On April 25 of the second year of Jiajing, Xia Yan, the deputy envoy of the Qin Mission, finally gathered his troops, horses and ships, secretly left Yangzhou, entered the Yangtze River along the canal, and then went down the river to Shuangyu Port off the coast of Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang.

Xia Yan led a total of 3,200 people this time, of which 200 were the elite of the 500 battalion equipped with flintlock pistols, which were commanded by Qi Jingtong of the thousand households, and the other 3,000 soldiers were drawn from Yangzhou Wei and Gaoyou Wei respectively.

Originally, Xia Yanda could have transferred troops to the nearest Ningbo Mansion in Zhejiang, but he was worried that the officers of these local guard posts would collude with Li Guangtou and others, so he decided not to use the local army, but to transfer troops directly from Yangzhou Mansion. Although this is a bit more troublesome, it is undoubtedly more secure.

It is worth mentioning here that the reason why Xia Yan chose Qi Jingtong as a general was because he was born in Dengwei Prefecture, Shandong Province, and was familiar with naval battles, and Qi Jingtong had participated in the two previous battles on Dongsha Island and had rich experience in landing operations.

In addition, Xia Yan at the suggestion of Qi Jingtong, brought Yu Dayou with him, this son is proficient in water, and ambushed under the water of Yangzhou Wei Wharf in advance that day, and unexpectedly boarded the ship to attack the thief, and made the first contribution to the rescue of Xu Jin and others, obviously a brave and strategic, and Yu Dayou was born in the coastal guard post of Quanzhou, Fujian, and is also familiar with naval warfare.

Not to mention how Xia Yan encircled and suppressed Shuangyu Port, on the day he led his troops to leave Yangzhou, the holy decree of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi also arrived on the same day, ordering Xu Jin and Xia Yan to work with the Nanjing Criminal Department, Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Nanjing Dali Temple to try the case of the giant thief Xu Weixue in the first instance, and then escort the prisoner back to Beijing, and then retry it by the three legal divisions in Beijing.

On April 26, the sun was shining, and the fierce sun made the weeping willows on the banks of the Surabaya River wilt their heads, and the cicadas on the branches screamed like crazy, arrogantly announcing the arrival of the scorching summer heat.

And on this noisy and hot day, the jury from Nanjing arrived in Yangzhou City, and a total of four big men came, namely Wang Shouren, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, Zhao Jian, the secretary of the Nanjing Criminal Department, Qin Jin, the capital of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Bian Xian, the secretary of the Dali Temple in Nanjing.

It was noon, on the Tongsi Bridge wharf on the bank of the Surabaya River, Xu Jin was dressed in a five-grade official robe, his figure was quite beautiful and straight, and his temperament was calm, smiling and waiting for the Nanjing officials who had just docked to get off the boat and land.

Behind Xu Jin are local officials at all levels in Yangzhou Mansion, and the Xie brothers and Lu Bing are separated from each other, but Lu Bing is yawning again and again, his face is slightly pale, and his spirit is not good.

It's no wonder that Ono Lily is originally a charming body, and Lu Bing, this kid, can't withstand four consecutive days of fighting even if he is beaten with iron.

It is said that on April 20, Lu Bing couldn't help but "arraign" Yuri Ono, it was the youthful and vigorous taste of the marrow eater, and in the next few days, he was "arraigned" again and again, sometimes even twice a day, once for nearly an hour. Today, Lu Baihu is really lacking in energy, so he did not routinely interrogate Ono Yuri.

At this time, the officials of the Nanjing jury finally got off the boat, and Xu Jin hurriedly stepped forward, waved his hand and said, "Xu Jin has seen all of you." ”

The four people who got off the boat were all old officials above the third grade, but they could afford Xu Jin's courtesy.

Lao Wang, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, also came, which made Xu Jin a little surprised.

Wang Shouren seemed to see Xu Jin's doubts, and stroked the sparse long beard under his chin and quipped: "The old man is idle and bored in Nanjing, so he came to Yangzhou to join in the fun, Xu Ziqian, you won't welcome it, right?" ”

Xu Jin hurriedly said: "How dare you, the prince is coming, Xu Jin welcomes him, and he just takes this opportunity to ask the prince for advice." ”

Wang Shouren laughed and said: "How dare you, it should be the old man who asks Ziqian for advice, the old man can't make such wonderful things as flintlock pistols, mirrors, and clairvoyance." ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but move in his heart, Lao Wang wouldn't come this time to flintlock the pistol, right?

Hey, Xu Jin really guessed right. The first batch of 500 flintlock muskets was only produced last year, all of which were equipped with 500 battalions, and recently the 500 battalions have shone in several battles, repeatedly winning more with less, killing several times the number of pirates, and the power of the flintlock pistols has become increasingly apparent.

