The room that Xiaochai entered was the kitchen, so it was inevitable to open the window.
He opened his bright eyes wide, looked around, and quickly slipped into another room.
Someone was sleeping in this room and snoring slightly.
Xiaochai moved silently, first looking on the table, then sneaking to the bedside to search, but found nothing valuable or meaningful. He slipped to the cabinet, glanced at the person on the bed, and silently opened the cabinet door.
The cabinet was darker and he couldn't see anything. He stretched out his hand and groped up and down. There were some papers in the cabinet, which he didn't care about. There were some boxes, which he didn't care about either. He finally touched a cold and heavy box high up in the cabinet.
s things.
He slowly took this thing out. He was shocked to see that it turned out to be a pistol!
At this time, he heard the person on the bed seem to turn over. He hurriedly leaned down and silently pushed the cabinet door open.
17-16
Sujiaxiang, Wanfuju, in the kitchen.
A match was lightly struck, illuminating the dark kitchen.
Liang Mao was holding a gun in his hand behind his back and sitting on a sack by the wall.
This used to be where Uncle Yan slept, and now it’s where he sleeps!
He looked warily at Xiaoyan, Mazi and Xiaochai who had just come in.
Xiaochai touched his waist, took out a pistol in a holster, put it on the small table, and looked at Liang Mao.
Liang Mao picked up the gun, stared at Xiaochai, and asked sternly: "Where did it come from?"
Xiaochai glanced at Xiaoyan and whispered: "Go down to the corner of Bixiang Street, in the small courtyard. Sister Yan didn't know who was there, so she asked me to go in and have a look. I didn't see anything after looking at it, so I took it out
this!"
Liang Mao didn’t need to figure it out. The owner of this gun was Japanese! He was a Japanese spy!
He looked at Xiaoyan and whispered: "This is a Luger pistol. It is a Japanese imitation of a German pistol. Only the Japanese use it. This kind of gun is not used in the Chinese army! That small courtyard must be a Japanese
spy!"
At this time, an imperceptible smile flashed across Xiaoyan's face, calm and cunning.
She asked softly: "Uncle Liang, what do you want to do with the Japanese?"
Such a simple question posed a big problem for Liang Mao. He knew that Chen Zifeng and Xiao Ancheng were both in Changsha, but he couldn't tell them the news! Once he told them, his purpose of coming to Changsha would be exposed! Chen Zifeng and those people
, you will guess in the blink of an eye that he is here to find those two children!
He asked cautiously: "Miss Xiaoyan, what do you want?"
Xiaoyan stared at him motionless for a moment, then whispered: "I want to protect my children! Uncle Liang, when the time comes, I hope you can help us! Will you help?"
Liang Mao may seem rude or even barbaric, but he is actually quite thoughtful.
He vaguely sensed that the girl Xiaoyan in front of him might have already planned her plan! He judged that this plan should be beneficial to the Anjiang brothers and sisters!
He said: "Miss Liao told me when she left that I would protect you! Miss Liao's words are my orders! Don't worry, I will help you! Just tell me what you want to do!"
Xiaoyan didn't speak for a long time, just stared at him motionless!
Mazi and Xiaochai looked back and forth at Xiaoyan and Uncle Liang uneasily, guessing what they were thinking!
However, even after much thought, they couldn't guess what they really thought!
17-17
Around eight o'clock the next morning, against all expectations, a shocking news broke out in Changsha. People from Hongmen found the entrance to the basement of the feudal treasury in the ruins of the former Chief Envoy!
The news was like an explosion, spreading throughout the city instantly! Everyone who heard the news was shocked and excited!
17-18
At about seven o'clock that morning, Du Wancai arrived at the ruins.
He was shocked to see that Bai Chongxin and the white-haired beggar who drank last night were already standing on the street waiting for him!
His mind suddenly flashed, and a premonition came to him so vividly! Damn it! They are so trustworthy! It seems that they will definitely find the basement today!
However, asking the white-haired beggar to speak is a torturous process!
And during the whole process, Bai Chongxin stood by and watched, smiling, but refused to speak!
At first, the white-haired beggar muttered: "I'm hungry, I'm going to starve to death!"
Without saying a word, Du Wancai sent his men to buy breakfast!
A big bowl of noodles! Four meat buns! Two oil cakes! The person who bought the breakfast was so far-sighted that he even bought a pot of tea and a tea cup! He put all the breakfast together in front of the white-haired beggar!
The white-haired beggar didn't show any courtesy, so he squatted on a stone on the street and started eating without raising his head!
He was so furious that he actually ate a large bowl of noodles, four meat buns, and two fried cakes! He drank two full cups of tea before standing up.
Du Wancai thought to himself, now it's time for you, the old man, to speak out!
Unexpectedly, the white-haired beggar patted his belly and said, "Sir, don't eat until you're full! Don't pay for lunch, lunch, or dinner!"
