Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 219 Black Mountains and White Waters 4
  "Bastard! Could it be that I am pretending too? This is Mr. Cong of Rongfu. Now he is serving as the guerrilla general of Liaodong Town. Do you want to rebel?" Luo Qiang shouted.

Wu Jinzhong cupped his hands and said, "Lord Luo, please calm down. Cao Min Nai Rong's family members have not known Mr. Cong for generations. How do you know Mr. Cong? This matter needs to be discussed in the long run. I will send someone back to the capital to invite the two gentlemen for instructions." .

If it is really Mr. Cong, I will accept the punishment for being rude today. Now, you two, please go back and see me off! "After saying that, he waved his hand, and hundreds of servants and young men came roaring in the house and on the streets, all holding swords, guns and sticks in their hands.

Wu Jinzhong made up his mind to avoid today's disaster first, and then send more gold and silver to Butler Lai in the mansion. Nothing can be done. Jia Cong is just an unfavored bastard, what can he do to himself? ?
  Jia Cong laughed angrily. He sat on his horse, looked around, and sneered: "The Jia family has not been to Liaodong for decades. Unexpectedly, they have raised a pack of white-eyed wolves. OK, OK, I only say this once, put down your weapons and kneel down." Avoid death."

The men around him heard Jia Cong's voice like ice and saw that he was filled with murderous aura. Many of them were frightened and quietly retreated.

"Don't listen to him! He's an imposter!" Wu Jinzhong shouted loudly, "Defense Luo, this matter has nothing to do with you. Please step aside to avoid accidentally hurting you."

Luo Qiang said angrily: "Wu Jinzhong, do you really want to rebel?"

Jia Cong shook his head and said, "This means not crying without seeing the coffin." He could no longer suppress the murderous desire in his heart, and his voice suddenly became louder, shouting: "Come here! Get Wu Jinzhong! Kill the one who helps the emperor and is a tormentor!"

"I have the order!" The soldiers agreed in a loud voice, drew their swords and guns, and rushed towards the surrounding areas.

"Oh my god, the officers and soldiers are killing people, run away!"

The young men and servants were just bluffing, but these frontier opponents crawled out from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. As soon as they engaged in the battle, they were so frightened that their heads rolled down and blood spurted out, and they all fled in all directions.

At the gate, dozens of servants protecting Wu Jinzhong had no chance to surrender. Zhang Yuanba and others rushed in and were slaughtered in an instant. Only Wu Jinzhong fell to the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Jia Cong ignored him and turned back to Lao Zhangtou: "Old man, find a few smart boys to call all the descendants of my family's soldiers and the children of my family. I have something to say."

"Yes, yes! Third Master, I'll be there later." Old Zhangtou was also frightened by Jia Cong's killing style, so he went out to call for help accompanied by several sergeants.

An hour later, hundreds of descendants of soldiers and old Chen people were invited over and gathered in the lobby of "Wu Mansion".

Jia Cong's eyes were cold, and he was sitting high in the hall, sipping tea, with a tiger-headed flag behind him, and more than ten soldiers standing on both sides. In the hall were the men, women, and children of the Wu family, the servants of the housekeeper, and the stewards of the village. Wu Yangyang knelt down. All over the place.

"The villain (minions) pays homage to Mr. Cong!" Old Zhangtou led everyone to kneel down in the open space in front of the hall.

"Get up." Jia Cong raised his hand.

"Thank you, Third Master!" Everyone stood up and looked at the people kneeling in the hall, all of them looked happy, and the sky opened its eyes.

Jia Cong said: "In recent years, the government has neglected to take care of the affairs in Zhuangzi. As a result, the Wu family has become powerful, unscrupulous, domineering and harming the village. You have been bullied, and the tenants have been even more abused. It's hard to talk about it." It’s the government’s fault.”

Everyone hurriedly clasped their hands and said, "The third master said something serious. It's all the people in the Wu family who have become evil-minded. They have forgotten their master's teachings and grace. They acted recklessly because his master was far away in the capital. Fortunately, third master Cong came and took care of him." Catch them all in one fell swoop and restore peace and prosperity to Baishui Village. We can’t thank you enough.”

Jia Cong waved his hand and said: "There are always mistakes in lax discipline." He then asked the woman who had just robbed the wealth to be called.

"What's your name?" Jia Cong took a look. The girl was about sixteen or seventeen years old. She had a cute appearance, purple skin, and was wearing a shabby green cloth jacket. There were tears on her face, and her eyes were full of fear. cowardly.

"My name is Wang Erni." The girl knelt on the ground and said softly.

"Get up. My name is Jia Cong. Are you my tenant?"

Wang Erni shook her head blankly and said, "My family is a tenant of the Wu family."

"How many tenants are there in the Wu family?"

