Chapter 9 Chapter 8: Kidnapping in Jinmen

one When Wu Ye and Wu Niang went to Tianjin, Dai Ying tried his best to dissuade them.Tianjin Wei Wharf was originally no more complex than the capital, and it is more complicated and unpredictable. Now the people are in chaos, the foreigners are screaming, and the market is very unstable.Why would you be interested in traveling at such a time?Dai Ying even said: In case of an accident, it is really difficult for us to explain to the old man.Unexpectedly, it was unfortunate! At first, Wu Ye was not very stubborn, but Wu Niang insisted on going.Wu Ye loved Wu Niang very much, and he had to agree to Wu Niang's going.Besides, Wu Niang's reason can also hold a little bit: it's a pity to go out after a long time, and it's a pity not to go to Tianjin after arriving in the capital.

Women are not like you guys, they go out as soon as they say they go out, they come for the first time, and don't worry about coming for the second time.It is said that Tianjin Wharf is in chaos, so why don't we continue to do business with our name?Let's go to Tianjin without ostentation or messing with anyone.As the saying goes, we are not gray people who have been smashed by cliff heads for thousands of years. If Tianjin Wharf does not mess with others, it will mess with us? With that being said, who would have the nerve to block it?Dai Ying admired a beautiful young woman who could say such open and generous words.

It's not a business name's business for the owner to travel around, and once it's spent, it doesn't need to be burdened by the business name.Fifth Master brought his own silver deposit book, how much he spent, and how much he wrote down.The fifth father and the fifth mother are all the kind of elegant and quiet young masters, not frivolous and flamboyant, let alone shouting and drinking.After arriving in Beijing, I only care about my family having fun and playing very happily. Not only do I not get involved in brand affairs, but I seldom bother with brand names.The more this is the case, the more the friends in the Beijing account miss the loving young couple of the boss.It is reasonable to be afraid that something will happen to them.

I have been traveling in Beijing for more than a month, and nothing has happened.Wu Niang is an unusually beautiful young lady. She deliberately wore very ordinary clothes, and she also seemed to deliberately tan her face, but she was still energetic.On a hot day, they can't stop their wandering, whether it's far or near, whether it's worth it or not, let's go.Wu Niang also said that she specially chose summer to come to the capital, and hot weather has its benefits.Others don't know what the benefits are, but they look like they don't want to leave. It's only been a few days since I went to Tianjin Wei, and this happened!

This surprising news was sent by telegram from the Jin number, with only a few words, and no details are known.I don't know which fairy is the ticket for, what is the asking price, what is the situation of the fifth master, whether I have sent a telegram to the old account and Hankou, I don't know. This is an urgent matter of life and death. Even if the old man of Laohao, Kangfu, and Hankou got the news, it would be difficult to save the fire from afar. Recently, Jing Hao must do his best to rescue Wu Niang. After Dai Ying received the telegram, he immediately called back to Jinhao: No matter how much the asking price is, quickly transfer money to save people.

Liu Guofan, the old gang member of Tiancheng Yuanjin, is a relatively reckless person, and he is often greedy in business.Dealing with this kind of thing must not be rash.Dai Yingsi thought again and again and decided to go to Tianjin himself.This kidnapping case obviously wasn't just for Wuye Wuniang.Is it against the Kang family, against Tian Chengyuan, or against the Taigu Gang, or even the entire West Gang?It's hard to say.Since the establishment of Tianchengyuan, such a thing has never happened! The distance between Beijing and Tianjin is only more than 200 li. If you hire a standard car, you can travel day and night, and you can reach it in a short time.

Before heading to Tianjin, Dai Ying rushed to see Ma Yukun, the admiral of the Nine Gates of the capital.In case of kidnapping, of course, it is not advisable to report to the official first.But the Kang family has friendship with Lord Ma Yukun.When Ma Yukun was suppressing the bandits in the Northwest, when the army's salary was in danger, he often borrowed money from the Xibang bank. Among them, Tian Chengyuan of the Kang family was a very generous family.In the 20th year of Guangxu, he was transferred back to Zhili by the imperial court. Soon after, he was awarded the Taiyuan Town Council, and had more direct contacts with the Kang family.Especially with Mr. Kang, they have the same aura and have a very close friendship.With such a level of relationship, in such a crisis, going to ask for help, of course, is to ask for a surefire solution.Mr. Ma really gave face, not only summoned him immediately, but also wrote a letter to Tianjin General Soldier.The hand order is to let the General Bingxie take the kidnappers.Dai Ying took the letter, thanked him, and hurried out.He knew that such a handbook should not be taken out lightly unless it was absolutely necessary.

With this handwritten letter and the 50,000 taels of money order from Beijing, Dai Ying rushed to Tianjin overnight. That day, Wu Ye and Wu Niang left the inn, and each of them sat in a small sedan chair to watch the ships by the Haihe River.Wuye's sedan chair is in front, and Wuniang is behind.The attendants in the sedan chair, a maid and a bodyguard all came from the Kang family.Of course, they did not only take these two servants with them when they traveled far away, but in order not to show off, the rest of the servants stayed in the inn. The journey was peaceful and quiet.When they reached the Haihe River, Wuye's sedan chair stopped, but Wuniang's sedan chair did not stop, and they continued to move forward.

The maid, Mrs. Yu, shouted: Here we are, here we are. The two bearers didn't listen and went on. Bodyguard Tian Kun ran a few steps and stepped forward to stop. This time, the sedan chair stopped, but when the curtain of the sedan chair was raised, the protruding head and face was not Wu Niang, but an elderly man.He was very angry and asked: Who is so bold, dare to block my sedan chair! Tian Kun froze for a moment. At this time, the fifth master had already got off the sedan chair.Seeing that it was not Wu Niang sitting in the sedan chair, I panicked: Where is Wu Niang's sedan chair?Why didn't you follow up?

