weaving

In Jiexiu, between the main courtyard and the east side courtyard of the Fan family mansion, there is a medium-sized garden with a pool and a rockery. The feeling of being connected by mountains and rivers is very pleasant.

Pan Chengji, the general manager of the right department of Baihu Camp, was standing next to the rockery by the pool, pointing and pointing, led by a vendor wearing a gray coarse cloth smock.

There were about two teams of White Tiger Camp soldiers around. Except for those guarding various portals, the rest gathered around Han Rongkui, looking nervously at him and the mysterious man.

The man looked like a street vendor, there was nothing special about him, but even the tone of his words sounded like a local accent from a distance.

However, the two team officers were not surprised by this. At their level, they vaguely knew something about the secret hall. Although their knowledge was not detailed, there was a secret force under Yong Ningbo's command, which was said to be no less than the emperor's Jin Yiwei. .

Not to mention their level, even the commanders of each battalion have only heard about the dark hall and have never really seen it. Just like today's mysterious man, Chen Zheng's central army Huang An personally brought him.

In this regard, Pan Chengji naturally did not dare to ask more questions. He was not an old man of the Yongyi Army. He was transferred from the command of He Zhenxiong in the Biao Zuoying of Xuanfu Town to Chen Zheng's Baihu Camp during the previous expansion.

Although he has not been promoted and still serves as the Qian Commander, the Qian Commander in the Yongyi Army is not comparable to other battalion officers. Now Pan Chengji has a real Qian Warrior under his command. He will make many achievements in the future. Are you afraid that you will not have the chance to be promoted?

Since he had only officially joined the Yongyi Army system not long ago, he had only heard about the secret hall, and he didn't even know as much as the veteran team officers under his command.

But Pan Chengji also has his own understanding, that is, "don't ask what you shouldn't ask." He adheres to this principle and is never curious about unknown things. He only concentrates on doing what Chen Zheng has told him and strictly follows military orders.

And now Pan Chengji and the others are here because Fan Yongqin, the elder of the Fan family, said that the Fan family's secret cellar for storing silver is hidden here.

Under the command of the mysterious vendor, the soldiers quickly broke open the rockery, and a secret passage was revealed inside, which looked very deep and dark.

Soon, the torches and lanterns were lit. Pan Chengji and others walked down the winding stone steps. After walking less than a hundred steps, they could see what seemed to be a dark cellar below.

Although it is hidden deep underground, its air permeability is very good. It should be that some ventilation holes have been built with the help of the rockery shape on the ground. However, this place is hidden deep underground after all. Although there is the light of torches and candles, it still looks very dim.

As the lamps and candles on the surrounding walls were lit one by one, the light in the dark cellar became slightly brighter, but what everyone saw next really shocked everyone's jaws.

Before entering, everyone was mentally prepared. The dark cellar can be set up so secretly and so solidly that it will not be used to pile useless debris.

But perhaps because "poverty limits imagination", there is only a scene in front of me. As far as I can see, rows of large wooden shelves are filled with large silver ingots, each of which contains 50 taels. It is roughly estimated that there are at least 50 taels of silver ingots. As much as four and a half million taels.

Under the light of the lights, the dazzling white light was reflected. For a moment, everyone forgot what they were doing here. They all stared at the silver lump on the wooden frame with greedy eyes.

"Look……"

An exclamation woke everyone up. Before they had time to react, the voice continued to shout loudly: "Look at this... Oh my God... What is this..."

Pan Chengji and others followed the sound and saw an inconspicuous wooden door deeper deeper. It was quietly opened at some point, and several soldiers were standing in front of the door, all of them looking dumbfounded.

Then, they were about to go over there. When they saw what they saw in front of them, they all stood stunned on the spot.

I saw another spacious cellar inside, filled with objects as big as winter melons. They were all smooth and round, shining with bursts of cold silver light, and they were all made of snowflake silver. Made!

When I took a closer look, I realized that these objects seemed to be of the same size and round, and their shapes were very similar to ordinary winter melons. The only drawback was that they did not have a melon base.

"This...this winter melon...is made of silver?"

A team officer carefully raised his hand and touched it a few times, and then let out an incredible exclamation.

"This is 'Silver Winter Melon'."

Lieutenant Commander Huang An didn't know when he came to this underground cellar. Although he and the right commander Pan Chengji were on the same level, they were the close men who accompanied the commander Chen Zheng after all. He was actually more powerful than Pan Chengji. Mr. Qian was only half a level above him, so naturally no one dared to stop him from coming down.

