Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 301 Open the door, bring warmth!
This was a war that had been planned for a long time.

A war launched by the imperial central government against local separatist forces, spearheaded by thunder and wielded by law.

From that night onward, for ten whole days, Guangdong had no peaceful nights.

Chaozhou Prefecture.

At the same moment the cannons roared from the Guangzhou Governor's Mansion, outside the Chaozhou Prefectural Government Office late at night, the streets had been completely blocked off by hundreds of elite soldiers who had quietly arrived.

Behind the newly appointed Chaozhou prefect, Li Mubai, a former official of the Southern Garrison Patrol Division, were several other patrol division colleagues with equally grim faces and murderous intent in their eyes.

"Open the door!" Li Mubai's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling coldness.

Inside the government office, the former prefect Zhou Tingbo's confidants were already on edge, and upon hearing the sounds of soldiers outside, they were filled with doubt and uncertainty.

The doorman cautiously opened a crack in the door, only to be met with a face they would never forget.

Soldiers surged in like a tide, and the sporadic resistance inside the government office was utterly crushed in an instant.

All officials, staff, and servants associated with Zhou Tingbo and the Lin family were captured and bound like a string of pigs and sheep awaiting slaughter.

Li Mubai led the group of people straight to the ruins of the burned-down warehouse in the backyard.

This is the site where seven colleagues were assassinated and their bodies burned.

The charred charcoal and broken bricks exuded a deathly aura under the moonlight, as if one could still smell the blood and stench of that day.

"My colleagues, my brothers!" Li Mubai bowed deeply to the ruins. "We've returned!"

He turned around, facing the kneeling prisoners, and took out a scroll of a warrant written in Lu Xiang-sheng's own handwriting, which he read aloud to the crowd:
"Zhou Tingbo, the former prefect of Chaozhou, indulged his relatives by marriage, causing harm to the people—this is his first crime! He also embezzled public funds and perverted the course of justice—this is his second crime!"

His voice grew louder and louder!
"The most unforgivable of crimes is that they dared to commit arson and murder while the imperial envoy was investigating a case, thus murdering court officials! This is not corruption, nor is it cruelty; this is treason! They are traitors to the nation! They are enemies of our Great Ming!"

"By order of Governor-General Lu, in accordance with the provisions of the Ming Dynasty's Code on treason, all those involved in this matter, regardless of whether they were leaders or accomplices, shall be executed without exception!"

"Liu Xiwen, Zhou Tingbo's confidant and the prefectural magistrate of Chaozhou, shall be executed!"

"Zhou Tingbo's brother-in-law, Lin Zonghui, the head of the Lin family salt smugglers! Execute him!"

"The arsonists and assassins of that day, along with their accomplices, totaling seventy-one people! Execute them!"

"Cut! Cut! Cut!"

Before the ruins, the gleaming ghost-head sword was raised and lowered again and again.

Under the moonlight, blood splattered as heads rolled onto the scorched earth, the scalding blood instantly soaking the land that buried the wronged souls.

That night, in front of the ruins of the Chaozhou government office, a huge crowd gathered, offering a most direct and primal blood sacrifice to comfort the souls of the seven Beijing officials who had been ordered to go south but were brutally murdered!

……

Panyu, the Chen family mansion.

If the Battle of Chaozhou was like a skilled physician wielding a knife, requiring precise removal of bone, then the annihilation of the Chen family of Panyu was like a royal army attacking a fortified position, requiring a thunderous encirclement.

Deputy General Zhou Chaoxian personally led a battalion of Guangzhou New Army soldiers, all of whom were veterans of countless battles, and at dawn they divided their troops and approached the village.

The sight of heavily armored soldiers and a forest of swords and spears completely surrounded the Chen family's vast and heavily fortified century-old fortress, leaving it impenetrable.

The Chen family, as the head of the gentry in Guangzhou, had been entrenched in Panyu for hundreds of years, and had long since turned this place into an independent kingdom that was impenetrable.

When they found themselves surrounded by a large army, instead of surrendering, they sounded the alarm gong in their tribe.

"Protect the ancestral hall! Protect our family property!"

"These Northnecks have rebelled! They dare to touch our Chen family!"

In an instant, hundreds of local militia members, composed of able-bodied men and hired thugs, armed with knives, spears, clubs, and even privately amassed muskets, stubbornly resisted, relying on the sturdy village walls and numerous watchtowers.

Zhou Chaoxian stood at the front of the formation, looking at the clamoring villagers on the stockade wall, a cold smile on his face.

Before he arrived, Lu Xiang-sheng's order consisted of only eight words: "Crush the Chen family, leave not a single tile behind."

