Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 243: Kill all nine clans of Yu Shen!

The stone statue, more than ten feet tall, was pulled to the ground with a rope by Qinglong and others.

The stone statue made a loud roar and then broke into pieces.

The noise alarmed the people around, and many of them gathered curiously to see what was going on.

When they saw that the statue of Yu Qian, which had stood in the Yu family ancestral hall for decades, was destroyed by Qinglong.

Their expressions turned into horror.

These people, like the stonemasons before them, knelt on the ground with weak limbs, feeling as if the sky was falling.

They grew up listening to Yu Qian's stories and looking at his statues.

When they saw the statue of Yu Qian in the ancestral hall being destroyed, they felt extremely painful and sad.

"You can't smash it! You can't smash it! You can't smash the statue of Yu Shaobao!"

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

"Sir, please stop! Stop! I kowtow to you!"

"..."

As Qinglong demolished the statue, the impact of this incident was rapidly fermenting in Qiantang.

Dozens of Qiantang people, dressed in simple clothes and with weather-beaten faces, knelt outside the Yu family ancestral hall, begging Qinglong to stop with tears in their eyes.

But Qinglong turned a deaf ear to him and only left the Yu Ancestral Hall after he had completely destroyed the statue.

Looking at the people outside the ancestral hall, Qinglong felt heartbroken.

It is obvious that the difficult life they are living now is brought upon them by these Jiangnan gentry.

But they just happened to be devoted and filial to a hero who helped the development and growth of the Jiangnan gentry!
The class that holds the power of discourse can arbitrarily fabricate history that suits their interests.

Ordinary people are manipulated by them and instead fight for their interests, deepening their own suffering.

Qinglong looked at the people with a complicated expression, then mounted his horse, whipped the horse and set off towards Yu Shen's ancestral home.

Qinglong didn't want to explain anything to them. People have preconceived ideas. They have heard about Yu Qian's heroic deeds all their lives, so how could they still doubt him?

Their thinking has become rigid and they cannot hear other voices.

The two most immovable things in the world are the interests of the rich and the thoughts of the poor.

Because thoughts are the only thing they have that belongs to them alone.

Qinglong left with three hundred Jinyiwei, leaving the people on the ground crying and shouting at Yu Qian's residual image.

……

Yu Shen’s ancestral home looks completely different from the residences of ordinary people.

The three-story courtyard has white walls, black tiles, carved beams and painted buildings, and is exquisite and complex.

Dozens of servants shuttled back and forth, carefully serving Yu Shen's aunts and uncles.

When Yu Shen was young, his family was poor, and his parents gritted their teeth and sent him to a nearby school for education.

Later, after passing the examination for a tongsheng at the age of twelve, he was valued by the Yu family and sent to study in the Yu family's private school.

Not only were all fees waived, but he was also given some copper coins every month to subsidize his life.

In the end, Yu Shen rose to prominence and, under the care of Yu Qian, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai.

From then on, Yu Shen's family's life underwent earth-shaking changes.

In just over a decade, he went from being a poor peasant to one of the largest landlords in Yujiazhuang.

In Yu Shen's ancestral home, Yu Shen's nine clansmen are still living a peaceful life.

Yu Shen's uncle Yu Yang was in the living room, discussing the family business with Yu Shen's third uncle Yu Hao.

"Some time ago, Master Yu sent us two shops in Qiantang County. Both are prosperous shops near Qiantang Lake. We can open a restaurant or a cloth shop."

"Master Yu, you are still too polite, hahaha."

Yu Yang said with a smile, a strong sense of joy on his face.

Yu Hao also laughed: "That's because my second brother gave birth to a good son!"

"What did the imperial edict say a few days ago? Yu Shen is now the Minister of War and has been given the title of Junior Guardian!"

"Now he is giving them tax exemptions and promotions. He should also give them these two shops."

"Mr. Yu is still building a statue for Yu Shen. Our Yu family has produced another great hero!"

Yu Hao's words reminded Yu Yang: "By the way, Master Yu should also send the money for the statue."

"I gave two hundred strings of cash in total. It's not much, but it's still money."

"It's just that those poor people are too stingy. They are not willing to pay even half a tael of money per household."

"This is a hero of our Ming Dynasty. Asking them to pay is a compliment to them, but they are not happy about it. What a bunch of unruly people!"

As Yu Yang spoke, there was disgust and disdain in his eyes.

Little did they know that they had only been wearing these fine silks for a few years.

More than ten years ago, wasn't he what he called a troublemaker?

But since putting on this human skin, Yu Shen's clan has completely cut off ties with their former selves.

They were well aware of the suffering of the people, but they exploited them even more.

It seems that only in this way can I completely draw a line between myself and the miserable self of the past.

Yu Hao nodded, agreeing with Yu Yang's words.

"Troublemakers are troublemakers. Asking them to pay a little money is like asking for their lives. They have no vision or foresight at all."

"By the way, has Master Yu replied to the question about going out to sea?"

"We've been waiting for several years. Now Yu Shen has become the deputy secretary. Shouldn't we have a share of the ship that goes to sea?"

