Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 389 Great Favor
In front of the Hou family's gate, more than a dozen soldiers in black quickly approached and surrounded everyone in the field.

The tall young man in the lead, with a thin braid hanging down his head, glanced at Zhang Hong and others in the field, and spoke in a cold voice

"What a bully!"

In front of the Hou family's gate, Xu Xiang rushed the fastest and had already stepped into the Hou Mansion.
But before he could make any more moves, he was pulled out by a big man in black clothes by the collar.
Xu Xiang was dragged out of the house and immediately kicked to the ground. The big man in black was merciless and slapped her several times.

Xu Xiang screamed repeatedly, and both cheeks swelled up immediately.
Hou Qizeng and other members of the Hou family, as well as Zhang Hong and other county clerks, were all caught off guard by the sudden appearance of these black-clad men.

Everyone was shocked for a moment, until Xu Xiang screamed, Zhang Hong finally reacted.
The big man in black on the ground pressed Xu Xiang down and slapped her repeatedly. Xu Xiang's cheeks were swollen like steamed buns, and blood was oozing from the corners of her mouth.

Zhang Hong glanced at Xu Xiang lying on the ground, then immediately turned his gaze to the tall young man with a thin braid behind his head. He knew that this young man was the leader of this group of people.

Zhang Hong's face was gloomy and he said in a cold voice

"I am here on the orders of the Magistrate of Jiading County, Mr. Tang Jin, to deal with the gentry who have joined the rebellion."

"Where did you come from? How dare you commit crimes here and obstruct the court's business? Aren't you afraid of losing your head?"

After Zhang Hong finished speaking, he looked at Hou Qi Zeng again and shouted

"Hou Qi Zeng, your Hou family is so bold that you dare to secretly recruit assassins."

"What do you want to do, rebel?"

In Zhang Hong's opinion, these men in black must be the fierce bandits raised by the Hou family. They must have seen them trying to break into the Hou Mansion, so they came to rescue him.
These people dared to wear knives and swords in broad daylight. They must be desperate and fierce.

Once this kind of vicious person goes crazy, no matter whether you are from the Qing Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, the county magistrate or the clerk, he will definitely be violent and ruthless. At this time, you must not argue with these people.

Since these people are helpers of the Hou Mansion, the best way is to control the Hou family. Hou Qi Zeng has always been timid. As long as Hou Qi Zeng is frightened, the people of the Hou family can control this group of criminals.
Zhang Hong thought that this group of people were the Hou family's assassins, but Hou Qizeng and others were also confused at this time. They didn't know this group of black-clad men who suddenly broke out.

Zhang Hong stared at the young man in black in front of him. The young man, who had crossed his arms, looked up and looked forward after hearing what Zhang Hong said.

The young man in black glanced at Zhang Hong and suddenly sneered

"You want to use the imperial court to pressure me? What a bullshit official business, do you think I was brought up by being scared?"

"Listen carefully, I am Liu Guoxuan, the personal guard commander under General Chen Tianchong, the commander-in-chief of Ninghai."

"If you want revenge, come on, I'll take it all. I want to see how good these dog officials are."

After Liu Guoxuan finished speaking, he ignored the expressions of Zhang Hong and others, looked at Xu Xiang on the ground, and shouted

"Master Hou has done a great favor to my general, and you, a scoundrel, dare to challenge him."

Xu Xiang's face was filled with fear. Seeing the black-clad man in front of him coming to hit him again, he trembled and suddenly shouted loudly:

"Master Zhang, Ninghai is on the front line of Zhejiang Province. How dare these Ninghai soldiers make friends with the Hou family, who are pro-Ming rebels. They must be preparing to rebel against the court. Master, please quickly capture these rebels."

Xu Xiang was terrified and kept shouting. Zhang Hong's expression suddenly changed when he heard what Xu Xiang said. He secretly cried out, "It's bad!"

Sure enough, the next moment the young man in black opposite suddenly burst into laughter.
Then the smile on the face of the black-clad young man opposite him suddenly disappeared, and turned cold.

The young man in black waved his hand, and the big man in black who was holding Xu Xiang down in front of him heard the order and suddenly drew his long sword from his waist.
A bright knife flashed across, and Xu Xiang's ear was cut off immediately.
The black-clothed man had a cold expression on his face and threw the bleeding ear to the ground. Only then did Xu Xiang react and screamed loudly.
The young man in black looked grim, looking at Xu Xiang on the ground, and said in a cold voice
"I didn't hear what you said just now, please say it again"

Xu Xiang's cheeks were covered in blood. When she saw the young man in black, her face was filled with fear.

