Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 93 Confiscating Xie Qian’s Family (Part )

All of Liu Jian's relatives were arrested and put into the prison van, including Liu Jian himself.

The Liu clan and its relatives were all confiscated.

It took the officers and soldiers half a month just to confiscate Liu Jian's entire clan. During this half month, they not only searched the houses but also killed people.

Liu Jian was the chief minister of the cabinet. He was a big landlord and a wealthy family. Like Heshen of the Qing Dynasty, he not only had many relatives, but also countless slaves and servants, and they were even made up of independent families.

Moreover, these families were all middle-level or above landlords, and some even used Liu Jian's influence to become local big landlords, just like Heshen's steward Liu Quan, who was also a big landlord.

After all, he is a seventh-rank official in the prime minister's office.

But with so many people, the officers and soldiers naturally could not escort them all to Beijing. According to the order that Zhu Houzhao confidently gave to Zhang Yong, they could only kill a group of them first.

That is, all the slaves outside the nine clans of the Liu family and the guests that Liu Jian usually kept had to be killed first!
"Bring me up!"

A group of servants from the Liu Mansion who usually relied on the Liu family's power to bully men and women were all brought up.

"cut!"

With an order.

These former deputy masters had their heads chopped off immediately and blood flowed like a river.

"Bring it up again!"

Another order.

Another group of slaves from the Liu Mansion were escorted up. Although they were called slaves, they were actually powerful people who were used to a life of luxury and sucking the fat of the people. As a result, they were all fat and big-eared. Now, when they were chopped off with a knife, blood spurted out, just like killing a bunch of fat pigs.

In this way, batches of slaves were beheaded.

As a result, the Liu clan's influence in Luoyang, Henan was cut off bit by bit.

The tenant farmers and common people who had been severely oppressed by the Liu family in the past all applauded. They hated the masters of the Liu family, and they hated even more the Liu family's powerful slaves who relied on the Liu family's power to cause trouble.

Liu Jian and his relatives were naturally unable to resist and could only watch their slaves being hacked to death.

Moreover, they also had to face the fate of being killed, all of which was caused by Liu Jian himself.

When he thought about his family being treated like this, Liu Jian could only sigh, not knowing what to say.

……

It is no coincidence.

At this time, the Yuyao Xie family was also facing the fate of being raided, because Xie Qian was also the mastermind behind the murder of Emperor Hongzhi.

Jiangnan has always been a place where officials and gentry gathered, and the Xie family was extremely wealthy.

Not only was Xie Qian himself a cabinet minister, but his younger brother Xie Di was also the governor of Guangdong, and Xie Qian's son Xie Pi was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the 18th year of Hongzhi's reign.

Therefore, the Xie family can be said to be a family of officials. Not only a family of officials, but also a family of wealthy merchants. Trade in the Jiangnan area is developed, and Xie Qian's younger brother is the governor of Guangdong. The Xie family is even richer in business than Liu Jian and others.

Zhang Yong did not go in person to confiscate Xie Qian's family, but he sent two battalions of elite soldiers to Jiangnan.

Among them, Deng Bing, the commander-in-chief of the Yao Camp, was responsible for arresting Xie Qian's clansmen, and Lu Ju, the commander-in-chief of the Fen Camp, was responsible for confiscating Xie Qian's property!

At the same time, Zhu Houzhao ordered Liang Ze, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to lead people to Guangdong to capture Xie Qian's younger brother Xie Di.

In addition, after Zhang Yong received Zhu Houzhao's second order, which was to execute Liu Jian and Xie Qian's ten clans, he immediately sent someone to convey the order to Deng Bing and Lu Ju. Naturally, he wanted Deng Bing and others to kill a group of people other than Xie Qian's nine clans in Yuyao first.

However, at this time, Xie Qian and his clansmen did not know that they were about to face a massacre launched by Zhu Houzhao in revenge for Emperor Hongzhi.

Today, members of the Xie family and the slaves who are under their wings are still enjoying a comfortable and honorable life in the wealthy place of Jiangnan.

After Xie Qian returned to Yuyao, he also annexed land, built gardens on a large scale, and kept many singing girls and actors, and even young boys and girls.

After all, it was already a hundred years after the Ming Dynasty, and in the original history it was also the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The people in Jiangnan had begun to live a luxurious and extravagant life, especially the scholars like Xie Qian. After returning home, the scholars would naturally not abide by the rules and regulations like monks.

Although Xie Qian doesn't have to sleep with three women a day like Ji Xiaolan, it is possible that he will taste a few beautiful maids when he returns to his hometown, and he may even force women to marry him. However, for a wealthy family like his, the common people can do nothing even if they are bullied.

Xie Qian naturally didn't care. After all, the scholar-official class had long regarded playing with young girls as an elegant thing.

