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

Chapter 34 The Eight Beauties of Qinhuai!

Inside the Ma family in Junzhou, where the family members were crying for their parents, Ma Jinzhong personally counted the number of Ma Wensheng's family members.

All family members of Ma Wensheng's three clans must be put in shackles and taken away on the spot.

The gold, silver and jewelry seized from the Ma family were innumerable, and the boxes of silver were so dazzling that people could not even open their eyes.

Ma Jinzhong had to send people to various places in Junzhou Prefecture to find horse-drawn carriages that could load goods.

But the most valuable thing is not the mountain of silver, but the Ma family’s land deed.

A total of 120,000 acres of land, while the entire Junzhou's arable land area is only 500,000 acres.

The equivalent of a quarter of the land was occupied by the Ma family.

It's lawless!

However, the lands occupied by Ma Wensheng were nothing. The official who occupied the most land was Xu Jie of the Jiajing Dynasty.

The Xu family occupied as much as 400,000 acres of land, and most of the fertile land in the entire Songjiang Prefecture fell into the hands of the Xu family.

The Western Factory's men went in and out of the Ma family, packing up the gold, silver and other valuables with swift movements and driving Ma Wensheng's clansmen into the prison van.

But Ma Jinzhong was still somewhat dissatisfied with the speed at which the Western Factory was confiscating property.

"Hurry up, His Majesty only gave us five days!"

"By tonight, all three tribes must be gathered together, and the gold, silver and valuables must be packed full, not one can be left behind!"

"Neither you nor I can afford to delay His Majesty's time. Do you understand?!"

"understand!"

The guards from the Western Factory all sped up their actions.

After tonight, there will no longer be any Junzhou Ma family in the world!
……

Under the same night sky, Pingliang Prefecture was also in chaos.

The Jinyiwei, dressed in Feiyu uniforms and with embroidered spring swords on their waists, led by Zhuque and Xuanwu, captured the nine clans of Qiu Yue in Pingliang Prefecture.

"Lord Suzaku, this is the genealogy of the Qiu family."

"All the people from the nine clans of the Qiu family are recorded in the book."

Zhao Ping, the prefect of Pingliang Prefecture, respectfully handed the Qiu family genealogy in his hand to Zhuque.

The Qiu family is a prominent family in Pingliang Prefecture. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, after the ancestor of the Qiu family was conferred the title of Marquis of Xianning, they have lived in Pingliang Prefecture for generations.

It is a pity that the Qiu family has few descendants, otherwise they would not have allowed Qiu Yue to pretend to be Qiu Li's son and inherit the title of Marquis of Xianning.

Although the Qiu family has few members, there are still many collateral branches.

Over the past five generations, the family has branched out and now the people of the nine clans have over a hundred skills.

At this time, they were standing in front of a branch of the Qiu family in Pingliang Prefecture.

There were not many assets in the family, and only two large boxes of gold, silver and treasures were confiscated.

But he has quite a few family members, a total of seven people from the nine clans.

When the seven people were taken away by the Jinyiwei, they were first shocked and then frightened.

Then he started crying as usual and begging for mercy on his knees.

But in front of the Jinyiwei, all these tricks are useless.

Who gave the order? It was the current emperor.

The Qiu family of Pingliang Prefecture never imagined that they had arranged for Qiu Yue to pretend to be the son of Qiu Li and inherit the title of Marquis of Xianning.

It will bring disaster to the Qiu family in Pingliang Prefecture and exterminate all nine generations of their clan!
After the Jinyiwei arrested these seven people, they tied up everyone's hands and feet and put them all into an oversized prison van.

Zhuque took the Qiu family tree and flipped through it: "Besides this family, where are the rest of the Qiu family members?"

"Replying to Lord Suzaku, as for those who live in the countryside, I have appointed the county magistrate to lead the way for Lord Xuanwu."

"Prefect Zhao, His Majesty has only given the Royal Guards five days. If they fail to capture the nine clans of the Qiqiu family on time, do you know the consequences?"

