ATPnovel Chapter 20 Confiscating the Property of Shanxi Merchants
Chapter 20 Confiscating the Property of Shanxi Merchants
On the third day of the second month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign, at the third quarter of the Yin hour
At this time, not a ray of light appeared on the horizon. The night outside the Great Wall was as dark as ink, enveloping Zhangjiakou Fortress. The cold wind swept across the city walls, making a wailing sound, like the wailing of ghosts.
Most of the people and merchants in the entire border fort were still asleep, and all was quiet. However, the Fan family's residence and warehouse were already lit up, bustling with activity.
Fan Yongdou got up at the beginning of the morning.
He has maintained this routine since he started inspecting the goods a few days ago, personally supervising the work and never being negligent.
Today is the day the first batch of goods will be shipped out of the country this spring, and there can be no mistakes. So he continues to get up early to supervise the work, and he will only feel at ease when he sees a large number of goods being shipped out of the country.
Dressed in casual clothes with a cloak over them, Fan Yongdou stood in front of his own warehouse.
Seeing the servants and drivers who were already busy carrying grain, loading carts, and counting the grain before dawn, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.
A butler quickly stepped forward, bowed, and whispered an ingratiating message.
"Master, everything is ready. The first batch of thirty-six grain carts and twelve iron carts have all been loaded and secured."
All the necessary travel documents and permits were ready, and word came from Datong that all checkpoints and passes along the way would be open to the public without any obstruction.
"it is good."
Fan Yongdou nodded slightly, his tone seemingly calm, yet unable to conceal his high spirits.
"Give the order that they depart promptly in 25 minutes and not be delayed."
"Tell the scouts ahead to keep a close watch, pay them well, and immediately send someone back to report any unusual activity along the way."
"Don't worry, sir, I understand!"
The butler responded and quickly withdrew to arrange the departure.
Fan Yongdou looked up towards the direction of the fortress gate, his gaze deep, and then paced slowly outside the warehouse, calculating the time.
However, at that moment, a light yet orderly sound of footsteps suddenly came from the main street inside the fortress towards the Fan family's main warehouse.
The footsteps were uniform and rhythmic, unlike the chaotic footsteps of ordinary people walking or merchants hurrying along the road, or the loose sounds of their own servants patrolling at night.
That was the sound of marching footsteps, accompanied by… the sound of armor clashing?!
It's a large army!
army?
Fan Yongdou's smile froze instantly.
Why were there military operations inside the fort at this time?
Moreover, they had never heard any rumors before?
This shouldn't be happening!
His heart skipped a beat, and a nameless unease pierced his chest like a needle.
But soon, he subconsciously shook his head, forcibly suppressing this unease.
After all, leaving aside other border passes, just talking about the border troops in Xuanfu and Zhangjiakou, from the generals and garrison commanders down to the lowest-ranking soldiers, which one of them hadn't received money from those eight families?
Even if troops are mobilized at night to rotate patrols, they will never disturb the residences of the eight families, let alone openly target them.
It must have been the garrison's routine night patrol and troop rotation, but today the commotion was a bit bigger.
Yes, that's the only explanation.
Fan Yongdou turned around, preparing to return to the courtyard next to the main warehouse to rest for a while. He felt that he had been working too hard these past few days, and his nerves were on edge.
But shortly after he turned around, the sound of orderly footsteps grew more frequent and heavy.
At the same time, there were clear sounds of armor clashing, horses' hooves, and shouts.
These dangerous signals swept in from all directions like a tidal wave, causing him to freeze in place once again.
No, it wasn't just the main street; at this moment, even the east and west walls and the backyard of the Fan residence were filled with the orderly and menacing movements of soldiers!
The composure and calmness on Fan Yongdou's face suddenly cracked open, like a mirror shattering.
That unease instantly amplified, like ice water poured over him from head to toe.
Now that things have come to this, he understands perfectly well.
