The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 140: Confiscation of property, extermination of clan, torture and salary

At this time, the city of Husiwoerduo was already in chaos. The entry of the left-wing army plunged the imperial capital into great panic.

"Orders to the Northern Navy and the Seven Rivers Army to strictly guard the four gates and not let anyone leave."

Li Xiao rode on his warhorse and shouted loudly.

He then led the Jinzhou Army to clean up the city.

At this moment, the city was in chaos. Apart from the running civilians, there were also the defeated soldiers defending the city.

Flames were already shooting up into the sky in many places, and fighting broke out everywhere in the city.

Li Xiao looked around and saw that many of the soldiers who were originally stationed in the city had now become rioters.

Start looting like crazy in the city and make a killing at the end.

Even in front of Li Xiao, a group of soldiers surrounded a group of civilians.

Judging from the way those people were dressed, they looked like the retainers of a wealthy family.

Although there were more than 30 people, they were defeated step by step in front of this group of frenzied defeated soldiers.

"Kill me!"

Li Xiao held a spear and shouted loudly, and the white-armored soldiers behind him rushed forward.

On the other side, Han Jiuyuan was fighting the enemy with his servants.

But unfortunately, he was just a scholar, and his servants had not seen the battlefield for a long time, so they were unable to stop these defeated soldiers.

"I am Han Jiuyuan, the Minister of Revenue."

"You attacked and killed an official appointed by the imperial court. This is a crime punishable by the extermination of all nine generations of your clan."

"Why don't you stop it now?"

Hearing Han Jiuyuan's scolding, the surrounding soldiers were not panicked at all.

Instead, he laughed out loud: "Bullshit imperial official."

"King Xiao's army has entered the city."

"The sky of the Liao Dynasty is about to change."

"You guys are just a bunch of prisoners, don't put on airs in front of me."

"Brothers, get to work."

"Grab the treasure and leave immediately."

A soldier who looked like the leader of the team shouted.

The city is now in chaos, and the powerful people who were once high and mighty have become phoenixes without feathers.

Take advantage of this opportunity, grab a big sum, and then run away. Wouldn't that be a happy life?

"You guys are so bold."

"My Han family will never let you go."

Han Jiuyuan threatened angrily, but it was of no use.

He saw his servants being beaten back step by step, and some of them were even ready to flee.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.

Immediately afterwards, the defeated soldiers looked terrified as if they had seen a devil, and they scattered in an instant.

"Oh no, the Dongdu Army is coming."

"Hide quickly."

"Run!"

Han Jiuyuan looked up when he heard this and was also shocked.

There was another group of cavalrymen wearing white armor, holding spears or scimitars, galloping through the streets.

The iron hooves rolled forward, and the terrifying momentum that came towards them was like a moving iceberg, making people sweat profusely.

In just a few breaths, the white-armored soldiers rushed before them.

He brandished cavalry swords and scimitars in his hands.

The rebel soldiers who were so arrogant and domineering just now and beat the servants to retreat step by step, collapsed in an instant under the attack of the white-armored army.

Some were stabbed in the chest, some were beheaded, and blood splattered all over the ground.

More people fled in all directions or knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Xuxu~"

Li Xiao held the reins, held a spear in his hand, and glanced at these people coldly.

He shouted in a deep voice: "Disarm them all and send them to the prisoner-of-war camp outside the city."

Be it the rebel soldiers or the servants, they all bowed their heads and knelt on the ground under his cold gaze.

Only a middle-aged man was still standing there, as if he was still clinging to the arrogance of a scholar.

"As ordered!"

The white-armored guards, like wolves and tigers, quickly stepped forward and whipped the servants and soldiers with horse whips. Even Han Jiuyuan was whipped.

"Everyone, stand up, put your hands on your heads, and gather outside the South City Gate." Tietou shouted sternly.

"I'm talking to you, old man. Get out of here."

Tietou whipped Han Jiuyuan again.

"Stop, don't fight."

"I am Han Jiuyuan, the Minister of Revenue."

