This is Ma Xingkong's first "job" since he took charge of Wanniu Mountain. If it succeeds, Wanniu Mountain's rise will become a foregone conclusion. If it fails, it will forever be reduced to a second-rate copycat.
As the sun sets over the western mountains and the lanterns begin to light up, the Hun River becomes a sea of lights. Singing roosters, constantly rotating revolving lanterns, and strings of five-night lanterns come in all kinds and colors. Passers-by are constantly commenting on who.
Which one has good lamps, which one has more varieties of lamps, and whose lamps have good-looking colors? In order to match Shangguan Qing's face, each merchant tried their best to match Shangguan Qing's face.
On the high pole in front of the county house, there are more than a dozen bright red lanterns hanging in a row. They are huge, each one is two meters thick. Shangguan Qing specially tidied up, wearing a straight tunic suit, bald hair, and a smile on his face.
, was the first to leave the county gate. Behind him were Fatty Liu and Wu Xiaoren.
Fatty Liu was dressed in a blue and white military uniform, with a yellow woolen coat hanging on his shoulders. His belly was pushed forward, like a pregnant woman. He stood on the steps with his hands on his lower back.
Wu Xiaoren is a bit petty. His white tunic suit looks a bit too wide, and his original gold-rimmed glasses have been replaced with silver-plated frames. Only the bracelet of his pocket watch shines in the light. Wu Xiaoren has aged a lot, and his body has become a little thin.
He was stooped and had a few white strands in his beard.
"Everyone, this is how the Lantern Festival should be held in these peaceful and prosperous times! Let the common people know that with Governor Zhang and Marshal Wang in charge of Nanhe, Nanhe will be as stable as Mount Tai!" Shangguan Qing's long list of nonsense made everyone nod.
The group of people descended the steps. There were officers and police on both sides of the street who had already cleared a wide passage. The people who were expelled from the street could only watch from a distance as this group of lords and rich people went shopping in an orderly manner and looked at the lights. Shangguanqing frequently
He waved to the people, but all he received were blank stares. Shangguanqing didn't care at all and kept smiling.
Ma Xingkong squeezed into the crowd and looked at Wu Xiaoren coldly. Long Jie's analysis was correct. This group of people was walking towards the bell tower. He winked at Hei Wa, who turned around and disappeared into the crowd. Ma Xingkong
Xingkong pushed forward, and the soldier who blocked the crowd raised his spear and slammed it down. The man at the front was knocked to the ground.
Shangguanqing imitated the behavior of the officials in the provincial capital and deliberately walked to the street to talk to some people. This frightened many people and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed. This made Shangguanqing very embarrassed. Dao Ba snorted coldly and lowered his voice:
"What is Shangguanqing doing? Who does he think he is? Governor Zhang or Marshal Wang?"
Wu Xiaoren smiled slightly: "Let him be crazy! There will always be times when he cries!"
Amid the confusion, numbness, and anger of the people, Shangguan Qing led everyone up to the bell tower. This bell tower has a long history. It is said that it was built in the Tang Dynasty, and the word "bell tower" on it was attributed to Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin's autograph. When Li Shimin attacked Wang Shichong, he crossed the river to investigate alone. He was discovered by Wang Shichong and sent troops to pursue him. Fortunately, he was rescued by the Thirteen Stick Monks of Shaolin Temple. The Hun River was where Li Shimin hid, so a bell tower was built here to commemorate it.
The bell tower is square and square, more than five meters high, with a three-story wooden structure above it. A large iron bell hangs on the northwest corner. It is exactly the same as the bell tower in Chang'an City. The bell tower is the tallest in the Hun River.
It is a place where you can see the entire county clearly from above.
Scar glanced at the people downstairs. Suddenly, a pair of particularly familiar faces appeared in his eyes. When he felt something was wrong and turned around to look again, he found nothing. Scar thought for a while and moved closer to Wu Xiaoren.
Next to him: "Second Master, I seemed to have seen the horse flying empty just now!"
Wu Xiaoren was stunned and looked at Scar. Scar nodded: "There are too many people tonight, and we are in such a conspicuous location, it is better to leave as soon as possible!"
After walking around the clock tower, the night breeze was so cool that it made people's cheeks hurt. Wu Xiaoren cupped his hands to Shangguan Qing and Fatty Liu and said, "County Magistrate, Commander Liu Ying, I've been feeling unwell recently and it's inconvenient for me to stand.
I’d like to say goodbye first, but I hope you both can respect me!”
"Have you just come and are you about to leave? Look at how beautiful this lantern is!" Fatty Liu pointed to the lantern left behind, took off his coat and threw it to Scar: "Put it on Comrade Wu. This is the lantern that Hunhe has seen since the revolution.
This is the first Lantern Festival since then. Wouldn’t it be disrespectful to Shangguan County Magistrate to leave like this!”
Ma Xingkong popped his head out from the roof of the Silk House to the west of the Bell Tower. This place was not too far from the Bell Tower. With Ma Xingkong's marksmanship, one shot would definitely kill Wu Xiaoren.
Hei Wa rubbed his hands: "It's right above. If you want to get there, hurry up. Brother Shi has already knocked down a few soldiers at the north gate. There's no problem in retreating."
Ma Xingkong took the gun from Hei Wa, adjusted it slightly, pulled the bolt, and loaded the bullet. He turned over and lay on the roof. There was no one at the dark muzzle under the cover of night.
see.
Shangguan Qing and his party were coming from the other side. The shop owners were pointing around Shangguan Qing and Fatty Liu, introducing their lanterns in detail, in order to take credit from Shangguan Qing and win Shangguan Qing's favor.
"Eh? Where are the people?" Ma Xingkong suddenly asked. Among the group of people on the bell tower, Wu Xiaoren was not found. Ma Xingkong saw clearly on the street just now that Wu Xiaoren and Shangguanqing were both wearing
They were the only two people wearing Mao suits, and now there was only one person wearing Mao suits on the tower. Could it be that Wu Xiaoren ran away?
"Heizi, go down and see why Wu Xiaoren is missing!" Ma Xingkong said to Heiwa.
Hei Wa didn't expect that Wu Xiaoren had disappeared. He hurriedly turned over and put it down. At the entrance of the bell tower, Hei Wa found Long Jie. Long Jie was sure that Wu Xiaoren had not come down. Just when Hei Wa and Long Jie were still wondering
, "Bang!" A gunshot sounded from the east side of the bell tower.
Hei Wa and Long Jie were both stunned. A dead body rolled down the stairs of the bell tower. An khaki woolen coat wrapped the body tightly. After everyone was stunned for a short time, shouts came. Hei Wa
He pulled Long Jie, who was in a daze, and dodged into the crowd.
"Second Master! Second Master!" Scar rushed down the stairs and hugged the dead body.
"It's your fault! Who did it!" Fatty Liu shouted: "Commander Zhang, seal off the entire county immediately, and I must catch the shooter."
Shangguan Qing still wanted to come over and have a look, but he was led by Qiao Da and Wang Tianzong into the crowd and headed to the county government. The streets were in a mess, and the burning lanterns were knocked down by the crowd, igniting some thatched houses, and a fire immediately broke out.
People stepped on others, squeezed each other, the young and strong pushed the elderly to stagger, and those who fell to the ground would be trampled to death.
Ma Xingkong found Hei Wa and the others, and they held Long Jie's hands tightly, pushing through the crowd and running towards the north gate.