"Uncle, now Shen Yichen won't respond to any soft or hard words, so we have to use some ruthless tactics to scare him. Let him have the illusion that his life is in danger, and then he will behave himself and not dare to mention the report from the Censorate again."
In terms of background, Shen Yichen was too powerful. The position of Superintendent of Education alone was enough to suppress the entire Zhenjiang officialdom. If the white way didn't work, they could only go the underworld way and shut up Shen Yichen through other means.
“That makes sense.”
Judge Zhao nodded. He already understood Su Wen's intention.
Indeed, no matter how powerful Shen Yichen's background is, he is just a weak scholar of sixteen or seventeen years old. How strong can his mental ability be?
As long as under the threat of death, Shen Yichen could be made to think that he would be killed if he reported the Censorate, then this matter would be considered a success.
I thought Su Wen was just a trouble maker, but I didn't expect he also had some psychological tactics. It seems he is not so useless.
"This Shen Yichen only brought a servant with him, and it seems that he took a boat north. If I remember correctly, the leader of the Grand Canal Jingkou Gang seems to be familiar with my uncle. How about letting them handle this matter?"
The Tongpan in the Ming Dynasty was in charge of public security and litigation, and was very familiar with all kinds of people, so it is not surprising that Tongpan Zhao knew these gang members.
Of course, if it really came down to it, he knew a lot about Su Wen. But it was better to let Zhao Tongpan do this kind of risky thing. If Shen Yichen was a tough guy who couldn't be scared, the blame wouldn't fall on him.
"This matter still needs to be considered in the long run."
Pan Zhao did not agree immediately. He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Uncle, it's just a matter of coercion and bribery by the underworld gangs. It's not a big deal. Even if it fails, it's the work of the underworld people. What evidence does Shen Yichen have to prove that it is related to us?"
Su Wen's words made Zhao Tongpan somewhat moved.
After all, the threat posed by the three words "Duchayuan" was too great, and no one could guarantee whether Shen Yichen was just talking casually or really intended to report it. In front of his own life and property, he could only take precautions.
"Okay, let's do as my nephew says!"
Judge Zhao gritted his teeth and agreed immediately. Now that things had come to this, he could only help Su Wen clean up the mess.
"Then I'll leave everything to you, uncle."
After saying this, Su Wen smiled, bowed and left.
Although the main reason he brokered this matter was to prevent embezzlement of disaster relief silver and grain, he was accidentally implicated when Shen Yichen reported the matter to the Censorate.
But if he could scare Shen Yichen at the same time, or beat him up to vent his anger, Su Wen would be even more satisfied. Isn't it a good thing to kill two birds with one stone?
Early the next morning, after Shen Yichen had a quick breakfast, he and Aniu left the inn, planning to continue sailing north.
"Brother Chen, I feel like someone is following us?"
Walking on the way to the pier, Aniu looked back from time to time, but found no traces. He could only say something to Shen Yichen in confusion.
"Yeah?"
Hearing this, Shen Yichen also looked back, and also did not find anything unusual.
"Actually, I had this feeling last night, but it was dark and I couldn't be sure. It became more obvious today."
"Brother Chen, do you think it's possible that the group of young masters from last night sent someone to follow us?"
“I don’t think so.”
Shen Yichen shook his head. He had already revealed his background last night. He didn't believe that a small magistrate of Zhenjiang Prefecture would dare to challenge the Censor.
"All right."
Ah Niu was full of doubts. He felt that he had always been quite accurate and should not have made any mistakes.
They walked all the way to the dock. The boatman was waiting at the bow early. When he saw Shen Yichen coming, he immediately called out respectfully, "Mr. Shen."
"You're welcome, boatman."
Shen Yichen waved his hand, then jumped onto the boat. He didn't have so many rules to follow, so he just went as fast as possible.
After all, they had already had some contact yesterday, so the boatman was not too surprised by Shen Yichen's easygoing attitude. After waiting for Ah Niu to get on the boat, they immediately raised the anchor and set off without wasting any time.
At this time, in the distance at the dock, there were several pairs of eyes staring at Shen Yichen. One of them was the two strong men who were assigned to protect Shen Yichen last night.
"Cang Huotou, I think I saw people from the Jingkou Gang following Case Chief Shen. I feel like something is not going well."
"The Jingkou Gang is a black-handed gang that is attached to Su Wen and his group of young masters. Could it be that what happened last night is not over yet?"
Zheng Xiang also discovered people from the Jingkou Gang. He was very familiar with the power of Zhenjiang Prefecture and understood the sphere of influence of each gang and their backers.
"Su Wen's father is the prefect of Zhenjiang. He is usually domineering. Can he swallow this humiliation when he is suppressed by Case Leader Shen in his own territory?"
"So what if he can't swallow it? Does he still have the guts to touch Case Master Shen?"
"Theoretically, no, but who knows?"
As they chatted, the two realized that the matter seemed complicated, so Zheng Xiang said, "Whether I have the courage or not, I think I still have to tell Brother Ye about this matter and see what he says."
