Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 66 Wealth
After Qian Tong got off the city wall, he was like a frightened bird. With the help of two personal guards, he climbed onto his warhorse and rushed towards the mansion.

Qian Mansion is located in the southwest corner of Yuncheng, very close to the South Gate.

According to the custom of this dynasty, official temples or residences of dignitaries were usually located in the north of the city, with the north being more respected and the south being less respected.

Qian Tong built his mansion in the southwest because the south gate was closest to Nanyang Mountain. If anything unexpected happened, he could quickly escape to Nanyang Mountain, thirty miles away, to avoid disaster.

Hidden in the mansion are the wealth he has amassed over the years. These are his capital for a comeback. Even though the situation is extremely critical now, he will never give them up easily.

In addition, the two sons and three daughters born to him by his concubines were all in the mansion and were to be taken away as well.

Qian Tong galloped on his horse under the protection of more than a hundred cavalrymen. Soon he arrived at the gate of the mansion, pulled the reins, and jumped off his horse.

Compared to the shouts and cries of killing from the east, west and north gates, it was much quieter here. The war had not yet spread over, which made him feel a little relieved.

Qian Tong brought more than ten confidants with him and walked quickly towards the backyard. Along the way, he saw that the guests, maids, and servants all looked frightened and walked in a hurry, like monkeys scattering when a tree falls.

He sighed inwardly, took a deep breath, tried to cheer himself up, and walked into the main room in the backyard.

Several beautiful women were gathered together in the room talking. Some had tears in their eyes, looking adorable; some had slightly frowned brows, looking worried. When they saw Qian Tong coming in, they all showed surprise and stood up to greet him.

One of them was a beautiful woman about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing a purple skirt and a yellow belt around her waist. She was particularly charming.

This woman has a very beautiful face, eyes like a pool of autumn water, a graceful figure, and walks like a willow swaying in the wind. Her skin is as white and delicate as mutton-fat jade. She is Qian Tong's beloved wife, Zhou.

Zhou came from a poor family and had never been able to give birth to a child for Qian Tong, but she was able to stay as Qian Tong's wife for a long time, which shows how much Qian Tong doted on her.

But now, when Qian Tong saw the pretty face in front of him with a hint of anxiety, the love in his heart disappeared, leaving only deep hatred.

"Bitch! If your brother hadn't ruined my foundation, I wouldn't have ended up like this today!"

Qian Tong's eyes widened in anger. He raised his hand and slapped Zhou hard in the face. The crisp sound of the slap echoed in the air, and several red marks were left on Zhou's bright and beautiful face.

The beautiful women nearby were all stunned, and then showed an expression of gloating.

Zhou covered her cheeks, at a loss, tears welling up in her eyes.

Qian Tong's face was ferocious, and he was still not satisfied. With a clang, he drew his sword and slashed at Zhou.

Zhou was young and reacted quickly. He let out a cry of surprise and dodged in panic. The sword did not hit his chest, but only left a bloody mark on his arm.

"This man has gone crazy!" She looked at Qian Tong's red eyes, an idea flashed through her mind, and she rushed out of the crowd and fled out of the house.

After all, she was the legal wife. Qian Tong's confidants were so shocked that they forgot to stop her and she escaped out of the house.

Qian Tong was furious and wanted to chase after him with his sword, but he had lost sight of the other party. He roared in anger and swung his sword into the lower abdomen of a beautiful woman next to him.

The beautiful woman held the sword with both hands, her pretty eyes showing deep astonishment and disbelief, and her body fell limply to the ground.

"You will all become Yan's playthings sooner or later. Die!"

Qian Tong was so excited about killing that he seemed to have gone crazy. He swung his sword and attacked several other beautiful women.

The women screamed in fear and dodged everywhere in the house in chaos.

A confidant held Qian Tong's arm and said urgently, "General, business is urgent!"

Qian Tong woke up with a start, cast a glare at the beautiful women, and rushed into a side room on the left side of the main hall, cursing. Pushing open the side room wall, he suddenly revealed a deep secret passage.