Wang Shouren, as the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, was naturally extremely interested in flintlock pistols, so this time he took the opportunity to come to Yangzhou to learn from Xu Jin, and planned to write a letter afterwards to ask the imperial court to allow the Nanjing Ordnance Bureau to make flintlock pistols and equip the local guard army, so that no matter how strong the thief is, it is not worth it.

"The prince has a good reputation, and now the sun is hot, please come into the palace of your lords." Xu Jin politely stretched out his hand to invite.

Wang Shouren nodded with a smile and beckoned a few colleagues to go to the gate of the government not far away.

It is said that Wang Shouren was very optimistic about Xu Jin back then, and even privately said to Wu Wending, the current political envoy of Guangdong, that Xu Jin would be the pillar of the Ming Dynasty in the future. Now, in just a few years, Wang Shouren's original prophecy has begun to come true.

For example, the year before last, Xu Jin was in Shandong for disaster relief, not only investigating the granary deficit case, but also easily suppressing tens of thousands of White Lotus Sect thieves; Last year, Xu Jin proposed Qingtianzhuang again and cleaned up the Tianzhuang near Jingshi; This year, he was ordered to clear the land of Zhangzhang Nanzhili and Zhejiang, and also wiped out a group of thieves, and found out an old case involving the White Lotus Sect......

It can be said that whether it is making flintlock pistols, promoting the planting of sweet potatoes, or advocating Qingtianzhuang, what Xu Jin has done in recent years is a practical thing to benefit the country and the people, and to help the community.

Of course, it is too early to say that Xu Jin is the pillar of the Ming Dynasty at this time, but it is estimated that many people have no objection to say that he is changing to the role of the pillar, including Yang Tinghe, the first assistant.

Besides, Xu Jin led a group of officials in Nanjing into the mansion and sat down, and his own servants served tea. Wang Shouren is highly respected, and recently his "Yangming Xinxue" is extremely popular, and his status is becoming more and more respected, so he sits in the first place.

However, when the two sides were chatting, Xu Jin noticed a detail, Lao Wang's hand holding the tea cup was a little trembling, similar to Parkinson's symptoms, and he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, and couldn't help but glance at Wang Shouren's face.

Lao Wang's face looks much older than back then, and the mountain roots are blue, the lips are bloodless, and his physical condition is worrying, and Wang Shouren's cheeks are thin and his chin is pointed.

Xu Jin vaguely remembered that Wang Shouren in history did not live long, and died of illness in his fifties, and Xu Jin had heard that Wang Shouren had lung disease before, and he relied on arsenic to suppress it, but he didn't know whether it was true or not, but looking at the current situation, it is certain that Lao Wang is not in good health. And Wang Shouren is also in his fifties this year, so isn't there a few years to live?

Everyone sat and chatted for a while, and Xu Jin ordered someone to arrange for the Nanjing officials to go down to rest, and then officially open the trial tomorrow.

"My lord, the trial will start tomorrow, and my subordinates will go back and prepare for it, and arrange the prisoners who need to be arraigned tomorrow!" After Lu Bing asked Xu Jin for instructions, he yawned and left.

Xu Jin couldn't help frowning and asked, "Second brother, what has this kid Lu Bing been doing these days, why is he always listless?" ”

Before Xie Erjian could answer, Xie Sangun pouted and said, "What else can I do, this kid interrogates Yuri Ono every day, and his kidney water is insufficient!" ”

Xie Erjian said lightly: "Ono Lily has practiced charming, it is estimated that there is something special in any aspect, Lu Bing is so small that he doesn't know the height of the sky, it is estimated that he is in her way." ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but look pale, he thought that it was a scourge for a woman like Ono Lily to stay, but now he actually fascinated Lu Bing, the key is that Lu Bing is still a person around the emperor, if Ono Lily is escorted back to Beijing by the little emperor Zhu Houxi......

As soon as he thought of this, Xu Jin couldn't help but feel a chill in his back, it is not uncommon to see kings who have lost their country because of women in history, and the most famous one is naturally King Zhou You, who lit the beacon fire and teased the princes, just to win a smile.

Therefore, if Ono Lily was fascinated by Zhu Houxi's kid, Xu Jin really didn't dare to imagine the terrible consequences.

A cold glint flashed in Xu Jin's eyes, Yuri Ono is an important witness, and it stands to reason that she should be escorted to Beijing to cooperate with the trial of the Three Law Divisions, but this woman must not enter Beijing.

"Second brother, I'm sorry for you!" Xu Jin sat down again, drank a cup of tea, and said lightly.

Xie Erjian nodded and walked out of the house lazily.