The river is rushing, the sun is shining, the breeze is stroking the grass and trees in the field, the road is full of horses and horses, and people are walking like a shuttle. Around the Dragon Boat Festival in the fourteenth year of e Jinghan, the capital became lively again.
After experiencing the destruction of Jurchen's southern invasion, the prosperity in the capital this summer was very different from previous years. Business travelers and pedestrians from other places flooded the streets and alleys of Bianliang more lively than in previous years. In and out of the city, people from different directions and with different purposes gathered and communicated all the time.
Abandoned.
On the fifth day of May, Xiaozhufang.
The sun is rising, and the semi-circular building is full of people at this time. On the arena in front of the building, the two warriors were fighting fiercely at this time, and cheers from men and women came from time to time up and down the building.
Small Candle Square was originally one of the most famous brothels in the capital. Today, in front of this building, there is no song and dance performance. Most of the people who appeared and gathered upstairs and downstairs were green forest people and famous martial arts legends. Among them, there were the original boxers and masters in the capital, and the famous veterans of the Royal Boxing Gym, and more of them had different eyes and different body shapes and dresses. Various aliens from the green forest.
Some of them are tall and steady, with young disciples or entourages. Some are armed with swords and arrogant eyes, and they are often young people who have just come out of the art industry. There are monks and Taoist priests, and there are old people and women who seem to be ordinary but are actually the most difficult to deal with. Today, on the Dragon Boat Festival, hundreds of green forest heroes gathered here to add to the green forest conference in the capital, and also seek a way to become famous.
On the front of the floor, there are some officials of the capital, the helmsmen of the big gates, who came to help the platform and select talents. Although it is not during the martial arts campaign, it was only in the middle of Beijing that the military disaster, and the people who practice martial arts have become popular. Hidden in all kinds of things, there are also such grand events unfolding. It seems to be called a martial arts conference. Although the selected person may not be able to convince the public, it is always an opportunity to become famous. The warriors who came to Beijing for a period of time flocked.
Sitting a little bit in the center of the building, there is also a person who is holding a giant sword in his hand, sitting like a pine, and occasionally commenting and discussing with people next to him, that is the Chief Catcher Tie Tianying of the Punishment Department.
At the end of last year, a hundred miles of land near Bianliang turned into a battlefield, and a large number of people migrated away. When the Jurchen attacked the city, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians died in battles large and small. In this way, by the time the Jurchen left, there would already be a large number of vacancies in population and goods in the capital, as well as vacancies in power.
The Wu Dynasty prospered, and people from other places flocked to it.
Merchants seek profit and may fear war, but they will not shy away from opportunities. In the war between the Wu Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, they were also losing ground. After the negotiation, they handed over the annual coins, which was a loss of power and humiliating the country. However, after the two sides exchanged markets, the profits from the border trade filled all the vacancies. The golden man is arrogant, but at most a few times, he may fall into the same cycle again. Although Beijing is not peaceful, how many times will there be such a vacuum in a hundred years
Large merchants from other places focus on the profits of the border trade and mutual market, and small and medium-sized merchants can make a lot of money even if they transport goods to the capital. The nobles and prominent families from other places coveted the power vacuum in the capital at this time, and pushed their officials and merchants to enter the capital, seizing the opportunity and wanting a share of the pie. The literati and scholars who heard about the southern invasion came to the capital with the idea of saving the country in mind, either selling the idea of saving the country, or taking the service of various officials, trying to find an opportunity to become an official. In short, the capital became more and more lively because of this.
The situation on the white road and the bright side has been so prosperous, and the movement in the green forest is not very peaceful. I have learned the arts of literature and martial arts and reported it to the emperor's family. Hug your thighs is often a way of life for people in the green forest. At this time, all kinds of people from the green forest also gathered towards the capital, either alone, wanting to be famous for their martial arts, or gangs big and small, each with their own ambitions. After the Jurchen went, it also played a lot of role in the promotion of warriors, so that recently, in the city and outside the city, every time there was a grand gathering of masters and masters to meet their friends in martial arts, there were some famous martial arts legends, or high-spirited The young man fought hard and made a name for himself in Beijing. e
As for those hidden under this wave of martial artists, assassinations and private fights arising from various struggles for rights and interests have repeatedly erupted and emerged one after another.