Huang An walked up to Pan Chengji and continued: "This is the anti-theft method used by wealthy households in the world, especially in the homes of wealthy merchants in Jin Province. This method is often used.

They smelted the silver they earned into water and recast it into shapes as big as winter melons. Each weighed as little as ten kilograms, as many as dozens, or hundreds of kilograms. They were so round and heavy that they were not suitable for moving and plundering. Naturally, It plays a role in preventing thieves. "

As he spoke, he walked forward, carefully looked at the silver winter melons in front of him, and couldn't help but say with emotion: "However, it is indeed rare to see each one like the Fan family weighing one or two hundred kilograms."

Pan Chengji also stepped forward to answer the question: "As expected of General Chen's lieutenant general, Brother Huang knows more than us. He explained the ins and outs of this silver winter melon in just one sentence."

"Ha ha."

Huang An also smiled and retorted: "Old Pan, please don't flatter me openly or secretly. How can we understand these principles? Why don't we remember the daily teachings of the general and the lord, and they will really come in handy at this time. "

Huang An's words are indeed true. In history, the families of wealthy merchants really used this method to prevent thieves.

At that time, some large-scale businesses also purchased and sold goods in bulk, so the amount of money required for each purchase and sale was also a huge amount. Transporting such large sums of money back and forth was naturally risky.

There are many cutters and robbers along the road, so they naturally regard them as a big problem. The merchants' goods and money are stolen and robbed, which has always been a headache for them.

Later, the smart businessman came up with a clever idea, which was to break the silver into pieces!
Before each departure, they would smelt the silver they were carrying and recast it into large egg-shaped silver balls. There was no unified standard for the weight of each one, and it depended on the amount of silver they carried, so there were tens of kilograms, several kilograms, Ten kilograms, hundreds of kilograms, etc.

Such a big silver egg is not only inconvenient to move because of its weight, but also because of its round shape. There are no handles on the top, bottom, left and right. Even if you want to lift it, you have no way to start, which is extremely inconvenient.

Whenever merchants encountered thieves, they would first chop up the boxes containing the silver eggs, and then break up and run away.

But once the big silver egg got into the hands of the thieves, it would be difficult for them to carry it with them. If they had to send someone to carry it, they would walk slowly, and they were even more afraid of being chased by officers and soldiers, so they had no choice but to give up.

Therefore, in addition to the name "Silver Winter Melon", this large egg-shaped silver ingot also has an alias called "No Way", which is why it got its name.

Of course, despite the fact that these "silver winter melons" are all round, heavy and difficult to move, they are just to guard against thieves. Once you encounter a truly powerful force and dare to break in and rob openly, then There is nothing to be done.

There were densely packed silver winter melons in front of me. Before I even had time to check the number, I discovered that there were many gold ingots of the same size next to them. As I looked around, they were all shining with golden light.Not only that, there were many large boxes placed against the wall. When these large boxes were opened one by one, everyone was blinded by shock. They saw that the boxes were filled with pearls, agates, and gemstone jewelry.

There are so many rare and precious treasures of all kinds, including those from the north, the south, China, and overseas. It is so dazzling that it should be dazzling!
For a moment, the jewel-like color was so piercing that everyone could hardly open their eyes.

Everyone in the entire cellar was stunned on the spot. Not to mention the ordinary soldiers, even Lieutenant Commander Huang An and Chief Qian Pan Chengji had never seen so many gold, silver, pearls and jade...

Boss Qian Pan Chengji opened his mouth and said vaguely for a long time: "It's... it's... it's... it's scary..."

Even the mysterious man who looks like a hawker, who has always been very calm, is constantly tearing at the corners of his clothes with his drooping hands. From this, it can be seen that he is also surprised, angry, greedy, and entangled in his heart. Struggle with your own inner self.

Although he felt unbalanced and a little greedy about the profiteers grabbing so much wealth, he was a specially trained spy after all, so he had not forgotten this mission in his mind.

While others were stunned, he quietly moved to the side of Lieutenant Commander Huang An, lightly touched Huang An with his elbow, and frequently signaled with his winks.

Huang An was also shocked by the bejeweled scene in front of him. Now that he was reminded, he immediately came to his senses. He took two steps to the right and came to the side of Mr. Qian Pan Chengji.

"Where is Sergeant Zhenfu?"

Huang An just finished shouting, and immediately made a "cang clang" sound, suddenly pulled out the sword from his waist, and continued to shout loudly: "This is evidence of the crime of traitorous merchants and slaves. Register it quickly and make a record as evidence to be presented to the court in the future."

