The Mysterious Ming Dynasty: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Chapter 8 Amidst Tumultuous Times, True Heroes Emerge

Cao Youyi seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden from his heart. He left his manager and trusted confidants behind and headed west of the South Canal before it got dark.

That's where people live.

The area surrounding Tianjin Weicheng was mostly wilderness and reed marshes, as well as frozen ponds.

Just then, Jia Chen arrived with Liu Ding to report to Si Chen.

"Up, statistics complete."

"Of the tens of thousands of military households in the city, only a thousand able-bodied men could be recruited. If it weren't for the fact that tens of thousands died from the plague this year, and eight thousand people starved to death during the famine, we could have recruited four or five thousand men when we still had some strength left."

Si Chen held the roster in his hand and saw that most of the men were nominally military households, but in reality, they were farmers.

Jia Chen felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this. "A farmer who knows how to fight wind, forest fire, and wildfire, but doesn't know how to wear armor? How can this be allowed?"

Nonsense, if we really made them all wear armor, some people would object.

Therefore, half is taught and half is kept secret.

Knowledge has a threshold.

Especially this kind of crucial knowledge.

Just by looking at the fact that half of the houses near the Acropolis bell tower are empty, you can tell what's going on.

Si Chen had already anticipated this, "but it's better than I imagined."

Then he looked towards the bustling riverbank.

These garrisons were less like an army and more like a group of people sticking together for warmth.

"With the general leaving the city and wealthy families relocating, there will inevitably be those in the city who will take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble."

"Aren't there still five hundred garrison soldiers? Take half of them first to restore order to the garrison city. Anyone who disturbs the order will be given ten strokes of the military rod. Anyone who hoards goods will be killed."

"Jia Chen, you will personally lead the team."

Si Chen turned around. "Jia Yin."

"exist!"

"Take the manager and trusted confidants of General Cao's household and go confiscate their property."

The shopkeeper in Cao Youyi's household panicked on the spot, "Your Excellency, what is this?"

"Don't worry, we're not raiding your house." Si Chen waved his hand.

"They abandoned their homes and businesses themselves, so it's not my fault. Let's start by searching the homes of those missionaries."

"Since you've heard of my name, you must already be prepared to sacrifice your family fortune to help those in need."

This Manager Cao was also a cousin of Cao Youyi, and at this moment he could only bite the bullet and say, "It is naturally good that the Heavenly Official is slaying demons and eliminating evil."

The power to define who is a demon and who is a monster rests in Si Chen's hands, and often certain corrupt clans are uprooted.

"Sir, I understand. Leave this to me." Jia Yin excitedly picked up his ring-pommel sword and golden mace and went out.

For no other reason than that he was very experienced in confiscating property.

At this moment, Jia Yin was leading dozens of people straight to the empty houses of missionaries and merchants. With the help of locals, it was too easy for them.

First, we went straight to the hometowns of these missionaries.

Surprisingly, there were still people looking after it.

"You're trespassing on my private property!"

The visitor tried to scare Jia Yin away.

But Jia Yin swaggered forward, shoved him aside, and said, "This place has been requisitioned. Do you have any objections?"

Manager Cao frantically winked at him from behind.

"Sir, you're busy. I didn't see anything!" The person inside said nothing and turned to leave.

Jia Yin waved his hand.

"Take all the grain away, not a single grain of rice should be left."

"Do not damage the documents, and do not steal the treasure."

"Every grain of rice here belongs to the superior category."

Upon opening the warehouse, unsurprisingly, the one thing these households had no shortage of was food.

Even though some of those sand barges were grain ships.

But there weren't nearly enough ships.

Jia Yin found a large number of letters and a small amount of gold in the study of these missionaries.

"These damned thieves! They actually stole my family's precious gold!"

"That's incredible, we've taken them all."

Jia Chen, who entered the city at the same time as Jia Yin, was no less impressive.

Jia Chen, wielding a golden mace, took control of the armory. Although it was so empty that mice could run through it, there were still a large number of white waxwood poles and bamboo spears, and he even found a few rattan shields.

Don't even think about using muskets.

"That's enough. Just a few petty thieves. Let's go!"

Jia Chen surveyed the area, looked at the garrison soldiers who were "fully armed," and nodded in satisfaction.

"Knock!" Jia Chen climbed onto the oxcart, waved his hand, and shouted, "Knock loudly!"

Boom boom boom!

clang~ clang~ clang~

"Suppress the bandits!"

