stubborn thief

Chapter 657 A Better Future

The changes brought about by the migration of families to the city are very significant.

After only three days, Chen Qiuyu sent his younger brother Chen Qihuang out of the city and into Liu Chengzong's camp.

Three days ago, Liu Chengzong was deeply impressed by the Chen brothers headed by Chen Qihuang. Each of them looked like a nobleman, with both fame and talent.

It had only been three days, but Chen Qihuang's noble air had almost faded away. When he saw him in the camp, he was not polite and asked, "Generalissimo, could you give me a meal first?"

As soon as he saw the boy's unsteady steps and weak voice, Liu Chengzong knew that the boy was starving.

Chen Qihuang is much younger than Chen Qiuyu. He is the son of Aunt Bai, with the same father as him but different mothers. His father passed away not long after he was born, and he was raised by his mother alone.

He is about the same age as Liu Chengzong.

His request was easily met.

Thanks to battlefield trade inside and outside the city, the shops in the siege camp were open twelve hours a day to ensure that the defenders could buy food no matter when they lowered themselves from the city wall.

Any change will grow wildly at first until those in power understand it and either encourage or restrict it, which will gradually standardize it. This is also the case in the Marshal's Office.

When Liu Chengzong saw the trade in the besieged city, understood the underlying reasons for this phenomenon, and supported it, using one problem to solve another, the markets and shops outside the city were standardized.

Liu Chengzong’s solution to this problem was that it is better to open up than to block.

He did not mind the army opening shops during the siege, and even thought it was an excellent way to squeeze out the gold and silver in the city of Xi'an.

So he simply arranged for a group of wounded soldiers from the earlier Xianyangyuan battle to retire, and specially planned a market town in the four pass areas outside the city, and established a business with restaurants as its business projects, named Tiandesheng.

Tiandesheng followed the tradition of Shaanxi merchants and formed a shareholding system in the form of a 10,000 gold account and the tradition of six silver accounts and four people. Among them, the Grand Marshal Liu Chengzong contributed land, store construction and early costs, and as the financier, he held 60% of the capital.

The remaining 40% was contributed by the managers, cooks, waiters and other actual operators of the shops as capital through their labor.

Among them, Daguan is the chairman of the board, responsible for the actual operation. He is an unlucky guy under Gao Yingdeng. He held the official title of Baizong. He was hit by a horse of Liao soldiers and his right arm bone was broken. Even after it healed, he dared not to work, so he transferred to Tiandesheng to be the Daguan.

As for the shopkeepers, they were all sergeants and team-level officers from various battalions who were injured in the earlier Xianyangyuan battle. The cooks were wounded cooks, and some of the big waiters were wounded soldiers. They were responsible for purchasing, raising livestock and other tasks.

Of course, a group of young shop assistants were recently recruited from the people released from Xi'an Prefecture and added to the various stores of Tiandesheng as a reserve for future shop assistants.

At this point, the siege trade outside the city of Xi'an was basically separated from the regular army of the Marshal's Mansion, which not only retained the function of boosting the morale of the siege troops, but also reduced the negative impact of the regular army's participation in the business.

Through the Tiandesheng business, Liu Shizi could already see that the siege war had given birth to a number of century-old stores in Xi'an Prefecture.

Let’s not talk about anything else, just take the mutton soup alone. The shops run by the cooks always use the best ingredients to make the soup.

The big pot that supplied the army's daily meals had been burning for several months without being turned off. The chickens, pork elbows, and sheep bones that the army had removed the meat from were all cooked in the soup, and the bone soup was milky white.

Cut some thin slices of mutton, scoop out boiling soup and blanch it, sprinkle some salt and pepper, and if you have any, add some vegetables like chopped green onions. It will be a good combination of meat and vegetables and very fragrant.

Just this store can crush all its peers in the private sector. After all, who in the private sector has the cost of Liu Shizi?

In the future, once the city of Xi'an is captured, the gold, silver and other valuables in the city will be salvaged and distributed to the soldiers as military pay. The big-bellied men stationed in Xi'an by the Marshal's Mansion will have a day off, so you can eat as much as you want. When you are full, the silver will return to the Marshal.

The wool comes from the sheep.

Soon, soldiers brought Chen Qihuang four fried dough sticks and a bowl of mutton soup with oil floating on it.

When Chen Qihuang saw this, his eyes lit up. He immediately thanked Liu Chengzong and then ate the meal with relish.

It's like a starving ghost reincarnated.

This bowl of mutton soup was better than any delicacies he had ever eaten in his life.

There was no other choice but to have a full meal in the Marshal's siege camp before entering the city.

After entering Xi'an, he went hungry for nine meals in three days. He only drank two bowls of porridge and ate two cakes given by Chen Qiuyu.

Chen Qiuyu couldn't withstand the offensive of Liu Chengzong's family.

The most important problem is that more than 400 people entered the city, and they were all unemployed hooligans.

Chen Qiuyu was not an independent ruler like Liu Chengzong. If there were only a few dozen people in his family, perhaps the King of Qin could solve the problem for him.

  But there are more than 400 people in the tribe, which is almost the military force of a general. Where can he get food for all the people in the tribe?