Han Jiuyuan screamed in pain after being beaten. He didn't expect that he had just escaped from the wolf's den and fell into the tiger's mouth again.

These rebels are even more brutal than those chaotic armies.

"Haha, the Minister of Revenue?"

"Even if the Jade Emperor came, he would still get beaten today." Tietou said with a sneer.

Old thing, just because you call yourself a scholar you dare to act pretentiously in front of the Marshal and claim to be noble?

Since you have hard bones, I will beat you until you become soft.

At this time, Han Ying'er in the carriage also woke up. Seeing her father being beaten, tears immediately flowed out and she was heartbroken.

"Dad, Dad~"

Li Xiao glanced at the girl, who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair and delicate skin, and a pretty face, with a sense of fragility of a Central Plains woman.

So he stopped Tietou from whipping the man.

"okay!"

Tietou stopped and turned around, only to see Li Xiao riding his horse slowly walking towards Han Jiuyuan.

Looking down at him, he asked, "Are you the Minister of Revenue?"

"Who is Han Jiuguang to you?"

Western Liao inherited the Liao Dynasty's official system, which was divided into northern and southern officials.

Officials in the north managed nomadic peoples such as the Khitan, while officials in the south managed agricultural peoples such as the Han and Uighurs.

The southern officials were the three provinces and six ministries system of the Central Plains.

Above the Minister of Revenue, there are the heads of the three ministries, the left and right ministers, the Privy Councilor, and so on.

The status of the Minister of Revenue was not as high as in the Ming and Qing dynasties, but the position was quite critical.

After all, he is the God of Wealth!

"Han Jiuguang is my brother."

After being whipped a few times, Han Jiuyuan immediately became obedient.

He stood up, straightened his robe, and answered truthfully.

"Very good." Li Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

Han Jiuguang was one of the Han people most trusted by Yelu Zhilugu. He served as the Southern Privy Councilor and held a high position of power.

The entire Han family was also quite glorious in Western Liao.

Although the person captured was his younger brother, it was of great significance to Li Xiao.

"Since you are the Minister of Revenue, you must be fully aware of the money and grain in the city."

“Find them all, and I can spare your Han family.”

The first thing to do after breaking the city is to seize the money and food in the city, and Husiwoerduo is the capital of Western Liao.

The accumulation is definitely substantial.

Li Xiao was very jealous.

Hearing this, Han Jiuyuan shook his head helplessly and said, "General, there is enough food in the treasury, but there is no more money."

When Li Xiao heard this, his face immediately became displeased.

"What? It seems that Minister Han has made up his mind not to cooperate anymore?"

As he spoke, Li Xiao waved his hand and ordered, "Capture all the Han family members."

Then he pointed at Han Ying'er and said, "Send that woman to my tent tonight."

Hearing this, Han Ying'er was so frightened that her face turned pale. Like a trembling quail, she kept shaking her head and backed away: "No, no~"

Han Jiuyuan also became anxious and looked at Li Xiao with a pleading look.

"General, stop. I really didn't lie."

"If you don't believe me, you can come with me to the treasury and check. There really isn't much left. His Majesty has taken it all."

"I am telling the truth."

"General, please don't make things difficult for my daughter." Han Jiuyuan was filled with grief and indignation.

Hearing this, Li Xiao did not continue to embarrass him. Instead, he ordered, "Escort all these disorderly soldiers to the prisoner-of-war camp outside the city."

Then he looked at Han Jiuyuan and said, "Take me to the treasury."

On the way, Li Xiao also learned the reason why there was no money in the city.

Yelu Zhilugu was a tyrant who indulged in pleasure in his daily life and had almost squandered all the money in the national treasury.

In addition, not long ago, Yelu Zhilugu withdrew all the silver and money from the treasury, and no one knew what he did with it.

So, when Li Xiao came to the treasury, all he saw was an empty scene.

"General, I really didn't lie to you."

"Half a month ago, Your Majesty used the little money left in the treasury to reward the troops. Now he is truly out of money."

Han Jiuyuan stood beside Li Xiao and said with a wry smile.

Li Xiao frowned slightly, feeling very disappointed.

