Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 444: The Attack of Gang Leader Zhao
In this era when the executions after autumn every year were all held at the West Four Archways in the inner city, the Outer City Vegetable Market Street… was the real Vegetable Market Street. Every morning, farmers transporting vegetables to the city to sell and people buying vegetables would crowd the entire street. Apart from that, it had no additional functions.
At this time of the afternoon, the place should be covered with leaves and sparsely populated, but now many people have come here, and the focus is naturally on the men surrounded. At this moment, these people no longer have the bright clothes they had just worn downstairs at Xinglong Tea House. They are all bruised and battered, and look miserable, but they dare not say a word.
It's not that they don't want to talk, but as soon as they open their mouths, they will provoke a greater backlash. Just now, a woman sitting on the ground crying and wailing told the onlookers about how her daughter went out to deliver something to a relative half a year ago and then disappeared. Even at this moment, she was still talking non-stop with snot and tears.
"My daughter... I spent a whole month looking for her in the outer city. We depended on each other for survival, and I almost wanted to die! I almost searched the entire outer city, and finally heard that she was stuffed into a car by a few burly guys who said they were catching runaway slaves. But when I went to the South City Military Department to report it, no one cared! These people are so heartless and worse than pigs and dogs!"
This woman was not the only one who was crying and screaming. In fact, before her, several people had complained that they had lost their children, their wives, their sisters... In short , regardless of whether it was done by these people in front of them, at this moment, many victims vented their resentment and anger on them.
If it weren't for the brave and righteous vibrant social group - that is, the men of the Iron Shirt Gang, who tried to maintain order, those guys who were tied up tightly and couldn't fight back would have been beaten to death long ago!
This noisy situation lasted for a long time, and more and more people gathered around, and the Iron Clothes Gang gradually couldn't hold on. They used to be a small and energetic group that made a living by collecting a small amount of money from the shops in the capital. They were all born and raised in the outer city. Because they didn't have a big backing , they didn't dare to do anything worse, so their scale was not large.
There were only 20 to 30 people in total, and even if they were all gathered here, they had already found that they were gradually becoming powerless. At least for those guys who occasionally rushed forward to punch and kick, they could no longer stop them one by one like they did at the beginning.
There was no way, there were just too many so-called victims. They couldn't even tell which were the real victims, which were those who were trying to take advantage of the situation, and which were those with ulterior motives.
However, thinking of the cold-blooded young man who beat them all up with his bare hands and forced them to submit, everyone had to bite the bullet and continue. Especially Zhao Tieniu, who became the leader of the gang because of his great strength - Tieniu is not his real name, but a nickname he got because of his great strength and fierce fighting - had to fight on the front line.
He stepped forward and used his own strength to hold back those who were punching and kicking to vent their anger. In the past, he used his fists more often than his mouth to reason with others, but today he was extremely earnest: "Okay, okay, mother-in-law, just throw a few punches to vent your anger. If you really want to beat people to death, where are you going to find your missing daughter-in-law?"
"Auntie, you too, stop crying, or you'll tear your eyes out! What, you said the government doesn't care? Pah, this matter has been exposed to everyone, if this government doesn't care, there will be another government! There are many government offices in the capital. I just saw these guys trying to frame a good person as a lowly person, and then they ordered us to parade him through the streets. One of them was the Earl of Weinan. Do you know how high an official the Earl of Weinan is?"
Zhao Tieniu was trying his best to persuade the extremely angry victims, but at this moment, he heard a shout: "Move aside, all of you! Who allowed you to gather in the street to cause trouble! If you don't want to be whipped, move aside! The South City Military Department is doing business, all outsiders, please leave!"
Upon hearing the words "Nancheng Bingmasi", Zhao Tieniu shuddered suddenly. For people like him who make a living in the outer city, any government office is the biggest. Even the unorganized non-regular laborers, such as unpaid laborers and gang laborers, can order him, the so-called gang leader, around, not to mention that the government office is directly in the Nancheng Bingmasi in the outer city.
It can be said that it has always been the sky above the heads of all the people in the outer city!
