Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 530 Troublesome
After a few simple greetings, the three of them started chatting about business.

Zhu Qiuqi first signaled Liu Bo to talk about the situation in Jiexiu, and Liu Bo started talking immediately.

According to Liu Bo, the Jiexiu Fan family is a large family. Their ancestors settled in Jiexiu City in the early years of the Ming Dynasty. They have been engaged in business for generations and have a lot of industry. Later, the Fan family moved out of Jiexiu City and settled in Zhangyuan Village in the northeast of Jiexiu. Since then, they have multiplied and thrived in Zhangyuan Village.

At the end of the Jiajing period, the business of the Jiexiu Fan family gradually expanded. During the Wanli period, the Fan family established a relationship with the Zhang and Wang families in Shanxi. With the support of the two families, they became one of the major merchants in Shanxi.

During the Wanli period, the Jiexiu Fan family set up a new Fan family trading company in Zhangjiakou, and the focus of business shifted from Zhangyuan Village to Zhangjiakou. From then on, apart from their hometown Zhangyuan Village, Zhangjiakou was the most important business for the Jiexiu Fan family. The current head of the Fan family, Fan Yongdou, spends ten months a year in Zhangjiakou, and seldom returns to Zhangyuan Village except for the annual ancestor worship and New Year's Day.

"So, Fan Yongdou is not in Zhangyuan Village now?" Li Hu couldn't help but ask when he heard this. He knew why he brought people here this time. He originally thought that he could directly deal with the entire Fan family, but he didn't expect that the Fan family had three burrows. The entire Fan family was actually divided into two parts, one was the ancestral home, and the other was the new house in Zhangjiakou. As the head of the family, Fan Yongdou was in Zhangjiakou.

"That's right!" Liu Bo nodded and said, "My brothers reported that Fan Yongdou is now in Zhangjiakou. Not only him, but also his two sons are there."

"If that's the case, then Zhang Yuancun will..." Li Hu frowned.

Zhu Qiuqi laughed and said, "It doesn't matter. Whether Fan Yongdou is in the ancestral house or not, it doesn't matter to you and me."

"Why is this happening?" Li Hu wondered. No one had told him about this situation before.

Zhu Qiuqi immediately explained, he told Li Hu that whether Fan Yongdou was in the ancestral house or not, it would not affect their plan at all. This time they were targeting the ancestral house and property of the Fan family. If they could get rid of Fan Yongdou, it would be good. If Fan Yongdou was not there, they could just attack the ancestral house of the Fan family and achieve their goal.

Li Hu is not a businessman, and he does not understand some of the situations of Shanxi merchants. But Zhu Qiuqi is different. Although he is a member of the royal family, Zhu Qiuqi has not been following Zhu Shenzhui for idleness all these years. Although he is not as famous in the business world as Kang Youfu, the head shopkeeper of Hengtong, he is also a successful businessman.

Thanks to Hengtong, Zhu Qiuqi was also considered a businessman. Moreover, he was always smart, willing to study hard, and well-informed, so he learned a lot about the Shanxi merchants.

Shanxi merchants had been well established as early as the early Ming Dynasty. Over the past two hundred years, there were hundreds of Shanxi merchants of all sizes. Most of these merchants had one thing in common, that is, they were keen on pursuing wealth in gold and silver, and they also had the habit of saving money.

People often say that Shanxi merchants are stingy. Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, it does fit the situation of most Shanxi merchants.

It seems to be no different from the evil dragon in Western mythology who loves gold, silver and treasures but is reluctant to spend them and likes to hide these treasures. Many Shanxi merchant families have this bad habit, and the Jiexiu Fan family is no exception.

Although the ancestral home of the Jiexiu Fan family is in Zhangyuan Village, the head of the family, Fan Yongdou, and his two sons are in Zhangjiakou. The two places are quite far apart, and Fan Yongdou spends far less time at the ancestral home than in Zhangjiakou every year. But the ancestral home is still the ancestral home, and in a sense it is completely different from the new house in Zhangjiakou.

Therefore, the accumulation of the Fan family over the years, including the wealth earned by Fan Yongdou, is not much in Zhangjiakou. Most of it was transported back to Zhangyuan Village. From this point of view, the ancestral home in Zhangyuan Village is the place where the Fan family's wealth is stored, and Zhangjiakou is just a place for business.

This time, the attack on the Fan family of Jiexiu was based on this reason. It just so happened that there were bandits in Shanxi. Wang Jiayin, Gao Yingxiang and others were now in Ningxiang and Shilou. Ningxiang and Shilou were not far from Jiexiu, especially Shilou. From Shilou, go east into Fenzhou, and then go past Xiaoyi to reach Jiexiu. If there were no soldiers blocking the way, they would arrive in three days at most.

The bandits were eliminated because of the Shanxi military mutiny that occurred as a result of the King's Defending Incident.

After the mutiny, the Shanxi army scattered in the capital. Except for a small number of people who were later caught by the government or escaped back and were dealt with by local guards, most of the Shanxi army fled to all directions. Some of the Shanxi army disguised themselves and sneaked into the civilian population, some joined the rebel army, and some, like Zhao Wuling had encountered the Shanxi army before, occupied the mountains and became bandits.

Kang Youfu had said before that the rebels were planning to trade with Hengtong and exchange the looted property for much-needed food. Upon hearing this news, Zhu Shenzhui, while thinking about the plan to trade with the rebels, suddenly thought of the possibility of taking this opportunity to deal with the Jiexiu Fan family.