Only then did Du Wancai understand that this old guy wanted money! I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to do anything less!
He gritted his teeth, counted out five hundred yuan from his pocket, handed it to the white-haired beggar with both hands, and added: "Old sir, when we find it, there will be so much more!"
The white-haired beggar took the money, carefully stuffed it into his waist, and walked towards the ruins!
Du Wancai hurriedly waved around, asking his people to follow him. He also followed closely behind the old man, for fear that he would run away!
17-19
The white-haired beggar hunched into the ruins, looked around, and slowly walked around for half a circle, as if observing the ground.
He suddenly pointed forward and said: "From over there to here, from the left hand side, to the right hand side, right here! You can't escape! Sir, just look for it in this area!"
Du Wancai was so surprised that he couldn't believe it. He asked the old man several times before confirming where he was pointing!
Generally speaking, the location pointed by the white-haired beggar is on the east side of the southern half of the former Chief Envoy's Yamen. Across the collapsed east wall, one can see the Dingwang Terrace, which was also destroyed by fire. This area
, about thirty feet square!
Du Wancai had nothing to think about, so he immediately waved to his men to come over to clean and dig.
However, when he looked at the proper and improper position of this piece of land, he still felt a little murmuring in his heart!
The reason why he was muttering in his heart was that the layout of the entire Chief Envoy Yamen did not seem to meet his expectations!
The geography of the Chief Envoy's Office is as follows: Fanzheng Street to the south, Fanhou Street to the north, Dongqing Street to the east, and Liwen Street to the west. The official office of the Chief Envoy, that is, his office, is actually in
The southeastern part of it is generally the area pointed out by the white-haired beggar.
It should be noted in particular that the Liwen Office under the Chief Envoy's Yamen is located in the northwest. Therefore, the street to the west is called Liwen Street. This Liwen Office was later built into the Official Money Bureau, and later became the Bureau of Official Money.
Hunan Provincial Bank!
Not long ago, the head of the Dongqing Gang directed the high officials and other migrant workers to excavate the area around the Liwen Institute.
The streets around this area are normal, but Fanzheng Street in the south is a bit strange.
Fanzheng Street cannot be walked to the end. When you reach the middle, a large square courtyard appears in front of you. There are about a dozen houses in the courtyard. Therefore, when you walk to Fanzheng Street, you can only go around the courtyard on both sides.
.
This square courtyard is called Fantai Yamen by the people of Changsha.
The chief envoy is in charge of the money, grain, and taxes of a province and has great power. The subordinate officials call him "Master Fantai"!
Therefore, Du Wancai always believed that since this square courtyard was the vassal government office, the basement where silver and two copper coins were stored must be here! But his men dug and dug in this area, but there was no trace at all!
Now, the white-haired beggar who once worked in the feudal yamen has been designated as the chief envoy's yamen on the north side, and is leaning to the east side. Du Wancai has been murmuring in his heart! I wonder if his busy work has been in vain!
Unexpectedly, only an hour later, one of his men ran over in panic and whispered: "Sir, please go over and take a look!"
As soon as Du Wancai looked at his eyes, he realized that he had made a discovery, even a major discovery!
Sure enough, when he ran over and took a look, he saw that the ground had been cleared and excavated, and there was obviously a set of stone steps extending downward! It was like the entrance of a hole! The hole was filled with remaining bricks and charred beams!
Damn it! Go in from here, what is it if it’s not a basement?
Du Wancai waved his hand and told the people around him not to gather here, and only designated a few of them to be responsible for digging!
17-20
However, Du Wancai never imagined that there would be countless pairs of eyes staring around just in search of money!
His men reported to him in a low voice! He also quietly arranged for a few people to dig here! But his actions were still noticed by people watching nearby! The news of finding the basement spread out in an instant!
Those who gathered around began to crowd into the ruins, not only wanting to see what was going on, but also wanting to grab a few silver ingots!
The Dongqing Gang soon learned that a basement had been discovered here! They swarmed over with shovels and pickaxes in hand, all looking eagerly, waiting for an opportunity to seize this place!
The soldiers brought by Lian Guozhang rushed over, shouted and pushed on both sides to prevent them from fighting!
He took advantage of the opportunity before chaos broke out and hurried out to make a phone call!
His first phone call was to Commander Luo, reporting that the entrance to the basement had been found here! But favor was overwhelming and he was asked to send troops for reinforcements! Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous!
17-21
After receiving a call from Lian Guozhang, Chief Luo immediately sent a battalion of soldiers to the ruins of Fanzheng Street and ordered them to separate the Dongqing Gang and the Hongmen people, and to prevent the nearby people watching from causing trouble!
He called the police station again and asked them to dispatch police officers to maintain order on the ground!
Next, Chief Luo will have to consider what he should do! Can the army intervene? Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!
He knew that Chen Zifeng and his group had gone to Zhuzhou and would not be able to come back for a while!