The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 163 Killing the chicken to scare the monkey

"Come on, Brother Zhang, I'll toast you a glass."

"Come on, drink!"

Late at night, inside a luxurious mansion in Taiyuan city, a banquet was going on with the clinking of glasses and the atmosphere was extremely lively. Tonight's guests were all dressed in gorgeous clothes, had good temperaments, and were all well-known figures.

One of the middle-aged men, who was sturdy and had a plump face, suddenly said, "Ever since the Mongols came, the north has been in chaos and the people are living in misery. Now, we in Jinzhong are finally at peace."

After he finished speaking, someone else agreed. That person was a thin old man with a gleam in his eyes. He sighed and said, "Yes, those barbarians killed too many people. Our trade routes were cut off. We must have been living a tight life these past few years. It was really hard."

However, as he spoke, he subconsciously rubbed the jade ring on his hand. The fabric of the clothes on his body was also very good. Many people could not earn this much in their entire lives.

"Marshal Guo is a kind-hearted man. He helped us drive away the Jin people. He is not as violent as those Mongolian barbarians. He has brought peace to us Han people. Come, let's all toast him."

"Well said. Come, let's toast to him together." This statement was approved by everyone, so they raised their glasses and drank the wine in them.

The middle-aged man just now spoke again, "Speaking of which, the people in the general's mansion have been checking the household registration these days. What if they really find out something?"

In an instant, the lively banquet fell silent. Everyone's faces froze. Then, the skinny old man stroked his jade ring and sneered, "So what if he finds out? Can he still attack us?"

"When Marshal Guo attacked Shanxi, which of us here didn't contribute? Without us, how could he have conquered Shanxi and become the master of the place?"

Everyone present here is a powerful family head from various prefectures and counties in Shanxi. Not long ago, Guo Jing established a shogunate and summoned young men from various families to serve in the shogunate. With the help of this relationship, they began to connect with each other.

Perhaps there are conflicts between the families, but in the face of interests, conflicts and hatred are nothing. To them, Guo Jing is an outsider and a foreigner. When he takes charge of Shanxi, everyone has to work under him, so they naturally stick together for warmth.

Someone on the side echoed, "That's right. We helped him so much, but we just got a few more households and land. When the Jin Kingdom conquered Hebei, didn't everyone do the same? Even the Jin people didn't do anything to us, so how could they dare to do it?"

"Everyone, just rest assured. In my opinion, as long as we do our job well, Marshal Guo will not start a war. If he attacks us, who will help him rule Shanxi? Without us, will he have to rely on those Mongolians under his command?"

After speaking, everyone laughed.

Those Mongolian barbarians only know how to fight and kill, and their methods are brutal. Using them to govern the place is harder than climbing to the sky!

It is precisely because of this confidence that each family unscrupulously encroached on household registration and land, and even built forts.

That's right, this thing has been popular since the Jin Dynasty and was the basis of the rule of the aristocratic families. Then during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the feudal lords were divided and the aristocratic families were tossed to pieces even if they had strongholds.

As a result, after the Jin Dynasty conquered the north, the local clans had to make a living and protect themselves, so the fortresses rose again. From a historical perspective, this was an absolute step backwards, but for them, everything was for the sake of self-protection and survival.

"Come on, let's not talk about this anymore, let's drink!"

"Come on, drink!"

……

General's Mansion, lobby.

Guo Jing sat in the upper seat, wearing a black robe with cloud patterns embroidered on it. His ordinary face was full of majesty, and his eyes were like torches, making people dare not look directly at him. To this day, as the leader of a region, he has been fighting on the battlefield for several years, and has developed such a temperament under the power of life and death.

It is for this reason that when others see him, they often ignore his age.

At this moment, besides him, there were more than twenty people in the hall. They were all dressed in gorgeous clothes, and many of them were guests at the night banquet a few days ago.

Guo Jing held the armrest of the chair, his eyes deep, "You all have had enough tea, I will not waste words, just say it straight, I am not satisfied with the number of households submitted by counties this year, Shanxi is so big, but the total population is less than 200,000 households, this number is unacceptable." The calm voice contained a compelling pressure, and the minds of the invited powerful family heads were frozen.