"Pass on my order!" Zhou Chaoxian drew his sword and pointed forward. "The vanguard will fire three volleys, warning them to open the gates and surrender within fifteen minutes, handing over the ringleaders. If they do not open the gates within fifteen minutes..."

He paused, then his eyes suddenly turned fierce.

"—Artillery barrage! Blast it open!"

A quarter of an hour passed in the blink of an eye amidst the curses and clamor of the Chen clan.

"Time's up!" Zhou Chao raised his hand and slashed down fiercely!
"fire!"

The earth trembled.

Not just one sound, but three Hongyi cannons, whose firing angles had already been calibrated, simultaneously unleashed a deafening roar!

Three solid iron bullets, glowing red-hot and trailing trails of deathly flame, pierced the faint light of dawn and crashed with unparalleled force into the small city wall that the Chen family was so proud of!

The deafening roar was like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting. The meticulously constructed stone wall was as fragile as a sandcastle in the face of absolute power.

A section of the wall was instantly torn open with a huge gap, and bricks, stones, earth, and the severed limbs of the local militia guarding the wall were thrown into the air and then fell like rain of blood.

The curses and arrogance on the stockade wall instantly transformed into the most primal screams and terror.

"rush!"

Zhou Chaoxian gave them no chance to catch their breath.

Before the smoke from the cannon fire had even cleared, the Guangzhou New Army, clad in heavy armor and wielding long swords and muskets, charged forward like tigers released from their gates, their feet trembling against the earth.

This was still a massacre, not a battle.

Among the new army, those battle-hardened veterans who followed Lu Xiang-sheng south from the Beijing garrison formed the iron-blooded backbone of this army.

Their eyes were devoid of any emotion, and their movements were swift and deadly.

Slashing, thrusting, loading, shooting... every movement has become instinctive.

Their swords were designed to sever bones as quickly as possible; their muskets were designed to pierce hearts with the utmost precision.

However, between these iron-blooded skeletons, filled with the flesh and blood of newly recruited soldiers.

Among them were soldiers from Guangxi, who were fierce and brave by nature. Although they had never experienced a major battle, they charged into the crowd with their brute force and bloodthirsty instincts, brandishing their waist knives and roaring. Although their knife skills were not as refined as those of the veteran soldiers, their momentum was even more ferocious.

There were also new recruits from Guangdong who had just put down their hoes and put on their military uniforms.

It was the first time they had seen such a bloody scene.

The horrific sight of artillery fire tearing people apart turned some young faces instantly pale.

When a fearless member of the Chen clan charged at them wielding a machete, some new recruits would instinctively take a half-step back, a flicker of panic in their eyes.

However, this moment of panic was fleeting.

Because beside them, the veterans of the Beijing Garrison stood as steady as mountains.

Without even glancing at the charging villager, an old soldier simply swung his sword and decapitated the man.

Warm blood splattered all over the face of the new recruit next to him.

"What are you standing there for! Kill the enemy!"

The cold, hoarse rebuke was like a bucket of cold water poured over the recruit, waking him up.

Looking at the veteran's expressionless profile and his retreating figure as he took another step forward, the fear in his heart was instantly replaced by shame.

He roared and, imitating the veteran, thrust his spear forward with all his might, piercing the chest of another who was trying to resist!

Under the guidance and example of these battle-hardened veterans of the Beijing Garrison, the new recruits' hesitation was quickly smoothed out by iron and blood discipline.

They may not yet know how to kill most efficiently, but they have learned the most important thing: obey orders, stay in formation, and thrust your weapon at any standing enemy.

Thus, the initially somewhat awkward queue began to operate more smoothly and ruthlessly under the influence of bloodshed.

Those who resist to the bitter end will be killed without mercy!

Blood, in the end, inevitably stained every inch of the bluestone slabs of the Chen family mansion.

Faced with absolute power, the hollow courage that the clan had mustered was shattered.

In less than half an hour, all resistance had subsided.

Those tyrannical clan leaders, elders, and uncles who usually acted arrogantly were dragged out of their luxurious rooms and forced to kneel in a row in front of the breach that had been blasted open.

Zhou Chaoxian rode slowly to them, his horse's hooves treading over the warm pool of blood.

He didn't even glance at the pale-faced, trembling clan leaders, but instead turned his gaze to the most magnificent building in the deepest part of the mansion—the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, with its flying eaves, brackets, carved beams, and painted rafters.

"The Inspector General has decreed," his voice as cold as iron, "that the Chen clan, relying on their privileged position, has defied the law and is a great scourge to the nation. Their century-old legacy is all the blood and sweat of the people; their clan's glory is a disgrace to the law. Today, let all of this turn to ashes!"

He raised the torch high in his hand.