Zhao Ping wiped the cold sweat from his head and said humbly, "I know, I know. I know."

"I will fully cooperate with the Royal Guards. No one from the nine clans of the Qiu family will be able to escape."

"Yeah." Zhuque nodded and flipped through the Qiu family genealogy in his hand.

"Let me see, the next family is Qiu Yue's wife's two brothers."

"Fortunately, Qiu Yue's wife is also from Pingliang Prefecture, which saves us a lot of trouble."

"Let's go and rob the next one." "Yes, Lord Suzaku!"

Led by Zhao Ping, the prefect of Pingliang Prefecture, the Jinyiwei headed towards the next house.

Time is tight and the task is heavy. There is no time to waste!
……

Southern Zhili.

Yangzhou Prefecture.

The painted bridge is decorated with willows in the mist, the draperies and green curtains are in the wind, the market is lined with pearls and jade, the houses are filled with silk and satin, the Qiang flute plays in the sunshine, the lotus song floats in the night, and people recite poems while appreciating the mist and clouds.

Yangzhou has been prosperous since ancient times, with more than 100,000 households.

The prosperity and wealth of the south of the Yangtze River cannot be compared with that of the north.

The water and soil in the south of the Yangtze River are also very nourishing, and the women here are as gentle as water.

The skinny horses of Yangzhou are unique in the world.

Yangzhou has been known for producing beautiful women since ancient times, and it is naturally also an important selection site for national beauty pageants today.

At this time, a large group of people gathered in the back hall of the Yangzhou government office.

Zhang Wenshao, the governor of Yingtian, brought eight women he had carefully selected to the presence of Zhang Cai, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites.

"Doctor Zhang, these are eight skinny horses that I carefully selected and trained. They are both beautiful and talented, and they are the most beautiful in Yangzhou."

"From your point of view, can it please His Majesty?"

Zhang Cai looked at the eight stunning women in front of him. Each of them was truly extremely beautiful, outshining all others and very alluring.

For a moment, Zhang Cai was stunned and didn't say anything for a long time.

Zhang Cai was the doctor in charge of selecting the concubines for the emperor in the Ministry of Rites, and was also the chief official of the selection in Nanzhili.

Since the imperial palace announced the launch of a nationwide beauty pageant a few days ago, the common people as well as the princes and generals have stopped all marriage activities.

All girls aged 13 to 16 who are of marriageable age must stay at home and wait to be selected.

The scope of the talent show is very wide, and the main target is good women from ordinary families.

But those who were most concerned about the selection were the women from high-ranking officials, wealthy gentry, and merchants.

In order to get the selection officer to choose their own girls, these people often have to bribe the selection officer.

In addition, the governors of Jiangnan and other places also liked to present specially raised prostitutes and entertainers to the emperor. Among them, the skinny horses from Yangzhou were the most popular with the emperor.

Chang refers to artistes who perform singing, dancing and variety shows, while Ji refers to women with professional knowledge and skills.

The word "changji" (changji) is always written with a single person radical, and its original meaning refers to a woman with both beauty and talent, who is proficient in playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, reciting poems and composing essays.

The Yangzhou Skinny Horse is a stunning woman who has been trained since childhood.

Not only must she be familiar with the Women's Instructions, but she must also be proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting, as well as playing the piano and singing music, and she must also be able to do all the singing and dancing.

Zhang Wenshao couldn't help feeling a little proud when he saw Zhang Cai standing there in a daze.

"Doctor Zhang?"

"Huh? What?"

Zhang Cai came back to her senses and drank a sip of tea to cover up the embarrassment.

"In your opinion, are these eight women worthy of your majesty's attention?"

Zhang Wenshao asked again.

Zhang Cai was already overjoyed, but she pretended to be hesitant.

"These eight women are good as they are."

"But... the first requirement for the imperial palace selection is that the woman must be innocent..."

"Innocent! Absolutely innocent!"

Zhang Wenshao patted his chest and assured: "These eight women have been kept in seclusion to learn skills since they were bought."

"Not to mention getting married, she hasn't even seen many men."