At most, the limited food can be provided to the elderly and children first. People like Chen Qihuang who cannot be killed by skipping a few meals should eat less for the time being.

What's more, human nature is to seek benefits and avoid harm, to bully the weak and fear the strong.

All the misfortunes of the Chen family originated from Liu Chengzong. If it were not for Liu Chengzong, they would still be in Shanxi, far away from the war, enjoying the wealth and prosperity of the world.

But who dares to say anything bad about Liu Chengzong?

Of course they dared to do so, because the old lady had already scolded Liu Chengzong. But even if they scolded Liu Chengzong to death, what was the use?

They were sent to the city of Xi'an with a wave of their hand. During these three days they lived a life worse than that of dogs.

Unfortunately, they had no way to deal with Liu Shizi.

So he could only blame Chen Qiuyu for all the suffering he had experienced.

Chen Qiuyu, in turn, could only blame himself for being incompetent.

Even his very determined old mother did not try to persuade Chen Qiuyu to defend the city until his death.

In this day and age, mothers are often more resolute than fathers when it comes to their sons' life and death.

The old lady of the Chen family was extremely embarrassed when Liu Chengzong mentioned the matter of Duan Fuxing. Her face was at stake and she was absolutely determined to die.

But this is not just a matter for their family.

To be honest, Duan Fuxing died heroically, but the uncles and grandfather of the Duan family in Shandong did not die. Only Duan Fuxing's wife, children and mother died in Qianzhou.

Liu Chengzong even carried Chen Qiuyu's third grandfather into Xi'an in a sedan chair. From the old man who was ninety-nine to the youngest who could not walk, five generations lived together under the same roof.

  The entire clan is seeking annihilation here. Who could be so cruel?

Not to mention Chen Qiuyu, even if Chongzhen were to be in other people's shoes, he would have to find a way to save a few people.

The old lady could only tell Chen Qiyu during the meal: "Leave the city to others to surrender, save the people and clansmen, and I will hang myself with you."

Chen Qiyu flatly refused.

This is not something that can be left to others to surrender. Now all the senior officials in the city and Chen Qiuyu's entire family are here, so there is no burden at all in surrendering.

The next highest official was Wang Qiaonian, who served as a councilor. Wang Qiaonian was from Suian County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. No matter how much Liu Chengzong boasted, he did not have the ability to go to Zhejiang and bring Wang Qiaonian's entire family over.

He let Wang Qiaonian surrender the city and then he himself died. Isn't that harming others?

If the city wants to surrender, he must lead it.

He is the only one who can bear the blame for surrender.

In the central army tent of the siege camp, Chen Qihuang was slurping mutton soup and chewing crispy fried dough sticks, his mouth full of grease.

Liu Chengzong sat on a chair beside him and watched, his face unconsciously revealing a kind look of feeding a pet. "Is it delicious? Eat slowly, don't choke, I'll have someone bring you some dates later." Liu Chengzong said, and suddenly remembered something, raised his hand and said, "Yes, I said what's missing, there's also wine, bring another pot of wine."

"what?"

Chen Qihuang was so stunned that he choked. He quickly drank a mouthful of mutton soup to suppress it before he quickly shook his head and said, "No need, Marshal. A full meal is enough."

"No, no, no, that won't work."

Liu Chengzong said seriously, "When I was a kid, I ate in prison at this time of year. Every meal was either mutton noodles or mutton soup, with pumpkin, a ringo and a pot of thick wine. That was considered a satisfying meal."

"Right now apples are not in season, so I'll use dates instead. It'll be like eating some fruit."

Chen Qihuang had half a greasy mouth and his eyes were fixed.

  Good thief!

Going to jail since childhood?

  Moreover, this treatment sounds so much like the last meal after execution.

Chen Qihuang had already gulped down half a bowl of mutton soup and three fried dough sticks, and was already full, but he was still hungry and wanted to eat more.

Now that I think of it as the last meal before execution, the oil-fried dumplings no longer smell good.

He quickly sat up straight and said, "Marshal, actually, I left the city this time because my brother sent me out to discuss the surrender of the prefecture with you."

When Liu Chengzong heard this, he laughed out loud.

That's it?

You've been hiding in the city for three months without even talking about surrendering. Now you're just giving up after just three days of sending your family and relatives back to the city?

Liu Shizi tapped his knees lightly with his fingers on the chair. He was silent for a moment before he spoke: "He has thought it through. He doesn't want to wait for three months? Wait until the beginning of spring. No, he'd better wait until next summer."

Among the people released by Chen Qiuyu earlier, except for the elderly, the weak and the young, the rest of the people who were able to work had no food to eat. For the time being, most of them became farmers hired by the Marshal's Office to provide grain, responsible for turning the underground seedlings in the cleared military settlements.

If Chen Qiuyu could hold out until next summer, the city would be opened just in time for him to harvest wheat.

However, Liu Shizi can only think about this beautiful dream, because Chen Qiuyu will definitely not last until next summer.

But the fact that it could last for three days was beyond Liu Shizi's imagination.