Xu Xiang didn't even dare to scream at this time, she just knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.
The seven or eight hangers-on Zhang Hong brought with them were holding water and fire sticks in their hands. They were able to maintain their momentum.
But after seeing the blood on the ground, the faces of several of the idle officers turned pale, and some of them were even trembling with fear.

Although these officers were armed with water and fire sticks, they usually just followed Zhang Hong and intimidated the people in the county.

It's not that they haven't seen blood before, they even beat people to death when beating up troublemakers, but they have never seen such a scene where someone cut off someone's ears just because they disagreed with someone.
If these idle yamen runners were villains who brought disaster to the village, then in their eyes, these big men in front of them were murderous bandits who killed people without blinking an eye. Such lawless people were not something they could afford to offend.

Looking at the bleeding ear on the ground, he immediately believed what Liu Guoxuan said. In the Jiangnan area, apart from these soldiers, who else dared to be so unscrupulous?
Zhang Hong had a gloomy look on his face, but he didn't want to lose face at this moment.

After Zhang Hong knew the identities of these people, he felt relieved.

Since these people have the status of the imperial court, no matter how daring they are, they would never dare to openly attack and kill officials in Nanzhili.
Moreover, the young man in the lead grabbed Xu Xiang tightly as soon as he came up, and did not mention anything else. It was obvious that he was not the kind of reckless person who would do anything lawless.
Zhang Hong was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice
"Captain Liu, this is Jiading in Nanzhili, not Ninghai in Zhejiang Province. I am here under orders from the county government and the governor's office to collect the taxes owed by the Hou family."

"The Hou family is considered by the court to be a rebel against the Ming Dynasty. Does Ning Hai really want to stand up for the Hou family?"

Zhang Hong stared at the young man opposite him, and when he saw that he remained silent, he felt a little relieved.
Zhang Hong was about to continue persuading him, but the young man in black sneered and said

"Zhang Sili, right? You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

"I just saw injustice and beat up a hooligans. What does this Hou family have to do with Ninghai? My general doesn't know what the Hou family is!"

Zhang Hong was also shocked when he heard this. These Ninghai soldiers were willing to draw their swords and fight in the street for the Hou family. It was obvious that the Ninghai general had a deep friendship with the Hou family.

Moreover, Liu Guoxuan himself had just said that the Hou family had done a great favor to the Ninghai general. But now, just as he turned around, Liu Guoxuan actually denied it. Zhang Hong did not understand what Liu Guoxuan was up to for a while. At this time, a black-clothed soldier suddenly stepped forward and whispered a few words in Liu Guoxuan's ear. After listening, Liu Guoxuan suddenly spoke softly.

"Zhang Hong, a clerk in the Household Department of Jiading County, lives in Renyifang, Xiatang Street, right?"

"When I was in Zhejiang Province, I heard that in places like Nanzhili, there were rebels and bandits supporting the Ming Dynasty roaming around and causing chaos. It has not been peaceful these days."

"Zhang Sili should be more careful in his daily life. What if he is accidentally beheaded by bandits at night? What should he do?"

Zhang Hong looked at Liu Guoxuan, who was smiling in front of him, but his face immediately darkened. He instantly understood what Liu Guoxuan meant. Liu Guoxuan was clearly threatening him.
Liu Guoxuan was telling him that although the Hou family had done a favor to General Ninghai, the favor was not so great that General Ninghai would risk his future.

Liu Guoxuan just denied the relationship between Ninghai General and the Hou family, which was to tell him that if Zhang Hong wanted to use the court to forcibly deal with the Hou family, Ninghai General would never bring trouble to himself and would come forward to protect him.
But if something really happens to the Hou family, Zhang Hong won't be able to survive.

Zhang Hong was still furious when he thought of this, but then he felt a little scared. He suddenly realized that he had no power to resist.

Zhang Hong certainly recruited some hangers-on, but it is impossible to be on guard against thieves.

Moreover, Liu Guoxuan and his men were serious soldiers. How could the people he recruited be able to resist Liu Guoxuan and his fierce soldiers?
Zhang Hong's biggest reliance at this time, his identity as a clerk in the household department, was completely useless.

If Liu Guoxuan and his people really wanted to kill Zhang Hong, it would be no problem at all. All they had to do was break into Zhang Hong's house at night, kill him, and then leave the city immediately. No one would be able to catch them.
Based on Zhang Hong's understanding of the county government, even if the county government found out about this, they would only conclude that Zhang Hong had encountered bandits and then hastily close the case.

The people in the county government would never provoke Ninghai's criminals just for Zhang Hong, a clerk.

Although Zhang Hong did not recognize the Dinghai general, he knew where Dinghai was. Dinghai was the front line of the confrontation between the Ming and Qing dynasties. Going south from Dinghai, a few steps ahead was the area controlled by the Ming court.

