Chapter Seventy-Seven: Temptation?

The car Xu Shuzheng and Chang Ruiqing were riding did not follow Duan Qirui and his party to Tieshi Hutong, but turned west on the south side of the Forbidden City, and then went to Nanchang Street between Zhongnanhai and the Forbidden City, all the way north, and then drove along Beihai and Houhai, and went straight to a mansion surrounded by mountains and rivers.

As soon as Chang Ruiqing saw this route, he immediately knew that he was going to Prince Alcohol's Mansion on the northern edge of Houhai, and it seemed that it was to rescue the little emperor Puyi. Sure enough, the car drove for a few more minutes, and finally stopped in front of a huge black mansion, the door of which was wide and there were several men dressed as Manchu protectors, with old waist knives at their waists. The horse-tethered stakes in front of the gate are also lined up, and there are a few towering trees standing around them. It's just that it looks a little bleak and cold, but that wealth and nobility are incomparable to the mansions of ordinary big bureaucrats of the Republic of China.

"Gong Zheng, is this ......?" Chang Ruiqing pointed to the mansion with one hand and looked at Xu Shuzheng: "Isn't this the North Mansion?" Prince Alcohol's mansion, are we here to see King Alcohol today? ”

Xu Shuzheng's face showed a trace of helplessness, and he smiled coldly: "No way, this morning, the Alcohol King Mansion has already sent someone to invite it several times." He had already agreed to the asking price of the Red Brigade, two hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold, which was a lot of money! It's just that the place where the other party collects money seems to be a bit remote......"

……

It turned out that the father of Emperor Xuantong finally raised the huge amount of 250,000 taels of gold that the Red Brigade wanted after a lot of effort! Moreover, the former regent of the Qing Dynasty was worried about the life and death of his precious son, so he did not dare to bargain with the Red Brigade anymore, so he instructed Beile Zaizhen, who was in charge of negotiations in Tianjin, to agree to the other party's request in full...... However, after getting his wish, Meng Li, the chief negotiator of the Red Brigade, immediately put forward a new demand - the place of payment of the ransom should be chosen in the mountainous area of Yishan, Shandong!

It seems that this gang of gangsters of the Red Brigade is really a good man who occupies the mountains and lakes. However, as soon as Prince Alcohol and the old and young people of the Manchu Dynasty in Beijing and Tianjin heard the location of the ransom, they immediately became troubled. Shandong Yishan is a place where bandits are rampant, and even Zhang Huaizhi, the overseer of Shandong, has nothing to do with them...... If you want these Manchu Qing nobles to pay for the gold, it is enough, but if they risk their lives and send them to the robbers' den with 250,000 taels of gold, it will cost them their lives! In short, no one dared to send him to death, including Prince Alcohol himself. As a result, this errand can only be counted on by the Beiyang warlords with guns in their hands.

And it's just too big! Prince Alcohol did not dare to entrust it directly to Zhang Huaizhi, the overseer of Shandong...... Who knows if he will come and eat black and swallow up the gold? Who will be able to sanction him then? Therefore, I found Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng, who had just entered Beijing. How can they say that they are also the central government, and they must always be more decent and reasonable than the local warlords, right?

As for this "drudgery" of leading troops to escort gold to Shandong, it can only fall on Chang Ruiqing, a small character in Beiyang! Who made him "obedient and commanding", and the asking price was low? What else is the commander of a mixed brigade who goes out to the army, and he still runs so far and risky, don't even think about it if you don't have five or six hundred thousand! Chang Ruiqing has a dozen or two hundred thousand oceans here, he should be able to go to the fart, and he is very capable of fighting! Zhang Xun's 8,000 pigtailed soldiers are not opponents, and ordinary bandits can be cleaned up even if they come to 10,000!

Xu Shuzheng and Chang Ruiqing got out of the car at the door, Prince Zaifeng, and Shi Xu, the minister in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, had already greeted them in person, and they were still smiling. Then the group talked and laughed, all the way through the main hall and the apse, and went straight to the back garden of the palace.

Along the way, Chang Ruiqing was also carefully looking at this former illustrious palace, where Prince Zaifeng was once the ruler of the country! Now, only a few years after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, this palace has inevitably become depressed. The brick path on the ground was covered with snow, but a thin walkway was swept out, and the walls of the houses were a little mottled below, and the red paint could be seen peeling off everywhere, revealing a gray color. There are very few maids and servants in the palace, and they all look listless.

