Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 173

Chapter 173 Xu Chengzong (2)
As the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Beijing was only a prefecture city, but because of its vast territory, millions of people, and its special political status, there was an extremely complex and in-place security system. There were no fewer than four officials who could interfere in the security of the city.

The first was Daxing County, the second was Shuntian Prefecture, the third was the Military Department of the Five Cities, and the fourth was the Imperial History of Xuncheng under the Imperial Academy. These four yamens, apart from the first two, were not under each other’s control. They all had the right to take care of people in public security. In addition, the power of the factory guards, who were above the other divisions, constituted such a large and complex system.

However, after decades of friction and cooperation, these yamens still formed a good tacit understanding. In the event of an emergency, they could also react according to their own terms of reference. For example, Shuntian Prefecture and Daxing County would hand over their jobs to the Military Department of the Five Cities in many public security incidents. Only when the case happened near the yamen, or when the people deliberately reported it to the yamen, would the two yamens come forward to deal with it.

A sudden fire like this, because it was located in the western city, a small half of the city from Daxing County and Shuntian Prefecture, naturally, it should be handed over to the local western city’s Military Department to deal with. Even Xu Chengzong, who occasionally came to Beijing for a tour, was well aware of this, so when he saw the fire, Lu Zhen brought these subordinate county government servants to hurry over and felt a little strange.

What was even more strange was that the twenty or so county government servants had actually carried a fire-fighting water dragon. It was as if they had expected such a big fire, so they had made sufficient preparations.

Xu Chengzong didn’t know if there was such a thing as a prophet in this world, but he was sure that a county magistrate wouldn’t have such ability. So when he saw this, he couldn’t help but frown, “Interesting, this county magistrate Lu is always surprising.”

At this moment, Hu Ying, who was sitting at the table, also stood up and looked down from above. “This fire is strange. They came even more strangely. Young Master Xu’s eyes are as bright as torches. It is truly admirable.”

“Boss, you’re flattering me. I’m just looking at it strangely, but I can’t figure out what he’s up to.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but look back at the old man behind him.

Hu Ying smiled calmly as if he hadn’t noticed his doubts. “In Young Master Xu’s opinion, could his plan succeed?”

Xu Chengzong’s lips curled up as he looked at the group of people who had come into contact with the apparently somewhat panicked guards in front of Guang Ning’s mansion. “Well …” If this matter was related to the case of that laborer from before, then County Magistrate Lu would probably run into a wall, “Xu Chengzong said.

Hu Ying oh, he looked at Xu Chengzong with more attention. He originally thought that this young man was just a playboy who liked to make friends and talk, but now it seemed that the real situation was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. No wonder Duke Wei of Nanjing sent him to the capital.

At this time, the situation in front of Guang Ning Bo Mansion underwent some changes. More than ten soldiers lined up, holding spears and blocking in front of their own door. They didn’t ask Lu Zhen and his subordinates to approach, while the county government servants could only helplessly stay in front of the door. There was nothing they could do about it.

Seeing this, Hu Ying raised his eyebrows, but his heart sank. At this moment, Xu Chengzong smiled again, “This Lu Zhen is truly too bold. He actually dares to bring people to forcefully break into the Earl’s Mansion. He doesn’t even think about his ident. I.ty. I.ty. However, his courage is commendable!”

Hearing the praise in his words, Hu Ying said, “Does Young Master Xu intend to help him? After all, you have some friendship with him.”

“That’s right. That day, he even gave me the Heavenly Yard of the Tongzhou Relay Station.” Xu Chengzong smiled and nodded, “Now that he is in trouble, it seems reasonable for me to help him?” As he spoke, he looked at Hu Ying with a faint smile.

Hu only smiled calmly and returned to the table. He poured himself a glass of wine and slowly tasted it, “This fire is getting bigger and bigger. If we don’t let people in quickly, I’m afraid that it will affect the nearby house.”

Xu Chengzong couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth when he heard this. He cursed the old fox in his heart, but he still nodded his head loudly. “It’s still clear to the boss that this young master should help them enter for the safety of the capital. Otherwise, when the people from the Military Horse Division of the Western City arrive, the fire will spread.” After saying that, he stretched his waist and flapped his sleeves. Then, he turned around and walked towards the stairs.

Seeing this, Hu Ying heaved a sigh of relief. Although he could see the clue, for some unknown reason, he was actually willing to help, so this plan could still be carried out.