"I don't know. There are tenants of the Wu family in this area for dozens of miles."

Jia Cong chuckled, glanced at the people kneeling below with ice-like eyes, and then asked: "How many acres of land does your family cultivate, and how much rent do you pay?"

Wang Erni said: "I have planted four acres of land, and I pay one stone and two buckets of rent for each mu of land."

"Can you afford the rent?"

Wang Erni shook her head: "If it's a good year, I can barely have enough to eat after paying the rent. If it's a bad year, the rations won't even be enough."

"Then what should I do?" "I can only borrow money and food from Mr. Wu to survive, but the interest on the donkey's rolling is too high, and no one can afford to pay it back."

"What if I can't pay it back?"

Wang Erni's big eyes were filled with tears. She shook her head and said: "Some people were forced to death, some sold their bodies and houses to pay off debts, and some women had women in their families who were attracted by the Wu family and were snatched away to pay off debts. That's how I was raped by the Wu family. Third Master snatched it."

Jia Cong nodded, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and said, "I'm sorry, the Wu family is my family's slaves. Because of my family's neglect of discipline, you have suffered."

Wang Erni looked dull. She could not imagine that the Wu family, who were like earth emperors, could also be the slaves of others.

"How much do you think the land rent should be?" Jia Cong asked.

Wang Erni was startled and said hurriedly: "This is a matter decided by men, there is no place for me to say anything."

"Don't be afraid, I just want to hear what you think, but it doesn't matter."

Although Wang Erni is young, she is the child of a poor person who has been in charge of the family for a long time. She is very familiar with the land. She counted on her fingers and said: "If we pay eight buckets in good years and four buckets in bad years, the life of the villagers will be much easier." "

Jia Cong laughed loudly and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say! From now on, I will promote you to be the steward of the farm, responsible for collecting land rent. How about that?"

"I can't help it. I can't read a word, and I'm a woman. How can I be a manager." Wang Erni shook her head and waved her hands, so anxious that she almost burst into tears.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "What's wrong? I have a sister-in-law at home who is as illiterate as you. She manages hundreds of people inside and outside and does nothing wrong. I see you are kind-hearted, and the tenants will definitely obey. you."

Wang Erni wanted to say more, but when Jia Cong waved his hand, she didn't dare to say any more and hurriedly stepped aside.

Jia Cong turned to look at the man kneeling on the ground, and sneered: "The results of the house raid just now were good. The Wu family has purchased more than 100,000 acres of land in recent years, and has also saved hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver. It seems that Wuzhuangtou has As expected, he manages the household well."

"Third Master, have mercy on me. I have deceived my heart with lard. I beg Third Master for mercy. I don't dare to do it anymore." Wu Jinzhong lay on the ground and begged. The killing just now completely destroyed his defenses. How could he still dare? presumptuous.

"People are like this. They forget to hold back when there is something behind them, but there is no way to turn around."

Jia Cong said, looking at Lao Zhangtou and others outside the hall, and said: "Please come over. There is only one thing you can do. Help me identify him, so as not to kill the wrong person.

Of the underground stewards, most of them have done some bad things, but Zhuangzi also needs people who are familiar with the situation. You go and pick out those who have not robbed women or paid life debts. "

"Yes!" Lao Zhangtou and others hurriedly came in, looked around, and picked out three people from dozens of farm stewards.

These three people usually have no obvious bad deeds.

The other stewards suddenly turned pale and collapsed on the ground, and some of them were so frightened that they even peed.

"What are the names of you three?" Jia Cong asked.

The three of them escaped from death and hurriedly bowed and said: "Returning to Third Master, slave Niu Yongchun, slave Ding Yongsheng, and slave Tian Yongfeng have all been veterans of the mansion for three lifetimes. They never dare to use their power to bully others or bully the village."

Jia Cong said: "Are you familiar with the personnel in Zhuangzi?"

"We have grown up in Zhuangzi since we were young. We are familiar with every plant and tree at the foot of the Black Mountains and every household."

"That's enough. Come here, take the rest of the stewards out and behead them. The property will be confiscated and the family members will be driven out to farm. Any men from the Wu family who are taller than a wheel will be beheaded. Women who have misdeeds will be beheaded, and the rest will be kicked out. The land will be farmed and the family property will be confiscated. Each of the women who were robbed by them will be given a hundred taels of silver as compensation and sent home. The three of you go and handle it."

Jia Cong gave an order, and dozens of sergeants came in and pulled the people out underground. Niu Yongchun and the others hurriedly followed him to deal with it door to door.

There were screams, begging, and crying, and the hall suddenly became empty.

After a while, the sergeant brought dozens of human heads up.

"Hang it on the city wall to show the public." Jia Cong waved his hand.

(End of this chapter)