It was nearly the second watch when he came out of the British government residence. Zhang Yanling did not go back to his residence, but rode his horse north, heading straight to Chongbeifang. Tonight, he had one more important thing to do.
On the way, Zhang Yanling thought about what happened tonight, and felt quite a bit in her heart. These nobles were really focused on profit, and they were only interested in the present, not a plan. However, right now, she needed them, so she had to get along well with them.
Fortunately, tonight I communicated with the British Duke and Grandson, Ding Guo Gong and his son, and Zhu Lin in advance. After taking care of the two grand masters and the three young masters, the matter was actually not difficult.
Of course, the price paid was that Zhang Yanling informed them of the private deal with Li Dongyang to purchase life-saving powder. He also proposed the idea of three companies buying shares in Jishitang. The shares of Jishitang would be divided into four shares, each owned by the three government offices.
Two percent.
The purpose of this is to further integrate the interests of the three national governments. Although this will cost a lot of money. Every year, 20% of the shares can be divided into benefits of 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver, which is really heartbreaking. However,
Zhang Yanling knew that the deal between him and Li Dongyang would be exposed sooner or later. He could not afford to eat this alone.
It seems that the three government offices have taken away their annual benefits of 70,000 to 80,000 taels in vain. However, the result of the integration of interests will inevitably bring greater benefits than the 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver.
Money is certainly a good thing, but it is obviously more long-term beneficial for the three major government agencies to bind their own interests than to earn more money.
Tonight, if this deal had not been made beforehand, it would have been difficult to finally deal with those princes. If the British public's attitude had not played a role, Xu Yande's words would not have had such a good effect.
…
The night was dark, the waning moon was already setting in the west, and the light in the streets was dim.
In a tavern in a small alley in Chongbeifang, the outer city, the old shopkeeper sat behind the counter and yawned, looking longingly at the man sitting at the small table in the corner.
The man came half an hour ago, ordered a pot of tea, and slowly ate and drank a stack of peanuts. Half an hour later, he still had no intention of leaving.
It's already midnight, and the shopkeeper's business hasn't been very good lately, so he's closing later, hoping to attract some individual customers and earn some income. But it's strange to have just one customer in one night. Usually there are five or so at night.
With six guests, you can earn more or less one or two hundred cents. It was a hell tonight.
The guest only ordered a pot of tea and a plate of peanuts. After calculation, he didn't earn enough money for lamp oil. It was really not worth it to spend most of the night. The shopkeeper mustered up the courage several times and wanted to tell him.
Customer, his shop is about to close. But he doesn't dare.
Because, the guest had a sword hanging on his waist, and he was dressed in black, and his dress was a bit weird. Being in the capital, the old shopkeeper had naturally seen all kinds of people. It was better not to mess with people like this who came out alone with weapons in the middle of the night. Who?
I don't know whether he is a snitch, a police officer, or someone who travels at night in Dongchang. These are all things that cannot be messed with.
He could only wait with a grimace and deliberately yawned a little loudly, hoping to remind the guests that it was late at night and it was time for him to leave.
The sound of more leaks came from far away, and it was already past the third watch. The old shopkeeper had already decided not to close tonight, so he just lay down on the counter and took a nap. He would open again at dawn tomorrow morning.
Just when he was lying on the counter and squinting his eyes to sleep for a while, suddenly the candle on the counter shook twice, and the flame danced brightly and dimly, then returned to normal. The old shopkeeper murmured in a low voice, and in a blink of an eye
Suddenly, he almost screamed.
I don't know when there were two more people in the store. The two people were standing next to the customer with their heads lowered, and the three people were talking quietly.
The old shopkeeper stared at the door. The curtain at the door was low and seemed to be shaking slightly. The two people should have come in through the door, but he didn't see it. What a ghost.
The old shopkeeper listened intently to hear what they were saying, but one of the people standing looked at them with a chilling look. The old shopkeeper was so frightened that he quickly shrank his head and turned away, never daring to look at them again.
"Have you done all the research?" the young man sitting down asked in a low voice.
"Master Hou, we've found out everything. They're all at home." A tall man standing there said in a deep voice.
"Brother Chen, you seem a little nervous." The man sitting down said.
"Master Marquis, a humble position is not about nervousness, but about anticipation and excitement. I have been waiting for this moment for nineteen years." The burly man whispered, his voice a little hoarse.
The young man sitting nodded and said: "I understand. But I am excited, and things have to be done quickly. Originally, I wanted you to wait a few days before taking action. But, I know you can't wait any longer. So tonight
Bar."
"Yes, I don't want to let those two thieves live for a day even in my humble position." The burly man said softly.
"Okay. So what are you waiting for? Let's catch Gao Xie first, and then look for trouble with Mou Bin." The young man stood up, shook his black robe, stood up and strode towards the door. Two burly men followed him.
Behind him, he walked towards the door.
"The shopkeeper." The young man stopped at the door, turned around and called with a smile.
"Hey, is your guest leaving?" The old shopkeeper showed his head from behind the counter.
"Yes, you have been harassing the old shopkeeper for more than an hour, and you have already wanted to close the shop, right? But I am waiting for two friends. I have made you wait for a long time." The young man laughed, showing a row of neat teeth.
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Please go slowly, sir. Please go slowly, sir. I won't send you off," the old shopkeeper said hurriedly.