"The rat people must be eradicated at any time; it's unavoidable."

"Every household should contribute manpower and effort to eliminate the rat infestation."

"Great and virtuous teacher, acting on behalf of Heaven, slaying demons and monsters; only days without the rat people are good days!"

Compared to the thankless task of maintaining order, the ratmen, who directly harmed Tianjin Weicheng, were the best targets.

Not only did the common people despise and hate them, but the wealthy did too.

In particular, some wandering samurai can drop mithril.

An outbreak occurred simultaneously in both the east and west of the city.

As for the irregularities that were swept away along with the plague during the process of eradicating it, those were of little importance.

Jia Chen had plenty of strength and resources.

With his armor and helmet, along with his mercury-infused blood and silver marrow, dealing with a group of unarmored servants was a piece of cake.

Several greyhounds came and smelled the rat people's den.

"fall!"

Several soldiers poured the flammable oil into the sewer.

"ignition!"

Flames rose from damp wood and reeds.

Thick smoke billowed, and heat waves churned in the sewers.

The blackened, white-furred rat-men scurried out.

They were so densely packed, it was quite a large nest.

Jia Chen, holding a shield, stood at the forefront, while the garrison soldiers, dressed in mandarin duck battle coats, thrust their spears fiercely at him.

The rats were killed so badly their heads rolled around.

The military households, mobilized under the pretext of exterminating rats, experienced a long-lost sense of the splendor of the Jiajing and Wanli eras.

At least at that time, the Central Plains region was experiencing a rare period of peace.

Until Jia Chen pulled out a rat's nest from the mansion of a wealthy family.

They feed on humans and raise rodents.

Jia Chen climbed to a high place and shouted, "Look, what do you all think we should do?"

Everyone looked at this group of bastards with gritted teeth in hatred.

"Kill! Kill these beasts!" Someone in the crowd shouted "Kill the beasts!" and a tsunami of shouts erupted from inside and outside the crowd.

People grasped the true meaning of the killing technique without being taught.

This is boundless hatred!

The angry crowd rushed into the courtyard, kicking, punching, and smashing them with objects in their hands, even biting them...

At Jia Chen's instigation, the family was instantly torn apart on the spot, turning into puddles of minced meat.

Not satisfied with that, they tore apart and smashed his remains...

Although people's values ​​are simple, they can distinguish between good and evil, beauty and ugliness.

"Kill his mother!"

Liu Ding was practically dying of anticipation, shouting encouragement from the Haihe River side, wishing he could take Liu Ding's place.

Killing people is much easier than supervising those guys.

Si Chen pointed and said, "You are responsible for maintaining order and keeping an eye on them. Don't slack off."

He waved his hand and went back to his study.

With him here watching over things, the workers below don't feel at ease.

I estimate that if we can settle down the 1,000 people in the Acropolis and here today, that should be about it.

Back to this little world.

Si Chen then had time to consider the situation of the world.

"Take Tianjin."

"In a few days, the capital should be paying attention to what is happening in Tianjin."

"I wonder how those cabinet ministers will react."

"If you ignore it, then I won't be so polite."

Tianjin was both a customs office and a neighbor of the Changlu Saltworks.

The salt fields in this area accounted for most of the tax revenue during the Chongzhen era.

Smuggled salt dealers emerged in large numbers.

The Haihe River, which once had iron chains blocking its flow, was also cut off by rampant salt smugglers.

We must control the salt fields, coastal defenses, and the port of Tianjin.

We must proceed step by step.

He's not in a hurry.

The capital city at that time.

In reality, the endless arguments continue.

As for the emperor, he was reviewing memorials.

How diligent!

The sage rulers that the scholar-officials extol should be like this, with the monarch only needing to be a lucky charm to review memorials.

Whether or not taxes can be collected is another matter.

So, basking in the praise of the literati, he became elated, complacent, and carried away, and with a wave of his hand, abolished the national commercial tax.

In the first year of the Donglin faction's boasting, the people tentatively believed this well-intentioned lie.

Today it is today.

Even if the emperor rings the bell to hold court every day, gets up before dawn, and sleeps later than a pig.

However, the political situation became increasingly difficult, and the people became increasingly impoverished; diligence could not reverse the situation.

It is in turbulent times that true heroes emerge.

In hunger and hardship, people learn to think.

This gave him a profound understanding of the true nature of the current emperor and his group of scholar-officials.

Those who eat meat are base and incapable of long-term planning.

Hypocritical and treacherous, deceiving the world and stealing fame!