The prison car left Jinan City and walked on a newly built road. This road was built after Shi Kefa was promoted to governor. The road was paved with yellow sand and gravel, and drainage ditches were dug on both sides of the road. It can be used in sunny or rainy days.
His roads can be seen everywhere in Shandong, and it can be regarded as one of the practical things he has done for the local people.
The road ahead is long and seems never-ending. The prison car is modified from a civilian vehicle, with just a cage added to the board. It is very crude. The horse pulling the car is also old and slow. I really don’t know how far the imperial court has traveled.
Why would a local official from far away use a prison car like this?
Shi Kefa didn't have the time to think about the minutiae. What happened just now shocked and moved him. He didn't expect that the common people would risk their lives to rescue him. It would be a waste of his life to do this for the government, but this
Shi Kefa did not agree with this kind of behavior that disrupted the normal social order. He then thought of the few officers and soldiers who were killed. These people had gone thousands of miles away on business, but died in a foreign land without their wives, children, and children at home knowing about it. It was really pitiful to think about it.
As he thought about it, he thought about his own problems. Shi Kefa was not worried about his own prospects because he was protected by the chief minister of the cabinet, Donglin Party leader Qian Qianyi. On that morning three years ago, Mr. Qian Ge was in the big hall.
The tower of Baoen Temple told me this task, to break into Liu Ziguang's group, infiltrate into the core of his decision-making, observe his words and deeds, and control Liu Ziguang's base in Shandong in order to contain Liu Ziguang when he became Cao Cao. This task was only completed by Shi Kefa
Half of it was because Liu Ziguang did not have his own staff team at all. Even Shi Kefa, a two-level Jinshi and a peerless talent, had no extra contacts except normal work contacts. However, Shi Kefa also lived up to Qian Qianyi's expectations.
He governed Shandong very well. Except for Qingdao, other prefectures and counties were relatively stable and would never rebel.
It is precisely because Liu Ziguang did not develop his own staff team that Shi Kefa firmly believes that he was indeed wronged, but what if he was wronged? Liu Ziguang's power is too great. Even if he does not become Cao Cao, he will definitely become Huo Guang. The appearance of any powerful minister will have a great influence on him.
The imperial government and the country are not good things, so Shi Kefa drugged Liu Ziguang to arrest him. What he wanted was not to get promoted and make a fortune, but for the stability of the country and the safety of the people.
Liu Ziguang escaped, and Shi Kefa was not surprised. This man was so magical that nothing could happen to him. However, the world might be in chaos, which Shi Kefa did not want to see.
Unknowingly, it was already noon, and the prison car team did not go far. They only arrived at a place 20 miles east of Jinan. The south of Jinan City is surrounded by mountains. To the south, they all pass through Changqing County in the east, which is the boundary of Changqing.
, In the fifteenth year of the Apocalypse, the railway had been built to Jinan. Most of the merchants traveling from south to north chose railway transportation or canal waterways. Most of the people who took the dry road were local people. It was noon, and people were eating and resting at home, so pedestrians on the road
Very little.
The prison car stopped by a small forest on the roadside. The officers and soldiers tied up their horses, went into the woods to urinate, and then came out to eat. The leading officer asked someone to bring bread and bacon to Shi Kefa to eat, but the prisoner brought this
It was very inconvenient to eat with the shackles, so he asked the soldiers to loosen the shackles.
Shi Kefa hurriedly said: "No way, how can the imperial seal be broken without authorization?"
The officer smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. Master Shi needs to eat. After this meal, you can get on your way quickly." After that, he ordered the soldiers to tear up the seal and untie the wooden shackles.
Shi Kefa was eating pancakes and bacon in this compartment, while the soldiers in the other compartment had already begun to dig holes. The junior officer took out a steel knife and polished it with a whetstone. Although Shi Kefa was pedantic, he was not stupid. He stopped his chopsticks and asked: "What are you going to do?"
"
"Nothing to do, I'll send you on your way. If you hurry, you can run into some of my brothers." The officer threw the whetstone away and touched the edge of the knife with his finger. The wind was so fast!
"Master Shi, please."
Shi Kefa was furious: "How dare you! I am a second-grade official. Who dares to kill me without being convicted by Dali Temple! Whose order did you follow?"
The young officer said: "Okay, then let me make it clear to you that killing you was personally ordered by Eunuch Wei of the Imperial Secret Service, and the emperor approved it."
"You are full of nonsense! The imperial edict clearly states that I will be escorted to Beijing. You kill ministers without permission. Aren't you afraid of being punished by the court?"
The young officer spat disdainfully, "Sour Ding, okay, you are about to die anyway, I will explain it clearly to you. Apparently I want to escort you to Dali Temple in Beijing for trial, but that is just an official document. The emperor wants to
We have to cut through the mess quickly and deal with special cases. We would rather kill a thousand of Liu Ziguang's gang members by mistake than let one go. Are you satisfied now?"
After speaking, he swung the steel knife and took a look at Shi Kefa's neck.
When death was imminent, Shi Kefa no longer cared about any secrets. He shouted: "Wait a minute! To tell you the truth, I am Mr. Qian Ge's man. If you kill me, Mr. Qian Ge will definitely not let you go."
The young officer sneered: "You don't believe me when I say you are pedantic. I want to kill you just because you are Mr. Qian Ge. You don't even think about it. How can our Eunuch Wei and Mr. Qian Ge pee in the same pot? Stop talking nonsense."
, suffer death!”
