Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Almost at the same time, the rest of the guards and soldiers drew their swords and slashed or stabbed, killing all the merchants present.

The servants and actors in the mansion all prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling in fear, not daring to say a word.

Groups of soldiers scattered around the Huang Mansion. Some were responsible for guarding the various courtyards to prevent the people in the Huang Mansion from escaping, while others were responsible for capturing the Huang Mansion's family members.

In front of the servants and the opera troupe, Sun Chuanting held up the birthday gift list for Huang Yongfa and said:

"The fourteen families on the gift list secretly smuggled food, fodder and weapons for the Jiannu. They are all thieves who harm the country! Behead them in public and confiscate their property!"

Soon, all the family members of the Huang Mansion were captured and tied up in the huge courtyard of the Huang Mansion. They wailed as they looked at the corpses scattered all over the ground, and some were so frightened that they fainted.

Sun Chuanting stepped over the corpses one by one, looked around at the relatives of the Huang family with a stern face, and said with a half sigh and a half question:

"The imperial court is exhausted, and the people are bandits, all because of hunger and lack of land to farm!

Their fields have long been seized and annexed by people like you, causing the bandits to become more rampant. They have been wiped out many times, but they can always make a comeback.

He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Do you know what the hearts of the people are?

People's hearts are food! They are a constant source of reserve troops!

Not only did you embezzle farmland, but worse, you colluded with the Jiannu and transported precious grain outside the Great Wall. This is aiding the enemy and committing treason to the country.

Following the order of the Grand Marshal, according to the Great Ming Law, all three clans will be exterminated to serve as a warning to others!"

"Behead!" Sun Chuanting ordered angrily.

After saying this, the soldiers raised their swords and killed all the crying relatives of the Huang family.

The Huang Mansion was filled with blood, with sticky blood flowing everywhere. However, Sun Chuanting was used to the cruelty of the battlefield and was completely unaware of such a scene.

He walked up to Taiyuan prefect Wei Keyong, lowered his body and whispered:

"Master Wei, what do you think of what happened today?"

That Wei Ke was wiping the blood off his face with a handkerchief. When he heard this, his hand trembled and the handkerchief fell to the ground.

His face was filled with fear, he stood up, knelt on the ground and kowtowed:

"Governor, please spare my life! Governor, please spare my life!"

Wei Keyong had been an official for more than ten years and was able to become the prefect of Taiyuan, so he was certainly no ordinary person. He knew what Sun Chuanting was trying to do. Mobilizing such a large force to deal with the wealthy was definitely to raise military funds for the court.

Under this premise, everything makes sense.

He was just shocked by Sun Chuanting's courage. As the prefect of Taiyuan, he was well aware of the capabilities of these Shanxi merchants. With just one letter, all the officials in the court would speak for them, and it would not be difficult to bring down a governor.

But... Sun Chuanting was too cruel. He didn't even give people any chance. According to his guess, the 20,000 troops led by Sun Chuanting were definitely well prepared.

He even speculated that the wealthy families in the surrounding states and counties were likely to suffer tragic misfortunes as well. Since everyone was dead, naturally there would be fewer people who would object.

Would the important officials in the court risk their lives for a group of dead people?

He knew a lot, but he dared not say anything. He was very sure that if he offended Sun Chuanting, he would never be able to leave the Huang Mansion alive.

Wei Keyong just kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, and his forehead soon became swollen.

Sun Chuanting clearly had no intention of letting Wei Keyong go easily. He drew out his sword and continued:

"Don't tell me you're innocent, okay?

You only have this one chance, whether you can survive or not depends entirely on you."

Wei Keyong's guess was indeed correct. Sun Chuanting had not only been waiting in Taiyuan Prefecture for several days. During these days, he had sent out more than 200 scouts.

The purpose is to find out the eight major Shanxi merchants and the wealthy families that have strong ties with these eight major merchants.

These wealthy families certainly knew that the actual trading partner of the Eight Great Families was the Jiannu, but they were still willing to collect and supply the required goods for the other party and make a profit from it. This was the way to death.

The order given by the Grand Marshal was very simple at the time, which was to kill these black sheep with drastic measures, even if some people died unjustly.

Sun Chuanting was certainly decisive, or it would not be an exaggeration to describe him as ruthless.

But in the end, he still used the few days he had to find out who were the other merchants colluding with the Eight Great Families and tried his best to avoid wrongful killings.

Either don't do it, or do it thoroughly and never give such people a chance to turn things around.

Late last night, he secretly sent out more than a dozen teams of 500 people each to nearby cities such as Jiexiu, Taigu, Fenzhou, Qixian, and Pingyao.

These teams arrived at their respective destinations almost on time. Holding military orders from the Governor-General of Hanzhong, the Governor-General of Xuanda, and the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World, they ordered the soldiers guarding the city to open the city gates and arrest people.

In the entire 200-year history of the Ming Dynasty, there was no one who could demonstrate such efficiency and such momentum.

The power that the current emperor has bestowed upon the world's military commander-in-chief is unprecedented and will never be repeated. Even a mere county magistrate dares not disobey him.

This was all within Sun Chuanting's expectations. Judging from the time, the teams responsible for the arrest in other places should have completed their mission.

"Your subordinate...your subordinate..." It was the middle of winter, but sweat was pouring down Wei Ke's face like free beans.

"Given your crimes, it would not be too much to execute your entire clan.

I have heard that Lord Wei dotes on his youngest son the most. If your answer satisfies me, you will certainly not survive, but I can ensure that your child is safe. Think about it carefully."

Sun Chuanting said gently while stroking the blade of the sword in his hand.

But the gentler Sun Chuanting was, the more frightened Wei Keyong was, because it was in such a gentle tone that Sun Chuanting overturned Huang Yongfa's desk.

It was just as Sun Chuanting said, Wei Keyong had a son in his old age, and the son was the only child in the family, so he was extremely doted on.

There are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants. When it comes to the choice of dying alone or with the whole family dying, Wei Keyong would not hesitate and said immediately:

"I have already taken your relatives into the military camp. You should know my name. They will not be treated humiliatingly in the military camp.

But life and death are all in your hands, so you better take care of it."

After the matter was finalized, Sun Chuanting immediately ordered the arrest of officials from the Provincial Government. With Wei Keyong as a tool, these people could not escape the blame.

The Huang Mansion's housekeeper, accountant and other high-ranking servants were all beheaded. More than 200 servants employed by the Huang Mansion refused to surrender and were shot to death by arrows.

The remaining low-level servants were dismissed by Sun Chuanting on the spot. Half an hour later, the Huang Mansion finally became completely quiet.

Another half an hour later, the teams in charge of other large households in various places sent people to report that all places had executed the orders according to the plan and there were no major omissions.

Sun Chuanting ordered the messengers:

"Go back and tell them that no one will be spared and the treasury will be sealed. Anyone who dares to embezzle will be executed without mercy!"

After the messenger left, Sun Chuanting sighed, and the stone in his heart finally fell halfway.

"Oh! I hope everything goes well with Lord Lu."

……