Yu Hao's eyes were so eager that he couldn't help but straighten his body a little.

Compared with the voyages to the West, the shops, the fields, the plundering and the extortion of the people's wealth can only be regarded as petty profits.

The profit from one smuggling trip was equivalent to the harvest of ten thousand mu of fertile land in several years. Yu Yang and Yu Hao had mentioned to Yu Yunzhong about joining the smuggling business several years ago.

But at that time, Yu Shen was still the governor of Jinzhou, and he and Yang Tong started smuggling Northern Yuan Dynasty goods, which caused displeasure among the smuggling groups in the south.

So Yu Shen and his family's plan to participate in the voyage to the West was put on hold.

But now, after Yu Shen became the Shao Bao, this matter can be put back on the agenda.

Yu Yang smiled mysteriously when he heard this: "There is news. Master Yu said that for the next ship that goes out to sea, we can use one thousand taels of silver to get a 30% stake in a ship."

"One thousand taels of silver can get 30%? Isn't this just giving it away for free?!"

Yu Hao was extremely excited: "Master Yu is really a wonderful person. The profit from this 30% stake is more than ten thousand taels of silver!"

The wealth of the southern gentry is unimaginable to people in the north.

One thousand taels of silver is a considerable sum of money even for a minor official in the capital.

But in the eyes of a new landlord in Jiangnan, one thousand taels of silver were given away for free.

Yu Yang also smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits: "Who says it's not true? As long as the treasure ship is launched, the silver will flow straight into the house..."

As Yu Yang was speaking, suddenly a shrill scream came from the front yard!

"Ahhhhh!!!"

"No! No!"

"Go find the master! Quick! The master, run...ah!"

"Killing! Killing!"

"..."

Screams of terror spread throughout the Yu family compound, and corresponding to them were the cries of pain from people before they died.

Yu Yang and Yu Hao were immersed in the joy and excitement of being involved in smuggling just a second ago.

The next second, I was frightened by the sudden exclamation and screaming, and I broke out in a cold sweat and my legs and feet went weak.

"What's wrong? What's going on? Why is there so much noise in the front yard?!"

"Hearing this, is there anyone who dares to use a knife in our yard?!"

Yu Yang and Yu Hao stood up from their chairs tremblingly, looking at the gate leading to the backyard with pale faces.

Suddenly, the courtyard door was pushed open, and the old housekeeper, his face covered in blood, stumbled in and shouted at them in horror: "Master, run! Quick!"

"what!!!"

The old butler had not said a few words when suddenly a bloody blade protruded from his chest.

Blood flowed all over the blade, and the butler's unfinished words were crushed in his throat.

“Hurry… hurry… run…”

The blade was drawn, and Qinglong's face appeared behind the fallen old butler.

Wearing the Feiyu suit and the Embroidered Spring Sword, Yu Yang recognized Qinglong's identity at a glance.

"Are you a Jinyiwei?!"

Looking at the butler's body lying on the ground, Yu Hao widened his eyes in disbelief and roared angrily: "How dare you!"

"How dare you kill people in this courtyard?! Do you know whose house this is?!"

"You are so outrageous. I will definitely write to the Grand Secretary Yu and ask him to punish you!"

Qinglong indifferently shook off the blood on the blade and glanced at Yu Yang and Yu Hao's faces.

"Yu Shen is dead, it's your turn next."

"Nine clans of Yu Shen, not a single one will be left alive!"

"what?!"

Yu Yang and Yu Hao were horrified and couldn't believe what they heard.

The next moment, dozens of Jinyiwei with blood on their bodies also walked into the backyard.

They held a knife in one hand and several fresh heads in the other.

When Yu Yang and Yu Hao saw the bloody faces, they let out a shrill cry.

"son!"

"my son!"

Yu Hao screamed and rushed towards his son's head, his eyes were red and his face turned red instantly.

Qinglong just took two steps forward, and the Embroidered Spring Knife in his hand stabbed into Yu Hao's heart with incredible accuracy.

Yu Hao's body froze, and before he could come to his senses, Qinglong had already drawn out the blade, grabbed his hair with one hand, held the knife with the other, and cut off Yu Hao's head completely with the backhand.

In an instant, blood splattered.

A few drops of blood fell on Yu Yang's face.

Yu Hao's headless body fell limply to the ground, and blood began to spread on the ground.

Yu Yang reached out and wiped the blood off his face, then looked down at the blood that had spread to his feet, his expression dazed.

"What's going on?! What on earth is going on?!"

"Yu Shen is clearly a hero of the Ming Dynasty. Why are you..."

Before Yu Yang could finish his words, Qinglong took a few quick steps and stabbed the knife into Yu Yang's chest!
"Uh……"

Yu Yang only felt a pain in his chest. He opened his mouth to shout, but his mouth was filled with the taste of rust and blood flowed out of his mouth.

"Yu Shen is... a hero of the Ming Dynasty... you... you can't..."

Before Yu Yang could say a word, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground with a loud bang.

All nine clans of Yu Shen will be killed!

(End of this chapter)