Therefore, even though the cold boy had given them a very clear assurance, he still couldn't help but tremble with fear. When he saw the crowd involuntarily make way for the South City Army Commander Ma, whom he had only seen from a distance, and a group of soldiers appeared in a swagger, he first swallowed his saliva, then repeatedly told himself that he now had someone behind the scenes, and then he went to meet them.
"Master Ma San..."
Before he could say the second sentence, a whip came down on his face.
Under normal circumstances, Zhao Tieniu would at most swallow his anger and block the blow with his shoulder or other part of his body, but at this moment, he didn't know where he got the courage from... or rather, the anger, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the whip, then pulled it hard, almost pulling the fat and big-eared deputy commander Ma Sanye off his horse!
It was not until he did it that he suddenly realized that the man in front of him was not the powerful enemy he usually called on everyone to rush to deal with during a fight, but the deputy commander of the South City Army. But it was too late to regret now. Seeing the man on the horse glaring at him in a panic, as if he was going to order his subordinates to arrest him, he simply made up his mind and shouted angrily with his chest puffed out.
"Master Ma San, my brothers and I respect you as an official appointed by the imperial court, but you acted so unreasonably right from the start and raised your hand to whip me. You should know that we brothers have just been praised by the Earl of Weinan as brave warriors who acted out of righteousness!"
"These guys have been rampant in the outer city for more than a day or two. They have been kidnapping and selling countless innocent people under the pretext of catching escaped slaves for wealthy families. But you, the South City Army, have never cared about it. Are you trying to show off your power to us today?"
Master Ma San was already shocked and angry. Several flower-shooting gangs that had been active in the outer city for many years suddenly hit a wall. They were caught by Zhang Shou, a doctor of the Imperial Academy, just as the imperial chef selection meeting was about to begin. Witnesses at the scene included Zhang Kang, the Earl of Weinan, Lu Zhu, the son of Lu Wan, the chief priest of the public school, and many businessmen. When the news reached the South City Military Command, he, the deputy commander, was immediately overwhelmed.
He could take money from people and help them get rid of troubles. The fourth master Wang behind the flower-shooting gang urgently sent someone to tell him that he could not sit idly by after receiving too many benefits from them in the past few years. Otherwise, he was afraid that they would reveal the truth and he would be finished too.
Knowing from his subordinates that the trouble was caused by the Iron Armor Gang who made a living in the outer city, Ma Sanye was already unhappy, so he naturally took out his anger on Zhao Tieniu. However, he never expected that the whip, which no one dared to dodge no matter how he swung it in the past, not only lost its deterrent effect today, but he himself was hit by Zhao Tieniu and his face turned red!
"You...you are such a troublemaker, you are so arrogant and bold!"
He usually kneels down many times, and today he just stood up to him in a moment of confusion. Zhao Tieniu simply didn't care about anything and not only didn't speak softer, he even continued to confront him more harshly.
"Am I being arrogant or Master Ma, do you want to favor these flower-shooting gangs? Look for yourself, how many victims there are! Some have lost their daughters, some have lost their daughters-in-law, some have lost their sisters, and as for the poor couples whose children were abducted at a young age, they are all here! This is just the news we just received. If you let people shout it all over South City, how many people can you imagine who will be harmed!"
Zhao Tieniu was chosen to be the leader of the gang because he was strong and brave, and also because he had the ability to negotiate with others. However, at this moment, he was confronting Ma Sanye, the deputy commander of the South City Army, and the people of the Tieyi Gang were dumbfounded. Not only were these people dumbfounded, but some of the onlookers even blurted out "good job".
The people should not fight against the officials. Who could have thought that this small-time man from the city would dare to fight with the famous Master Ma San!
As if emboldened by Zhao Tieniu's confrontation and the cheers from all around, the woman who had been crying and yelling for her daughter on the ground suddenly started shouting too.
"That's right. When my daughter went missing, I went to your Nancheng Military Department to report the case but was driven out. Now these damn thieves have been caught, but you officials are coming to embarrass the heroes who helped them. You must have accepted bribes from those flower-thieves!"
A victim took the lead. Although some people were afraid of the South City Army and dared not speak out, there were more people cheering and making a fuss. Seeing that the voices were getting louder and louder, for a moment, Master Ma San was caught in a dilemma.
