Last autumn, the East China Sea bandits raided Chongzhou County, kidnapped 31 county schoolchildren and extorted the place. This was thought to be the Chongzhou boy robbery that shocked Jiangdong County..com This case was also marked by this case, which has been mainly on the islands of Changguo County for a long time.
The East China Sea bandits operating in the southern sea area began to move into the waters of the islands of Changguo County, and the bandit troubles in Mingzhou, Jiahang, Pingjiang, and Hailing prefectures gradually spread.
Hu Zhicheng was the victim of the Chongzhou boy robbery. His only son Hu Qiaoguan was one of the boys who was robbed. His brother Hu Zhiyong's youngest son Hu Qiaozhong was also one of the boys who was robbed. There was no news about the two boys after they were kidnapped for more than nine months.
The trauma in the hearts of the family has not yet been healed.
Hu Zhicheng was in danger on the river today and narrowly escaped death. Suddenly he heard the familiar voice of his nephew on the rescue boat, asking him how to calm down? He dragged his exhausted body towards the hatch and looked at the familiar face. Yes, it was Qiao Zhong.
He is thinner, darker, and stronger than before. The young man beside him is also Chen Enze, the son of Dongshe Chen Lei.
"Qiao Zhong, it's really you. Where have you been for the past six months? Since you escaped, why didn't you send any news to your family?" Hu Zhicheng grabbed his nephew's shoulders with force. He was surprised and angry at the same time, thinking that Hu Qiaozhong didn't reply on purpose.
At home, "Why are you not sensible at all? You know your mother almost cried her eyes out because of you, and your grandma is worried about you and Qiao Guan. She fell and is still lying on the bed, saying
Is he holding on until you and Qiao Guan come back? Where is Qiao Guan, can he escape with you?"
Hu Qiaozhong and Chen Enze have experienced such a thing, and they are much more mature than teenagers of the same age. At this time, they burst into tears. Hu Qiaozhong choked and said: "Qiao Guan is still good. I am in Jiangning at this time. It's not that my nephew doesn't want to go home, it's just that my nephew and Qiao Guan
Going home will bring disaster to the family, and I really can’t go home..."
"Why is this so?" Hu Zhicheng took it for granted that the problem lay with Lin Fu, and looked back with doubt on his face.
"This matter is too long to talk about," Lin Fu said, "Let's sit down and talk. There are indeed difficulties in this that cannot be told to outsiders or even to family members..."
Hu Zhicheng is not a reckless person. Hu Qiaozhong and Chen Enze, who were already fifteen years old when they were robbed, will not be easily deceived by others. Since they all talked about their difficulties, and since their only son Qiao Guan was still alive, he sat down for the time being and listened to Lin Fu.
explain.
"After the Chongzhou County School was robbed, and the many things that happened surrounding the case, did Mr. Hu or other family members of the robbed boys feel anything unusual?" Lin Fu asked.
"After the county school was robbed, the pirates did not go to sea immediately. Some people in the county saw the pirates' boats sailing upstream at night. We and other family members of the robbed boy were waiting for the pirates to send someone to negotiate for money, and we invited
More than a dozen fishermen searched for the pirate ship along the Yangtze River. Qiao Zhong's father and I took two boats and also went to the Yangtze River to search. On the fifth day after the robbery, the pirate ship appeared again in the Yangtze River, so we sent
People rushed ahead to inform the government, and Ninghai Town sent water camp warships to intercept the pirate ship on the southwest beach of Xisha Island. Unfortunately, the officers and soldiers were weak and failed to stop the pirate ship. Afterwards, the pirate ship was sent to ask for money.
He collected enough ransom money and gave it to someone who came to take it away, but nothing was heard from him since then..." Hu Zhicheng said, "Later I heard that the East China Sea bandits were related to Jin Anshe's family. Qiao Zhong's father left twice last winter and this spring.
However, there is no news at all about East Fujian. I really didn’t expect to see Qiao Zhong here.”
