The whitewashed wall area in the north of the city is where the families of officials gather. It is originally very prosperous, and it is protected by patrolmen, so it has always been peaceful.
But at this moment, there was a cry.
Although the local people knew that such an incident had nothing to do with them, they did not dare to get closer to take a look. Even the brave ones stayed far away and stretched their necks to look at the place where the incident occurred.
There seemed to be a dense crowd of people standing in front of the screen wall of the county captain's mansion. Some of them were obviously servants sent by the Yamen, standing in front of the gate with their hands down.
There were even more troops lined up in two rows, holding spears and knives, full of murderous intent.
With eyes focused on the mansion, armored soldiers rushed in. The man waved his hand and said sternly: "Immediately surrender and kneel on the open ground!"
An old man was horrified at first, and then yelled: "I am a Juren, and my son is the eighth-rank official of the imperial court. You have no right to arrest me without the imperial court's order!"
The slaves in the house subconsciously stood in front of him.
"prick!"
The spear stabbed straight, and only a few popping sounds were heard. Severe pain immediately spread throughout the body. The person resisting in front looked at the big bloody hole in his body, screamed miserably, and rolled back and forth on the ground.
ah!
Seeing this tragic scene, the people who had been close to him immediately exploded, and a large group of people fled, several of whom were obviously warriors.
"kill!"
The army didn't care whether it was intentional or not, they just listened to the order and struck again with seven or eight spears.
Another scream came, and the two people rushing in front were pierced by several spears. The old man looked at the situation in front of him, dumbfounded, and furious: "How dare you kill people without trial..."
Before he finished speaking, an armored soldier rushed forward and faced a heavy spear. Immediately, the old man spurted out a mouthful of blood, fell to his knees involuntarily, and screamed loudly!
"No one can act rashly, otherwise they will be killed without mercy!"
The armored soldiers who broke in all had livid faces, and their swords shone coldly in the sun.
"come out!"
"ah!"
Another one was pulled out of the secret room, and the armored soldiers pulled his hair and dragged him hard.
Naturally, the armored soldiers would not be polite to those who refused to drink the toast and were punished with wine. If they walked too slowly, they would hit them hard with their spears.
puff
Anyone who was hit, even a young and strong man, could not help but turn pale and cry out in pain.
If it were a female family member, she would be really hit and staggered, or even fall to the ground, looking miserable.
The soldiers also treated the female relatives without mercy.
Anyone who sees this scene, as long as they have some knowledge, will know that the people in this house are really in trouble this time and are in doom.
Because there is a set of unspoken rules that most people will abide by in the officialdom, that is, as long as there is a little room for tolerance, those who are responsible for searching homes or arresting will treat the same officials and their families with a little leniency, so as not to cause trouble.
Too ugly.
After all, it is this family’s turn today, who knows whether it will be my family’s turn in the future?
The head of the house is the county captain Xu Lu!
Although the county lieutenant is from the eighth rank, like the chief secretary, he is a person who assists the county magistrate, but he has more real power than the eighth-rank county magistrate.
After all, the head of a county is the county magistrate.
The county magistrate is regarded as the chief, and the county magistrate is regarded as the deputy chief, which seems useless. Sometimes there are even some conflicts with the county magistrate that are not brought to the table, and most of them are ignored.
The chief clerk and the county lieutenant are both civil and military, and they really handle the specific work.
As long as the county magistrate has the means to control his subordinates, the chief registrar and the county lieutenant can become the county magistrate's right-hand man.
The county lieutenant serves as an assistant to the county magistrate and is in charge of public security and catching thieves. Generally, he can handle both black and white in the local area.
It's not that such a person has no room for maneuver, it's impossible for him to make things like this.
More than twenty people have been found.
"Where is Xu Lu?" Fang Xi glanced gloomily, but did not see the most important person, the county captain.
"Master Fang!" As he spoke, a catcher trotted over. He was only about forty, and he was very capable and quick. "The person must be inside. If you can't catch him at the moment, there is a secret passage."
"But this place is close to the river, and there is a lot of water in it, so the secret tunnel cannot be dug long."
"The humble position has sent people to listen to the underground, and has set up defenses at several points around it. As long as it shows up, it will be captured naturally!"
Life is seven feet long and cannot be hidden in the world.
Fang Xi used to read legends and miscellaneous notes, and naturally underestimated the yamen's arrest of the head. Now that he has been a real official and done a lot of errands, he truly understands that strategies for big things may have flaws, but tactics for small things rarely have flaws.
The people below are doing everything possible.
And what I can drive is this official body!
Although he realized this, Fang Xi remained calm with no expression on his face: "Take it quickly, don't cause any problems!"
"Yes!" The catcher bowed in response, stood up and issued orders repeatedly. In just a moment, a small but sufficient net had been laid.
"Run away!"
A middle-aged man crawled in the underground path with a livid face, followed by a young man.
This secret room is different from the previous secret room that was quickly discovered by the soldiers. It is more hidden. It is located under a big bed and leads directly to the outside of the mansion.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the owner of the family, the county captain himself, was ready to escape through the secret passage.
"If I escape, I will have a way to survive!"
If the official court locked him up, he would have no intention of resisting or escaping, but this was not the case. This was just a battle of wits between the emperor and his grandson.
As long as you escape and wait for the emperor to win, not only will you be innocent, but you may also be able to get promoted and make a fortune.
As for the family, as long as they are not caught, they will only suffer some pain and will be fine.
"Just wait, all this will be repaid to you tenfold!"
Even if he had a grudge, out of bureaucratic instinct, Xu Lu did not dare to hate his grandson before the emperor deposed him, but he hated Fang Xi and Zhang Dai to the core.
When there were cries outside, Xu Lu had climbed to the other end of the secret passage.
But when he pushed it upward, the exit that should have been pushed open from the inside was easily pushed.
Xu Lu's expression changed, he realized something was wrong, and immediately stepped back, but it was obviously too late.
"Sir, this is indeed a secret passage..." A voice came from outside.
After a cup of tea, Xu Lu was dragged out of the house like a dead dog.
Among the people who were taken out, Xu Lu still managed to retain some dignity. The one who was dragged out after him had his hands and feet twisted unnaturally, and even his bones could be seen.
"Ouch! That person, is that person dead?" Someone in the distance stretched his neck to look, with a look of shock on his face, and asked in a low voice the person who was also looking at him.
"It's not dead, look, it's still moving!"
"What's going on with him?" the head catcher who came over asked after glancing at him.
Someone who was responsible for escorting him out of the government office replied: "This boy is very loyal. He still wants to protect his master to this extent. If I break his hands and feet, don't worry, he won't die."
"Just don't let him die. All of them, especially the men, may be accomplices. No one can be spared. Those who are still alive must be taken back smoothly."