I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 339 Annihilating the Wang Clan of Taiyuan!

The Wang family is a top-tier powerful clan in Taiyuan County, and is the most famous family in the county. The family has been deeply rooted in Taiyuan County for generations.

The Wang family even extended their influence to Luoyang, the central government, with several members holding positions in the central government.

This family owns an enormous amount of farmland in Qi County, hides a large population, and even has agricultural estates in Yangyi County, Jingling County, Zhongdu County, and other places. All of these are very fertile lands, and their output is unparalleled in Taiyuan.

A large portion of these lands and people were acquired through mergers, and many of the population were hidden and not reported. In the past, even the prefect had to show this family some respect. If they wanted to gain a foothold here, it would be quite difficult without cooperating with the Wang family.

Regarding Zhang Hong's plan to investigate the Wang family's accounts, Fifth Yuan, the magistrate of Qi County, said that this matter was too serious. The Wang family was too powerful, and it might be risky to deal with it rashly. He suggested that Zhang Hong seek Yuan Shu's explicit orders before proceeding.

Zhang Hong immediately stated that Yuan Shu had specifically told him about the Wang family of Taiyuan before he came, and that the purpose was to severely punish this family and set an example for all the scholar families in Bingzhou, so that they would not be arrogant!
Don't assume that Yuan Shu, being from a noble family, wouldn't target scholars. In the face of the great cause, everything else is insignificant!
Therefore, Zhang Hong believed that regardless of the Wang or Li families, he only recognized the Yuan family.

No matter how powerful your Wang family is, how does it compare to the Yuan family?
With a wave of his hand, he ordered the head of the Wang family to come and settle accounts in his capacity as the governor's special envoy.

As a result, the Wang family turned away Zhang Hong's envoy and ignored him completely.

This angered Zhang Hong, who twice ordered his family to come and settle accounts, but they were ignored. The last time, they were simply driven away.

They stated that the Wang family was a scholar-official family, with members serving as officials in Luoyang, unlike ordinary families. Ordinary laws could not be applied to the Wang family, as the saying goes, "rites do not apply to commoners, and punishments do not apply to high officials."

doctor?

You doctors are nothing!

Yuan Shu had thoroughly investigated the Wang family's finances. Wang Yun, the most promising member of the family, was currently only serving as a censor in Luoyang. Although he had a good reputation, he was just a minor official and insignificant.

How could such a family dare to defy the decrees of the Governor of Bingzhou?

Zhang Hong could no longer restrain himself and immediately mobilized four hundred elite troops to launch a military operation against the Wang family's residence in Qixian City.

The Wang family didn't completely disregard Zhang Hong. Of course, they knew that Zhang Hong had Yuan Shu, a powerful figure behind him. However, they believed that their family also had influence in Luoyang, and their members held official positions there. They shouldn't be on the same level as those nouveau riche.

How can those nouveau riche who are poor but have nothing left compare to a scholar-official family like theirs?
Shouldn't scholar-official families have special privileges?
How could we allow Yuan Shu to humiliate us like this?
The Wang clan patriarch immediately sent a message to Wang Yun and his relatives, who were serving as officials in Luoyang, asking them to intervene in Luoyang and try to secure some special treatment for the family, so that Yuan Shu would not be humiliated in this way.

The main members of the Wang family unanimously agreed that this would solve the problem.

But harsh reality tells them that there are no privileges; in front of Yuan Shu, everyone is equal.

They are either enemies or friends; there is no third option.

But once they become enemies...

You will then know how terrifying Yuan Shu is.

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Hong sent four hundred Tianxiong soldiers rushing forward, smashing open the gates of the Prince's mansion, and unleashing a massacre. The Prince's mansion was completely unprepared for this, and after a number of servants were killed, it collapsed, with everyone from top to bottom being captured by the Tianxiong soldiers.

The Wang clan members found this quite unbelievable. Clan leader Wang Yuan pointed at Zhang Hong and launched into a tirade, angrily denouncing Zhang Hong for disobeying the rules and saying that he would definitely be severely punished.

But Zhang Hong ignored him and ordered his soldiers to put a knife to his neck and lock him in prison.

Subsequently, under Zhang Hong's arrangement, the Tianxiong Army rushed to the ancestral land of the Wang family outside the city, conquered the ancestral land, and killed all those who dared to resist. They quickly conquered the ancestral land of the Wang family in Qi County.

After a thorough search, a large number of ring-pommel swords and bows and arrows were successfully found, along with several crossbows and three sets of armor.

Crossbow!

armor!

Well, this charge of "rebellion" won't be so easy to get off the hook.

When Zhang Hong placed these two items in front of Wang Yuan, Wang Yuan's face turned pale instantly.

Despite Wang Yuan's pale face as he tried to explain that they had crossbows to defend against Xianbei invasions, and that such things were not uncommon in Bingzhou and that many families had them, and that they could definitely be found if they were investigated, he could not use this as a reason for the Wang family to have ulterior motives.

But it didn't work.

This one piece of evidence is enough to convict them. What are you trying to do by illegally possessing prohibited weapons?

With just this one thing, everything will be fine.