"burn!"

The torch was thrown through the wide-open gate of the ancestral hall. The dry wood was instantly ignited.

The flames greedily licked at the ancestral tablets inscribed with the names of the Chen family's ancestors, devouring them one by one.

The sacred site, once a symbol of family glory and heritage, now crackled and spewed thick smoke that shot straight into the sky.

Amidst the towering flames, soldiers carried out countless items symbolizing wealth and evidence of crimes.

Boxes of neatly stacked silver ingots and strings of copper coins were sealed off; mountains of grain warehouses were all seized; and the account books, land deeds, and loan contracts found in the secret room were piled up like mountains, enough to prove how this family had been like a giant leech, clinging to Guangdong and sucking its blood for over a hundred years.

Against the backdrop of the ancestral hall turning to ashes and amidst the desperate cries of the clansmen, the Chen family of Panyu—a powerful family that had stood in Guangdong for over a century—vanished in a single day.

……

If Chaozhou Prefecture and the Chen family of Panyu were the two eye points of this storm, then in the following days, countless smaller storms unfolded simultaneously in every corner of southern Guangdong with a sharp, cross-cutting rhythm.

Foshan Town is famous throughout the world for its iron smelting.

The Zhang family was the king of casting in this area.

On the morning of the fifth day, just as Zhang's blacksmiths lit their furnaces and prepared to begin their day's work, a team composed of "executive squads" and soldiers reorganized from local garrisons, like ghosts, sealed off the entire workshop area.

The leader of the "enforcement team" held his command token high, his voice as cold as ice: "By order of the Governor-General, thoroughly investigate the case of the Zhang family of Foshan illegally minting and smuggling weapons and armor! Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

Before he finished speaking, a burly man, eight feet tall and with bulging muscles, rushed out from the inner courtyard of the workshop.

This man was none other than Zhang Lie, the patriarch of the Zhang clan. He held a hundred-times-forged steel sword in his hand, his large, copper-bell-shaped eyes were bloodshot, and he roared angrily, "Bullshit! My Zhang clan manufactures weapons for the imperial court, and has made great contributions. How could we smuggle weapons and armor! Which government office do you belong to, daring to cause trouble in my Zhang family!"

The team leader looked at him, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth, as if he were looking at a dead man.

He didn't waste any words with this brute; he simply raised his hand behind him and made a clean chopping gesture.

The team members behind him immediately understood and moved like lightning, bypassing the roaring Zhang Lie and heading straight for a hidden wall disguised as a pile of timber deep inside the workshop.

The leader of the team pressed hard on an inconspicuous brick, and with a soft "click" of a mechanism, the entire wall flipped inward, revealing a bottomless cellar!

A distinctive metallic smell and the pungent odor of saltpeter wafted towards us.

The torches pierced the darkness, revealing a completely different scene—hundreds of sharpened military swords, identical to those made to official standards, and over a hundred sets of fine chainmail! The quantity and quality of this arsenal were enough to multiply the strength of any naval power!

Seeing this "source of wealth" that had been hidden for two generations so easily unearthed, the anger on Zhang Lie's face instantly froze, turning into a deathly pale color, and then transforming into a ferocious expression like a trapped beast.

He knew it was all over.

"It's the Liang family! Those bastards from the Liang family betrayed us!" he roared, his eyes bloodshot, his reason completely gone. "I'll fight you to the death!"

He stopped arguing and questioning. The steel blade in his hand transformed into a streak of lightning, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, and slashed down at the captain!

"court death!"

The team leader uttered two words softly, but his body remained completely still.

His teammates had already spread out, as if they had practiced a thousand times, avoiding the front of the blade. Several military crossbows were raised at the same time, emitting a series of soft "buzzing" sounds.

The arrow pierced the sky.

Zhang Lie's ferocious sword strike came to an abrupt halt.

He looked down at the several bloody holes in his chest and abdomen, where arrows had pierced through the flesh.

The steel knife in his hand clattered to the ground, and his large, fan-like hand could no longer hold the weapon that had accompanied him throughout his life.

The tall body crashed down, raising a cloud of dust.

His wide-open eyes were filled with resentment and rage, as well as a deep sense of confusion.

He never understood, even in his death, which link in this lucrative secret trade route—where goods were sold to both high-stakes outbound traders and inland tycoons as long as money was paid—had gone wrong.

……

The seventh day, night.

On the southwestern coast of Guangdong, there is a secluded harbor called "Black Rock Reef".

A large ship flying the banner of "Suzhou and Hangzhou Fabrics" is secretly trading with several smaller ships.

On the ship, Qian Kuan, the commander of the Nan'ao Guard, was counting boxes of raw silk and medicinal herbs in the cabin with several Japanese merchants.

