At night of Xu, Ran Sheng led twenty of his sergeants, led by the county's Tingfu, Bing Cao Shi, Thieves' Captor, and two Ding family villagers, out of the west gate of Qiantang County. In the bright and cold moon of early winter,
He hurried down to Chu's manor seven miles away.
Chu's Manor is located at the southern foot of Qiyun Mountain. It originally faced mountains and rivers, covering an area of 100 hectares, and had hundreds of villagers. There was also a manor covering dozens of hectares on the south bank of Qiantang. However, since the year before last, Chu Jian was demoted to
After the common people and the Chu family were deprived of their gentry status, in addition to the twenty hectares of official land originally granted to them, most of the land that the Chu family had acquired through various means over the years was also ordered to be returned to the homesteaders. Now the Chu family's
The land area is less than one-third of what it was at its peak, about 40 hectares, which is not as good as Liujiabao among the common landowners. As for the original fifty shady households, half of them have been dispersed, and the remaining ones have been re-registered with official registration.
The tax-paying service can no longer serve the Chu family as before. The Chu family's family prestige has plummeted. Chu Wenqian and Chu Wenbin's qualifications as fifth-rank scholars have also been cancelled. The Chu family's children no longer have the opportunity to enter the officialdom. They are poorer than ordinary people with a more innocent family background.
The family was worse off. This was heartbreaking for Chu Jian, who always thought he was talented and knowledgeable. He became the sinner of the family's decline. Regret and resentment were biting his heart all the time——
The people of the Chu clan, who were accustomed to being arrogant in this county, suddenly fell from the clouds to the mud. Although they had no worries about food and clothing, compared with the past, their inner pride and sense of superiority were gone. Moreover, the children of the family could not serve as officials, so they were gone.
I hope that this strong contrast will make the Chu clan people accumulate a surly attitude, so they will use this time to get in touch with the bandits in Wuchao Mountain. Those bandits are refugees who are unwilling to register for service. The Chu clan originally
He just wanted the hidden house in the manor to avoid being registered, but after interacting with bandits a lot, he came up with the idea of robbing homes. Didn't Shi Chong make his fortune through robbery? And more importantly, since the year before last,
Other noble families in the Qian Tang Dynasty unanimously ignored the Chu family. The Zhu family, the Fan family, and the Dai family, all the in-laws of the Chu family, terminated their marriages with the Chu family one after another. Chu Wenbin's wife Dai was asked by the tribe to divorce Chu Wenbin and marry off.
Several Chu girls also had their engagements annulled. The Chu family felt extremely humiliated. Not only did they hate Chen Caozhi and the Chen family, but they also hated other noble families in Qiantang, thinking of colluding with bandits.
Looting these money from the Tang gentry, Chenjiawu would never let it go——
Now Chu's heart has been blinded by hatred and he is reckless about the consequences.
That night, Chu Jian was discussing matters with Chu Wenqian and others in the hall. Chu Wenqian said: "Uncle, I heard that Chen Caozhi will go to Kuaiji to review the soil judgment in the near future. I, the Chu family, still have thirty secluded households, so I have to be careful."
Chu Jian said: "Chen Caozhi is in charge of Kuaiji, not Qiantang. Hey, everyone knows that Chen Caozhi is favored by Huan Wen, but I thought it was quite different. Huan Wen wants Chen Caozhi to die, and the whole county of Kuaiji
, where powerful families are entrenched, it is the most difficult place to carry out land-breaking operations. I predict that Chen Caozhi will be ruined and will repeat the same mistakes as Shanya."
Chu Jian's son Chu Wenbin gritted his teeth and said: "Should we let the people from Wuchaoshan just kidnap and kill Chen Caozhi on the way and finish it off?"
Chu Jian shook his head and said: "Chen Caozhi cannot be killed. After all, he is an official of the imperial court. The mob in Wuchao Mountain do not have the courage. Moreover, Chen Caozhi must have a lot of manpower to review Tujuan. Don't mess with him, just let Chen Caozhi
Just go to Kuaiji and hit a wall."
Chu Wenqian said: "The people from Wuchaoshan sneaked into Qiantang this time, and the trouble they caused can be attributed to the people's dissatisfaction with Tuduan, and it is also a means to attack Chen Caozhi——"
While he was talking, he suddenly heard the noise and chaos outside the courtyard. Chu Jian frowned and said, "What's going on? Wen Qian, go and have a look."