I don't know if after this "Pu Yi kidnapping" turmoil, will this alcohol palace decay faster?

After a few turns, everyone arrived at a lakeside pavilion built on the lake in the back garden, and after walking in, Chang Ruiqing suddenly felt that the warmth was hot. It seems that the bottom of this house is connected to the earth dragon, and the fire is still burning.

In the middle of the room, a banquet has been set up, and a few delicate and lovely little maids are waiting on the side.

"General Xu, General Chang, please take a seat." Prince Alcohol's voice rang out. This prince who used to hold a lot of power is now a middle-aged uncle with a gentle smile on his face and no deterrent effect.

Xu Shuzheng and Chang Ruiqing also smiled and returned the salute, and then sat down separately. Xu Shuzheng sat next to Prince Alcohol, while Chang Ruiqing sat with Shi Xu, the minister in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Shi Xu had already taken off his mourning clothes, and he did not wear the official uniform of the Qing Dynasty, but wore a robe and horse coat, and the braid on the back of his head was also cut off. He bowed slightly at Chang Ruiqing, poured another glass of wine for the other party, and then said with a smile: "Brother Yaoru is really young and promising, he became a brigade commander at a young age, it seems that Beiyang has a successor." ”

Of course, Chang Ruiqing knew that this was complimenting himself, and just wanted to say a few words about the scene, but he heard Xu Shuzheng open his mouth: "Lord Wang, Lord Shi, it is important to save people right now, so I won't say anything about the scene...... Have you already raised two hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold? ”

Prince Alcohol sighed and nodded helplessly: "It's all ready." ”

Xu Shuzheng paused, as if he was thinking about something, and came over for a while before saying, "Lord Wang, what are you going to do?" Is this gold really going to be given away? ”

Prince Alcohol smiled bitterly: "What can I do if I don't give it?" The emperor is in their hands, how can I ignore it? ”

"As long as the emperor comes back safely, we don't care about anything else...... Even if the Red Brigade is exterminated and the gold is recovered, we don't want it! Shi Xu understood the deep meaning of Xu Shuzheng's words, and hurriedly added while giving Prince Alcohol a look. When Prince Alcohol saw it, he also hurriedly echoed: "Yes, yes, yes...... We just want the emperor, we don't want anything else, we don't care! ”

Xu Shuzheng nodded with satisfaction, and looked at Chang Ruiqing with a smile: "Yaoru, do you know what to do?" ”

Chang Ruiqing was stunned when he heard this, and said in his heart: "What does Xu Shuzheng mean?" Is he going to lead his troops to encircle and suppress, exterminate the Red Brigade, and snatch back the gold? Wrong! He shouldn't have suspected that he had something to do with the Red Brigade! This, this is testing himself, if he can snatch back the 250,000 taels of gold, it means that he has nothing to do with the Red Brigade, otherwise, ・・・・・・" Thinking of this, Chang Ruiqing's back was already drenched in cold sweat, but on the surface, he still looked calm: "Gong Zheng, don't worry, the student will take someone to Shandong, and the custodian gang will snatch the gold back for you!" ”

Speaking of this, his tone condensed slightly, looked at Xu Shuzheng and said, "Gong Zheng, just like that, my plan to expand the 31st Mixed Brigade will probably be ・・・・・・."

Xu Shuzheng smiled indifferently: "It won't have any impact, isn't it just to train another regiment of soldiers, you leave some officers in the Fengtai camp, and the recruits, weapons and equipment are solved by the War Department・・・・・・ you go to Shandong to suppress bandits, let them continue to suppress bandits, and don't delay at both ends!" ”

"Good! That's great! Chang Ruiqing nodded without hesitation, he thought for a while and said: "Just let the student's brother Zhao Youlin (Zhao Zhen) take people to stay in the Fengtai camp for training, and the students will set off before the fifteenth of next month with a group of people." ”

"Fifteen next month?" Xu Shuzheng was stunned and looked at Chang Ruiqing. Chang Ruiqing smiled and said: "Gong Zheng, the student plans to move his family to Beijing City and bring his parents here, so it takes half a month to arrange it." ”

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