The Ming and Qing dynasties are now facing each other in Zhejiang Province. Those who can hold the position of general in places like Ninghai must be ruthless and murderous.
As long as these border military leaders with large numbers of soldiers did not rebel, even if they killed one or two county magistrates and civil officials, the court would at most fine them some silver and give them a few warnings, but would never impose a heavy punishment.
To these arrogant military leaders, they didn't even care about decent civil officials, let alone a small clerk like Zhang Hong.

Liu Guoxuan and his men were ruthless and cruel. When the big man in black drew his sword just now, there was no sign. He drew his sword without hesitation, as if it was as easy as eating and drinking water.

These people were clearly ruthless soldiers and thugs who would kill without blinking an eye. If Zhang Hong continued to resist, they would probably break into his house at night and chop off his head.
Zhang Hong's expression changed several times, but he finally forced an ugly smile and said

"Captain Liu, I am only following orders and have no choice. Why do you have to make things difficult for me?"

Liu Guoxuan saw Zhang Hong lower his head, a smile flashed across his face, and he said

"That's it. Don't talk about the imperial court all the time. You are following orders, and I am also following orders."

"The higher-ups will decide on the issues above. There is no need to rush into the issue of overdue grain taxes. Maybe after a while, there will be a turnaround. What do you think, Mr. Zhang?"

Zhang Hong was relieved when he saw Liu Guoxuan's expression slow down, and quickly replied:

"General Liu is right. The issue of money and grain is not urgent. In this case, I will not disturb General Liu and Mr. Hou from reminiscing about the past."

Liu Guoxuan heard this and said in a cold voice
"I am passing through Jiading on official business, and I don't know the Hou and Ma families. Zhang Sili, please don't talk nonsense outside and ruin the reputation of my general. Zhang Sili, do you understand?"

"Yes, General Liu is passing through here, I will definitely not say anything nonsense, so I will leave first."

Zhang Hong's expression froze for a moment, and then he kept responding.
Zhang Hong looked at Liu Guoxuan, who had a calm expression on his face, but his eyes became more and more fearful.

The most terrifying thing is the person who dares to kill and has brains. Such a person is like a wolf following behind, and is the most difficult to deal with.

In Zhang Hong's eyes, Liu Guoxuan was obviously a cruel and vicious criminal.
Zhang Hong hurriedly retreated. Seeing that the two sides had reached an agreement, the gang members felt as if they had been pardoned and hurriedly followed Zhang Hong away.

Zhang Hong and the others left in a hurry, but Xu Xiang was still kneeling on the ground with a panicked look on her face, as if she had been completely forgotten, and no one paid any attention to her.
The front of the Marquis's Mansion soon returned to calm. Liu Guoxuan then looked at the people of the Marquis's Family standing by the door.
When the Hou family saw Liu Guoxuan, they all seemed to have just woken up from their dream. Hou Qizeng quickly stepped forward, bowed and said:
"Hou Qi of the Hou family has met General Liu. If General Liu had not intervened today, our family would have been harmed by the evil officials."

Hou Qi looked at the unfamiliar young man in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help asking

"I am ashamed to say this, but I would like to ask General Liu, who is this person in the Bi Mansion who has a connection with General Chen of Ninghai?"

Hou Qizeng had a puzzled look on his face. For the sake of the Hou family, these Ninghai soldiers and generals did not even give face to the Jiading County Office and forced Zhang Hong, the evil official, to bow his head. It was obvious that General Chen of Ninghai had a close relationship with their Hou family.

But Hou Qizeng didn't remember having any friendship with General Chen. Not to mention friendship, it was the first time Hou Qizeng even heard the name Chen Tianchong.

The situation in recent years is very different from that in the past. Military generals, especially those with large numbers of soldiers, are extremely powerful at this time, and their status is no less than that of civil officials of the same level.

There are countless examples of the generals and governors in Jiangnan competing with each other.

Hou Qi had previously used almost all of the Hou family's connections to solve the Hou family's predicament.
If the Hou family had known that they had a relationship with a powerful general, they would have used this relationship to ask for favors and would not have waited until now.

Liu Guoxuan heard this, but did not answer, but laughed softly
"This matter is not urgent, but Mr. Hou, are you not going to invite us into the mansion first?"

Hou Qi also reacted after hearing this, and he bowed his hands repeatedly and said

"General Liu is right. I was impolite. Please come into the mansion with all the heroes."

Hou Qizeng said this and led the way, ushering Liu Guoxuan and others into the mansion.
Among the black-clad soldiers, a man with a refined face looked at Hou Qizeng's flattering expression, but his face was complicated.
The man in black glanced at the familiar gate of the Marquis' Mansion in front of him, with a look of emotion on his face, but soon he lowered his head and followed the crowd into the mansion.
(End of this chapter)