The Twenty-sixth Relief

  "Are you Fan Yongdou?"

  Zhu Ciwen stepped forward steadily... In the main hall, except for Fan Yongdou and his concubine, there was no one else alive. A strong and pungent smell of blood began to spread.

  It's not surprising that the crown prince of a country commits murder, but sneaking into a merchant's residence on a dark night to kill and extort is something else. Who knows what other crimes he might commit in the future, like kidnapping? Even thinking about it makes me wonder whether I should cry or laugh.

  But by the end of next season, without using such absurd and bizarre methods, what other good way can break the deadlock?

  Zhu Ciwen's expression was calm and collected, merely sizing up the middle-aged businessman in front of him. This man, who had just committed a heinous crime, remained composed and dignified, even in the face of danger. To be fair, as a future billionaire, he exuded an aura of confidence that only successful people possess.

  But it was also this traitor who sold out the country and ancestors, selling large quantities of pig iron, grain, cloth and medicine to the Jin slaves through smuggling. If that were all, one could only say he was shameless. However, while selling these supplies, they also helped the Jin slaves build an intelligence network in the interior, constantly sending out large amounts of geographical information and military intelligence.

  Otherwise, in the 17th year of Chongzhen, when Li Zicheng was marching towards Beijing, how did Dorgon know the route and actual situation of the rebel army's advance, and how did he mobilize the power of his entire clan to prepare for a showdown with Li Zicheng before Wu Sangui decided to surrender?

  We really have to thank these Shanxi businessmen!

  Under his piercing gaze, Fan Yongdou, who had been quite confident just now, was also a little flustered. In this chaotic end of the world, he was a merchant traveling north and south, and he had experienced similar situations many times before. It wasn't a big deal, it was just a matter of losing money to avoid disaster in the end.

  But this young man in front of him, who looked calm and composed, had something in his eyes that made him incomprehensible.

  One word led to another: "Is this strong man the leader? To be honest, recently I've also received a lot of grain and cloth, and spent a lot of silver. If you say that taking too much is deceiving the king... So, there's still over 10,000 taels of silver at home, in the inner warehouse. Please have the king send someone to transport it... As for me, I'm always on the outside, making friends wherever I go. To be frank, if the strong men were to lose their luck one day, having a friend like me would come in handy..."

  Fan Yongdou spoke for half a day, but Zhu Cixian just looked at him with interest... After a while, this long-sleeved and good dancer merchant closed his mouth, and his eyes gradually showed impatience and anger... In all these years, even the governor-general of the first level had not treated him like that.

  Those generals and deputy generals were even more respectful to him!

  "Silver is not wanted, how much gold does your house have?"

  Finally, Zhu Cixuan slowly opened his mouth.

  Now that you mention it, Fan Yongdou finally breathed a sigh of relief... As long as he was willing to open his mouth, things would be much easier.

  When it came to his own expertise, Fan Da's expression became much more composed. He pretended to be deep in thought, but in reality, he was constantly thinking of a countermeasure... How could he make the outer courtyard's guards aware of the changes within the inner courtyard?

  "Reporting back to General, the inner house has been purged!"

  Just then, the appearance of Wang Xiao and others shattered Fan Yongdou's fantasy... Again, five or six tall men in black clothes strode in, their bodies covered in blood, and the short knives and small axes in their hands were also stained with shocking bloodstains... It was clear that the limited resistance power within the mansion had been thoroughly crushed.

  "You don't have to be here, go out and stay near the inner gate with everyone else."

  "Yes!"

  As soon as Zhu Ciwen gave the order, Wang Xiao and others turned around and left without any hesitation. It seemed that they had already taken orders and acted naturally, completely out of habit.

  A strong curiosity prompted Fan Yongdou to carefully observe Zhu Cixuan... At most 15 or 16 years old, with an air that was beyond his age, he must have been in a superior position for a long time to have such an aura and expression... In this instant, Fan Yongdou was first perplexed, but then a thought began to emerge vaguely in his mind.

  "How much gold is there?"

  The inner house was cleared, the outer house was quiet, and Zhu Ciyan's expression also relaxed a lot. He called someone to move a chair and asked Fan Yongdou to kneel down and answer questions.

  One high and one low, even more obvious in terms of status and psychological implication. The person in front of you is like a dish on the chopping board, to be cut however one wants.

  Fan Yongdou showed a small act of resistance before kneeling down and was lightly kicked in the knee pit by Wang Yuan, which hurt to the core.

  With anxiety added, his face turned sallow at times and iron-gray at others.

  This made Fan Yongdou finally understand the gap between their status and his current situation... Money is no longer a guarantee of his status, but rather, it may be his death warrant.

  "There are over twenty thousand taels of gold... and several hundred taels worth of jewelry and whatnot... some pearls, jade, and the like... also some antiques and paintings..."

  At the thought of being killed, Fan Yongdou's expression became even more solemn, and he lay on the ground, answering honestly.

  "Send your trusted person, bring my people to move the gold here, don't bother with jewelry and jade. We need money to use, but we're not robbers."

  "Huh?"

  "We are..." Zhu Ciyan hesitated for a moment, but still slowly spoke out the words he had long prepared.

  In his words, he is a general of the vanguard army. Of course, becoming a general at such a young age means that his background is quite impressive. This time in the capital, he was ordered to sneak into the imperial city to handle an important task.