Tian Kun also panicked: he kept following closely, why did he just stare and search around, where are there other sedan chairs! Aunt Yu even said: Don't be dazed, go find it quickly! The two bearers who carried the sedan chair for the fifth master said, "It doesn't matter, maybe they got lost somewhere."The bearers are our own brothers and cannot be lost.Gentlemen, please wait, we will welcome you! After finishing speaking, the two of them first compensated the sedan chair owner who got in the wrong way.The old gentleman sitting in the sedan chair had a gloomy face, muttering something, and got back into the sedan chair.After people got up in the sedan chair and continued to move forward, the two bearers followed the original road to look for Wu Niang, but they disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Fifth Master and two servants waited for a long time with an empty sedan chair, no matter how anxious they were, they just couldn't wait for anything.The bodyguard Tian Kun really panicked. Have you met a villain?Are these four sedan chair bearers a gang of villains?Just looking for it, just go to a bearer, and you can take two people together, so you don't need the sedan chair? It wasn't until this moment that Tian Kun realized that the sedan chair following Fifth Master was also cheating.But there is no trace of it!Most of the sedan chairs belonged to them.How could it be such a coincidence that Wu Niang's sedan chair followed the wrong path, and it just followed, and it was exactly the same as Wu Niang's sedan chair?If it wasn't exactly the same, he should have discovered it long ago.God, Wu Niang's sedan chair was obviously transferred by the gangsters! When did this group of gangsters adjust the bag?Changing the package right under the noses of him and Mrs. Yu, without even noticing it?He hasn't left even a single step along the way? Tian Kun didn't dare to think about it anymore, knowing that he had caused a catastrophe.He was not familiar with Tianjin, and now he was alone, how could he chase the criminals?It is urgent to protect Fifth Master, and return to the inn safely first. Tian Kun said as calmly as possible: Wuye, Wuniang can't find us, so she probably wants to go back to the inn.We don't have to wait here anymore. Sister-in-law Yu said: Wu Niang lost her way, and the two who carried the sedan chair for Fifth Master lost their way too?They couldn't find Wu Niang, so they should come back, why didn't they even find a trace?Is something wrong? Tian Kun hurriedly said: "It's broad daylight, and it's in a bustling city, what could happen!"In my opinion, let's go back to the inn first.Wu Niang went back to the inn, but she couldn't wait for us, so she was even more anxious. The fifth master said: I will not return!I'm not going anywhere!Where did they carry Wu Niang?Are you all the living dead?No one followed Wu Niang! Aunt Yu said: Tian Kun, hurry up and look for it! Tian Kun said: The streets in Tianjin are full of splinters. If I find the wrong way again, Wuye will not even have an errand runner. How can it be possible?Fifth Master, if you make such a mistake, it's all useless to me, let Fifth Master punish you.The remedy for the moment, I think, is to ask Mrs. Yu to stay here, and I will wait for Master Wu to go back to the inn The fifth master said repeatedly: I won't go back to the inn, I won't go back!If I can't wait for Wu Niang, I won't go anywhere! Tian Kun said: "If Wu Niang returns to the inn and waits until she doesn't see us, she comes out to look for us, and then goes astray, wouldn't that be the case?" Aunt Yu also said: It's not a problem to stay in the sun all the time on a hot day.Fifth Master will go back to the inn first, I will guard here, don't you feel relieved? I'm not going anywhere!God, where did they take Wu Niang? The fifth master is like this, the bodyguard Tian Kun really has nothing to do.The two bearers are still nowhere to be seen, it seems that there is a lot of bad luck.We can't delay like this any longer, we have to report to Tianjin as soon as possible.Tian Kun couldn't think too much, so he said to Wu Ye: "Fifth Master, I'm going to find Wu Niang!"Sister-in-law Yu, wait for Fifth Master to sit back in the empty sedan chair, wait patiently, don't go anywhere, don't believe anyone's words, just wait for me to come back. After speaking, he ran away. The Kang family's Tiancheng Yuanjin is on Zhenshi Street.Because he was not familiar with the streets of Jinmen, he had no choice but to run back to the inn along the way he had come, and then ran from the inn to Jinhao.There was no sign of Wu Niang on the road or in the inn! After hearing the report from the bodyguard Tian Kun, the old gang of Liu Guofan of the Jin number suddenly changed his face: I'm afraid something happened! As soon as the fifth master arrived in Tianjin, Mr. Liu suggested that he should hire a few more bodyguards from the bodyguard bureau to follow him.Fifth Master and Fifth Niang just refused, saying that would be too ostentatious and would attract more attention instead.They also don't seem to want strangers to follow them, to restrict their pleasure.Something happened unexpectedly.It is useless to say these things. After discussing with Tian Kun for a few words, he personally led people to the Haihe River.Hurry up, you have to invite fifth master back first. When they arrived, Fifth Master and Yusao were still guarding the empty sedan chair, but Fifth Master's expression was a little crazy.While Mr. Liu was talking to Master Wu, Aunt Yu pulled Tian Kun over and asked in a low voice, "Have you found him yet?" Tian Kun shook his head. Mrs. Yu said: Fifth Lord is talking nonsense. In just a short while, fifth master has become like this? just a while?Don't tell me how long you have been away!After you left, Fifth Master was in a hurry, but he was just in a hurry, and he was fine.Later, two people passing by asked about our situation and said: Don’t wait so