The only thing that is not allowed is the emperor. If the emperor does so, it would be licentious and immoral.

Xie Qian has lost a lot of weight in less than a year and can only rely on medicine to keep him going every day, but he still enjoys it.

However, when the officers and soldiers arrived in Yuyao, Xie Qian was not enjoying himself in the mansion, but was meeting with the Japanese pirate leader Du San.

Because the Japanese pirate leader Du San was an important business partner of his Xie family. Although the imperial court had banned maritime trade, and even the officials and gentry in Jiangnan had asked the imperial court to ban maritime trade, the officials and gentry themselves had to do business, and their business partners were these Japanese pirates.

Sometimes, when something is not so clean, that is, something that officials and gentry cannot handle openly, some Japanese pirates are needed to step in.

This is similar to how some officials and gentry in the north invited the Tatars into the Great Wall to plunder villages, and how Shanxi merchants cooperated with the Tatars outside the Great Wall.

"Greetings, Lord. I'm here for no other reason than to send you girls. There are fifty of them in total, all of them are very pretty. They were robbed from the Songjiang Prefecture area, and none of them have even had their first period. I know you like them, so I sent them all here!"

The Japanese pirate leader Du San said to Xie Qian.

Xie Qian looked at the girls standing in the yard outside, nodded, and told his housekeeper: "Send them all to Liuxiang Cave!"

Then Xie Qian said, "Tell me, why do you have to see me this time?"

Normally, Xie Qian would not meet someone like Du San in person. Usually, he would be received by his clansmen or even servants.

But Du San strongly requested to meet Xie Qian in person and offered fifty kidnapped girls as a valuable gift. Xie Qian had no choice but to meet him in person, after all, Du San was an important partner of his Xie family.

"I have been adrift on the sea for more than ten years. I want to return to land to be a military officer and live a peaceful life. I hope the Lord can help me."

Du San said with a smile.

"Yes, although I have returned to my hometown now, I still have some connections. Although I cannot move the Ministry of War in the capital, I still have some connections in the Nanjing Ministry of War. I can arrange for you to be a thousand households in Jiangnan, but not above the guerrilla level! After all, I am no longer a university scholar of the current dynasty!"

Xie Qian said.

"A thousand households is enough! Don't worry, sir. As long as the task is accomplished, I will reward you generously. I plan to do one last murder business and go to Ningbo Prefecture to massacre six villages. When the time comes, all the fields in the six villages will be given to you! I also hope that you will arrange for me to be a thousand households in Ningbo Prefecture. By then, your family can also do business there," Du San replied.

Xie Qian nodded after hearing this: "That's right, please leave. I'm tired. Come, carry me to Liuxiang Cave!"

As Xie Qian said this, he stuffed a pill into his mouth, and immediately he couldn't help but perk up, his face flushed!

At this moment, Xie family’s chief steward Zhou Sheng ran in and said, “Master! It’s bad! A large number of soldiers have arrived outside, and they seem to be heading straight for our Xie Mansion!”

Du San, who had not yet had time to leave, became anxious and looked at Xie Qian: "Lord, what should we do? Are you here to take my things?"

It is normal for Du San to worry about this. After all, he is engaged in illegal business and has killed many civilians. Once he is exposed, Xie Qian will not be able to protect him.

Xie Qian didn't panic, he just suppressed the anger after the effect of the medicine took effect: "Don't worry, no one knows about you and our Xie family. Besides, these soldiers may not come to our Xie family. Even if I am a resigned elder, I can't be easily taken away by Liu Jin, Ma Wensheng and others!"

Xie Qian couldn't hold it in any longer, so he just ordered, "Go call the master, and ask him to go out and ask what these officers and soldiers are doing here! Help me to Liuxiang Cave!"

Xie Qian said this and went there in a hurry. He had just taken the medicine and a certain part of his body felt like it was burning like a hot iron rod.

At this time, the officers and soldiers responsible for searching the house and arresting people had already rushed in.

Deng Bing was a Ming Dynasty nobleman and knew Xie Qian. When he saw Xie Qian, he was afraid that Xie Qian would escape or commit suicide, so he shouted, "Catch Xie Qian first! Quickly!"

So, about twenty officers and soldiers rushed over, blocked Xie Qian, and held him down.

Xie Qian was just beginning to take effect of the drug, and he was eager to find the girl to vent his anger, but now he was pinned to the ground. He was so anxious that his breathing became rapid, and his whole body felt like it was on fire. With a red face, he shouted, "You, what are you doing, you, you!"

Xie Qian was in a hurry and his words were incoherent. The effect of the drug also made his mind full of thoughts about men and women, so he couldn't analyze the possible reasons. He now felt that if he didn't go to Liuxiang Cave, his whole body would explode.

(End of this chapter)