The famous green forest legends and characters in Beijing were also greatly impacted. The masters and bigwigs who survived the battle of defending the city are either challenged by newcomers or have quietly retired. The back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, and the new generation buries the old. In fact, there are not many people who can support it during this period of time.
The struggle of the lower-level green forests, the struggle of the interests of the officialdom, and the wrestling of the rich and powerful, during this period of time, intricately gathered inside and outside the city of Bianliang, a city of one million people. At the same time, there are all kinds of new things and new policies. the introduction. More than 100,000 troops gathered outside the city have already begun planning to strengthen the Yellow River defense line. The collection of various voices and information has also brought huge workload and confusing work conditions to officials at all levels in Beijing. Among them, several departments such as Kaifeng House, Xuncheng Division, and the Ministry of Punishment are the most affected. Several chief arresting officers of the Ministry of Punishment, including Tie Tianying, Chen Qinghe, Fan Zhong and others, are already overloaded. Too busy.
There are a total of seven chief arresting officers in the Criminal Department. Usually, Chen Qinghe is the chief arresting officer in the capital, and he manages all major and important cases. It’s just that in the past, there were many major forces in Beijing, but the situation in Lulin was peaceful—sometimes if something really happened, the general arrester of the Criminal Department usually couldn’t handle it. , Tie Tianying, who originally returned to the Ministry of Punishment to report his duties, was left behind. Later, Fan Zhong was mobilized to return to Beijing. They are all first-class masters in the arena and their reputations spread far and wide.
Not long ago, Tie Tianying kept an eye on Qin Mansion and Ning Yi, which was the result of trying to figure out what he liked. The Secret Investigation Division and the Criminal Department had frictions on many matters. At that time, because the Northern Expedition was the main theme, the right minister's house was the holy family of Zhenglong, and even Cai Jingjing voluntarily avoided three points. Wang Qian was even more obedient. In the incident, Tie Tianying was also beaten by Ning Yi once. Now that he found an opportunity, he naturally wanted to find his way back.
After Su Tan'er's incident, Tie Tianying suddenly realized that if the two sides fought to the death, he really couldn't get rid of the other side. He was wary of Ning Yi's eccentric character, but he was wary of Chen Qinghe, Fan Zhong and others. Speaking of which, they felt that he was overthinking things. When it was confirmed that Su Tan'er was not dead, they felt relieved and quickly went to deal with the other things that were piled up in Beijing.
Tie Tianying's side is also under pressure from various things. He is so busy that his head is dizzy, but of course, there are too many things, and there is also a lot of oil and water. Whether it is a wealthy family or a rookie who wants to make a big career, he must stand firm in the capital. , In addition to daring to fight and fight hard, who can not give a little face to the Ministry of Punishment and dredge the relationship.
During the banquet, receiving money and getting hand cramps, or wooing and encouraging newcomers with backgrounds, or beating guys who have crossed the border, Tie Tianying has always been afraid of Ning Yi's side. However, since Qin Shaoqian was imprisoned, the case of the Right Prime Minister has been dug deeper and deeper. Many people who were still on the sidelines have already recognized the situation and began to join the ranks of the inverted Right Prime Minister. , that is, the rivers and rivers of the Right Prime Minister's line are declining and gradually collapsed.
As Ning Yi said that day, seeing him rise up the Zhulou, seeing him banqueting guests, seeing his building collapse. To onlookers, each power alternation seems to be vigorous, but in fact there is not much surprise. Before Qin Siyuan was imprisoned or at the beginning of his imprisonment, there were still a lot of activities in the Right Prime Minister's family, and others were still watching the situation. In the court of the Wu Dynasty, under the joint suppression of the Cai Department and the Tong Department, there were very few ministers who could resist.