Chen Qihuang didn't care about his ridicule at this moment, and said with a bitter face: "Marshal, you don't know that Xi'an has already run out of food and soldiers. There are more than 400 people in my family who have entered the city, and there is no food to eat. How can we hold on for another three months?"

  Oh, you still have to eat!

Liu Chengzong was not being sarcastic, he really didn't think about it in that way.

After hearing what Chen Qihuang said, it was not difficult for him to guess Chen Qiuyu's situation. The officials of all ranks and their families in the city might not be as numerous as Chen Qiuyu's clansmen.

But... Liu Chengzong shook his head slightly, feeling a little disgusted with Chen Qiuyu.

There is no doubt that Chen Qiuyu's surrender must have conditions, otherwise there would be no need to let Chen Qihuang come here now.

But Liu Chengzong firstly didn't like people making conditions for him, and secondly he didn't like people who were contradictory and twisted.

He likes guys like Yang Jiamo and Duan Fuxing, who are passionate and energetic.

To put it in a broader sense, he is a true hero who cannot be swayed by wealth, cannot be changed by titles, cannot be stopped by death, and cannot be stopped by the heavens.

To put it simply, he is a tenacious hero who is well-rounded, consistent in his words and deeds, and who is not afraid of difficulties in pursuing his ambitions.

No matter we are enemies or friends, whether we go through fire and water or are torn into pieces, although death is tragic, everyone will die one day.

Everything has success and failure, but human will is free, and it is difficult to define the success or failure of a way of life.

But only those who kneel down directly and fight to the end, and those who firmly practice their will, can convince Liu Chengzong.

Realizing that Chen Qiuyu, a guy who kept making choices against his will, even wanted to make conditions with him when he was at his wit's end, Liu Chengzong looked at Chen Qihuang with a cold expression.

His tone was not as enthusiastic, and he said, "If you want to surrender, then surrender. How do you plan to surrender, Chen Qiyu?"

When Chen Qihuang heard this, he felt that Liu Chengzong seemed unhappy about Chen Qiuyu's surrender.

Of course, he couldn't understand the deeper reasons, and Liu Chengzong would not explain to him - if you betray, those who persisted in the past will have died in vain.

Duan Fuxing's entire family died in vain, and the soldiers under my command who died at the hands of Duan Fuxing died in vain.

Of course, there was also Yang Guodong, a good brother who had been displaced with his elder brother and had finally made it through. He showed up on the city wall as an envoy, but was whipped to death by Duan Fuxing.

Why bother?

The signs of defeat did not just appear now.

But no matter what Liu Chengzong was thinking at this time, Chen Qihuang had his own mission. He said, "General, my brother would like to ask you to show some leniency and let Wang Qiaonian, the city councilor and the education commissioner, and 17 other officials from other provinces and their families return to the east."

"Why?"

"After they left, the blame for the defeat fell on my brother alone. He has committed a grave sin. My Chen clan surrenders to the commander-in-chief and is willing to serve him. We will never have to worry about the east."

Liu Chengzong was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your brother is smart. He wants me to reduce my worries. It's not impossible for me to agree to this... But if I have to do it, I have to be thorough."

"More thorough?"

Chen Qihuang restrained his smile and said seriously, "Please let me know, Marshal."

"Before those people leave, have Chen Qiyu issue an order to confiscate the wealth of the rich families in the city who have more than 500 dan of grain and more than 1,000 liang of wealth, and then arrest all the clan members and daughters from the King of Qin down to the level of the King of Qin."

  Chen Qihuang widened his eyes and asked, "You call this being thorough?"

Let’s not talk about the issue of thoroughness. If you treat me as your brother, how could he have such control over the army?

With just this order, people in the city would start fighting each other, and after the fight they would start looting. How could the military discipline be controlled?

Unexpectedly, Liu Chengzong immediately said expressionlessly: "Then release the officials to return to the east, rectify military discipline, arrest the soldiers who violated the law and discipline during the looting, and open the city to surrender."

To be honest, Chen Qihuang could easily guess what would happen next.

Liu Chengzong entered the city and killed the soldiers who had been detained for breaking the law and discipline during the house search, and then released the Qin vassal clan members as commoners. In this way, the impact of the war on the city of Xi'an could be reduced to a minimum.

The Marshal's Office can legitimately rule Xi'an like a ruler.

He personally witnessed Liu Chengzong capturing them from Shanxi and stuffing them into the city.

Based on his understanding of how vicious this man was, he knew that once they entered Xi'an, he would most likely tie up all the members of the Chen family, including Chen Qiuyu, and send them back to Baode Prefecture in Shanxi.

After the incident, the Ming Dynasty shook hands with the Marshal's Office and made peace. Emperor Chongzhen and Marshal Liu Chengzong were overjoyed. Chen Qiuyu, as the main culprit, was executed along with his entire family and his head was sent to the nine borders. Everyone had a bright future.

Chen Qihuang still wants to fight for it again.

But Liu Chengzong had already stood up: "Go back and tell General Chen my request. Of course, he can also seize the city and continue to defend the city until next summer. That's fine. I won't force him to surrender. Just tell him what I want."

good evening!