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At this moment, the Mongolian grassland, after suddenly breaking the rope that the Qing Dynasty had tied tightly around it, the original balance of power was broken and the entire grassland began to shake violently.
In order to survive, to rise up and to satisfy the desire for power, the tribes once again started the elimination match of the jungle that had lasted for thousands of years on the grassland.
The victors laugh like wolves, while the vanquished are covered in blood and tears and become slaves of others.
From the south to the north of the desert, the sound of horses' hooves was like thunder, smoke rose everywhere, and the air was filled with murderous intent.
At this time, Gan Nan, the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, led two hundred Qin cavalrymen in black and black armor and rushed into the vast grassland. A large flag with the seal character "Qin" was flying in the wind over the grassland.
In terms of strength, almost any Mongolian tribe is capable of destroying the two hundred troops from Gannan;
But wherever the Qin-lettered banner passed, the leaders of all tribes came out to greet it.
If two tribes happen to be fighting, the arrival of the big flag can even make the two tribes temporarily stop fighting.
What is the prestige of a great power
This is the prestige of a great country.
Although only two hundred people went deep into the grassland, no one dared to challenge the majesty represented by the Qin flag.
Unless you are confident that you are more powerful than your former Qing masters.
***
Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province, is located on the north side of Taiqiu Mountain and on the south bank of Fen River, 250 miles away from Taiyuan, and is adjacent to Pingyao, Qixian, Taigu and other counties.
These counties are where the largest number of wealthy Shanxi merchants come from.
In particular, the Fan family of Jiexiu was the first of the eight imperial merchants canonized by Shunzhi. With a family fortune of millions, they were the richest merchants in Shanxi.
In the Zhou Dynasty, Duke Wen of Jin returned to reward his ministers. Jie Zitui refused to ask for salary and lived in seclusion with his mother in Mianshan. Duke Wen of Jin burned the forest to look for talents, but Zitui refused to come out. He and his mother died hugging a tree. Later, Jiexiu was named after Jie Zitui rested here.
The Fan family has brought disgrace to Jiexiu's good name. In order to gain huge profits, they colluded with foreign countries, aided the enemy and became the biggest thieves of the country.
Early in the morning of that day, just as the sky in the east was beginning to turn pale, thousands of Qin soldiers in black clothes and dark armor headed straight for the Fan family in Zhangyuan Village, amid the astonished gazes of the early-rising people of Jiexiu.
There is Fanjia Street in Zhangyuan Village. It is nearly 100 meters long. The Fanjia Courtyard in the west is known as the "Little Golden Palace" in the local area. Its architectural style can be imagined.
In such a chaotic world, the forces of various parties changed frequently. The fact that the Eight Families of Yamayou could escape risks again and again showed how powerful they were. But this time, they were not so lucky.
After the soldiers surrounded the Fan family compound, Huang Lianshan ordered his subordinate Ye Bu Shou: "Listen carefully. The Fan family is one of the prisoners that the King of Qin ordered to be arrested. According to the information we have, Fan Yongdou just returned to his hometown yesterday. After you go in, you must capture Fan Yongdou alive. Anyone else who dares to resist will be killed without mercy."
“Yes!”
Dozens of Ye Bu Shou holding embroidered spring swords shouted in unison. Following Huang Lianshan's order, five of them first climbed up the wall with flying ropes, climbed over the wall, and then opened the door.
The Fan family compound had already been startled by the clanging of Qin's armor. Most people didn't even have time to put on their clothes and ran out in panic. Ye Bushou swarmed in, holding knives and shouting: "Ye Bushou has been ordered to capture the imperial criminals. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"
For a moment, the Fan family was in chaos and crying. Under the sharp Xiuchun sword, everyone was frightened and turned pale and knelt on the ground with their heads bowed.
Fan Yongdou was quickly captured by Ye Bushou from the backyard. Although he had expected this day to come, he was still heartbroken when it really came.
Seeing that the Qing Dynasty was on the verge of collapse during this period, he, together with seven other families including Wang Dengku and Jin Liangyu, raised 300,000 taels of silver, hoping to get in touch with Ma Yongzhen, the commander-in-chief of the left army, in the hope of overcoming this disaster.
However, a lot of money was spent, but the road was not opened.
In the past, the relationship between the Eight Families of Shanyou and the Qing Dynasty had not yet surfaced, so everything was still easy to explain. But now, the Eight Families have become the imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty, and it is impossible to cover it up.
This time, Fan Yongdou hurried back to his hometown Jiexiu from Zhangjiakou to make arrangements for his retreat, or even to arrange his funeral affairs.
Fortunately, he had arranged for his son Sanba to take his eldest grandson Yuxin and second son Yufu to seek refuge incognito a few days ago. Fan Yongdou thought so in despair.
Then, when he was escorted to the flower hall in the front yard, his eyes almost popped out of his head, "Yuxin, Yufu, you... why are you here, this, this, this... Oh my God!"