After coming to their senses, everyone looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise, as if to say, do you have such a big appetite?
Even though every family had concealed their household registration and land, they did not expect the situation to be so serious. There were less than 200,000 households, and they were shocked to hear the number.

Then, they all kept silent and acted like ostriches. The first person who spoke at this time would become the target of public criticism. We had just reached a consensus not long ago, and you betrayed us in the blink of an eye. That was too unreasonable.

After a while, no one spoke. Guo Jing lowered his eyes, and said with a hint of anger in his voice, "What? Are you all mute? Or do you intend to pretend that this incident never happened?"

After saying that, he stared at everyone coldly. A huge pressure came over them, shocking them deeply.

Finally, someone spoke up. It was the wealthy middle-aged man from the day before. He was a local tyrant in Xijing, and his surname was Zhang. "General, our children have only been in office for a short time. They are not familiar with the local area, so it is inevitable that there will be omissions. How about you give them some more time?"

Guo Jing moved his eyes to him and stared at him for a while, "Okay, I'll give you some time. Give me a satisfactory result in a month!"

Everyone looked at each other again, stood up from their chairs, and saluted respectfully, "Yes, sir!"

……

Late at night, Guo Jing was reading in the study, and Hua Zheng was helping him sort out official documents. "Guo Jing, do you think those wealthy families will return their household registration?"

Hearing this, he immediately laughed, "Come back?"

"When have you ever seen a pack of wolves spit out the prey they have eaten? They must have the confidence to be so bold. Just wait and see, there will be a good show in a month." His words were full of confidence, as if everything was under control.

Hua Zheng nodded as if she understood, and looked at Guo Jing with eyes full of admiration. Compared with before, she was more attached to Guo Jing now. The reason was that after Guo Jing became a general of a large army, he became more and more like her father Genghis Khan, and was closer to him in terms of what he did and his temperament.

The grassland girl is generous and admires heroes. There is no doubt that Guo Jing has become the hero in her mind, gradually replacing her father's position. She has watched Guo Jing grow from an ignorant and honest boy to where he is today.

Therefore, she felt that her husband was no worse than her father. He was so capable in his twenties. Wouldn’t he be even more capable when he grew up to be her father’s age?

His ability is no worse than his father's, and this is even more so for women. On the grassland, a powerful man can have many women, which is also a symbol of strength. Before, Guo Jing did not take a concubine and was laughed at by others in the Mongolian army.

One of the reasons why Hua Zheng forced Guo Jing to take a concubine was that her husband was better than others and she had more women than others!
Guo Jing stretched out his hands and held her in his arms, and suddenly said, "Chengping and Chengan are not young anymore. I plan to find a teacher for them. What do you think?" The two children are already over four years old, almost old enough to start learning.

A hint of hesitation flashed across Hua Zheng's pretty face. "Isn't it too early to find teachers for them now?" "Our children are destined to be extraordinary. They will inherit my family business in the future. We can't always keep them in the mansion. If I hadn't had so many masters teaching me, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today."

Hua Zheng thought about how Guo Jing had been taught by several masters when he was only six years old, and her hesitation was relieved a lot. The principle that jade cannot be made into a useful object without being polished applies everywhere.

There are parents who dote on their children, and of course there are also parents who are willing to teach and educate their children strictly. Hua Zheng is undoubtedly the latter. She has seen her brothers being taught by their father all year round.

"Okay, I'll listen to you!"

……

A month later, Guo Jing again received reports from various places. That conversation was somewhat useful, but not much.

The number of registered households has dropped from over 190,000 to the current 250,000. Marshal Guo's face is only worth 60,000 households. He had expected this result. Those people would not cry until they saw the coffin, but they were still a little angry when they saw the report.

"Big Tiger!"

"General!"

"It's time to take action!"

"Yes!"

That night, Dahu left Taiyuan and headed for the military camp outside the city. A thousand cavalrymen left the camp and disappeared.

In front of the desk, Hua Zheng heard about this from Guo Jing and was furious, "Guo Jing, with such a small household registration, they don't take us seriously, what are you going to do?"

Guo Jing smiled coldly, revealing his white teeth. "In the past two years, I have been too merciful and killed too few people. Now I have had enough fun, it's time to scare those monkeys."