Chu Wenqian got up and just walked to the hall door when a banker stumbled in and shouted: "It's not good, it's not good, the bandits are coming!"
Chu Wenqian was almost knocked to the ground by the banker. At this time, he didn't care about scolding and asked quickly: "Where did the bandit come from?"
The villager was out of breath and said: "Bandits, those with swords are shining brightly. Mr. Wen Qian, listen -"
When Chu Wenqian heard this, a powerful voice shouted in the noise: "We are bandits. We are bandits. We only steal wealth but not kill people. Stand under the row of flower trees and don't move!"
Chu Wenqian slapped his forehead and thought to himself: "He must be from Wuchaoshan. Why did he arrive today? He must have grabbed the wrong place." He grabbed the lantern from the servant next to him and strode towards the front yard. He saw him from a distance.
A group of people, wearing black scarves and covering their faces, holding open flames and holding knives, were very aggressive. The villagers and servants were driven to the south wall and knelt down——
Chu Wenqian was afraid that these bandits would hurt people, so he shouted loudly: "Is this the leader Su from Wuchao Mountain? I am Chu Wenqian, you have come to the wrong place. This is my Chu family manor -"
A strong voice asked: "Is this the Chu Manor? I thought it was Chenjiawu."
He was really from Wuchaoshan. Chu Wenqian breathed a sigh of relief and hurried up to meet him, saying, "Chenjiawu is on the other side of the river. Didn't we agree that I, the Chu family's guest, would lead the way to Chenjiawu in the near future?"
The majestic voice asked: "Go to Chenjiawu! Will you loot Chenjiawu?"
Chu Wenqian thought to himself: "This person is stupid, how can he say such a thing loudly in public!" He said: "Since you are here, please come to the back hall to get together, drink wine, eat meat, and talk slowly and carefully -"
Before Chu Wenqian could finish his words, he saw a burly figure rushing towards him, faster than a galloping horse. He was in front of him in the blink of an eye. Before Chu Wenqian could recover, he was grabbed by the chest and his feet were lifted off the ground.
"Pah!" After being slapped several times, his mouth was immediately filled with blood, and his ears were "buzzing". He was actually deafened, and he did not hear what this burly and unusually tall man said——
"This thief really dares to collude with the bandits and intends to harm our Chenjiawu clan! Guys, you all heard it, right? This is evidence that the Chu family colluded with the Wuchaoshan bandits."
The speaker was Ran Sheng. He deliberately pretended to be a bandit and broke into Chu's manor. After a try, he found that Chu was really colluding with the bandits and that Chenjiawu was going to be robbed in the near future. How could Ran Sheng not be so angry that he felt that
With one punch, he broke several of Chu Wenqian's sternums, then threw him at the feet of the Qiantang County thief, and said: "Tie them up, tie up all the men of the Chu family."
When those villagers saw the county's thieves, soldiers, Cao Shi, and court officials coming, they all remained silent, how could they dare to resist.
Ran Sheng led twenty soldiers into the backyard and tied up all the adult men of the Chu family from Chu Jian on down, a total of thirty-seven people.
Nowadays, Ran Sheng's face is full of beard, which is very different from his appearance as a boy, but Chu Wenbin still recognized Ran Sheng from his eight-foot tall body and shouted: "Dad, this is Ran Sheng, Chen Caozhi's servant!"
Ran Sheng ordered the sergeant to slap Chu Wenbin until he was as fat as a pig's head.
Chu Jian was born in a noble family and became a sixth-grade county magistrate. He was considered pampered and privileged. He had never seen such violence. His hands and feet were trembling. He forced himself to calmly say: "Ran Sheng, please don't be rude. I was once a sixth-grade official in the county.
The county magistrates all showed great respect to me when they saw me——"
Ran Sheng raised his hand and wanted to give Chu Jian a slap in the face, but he saw that Chu Jian's face was wrinkled and his hair was gray. Thinking of the "The Analects of Confucius" that Chen Caozhi and Run'er taught him to read on weekdays, he did not start, but said coldly: "Master said, respect the elders and respect them.