"Okay, let's retreat first."
Cang Huotou also nodded. Even if Master Bian had not said that, just based on Shen Yichen's behavior last night, he had already won his respect.
I've seen scholars and men of letters, and there are countless playboys, but I've never seen anyone as gentle and righteous as Shen Yichen. I must protect him!
The urban area in ancient times was not as large as it is today. After the boat sailed a short distance, the buildings on both sides of the river became sparse, and farmland could be vaguely seen in the distance.
At this time, Shen Yichen took out a collection of contemporary essays from his bag and leaned against the boat awning to read the book leisurely. If nothing unexpected happened, this scene would occupy most of the time during the rest of the journey.
I don’t know how long it took, but I saw a few more boats on the water ahead. The boatman didn’t pay much attention at first, but as they got closer, his expression became panicked.
"Mr. Shen, there are several speedboats ahead. I'm afraid they are not good people."
The so-called speedboat is a general term used by boatmen who make a living on the water to refer to boats that are relatively narrow and long in shape and have a relatively fast speed.
This type of ship is not suitable for carrying cargo due to its pursuit of speed. It was originally invented to carry people, but later became a patrol boat of the navy and was more inclined towards military use.
If this kind of boat is found in the canal, it is most likely from a local gang, but less likely from pirates. Regardless of which faction it is, it is not a good sign.
After all, Ah Niu had been in the market before, so when he heard the name of the Clippers, he immediately became alert and even took out a self-defense dagger from his bag in case of emergency.
Before setting out, in order to make his journey easier, he specially changed into a scholar's robe, just to make his identity clear and avoid unnecessary trouble.
But fame and fortune can only protect you from the government, not from bandits, and the other party won't fall for it.
"Brother Chen, if anything really happens, I'll hold them back, and you find a way to leave first!"
What Aniu said was very righteous, but it was just not the right occasion. There was just white water all around , and there was no way he could run away!
In a flash, several speedboats had surrounded the sparrow ship. Shen Yichen could clearly see a dozen burly men in tight clothes standing on the other ship, staring at him and his men with hostility.
The boatman of the Quechuan had been in the canal transport business before and was quite familiar with the forces on this canal. He recognized at a glance that the people on the speedboat were from the Jingkou Gang in Zhenjiang.
Seeing that it was a local gang, the boatman was relieved. Because these days, rabbits don't eat grass near their nests, and compared to the roaming water bandits, the local powerful gangs will leave a way out.
If you are unlucky, you can save your life even if your things are stolen. If you are lucky, you can pay some bribe and be safe.
So the boatman shouted directly to the other party: "Heroes of the Jingkou Gang, we are on a boat going to Beijing for the imperial examination. We hope you can show some mercy."
Generally speaking, gangs would not go too far when they encountered the boats of scholars heading to Beijing for imperial examinations.
First of all, scholars are naturally noble. You don’t know how much power is behind this scholar, and whether there are any bigwigs among his fellow townsmen and the same age.
If things get out of hand and the imperial court sends troops to encircle and suppress them , any gang will be doomed in the face of the state machinery.
The second point is that the scholars would not carry much silver and money with them when taking the exams. It would probably be enough for daily life , unlike merchants who would carry large sums of money for goods.
Considering these two points, robbing scholars who are taking imperial examinations is extremely risky with very low benefits. Anyone with a sound mind will give them a chance.
But this time, something was wrong. When the members of the Jingkou Gang on the Clipper heard that Shen Yichen was a scholar going to Beijing to take the imperial examination, they were not moved at all, as if they had made up their minds.
"I'm afraid you can't lift your hand. It's your fault for offending someone you shouldn't have offended."
After the leader of the Clippers said this, they all drew their weapons in unison, as if they were ready to take someone's life.
So cruel?
Seeing the other party's attitude, Shen Yichen was caught off guard.
At this moment, Shen Yichen has not yet realized that this matter is related to Zhao Tongpan of Zhenjiang Prefecture and Su Wen.
After all, in his eyes, it was just a small conflict, and he used Sun Tixue to suppress the other party. Even if he had resentment and dissatisfaction in his heart, it was far from the point of taking anyone's life.
Seeing that Shen Yichen seemed to be frightened, the leader of the Jingkou Gang revealed a barely perceptible smile at the corner of his mouth.
He was really a weak scholar. He hadn't said anything harsh yet, but he was frightened by the mere sight of the knife. He was really like a silver wax spear head. It was too easy to get the money from Zhao Tongpan.
Just as the Jingkou gang was about to board the ship to continue threatening Shen Yichen, several speedboats appeared behind the Que ship and were speeding towards them. In order to speed up, the boats were even covered with oars on both sides.
Brother Ye was standing at the bow at this moment, holding a steel knife tightly in his hand, with an extremely grim expression on his face.
I was originally preparing for a big battle with the officers and soldiers, but since there are people who are so blind as to dare to provoke Shen Yichen, I will start with the Jingkou Gang in advance!