are some stupid officials below who are corrupt and pervert the law, so they frequently send people to inspect and help..." Bo Qinruo's words moved the truth, and the circles of his eyes turned red. Bo Qinruo's words made everyone boo and awe. Among the crowd, an old man was the first to shout: "Long live the Holy Spirit!" As a result, a shout of long live, long live, suddenly sounded like a mountain roar and a tsunami. Ruan Dacheng was still yelling, but his yelling was submerged in the long-lasting and earth-shattering shouts of "Long live, long live", showing no strength at all. Bo Qinruo obviously controlled the situation, he ignored Ruan Dacheng and ordered Li Xing to raise his sword again.When Li Xing picked up Chen Rongjun's braids and raised the blade for the second time, the old parents of the past came to their senses, and before their gray heads fell, they screamed a terrifying sentence: "This guy named Bai is also greedy... ..." The second half of the sentence was cut off with the head, and it was cut off forever. The first half of the sentence is dotted with bright red blood flowing down the wall... Li Xing held Chen Rongjun's bleeding head and showed it to the cheers of the crowd for a while, then tied the braids on his head and hung it on a thick bamboo pole sticking out of the wall. Bo Qinruo went on to announce: "I, Bo, according to the wishes of the 180,000 people in Jinkou, cut down this corrupt official surnamed Chen on behalf of the court, fulfilling the wishes of the people. The 60,000 taels that this corrupt official hid Silver, someone from my Bo has already seized it, and within three days, it will be distributed to everyone. The official storehouse will be opened today to distribute rice relief. Everyone rushed into the county today. They were originally forced by corrupt officials, and they are all innocent. I Bomou will sue Master Futai and will not be held accountable. But from now on, all the fathers and brothers must leave the county with me and go home to live and work in peace; , shall be punished as treason!" When Bo Qinruo said these words, he had already decided that the chaos in front of him had been brought under control, the most terrifying wave of madness had passed, and he could and should restore the order of the county and the majesty of the government. up. Bai Qinruo's judgment was correct. Most of the people who flooded into the county came to kill corrupt officials and distribute the relief money. Now that the corrupt officials have been killed by the government's investigation and relief committee members, the relief money and relief rice will be restored immediately. After receiving it, I naturally don't want to make a fuss anymore.The great cause of the Hongmen has nothing to do with them, the Great Ming and the Great Qing are the same thing to them, anyway, they must have a saint.Since the Relief Commissioner sent by the Great Qing Dynasty can give them money and rice, they naturally want to praise the Holy Spirit and shout Long Live the Holy Spirit.They have always been so reasonable and magnanimous, as long as their stomachs are still filled with soup, water, and grass, they will never go against another saint for one saint—unless the saint can guarantee them On the premise of their brains, give them a lot of benefits, otherwise, they will not do it! Not long after Bo Qinruo said what he said, the people gathered at the gate of the county government office began to disperse in all directions. No matter what Ruan Dacheng yelled, they just didn't listen.Later, Ruan Dacheng also understood that the general situation was over, so under the pull of Zhong Deliang and Zhu Renfu, he got mixed into the scattered crowd... Wrapped in the crowd, looking at the brothers who squeezed past one by one, Ruan Dacheng shed two lines of heroic tears in front of many people for the first time in his life...