I originally thought I could make a fortune, but I ended up with nothing.

"This bastard dares to spend my money."

"Fuck you~"

Li Xiao cursed angrily.

But you can't do it without money.

The left wing army under Li Xiao had 15,000 troops.

Excluding the Kuli army, why did the other soldiers follow Li Xiao to Husiwoerduo?
Get promoted and make money!
If you don't have anything, it will be difficult to lead the team in the future.

Therefore, the most direct way is to give money to the soldiers.

So, after thinking about it, Li Xiao decided to hand the task over to Han Jiuyuan.

"Two days!"

"Within two days, I want to see at least one million copper coins."

Li Xiao stared at Han Jiuyuan fiercely.

Seeing Han Jiuyuan's face suddenly change and look reluctant, Li Xiao snorted coldly.

"Don't bargain with me, and don't refuse."

"Your Han family has been in the royal court for decades, so you know the situation of Hu Siwoerduo very well."

"Whose family is rich and how much money they have, I don't believe you don't know."

"During this period, I will order the Jinzhou Army to fully cooperate with your actions."

"In short, within two days, I will see one million strings of cash."

"If not, humph, you'll go to the guillotine to meet your family."

One million strings of cash may sound like a lot, but it is actually not much at all.

After all, this is the imperial capital.

The residents are all princes, dignitaries and wealthy nobles.

Since the Karakhanid Khanate era, Husiwoerduo has become the center of the Western Regions.

After two hundred years of accumulation, the wealth accumulated by those wealthy aristocrats is probably unimaginable.

With the national treasury empty, Li Xiao could only take action against the powerful and wealthy.

It's just like learning from Li Zicheng to extort money.

The current Western Liao Dynasty is just like the late Ming Dynasty, with corrupt officials and rampant corruption. The wealthy nobles have emptied the national treasury one by one, while they themselves have become rich.

It's just right for slaughtering and eating meat. Listening to Li Xiao's threat, Han Jiuyuan's face was full of bitterness, and he didn't dare to say anything to refuse.

He just lamented in his heart, "This is going to push my Han family into a dead end."

Once this is done, the Han family will cut themselves off from the influence of Hu Siwoerduo and offend a large number of powerful people.

But there is no other way. If I don’t do it, my whole family will die, and my daughter will definitely be ruined by this bastard.

I can only bow my head.

Li Xiao asked Dahu to take charge of this matter and took Han Jiuyuan away.

He himself inspected other treasuries one after another.

The armory was also empty. After all, when war came, Yelu Zhilugu would definitely take out the weapons and distribute them to the soldiers.

The few that remain are of poor quality and difficult to use.

The only thing that made Li Xiao feel relieved was the granary.

There is still plenty of food in the city, more than 100,000 stones, enough to feed Li Xiao's army for more than half a year.

……

Soon, Dahu and Han Jiuyuan took action and formed a "Fund Raising and Pacification Office".

All the nobles and wealthy businessmen in the city would be visited by them one by one.

Li Xiao took people to the Daha family and wanted to search their house personally.

The Daha family is the top noble family in Western Liao, almost comparable to the Xiao family.

The mansion built was also quite luxurious, second only to the imperial palace in the city.

But at this moment, at Li Xiao's command, countless Jinzhou soldiers in white armor poured into the Daha family's mansion like a tide.

The soldiers broke into the room with cavalry swords in hand, and each of them had a cold and decisive look in their eyes.

They quickly dispersed and rushed to every corner of the mansion according to the pre-arranged plan.

"Search, don't miss any suspicious place!" Li Xiao gave the order loudly while riding on his warhorse.

His voice echoed over the mansion like a loud bell, carrying unquestionable majesty.

For a moment, the entire mansion was in chaos.

The servants of the Daha family were panicked and fled in all directions, but were stopped one by one by the Jinzhou soldiers.

Some timid servants were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, trembling.

And those nobles of the Daha family who usually lived a life of luxury had lost their former pride and dignity, and their faces were filled with fear and panic.

"Who told you to mess around?"