stupidly, it’s probably due to kidnapping! Two who? A man in his forties. Tian Kun hurried over to the fifth master and said: Fifth master, Mr. Liu is telling the truth. Wu Niang really went back to the inn first. It was a false alarm. Let's go back quickly.Wu Niang also waited anxiously. Fifth Master's eyes were in a trance, but he just didn't believe it.After a lot of effort, everyone managed to persuade Wu Ye to get into a newly hired carriage. Back at the inn, Fifth Master shouted to see Wu Niang. Tian Kun and Mrs. Yu could only say that Wu Niang had gone out to meet us. I wonder if Fifth Master was in a carriage.Someone has been sent to call.But how can Fifth Lord believe it?Immediately the person becomes demented again. In the rush, a servant who stayed at the inn brought a letter, saying that it was sent by the clerk of Tianshengchuan Tea House, and asked to pass it on to Kang Wuye. Mr. Liu received the letter, opened it and looked at it, and was stunned. Wu Niang was indeed tied up with a ticket: within five days, pay 100,000 taels of cash and go to Dalu to redeem her.If you fail to pay within the time limit, or report to the government, the ticket will be torn up immediately.The signature is Jin Nan Cao Shangfei. How can this be sent by Tian Shengchuan, it is clearly a meat ticket left by the kidnappers.Elder Liu helped pull the servant out, and asked in a low voice: When was this delivered? Fifth master and the others sent it here not long after they left. Messenger, don't you hear your accent?Is it the Tianjin Wei accent, or our Shanxi accent? The man came and went in a hurry, and I didn't pay much attention.It seems to have a Tianjin Wei accent.I saw that the young guy from our Tianjin account can also speak Tianjin dialect! You can speak Tianjin dialect, and you still speak Tianjin dialect when you meet your fellow villagers? It's too late to ask. Fly on grass?Recently, Liu's old gang has never heard of such a strong kidnapper from Jinmen, but now the punches are everywhere, who knows if this Cao Shangfei is a new thief or an old one?One hundred thousand taels is not a small amount, but no matter how much you ask, you can save people.It's just this real situation, how to explain it to the fifth master? Fifth Lord is clearly out of his mind. Tian Chengyuan and Tian Shengchuan of the Kang family did not offend the Jianghu in Jinmen, why did they act so cruelly?Who is not good to tie, but Wuniang? Of course, Mr. Liu from Jinhao knows that among the six masters of the Kang family, this fifth master is the most affectionate. He was originally very intelligent and talented, and the old man regarded him very highly.I don't want to, marry him a beautiful wife, and use that superhuman intelligence on the woman.He was really lost to Wu Niang!He has lost interest in reading, doing business, practicing martial arts, and practicing medicine. He is Wu Niang, who is obsessed with him wholeheartedly.Wu Niang seems to be particularly fascinated by him, she is not squeamish, willful, or picky, she simply wants to be virtuous and virtuous, and affectionate.The two are really like a pair of lovers who were destined for each other in the previous life! At first, the old man was very disappointed to see that the fifth master was so worthless.But slowly, he seemed to be moved by this young couple who were so loving, and stopped being harsh.Later, he even said: Our Kang family, if another pair of Liang Shanbo Zhu Yingtai is produced, it will be successful.The old man is open like this, and others don't say anything. In particular, Wu Ye and Wu Niang only cared about their own love and affection, and did not provoke others. Among the brothers and sisters of the Kang family, no one seemed to hate them. But why did Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai have an accident in Tianjin?How can I explain this to the old lady of my boss?Jinhao's reputation is so bad, who dares to bully? two After the accident, while the Tianjin account reported the emergency to the Beijing account, it also sent urgent telegrams to the old Taigu account and the Han account. The old Taigu received such an unexpected urgent call, so of course he didn't dare to delay, so he hurriedly sent it to Kangzhuang and handed it over to Fourth Master.When fourth master saw such a telegram, he was a little frightened. The veteran assistant who came to send the telegram hurriedly comforted him and said: Fourth master, don't worry too much. The veterans of the Beijing-Tianjin brand are all capable people, and they will definitely do their best to rescue them.Besides, if something like this happened, Han Hao must have been telegraphed, and the old man and the shopkeeper are sitting in charge. Fourth Master still couldn't calm down, and even asked: Tell me, is Wu Niang really saved? Kidnapping, he is asking for money, and it's not like we don't have money.As long as Wu Niang doesn't get overly frightened, this difficulty will be over. Fifth Lord and the others don't like to stir up trouble, so they just bully them? This kind of thing is not only aimed at Wuye Wuniang. Who are they after?For your name? In Tianjin Wharf, there have been many incidents of boxing chaos this year, and the situation is not stable, and any accidents cannot be guaranteed to happen. Tianjin is so chaotic, Hankou is okay? Hankou is okay.Fourth Master, you don't have to worry about yourself, you should discuss it with Second Master and the others first.If you have any orders, our name is always on hand. Only then did the fourth master send the second shopkeeper away, and quickly called the second and sixth masters. For this kind of sudden disaster, what good strategy can Liu Ye come up with?It's just a few harsh words: the business is done all over the world, and there are still people who dare to bully? As soon as the second master heard about such a thing, he was extremely angry: what kind of way is this, dare to break ground on Tai Sui's head!You