With the imprisonment of the Right Prime Minister, the most deeply involved is the Yao family, a prominent family in the capital. As the great Confucian Yao ancestors descended, many children of the family were arrested by the Ministry of Punishment, and the foundation of their footing was shaken. Zen Master Jue Ming, who had a deep relationship with the Qin family, was ordered to reflect in the temple soon after, and could no longer come forward to run. Some disciples and family members who had a close relationship with Qin Siyuan were more or less affected. As for Ning Yi, in the April and May when there were many rookies in the capital, the Zhuji under his command were also closed everywhere.
If not for Cai Jing, Tong Guan and others who paid attention to this person, under the background of the downfall of the Right Prime Minister, there might not be many people who would notice this faction related to the Right Prime Minister. No matter how big the business of Zhuji is, the identity of a businessman will not attract too much attention. Every major door has such a doorman, but he is just a pawn under the door. It was also under the attention of Cai Jing, Tong Guan and others that officials such as Wang Hao noticed the most special one among the Qin family's staff. There are achievements. It's just that after the initial run, this person quickly settled down, especially in late April, when his wife survived by being affected, and the power under his command quickly fell silent on the lively stage of the capital. What are you planning to do again.
Everyone turned their attention back.
Only Tie Tianying still has a heart at this time. In the capital, "Taiyi" Chen Jianyu became famous, Tang Hensheng, "Dongtian Shenquan" of the Southern Green Forest, and his disciples played 18 martial arts gymnasiums in a row, the heroes of Longxi entered Beijing, the Daguang Sect began to spread to the capital, and they fought twice a day, etc. In the background, every time he passed the closed Zhuji store, he had a bad premonition floating in his heart.
At the level he once knew, in the past few years, thanks to the power of the Right Prime Minister, Ning Yi, the "heart demon", has played a pivotal role in Bianliang. Although he didn't mess around with naive things like kicking the pavilion, no one dared not give Zhuji face among the few bigwigs in the capital back then. Of course, there is a reason for the right minister's face, but there are many people in the green forest who want to kill him and become famous. When he enters the capital, he often has no return. He had a festival with Lin Zongwu, the leader of the Daguang Sect, and he was even able to spend the past two years. The Great Light Sect is firmly pressed in the south and cannot go north, this is the strength.
For Cai, Tong and other big figures, they are too lazy to look at this kind of unpopular strength, but after the fall of the right-hand man, he retained the most power on hand. Although Zhuji's store was shut down and many people left it, its core strength has not been passive.
In terms of Tie Tianying's understanding of Zhuji in these days, the structure of this shop established by Ning Yi is very different from that of the outside shop at this time. Although the origin of its internal employees is three-in-one, but after entering Zhuji, after passing through. A series of "showing favors" and "giving favors", the core members are often particularly loyal. In the past few years, most of them have lived together one by one, living and encouraging together, meeting and chatting together every few days, performing shows or competing with each other every few days.
They have experienced several big events, including the early disaster relief propaganda, and later the fortification of the wall, the resistance to the Jurchen, and the internal propaganda of these events by Zhuji. If it weren't for the absence of teachings like Manichaeism and Great Light Sect, Tie Tianying really wanted to make them into an underground cult and report the past to the top.
During this period, the guards belonging to Zhuji were exceptionally tenacious, and some of them believed in Buddhism, and their gods and gods talked about it. The Ministry of Punishment has preliminary information that they were once the surrendering bandits of Liangshan. But these people take pleasure in self-abuse when they fight with others, and they are not afraid of death, which is extremely troublesome. The other part is the green forest warriors that Ning Yi took in one after another. After several major incidents, these people's loyalty to Ning Yi has risen to the level of worship. They often think that they are serving the country, the people, and the world. Tie Tianying scoffed at the battle, but he had no idea what to do if he wanted to rebel.