"Grandpa! Grandpa..." The two grandsons, who were about eleven or twelve years old, burst into tears when they saw Fan Yongdou, but they were being held captive by Ye Bu and could not rush over.
Fan Yongdou's eyes went dark and he almost fainted. It was over. The Fan family was finished this time.
Huang Lianshan walked up to Fan Yongdou and said calmly, "Without the Eight Families of Shanyou, the Qing Dynasty would not have had the opportunity to grow stronger, and there would not have been so many Han people dying under the butcher's knife of the Eight Banners Army. It is not too much to exterminate the nine clans of the Eight Families of Shanyou. Today, I, under the order of King Qin, will take action in all places at the same time to search and confiscate the Eight Families of Shanyou. If I let one of you escape, my reputation as Ye Bu Shou will be ruined.
Fan Yongdou, give up on that idea. Tell me the truth about where the money is buried, and you will suffer less physical pain. Otherwise, I will let your whole family go through eighteen kinds of torture, and make you unable to live or die.
Of course, if you cooperate with me readily, I will plead with the King of Qin, and perhaps I can preserve a bloodline of your Fan family. Otherwise, the incense of the Fan family will be cut off from now on."
Huang Lianshan's words were like daggers piercing Fan Yongdou's heart. His son, eldest grandson and second grandson, who had been arranged to go out to avoid disaster, were all caught and brought back. The entire Fan family was wiped out. Even if you don't reveal the location of the hidden silver, the Fan family will not be able to enjoy it.
"Sir, if you can help my Fan family plead with the King of Qin, I, Fan Yongdou, am willing to give you millions of family wealth." Fan Yongdou still did not give up and said in a low voice.
"Hahaha..." Huang Lianshan couldn't help but burst out laughing after hearing this.
Why didn't Ma Yongzhen dare to take the money from the eight families in Shanyou? You should know that at that time, the King of Qin had not yet issued an order to confiscate the eight families in Shanyou.
Perhaps, in addition to Ma Yongzhen's unwillingness to take the risk of being a "founding hero", he also knew that Yebushou was omnipresent. As the commander of Yebushou, Huang Lianshan was more aware of the complexity of Yebushou's internal affairs.
He still remembered the last time Wu Meicun and other Donglin Party members gathered in Suzhou. He, the commander, had just received the news and had not yet reported it, but the King of Qin seemed to know it earlier than him. Whenever he thought of this incident, Huang Lianshan became alert and did not dare to take any chances.
Not to mention that this time the search of the eight families in Shanyou involved the army, officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue. Even if they were just conducting the search at night, Huang Lianshan would not dare to guarantee that he could hide the bribery from the King of Qin, let alone a huge bribe of one million.
Huang Lianshan laughed loudly and said calmly: "Although I love money, I know that I have to live to spend it. Fan Yongdou, you are a smart man and you should know this. If you have lost your life, what is the point of keeping more money? Tell the truth, otherwise I will be a bad guy."
When Fan Yongdou hesitated for a moment, Huang Lianshan immediately waved his hand, and several night guards rushed over like wolves and tigers, threw a rope on the beam, and tied one of Fan Yongdou's feet neatly and hung him upside down amid Fan Yongdou's screams. These guys were veterans in the Jinyiwei prison who were in charge of executions. Huang Lianshan specially selected them... ...
Everyone in the Fan family compound was driven to the center of the compound. Together with the servants, there were more than 400 people. Among them, Fan Yongdou and his sons' wives and concubines totaled 153 people, each of whom had a large number of beautiful wives and concubines.
This was only a part of it. There were still many members of the Fan family scattered in Zhangjiakou, Taiyuan, Datong and other places. They were now like fish in a frying pan. They were already scared half to death. Suddenly, they heard Fan Yongdou's shrill screams from the flower hall, like the cry of a wild ghost. The Fan family members in the yard were even more frightened and turned pale. Some of them could not even stand and fell to the ground.
This house-raiding operation was unprecedented in scale. Ma Yongzhen dispatched a total of 7,000 soldiers and horses to assist in the operation, and all the properties and personnel of the eight families in Shanyou that were scattered across the country were seized in one fell swoop.
Throughout Shanxi, there were dozens of counties and prefectures involved in this house-raiding operation;
According to the intelligence collected by Ye Bu, the total assets of the eight families in Shanyou are definitely no less than 10 million taels. Such a huge amount of assets is probably the largest-scale property seizure operation in history.
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ps: I saw a news report on Phoenix TV yesterday that a beggar in Beijing can send 10,000 yuan home every month. I couldn't help but feel deeply moved... We little writers beg for this and that every day, but at best we are just like the violinists in the subway station. How many people can really appreciate your violin? We are not as well off as others shaking a broken plate.
But even though I feel emotional, I can't really shake the plate on the street. I'd better continue to play my violin, playing it with all my heart, at least when you pass by a subway station in the dead of night, you won't feel scared... ... .
.(To be continued..)
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