are so courageous, you really bullied me to grandpa's house.Fourth brother, you don't need to worry about this matter, I will call some masters from Taigu martial arts, and go to Tianjin Wei immediately! The sixth master could see that the older second brother had never been so mighty before, and now it was finally time for him to wait until he showed his skills and made contributions.But how strong is the second brother's martial arts, can he really turn the tide and win his wife back from thousands of miles away?Sixth Master secretly sneered in his heart. Fourth master was greatly moved by this kind of mighty act towards second master. Second brother came out to support him, so he could breathe a little easier.When things go wrong, it is most appropriate for the second master to come forward, even if the old master is here, it seems that this is the only way to go. The second master was a little unusually excited, but it wasn't a sudden one.Although he and Fifth Master were not born of the same mother, they are brothers and sisters after all.What's more, it's about the prestige of the Kang family! He didn't talk too much with the fourth and sixth masters, and hurriedly rode his horse to Guanjiabao to see the second master of the car.Master Che Er is the number one expert in Taigu's martial arts, and he has a master-student relationship, so it is only natural for the second master to ask for help.Another reason is that Master Che Er had a shocking event in Tianjin that was well-received. It was the eighteenth year of Guangxu, and Master Che Er escorted the master of Taigu Meng's family to Tianjin for business.At that time, he was already in his sixties and turned sixty years old, but his martial arts skills remained undiminished, and his old age seemed to add a lot of charm.He was already well-known in martial arts at various wharves in North China, this time when he came to Tianjin, the martial arts world became lively as usual, and everyone rushed to invite him to have talks, martial arts performances, and banquets. At that time, there was a Japanese warrior named Yasunosuke Koyama who was traveling in China at Tianjin Wharf, and he was very skilled in swordsmanship.He set up an arena to compete in Jin, but he couldn't find an opponent, so he was a little conceited.In fact, Tianjin is a big wharf full of miscellaneous places, and many martial arts masters have always been hidden. It's just that the Japanese samurai entrusted his skills and reputation to the long sword, and the routines are completely different from the swordsmanship in Chinese martial arts. In modern terms, the system is completely different.Some martial arts masters in Tianjin were very angry with Xiao Shan's conceit. When they jumped into the ring to fight, they felt a little impetuous, and they couldn't perform their martial arts normally.Other high-minded martial artists disdain to perform martial arts on the same stage with Japanese warriors.This makes Xiao Shan even more conceited! Wuyou Jinmen naturally mentioned this hill to Master Che Er.Master Che Er just smiled, he is not a person who likes to show his face, and of course he will not rush to find the sun and others to talk about his superiority.I don't think so, this little mountain samurai had heard of Master Che Er's martial arts name first, and actually came to see him in person.He hid all his conceit, was polite and respectful, and expressed his desire to ask Master Che about his kung fu.This hand is really amazing!He's going to put on a conceited face and throw wild words to challenge you, so just ignore him.But this is polite first, and it has already taken advantage of it. If you don't answer people, you won't be very useful.Zhang Yang went out, were you scared, or what? Master Che Er had no choice but to fight. Master Che Er's Xingyiquan Kungfu is of course proficient in boxing and weapons.He himself prefers boxing, and he seems to be more able to display original qi and true kung fu without borrowing equipment.Among weapons, he prefers guns and sticks.The essence of Xingyiquan can only be seen by transforming it into fists with spears and sticks. Although Xingyi Quan pays attention to the free movement of form and the connection of form and meaning, its power is still in form, and it is a hard work based on actual combat.Master Che Er is famous for his superb Gu Gong, that is, his defensive skills, but he is not only relying on ingenuity, but also has deep and powerful hard skills.Already sixty years old, he still has extraordinary physical strength, and with a pair of iron legs swept away, he is even more invincible.Therefore, he usually doesn't pay much attention to swordsmanship.The sword in Chinese martial arts is beautiful in shape and spirit, with fairy spirit. It is a short weapon for self-defense and self-defense. Warriors call swords Wenjian. The sword in the hands of a Japanese samurai is an authentic martial arts sword.From the perspective of Chinese warriors, it is a sword, not a sword.The knife is an offensive long weapon, not a bit of literary or fairy spirit. But Master Che Er just picked up a Wenjian with a long tassel, and jumped onto the ring of Koyama Yasunosuke. After saluting politely, Xiao Shan yelled, and suddenly he seemed to have changed into a different person, with a fierce expression and a menacing atmosphere. He swung his long sword that looked like a sword but not a sword, not a knife like a knife, and slashed at Master Che Er like lightning. kill the past.Master Che's expression remained the same, with a benevolent expression on his face, calmly avoiding the slaying.The thin sword in his hand was still standing straight behind him, only the long tassel on the hilt was dancing, drawing a beautiful arc.As the hill approached step by step, the second master of the car evaded every step. Seeing that he had retreated to the entrance of the stage, he suddenly jumped, crossed the hill, and landed in the center of the