"...The difficulty of not telling outsiders happened when the Ninghai Zhenshuiying warship intercepted the pirate ship on the southwest beach of Xisha Island," Lin Fu sighed slightly and said, "I think you also know that Ninghai Town sent out to intercept the East China Sea pirate ship.
The general is the deputy general of Ninghai Town, and the commander of the water camp in Ninghai Town is Xiao Taoyuan. Xiao Taoyuan leads all his close associates. The two fast paddle-wing boats have more than a hundred elite men, three times the number of the East China Sea pirates. The two fast paddle-wing boats were at that time
They also forced the pirate ship to death in a branch of the river in the southwest beach of Xisha Island. How could they let the pirate ship escape? You may wonder how I know so clearly. In fact, I was also on the pirate ship at the time.
The bandits did not go to sea after they attacked Chongzhou City. They went directly to Baisha County and committed another major case that alarmed Jiangdong, which was the Baisha County Robbery. Mr. Hu must be familiar with this. I am the Baisha County Robbery.
Lin Fu, a scholar who was kidnapped and killed by the East China Sea pirates and then escaped with his life. Not only was I on the boat, but Jiangning Su Mei, the maid, and the escort were all on the boat at the time. They witnessed with their own eyes the process of Xiao Taoyuan intercepting the pirate ship..."
"You are a pig..." Hu Zhicheng was so surprised that he almost blurted out the word "pig shepherd". He never thought that the Chongzhou boy case and the Baisha robbery were actually committed by the same shareholder, pirates.
"Yes, I am the pigherder who is despised by Jiangdong Qingliu. I am the inspector general, Jinchuan, and the prisoner Linfu. At this time, I asked for an errand as the inspector general, the soldier preparation officer, and the grain arranging officer. I went to the local area to serve as the inspector general, Mr. Gu.
He bravely raised food and wages in Dongyang Dianlian Township." Lin Fu didn't mind the nickname "Zhuhuer'er". He said that people with different Taoist views would not agree with each other, and his temperament was not used to Qingliu. He continued, "Xiao Taoyuan was in the southwest beach of Xisha Island at that time.
To annihilate the East China Sea pirates, he asked his cronies to control the pirate ship and pretend that the East China Sea pirates had escaped and went to sea in order to continue extorting money from the kidnapped boy's family. The only thing that surprised him was that he did not know that the robbery in Baisha County was also carried out by this group of pirates.
I didn’t know that Miss Su Mei and I were also on the boat... I think Mr. Hu could have guessed what happened next. Xiao Taoyuan wanted to get the ransom money and kill someone to silence him. Qiao Zhong, Enze and others, I, and I went through all kinds of hardships.
He escaped before he tried to kill people. First, he was afraid that Xiao Taoyuan would send people to kill him and kill him. Second, he was afraid that Xiao Taoyuan would lead his people to go to sea and infest the place with bandits after the incident was revealed. He was also afraid that uncovering the case would not only lead to nothing but
To avenge the injustice, it prompted Xiao Taoyuan to kill the kidnapped boy's family. After we escaped, we set up a suspicion formation to make Xiao Taoyuan think that the boy was kidnapped by other Donghai bandits, and temporarily settled the boys elsewhere. If it hadn't been for this
Even if we meet by chance, we won't let Qiao Zhong and Mr. Hu recognize each other... In order to prevent the incident from being exposed, Xiao Taoyuan sent an additional water camp to Chongzhou in the name of preventing pirates.
In addition to the confidant commander, he also sent several cronies to infiltrate the house of the kidnapped boy. One of the employees in your Hu family sugar workshop was actually sent by Xiao Taoyuan. There may be more, but the manpower I can call upon is limited.
I can’t find out the details.”
Lin Fu didn't mention Changshan Island, and almost everything else was explained to Hu Zhicheng in detail.
Hu Zhicheng never imagined that there would be such twists and turns behind this case. He had given up writing and engaged in business for more than ten years. He had long since lost his enthusiasm for book business and had a clear understanding of reality. A cold sweat broke out down his spine.