"This matter is not over yet!"

Half a month later, a piece of news lay in front of the desks of the heads of each family: the Zhang and Li families colluded with the Jin people, resold military supplies, and their homes were confiscated and the whole family was exterminated. Five generations of direct descendants were beheaded on the spot, and their family members were made into official slaves and exiled.

Silence, long silence.

For a time, the wealthy families in cities like Taiyuan and Xijing all fell silent, not daring to make any more small moves. Only now did they realize the seriousness of the matter.

Too fast, too cruel!
This was their first thought when they received the news. Guo Jing took action almost immediately after receiving the report. They did not have any time to react. In half a month, he wiped out two sects in a row, and by the time the news was delivered to them, he left them no room for maneuver.

Collaborating with the Jin people is too serious a crime!
This means that as long as the Mongols are in the north, they cannot be cleared of their crimes. Besides, now that everyone is dead, no one will overturn their verdict. Guo Jing's methods are not brutal, and he can put a big hat on them at any time. Corruption is a serious crime, who dares to get involved?
Who could have thought that Guo Jing's methods were so ruthless? He was careless, careless after all. He thought that the children of each family would hold important positions in the shogunate, and that without them, the shogunate would definitely come to a halt.

Who would have thought that Guo Jing did not leave any room for them at all. After the other families received the news, all the sons of the Zhang and Li families who served in the shogunate were imprisoned, from top to bottom, without a single one being spared.

Not long ago, we were drinking together, and our voices and smiles are still fresh in our ears. In the blink of an eye, such a big family was uprooted by two people. Their two families were old and powerful families in Jinzhong. From the Song Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty, and then to the present, they had been prosperous for hundreds of years, but now, everything is gone.

Being able to take action against the Zhang and Li families means being able to take action against them. There are tens of thousands of troops stationed outside the city of Taiyuan. Those people are not vegetarians. Once they make an effort, they will be able to kill all these powerful families and hang them one by one!

At noon that day, braving the scorching sun, more than 20 powerful family heads came to the general's mansion to pay a visit, but they were turned away. The door of the general's mansion was closed and no one was seen.

There's no way. This is clearly killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. If we really want to take action against them, they won't have a chance to come.

The sun was shining brightly. Even though it was late spring, the sun was gradually becoming scorching. In front of the general's mansion, more than 20 people stood there without saying a word. Their clothes were already soaked with sweat. They were staggering, and some even fainted and were later revived, but no one dared to leave.

If you have the guts, try leaving. I’m sure the Zhang and Li families will give you a thumbs up!
Two hours later, the door slowly opened and a middle-aged man in a black robe walked out.

In an instant, the staggering crowd suppressed their fatigue and a gleam of hope appeared in their eyes.

Da Hu walked forward, looked at everyone coldly, and said in a cold voice, "The general said that you should go back and do a careful calculation and report the number of households again."

After saying that, without waiting for their reaction, the door closed again.

"Pfft!"

After getting the confirmation, these family heads finally couldn't hold on and fell to the ground. Then the servants came forward to help them up.

"Go, send me back quickly!"

"hurry up!"

After a while, all the people in front of the mansion left.

"Guo Jing, it's so satisfying. None of those people dared to leave. They were so arrogant before, but now they finally realize how powerful we are. However, isn't it a bit too little to kill only two families?" Hua Zheng had an excited smile on her face, with a little doubt.

Guo Jing put down the pen in his hand and explained, "Not a few. The two families are just right. They have been on this land for hundreds of years, earlier than other families. They have been around long enough and are also the two most powerful families."

"Do you know how many people were killed by the troops I sent to destroy these two families?"

"How many?"

"The Zhang family has 10,000 households, and the Li family has 13,000 households. Both families have hundreds of forts, each of which can accommodate thousands of people for living and production."

Hua Zheng opened her mouth in disbelief, "So many?"

As Guo Jing's good wife, she is not ignorant. Over the years, she has completely learned Chinese characters and Chinese. She also helps Guo Jing organize official documents on weekdays. She is very familiar with the information in those reports.

Previously, they had reported less than 200,000 households, but it turned out that just two families concealed 20,000 households. You know, there are more than 20 big and powerful families like this, so how many people can they have together?
(End of this chapter)