stage. He is sixty years old, and he still has such kung fu, and there was a round of applause from the audience. Xiao Shan seemed to have unabated momentum, but he stopped attacking violently and wanted to take the defensive position. Unexpectedly, Master Che Er's sword flew over, and he hurriedly raised the sword to block it. The arm is passed down.Xiao Shan became angry and hacked again and again, but when he touched Master Che's sword, he only felt soft!Only then did he feel a little flustered, but he couldn't show it. In this way, Master Che'er lured Xiao Shan to attack continuously, and then dodged calmly, making his attacks fail every time.In the meantime, he made a sudden attack to show the opponent some seriousness. After a few rounds, Xiao Shan became a little restless.So Master Che Er used his unique trick.As soon as the two of them slashed to a climax, Xiao Shan suddenly lost his prediction of the sword path of the second master Che, especially the imaginary sword and the real sword. , but it was as if he had chopped a solid rock, his hands were trembling and his arms were numb, as if he was being played.This surprised him quite a bit!In such a panic, he hesitated when he drew the sword, not knowing how strong it should be.After a few times of coping like this, I suddenly felt that my arm trembled and went numb, and the sword popped out of my hand, flew to a distance, and fell to the ground with a clang. There was another applause from the audience. Xiao Shan didn't panic at this time, straightened his clothes, saluted, and admitted defeat.He also expressed his desire to learn Chinese Xingyi Kung Fu from Master Che Er as his teacher. Master Che Er said that Chinese and Japanese martial arts each have their own schools, and both sides straddle each other, which can only harm each other, not benefit each other, so he did not agree.In fact, how could he pass on Chinese unique skills to outsiders! Such a unique defeat of the Eastern Samurai made Master Che Er's reputation shake up Jinmen for a while.In the past, only the martial arts world knew his name. Since then, ordinary people have regarded him as a hero.Although six or seven years have passed since this incident, in Tianjin, everyone in Tianjin still knows Master Che's martial name.Now that the Kang family is in trouble in Tianjin, they can use the name of the second heavy truck master to settle those kidnappers. Master Che Er heard what Kang Erye said, and immediately expressed his willingness to do his best.However, after thinking about it again and again, he felt that it would be too dazzling and too ostentatious for his family to go to Tianjin in person.If this is not done well, the kidnappers will be forced to tear up the ticket.Besides, he himself was old after all.Therefore, he suggested to invite Li Changyou to go.Li Changyou is his most proud student, he is also the best in martial arts, especially good at fighting.Fighting style, that is, aggressive boxing, is the opposite of Gu Fa.Li Changyou's fighting style is already outstanding in Taigu martial arts, there is Gu's method of the second master Che, Chang has the saying of the master's fighting style, and the master and apprentice are on par. The second master went to invite Li Changyou, who was in his prime.Master Changyou was very face-saving, so he agreed immediately.They selected more than a dozen strong martial arts fighters together, and flew to Tianjin overnight. The telegram sent to Hankou was received by the old man Kang Hunan two days late, because he and Sun Da shopkeeper were in the Yangloudong Mountain in Puqi hundreds of miles away from Hankou.It is said to be a summer escape, but it is actually inspecting old tea farms.Chen Yiqing's veteran gang, seeing such a telegram, of course didn't dare to delay, and immediately sent the buddy on the counter to send it day and night, but it was still too late. After Kang Hunan heard the news, his first reaction was to ask shopkeeper Sun Da: Who is against us? Sun Beiming said: Who could it be?Could it be that Liu Guofan of Jinhao offended Jianghu? Kang Hunan said: Who dares to bully us in the Jianghu?I don't think they are from the rivers and lakes. Is that the Boxer doing Bagua boxing? First, we don't do foreign affairs, and second, we don't collude with foreigners. Why are the Boxers embarrassing us? It's always Tsu's enemy. You said, did Rishengchang hire someone to do it? Rishengchang?No way?We don't have such a big enmity with it. As for doing this kind of thing?Right now is the time when the West Gang is in trouble, so it fights with us like this, is it breaking the rules of the West Gang? It is at this time that we are afraid that we are too early. What are we up to? If you and I come out this trip, they will definitely not be able to sleep. I can't see it.Old Dongtai, you also attach too much importance to the Kaifeng letter and newspaper. They passed by Huaiqing Mansion in Henan Province on their way to the south, and found that the business in Zhuangkou there was abnormal, so they asked Kaifeng Branch to check and report.A few days ago, a newspaper came from Kaifeng, saying that the business in Zhuangkou, Huaiqing Prefecture, was taken away by Rishengchang.My old gang is a novice and has lived in a remote place like Suzhou for many years. He is not good at guarding against his peers, so they take advantage of the opportunity to use secret methods to take away the source of profit from my account. Although Huaiqing Mansion is not a large wharf, it is the place of departure for the Central Plains Railway North Export, and there are a lot of remittances and money flows.When Kang Hunan read the letter, he was very upset, saying that Ri Shengchang, you are the boss, it's too weak to bully the weak but not the strong.Sun Beiming felt that our people were too soft.He never thought that Fan Lao Gang would be so useless.Kang Hunan is still blindly annoyed by Rishengchang.Now, he pushed the kidnapping case