Zhang Hong sent someone to inform Yuan Shu of the news overnight, asking Yuan Shu how to deal with the family. Yuan Shu was surprised to learn that crossbows and armor had been found in the Wang family's ancestral land, but he did not find it hard to understand.

Given Bingzhou's situation, these powerful clans with so many properties would really be unable to protect their businesses without some kind of family armed force and the ability to manufacture weapons.

That's why it's common for things that the imperial court explicitly forbids private possession to appear. What Wang Yuan said must be true. If you investigate any of the major clans in Bingzhou, you'll definitely find these contraband items.

Of course, Yuan Shu did not intend to wipe out all the powerful clans and local tyrants in Bingzhou at this time. It was not the right time yet. His power was not yet fully consolidated, and his subordinates had not yet taken control of most of the power in Bingzhou.

Therefore, what is needed now is deterrence, coercion, and forcing these aristocratic families and local tyrants to hand over the population and land they can bear to Yuan Shu, so that Yuan Shu can build the first batch of Liangzhuang.

Once these fertile estates were completed, Bingzhou would have a foundation of land, grain, and population, thus solidifying Yuan Shu's power base.

At that time, if these aristocratic families and local tyrants want to cause trouble again, it will be as easy to control them as to control a chick.

Therefore, his actions were mainly to make an example of someone, to deal with those who were dishonest and dared to resist, to show others that the toughest ones should be eliminated, and those who are left are the ones who know how to compromise and are good at compromising.

The Wang family was the chicken; after being brought under control, Yuan Shu directly ordered all of the Wang family's assets to be confiscated and put to public use.

Then the news spread throughout Bingzhou that crossbows and armor, which were explicitly prohibited by the imperial court, were found in the Wang family's ancestral lands, constituting a crime of treason, and therefore the family was to be confiscated and exterminated.

Prior to this, the Wang family had also confessed that many powerful families in Bingzhou possessed contraband such as crossbows and armor, which shocked Yuan Shu. He never expected that Bingzhou was full of rebels and traitors plotting rebellion everywhere!

However, adhering to the benevolent principle of "learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the disease to save the patient," Yuan Shu gave everyone a chance.

All contraband must be destroyed before the government discovers it, and then you must cooperate fully with the government's audit, handing over all illegal gains made after the first year of Jianning, and then pretend that nothing ever happened.

However, if anyone still disobeys the government's orders and acts recklessly, then don't blame him for exercising the power of the governor of Bingzhou and taking drastic measures to send all the rebellious traitors to their deaths!
As the Wang family was dealt a heavy blow by Yuan Shu, resulting in the destruction of their clan, the chilling atmosphere spread from Taiyuan County to other counties throughout Bingzhou. Wherever the news reached, fear and trepidation gripped the land.

As the three inspection teams drew near, the powerful families in the counties targeted for investigation were terrified and dared not even breathe loudly. They secretly destroyed and hid contraband from their families overnight, then quickly checked their accounts, preparing to hand over a portion of their assets in exchange for survival.

If Yuan Shu could easily take down and destroy the Wang family of Taiyuan, how could these minor figures withstand Yuan Shu's iron fist?

As a result, the inspection team's work became much easier, and the work of Xun You, Zhang Hong, and Zhong Yao also became easier.

On the other hand, Yuan Shu did not forget to eradicate the Wang family. He saw Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei off and explained the ins and outs of the matter. He also secretly sent an order to Duan Wei, the Commandant of the Capital Region, to take action and arrest all three members of the Wang family, including Wang Yun, and execute them as soon as possible.

The main principle is to show no mercy and eliminate all threats.

Trying to act superior in front of me?
You dare to talk to me about the principle of not punishing high-ranking officials?

Then I'll show you what a real high-class family is like!

As it turns out, Yuan Shu's powerful punches are definitely not something that any one person can easily handle.

As the most outstanding member of the Wang family in his generation, Wang Yun held positions in the Taiyuan Prefecture and Bingzhou Prefecture in his early years, and had a reputation for integrity. He was a person who was irreconcilable with treacherous villains and would never associate with them.

He was recruited as an official by the former Minister of Works, and then appointed as a Censor due to his outstanding work ability, gaining some fame in the court.

At this time, Wang Yun was not yet the Wang Situ who later used the stratagem to kill Dong Zhuo. He was far from having the fame and influence he would later gain. In Luoyang, he was just a minor figure, and his family was nothing more than a small, third-rate aristocratic clan.

So when Wang Yun, who was serving as an official in Luoyang, learned that Yuan Shu, the governor of Bingzhou, wanted to investigate their family's accounts and that many of the family members were resisting, he was so frightened that his mind went blank and he realized that something terrible was about to happen.

Before being arrested, Wang Yuan sent a message to Wang Yun, hoping that Wang Yun could use his influence to help the Wang family get through the calamity. But Wang Yun had no ability to do so.
The former Situ who promoted him has already returned to his hometown. The current Situ is Yuan Shu's third uncle, Yuan Kui. He can't get close to him and is just a minor figure in Luoyang. Even if he wants to scheme and climb the ranks, he will need more time and opportunities.

Where can we find this opportunity now?

Moreover, who is Yuan Shu?

That's the future supreme ruler, the current local tyrant of Bingzhou. You're going to oppose him?
Isn't that seeking death?

(End of this chapter)