He never imagined that the Nancheng Bingmasi, who were respected and feared behind him in the past, would one day be criticized like this!
Fortunately, he was a person who often tried to please his superiors in the past. His knees could bend and his body could bend at will. At this moment, he immediately forced a smile and laughed, "I just heard that something big had happened and got a little impatient. Who knew that I would be blamed like this? Why are you so impatient? I am here to catch the thief and bring him to justice!"
When this storm has passed, I will show you how I will deal with your Iron Clothes Gang and these troublemakers! Even though those big shots are paying attention to this matter now, they don’t have the time to focus on these trivial matters all day long!
Zhao Tieniu knew what kind of person Ma Sanye was. Seeing him acting so pretentiously, he sneered and said, "May I ask, Master Ma Sanye, according to the Ming Dynasty law, how should we deal with these guys for the crime of kidnapping and trafficking?"
Mr. Ma San was just about to say that there was no concrete evidence yet, but he realized that the situation was not good. In addition, when people came to him, they only told him to suppress the matter as soon as possible, but they had other plans for these idiots. His eyes flashed and he immediately expressed his position passionately.
"Human trafficking is intolerable under the law and should be severely punished! If I had come across these guys, I would have beaten them to death! If you, the victims, were unable to bear it and did something extreme, it would be understandable. As the old saying goes, if you have a grievance, you must repay it; if you have a grudge, you must repay it; a gentleman never waits for revenge!"
He said these inflammatory words with confidence, and saw that several victims could not hold back and turned around to make physical advances, especially the woman who had previously accused himself and the Nancheng Bingmasi of inaction, he pounced on her and kicked and beat her. He could not help but secretly hope that the person who would silence them as promised by Fourth Master Wang would be more efficient and quickly kill these greedy fools who caused trouble.
However, the unusual statement of Mr. Ma San had already aroused Zhao Tieniu's suspicion. Especially when he saw that the victims he had just appeased with great difficulty had been provoked again, surrounded and pressed forward, punching and kicking those men, he immediately winked at the members of the Iron Clothes Gang.
This attempt to lure out the snake failed to lead out the accomplices, but led to the government first. Moreover, Mr. Ma San actually swallowed his anger and did not continue to argue with him. Instead, he said that he had a grudge to avenge. This is definitely a problem! Maybe someone is hiding among the victims and wants to silence them!
Although he could not see what was wrong, Zhao Tieniu still knew to be on guard. He retreated without hesitation to the group of people who were tied up like dumplings, and tried his best to stop the victims who were kicking, beating and cursing, and said loudly: "Fellow villagers, calm down. The country has its own laws and the family has its own rules. Don't turn around and cause a death, or you will end up in jail!"
The onlookers were all stunned. The Nancheng Army Commander Sima Sanye, who represented the government, was shouting that he would take revenge if he had a grievance, and Zhao Tieniu, who was usually aggressive and aggressive, was actually trying to calm him down?
This is backwards, right?
Ma Sanye was also pissed off by Zhao Tieniu, but he had already said the incitement, and if he continued, it would be more explicit and might become a handle, so he could only worry secretly. It happened in a flash, and just as he was getting impatient, he suddenly heard an uncontrollable cry of pain.
"Murder!"
Hearing the scream, Master Ma San was not angry but happy, and his spirits were greatly lifted. However, just when he thought that someone had been silenced, he saw the victims who were just venting their anger hurriedly scattered as if they had seen a ghost. Then, when he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw a scene that he had not expected.
But what I saw was a strange young man who easily grasped the wrist of a man holding a dagger with one hand, and then just shook his hand lightly, and threw the guy who was at least a head taller than him heavily to the ground. Finally, he clapped his hands as if nothing had happened.
Ma Sanye was in a state of confusion, but Zhao Tieniu was delighted. He hurriedly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Sixth Master, you are here!"
"The one who shouted murder was trying to silence the witness."
Ah Liu explained the reason for his action in one sentence, and then looked up at the dark-faced deputy commander of the Nancheng Military Division, Mr. Ma Sanye, and said calmly, "My young master said that the deputy commander of the Nancheng Military Division actually encouraged the victims and the suspects to retaliate against each other instead of judging impartially. It would be better for another government office to handle this case!"