in Tianjin to Rishengchang. Isn't this a pot of old and new hatred? Kang Hunan laughed at Sun Beiming for being too confused.He told the friend who came to deliver the message: Go back to Hankou and tell Mr. Chen, tell him to send a telegram to the foreign naturalization, and order the third master to go to Tianjin as soon as possible. No matter whether you save the servant or not, you must find out who did it . Sun Beiming said: relying on the Tianjin and Beijing No. 2, can't we still find out? Kang Hunan said: "When something like this happens, the third child should be in Tianjin!" Sun Beiming still ordered: Send a telegram to the Jinghao, asking them to fully assist the Jinhao in the rescue. When something like this happened, Sun Beiming felt that he should go back to Hankou so that he could cope with the emergency.But Kang Watnan did not leave.He said that no matter how big the incident happened, it was up to the younger generation to deal with it themselves.He came to Yanglou Cave one last time to see enough.This is the place where the ancestors of the Kang family started, how could they give up halfway? However, the news from Tianjin made the lush tea mountain more desolate in his eyes. three It was already the afternoon of the second day after the accident when Dai Ying's old gang from Beijing arrived in Tianjin. He wanted to visit Lord Wu first, but Liu Guofan from Jin Hao advised him not to go for now.Because since the accident, Fifth Master has been sitting like that stupidly, neither eating nor drinking, never closing his eyes, mumbling something in his mouth, no one can understand.They were coaxing him to eat, drink, and sleep for a while, I don't know if he was coaxed.Once you go, it will be even more difficult to coax you. Dai Ying was taken aback and said, "The fifth master has become like this?"When he left Beijing, Fifth Master was still capable and handsome.The masters of the host family, although they are not very promising, are still good people after all, so whoever seeks to bully them? The old man is so extraordinary, he seems to have pulled out everything, which made the next six masters not have much future and luck.It really makes people feel that the law of heaven is unfair for Wu Ye and Wu Niang to encounter such an accident. How can this do the work of the old man!Brother Guofan, have you found out, who did it? Liu Guofan said: I have already consulted several bosses of the Escort Bureau.They all said that they hadn't heard of the grass flying out of the boundary of Jinmen.Besides, no one in the Jianghu knows that the ticket number security bureau wears crotch pants, and few fools dare to bully the ticket number.Looking at the work they do, it also seems to be done with raw melon eggs. The sky is bright and the sun is bright, and the bustling city is busy, so he tied his tickets. How dare a novice do this? The head of the bodyguard agency said that, judging from the price offered, it was like a stick and a stick.One hundred thousand taels of silver, and he didn't dare to ask for the banknotes, and he had to deliver the big reeds dozens of miles away in Jinnan, which could only be transported by silver skids.But how many silver sledges does this have to hold?A silver skid of five thousand taels needs to be loaded into twenty vehicles, and a silver skid of ten thousand taels needs to be loaded into ten vehicles.Ten or twenty silver sleigh carts, how many people are needed to drive the carts, follow the carts and bring guards?These people are all dressed up by elite soldiers and strong generals, so it's not sure who will tie whom!Veteran kidnappings are all about picking out what jewelry, calligraphy and paintings you have that are easy to carry and transfer, and specifying the person who will be handed over to the ransom.If you are demanding money, you will have to exchange it for gold bars.How can there be one hundred and eighty thousand in cash! Hearing this, Dai Ying felt that it made sense. Silver is a thing that is easy to wear and tear, so a special skid cart was used to transport cash in that era.The cart is equipped with specially made logs, each section of which is more than three feet long and one foot thick.It was cut in half and hollowed out for embedding silver ingots.Generally, fifty taels of ingots and ten ingots of ingots are embedded in each log, and ten to twenty segments are loaded in each car.One hundred thousand taels of silver, that's not about loading ten or twenty sleigh carts in a mighty way! Dai Ying said: If it's really raw melon eggs, it's better to deal with it, right? Liu Guofan said: The boss of the bodyguard bureau said that raw melon eggs are more afraid of people! why? The thieves have their own way, and the underworld also has its own way.Raw melon eggs don't follow any rules, can you figure out what he will do?So, this is really troublesome. But no matter what, Wu Niang must be rescued!Wu Niang has an emergency, not only is it difficult to explain to the owner, but it will also implicate our Tian Chengyuan's reputation too much!The situation in Tianjin was already bad. If we lost our hand, no one would dare to bully us from now on.The first step is to rescue Wu Niang, and the next step is to apprehend the kidnappers.When I left Beijing, I went to meet Lord Ma Yukun, the admiral of the Nine Gates, and Lord Ma really saved me, so he wrote a handbook to the Tianjin General Army, and I brought it with me.It's just that it's not appropriate to report to the official right now, right? The boss of the Escort Bureau said: You can't report to the official first.Even if you report to the officials, the officers and soldiers are not very important.I think it's the same, things in the Jianghu depend on the Jianghu.Therefore, I have entrusted several familiar escort agencies to rescue them with all their strength. Is it reliable?If it wasn't for the bodyguard bureau of the capital, how many masters would you invite? I don't think so.The