Once this thought came out, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't stop. He had wanted to deal with the Jiexiu Fan family for a long time, but he just hadn't had a good opportunity. After all, Jiexiu City was not far from Taiyuan Prefecture, and the Fan family was very famous in Jiexiu. If Zhu Shenzhui acted rashly, he might not succeed, and he had to consider the consequences.

After all, a group of people suddenly appearing to kill the Fan family would inevitably cause a stir in the local area. Once the news reaches the capital, there is no guarantee that Emperor Chongzhen will conduct a strict investigation. But now it is different. The two rebel armies are in Ningxiang and Shilou, and there are several Shanxi troops that have revolted from time to time in various parts of Shanxi. The emergence of these situations gives Zhu Shenzhui the opportunity to attack the Fan family. By using their excuses, as long as the arrangements are made properly, he can not only solve the problem of the Fan family, but also make a lot of money from the Fan family.

Don't forget that the Jiexiu Fan family has been engaged in business for seven generations. Although they are not as famous as the Zhang and Wang families, they are also ranked among the Shanxi merchants. Moreover, Fan Yongdou has been trading privately with the Jiannu for many years, and has gained a huge amount of wealth from the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Jiannu in Liaodong. These wealth are ill-gotten gains. As the saying goes, if you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences.

After listening to Zhu Qiuqi's explanation, Li Hu finally understood and started laughing.

If that's the case, then he has no problem. The next step is how to sneak into Zhangyuan Village and disrupt the Fan family's plan.

Regarding this, Liu Bo said: "Although Zhangyuan Village is called Zhangyuan Village, the current Zhangyuan Village is no longer the Zhangyuan Village of the past. Since the Fan family moved to Zhangyuan Village, the Fan family has been running this place for generations. Now Zhangyuan Village has actually become Fanjia Village."

"Not only that, the Fan family built a large compound in Zhangyuan Village. This compound is not a courtyard, but it is more appropriate to call it a small city. The house has high walls and towers. There are also parapets and gates on the outermost walls. The highest point is more than three meters, and the widest point is nearly two meters. Even horse racing is no problem..."

Li Hu's eyes widened at Liu Bo's words. He had never expected that a merchant's ancestral home would be of such a scale. Although he had learned some news before setting off, in his subconscious, a merchant's home was nothing more than a mansion, with at most dozens or hundreds of guards.

Li Hu didn't take the guards seriously at all, because he was leading an elite new army. Although the new soldiers were carrying incomplete weapons due to the different situation this time, and even the firearms they brought were less than one-third of the usual ones, Li Hu was very confident in the combat effectiveness of the new army. Even so, ordinary guards could not stop them. Even if the Eight Banners of Jiannu came, as long as they were few in number and well prepared, Li Hu dared to confront them head-on.

But now the situation was unexpected. When he heard that the Fan Family Courtyard was in such a state, he immediately felt that it was difficult. This was not a courtyard at all, it was clearly a small city, and the scale of the city was no less than that of an ordinary county town.

It was difficult to break such a solid wall by frontal attack. Even if the new army could take it down, it would not only cause heavy casualties, but it would also be impossible in a short time. Once the commotion got out of hand and alerted Jiexiu City or even Taiyuan Prefecture, and the government got wind of the news and sent troops over, there would be no way to stop it.

Thinking of this, Li Hu couldn't help but frown. He thought for a moment and shook his head and said, "If the Fan family compound is in such a situation, it will not be easy to take it down head-on... By the way, Brother Liu, you just said that the Jinyiwei already has someone in the Fan family? Can we cooperate with each other from inside and outside? As long as we can get in, everything will be fine."

Liu Bo sighed and said, "Some Jinyiwei are indeed in the Fan family, but it is not easy to combine the internal and external forces."

"Why?"

"Few outsiders enter the Fan Family Compound, and because of the Fan Family, the entire Zhangyuan Village is almost equivalent to the Fan Family's territory. Once an outsider comes, he will be discovered before he even gets close to the village, and he can't even get close to the Fan Family Compound. If the other party finds out that something is wrong, they will simply close the gate. The courtyard wall is almost impregnable, and then they will ask for help. If they can't take it in a short time, reinforcements from Jiexiu will arrive in two days at most, and it will be difficult to escape at that time."

"What should we do? Is it a wasted trip?" Li Hu thought for a moment and asked, "What if we go in as a garrison? Or pretend to be a merchant caravan..."

"No way!" Liu Bo shook his head and said, "The Fan family can definitely refuse. The Fan family is not an ordinary business, and local officials have to give them some face. So at most, I can stay temporarily outside Zhangyuan Village. It is not easy to get close to the compound or even go in."

Li Hu was stunned. He originally thought that this was a simple matter, but now after hearing what Liu Bo said, it was not easy to enter the Fan family compound, let alone force an attack. But how could he break into the Fan family without going in? How could he complete this task? Could he just watch the other party being like a turtle shell with nowhere to attack?

"Before Brother Li came, I discussed it privately with Master Eighteen, and we did come up with a method. Although this method can allow us to enter the Fan family, at most only ten people can enter. More than that is impossible. However, the risk for these people to enter is extremely high, and it will be difficult to succeed once they take action. So we have been thinking about it and have not come up with a good solution."

At this point, Liu Bo smiled bitterly, and Zhu Qiuqi was also scratching his head. There were nearly a hundred people in the Fan family's ancestral home, plus there were even more guards and servants, which probably added up to several hundred people. What would be the use of a dozen people going in? If they fought, there would be no chance of winning!

(End of this chapter)