This is not a city patrol and garrison rotation at all, but a large-scale encirclement by the army, a lockdown of the city and its gates!
"Master! Master! Something terrible has happened!"
The trusted steward, who had previously reported the good news to him, turned pale and scrambled in from outside. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees, trembling all over and his voice trembling with sobs, clearly terrified.
"What's going on? Why are you all so flustered? What kind of behavior is this!"
Fan Yongdou demanded an explanation, but his own voice tightened slightly at that moment.
"The gates are all closed! The drawbridge is up!"
The butler lay on the ground, crying incoherently.
"The city wall is full of soldiers I don't recognize!"
Our men were captured the moment they got close to the fortress gate!
The main street and alleyways, as well as all the side streets inside the fort, were all occupied by government troops!
They were all heavily armored soldiers, people we'd never seen before!
"Whose troops are they?"
Are they the garrison troops of Xuanfu or the border troops of Datong?
Fan Yongdou pressed him for answers, his unease turning into panic.
"No! None of those!"
The butler shook his head frantically, his mouth trembling as he spoke.
"Judging from their banners, they are... soldiers from Shaanxi!"
The banner had a large character "洪" (Hong) written on it!
They've completely surrounded Zhangjiakou Fort! Not even a bird can fly out!
Hong Chengchou!
Qin troops from Shaanxi!
This confidence struck Fan Yongdou like a thunderbolt, instantly shaking him to his core, causing his vision to go black, and nearly making him lose his footing.
Wasn't Hong Chengchou's Qin army constantly suppressing bandits in Shaanxi?
Haven't they always been based in Xi'an?
How did they suddenly appear in Zhangjiakou?
How could Hong Chengchou suddenly lead a large army to surround the entire border fortress?
That's impossible!
With their connections and informants spread throughout the nine border regions, how could they not have received a single word of Hong Chengchou's massive northward march?
How could there have been no warning at all?
But the situation no longer allowed him to continue thinking about it.
Just then, almost simultaneously, deafening sounds of banging on doors and shouts of killing erupted from the four directions outside the Fan family's main warehouse: east, west, south, and north!
Not only at the Fan residence, but also at the residences, headquarters, and warehouses of seven families, including Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, and Wang Dayu, throughout Zhangjiakou Fort, the sound of doors being broken down was heard at the same time.
Immediately afterwards, countless neat, cold, and murderous shouts resounded like thunder throughout Zhangjiakou Fortress, quickly spreading to every street and alley.
"We are acting on imperial orders to investigate and seize the property of traitorous merchants Fan Yongdou and Wang Dengku, along with their associates!"
"Zhangjiakou Fort is under complete lockdown effective immediately; no one is allowed to enter or leave!"
"Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without exception! Those who conspire will have their entire families implicated!"
By imperial decree?!
It was an imperial decree!
It's Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing who's about to take action against them!
Fan Yongdou stood there, his body ice-cold, his blood seemingly frozen in an instant, and the last shred of hope in his heart was completely shattered and vanished.
Now he finally understands.
The so-called "cleansing of the Jingbei Garrison" and the "new policy turmoil" are all fake and a complete cover-up!
The Chongzhen Emperor, whom they had always looked down upon and thought to be weak, incompetent, and unable to take care of himself, had actually devised a grand scheme to devour the eight Shanxi merchants alive!
What a brilliant tactic! What a brilliant tactic indeed!
Without making a sound, they transferred Hong Chengchou's Shaanxi Qin army, and they must have also secretly threatened the border generals of Xuanda in advance.
That's why they cut off their eyes and ears, and had no idea that a large army was marching north.
Emperor Chongzhen had laid a trap, waiting for them to lower their guard and frantically stockpile goods before striking to wipe them out in one fell swoop!
Twenty-four years of dreams of getting rich quick! Just when they thought they had everything under control at the Xuanfu border and that they were as secure as Mount Tai, the emperor's butcher's knife slowly fell.
