Chapter 38: Robbery is also a transaction (Seeking Recommendations)

  "I heard that this week's Qing, doesn't use cattle and horses, what is the horse farm of this week's family used for?"

  Zhou Daxiang's name is placed there, what are the several horse farms behind the warehouse used for?

  "Third Master, these stables have seven or eight hundred Yunnan horses, which are specifically used for transporting opium. There are also over a hundred good horses, which are for the use of the village guards."

  This week, Shi Qing really has vision, planting and selling opium himself, no wonder there's so much silver at home. Hearing about the good horse, Yang Meng also had some interest, he can't always sit in a sedan chair, it's too troublesome to go out and rob.

  Good Yunnan horses, Yang Meng also let Ding Baojun find some, a few can carry themselves, but after walking for one or two hours, the horse is exhausted and cannot be used for traveling.

  "Good horse! Is there one that can carry Third Master?"

  When Yang Meng asked the question, Zhou's family manager looked at Yang Meng and hesitated before saying:

  "Our family's old master has three great hobbies: good swords, good horses, and women with small feet. In the horse farm, there are over a dozen good horses that belong to the old master, which can carry one or two hundred kilograms without any problem. Third Master only has one horse that he can ride, but..."

  This week, the big cattle still have this hobby, it's really good! A good knife is for self-defense, a good horse is for running on the road, and a small-footed woman is for enjoyment. This life is enviable! Since there are good horses, why does the head of the Zhou family hesitate?

  "Speak!"

  Going out is a big problem, walking is somewhat undignified, taking a horse-drawn carriage is too inconvenient, and riding in a sedan chair is not Yang Meng's style, judging from the look of Zhou family's steward, it's probably a fine horse.

  "That horse was a fine river bend horse bought back two years ago, with thick legs and big hooves, full of flesh. However, this horse is a wild one, not tamed, with a very fierce temperament. My family's old master was thrown off several times and didn't dare ride it again. But the horse itself wasn't bad, so the old master kept it for two years."

  "This horse can't be ridden, no other reason, Zhou's moral character is not good, this fine horse fears being ruined by him! Take care of these things, wait for Mr. Accountant!"

  After saying this, Yang Meng took Tang You and left. Now the most important thing is to deal with Zhou's livestock, these floating assets are insignificant, what matters most is the Zhou family's ten thousand hectares of good fields, countless mountains and forests.

  They arrived at the house where Zhou Shi Qing was being held, this old beast had already been stripped down to just his shorts, his white braid was also wrapped around his neck, the old thing was already awake, seeing Yang Meng come in, his eyes were full of anger.

  "Yang Dumb, although I'm no longer in the Green Camp, I'm still an official. If you kill me, it's bad luck for the Yang family!"

  Now, Zhou Shiqing also felt a bit desperate, and his official position was his last straw.

  "Who said Third Master wants to kill you? Third Master only wants to make a deal with you, hand over your family property to Third Master, and I'll spare your life!"

  As soon as Yang Meng wanted to seize his family property, Zhou Shi Qing's eyes turned blood red. This vast Zhou family was built by him with one hand, and every house and land was obtained after much thought.

  "You're dreaming! I'd rather die than sell it to you!"

  Without the Yi Liang's industry, Zhou Shi Qing is nothing but a homeless old dog, what's the point of living?

  "Refuse to sell? Refuse and San Ye will have you locked up in the same prison as Yi Liang Dian Shi. The current Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, He Changling, is a strong advocate for banning opium. Just the 5,000 dan of Yun Tu stored in your house is enough to get you killed several times over. And let's not forget about the dry bones buried on the back mountain of the Zhou family estate - it wouldn't be hard to have you and your whole family arrested and executed!"

  Yang Meng's words had grasped Zhou Shi Qing's weakness, what he did, if it were to be judged according to the Great Qing law, would have been punishable by death eight hundred times over; giving up his property and keeping his life was still not an absolute dead end for him.

  "Five million taels! We can make a deal!"