Together, these people have rarely met opponents in Beijing, and at this time, many of the remaining people have even faced the test of the Jurchen on the battlefield. Right now, there are many rookies in the capital, but they have already restrained themselves and are hiding in the dark. Ever since Ning Yi said to him, "I won't give you the head of Fang Qifo again", Tie Tianying has always had a hunch that that man will never let it go.
Even if his wife is safe, he will choose revenge.
Because of this feeling, in these days at the end of April and the beginning of May, on the one hand, he was dealing with various things in the capital, and on the other hand, he was also trying to investigate and infiltrate Zhuji, and find out the thoughts and arrangements of the other party. It's a pity that after the Jurchen attacked the city, the Ministry of Punishment was no longer enough, and he didn't have much energy to do this for the time being. When Chen Qinghe and Fan Zhong were unwilling to swim in the muddy waters, at the end of April, he wrote another letter to Zong Feixiao, asking him to pay more attention to the movements of Zhuji.
It was Zong Feixiao who forced Su Tan'er into the river a few days ago. If Ning Yi wanted to take revenge, he would definitely bear the brunt of it. Tie Tianying believed that Zong Feixiao would understand how powerful it was.
On the one hand, these things are being done, and on the other hand, the trial of Qin Siyuan in Beijing seems to be coming to an end. Bamboo notes up and down, still no movement. On the Dragon Boat Festival, Tie Tianying was invited to the martial arts conference in Xiaozhufang, and he heard people talk about Ning Yi again.
That person was a famous guest from Huainan Green Forest, Ren Hengchong, nicknamed "Red Fist". After entering Beijing, he picked two famous masters and commented on the martial artists in Beijing. He has the notoriety of 'inner demon', this person hid in the capital, and committed all evils under the influence of the Right Prime Minister. During this period of time, the dragons and tigers gathered in the capital and the situation changed, but I never heard his name appear."
Someone next to him said: "This person is famous for his power, but now the right side has a bad reputation, and his reputation is ruined. He is a lackey, and he dares to come out again. Not to mention I have heard the name of the devil, and he mostly uses the sidelines to win by taking advantage of the situation. Anyone with knowledge is disdainful of him. Now that all the heroes in the capital are gathering, this person is probably hiding."
"He is indeed hiding." Someone spoke up not far away. This person was holding a sword and his body was as tall and straight as a pine. He was the "Tai Yi" Chen Jianyu, who had become famous in Beijing in the past two months. His nickname was originally "Tai Yi Jian". Later, people thought that this person already had the word sword in his name, so they removed the sword from the nickname and used "Tai Yi" as the nickname. momentum.
Everyone looked at him, Chen Jianyu looked at the fight on the ring, and said: "This demon lives in Beijing, if you want to inquire, it is not a secret, he lives in Huangbai Hutong, the mansion is strict, probably afraid of people To seek revenge, I don’t dare to be famous. Recently, a lot of people have come to challenge. I went there yesterday and dignifiedly put down the gauntlet. Humph, this person dared not fight, only dared to come out as a housekeeper to answer... I have heard people say this in the past. Inner demons kill nothing in the green forest, and it is faintly possible to compete with Zhou Dong and Zhou master for the best in the world, only this time I know that it is not as famous as meeting."
"Hahahaha." The "Red Fist" Ren Hengchong laughed loudly, "The number one in the world, how could it be his turn. In the green forest back then, there were rebels Fang La and Fang Qifo named Zhentiannan, although they were rebels , Martial arts are really high and strong, Sikong Nan is very light and powerful, the search for the gods is invincible, Zhou Zongshi is invincible, although the red face and white head are short-lived, but it is also a solid name. What is going on now, a famous person with scheming How could he be touted as the number one in the world? In my opinion, now in Lulin, all these great masters have become yellow flowers, but a few of them can compete. When Nai Shi took revenge, he personally beheaded Sikong Nan, which is one of them..."