"This is the Dahe family's residence, stop it now."

"We have a history with the Xiao family. Aren't you afraid that Xiao Simo will punish you?" A young man from the Daha family roared angrily with a flushed face.

However, the only response he got was a sharp scimitar.

Li Xiao rode his warhorse up to the man, took a cold look at him, and instantly drew out his cavalry sword.

The sharp blade instantly cut across the man's neck.

Blood splattered and the head rolled to the ground.

The servants around were so scared that they trembled.

"You're so long-winded." Li Xiao snorted coldly, lightly squeezed the horse's belly, and the warhorse passed directly over the corpse.

Then he shouted to the soldiers, "Drive everyone into the yard."

“No property should be left untouched.”

"Check carefully for a cellar."

The soldiers searched room by room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, throwing items all over the floor. Precious porcelain, exquisite calligraphy and paintings were trampled on, and gorgeous tables and chairs were pushed to the ground.

In a secret room, the soldiers found a large amount of gold and silver treasures, boxes of gold and silver ingots, and dazzling jewelry, which sparkled alluringly under the light of torches.

"Marshal, there's a discovery here!"

A soldier ran out excitedly to report, and then everyone carried all the boxes out.

A dozen large boxes.

All of them are gold, silver and treasures.

Copper coins are not qualified to enter this box at all.

Li Xiao grabbed a handful of gold dinars from the box and nodded with satisfaction.

"The dignified Dahe family definitely cannot have such a small amount of money. Keep searching," Li Xiao ordered.

Then, he walked towards another yard.

All the members of the Daha family were detained here.

"Why are there only so few people?" Li Xiao said with displeasure as he looked at the sparse group of twenty or so people in the yard.

In front of him was a servant of the Han family. He had been in Husiwoerduo City for so many years and was very familiar with the situation of the Daha family.

"Reporting to the Lord, there are more than sixty members of the Dahe family, but most of them have followed the royal court and migrated elsewhere."

"This is the ancestral home of the Dahe family. Only about twenty members of the clan are left here."

Li Xiao nodded slightly and accepted the explanation.

Wang Ting was the power center of Western Liao, and the imperial capital he captured could only be regarded as an "empty city".

Most of the Khitan nobles went to other places to roam during this season.

Only a small number of Khitans were left in the city.

Even among the more than 20 people in front of me, many are old men and women.

Of course, there was also a Daha Hudaan who defended the city gate to the death when the city was broken, but was eventually hit on the head by Erhu with a stick.

"Catch these old men and interrogate them to force them to reveal the burial location of the Daha family's treasure." Li Xiao ordered.

"As ordered!"

Tietou then brought people to torture these old men and interrogate them on the spot.

"You are acting recklessly. I want to see Xiao Simo."

"I watched Xiao Simo grow up. I even held him in my arms when he was a child. If you dare to torture me, he will definitely not let you go."

"If there is anything, we will naturally discuss it with Xiao Simo in person. Let me go."

These old men are all Daha Chuluoduo's uncles, or even great-uncles, and they are all quite old.

The purpose of staying in the old house was to prepare for retirement, but now it has benefited Li Xiao.

Because the young people may not know where the Daha family’s treasure is, but these old guys will definitely know.

So, Li Xiao waved his hand with an impatient look and asked Tietou to continue torturing him.

At the same time, his eyes turned to the women kneeling on the ground.

He asked lightly, "What are their identities?"

The servant pointed to several young and beautiful women on the left and said softly, "My Lord, these women are the concubines of those old masters of the Dahe family."

Hearing this, Li Xiao sneered: "A few old guys, at such an old age, marrying such a young girl."

Li Xiao looked at the youngest girl, who was almost old enough to be the granddaughter of several old men.

So he said to Tietou, "Take off the tools of those old guys and feed them to the dogs."

"As ordered."

Tietou chuckled coldly and looked at the old men with malicious eyes.

Afterwards, Li Xiao looked at the girls and said, "They are all miserable people."

"Come back to the Golden State with me!"

As for their final fate, it was also a reward given to meritorious soldiers.