  Land transfer is not a trivial matter, Zhou's family has too much land, this is the capital of Zhou Shiqing's survival. If Yang Dumb kills him, these countless lands will only become a handle for the Yang family. Without the recognition of the imperial court, the Yang family's seizure of Zhou's land is to seek death!

  "Two hundred thousand! Are you selling or not? At worst, I'll spend two hundred thousand to get Jiang Yuange of Yiliang County to handle this matter for me! Two hundred thousand silver coins, he'll surely be delighted to take care of it!"

  This statement is just Yang Meng's intimidation of Zhou Shiqing, even if he gave 2 million taels, Jiang Yuanguo might not dare to play like this.

  "Three million! Let me go immediately, we have a deal, and if you're one cent short, you'll kill me!"

  Building this villa, Zhou Shiqing spent over 100 million yuan. Those lands are worth 300-400 million in good years. This deal is a loss of 300 million, enough to bankrupt his ancestors' family.

  "Alright! Let's first transfer the land deed. I'll go to Yiliang County tomorrow and sign it, then Third Grandfather will let you reunite with your family. Otherwise..."

  After hearing this, Zhou Shiqing was also weighing the pros and cons. If he killed himself, Yang would not dare to do anything, as he was an official and his innocent death would be investigated by the imperial court. Doing so would only bring disaster to the Yang family.

  If you don't sell it yourself, it's hard to guarantee that this stupid king won't dare to take a risk and run away, in which case you'll be the one who ends up suffering the most.

  "Let me go first, I want to see my family, what if you are deceiving me?"

  If I see my family and they're all right, then this deal will have to be done.

  "Alright! I've brought your whole family, including the old master and everyone else. Look, this house is empty, and soon I'll have them all tied up inside. Tomorrow when Jiang Yuangui arrives, if you dare to betray me, I'll burn your entire family to death!"

  This time when Yang Meng launched a surprise attack on the Zhou family, he did not kill any of the Zhou family members. This was an insurance policy. If any of the Zhou family members were killed, it would have made Zhou Daxia determined to fight to the death, and things would have become difficult.

  Tied up Zhou Shi Qing's family members one by one in the inner house, leaving only the Zhou family's steward to discuss land transfer matters with Zhou Shi Qing.

  The family of this steward is also brought to the Chia house now. If he doesn't behave himself, he will know it himself.

  After the two men had finished their discussion, Yang Meng ordered several dozen boxes of gold ingots to be brought in, with only the top layer being genuine.

  "I've already planned the route for you, bring your family and servants, take these gold and silver, your family's wealth, of course, you can arrange it yourself. Go directly to Yangzhou, follow the waterway to Tongdao back to your hometown, wouldn't it be great to become a rich man? Count the gold, after completing the land deed, Third Master gives you three days to leave Yunnan, otherwise, this large sum of gold and silver in your hands is also a tempting thing."

  Zhou Shiqing was too confident in his official position, this was Qin Zixi's intention, letting Yang Meng use his official position to make a move, and Zhou Shiqing fell for it.

  The imperial court had a retired general, and Yang Meng fundamentally didn't take him seriously. Let alone a retired one, even if he was on duty, as long as Yang Meng caught his weakness, killing him would be an ordinary matter.

  To sum it up, Yang Meng has no respect for the Qing imperial court. In his heart, the Qing is just like the Burmese-Thai government in the Golden Triangle back then - merely a decoration.

  "I trust the Yang family, let's have Yiliang Jiang Yuangu come as a witness tomorrow!"

  He himself knew better than anyone what he had done, and no one would bother him again if he spent a bit more money. But once someone caught on and wouldn't let go, those things became his biggest weakness.

  The Yang family had a good relationship with the successive governors, and the case of Yiliang's rebellion was also confessed. In terms of both financial resources and circumstances, they were in the most unfavorable position. What Yang Dumb said was right, once the imperial court took it seriously, not only would he lose his life, but also face the destruction of his family.

  Now Zhou Shiqing has set his sights on the future, where to settle down, how to regroup and how to stay away from Yunnan, a place of right and wrong.

  "It's all because of your own fault! Old Master Zhou, it's not that Yang Meng is cruel, but rather you shouldn't have left the little girl in the back mountain of your house. The tens of thousands of acres of good land of the Zhou family are indeed tempting!"