The steel knife was raised high, shining brightly in the midday sun. Shi Kefa knew that his death day had come. He closed his eyes in pain. The past events came to mind one after another. Qian Qianyi may not have known about killing him, but he
But he kept silent, which can only mean that he and Wei Zhongxian reached a certain tacit understanding and exchanged his death for certain benefits. Politics is so dark, and he unknowingly became a victim of intrigues among powerful officials.
The steel knife struck down with a whistling wind, but it did not fall on Shi Kefa's neck. He only heard a crisp sound, and then a heart-rending scream. Shi Kefa opened his eyes and looked up, and saw that the steel knife had flown to the ground.
The tree was still shaking slightly, and the man who wanted to kill him was lying ten steps away with blood from the corner of his mouth, a piece of chest deflated, and it looked like he had suffered severe internal injuries, and suddenly there was another person in front of him.
, the sun was dazzling, inlaid with a golden edge on his body, like a magic weapon descending from the sky, Shi Kefa could not see clearly the features of this person even if he squinted, but the figure was very familiar, who could it be if it wasn't Liu Ziguang who had just escaped from his own hands.
The soldiers were shocked. They gathered around with swords and guns and asked, "Who are you? How dare you go against Qin Mi Si?"
Liu Ziguang looked up to the sky and laughed: "I am the Liu Ziguang you are looking for. Come on, come and catch me if you are brave enough."
Liu Ziguang's reputation was far-reaching. Not to mention the thirty or so soldiers here, even the tens of thousands of soldiers came and went with ease. These soldiers were very self-aware. Without saying a word, they dropped their swords and guns, picked up the wounded and ran away with their heads in their arms.
Liu Ziguang did not chase after him, but tore off the iron chain on Shi Kefa's body with several strokes, and said: "I saw Mr. Shi being taken away in the city, and I knew something was wrong, so I followed him to protect him. Sure enough, the castrated dog was really going to attack him.
You took action."
Shi Kefa felt ashamed. After all, Liu Ziguang was a great hero with a broad heart. He did not mention anything about the unpleasantness that happened last night. Not only did he not remember the past, he also risked exposing his whereabouts to rescue him. I am afraid that this kind of kindness will never be repaid in this life.
.
Seeing that Shi Kefa looked gloomy and speechless, Liu Ziguang said again: "Now Mr. Shi has a family and it is difficult to return. I don't know what to do next."
Shi Kefa said: "I can only wander around the world alone."
Liu Ziguang sneered: "Is this the Shi Kefa I know? Where has the enthusiasm for serving the country gone? Can such a small setback make you discouraged?"
Shi Kefa suddenly raised his head: "If you ask me to assist you in rebelling against the imperial court, I would rather do this."
Liu Ziguang said: "Who said I was going to rebel against the imperial court? It seems that even though you have studied me for many years, you still don't understand me at all. I would rather the world betray me than anyone else in the world. I save you because I miss you."
With his love for the people and his talents, the Ming Dynasty can no longer accommodate you and me. Why not go thousands of miles away to open up a new world, where there are also Chinese people, descendants of Yan and Huang, and Mr. Shi can show off his talents. When the court finds out the truth, what else can he do?
When Mr. Shi is innocent, Mr. Shi can still return home in fine clothes. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"
Liu Ziguang's words deeply moved Shi Kefa, and under the current circumstances, this seemed to be the best way out. He gritted his teeth and finally nodded.
On the vast land of Shandong, two fast horses were galloping towards the east, with the setting sun being left far behind. These were Shi Kefa and Liu Ziguang who had narrowly escaped death. Behind them were dozens of followers, one-armed Qianhu.
Zhang Daniu was among them. God knows how Liu Ziguang was so capable and could get these people out of the heavily guarded Jinan Mansion. Shi Kefa couldn't figure this out, and he didn't need to figure it out. All he could do now was follow.
In less than two days, a group of people rushed to the outside of Qingdao City. The stormy waves crashed on the shore, and the lonely city stood tall. The snow-white flag on the top of the city was whimpering in the wind. This was the military port paying tribute to their commander, and they were moving forward.
At that moment, a dozen strong men with weeds tied around their bodies and oil paint on their faces suddenly jumped out from both sides of the road. They blocked the way with blunderbuss equipped with bayonets and shouted: "Stop! If you take another step forward, I will kill you!"
The guards behind Liu Ziguang hurriedly rushed up to block the general, and Zhang Daniu said loudly: "The Ming Dynasty's first-class governor, the crown prince Shaobao, and the red-shirted general are here, so why don't you pick them up quickly?"
This was a navy Bu Yong scout team lying in ambush on the main traffic road, specially designed to monitor people coming from the mainland. They were all shocked when they heard Zhang Daniu's words.
"Which prince? Which commander?"
"Nonsense! Our red shirt army only has one Marshal Liu, who else can we have?" Zhang Daniu scolded dissatisfiedly.
"It is true that my commander has arrived." Liu Ziguang pushed aside the crowd and came out from behind by gently holding the horse's belly. The Bu Yongs had all seen Liu Ziguang during training. At this time, they saw the commander who was rumored to have been killed appear alive in front of them.
Everyone was so excited that they could not speak. They were stunned for a long time before they all knelt down.
"Welcome to you, Marshal!"
A moment later, Qingdao City received a call from the scout. In an instant, the white flags on the city were swept away and turned into bright red military flags. The city defense cannon fired thirty-two shots of cannon into the sky. This was
The distinguished guests were greeted with military salutes, and then the gunboats and warships in the harbor also sounded their whistles. The four gates of Qingdao City opened wide, and countless soldiers and civilians swarmed out and rushed towards Liu Ziguang with thunderous cheers.