Then, Li Xiao looked at the woman in the middle. She was very young, about sixteen or seventeen years old, and very beautiful.

"who is she?"

"She is the wife of Oga Izuruta."

Li Xiao was stunned when he heard this.

"That bastard got married?"

I remember that half a year ago, after the Battle of Beishan, Daha Chu Luo Duocai and Xiao Yanyan broke off their engagement.

In the blink of an eye, I have a wife, and she is so beautiful.

Isn't this forcing Li Xiao to make mistakes?

"Yes, my lord."

"They just got married at the end of last year." The servant said cautiously.

After all, Ohga Churota is already in his twenties, which is considered an over-age youth in this era.

Although he already had several concubines and had children, the position of wife remained vacant.

After breaking off the engagement with Xiao Yanyan, he immediately married a Khitan noble family in the Wang court.

"That bastard is quite happy." Li Xiao said with a cold snort.

He pinched the woman's chin, forcibly lifted her cheeks, and looked her up and down.

Seeing her trembling with fear, her eyes were blurred with tears and her eye sockets were swollen from crying.

Then, he said in a deep voice: "Da He Chu Luoduo is really a piece of shit. How could he have the heart to lay hands on such a beautiful wife?"

"My eye sockets are so swollen from the beating he did."

"Send it to my tent."

"Let me treat her injuries well."

Then he looked at a middle-aged woman next to him, who was also quite pretty and still had some charm.

The servant quickly explained, "This is Daha Hudaan's wife, the mother of Daha Chuluoduo."

Li Xiao pinched her chin and looked at her again.

She looks to be in her thirties, has a good appearance, and has a strong smell of a married woman.

Doesn’t that mean that Ohga Churado was born when she was in her teens?
"Da He Hu Da An is a beast."

"Both father and son are not good people."

Li Xiao turned around and said, "This lady looks pale and haggard. She must be sleep deprived."

"Send it to my tent and have a good rest."

After saying that, he looked at the women on the right, who were older.

They seemed to be the wives of those old guys. Li Xiao pointed at the youngest one among them, but she looked to be in her forties, and her appearance was quite distinctive.

"Who is this again?"

"She is the second wife of Daha Hudaan." said the servant.

"Then she can be considered as Daha Chuluoduo's stepmother?" Li Xiao raised his eyebrows and said.

It is normal that the concubine is older than the wife. After all, many noble men of this era have concubines before marrying.

Once a concubine becomes pregnant and gives birth to a boy, preferably the eldest son, she will most likely become a co-wife, and her status will change instantly.

Even the legitimate son has to call his concubine mother his stepmother.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao glanced at the servant and said, "Your master is working hard for me."

"This woman will be rewarded to him."

The servant was stunned when he heard this.

"A reward for the master?"

He looked at the woman blankly, then thought about Han Jiuyuan.

I didn't dare to refuse and could only nod.

Li Xiao smiled faintly. This second wife was a little old and not as pretty as Daha Chuluoduo's mother. Otherwise, Li Xiao would have kept her.

After all, he missed that bastard Ohga Chuluoduo very much.

Since we haven't been able to kill him yet, we'll collect some interest from his family first.

There are also benefits in giving this woman to Han Jiuyuan.

Let him completely break off relations with the Daha family, and he will have to be firmly tied to Li Xiao's side in the future.

After all, financial management is a technical job, and Li Xiao's Jinzhou really lacks talents in this area.

Not long after, Tietou finally pried open the mouths of those old guys.

After finding several treasure hiding places, some of the white-armored soldiers began digging in the yard, while the others went to several other courtyards in the city.

Cunning Rabbit Three Caves.

The Daha family has a lot of treasures.

After confiscating the property of the Daha family, Li Xiao ordered that all the men in the Daha family be beheaded and the women be sent into exile, to be distributed to meritorious soldiers in the future.

The same goes for servants.

The maidservant was sent into exile and would be rewarded in the future.

The servants were sent into the Kuli army and became slaves in the left-wing army.

They needed to rely on their military achievements to be exempted from slavery.
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(End of this chapter)