bosses have said that this group of raw melon eggs has already left a hole for us: when the time comes, we will dispatch its twenty silver sledge carts, send forty or fifty martial arts masters to escort the carts, and go to redeem people.The work must be done well, redeem people, capture bandits, and everything will be done in one pot.Now, not daring to make any noise on the face, they are visiting secretly to see which group of raw melon eggs are making a living. Since the robbery and leaving, there has been no news? No. Redemption period is five days? five days.The bosses said that this is also the deadline for the raw melon eggs to come out.Kidnapping at a big wharf like Tianjinwei is still a deep mountain and an old forest. If you write such a long time limit, what will happen if you are afraid that people will not be able to dispatch troops in time? Is it because we are afraid that we will not be able to adjust the one hundred thousand taels of silver.It's not difficult for you to adjust your Tianjin number to one hundred thousand cash, right? Brother Jing, I'm trying my best to raise money.The situation in Tianjin was not good, and they did not dare to expand their business, nor did they dare to store more cash in the cabinet.Save it, and release it quickly.Most of the customers in Jinmen are merchants, unlike your Beijing account, which can absorb many officials' spare money. After all, your dignified Tianjin account can't dispatch one hundred thousand taels of silver? In good times, this is really a small amount.Brother Jing, you know the current situation in Tianjin, foreigners are domineering, foreign religions are annoying, villagers practice boxing at altars, compete with foreigners, there are many cases of chaos, how can business be done? But I read your letter, the business is still booming. I didn't do it too hard, everyone shrunk, leaving eyes full of good business, so let's pick a few stalls. That's it.Brother Guofan, as soon as I heard about this incident, I was thinking, I am afraid that this incident is not just about trying to steal money, is there other intentions? Other intentions? As you said just now, the bosses of the Escort Bureau all agreed that this did not seem to be done by bandits in the Jianghu.But judging from the kidnapping of Wu Niang, it is clear that he is familiar with our inside story.Wuye Wuniang is not the kind of young man who likes to show off. It's only been a few days since I came back to Tianjin for the first time. How did the group of raw melon eggs know that they are our big riches?On the day of the accident, how did they know that they were going to the Haihe River to watch the ship, and set up a plan for changing the package along the way in advance?The one who delivered the meat tickets even claimed to be a guy from our Tianshengchuan Tea House!This class of raw melon eggs is so clear? Brother Jing, after the accident, I thought the same way.They carefully asked the bodyguards and maids who were serving them. They said that they were afraid of being bullied by the sedan chair, and they didn't take care of them carefully. It's the name of their Kang family.The day before the accident, I made an appointment with the bearers to go to the Haihe River to see the ships the next day, and asked them to come earlier.The bodyguards and maids all said that they were too careless, and they didn't know that Tianjin Wei Wharf was so dangerous. How did the bearer get hired? If he couldn't be hired by a reliable sedan company, he screamed in the street? How can you bark!As soon as Wuye Wuniang came, I explained to them, but I dare not hire cars and sedans on the street.He also sent a friend on the cabinet to serve them and hire cars and sedan chairs for them.But within a few days, he asked Master Wu to send him back to the cabinet, saying that he was following a group of servants, so don't bother with the name, let's go about your business.The fifth master had good intentions, so such a thing happened! How could it be such a coincidence?Just now when I hired a sedan chair at home, I met a gangster, and I'm still so clear? Wu Niang thought the sedan chair she was sitting in was unclean, so the bodyguards changed the sedan chair.After sitting for two days, something happened! Just such a coincidence?Just after changing the sedan chair, you ran into a gangster? Yes, this is a bit strange. So I wonder, is our enemy playing tricks here? Who would that be? Dai Ying and Liu Guofan analyzed for a long time, but they didn't concentrate their suspicions in one place.Foreigner banks, customers with bad debts, even Western gangs, and of course the underworld and anti-foreign boxers are all possible, but there is no obvious reason for them.Dai Ying still had a doubt in his heart: Does Liu Guofan still have his own enemies?But this is inconvenient to ask. Dai Ying had no choice but to take out the 50,000 taels of silver note he had brought, and told Liu Guofan to go to Zhang Luo to exchange it for cash.In addition, he also wanted to meet the bosses of the Escort. Erye and Master Changyou traveled day and night, and when Pegasus arrived in Tianjin, it was already four days after the accident. The second master was horrified when he saw the fifth master!Not only was he thin and out of shape, but he became completely stupid, and he was so dazed that he couldn't recognize who he was. Fifth brother, I am your second brother! Fifth Master still looked around obsessively, but didn't respond in particular. Second Master punched him on the table, causing the teacup to dance wildly, Fifth Master still looked bewildered.Master Changyou hastily pulled the second master out. Although Er Ye has practiced martial arts all his life, he is a kind and innocent person.Now, his face was ashen and angry, which really frightened everyone.He asked, "Where did you forget to do this? Is it clear?" Liu Guofan hurriedly said: The Escort Bureau sent people to investigate for a few days, but they still don't know much about it.Let them see that they don't look like bandits in the rivers and lakes, a group of melon eggs who don't know where they come from. The second master shouted: How dare he bully grandpa when he gave birth to melon eggs? Dai Ying said, "Second master has come all the way, so it's better to rest first."Tomorrow morning, we have to go to Dalu to redeem people. The second master asked again: Why wait for tomorrow?Since it's a raw melon egg, why didn't you do it earlier? Master Changyou stood up and said, "Second Master, just listen to shopkeeper Dai and rest first."