In the end, they were nothing more than a bunch of fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered on the emperor's chopping block!
"Master! Something terrible has happened! The soldiers have broken down the front gate!"
"Master! The backyard is surrounded! The secret passage... the entrance to the secret passage has also been blocked by soldiers!"
"The guards couldn't hold them off...they were all killed! The government troops are too strong! We simply can't stop them!"
One mournful cry after another came from the news, accompanied by the ever-approaching sounds of clashing weapons and screams, striking Fan Yongdou's heart like a death knell.
He snapped back to his senses, and even in the face of life and death, he forcibly suppressed his extreme panic and gritted his teeth, shouting sharply.
"What's the panic! Open the secret passage in the back garden and run west to the mountains! Run towards the border! Let's surrender to the Qing Dynasty!"
He still held onto a sliver of hope.
As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. In recent years, Fan Yongdou has built a secret passage in the backyard of his mansion and in the most important main warehouse garden, leading directly to the western mountains outside the fortress.
Further north from the Western Hills lies the border, a very remote place where only his most trusted servants guarded a shipment of gold and carriages at the exit of a secret passage.
Therefore, as long as he enters the secret passage, he can escape to safety, and the Qing Dynasty, considering his many years of merit, will surely spare his life.
There's no need to worry about his family home; his wife and children know the location of the backup secret passage, therefore...
But before he could act, a deafening roar suddenly came from the direction of the back garden of the main warehouse.
boom--!!!
The blue brick wall of the back garden was directly smashed down by the Qin army's battering ram.
Countless Qin soldiers, clad in black armor and wielding long spears, surged in like a tidal wave.
The leading general was burly and held a long sword. Behind him followed the Imperial Guards, whose embroidered spring knives were carried at their waists. He shouted loudly, his voice echoing throughout the courtyard.
"Your backup passage has been sealed! Fan Yongdou! You're doomed!"
"By imperial decree, apprehend the thief! Those who resist will be killed without mercy!"
Finished!
This is it, everything is ruined!
Fan Yongdou's body went limp, the cloak in his hand fell to the ground, his face was ashen, his eyes were empty, and he had completely lost all his strength.
In less than half an incense stick's time, all the guards and servants in the Fan family's main warehouse who dared to resist were killed on the spot by the Qin army!
Blood splattered all over the bluestone floor, and screams rang out one after another. There was no one left to resist in the main warehouse.
The remaining servants, coachmen, and women and children doing odd jobs were all driven into the courtyard by the Qin army, where they squatted down with their heads in their hands, trembling and not daring to make the slightest move.
Before long, Fan Yongdou's eldest son, his trusted steward, and several senior accountants were all taken into the main granary by Qin soldiers.
They were forcefully pushed to the ground, their hands were tied behind their backs, and cold iron chains instantly locked their necks and hands.
They were slammed hard onto the cold ground, their foreheads hitting the bluestone slabs, and blood flowed down instantly.
Fan Yongdou looked at his son and the steward wailing pitifully, and as if he had come back to his senses, he struggled to lift his head and look out of the courtyard gate.
At this moment, the entire main street was densely packed with Qin soldiers.
There's no need to think about it anymore; the leaders of the other seven families, including Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, and Liang Jiabin, have definitely been captured just like him.
What a heinous crime it is to smuggle and betray one's country.
Fan Yongdou's face was ashen; he didn't even have the strength to beg for mercy.
He could only watch helplessly as the Imperial Guards and eunuchs who had accompanied the army tortured his steward and accountant on the spot, and then dragged them to open the treasury.
Fan Yongdou was soon roughly pressed to the ground by the soldiers, and watched helplessly as Qin soldiers carried out boxes of silver he had saved up all his life from the underground vault.
Under the firelight, the dusty silver appeared dark and dull; heaven knows how many years ago it was hidden in the underground vault.
Bags of grain that he intended to smuggle to the Later Jin were also identified by the drivers and servants and brought back from the caravan outside.
