Chapter 414 Leave no one behind!
The explosion occurred in an instant.

When no one was expecting it, a huge column of smoke rose from the direction of the Shuiyi stable, and then the entire stable collapsed in the thick smoke.

And in the yard of the post station.

Countless knives were revealed in an instant, and those people dressed as caravans ran towards the officials closest to them with long knives in their hands.

The beautiful woman who had been marveled at by Zhang Laogou, a clerk at the Matou Town Water Posthouse, and the bald man were also at the position closest to Yan Shaoting, rushing towards them, each holding a dagger and a short crossbow.

The crossbow arrow in the bald man's hand almost slid past Yan Shaoting's nose.

then.

A muffled sound came from his ears.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Laogou, a clerk at the Matou Town Water Post Station, fell to the ground.

The crossbow arrow was clearly stuck in his neck.

The beautiful woman holding a dagger and the bald man holding a butterfly knife between his fingers and fists rushed to Yan Shaoting.

Zhu Qi, a captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was furious.

His eyes were wide open, his face full of anger, and his eyes were instantly bloodshot when the riot broke out.

Zhu Qi could never have imagined that after traveling all the way from Beijing and only three days before entering Nanjing, a riot and assassination that he had never expected would happen.

It was too late to draw the sword.

The gorgeous woman and the bald man were already within three steps.

Yan Binke must not die.

At least, he must not die in front of me today.

Fortunately.

His position is between Yan Binke and the assassin.

Everything happened in an instant.

Zhu Qi moved.

This man, who was also at the top of the Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division in terms of martial arts, moved his legs.

First use your body to block the attack path of the two assassins in front of you.

Even if he would definitely be injured, as long as he could block the assassination move from the other end, he would be absolutely sure to kill these two lunatics.

The method of how to deal with it also emerged in my mind in this instant.

Zhu Qi also raised his arms.

He is very clear.

With just one punch, I can smash the bald man's head.

As for the remaining beautiful woman, her beauty cannot be used as a weapon.

Even though he would be stabbed by the dagger in the hand of this beautiful woman.

But Zhu Qi felt that this was something he had to do.

Your life is worthless.

The life of Yan Binke is related to the country and people of the Ming Dynasty.

this moment.

The anger on Zhu Qi's face disappeared completely, leaving only the cold and silent edge like a thousand-year-old iceberg.

It was also at this time.

When Zhu Qi swung his fist at the bald man.

Yan Shaoting, who was behind him, also quickly raised his right arm.

aims.

A gorgeous woman holding a dagger.

Bang!
Zhu Qi's fist was like a spear, going straight towards the bald man's face without any avoidance.

The tip of the thin dagger had already touched Zhu Qi's right arm. Judging from the direction of the kinetic energy of both parties, his right arm probably could not be saved.

But Zhu Qi's fist was already extremely powerful and hit the bald man's face hard, making a loud muffled sound.

It's also the same time.

There was another loud noise coming from behind Zhu Qi.

There are sparks from calcium carbide and a faint smoke spreading.

Zhu Qi felt that his right ear was deaf and his right face was burning with pain.

Yan Shaoting, who was behind him, had his entire right arm suddenly raised up, and he stumbled back several steps.

Look ahead at the two of them.

The bald man had already fallen to the ground with his body shattered by Zhu Qi's iron fist.

There was a long cut on Zhu Qi's right arm, revealing a bloody wound from the elbow to the shoulder.

but.

The beautiful woman holding the dagger had a palm-sized bloody hole on her forehead, and yellow and white liquid mixed with bright red blood kept flowing out.

The beautiful woman opened her bloodshot eyes wide, her face full of disbelief, opened her cherry-red mouth that had made countless men obsessed in the past, let out a shrill and unwilling scream, and slowly fell backwards to the ground.

"Protect the guests!"

"Send a message to the official ship and have Qi Dazhu lead his men to seal off the entire post station from the outside!"

"Don't let any of today's assassins go!"

Liu Wan held a long knife in his hand and swung it with anger, violently chopping down an assassin who rushed in front of him, and then roared loudly towards the surroundings.

The Jinyiwei and Beijing camp officers and soldiers acted quickly.

Although they had not anticipated the riot at the moment it happened, they have now started to move.

After repelling the assassin, several of Liu Wan's men rushed to Yan Shaoting and guarded him on both sides with long swords in hand.

The remaining people and the Jinyiwei Tiqi began to form a formation in twos and threes and fight with the assassins.

A cannon was lit and flew into the air, emitting a flash of fire and a loud noise.

On the official ship, Qi Dazhu and dozens of other people were left behind.

Zhu Qi endured the severe pain in his arm and didn't even think about treating the wound. He watched the bald man being killed by his punch. The beautiful woman also had a bright idea and immediately turned around and went to Yan Shaoting.