Lin Fu has a very high reputation in Jiangning, and Hu Zhicheng, who represents the Hu family and has been doing business abroad for many years, has also heard about it. Lin Fu has become powerful, and behind him there is the upstart of the Chu Party, Gu Wuchen, who can rely on. The truth about the Chongzhou boy robbery has been revealed.
Exposing it would not have any impact on Lin Fu, but now that there is Liu An'er's rebellion in the north of Jiangdong County, and the Donghai bandits in the east, the status of Ninghai Zhenshuiying is becoming increasingly important. It would be okay if this case only involves Xiao Taoyuan.
, Xiao Taoyuan and his close confidants were involved. How could the imperial court take the risk of abolishing the Ninghai Zhenshui Camp or even passing the Ninghai Zhenshui Camp to the Donghai bandits to redress their grievances at this time?
Hu Zhicheng thought through this section, and of course he knew that it was far from time to reveal the truth, let alone leak the news to Xiao Taoyuan and his cronies. This is why Qiao Zhong, Qiao Guan and the Chen Lei family boys have families and cannot return.
In the face of difficulties, he helped his nephew Qiao Zhong to him, pretended seriously, and asked: "How is Qiao Guan..."
"It's just that the tan is darker than mine, but otherwise it's fine." Hu Qiaozhong said, and also told his third uncle the names of the two children who died on the island at that time.
Hu Zhicheng sighed and said sadly: "My Hu family is really in trouble. Today, the mast and sail were broken and fell into the water. In addition to one hired worker, there is also your brother Qiao Yi. If you can't save him, how can I go back to see you?"
Your father..."
"..."
It was easy for "Jiyun 1" and "Jiyun 2" to go out for search and rescue, but it was difficult to return against such a strong wind. They did not return to the river branch until the wind subsided at dusk.
After the rain, the sky cleared up, and the clear sky was covered with clouds. However, it is unknown how many ships were damaged in the Yangtze River by this storm.
Big Loach and the others rescued Hu Qiaoyi, who was clinging to a broken sail mast, and another employee of the Hu family who had fallen into the water in the middle of the river. Fortunately, they were rescued in time. The wind and waves were so strong that even if they caught the floating objects, they would not be able to reach them in time.
Oh, the physical strength of ordinary people is also very limited.
Hu Qiaoyi is a strong young man who has already started a family. He is eight years older than his younger brother Hu Qiaozhong. He has studied for several years. He is not the material for reading. He works in the workshop with his elders in the family. He is also honest and prudent. He is in "Jiyun Yi".
"After resting on the boat, he almost recovered when he returned to the fork of Hexiang. After discussing with Hu Zhicheng, Lin Fu invited him to the Dongyang and asked him to meet Hu Qiaozhong and Chen Enze to tell him the truth about the Chongzhou boy robbery.
.
Hu Zhicheng and Hu Qiaoyi's uncle and nephew were transporting a boatload of cane sugar produced in the Hu family's workshop to Danyang Prefecture for sale. Unexpectedly, the second time they left Chongzhou, they encountered a typhoon crossing the Yangtze River.
The typhoon broke the sail like a hand, lifted the canopy of the boat, and the sugar bags were soaked in the rain. A boat of sugar worth more than 400 taels was completely destroyed.
The Hu family can only be considered a wealthy family in Chongzhou, far from being a wealthy family comparable to the Lin family in Dongyang and the Qu family in Jiangning. In the Chongzhou boy robbery, the Hu family collected two thousand taels of silver to redeem themselves and their vitality was severely damaged. Although the loss of a boatload of sugar
It was very tragic for the Hu family, but we couldn't hide the surprise of learning that Qiao Zhong and Qiao Guan were safe and sound.
This time they met by chance, Lin Fu decided to go to Chongzhou first and send Hu Zhicheng, Hu Qiaoyi and others back to Chongzhou. This time when they were in danger and rescued in the Yangtze River, Lin Fu also had a legitimate name, so he first followed Hu Zhicheng and Hu Qiaoyi.
We have officially established contact with each other, and we are not afraid that Xiao Taoyuan will become suspicious.