His collection of pearls, ginseng, sable fur, and other treasures was all confiscated, registered, and none were left behind.
The accountant, already tortured, was in tears as he trembled and meticulously recorded the amounts of silver and grain under the watchful eyes of the Imperial Guards.
At this moment, the same scene was playing out in the mansions and warehouses of several other major Shanxi merchants.
Li Ruolian, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had been sent to Shanxi by Emperor Chongzhen to assist Hong Chengchou in confiscating the property of Shanxi merchants, was sitting on the main street of Zhangjiakou Fort, leisurely listening to the cries of agony and pleas for mercy coming from the distant courtyards.
Meanwhile, in Datong, General Wang Pu was diligently searching the transit warehouses set up by the eight major Shanxi merchants under his very nose, with the "assistance" of the supervising eunuch and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The Wang family of Datong has received a lot of benefits from Shanxi merchants over the years, so in theory, they shouldn't be able to escape the misfortune that has befallen the Shanxi merchants.
Fortunately, the benevolent emperor gave him a chance to redeem himself through meritorious service.
Half of the family's land was confiscated as imperial estates, and the emperor would not take any of the untapped wealth. The past was wiped clean, and the emperor promised not to interfere again, but Wang Pu had to provide a pledge of loyalty.
That was to help the imperial court seize and confiscate all the properties of the eight major Shanxi merchants in various places.
Of course, he could choose to stubbornly deny it, but in that case, the ones who went to Datong a few days ago wouldn't have been the Imperial Guards and supervising eunuchs who coerced him.
Instead, it was the 8,000 Guan Ning cavalry who were currently stationed and resting in Baoding and were very willing to listen to the emperor.
Wang Pu is a clever man; he knows which path to choose.
The garrison in Xuanfu, especially Zhangjiakou Fort, completely sold off the eight major Shanxi merchants under the same "pardon" conditions.
Hong Chengchou, who coordinated the troop deployment to the north to raid the homes of Shanxi merchants, also fully demonstrated his competence.
After a full morning, the Imperial Guards, who had subjected Fan Yongdou and the others to severe torture, finally handed over their interrogation results to Hong Chengchou.
Preliminary inventory revealed that the total amount of cash and valuable jewelry held in the eight accounts in Zhangjiakoubao and Datong alone reached 17 million taels.
The combined grain reserves in the two regions amounted to 1.5 million shi (a unit of dry measure).
The remaining farmland, shops, warehouses, and other properties are also worth around 14 million taels of silver.
Even if sold at a discount, it wouldn't be a problem to eventually recoup 12 million taels of silver.
The loot from this house was absolutely shocking!
Even a high-ranking local official like Hong Chengchou trembled slightly as he looked at the list of confiscated property.
The total amount is nearly 30 million taels of silver and a staggering 1.5 million shi of grain!
If such wealth were used in the Northwest, what bandit could not be quelled?
Which disaster-stricken prefecture or county can't be rescued?!
But soon, the meticulous Hong Chengchou also regained his senses.
Since the emperor had already caught these Shanxi merchants smuggling, he naturally had a general understanding of their wealth.
Ultimately, how this money is used is up to the Emperor.
Even though he desperately wanted to persuade the emperor to increase support for the Qin region, he couldn't say it...
Hong Chengchou, who was very adept at the ways of officialdom, ultimately relinquished the power to decide how to deal with these eight Shanxi merchants to Li Ruolian.
Li Ruolian, who already knew the emperor's intentions, did not hold back.
"Don't let them die too easily. Interrogate them one by one, squeeze every last drop of blood from them, and then take them to the execution ground to be executed by slow slicing."
Li Ruolian's words sealed the fate of the eight major Shanxi merchants and their family members.
However, those boxes of blood-stained silver were not immediately transported to the capital.
Emperor Chongzhen had long coveted this huge sum of money and had other plans.