  Contact officials at both ends, spread the news, hide and prepare for internal and external response... These are all normal conditions for scouts, but they also have more important tasks, which is to register the property of officials and wealthy businessmen in the city, so that it will be convenient to rob and assist after the army enters the city.

  The method of operating in the Central Plains and Xiangyang area was well known to Fan Yongdou, the leader of this giant merchant and underground intelligence organization. So when Zhu Cixuan stated his purpose, Fan Yongdou was as still as a wooden chicken, without any hint of suspicion.

  It turns out that the serious Little Liu Camp may also have this kind of task. Liu Zongmin ordered 5,000 sets of chopsticks to be made as soon as he entered the city... This shows that the Liuying has a strong confidence in the assets of the royal relatives and ministers in the capital... Because making 5,000 sets of chopsticks takes time and effort, they wouldn't do such a stupid thing if they weren't confident.

  "So now asking you for a little gold is nothing." In the end, Zhu Ciwen took a sip of tea and said to Fan Yongdou: "The more donations now, the more likely to avoid disaster in the future."

  "Yes, I understand."

  "And also, you have secretly colluded with Dong Yu, haven't you?"

  "Huh?"

  As soon as this was said, Fan Yong's mouth opened wide like a toad struck by lightning on a rainy day. In the capital of Ming Dynasty, being forced to ask about such private matters, and in his own bedroom, the most critical thing is that the person asking is still a rebel soldier... Fan Yong felt like a series of thunderbolts exploding one after another on top of his head, rumbling non-stop, and he couldn't help but hope that what was happening in front of him was just a nightmare from which he would soon wake up... However, he knew that even the most terrifying nightmares wouldn't be as bad as what was happening now... because his imagination wasn't rich enough to reach this point.

  "Don't be afraid." Zhu Ciwen was very satisfied with the expression on his face, of course, and also confirmed his own guess, which helped to enhance his image in the minds of his subordinates.

  He is certainly the core now, but the power brought by his position doesn't count for much. It's still necessary to rely on one's own ability to build up a position that is unshakeable.

  Just as he interrogated Fan Yongdou and confirmed his traitorous identity, Wang Yuan and others behind him let out a cold hum, and when they looked at Zhu Ciyu, they were even more respectful.

  "You colluded with the Eastern Barbarians, and the one who suffered was the Great Ming's rivers and mountains. For our bandits, the Eastern Barbarians' repeated invasions were also helpful to us, so you have merit without fault. If not for this, we wouldn't have come to ask for your assistance in providing supplies... Such a good thing, ordinary officials, scholars, and merchants are usually not worthy of."

  Fan Yongdou's expression was unclear whether he was crying or laughing, after hearing Zhu Cixu's words, he could only nod repeatedly.

  However, at that time, people did not have the distinction of country and nation. Under the premise of only changing dynasties, being loyal to a certain dynasty or group was a category generally understood by ordinary people. If you talk to this merchant about national righteousness and modern sense of country, it would be like playing music to a cow.

  Zhu Ciyan's words turned, and he continued: "We have no feud with the Eastern Barbarians, and our dynasty is newly established, so we are not afraid of them. My master, the Marquis of Chang, will lead 500,000 elite troops to attack the capital next spring! Hmm... you can pass this message on first, tell the two regent kings that our new dynasty does not want to be enemies with them, let's take the Shanhai Pass as the boundary and enjoy eternal peace... hmm, that's all."

  When the young general in front of him said this, Fan Yongdou knew that his life could be preserved. As the frightened feeling went away, his mind also became much clearer.

  After intense contemplation and surreptitious observation, Fan Yongdou had already believed more than 90%. The people in front of him, whether it was their temperament, expression, or the habits that inadvertently revealed themselves, were all typical military personnel. As for Zhu Cixuan, he was even more confident, with a full-fledged air of a young nobleman who had been in a high position for a long time.

  In the capital, apart from those who sneaked in to set up camp, where else would there be so many martial artists who couldn't get along with Fan's family? Moreover, if they knew about his collusion with Dong Yu, how could they let him off lightly and even ask him to convey messages?

  At this point, there is no more doubt, prostrating himself on the ground, knocking his head and saying: "Please rest assured, General, I will definitely pass on the message!"

  Inside the pass, there were also several times when information was transmitted. The auxiliary king, especially Ruiqin King, was particularly interested in Zhang's camp and had passed on messages several times, asking him to pay more attention to "the various generals of Shaanxi" and to transmit any news as soon as possible.

  Although a lot of gold will be lost today, a direct channel for communication with the vanguard will also be established... It turns out that the gains outweigh the losses.

  "If there's anything else, we'll send someone to contact you. Today, if we don't kill anyone, we won't be able to establish our authority, nor will we be able to gain your trust. You'd better take good care of the people under you in your mansion."

  The man who carried gold on his back has returned, this time getting tens of thousands of gold and successfully intimidating a cunning merchant, establishing a channel for sending messages to the rear... The gains are indeed very great.

  Then both Zhu Ciwen and Fan Yongdou smiled with a sense of accomplishment...

  "I don't know what to call General Shao, which battalion is he in?"

  Because of relaxation, Fan Yongdou's words also increased, and he began to respond unconsciously.

  "Oh, it's inconvenient to mention the name......" Zhu Ciyan said solemnly: "We are from the Interrogation Camp, remember, don't spread it casually."

  "Yes, yes!" Fan Yongdou bowed deeply and repeatedly responded with "yes", but he firmly remembered the name of the camp in his heart.