Several confidants showed surprise, as this was the first time they had seen this secret passage.

Qian Tong took out a flint, lit an oil lamp, and took a few confidants down the secret passage. They came to a stone chamber that was seven or eight steps long and wide, and lit several oil lamps hanging on the stone wall one after another.

The lights flickered, illuminating every corner of the stone chamber.

There were eight copper boxes, about five or six feet long and wide and four or five feet high, neatly placed in the stone chamber. Six of the boxes were locked, while the lids of the other two were open, revealing boxes full of gold cakes.

Judging from the size, each gold cake weighs at least two kilograms. According to the current gold-copper exchange rate, a two-kilogram gold cake can be exchanged for nearly 200,000 coins. This full box of gold cakes is worth at least seven or eight million coins.

If the six locked boxes were also filled with gold cakes, eight boxes would mean 60 to 70 million coins!

Several confidants stared blankly at the golden light flashing in the box, and even their breathing became rapid, making slight gasps.

Qian Tong closed the box lid and locked it with a three-bolt lock. He ordered hurriedly, "Take these boxes out and load them onto the carriage. We'll leave the city immediately!"

Several confidants came to their senses and hurried forward. Together they lifted the copper boxes one by one. It took them three trips before they finally carried all eight copper boxes into the two supply carts in front of the mansion gate.

At this time, Qian Tong's two sons and two daughters were also brought to the gate of the mansion by their subordinates and boarded the third baggage cart. One daughter had not arrived yet.

Qian Tong didn't bother to wait any longer. He quickly mounted a warhorse and shouted, "Leave the city quickly!"

More than a hundred personal guards responded, mounted their war horses, and escorted three baggage carts towards the south gate.

When they turned onto the main road, they happened to encounter Su Ze leading more than a hundred soldiers rushing towards the Qian Mansion. The two groups met on the main road. Qian Tong said happily, "Mr. Su, you've arrived just in time. Come with me out of the city!"

When he was in trouble, his attitude became much better. He usually called Su Ze by his name, but at this time he addressed him as "Jun".

Su Ze responded with a "yes" and joined forces with Qian Tong's team. They went out of the South Gate, ordered the South Gate defenders to destroy the pass, and headed straight for Nanyang Mountain.

About a quarter of an hour later, Xu Sheng and Zhao Cuo led a group of cavalry to Qian's mansion. When they entered, they found that Qian Tong had disappeared. They called several guests and servants to ask, and only then did they know that Qian Tong had escaped from the city.

"Follow me out of the city immediately to pursue the enemy!" Xu Sheng hurriedly mounted his warhorse and led the cavalry straight to the south gate.

The South Gate was deserted, with no sign of the defenders. Due to the damage to the transfer gate, the hanging door had fallen, blocking the doorway.

"Let's go to the west gate!"

Xu Sheng shouted loudly and led everyone to the west gate. Along the way, they met Han Yang. The two joined forces, rushed out of the west gate, and turned south to chase.

At this time, everyone was unsure whether they could still catch up with Qian Tong, but they still gathered their strength and chased after him with all their might.

More than two hundred riders chased in the direction of Nanyang Mountain for two quarters of an hour. Just when they were feeling discouraged, a disorganized army suddenly appeared in front of them, with a crooked flag with the word "Su" on it fluttering weakly in the wind.

The cavalrymen cheered up and shot arrows before their horses arrived. After a few rounds of arrow rain and a charge, they defeated the enemy army, captured the enemy general Su Ze, and demanded to know the whereabouts of the money and copper.

Su Ze said dejectedly, "Qian Tong is heading towards Nanyang Mountain. He is a group of cavalrymen and has been walking for more than a quarter of an hour. It will be difficult for you to catch up with him."

He was loyal to Qian Tong. Even when Qian Tong was in trouble, he still followed him closely. However, due to his lack of strength, he was abandoned by the other party halfway. Thinking about it, he felt completely hopeless, lost and confused.

(End of this chapter)