And this moment.

Yan Shaoting's right arm was hanging down and shaking constantly.

But there was a strong smell of gunpowder on his body.

Zhu Qi took a look and breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm glad the guest is alright. I didn't expect the guest to have a short gun hidden in his sleeve."

Seeing Zhu Qi and the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp protecting him, Yan Shaoting breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground in an instant.

He didn't care that the corpse of Zhang Laogou, a clerk at the Matou Town Water Posthouse, was next to him.

Sitting firmly on the ground with your buttocks.

Yan Shaoting rolled up his right sleeve, and on his forearm was a small, exquisitely crafted musket.

But now, his forearm had been blackened by gunpowder, and the surface skin had a little burn from firing the musket.

Enduring the pain, Yan Shaoting untied the useless musket.

Zhu Qi picked up the musket that fell on the ground with great curiosity, and examined it carefully in his hand.

Yan Shaoting glanced at the situation around him.

Faced with the absolute combat power of the Ming Dynasty such as the Jinyiwei and the Beijing Camp, the assassins without their leader had completely lost the strength to resist.

Death and capture are only a matter of time.

These assassins began to try to escape from the water station, but they were already surrounded by people led by Qi Dazhu from outside.

At this time.

There should be no danger.

Yan Shaoting forced a smile on his face. "It was newly made by Changping Forging Factory at the beginning of the year. It was originally an attempt to solve the problem of lightweight muskets. When they heard that I was going south, they sent it to me so that I could take it with me for self-defense."

Zhu Qi took the short musket in his hand and shook it, nodding his head and said, "It's a good thing, but it's enough for self-defense. If it's used in battle, I'm afraid its accuracy and power will be much worse."

As he spoke, Zhu Qi shook his head.

Now the musket hit the beautiful woman holding the dagger right next to his right ear, making his entire ear almost deaf.

But after a while, it has gotten much better.

It is for this reason.

He would be certain that the power of this musket must be far inferior to other muskets, so its accuracy would inevitably be affected when used in battle.

Thinking about it.

Zhu Qi couldn't help but feel a chill on his back.

Yan Shaoting looked at Zhu Qi's reaction and smiled faintly: "Fortunately, I was close enough today, otherwise I would not dare to fire this shot."

If it was farther away, the shot would most likely miss the assassin and instead rip open the back of Zhu Qi's head.

Zhu Qi frowned: "Who could it be?"

Now the musket has hit the assassin, but he himself is fine, so there is no need to think too much about things that didn't happen.

At this time, Zhu Qi had already begun to speculate about the origins of this group of assassins.

Yan Shaoting was not in a hurry. He shook his head and looked around, finally stopping at Zhu Qi's arm: "You should take care of the wound first."

The water station is not far from the pier.

This post station came into being because of the canal and the dock.

soon.

Qi Dazhu had already surrounded them with the people left behind on the official ship.

Not long after.

The assassins in the post station had already been killed or captured.

Liu Wan and Qi Dazhu also came over.

"My dear guests, all the assassins who sneaked into the post station in disguise today have been captured."

The person who spoke was Liu Wan, the chief flag officer of the Beijing camp.

He looked at Zhu Qi, who was injured in the right arm by a knife, and Yan Shaoting, who was intact, with lingering fear, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The Jinyiwei’s mission is irrelevant.

As the chief flag officer of the Beijing camp accompanying the troops heading south, he had only one order, which was to protect the safety of guest Yan at all costs and make sure that guest Yan returned to Beijing in the same way he had left the capital and traveled south.

Qi Dazhu frowned and walked to Zhu Qi's side. He took a look at the wound on Zhu Qi's arm and shouted to the frightened Shuiyi postman outside, "Go to the town and call a doctor who is good at treating external injuries."

The postmen were now frightened out of their wits.

Even if someone shouted or gave orders, he would be at a loss as to what to do.

A Jinyiwei cavalryman spat, grabbed a postman and walked out.

This end.

Zhu Qi looked at Qi Dazhu and said, "Keep those who are captured alive in custody and interrogate them strictly to find out the real culprit and the reason behind this."

Qi Dazhu nodded, put the blood-stained knife in his hand back on his left arm, wiped the blood and put the knife back into the sheath, then took his men to escort the captured assassins away.

Zhu Qi looked at the beautiful woman with a wild imagination and sighed, "I didn't expect the guest to bring self-defense equipment. I originally wanted to kill the bald man with a knife and then capture the woman alive for interrogation. I think these two people are of high status and should be able to get more information from them."

Yan Shaoting glanced at Zhu Qi, shook his head and motioned Liu Wan to help him up.

After standing up.

Yan Shaoting walked up to the cold bodies of the bald man and the beautiful woman lying on the ground.

If we go by what is said in those stories, a beautiful woman like this, even if she is an assassin, should be able to survive, then be turned against the emperor, and even marry him in the end.

only.