Xian, you are such an unworthy old man, and I am too lazy to beat you. We have our own national laws and regulations to punish you, an old thief."
The court officials of Qiantang County summoned the administrators and stewards of the Chu family's manor. Now the seventeen hermits in the manor were tied up and sent to the county office in the city overnight together with the thirty-seven men of the Chu family, leaving behind
Ting Yu and five sergeants guarded the manor, preventing Chu's guests from going out at will——
Those Chu clan members procrastinated all the way, crying for their fathers and mothers, and it was already past midnight when they arrived at the county office. Feng Mengxiong, Chen Caozhi, Xie Daoyun, and Ding Yi were all waiting at the county office. Feng Mengxiong had always advocated letting things go, and seeing Ran
Sheng captured all the men of the Chu family, and was shocked. He deeply blamed Ran Sheng for his recklessness. After hearing the report of Bing Cao Shi and the thieves, he learned that the Chu family had indeed colluded with the Wuchaoshan bandits, and had recently
Plotting to rob Chenjiawu, Feng Mengxiong couldn't help but sweat on his chest. If something happened to Chenjiawu, how would he face Chen Xian and Chen Caozhi? Fortunately, Chen Cao's order Ran Sheng acted vigorously and resolutely tonight and captured the Chu family and his hidden house in one fell swoop.
——
Feng Mengxiong summoned Wu County Lieutenant, and together with the thieves, they interrogated Chu Wenbin and the seventeen hermits, and ordered the history of events to be recorded. Feng Mengxiong did not interrogate Chu Jian, because Chu Jian was over fifty years old, and he was in the past.
Feng Mengxiong, his boss, couldn't bear to interrogate him as a prisoner. Chu Wenbin was young and had no government, so the interrogation was easier. As for Chu Wenqian, he had been beaten deaf by Ran Sheng and could no longer be interrogated.
The facts of the case soon became clear. The evidence of collusion between the Chu family and the Wuchaoshan bandits was conclusive. Chu Wenbin and the hidden households confessed and were taken into custody. Thirty-seven members of the Chu family were imprisoned. Feng Mengxiong urgently reported the case to the county——
Seeing that the truth of the case had been revealed, Ding Yi finally couldn't bear the hardship anymore and said goodbye to everyone and returned to Ding's manor. Chen Caozhi sent him to the oxcart and said: "Uncle Ding, this junior will discuss with County Magistrate Feng first how to eliminate the Chaoshan bandits in the afternoon, and so on.
I’ll pick up my sister-in-law and the others at the ferry next time.”
Ding Yidao: "If Cao Zhi hadn't come back this time and dealt with the matter decisively, the Chu family's thieves would have looted Chenjiawu, and Youwei, Zongzhi, and Run'er would have made a mistake, and it would have been difficult for the Chu family to save the three clans.
ah."
Chen Caozhi also felt scared. It was also the first time for him to deeply understand the cruelty of the struggle between families. The character of the Wei and Jin Dynasties included leisurely meeting Nanshan and Xingtianwu Qianqi.
Ding Yi added: "The Chu family has committed a serious crime this time. The main culprit will be imprisoned. According to the laws of Jin, the Chu family will be reduced to military households and escorted to the military mansion. There is no need to worry about the Chu family's threat in the future."
Chen Caozhi returned to the county office and discussed with Feng Mengxiong, Xie Daoyun, Wu County Lieutenant and Ran Sheng about the suppression of Chaoshan bandits in the afternoon of the Qing Dynasty. The Wu County Lieutenant knew that the Chu family had completely fallen this time, so how could he dare to speak for the Chu family?
Seriously offered advice and suggestions to arrange the capture of the Wuchaoshan Bandits——
According to Chu's confession, the Wuchaoshan bandits will be out in force in the near future, crossing Wulin Mountain to attack Chenjiawu. Chen Caozhi picked a hermit and promised him a heavy reward to go to Wuchao Mountain to report the news.
Lure the bandits to gather at Chu's manor in order to catch them all. Because the arrest of the Chu clan is at night and outsiders don't know yet, this plan should be feasible——
To be on the safe side, Chenjiawu also had to take strict precautions. Chen Caozhi came forward to confront the Quan family, and the Ding family borrowed hundreds of private soldiers to help Chenjiawu defend against bandits.