After he finished speaking, he turned to President Qian Pan Chengji and said, "President Pan Qian, you are still clearing the place so that the Zhenfu sergeants can clean up the stolen goods of profiteers. Do you want to eat Xia Zhenfu's military stick?"

Pan Chengji was shocked when he heard this. He immediately realized that he had lost his composure. He hurriedly gave Huang An a grateful look, and in a deep voice ordered the sergeant in the department to exit the cellar immediately, sealing the door and waiting in front of the sergeant. Come and count the loot.

…………

Chen Zheng was sitting in the lobby, listening to Huang An's report with the three family heads Han, Zhang and Meng. At this time, he only had one feeling in his heart: This Fan family is too rich!
Suddenly, his eyes suddenly opened and he saw something as big as a winter melon being carried in from outside the lobby. Even for a strong warrior like Yong Yijun, it still felt very strenuous for four people to carry a winter melon.

Although Chen Zheng was not as straight-eyed as when the soldiers first saw this thing in the cellar, he still stared wide-eyed, exhaled, stood up from his seat, and walked towards the big winter melon. past.

He stretched out his hand and touched it a few times, and murmured: "What a big winter melon... Hey... It's also a silver one..."

Not to mention that Chen Zheng was surprised by the silver winter melon. Even Han Guangqing, who also had a wealthy family and could be called a wealthy businessman, as well as the heads of the Zhang family and the Meng family, their eyes were wide open and they almost followed. The eye sockets rolled out.

Like Chen Zheng, they couldn't help but get up from their seats and come to the silver winter melon to take a closer look. However, the three of them did not dare to reach out and touch this big guy like Chen Zheng did.

"It's an eye-opener... It's really an eye-opener today!"

"This must be the 'Silver Winter Melon'. I used to only hear its name, but today I can finally see its true appearance."

"This guy... must weigh over a hundred pounds, right?"

Han Guangqing, the head of the Han family, was as amazed as they were, and murmured: "Fan's reputation for wealth is indeed well-deserved, and she deserves to be called the leader of Shanxi!"

He then shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity... it's a pity..."

Chen Zheng didn't care about the gloating words of the three family heads. Instead, he turned to the newly returned lieutenant officer Huang An and asked, "How many are there?"

"Back to General, Xia Zhenfu is leading people to investigate. It is roughly estimated that there are at least dozens of them, and there are also a lot of gold."

"Dozens? And golden winter melons?" Chen Zheng was shocked again.

Huang An replied firmly: "Yes, in addition to this silver winter melon, there are also many large gold ingots. In addition, there are many large boxes filled with jewelry and jades, all of which seem to be valuable."

"Ah."

Chen Zheng nodded and said, "Mr. Mi, where is he? Can he leave?"

When Huang An heard this, he couldn't help but look at Han Guangqing and Zhang and Meng, the two family heads, and then replied: "Mr. Mi rested in the courtyard outside the hall before he left. He just didn't want to enter the hall, feeling that it was stuffy here and far away. It’s not as cool as outside.”

Chen Zheng didn't understand the implication. He turned around and said hello to Han Guangqing and others, and led Huang An out of the lobby and straight to the side courtyard.

…………

Outside the lobby, people of the Fan clan, men, women, old and young, were kneeling in darkness. Among them, only the elderly and children could ask for water from the soldiers guarding them, while the rest could only endure.

As time went by, the confiscated gold, silver and silk in the compound also accumulated more and more. Seeing that these properties that should belong to them were looted away bit by bit, everyone was heartbroken.

This is all the hard work accumulated by the tribesmen of all generations!
"It's over...The Fan family is over..."

"This is the sweat and blood of ancestors of all generations...all of it has been wasted..."

"Robbers... These are not official soldiers... They are simply robbers..."

They could not reflect on themselves, nor resent Fan Yong's fight with slaves for causing today's disaster. Instead, they attributed all their resentment to the Yongyi Army soldiers who came to ransack their homes.

Now, seeing that even the Silver Winter Melon was confiscated by the Yongyi Army and carried away from their eyes, a kneeling middle-aged man in the crowd finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

Just listen to him shout loudly: "...No...this is the hard work saved by generations of ancestors of my Fan family..."

At this moment, the leader of the White Tiger Camp, Chen Zheng, walked out of the lobby and walked towards the side courtyard on the left.

He didn't know where the courage and strength burst out, and he screamed and stood up suddenly, rushing towards Chen Zheng and the others... (End of Chapter)