At this time, Xu Chengzong, who was about to go downstairs, suddenly stopped and turned around. He said to Hu Ying, “Boss, Son of a Thousand Gold is sitting in the hall. It’s better for Huoqi to leave first. This banquet should be placed in your mansion. It’s not convenient to set it up in such a restaurant. When things get here, I’ll visit again.”

Dropping these words, the young noble family’s young master stomped down the stairs, but he stayed in place for a long time with a stunned expression on his face. “This young man is indeed not simple. It turns out that he already saw that this old man has other intentions, and he can actually endure not to say anything all the time.”

Xu Chengzong immediately rushed downstairs, causing the guards below to be shocked. They all stood up in unison, “Young Master …”

“Let’s go and help put out the fire in Uncle Guangning’s mansion.” Xu Chengzong waved his hand and rushed out of the restaurant, heading straight for the smoke-filled mansion.

Those guards wanted to stop him, but they didn’t dare. They could only follow him closely and quickly rushed to Xu Chengzong’s front to help him block the civilians who had fled because of the fire, so that he wouldn’t suffer any injuries.

Under the protection of these ten strong men who were like iron towers, Xu Chengzong was able to easily go up against the current in front of a large number of people and quickly rushed to the gate of Guang Ning’s Uncle Manor. At this moment, the situation here has become somewhat subtle. The two sides are confronting each other, while Lu Zhen is still trying to persuade them, “… the fire is about to spread. If you continue to obstruct it like this, I’m afraid the losses will be great. Can’t we people from Daxing County put out the fire? We have to wait for the people from the Military Department of the Western City to come?”

“This is the meaning behind it. We appreciate your kindness in Daxing County. Please go back. We will save this fire ourselves.”

Lu Zhen smiled bitterly. It seemed that he had thought things through before. Just now, he was clearly going to use this to enter the room, but for some reason, it was discovered that it was the identity of the Daxing County Yamen. As a result, the other party quickly turned hostile, and someone picked up a gun club to block him and the others.

If he had suspected that Tang Qianchuan’s one-sided words might not be trustworthy, then he was eighty to ninety percent certain that there was something wrong with Guang Ning’s Uncle Manor. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have reacted in such a way, and would have blocked the way so forcefully once they knew that they were the Daxing County Government.

However, even if he knew that there was a problem here, it would still be useless if he could not enter. They were simply unable to break through the enemy’s defensive line. Now, they could only rely on Hu Ying’s other arrangement. It was unknown if the Xu Clan’s eldest young master could rush over to help.

Just as he was thinking about it, a rather lazy and arrogant voice came from behind him. “What’s wrong? There’s a fire inside. Instead of going in to put out the fire, you guys just stared at him. Did you start the fire?”

Hearing this, Lu Zhen’s face immediately revealed a trace of joy. He turned around and saw Xu Chengzong, who he had seen before, rushing over lazily. The guards in front of him were stunned. Although they did not remember the identity of this young master, their arrogant and domineering appearance, as well as the guards behind them who were far more capable than him, showed that their identities were extraordinary.

After walking to Lu Zhen and standing still, Xu Chengzong chuckled and swept his gaze across the crowd, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you letting go of the road and going in to put out the fire?”

“May I ask who this young master is?” The leading guard didn’t dare to neglect and politely bowed down to ask.

“My Young Master is Duke Wei’s younger brother. He came to your Earl’s Mansion for a drink before. What, do you want to stop him from going in to put out the fire?” Since his Young Master had spoken, no matter what his intentions were, as a subordinate, they should help him carry it out.

Upon hearing that the person who came was actually the young master of Duke Wei’s family, the few guards who had been quite strong earlier immediately went soft. What a joke! What kind of identities are they? Let alone them, even their uncle wouldn’t dare to offend this young master at will! Although they were both Xun Gui, Duke Wei was so arrogant, and Uncle Guang Ning was only Xun Gui, who had a limited amount of leisure and real power.

Xu Chengzong waved his hand and said, “Go in first.” This time, the guards of the Uncle Manor could only make way. Who dared to stop him from entering?

This compromise gave Lu Zhen and the others a chance. They also followed the Xu Family guards and rushed straight to the gate of the Uncle Manor. Of course, they still called out a few times to put out the fire professionally, as if they were really here to put out the fire.

Xu Chengzong cleared the way into the Earl’s Mansion and turned around to look at Lu Zhen. He smiled and said, “County Magistrate Lu, I didn’t expect that we would meet again at such a time. This time, I will treat you as my master and return the kindness you gave me that day.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhen was stunned for a moment, and then he understood. Obviously, this Xu Clan’s young master was not that easy to fool. However, why would he come to help when he knew that there was an inside story?