Chapter 67: The Most Important Three Things

In the city of Jinling, most people are still sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, the streets are filled with the sound of a large group of people running.
In the pouring rain, this sound becomes even crisper and louder.
Startled residents were awakened and saw troops rushing out from the cracks in the doors. In a short while, they occupied key points across the city.
There were already few pedestrians on the streets, and they were quickly cleared away like fallen leaves by the autumn wind. Despite their protests, the soldiers made no explanations and silenced them as they were dragged away.
有几个挣扎得很的，直接白刀子红刀子出，彻底清净。
几个小蟊贼心中有鬼，见势不对便撒腿狂奔起来，但也没有逃过被捉住之后，捆往牢狱的下场。
Outside the city of Jinling, a large camp suddenly sounded a whistle. In no time, the troops assembled.
The leading general couldn't wait for all the soldiers and horses to gather, so he opened the camp gate and led the army to gallop out.
On this thunderous summer night, within the Heavenly Mansion, the air suddenly becomes tense.
Like a tightened bowstring, it is stretched to its limit, with even the bow creaking and squeaking.
The people who peeped through the crack in the door were all shocked.
They had witnessed how mighty the invading soldiers were a few days ago!
The flames on the Yangtze River that day were so powerful that they seemed to burn a hole in the sky.
After the bloody incident on Xi'anmen Street, the situation has become more and more sensational in the past few days.
Now, in powerful Jinling, who dares to provoke us if we look at the world?
东华门下那一只铁骑，难道天下还能有第二支吗？
莫名地，便有人想起了宫闱政变这一种可能。只是眼下肯定不能出门，但都在心底埋下了一份狐疑。
……
At about the time of Mao Shi.
All the soldiers on the streets disappeared again as if by magic.
The frightened people in Nanjing pushed open their doors after a night of terror, only to see that it was still pouring outside.
But the long street is clean.
The tension that suddenly appeared last night seemed to be washed away by the torrential rain.
The shops cautiously opened their doors.
The early morning steamed bun shop lit up its fire without anyone to attend to it.
The hawker wearing a bamboo hat and carrying an umbrella starts selling along the street, with no one interfering.
The city gate remains open, with people coming in and going out.
Everything is normal.
This finally allows everyone to breathe a sigh of relief and set aside their worries.
On the contrary, it became even more relaxed, and there was a huge army in Jinling City!
Just focus on doing business, who dares to come and provoke?
And the army outside the city camp, after being tossed all night, did a U-turn between Jinling and the camp.
In the morning, Shangguan issued a special order: due to weather conditions, today's training is canceled. However, everyone must remain in the camp and not go out. Everything else remains the same.
……
In the pouring rain, Xie Xing, the commander of the Brocade Guards, stepped onto the steps of the Garrison Office.
随手解下身上的箬笠，递给旁边迎过来百户手上。
"How about it?" he asked.
"The person still hasn't confessed!" the bodyguard behind him said.
"I'll go take a look!" Xie Xing said.
Although he was wearing a raincoat just now, his whole body was still soaked in the downpour. Especially his boots, which were filled with water, made a creaking sound with every step he took.
But what does this little suffering matter?
Compared to the day when I was naked and soaking in the freezing lake in Baiyangdian, this is simply incomparable.
He strides forward in a hurry and goes straight into the dark prison.
The place was filled with cries of despair.
Countless people were arrested last night, and those who were able to be stuffed in here should consider themselves lucky that they weren't shot on the spot.
But these people don't know what's good for them, still crying out for justice.
However, Xie Xing is now too lazy to bother with them, holding a torch stubbornly and heading straight for the deepest part of the prison.
重重铁门之后，一个瘦小的身躯，被剥得干干净净，呈一个‘大’字被锁在墙壁上。
Blood seeped out from his body, looking extremely miserable.
"Tiedan, I've come to see you!" Xie Hang held onto a torch and walked closer to the person, speaking.
The person's eyes were already swollen, and he weakly blinked. He didn't say anything.
"I just can't understand," Xie Hang said, "We are good brothers who went south together. In the Battle of Qingzhou Huojia Liang, you saved my life, otherwise, I would have lost my life there."
"We have braved this path of corpses and bloodshed! Why, have you become an assassin?"
"Who exactly ordered you? And what exactly are you after, ah?"
"Is it because you don't have enough silver to spend? Or have you given someone leverage over you?"
"Do you really know, with that bullet you fired, you have sealed the fate of your brothers-in-arms. From this point on, there's no chance for redemption!"
"With that bullet you fired - on our journey south, we swore an oath together, promising to follow His Majesty, eradicate the Manchus, restore the Ming dynasty, cleanse the world, and establish ourselves as rulers of this land - now it's all gone up in smoke!"
"Don't even talk about establishing a Great Ming where everyone has enough food to eat and clothes to wear. In this damn world, how many people can survive in the future is now unknown!"
"Do you know how much I hate you? Tie Dan!"
……
For every sentence Xie Xing says, he throws a handful of lime on the person.
Pustules, visible to the naked eye, roll up from his wound, emitting white smoke.
"You still won't talk, huh?" Xie Xing said.
“我已命人去蓝田了。”
“就算是我麾下儿郎全数折在那里，我也要将那个叫张九儿的娘们，和那个叫铁义的孩子给你带来！”
"Rest assured, you will live until then!"
Xie Xing said through gritted teeth.
He paced away, staring blankly at the red-hot iron rod burning in the furnace.
After a while, a guard behind him whispered, "Sir, he has already passed out."
“弄醒他！”
“大人……”，身后亲卫犹豫了一下，说到：“我听说，徐先生懂得催眠术，可以让人于睡梦中吐出真言来。要不，咱们等徐先生来了，让徐先生帮忙问问吧？”
Xie Xingshen took a deep breath and suppressed his impatience, asking, "What's the use of us if we have to wait for Mr. Xu for everything?"
After the incident last night, Shen Changyuan immediately summoned the four officials in the hall and informed them of three major matters at hand:
其一，盯死每一个三品以上的朝臣；
其二，撬开铁蛋的嘴；
其三，做好徐先生不再回来的准备。
“这大明，说到底是咱们的大明。徐先生可以撒手不管，但是咱们不行。”
"We have lived here for generations, and in the future, our descendants will also live here!"
"If we can only wait, rely on, and ask for things in our world, even if a god comes, they cannot help us!"
Xie Xing recalled the words that Shen Changyuan had said to him, and he repeated them to his personal guard.
"We all respect Mr. Xu and are grateful to him! However, in the end, we have to rely on ourselves!"
Xie Xing turned and walked towards Tie Dan.
"Tie Dan, I know you can hear me! Next, I'm going to torture you, the previous one doesn't count! I, Xie Xing, may not have other abilities, but I am capable of using torture methods. Trust me, no one can withstand torture, you will confess!"