我去會會鏢局的老大。有我呢，一切不用二爺太操心。 二爺仍想發作，但看了看昌有師傅，終於忍住了。 於是，二爺和其他武師拳手，就留在客棧歇息，昌有師傅只帶了兩個拳手，趕去會見鏢局老大。 津門鏢局的幾位老大，當然知道昌有師傅的武名。當年，昌有師傅也在太谷鏢局做過押鏢武師。所以，幾位老大一定要盡地主之誼，招待他。 他對老大們說：眼下我只是缺覺，不缺醉。等跟著各位老大救出人，擒了賊，咱再痛快喝一頓，如何？ 武人不愛客套，想想人家飛馬千里而來，是夠困乏了，就依了客人的意思。幾位老大介紹了探訪結果，更詳細告訴了翌日如何裝扮，如何運銀，如何佈陣，如何見機行事。 昌有師傅聽了老大們的計謀，以為甚好。只是覺得，二十輛車，四五十號人，浩浩蕩蕩，會不會把綁匪嚇住了，不敢露面？ 老大們就問：昌有師傅，那您有什麼高招？ 昌有說：我看人馬車輛都減一半，只去十輛橇車，每輛也只跟兩人。這樣陣勢小，還保險些。又不是佔山為王的主兒，挑二十來個高手，我看沒有拿不下的局面。各位老大看成不成？ 老大們議了議，覺著也行：有您這樣的高手，那就少去些人馬吧。您要不來，我們真不敢大意，萬一有閃失，誰能擔待得起？ 昌有忙說：這事全憑各位老大！各位的本事，我能不知道？用不著排那麼大陣勢，就能把這事辦了。 經商量，昌有從他帶來的武師中挑八位，剩下由鏢局出十幾位，組成一班精銳，扮成車倌，出面救人。另外再安排一二十人，預先散在附近，以在不測時接應。為了少惹麻煩，不驚動市面，明天還是越早走越好。最好，能趕在綁匪之前，先到達大蘆。那樣，在地利上不至吃虧。於是，定了天亮時趕到大蘆。 這樣，後半夜就得出動了。議定後，昌有師傅匆匆辭別各位老大，趕回客棧，抓緊休歇。 Four 大蘆在津南，離城五六十里遠，那裡有一處浩淼的大湖，風煙迷漫，葦草叢生，常有強人出沒。但津門鏢局都知道，近年並沒有什麼草上飛聚嘯於此，也沒有出了別的山大王。出事以後，鏢局天天都派有暗探在此游動，什麼線索也未發現。 鏢局老大當然知道，綁匪指定的贖人地點，決不可能是他們的藏身之地。不過，綁匪既然將此定為贖人的地點，那應該有些蛛絲馬跡可辨。怎麼會如此無跡可尋？ 尤其是京號戴老幫帶來五萬銀票後，贖資很快備齊了，在第三四天，就想繳銀贖人。綁匪留的肉票，也說是五日之內。但鏢局派出的暗探，卻在大蘆一帶什麼動靜也沒有發現。也許他們是深藏不露，非等來運銀的橇車不肯出來？生瓜蛋也會隱藏得這樣老辣？ 要不要貿然押著銀子，前去試探，鏢局老大和京津老幫都拿不定主意。換回人來，那當然好，要是浩浩蕩蕩白跑一趟，那在津門市面還不知要引起什麼騷動。所以，第三天沒有敢出動。 挨到第四天，鏢局謀了一個探路的計策：雇了一隊高腳騾幫，馱了重物，浩浩蕩蕩從大蘆經過。到大蘆後，選了僻靜處，停下來休歇。但盤留很久，依然沒有任何人來問路。What exactly is going on?出了什麼不測？正在憂慮，二爺和昌有師傅趕到了。見二爺那樣悲憤，也沒有敢對他們說出這一切。 反正是最後一天了，留下的唯一出路：必須押銀出動。 為了在天亮後就能趕到大蘆，大約在三更天，武師們就押著運銀的橇車，靜靜地出發了。除了十輛銀橇，還跟著一輛小鞍轎車，那是為了給五娘坐的。 現在是二爺坐在裡面。 昌有師傅本不想叫二爺去，二爺哪裡肯答應！但上了年紀的二爺，裝扮趕車的跟車的，都不合適，那就只好裝成一個老家僕了。昌有師傅叮嚀他，必須忍住，不能發火，二爺要見了綁匪就忍不住，那五娘可保不住出什麼意外！二爺當然什麼都答應了。 出城以後，依然是黑天，二爺卻從車上跳下，跟著車大步流星地往前奔。趕車的是太谷來的武師，就悄悄說：天亮還早呢，二爺你還是坐車上吧。 二爺說：不用管我！ 趕車的武師，也不敢再多說話。 天黑，路也不太好走，但整個車隊，一直就在靜悄悄地行進。當然，誰心裡都不平靜。 綁匪是不是生瓜蛋，鏢局老大們已經不大敢相信。鏢局就是吃江湖飯的，五天了，居然打探不出一點消息。會不會是鬧義和拳的拳民做的活兒？可天成元票莊一向也不十分親近洋人，不會結怨於拳民的。劉老幫也極力說，拳民們才不會這樣難為他。可是現在押這樣一大筆現銀，黑燈瞎火的，又不走官道，最怕的，就是遇了這些拳民。遇賊遇匪都不怕，遇了像野火似的拳民，那可就不論武藝論麻煩了。叮嚀眾弟兄不要聲張，儘量靜悄悄趕路，也是出於這種擔憂。 好在一路還算順利。又是夏天，不到五更，天就開始發亮了。在麻麻亮的天色裡，路上遇過兩個人，模樣像是平常鄉民。見影影綽綽走出這樣一溜銀橇車，鄉民都嚇呆了，大張著嘴，一動不動看車隊走過。 他們準以為是遇了匪盜！ 見了這種情況，車隊更加快速往前趕。天亮以後，押著這樣多銀橇，那畢竟是太惹眼了。 這天竟是個陰天，到達大蘆時，太陽也沒有出來，滿世界的陰沉和寂靜。他們停在了一個沒有人煙的荒野之地。不遠處，即能望見那個浩淼的大湖和動盪著的蘆葦、蒲草。 綁匪不會來得這樣早吧？不過，鏢局老大還是派出人去探查。 二爺過來，悄悄問昌有師傅：你會鳧水不會？ 昌有也低聲：也只是淹不死，但落入水中，也等於把武功廢了。 我一入水，就得淹死了。 二爺，有水戰，也輪不上你搶功的。 那我來做甚！ 我勸你甭來，你非來不可。快不敢忘了你扮的身分，山西來的老家人，不會鳧水，也不奇怪。我們沉住氣，還是先少說兩句吧。 二爺哪能沉著從容得了？他安靜了不大工夫，就向湖邊走去，沒走多遠，給鏢局老大叫住了。嗨，哪也不能去，就這樣傻等！ 大家就這樣一直傻等到半前晌時候，陸上，水上，都沒有任何動靜。既不見有車馬來，也不見有舟船來。 這幫生瓜蛋唱的是一齣什麼戲？ 二爺說不能再這樣傻等了，老大們也有些感到氣氛不對，只有昌有師傅主張再靜候至午時。He said: 他們會不會還是嫌我們來的人馬多，不敢露面？所以，還是不能妄動。這是人命關天的事，稍為不慎，就怕會有不測。 二爺說：那要等到什麼時候？ 一位老大說：嫌多嫌少，反正我們的人馬已經來了。我看，咱們得去雇條小船，派水性好的弟兄，到湖泊中去探探。 大家聽了，覺得早該這樣。 昌有師傅說：還是要引誘他們陸戰，不要水戰。 於是，就派出兩位鏢局的武師，去附近找鄉民僱船。其餘人，仍七零八散地坐在地上，吃乾糧，打瞌睡：這也是有意裝出來的稀鬆樣。 這樣一直等到過了正午，仍然沒有草上飛的影子。大家正焦急呢，才見前晌派出的一位武師，匆匆跑了回來。大家忙問：有什麼消息了？但他也不理大家，只是把一位鏢局老大拉到遠處，低聲告訴了什麼。 老大一聽，臉色大變。忙招呼其他幾位鏢局老大和昌有師傅過來，但二爺早跟過來了。 尋見那些忘八了？ 老大支吾著，說：還不敢確定 那你們在告訴甚？ 只是，有些叫人疑心的跡象 昌有師傅看出其中有事，就對二爺說：二爺，看來時候到了，你不敢忘了自己扮的是誰。你先回人堆裡候著，我和老大們先合計合計，看如何動作。商量好了，再對你說。行吧？ 我出不了主意，還不能聽你出主意？ 昌有說：二爺，不是不叫你聽，是因為你扮的不是車伕。你扮的是大戶人家的老家人，該有些派頭，不能跟我們這些趕車的紮在一堆。說時，就扶了二爺，往回退。二爺你還信不過我？ 哄走二爺，昌有師傅過來一聽，頓時也臉色大變。急忙問：在哪兒？我們還不快去看看！ 說話間，昌有師傅和一位鏢局老大，跟著跑回來的那位武師，急匆匆遠去了。 What the hell happened? 原來，派出去的那兩位武師，在很遠的一個莊子裡，才雇到一條小船。他們借口有兩位兄弟下湖鳧水去了，不見回來，要去找找。漁夫先有些不肯，他們出了很高的禮金，才同意。漁夫搖他們下湖後，蕩了很大一圈，也仍是什麼動靜也沒有。返回時，遇到一條小漁船。船主互相喊著問了問，那頭說：剛才見過一條船，停在蘆葦邊，喊過話，沒人應。 他們就叫漁夫搖過去。不一會兒，果然看見了那條船。漁夫吆喊了幾聲，沒有人應。武師他們自己也吆喊起來： 五爺，五爺 他們這樣喊，用意很清楚。可是仍沒有人應。 他們就叫漁夫靠近那船。靠過去，仍然悄無聲息。一位武師跳上了那條船，跟著就傳出他的一聲驚叫。另一武師急忙也跳了上去，最怕見到的景象顯現在眼前：船艙裡一領葦席下，蓋著一具女屍！ 看那死者的情形，多半是五娘。 死者是個年輕娘子，衣裳已被撕扯得七零八碎了，可仍能看出那是大戶人家的裝束。只是面目已難以辨認：額頭有一個高高隆起的大血口，使臉面整個變了形，加上血跡遮蓋，面目全非，慘不忍睹。 這些忘八，還在期限內，怎麼就撕了票！ 不過，看死者情形，又像是廝打掙扎後，一頭撞到什麼地方，自盡了。於是，他們全掀掉蓆子，看見下身幾乎裸露著。這幫忘八！正要蓋上，發現死者身邊扔有一信函。忙撿起來，見信皮上寫著：劉掌櫃啟。 劉掌櫃？天成元的老幫不就正姓劉嗎？這就是康五娘無疑了。 信是封了口的。他們沒有拆開看，反正已經撕了票，反正人已死了。兩位武師蓋好葦席，回到原來的船上。他們問漁夫，能不能認出那是誰的船？漁夫說他認不得，那種小船太普通了。 武師便請求將那條船拖著，帶到湖邊。漁夫當然又是不肯，再加了價錢，才答應了。 鏢局老大和昌有師傅趕到湖邊，武師們才把綁匪丟下的那封信拿了出來。鏢局老大見寫的是劉掌櫃啟，就讓給昌有師傅拆看。 昌有師傅看了，只是罵了一聲：忘八！ 老大問：到底是誰幹的？ 昌有說：街面上的一幫青皮吧。信上說，這樁生意沒做好，他們中間出了下三爛，欺負了你們娘子，瞎了票。娘子是自家尋了死，不是他們殺的。 老大說：青皮也敢做這種生意？ 昌有說：要不，能弄成這種下三爛結局！咱們快上船看看吧。 他們上船看了，真是慘不忍睹。只是，眼下的當務之急，已不容他們多作思量。肉票已毀，那得趕緊押了十萬現銀，安妥回城。天氣炎熱，裝殮五娘也是刻不容緩了。還有這樣的噩耗，怎麼告訴二爺？ 他們做了簡練的商議，命兩位武師暫留下看守，就跑回去做安排。 其實，昌有師傅看到的那封信，是另有內容的。只是，他感到事關重大，不能聲張，就巧為掩蓋了。幸好在一片忙亂中，別人都未能覺察出來。 five 那一封信是這樣寫的： 劉壽兒如面： 見字勿驚。奴家本只想逼你回頭踐約，待奴如初，無意要你銀錢。不料雇下幾個青皮，色膽包天，壞了五娘性命。料你不好交代，欲怪罪奴家也怪不成了，但待來生。 奴拜上 昌有師傅看了這封信，就猜測這個劉壽兒可能是天成元津號的劉掌櫃。要真如此，那可不是一件小事。康家五娘被綁票，原來是他自家字號的老幫結的怨。結怨，還不是因為生意！這事張揚出去，那還不亂了？ 所以，昌有師傅就遮掩下來。回到城裡，更是忙亂不迭，似也不宜告人。而且，將這事告訴誰，還沒有想妥。最應該告訴的，當然是二爺。可二爺雖然年長，卻依然天真得像個少年。人是大善人，武功武德也好，只是不能與他謀大事。這事先告給二爺，他立馬就會將劉掌櫃綁了。 二爺之外，五爺更不成。可憐的五爺，現在除了傻笑，什麼也不會了。原來還擔心，怎麼將五娘遇難的噩耗告訴他，可看他那樣，說不說都一樣了。 劉掌櫃，當然不能叫知道。 如此排下來，那就只剩了一個人，他們京號的戴掌櫃。可戴掌櫃也正忙碌，面都不好見。 面對最不願看到的結果，戴膺他能不忙嗎？幾家鏢局，加上二爺帶來的一干人馬，竟然沒有把人救回來！驚駭之餘，他立馬意識到事態嚴重。五娘慘死，不好向東家交代，那倒在其次，最可怕的，是這事傳到市面，天成元的聲譽將受撼動：連東家的人都救不了，誰還敢指靠你！所以，他是極力主張，此事不敢太聲張。尤其五娘的喪事，不宜大辦。 經二爺同意，已經將五娘入殮，移入城外一佛寺，做超度法事。大熱天，既不宜扶靈回晉，也不宜久作祭奠。所以，戴膺勸二爺從簡從速治喪，及早寄厝津郊，等以後再挑選日子，從容歸葬。但二爺使著性子，不肯答應。該怎麼辦，一要等老太爺回話，二要等太谷家中來人。等候的這些天，得報喪弔唁，排排場場。一向慈祥的二爺，現在脾氣火暴，聽不進話去。 唉，這也畢竟是東家的事，二爺這樣強著，戴膺也沒有辦法。 津號的劉國藩，也是被這事嚇毛了，二爺說甚，他就聽甚。大肆張揚這種敗興事，對生意有什麼影響，劉國藩他能不知道？可勸不下二爺，光勸劉老幫也無用。 發往漢口、太谷的電報，去了幾日了，仍不見有回話！ 京號那頭，他也得操心。 你說戴膺他能不著急嗎？ 昌有師傅見戴掌櫃這樣忙碌著急，本來還想拖延幾天，但又怕老這樣捂著，萬一再出了事，咋辦？所以，他還是尋了個機會，把那封信交給了戴掌櫃。 戴膺一看，當下就愣了。良久，才慌忙問道： 昌有師傅，這信誰還看過？ 除了你我，誰也沒看過。 那些鏢局老大，也沒看過？ have not seen.他們遞給我時，信口還封著，是我將信拆開的。我一看，事關重大，就藏起來了。 恕我失言，你也沒驚動過劉掌櫃吧？ 戴掌櫃，這我還曉不得？ 昌有師傅，我們真得感謝你了。這封信，不管落到誰手裡，天成元都吃架不住的。 戴掌櫃，這位津號劉掌櫃真是那樣的人？ 要知道他是那樣的人，還能叫他當老幫？劉掌櫃做生意是把好手，就是有些冒失。你也見了，他是個相貌堂堂的男人，有文墨，口才好，交際也有手段。在天津這種大碼頭，沒有劉掌櫃這樣的人才做老幫也不成。可那種風流花事，私蓄外室，那是決不允許有的。昌有師傅你也知道，這是西幫的鐵規。劉掌櫃冒失吧，他怎麼敢在這種事上冒失？ 是不是會有人想害他