A storybook is just a storybook after all.

No matter how beautiful this woman is today, she must be killed.

He turned around and looked at Zhu Qi who was walking over: "The people we have captured are enough. We can find out the reason by asking them for directions."

Zhu Qi looked at the corpses on the ground with a serious look: "Do you think these people are from the south..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Yan Shaoting.

Yan Shaoting glanced at Zhu Qi and shook his head, saying, "Gunpowder is not difficult to make, and even ordinary people can make it. The fact that they don't have firearms means it has nothing to do with the people in the south."

According to Zhu Qi, this matter is most likely related to certain people in Nanjing city.

The purpose was to kill Yan Shaoting before he entered Nanjing City.

As long as Yan Shaoting dies.

Even if the imperial court is furious, some people and things in Nanjing will become safe.

But Yan Shaoting doesn't think so.

It’s not that people in Nanjing don’t have the courage to do so, but today’s methods and timing are not the best.

Liu Wan silently watched the two people who were discussing the background of the assassin. He whispered, "Logically, the news that the guests were heading south and would stay in Matou Town today was delivered earlier. Huai'an City is only a few dozen miles away from here, so someone from the government office and the Governor's Office should have come."

As soon as these words came out.

Yan Shaoting and Zhu Qi immediately turned to look at him.

Liu Wan immediately lowered his head and said, "I just said it casually. After all, Yan Binke is an imperial envoy and the chief minister of the six provinces. It is reasonable for Huai'an Prefecture and the Governor's Office to send people."

Although Liu Wan was from the Beijing camp, he also understood the welcoming and seeing off in official circles.

Zhu Qi also glanced at Yan Shaoting: "That's right. Logically speaking, Huai'an Prefecture and the Grain Transport Governor's Office should have someone waiting here today."

After all, they were heading south, and any place they stopped to rest would be notified in advance, and people from the local government would also come.

At this moment.

The sound of gongs and drums could be heard outside the post station.

The soldiers closest to the door immediately rushed out with their swords drawn.

Then not long after, he rushed back.

"It is the banner of the prefect of Huai'an and the governor of the Grand Canal."

Yan Shaoting couldn't help but glance sideways at Zhu Qi and Liu Wan.

Liu Wan's mouth twitched twice: "Speak of the devil..."

Zhu Qi's eyes and eyebrows flashed with sharpness.

The Huai'an Prefecture and the Grain Transport Governor's Office did not arrive at Matou Town in advance to wait, nor did they welcome them when their ship passed through Huai'an City.

On the contrary, he arrived almost immediately after the assassination.

This inevitably led him to have some different guesses.

Is he really here to welcome the imperial envoy, or is he here in person to check if anyone is dead?
The atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle.

Yan Shaoting smiled and said, "Since they are coming here with drums and gongs, let's go to the door to greet them."

The prefect of Huai'an Prefecture is coming, but there is no need for me to greet him in person.

But although he was the prime minister in charge of the money and grain storage of the six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, the governor-general of the grain transport system who came with him was like one of the six ministries.

Who is the current Governor of the Grand Canal?

Yan Shaoting frowned slightly and just remembered.

He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the 11th year of Jiajing. Now he serves as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and is the Governor-General of the Grain Transport and the Governor-General of Fengyang Prefectures.

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is a third-rank official.

The Office of the Governor-General of Grand Canal Transport is equivalent to the Six Ministries.

Until the truth comes out, we still have to give due respect.

So Yan Shaoting, accompanied by Zhu Qi and Liu Wan, arrived at the gate of Shuiyi.

Look at it from a distance.

Then I saw a team of officials had already arrived at the water post.

The flags of the Huai'an prefectural government and the grain transport governor's office were shining brightly.

Two sedan chairs landed in front of the water station.

The man in the red robe with a square and elegant face must be the current governor of the Grand Canal, Wang Ting of Nanchong, Sichuan.

Behind him was Huai'an prefect Li Youzi, wearing a green robe.

The two of them came together, both with smiles on their faces.

"I heard yesterday that the guests would arrive in Matou Town. I hope you will forgive me for being late today."

These words were said by Wang Ting, the governor-general of the Grand Canal.

Huai'an prefect Li Youzi bowed and said, "I am sorry for being late in receiving you. I hope you will forgive me."

It is also at this moment.

Qi Dazhu, who had just gone to interrogate the assassin, had also walked out of the water station.

Qi Dazhu bowed and clasped his fists and stood behind Yan Shaoting.

"Guest, the interrogation is complete and the thieves have confessed."

Yan Shaoting looked at Wang Ting and Li Youzi who were looking suspicious in front of him.

Under the gaze of the two, he smiled slightly, his face full of kindness.

"Kill them all."

"Leave no one behind!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)