"Master Qian, this shipment is of exceptional quality. It will fetch at least three times the price in Nagasaki," a merchant said with a fawning smile.

Qian Kuan stroked his beard smugly: "Of course. With me here, this sea area is our shared path to wealth."

Just then, the ship suddenly jolted!
Several speedboats disguised as fishing boats suddenly approached like cheetahs in the night.

Dozens of agile "execution team" members, armed with grappling hooks, leaped onto the deck in a few bounds!

"Don't move! By order of the Governor-General, arrest the traitors who colluded with Japan!"

Qian Kuan's expression changed drastically inside the cabin. Just as he was about to draw his knife, a cold blade was already pressed against his neck.

He was caught red-handed along with Japanese merchants and a ship full of smuggled goods.

When he was being led onto the "enforcement team's" ship, he saw the officer in charge holding a booklet, who had drawn a heavy cross over his name in red ink.

……

On the ninth day, in Zhaoqing Prefecture, Deqing Prefecture.

The wealthy landowner Lu Wanqing was leisurely enjoying tea and music in his back garden.

He was the largest landowner in the area, known as "Lu Banzhou," but he was always "kind" and never had any bad reputation.

A team of "enforcement officers" quietly entered his mansion without alerting anyone and stopped directly in front of his study.

The person leading the team turned out to be one of Lu Xiang-sheng's clerks.

Lu Wanqing was invited to the study, where he saw the clerk standing in front of his most beloved rosewood bookshelf.

“Mr. Lu,” the clerk smiled slightly, “this bookshelf is exquisitely crafted. May I have the honor of moving it aside for a closer look?”

Lu Wanqing's heart skipped a beat, but he forced a calm expression: "This... is just an inanimate object, please do as you please, sir."

The clerk personally pressed a small, inconspicuous carving on the bookshelf, and the entire bookshelf silently slid open to one side, revealing a dark, secret room behind it!
Inside the secret room, there were no gold or silver treasures, only rows and rows of bookshelves, densely covered with land deeds!
These land deeds, which registered the fields under the names of various long-decayed clans and temples, were called "public fields." They never paid a single penny of tax, but the actual profits all flowed into Lu Wanqing's pocket.

A rough estimate suggests that the hidden farmland amounts to tens of thousands of acres!

Faced with this mountain of irrefutable evidence, all of Lu Wanqing's pretense was shattered.

His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself, "It's over...it's all over..."

……

Day 10, morning.

The thunderstorm that lasted for ten days has finally subsided.

Guangzhou, Governor's Mansion.

Despite not having slept all night, Lu Xiang-sheng showed no signs of fatigue. He stood quietly in the largest council hall of the governor's mansion.

The sky was already bright, and the morning light shone through the windowpanes onto the floor.

Lu Jianxing strode in, carrying the last batch of secret reports from various places, his voice steady and powerful:
"Reporting to the Commander! The Lu family of Zhaoqing, the Zhang family of Foshan, Qian Kuan of Nan'ao Garrison... all 372 ringleaders on the 'Bloody List' have been executed or captured!"

"The total area of ​​farmland seized throughout the province is over 1.2 million mu! The amount of silver confiscated is equivalent to 13 million taels of silver! The amount of grain, fodder, and armor is countless!"

"The resistance from clans and local militias in various places has been completely wiped out! Our casualties are less than one hundred!"

Lu Xiang-sheng listened quietly, his face expressionless.

He took the small black flag handed to him by Lu Jianxing and walked to the huge map himself.

He looked at the location of Deqing Prefecture on the map and steadily planted the black flag that represented "cleared out".

By now, the map was densely covered with hundreds of these small flags, resembling a black forest that covered every corner of Guangdong.

Lu Xiang-sheng took two steps back and looked at his masterpiece.

During those ten days, every order he issued meant heads rolling, families being destroyed, and the annihilation of an entire clan.

However, there was no pity in his eyes, only a relieved weariness and a deeper, more resolute gaze into the distance.

Lu Xiang-sheng seemed to be able to see through the mountains and rivers to the distant Forbidden City in Nanjing, in the study of the Qianqing Palace, where the young emperor was also looking at the same map.

Lu Xiang-sheng planted a small black flag, symbolizing the purge and the end.

He knew that the emperor was currently holding a vermilion brush, personally coloring the places on the map covered by black flags, one by one, with vermilion, a color representing imperial order and new life.

After enduring ten days of thunder and fire, this land in the south was finally overturned by an iron plow from the hands of those deeply entrenched old forces, revealing new soil that, though stained with blood, was full of hope.

The whole of Guangdong has been transformed!

(End of this chapter)