"If I really want to say that I am number one in the world, this old man knows one person, but he does his part." Before Ren Hengchong finished speaking, someone at a seat not far away interrupted him and interjected. It was Tang Hensheng, who was known as the "Dongtian Shenquan". This man founded the "Dongtian Martial Arts Academy". He had many disciples in the southeast and was well-known. At this time, he said: "To be the first, Lin Zongwu, the leader of the Daguang Sect, is not only a martial artist. Gao Jue, who is upright and kind, and who is desperate to save the poor, is now number one in the world, and apart from him, there is no second person to be."
That Ren Hengchong said: "Old Tang, the number one in the world, you can only know it by playing it, but it can't be counted by character."
Both of them are famous for their boxing skills. Although Tang Hensheng is highly skilled and famous, Red Fist is not easy to get along with. People in the martial arts, don't show signs of it, it's not a strange thing. At this moment, Tang Hensheng smiled: "Brother Ren, what do you think of Tang's kung fu?"
In this matter, Ren Hengchong did not want to offend him too much, so he bowed his hands: "Master Tang's boxing skills have reached the realm, and Ren is also a boxer, so I admire this."
Tang Hensheng smiled proudly: "Tang's kung fu is not the best in the world, but he already recognizes the realm of kung fu. At the beginning of last year, Tang joined hands with the leader of the Great Bright Sect, Lin, and a few years ago , Tang Mou also asked Zhou Dong Zhou to teach boxing techniques. To be honest with you, Tang Mou lost twice, but he can talk about whether the martial arts level is high or not."
The iron-armed Zhou Dong, and the leader of the Great Brightness, Lin Zongwu, these two, one after the other, can be regarded as people standing upright in the green forest. Tang Hensheng was able to join hands with these two one after another, and it was no wonder that he was able to fight all over the capital at this time. Everyone was yearning in their hearts and stopped to listen to him.
I just heard him say: "Master Zhou Tong Zhou, Tang has always been very respected. In terms of martial arts, these two have reached the realm of transformation, but if you really want to judge the level, Tang believes that the martial arts master Lin has cultivated. For Kuanggushuojin, he is still half a step higher than Master Zhou. You have never been fortunate enough to join hands with Master Lin. If you have the opportunity in the future, you may take the initiative to ask him for advice. Master Lin is an open-minded person with an open mind. , Not only is he not annoyed, but also has a lot of advice for the people who he is discussing with him. Tang Mou has been instructed by Master Lin and has benefited a lot. His subordinates are full of talents, such as Crazy Tiger King Nanda, Kuaijian Lu Bingyuan, Monkey King Li Ruo The lack and others are all masters at the master level... It seems that today we are talking about the inner demons, but they are only native chickens. But since we talked about it today, I might as well go to the inner demon residence in the past two days and go down to it. A gauntlet, a challenge."
Tang Hensheng said this while making a proposal. Right now, everyone here wants to be famous. For example, "Tai Yijian" has not gathered everyone to challenge before, so others don't know that he challenged the demon of the heart and was avoided by the other party. It is a pity that this time Speak up at the rally. Someone suggested this time, and everyone responded one after another, and decided to go to the Demon's house tomorrow to challenge him.
Hearing them summing up like this, Tie Tianying's heart moved, and he intuitively felt that Ning Yi would not be moved by it at all, but in any case, if he could cause some trouble for the other party and force him to go crazy, he might be able to find the leak and catch it. If you keep some handles of Zhuji, you may also have the opportunity to see the hidden power of Zhuji at this time. Thinking like this, he immediately encouraged him.
Of course, these people are also unreliable forces in Beijing. Neither they nor Tie Tianying thought that a few days later, a huge battle involving the power of Zhuji that they could not get involved in appeared in front of them.
All of this started when the Qin Siyuan case was finally settled. Although there were some clues in the subsequent development, it was beyond Tie Tianying's expectations...
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