  Yang Meng is telling the truth, Zhou Shiqing now regrets it too. Yi Liang Dianshi that fool, if he had held on a bit and given himself some room to maneuver, everyone would have been happy.

  This business was done in a muddle, and his leg was also broken by Yang Meng. Disheartened and in severe pain, Zhou Shiqing was extremely exhausted and fell asleep in the corner.

  Zhou Shi fainted and passed out, while Yang Meng exited the house and fetched Qin Zi Xi.

  "Zi Xi, tomorrow after signing the deed, Zhou Qing will be handed over to you this week. The Zhou family must have more gold and silver than this, Yi Liang Dian Shi has a silver vault, the Zhou family must also have one. Don't let him die, nor leave any external injuries, he is most useful when alive."

  Hearing that he had a chance to use his skills again, Qin Zixi revealed a brilliant smile. Since he avenged his great enemy, he became more and more fond of interrogating people.

  No matter how some abnormal and poisonous scholars, Yang Meng found the knife hand responsible for screening the human traffickers of the Zhou family again. The number of human traffickers in the Zhou family is not small, they are different from Zhuang Ding, and have not undergone Zhou Shiqing's training. These people are mostly some homeless rascals.

  These people are Yang Meng's trump card against Zhou Shi Qing, with the Zhou family estate, he is Master Zhou, without land and estate, he is just a fat sheep passing by, I believe these people will be interested in the countless wealth of the Zhou family.

  Bring over that pale-faced Shen Yueying, this little brat killed quite a few people tonight, the captured family guards were all executed by him, he killed more than 20 people for the first time, and this kid didn't collapse, he's indeed a ruthless and cunning character.

  "Yu Ying, can you still handle things for me?"

  With a pale and woeful face, Shen Yu-ying helplessly nodded. His future was as good as over; hundreds of people had witnessed his ruthless slaughter, including Yang's knife-hand and Zhou's servants. These people wouldn't be killed by San Ye, they were the witnesses to his own stains.

  Confucianism values benevolence and love, but if the ruthless killings were to be exposed, the path to officialdom would be cut off. Being an official can be smooth and ruthless, but not unscrupulous. To rely on the Yang family, one night's massacre of more than 20 people is absolutely a big stain.

  "Those personal pawns are the key to killing Zhou Shi Qing. Later, you'll spread the news that Zhou Shi Qing's case has been solved and he will return home with 5 or 6 million in family wealth. He will take a boat from Yangjin and find a secluded spot where no village is ahead and no store is behind, and reveal it to them. Find a few knife-wielding men to cooperate with them, and kill those who are unwilling to do so. These people will be handed over to you, and the day after tomorrow, let them meet Zhou Shi Qing in a fiery manner, leaving a few survivors, and there will be officials from Yiliang going past."

  This is the second half of Yang Meng's plan, Zhou Shiqing must not be left behind, leaving him would be a threat to the Yang family, killing him is the wisest choice.

  In the middle of the night, Ding Baojun personally led a large group of accountants from the Yang family and many knife-wielding men to sneak into the Zhou family's estate, where countless people worked through the night to sort out Yang Meng's spoils.

  At dawn, the entire Zhou family estate had been cleaned up spotlessly. The bloodstains on the ground and the sword marks and bullet holes on the walls and doors had all been covered up. The Zhou family's large courtyard was still the same as before, only with a new owner after just one night.

  "Uncle Ding, take away everything that can be taken, and register those that cannot. Except for my people, including the servants of the Zhou family, everyone will be brought to Yang's estate. Today, Jiang Yuanji from Yiliang will arrive, you should leave too!"

  A large land transaction would require a significant amount of taxes to be paid to the imperial court, and Yang Meng was also thinking about whether he could get Jiang Yuanguo to exempt some of it. Otherwise, all that silver would be handed over to the imperial court, which Yang Meng thought was a bit of a waste.

  Carrying a box of eagle sauce, Yang Meng rode in a horse-drawn carriage and headed straight for the Yiliang County government office.