The young man took out something from his arms, threw it high, and landed on the counter with a clatter. Although the old shopkeeper was dim-sighted, he immediately saw clearly that it was a large silver ingot.
"These ten taels of silver are the reward for annoying the old shopkeeper. After we leave, you can close the shop. If someone comes to ask something tomorrow, do you know what to say?" the young man said with a smile.
"I know, I know, the little old man closes the shop as soon as it gets dark, so he doesn't know anything." The old shopkeeper said hurriedly.
The young man smiled, nodded and said, "Very good. The old shopkeeper is a sophisticated man. I wish you prosperity and great wealth."
As he spoke, the young man stepped out, followed closely by two men. After a moment, he left without making a sound.
The old shopkeeper stared blankly at the swaying door curtain for a moment. Suddenly he grabbed the silver and put it in his arms. He stepped forward to close the door and bolt it firmly. After that, he blew out the lights and sat in the darkness, closing the door.
The ingot of silver in my arms was held tightly, making the palms of my hands hurt.
The clouds covered the waning moon, and the alley was dark and gloomy. Three figures climbed over a fence and entered a courtyard. They went to the back house almost with ease and entered the yard of the main house of the back house.
"Master Marquis, Gao Xie lives in the east wing. When it was dark, I watched him enter the house."
"Okay. He doesn't have any helpers around him."
"No. The tree fell and the hozens dispersed. This guy is no longer under the command of the royal guards, and the guards around him are gone."
"Very good. Brother Zhang, guard the window. I'll go in with you."
The three shadows quickly agreed, and the three of them reached under the long window. One person stretched out a long knife, inserted it into the gap of the long window, and gently moved it. After a moment, there was a click, and the wooden bolt inside the long window came loose. The long window
After being pushed open a crack, two black figures turned over and entered.
In the room, snoring sounded like thunder. Someone was sleeping soundly on the bed. Two black figures slowly touched the head of the bed. One of them raised a long knife and chopped off the sleeping person on the bed.
There was a clanging sound, and fire burst into the darkness.
"You little thief, how dare you come to your master's house to run wild?" someone shouted loudly in the darkness.
The man on the bed had actually woken up and was pretending to be asleep. The sword in his hand actually blocked the slash.
"Gao Xie, your death has come." Someone shouted in a low voice.
"You little thief, there are many people who want to kill your master. Please name them."
Gao Xie scolded sternly, rolled over from the bed and rolled to the ground. He stabbed one of the black figures with the sword in his hand, and at the same time, he quickly retreated towards the window.
"Gao Xie, you are dead. Can you escape a firearm?" Someone laughed in a low voice.
"Who are you?" Gao Xie was panicked. He heard a noise when the other party pried open the window, so he touched the weapon and pretended to sleep. He was ready to kill the other party by surprise when they came to look. Who knew the other party was there?
He slashed without saying a word, and he had no choice but to parry.
With just that one move, he knew that the opponent was not a good person. The blow was so powerful and heavy that his arms were sore and numb, so he decided to escape as soon as possible. So he took the initiative to roll out of bed and escape toward the window.
At this moment, I heard that there were firearms, and I was naturally panicked. Although the firearms were not strong, but at such a distance and in such a small space, I had no way to escape, so I absolutely could not fight the enemy.
"No more company." Gao Xie raised his foot and kicked a chair in the direction of the two black figures. He turned around and ran for a few steps. His fat body jumped out of the window with agility.
Gao Xie jumped out of the long window with his head facing out. He had already smelled the fragrance of the air in the courtyard outside the house. He also thought about it. As soon as his body landed on the ground, he rolled towards the flower bed to avoid possible gunfire from the opponent. Then he stabbed him diagonally.
Rush behind the rockery and escape from the fish pond to the outside of the courtyard. In this way, you can use the rockery to avoid another possible firearms attack by the opponent, because there are two opponents.
After leaving the yard, they could no longer catch up.
However, Gao Xie's thoughts came to an abrupt end in an instant. His head rushed out of the window, but was hit hard by an oncoming black shadow, and then the whole person was forcefully beaten back into the house.
.
The moment before Gao Xie passed out, his mind was extremely clear.
"Son of a bitch, there's someone outside the window."
This was also his last thought activity. Because, the moment his body hit the ground, a black shadow caught up behind him and stabbed out with a knife. The long knife penetrated his back and came out from his chest. Gao Xie's heart was pierced,
Instant death.
"You bitch. You still wanted to escape. He almost escaped." The burly murderous man drew out his long knife, stabbed him again, and cursed in a low voice.
"As expected of a member of the Jinyi Guard, he is so alert. Fortunately, Brother Zhang is here with us. Otherwise, we would really have to use firearms. We can kill him, but it will alarm others, which will not end well." The young man next to him whispered.
"Brother Chen's business is my business. How could I not come? Mr. Hou deliberately scared him to flee. I picked up a mistake and kicked him back. This guy's head is really hard. He can't kick him. The soles of my feet hurt." The man outside the window laughed softly.
"It's getting late, let's go find Mou Bin. Huh? Why did you chop off his head?"
"Master Marquis, I want to take their heads to pay homage to A Ying's soul." The burly man in the room said solemnly, holding Gao Xie's bloody head in his hand.